Epic European Cycle

Trip List Calendar

2015-04-30: Preparation and Notes
This trip came about when I was working for NorQuest and found out that they have an employee program where you can take a reduced salary for a number of months, take some time off, then return. Brent and I thought it was a great opportunity to take a long vacation. Brent had mentioned wanting to ride the \"Orient Express\" trail in Europe, so that became our goal.\n As fate would have it, I quit the job at NorQuest just as I became eligible to apply for the program, but we decided that we would just plan and save differently, but still take the trip.\n As our research progressed, we discovered that there is no \"Orient Express\" trail per-se, but what that referred to was the Danube Cycle Trail, so that became our plan. Since we didn't need a full six months to do that, we added a few more countries to supplement our time in Europe. As the plan gelled in the last few months before the trip, the plan became Iceland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, England, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Spain, then home.\n When we arrived in Iceland, we were informed that we were limited to 90 days within 180 within the Schengen Area. We didn't know what a Schengen Area was, but lo, turns out that most of the countries on our list are in an agreement which restricts foreigners from being within the collection of countries greater than 90 days. Oops. We had looked into visa requirements for the individual countries, but didn't know there was a collective agreement with such limitations.\n After much research and deliberation, we moved on to Croatia, which has not yet joined Schengen. That was a lucky stroke - Croatia is fantastic!
2015-05-01: Fly to Iceland
Unfortunately, we weren't able to check our boxes all the way through to Paris. If the connecting flight is on a different calendar day, you need to collect your baggage and take it with you. DANG! We are seriously considering leaving our bikes behind in Europe when we come home. I should have planned the Iceland stopover for the return trip. It would have made things a lot simpler if we didn't have to deal with the bikes on the stopover. Doug drove us to the airport in his pickup. He decided at the last minute to come visit for our last week at home. It worked out really well. I wasn't sure how we'd get all of that big stuff to the airport. I looked into taxis, but there just aren't really any that are big enough. I asked Colleen to drive us, but when I looked at her truck, and compared to our enormous bike boxes, I knew we wouldn't be able to make everything fit. I ended up reserving a rental truck and enlisted Colleen to help. We were going to load up the truck, go to the airport, and Colleen was going to return the rental truck. It was going to cost about $120 or $130 since both of us would have to be on the rental agreement and insurance. It was a whole lot simpler having Doug there to take us! Saved a bunch of $dough$ and a bunch of hassle. And still had lunch with Colleen anyway. :) The boxes that we used for packing are:\n - Cardboard bike boxes from any bike store. They're thrilled to give them away - just go in and ask.\n - \"Large\" size moving boxes - they're the exact dimensions that airlines allow before they're considered oversized\n We re-inforced the bikes inside the boxes using some old throw-away towels, and Styrofoam inserts saved from computer boxes. Icelandair Check-in
2015-05-02: Reykjavik and Blue Lagoon
Approximately six-hour flight. I slept most of the way. Brent got maybe one or two hours of sleep. The area around the airport was a lot flatter than Brent had imagined. The mountains are all off in the distance.\n We walked down to the grocery store and picked up a few things then walked back to eat and \"Facebook\". We can officially check in at 2PM and then the bus to take us to the Blue Lagoon comes by at 3PM.\n I had planned on putting our boxes into storage while we're in Iceland, but the storage was a half a km away from the terminal, which is no big deal... until you're trying to transport four enormous boxes. So, instead, we paid the 10,000K fee (approx. $100) to bring the junk with us to the hostel (round trip). We got to the hostel way too early to check in, but they let us put our junk in storage while we explore a little.\n When we came through customs at Iceland, the customs agent there informed us that we can't just stay six months in Europe. The Euro Zone is like one big country and we need a VISA if we're going to stay more than three months. That will be first on the agenda when we arrive in Paris.\n Iceland has public washrooms that remind me of the ones I saw in the UK years ago. Really nice and clean, and each stall has proper walls and a proper door. It's a little claustrophobic, but man is it nicer than north American washrooms with the flimsy little tin walls with doors that start far enough off the ground for inquisitive youngsters to peer underneath, and gaps wide enough for anyone to peek through to see if someone's in there. Ahhhhh... sweet privacy! I chatted for a few minutes at the hostel with an Iceland native. She was saying that they've had a terrible winter here - very volatile and stormy. She says she's never seen a winter like it. It's making her contemplate leaving the country... but then the sun comes out and everything is beautiful, like today, and we get so excited and forgive everything! And I thought 'how very like Canadians'. Laura, who's coming to meet us to cycle the Danube in July, has been contemplating changing her strategy for bringing her bike. She has a fancy bike box that she's planning to bring, then, after she lands in Frankfurt, I think she's planning to ship the box to Budapest to wait for us there. Now she's thinking about using a cardboard box instead, like Brent and I do. \n It looks like it's a really common practice. Since I left home yesterday I've seen three (non RnB) bikes packed in cardboard boxes (from bike stores). Since we got to the hostel, I've seen three people assemble their bikes out of cardboard boxes, and there's a special shelf in the storage room for empty cardboard bike boxes. The biggest problem is that the boxes really take a beating. We've used some Styrofoam padding (like from computer boxes), towels, and cardboard supports to make the boxes a little stronger. Ours are still taking a pounding (but holding up so far), and one that we saw at the Edmonton airport was in tatters, although the bike inside looked to be ok. We went to the Blue Lagoon. It was nice. Interesting. A very good hot spring, to be sure. The lava field surrounding it was extremely cool. At Blue Lagoon, outside of Reykjavik Blue Lagoon, outside of Reykjavik
2015-05-03: Golden Circle Tour
Brent and I are thinking of ways to be frugal during our travels. The hostel we're staying in has long-term storage. We might be able to find one in Frankfurt that would be cheaper (maybe free?) than putting our bikes into a storage facility for a month. We'll see.\n Food is hideously expensive in Iceland. It has made me a lot more aware of every single morsel we've paid for, and I make sure we consume those morsels. We've re-discovered the \"Free Food\" bins at the hostel, as a potential source of food, rather than as a depository for our leftovers. We scored a couple of nice apples and some chocolate to take along on our tour today. WOO HOO!\n At Barbara's encouragement, I think we'll also be dabbling in a little couch surfing during this trip. We're supposed to spend the nights of May 6 and 7 with Pierre in Paris, and Aleyah in Ljubljana towards the end of August. We did the \"Golden Circle Tour\" with Reykjavik Excursions today. It was really great. The countryside around here is crazy! Lots of lava beds, glaciers... the weirdness never ends. We saw Gullfoss (waterfall), the active \"Strokkur\" geyser at Geysir (the namesake of all geysers), and �ingvellir national park where the European plate and the North American plate are pulling away from one another. There are cliffs on the east side where it's the European plate, and on the west side where it's the North American plate, and the space in between. We walked the trail to North America. As part of the Golden Circle Tour today we visited the Fri�heimar greenhouse, which grows amazing organic tomatoes. They import bumblebees from the Netherlands for pollination. We got a good close look at a box of bees and some of them are crazy big! The proprietor, who gave the overview of their operation had a fairly thick accent and a great sense of humor. Funny highlights:\n - He said \"We don't use any pesticides on our tomatoes\"; I heard \"We don't use any pasta sauce on our tomatoes\"\n - He said \"The queen produces many babies which come out of her eggs\"; I heard \"The queen produces many babies which come out of her ass\"\n - When talking about the bees, he mentioned that they import boxes of 60 bees, including 59 female worker bees and one queen. He says, \"The bees work very hard every day to pollinate the tomatoes. When the queen produces babies, though, some of them are man bees, and they don't like to work, so we have to import more bees.\" Tomato Greenhouse; Bees; Cute bee girl RnB at Gullfoss waterfall Gullfoss waterfall This is a glacial runoff river, a few hundred meters from the Langj�kull glacier \"Strokkur\" geyser at Geysir Just starting to erupt �ingvellir national park � is pronounced \"th\". Thingvellir. Walking to North America at �ingvellir national park
2015-05-04: Fly to Paris
We are staying at an apartment on Rue Chanzy in Paris that I found through airbnb. It is wonderful, although, it wouldn't have been very good if we didn't pre-assemble our bikes at the airport. It is pretty much a regular apartment building. Hefting those huge boxes around wouldn't have been much fun. Turned out to be a good thing, in so many ways, that we could build the bikes at the airport. Disposing of the boxes would have been just the start of our worries. How to get them actually upstairs would have been a disaster. We probably wouldn't have been able to do that. We probably would have had to assemble them in the foyer of this really classy, peaceful apartment building. I would have felt like a complete schmuck. Instead, I just had to feel like a complete schmuck assembling our bikes in a busy international airport! I had it in my head that, if possible, I would like to assemble the bikes at the airport. That way we could either ride, or take the LRT, to where we're staying. It wouldn't have been possible with the bikes we'd used when we went to Australia. They were smaller, and so the bikes had to be torn down quite a bit more to go in the boxes. This time we had mondo boxes and the bikes didn't have to be very disassembled to fit in. \n When we go to the airport, I asked airport information if there was a place we could dispose of the boxes anywhere at the airport. It took a bit of \"frenglish\" and a few charades to get the point across, but in the end, she made a call and then instructed us to assemble our bikes right there, leave the boxes by her station, and the janitorial staff would come by and remove the boxes. Wow! That worked brilliantly!\n Then, because all I'd had to eat so far was a bit of yogurt with coco puffs in it, we took a cab to the BnB instead of riding or LRT. Good thing because it started to rain soon after we left the airport. If we'd had to transport our bikes in their boxes via cab, we would have had to use a special oversized cab for that. Since the bikes were assembled, we got in line for a regular old cab (minivan). The driver didn't speak (much) English, and was doubtful that the bikes would fit (and reluctant to try), but eventually he folded some of the seats up enough that all of our stuff fit in nicely. He was a good guy, but a little distracted. At one point, he was zooming along fairly fast. Brent was looking away, and I don't know what the cabbie was thinking, but I know it wasn't the road ahead of us, because \"the road ahead of us\" was actually traffic stopped at a light. Just in the nick of time, someone (ahem) yelled WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA and the cabbie stopped us just before we rammed into the back of someone. At least he thanked me for it rather than treating me like a backseat driver! We had to get up at 2:30AM to drag out bikes up from the hostel storage and get ready for the bus that was going to pick us up at 3:30AM to go to the airport.\n Thankfully, departures at Keflavik is a lot easier than arrival (at arrivals you have to go down a steep spiral ramp - imagine that with one cart each with a packing box and a bike box perched on top of the packing box). Yeah, it was pretty. Anyway, arrivals was easy, and unlike at YEG, KEF's oversized luggage scanner is big enough for the bike boxes to go through, so in no time at all we had shed ourselves of the baggage burden. Iceland - $10 potato chips and no fat people. Coincidence? I think not.\n Iceland airport - not for the agoraphobic. Almost no waiting lounge seats - everyone just waits around in the hallway. Flights being boarded on both sides. There are very few auditory announcements. Boarding announcements are made on the flight signs only.\n The best thing about Icelandic washrooms? They're called Snyrtingar. You know... for when you need to snyrt!\n Of course it makes perfect sense... I arrive in downtown Paris, ravenous from a long wretched day fueled only by a paltry portion of yogurt with coco puffs in it... and none of the restaurants start serving dinner until 7:00 or later. Brent and I settled for having a beverage (which went straight to our heads) and then buying some groceries to make our own dinner of some \"rug bread\", cured meat, and three amazing kinds of cheese. \"Rug bread\" is actually Vollkornbrot, but the way it was labelled in Iceland looked like \"rug bread\", which just makes so much sense that I will have to call it that for the rest of my life. Boxes at Reykjavik City Hostel You can see that the boxes have taken a little damage at the halfway point, but not too bad. Boxes again when we reached Paris There is a new hole punched in one of the moving boxes, and a tear in one of the bike boxes, but overall, not too bad. We've seen a lot worse! Charles de Gaulle Airport Assembling our bikes at a busy international airport. Oh joy. Nothing to see here folks... move along... :)
2015-05-05: Paris - Taking Care of Business
We visited the Canadian Embassy this morning and they can't help us. We need to contact the country we're visiting to inquire. I've sent off a message to the main Schengen area support web site asking about options. Maybe we can still get visas, or maybe time spent outside of the Schengen area will help us to stay in compliance. We're already planning on spending a month in the UK, and perhaps, when we're done in Budapest, rather than staying within the Schengen area we just have to move on to Turkey at the end of the trip. Hopefully we'll have some more information soon. We got a phone today. It's a cell phone, not a smart phone. I bought the cheapest one with a full qwerty keyboard, which was �60, plus the sim card with a �5 credit on it for �10 (total �70). The guy at the store advised picking up separate sim cards in each country we visit because roaming fees are expensive. \n Bless his heart, Brent has taken it upon himself to learn how to use this stupid device. My brain is near full, so that's really helpful.\n We have received text messages from a few friends back home to confirm that texting works, and replied to Laura. Yay! After we got a message sent off to the Schengen people, we decided to go walkabout in Paris. We had day passes for the Metro, so we took the subway downtown and walked around the islands. We saw Notre Dam, the Louvre (from the outside only), and l'Arc de Triomph du Carrousel (among other things). When we were done sight-seeing we did my favorite thing (so far) in Paris. We didn't want to ride the subway back during rush-hour, so we decided to sit someplace and have a drink to kill some time. We stumbled onto a place called Les Trois Quartieres which had its outdoor patio set up in an intriguing manner. The door faces a T-intersection, and they had rows of small tables and chairs all set up facing the intersection. I decided it would be interesting to sit facing the road, so we had our (very expensive) drink there.\n The intersection was extremely interesting to watch, and I'm really glad we stopped there (in spite of how expensive the drinks were). The traffic was crazy, with two lanes of vehicle traffic, and one motorcycle lane turning left at the T into one lane. The motorcycles all rode in the oncoming lane, or down the center line to get in front of all the cars. There was no protesting from the cars. The cars all pushed into the lane any old way they could. At the same time there were pedestrians and bicycles pushing their way into the fray. Brent and I speculate that there's some kind of law in Paris which allows motorcycles to pass by all the cars to the front of the line... maybe something to encourage motorcycle use or something. In any case, it was great entertainment while we sipped those very expensive drinks! We're staying in Paris for an extra couple of days. Tomorrow we ride from our AirBnB place to our Couch Surfing place... straight through Paris. It's less than a 7km journey, but we're both a little nervous about riding in the big scary city. Bridges on the Seine Les Canards de la Seine Quack! At Les Trois Quartieres
2015-05-06: Ride through Paris
This was our first actual day riding, so we were a little apprehensive about riding, fully-loaded, through Paris. Turned out we had NOTHING to worry about, really. I felt like \"Marlin\" (the daddy clownfish in Finding Nemo) as we left Maguy's place, first tracing out the route on Google Maps, then walking a couple of km of the route and back, then finally getting on our bikes and riding back and forth a little before setting out on the actual route. \n It was less than 7km from Maguy's place to Pierre's place, and Paris is set up GREAT for bicycling. There are separate bike lanes in lots of places, and \"sharrows\" everywhere. Drivers are skilled and watch out for cyclists. It's nothing like trying to ride in Edmonton at all.\n We made it to Pierre's neighborhood really quickly and then had a bunch of time to kill before we could go to his place. We ended up having some beverages and doing a load of laundry. Tonight was our first time ever \"Couch Surfing\" with a nice young man named Pierre. He met us at the door of his apartment building and then helped us lug all of our gear (including bicycles) up six narrow flights of stairs to his Spartan apartment that he shares with his friend. The apartment is tiny... I bet it's not even 300sq feet. We shared some wine and good conversation and then Brent and I took over the roommate's bedroom (he's out of town). Very nice experience.
2015-05-07: Day in Paris
Today we left our gear at Pierre's place and spent the day in Paris. We walked over to Sacre Coeur, which is close to Pierre's, and is very big. Then, we took Metro down to have a look at le Tour Eiffel, which is very big. Then we did some research and booking accommodation for the next night. Oops, I accidentally booked us to stay in Chartres, which is 100km from where we're staying. I thought it was about 60. It'll be a long day! Sacre Coeur Le Tour Eiffel
2015-05-08: Ride to Chartres
We got up early this morning, with 100km to go to reach Chartres, where we've booked accommodation for tonight. Thankfully, Pierre woke early as well and helped carry the bikes down the amazingly steep and narrow six flights of stairs.\n\n Today was a national holiday in France, which was lucky for us, because it meant we could get out of Paris before the traffic got at all thick. It worked out great. We headed west out of town, and then south through Bois de Boulogne. We were both surprised at the number of prostitutes at work there. After we left the park, we encountered a couple of locals who wanted to help us find our way, but didn't actually think it was possible to cycle from Paris to Chartres. They did get us pointed in the right general direction, though. We went past Versailles, but then had to double back to find our route which mostly followed D10 and paralleled N10 most of the way. There were great bike lanes and trails most of the way, but I'm sad to say that by the time we reached Verierre, I was done. It was only about �22 for the two of us to hop a train from Verierre to Chartres, with a connection in Rambouillet, so I talked Brent into doing that. We made it to Chartres, and to our host's place, by 6:00 on the nose. \n\n Chartres is beautiful and interesting. The old city is narrow streets and old old buildings, including the impressive Chartres Cathedral. The old city is built at the top of a steep hill. After settling in to our B&B, we went for a walk and slogged up the hill to the old city, had a look around, and had some amazing canard at Brasserie les Changes. \n\n We decided to book a second night in Chartres to give ourselves some time to rest and do some research. Since I've confirmed, the hard way, that 40km with fully-loaded paniers is about all I'm good for in a day (exactly the same as Australia), it gives me a good idea of how far we'll make it in a day over the next while. I do expect my distance to improve, but time will tell.\n\n Crazy staircase at Pierre's Narrow rue in Chartres Chartres
2015-05-09: Day in Chartres
We have a new plan! We looked at the number of km I can reasonably do in a day, fully loaded (40km-ish, same as in Australia) and realized that the route I had chosen for us was too big. The solution, of course, is that we'll use trains to \"catch up\" on our itinerary. This was always the hope, but now that we've confirmed that train travel with bikes is possible and reasonable, we know that it will work.\n We have, however, altered our intended route. We were originally going to go south from Paris to (approximately) Orleans to pick up EuroVelo route 6 and head to the west coast (and the continue north). When we got to Chartres, though, we discovered a less well-known route to the coast called La V�losc�nie. We've bought a map/book which describes the route and we're going to ride out to the coast on V�losc�nie, then head south to Nantes, then head back east through the Loire Valley. \n I expect the plan will change constantly. That's why we didn't make much in the way of plans in the first place. We'll see in a couple of days whether this plan will be the \"final answer\". \n La V�losc�nie starts in Paris and passes through Chartres. We sure could have used this information yesterday! Sometimes it was really frustrating to try to find a route, especially leaving Paris. From Brent: We haven't been in France very long and are shaking off the last of the jet-lag. We've had a couple of short rides but mostly we've been hauling the bikes around like baggage. The plan is to start riding in earnest tomorrow. Chartres to Illiers-Combray. There are so many hyphenated place names here and a lot with pronunciations that French class didn't prepare us for. Chartres is pronounced Shart and I still haven't found out about the next town's proper pronunciation. From Brent: So far the French people have been wonderful. As long as you make an effort, folks are very forgiving. I got a French lesson from a bar-man a few days ago over several glasses of wine. Each time he came to the table he gave me a new phrase to learn and corrected my pronunciation on the previous one. The lesson has made it easier to get what we want in a caf� or restaurant.\n\n This was weird. Yesterday was our first real day of riding on our cycle tour. We've been planning this trip for years and I've been really excited about it. I've had a little trepidation about being away from work for six months but that's just my own thing.\n\n Instead of moving on from Chartres immediately, we decided to take a day off to rest and do some research. In the evening I had a short but extremely intense bout of depression. I felt old and done and tired. I felt very strongly that I was not interested at all in cycle touring, especially not for six months. I did not want to be there. I did not want to cycle another day. Yet I also did not want to go back to Canada and back to work. There was truly nothing that I wanted to do. All the spark... all the life had gone out of me. I felt fat. I'm packing around way too much weight and it made me feel like I can't move and I don't want to move. I wondered if there's anything else besides eating and laying around that can bring me pleasure anymore. I just wanted to be at home on the couch with the TV and a bag of potato chips. I just wanted to eat until I was Jaba the Hut and explode and die and be done. I felt that there was nothing left for me.\n\n Strangely, this depression lifted just as quickly as it had come down on me. Brent bought me wine and talked me through it. I don't know why it happened. It might have just been because I found yesterday to be very very tough physically and mentally.\n Dr. Seuss buildings in Chartres Dr. Seuss trees in Chartres
2015-05-10: La V�losc�nie to Illiers-Combray
Yesterday we bought a book describing a route called La V�losc�nie. We had seen that book in la Maison de Velo near the train station in Chartres but they only had one copy - not for sale. How disappointing. So, we went walkabout in Chartres and stopped in at a book store and they had one copy of the same book. Yay! I'm so glad we got the book. La V�losc�nie is a very well-marked cycle route and the chosen route is awesome. Today we rode about 35km to get to Illiers-Combray and it was beautiful, scenic, and used a great selection of cycle paths and small side roads. Illiers-Combray is a very small town and not much is open on Sundays. We found the hotel locked/closed, but the info office was open and the lady directed us to the camp ground (which was also in our book) and advised that she thought it would be open. It is, and it has wifi... thus today's DAM Details update. The camp ground Le Bois Fleuri is really nice. It's small and there are no picnic tables or fire pits at the sites, but it's well-maintained and decent privacy for a small public campground. I'm especially impressed with the wash building, which has:\n - Men's and ladies toilet stalls\n - One central TP dispensary (sonofagun)\n - Showers\n - Men's and ladies sponge bath rooms\n - Small tubs for... uh... washing your kids and/or dogs?\n - Washers and dryers\n - Regular and over-sized sinks Gear changes for today:\n - Left behind the duct tape. I'd brought it along for bike box repair enroute, but the boxes didn't need repair and it's no longer necessary to haul the tape.\n - The no-rinse body wash and shampoo have got to go. I forgot I had them when I bought the large bottle of camp suds.\n - We picked up a couple of small, folding disposable spoons when we had yogurt in Iceland. We kept them and have been using them almost daily. Good addition!\n -I brought some old yoga pants which were supposed to be my \"throw away after Iceland\" pants, but I've hung onto them and I'm glad I did. I've been wearing them almost every day! Once things warm up I'll probably get rid of them, but for now, they're essential gear. From Brent: Sometimes the French are almost too helpful. Paris is a rat's maze of streets. Even with a map it is easy to get lost. The easiest way to get around is the Metro (subway) but you don't see anything that way. Walking is better and there is something new to see every block or two; which is about how often we had to check our map to make sure we kept going where we intended. And just about every time we pulled out a map someone would come over and offer help. A couple of times we gathered a small crowd, each person offering their own opinion. In Paris, most people offered help in English (I guess we look like tourists), once out of town French becomes the rule. Pee Station A special post just for dogs to pee. Nice. Brent Rhonda Canola field France has tonnes of canola fields. Who knew!? Nice fence I like this fence with its swoopy shape and double life as a planter. Our camp site at Le Bois Fleuri
2015-05-11: La V�losc�nie to Nogent-le-Rotrou
TMI Alert - don't continue reading if it's going to traumatize you!\n For this tour, I bought a bra with pockets in it to stash important things. I keep my orthodontic appliance in one pocket, and some plastic in the other. I call it the \"boob safe\". \n Thanks to the boob safe, I have cleavage for the first time in my life, and man, is my skin ever PISSED about it! I am sweating up a storm while riding, and sweating into my poor squashed-together boobs. The swath in between them just doesn't know what to do with itself. It is red, angry, and covered in acne. Ugliest cleavage in the world! Maybe I need to start putting foot powder on it or something... We got a reply today from the Schengen area folks. They confirmed a number of things, and provided a few surprising details:\n - There's not really any such thing as a visa for Schengen longer than 90 days. If you get a longer visa for a specific country, it's only good for that country.\n - There are two types of Schengen 90-day visas. Single entry and multi-entry. As Canadians, we didn't need a visa to enter, and we are considered multi-entry.\n The final result is that we should spend no more than 90 days in the Schengen area. We will be in the area until mid-June (45 days) when we head to the UK, returning in mid-July to meet Laura. We'll be in the area again until we reach Budapest approx. 30 days later. That will give us another 15 days to figure out what we're doing next, and that is:\n - If we're not done with the bikes yet, we will simply continue on EuroVelo 6 through Romania and Bulgaria to the black sea.\n - If we're done with the bikes, we will ditch them and then either fly back to the UK for the remainder of our trip, or fly to Turkey and spend some time there.\n It's all good. YAY! I've had a tough few days trying to get into the groove of riding. I should have been wearing a heavy pack and put the trainer on a higher setting when I was riding at home over the winter. I have felt very weak and wimpy so far. \n Today was finally better. I'm starting to feel a little stronger and a lot happier. I am looking forward to riding again tomorrow instead of wishing for a day off. Thank goodness. :) Poppies along the side of the road. Sonofagun. Rural France has some amazingly nice public washrooms... and at least one amazingly nasty one. Overall so far, top grades. Our route today took us through some great countryside. Farmland and forest punctuated by gingerbread villages that made me think of Margaret Anne Elliott all day! La V�losc�nie is a fantastic cycle route! I highly recommend it, but if you do, be sure to get the book because if you try to figure it out yourself, you'll never find the streets and trails from the route, which are amazing! We had a harder ride today, including a few significant hills. On the bigger hills, I had to do a bit of pushing, but, as Brent so lovingly pointed out, we're riding La V�losc�nie, not La Velo-Sissy, so I'd better toughen up. Just kidding... I'm the one who came up with Velo-Sissy, but I thought it would be funnier coming from Brent. <3 Breakfast in Fraz� As Mike Meyers said in \"So I Married an Axe Murderer\"... Campbell's Cup-O-Cino. Yes, that is my bowl of coffee! Nemo leads the way Le Chateau de Fraz� Thiron-Gardais - A gingerbread village Our route today took us through some great countryside. Farmland and forest punctuated by gingerbread villages that made me think of Margaret Anne Elliott all day. Castle at Fraz� The valley between La Gaudaine and Le Goulet We woo-hoo'ed down into the valley, and then had to climb back out. Brent powered up it, while Rhonda chose cross-training.
2015-05-12: La V�losc�nie to Mortagne-au-Perche
Most of our trip today was on a decomissioned rail bed, which meant we were in a beautiful green canopy most of the day, but saw pretty much nothing of the countryside and villages. I prefer the route on roads where we can check things out more - this was more of just a bypass day, which is disappointing. The trail was good, hard-packed pathway most of the way, but when we got within a couple of kilometers of Mortagne-au-Perche, there was a section, probably less than a km, which was washed out and extremely rough. We had to push through most of that section - we couldn't ride it - which was a disappointing slog at the end of the day.\n\n From the book it looks like most of tomorrow will be on the same rail trail, but then before we reach Alencon, we'll switch back to roads for a while.\n The trail doesn't take you all the way into the town of Mortagne-au-Perche - it bypasses it to the south. When we got there we realized why. The town was built on the tippy top of a steep hill. Of course we had to take our bikes all the way to said tippy top in order to find an info centre, and a map showing where our hotel is. The hotel is a little ways town from the tippy top, but not much. The hotel (Hotel du Tribunal) is, coincidentally, in the Logis line, which is the same as the place we stayed last night. It is great. It's very old, and first thing when we got there, they offered to put our bikes into the courtyard, which was fantastic. They have a bar and restaurant on premises as well. Another gear addition for today: A corkscrew. Stop outside of Nogent-le-Rotrou Mortagne-au-Perche
2015-05-13: La V�losc�nie to Alen�on
Map - Paris to Alen�on - our trip so far. The section from Maurepas to Chartres was by train. The rest has been cycling. Terrible experience trying to get into our Air BnB reservation. We went to the address, which said \"Flexible Arrival Time\". The building was locked. Our host only speaks French, but she had told me that she wouldn't be there, and that Sebastien would be there to check us in. I've been trying to reach her via phone, e-mail and text. She sent me Sebastien's phone number so I called him but he speaks no English, and he mumbles so we couldn't understand a word each other way saying. I kept asking him to open the door and he said he would. Brent walked down (we're at a restaurant nearby) and stood by the door. Sebastien insisted he was at the door, but I could see Brent, and there was no one else there. Finally a random guy came buy and helped make a phone call. Apparently Sebastien is at an address on a completely different street - an address that we were not given. Brent is, I think, with him right now getting things squared away. I hope so. We're almost out of cell phone credit, and laptop power. SHEESH! Most of our ride yesterday was on the old railbed (Greenway), which provided only limited scenery. Today was intended to be a lot more of the same, but La V�losc�nie is intersected by various local cycle trails, one of which provided a great diversion from the monotonous Greenway. At La Mesniere we left La V�losc�nie to follow local Boucle cyclable n8, La Mesniere - Le Mele-sur-Sarthe. It added about 10km to our ride for the day, which honestly, I really didn't need, but it was still enjoyable to get off the Greenway for a while. Greenway Not that this is unpleasant, but 60km in a row of it is monotonous. La Mesniere The start of our diversion from the greenway. Brent transports the garbage We had an apple core to dispose of. This was Brent's solution to carrying it until we could find a trash can. Back at the Greenway
2015-05-14: Rainy bike repair day in Alen�on *Ascension Day
The conclusion to our terrible experience. We were sent to an alternate property. That was in my messages, but I missed it because I was trying not to use up my limited free wifi. When we got to the alternate property, there was no wifi, and there were two cats on the premises. The house stunk of litter box and my lungs started closing up right away. I told him I couldn't stay there because of my allergies. In the end, he phoned the original host and she told him to bring us back to her property, which is a very nice little hostel-ey place, but was not ready to receive guests. It has sat all winter unused. There was a stink in the bathroom, no hot water, and, of course, no wifi. \n We had a fitful night there and then moved to Hotel le Normandie for tonight. It is better, cheaper, and has (limited... slow) wifi. \n Now that I have more wifi, I see that they received a review already along the same lines... bait-and-switch... instead of a studio, it is a flop-house room in a place which stinks of cat and is full of cat hair. If I'd had better wifi yesterday I would not have booked into this property. Very bad service. Here's a translation of the other review from this past March: \"the room made ??available is equivalent to a maid's room in the attic. No pane, no curtains , bedding deplorable , musty odor , cat urine and the presence of cat hair . A dirty bathroom and bad odor , a kitchen squatted by cats and fur ground . \" I will leave something similar when I'm able. Aside from avoiding riding in the rain, our main goal for today was to get some maintenance done on Brent's bike. Sadly, none of the velo stores are open today. Maybe they don't open when it rains? Maybe during off season they don't open, or don't open til afternoon? We'll try again a little later.\n Oops. It's Ascension Day. Who knew!? Except for everyone in France except us, that is... Notes at the time: \n\n We finally found the guy. He was at a different address. Brent went to talk with him while I manned the cellphone and email. \n\n Brent came to get me. We're supposed to stay at another address. A quick check of email confirms this. I'd missed it earlier because of the limited wifi at the last hotel. \n\n We go over to the other property and it is a flop house. The apartment is disgusting and the building has a cat box and cat condo in it (right outside our intended bedroom door) and strong odor of cat. I take a few moments to think about the predicament and wonder if I can stay in the building.\n\n The guy phoned the host and put me on the phone with her. She insists that the cats are only ever in the yard. The guy says no the listing says there are two cats on premises. I say no our reservation was for a different property with no cats. \n\n We use the translation app on his phone and I tell him I'm having an asthma reaction already to the cats. \n\n He makes another call to the host and then finally says that hell take us to another property with no cats.\n\n we follow him on his bike... right over to the original property. \n\n The room is better. It's a complete apartment. The building is essentially empty. We don't know why they didn't put us here in the first place.\n\nbrent speculstex tht thry are developers trying to turn a buck while they do renox. \n\ni think thryve jut done s bsit snd switch on us. msyne they dont wsnt english cutimerd\n\nwe sre here fir kne night. well move tomorroe to a diferent place. It's kind of funny being in France. When we get to other countries with other languages, the signage will just be completely unfamiliar, but in France, everything is familiar. Familiar enough that Brent and I keep catching ourselves looking for the \"other side\" (ie. flipping a package around in the grocery store) to find the English version. I have never used pay-as-you-go phones before, so we had a bit of an adventure trying to recharge our \nphone. The only instructions provided are in German, so that wasn't helpful. We tried to use the text code\nprovided, but Brent figured out after that that was to be used if you've already paid for a scratch card.\nOnce we got back on WiFi we visited their web site and successfully recharged that way. \n
2015-05-15: La V�losc�nie to Carrouges
Today we had every intention of going all the way from Alen�on to Bagnoles-de-l'Orne, about 55km. The first part of the day, to Carrouges, would be mostly uphill, and then the second part would be mostly downhill. The day was cool, and threatening to rain most of the time (it did rain a little bit). The \"climb\", though, was so up-and-down, by the time we reached Carrouges, I was really pooched. I was afraid that the \"downhill\" portion would be all up-and-down as well so I cried uncle and Brent and I stopped in Carrouges. The hotel was \"full\", but when I cried and begged, they magically found a room for us... ok, not really... but they did initially say they were full and then found a room when we promised to stay only one night. There's a great big three day cycle event going on in town starting tomorrow, so they need us to vamoose. I am soooooo grateful that they let us stay. I don't know that I would have been able to make it to Bagnoles-de-l'Orne. That is now our destination for tomorrow. I am really excited and happy that I am making noticeable progress in my strength. Day by day I am getting stronger. The hills I climbed today... well, I wouldn't have been able to do them last week. I didn't ride up all of them continuously, but although I stopped to rest several times, at no time today did I stop and push. I rode the whole friggin' thing. Uphill with a headwind. Yay me! I am still really disgusted with the experience with the Air BnB person in Alen�on. So far, Air BnB has been ok, but I'm finding that we can get hotels for the same price or even less, and with a hotel the experience is pretty consistent. We haven't encountered any Air BnB places that actually provide the nB. Only the B. Brent says they should call the web site AirB. Because there's never any nB. Alen�on Brent near the Tourist Info office in Alen�on. A great spot for breakfast before heading out for the tough cycling day. Chateau at Carrouges
2015-05-16: La V�losc�nie to Bagnoles-de-l'Orne
There was enough up and down today to make me glad that we didn't try to make it to Bagnoles-de-l'Orne yesterday, although we did reach the town extremely early. We walked around, had a meal, and saw the never-ending outdoor flea market. We saw lots of old lead figurines, a small, very old foosball table, a very large bottle of wine shaped like a musket, a \"L'oncle am�ricain\" game which was kind of Monopoly-esque, and a scary spikey bra. This evening we're going to walk up the hill and hopefully see the Sacre Coeur lit up for Pierres en Lumi�res dans l�Orne. Nemo has tried to escape several times. A couple of times Brent has had to go back to find him. Today, I wasn't sure we'd find him again, but Brent came through. Then he rigged up a safety pin connecting a couple of Nemo's fins together for me to rope the bungee cord through so that it doesn't happen again. We can't spend ALL of our time in Europe Finding Nemo! Nemo has tried to escape several times. A couple of times Brent has had to go back to find him. Today, I wasn't sure we'd find him again, but Brent came through. Then he rigged up a safety pin connecting a couple of Nemo's fins together for me to rope the bungee cord through so that it doesn't happen again. We can't spend ALL of our time in Europe Finding Nemo! My new favorite phrases:\n\n Ensuite, je dois d'autre choix que de vous torturer avec mon fran�ais.\n\n Je suis un humble canadienne avec une habilet� douteuse en fran�ais. J'ai faim. S'il vous pla�t me nourrir.\n\n S'il vous pla�t excusez mon fran�ais. J'ai utilis� toutes mes cellules du cerveau apprentissage de la g�om�trie.\n The Chateau at Carrouges Looks haunted in the mist and in black and white. Awesome way to start the day. Bagnoles-de-l'Orne The start of the never-ending flea market Flea Market Seriously, this flea market went on forever. We walked over 1.5km, well beyond the \"leaving town\" sign and the market showed no signs of ending, so we finally turned back.
2015-05-17: La V�losc�nie to Mortain
We left Bagnoles this morning with some uncertainty about where we'd stop for the night. Domfront was too soon, \nMortain was a good distance, except it was a few km off our main trail, and likely to be on the tippy top of\na mountain. St-Hilaire seemed too far. We ended up opting for Mortain, but trying to find our way into \ntown efficiently proved to be a chore. We took a cycle trail that looked like it went into town, when, in fact,\nit bypasses town on the wrong side of a gorge. We got some directions from a verbose French man who spoke\nno English at all and figured we had an idea. We kept going along the trail and ended up at Le Neufbourg.\nThere was a map there so we had a look and figured we might know where to find the campground, so we set off\nalong a road back toward Mortain. Brent thought the campground was down a 20% grade hill, but I wasn't \nconvinced. He went down the hill and didn't find a campground, so he came back up. I suggested going into\nMortain which was a left-hand turn at that point. We did that and ultimately found the campground. It's\nright in town, but still pretty nice. It cost 8E for the night, and included full washroom facilities and\na short hike to Petite Cascades, which has two steep entrances - one from the campground side and one from\nthe side where Brent went down the hill. We ended up cycling 57km today, which was lots. My rig Brent and his rig Campsite in Mortain Petite Cascades at Mortain
2015-05-18: La V�losc�nie to Ducey
We went to bed last night while the sun was still up. We were in the tent and it was so warm that neither of us could conceive of having to get into our sleeping bags. During the night that changed... boy did it change. We woke up cold and we've been cold pretty much all day. We rode only as far as Ducey. It was cold, at times drizzly, and sometimes windy. I was weak and wimpy from the big cycling day yesterday. The forecast for the next couple of days looks even rainier. Ugh. The more tired I am, the less I feel like speaking French. I am completely exhausted right now. I don't remember ever being this tired before. Wow! Note from Brent: Our campsite was practically in the middle of town and I thought that there would be lots of light for us to find our way around the campground after dark but, no. I'd forgotten that European cities don't leave the lights burning all night as North American cities do. (Quite wise, really). After dark the sky was a blaze of stars, very pretty without light pollution to interfere. Note from Brent: Getting back to Mortain; it isn't really on the Veloscenie route but the route passes nearby. We were getting near the end of a longish day of riding and Mortain was shown on the map as having good facilities and being only about 3 Km off the rail-trail so we turned and started to climb.\nBut first a bit about topography:\nThe land that we have been travelling through since leaving Paris has been mostly rolling farm land crossed by hundreds of slow-moving streams. We cross at least 20 every day and I have been at a bit of a loss as to where all of the water is coming from. The land is very green and reminds me most of the lower Fraser Valley. The streams are mostly small (1 or 2 feet wide) to medium (8 or 12 feet) and flow along nicely from low hills, but until today we really hadn't seen any rain since we left Paris.\nMortian is on a sizable hill, and quite steep. The map we have shows a cycle route going passed the town then looping around behind and coming in from the opposite side. Unfortunately it's not very detailed. We met a nice lady who didn't speak much English and managed to get her to understand that we were looking for a camp site. She stood silently for 2 or 3 minutes, I could see her brain working. She gave us a couple of sentences in pretty good English that helped us along our way. I think it was all of the English that she could muster.\nA bit later, when the bike trail diverged from the roadway, and our map showed one direction while the road sign showed another, we met a man who spoke no English at all. He was more than happy to talk to us and talk to us and talk to us. However he did eventually point in the direction of the bike trail as being the right way to go to Mortain.\nWe passed through Romagny, which is really only about a kilometre from Mortain and biked about 3 K's to town. The 2 towns are on opposite sides of a very steep gorge and although there is a road that links them, few people are stupid enough to try it on a bike. I saw one sign advertising a 20% grade. Note from Brent: Directly below the campsite are Le Grande Cascade and Le Petit Cascade. Rhonda and I walked down the steep path to check them out. Le Grande Cascade is on the larger of two creeks that come together in the gorge. The creek is only about 6 feet wide and was dammed at one time to provide a mill-pond for some sort of factory. The stone- and earth-works are still there, as are portions of the flood gates, but the system is no longer used and much of the mill-pond looks to have been silted in and grown over.\nAbout 30 feet down stream from the dam the smaller stream joins in. It's small enough to step across but Oh So Magical. There is a tiny dale surrounded by towering stone cliffs. Walk up stream about 100 feet and and the steam curves, there are a series of waterfalls, stone cliffs covered with flowering plants. All so different from the rolling farm land that we've been travelling through and so tiny that Rhonda and I both thought that it looked more like a movie set than something real and living.\nThat little unexpected view of Le Petit Cascade made the side trip worth it. Everything else was a happy extra.\n Coffee We make our first cup of coffee with our BioLite camp stove.
