From Dinkelsburg to Straining

We've been crossing the Bavarian countryside for the past several days and I swear I've never seen so much wood.  We've slowly gone off the idea of being on the cycle tracks in the forest because they are incredibly slow and often treacherous.  It was lovely while it lasted but now we are back on the roads with the odd cycleway at the side of the road.  Everywhere we look people are stockpiling wood, winters must be very harsh in Bavaria.

As well as burning wood Germany has a lot of solar panels.  Some of the houses are enormous, with countless windows, and a huge roof full of solar panels.  We were wondering whether you need some kind of planning permission to put that many on your roof as being blinded by said panels is highly likely at certain times of the day.  We've cycled some rather hilly sections and often come across wind farms too, usually a sign we've hit the top.

We've made it back to the river, The Danube this time, although the traffic is nowhere near that of the Rhine.  We're heading for Austria, and if the winds are with us we should be there in a couple of days.  We're making the most of the sunshine here in Straubing as the weather looks very unsettled for the next week, with the promise of a thunderstorm and 'severe weather warning' for tomorrow.

This morning we were treated to an incredibly loud bang which we took to be a sonic boom as a very fast moving craft shifted in an arc across the sky this morning.  That shook us up!

Nature update:  there are black squirrels in Bavaria, and if they're not black they are very, very dark grey!

Laters

Vineyards and forests, Bavarian

The last week has been absolutely glorious, both in terms of weather and terrain, although it has been a bit hilly.  We're trying to stick to the cycle paths using Google Maps mostly, but every now and again we lose our internet connection completely which, when you're in the middle of a forest with 5 tracks to choose from and no sign of life, it's a bit tricky.  So we are now using a combination of Google Maps and Maps Me.  Maps Me works offline, and, shows the paths more clearly.

We are reliably informed that the tall wooden structures we have been seeing (look distinctly like umpire chairs) in the fields here in Bavaria are Hunting Hides.  We were a bit worried they may be escape routes from bears, but, it looks like the last bear in Bavaria was Bruno in 2006, who "didn't behave himself" so they shot him.

Yesterday we came across the most beautiful chapel, in the middle of the forest, it even had a bell.  Offcuts of wood from the forest had been used to create a parquet-like floor, it was exquisite.

We have passed through a wonderful wine region, with terraces so precipitous they would make a goat baulk.  Generally, the order of the day here is farming.  Lots of corn and potatoes, plus cattle.  It's busy at the moment with giant farm machinery coming at us from every direction, driven by people (I've only seen men) who look about 14.  But they are VERY courteous and always give way to us, or, let us out.

Meandering through beautiful countryside always makes me sing and recently I've noticed I've been suffering from 'ear worms'.  Recent ones include:  Rhinestone Cowboy (Glenn Campbell RIP), that one hasn't gone away very quickly at all.  Wombles of Wimbledon Common, after spotting a large gentlemen with a white beard and dungarees.  Thank You by Alanis Morissette, after a youtube evening in the tent and Alloway Grove by Paolo Nutini, just because it's him.

Today we stayed put in Dinkelsberg, a very attractive Medieval Town on the way to Regesberg.  We rode into town this morning and had a look around this pretty town.  Video called Nina after, what can only be described as a very mediocre lunch, and then cycled back to the shady campsite.

We have had a real mixed bag of campsites.  The cheapest (Holland, and in our opinion, the best) 11E, the most expensive (Germany) 26E.  Usually, the more facilities a site has the more expensive it is, although that doesn't seem to have been the case recently.  We are currently at a large site, on a lake, with everything except a pool and we are paying 17E.

Wildlife update: Pine Martens, Red Squirrels (loads), Buzzards, Beaver Rats, Woodpeckers, Bats, Deer, Horses disguised as Zebra (I kid you not) and an assortment of flying creatures, some of them rather large, which, when they hit you in the face at 52kph leave a swollen, red welt.

I know it's stating the obvious but Germany is a very large country and we seem to have been here forever, but we are nudging ever closer to Austria.  Happy Bank Holiday weekend to you all in the UK, officially the end of the summer as I recall.

Laters

Leaving the river ....... for a bit

Surprises so far:

• BW has a magnesium stick, that came out of the "magic pack" 2 days ago when he couldn't find the lighter.
• Marlboro Man is alive and well, living on posters in garages and supermarkets all over Germany, disguised as Winston.  You can also buy cigarettes from machines, placed everywhere, as long as you can verify your age.
• Supermarkets don't open on a Sunday in Germany.

We are always fascinated by peoples' choice of accommodation.  From the huge RV-type vans to the tiny, uber trendy, that can just about be called a caravan, "pods", but this caravan we saw on a campsite just outside the beautiful city of Heidelberg, surely takes the biscuit.  The photo doesn't do it justice but take my word for it, cobbled together does not even begin to describe it.

The weather has been "changeable" again.  Last night we were so cold we had to put socks on, and another layer, while sitting outside the tent.  This morning we had breakfast in the sunshine and while scanning social media discovered a photograph of a "supercell" taken in Heilbronn (where we happen to be) 8 hours before we arrived. Aye, aye aye ....... glad that one didn't hit us.

We have discovered that the expression "Fair play" isn't just a Bristol colloquialism it happens all over this part of Germany.  People plant up a plot of land with a selection of flowers for cutting, then along come strangers who use the scissors and knives provided to cut the flowers, leaving money in the honesty box.  It happens in rural parts of the UK on a smaller scale, people putting their honey, or home made jam (we've seen that here too) or their excess plums, out for sale.  I love it.

