And for once I didn’t go to Scandinavia ...
Well, only just. In the spring of 2009, I planned to cycle the Nord-See-Cycle-Route. As its name implies, the route goes right round the North Sea, along the coasts of The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Shetland Isles, Scotland, England and Belgium.
That sounded good to me, 6000 km., away for three months...
Unfortunately, my own bike put a spoke in that wheel! During the 2009 holiday, I had so much trouble with my bike that I no longer had any confidence in it. I didn’t dare go round the North Sea. One could get stranded among the sparsely populated fjords in Norway or on the Shetland Isles. No, this trip is too tough and goes through too many uninhabited areas for me to take such a risk.
But what then? During the year, my confidence in the bike returned for the most part. I cycled to work (30 km. a day) and in the spring, I went cycling with my nephew, Erwin, for a few days. And everything went alright.
I decided to take a trip in which I could eliminate as many risks as possible, not too far from home. It would have to be a well-populated area with good infrastructure. And it would have to have a well-spread railway network so that I could return by train if it became a fiasco. Holland?
Hmm ... no.
Germany! If I leave home and cycle to Germany, I’ll see how far I’ll get. In Germany, you can easily take your bike on the train (more easily than in Holland); depending on where you go, there are no large uninhabited areas and I’d be home in a jiffy if it doesn’t work.
The decision was made. I bought a route guide for the Europa-Radweg R1, hoping to reach Berlin. I admit, if you’re not sure of your bike, Berlin is quite far away enough...
But what if it does work? I arrive in Berlin. What then? On to Prague? And why not. If it’s no good, I get on a train and come home. I can do that in the Czech republic too. I planned a route that, given the (lack of) confidence in my bike, began to take on ambitious proportions but, who knows, it might work after all.
And it did! And how ...
I did cycle to Berlin and Prague. And even far further! As my bike behaved in an exemplary fashion and I also did my best, I arrived in Prague much sooner than I had planned. I went even further south, to Austria, returning via South-Germany and, after exactly eight weeks, I was back home.
On the following pages you can see how it all went. This time, I’ve done things differently. Previous travel reports were described on a day-to-day basis but even though I kept a (written) diary, it would have taken ages. And after all ... who is going to read it?
Now it runs as follows: there are three chapters compiled from the e-mails i've sent during the trip and you can look at the photos by clicking on the route-signs.
Enjoy reading and looking!