2015-05-19: La V�losc�nie to Beauvoir
I miss my rug bread! Brent and I have not bought Volkenbrot at home, but since we found it in Iceland we've been buying it and having it pretty much every day. A few days ago, we stopped being able to find it. We think we've just gone too far west (away from Germany). We've left the Volkenbrot coverage area! I'm looking forward to heading east again and finding some more. Thankfully we didn't get thundershowers today like they were calling for, but I did climb the neverending 25km wind hill from Ducey to Beauvoir. It was supposed to be longer thsn that, but at one point, during the never ending wind hill, there was a sign for Mont St Michel for cars, this way, 9km, and a sign for Mont St Michel for bikes, that way, 18km, so, being the savvy cyclist that I am, I suggested taking the car route and shaving 10km off the wind hill. I'm sure the bike route would have been more scenic, but at that point I really didn't care. As soon as we got to town, a wind and rain storm blew in, but it only lasted about an hour. \n Seeing Mont St Michel from a distance is quite the sight. The coastal countryside is very very flat plain, and for miles around you can see the Mont jutting up into the sky. We're both really excited about going there tomorrow to check it out up close.\n\n We had to kill some time before we could check into our B&B so we had a glass of wine, adjusted our plan for the upcoming couple weeks, and went to Alligator Bay to see all the reptiles.\n Almost without exception we have been having great experiences with the people of France. I haven't found anyone to be rude, in fact, everyone is so friendly and nice that I can't really imagine where the rudeness reputation came from. Even the \"exceptions\" aren't awful... just \"less nice\". I am really liking it here, and the people are one of the main things that make it enjoyable. Yay for France!\n Map of first leg of trip: Paris to Beauvoir (near Mont St. Michel) Bundled up to climb the wind hill First glimpse of Mont St. Michel Obligatory tourist pic at Alligator Bay
2015-05-20: Visit Mt-st-Michel and stay in Pontorson
We stayed in a BnB last night - the first \"real\" BnB (ie. not a \"just B\" through AirBnB) and it was great. The room was small, but nice and comfortable. The highlight, though, was the breakfast. In addition to some fruit, yogurt and cheese, our host had wonderful homemade pastries, and homemade jams and marmalade (I particularly enjoyed the rhubarb). After we left the BnB we rode the \"wrong\" direction from Beauvoir to Pontorson to take care of some business before visiting Mont St. Michel. We left our baggage at our hotel then went and bought our train tickets to Nantes before riding out to Mont St. Michel. OH MY GOD riding my bike without all the baggage is amazing. It feels like riding a feather! Mont St. Michel was really interesting. We left our velos at the near end of the causeway and took a free shuttle bus over to the island. The island apparently is only still and island because the people diligently scoop out the silt deposited by the over-enthusiastic river that empties into the ocean right in front of the island. We walked all around the Mont. It was full of little restaurants and shops along the bottom, but then just really interesting history and scenery above. Today wasn't a particularly strenuously day. 20 or so easy km on unburdened velos. So, at dinner time (in France, restaurants don't even open until 7PM), Brent and I set out in search of some lighter sustenance. There was a place around the corner that had snacky things posted on their menu. We circled the block and looked at a few other places and Brent decided he'd like the snacky place (said it was slummy enough for him). I think he may have been slightly traumatized by a couple of the fancier dinners we'd had to contend with lately (we won't say anything about him throwing his wine at me the one night). So, we went back to the snacky place, which was called Le Train Bleu. They had an extensive drink menu, and a small, hand-written food menu. We ordered drinks, looked at the food menu, and I asked if they were serving. Our server said that they were changing their menu, and she ran to get a big poster with pictures of the food items offered. There were three things on offer, a lasagna, mac and cheese, and something else. Brent ordered the lasagna and I ordered the mac and cheese. After the server left, Brent joked that the meals may be TV Dinners. Annnnnnd... life imitates art (and sometimes Brent's jokes). Several minutes later, our meals arrived, in their cardboard containers, with bits of plastic cover still stuck to the top of the cardboard containers. It was awesome. Who would have ever thought that such a thing existed... in France! The Train Bleu was playing the standard (for France) radio station filled with bad covers of old English pop tunes and had tonnes of posters up on the wall of live music acts they'd had play there. The most recent looked to be from 2012, but a lot of the posters didn't have years on them, so maybe some were more recent. In the back there was a pool table, which, oddly, seemed to be a pretty much normal-proportioned pool table, only smaller (including the balls). We finished our experience with a very poorly played game of pool and a good time was had by all. Something I'm finding really interesting is that, in spite of how hard I'm working each day, and how tired I feel, I actually have way more energy already than I did before the trip. Before the trip I was crashing early every evening, and sometimes taking afternoon naps. None of that for me anymore. Now I would struggle to go to sleep before 10:00 and I'm waking up by 6:00. A nice, solid 8 hours. Before the trip I felt like a wreck if I didn't get at least 9 hours. I've known that I've been depressed living in Edmonton for a while now, and I can't wait to move away from there... it's interesting to feel the depression start to lift for real (and not just in an \"ok, I'm not going to be depressed anymore\", mind-over-matter unrealistic way). Mont St. Michel Mud flats from Mont St. Michel You can see here how much silt is deposited by the river and the guys working to remove the silt so that the island stays an island. On Mont St. Michel A narrow street on Mont St. Michel
2015-05-21: To Nantes
We had a smooth train trip from Pontorson to Nantes via Rennes today. Bikes are allowed on the regional trains without being packed up (on the bullet trains, bikes need to be packed up). You just have to be careful to get on the right car... the right car has a bike icon on the door, which indicates there's a space on that car for bikes. The trains run faithfully on time and you don't have long to get on - the train pulls in, you leap on, and away you go. So, it can be a little stressful to watch for the train (which isn't always anywhere near as long as the platform), then figure out which end of the train has the bike icon, then get to that door, and pile on.\n On the first leg of the journey, we kept the bikes on the floor and Brent held them in place. On the second leg, there was no room for them on the floor and we had to hang them up. It was kind of an ordeal to get them vertical and get the tires looped through the hooks. We thought it would be worse getting them down, but it was actually easier. \n Another interesting aspect was dealing with the elevators to get them up and down from the various platforms at the stations. At Rennes, there were \"walkways\" from one train platform to another, which looked like they'd be real easy to just walk the bikes over the tracks from one platform to another, but of course, the public wasn't allowed to use the walkways (with trains coming in from different directions). So, we had to go up to the main level, then back down to another platform. They only give you 20 minutes notice as to what platform your train will be on, so we had to make sure we were ready to get the bikes up to main then back down to the next platform. We had considered just staying on our arrival platform (1&2) in hopes that we wouldn't have to move platforms (there were three other platforms), but with only 20 minutes, and busy elevators to share, we decided to take the bikes up to main right away. Dewey fit into an elevator sort of turned in on himself, but sitting on the ground. Brent had to raise The Tank up onto his rear wheel to get him to fit into the elevator. We did end up having to switch platforms anyway, so it was a good decision. When we got to Nantes, the elevator wasn't an option. Brent pushed The Tank up the ramp. I wanted to take the lift, but the door wouldn't close properly so I ended up having to push up the ramp as well. Pontorson to Rennes Leg one of the train journey. The velos stay on the ground level of the train and Brent holds them in place. Rennes to Nantes The velos get hung up in the proper velo place. It was hard getting them up there with the heavy gear on them, and we thought it would be worse getting them down, but it was actually easier.
2015-05-22: Day in Nantes
My first 'craving' to report for Lana: English movies and French music. We have been to a lot of pubs and brasseries which all seem to be playing the same radio station, with a theme of 'bad covers of English hits'. Brent has speculated that it may have something to do with differences in copyright. I hate it. Not only are the covers bad, but they're all songs that I was finished with years ago. I want to hear something new, and I would like it to be in French. I have always enjoyed trying to decipher French lyrics. Last night, in Nantes, we walked past an enormous theatre with something like 24 screens and I started hankering to go to a movie, but I really didn't care to see one in French. The Nantes tourist information book provides a number of walking tours indicated in the city by green lines painted on the ground. We walked a couple of \"green lines\" today - the one for Isle de Nantes Quarter (where we saw Le Grand Elephant), and the one for the Bouffay Quarter (where we saw the Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne and the Jardin des Plantes. A highlight for us, which isn't part of the tourist book was an apartment that was covered in gardens - on every balcony and on the roof.\n One thing we saw while walking around Nantes today that was really cool was a building that had a bunch of strips of metal \"art\" encasing it. As we passed the building, we noticed a continuous metallic chirping sound that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere, and realized that it was the holes in the strips of \"art\" that were making the chirping. \n Once again we were unsuccessful at getting Brent's bike serviced. The first time, in Alencon, we didn't realize it was a national holiday on the day we tried and all the velo stores were closed. This time we found some open velo stores, but they're booked solid for the next couple of weeks, so Brent just bought some grease and has decided to do his own bike maintenance as the spirit moves him on our journey.\n Le Grand Elephant Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne
2015-05-23: Loire � V�lo / EuroVelo 6 to Ancenis
Map of our intended Loire Valley route Cycling east from Nantes has proven to be extremely easy so far in comparison to the trip in the l'Eure river valley (La V�losc�nie route). It's flat, well marked and the trail surfaces are great. We could see the 14th century tower of the Ch�teau d'Oudon (in Oudon) from several kilometers back. After a cafe au lait stop at Restaurant Le Port du Moulin in Champtoceaux we detoured over there to have a look. As I had sort of expected, we ended up in Ancenis for the night where we're camping at \"Camping de l��le Mouchet\". Cycling in Ancenis itself has proven to be less easy. It is the same kind of France tight narrow streets going in all directions that we've gotten used to, but just about every street is a one-way (going the opposite way of where we want to go), and bikes aren't allowed to go the \"wrong way\" here like they have been everywhere else. We went the wrong way down a one-way and got stopped by the cops. One officer was giving me heck, but I didn't understand what he was saying so I asked him if he spoke English. He replied \"oui\", but kept lecturing me in Francais! Hehheh. Oh my. View from Restaurant Le Port du Moulin The Ch�teau d'Ancenis
2015-05-24: Loire � V�lo / EuroVelo 6 to la Possonniere
Last night we stayed at a really nice campground that was quite tranquil... until... the hoard of wedding revelers from the hall next door decided they were all too drunk to drive home and descended on the campground at around 3:00 or 4:00AM. Ugh. Thank goodness for ear plugs. A high point for me at breakfast was seeing the guy who camped out in his suit. There's nothing worse than getting drunk, sleeping out, and waking up the next day in your suit. Hehehe. The awesome thing about our campground is that we met Maryvonne and Valerie from Les Sables D'Olonne. Maryvonne is an experienced cycle tourist and she set up a long weekend cycle tour for Valerie's son who was celebrating his 16th birthday. Such great people and I got my first \"French style hug\" from Maryvonne. Yay! As we cycled today, we \"leap frogged\" them several times as we all cycle at about the same pace. Hopefully they'll come visit us in Canada some day and we can take them cycling in the Kettle Valley Rail Trail. Today was another easy day of cycling. Kilometers and kilometers along very flat dikes. My favorite part was cycling on Ile de Chalonnes. \n We're camping out tonight at Camping Du Port in la Possonniere where we met Mark from the Netherlands. He is touring France as an alternate to Ireland which proved to be too windy for a tour right now. It worked out well for him since his folks are camping in the south of France, so he will tour down to where they are and then catch a lift back home with them. Valerie's son, Maryvonne and Valerie Our friends from Les Sables D'Olonne celebrating Valerie's son's 16th birthday with a cycle tour on the Loire. The bicycles exploded in our camp site
2015-05-25: Loire � V�lo / EuroVelo 6 to St. Mathurin-sur-Loire *Whit Monday
We got a bit of an early start this morning when it started drizzling shortly after we woke up. We packed up quickly and got on the road. We got drizzled on a little bit but it turned out to be a great day for riding - beautiful weather.\n We took a detour at Ste-Gemmes-sur-Loire to find a grocery store before it closed (short hours on Mondays). We're having to plan around the business hours for Sundays and Mondays... there have been a couple of times we've run dangerously short on food and nothing is open. After we found the grocery store we had another detour near les-Ponts-de-Ce. We had gone a ways on the main road to find the grocery and then had to figure out where we were and how to get back on the velo path. We missed a small bridge and ended up on a greenway that we thought was \"the\" velo path but turned out to be just \"a\" velo path. We were a few hundred meters north of our path... on the wrong side of a body of water. With a little back tracking and sleuthing, we managed to find out way back onto the path. We're camped tonight at Camping Port La Vallee in St-Mathurin-sur-Loire. It's our third night in a row camping, and our second night in a row without WiFi. We've decided to camp as much as possible for the next little while. We probably won't have our tent in the UK, and after we return it may be too stinkin' hot for camping so now is our camping sweet spot.\n Thankfully we survived the May long weekend in France. I was quite disappointed the last couple of nights with the long weekend celebrations... folks in France have absolutely no more class than Canadians. Drunken debauchery until 4AM both nights, and last night was even complete with a late-60s Ford Mustang being revved at 4AM by the enthusiastic inebriated owner. This morning we cycled through a park that had garbage and empties strewn about everywhere and spilling out of the trash cans. Who would have guessed.\n For the first couple weeks of this trip I wondered why I had lugged the ukulele along. I never had the inclination to play it - it was just extra stuff to worry about... not that it's heavy, but inconvenient because I was always worried about it getting squished. At about week three, the urge to uke returned and I've been happily uking at least once a day. It's good. At last night's campground, Brent caught a camper from a few doors down singing along while we played and sang Hallelujah. Awesome.\n The backpacking wine carafe. I had stricken it from the list of gear to bring. Brent brought it along anyway. That's why Brent is the smart one.\n Touring France a la Brent Note the beloved EBTC squish bottle sharing space with the cherished wine Brent enjoys the grapes of his labors Note the fancy wine glass. Brent didn't bring a drinking vessel so we picked him up a nice multi-purpose Tupperware. This may be his Favorite purpose... or it could be the coffee purpose...
2015-05-26: Loire � V�lo / EuroVelo 6 to Saumur
Brent's butt has disappeared. We might have to rig him up some suspenders because his belt is completely useless now. Either that or he's going to have to start walking like a gangster to keep his pants up. Not that he had much of a butt to begin with, but now there's nothing left to hold up his pants. I have lost a little weight, but my butt certainly hasn't disappeared! Brent and I are tag-teaming on the French conversations. It's awesome. He remembers and recognizes different words than I do. He's also better at listening and understanding than I am. Most of the time when one of us understands what is being said, the other has no idea. So, I can respond half the time and he responds the other half, and together we approximate one person who can bumble along in the language.\n The terrain was a lot bumpier today than what we've had the last three days. Oh well... I knew the flat couldn't last. Oh my legs!\n When we were staying in Paris with Pierre, he asked why we put flags on our bikes. He said that Canadians were the only people he knew who did that. I said that it was an invitation to conversation. He said that others told him it was so that we wouldn't be mistaken for Americans. I said that was part of it too. Well, my own answer has certainly proven out. We have been greeted and stopped for conversation so many times I can't count. I wonder if people from other countries started doing it if they would be stopped more for conversation as well, or if it's just that people are that amazed that folks would show up from Canada to cycle here. In any case, I'm really glad we have our flags - they really are a great invitation for conversation and lots of folks take us up on the invitation!\n Brent and I have been missing having picnic tables and fire pits at the campgrounds in France. The first time or two I thought it was just one of those things, but consistently, our campsites have been table and fire-pit-less. Last night we were camped near some Brits and in our conversation I mentioned that we're missing those things. They seemed genuinely surprised that Canadian campgrounds provided tables and fire pits at essentially every single camp site. Apparently that just isn't done here. Huh. Too bad.\n Today we decided to stop in Saumur to stay in a hotel with a proper bed, private bath, WiFi and nearby laundromat. We are staying in H�tel Anne D'Anjou in Saumur, in a room overlooking the Loire. It's beautiful! On our way into town, I decided that we should follow the signs into town rather than staying along the velo route. After going down a few little confusing streets, we stopped and I was collecting my thoughts when we were approached by a French couple who spoke very good English and spent several minutes talking to us and explaining some of the history of the town. They were very enthusiastic and it made me very enthusiastic. They live across from a B&B which, unfortunately, is closed for some maintenance right now - they very enthusiastically recommended it. They recommended another B&B next door to the hotel we're in, but B&Bs open later, and we didn't want to wait around for check-in... we want to go walk-about in search of sights and the laundromat. Cycling toward Saumur Cycling toward Saumur Square in Saumur where we had dinner
2015-05-27: Loire � V�lo / EuroVelo 6 to Chinon
When we stayed in the hotel last night I almost couldn't stand to be in the room, and I didn't want to try to sleep there. I had to swing the windows wide open in order to sleep. I'm losing my taste for being indoors! I need to be camping!\n Today was NOT a fast moving day. We had a cafe-au-lait stop first, then breakfast, then more cafe-au-lait before we even made it out of Saumur. We finally got underway and then the trail took us into Souzay-Champigny, a crazy crazy town built into the caves east of Saumur. Brent and I took forever going through them, and when we were finally done, we climbed a hill into vinyards as far as you can see, which we also had to spend a lot of time appreciating. Once out of the vinyards we had to stop for ice cream at Parnay. We still hadn't gone 15km and the day was half over. After that we started making better time and actually finished our 41km to reach Chinon. \n We bought some Munster cheese yesterday. Man is it tasty, but it smells like ripe feet, so after we're finished eating some, my fingers smell like feet and Brent's beard smells like feet. Charming.\n We decided to take a detour off of the Loire a Velo route (velo trail 38) and stay in Chinon along la Vienne river (instead of Loire) tonight because it looked like nothing but teeny tiny towns at approximately \"Rhonda stops for the night\" kilometers on the real route. We're camped at Camping de l'ile Auger. \n We often eat dinner out, but we're making good use of the plentiful groceries for our other meals - breakfast, second breakfast, and sometimes lunch. Our mainstays are yogurt (preferably Danio), rug bread (aka Volkenbrot), fruit, cheese, pre-fab crepes, pre-fab chicken breasts (packed in jelly which is, oddly enough, not offending me) and chocolate (Milka bars, please). Our campsite for tonight is the first one which has provided us with a picnic table. They have a special area for velos and hikers. Yay!\n\n Our spoons Little collapsible spoons that came with yogurts in Iceland. We saved them and they have become essential gear. We use them multiple times per day to eat yogurts, cut cheese, etc. Cave town of Souzay-Champigny In the cave town Vinyards Brent does the vinyard happy dance Poplar fluff Brent in a very \"poplar\" spot along the trail Poppies There are poppies everywhere here - sometimes just a few \"weeds\" in a farmer's field, or, in some cases, a whole field like this.
2015-05-28: Loire � V�lo / EuroVelo 6 to Savenni�res
This was another real slow-start day. It was cold when we woke up, so we layed around for a while, then had breakfast at camp. We were going to leave our gear at the site to dry off and go into town for cafe au lait, but it started to look like rain, so we turned back to pack up. We packed up and headed into town, as the weather warmed back up. We had our cafe, had a quick look at Forteresse Ville Haute and then decided it was time to go. We weren't sure where the route was - the side routes are not as well marked as the official Loire route, but we thought for sure it couldn't possibly be the route that winds through town, up the free elevator to the fortress, and then up more hill from there. Turns out we were wrong. Brent says \"when you have the option of taking the elevator on the velo route... take the elevator!\" We ended up going the long way around on the highway, including one of the most evil climbs we've done on this trip. After we finished that, we had some undulations to make it to Huismes where we had lunch, and then beers with a couple from New Zealand before returning to the Loire velo route. We are staying tonight in Camping de la Confluence in Savenni�res which is a nice enough campground, but the dryer is broken so we decided against doing a laundry, and the WiFi is working for the attendant but not for me. I had a shower when we got to the campground and discovered that my dreaded saddle sore is starting to develop again. I'm glad I brought some moleskin along specifically for saddle sore management. Hopefully it won't affect the trip too much. Grocery stores here do not give out free bags - you're expected to have your own bags. They do sell bags at checkouts and we have our bag that we use each time - we're event remembering to bring out bag in with us each time. I finally saw another bike with a flag on it today - a France flag. I am curious to know if he will experience it as an invitation to conversation like I've found with the Canadian flag.\n And just like that - there it was. My first squat toilet. And just like that - there it was. My first squat toilet trauma. Just before we reached Savonnieres today we rode on about 500m of cobblestone. 500m doesn't sound like much, but trust me. 500m of cobblestone is a freakin' lot of cobblestone. I can't imagine how the Tour de France guys do it. One thing I love about restaurants in France is that they offer \"menus\". they have prices for all of their appetizers, main courses and desserts, but if you order them together, you get a price cut. They offer \"menu\" prices for appetizer plus main, main plus dessert, and appetizer plus main plus dessert. It's brilliant. Another thing to like about French restaurants... they use old wine bottles to bring water to the table. You don't have to ask for water... they automatically bring a glass for everyone, and a lovely old wine bottle full of water for the table. In the rural areas, a neat thing is that people greet each other all the time... including when they enter a restaurant. I've seen lots of situations where people entering a restaurant greet everyone who's already IN the restaurant when they come in (including us, so it's not just because they know everyone). Something I discovered before leaving Canada is that it's not necessarily a good thing to have a \"good\" accent in a language you don't really speak. I went to Sushi Boat a few weeks before we left, and our Japanese server said something to us. Her accent was so good that I assumed she spoke English and launched into a bunch of questions for her. Her response was a \"deer in the headlights\" stare. I realized that she didn't really speak English at all... but the little bit that she did speak, she spoke with a really good accent. Aha, I thought, I don't want to speak with too good of an accent any place in Europe lest I be mistaken for someone who can actually speak the language. As Brent and I spend more time in France, both of us are developing a decent \"accent\" for the few things we know how to say, and we are, indeed, experiencing the same phenomenon... people hear us say \"bonjour\" and assume that we can actually speak French, and then we have to apologize and explain that... we don't. When we had our beers with the Kiwis the lady mentioned that she'd been to France once a long time ago and people then were very rude and dismissive, but now everyone is nice and friendly. That explains why I've had such pleasant experiences here - things have changed for the better! Yay! Near the fortress Cool blooming river weeds Velo Velo!
2015-05-29: Loire � V�lo / EuroVelo 6 to Amboise
Cycle touring in France is awesome. I can't believe how different it is from cycling in Canada and Australia. There's no fear of the traffic - there's no need. There are roads to avoid, but they're easy to avoid and so many great alternatives. The drivers are courteous... almost to a fault... it's kind of freaky. Cycle touring without the fear is, well... AWESOME! I am finally experiencing the joy of cycle touring. We got an early/fast start today because of some morning drizzle. We had 17km behind us by the time we reached Tours, and before we had our first caf� au lait. Then, we had a long layover in Tours as we finally got the chain replaced on Brent's bike... something we'd failed to do a couple weeks ago. Then, with the help of a strong tail wind, we made the remaining 30km to Amboise in record time. While we were walking in Tours today, we saw something I've never seen before. Brent and I have been speculating about how people would move furniture in and out of some of the apartments around here with their impossibly tight narrow staircases (and no elevators). Today we saw a moving truck with a freakishly long ladder up to the top apartment with an electric lift on it with a mattress that they were moving. I was slightly perturbed with the city of Tours for putting their weekend market right on the EuroVelo route. I mean right ON the EuroVelo route so we couldn't ride on the route - it was blocked off for the market. We had to detour around, and although it was a short detour, it had a lot going on at once for us to navigate. When we were walking around Tours waiting for the \n\nwork on Brent's bike to be done, a young couple stopped us. The young man \n\nrecognized us from PARIS! We had been standing on Rue Jean Juares with a map \n\nin our hands feeling lost, when he had come over and offered us directions. \n\nHe had traveled down to Tours, and recognized us thanks to the flags and \n\nBrent's beard. We had a nice \"reunion\" chat with him. How crazy is that!? \n\nAnother reason to love the flags. New tires I got new tires in Tours (you can see them hanging over my back pannier) and had to ride with them all the way to Amboise. They caused relatively little trouble. Brent is going to put them on for me tomorrow. Brent's souvenir Brent got himself a Loire Velo bandana for his head. Cool!
2015-05-30: Rest day in Amboise
Our plan for today was: caf� au lait, Amboise Chateau Royal, check out of the hotel, put on my new tires, then cycle to Blois. I took the plan sideways at the last minute, though, and requested a rest day to give my right foot a day off. It has been a little sore for a few days but the last couple days it has gotten quite bad. I've had problems with it since I was 21 and had a ganglion removed from the top when I was about 28. There's some kind of structural weakness in there, though, and now and then I get pain and/or a return of the ganglion. The last couple days it's been swollen on the top (the site of the structural weakness) and I think it's best if I take a day off from cycling. Brent, ever patient, is right on board. Love that guy. We're having a rest day today, mostly so I can rest my foot. It also doesn't hurt for Bob the Bubon (aka my saddle sore) to have a day off from being in the saddle. I took the opportunity to update DAMDetails for the remainder of our trip, given the Schengen Area issues. I changed the day titles on about 75 calendar days, and moved all of the no-longer-relevant research items to my \"Planning and Prep\" placeholder date (April 30th). Then I had a little weep about it all. Stripping all that out really made it hit home for me how much I've researched and dreamed about certain places and things that I'm not going to get to do now (at least not on this trip). I'm heartbroken. Brent has restricted himself to paying admission to only one castle per country while we're on this trip (unless something completely awesome comes up, of course). Today we paid to go into Ch�teau d'Amboise, which is very impressive. One thing that surprised us was that the St. Hubert Chapel is the burial place of Leonardo da Vinci, who was close to King Francois 1st. Today Brent suggested having our \"dep lunch\" (purchased at the D�panneur, a French-Canadian word, not used in France except for Brent and me) with wine out on the bench overlooking the Loire. I googled it, and drinking in public is legal in France, so we did! Viva la France! We've had to get used to the \"standard\" beer size here, which is 25cl (a glass). They seem so SMALL! Today we were asked if we wanted the 24cl or the 50cl, so I thought, hey, let's have an actual PINT like at home, so we ordered the 50cl, and they look freakishly enormous! Funny how quickly perspective can change. From Brent: Before starting this trip I had the thought that my bike was getting pretty old and at the end, rather than going to the trouble of packing The Tank up for return shipment, I would just abandon it somewhere in Europe. But sometime in week 2 of riding it all seemed to become so natural once again. Like The Tank is part of me, growing out of my butt. So I'm now considering bringing The Tank home...if it's not too much hassle. From Brent: Did I mention that I'm managing to stumble by in French? I had given myself 3 weeks to accomplish this and we're getting to 3 weeks of riding now. It seems that I can now 1) order and pay in a restaurant, 2) check in to a hatel or campground and 3) carry on basic chat about cycle routes. And when you're cycle touring that's about all you need. Seven days of cycling in a row is too damned much. I'm a wreck today, and oh so glad I asked for a rest day. Ch�teau d'Amboise and the town below Ch�teau d'Amboise What you can't tell from this photo is that this is one small part of the greater castle which takes up the ENTIRE HILL above the town of Amboise. Crazy! Looking down from Ch�teau d'Amboise New tires for Dewey Dewey gets new tires by the Loire. Lucky, lucky Dewey.
2015-05-31: Loire � V�lo / EuroVelo 6 to Blois
I checked the forecast before we left this morning and it looks like it's \n\ncalling for some cooler temps for the next few days and a shower later today. \n\n We flew down the trail, rockin' the tailwind, all the way to Blois. About a \n\nhalf hour before we got to Blois, the rain started. It never got bad enough \n\nto be really miserable, but it was enough to make us check into the first \n\nhotel we saw in Blois. Just as we got there we ran into a girl from \n\nMinnesota who is just starting her tour and riding westward. She was \n\nplanning to go to Ambois yet today - covering the 45km that we did today, but \n\nin a strong headwind and rain. YIKES!\n At Chaumont-sur-Loire, we ended up having the cycle trail blocked by a flea \n\nmarketey market. We walked through it - it was only a couple blocks long. \n\nWhen we got to the end, there was a velo route sign pointing us to turn \n\nright, toward Chateau de Chaumont. We dutifully followed the sign and \n\nstarted climbing an evil, evil hill. Partway up there was an elderly couple \n\nwalking down the hill and we started chatting with them. We told them we \n\nwere headed for Blois and they started vehemently protesting that we were \n\ngoing the wrong direction. I, just as vehemently, insisted that the sign had \n\npointed us this way so there must be a velo route that dekes in and out a \n\nbit. Finally Brent pulled out the map and confirmed that we were NOT \n\nsupposed to be headed toward Chateau de Chaumont - that is an alternate route \n\n(with an evil hill). After all of my arguing, it took a couple minutes for \n\nme to convince the people that they'd finally gotten through to me, and we \n\nwere going to turn around and go back to the proper route. When we got back \n\ndown to where the market was, there was a sign that the velo route continued \n\nalong the same way beyond the market... the road to the Chateau was a \n\ncomplete red herring. Oops. We definitely toasted the old couple when we \n\nreached first beer!!\n\n The great thing about it is that the whole conversation took place in French - they didn't speak a word of English. There was one time, though, that the old lady gestured up the hill and said something about \"mort\" so I asked her if she said the hill would kill me and she laughed and said yes. May 31st. Today is the day that Karen and Ed are in Frankfurt. I'm \n\ndisappointed that we didn't get to see them, but not disappointed to be \n\nspending extra time in France. Did I mention that I LOVE France? Man, do I \n\nlove France! I can't believe it's the last day of our fist month of \n\nvacation. Only five more months to go. It's flying past, but when I look \n\nthrough our pictures I can't help thinking how much we've seen and \n\nexperienced so far. Fantastic. I definitely recommend touring with a flag... especially when you're a long \n\nway from home. This morning while Brent and I were enjoying our first cafe-\n\nau-lait, we watched a guy come by and take several photos of our bikes. We \n\nweren't sure what the attraction was, so when he finally wandered past us, we \n\nasked. He lives down the road, and likes to come to Ambois to see the \n\ntourists and he was drawn to our bikes because of the flags. He was very \n\nexcited about how far we'd come to be there. Pretty much all the clothing I brought along was chosen for utility. I'm extremely happy with just about everything I brought, but I was tired of the brown/multi-colored sweater before we even left. Honestly, I didn't expect to use it much, and when I did, I thought I'd be using it under my shell. I thought it would be warmer here and I wouldn't use a sweater, but I'm using it ALL THE TIME. It is loose, misshapen, and just plain hideous. I don't have another sweater that I would have brought instead, but maybe I would have tried to find something new so that I wasn't walking around in this frumpy hideousness ALL THE BLOODY TIME! Oh well. OK, whinge over.
2015-06-01: Loire � V�lo / EuroVelo 6 to Beaugency
A short day of riding today and we were in Beaugency. We found the campground easily, set up camp, enjoyed a set-up wine, and went into town to snoop around. Since it is Monday, nothing is open. So, we were out of things to do too early and... sat around and got drunk while we were waiting for restaurants to open. Ugh. Several months ago, my friend Bridget told me about Immune 7 (an immune booster that you can buy at health food stores). I have a healthy skepticism for such things having lived through the Echinacea and Cold FX crazes knowing that they didn't work for me (and, subsequently learning that they don't actually work at all). Bridget also has a healthy skepticism for such things, but she was convinced that it works, so I agreed to give the stuff a try. Before we left on holidays, it had been a really long time since I'd had a cold or flu... about the same amount of time as it had been since I started faithfully taking Immune 7. I have continued taking it faithfully on this trip, and it really does seem to be working! I haven't been sick at all, even though traveling, camping, eating a strange diet, and so on, are my usual \"get sick\" triggers. Yay for Immune 7! A good part of our ride today was heading in the direction of the Centrale Electrique de St-Laurent-des-Eaux. Its prominent feature, visible for kilometers, is two nuclear power plant cooling stacks. Brent gave me a tutorial on which direction we should flee if the sirens started going off. Centrale Electrique de St-Laurent-des-Eaux nuclear power plant cooling stacks Set-up wine
2015-06-02: Loire � V�lo / EuroVelo 6 to Orleans
Another easy day of cycling coupled with a fierce tailwind. WOO HOO! We've booked train tickets to Strasbourg for tomorrow. The Orleans gare is very nice for velos - all the platforms are on one level and easily accessible - no elevators or nonsense to go through. We have to connect in Paris, switching not only trains, but also stations, which is a little tough/stressful. We'll see how that goes. In the gare they had device charging stations... hooked up to stationary bikes. There was a young woman cycling to charge her phone. Cool. I was really taken with Place du Martroi in Orleans, even before I found out how popular and important it is. It has great movement of people and vehicles through it, including the trams. I love the flow of the tram line around the side of the Place. The Place has a lot of restaurants and brasseries lining it, a sculpture of Joan of Arc, a carousel (amazing how many carousels we've seen in France) and a fountain that kids play in. Brent was surprised to learn that Joan of Arc's battle was for Orlean... He'd thought it was someplace in the north along the English Channel. Tail wind Brent and his flag demonstrate the tail wind we had today - note the flag flapping in the direction we're traveling. YAY! Place du Martroi My favorite Place in France.
