Category: bikes

The transition between countries is gradual and easy on bikes. In comparison the ferry seemed sudden – but still less culture shock than an aeroplane provides. We rode off the ferry into a warm afternoon. The plan was to hunt down some wild internet (which we managed first try) and then track down one of the wild camping sites that I’d heard about. As we cycled along rolling hills, swarms of midges were getting stuck in the sunscreen on our arms, legs and faces. There were also swarms of geese (that thankfully weren’t getting stuck in the sunscreen), and lots of grain crops. And there were cuckoos again – the first we’d heard since Japan.

And we discovered that Denmark has public toilets! As we pulled in to visit one, I found 3 nymph ticks attached to my abdomen – the first ticks of the trip, no doubt thanks to wild camping in Germany the night before. It also occurs to me that we’ve been seeing a lot of roadkill hedgehogs. I feel a bit like the international students who come to Australia, who come wanting to see kangaroos, but only ever see them as roadkill. I’ve never seen a hedgehog alive, but I’ve got a rough idea what they must look like, thanks to seeing so many flat ones. Today I saw a dead mole as well, which was quite exciting for someone who has never seen a mole in any form before. They’re a bit like platypuses, much smaller than you’d expect.

We found our first wild camping site that night, and were amazed with what a perfect little set-up it was. Three log constructed bivy shelters, built into a hillside and with grass rooves. They were just high enough inside to set up our tent with the mesh inner only, to keep out the persistent insects, and had a picnic table and a lake to wash in, and then watch the sun set over.

The following night we stumbled on another similar set-up (well, asked a passing jogger if he knew of anywhere nearby where we could camp), which was just as brilliant. Earlier that day in Sakskøbing we saw a statue invoking lesbian farmwife solidarity (or perhaps that’s not what they meant by it?) and sat by it until the town alcoholics came out of the woodwork at 8.55am to claim their benches nearby. The organised alcohol drinking seemed to be a common theme in Scandinavia.

The following night we reached Copenhagen (not before stopping by the coast and getting a chance to go for a very quick and cold swim). Entering Copenhagen was mad and hectic, bicycles everywhere rushing all over the place. The pace was a bit too much for us with our slow loaded bikes, and we ended up chilling out in the main square for a while watching gay men in red socks dancing with pom-poms (it was the World Out Games). The rest of that day was spent cycling around and seeing the sights, before meeting up with Sven, a friend of our Australian friends who’d lived in Copenhagen for a while. Sven had kindly offered to let us stay at his place that night, before we took the train over the bridge into Sweden the next day. It was odd to be back in civilisation – our first night in a bed since the start of the month when we were in Dublin.

Denmark certainly wasn’t a cycling paradise along the lines of the Netherlands. We experienced quite a few randomly disappearing cycle lanes, and were riding on a few roads with a small shoulder and zooming cars – but overall it wasn’t too bad. A lot of the terrain we covered had the same crops and rolling countryside as Germany before it – I was beginning to get keen to reach some proper hills.

Distance cycled: 250km
Flaginess levels: Moderate
Public toilets: Plentiful
Wifi availability: Good
Groceries: Expensive (but it does have Netto, Lidl and Aldi)

It feels like we’ve been on the road in Europe much longer than 20 days, but simultaneously, time is flying. And even though we’re in Germany now, it initially feels very much like Friesland more strongly than anything else – lots of canals, dykes, sheep, flatness, and windmills. There are still model windmills in peoples’ gardens.

The bike-oriented infrastructure shot dramatically downhill after leaving the Netherlands. Case in point: we could tell when we entered Germany (despite the lack of sign) due to the sudden disappearance of our bike lane. It’s much more like the UK – bike lanes that come and go at will. I could also tell we’d arrived in Germany as although there were still plenty of men with inappropriately short denim shorts out mowing their lawns, now they had moustaches as well.

One of the novelties of being here is actually speaking German to Germans in Germany (finally, after all those years of study, now I’ve forgotten everything I ever knew). Although when I actually have a conversation all in German, I’m quite convinced people are only pretending to understand me.

The other amazing novelty is the overwhelming array of reasonably priced and delicious cheeses available in Europe so far – in Australia (and Canada is even worse), cheese is ridiculously expensive even for the tasteless rubbishy stuff. In Europe I find even the cheapest cheese to be tasty, and it’s all so cheap!