Since leaving the river we have been passing through farming areas.  Two days ago we passed the cleanest, quietest farm, I've ever seen.  There was a large shed full of heffers and about a dozen or so "kennels" (according to my bro in law who is an authority on such things) with the calves sitting on beautifully clean straw outside in the sunshine.  You could hear a pin drop so I took that as a sign of contentment.  We also hit some hills yesterday, that was a bit of a shock to the system, having been on the flat for almost the whole time we have been here.  BW tells me it's good for me.  My legs keep telling me different.

Today's an admin and washing day, tomorrow we head towards Schwabisch Hall, 500m up, wish me luck!

Laters

Keep your shades on and your mouth shut......

..... has been the order of the day since Monday.  What the birds don't digest, we do.  That, or they splatter themselves all over our bikes and clothing.

The weather (not the weather, AGAIN) has been, shall we say, rather changeable.  Two days ago we hit (or, it hit us to be more precise) the worst storm we have ever cycled through.  We were completely exposed, on a dyke, it hit without warning and the best we could do was throw on our waterproofs, stuff the mobile phone into something dry, throw the bikes down said dyke and head for a copse to take shelter.  It's the only time I've been pleased to be wearing a bash hat, because if I hadn't I would have been impaled several times by branches flying through the air at eleventy billion miles an hour.  Roll on 20 mins and we have to drag the bikes through the recently ploughed muddy field, up the dyke, onto the cycle path which now resembles something of an obstacle course the like of which is only seen after tornadoes with names like Kylie or Tremayne.  What doesn't kill you makes you stronger ........

Moving on several days (I will get better at documenting more contemporaneously, I promise) and we have had some absolutely gorgeous weather, so much so that we have had to dig the sunscreen out of the bottom of my pannier.  We moved away from the Rhine onto the Mosel for a day, but now we are back.  We are currently in a place called Worms, and it's all about Martin Luther here.

Today we have done something we rarely do.  We have planned the next week of cycling.  We are relying on Google Maps and Archies Camping app, but it's not easy on a smart phone, so we have resorted to old skool techniques, like pen and paper, and have made a list.  This is what a day at the office looks like:

I spotted a beauty of a butterfly today, but would he stop flapping his wings?  I have a selection of photos with wings closed but only one, slightly fuzzy one, with his wings open.  The flower was pretty too.

I don't want to talk about the itchiness of my mosquito bites because I'm afraid it will just make them itch even more.  What I need is someone with a spritzer of ice cold water following me around, spraying the backs of my legs every 1`0 mins.  I suggested it to BW but he pretended not to hear me.

The plan is that we reach the start of the Danube cycle way in approx 8 days time.  I will keep you updated, hopefully, along the way.

Laters

Martin Luther and friends

Mr Butterfly

A day at the office

The Beginning, of this blog ...........

..... it all started on May 30th, when we finally sold our house and moved, in rather swift fashion, into a 2002 Honda Civic.  The months of trips to the Recycling Centre, various charity shops and our garage in Bristol, were finally coming to an end.  Well almost.  Then began the whirlwind tour of friends and family to say our farewells. We had already found a very appreciative buyer for our trusty Honda and the insurance ran out on June 22nd, so that was that.  That would be the date of the handover, and the day we just had our trusty Thorns to rely on for transport.

Fast forward to now and you find us in Germany, just outside Dusseldorf.  The reason for the delay in starting the blog?  I could blame lack of signal, or the weather, but to be honest I was stuck in an endless cycle of I'll start tomorrow.  What is it they say? 'If you want something doing, ask a busy person'.

The trip so far:  We spent a week in The New Forest waiting for our Cumulus quilt to arrive from Poland (the whole story would send you to sleep) and simply getting used to being on the road again.  Once said quilt arrived (thanks Sally and Paul) we hot pedalled it down to Portsmouth to catch a ferry.  After a severe mugging from the ferry company we found ourselves in Caen.  From Caen we headed along the coast to Le Havre, up to Dunkirk, through Belgium and into Holland.  It was in Amsterdam that we decided the weather looked decidedly nicer to the south rather than the north and so we are now camping on the bank of the Rhine, 10km away from Dusseldorf.

After only being in Germany for a couple of days we realised how spoilt we had been in Holland.  The Dutch have the whole cycling thing well and truly sorted, it was an absolute pleasure to cycle there.  Germany isn't 'bad' it just doesn't compare with Holland.

So having been on the road for 6 weeks now I can officially announce that we are doing OK.  My knee (half replacement 18 months ago) is holding up, although the first 3 days gave me the eeby jeebies.  We have got into the swing of life on the road.  We have stopped saying 'where's the thingy' or 'haven't you got the whatdyacallit' because the realisation of everything having to fit onto a bicycle means there's not many places to hide.  Although BW has turned into a bit of a magician lately.  I say something like 'I wish I had a thermal hat to stop my head getting cold' and out comes a thermal hat.  Ditto a conversation about arm warmers.  I mean, arm warmers!

The weather always plays a big part in any cycling trip and this has been no exception.  We've gone from 35c in France to 16c and raining in Holland.  We bought a foldable cool bag to try and keep food and drinks cold.  The experiment with a bag of frozen spinach didn't work out too well, so now it's either a bag of ice (preferable), or, go to the shop an hour or so before we need the items and stash them in the freezer, but that ole trick doesn't work when we are out in the boondocks.

We are girding our loins for the next few days of rainy weather.  Personally I favour hopping on a train to Prague but BW is having none of it.

Laters