2015-06-03: Transit Orleans to Strasbourg
At the beginning of the trip, it made me nervous to think about rolling up in a town and not being able to find accommodation. For a week or two I made a point of trying to pre-arrange our next night's accommodation, using Air BnB, Booking.com, HostelWorld.com, and so on. Without fail, our pre-arranged accommodations ended up with some kind of a hassle... usually the pressure of making it to the place that was booked (sometimes I didn't feel like doing all the kms), or finding that the place I'd booked was hard to find or perched on a hilltop. A few times, we just played it by ear and found a campground or hotel that was right along the path. So much easier. After a couple of weeks I relaxed and we've been randomly finding our accommodation ever since. It's much better. I am SO GLAD every day that I have my pStyle along. I've used it pretty much every day. In nasty public toilets, in squat toilets, by the side of the trail when there are nettles, by the side of the trail where there's insufficient privacy... I just pStyled my way all the way across France! It is absolutely essential gear. One of the things that I took the longest in planning for this trip was electronic devices - what to bring and what to leave behind. \n I decided to leave behind the Mighty iPhone because I'm not going to pay Rogers' exorbitant roaming fees, and I'm not going to unlock the iPhone to get a European service. I bought an old cellphone through Kijiji and inherited another old cellphone from my mom, thinking that one of them might work in Europe. They didn't - we ended up buying a cheapo cellphone in France with a pay-as-you-go sim card. \n The other piece of electronics we're using is my Windows Surface. I wanted to make sure I could continue to take care of certain things while I'm away, for example, my corporate fiscal year end accounting, which will happen at the end of July. I decided to buy a tablet, and because I like the iPhone so much, I thought about getting an iPad, but I need Windows software for some of that FYE stuff, so I settled on a Surface. I have been able to use the Excel program to update my GL, which is one of the main things I needed it for each month. I used it for one big trip previously - the trip to the Caribbean last November with Brent and Ed. \n Although I have been extremely pleased with the Surface so far, it doesn't have all the software I'd like on it - one deficiency is in photo editing software. I'm kind of particular about photo editing software. I haven't found a way to reduce the size of photos to a size acceptable to DAMDetails, so my work-around has been to post the photos on Facebook, then save down the reduced photos from Facebook (which does it for you automatically), then post those photos to DAMDetails. Every day I save the photos from both our cameras to my OneDrive so they are \"safe\" in the cloud. If we lose a camera, we've only lost one day's worth of photos. Today we're taking the train from Orleans to Strasbourg, on the far east of \n\nFrance... almost Germany. From there we'll ride EuroVelo 15 (the Rhine \n\nRoute) north for a couple hundred kilometers before heading east to \n\nFrankfurt.\n We bought our train tickets yesterday. Brent stayed outside to watch \n\nour bikes while I went in to inquire about the tickets. The guy was willing, \n\nbut not enthusiastic, to help me in English. I explained that we needed \n\ntickets to go from Orleans to Strasbourg, and that we have our velos with us. \n\n \n Within a minute or so, he was showing me ticket opens... from \n\nStrasbourg to Orleans. I can't imagine in what universe I would want to buy \n\na ticket to where I already was, so I'm pretty sure he was doing it \n\ndeliberately to mess with me... make sure I was paying good attention - sort \n\nof a dumbass tourist tax. \n I passed that test and got a ticket for Orleans to Strasbourg... one \n\nticket. So, I had to explain again that my husband was coming with me... \n\nalso with his velo... and we would need TWO tickets. \n Somewhere in the whole process, he asked me if I had baggage for the \n\nbikes. I didn't really understand the question and I said we had paniers for \n\nthe bikes... he just waved and said oh that's fine that's fine. After, when \n\nI showed the tickets to Brent, he thought that we had tickets on the bullet \n\ntrain, which doesn't allow bikes. I realized that when the guy asked me if I \n\nhad baggage for the bikes, he meant, did I have bags to put the bikes IN. \n\nBack to the ticket agent we went and talked to someone else, who, upon \n\nreviewing our tickets assured us that they were ok for roll-on bikes. WHEW! \n\n Another possible SNAFU was the station change in Paris. We had about \n\nan hour and ten minutes to make the station change, and my original ticketing \n\nguy said we could take the Metro. Brent and I remembered from being in Paris \n\nbefore that the Metro doesn't allow bikes, only the RER train line in Paris \n\nallows bikes. But, with over an hour to make the 4km from Station Austerlitz \n\nto Station Est, we figured we were ok, but a longer layover would be nice. \n\nBack to the ticket agents we went to ask if we could take an earlier train \n\nout of Orleans. The lady that we spoke to spoke no English (unlike the other \n\nguys we'd had before), but I managed to ask her, in French, if we were \n\nallowed to take the 11:35 train instead of the 12:47. I received a \n\nresounding \"non!\" Brent thinks she just didn't understand me and wanted to \n\nget rid of me. He has so little faith in my French. I'm sure she \n\nunderstood.\n Brent and I both used Google Maps to research our route from one \n\nstation to another, in our own ways, and made some notes.\n This morning we hung out at Place du Martroi after checking out of \n\nour hotel, and before it was time for our train. When we got to the gare and \n\nour platform was announced, off we went. The problem was, there were no \n\ntrain cars with a velo icon on them. Brent helped a lady onto one car with \n\nher bike, and realized that there were bike hooks in some cars but they \n\nweren't marked on the outside of the train cars, like we were used to. We \n\nfound a car with hooks but no bikes, and on we went. Getting the bikes onto \n\na train car, and then onto a hook, is not bad as a two-person job. Brent \n\ngoes in front and \"receives\" the bike to get it on/off the train, and I guide \n\nthe back. To hoist them up, he does most of the lifting and guiding, and I \n\ndo a little lifting, and the finer \"guiding\" of the wheel onto the ook. It \n\nhelped that we'd been through the process of putting the bikes onto hooks \n\nbefore (traveling to Nantes). Knowing that it was actually POSSIBLE to get \n\nour bikes up on the hooks made it a LOT easier to get the bikes up onto the \n\nhooks this time.\n We made it to Paris and got the bikes down just fine. Austerlitz is \n\na nice ground-level gare as well, which made exiting much easier than when we \n\nhave to use elevators to move the bikes. Using our notes and Brent's amazing \n\nsense of direction, we found our way to Gare Est in plenty of time. Paris is \n\nan amazing city to ride through. There was heavy traffic, I was unfamiliar \n\nwith the streets and where we were trying to go. I was what I would call \n\n\"highly stimulated\" the whole ride, but amazingly, I was not scared... not \n\neven a little bit. I did, however, make Brent walk around a couple of the \n\nenormous busy roundabouts rather than try to ride through them. \n There are four underground platforms at Gare Est, but fortunately for \n\nus, we didn't have to go to one of them. When our train was ready for \n\nboarding, we again had to figure out which train car to go in. We were \n\nassigned to car 1, but car 1 also had a \"first class\" sign on it (in one \n\ndirection) that Brent interpreted as \"certainly not our car\". So, I asked a \n\nguy, who pointed me at car 1. I asked where the velos go and he said \"to the \n\nright\". Cool. OK. So, I poke my head in the car, and there is a row of \n\nseats that can be folded up to make room for velos. Stellar.\n We fought the bikes into the small area for bikes and couldn't figure \n\nout why they even allow bikes on these cars - it's a terrible small area, and \n\nour car-mates had trouble pushing past our bikes, fat with all the luggage. \n\nWe found a couple of \"bike seat belts\" and used one to secure the bikes in \n\nplace. THEN I saw the bike parking instructions on the wall that indicate \n\nthat the luggage is supposed to come OFF the bikes before they're parked. \n\nOh. D'uh. We decided to leave them in place unless we were asked to \n\ndismantle them. At the time of this writing... we haven't been asked yet. \n\nBut, we know for next time... if there is a next time. We ended up talking to the guy sitting at our station on the train and he \n\nmentioned that Strasbourg was the first city to seriously pursue cycle \n\nfriendliness. When we got to Strasbourg and got off the train, the first \n\nsite that greeted us was... seriously a million freakin' bicycles. There are \n\nbicycles EVERYWHERE. Unfortunately, the campground in Strasbourg is under construction until July. \n\n We got directions to the campground in Kehl, Germany, which is just across \n\nthe river. Off to Kehl we go... and the site that greeted us was... \n\nseriously a million freakin' campers!!! There are campers EVERYWHERE! I \n\nsaid that if I was going to stay in a crowded campground, it might as well be \n\ncrowded to the point of absurdity. And it is. It's Thrasher Cove, only without the surf and driftwood. Train to Paris So easy (relatively speaking) to get those bikes up into the hooks Train to Strasbourg Oops... we missed the instructions for proper velo transport on this train! Strasboug Velos EVERYWHERE - this is just one small area Campground I'm pretty sure this campground's motto is \"no weary traveler turned away\"
2015-06-04: Rhine Route / EV 15 to Stollhofen
After the complete breakfast wasteland that is France, I was excited to see eggs with bacon on the menu at the restaurant in our campground last night. I ordered it this morning, but had a bit of a communication kerfuffle when I tried to ask for the bacon to be crispy. The problem was that, in Germany, they don't do bacon and eggs like we're used to. They do bacon omelette thingies, and the bacon doesn't really have any fat to worry about. I ate the bacon omelette thingy, and it was good, but my hankerin' for regular old bacon and eggs remains unfulfilled. We woke up in Kehl this morning with the idea that our first order of business was to get a book or map of EuroVelo 15, the Rhine Route. We had breakfast, and then headed to Kehl town center. Everything was supposed to open at 9:00. 9:00 came and went. We wondered if people were lackadaisical about opening times. 10:00 came and went. We decided that it must be some kind of national holiday in Germany. We seem to have really bad luck with national holidays in Europe.\n We debated whether to spend the extra 20km round trip to go back to Strasbourg. Since Strasbourg is in France, we figured even if it was a holiday in Germany, everything would probably be open in Strasbourg. We decided against it - we knew where the EuroVelo 15 route was - it ran right beside our campground. How hard could it be to follow the signs 40km up the way, right?\n As we were leaving Kehl, there was an Esso station open and Brent suggested picking up a highway map. I talked him out of it because highway maps don't include velo routes, so I thought it would be of questionable value. Oh, silly me. Remember - it is better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it! There were little signs everywhere pointing this town this way, that town that way, but since we had no map, we had no idea which towns were in the right general direction for us to be heading! So many times I kicked myself for not having that highway map! We rode a good part of the day on the dyke beside the Rhine. The Rhine area where we were today is not interesting at all. It is flat, boring, and has no points of interest. It was 35C today, and the ride was mostly on a slight incline, with a slight headwind, and on gravel. Yuck yuck yuck. Along the way there were occasional maps of small regions and we tried to piece together where we were in relation to the town I had pointed us towards. We had no idea, really, where we were along the route or how far it would be until we found food and shelter. At Greffern, there was a small restaurant called Das Boot (a floating restaurant on the Rhine). We stopped there for desperation lunch and to fill our water containers just in case we ended up having to random camp for the night. It was the best desperation lunch we ever had, actually... I had schnitzel with spetzle and beer. YUM! With our bellies and water jugs full, off we went in search of the night's accommodation. There was supposed to be a campground about 3km up the road. We spotted an enormous, crowded golf country club so Brent went and inquired about camping. He got directions to a campground - yay! We followed the directions, got lost a time or two, and ended up heading back almost all the way to where Das Boot is to get to the campground. And what a camp ground... Remember yesterday when I said if I was going to stay in a crowded campground, it may as well be crowded to the point of absurdity? Well, I had no idea. Tonight we stayed at Freizeitcenter Oberrhein, which has an area, Brent estimated, of about 1km by 0.5km with campers piled one on top of the other as far as the eye can see. It was so large that we ended up going past the \"1800s\" stalls to get to our spot. It was so large that, seriously, they assigned a guy on a golf cart to escort us to our spot - we would have never found it otherwise. The campground has two small fake lakes, a dep, an outdoor pub, and a restaurant. It was packed so thick that Brent thought it looked like a refugee camp... I thought it looked like a shantytown. When we got to our campsite, there was a sign that said it was 35C. No wonder it felt so bloody hot cycling all day! While we were in France, every day was between about 15C and 20C. Some days were on the chilly side, and there were only two days where I rode with short sleeves. WOW! This is something to get used to. When we were in Kehl, I did not get any warm fuzzies from the Germans thereabouts. They were abrupt, stand-off-ish and disinterested. I became instantly \"homesick\" for the warmth, friendliness and helpfulness of the French. This is so different from what I expected from all the cultural stereotypes I've heard.\n Once we left Kehl, things got better, at least in the campgrounds. In the campgrounds everyone is interested in chatting us up and inviting us to their camp sites for a beer and a chat. That's nice. On the trail, and in the towns, no one is really interested and we've gotten a lot of sneers. One time, in Kehl, when I wanted to ask someone why everything was still closed, I asked a server who was setting up his tables if he spoke English. He literally yelled \"NO!!!\" at me, which made Brent guffaw (which I thought was a perfect response to a ridiculous \"NO!!!\" in response to an innocent question). Our campground escort Where's our camp site? Oh, it's in there somewhere...
2015-06-05: Rhine Route / EV 15 to Rastatt
Today was our second day setting out without a proper map and information. We weren't sure where breakfast was going to come from because we'd eaten ourselves out of supplies. The campground had a small dep, but the lineup for coffee before it even opened at 8AM was frightening, so we decided to take our changes on finding something in Stollhofen. We rode in, but it looked like another summer bedroom community with no amenities. Suddenly, a caf� started to open so we went and sat at the outdoor tables... then the lady who was setting up the tables closed the doors and left. We were off down the road, thinking that we'd make do with our 8 cherry tomatoes, chocolate bar and two remaining inferior power bars until we could find something decent. There was a sign for a \"B�ckerei\", which looks suspiciously like \"Bakery\", so we decided to give that one last shot before leaving town. We detoured to the \"B�ckerei\", and lo... a wonderful Dep! A bakery, coffee shop and grocery shop all in one heavenly little place! Our day (and my attitude) were saved. As we progressed up the Rhine today, stumbling around, we debated where to stop and try to find a book or map of the Rhine route. This whole \"figuring it out\" thing just wasn't working out. I was pointing us in the direction of Karlsruhe today, but because I didn't have accurate information, it was further than I anticipated. We had an opportunity to take a short detour into Rastatt, which we did, where we managed to find a map book of the section of the Rhine that we're riding. Hallelujah! We'd already ridden 30km, and there aren't really any good accommodation options for another 30km beyond Rastatt, so, with another 35C day, we decided to stop in Rastatt for the night. It is such a relief to have a map and information again! It is crazy how much of a difference it makes for decent planning and route finding, even with an extremely well-marked velo route. Way #1 to tell that you're in Germany and not in France: Finding a store where Brent can replace his crocs. Yep, today he managed to find himself a replacement set of crocs which are even more hideous than the last pair of crocs! Rhine Route Cycling beside the Rhine... not quite as interesting as cycling in the Loire Valley...
2015-06-06: Rhine Route / EV 15 to Leimersheim
We left Rastatt with a good plan for reaching Leimersheim tonight. We made a note that there were a couple of highlighted \"dekes\" near Karlsruhe before we cross the bridge to the west side of the Rhine. When we got close, I said to Brent that we had to be careful not to accidentally take the side route into Karlsruhe itself - we're bypassing, not going all the way into the city. Ironically, when we got to Rheinhafen-Dampfkaftwerk, we missed a corner and accidentally started heading into Karlsruhe. Before getting too deep into town, we stopped to contemplate where we were and where we'd screwed up. We were standing outside a hotel, and after a few minutes, the nice hotelier came out and told us where to go. I mean, he told us where to go, not he \"told us where to go\". He mentioned that when we crossed the bridge over the small channel near the factory that there were steep stairs up and down, but the route was much more direct. After getting directions back to where we had missed a turn, we returned to Rheinhafen-Dampfkaftwerk and found the bridge over the channel. Oh my... yes, indeed, there were steeps stairs up and down. If Brent hadn't done most of my work for me, I would have had to unpack all of my paniers and make three trips up, then three trips down, to get my bike and luggage up, and then down. When we started riding the Rhine, Strasbourg, France, was on one side of the Rhine, and Kehl, Germany was on the other. We assumed that the Rhine formed a natural border, and that on one side, you were in France (in spite of the German town names), and on the other side, you were in Germany. A couple of people had even said that to us... if we wanted to speak French, we just had to cross the river.\n We crossed to the west side of the Rhine today because that was the only defined route. We really wanted to stay in Germany, but this was a necessary detour. When we got to the other side... everything was still German. When we got further and further into the other side... everything was still German. Close inspection of one of our maps showed that the Rhine isn't actually the border in most places and Germany spills further west than we thought. We're still in Germany, and we're planning on staying on the west side of the river as much as possible now. There are just way more amenities over here. Our plan for the day was to cycle as far as Leimersheim and then, tomorrow, cross on the ferry back to the east side. That was before we discovered that a lot of the west side of the Rhine is still Germany. Anyway, when we got to Worth am Rhein, we decided to take a side route instead of staying along the Rhein and enjoy going through some small towns on our way to Leimersheim. We'd be passing through Jockgrim, Rheinzabern and Neupotz. Jockgrim seemed to have some places to stay, but that was too soon to stop. Rheinzabern had nothing. Neupotz had what looked to be Pensions, but they were not open yet, and I wasn't into chasing someone down at their home to inquire. So, we continued on to Leimersheim. It's a really nice little town, but small. We found one guesthouse, but the proprietor advised that they were full and there was no other place in Leimersheim to stay. We'd have to return to Neupotz and look for a Pension. Since that meant backtracking (and I hate backtracking), we opted instead to head for the ferry. If we could still cross that night, we'd cross and then look for a place to random camp, otherwise we'd try to random camp near the ferry.\n On the way to the ferry, we cycled on a pathway in between Leimersheim and the Rhein. We were beside a dike, and on the other side was a small forest. Unless someone deliberately climbed up the dike, they'd never see us camping in the small forest. It looked perfect, really. We just had to find a good spot to \"hide\". We decided that it was probably the best option we'd find for random camping, so we deked around the dike and started down the small \"channel\" between the dike and the forest, looking for the right spot. The lower ground was very wet (that should have provided a warning, but it didn't), so we went until we found a nice spot which was a little higher, and in a nice divot in the forest, for good hiding.\n We decided we'd found the perfect random camping site and jumped off our bikes. At the same moment, all the mosquitoes in the world decided that they'd found the perfect meal and landed on us. By then I was pretty weary - physically and mentally - and I didn't want to go on, so we decided to tough it out. You have never seen two people set up camp so quickly. We set up the camp, then tossed most of our full paniers into the tent. Brent took one for the team and stayed outside to attach pegs and the fly, while I leaped into the tent to set up inside (including killing the mosquitoes which had followed us in). When the fly was done, Brent lept into the tent and we continued to set up and arrange our stuff (we don't usually have every single thing in the tent with us). It was stinkin' hot - it has been over 30C that day, and... uh-oh... the doors on the fly were closed. We'd opened the screens on the tent itself, but the fly was turning us into an oven. It was my turn to take one for the team. I decided I was going to put a \"haz mat\" suit on (my shell jacket, with hood up and cinched around my face, plus my rain pants), leap out of the tent (Brent would zip the door behind me), and open and secure the fly door on my side, then run around, open and secure the fly door on Brent's side, then leap back into the tent (with Brent unzipping and zipping the door behind me). With that operation taken care of, we were much more comfortable, but we were still faced with spending the evening hiding in the tent from the mosquitoes. Ummmm... that's our BRIDGE! Brent goes up the stairs Hefting approximately 100 lbs of bike plus luggage Brent goes down the stairs Trying to maintain control over 100lbs of bike and luggage Haz Mat Suit Donning my haz mat suit inside the 40 degree tent so I can brave the mosquitoes and cinch open our tent fly doors.
2015-06-07: Rhine Route / EV 15 to Speyer
We woke up early this morning and decided that we would break camp before people started coming by, and potentially discovering us in our campsite. Brent had devised a plan to avoid being completely eaten by mosquitoes - we would haul all of our stuff up the dike and load it there (after loading as much into the paniers within the tent as we could). Again I donned my \"haz mat\" suit to do this, and it worked pretty well. I said it had been the perfect random camping spot except for one thing... Brent said except for a hundred thousand little things. Brent was right.\n We found our way down to the ferry, and lo... there were people camped at a small picnic area before the ferry, and more people random camped right at the ferry. D'oh! They probably had mosquitoes, but guaranteed not as many as us. That's when we discovered that the ferry doesn't start until 10AM on Sundays. It wasn't even 7:30AM yet. So, we had our \"inferior breakfast\" at the ferry (we had no proper groceries... it's been too hot to buy and carry real food... so breakfast was a power bar, some potato chips and a bit of chocolate) and contemplated what to do next. We decided since the west side of the Rhine is actually Germany here, there was no good reason to cross back, and we would cycle north on the west side of the river instead of crossing back. We'd aim for Speyer, which was about 40km up. \n We set out by going back through Leimersheim, where we discovered, to our dismay, a lovely little campground on the outskirts of town where we hadn't been yesterday. D'OH!! Due to our early start today, we made it to Speyer quite early. It's a nice city, with a very nice platz. We found the Tourist Info office and inquired about a Waschsalon (Laundromat) and a book store, and bought a map that shows areas north of Speyer (one of the maps we've been using ended at Speyer). Speyer doesn't have a Waschsalon... Germany has a surprising dearth of Laundromats - France had quite a lot of Laveries. I discovered that Mannheim has a Waschsalon, so we decided to make tomorrow a \"short day\" (we had planned on a rest day anyway) and we'd do a wash there. \n Then we set out to find a place to stay. The first hotel we inquired at was full, but recommended their partner down the street. We had trouble finding the partner down the street, but we finally managed, and they had a million people lined up for something. I suggested to Brent that we return to the Info Center and use their internet to use Booking.com to book into something instead of randomly wandering around town. We returned to the Info Center, but they had closed at 2:00. Drat! I decided to try using their internet from outside their window anyway, and lo - it worked! I managed to book us a room, in the partner hotel as suggested. It's an amazing room that should be going for at least $100CAD/night, but we got it for well under that, and I'm assuming it's because it was a last-minute booking. YAY!\n Yay for Info Center internet, and yay for Booking.com! I booked us a place in Mannheim for tomorrow as well... I think the time has come for us to force ourselves to book ahead... busy season is here. We are encountering nice German after nice German after nice German. I think the crankiness around Kehl was just an anomaly. Alle ist gut now. Gear talk: I am still wearing the \"boob safe\" every day. It is my bra with a couple of secret pockets in it. On one side I have Brent's credit card and my bank card (for our daily business, he uses his bank card and I use my credit card). On the other side I have my orthodontic appliance, which is essential gear for my life. I would die without it and I can't get a reasonable replacement. So I guard it well. Since we got to Europe, we have been outside a LOT. In towns and cities a LOT, and in Places and Platzes a LOT. We have yet to encounter a busker. What's up with that? We got a new cycle map today at the Speyer Tourist Info office. It shows a cycle route called the Welterbe-Radweg, which looked to go in the direction of Frankfurt, which the info desk lady confirmed. I thought, Eureka! Instead of having to go to Wiesbaden along the Rhine and then cut east, we could just take this other cycle route. Then, we looked into it further and it is a tour route of convents. I guess we'll give that a miss. I made a happy discovery today. All along I've been planning on taking EV 15 north to Wiesbaden, then figuring out a way to get from Wiesbaden east to Frankfurt. Today I looked at cycling from Mainz instead of Wiesbaden and discovered that there's another major cycle route, the Main river cycle route, which connects Mainz to Frankfurt! I don't have to figure anything out or worry about navigating scary scary traffic! We can lop a day off of our itinerary by leaving EV 15 at Mainz, and use a popular cycle route to get to Frankfurt! Yay! Medical issues updates - Bubon Bob and Garry the Ganglion:\n Bubon Bob (see my Happy Hollows blog to find out who Bubon Bob is) has responded incredibly well to being treated with moleskin. A couple years ago I'd tried moleskin as a remedy and it seemed to work, but I wasn't entirely sure. The cycling season ended soon after I started doing it, and then I stopped working on-site all the time, so I never did go back to commuting to work. Anyway, I had brought some patches of moleskin along thinking that they might help if the saddle sore returned, and it did a week or so ago. Putting moleskin on it started to work immediately. Brent and I aren't sure what Bubon Bob actually is. Brent thought some kind of aneurism. I thought maybe an angry hair follicle. It's just a tender bump. No change in skin color or anything. But moleskin is keeping it at bay. I have started to think that it's a \"pinch injury\". I think that when I'm riding, some of my motions tend to cause my skin to get pinched, which is causing Bubon Bob. Putting moleskin on it prevents the skin from being pinched - the moleskin takes the brunt of the abuse instead. Regardless of why it's working, I'm thrilled that it is working. When Brent and I did the Jasper to Banff trip a few years ago, Bubon Bob forced me to stop riding early, and I was afraid the same thing was going to happen with this trip, but I've found a way to manage him and keep on riding! Yay!\n Around the same time that Bubon Bob appeared, my old injury on my right foot started acting up as well. There was a lot of pain and swelling. After a couple of days, though, it had swelled up to it's \"normal\" ganglion size and stopped hurting. It is not getting better. It is not getting worse. The swelling is not going up or down. It does not hurt. It is just a bump on my foot, and hey... I've had that on and off, now, since I was 21. It doesn't seem that Garry the Ganglion is going to be an ongoing issue anymore than Bubon Bob will. Yay! Haz Mat! Wearing my haz mat suit to pack up after random camping. On the left side of the photo, you can see down into the forest where we camped. On the right side of the photo is where the cycling/walking path is. Inferior breakfast Brent eats his melted power bar and potato chips by the ferry Maximilion Strasse A street off the main Platz in Speyer Enormous ice cream! Brent had Schwarzwald (Black Forest) and I had After Eight (After Eight).
2015-06-08: Rhine Route / EV 15 to Mannheim
Happiness is clean clothing. Brent and I have been amazed at the dearth of Laundromats in Germany. In France, every town with 1000 people or more had a Laverie. We have not been able to find a Waschsalon to date, and everyone gives us kind of a funny look when we ask. Finally, we found one in Manheim (on that internet thingie). So, we made a short day of riding today specifically to visit Wasch Freunde in Manheim. Oh, and what a Waschsalon it is. It is seriously the nicest Laundromat we've ever seen, between the two of us. Extremely clean, well set-up, and a nice spot, including free WiFi, for loitering while you're waiting. Brent and I have been tossing around the idea of staring a \"Lavery and Loitery\" in Vernon someday and this place would certainly be a starting template. Manheim has a Waschsalon because of all the post-secondary schools in the vicinity. Something to remember. And the staff is amazing. The most attentive Laundromat staff ever... it's like Germans have never seen a Laundromat before, and don't know that, if there is any staff around at all, they're supposed to treat the customers with cool indifference. We started our wash and went down the street for a beer, but when we came back to do our drying, we spent the whole time yakking with Nadia, the attendant on at the time. She is an art student and very engaged and passionate about everything, especially the anonymous art contest behind held in Munich. It was great to speak with her, and she wasn't just awesome with us - every customer who came in got the friendly Waschsalon treatment... so nice. Brent said that the other two staff members he'd encountered before Nadia were just as engaging and helpful with all the customers as well. Immediately following the most amazing Waschsalon experience ever, we had the most mediocre Sushi experience ever. Brent always says that the closer you are to the origin of the cuisine, the better the cuisine will be. So, the closer you are to China, the better Chinese food you'll find. Well, clearly, Canada is a LOT closer to Japan than Germany is. Even the inferior sushi that Bridget and I had in Halifax was better than this. Seriously, the tuna maki was made with TINNED TUNA! Are you freakin' kidding me!!?? At least the seaweed salad and pickled ginger were good. They come out of a tin, too, but apparently better tins than the tuna came out of. We're now trying to drown the memory with the E1.87 bottle of wine we bought a couple of days ago. Really Tiny Truck Brent with a random really tiny truck in Mannheim
2015-06-09: Rhine Route / EV 15 to Guntersblum
Today we rode up a 52km hill made of wind. We left Mannheim and used the ferry to cross a tributary of the Rhine about 10km north of town. It was a very small ferry - similar to the Bleriot Ferry - it's just a flat-deck that runs back and forth on a chain. The tributary was small, but the ferry moved so slowly that it took about 15 minutes to cross. We arrived just as it was leaving with a solitary cyclist. Dang. If we'd been 10 minutes earlier... but, instead we enjoyed second breakfast on the dock and waited while the ferry crossed, then the captain did... something for about 15 minutes, then crossed back over to get us. It was slow going, but still better than the long detour around to avoid the ferry. After the ferry, we continued north to Rosengarten where we crossed back over to the west side of the river at Worms. At worms, we left EV15 and used a side route a little further west, which would take us through several towns before arriving in our destination for the night. We went through Herrnsheim, Osthofen, Mettenheim and Alsheim (although Brent says he's already forgotten that one) before arriving at Guntersblum, at the top of our 52km hill for the day. The route was mostly flat, and 52km should have been easy, but that crazy relentless wind made it a pretty tough slog. Since having a couple of bad experiences on our first couple of days in Germany, we have met so many friendly, helpful, sweet people that I feel bad for ever saying that the Germans aren't as great as the French. Every time we turn around, someone is greeting us, helping us with directions (even when they don't speak English, and we already know where we're going). It's fantastic.\n Today was the best so far. We got to Guntersblum, and I wasn't sure how we'd find our Pension. The address didn't seem to come up properly in Google Maps, and the town looked to be another little labyrinth town. One of the first things we spotted was a sort of a tourist information office. I went in and waited for a lady to help me, and I showed her the name of the Pension and asked if she could direct me to it. She got the \"deer in the headlights\" look and started to ask her colleague for help when the lady behind me jumped in. She told me, in some English and some German, where the Pension was, and it seemed like it would be fairly straight-forward. I returned to Brent who was poking an automated \"information/help\" machine in the lobby. He poked it a little more, and we discussed, and just as we were about to leave, the lady (the other customer) came out and offered to escort us up the road to the Pension. We followed her over in her car. How freakin' awesome is that! We're staying in our first-ever Pension tonight and man is it ever NICE! I can see why they are so popular. We'll try to do more! Mannheim Ferry Riding over on the slllllooooooowwwww ferry north of Mannheim Bridge to Worms A cool tower in the middle of the bridge over to Worms
2015-06-10: Rhine Route / EV 15 to Mainz
The best thing about camping is meeting people. When you stay in a hotel, or even in a B&B, it's difficult to connect with anyone, but at a campground, everyone is just right out there, and often ready to talk. As always, our Canadian flags offer an invitation to folks to strike up a conversation with us. Tonight we met Simon from Manchester, and then Tim and Anna from Germany. We laughed our asses off with Simon, who is riding his 2.3L Triumph Rocket 3 from his place in Manchester (he lives on a boat... how cool is that) down to visit a friend in Italy. Then we shared travel stories and adventure ideas with Tim and Anna, who invited us to visit at their campsite specifically because of the flags. They're both physiotherapists in Mainz for a seminar and camping because the weather is nice. What a great night. Probably my favorite one so far on this trip. Yay!
2015-06-11: Main Radweg Cycle Route to Frankfurt
Today is the first day of \"taking care of business\" in Frankfurt. First, we had to ride from Mainz to Frankfurt, which took us under the flight path of all the aircraft landing in Frankfurt. That was pretty cool. We were due to meet our hostess, Jessica, at 5:30, and we arrived in Frankfurt early enough to set up our bike storage at My Place, which worked out great. Now I'm getting a head start on our other Frankfurt chores. Brent has secured us accommodation right at Trinity College in Dublin for our first three nights in Ireland. COOL! Brent and I are a really great \"getting places\" team. Today was the second time that we used Google Maps, in our own ways, making our own notes, to find our way to where we're meeting our B&B hostess for the night. In spite of Frankfurt being a typical European city (really stinkin' hard to find your way around in), we found our way all the way to the Metro station we were meeting Jessica at. When we were one station away, we stopped at an Esso and bought a Frankfurt street map, which we'll use for other errands while we're here, but we managed to find our way all the way in just with a few scribbles on a couple pieces of paper, a couple of snapshots from Google Maps, and what was in our brains. Today was our 29th day cycling since leaving Canada. For the first time, our leg muscles didn't whinge when we set out after a break. We've finally reached the zone, and now we're done for five weeks. Brent says we're just going to let ourselves get out of shape again so that Laura and Gabi can catch up when we meet for the Danube Cycle Trail. We just give and give that way. Boy oh boy... cycle touring is stinky business. My cycle gloves have been foul, and even though I just washed them a few days ago, today I ended up with Molly Hands again. Brent told me that years ago he had a female co-worker (named Molly) who used rubber gloves to protect her hands while doing her job, which involved working in sand in the rain. Apparently her hands got to stink so badly that it took two days for them to stop stinking after she stopped wearing the gloves.
2015-06-12: Metro Chores Day in Frankfurt
I just got some messages from Ian regarding Ryan Air to alert us that Ryan doesn't fly out of Frankfurt airport. They fly out of Frankfurt Hahn, which I didn't know was a separate thing. Frankfurt Hahn is over 100km away from Frankfurt! OMFG! We've booked a train with The Train Line to get us there. It will be an early early morning.... Our first stop this morning was the main train station in Frankfurt. We wanted to go to the Tourist Info office there, and also scout out where we'll go to catch our train early on Sunday morning. We wandered around and around, looking and contemplating. We didn't see any information about trains going to Frankfurt Hahn airport. The Tourist Info office was closed briefly when we got there, and when it opened, we went and asked the lady about it. She said it's not a train - it's a bus, and handed us a sheet of paper for where to catch it. Ian was right again... bus, not train. I'm so glad we looked into it today! 5AM on Sunday when you have a \"train\" to catch is NOT the time to be figuring out that you've missed the \"bus\" you were booked on. After sorting out our Sunday morning bus, we did a laundry at the nearby Waschsalon, had some Curry Wurst mit bier, then went in search of backpacks. The Tourist Info lady had suggested a couple of places to look, and where we ended up was at an enormous department store called Galleria. Brent and I contemplated the backpacks on offer, and decided on a couple of 35L + 8L ones. What on earth was I thinking? I don't have compression sacks along for my sleeping bag, nor my clothing. 35L? Where did I think I was going to put everything!? The Galleria turned out to be on the same subway line as where we're staying, so we had a quick ride back to \"our place\" where we tried to figure out how to make our woefully inadequate backpacks work to carry everything we want to take to the UK. Backpacks (and camping) weren't even part of our original plan for the UK, but now that we've decided on it, we want to be able to do it. I was pretty done already at that point and ready to pack it in, but Brent suggested at least going back to Galleria and trying to exchange the packs. We had discarded the price tags off of them, but there was a spare one stuffed in one, plus we had my credit card receipt. So, back down the U-6 we went to Galleria. Exchanging the packs turned out to be amazingly painless... no questions asked... badda bing. We traded the 35L ones in for 65L ones. If those don't work, well... we probably shouldn't be traveling.
2015-06-13: Bike Chores Day in Frankfurt
Today I got a note from a good friend which read: \"I'm amazed at the skill with which you handle the incredible variety of new experiences that come at you each and every day. Every single day you are dealing with something completely different. I think I'd have been longing for the familiar routines of home long ago.\"\n Oh, I am longing... sometimes all I want is to be at home, and I'm definitely dreaming of an all-inclusive vacation in Mexico where I don't have to deal with a steady stream of... whatever decides to show up.\n Another thing that showed up is my vehicle registration. I got a notice from AMA that my registration is due this month. No one is using Nemo while we're gone, but if he needs to be moved out onto the street for any reason, it's best that he have current tags on. To renew my registration online, I need a number of pieces of information, for example, my current insurance information... plus the \"bar code\" from the renewal notice from the Government of Alberta. I e-mailed Ian and asked him for the information, but I never received a notice from AB Govt in Edmonton, so... no bar code. I contacted them to see about getting it, and they refuse to give it out over the phone. I e-mailed Saeed to see if it may have shown up in Calgary instead, but it's not there either. Another option would be for me to fill out an authorization form for Ian to do it for me. Problem is, I would need to download a PDF form (can't read it on my Surface), fill it out, and FAX it to the AMA office (I don't have access to a FAX). Finally, in desperation, I e-mailed four women that I know in Alberta who manage registry offices (I did some software work for them years ago) asking for their help. Three of them are in Calgary, and one is near Edmonton. The one near Edmonton provided a great solution, so with her help, and Ian's help, Nemo will get registered today. We dropped the bikes into storage first thing this morning, then mailed off some things to Janet and Joanne. We returned to Jessica's to collect our things and off we went down to the airport. From the airport, we took a shuttle bus to our hotel nearby, dropped off our backpacks, then walked BACK to the airport... and BACK to the hotel, to scout out a cycle route for when we're back here to meet up with Laura. Frankfurt is so amazing with their cycling infrastructure. It is a seriously liveable city for a cyclist. Before we left Canada, I could find almost no information regarding bikes allowed on trains in Europe. So, I went with the cautious approach and assumed that bikes couldn't go on trains... period. What we've found since we arrived here is the following:\n - Bikes are pretty much not allowed on \"bullet trains\"\n - Bikes are not allowed on the Paris Metro\n - Bikes ARE allowed on the France regional trains (RER), which goes through Paris\n - Bikes ARE allowed on a lot of SNCF (France) trips - you just have to choose carefully\n - Bikes ARE allowed on the Frankfurt Metro (U-line)\n - Bikes ARE allowe3d on the Frankfurt regional trains (S-lines) Bikes into storage at My Place, self-storage in Frankfurt Packages Sent off some package of books/maps to Janet and Joanne today. Five pounds off of Brent's back. Yay!\n Velo cartes to Joanne and Farhhadkarten to Janet. Our new beasts of burden We decided to buy backpacks and take our tent to Ireland and the UK. That wasn't our original plan - hopefully we can camp enough to justify buying the packs.
2015-06-14: Fly to Dublin
We are waiting for our flight from Frankfurt-Hahn to Dublin. Everything this morning went smoothly, all things considered. I can't believe the fiasco that Ian saved us from. If the Multiverse exists, there is at least one \"me\" in at least one other Universe who recently arrived at the Frankfurt airport and is probably still in the process of discovering that we've missed our flight because I chose the wrong airport to fly from. In this Universe, Brent and I used Talixo taxi to go from our hotel (near the Frankfurt airport) to the train station at 4:45 this morning, then took a \"shuttle bus\" 130km west to \"practically Luxemburg\" to catch our Ryanair flight. \n Talixo is an amazingly efficient operation, although, considering it's German, maybe that's not so amazing. I booked them online and entered my payment information. Before our taxi arrived, they texted us a PIN number to give our driver. Our driver arrived spot-on-time and took us to the train station. We gave him the PIN and I was automatically charged for the ride per the info I put into their web site. Boy, we if we could get taxi service like that in Calgary life would be sweet.\n While we were waiting for our shuttle bus, we spoke to a young Minnesotan who is doing the \"post-College grad Europe backpack\" trip who was waiting for a bus to Luxembourg. His bus was supposed to leave at 5:30 as well, but no other bus showed up. It wasn't until after we departed, and I said we were enroute to \"practically Luxemburg\" that we surmised that he probably should have been on our bus with us. I guess he will have more of a story to tell about today than I do.\n Once our shuttle bus was underway, we left the Frankfurt main train station proceeding to Frankfurt Hahn airport... via Frankfurt airport RIGHT PAST OUR HOTEL. We could have caught the bus at the Frankfurt airport (Terminal 2). D'oh!\n Contemplating our map of Europe, it looks like the Frankfurt-Hahn airport is neither in nor near either Frankfurt OR Hahn. I normally search for flights based on airport code (ie. YEG, YYC). I will have to be sure to do that rather than just searching on a city from now on. Wow. Pay enough attention, Rhonda.\n We reached Dublin, and I think the universe is trying to apologize to us for the whole Ryanair thing or something. Everything went amazingly smoothly. Arrival. Baggage. Customs. Shuttle bus to Trinity College. Checking in. Settling in. Finding food. Meeting up with Sandie and her mom. Finding a grocery store. Bing, bing, bing, bing. Much better, Universe... much much better... Political Protest What else would we do on our first day in Ireland but attend a political protest!? First successful \"Meet up in Europe\" mission Met up with Sandie and her mom, Jennifer, to visit Dublin Castle (and then have a beer in the pub). Yay!
2015-06-15: Dublin
We got to meet Chris today (Mike's sister who arranged our stay at Trinity College). We went for coffee and then she comp'ed us in to The Book of Kells. That was extremely interesting, and equally interesting was the Old Library of Trinity College. It was mind-boggling to see all the old old books... some of them over 1500 years old. We did a bunch of planning today for the remainder of our time in Ireland. It's hard to plan when there are just sooooo many great options, but we've come up with a plan. We're keeping it loose, though, and not booking anything too far in advance. We do have a B&B booked in Clones for the 24th to make sure Brent gets to spend some time there. Traffic Light In Dublin, like in Paris and other places we've visited, bikes go to the front of the traffic queue at a red light. There's extra space in front for the bikes to move up. They go first. So awesome. Queue for Book of Kells If Chris hadn't gotten us comp'ed tickets, and taken us to the front of the line (THIS line), there's no way we would have gone to see the Book of Kells or the Old Library. I'm so grateful we got to have this experience! The Long Room The Long Room in the Old Library. Amazing. I would bet a Euro that the enormous room in Monsters Inc where all the doors are kept was modeled after this room.
2015-06-16: Dublin
OMG I can't believe the hospitality Brent and I received in Dublin. On Brent's last day of work in Edmonton before we left, he went for after-work beers at the Irish Club with his co-workers. I joined them a little later. Brent's old boss, Mike, turned up and we had a good chat and got some advice about what to do in Ireland. He suggested that we contact his sister to arrange to stay at Trinity College while in Dublin, so a few days before we left Germany, Brent gave the sister, Chris, a shout. Chris arranged for us to stay at Trinity, got us vouchers for breakfast at The Buttery (on campus), met us for coffee, got us complementary entrance to see the Book of Kells and the Old Library, and then took us out for an amazing walk to The Sugar Loaf in Wicklow. I sure hope we can reciprocate one day - we had such a great time. Looking up the Sugar Loaf. Looking down the Sugar Loaf. At the top of the Sugar Loaf with Chris and her daughters.