As we get closer to Hamburg the roadside potatoes and eggs morph into roadside berries, which seem much more preferable. I’ve seen lots of roadkill hedgehogs now, none alive yet. The only other roadkill I’ve seen is slugs though. Them and the snails. The land also begins to change as we draw closer to Hamburg. Then there are hills – enormous hills. We reach 24 metres above sea level and my poor legs strain with the effort – my breath is short, and I pant to gain enough air for my oxygen-deprived lungs. The flatlands haven’t been kind to our fitness apparently.

After cycling through Hamburg and Lubeck, it’s on to the German seaside – which is thoroughly alarming, apparently it’s Aalwoche? I’m confused by the direct translation until I find there’s a saying in German about lying in the sun like an eel, and this is some sort of festival relating to the beach. The noise of the seaside campgrounds scare us into wild camping for the second time since we started our European leg, and we find a copse in the farmland that seems suitable. It’s all good except for the deer that keeps coming to bark at us during the night.

After suffering many flat tyres, we finally buy new rear tyres, walking out of a bike shop in Oldenburg with Schalbe Marathon Plus tyres that look magically puncture proof (although they aren’t exactly lightweight). In the process of triumphantly switching on our new rear tyres, we realise that Alex’s old tyre has lost all of its middle tread, and mine’s nearly as bad. They feel nearly as thin as inner tubes, and are full of cuts and nicks. No wonder we were getting so many flats. Our front tyres are still in reasonable condition, so we leave them for now.

After standing and admiring our new tyres for some time, we head on to Fehmarnsundbruecke, and across to an island of summer-cycling holidaying German families. Bikes! Everywhere! Across the island to the ferry to Denmark – like most of the European ferries, this one wants us queued up with the cars. Once onboard our bikes are unceremoniously dumped by the side of the ferry, and we trot upstairs to sit around in the heat for an hour.

Distance cycled: 441km
Flaginess levels: Very low – only some regional flags
Public toilets: Occasionally exist
Open wifi access: Almost non-existent
Bike friendliness: Ok, some bike lanes and national cycle paths

[And yes, I’m finally getting around to getting these things written up and uploaded…]

We weren’t in France or Belgium for very long, but the main impression that lingers is that of very tasty food. Very very tasty food. Waffles and pain chocolate and bakeries and chocolateries and icecream and bread and cheese and …. mmmmm.

Arriving, we cycled off the ferry, then out of Calais as quickly as possible, not wanting to get any stab wounds. We had a Benelux map which includes the top corner of France – all we had to do was try and cycle onto it. Forty kilometers later and no luck, so at 10pm we started hunting for somewhere to camp. We were stuck in dead flat farmland though, and it was nearly midnight by the time we found something even remotely possible. Lying out in the open in our sleeping bags, we listened to fireworks going off as it struck midnight, and realised that tomorrow is Bastille Day.

The next day brought a street market (which had all sorts of interesting things for sale, including pupppies and bunnies and chickens), and we tracked down our first French food- a bread roll and some bananas. The bananas don’t taste particularly French, but the bread was tasty. Wandering town to town we saw Bastille Day celebrations and old fort towns and bakeries. Soon enough we were crossing over into Belgium. We hadn’t quite gotten over the shock of being in France, and suddenly we were in another country! Europe is amazing!

It’s decided to head to Ypres, where we ended up spending an extra day wandering around in order to see everything (and eat all of the waffles and icecream we need to).

Leaving Ypres, we visited Paschandael and the Tyne Cot Cemetry, taking it in turns to go and walk around and look at the museum and graves, or alternatively sit and clean our drive train while listening to a small child recite the names and ages of everyone buried there. Both fairly sobering options.

Zooming along the flat roads, soon we were in Hooglede and then Brugge (where we marvelled at the historical buildings and statues and throngs of tourists). Then it was time to flee along the nice bicycle-friendly canals past Damme (where we saw our first windmill – wind turbines don’t count) and across the border into the Netherlands at Retranchement (second windmill). We were disappointed by the complete lack of signs regarding the fact we’re in a completely new country.

Distance cycled: approx 213km