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
One reply on “cycling: north germany (22 – 27 July 2009)”
hurrah for new bike tyres for the road :)