2015-06-17: Train to Killarney
We left Dublin and it was raining... it was kind of raining everywhere today, even though it wasn't really supposed to be. The train ride was uneventful (except for Brent's backpack falling off the storage rack and only a woman sitting across the aisle... eep). We had been planning on going to a campground, but since it was raining, we grabbed some brochures at tourist info and went to the pub across the street to ponder our options. It was there that we met up with Donal, the town \"mooch\". We had a good yak with him and bought him a couple of beers. I popped across the street to use the WiFi at tourist info to book us into a hostel. I booked us into Paddy's Palace, the only place available for the night. Turned out Donal was staying there as well, so we bought more beers and he made us spaghetti. From Brent: \"After 3 nights in Dublin we headed for the west coast and Killarney.\nThe train trip took a good deal of the day and was a bit stressful at our one transfer. We had only 7 minutes to \n\nget off the first train, find and get onto the second train. And the trains here run on time. No waiting. There were \n\na lot of people transferring at Mallow so we basically followed the crowd and turned out fine. I shoved my pack into \n\nthe overhear shelf and we got underway. I didn't do a very good job and a few minutes down the track my pack fell \n\nout and landed square on my head, it rolled off and brushed the arm of the lady across the isle on its way to the \n\nfloor. From her reaction you would have thought that she had been shot. She kept on checking herself for damage. \"
2015-06-18: Gap of Dunloe
When we got up this morning, it looked like the weather was going to be pretty good for the day, so we booked ourselves into a tour of Gap of Dunloe. The tour included bus from Killarney to Ross Castle, then a boat from Ross Castle into Killarney National Park (about a 1.5 hour boat ride). Most people opted to pay extra to ride the Gap in a horse-drawn carriage. Brent and I chose the option to walk the Gap instead. It's about 12km, up over the Gap with a gain of about 170m. They drop you off at the start at about 12:30, and the carriages come to pick folks up at about 1:30 (after lunch). Brent and I snarfed lunch to get a head start on our walk back, as the bus returns to pick you up at the far end, departing at 4PM. We got on the road at 1:00, so we had three hours to walk the 12km. I hoofed it the whole way because 3 hours is fairly aggressive for me to do 12km. We ended up making it in 2.5 hours, which is the projected time allotment. Yay me! The weather was absolutely glorious. Dare I hope for more of the same tomorrow so we can do a bus tour of Ring of Kerry? I bought a lovely new green merino sweater from Quills in Killarney. Said thanks and so long to the nasty old sweater.\n From Brent: \"The first National Park (Killarney) in Ireland butts up against the town. We took a day trip through it on our first \n\nday. Bus to Ross Castle (the last castle to fall to the British in the war of colonization), boat across 3 lakes, \n\nthen hike through The gap of Dunloe (7 miles) to a pub where we got picked up for a bus trip back to town. The \n\nscenery was great with Rhododendrons blooming on the hills and assorted stone ruins on some of the lake islands. \n\nThere are supposed to be deer in the park but we didn't see any. We did see a pair of wild goats while walking The \n\nGap, a sight that we hadn't been told to watch for. The whole thing was about 7 hours and though we were told to be \n\nprepared for rain at any time it was sunny all day and I got a bit of a burn.\" Ross Castle Our Gap of Dunloe tour started here. Our bus dropped us off and we had about 20 minutes to check out the castle before we had to get on the boat to take us into the National Park. Gap of Dunloe Gap of Dunloe
2015-06-19: Ring of Kerry
We did the Ring of Kerry tour today. It is the premier tour of the Killarney area. It was pretty nice, but I think Brent and I have been spoiled by amazing scenery in the Rockies, and in Newfoundland, that maybe make this one pale a little bit. It was certainly nice, but it didn't knock my socks off.\n What did knock my socks off was the shepherd who demonstrated his Border Collies for us. It is one of the stops on the Ring of Kerry tour, and it was just absolutely amazing. He had two Border Collies and six sheep for the demo. He showed us how, using the dogs, he could easily direct the sheep in any direction, and separate the desired number of sheep from the bunch. It was fascinating to learn that he gives each dog completely different commands for various movements, so your dogs are commanded separately... the dogs do not respond to commands intended for the other dogs. Also, for longer distances, there are companion whistle calls (he has a specialized whistle) that correspond to each verbal command. Technology is a wonderful thing... when it works properly. I have been relying heavily on certain web sites, particularly for finding and booking accommodation and travel. Brent and I decided that we would probably do Ring of Kerry today and then head up to Sligo tomorrow, and when we got up this morning, the sky and forecast agreed with that plan. The problem was, though, I couldn't figure out how to get us up to Sligo on the bus. Irish Rail's web site was working fine, and I could see that, for E70/ea (I think), we could go to Sligo by way of Dublin (crossing the country twice), leaving around 9:30 and arriving around 6PM. I'd used the Voyage Planner of Bus �ireann a few times to research possible bus trips. This morning, the Voyage Planner was having none of me. Every time I tried to search out a voyage I got the message \"your search could not be saved internally\". Damned web site bug. I tried several times. Waited an hour and tried again. Got Brent to try. Just no love at all. I figured that, since the bus wouldn't have to cross the country twice, it might be faster, and I was pretty certain it would be considerably cheaper, but without studying and deciphering individual bus routes and schedules, we couldn't figure out a route. We thought we'd stop by the bus station on our way to our tour this morning, but it turned out we didn't have time. We thought we'd stop by the bus station right after our tour this afternoon, but we were a little late getting back to town and the bus station would be closed. When I finally got onto internet again, the Bus �ireann Voyage Planner was working properly again and I successfully booked our voyage (which did, indeed, save us some money... but not time). One of the points of interest on our tour today was the \"Silent Valley\". Our guide talked about how all the people in the valley died (or left) during the famine, even though they were very close to the ocean. They didn't fish because their landlord owned the fishing rights and being caught with a fish there would result in being sent to Australia. So people starved to death instead. Brutal. I can't find any information online about this, other than this Famine in Kerry page. Border Collie herding his sheep. Pleasant view along the Ring of Kerry. Sneem River. Pleasant view along the Ring of Kerry.
2015-06-20: Bus to Sligo
We've used trains a few times since arriving in Europe, and they've been pretty positive experiences. Today was our first time on a bus of any duration, and it was, as one would expect, a little more \"eventful\" than a train ride. I don't know what it is with busses... but they're always interesting. I particularly enjoyed the couple who came on with their brood of feral \"five under ten\" children. Their accent was so thick that I was sure they were speaking Gaelic at first, but eventually I realized they were speaking English. Dad was clearly in charge of the kids... all of the pleas for attention were directed at him. Then, once they departed, we got the old fella who sat up at the front of the bus... when he was finally able to sit. He couldn't maneuver into his seat... he kept doing a funny bob up and down thing. Finally another passenger went up to help him. Apparently his pants were pretty much off by the time he sat down (Brent could see... I couldn't). A few minutes later, I'm sure I could smell poop on the bus, but thankfully it cleared up. Ah, bus travel. You gotta love it. All over Ireland you see small parcels of land divided by stone fences. Our bus driver on the Ring of Kerry yesterday said that when the Celts arrived here, they found the land full of rocks... everywhere. So, in clearing the land, they used the rocks to construct the stone fences. They make really neat little pastures everywhere. Stone fences
2015-06-21: Day in Sligo
Today was a cold, rainy and windy day. A perfect day to take a day off. And, by \"a day off\", I mean, three hours on the computer planning and booking our travel and accommodation up until we reach Glasgow, then a bus out to Strandhill and a walk on the cold, windy and rainy beach, then bus back to Sligo to watch San Andreas, then back to the hostel to peck at the computer again for a while. San Andreas was everything I dreamed it would be... the gaping holes in the physics of... well... EVERYTHING in the film were brilliant and have given Brent and I lots to discuss as we rip it apart. Beach at Strandhill. Surfing guy at Strandhill. And we know what he's thinking... \"bad weather? what bad weather??\"
2015-06-22: To Derry
Pretty low key day today. Had a walk around Sligo, took the bus to Derry, had a preview walk around the Derry city walls. Watched Fast and the Furious 7 with a couple of German students. Looking forward to the guided tour of the walls tomorrow, and more walking and exploring. I wrote new lyrics today for Kingston Trio's \"MTA\". Their lyrics.\n My lyrics:\n\n\n Well let me tell you of a story \n Of a wife named Rhonda\n A tale to strike your heart with fear\n Brent said I'll get a sandwich\n You go find some hummous\n And I'll meet you right back here\n\n CHORUS:\n Well, did she ever return?\n No, she never returned\n And her fate is still unlearned\n She will search forever\n Through the shelves of Tesco\n She's the wife who never returned\n\n Rhonda searched up this aisle\n And she looked down that aisle\n Searching the confections and foods\n But the hummous was hidden\n In a separate room\n Beyond the paper goods\n\n [CHORUS]\n\n Husband Brent is a man\n Of infinite patience\n He followed his mother's view\n \"If I'm not there in five minutes\n Just wait longer\"\n But he pondered dialing 1-1-2\n\n [CHORUS]\n\n Now citizens of Sligo\n Don't you think it's just crazy\n How your Tesco store is layed out\n You will never find some hummous\n In the refrigerated aisles\n You'll just endlessly search about\n\n [CHORUS]\n
2015-06-23: Day in Derry
\"Ooooooh, Derry is a walled city,\" I said. \"I like walled cities,\" I said. \"Let's go spend a day in Derry and have a look around. It will be neat!\" I said. I had no idea that Derry was so pivotal in the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement, and I had no idea of everything that went on here. Today, I was enlightened. We went on the Martin McCrossan walking tour, which took us around the 1.5km of city walls and discovered the walls and some history of Derry. Then, we went to the Free Derry Museum, and went on on their walking tour of Bogside. \n The part of Derry on the west side of the Foyle is called the City Side. It is mostly Catholic. The part on the east side is called Waterside and it is about 50/50 Catholic and Protestant. There is one tiny neighborhood, called Fountain Estate, on the City Side, which is Protestant. It is surrounded by a fence, and residents feel that they are still under seige. Aside from that, the city seems to have moved on rather well from everything its been through, and Bogside, aside from all the murals and monuments, is just a normal neighborhood now, rather than the site of \"recreational rioting\", and Bloody Sunday.\n\n There were some things going on in Northern Ireland in the late 60's and early 70's that most people, even citizens of the UK outside of Northern Ireland, didn't know about. Two of the things that contributed to the \"troubles\" were the lack of a \"one man one vote\" system, and the internment practices. Of course, in the UK, they have a \"one man one vote\" system, so people assumed it was the same in Northern Ireland, but it wasn't. Instead, voting was restricted to property owners. A property owner could have a maximum of six votes. The wealthy, who owned multiple properties (mainly Protestant) could vote up to six times. In the Catholic population, it was common to have multi-generational homes, and/or multi-family homes, with several adults in them, but only one person - the property owner - could vote. The march which became Bloody Sunday was a peaceful protest against internment. Soldiers fired on, and killed, several unarmed people, but then claimed that they were carrying guns and/or bombs when they were shot. The first inquiry into the incident blamed the victims for it. A second inquiry, the Saville report, was released in 2010. The report found that all of those shot were unarmed, and that the killings were both \"unjustified and unjustifiable.\" Today, Brent and I walked Bogside, and stood in the places of Bloody Sunday, including the two \"bottlenecks\" where fleeing people were shot. It was really powerful. Our host at the Free Derry museum's younger brother was killed in Bloody Sunday. Our Free Derry walking tour guide had spent time as a political prisoner. \n Bloody Sunday\n Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association. From Brent: Derry was good. We walked the city walls and learned some of the history of the place. In some ways it was a bit scary because the history here is very recent history. I remember watching the riots on the news and seeing the tanks in the streets. Everything seems quite calm and civil now except for a neighbourhood of about 200 houses called The Fountain. They have the remains of a \"peace fence\" around the area and a monument that proclams 'After 300 years of siege, Still No Surrender.'\nI wonder if anybody told them that their side won 300 years ago. The city they live in is what victory looks like.
2015-06-24: Bus to Clones
Today we finally did what we came to Ireland for - visited Clones (the town that Brent's grandfather was from). \n The story, as I understand it, is that grandfather won a couple of pubs in Clones in a poker game. The pubs were called Carrons and The Bursted Sofa. Carrons hasn't existed for a long time, but The Bursted Sofa existed until just a few years ago. When Doug and Susan (Brent's sibs) were here 25 years ago, they visited that one. Apparently the lease holders stopped paying rent when Brent's dad died, but Brent's mom still technically holds the titles to the properties.\n Clones is a border town, just south of Northern Ireland in the county of Monaghan. We came yesterday by bus. Clones is a withering little town. It's very pleasant to look at, and has some great buildings, but it also has a large meat processing plant (probably the town's main employer) which puts an ungodly stench over the whole place. There are \"for sale\" and \"for rent\" signs everywhere. \n When we got off the bus, we walked up the hill toward town center, and immediately, Brent spotted a property that he thought was The Bursted Sofa. A lady came out of the beauty salon next door and confirmed that The Bursted Sofa had been next door. It was closed up and had \"The Stag's Head Bar Lounge\" on the window. We're not sure if it was the Stag's Head before or after the Bursted Sofa. Up the same street was our B&B, the Cuil Darach (pronounced cool darrah). Our \"tour guide\" (the beauty salon lady) pointed it out, and also told us that we should go find George Knight who lives around the corner as he's somewhat of a historian for the town. We stopped up at the Cuil Darach and dropped off our luggage and then went to explore. The Cuil Darach is right on the Diamond (a name given to the town centre of a lot of towns in Ireland), and so is the Church of Ireland. We walked down another road heading out from the Diamond and ended up finding the stinky ABP meat processing plant, and the Wee Abby and its graveyard. Then, back at the Diamond, we talked to another lady who pointed out the exact house for George Knight, so we went a knockin'. He came out and talked for a couple of minutes. He had never heard of the Stephens family in Clones (not surprising since Brent thinks his grandfather was the last member of the family to leave about 100 years ago). He told us what building Carrons had been in. He speculated that granddad was probably Presbyterian (which Brent suspected as well) and told us where to find the Presbyterian church and advised that the Presbyterian cemetary is 1-2 miles out of town. We went back down to Carrons, which is now a house, and which we'd walked past before, then down to the Presbyterian church in the opposite direction. In the town office next door, a man told Brent better directions for the Presbyterian cemetary (directly opposite ABP... d'oh!), so we walked back down there, and then over to the Famine and Workhouse Cemetary. No Stephenses anywhere. There's a geneaology center in town, which wasn't open today, but will be open tomorrow, so Brent's next thought was to knock off for the day and then go there tomorrow. I wanted to go past the library in hopes of finding some WiFi (Cuil Darach doesn't have any), and maybe some town history information. So, we headed down there, and I got some WiFi and with help from the resident historian, Brent found some town death records, including who he thinks was his great-grandfather, and then a geneology web site that had census records for 1901 and 1911 which included some records for Stephenses (and through which we discovered, the Stephenses belonged to the Church of Ireland). \n The Cuil Darach is a really nice place. There are three portions to the establishment - a bar, a lounge, and the B&B. They're all beautiful, full of lovely old dark-brown things, and spotless. Not a speck of dust on anything, in spite of the large number of old dark-brown things. The proprietor is a great old no-nonsense fella. Loved him, but not quite as much as I loved his Blue Cheese and Bacon Burger. \n Saturday Matinee Bogside mural titled \"Saturday Matinee\" because that's what youth in Bogside did for entertainment - \"recreational rioting\". No Surrender \"Londonderry West Bank Loyalists Still Under Siege. No Surrender\" sign in Fountain Estate neighborhood. Note the red, white and blue curbsides, denoting the nieghborhood as Loyalist.
2015-06-25: Bus to Belfast
Our main stop for today was the Cassandra Hand Centre where we had a nice long chat with Josephine, who runs the centre. The historian, Mary, wasn't there, but she took what information we had and said she'd get Mary to get back to us. Josephine also dispelled a myth that I had developed in my head. The stench over Clones, thankfully, isn't from the meat packing plant, nor is it a permanent fixture of the town. It is here now only because of the farmers spreading slurry for fertilization. Thank goodness!\n Josephine also told us that Clones is trying to reinvent itself as a sporting destination for tourism, which is really great. There's more hope for Clones than I thought! We have been away, now, for eight weeks, going where we want and doing what we want when we want. Tomorrow we'll be journeying over to Glasgow to meet up with Dawn for a whirlwind tour of Scotland, and then two days later we'll meet up with Beth for a whirlwind tour of England, and then two days later we'll meet up with Laura and Gabi to ride the Danube Cycle Trail from Donaueschingen to Budapest where we'll meet up with Michelle for a whirlwind tour of Budapest. Altogether, our time with friends will be about eight weeks. I'm excited and a little trepidatious.\n Church of Ireland in Clones Brent at the gates of the \"Church of Ireland\", of which the Stephens folk of Clones were members. Clones Library Brent finds some family names in the 1901 and 1911 Clones census records. Garden in Clones A random garden that I liked.
2015-06-26: Journey to Glasgow
I thought the journey from Belfast to Glasgow would be long and wretched, but it turned out to be pretty fast and straight-forward. I thought we would bus to the ferry, then ferry, then bus to the next town, then train to Glasgow. It was easier than that. We did taxi to the ferry, then ferry, then bus direct to Glasgow from ferry terminal. Good thing. Brent has been fighting something off for a couple days, and is succumbing, and now I feel like I'm coming down with something. We're holed up in our guest house with Lemsip (Neo Citron) and the TV. Hopefully we're all better by the time Dawn arrives tomorrow.
2015-06-27: Glasgow to Callander with Dawn
We met up with Dawn today. It's the first time I've seen her in about 8 years. How exciting! I'm so happy she decided to join us in Scotland! She arrived in Edinburgh via Chicago this morning. Brent and I had stayed in Glasgow. Dawn was going to come pick us up and we were headed for Callander, but when I looked at it, I realized that it was probably easier for everyone if we met up in Stirling, so we took the train from Glasgow, and Dawn drove from Edinburgh, and we met in Stirling, went to the Stirling Castle, and then drove on to Callander. Brent and I have been \"rationing\" our castle visits to one \"paid\" castle per country. When we went to Stirling Castle with Dawn, though, we discussed getting a \"pass\" to visit multiple castles. We ended up buying the \"three days out of five\" pass for L30/ea, which lets us visit as many castles as we want, on three days out of the five days starting from when you buy the pass. We'll be storming the castles! Woo hoo! Dawn and Rhonda Dawn and I with Stirling Castle in the background Stirling Castle Brent's Doppelganger Brent has a secret... just like his doppelganger (one of the Stirling Heads)
2015-06-28: Scenic Train to Mallaig with Dawn
Our hotel last night included breakfast. When we checked in, we told the guy that we'd be leaving too early to have breakfast. He asked what time we'd be leaving, and if we'd like him to pack us some bag lunches that we could take along in the morning. It was REALLY sweet! He offered to make us ham and cheese sandwiches. When we opened up the lunches we discovered... a ham sandwich... and a cheese sandwich... each. Funny!! We took the scenic (steam) train from Fort William to Mallaig today. It was something I wanted to do again. I'd done it 7.5 years ago when I was here, but the weather was yucky and I had a back injury so I didn't get as much out of it as I could have. After researching and booking, though, I realized that I remembered it wrong... when I was here, I didn't get to Mallaig. I went round-trip from Glasgow to Oban. So, the trip from Fort William to Mallaig was completely new to me, which was really cool! \n When we got to Mallaig, we had time to do the \"Circular Walk\", which takes you up onto the hill behind the town, then down along the waterfront back to the town. The forecast for today was rainy all day, but it was actually really nice and only rained a little! After the train ride, we decided that since we're really close to Loch Ness, we'd drive over and have a look. The nearest town on the Loch to us was Fort Augustus so we drove there. Dawn got us a great free walking map which pointed out the best viewing point for Loch Ness, so we walked down there, got some pics, and then headed back to town for dinner. Taken from the scenic train to Mallaig. Circular Walk in Mallaig. Loch Ness. Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
2015-06-29: Castling and Perth with Dawn
Today was a \"storming the castles\" day. We didn't really storm, but we saw two great castles. First, we had to drive from Fort William to Doune, which was about 2.5 hours, and meant we didn't reach our first castle until close to lunch time. \n Dawn had chosen Doune Castle as a \"must see\" because it is where Monty Python and the Holy Grail was filmed. Great choice, and great castle! It's one of the really old ones that I find so fascinating, and there was a LOT to see in the various rooms and chambers and such. \n Next we were on to Lochleven Castle, which Dawn had chosen as a \"must see\" because it is a castle on an island, and is where Mary Queen of Scots was held prisoner for a year. The island is bigger now, but at the time, the loch pretty much came right up to the castle. This one was even older than Doune, and was less restored than Doune. It was amazing to explore and try to imagine what it had been like when it was in use. Another awesome choice! From Brent: Doune Castle was pretty good too. When we got there I had a look from the outside and was ready to give it a miss. It doesn't look like that large or impressive a structure and it's partially ruined as well, but the admission price included an Audio-tour device and it turned out that there was really quite a lot to see once inside. The audio-tour really added to the experience. I would recommend this castle for a visit, and if you do visit be sure to go to the store-room in the gatehouse opposite the ticket office. Go all the way to the bottom and walk across the floor. It feels really weird. I was standing and rocking from foot to foot when some people came to the door and stared at me. I had to convince \nthem to try it. Soon we had about 5 people standing in the room, rocking from foot to foot. Doune Castle Doune Castle Boat to Lochleven Castle Lochleven Castle Brent the Pheasant Whisperer
2015-06-30: Sight-Seeing in Scotland with Dawn
I'm so angry right now. Second absolutely WRETCHED experience with AirBnB. I will never book through them again. We've got one remaining reservation through them, but after that. Never. Again.\n The experience with Alencon was terrible. What happened this time was, I booked us in for three nights to stay at a place in Edinburgh, close to where Dawn is booked to stay. \n On the 25th, I e-mailed the person and asked her what time we should plan to arrive. I received no response. So, this morning, before we left our place in Perth, I messaged her again asking what time to arrive. Then, we left and I didn't have WiFi all day. I got on e-mail at 4PM, well before what I would consider \"losing your reservation/money\" time. By that time, she had messaged me three times, and when she hadn't heard from me by 3PM, she left town, \"assuming that I'd changed my mind\". \n I have now been billed for two of the three nights we were supposed to stay with this person, and we've been left with no place to stay. Well, ok, that's not exactly true. Dawn had booked herself a \"room\" at \"Stay Central\", just down the street. When she checked in, she discovered that her \"room\" was actually a mountain chalet-style \"dorm\" with bunkbeds - enough to sleep nine people (three lower bunks hold two people each, three upper bunks hold one each). So, we're \"squatting\" in Dawn's room. Thank goodness Dawn booked the mountain chalet-style \"dorm\"!! Today was a very eventful sight-seeing day. We started off by driving to St. Andrew's. First, we saw St. Andrew's Castle, which had two things that I found absolutely fascinating: \n - The mine and countermine of the Seige when the attackers tunnelled under the castle to try and blow it up, and the castle folk dug a countermine and intercepted them, just by listening for where they were digging. Amazing.\n - The \"bottle dungeon\" where the lower class prisoners were kept... basically in a bottle-shaped hole in the ground with a hole and tunnel above it to get in and out. \n Then, we moved on to St. Andrew's Cathedral. At the museum for the Cathedral, we turned in our tickies for some tokens to go up St. Rule's Tower, and went up the scary narrow 156 steps to the top of the 100 foot tower. \n When we were done at St. Andrew's, we drove to Edinburgh. We decided to find Dawn's hotel first, and it was then that I discovered that I'd been royally screwed over by my Air BnB \"host\". But that's documented in a separate entry. Once I got over my heart attack with that and we had a backup plan in place, we quickly set out to the Royal Mile. We booked tickets for the 8:30PM tour of the Real Mary King's Close, and then hustled on over to Camera Obscura. We could have spent a whole lot more time playing in Camera Obscura, especially the mirror maze and the swirling hallway of vertigo (I can't remember the proper name for it). There was also a crazy \"repeater\" video camera that I couldn't get enough of. It would randomly video whatever was in front of it, then play back just a couple of seconds of it in a twitchy \"Max Headroom\" style GIF thing. Anyway, Camera Obscura closed at 7:00, so we hustled out for some dinner, and then over to the Real Mary King's Close.\n I had gone to the Real Mary King's Close 7.5 years ago, the first time I came to Scotland, and I thought it was really cool then. It is even cooler now. They've learned a lot since then, updated their information and greatly improved the tour. What a fascinating place. From Brent: St. Andrew's Castle was cool for a couple of reasons. The castle is in ruins but part that still remains is a \"Bottle Dungeon.\" I'd never heard of such a thing but it's easy to see were it gets the name. It's shaped like a milk bottle, dug 23 feet down into the rock under the castle. The only entrance/exit is through the neck of the bottle and up through the mouth. That lands you in a small room from which you have to get through 2 doors and up 2 sets of narrow stairs to reach the inner courtyard of the castle. It's the definition of \"No way out.\"\n The other cool thing is the result of some siege engineering. When the castle was under siege the attackers decided to tunnel under the walls and set an explosive charge to blow them away. The defenders knew what was coming so dug a counter-mine to intercept the attacking tunnel. All they had was the ability to listen for mining sounds and their best guess. The defenders were successful, intercepted the attackers and battled them off underground. The tunnels are still there and I climbed down through them. Uber-cool. From Brent: In Edinburgh we also had a few hassles, but nothing fatal.\n\n Rhonda's friend, Dawn, had joined us for part of the trip and booked herself a room in a hostel. Rhonda had responded by booking us a place to stay nearby through Air B&B. When we got to Edinburgh, and Dawn was checking in to the hostel, Rhonda contacted the Air B&B host that we were to be staying with only to find that she had thought it too much trouble to wait past 3:00PM for her guests to show up. When Rhonda called her at 6:00PM she was in Glasgow, on the other side of the country. She offered to provide us with a phone number for a hostel. Rhonda had already paid Air B&B for 3 nights in advance and was some-pissed!\n But things have a way of turning out (mostly). Dawn had booked a private room at a hostel that doesn't really have private rooms. Mistaking Pounds for Euros she had just paid the up-charge for all of the beds in a room so she wouldn't have to sleep with strangers. She came back to the office after seeing her room and was a bit confused. The room was huge. Two toilets, 2 showers, 3 sinks, a dart board, a ping-pong table, couches, tables and chairs, board games, 7 TV's, (That's no typo. Seven TV's) video game console, fridge full of booze and beds to sleep 9 people. She had the room booked for 2 nights so Rhonda and I stayed with her. \n Also, after almost a week of wrangling, Rhonda got a refund - but no apology- from Air B&B. So things have a way of working out (mostly). Bottle Dungeon Brent at the top of the Bottle Dungeon at St. Andrew's Castle. St. Rule's Tower St. Andrew's Cathedral as seen from atop St. Rule's Tower. Caleidoscope Caleidoscope at Camera Obscura. Camera Obscura Optical \"Delusion\" at Camera Obscura Camera Obscura Optical \"Delusion\" at Camera Obscura
2015-07-01: Edinburgh Castle with Dawn
After several days of running running running hither and thither, we took a more relaxed day today. We didn't set any alarms to get up, and then just devoted the day to exploring Edinburgh Castle. It is an active castle, with a couple of buildings still in use today, so very different from the ruins we've been visiting. And super busy. One thing that surprised us was that we weren't \"allowed\" to leave and then come back. We had gone in the morning and decided to leave for lunch and then return. I assumed that with our \"Explorer Passes\", in and out privileges were a given. Dawn stopped and asked on our way out anyway, and was told we were fine. When we got back to the queue after lunch, though, the young fella there informed us that we were NOT, in fact, supposed to go out and then back in on the same \"Explorer Pass\". It seems like one of the dumbest things I've ever heard of. Our best guess as to why it is, is to make sure that people don't \"share\" their \"Explorer Passes\". That made sense, but it would make more sense to stamp people's hands or something for re-entry. From Brent: At Edinburgh Castle we learned a bit of history. After the death of Elisabith I, the last of the Tudors, there was a bit of a problem about who should be the new king. It turned out that James IV, King of Scotland, was the closest living relative (the great-grandson of Henry VIII's sister), so he was offered the crown and became James I of England. And that, I am told, is how the kingdoms became united and England became a part of Scotland. Edinburgh Castle Changing of the guard
2015-07-02: Edinburgh - Planning/Rest Day
And just like that, it's over. We all got up before 5AM today to leave Dawn's hostel-mountain-chalet to make sure she gets to her 8:20AM flight. We walked down to the car park... annnnnnnnnd... it's locked up. Uh-oh. We hadn't planned on that. I waited by the car entry while Dawn and Brent explored in either direction for a way in. Dawn found a way in... but thennnnnnnnnn... no way to get the car exit door open. Finally she got that sorted as well and she was on her way. Good thing we'd built in lots of slack time.\n Brent and I walked up the street to see about getting into our hostel to dump our luggage off, but it is also locked up. So, we walked down the street to where I had located a Laundromat. The Laundromat opens at 8AM, so we at some yogurts on the park bench, and now we're enjoying a coffee in Starbuck's until 8:00.\n I set aside today for chores and planning, and so far, it is on track. Yay! We finished our planning and chores early today, so we climbed the hill at Holyrood Park up to the Salisbury Crags for a great view of Edinburgh and Edinburgh Castle. Calton Hill is kind of a weird hodge podge of stuff to see from Holyrood Park. I said it looked like a \"wonders of the world\" mini golf park. Brent said, \"it's Scotland. It could be a full-sized 'wonders of the world' golf course.\" We had lunch at Pancho Villa's Authentic Mexican restaurant. I haven't been tracking meals and restaurants on this trip, because I haven't really been wow'ed by anything... until now. The food at Pancho Villa's is AMAZING! We highly recommend this restaurant. It's on the Royal Mile, closer to the Holyroodhouse Palace end than the Edinburgh Castle end. Calton Hill from Holyrood Park Edinburgh, the Salisbury Crags, and a very enthusiastic young lady The clock at The Canongate Tolbooth on the Royal Mile
2015-07-03: York
Before we left Edinburgh today, we walked up Calton Hill to have a look at what was up there. It was interesting. It's like every time Edinburgh wants to build a memorial of some kind, they default to putting it on that hill. Before we left Canada, I ordered us some Brit Rail passes. They cost a little over �200 for unlimited train travel for four days out of 30 (from the first date used). When Dawn decided to come in to meet us and rented a car, I thought that we might not get our money's worth out of the passes. The first time we used them was just to get from Glasgow to Stirling to meet up with her, and if we'd paid directly for those tickets, they would have cost us only �8/ea. Yikes! That's not a very good deal! But today I calculated it out, and we will get about �100 ($200) benefit from the passes. Our train from Edinburgh to York would have been about �85. York to Waterloo would have been about �140, and Southampton to Heathrow would have been about �65. We'll be getting about �300 worth of travel for our �200 passes, saving about $200/ea by the time we're done. Yay! We could have done better if we'd had more longer journeys (like the York to Waterloo one) than we actually have, but this is good enough. It had been about two days since I lodged my complaint with AirBnB about Caroline, who bailed on us at the last minute even though I had paid to stay three nights with her in Edinburgh, so I e-mailed them to follow up and find out when I'd hear back from them. When I got onto WiFi this morning, I had a message from Neil, supportive, and requesting supporting documentation for his investigation. Our stupid phone doesn't collect text messages into conversations, nor can we take any kind of screen shots, or forward messages on, so I had to take photos of the text messages with my camera. I made a nice little package for Neil, including messages sent through AirBnB, messages sent through e-mail, and text messages chronicling the conversations (which promptly ended as soon as I started asking her for my money back... grrrr). I am looking forward to hearing back from Neil and learning his assessment of the situation. He probably won't tell me Caroline's side of the story, but I'll be dying to know if she either (1) defends her position, or (2) tries to concoct a different story about how things went down. Probably I'll never know. Sigh. I absolutely could not survive train travel without my PStyle. I have found it invaluable for dealing with peeing outside and peeing in nasty public toilets, but I could make do with squatting and hovering in those situations, if necessary. But, on a moving train, hovering is absolutely not an option. Thanks to the PStyle I can successfully and cleanly pee, in a nasty public toilet, on a moving train. Seriously. Best. Gear. Ever. For the first two nights of our AirBnB fiasco, we bunked in with Dawn in her hostel, but then she went home and we had one more night to stay in Edinburgh. I booked us into Brodie's hostel with nary a suspicion that it could possibly be even worse than Paddy's Palace in Killarney. Well, I was wrong. Brodie's has made being a bad hostel an art form. They're a fair size, but their kitchen accommodates only four around a small table. All the chairs are flimsy and breaking. One of the fridges is completely full (not sure they follow through on their threat to clean it out regularly) and the other one is completely full and stinks. None of the faucets in the men's washroom work. Three of four faucets in the ladies' work. Only one of the showers work. There are mice in the kitchen - I saw one, and there is plenty of evidence that they're aware of it but do nothing about it (the graffiti on their kitchen table is essentially a \"doodle shrine\" to the mouse). Thankfully the room and the bed weren't bad, but we couldn't wait to get out of there. I have been lamenting something that happens with frequent travel... the first time you encounter something, it seems amazing and cool. The more you encounter the same thing, the less novel, and more mundane, it becomes. The first time I came to York, I was blown away by some of the narrow streets, and fascinated by the walled city. Now that I've seen lots and lots of narrow streets, that's no big whoop anymore, and now that I've seen Derry, the York wall seems less fascinating and impressive somehow. I've been following Beth's posts on Facebook. She's currently in London - we meet up tomorrow for our shared holiday. She's never been to the UK before and she's making all kinds of neat discoveries... things that I already know about. I'm envious of her reactions. From Brent: Our third night in Edinburgh we left the Stay Central Hostel and said goodbye to Dawn as she headed back to Atlanta and we headed a couple of blocks down the road to Brodie's Hostel. At this point there was still no sign of Air B&B coming up with a refund and our accommodation budget for the night had already been spent on a room that we couldn't have so Brodie's was chosen because it was cheap. Oh, never choose a hostel as cheap as Brodie's! I had thought that Paddy's Palace in Killarney was run-down and scuzzy but Brodie's was 1 step lower, at least the kitchen at Paddy's wasn't filthy. \n I won't trouble you with too many of the details here but the most horrifying and funny thing about the place was the \nkitchen table. It was covered with grafitti. Some of it quite artistically tasteful. Some were simple sentences stating that Brodie's was the worst hostel in Edinburgh (or the world, if you believe the guy who scratched out the word 'Edinburgh'). There was a picture of a tombstone, engraved with the name, \"Brodie's Hygeine.\" Another spot a cartoon mouse sat on it's haunches saying, \"Buy more cheese, please.\" Someone had started a list of broken or non-functioning things in the hostel and left space at the bottom for others to add to the list, several people had added items, and when we were there none of the items had been repaired. All this and more was written in Sharpie marker on the kitchen table and nobody had even bothered to try to clean it off. Rhonda saw a mouse in the kitchen, I didn't turn around in time. By the next day Rhonda and I calmed down a bit from our shock and laughed a bit at the gallows-humour of the place. Rhonda took some pictures of the table as reminders. \n At least we didn't get bedbugs.\nMaybe the mice ate them.\n Mouse doodle at Brodie's. Graffiti on the kitchen table at Brodie's Calton Hill Brent on the York wall.
2015-07-04: York
I heard from AirBnB about the fiasco in Edinburgh. They're refunding my money, which is good, but they're saying that I share in the blame for the situation because our phone hasn't been working properly. Our host LEFT TOWN when she didn't hear from us by 3PM on CHECK-IN DAY for pete's sake! Since when is it anything like appropriate for accommodation to give up on your arrival when they haven't heard from you by 3PM!?\n Even though I'm getting my money back, I'm not going to use AirBnB again. We've had five experiences with them, and one future one booked. Of the five so far, two of them have been absolutely horrible. That's a terrible track record. I'll be taking Linda's advice from now on and sticking with \"regulated\" services. Kind of a shame since I kind of prefer the cowboy way. Today was \"history day\" in York for Brent and me. Brent wanted to go see the \"Discover Richard III\" and \"Discover Henry VII\" things. There were a few other things we thought we might go see as well. There was a package admission on those two things plus \"Barley Hall\", so we did those. It was neat to learn about Barley Hall, which had been originally built in about 1390, and was slated for demolition in the late 70s... until they discovered how old it was and decided to restore it instead. This afternoon, after we'd seen those three things, I started feeling crappy really quickly so we're back at the B&B resting. Boo.
2015-07-05: Meet Beth in England
Beth brought her flute along, so this evening we did a \"round robin\" talent show, with Beth playing lovely tunes (mostly English folk tunes on her flute), Brent tooting out a few remembered songs on his recorder, and me filling in the blanks with some low-brow ukulele tunes. My favorite was when I played \"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life\" and Beth played along! How fun! Essential gear: Slips of paper and a pen. Every day, I get the details of any transportation, accommodation, or any other key information we need for the day (or the next couple of days) off the internet and write them onto a slip of paper. Sometimes I also take screen shots of the information, and screen shots of Google Maps, and store them on the hard drive. If we can't get onto internet (which is common), we have all the information we need. Walking to April Cottage Our respective journeys today had so many points of possible failure it's amazing that we made it to April Cottage at all, nevermind right on time and according to plan. Wow. Sneak peek of Corfe Castle Part of our journey involved a transfer at Corfe Castle and it is just as cool as I remember it! We can't wait to visit again tomorrow and spend more time exploring. Dinner in the garden at April Cottage April Cottage is seriously the nicest place I've ever stayed. If you take every Homo Sapiens that has ever lived, I bet less than 1% has ever experienced something so idyllic.
2015-07-06: Corfe Castle with Beth
Our B&B host, Peter, provided us with lots of great information, and lent us his highly-detailed map of the area for the day. We walked from Harman's Cross to Corfe Castle via Purbeck Way, explored Corfe Castle, had traditional \"cream tea\" (scone with clotted cream and jam, plus tea), then tried to walk to Worth Matravers via the Purbeck Way. We ended up going sort of the wrong way and went via Kingston (including a splash in the swamp and a tromp in the nettles for me, and a fall into the nettles for Beth). We had a beer in Kingston and then carried on to Worth Matravers where we saw an interesting Stonehenge-like wooden sculpture, and then had steak pasties and beer at the Square and Compass, which had been recommended to us by a couple of people. Beth played her flute at Corfe Castle and at the Kingston pub. I was at Corfe Castle in the late 1990s and had it built up in my head to be an extremely cool and fascinating place. When Brent, Beth and I decided to go to England, I insisted that we go back there, and booked us into a nearby B&B for three nights. It was awesome to see it again today, and... YAY! It's just as cool as I remember! It would be the pits to drag my friends halfway around the world to see something that was just meh compared to my memory of it. From Brent: Corfe Castle, in Dorset, is a pretty impressive ruin. The one thing that impressed me the most about it was that the main \ngate archway had pulled apart. The arch looked like it might fit back together if you could shift the gatehouses back to \ntheir original positions. The lefthand gatehouse and half of the arch had shifted foreward about 4 feet and down about 6 \nfeet, sinkinging into the ground and sliding down-slope yet staying upright and mostly intact. Walking along the ridge above Corfe Castle. Coming down from the ridge beside Corfe Castle. Beth plays her flute at Corfe Castle Cream Tea at the Tea House beside Corfe Castle Weird wooden stonehenge-y thing outside of Worth Matravers Dinner at the Square and Compass in Worth Matravers
2015-07-07: Walk to Studland with Beth
View from Purbeck Way. Studland Beer in Studland
2015-07-08: To Isle of Wight with Beth
Today was a travel day. We took the 44 from Harman's Cross to Swanage, then the 50 from Swanage to Bournemouth. We got rained on a little on the outside upper deck of the 50. Train to Southampton, and a detour into the bookstore where I picked up a couple of maps which I think will be really helpful for cycling the Isle of Wight. Then the Red Funnel ferry to the Isle of Wight where Lorraine and Pip were waiting to meet us! They piled us and our luggage into their van and drove us to our hotel to settle in, then came back to fetch us after an hour or so and fed us dinner and drinks. We had a wonderful visit, and Beth left early for her job interview (while on vacation... in ENGLAND). \n Lorraine and Pip are letting us leave our stuff at their place while we're out cycle touring for four days. It feels very light-weight to be rid of our backpacks and have only what we absolutely need for four days in our day packs. From Brent: If you wanted to do a speed trip of the IoW you could easily drive around it in a day with stops at a few points of interest \nbut it is worth taking a little time and relaxing. There are lots of small things to check out along the way, small towns, \nsmall attractions, pretty view-points, beach walks. It is a place that encourages a slower pace. You could also spend a day \nat Osbourne House, Queen Victoria's and Prince Albert's private retreat. It's smallish and understated by European Palace \nstandards, but makes a nice walking, picnic and historically informative day. It's good to see how the 'other half' chose to \nlive. Reunion with Lorraine and Pip after 7 years!
2015-07-09: Cycle to Freshwater with Beth
I miss Dewey! We picked up rental bikes today. As is normal for rental bikes, they're pretty crappy. And, of course, no clip pedals. I am SO used to the clips on Dewey, I'm having a hard time riding a bike with normal pedals. Sheesh! We cycled from Cowes to Freshwater today along the \"Coastal Route\" cycle route. It was really great, although the Isle of Wight could do a lot to improve their cycle signage. When we got to Freshwater, we had thought to ride out to Needles, but our hosts, Alexander and Christina, convinced us that it was better to walk because you're not allowed to cycle along the most scenic route. They were crazy hospitable. They are from Hungary, and lived in Toronto and Barrie for a few months where Alex completely fell in love with Canada (and, apparently, Canadians). Seriously, it was like we were long-lost relatives that they'd been saving up for ten years for a visit. They ended up taking us out to the Needles and walking part of the path with us, then they tried to make us a dinner reservation at the best place in town (The Red Lion), but that didn't work out, so then they took us past the Co-Op so we could buy some groceries instead. Really great folks - I hope they take us up on the offer to come visit in Canada someday. Leaving Cowes with our rental bikes Cliff on the Alum Bay side of Tennyson Down View and cliffs on the Freshwater Bay side of Tennyson Down
2015-07-10: Cycle to Shanklin with Beth
Today was our \"long ride\" day for the trip. 40km. Not hard if you're in the swing of touring, but a big deal for us today. We had a good warm-up day yesterday, and glorious weather, so we had the best of everything. \n We started off by climbing an enormous hill out of Freshwater Bay, and cycled along the highway for quite a while with amazing views of the ocean and the white cliffs at Freshwater. Heading inland, we saw some great little villages and climbed a few smaller hills. Near Atherfield, we re-joined the highway and had lunch at the Whyte Mouse Inn before climbing the enormous hill up to Blackgang. \n Per Alex and Kristina's advice, we wanted to stop in Niton to see St. Catherine's Lighthouse. In Niton, we left our bikes in town and walked down to see the lighthouse, and was I ever glad we did! The hill was really steep - I think part of it was at least 20% grade. It would have been impossible (for me) to cycle back up it. \n After Niton, we spent some time on the highway again, which was fairly busy at this point as we headed to Ventnor. At Ventnor, we turned inland, and climbed a couple of hills before we reached Wroxall. At Wroxall, we easily found the rail trail direct to Shanklin, and at Shanklin, Brent's superior navigational skills found our way to our Inn.\n This morning Beth said the Isle of Wight is diamond shaped, and we were staying at 9:00, and riding all the way to 4:00. Well, interestingly, we also started riding around 9:00 this morning and arrived in Shanklin around 4:00, so we rode from 9:00 to 4:00 to get from 9:00 to 4:00. A great day. At Seahorses with Kristina and Alex Thatched cottage at Brook Bay. Love thatched roofs! Rhonda and Beth are on vacation... in England! Beth and Brent cycle near Brighstone. Looking back at the cliffs at Tennyson (Freshwater Bay) from Brook Bay. St. Catherine's Lighthouse.
2015-07-11: Cycle to Ryde with Beth
Today was a very short riding day. We had made it all the way to St. Helens before we decided to stop for our first break, and from there it was a fast ride to Ryde. We had thought to do a wine tour and cider tour, but where the places were located was inconvenient and would have meant adding 10km of riding, which we weren't willing to do on our \"short day\" of riding. So, instead we explored Ryde, had a beer at Ryde Castle, had a chocolate at the Chocolate Apothecary, and soon we'll be heading down to Three Buoys for seafood dinner. Just about every night since Beth joined us, we've been having little evening jam sessions. Beth plays the flute, and is coming up on her 38th(?) anniversary of playing. She plays professionally and teaches. Brent plays the recorder, but he hates to practice - he just wants to magically be able to play. I've been playing the ukulele for a year, and I'm a hack who just wants to play and sing silly songs. My vocal range is really narrow, so I have to convert every song into the one key that I can sing in, which is A, but the key of A is hard to play on the ukulele, so I tune my uke so that I can play the chords of G (easiest), but have the sound come out in the key of A (two half-notes up). Let's just say that the contrast between Beth's abilities, and our abilities, is... uh... entertaining. We're having fun, though, and that's all that really matters. We particularly enjoy playing \"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life\" (Monty Python), because we can all participate. Beth and Brent leaving Shanklin. Beer at Ryde Castle.
2015-07-12: Cycle to East Cowes with Beth
It was rainy and windy today, so we opted to use the Coastal Route to go directly back to Cowes. Good thing. Brent was really tired of hauling our wretched trailer, and it worked out well for us to do a luggage transfer with Lorraine and Pip before they set out to watch a tennis match early this afternoon.\n Once we had concluded our business in East Cowes (return rental bikes, check in to hotel, luggage transfer), we took the bus from Cowes to Arreton Barns with the thought that we would have dinner at the Dairyman's Daughter. We were done exploring rather early, and the whole area smelled quite enthusiastically of poop, so we took the bus back to Newport for dinner at the Wheatshank and then back to Cowes. \n Brent identified a better ferry option for Beth in the morning. Yay! It was looking like she was going to have to get up at 4:30 to take the chain ferry over to East Cowes, to get the Red Funnel to Southampton on time to make her train. A quick search on Brent's part identified that the Red Jet - which is just outside our hotel - no chain ferry to East Cowes needed - has better departure/arrival times. Beth walked over and inquired about using her Red Funnel ticket on Red Jet and they stamped her straight through!
2015-07-13: Ventnor and Folly on Isle of Wight
Yesterday Beth, Brent and I bought a \"group ticket\" on the transit system to go out to Arreton. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the ticket was actually for a full 24-hours - it had an expiry date and time. Since we didn't buy our ticket until 2PM, Brent and I were able to use the same ticket today. The weather was pretty yucky, but we took an excursion out to Ventnor to have a look around. It's a REALLY pretty town. When we got back, Lorraine and Pip took us out to their favorite pub, the Folly Inn in Whippingham, where we had dinner and drinks. The weather was pretty crappy all day, and I had booked us in to camp at Waverly Park for the next three nights. We thought about abandoning that plan (and they money I'd pre-paid for us to stay there), but after a lot of fretting and gnashing of teeth (and waiting out the weather), we finally decided to stick with Plan A. I'm glad we did - it turned out to be quite nice and getting better. Ventnor Esplanade.
2015-07-14: Osborne House and Barber
Everyone on the Isle of Wight has told us we HAVE TO go to Osborne House, so today was the day. We spent a good part of the day there. It was really interesting, and lots to explore. Then, I \"forced\" Brent off to the Barber where we had the good fortune of getting Brent \"transformed\" by Eve, who was super-patient and awesome. Brent's transformation at Eve's Barbershop - \"Before\". Brent's transformation at Eve's Barbershop - \"During\". Brent's transformation at Eve's Barbershop - \"After\". Osborne House
2015-07-15: Isle of Wight with L&P
My new merino wool sweater that I bought in Killarney picked up the essence of Clones on it. When we were there, Clones suffered from the ungodly smell of farmers spreading slurry on their fields for fertilizer, and my poor sweater has smelled of it ever since. I'm reluctant to run the sweater through the wash unnecessarily - wool doesn't really like being washed. And the smell only comes out when the sweater gets a bit wet. So, I've been putting up with it. The last couple of nights, though, I've been using the sweater as part of my pillow for sleeping in the tent, and WOOF! I may have to run that sweater through the wash... Today we got the grand tour of the Isle of Wight from Lorraine and Pip. They took us out to Alum Bay for another look at the Needles. We drove Military Road around over to Ventnor for lunch, and then back via Sandown. Pretty much covered the whole island. It was great to be able to spend the day with our friends - a luxury we probably wouldn't have had if it weren't for the Schengen issues. Thanks, Schengen! Tennyson AONB (Area of Natural Beauty). Tennyson AONB (Area of Natural Beauty). The Needles from Alum Bay. Colored cliffs at Alum Bay Lunch in Ventnor.
2015-07-16: To Heathrow Area
Silly, na�ve me. I thought that I could go away for six months without bringing my heel care regimen with me. I have a serious problem with my heels cracking, and if I don't stay on top of it, using a solon-grade shaver thingy on a regular basis, my heels can get so cracked and painful that it's close to impossible for me to walk (or cycle). My heels started cracking while we were in Scotland (I made it about two months). I bought some overnight heel cream just a couple days ago, but since we were camping I haven't had a chance to try it out yet (I have no faith in it anyway). Today, Brent and I went to a \"Poundland\" store (you know... like a dollar store, but for pounds), and I found this really nifty heel ball thingy that is sort of like a cheese grater... only for heels. I can't wait to try it! Yay! But I really should have brought my proper shaver thingy along. Next time I try to go away for more than two months, I'll know. Brent and I made it to Longford (Heathrow area) quite early today and enjoyed lunch at the White Horse Pub. Then, we checked into our hotel and did some errands and went for a bite to eat at the King's Arms, which was not nearly as charming, but which had a beer garden in the back with a view of the Heathrow Pod Parking track, so we got to watch the pods go back and forth. It was quite entertaining.\n Pod Parking\n Pod Event\n\n
2015-07-17: To Frankfurt
I forgot to empty out the \"boob safe\" this morning before going through security. Set off the machine. Got searched. Had to empty the \"boob safe\" in public. After security, the \"Snot Queen\" returned with a vengeance, and Brent said it was a good thing I hadn't blown my nose before security or I would have also been busted for bringing through a liquid/gel.\n We were SOOOO happy to see our own bikes today, after riding the vile rental bikes, and hauling the vile rental trailer (poor Brent). I am so happy to be riding Dewey, and to have my clip pedals, and to have my rear-view mirror again! What a difference! We got really really accustomed to the temperatures in Ireland and the UK. Like, much colder than in Germany. When we got to Germany today we almost died! It will be nice to have a few days to acclimatize before we have to get on the bikes in a serious way. We rode about 5km today, collecting our bikes out of storage and riding them to our hotel. Maybe put on a few kms tomorrow as well - we'll see. On the flight today, I wrote myself a \"cheat sheet\" of what to say to our border guard out of a few phrases that I found in Brent's phrase book. When we got to the guy, we were lucky and had a happy, friendly young fellow. He was fully fluent in English, and happy to speak it, but I asked him if I could state our business in German. I told him (yes, I realize there are errors in it... that's not the point), \"Wir bin hier im Urlaup auf der Schengen fur sechs Wochen. Wir gehe Frankfurt nach Budapest auf Fahrrad.\" We are here on holidays in Schengen for six weeks. We are going from Frankfurt to Budapest on bicycle.\n He asked me if I'd written it out myself or if someone had written it for me. I told him I wrote it out. And then he questioned me, twice, to confirm that I meant to say we were going from Frankfurt to Budapest on bicycle. It wasn't that he didn't understand my German... it was just that he thought I was making a mistake. Surely I didn't mean we were going from Frankfurt to Budapest on bicycle! It was awesome. Brent is so happy to see \"The Tank\", that he gives him a friendly \"fist bump\". I'm so happy to see \"Dewey\" I can't wait to give him a big hug!
2015-07-18: Errand Day in Frankfurt
Oddly, I haven't found coming to Germany to be \"jarring\" this time like it was last time. Coming from Britain is ok - everything seems pretty normal (except in German). Coming from Western France was a shock though, because the pace there is so slow, and the people so over-the-top warm and friendly. I brought a skort along for warmer days, but I chose poorly. I brought one of the heavy Costco skorts. Uhhhh... yeah, apparently a \"winter skort\". It is way too heavy and warm to be of any good, so I decided I wanted to head down to the area where we bought our backpacks and look for a skort. That area happened to be the epicenter of the Frankfurt Gay Pride Parade today, and we ended up with front row standing to watch. My favorite was some guys painted in rainbow colors, sort of like the ones from the web page only better. Brent's favorite was a mobile drum circle. I received a flag and brochure from something to do with gay rights in Israel. Technology can be really great... and it can also be a complete ass. A while back, I booked to stay in our Frankfurt hotel for tonight. Then, we decided to come a day early so I wanted to book us for a second night (last night). Booking.com wouldn't let me modify my existing booking and add the second night, but it had no problem with creating a second booking for the second night. You can see where this is going.\n Yesterday when we checked in, I explained the situation and asked if we would be able to stay in the same room for both nights, or if we would have to check out in between the two nights. The fella I talked to said he would put a note on my reservation that we were keeping the same room. This morning when we went out, I stopped by the desk to confirm that they knew we were staying in the same room. They didn't know. Their \"system\" didn't know. But, they were nice about it and went \"ticky ticky ticky\" on their computer to set it up for us to stay in the room. \n We went out for the day and came back in late afternoon. Everything was fine. We had a nap. At 7:30PM, someone from the hotel came to knock on the door to find out who was in here and how long we were staying. Their \"system\" didn't know we were renewed in here. They got it straightened out, but surely there must be a way to convert \"two separate reservations for two separate nights\" into \"one reservation for two nights\" without me having to talk to every single staff member only to still end up with a mix-up!? If everything weren't so dependent on technology, this surely would not have happened. A quick phone call when I wanted to book the second night would have sufficed. Gay Pride Parade in Frankfurt. Gay Pride Parade in Frankfurt.
2015-07-19: Train to Donaueschingen with Laura
How ironic. Five weeks ago, Brent and I plotted out a very detailed route for collecting Laura at the Frankfurt Airport, including providing a lovely photograph (below) of our chosen meeting place. We got here today, and the meeting place has been constructed out of existence. D'oh! Hope Brent can find Laura at the arrival gate...\n Laura saw my Facebook update about the death of the Welcome Center, so she knew about the death of our chosen meeting place, and Brent had no trouble finding her at the arrivals gate, so after the first little SNAFU, everything was easy. Laura and Brent assembled her bicycle (while I ran gopher errands), we used Metro to get to the train station downtown, Brent and I collected our bikes from the hotel, we had lunch, we rode the train to Ulm, then from Ulm to Donaueschingen, and using my dizzying navigational skills rode directly to our campground on time to check in and buy bonus yogurts and set-up beers. I'm impressed at how Laura held up through the day, considering it had started in Calgary at something like 1:30AM (MDT) on Saturday and didn't end until 10:00PM-ish (Germany time) on Sunday. Our first few days of cycling will involve heading straight back to Ulm. We saw some stuff from the train that looked amazing, so we can't wait to get started! Bavaria is lumpy and very interesting with castles and ruins everywhere, and crops growing up steep hills. Meeting Place Five weeks ago... so near and yet so far... Assembling Laura's bike at the Frankfurt airport. At Frankfurt Hbf, waiting for our train to Ulm.
2015-07-20: Black Forest
We were more than surprised to find out that our stay at Riedsee campground included a ticket to use on any bus or train in the Black Forest. Laura really wanted to do a train tour through the Black Forest, but we did not book tickets ahead of time because we weren't sure we could make it happen. Good thing we didn't book and pay ahead - we got to go for free today! Yay! Train trip through the Black Forest Train trip through the Black Forest Train trip through the Black Forest Offenburg. Offenburg. Offenburg.
2015-07-21: Danube Cycle Trail - Tuttlingen
Today was \"Day 1\" of touring for Laura and Gabi. Last night Gabi came out to our campground for a quick hello, and then stayed at a hotel in town. This morning, we met her at the train station in Donaueschingen to begin our tour. She is touring with borrowed gear from her brother and sister-in-law. She's got a good mountain bike, and fairly old panniers, which don't completely fit the frame. It took a little effort for us to get the panniers rigged up to stay securely on, but then we were off. We started at the very beginning - the Donauequelle - the source of the Danube. Unfortunately, it is currently under construction, so not particularly scenic, and not at all accessible. We just looked down on it from the nearby church. The weather was glorious, if a little hot (mid-30s). We did an easy 37km to Tuttlingen where we found a simple Zeltplats for Brent, Laura and me, and then went into town to find accommodation for Gabi. After being sent thither-and-yon looking for an available room, and then paying more than she wanted to for a room, Gabi decided that she should buy some camping gear. She found great deals on a sleeping bag and tent, so tomorrow it should be easier for us to find accommodation, but it will be harder for her to pack all the gear along. \n The place where we camped was very simple. It cost us �5 for the three of us to stay, and the cost is just for the use of the wash facilities. Just camping is completely free. When we got to Tuttlingen, we had the small tent area completely to ourselves - there was no one else around. Camping in Germany seems to be very much about activities and entertainment, so we thought, naively, that we may have the place to ourselves all night. After spending a few hours in town, and then returning, we discovered Tent City set up all around us, including some folks who set up their large tent practically right on top of us. Dang. I feel a bit ripped off for the �5. Turned out it was for a key which opened none of the doors except for the one that doesn't lock anyway. What was behind the door wasn't great. One toilet for the whole campsite, and a bunch of co-ed, open shower stalls (no curtains... no doors... ahem - equates roughly to \"no shower for Rhonda). Damned hassle to stop in at Town Hall to return the key and get back our deposit on a key that we never needed in the first place, too!\n At Donauquelle - the source of the Danube River Along the Danube
2015-07-22: Danube Cycle Trail - Hausen im Tal
We rode from Tuttlingen to Hausen im Tal today, which is a really cute little town with an AWESOME campingplatz. It was a scorcher, and very hilly, but we made it very early anyway and set up in the campingplatz with Gabi's new tent. Gabi's friend who lives nearby came out for a visit so we had dinner at the only restaurant in town, across the street from the campingplatz. Gabi seems really happy to be cycling through the area where she grew up. It's awesome.\n Today I got to feed some apples to some sheep. It was awesome. Laura was riding along and saw the sheep, pointing them out to me. We had just come from a snack break where we'd had some apples and Laura was carrying the apple cores to dispose of later, so I took the cores and fed them to the sheep. Sadly, the whole sheep feeding extravaganza was over too soon, so Laura let me take her whole apple and feed THAT to the sheep! Yay! Sheep!\n Leaving Tuttlingen Along the Danube. Along the Danube - note the palace on the cliffs in the background. Along the Danube - cool cliffs.
2015-07-23: Danube Cycle Trail - Mengen
Our magically good luck with weather ran out today. We camped through the night with rain, woke up to rain, packed up in rain, and started riding in the rain. True to the forecast, it did clear up as the morning progressed, and when we reached Sigmaringen, it was already turning quite nice out. We had it in mind to go all the way to Heuneburg today, but we decided to cut the day short and stay in Mengen in a hotel instead. We needed some recoup time, and we'll have a rest day soon. Waking up after the rain in Hausen im Tal. Leaving Hausen im Tal. Along the Danube. Along the Danube. Lunch break in Sigmaringen. Making \"Laundry Wine\". I'm doing laundry in the bathtub, and stomping the laundry like grapes. Stomp!
2015-07-24: Danube Cycle Trail - Riedlingen
I feel great. I feel like I never stopped touring. When we went to Ireland and the UK, it was one big food-fest with very little physical \n\nactivity to go along with it, and I packed a bunch of weight straight back on that I'd lost in our first weeks of touring. When we got on the \n\nbikes in the Isle of Wight, I felt like I was starting all over again - I felt bloated and weak. Boo. We're back in Germany, now, and today \n\nwas Day 4 of cycling. It was a short day, but I feel like I never stopped touring. I'm able to go each day without issue, my butt hardly \n\nhurts, and the Ireland/UK weight is starting to fall back off. Yay!! We had a short day today. Gabi got a suggestion from her friend to spend some time at the Open-air Museum Keltischer Furstensitz Heuneburg, so \n\nwe did, and it was fantastic! So interesting to learn the history of these people who had a fairly advanced society in Germany 2500 years ago. This evening we went from the Zeltplatz into Riedlingen for dinner. Gabi had gone for a swim in the river, and we stopped and picked her up on \n\nthe way. When we got to Riedlingen, she asked a random local - 77-year-old Jugi - for directions to see something in the town. He came with \n\nus, on his Farhhad, and gave us a tour of the town, including the old city wall, and some cool old buildings. We had dinner and bought him a \n\nbeer, and then, as it was getting dark, he toured us around just a couple more things and we returned to the Zeltplatz. It was quite an amazing \n\nand wonderful experience! Heading for Heuneburg. At Heuneburg. Brent starts some cycle maintenance at the Zeltplatz. In Riedlingen. In Riedlingen.
2015-07-25: Danube Cycle Trail - Ersingen
Today was a hard day. We're all overdue for a rest day, but we've decided for a variety of reasons to push on to Ulm and have our rest day \n\nthere. We had a lot more hills than we expected, including some really tough ones, plus some really powerful wind that was, thankfully, mostly \n\na tail-wind. At 60km (including going out to find groceries and dinner), it's by far the longest day of our tour as a group, and close to the \n\nlongest day I've done since we started. Gabi is doing amazing, considering she's not an experienced long-distance cyclist. I was certainly a \n\nlot more of a sissy getting going than she is. She and I are alternating between butting heads and working things out, and it's good for both \n\nof us. I think we're forming a good bond, and we're all figuring out how to function as a team. Poor unsuspecting Gabi, though... the night owl who accidentally came on vacation with three morning people. Oops. All the cyclists pushing up the 20% grade, \"Many cyclists come to grief here\" hill. Uh-oh. I don't remember where this was. But it's a pretty picture.
2015-07-26: Danube Cycle Trail - Ulm
We were all happy to have a flat, easy 20km to Ulm today and then discovered that Ulm is.... AWESOME (and not just because it's the birthplace \n\nof Albert Einstein)! I stopped first at the Tourist Info office and inquired about a place for the three of us to stay. The Tourist Info is \n\nright beside the incredible Ulm cathedral, which, at 161.6m, is the tallest church steeple in the world. The lady was extremely helpful and \n\nfound us a place with a double room and two singles right across the platz from her office, on the far side of the cathedral. We were all \n\nprepared to have heart-attacks at the price tag, but the singles were �38/night and the double was �60/night. AMAZING! Laura, Brent and I \n\nspent some time walking around Ulm taking pictures of the great buildings, including lots of \"Dr. Seuss\" buildings for Brent's amusement. We \n\nthen met up with Gabi for dinner and had an amazing German dinner at a restaurant recommended by our Pension hostess. In Ulm In Ulm In Ulm Dr. Seuss building in Ulm. Dr. Seuss buildings in Ulm. Laura and Brent at the entrance to the Ulm Cathedral.
2015-07-27: Rest Day in Ulm
Rest Day today. It's overdue - seriously. I think we've managed to talk Gabi out of walking up the cathedral tower, which we're concerned will \n\nburn out her legs and/or blow out her knees and then she won't be able to ride. Brent is out doing some bicycle maintenance. Laura is off \n\nsomewhere being introverted. Gabi is out making calls about her cellphone issues and making some plans for the next part of her journey, and \n\nI'm out on the balcony planing the next part of our journey and posting some DAMDetails. I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike \n\ntomorrow. But that is tomorrow and today is rest day. YAY REST DAY!! We've decided that trying to cycle the whole way to Budapest in the time we have is too aggressive. I knew it would be, but I had sketched out a plan, averaging about 55km/day, to get us there in the time we have. The plan is now revised and we'll ride the Vienna and then take a train to Budapest. We've read all the materials, and it sounds like the section between Vienna and Budapest is the least scenic of the sections anyway, so we're all happy.
2015-07-28: Danube Cycle Trail - Dillingen
Gabi decided to take the train today and meet us in Gundelfingen. Brent, Laura and I set out early and rode an easy 50km to Gundelfingen. We had a nice lunch and first beer and then met Gabi at the Gundelfingen train station. The four of us then rode 12km to Dillingen since that was the nearest Campingplatz.
2015-07-29: Danube Cycle Trail - Donauworth
We had our first significant mechanical issue today. We were about 13km shy of Donauworth, in the middle of nowhere, in the drizzle, when Laura broke a spoke. We were formulating a plan which involved her pushing to town, and me keeping her company while Brent and Gabi continued to Donauworth. Our map indicated two bike rental shops in town, but no bike store or mechanic, so I expected the next few days to involve a lengthy solution in order to get back on the road.\n Instead, Magic Miracle Gabi saved the day.\n She raised her arms and appealed to the universe for transport, then blew a kiss. She said to me, \"OK, the next one is ours\". Not two minutes later, the next vehicle approached - a car pulling a small horse trailer. Gabi flagged it down and told them our tale of woe. Turned out the horse trailer was empty! Gabi and Laura got a lift into town while Brent and I rode the 13km. Horse trailer guy drove Laura and Gabi directly to the bike rental shop, where the bike guy replaced Laura's spoke, trued the wheel, and as a bonus, replaced the missing bolt from her kick stand. They were done and fixed up before Brent and I even arrived.\n AMAZING! Seriously, I think today is a dream. Not only did Magic Miracle Gabi save the day when Laura's bike went mechanical in the middle of nowhere, but Brent has now spotted two coffee machines just sitting by the side of the road. Dillingen Catching a ride with horse trailer man, care of Magic Miracle Gabi. Donauworth Donauworth
2015-07-30: Danube Cycle Trail - Neuberg
A couple of days ago I told Brent that after Budapest, I don't want to do any more planning. He's ok with taking over, but it means there will be ahem less pre-planning for the last leg of our journey. We're pondering cycling in Poland, Croatia and Romania. Pondering hiking somewhere, and a long visit to Turkey. We'll just have to see what comes! Today was going to be a notoriously hilly day, traveling through some foothills. Gabi opted for the train again, and the rest of us cycled. There were hills and gravel and gravel hills, so it was indeed challenging. We still made it to Neuberg early, though, and had some time to enjoy the town and some schnitzel and beer. Neuberg is a really really pretty place. Tomorrow is supposed to be a long day... 57km. Eek! While we were hanging out at our Zeltplatz this evening, four tractors pulling trailers pulled in. They travel about 20km/hour. Very sadly, there wasn't enough room at the Campingplatz for all of them so they had to leave. We were so bummed. They were loud and stinky and completely awesome! Hilly day to Neuberg. Neuberg Neuberg Tractor campers!
2015-07-31: Danube Cycle Trail - Bad Gogging
This morning we discovered that the tractor campers were in the next field and Laura and I got to watch while they left. It was amazing. We got to watch the guys start their tractors, and we were particularly taken with the turn-start tractor where the guy took his steering wheel out and it became the crank to turn over the tractor. It wasn't working, though, so his buddy came by with a heater to heat up the engine so it would start. Long day today. Good cycling, mostly, except for a gravel diversion that turned out to be quite a poor surface. The weather is turning hotter again, so I expect that Laura and I will begin wilting soon. We're staying at a Campingplatz that is partway between two towns, sort of in the boonies, so we bought groceries for dinner and breakfast. The Campingplatz has amazingly high-quality bathrooms and showers. I called the bathrooms \"brand new Calgary business tower fancy\" and Laura called the showers \"palatial\". Auenzentrum Neuburg/Donau
2015-08-01: Danube Cycle Trail - Bad Abbach
Something we've noticed in Germany is that camping tends to take place right on top of other people. In several campsites recently, we've been first, or close to first, to arrive. When other folks start arriving, instead of going to empty/unused parts of the campsite, people will camp right on top of us. As other folks arrive, they all join in and camp on top of one another. Below is an example... see how the tents are all clumped together with a big unused area? That's not because a bunch of tenters have up and left. It's because as people arrive, they clump in as close as possible to other tents. Perplexing! A cool aspect of today's ride was that we got to take the ferry from Weltenberg to Kelheim, which took us through the Danube Gorge. The riding option is to go up and over a steep ridge, on a busy highway, with no views. So, we opted for the ferry. It was fabulous! We cut the cycling day short today to do some bicycle maintenance on Brent's bike. He's been having trouble with both wheels, and it reached a point of criticality today, so when we got off the ferry in Kelheim, we found a bike repair shop and got the maintenance done. Hopefully Brent's wheels won't be in any more danger of blowing apart on the trail! We're staying in a Campingplatz outside of Bad Abbach tonight instead of Regensburg, which is what we were aiming for. We're short of our destination because of the bike maintenance. Two points of awesomeness for our Campingplatz... a nearby pizza place that delivers (yes, yes we did), and on-site laundry facilities! Tenting in Germany - let's all stick together! Ferry from Weltenburg to Kelheim. Ferry from Weltenburg to Kelheim. Ordering pizza in the Campingplatz.
2015-08-02: Danube Cycle Trail - Regensburg
Second short ride day today to reach Regensburg (the rides of yesterday and today were originally supposed to be one day of riding). That pushes our rest day to tomorrow (Monday), which is great because we need to buy some bike stuff. We rode to Regensburg and stopped at the Campingplatz, which is on the near side of town. Gabi stayed at the Campingplatz while Brent, Laura and I went into Regensburg to have lunch, visit the Tourist Info office and have a look around. I was really excited about the wash station at the Campingplatz - I've been wanting to wash Dewey since before we left Germany in mid-June. After looking closer, though, you're not allowed to use it for bicycles. What the heck??!! So, instead, I used my nalgene and a rag to get the worst of the dust and dirt off of him. It's better than it was, but not great. I really wanted to use that spray washer! Boo, Campingplatz! Boo! We have gotten into the habit of leaving the tent doors open because, so far in Europe (other than when we camped in the swamp), there's been almost no danger of mosquitoes or other undesirable bugs getting in. In fact, I have gotten almost no bug bites the whole time we've been here. It's quite amazing and wonderful to not have to worry about bugs and bugs and bugs and bugs. I'm a bug magnet, and my holidays (and outdoor activities) are pretty much always commandeered by bug bites and my desire to avoid being eaten alive. I won't know what to do with myself when I'm back someplace where I have to start worrying about that again. Speaking of not worrying about things, we haven't had to worry seriously about our bikes being stolen. In some Campingplatzes we haven't even bothered locking them. When we're in a city and want to go walk-about, we'll often just lock them to each other and go. There are bikes and bikes and bikes around and no apparent danger or worry about theft that I can see. That will probably change as we move east, but for now, it's great to just relax and not worry about it. Regensburg - Rathouse on the right St. Peter's Cathedral, Regensburg
2015-08-03: Rest Day in Regensburg
Rest day in Regensburg, and I ain't movin'. I'm trying to find offline mapping applications for the Windows Surface. It seems that that's a definite deficiency. Disappointing. Brent went out for a bit of shopping today and came back with some cleaning brushes (a bottle brush and a bike-washing brush), and also a small pair of scissors. As soon as I saw the scissors I knew I was going to cut my hair, so I demanded to Laura and Brent that we have a beer and cut my hair. I lopped off the curls that were accumulating on my neck, Laura cleaned it up, Brent shaved my neck fuzz, and I trimmed around my ears to come up with... pretty much exactly the cut I wanted to begin with. Yay! Lunch of champions! A haircut! Yay!
2015-08-04: Danube Cycle Trail - Straubing
I found out that France offers a long-stay visitor visa. I don't know how or why I missed that before, but now we're thinking that we might be able to get that visa and then go back to France for the remainder of our tour. That would be awesome because it looks like there is truly no decent bicycle infrastructure outside of the Schengen area... and France is AWESOME!\n\n We'll fill out the form, provide the required backup docs, and hope for the best. \n It was a hot hot, stinkin' hot day today. We cycled 55km to the Straubing Campingplatz and I am done. It's nice here - much better than the Regensburg Campingplatz, who should be ashamed of themselves for the price they charge for dirty bathrooms and WiFi that costs extra.\n Gabi loves the heat wave. The rest of us... not so much.
2015-08-05: Danube Cycle Trail - NeSlbach
Another hot, hot, stinkin' hot day today and I am officially heat stroked. I started to feel bad right around lunch time in Deggendorf, but I/we thought it was just because I'd gotten too hungry. I was clearly heat stroked by about 3PM, when we took a rest break before Winzer. Brent and Laura cooled me down and we kept going to Winzer, where we found a grocery store and bought some provisions. Gabi took off ahead from there and went to our chosen Campingplatz at NeSlbach. Brent, Laura and I rode slowly to the Campingplatz where they made me take a shower (alas, no cold water... weird). Brent gave me a bit of a sponge bath and Laura made me wear a wet shirt on my head.\n My prize for getting heat stroke today - a wet/cold shirt on my head.
2015-08-06: Danube Cycle Trail - Passau
Last night, Gabi left with a new friend she met during her swim on the Donau. She was going to return around 9AM today, but, because of the heat, Laura, Brent and I decided that we needed to make an earlier start and get as much riding as possible done before the day gets too hot. Gabi's not an early starter, so we've been leaving quite late each day. We can't do that anymore, though, if we are going to end up heat stroked as a result. Anyway, it worked out fine because we cycled to Passau and got here by 10:30 or 11:00 and Gabi followed later by train. She is staying at her niece's place tonight and we are at Zeltplatz on der Ilz. Tomorrow we catch a boat to Linz - we make 100km distance on our \"rest day\", and get to see some scenery. Yay!\n It's the end of an era. That's right... my little folding spoon from Iceland broke today. It made it a little over three months. I was hoping to do the whole six-month trip with it, but alas, it is now done. \n A highlight for today was the Cathedral of St. Stephan in Passau. Laura had read a description of it and decided that she had to see it. It is completely amazing! I'm so glad we got to go there, and that we had an early enough start today to actually get there and enjoy it. \n Cathedral of St. Stephan in Passau. Cathedral of St. Stephan in Passau. Cathedral of St. Stephan in Passau. Umbrella street in Passau. Riding to the Campingplatz in Passau.
2015-08-07: Danube Cycle Trail - Linz
I've discovered on this trip that the books that I brought from home aren't the best resources. The English versions of the BikeLine book/maps for the Danube trail, for example, are not updated as frequently as the German versions. It's pretty important to have the latest versions so that you have the current Campingplatz info, current bike repair shop info, and so on. I'm leaning very heavily towards picking up books/maps for whatever area I'm currently in and just sucking it up if it's in the wrong language. Up-to-date information, apparently, is more important to me than information in my own language. Brent and I have found train travel with the bikes possible, but.... unpleasant. Laura agrees. Today we rode the boat from Passau to Linz, and it was SO EASY to just roll the bikes onto the boat and leave them sitting there. I think, as much as possible, boat will be our preferred method of transportation with the bikes. Since we are timing out on the number of days we can spend in Schengen, Brent has suggested that, after Budapest, we head to Croatia and apply for a France visa there instead of in Vienna or Budapest. That's a great idea, since it could take us a while to get an appointment to make our in-person application. Brent is so smart! I've never been through a lock on a boat before. Today I went through three. It was really cool and interesting... the first time. Now... meh. I'll take a ride on a Zamboni. First day in Austria today. No border crossing. No change in language. Hmmm. Passau Passau About to exit the lock. You can see how far our boat has dropped (high water mark on the wall), the \"gate\" that we will soon move through, and the scenery behind that we will soon sail into. A Schloss as seen from the river Danube.
2015-08-08: Danube Cycle Trail - Sommerau
Heat wave in Austria. No fun at all. It's their fourth heat wave this year and it's terrible. They are warning people not to do outdoor activities because of the heat. We forced Gabi into an early start today - it's not a matter of preference anymore, it's a matter of health and safety. On good days so far, we'd have the wheels rolling at 9:30, but we've had starts as late as 10:30. Today I told Gabi we would be wheels rolling by 7:30, and we almost achieved that... I think we were rolling by 7:50 or so. We have a very very short window to get some distance behind us before the day heats up. By 9:00, the temperature is rising dramatically, so having the 1.5 hours early in the morning before it gets too hot is good. Once Gabi is done touring with us (tomorrow is her last day), we've decided that we'll probably start doing 5:30AM starts so that we have 3.5 hours before the day gets really hot. We used some gatorade a couple of days ago to keep our electrolytes up, and today we had even more. Brent bought 8 bottles in Enns - 2 for each of us. Between the early starts and the gatorade, we're doing pretty good. Yesterday, Gabi convinced me that she could do the early start from a Campingplatz, so we cycled past Walsee and stayed at the Campingplatz in Sommerau, which is really just a field behind a large building at a Pension. It was nice, and the proprietors were REALLY nice. We hoped for a storm, but we didn't get one. We did go down to the Fischer Paradies (fish paradise) restaurant 1km away, and it was awesome. And Gabi was true to her word... such a trooper. She made the early start!
2015-08-09: Danube Cycle Trail - Melk
Today was supposed to be Gabi's last day cycling with us, but there was a miscommunication with her friend in Vienna, and he won't be there until after 10PM tomorrow, so there's not much point in her racing over there. That means she's cycling with us for one more day, which gives her an opportunity to see the Wachau, and it gives me one last opportunity to torment her with an early start. Brent, Laura and I had planned to start doing 5:30AM starts once Gabi was gone. Now that she's with us one more day, we had to compromise - she didn't want to do 5:30, so she negotiated me down to 6:30AM. Later, she negotiated Laura down to 7AM. It's ok - since we came all the way to Melk today, it means we have about a 35km day tomorrow - a short day. We'll spend some time enjoying the Wachau in the early morning cool air. The heat wave continues, and it is making it hard for us to enjoy the sights. We've just been cycling as quickly as possible to our destination and trying not to die from the heat. We're managing carefully with the early starts, and plenty of fluids (including Gatorade). Cycling to Melk. Cycling to Melk. Along the Danube.
2015-08-10: Danube Cycle Trail - Krems
For our whole tour, Gabi has been talking about seeing the Wachau region of Austria. It was scheduled for the day after her last day with us, and she was quite distressed about that and trying to find a way to see it. Since the mix-up with her friend in Vienna, she was able to ride the Wachau with us, and it was everything we dreamed of - and more. It was completely beautiful and spectacular. Certainly as good as the Loire Valley. We got a nice early start - rolling by 6:45 - and took our time enjoying the Wachau. It was SO GREAT! Tomorrow we have a 5:30AM start, since we won't be committing Gabi-cide by doing so. We have 45km to do and we should have plenty of time to enjoy it along the way. Wachau Day! Wachau Day! Laura, Gabi and I enjoy a rest break by the Danube. Wachau Day! Wachau Day! Gabi cycling Wachau Day! Laura contemplating the view Wachau Day! Brent cycling - note the castle ruins on the hill above. Wachau Day! Brent cycling Wachau Day! Gabi pushing up a steep hill
2015-08-11: Danube Cycle Trail - Tulln
It is just the three of us - Laura, Brent and I - for our last two days of cycling, so we did what any normal morning people would do when faced with cycling in a heat wave. We got up at 4:00 and were rolling by 5:30. We made the 43km to Tulln by 9:30AM, just as the day was turning scorcher. It was awesome. We had a bit of lunch in Tulln, walked around a bit, found an air conditioned mall where I bought some maps for Croatia, and then made our way to the Campingplatz to relax through the scorching afternoon. I'm soaking my day pack and Brent's cycle gloves, which all smell something like what I understand is the odor of old hockey equipment. Tomorrow, we'll do the same thing to arrive in Vienna, which will be our last day of cycling while Laura is with us. We have a day in Vienna, a travel day to Budapest, a couple days with Michelle, and then Brent and I will be on our own again. Laura and Brent wilting in Tulln Brent and Laura after cycling to Tulln in the heat wave
2015-08-12: Danube Cycle Trail - Vienna
Today was the last cycling day with Laura. Boo! I can't believe it's gone by so quickly. We made another early start (rolling at 5:30), and made it to Vienna by about 10AM. We're checked into our awesome hostel with our awesome check-in lady, and soon we'll head downtown to try and book our Hydrofoil trip for Friday (to get us to Budapest). Gabi has booked into our same hostel, so we should see her again too - her adventure is taking her in different directions than her original plans. We should also see Michelle soon. She is in Vienna with no tour plans tomorrow - it synchs perfectly with our rest day so we should be able to hang out with Michelle tomorrow. It's just synchronicity all over the place. The darndest thing happened today. It is \"chore day\" - we need to sort out our transport to Budapest, do laundry, try to get passport photos for our France visa application, look into shipping Laura's bike back to Canada, etc, etc, etc. My biggest concern was getting the transport to Budapest squared away, so once we were settled in to our hostel, we headed downtown to the ticketing office for the Hydrofoil. When we were done there (alas, Hydrofoil-ed... or is that NOT Hydrofoil-ed), we wandered a half a block down the street in search of much-needed lunch. We were just selecting a table, when who spotted us from across the restaurant, but Gabi, who had just arrived there with her friend. I can't believe that in all of Vienna, we ended up at the same restaurant at the same time. We were planning on catching up with her at the end of the day anyway, but that was just a little spooky. Magic Gabi strikes again....?? DAMN! We've been Hydro-foiled. Or, is that NOT Hydro-foiled. A few days ago I wanted to book our Hydrofoil tickets, but their web site didn't have a place for me to include bicycles on the reservation, plus they wanted a credit card number but their page wasn't secured. So, we took our chances on booking when we showed up today, but they are fully booked. DAMN! We are stuck with the train. Icky icky icky!! Banana three-way, pic #1 Banana three-way, pic #2 Yeah, we went there
2015-08-13: Day in Vienna
Today was a day full of chores and sight-seeing. Gabi joined us, and we met up with Michelle to go to the Leopold Museum. Then, we all went for lunch at the Sacher Caf�, and went to the Schmetterling Haus. We also plowed through some chores, including looking for bike shipping options for Laura, and booking our transport to Budapest. Tomorrow will be more chores - Brent and I want to make our first attempt at a visa for France, plus stop by the Hauptbanhof to collect our train tickets and orient ourselves to the station before we have to go there first thing on Saturday with our bikes. Crasher Laura at the Vienna Parliament Building Sprinkler Run, pic #1 Laura and Brent prepare to engage in some kind of weird sprinkler frolic ceremony Sprinkler Run, pic #2 The underwear exchange Hard to say who is happier in this pic - Michelle, to be finally ridding herself of my package of mostly underwear, or me, for receiving the package of mostly underwear. That is some well-traveled underwear! A Schmetterling at the Schmetterling Haus A Schmetterling at the Schmetterling Haus
2015-08-14: Day in Vienna
Annnnnnd... the heat wave continues. Brent, Laura and I set out early this morning to check out the main Hbf (train \n\nstation) that we'll be traveling to tomorrow morning. Laura, the smart one, realized that tomorrow is Saturday, so we \n\nactually should be able to take our bikes on Metro regardless of rush hour, so we're planning on doing that rather than \n\nriding to the station. Then, Brent and I set out to the France Consulate where we received our first bit of official run-\n\naround. First of all, we went to the listed address, and were told we needed to go to a different place across town. So, \n\noff we went across town, but the only person at that office was a general info guy who told us that the visa office is \n\nferme, and we need to make our visa application from Canada (which, according to the internet which never lies, is not \n\nentirely accurate). This afternoon I wanted to go for a bike ride around Vienna with Gabi, but the heat wave, and \n\nadditional errands are preventing that. Two things I've known about myself for a while are that I get easily overwhelmed trying to ride in unfamiliar cities, and that I have a lousy sense of direction. These things haven't been any kind of real hindrance to me in my real life because I rarely have to deal with them. When I'm riding in an unfamiliar city (for example, when I moved to Edmonton), after the first few rides, it becomes familiar, and then I'm fine. With the sense of direction thing, I'm rarely by myself when a good sense of direction is important, and apparently I hang out with a lot of people who have a good sense of direction. On this trip, though, the constant novelty of where we are has really amplified these things and I now feel aware of them very frequently. I have finally gotten into the habit of staying firmly behind Brent when we're riding in an unfamiliar city, even though my natural tendency is to ride in front, and Brent's natural tendency is to not ride in front. From Brent: What can I say; it's still stinkin' hot in Europe. It cooled off for about 2 days after I wrote the last letter but now we are working on at least our 8th day in a row of temperatures in the high 30's. The predicted highs for the next 3 days are 37, 37 & 38. Not great cycling weather. Every evening we see clouds that look like thunderheads forming in the distance. We've all been hoping for rain to cool us off but so far it hasn't developed. The closest thing to rain was about 5 days ago in Sommerau. At night there were 5 or 6 flashes of lightning to the south but they were so far away that the thunder was undetectable. From Brent: I thought that I could talk a bit in this letter about some of the unusual things I've encountered in Europe. Nothing too outrageous, just things that that have struck me as being different from home. So, in no particular order:\n \n Two-way doors and windows are pretty common in Europe. By two-way I mean that they hinge in 2 different directions. They normally have a handle that rotates. With the handle in the 'down' position the door/window locks. 'To the side' and it opens fully, like a regular door. 'Up' and it hinges at the bottom, the top opening about 6\", like a transom. The first time I ran across one of these I just turned the handle until it stopped (up) and pulled. I thought the door was going to fall on me!\n Scooters (Vespa-types) are allowed on many of the bicycle paths. We've seen a few people touring by scooter.\n I've seen quite a few \"Stevens\" brand bicycles around. They are designed and built in Hamburg. Too bad they spell the name wrong.\n There have also been a few bicycles-built-for-two on the trails. One cool configuration has a recumbent on the front and a regular bike on the back. Both riders get a good view forward.\n There seem to be a lot of canoe & kayak clubs in Germany. Many of them have very basic campgrounds beside a river or lake where you can set up a tent for 5 to 8 Euros per person.\n There is a lot of smoking in Europe. At least more public smoking. It's hard to have a beer or a meal outside without sitting next to someone who's drawing on a cigarette.\n It's also perplexing to see cycle tourists stopping on the side of the trail for a smoke-break. A couple of nights we camped beside a cycle tourist who chain-smoked in the campground.\n There are cigarette machines all over the place. It's not unusual to find one on the sidewalk in a residential neighbourhood. The vending machines require you to insert a driver's licence or ID card before they'll sell cigarettes.\n I went into a gas station in Dillingen to buy some beer. At the checkout they had a display selling cigarettes in 7-packs. Attached to the display was a little shelf with loose cigarettes on it. The sign said, \"Take one. Try one.\"\n The drinking age in most of Europe seems to be 16.\n \"Radler\" is a nice drink. It's like a mildly alcoholic (3%) ginger-beer. Very refreshing after a day of riding.\n Urinals in Germany are not for use by short guys. I'm 5'8\" and I can use them OK but if I was 5'0\" I'd have to angle upwards or use a toilet.\n And the toilets are getting weird. The first odd one I saw was in Ulm but they are becoming more common. The back half of the bowl is raised above the water level and flattened; and not very far below the toilet seat. When you poop it's laid out on this porcelain platter. The first time I used one I was afraid that there wouldn't be enough spare room to wipe. But so far no big problems...When you flush, high pressure water sprays from the back of the toilet bowl and pushes anything on the platter forward, where it falls into the sump and is flushed away....It's best to close the lid for this operation.\n
2015-08-15: Arrive Budapest; Meet Michelle
Transit day. Train from Vienna to Budapest, with a connection in Gyor. I hate hate hatey hate taking the train with loaded touring bikes. Wrestling the bikes on and off the trains is brutal and securing them on the train is awful. Hanging them up is the worst, but it's all bad. I wish the boat had worked out. I should have pre-reserved, but we didn't know for sure that that's what we'd be doing. Oh well... we can do the train if absolutely necessary. At least we didn't have to hang the bikes up on either train today. We took a lady we didn't know (before) on the tour from Donaueschingen to Vienna. We certainly know Gabi now - we have her number, and she definitely has ours. We all had to make huge adjustments to form a functioning team, but we did it. I have to take a moment to say how absolutely impressed I am with Gabi for doing the tour. She had almost no pre-conditioning, no cycle touring experience, a borrowed bike (her sister-in-law's mountain bike), borrowed paniers (her brother's old old set), brand new el-cheapo sleeping bag and tent, and no sleeping pad at all. I'm astonished that the tour didn't break Gabi or her gear. She did the whole tour with us, except for a couple of much needed \"train days\". Our hats are off to you Gabi, you're one determined cookie! I'm not crazy about a lot of things about the Windows Surface... and I'm certainly no fan of Windows 8, but I'm super impressed with how my Surface has held up so far on this trip. It has been bumped and jostled for over 2000km so far, through rain, humidity and severe heat, and it is still functioning just fine. It does refuse to start sometimes when the battery is low, but Laura found a process (involving a secret chant, an intricate dance, and the sacrifice of a small mammal) for forcing it to start anyway, which works very nicely. If it holds up for the rest of our trip, I will be even more impressed. I don't expect it to live beyond a six-month tour, though. As far as train travel days go, this one was not bad. We had to board and disembark from three trains today - the regional train in Vienna to get to the Hbf, the train from Vienna to Gyor, then the train from Gyor to Budapest. We didn't have to hang the bikes on any of the trains, and the latter two were roll-on - no stairs! I still hate train travel with bikes, but today was pretty darned gentle as far as train travel. Whew! When we got to Budapest, things didn't start off great. We were hot and thirsty. I went to the Info desk and asked the woman if she spoke English, to which she replied \"NO!!! Hungary!\". Uh-oh. But, I still asked her for a map of Budapest, and apparently she understood that because she pushed a map at me and shoo'ed me away. We had a quick bite, and then Brent and Laura figured out how to get us to our hostel from the train station. We started off angling towards the river thinking that we might take a ferry down a ways, but when we got to the river there was a nice bike path so we decided to ride. All in all it went quite smoothly as long as I just kept my mouth shut and let Brent and Laura do their thing. Shortly after checking into our hostel (which has AC!!) we set out to meet Michelle and went to Monk's Bistrot for dinner. I had the duck breast and it was seriously the tastiest meal I've had since... I can't remember when. It was amazing! As soon as we left Vienna, the terrain became flat flat flat, and the towns and buildings became so much more plain and utilitarian than all of the beautiful ornate architecture we've been floating in lately. There was one bumpy section before Budapest that was nice, but for the most part, everything was very flat and boring, and we're glad that we chose the section we did to cut out of our tour. Budapest is a very beautiful city, though, and we're getting more great architecture to feast our eyes on. From Brent:\n \nAfter Vienna we were running out of time to get to Budapest to meet Michelle so we hopped a train that took us through Slovakia. It was my first look behind the old Iron Curtain so I was looking with wide open eyes. We had to transfer trains and I must say that the one we moved onto in Slovakia was much nicer than the one we rode out of Vienna (but then Vienna has a real mish-mash of gear, some of their trams are very modern and some look like they might be from the 1930's). It was kind of cute to see the uniforms of the staff on the Slovakian trains and stations. I was particularly taken by the hats. Hats are something that I always thought the Soviets placed a lot of importance on and the style seems to have stuck. Ladies with red pill-box hats and men with military style hats with over-sized flat tops and red bands.\n \nThe area of Slovakia that we travelled through looked to be economically depressed. There were a fair number of factories and office buildings close to the track that looked abandon or in poor repair. We passed one building that had a Soviet-style bas-relief in the concrete over the door. I wasn't fast enough to get a picture as the train rumbled passed.\n \nAt some point we crossed into Hungary and as we approached Budapest I could see the general conditions of the buildings and roads improving. When we got to the train station it was still a bit of a shock (but only a bit). It reminded me more of a third world train station that the ones we had left in the West (Including Frankfurt, which was no dream), with small private stalls vending trinkets, fast food, fresh vegitables, phones, shoes, anything. And the whole place could use a cleaning.\n \nHungary is part of the European Union but not part of the Euro Zone, they have their own money. Laura and I went down to the basement and swapped our Euros for Forents. I don't know if we got a good deal because the math was too complex for me to do in my head. We all ate pizza standing beside the tracks before Rhonda went to get traumatized by the lady at the info desk who couldn't or didn't want to speak English - \"No. Hungary!\"\n \nBut the train station was the worst part of our time in Budapest. It all got better from there. Rhonda had booked a place for us to stay and it took us a while to find it but once there it was all good. The staff was excellent and friendly and our place was close to the Underground. We got multiday passes and the city was ours.\n Bikes nestled into the bike compartment on the train. The Budapest train station. Very different from the fancy big train stations we've been in elsewhere. Scary long steep escalator at the Budapest Metro.
2015-08-16: Visit Kalocsa
Today was a really refreshing break. The temperatures were cooler than they have been... I'm sure we didn't break 35C, and if we did, it didn't last more than a couple hours. We took a 2.5 hour bus ride out to Kalocsa (pronounced kah-loo-cha) - the town that Michelle lived in 15 years ago teaching ESL. After the enormous hustle of Vienna and the overwhelmingness of Budapest, it was a relaxed, pleasant trip and fun to experience Michelle's trip down memory lane. I think Brent and I are giving up on getting the long term visitor visa for France. Brent found the web site of the French consulate in Vancouver which gives a more thorough list of things you need than what I'd found. The requirements include an in-person interview before you leave your country, three months of bank statements (printed off the internet don't count unless they're stamped by your bank), and a police check. We clearly don't have those things and to get them wouldn't be impossible, but pretty much as close to impossible as you can get. That's ok. We'll find ways to entertain ourselves outside of the Schengen Area. Their loss. ;) A lovely house in Kalocsa. Michelle in front of what she thinks was her old apartment in Kolacsa. Brent enjoys a random mister in Kolacsa
2015-08-17: Bites & Sights Tour
It has been sounding like it will be darned near impossible to find a bike box in Budapest so Laura's been fretting and wondering what to do about her bike. Of course we were going to try and find a box, but she was also prepared to take the bike to the airport and have it shrink-wrapped (for a fee), or, worst-case scenario, leave it behind. The night before last, we asked the young fella at our hostel if he knew of a bike store nearby. He said he didn't, but he'd looks some up for us. Then, he said to leave it with him overnight and he'd have it for us in the morning. Apparently he was on night shift and happy for to have a \"project\". The next morning, he had about twenty \"x\"es on a map for us. Laura chose four to try - two each near a couple of Metro stations. This morning, I found a book and map store that I wanted to go to, which happened to be fairly near a Metro station, and near a fifth bike store which Laura had NOT selected to try for a box. We went off to the map store, and Brent and Laura went off to the bike store. First try, Laura gets a box. The young fella there actually took a bike out of a box and gave her the box. What a relief! It's a very very small box, but we brought it back to the hostel and using her superior spatial skills, Laura managed to fit her entire bike into it. What a relief! Our main plan for today was to go on a Bites and Sights tour which Michelle had organized a long time ago. It was AWESOME! We walked around the Market Hall, then to various restaurants and points of interest. The tour was supposed to last until about 5:30, but we ran about one hour over. Our tour guide, Sandor, was awesome, and his assistant, Agnes, was wonderful. I will definitely consider more Bites and Sights tours in future if we have the opportunity. After our Bites and Sights tour ended, we walked across the street to an English Bookstore. While we were in the store, a torrential downpour started. The bookstore was closing, but they decided to take pity on us, and a couple of other shoppers and let us wait it out for a while. When it didn't let up, Brent, Laura and I decided to make a run for it. Michelle stayed hoping to wait it out longer. The streets were running with water. Young Hungarians filmed us walking down the street from their dry balcony. The stairs down into the Metro were a cascading waterfall. The first floor of the Metro station was a lake, with people huddled all over. The Metro was running - yay! When we got to our stop, it was raining more lightly and there was some water running down the stairs but it wasn't a river (yet). We waded to the hostel. I checked to see if there had been a cancellation for tomorrow night so Brent and I can stay at the hostel and wait this out, and luckily, there was a cancellation so we'll be staying here another day. Thank goodness we don't have to be on a train or a bike trail tomorrow! From Brent:\n \nI have to talk about the Subway. We were on the Green Line and it is Soviet Era. I have to say that it ran fast and efficiently but it lacked some of the finer touches of Western Subways. The trains accelerated hard, braked hard and howled as they ran down the track. I'm sure the sound level in the cars exceeded Industrial standards at home. Riders should be issued ear protection. The trains run to a tight schedule. At the stations the doors open and you have about 45 seconds before a tone sounds. About 5 seconds later the doors slam shut so hard that they bounce. You don't want to get caught in one of those when the train speeds away. Most of the stations are the same layout and design but the 2 colours of the decor are different at each station.\n \nBudapest is a very nice city but has the look of a place that needs a bit of maintenance...Don't get me wrong, they're trying. Budapest was the second city of a great empire until about 100 years ago but then got about 80 years of poor management. They're working hard to make up for it. Vienna has had a better ride since the break up of Austria-Hungary and it looks it.\n \nWe had a flash flood while in Budapest. We had stopped at an English-language book store when it started raining hard. We hung out for a bit but finally decided to go out. It only took moments to be drenched, after that there was nothing to do but enjoy it. We kicked and splashed our way though ankle-deep water in the streets of Down Town while people stared at us. We got to the Subway station and the stairs were a waterfall. We hopped the train to our station and climbed up another waterfall to a park with calf-deep water boiling up from overflowing man-holes. We got back to our hotel and a short time later we heard that the Subways had been shut down, there were power outages in some parts of the city and some of the hotels in our neighbourhood had flooded rooms. But it was all good with us.\n Laura is super happy to have scored a bike box! Market Hall -Bites and Sights Tour. Wading through downtown Budapest in the flash flood. Stairs down into the Metro. Stairs (ie. waterfall) down into the Metro. Main floor of the Metro.
2015-08-18: Bonus Day in Budapest
Today Brent and I took a \"bonus day\" in Budapest to do a couple of last things, plus wait out the weather a little bit. We did two things - visited Memento Park, and had a Fish Pedicure. Memento Park was really interesting. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the city's administration decided to gather up all of the statues that had been erected for political reasons and put them in a park/memorial site. There are a number of statues, including a couple I particularly enjoyed - the B�la Kun Memorial by Imre Varga and The Republic of Councils Monument (the enormous scary guy running with a cloak). In addition to the statues, they have a museum building (Northern Barrack) with pictures, descriptions, and timelines from the era, as well as a set of four really interesting films. Budapest used to have a secret film production studio which produced training films for Soviet operatives. When the memorial park was created, they took a bunch of these training films to create a film titled \"The Life of an Agent\", which consists mainly of four \"montage\" films with commentary. The chapters are:\n - The Way to Hide Bugs\n - Introduction to House-Searching\n - Methods of Recruitment\n - Effective Networking\n Brent and I were both spellbound by the films. It was cool and kind of eerie to watch top secret training films from a time that terrified me as a young person. The Fish Pedicure... well... the Fish Pedicure was a really neat experience. A novelty. But, I'd have to go back every day for six months for the poor little fellas to keep up with my heel callous production. From Brent:\n \nBefore we left Budapest, Rhonda & I visited Memento Park. In Hungary Soviet symbols are banned. No red stars, no hammer & sicle and a lot of the Soviet art has been destroyed but someone had the idea to save some of the statuary and bring it all to one place; Memento Park. I thought it was really cool seeing some of the old statues and hearing some of the history behind them. There is also a small museum with stories of various Hungarian rebellions against Soviet rule and a theatre to view KGB training films (Subtitled in English). The Republic of Councils Monument - Memento Park in Budapest. B�la Kun Memorial - Memento Park in Budapest. Fish Pedicure
2015-08-19: Train to Nagykanizsa
Before we left the hostel this morning, Brent made a cheat sheet to take to the train station asking for two tickets for us, and two bicycle tickets to Nagykanizsa. He stole words from here and there in our phrase book to make his cheat sheet. He said he wanted to confirm it with Google Translate, so I did that and got a completely different set of words. Brent asked the front desk lady to have a look at them and she said his was better, but she fixed his grammar. She said the Google Translate one was requesting \"admission\" (instead of tickets). At the train station, Brent presented the cheat sheet to the ticket lady, who happened to have poor eyesight. We got what we needed, though - two tickets for us, and two tickets for the bikes to Nagykanizsa! Yay for Brent's cheat sheet! When we got to Nagykanizsa, we had a screen shot from Google Maps and my written instructions describing how to get to the local campground. We headed off in the general direction, and at an intersection we stopped to consult our information to make sure we were still headed the right way. As has happened pretty much every single time we've stopped to consult a map in Europe, some people stopped to help. This time it was a fella, Atilla, and his friend, who are cycle touring as well. Atilla's English is very good since he has lived in Australia for several years. They chatted us up and asked us where we were heading. They said they didn't think there was a campground in town - they were headed to a campground 25km further down the road and crossing the boarder into Croatia first thing in the morning. It was good to learn which road to take to get to the border! They stopped a local guy and asked where the campground was, and the local guy said there wasn't one. Then Atilla's friend used his Mighty iPhone to look up a local campground, and they found the one I was aiming for, and it was straight down the road we were already on. Yay! We found the campground AND it is on the road to the Croatian border! I can't believe I did it again! How many times do I have to learn the hard way to be properly prepared for national holidays in the places we're visting? A number of people have told us that August 20th is a national holiday in Hungary, but that still didn't equate to \"get food ahead of time\" in my brain! Dammit! After Brent and I set up in the campground, we headed back into Nagykanizsa looking for dinner and tomorrow's breakfast. That's when we discovered that the local grocery stores were closed for the evening, and they would remain closed through tomorrow. As in... we have no food and we're unlikely to get any for a day. Brent's cooperative system may have been ok with that, but mine certainly wouldn't, so I started to get pretty worried. As we were standing in front of the closed \"Medium Market\" (as opposed to Supermarket... yes, their sign actually says \"Medium Market\"), an elderly lady came up and started \"helping\" us in rapid Hungarian. What we both got out of it, though, was that there was a Spar in town that was still open, it was a little further into town, and on the left (good thing she used charades in addition to Hungarian), so we set off deeper into town. When we got to town center, we still hadn't found anything and we were standing pondering what to do. A lady was walking across the street toward us and so, using my best \"desperation as a communication technique\" voice, I asked her, \"Spar?\" \"Spar?\". To which she replied, in perfect English, with exact directions for how to find it (behind us, now, and to the right, behind the bus station). Awesome camp site in Nagykanizsa
2015-08-20: Cakovec
Today was our worst day of riding in the rain so far, and honestly, it wasn't that bad. We set out in overcast conditions. At around 10km, we \n\nspotted a little cafe that was open and decided to stop for our first break. While we were enjoying first break, it rained for a while, and \n\nthen essentially stopped just as we were ready to start moving again. We thought that was pretty awesome, and we reached the border at Letenye \n\neasily. Just short of the border, we met a couple of backpackers from Isreal who were wondering where the border was. We stopped for a chat, \n\nshowed them the map, and assured them that they were close to the border... maybe 2-3 km, or maybe as little as 1.5km. We carried on, and \n\nstopped for second break at a nice little cafe just on the other side. Before we were finished, the couple showed up again so we had another \n\nnice chat with them. After that, we carried on toward Cakovec, quickly spotting the \"R3 cycle route\" to Cakovec, which took us very \n\ncircuitously to essentially the same place that Brent had already plotted for us. During that section we got poured on - we were completely \n\nsoggy by the time we reached Cakovec, so we checked into the only hotel in town and had a \"gear and clothing explosion\" in our room to try and \n\ndry everything out. We have both been feeling the pinch of running out of days we can stay in Schengen, so we're both pretty relieved to be merrily stamped in to \n\nCroatia. We have eleven days left on our Schengen visa, so if we decide to go back in for a few days at the end of our trip we can. We can \n\nactually start a new visa on Oct 29th, which is great, because our flight home is out of Paris on Oct 31st. That gives us some more wiggle \n\nroom. Heel crisis averted! I've been trying to manage my heel callouses on this trip without my pedicure razor but it has NOT been going well. My \n\ncallouses have gotten so big that I've been amazed they haven't cracked yet. Any moment, I'm sure. Tonight, Brent and I poked our noses into a \n\nlittle store and I found a pedicure razor! Yay! Heel callouses are banished and I will be fine for the rest of the trip. What a relief! Bye bye Schengen. We'll miss you! Cool building in Cakovec. Sivi Macak (Grey Cat) restaurant in Cakovec.
2015-08-21: Dry-Out Day in Cakovec
When we checked into the hotel yesterday, we were completely soggy from riding in the rain. We inquired about staying two nights, but they only had a room for one night with a \"possibility\" of two. We dried out a lot of our stuff overnight, and it was beautiful out when we got up this morning, so I had half a thought that we would move on today, but then the front desk lady said that we could keep our room for a second night, so we're going to take advantage of the opportunity to see what there is to see in Cakovec, do some \"laundry wine\" and some more \"drying out\". Today we did our laundry, saw the town, and formulated a plan to do a couple of cycle day trips in Medimurje. We asked about extending our hotel reservation for two more nights, and again, our front desk lady thinks it's possible, but has to confirm tomorrow morning. If we can't stay here, we've found a place in Strigava where we can stay. I'd prefer to stay in Cakovec, though, so our day trips are \"mostly up for the first part and mostly down for the second part\". If we're in Strigava, we'll be climbing at the end of the day. We'll see. We were planning on going back to our grey cat restaurant for dinner, and then to a movie, but I started coming down with something and didn't feel up to it. A bit of Immune 7 and some sleep and hopefully I'll be feeling better tomorrow.
2015-08-22: Medimurje
Since Brent and I will be in Croatia for a while (according to the current plan), we've decided it would be a good idea to apply ourselves a little bit to learning some Croatian. Brent is having a harder time with it than I am, but I drill him incessantly, and he's coming along. We've got a few words: hvala vam (thank you), molim (please), dobor dan (hello/good day), da/ne (yes/no), racun (the bill), bicikl (bicycle), karta (map), nema problema (no problem), dovidenja (see you later/goodbye). The Croatians we've met so far are disproportionately happy, and giggle a lot, when we use our words. We started the day with a wrong turn and ended up going south when we wanted to go west then north. We spent a lot of time on the \"flat and boring\" before we finally started getting up into the hills, and then, by the time we'd done 30km (at Badlican), I was starting to feel sick again so I called an early turn-around. We were going to do 60-70km today (we're not hauling gear), but we ended up doing about 52. Providing I feel ok tomorrow, we'll make another run at those hills. I'd like to make it up to Sveti Martin before we leave Medimurje.\nMap: http://bit.ly/1JbN0v7 Pumpkin patches in Medimurje Cute little town in Medimurje
2015-08-23: Sick day in Cakovec
Taking a sick day in Cakovec. I've been fighting something off for the last couple days, and today I feel like I'm losing the battle, so I'm taking a day off. We've booked into our hotel for another two nights, so Cakovec may end up being the place we stay the longest on our whole trip. We're planning on being here for six nights. Whoa. We might just start putting down a root or something! I'm glad to have the time to rest, though... last time I was sick was when we were with Dawn and then Beth - no time for sick days then!! I pushed through it that time and it was fine... I just don't like to push through if I don't have to. I prefer to sleep through.
2015-08-24: Medimurje
We had a really nice ride through Medimurje county today. We followed the Pusipel Track for a good part of the day, which took us through some really pretty countryside and really pretty little towns, but for every bit of pretty, there was twice as much hill. Up and down and up and down and up and down. It was sort of like the \"Six Killer Hills (and one with Murderous Intent)\" route that we do in Edmonton, except I lost track of the number of killer hills. Since I'm still not feeling 100%, we turned back before going all the way to the end of the route and ended up with a total of 43km for the day. It was really great, and we're planning on going back to the \"grey cat\" for an early dinner. Yay!\n German is really common here. We've run into a number of people who speak German, and almost half the TV programs seem to be in German (without subtitles). German culture, too... and when I say German culture, I mean... RADLERS! YUMMY YUMMY Radlers!\n Riding in Medimurje Riding in Medimurje A view in Medimurje The elevation profile for our ride today. KILLER HILLS!
2015-08-25: Rain day in Cakovec
\"Rain Day\" today, so we spent the day doing two things:\n - Muzej Medimurja Cakovec: We spent a long time going through the Medimurja museum, which included a lot of things, including the history and royalty of the area, military history including a lot about the war in the 1990s, and the history of local harvesting technology. Considering there was very little information in English, we understood quite a lot and got a lot out of it.\n - Kuna Bin Movies: Since I was sick the last few days, the TV has come on and we've discovered that Croatia (or, at least, Cakovec), has a lot of English programs with Croatian subtitles. We've found a station that plays a lot of movies, but most of them seem to come from deep down in the \"Kuna Bin\". Kuna is the Croatian currency, and a kuna is worth about $0.20CAD. Brent and I have decided that there's a bin of movies somewhere where the station programmers go to ask what they can get for a kuna... thus the \"Kuna Bin\". Some of the movies they're playing are REALLY bad. A very tall clock at Muzej Medimurja Cakovec Why, when I was your age, all I had to play with was some corn cobs, a rock and some thorns! We ordered the \"big burgers\". Oops. Good thing the pigeons were available to help.
2015-08-26: Vara�din
Turned out that Varazdin was only 19km down the road, so we had an extremely short, easy ride today. We had plenty of time to enjoy �pancirfest, saw the castle, went to the entomology museum and the fire fighting museum, and saw an amazing troupe of old folks playing, singing and dancing some traditional Croatian numbers. \n The fire fighting museum was particularly cool. We were greeted at the door by our \"guide\" - a fire fighter who normally works out of Zagreb, but comes to Varazdin museum when they're expecting crowds. He spoke quite good English, in spite of our being his first-ever visitors from an English-speaking country. He had attended his first fire when he was 14-years-old. Apparently the rules were pretty lax about what age they would send guys out up until recently when they had a team of fire-fighters die attending a fire on an island. They don't know what happened - the island is grass, not forest, so it's a mystery why the guys died. Some of them were under 18-years-old, which is really tragic, and if I understand correctly, was the driving force behind Croatia getting stricter about not sending under-age fellas out to fires. Anyway, our guide was really awesome. He took us through the whole museum, explaining everything as we went. Cool �pancirfest street in Varazdin. Castle in Varazdin. Traditional Croatian songs by some traditional Croatians. The crazy \"band on a bicycle ferris wheel\" thing.
2015-08-27: To Krapina
I'm sure Brent is tired of me exclaiming \"it's so pretty here!\" after our ride today, but man... it was really pretty. Brent plotted us a \n\ncross-country route since I don't like riding on highways. It was very very hilly, but man it was pretty. We started off heading straight west \n\nof Verazdin toward Gornje Ladanje. We zig-zagged west and south through Kapelec, Brodarovec, Ribic Breg, Bedenec, dipping down to Lepoglava to \n\nturn immediately northwest to Rinkovec, then a turn at Bednja to go through Sasa, Gornje Jesenje and finally to Krapina. It was a heck of a \n\nclimb to Gornje Jesenje, but it was worth it, and then after we left Gornje Jesenje, we gave up all the elevation we'd gained through the day. \n\nIt seemed like we went downhill forever before we finally reached Krapina. Krapina is smattered through a valley and up onto the sides of a \n\nbunch of impossibly pointy hills. It's really pretty. My photos don't do the area justice... it's just one of those places. The best pictures \n\nare in my head. Our camera card reader packed it in. That's too bad. I knew it was taking a lot of wear, but I hoped it would last through the end of the trip. Hopefully we can pick up a new one soon. Inferior photo of the superior prettiness. A vinyard growing straight up the side of a steep hill.
2015-08-28: Day in Krapina
One thing that I find myself struggling with is tipping. For each country we visit, we look up what the conventions are, and try out best to follow them. It's hard for me. I seem to be extremely conditioned to leave 15%-20% regardless of convention. A lot of the time when it's time to pay the bill at a restaurant, I walk away while Brent deals with it so that I don't have to witness the tipping process a la local convention. We visited the Neandertal museum today, which was really interesting, and had English signage, so we were able to understand the information. We weren't allowed to take photos, though, so there are none of those. After the Neandertals, we climbed the hill to the Stari Grad (old town / castle), which was a steep walk. Brent had thought that the castle had a museum in it, but it didn't, so we just had a look around and Brent went into a couple of caves. Krapina. You can see the Stari Grad on the hillside in the back. View of Krapina from the Neandertal Museum. Brent in the big cave at Stari Grad. The road up to Stari Grad.
2015-08-29: To Zapre�ic
A cool thing happened on our way to Zapre�ic today. We chose a route using mostly secondary roads, and sometimes the \"small highway\" which \n\noften parallels the autobahn. As usual, there were a couple of confusing intersections along the way. At one point we came to a roundabout \n\nthat had a LOT of traffic backed up on it, and four possible outputs, one of which was the autobahn, which of course we never want to go on (I \n\ndon't even think we're allowed). We were consulting the map, trying to figure out which output we wanted to take when an old fella came past on \n\nhis bike and asked if we needed help. Brent showed him on the map where we wanted to go, and in mostly sign-language, the guy indicated that he \n\nwas going that way too, and we should follow him. We followed him through the roundabout and off at the correct output, down the road a small \n\nway, then up an exit ramp to get onto the secondary road we wanted. We chatted a little bit - he speaks German, and we know a few words, so we \n\nwere mostly speaking German with a smattering of Croatian and English thrown in. A short way down the secondary road, he indicated his house to \n\nthe left, so we were saying farewell, but he wasn't ready to let us go yet. He has a huge house that he was currently in by himself, and a \n\nbunch of fruit trees. His kids are grown and gone and his wife is sick (we assume maybe in a hospital). He insisted on giving us a bunch of \n\npears and apples that he picked from his trees - insisting that if we didn't take them, they'd end up kaput! We took more pears and apples than \n\nwe could reasonably eat (or carry), washing them under the pump that he has in his yard, as Nero the hund watched. As we were fixing to leave \n\nfor real, a group of about six cyclists came down the road from the other direction. They spotted the Canadian flags on our bikes and stopped \n\nto chat - most of them spoke at least some English, so we had a good visit. Then, some of the cyclists loaded up on some water and fruit from \n\nthe old fella too. We took a group photo, and then everyone continued on their way. \n We've ventured back into Air BnB land. The area of Croatia we've been in doesn't have any/many campgrounds, and we've been staying in small \n\ntowns that may or may not have accommodation, so I've been booking ahead. I was having trouble finding good accommodation a reasonable distance \n\nfrom Krapina on booking.com, so I had a quick look at Air BnB. I saw a listing for a two-story house that includes a washing machine. A \n\nwashing machine! I'm in heaven! We've been making do with \"laundry wine\" for a while, and it's just not cutting it anymore... we need to do a \n\nproper wash. So, I booked in to the place. The hostess only had one review because she's new to Air BnB, but the review was positive, so we \n\nthought we'd go for it. The place is a half-duplex that used to be her family home (ie. with her parents), but is now sort of the weekend home \n\nfor her and her own family who live closer to Zagreb. We have the place to ourselves. It is beautiful - seriously. The home is beautiful and \n\nthe yard is amazing! Price tag through Air BnB: $79/CAD. Unbelievable. A great cycle tour moment. Us with our new friends - random old guy who hands out apples, and the riding group from Zagreb who aren't a club... just friends who ride together and wear the same shirt.
2015-08-30: To Jastrebarsko
Hills and hills and heat and heat. The heat wave seems to be following us around. High of 32 today, and temps above 30 expected for the next \n\nfew days as well. Oy. The good news is that we rode quite a bit on a secondary highway today and neither of us was too perturbed by it. Brent \n\nis vexed by a lack of a decent shoulder (this road has either no shoulder or a sidewalk, so alternating between vexatious and fine), and I am \n\nvexed by traffic zooming past. There is some of that, to be sure, but Croatian drivers seem singularly disinterested in running us down. They \n\ntend to give us lots of space, and they often slow down and proceed past with caution. A lot of them give us \"hello honks\", unlike the \"get off \n\nmy f*&#ing road or I'll kill you\" honks we get from Alberta drivers.\n
2015-08-31: To Belavici
I've been poking my brain out with a stick for the last few riding days. Dewey's rear brake started squealing non-stop. It has been making little noises on the whole trip, mostly little cricket chirpy noises, but the non-stop squealing has been really bad. Brent has tried a number of times to adjust the brake and do something about it, but nothing has had any lasting effect. When we pulled into Karlovac today, we saw a small bicycle repair shop and stopped in to see if the guy could do anything. A few squirts of \"disc brake silencer\" and all is right with the world again. Yay! Our first several days in Croatia have been completely wonderful, make no mistake, but one thing that has been missing is... campgrounds! We've been missing camping, and it's kind of a pain in the arse to worry about pre-arranging accommodation in the small towns we've been staying in as we go. It's so much easier to just roll up to the next campingplatz and set up housekeeping. Tonight we finally made it to Campsite �Slapic� in Belavici. It's a GREAT campground. It's not too heavily populated, it has great facilities including washing machines and free WiFi, and the zeltplatz is beside the most lovely little patch of river that reminds me of the Louisiana bayou. I'm in heaven! We may stay here for a few days if we enjoy the day trips in the area. Once we leave it should only take us two or three more days of riding to make it to the coast, which is littered with campingplatzes. Yay! Since we reached Croatia we haven't seen any other cycle tourists. We ran into \n\nthe group from Zagreb who were doing a weekend trip to Vara�din, but I mean real \n\ncycle tourists - folks fully laden with what they need to ride for at least a \n\nweek. Today we ran into a guy in Karlovac who is from Austria and riding to \n\nBosnia and back. In the campingplatz, a couple showed up late at night and they \n\nwere clearly touring although we didn't have a chance to talk to them. The Mre�nica river, near our campsite. Happy to be camping again! The heat wave continues, as evidenced by my spectacular sweat pattern.
2015-09-01: Karlovac Ruta 6
I have two things to say: (1) You have to like hills to cycle tour in Croatia. \n\n(2) Cycle (or hike) route information that lists elevation, but only mentions \n\nthe difference between the high point and the low point without accounting for \n\ncumulative elevation is useless. All that being said, we have a lovely ride \n\ntoday through some really beautiful countryside. We talked to a guy from Canada/USA/Britain today who is traveling and also ran \n\nout of time in Schengen. We had a good chat with him, and one thing he \n\nmentioned that I didn't know before is that, as of January 1st, Croatia will be \n\nin Schengen. Thank goodness they didn't join before we came here! Something I find interesting about Croatia is that there are a LOT of coffee/bar establishments that don't serve any kind of food. Folks bring their own food. Brent and I have done that a couple of times and it feels kind of weird... but hey... when in Croatia... Swans on the Mre�nica Barilovic as seen from the castle ruin The castle ruin at Barilovic. In the Middle Ages, Barilovic was one of the most eminent forts in the Gorica parish. During the period of French administration from 1809 to 1813, it was a boundary area between the Croatian Military Frontier and the Ottoman Empire. Generalski Stol. Along the Mre�nica.
2015-09-02: Karlovac Ruta Brent
Today we rode a route through the countryside that Brent invented. And when I say \"countryside\" I mean hills and hills and hills and hills. It was awesome. And hilly. We went directly (through the hills) to Barilovic (where we were yesterday with the castle), then went SE through the countryside (hills) to Krnjak. We then headed north along the D1 highway for a while, then left the highway to go NW through Ladvenjak, then Belajske Poljice and back to the campsite. On the outskirts of Ladvenjak I had a brief encounter with an amazing spider... and then immediately following the encounter it started to spit. We high-tailed it back to the campground to put the fly on our tent, and got here just in time, basically, to prevent the contents of the tent getting soaked. Yay! Brent near Leskovac Barilovicki Amazing spider at Ladvenjak. It's a \"wasp spider\", also known as Argiope bruennichi At Barilovic.
2015-09-03: To Ogulin
We rode from Belavici to Ogulin today. About 2/3 of the way through the ride Brent started feeling ill. Hopefully he recovers quickly. We have a couple of days in Ogulin and then the tough slog up over the mountain range before heading down to the coast. If the weather is going to be persistently bad, or if Brent isn't feeling up to it, we can take a train from Ogulin to Rejika. We'll just have to see what happens. At O�tarije.
2015-09-04: Rain/rest day in Ogulin
We are having a quiet rest day in Ogulin. Brent is still not feeling 100%, so we're sticking close to the room for now. We may venture out later to take a look around. We have been watching the refugee crisis in Europe, particularly the horror that is the Keleti train station in Budapest right now. The Keleti train station is very close to the hostel we stayed in just a couple weeks ago. The plight of the Syrian refugees is horrifying and we really feel for them, but I'm really glad and relieved we left Budapest before the situation reached this critical point. Rain day in Ogulin
2015-09-05: Rain/rest day in Ogulin
I'd been assuming that what was ailing Brent was some kind of viral thing, but after talking with him this morning it sound more like it's an upper GI blockage of some kind. We did some research to compare his symptoms, and that is what it sounds like. Maybe he's got some scar tissue from having his gallbladder removed? He wanted to wait until tomorrow to phone our health insurance to ask about procedure for going to a doctor, but I asked him to call today. Good thing because we wasted most of the day just trying to make a phone call. I have Skype on the Surface, but the speaker is so quiet that it's almost impossible to make a call with it. We have been unable to place calls with our France number for most of our trip. Brent tried it, though, and he did get through briefly but then the call was dropped and we didn't have enough credit on the SIM to try again. We walked down to the Konzum (about 1 or 2 km down the road) to buy a Croatian SIM. We spent a bunch of time trying to understand the Croatian instructions on the papers, and on their web site, so that we could add a plan or some credit to the SIM. Turned out there isn't a way with this provider (tele2) like there was with Lebarra to top up through their web site. So, back to Konzum we went to buy some credit. Brent called them and got far enough to ask them to call back since we can't place a collect call. It cost over 20kn just for that, and our credit was only 120kn to start with so if we called them back, it was unlikely we'd get all of our business done before we were out of money. They never did call back, so at the end of the day, we found as quiet of a place as possible (in the public area of the BnB, where the WiFi works) to use Skype to place the call. Tomorrow we'll actually take him in to see a doctor.
2015-09-06: Doctor visit for Brent
The doctors say Brent's bloodwork is normal and the XRay shows no blockage. YAY!! They think that he probably picked up a bug from walking through sewage in the Budapest flash flood. BOO!! I thought it was odd that he would get it and I wouldn't, but maybe it was because he was the one who washed our flood clothing - not me. They put him on a restricted diet for a few days and said we just have to wait for his system to flush it out. I'm guessing we don't have to worry about our health insurance saying that \"poisened by Budapest flash flood sewage\" was a pre-existing condition.
2015-09-07: Rest/recovery day in Ogulin
Brent has told me before about ORT - Oral Rehydration Therapy. When he was hiking in Africa, they didn't have anything like Gatorade. Everyone had ORT, which you mix in water and drink, like Gatorade, but instead of evil koolade, ORT has the taste and consistency of spit. So, you're drinking spit. But your brain knows it's not YOUR spit, so it interprets it as SOMEONE ELSE'S SPIT! Gross! When we took him to the doctor yesterday, they recommended some kind of hydration therapy. Today we went to the pharmacy to get that, and some probiotics for him. And guess what... the hydration therapy is ORT. Brent has offered to let me try some, but I've declined. I shouldn't be laughing about it because someday my turn will come, I'm sure, but I'm so happy it's not me drinking SOMEONE ELSE'S SPIT. Parking on the sidewalk in Europe Not just allowed... not just encouraged... institutionalized!
2015-09-08: Rest/recovery day in Ogulin
Brent and I are seriously running out of patience for sitting in our tiny room doing Sudoku and watching the Kuna Bin.\n The room we're staying in is tiny. And when I say tiny, I mean... well... tiny. The toilet is half broken and the television is nearly kaput, which normally wouldn't be an issue, but when you're sick, you really need your Kuna Bin! The folks who run this place are completely fantastic, though. The staff are so nice and helpful, and the owners are amazing. Between the husband trying to heal Brent with Slivovica, and the wife feeding us crepes and apple pie, we feel like members of the family. Members of the family with the teeniest room in the house.
2015-09-09: Rest/recovery day in Ogulin
Today Brent was finally feeling well enough to try eating normally, and going for a bit of a bike ride. We took a ride out to the local Campingplatz (a small patch of fenced green outside of town... very inferior compared to the Belavici place), then into town. We had a look at the canyon - Ogulin sits on top of an enormous cave system - and the Frankopan Kastle. We walked around town, through the street market (where I bought a pair of sweatpants to replace my old yoga pants, which are falling apart and give me hives), and then had a pancake at Hotel Frankopan. This area, or maybe all of Croatia, specializes in \"pancakes\", which we would call crepes, with yummy fillings. Yum! Brent is holding up ok, but tomorrow we're going to stop in to see the doctor again before we leave town as some of his symptoms aren't easing off as much as we think they should. An interesting thing about Croatia - whenever you order a coffee, it always comes with an accompanying glass of water. I'm not sure why, but it's nice. Well enough to venture out for a few hours. Yay! Coffee at the \"Stari Grad\" restaurant Frankopan Kastle in Ogulin Park and church in Ogulin.
2015-09-10: Train to Rijeka
Sooooo... the 2:10 train from Ogulin to Rijeka is... a bus. There's construction today on the train line. The next available train is at 6:30 tonight so we have a whole 'nother day to use up in Ogulin. I'm feeling vaguely Twilight Zone-ish.\n It was a slow day in Ogulin, just spending time until it was time for an actual \"train\". We got to witness, up close, the local excitement for the day - a couple of firemen installing a banner on the front of the church. Good times. We rode the train from Ogulin to Rijeka today. The train was like one from the movies, with the fancy little compartments like in Murder on the Orient Express. As soon as we got on the train we were greeted by Pierre and his wife, Ruth - a couple of cycle-touring Montrealers. We spent the whole voyage talking with them - it was great to swap stories and tips! Ogulin excitement The local excitement for the day - getting the fire department to install the banner on the front of the church. Sending the brave man off on his mission. A job well done, and tax-payers' money well-spent. Happiness is a clean sleeping bag. The dry cleaner pulled off nothing short of a miracle with Brent's sleeping bag. I think she looked at Brent's bag and decided it was a lost cause, so she ordered identical fabric and sewed him a new one that looks just like the old one... only clean. Our glorious studio apartment in Rijeka Includes not only 4-bar free Wifi and a power bar with which to use it... it also includes... wait for it... a WASHING MACHINE! I'm in heaven!
2015-09-11: Day in Rijeka
There's a lot to see and do in Rijeka. Brent and I chose to spend our morning walking on the water break pier which was disappointing. The ocean side had such high rocks built up for the water break that we couldn't see out to the sea or the islands. All we could see was back towards the city, and Rijeka is not an attractive city from the ocean side. It's pretty much a big industrial harbour. In the afternoon we climbed the 561 stairs up to Trsat Fortress, a really cool castle that sits on a hill above the city. That was NOT disappointing. The castle was beautiful, the ruin-ey bits of it were interesting, and the views from the top were breathtaking. One thing I've been bummed about being away from home is missing Concord Grape season. Today, in the Rijeka market, we found some! Yay! I get my yearly Concord Grape fix! When we were in Regensburg, Laura and I found this AMAZING map store. I was enthralled with the two walls full of cycle tour books and maps from all over Europe. Most of what they had covered Schengen countries, though, so I knew there wasn't much there that I should bother with. They did have a couple of things for Croatia, though - an Istria map (which shows cycle routes) and a set of three maps for the Dalmatian Coast. At that point, it wasn't certain that Brent and I would be coming to Croatia, so it was kind of premature for me to spend the money on maps that we'd have to add to the weight of what we were carrying, but I bought them anyway. Am I ever glad that I did because... the same kind of maps are NOWHERE to be found in Croatia! Every book store I've inquired in (and I've inquired in a lot), pretty much all they have is a high-level map of Croatia (practically useless for cycle touring) and detailed maps of the large cities. Big kisses to Kompass (the map company) and to Germany (for being such a cycle-crazy country) for these maps. I'm SO glad we have them! Trsat Fortress Brent at the top of the tower. Climbing the tower. Enjoying the view from the top of the tower. View from Trsat Fortress, west-ish. North-west-ish. View from Trsat Fortress, including the ruin-ey bits of the castle. View from Trsat Fortress, south-ish. View from Trsat Fortress, east-ish, inland towards the mountains. 561 stairs up to (or down from) Trsat Fortress.
2015-09-12: Rijeka to Preluk via Opatija
My favorite thing about this trip has been that everyone is just so darned happy we showed up. It reminds me of this scene from Austin Powers: \n \nHey, there you are!\n \n The flags on our bikes have really facilitated that - so many people have stopped to greet us, and to ask if we really came from Canada to cycle here. In most of my vacation experiences, people have been nice, but they really don't give a rip that we're there. I've heard of people going places and getting a \"cool\" reception or worse. This trip has just been so great for people being happy to see us. We rode from Rijeka to the first campsite out of town today. It was a short trip, only 10km or so. We were going to go for an out-and-back ride, but after pondering the hills around, and the elevation profiles from our map, we decided to go into Opatija, which is just down the road. OMG is it ever touristy! It is a resort town that is just crawling with tourists. I'm already missing the laid-back quiet community feel of the inland areas we visited. Looking back toward Rijeka from Opatija Walkway at Opatija
2015-09-13: Hike to Lovranska Draga
We hiked today from our camp site in Medveja to Lovranska Draga (village) and then on to Hotel Draga Di Lovrana, which is about 400 meters up on Mount Ucka. The hike up to Lovranska Draga was great! It was fascinating to learn about the terraced agriculture that went all the way up to the village from the ocean at one time. There is still some terraced agriculture up at the remaining village, but the slope up doesn't have agriculture on it anymore - just the remains of old terraces. After hiking up to Lovranska Draga, which is a crazy little village clinging to the side of a mountain in what looks like the middle of nowwhere, we continued on the road to Hotel Draga Di Lovrana. \n Before we set out, our campground host had told us we could walk all the way up to the hotel, which we could see up on the hill from the campground. He said it was a restaurant, so we made it our destination for the day, thinking that we'd have a pivo when we got there. As soon as we walked in, the staff clearly decided we were completely unsavory and unwelcome Riff-Raff, not fit to sit near their well-coiffed, Beamer-driving, Rolex-wearing clientelle, and we then became victims of their rampant Raff-ism. They put us in the least appealing seating area, even though there were several tables near the spectacular view, and then ignored us for about 20 minutes before finally serving us our pivo. I was quite peeved, but I decided to be the bigger Riff-Raff and just be pleasant about the whole thing. Very disappointing... according to Trip Advisor, everyone else who goes there has a wonderful time. I guess they didn't show up looking like hiking Riff-Raff. After our hike today, we walked around Medveja a little bit, and we saw this crazy \"Rotel\" (rolling hotel) bus trying to pull into our campground. It has seating in the front, and then, it looks like sleeping cabins in the back. It's ENORMOUS! www.rotel.de. This morning, at our kava stop, I asked our server about tipping. I have not been able to get consistent information about what people do, or expect, here. He confirmed that that is because tipping here is completely inconsistent. Zero percent is normal. Round-up is normal. Ten percent is normal. Twenty percent is normal. GAH! The only thing worse than conventions that I don't like is a complete LACK of conventions! I've decided that France and Croatia are my two favorite places from this trip. I've been doing a LOT of smiling lately, and it's largely because the people here make me want to smile at them. France was the same. Although, I have to admit that the Croatian coast is LESS friendly and welcoming than inland. I think they get inundated with so many tourists here (and probably a lot of them are rude and/or demanding) so it's not as exciting for them when people show up. I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with the people inland who don't have tourist burn-out. Premier Mobile Home at Medveja. Hike to Lovranska Draga. Hike to Lovranska Draga. Lovranska Draga. Hotel Draga Di Lovrana Our hike destination, high on Mount Ucka (and the site of our Raff-ism experience). \"Rotel\" bus Seating in the front, cabins in the back. Those crazy crazy Germans!
2015-09-14: Rain Day in Medveja

2015-09-15: Lovran and Kittens
The weather was supposed to be nice today, with rain only in the evening and overnight, so we thought we might hike to Mt. Ucka, but \n\nthis morning it was pretty questionable, so we opted instead to walk to Lovran - about 3.2km \n\nback up the highway. It was a good decision. We got rained on a couple of times and the \n\nmountains were pretty socked in all day, so not a great day for a hike, but a great day to be \n\nin Lovran, and we got to meet kitties! We really enjoyed walking around Lovran's Stari Grad \n\n(old town) and walking along the oceanfront. The Lovran oceanfront is really interesting... \n\nendless layers and coves and coves and layers. On the way into town, we got to a gated yard where a couple of seriously skinny kittens \n\ngreeted us - a calico and a tabby. We were giving them pets and remarking about how thin \n\nthey were when a third kitten - a black and white - showed up. I was sure it wasn't a \n\nlittermate because it was twice the size of the others. \n After we visited the kitties we proceeded into Lovran and I said something about \n\nstopping at the Konzum in town to buy some kitten food to feed them on our way back. It \n\nseemed pretty clear that their mother was gone and they were fending for themselves. The calico even tried to nurse on Brent's wool sweater. After \n\nspending a few hours in Lovran, and buying two packages of expensive kitten food, we headed \n\nback and called the kitties. Only the black and white showed up so finally we opened one \n\npackage and fed the kitty, who was ravenous. \n After the first package was done, we pondered what to do with the second package \n\nbecause we hadn't seen the other kitties yet. I suggested that we give the second package to \n\nthe black and white kitty because there was no sense in hanging onto the food, and if the \n\nkitty ate so much that it yakked, it wouldn't be wasted anyway since kitties have no trouble \n\neating kitty yak. \n Just as the black and white was halfway through wolfing down the second package, \n\nguess who showed up but the other two kitties. We tried to pull the black and white off of \n\nthe food to give the other two a chance at it, but it was very fast and aggressive and \n\nwouldn't give the other two kitties a chance to eat, so they barely got any. We felt \n\nterrible! The poor skinny kitties! Annnnd... changed our minds - we're pretty sure the \n\nblack and white is a littermate... it's just really aggressive compared to the other two.\n After a couple of minutes of deliberation, we decided to walk BACK into Lovran to buy \n\nmore kitty food. Back we went, and bought three more packages of food. \n Walking back again in the direction of the campingplatz (and the kitties), we first \n\nencountered the calico and fed her a package of food. We could see the other kitties further \n\ndown the fence, but we thought we'd give her a chance to eat in peace and then go to the \n\nothers. When she was nearly done, the tabby came running over and we fed him a package of \n\nfood. When he was done, we lured them down the fence to where the black and white was and we \n\nfed the third package of food to the three of them. I'm pretty sure that by the time they \n\nwere finished five packages of kitten food they were all full. \n Yay for full kitties! View of Lovran, including part of Stari Grad, from Kvarner Grill. Kvarner Grill in Lovran Lovran's Stari Grad Walking from Medveja to Lovran View on Lovran's oceanfront walk. View on Lovran's oceanfront walk. Black and white kitty Calico kitty Tabby kitty
2015-09-16: To Labin
OMG hardest 46km ever with a cumulative gain of approximately 1100m or 1200m plus headwind. Highlights (aside from the climbing and headwind) included the crazy tall smoke stack at Plomin, and the Kr�an castle.\n A while back Brent had talked with some Kiwis who had been touring in Croatia earlier in the summer. They said Istria was great cycling (it is) and they said camping here is hideously expensive (it is). We may end up doing less camping than I would like simply because of the cost difference. Camping in our tent averages about $60CAD. Tonight and tomorrow we're staying in an enormous studio apartment for $52CAD per night. Craziness. Crazy tall smoke stack at Plomin Kr�an Castle. Kr�an Castle.
2015-09-17: Day trip around Labin
Oh my... I was finished before we started today. Yesterday really kicked the crap out of me. We rode out for 6km (climbing pretty much the whole way) and then I cried and begged to turn back. Not really (the crying and begging), but we did turn back. We then did the brutal climb up to Labin's Stari Grad, which is really great, had lunch, and walked around there. It was a good day overall and hopefully I will be more than we quivering puddle tomorrow. Labin's Stari Grad. Buildings crammed into Labin's Stari Grad. Our place from Stari Grad Stari Grad is wayyyy up on a hill from the newer part of town. This is a view of the town from Stari Grad, and you can see our place off on the side of the hill! View from Stari Grad down to Rabic.
2015-09-18: To Marcana
When we left Labin today, we dropped 200m or more into a long valley. 5.5km of not pedaling at all. Then we followed the valley bottom for a while before climbing back out over 5km.\n \n3km into the 5km climb:\n Me: I think our climb is leveling out a little\n Brent: I think you're just getting used to it. 8% is the new flat Marcana is an interesting little town. It is definitely off of the tourist beaten track, and, as Brent described it, it is \"monochrome\". Last night Brent and I had our first talk about what we should do with the remainder of our time to make sure we do everything that we really want to. We have variously talked about:\n - West coast of Istria\n - Island hopping down the coast\n - Visiting Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik\n - Visiting Sarajevo\n - Cycling north along the coast all the way into Slovenia and then Italy to Venice and then coming back to Croatia (we do still have 11 days we can spend in Schengen before Oct 28).\n\n We won't have time to do all that, and with Istria serviced only by trains from Slovenia, we may have colored ourselves into a bit of a corner. It's time for us to start figuring out what is most important to us and how we're going to fit it in! From Brent:\n \nAfter Budapest we were running out of time in Schengen so we've come to Croatia. I have to say that I've never given Croatia any thought as a vacation destination but I would recommend it.\n \nWe've been making our way slowly from Cokovic to the west coast of the Istrian Peninsula. We've gotten hung-up a couple of times. Rhonda got a bit sick in Cokovic and we spent a couple of more days there than we had planned. Later I got an intestinal bug and we got hung-up in Ogulin for a week, until I could eat properly again. Ogulin isn't a bad town, it's in a lovely valley in the mountains, but I wouldn't normally spend a week there. In our other time we've been to Varazdin for a big street festival, we've been to Krapina where Neandertal fossils have been found, we've been to Belavici where they have a campsite beside a freaky-beautiful warm river, we've been to Rejika with it's clean harbour and hilltop castle (561 stairs to get to the top), we've camped along Kvarner Bay on the Adriatic and climbed a few killer hills in Istria. It's been good.\n Croatia is a pretty country and the Croatians are working hard to make it the best they can. The war is only about 20 years in the past and the government still seems to be on a major public-works binge. There are still new sewers and road paving going on all over the country. The country is clean. We've met a few people who have commented on that fact; when we were in Ogulin we went to the city-centre park, there was a trash can beside every bench and people use them. City Works empties the cans regularly. Of course somebody has to pay for all of this and the taxes here are crazy high (percentage wise but not in real terms). There are several levels of tax, the most common being 25% for most things, including most food. Five percent for bread, 13% for some other things. That all sounds awful but the tax is included in the marked prices (they break it down on the receipt) and when you can go to the store and get a half litre of beer for a buck (80c for beer + 20c for tax) it's hard for a tourist to complain about taxes.\n Here's an odd thing: Random camping is illegal in Croatia and campsites aren't that common, some counties don't have any campsite at all. There are lots in Istria but they are stupid expensive, up to $40 to pitch a tent. But Croatia also has lots of \"Apartmen\"s. Which are pretty much what they sound like, anything from a bachelor to a 2 bedroom apartment, furnished with all the mod-cons, rented by the night for $40 to $75. The Apartmen's we stayed at last night and tonight came with complimentary wine.\n So the total of what I'm trying to say is that, so far, Croatia is pretty, modern, clean, safe, warm and cheap. Oh, and everybody speaks English. It's kind of hard to practice Croatian because everybody hears we have accents. Seriously, in a month in Croatia I've only had to interact with about 10 people who didn't speak English, 2 of them spoke German so I could make myself understood, 1 spoke Italian so I could get the jist but not respond.\n We're probably going to spend 2 or 3 more weeks in Istria and/or the Adriatic Islands then visit Dubrovnik and Sarajevo, Bosnia before heading back to Schengen. In Schengen we plan to visit Venice, Bruges and return to Paris. We might have a couple of days for Switzerland on the way past but haven't settled that yet.\n Little rest break part of the way up our 5km cimb today. Monochrome Marcana.
2015-09-19: To Premantura
We rode down to Premantura today, which is a very touristy resort town south of Pula. We didn't come directly via the highway - we rode secondary roads through Kavran. The 8km after Kavran, although it was marked as a major route, was gravel... and it was through a valley. 4km downhill on gravel, followed by 4km uphill on gravel. So, for the first half, I was gritting my teeth, and for the second half, I had grit in my teeth (from the gravel trucks kicking up dust). That downhill gravel was a real woo-hoo killer. Dang. And I was so looking forward to one last good woo-hoo before we get to the much less lumpy side of the Istria peninsula. There are so many campsites along the Istria coast that we have our pick in a lot of places. So, I created a spreadsheet of the campsites with a few key pieces of information (capacity, washer, WiFi, stars, and TripAdvisor rating). There are tons of campgrounds in the area we're in tonight, and three of them looked good, but one near Premantura - Camping Runke - looked particularly good, so we aimed for that. We came through Pomer, and the Pomer campground looked nice, but we pressed on, crossing the Pomer Bridge to get to the peninsula, and then climbed a big nasty hill to Premantura. I say it was nasty because it was at least 8%, with no shoulders, and unforgiving traffic. The Italian drivers seem to be the most unforgiving. I pushed up a lot of the way. When we got to town, we headed to Runke only to find out that it's only open for one more night (we were looking to camp for two nights so that we go through Pula on Monday instead of Sunday). So, in spite of my research, we ended up staying at Camping Stupice instead, which is nearby, and had particularly bad reviews from tenters who said the ground was very slopey and rocky. It is, but because it's the end of season the campground is quite empty and we got a primo spot on an isolated row off the side of the campground away from the industrial part with the rocky slopey ground. Rest and view partway up the gravel valley near Kavran Pomer Bridge Pomer Bridge, which we crossed to get from Pomer over to the highway for Premanutura. It saved us a few kms of riding.
2015-09-20: Kamenjak Park
Today we walked around Kamenjak park, south of Premantura. It was windy windy windy, but also beautiful. On the very south tip of the peninsula, there's a crazy little place called Safari Bar that is like something straight from Disneyland with bamboo cabanas and tree canopies and marble tables and Flintstone-esque ashtrays. Windy windy Kamenjak Park. Safari Bar from the beach. Safari Bar inside. South end of Kamanjak Park. The fellas that you can see down in the water just jumped in from where the girl is sitting above on the left. Yikes! Wind surfer playground
2015-09-21: Pula
We had thought to pass through Pula today and continue north along the coast, but we have decided that we'll cycle in Istria for a couple more weeks, circling back to Pula, and ending our cycle tour here. We'll then hit a few remaining highlights before returning home. So, we decided to spend the night in Pula to give ourselves the opportunity to do a little research into the logistics of ending the cycle tour here. We'll continue up the coast tomorrow. I think I've found someone to give Dewey to when he's done with the tour. We had lunch at a place called \"face food\" (which is a total ripoff of Facebook). Our server was a nice young fella, so I asked him if he wanted the bike, or if he knew someone who did. He didn't understand me. So, he got his friend who knows more English. She didn't understand either. So, then I tried Google Translate, and finally got a hit. He said he'd like to take the bike, so when we come back here in a couple weeks, hopefully I'll be able to find him again and give it to him. Pula has an AMAZING Roman Coliseum. Brent and I always thought that \"the coliseum\" was in Rome and that was that, but the Romans built lots of coliseums, and the one in Pula is in great shape - so great that they still use it! Today they're setting it up for a concert, but we won't be around to attend. Very cool and impressive structure. Pula Coliseum Pula Coliseum Pula Coliseum
2015-09-22: To Rovinj
Last night, Brent and I sketched out a detailed plan for the remainder of our trip, which involved spending a couple more weeks cycling the Istrian coast - north, and then returning south to Pula, where we would de-gear (I'll give Dewey away, we'll ship camping gear home, and The Tank's fate is still TBA). We would then fly from Pula to Dubrovnik, visit Sarajevo, Plitvice Lakes, fly to Venice and take a train across Europe before returning home. \n Today, we made some discoveries that has changed things a bit. \n We discovered that our Istria map is quite inaccurate. The side-roads which are marked as major/paved roads, aren't. They may not be paved, and in some cases, they may not even exist. Our map shows a great side road following the coast north of Pula, through Fazana, Peroj, up to Barbariga and up to Mongrego. We happily followed it through Fazana and Peroj and to Barbariga, where the road suddenly just ended. We went through a section that looked like it might have been a border crossing back in some old days, the road turned to gravel, went to the shore and then stopped. We had a conversation with a local who confirmed that we were on the road we thought we were on, but it did not go through anymore to Mongrego, if it ever did. We turned back and climbed to Betiga expecting to find proper roads there that were drawn on our map only to find ourselves on another sketchy gravel road until we finally reached the end of the middle of nowhere. Through studying our multiple maps and using his awesome Brent senses, Brent found our way back out of the end of the middle of nowhere and to the highway that we knew for sure would take us to Rovinj.\n Then we discovered that the secondary highway is really no fun to cycle. There is heavy, fast traffic going zoomzoomzoomzoom past continuously on the narrow road with no shoulders. \n We're talking, now, about heading east across Istria, then re-tracing our steps along the south Istrian coast back to Rijeka... maybe doing some island hopping that we thought we'd miss out on, and then pick up the plan with Dubrovnik. We'll see! I LOVE the apartmani in Croatia. They're, I guess, like German pensions. They're like a complete apartment... sometimes including a washing machine... often including a balcony or terrace... they're completely awesome, and often no more expensive than staying in one of the campgrounds here (which are hideously expensive, for campgrounds).
2015-09-23: Day in Rovinj
I love exploring Stari Grads. Labin has been my favorite Stari Grad \"up close\" and Rovinj is my favorite Stari Grad \"from a distance\". So picturesque. Instead of cycling up the coast, and back down the coast, we are probably going to cycle east across the peninsula and back to Rijeka. Since we expected to return to Pula in a couple of weeks, we didn't take a good look around while we were there (other than the coliseum), so we're feeling kind of ripped off about that. Also, I was really looking forward to taking a look at Novigrad. So, considering that we're supposed to have rain here for the next couple of days, and it won't be good for riding, we decided to book into our place for a couple of extra days, and take bus excursions to Pula and Novigrad on our rain days. Rovinj Rovinj's Stari Grad Rovinj's Stari Grad Rovinj's Stari Grad Rovinj's Stari Grad Rovinj Me with my beloved Stari Grad in the background
2015-09-24: Day Trip to Novigrad
Since we aren't going to cycle along the Istria coast anymore, we took the bus to Novigrad today. I wanted to go have a look at it. It's a world heritage site, and a walled city, so it sounded pretty cool. It was ok, but the Stari Grad wasn't as nice as most we've seen. The roads are wider and a lot of the old buildings are gone - replaced by newer, touristy things. The area along the south where the wall still stands is pretty great, though. We had a 2.75 hour time window there (buses run infrequently and that was pretty much the right amount of time for Novigrad. Riding the bus by the Lim Bay today was quite beautiful. It was very lumpy, though, and I was pretty happy to not have to climb back out on my bicycle. Coming back to Rovinj through the same area, we encountered a bus coming the other direction. Our driver had to stop and wiggle us as close to the rock cliff as possible for the other bus to get past. We had about 4\" to spare in between the buses. I was glad I wasn't on my bicycle then too! Novigrad Riviera Novigrad's City Wall
2015-09-25: Day Trip to Pula
When we were in Pula a few days ago, we thought we'd be going back there in a couple weeks to finish off our cycle tour. Then, the plan changed due to the problems with roads, so we're NOT cycling back to Pula. D'oh! We had left a few things we wanted to see, planning to see them on our second time in town. So, we had to take the bus back to see them. We spent some time at the Arena again, but this time we went inside, rather than just looking from the outside. Also, we walked up to see the Starfort, Pula Fortress. Archeological dig right beside the fortress. Pula's \"Starfort\" Fortress. Inside the Pula Arena.
2015-09-26: Monkodonja and to Kanfanar
When we were riding into Rovinj a few days ago, Brent spotted a wall ruin up on a hill outside of town. I did a bit of research and found out that it is an archeological site called Monkodonja which was a Bronze-Age settlement. Brent really wanted to go there. Said he'd \"be happy even if it was just five rocks on a hill\". Monkodonja was a few km back the wrong way, down a country road, and up the hill. I'm not sure I'd be happy with just five rocks on a hill, but we had a short riding day today, so we certainly had time to go check it out. We rode to it fairly straight-forwardly, even though it's not particularly easy to find, and lo... it is spectacular! It's way more than five rocks on a hill - there are walls and doors and the town wall, and the acropolis area, plus a cult cave! There were several interpretive signs around the site explaining what everything was. I'm so happy we went up! Brent and I have cycle toured in Canada. I hated it. I hate riding on highways with fast traffic zooming past. Even with Alberta's wide shoulders, the stupid drivers still find plenty of opportunity to run cyclists off the road, and seem to consider it a sport to scare the beejeebers out of me. \n So, then we cycle toured in Australia. I hated it. I hate riding on narrow highways with no shoulders and logging trucks zooming past. On a regular basis I was making little sucky whimpery noises as said logging trucks passed.\n I swore off of cycle touring. Then, Brent said \"Europe has good cycling infrastructure\", so we came on a six month epic cycle tour.\n For our first few months of cycling, we were in France, Germany and Austria which have amazing cycle infrastructure. Their official cycle routes keep you on dedicated bike paths some of the time, on slow side roads some of the time, and, rarely, on secondary highways for very short times. I loved it. Seriously, for the first time I felt like I was experiencing the joy of cycle touring. I couldn't get enough of it and wished it could just go on forever.\n Then, we were forced out of Schengen by silly time limits. We chose to come to Croatia because it sounded nice, and, compared to other non-Schengen countries, seemed to be the most promising for cycling. For the first month that we were here, we were inland in rural, non-touristy areas, and it was great. We were pretty much always on roads, but there were pretty much always side roads we could take and even when we were on highways, the traffic was so cautious and courteous it was astonishing. I loved it. Now that we've made it out to the west coast of Istria, though, things have changed. There are no viable side road options. It is secondary-highway only, and the secondary highways are narrow, with no shoulders, and traffic zooming past constantly. Three times today I made my whimpery scream sound as an enormous bus or gravel truck passed too close - the traffic was too heavy for them to move over a safe distance. \n We are heading inland, cross-country, to go back to Rijeka. No more coastal highway riding for me. We had to ride on the awful busy secondary highway most of the way to Kanfanar. As soon as we got past the autobahn (which we crossed just coming into town), traffic seemed to lighten up quite a bit. I'm hoping that it will stay relatively light for the next three days as we make our way to Rijeka. For our trip to Krsan tomorrow, there are several side-road diversions we can take to stay off the highway as well. Yay!\n So, lesson learned. I love love love cycle touring in countries with good cycle infrastructure. I will happily go back to France, Germany and Austria anytime and am already dreaming and scheming with Laura. As far as Croatia is concerned, I would come back if I could plan a route that was on side roads. That may mean largely inland and in non-touristy areas rather than the coast, which, obviously, is a shame, since the coast is so beautiful.\n But, I yam what I yam... I'm consistent. I do NOT want to cycle with fast/close traffic whizzing by. I just don't. View towards the ocean from Monkodonja's acropolis. Doorway into Monkodonja's acropolis area.
2015-09-27: To Kr�an
As I've said before, you have to like hills to cycle tour Croatia. Even though we're on the \"flat\" part of Istria, there's nothing flat about it. We spent the first part of the day climbing gradually from Kanfanar to Sv. Katarina, which was on the top of some kind of ridge. From Sv. Katarina, we had a 3km 10% downhill. It was crazy! I was so glad we weren't riding it in the OTHER direction. As soon as we started down, we could see Pican, a crazy little town perched on the tippy-top of a steep steep hill. After completing our downhill woo-hoo to the Ra�ka Draga valley, we had to climb steeply up through Podpican for a bit. Then the climb evened out some as we approached Kr�an. Most of our riding today was on secondary highway, but it was much quieter than the secondary highways closer to the west coast of Istria. It was quite nice riding the whole way. We had side road options if we needed them, but we didn't feel any need to get off the highways. Yay! \n It is interesting to be back in Kr�an. We were through here going the other direction several days ago and after this, we will be retracing our route all the way back to Rijeka. Mount Ucka looms. It looms over everything. Since we reached Rijeka a couple weeks ago, we have been essentially nowhere that we couldn't see it, looming. We are back and will be cycling to it (not to the summit, silly) tomorrow. It looms! It looms! Ka�un (the name for a stone hut in Istria). Pican The town that someone looked at that hill and said \"what a great hill! let's put our town right at the top of it!\". Crazy people. Mt. Ucka looming over Kr�an.
2015-09-28: To Lovran
On approach into Lovran, of course we had to stop in and check on \"our\" kittens. There are people at the house, now, and cat dishes on the landing. Also, plump happy kittens! YAY! We're so glad the kittens are doing well and someone is taking care of them! Oh, the wind! The wind! The forecast today said that there would be wind, and there was wind. We rode down from Krsan in the wind, which blew us around quite a bit. I was quite worried about riding around the point and being on the actual south coast of Istria. We climbed up to the point, and stopped for coffee at Plomin, which is a neat little town with amazing views. The climb up wasn't as evil of a hill as it could have been because, at that point, the wind was a tail wind (mostly). Rounding the point, we got some serious gusts, and as we rode, mostly downhill, all the way to Lovran, we had to fight the wind the whole way. On the downhill we had to pedal most of the time as we fought that headwind, and on some worrisome sections, we had little or no railing on the side with cliff right beside us. I was happy for light traffic because I rode a foot or two into the lane during some of those lest a gust blow me right off the unprotected side. From Brent:\n After nearly 5 months of travel we can see the end of our trip in sight. Our plans have taken another turn and we will soon be leaving the bicycles behind, opting for more conventional tourist travel methods - trains, planes & busses.\n \nThe west coast of the Istrian Peninsula is very pretty but, unfortunately, not a pleasant place to cycle. The roads are few and narrow and, even in this, the shoulder season, traffic is heavy. If I were to try to cycle here again I would carry less gear, perhaps use a full-suspension mountain bike, use a GPS and ride some of the many pathways that are marked on our maps. And I would also stick to shoulder season. \n In high season Istria must crawl like a disturbed ant hill. At this time of year many of the campgrounds are shut down completely or have closed off the majority of their sites. We camped a couple of nights on the Kamenjak Peninsula. There are 4 campgrounds within walking distance. Ours had a listed capacity of over 3000 people and it wasn't the biggest in the area. Add that to the hotels and \"Apartman's\" in the area and I wouldn't want to be around to see the crowds. Sure Istria is beautiful and everybody comes here for vacation but the problem is EVERYBODY COMES HERE FOR VACATION.\n \n So we're editing about 5 days out of our stay in Croatia and taking a quick side trip to Turkey. Turkey had been on the original route 4 or 5 years ago when we started talking about this trip but had slowly been pushed out. Now Turkey is back on the table and, ironically, we'll be in Turkey for Thanksgiving. About all we will see of Istanbul is the airport as we are will be connecting through to Cappadocia.\n \n But before Turkey we still have a couple of weeks to see some of the Dalmatian coast of Croatia plus Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzagovina. \n \n On October 18th we can re-enter Schengen for 11 days so we've planned a if-this-is-Wednesday-this-must-be-Zurich type train trip from Venice, Italy to Bruges, Belgium. I think it will be pretty good. After that we have to do a quick out-&-in to renew our visas for the last 3 days in Europe.\n \nRhonda and I both spent time and sweat trying to figure how to get from Bruges to Dover to Paris quickly and cheaply. Seems there is no way to meet both the requirements. It's like no one else has ever had this visa problem before. Finally Rhonda says, \"Why don't we just go to Dublin?\"\n \nDublin?!...What do yuh know? It's perfect. An hour by train, Bruges to Brussels airport direct. About an hour flight to Dublin. Pension in Temple Bar for the night. About an hour flight to Paris. Cheaper and faster than taking the ferry to Dover. And a real Guiness at Temple Bar on the way. Who Knew?\n \nSo the adventure has been an adventure. Eight countries, five currencies and six languages so far (but I already knew English) and there should be 5 more countries, 3 more currencies and 4 more languages before the end of October. It's going to get interesting and stressful.\n Bikes at Plomin Pondering the topo map at Plomin. Plomin Stari Grad
2015-09-29: To Rijeka
Last day of riding for this tour. Crazy! It was pretty uneventful. There was some heavy traffic around Opatija, and coming into Rijeka, but we expected that. We made Rijeka on time to do lots of research into shipping stuff home. For \"all\" of our stuff (one box of gear and two bicycle boxes), DHL quoted us about $1200. OUCH! We stopped at the tourist info office to ask about a few things, including shipping. We thought we might ship to Paris and then pick stuff up there and bring it home as our luggage. In a delightfully random fashion, there was a Parisian tourist, Hamid, there at the same time and he was being \"Couch Surfing\" hosted by a guy who works for a shipping company. He took us along over to the shipping company where we met Zoran, who was very friendly and helpful. He didn't think his company could help us, but he recommended TNT, so we fired an e-mail off to them to inquire. We also stopped in at the Croatian post office and asked there, and they sound really promising. One box, 1.5m x 2m (big enough for a bicycle), max 30kg, for about $150. We're planning on pursuing that tomorrow. We had lunch in Rijeka at Pizza Bracera. We had a very pleasant server named Luka. After we finished our meal, I asked Luka if he knew anyone who would like to \"adopt\" my bicycle. He went away for a few minutes, then came back, and said that one of their cooks, Dado, would like to have the bike. Dado is a beginner rider and was really excited about getting the bike. Yay! I feel kind of bad about offering the bike to the fella in Pula and then not going back to Pula, but since he hadn't stuck around long enough to exchange contact information, I don't feel that bad. I'm just happy that Dado is stoked about getting Dewey. I wanted to keep my clip pedals, so Brent put his old pedals onto Dewey, pulled off a bunch of gear (panier racks, air pump holder, headlight holder), and we delivered him off to Dado. I am sad to leave Dewey behind, but I made the decision weeks ago so I think/hope I'm at peace with it. I have my eye on a newer Dew Deluxe back in Calgary anyway. It can be Dewey Two! Not overly impressed with our hostel. They are fairly new, and I think they've shut down mostly for the season without updating their listing on Booking.com. They have no WiFi at all, even though their listing says they have it, free, and available in all areas. The kitchen has no running water - we have to wash our dishes in the bathroom next door. The lack of WiFi is really vexing. I was also irritated by their handling of our bicycle situation. I put in my reservation that we would need space for two bikes, which has never been a problem any other place. They had since yesterday afternoon to contact me and tell me there was an issue with that, but they didn't, even though they knew very well that we were coming (they were ready for us). When the lady \"realized\" that we had bicycles, she insisted that there was no place in the building for them, and we should just take them out and lock them up on the street someplace. Brent wanted to put them in the lobby and lock them up, but I told him I'd been scolded a couple of times already for asking about that. We put the bikes into the lobby temporarily to walk around the building to find a place to put them, and by the time we got back (10 minutes, tops), the \"bicycle police\" were waiting in the lobby for us to give us shit for having them there. We explained that we just put them there until we could figure out where to put them. They stood and watched over us as we unloaded all the gear. They stood and waited while we took the bikes out and locked them up behind the building. They stood and waited while we hauled alllllll the gear up all five flights of stairs to make good and sure we weren't leaving anything sitting around in the lobby before they left, and we are now the only people in the hostel. Before we left on the trip, it took me a while to decide which shoes I'd bring for riding. I had my older clip shoes and my newer clip shoes. I've hung onto the older ones just as a backup. They're really not good - the left clip sticks on the pedal sometimes. In the end I decided to bring the older shoes, hope they didn't give me trouble, and just toss them out at the end rather than bringing them home. I'm quite happy with that decision. The left clip hasn't given me any trouble at all... until yesterday. Yes, the shoe waited until our second-last day of riding before giving me trouble. So, today, I gleefully toss out the old clip shoes after having a great long tour with them. Tired bicycles after the long tour. Rhonda, Dewey and Luca at Pizza Bracera in Rijeka.
2015-09-30: Rijeka chores
Besides being the first day of not riding today, there is also going to be another big change today. I can no longer eat and drink with wild abandon. Unless, of course, I give Brent the nickname \"Wild Abandon\", and then I could continue to eat and drink with \"Wild Abandon\". I have taken off most of my \"Edmonton Weight\" on this trip, and I don't want to just pack it all back on by continuing to eat as if I'm burning thousands of calories every day. Brent packed on a bunch of weight after his cross-Canada trip by doing that. I packed on a bunch of weight after Australia by doing that. I'm determined to keep that \"Edmonton Weight\" off now that I've finally taken it off. I have a weight/diet management \"plan\" that I'm going to follow for the next month, and I have an even stricter plan that I'll follow when we get back to Canada. Today was largely spent researching how to ship Brent's bike home, and shipping a big obnoxious box of gear home. Since Hrvatska Posta was so easy and reasonable for shipping, we shipped one big box of stuff today using a cardboard box that Brent scored in the alley. The box weight upwards of 25kg and took both of us to carry it from our accommodation to the post office. At the post office, you take a tickie which tells you your number in the queue. The young lady we talked to yesterday was there again today and I hoped we'd get her since she spoke good English, but it was not to be. When our number came up, we were at the wicket next to her, with a lady who spoke no English. She relied heavily on her colleague for help, and in the end, the experience was mostly not painful for all of us... except maybe for the Posta lady when she had to lift that damned box. I decided a few weeks ago that I would probably leave Dewey behind at the end of this trip. He's getting old and he needs a lot of maintenance to get back to good shape. That, plus the cost of shipping him home made me think that it made more sense to leave him here and buy a new bike when we get home. I think I'm mostly ok with it turning out that way. \n \nBrent, on the other hand, was pretty determined to take The Tank home if he could. Hrvatska Posta would charge about $100-$120 to ship the bike, so that wasn't prohibitive. The main issue was finding a box to pack it in. \n \nWe set off first thing this morning to the bicycle store in downtown Rijeka, but the lady there advised that they had no empty boxes - it's the end of the season and they're not bringing new bikes in right now. She suggested that we try calling back tomorrow or the next day. \n \nWe knew that there was a large sporting store in the Tower Centre on the southeast end of Rijeka, about 2.5km from where we're staying. Brent didn't want to just give up on The Tank, so off we went to Intersport in the howling wind.\n \nI decided that following the signs pointing to Tower Centre was a good want to get there, so off we went, even though Brent thought we were following driving signs and we'd end up going through \"the tunnel\". I didn't know what the tunnel was, and he didn't elaborate. The tunnel was the long, evil scary Rijeka highway tunnel that goes for at least a couple of kilometers on the outskirts of town. We gritted our teeth and walked, with a purpose. The tunnel does have a sidewalk through its length. There was an exit for Tower Centre about 1.5km down the tunnel, so we managed to get out, unscathed (although I probably have a new grey hair from it).\n \nWhen we got to Tower Centre, Brent suggested that we eat lunch before going to the store so that if they had a box, we could take it straight away without having to worry about hauling it around through lunch. So, we had a nice lunch at the food court on the 5th floor with a fabulous view of the harbour and the nearby islands.\n \nAfter lunch we went to Intersport and Brent beelined for the bicycle section. Approaching the counter, he could see that they had boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes. That was when he had a decision to make. With the final obstacle removed, it was down to him to decide - take The Tank home, or leave him behind. After some weeping and moaning and gnashing of teeth, he decided to leave him behind. \n \nWe had stopped by Hostel Rijeka this morning to see if they had a \"free stuff\" area where we could leave our sleeping bags. Brent had mentioned that he \"might\" have a bicycle to leave as well. The guy invited us to leave our stuff and was particularly excited about the bicycle, so tomorrow morning, we'll take the sleeping bags, The Tank, and some miscellaneous supplies and gear off to the hostel in hopes that someone will be able to get some good use out of them. From Brent: Rhonda and I backtracked from the Istrian Peninsula of Croatia to the main port city of Rijeka where we spent a couple of days, packed up most of our gear and mailed it home then gave away our bicycles. It was sad to see them go but there was too much hassle and expense involved in sending them home. \n\n All we have with us now fits into our 2 day-packs. It's an exercise in basic living.\n From Rijeka we bussed down the Dalmatian coast of Croatia and, wow, it is rugged and pretty in a desolate kind of way. Rocks and scrub and steep cliffs plunging to the sea and evidence that people had once farmed the steep slopes (and a few still do). The rocks here are very soft and you can see how they seem to be melting from the rain, rather like giant sugar cubes that have had water poured on them.\n The scary evil tunnel. This was during a brief moment of no traffic. It was scary and evil. Really. The great big box. We shipped about 25kg of gear home in that sucker.
2015-10-01: To Zadar
We left Rijeka and headed for Zadar today on the bus. We went via the evil tunnel that we walked yesterday and it didn't seem to bad at all from a bus! There were some amazing, high off-ramps and other bits of horror leaving Rijeka that made me really happy that we were not trying to cycle through it. Once we were out of Rijeka and heading south along the coast, my feeling about cycling it didn't improve. The highway is narrow with no shoulders, and lots of cliffs and other scary deadly bits that I wouldn't want to be sharing a narrow road with cars on. The countryside south of Rijeka is very mountainous and rugged. It is endless rocks and scrub and scrub and rocks and rocks and scrub and scrub and rocks. The elevation gain and loss is crazy. The islands off the coast look mostly like barren deserts with some scrub and rocks. The coast is much more rugged than I expected. Just before we reached Zadar, the countryside changed a lot. It's not mountainous and it's starting to show the potential for soil and green things. I liked the Zadar sea organ more than I expected to. I expected to think it was a neat novelty, but the sound it produces is really tranquil and calming and I love it. I think I could just sit near it for hours. Maybe I will. Before leaving town today, we mailed off a second box of gear (much smaller than yesterday's) and dropped off The Tank, our sleeping bags, and a bag of miscellaneous gear and supplies at Hostel Rijeka. Hopefully they can make good use of our stuff. It's been hard for me to leave Dewey behind, and I know it was tough for Brent to leave The Tank behind. From Brent: I had never heard of this place. The main attraction on the internet seemed to be The Sea Organ and I wasn't sure about stopping to see a bit of kitchy art but we had the time and we were in the neighbourhood. \n It turns out that Zadar is an ancient city with lots of cool history. We got a room in the Old Town and walked passed some massively thick walls. The town isn't walled any more, but was at one time...or maybe 3 times because there seem to be remnants of several walls of different construction about the old town. Zadar was a Roman city at one time and maybe the spot belonged to someone before them. Some time after the Romans left the Venicians took over and remodelled the city to their tastes (A lot of buildings have dates in the 1500's around the doors). The cool part to me was that the Venicians used the old Roman ruins as raw building materials. \n\n There is a big, 8-sided chappel that everybody says you should see. We went to see it and I found myself more interested in the foundation than the building. It was made of broken pieces of Roman columns and statuary and inscribed stones that had all been thrown down in a jumble and cemented together. There's chunks of broken Roman construction all over town. We spent quite a lot of time at the archaeological museum learning about the area and we wandered past a couple of active dig sites. All very cool.\n Also in the Old Town the streets are paved with marble. And when I say streets I mean it in a medieval way. The roads, side walks and cafe dining rooms are all the same thing. Years of shoes, vehicle tires, dog crap and street sweepers have made the streets shine like a smooth lake. When the sun reflects off the roads it's hard to see in that direction, a tiny amount of rain makes the roads slippery as snot. Some of the roads have been deliberately hacked and gouged to make them safer to walk on, a different philosophy from back home.\n And the Sea Organ is kinda cool too.\n Scary off-ramps outside of Rijeka. Dalmation Coast scenery whizzing by from the bus window. Dalmation Coast scenery whizzing by from the bus window. Dalmation Coast scenery whizzing by from the bus window. Dalmation Coast scenery whizzing by from the bus window. Sea organ at Zadar
2015-10-02: Zadar
Spent the day exploring Zadar, mostly spending time in the Archeology Museum. The city is REALLY old - their history goes back well before Roman times. Quite fascinating. The place we're staying in is an old building in the old part of Zadar, which is really cool. One thing that is particularly fascinating, and not necessarily in a good way, is the electric toilet. There is no plumbing under the toilet. Instead, there is a tube that comes out the back of the toilet. When you flush, some water flows into the bowl, and then WOOSH, GRINNNNNND, everything is sucked into a mechanism behind the bowl and then sucked out through the tube. Tres strange.
2015-10-03: To Plitvice
Driving from Zadar towards Plitvice was so similar to driving to the Rockies from Calgary. Flat, then rolling, then a wall of mountains. It was quite beautiful, with some ground fog, and then, alas, some rain. The rain persisted until we were about halfway through our hike (upper lakes) at Plitvice and then it finally cleared up.\n Plitvice Lakes is quite an amazing place. It is very touristy... sort of like Banff, I guess - it's made for tourism. But it is spectacular. It is just water and water and water everywhere. Falling water, running water, clear beautiful standing water. I'm REALLY glad we came this late in the season. We'd heard that it got stupid busy during the summer, and I can absolutely see that happening, and I can see it being not enjoyable then. There were a lot of people on the trails today, but it didn't feel crowded at all. It was perfect (although I could have done with less rain). From Brent:\nFor almost a month people had been telling us that we must go to Plitvice (pronounced Pleet-veet-suh). The park is very large but the \narea that tourists visit is pretty small. Other tourists had told us that it wasn't worth visiting in high season because of the crowds, one said that on busy days the \"people move through the park like a conga-line.\" Fortunately (?) for us, when we got there it was raining pretty hard. What tourists there were generally tried to hussle through at a good speed. My thought on seeing Plitvice Lakes after 3 weeks in the relative desert conditions of Istria and North Dalmatia was, \"People from there would think this was Eden.\" The place is all \nlush plants and clear lakes and waterfalls everywhere. And the lakes and waterfalls are of an unusual form. What we are used to at home is a system where a lake overflows and the river leaving the lake erodes a channel and, if conditions are right, a waterfall. But here the water is saturated with minerals from the dissolving rocks and rather than eroding the water deposits minerals where it runs. A stream blocks itself and then must find a new path. The result of this is lakes that are shaped like cups or bowls with dozens or scores of waterfalls pouring over the edge, flowing down to the next lake. Over time the lips build up and the lakes get deeper. I saw pieces of trees in some of the lakes and they were accumulating a coating of white limestone. I think that they will be fossils one day.\n The 'lakes' part of the park can be covered in 1 day if you hussle a bit. We took 2 and got a good look at everything that the average tourist sees. We were told that there were bears, wolves and wildcats in the park but didn't see any evidence of them. I guess you'd have to get away from the beaten path. If you ever plan to go, my advice is the same as visiting Istria, go in the low season. And take a flash light if you plan to explore the caves.\n Upper lakes walk at Plitvice Lakes. You can see the waterfall UNDER the boardwalk. There are waterfalls under a LOT of the boardwalks in this park. It is just crazy with waterfalls. Upper lakes walk at Plitvice Lakes. Sorry about the rain droplets... I still just really like the pic. Upper lakes walk at Plitvice Lakes.
2015-10-04: Plitvice
Last night, Brent and I walked along the highway from Ulaz 2 to where we're staying in Jezerce village. He went out to find the grocery store later, and although it was closed, he did discover that there's a great walking path from Mukinje (right next to where we're staying) to the park that keeps you right off the highway. YAY! We used it to walk to and from the park today, and we'll use it to walk to the bus tomorrow. We had nicer weather today than yesterday, and the nicer weather brought out the swarms of tourists. It's all a trade-off. It wasn't too bad, really, but we could see how it could be intolerable during high season! Plitvice Lakes View of the entire Veliki Slap (big waterfall). Plitvice Lakes Zoom to the lower levels of the Veliki Slap. Plitvice Lakes Yet another cool waterfall. Plitvice Lakes Looking down into the cave. Plitvice Lakes Inside the cave Plitvice Lakes Brent explores the big cave. Plitvice Lakes Looking down at the walkway on the lake, and the cave is above and to the right. Plitvice Lakes Looking down on lakes and waterfalls
2015-10-05: To Split
Another good day to not be on the bikes. It started raining about halfway back to Zadar. When we reached Zadar water was pouring off the bus, running in the street, and standing up to 6\" deep in some low areas of the roads. It rained all the way to Split. When we got off the bus it was just spitting a little, and then it cleared right up for us to find our place (you know... the PALACE), and explore Varo� (the medieval neighborhood to the west of the palace), and Diocletian's Palace cellars. From Brent:\nBefore we got there everything I knew about Split I'd learned from a \nlimerick. It turns out that Split has a pretty good Old Town (Stari Grad) too. It's Diaclesian's Palace. The Roman Emperor, Diaclesian, had it built for his retirement; a walled fortress about 600 X 700 feet. Half was for him and half was for his staff, servants and guards. It's a pretty impressive place and, once again, Rhonda got us a great room inside the walls. A lot of the old Roman stuff is ruined but there is also a lot of it still standing. There's a stone sphinx, \nthe size of a couch, that Diaclesian had brought from Egypt to decorate one of his temples. It's estimated to be 3500 years old and still sitting where he left \nit.\n After the Romans left the new tenants (fleeing an invasion from the north) moved in and used the city as a fort until the invaders went away and then outgrew the place. The city spilled out the north side to an area called Varos and a more typical Stari Grad was built there, partly by pulling building materials out of \nthe Palace's north wall and partly by building into it. Too bad.\n And a bit north of Varos (I'm only talking a couple of hundred yards) is a very large park the occupies a high ridge and has the sea on 3 sides. There are ancient maps that show this area in about 400 AD, marked 'No hunting or cutting of trees.' So this place has been a park for about 1600 years. Of course the place isn't totally undeveloped. Marshal Tito had his summer house built here when he was in charge of Yugoslavia.\n Split is more touristy and more expensive than Zadar.\n Brent shows where we're staying inside Diocletian's Palace. Small square in Diocletian's Palace. The staircase on the left of the photo leads up to our place. Varo�, Split Varo�, Split Cellars of Diocletian's Palace. Cellars of Diocletian's Palace. Iron Gate to Diocletian's Palace from Varo�, Split
2015-10-06: Split
Full day in Split today... explored Diocletian's Palace, walked up and around part of Marjan, explored Veli Varo� neighborhood (west of Varo� neighborhood), and took a sight-seeing boat tour. The WORST thing about this trip... choosing a small representative sample of photos for each day. Often we take 100+ pics more per day EACH and I pare it down to 3-6 to post for most days (up to 9 for particularly scenic days). Poor me... it's sooooo hard! One thing I loved about living in Atlanta, and that I continue to miss, is the sound of cicadas. When I lived in Atlanta, sometimes I would even take my lawn chair out on my balcony at night and fall asleep to the din of my neighborhood bugs. Today on our walk, the forest was alive with buzzing cicadas! I was so happy! Split from Marjan. Diocletian's Palace, Silver Gate. Restaurant \"door\" in Diocletian's Palace Short folks only! Palace cellars below View in the SW quadrant of Diocletian's Palace. A dalmatian in Dalmatia A neat little courtyard in Veli Varo�. Palace cellars below View in the SW quadrant of Diocletian's Palace. Looking towards Diocletian's Palace from Veli Varo�. Looking out the Iron Gate of Diocletian's Palace toward Varo�.
2015-10-07: To Dubrovnik
We split from Split and shuffled off to Dubrovnik today. It was a \"take scenery pictures through the bus window\" kind of day again, and I'm quite impressed with the quality of some of the pics I got through this bus window. It must have been brand new or something. We went through two \"passport control\" stops today. Croatia isn't contiguous along its coast - we had to pop into Bosnia for a short time, and then pop back out into Croatia. Passport control consisted of the bus stopping and a border guard coming onto the bus to have a quick look at everyone's passport. Pretty simple, but Brent and I enjoyed some Schadenfreude at the expense of the guy who had left his passport in his luggage and had to get off the bus and dig it out. He was kind of a dick about it... thus the Schadenfreude. Brent and I speculated about how often someone might accidentally take a day trip to Dubrovnik and leave their passport back in their hotel. That would make for an \"interesting\" kind of day. We checked into our accommodation and went walkabout, but I'm feeling barfy so we didn't go far, only down to Uvala Lapad (Lapad Beach), which is very resort-ey. We're both glad we went to have a look at it, but it's not a place we'd return to. Afterwards, I asked to come back to the room because I was still feeling barfy and just before we got back it started to rain. Yay for timing! Mount Sr� (pronounced like \"surge\") sits above Dubrovnik. From where Brent and I are staying, we have a pretty good view of it. It's dark right now and the only way we can tell it's there is from the red light on the top of the tower on the top of the mountain. That, and, we're having a thunderstorm right now and we're not seeing many bolts... just the sky lighting up, and back-lighting the mountain just like in a cartoon horror film. AWESOME! From Brent:\nCroatia isn't contiguous down the coast, you have to pass through a \nsmall part of Bosnia to get to Dubrovnik so you pass through 2 border checks in short succession. At the first one the border guard came on and looked at everybody's passport but when he got to a couple near the back there was a bit of a commotion. After a bit the bus driver came back and waved the passengers off the bus. They had to get out and get their luggage from under the bus and fetch their passports before they were allowed back onboard. When they got back onboard the husband said (for public consumption), \"That was such bullshit.\"\n Lesson number one for international travel - Don't leave your passport in your baggage under the bus.\n Dubrovnik was once an important and influential city-state, run by folks with pretty good political savvy that allowed them to build a small trading empire while avoiding most wars among their trading partners. Their past wealth really shows. The Stari Grad is the most impressive walled city that I've seen on the trip. Massive tall and thick walls. The Serbian and Montenegran armies besieged \nthe city in 1992 using modern weapons and couldn't get in.\n We arrived on Croatian Independance Day, a national holiday plus there was a huge cruise ship in port. The Stari Grad was packed with tourists. The folks walking the top of the walls looked like the Conga-line we'd been warned of at Plitvice. \n Rather than fight the crowds we took the cable tram to see Fort Imperial, a fort built by Nepolean in the early 1800's, high above the town. It has a commanding view of the whole area. This was also a hot-spot for fighting during the war in '92 and has since been turned into a war museum. The displays are mostly in Croatian with a little in English. It was interesting but I would have gotten \nmore out of it if there had been a tour guide or someone to explain the details.\n Next day we got to the Old Town early and took advantage of their Mueseums-package-deal to spend most of the day wandering museums and learning about the city's (older) history. The newer history is still fresh in people's minds and there are reminders of the \n'92/'93 war all over. Memorial plaques leave no doubt about the hard feelings and mistrust that are still not far below the surface. The break-up of Yugoslavia was a messy thing and it seems, from an outsider's view, that no one had completely clean hands. Although Serbs & Croats were fighting each other here and in N.E. Croatia it seems that they also had a side-deal to divide Bosnia-Herzigonia between them. It's a shame when people go mad and start following politicians on their quest for glory.\n Still, Dubrivnik is a pleasant city. Also the most expensive place we've visited in Croatia with prices approaching what we'd pay at home. If you're in the area it is worth a stop-over.\n Bus window scenery enroute to Dubrovnik. Bus window scenery enroute to Dubrovnik. Bus window scenery enroute to Dubrovnik.
2015-10-08: Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a beautiful and amazing place. So, of course, EVERYONE comes here. Unfortunately for crowdophobic me, it is an anthill of tourists. Brent and I spent some time exploring the Stari Grad, but I had to get away from the crowds. Maybe it's a mistake to be in Dubrovnik - UNESCO World Heritage site, Pearl of the Adriatic and pride of Croatia - on Croatian Independence Day. Maybe tomorrow will be less ant-hill-y. We'll see. I'm still feeling barfy and waxy, so instead of walking up Sr�, we took the cable car up, had a great look around, and then walked down. Then, I ate some yogurt and passed out. Inside Dubrovnik Dubrovnik Old Port Outside Dubrovnik Dubrovnik from Mount Sr� Dubrovnik Old Port from Mount Sr� Gru�, Gru� Port, Lapad and some Islands from Mount Sr� Dubrovnik rooftops Dubrovnik Old Port Dubrovnik from Mount Sr�
2015-10-09: Dubrovnik
I've been thinking about Croatia a lot - after all, we've spent seven weeks here. I think if I were to come back, I would skip the coast. As beautiful as the coastal places are, what I've really really enjoyed about Croatia was when we were inland, away from the touristy stuff, connecting with the locals who weren't jaded by tourism. Of course, our conversations were pretty limited since they had less English than people in the touristy areas, and we have almost no Croatian, but I still really enjoyed it. The day after Croatian Independence Day and Dubrovnik is... still an anthill. Brent and I mostly visited museums today, but we did explore the old town a little. It is very beautiful; just very tourist-ful. Thank goodness for Brent. Tonight he discovered that Canadians no longer have the option of applying for a tourist visa upon entry into Turkey. You have to apply ahead of time. This is a change from when we looked into it before and it never occurred to me to double check now. Anyway, he used their official e-Visa web page to get the visas we need and we're now good to visit Turkey in a few days. WHEW! Dubrovnik wall and rooftops.
2015-10-10: To Sarajevo
There are lots of buses in Croatia which offer free WiFi. Unfortunately, none of those busses are ones we've taken. Sigh.\n I really didn't expect the drive inland to Sarajevo to be so scenic. It was \n\nabsolutely beautiful, in spite of the rain. Almost like driving through the \n\nOkanagan. Rolling green mountain after rolling green mountain. Wow!\n We REALLY hit the jackpot with the place that we're staying. It is costing us only \n\nabout $100CAD for three nights, it is nice and clean, has strong WiFi, and is \n\nextremely convenient to the interesting areas of Sarajevo. The best part, though, is \n\nour host, Amar. He e-mailed offering to pick us up at the bus station today. \n\nNormally I wouldn't - it wouldn't be a problem for us to walk the 5km, but it was \n\nraining so I took him up on it. He picked us up, brought us to the property, and \n\nsays he'll also drive us to the airport for our plane to Turkey on Tuesday morning! \n\nWOW!!\n Sarajevo is the perfect stop-over on our way from Croatia to Turkey. I didn't expect \n\nit to be so significantly different from Croatia, but it really is. It has a real \n\neastern look and feel about it. It's great to have the opportunity to ease into \n\neastern culture before we tackle a new language. Not that we're such experts at \n\nSerbo-Croatian, but it is at least familiar.\n Two points of interest for us in Sarajevo that we saw tonight: The location of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sofia - the event which started WWI, and a Sarajevo Rose (see link above).\n Scenery from the bus window Hard to get pics today because of the rain, and this one of Brent's turned out really kind of weird, but I like it! Another scenery from the bus in the rain pic. Fountain outside a mosque in Sarajevo. Sarajevo street. Sarajevo About 1/3 from the left, and in the center vertically, is a salmon-colored building (just above a white house above the bridge). That's where Brent and I are staying.
2015-10-11: Sarajevo
Marima took us on a walking tour of Sarajevo in the relentless rain today. It was really interesting to hear her personal stories about the war. She was seven years old when the war started. \n She told us about how there was never shelling before 10AM in her town, so everyone did everything they needed to before 10:00 (for Marima and the other kids, that meant going to school from 7:30 to 9:30 only) then staying in the basement of their apartment building the rest of the time. For fourty-four months! \n She also told us about the marketplace which, during the war, didn't have the usual garden produce and such, but rather, humanitarian supplies from the UN. Supplies provided were supposed to be free for everyone, but some people grabbed up more than they needed and then re-sold it back to their neighbors. Sad. Also the food was hideously old and rotten. She said that in a bag of rice, for every two grains of rice there was a dry dead worm. She said that one of the main provisions was unlabelled undated cans of supposed meat that was mostly an unnatural pink meat gelatin. She said that the rumor is (and that she believes the rumor) that the provisions sent to Sarajevo were leftovers from WWII and the Vietnamese wars. \n She also talked about how people's reaction changed as the siege went on. In the first month, unable to get tobacco, her father \"smoked every tea bag in the house\". When Marima objected, he assured her that the war would be over in one month. During the first month or so, everyone stayed in the basements and only adults went out if absolutely necessary. After the first month, the siege became routine and kids were sent out (ie. to early morning school) but ran all the way there and wall the way back to avoid being hit by a shell.\n Another story was about a neighbor lady. Early in the war, they ran out of firewood. So, over time, they burned their furniture... walls... floors... everything that would burn... until they ran out of pretty much everything. One day the neighbor lady was desperate to make a cup of coffee. She couldn't find anything to burn to heat her water for coffee, so finally she ended up burning her sweater to heat the water.\n She told us a lot of things but those really stuck with me. We saw the sculpture, Multicultural Man Builds the World on our tour today. Marima said that when the sculpture was first gifted to Sarajevo, many people found his nudity disturbing, so someone put a pair of red underwear on him. The underwear were removed, but they form a story in Marima's tour and she talks about how he doesn't wear underwear anymore. Except today. She says last night he was nude, but when we went by today, he had a set of black undies on. Heheheh. Marima told us a bit more about Sarajevo's multi-culturalism. Sarajevo, supposedly, is \"a haven of peaceful multiculturalism, a city where the constituent peoples of Bosnia (Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs) and many others (Jews, atheists, diplomats) reside in mutual love and affection\". But from what Marima said, it sounds like the city is \"love and affection\" only toward the three constituent peoples. The country has three presidents - one for each population. Everyone who is not from one of those three groups is simply categorized as \"other\". One of the worst things, it sounds like, about being an \"other\" is that there are job quotas for each of the three groups, and only \"whatever is left over\" is available to the \"others\". Bosnia has an unemployment rate of 45% (65% in young people). Horrifying. Marima said that if a Muslim (Bosniak) married a Catholic (Croat), their children would be \"others\". Horrifying. Rainy Sarajevo Rainy Sarajevo Rainy Sarajevo
2015-10-12: Sarajevo
WikiTravel: If you are not staying at a hotel (i.e. a private residence), you must register with the local police within 24 hours of arrival. Failure to register may result in a fine or possible removal.\n --\n - Us: We read that we have to register with the police if we're staying in Bosnia. Is that something we need to take care of?\n - Guest house proprietor: What? No, no, you don't have to do that.\n --\n - Us: We read that we have to register with the police if we're staying in Bosnia. Is that something we need to take care of?\n - Tourist office lady: No, you don't need to do that. Your accommodation should do it on your behalf. If they don't, then they get the fine.\n --\n - Police: Who are all these people in your van.\n - Tour operator: They're my guests - I'm taking them on a tour.\n - Police: Where are they all staying?\n - Tour operator: I don't know where they're all staying. In the hotels, I guess.\n - Police: Well, let's just check them all and make sure.\n - Tour operator: Oh, come on... that will take an hour. I know you just want some money from me.\n - Police: Well, we need to get breakfast.\n - Tour operator: I'll give you 20KM.\n\n Don't fool yourself folks. You DO have to register yourself with the police if you're staying in Bosnia, and they DO check. Not that I think the consequences would have been particularly dire (a fine) but it would have been a mortifying hassle if we hadn't been saved by our tour operator's most excellent bribery skills. Sarajevo has a lot of mosques. Marima said there are 200 of them. She said that when you get called to prayer 5 times each day, the mosque needs to be close. You can't hoof it down from the mountain and back up 5 times a day. Seems reasonable. One thing that really struck me about being in Sarajevo was the calls to prayer. Five times a day there would be a loud, chant-ey announcement broadcast from the minorettes of all the mosques. Where Brent and I were staying we could hear a number of them. Brent said it reminded him of neighborhood dogs. One starts barking, then another and another, until all the dogs in the neighborhood are barking. Eventually the barking stops, but then after a while, a dog starts barking...\n Markale Market The site of two massacres during the seige Damaged building Location of the entrance of the Tunnel of Hope. Tunnel of Hope Our tour guide, Skender, telling us about the Tunnel of Hope and pointing out a Sarajevo Rose on the ground. Sarajevo's Olympic Bobsled track Sarajevo's Olympic Bobsled track. So spooky in the forest. Inside the Tunnel of Hope. Church in Sarajevo. I just really like the pointy green things above the little door.
2015-10-13: To G�reme
We spent some time with three Sarayevo natives during our stay. Marima our walking tour guide, Skender our siege tour guide and Amar our guest house host. They were all young children when the war started... one was six, one seven and one eight. It was very interesting for me to meet them and hear their perspectives - each was different but also similar. Marima shared many poignant personal memories of the war, is getting by and doesn't have any faith that education or ambition get you anywhere. Skender is incredibly knowledgeable about the war and politics. He tries, with varying degrees of success, to present an objective view of the seige of Sarajevo. He is involved in running a couple of hospitality businesses with his family. Amar has a good full-time job and has built his guest house on his own, which he runs in his spare time. All three have a keen sense of gallows humor, and meeting each of them was a very interesting and moving experience for me. \n Arriving in Cappadocia was jaw-dropping amazing, and that was in the dark. I can't wait to see what this looks like in the light. We walked through Goreme this evening after we arrived. It's very tourist-centric, but so far not in an obnoxious way. We met a discount travel agent named Brent who is an American golf pro who moved to Turkey. He gave us free Ouzo (or the Turkish version of it) and talked for over an hour giving us advice about what to do and how to do it. I'm so glad we came here!
2015-10-14: Cappadocia
Last night, Brent from down the street told us that they launch all the balloons at dawn each morning. Dawn being approximately 5:30AM. So, Brent and I got up this morning at approximately 5:30AM and watched. It was amazing. There were well over 100 balloons. Certainly at least 120 of them. It was amazing to see them all inflate, get really up-close looks at some, and watch them troop, single-file, into Rose Red Valley outside of Goreme. What a way to start the day! Brent and I find that, as long as we have time, doing a tour to get oriented in a place is often really helpful. We decided to do the Cappadocia \"Green Tour\" today to that end, and we'll probably do the \"Red Tour\" while we're here as well. It was a great deal... approx. $110CAD/ea for the whole tour, including lunch and admission to all the points of interest. Wow! Inflation Balloons and balloons and balloons They troop, single-file into Rose Red Valley outside Goreme A couple of balloons and a crazy hoodoo (Fairy Chimney) house I'm a little happy about watching the balloons Selime Roman Monastary. Just wait 'til you see what's inside! Artistic balloons and hoodoos by Brent In Derinkuyu Underground City An example of what we found inside the monastary. AMAZING!
2015-10-15: Cappadocia
Hiked a couple of trails which are nearby G�reme today. Pigeon Valley trail starts right from town and is extremely well-signed. From there we walked up to U�isar Castle. After U�isar Castle (and lunch with Doug and Sylvia from Parksville on Vancouver Island), we wanted to hike back via Love Valley. Finding where the trail starts was easy thanks to our guide from yesterday, but finding the trail itself wasn't quite so straight-forward. Our maps all showed Pigeon Valley with its English and Turkish names, but they all showed Love Valley with just the English name. I didn't know that G�vercinlik was the Turkish name for Love Valley, and when we found a broken sign for G�vercinlik, I was skeptical that it was for Love Valley. After a couple of false starts in wrong directions Brent convinced me to try it, though, and it turned out to be right. After that it was pretty straight-forward, especially due to the trailhead vendor we found further on who sold us expensive but yummy glasses of fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice. After Love Valley, we had to walk back to G�reme, which was an easy couple of kilometers beside the highway. Pigeon Valley Cool tunnel in Pigeon Valley U�hisar Village U�hisar Castle Love Valley Love Valley Love Valley Pigeon Valley Love Valley Inside U�hisar Castle U�hisar Castle Fairy Chimney from U�hisar Castle Pigeon Valley panorama Pigeon Valley panorama Panorama from U�hisar Castle
2015-10-16: Cappadocia
There are a number of standard tours offered in G�reme. We enjoyed the Green Tour quite a bit the other day, but the Red Tour, as our guide put it, is the \"picture taking tour\". They drive you around, you jump out and take pictures, and then move on. I probably wouldn't do Red Tour again, although some of it was interesting. The Turkish Night was pretty interesting. A demonstration by some dervishes which was really interesting, and lots of different dance performances, mostly traditional/folk dances, plus a belly dancer. G�reme Open Air Museum G�reme Open-Air Museum Artist hand-painting ceramics at G�ray M�ze G�reme Open Air Museum Dervish at Turkish Night Belly dancer at Turkish Night
2015-10-17: Cappadocia
Our last day in Cappadocia. I can't believe we finally made it here, and I can't believe it's already time to leave. We got up early to go hiking in Rose and Red Valleys while the balloons are out, so we got to see the balloons, do a hike, explore town a little, and have a couple of meetings with Brent regarding his plans to develop a good service center for hikers - one of my pet topics. After our lunch meeting Brent was on his way to his place and took us along so we could use his place as a Launchpad for our town walkabout, and gave us a tour of the place he's living in, which includes original cave and fairy chimney. How cool! While Brent and I were out hiking today, we had an interesting experience with a woman named Virginia.\n We were near the end of our hike in Rose and Red Valleys when we came upon a pomegranate juice stand, which, to my dismay, was unattended. Suddenly, from the hill above us, we saw a couple on a small scooter, racing down the hill. The guy stopped the scooter (barely) and the woman got off. He then continued racing down the hill and she began running down the hill.\n When he reached us, we realized that he is the juice vendor, and he was racing down the hill to sell us juice. I enthusiastically accepted.\n Shortly, the woman arrived. She said her name was Virginia and she was a doctor from South America. She had become separated from her hiking group and the juice vendor had taken her out into the hills on his scooter to help her try to find them. Not surprisingly, they hadn't had any luck (it would be pretty darned easy to miss people in those crazy hills and fairy chimneys).\n Virginia wanted to move on and keep looking for her group, while the juice vendor insisted that she stay at his stand. Her hike was supposed to end at a juice stand, and Virginia was convinced his was not the right one, while he insisted it was. When Brent and I were ready to move on, Virginia decided to join us to walk as far as the next juice stand down the way, which is more of a trailhead-ey kind of place.\n As we walked with Virginia, we discovered that she had deliberately left her hiking group behind because they hike too slow for her. She asked her guide, Gigi, what direction she should go and Gigi told her to \"just go straight\" (sorry, there's no such thing as \"straight\" in those valleys). So, off she bolted, leaving her group behind, and clearly taking some wrong turns. After the hike, her group was supposed to be enroute to the airport to catch a flight out. All of Virginia's important stuff... you know, like her identification, money and credit cards, were in the tour bus. She had nothing. She didn't even remember what town she'd been staying in. She only remembered the name of her hotel, \"Cave Hotel\" (oh, in Cappadocia THAT'S helpful... every hotel is in a cave). We also learned that she'd recently had several teeth pulled in Europe (which probably wouldn't make it onto her official dental records... you know... in case she ended up a desiccated corpse in the Cappadocia valleys), and that she wasn't actually a \"doctor\"... she was a faith healer.\n When we got to the next juice stand, we encountered some nice young men who spoke some, but not a lot, of English. English is Virginia's third language, and she was pretty skilled, but not fluent. She grilled the guys about whether that juice stand was the correct place for her hiking group to meet. She didn't have any information, though, and they asked her a bunch of questions but couldn't get anything relevant out of her. She got pretty rude and frustrated, exclaiming \"you're NOT HELPING ME!\" to them, when she hadn't provided any information to help them help her.\n Finally she decided to head off down the road toward the town of �avusin for some mystery reason. I had tried to help her determine which town she had originated in by describing G�reme and U�hisar (towns that I thought were candidates for where she's been staying), but she was too impatient and not interested in listening to my descriptions - she only wanted to march on in some direction. Brent and I gave her our little map that we'd gotten from the Flintstones tour company and off she went.\n We will wonder often about Virginia. With no resources or ID, no idea of where she was supposed to be, and most likely heading in the wrong direction (after consulting Google, I thought \"Cave Hotel\" was probably in Urgup), we're pretty certain the remainder of her day did not go as planned. I feel really bad for Gigi, too. I know how awful it can be when someone takes off from your hiking group and goes the wrong way. I bet they both had an interesting day. G�reme Hoodoos and balloons. I can't get enough Shadows and balloons Church in Rose Valley. Wait 'til you see the inside! Church in Rose Valley Brent and Brent at Brent's place Church in Rose Valley Church in Rose Valley Ladders on Rose/Red Valleys hike
2015-10-18: To Venice
Oy. I cannot keep my nose out of other people's business. \n Brent and I met Brent G the night we arrived in G�reme. He spent a bunch of time with us, wearing his travel agent hat, getting to know us a bit and getting to know what we wanted to do. He was clearly focused on providing discount services to hiking types. \n As we spent some time exploring and hiking around G�reme, I found something that I've found in a few places before - great hiking opportunities, with little to no good information about said hiking opportunities. So, naturally I slammed Brent G with all of my ideas about how he might further develop a service center for hikers. \n On our last day in Cappadocia, we had lunch with him to discuss further, and then met him again later for dinner and further discussion. He was already angling in the direction of a hiker service center, but was a little stymied as to how he might do that. Some in-depth conversation with avid hikers (ie. me and Brent) helped to clarify and solidify a lot of things and it sounds like he is off to the races with developing what he is calling \"Hiker's Korner\", which will be a gathering place, information center, and service center for hikers. We have been helping to develop a plan to bring in some volunteer tourists to properly document hikes in the area. We're really excited about the whole thing, and it seems that Brent G is also. \n I would be so thrilled to have been a catalyst to make good hiking information and infrastructure happen in Cappadocia! I started coughing this morning and through the day started feeling worse and worse until now I feel like absolute crap. When I get a cough, I often get a feeling that I describe as \"like my lungs are stuffed with pink fibreglass insulation\", which no one seems to really be able to relate to. I have my fibreglass lungs right now and it sucks. I'm going to take some tea and drugs and hope I can sleep it off. From the Water Bus to Venice Scuola Grande di San Marco Venice canal
2015-10-19: Venice
A drizzly sick day in Venice. I feel pretty awful, but we took advantage of my \"best\" part of the day (morning) to walk down to the train station and buy our tickets to Innsbruck, and then walk three of the canals recommended by our accommodation host before I demanded spaghetti and a nap. The weather is supposed to be nicer tomorrow, and I hope I'm feeling better as well. I LOVE that there are no cars in Venice. I wish I could live someplace where there are no cars. Venice canal Venice canal Venice canal and gondola Cool gondola Cool building A kiss and a selfie
2015-10-20: Venice
Sickety sick sick sick. This morning I thought I was feeling better than yesterday. Brent and I went out to walk and see stuff. Around 10:30 I started fading and getting vertigo. I made it 'til noon to have pizza, but then I crashed and pretty much slept through the whole night. A brutal way to spend my time in Venice. Boo. Campanile of Santo Stefano One of three leaning towers in Venice Santa Maria della Salute Inside Pretty! Gondola jam! Santa Maria della Salute From across the Grand Canal, with gondolas in front Funny little buildings
2015-10-21: Train - Venice to Innsbruck
A little less sick today. I have actually made it past 7PM. But now Brent is coming down with it. Poor Brent!! Innsbruck is STUNNING! I didn't have any expectations for it. I only chose it as a starting point for the train trip Brent wants to do through Switzerland. And then... Innsbruck happened! It is a beautiful little city surrounded by stunning mountains. And it has an amazing old town! We will have to come back here when we can spend more time. From the train, enroute to Innsbruck Dome and peak - Innsbruck Chimneys and mountain - Innsbruck The view from our B&B We just lucked out to get this... I never try to get something with a good view Building in old town - Innsbruck Innsbruck and mountain backdrop
2015-10-22: Train to Luzern
Brent hasn't fallen completely ill yet. That's lucky. We had a really nice train ride from Innsbruck to Luzern. The scenery from Innsbruck to Zurich was pretty spectacular, and the scenery from Zurich to Luzern was ok. Luzern is a pretty place, but Innsbruck is a tough act to follow. Luzern Kapellbr�cke - Chapel Bridge, Luzern Gutsch Note the building in the upper right with the big \"Gutsch\" sign. Brent and I liked it because it's so Gutsch-ey Fall colors in Luzern Fall colors (and Brent) in Luzern Fall colors in Luzern
2015-10-23: Train to Geneve
Today it was interesting traveling from Luzern to Geneve, which meant traveling from the German part of Switzerland to the French part of Switzerland. The line was distinct and obvious. It was fun to be back in a French-speaking place for the first time since we left France. I was feeling so good I was going to impress the train ticket lady by conducting my business with her in French. I told her what I wanted (two tickets to Bruges on the 25th). She asked me one question and it was game over. I had to ask her to speak English. D'OH! Brunswick Memorial and the Jet d'Eau in Geneva Chess in the park in Geneva In Geneva's old town Great building in the newer part of Luzern Brent and I found the old town to be less interesting, but there were lots of great buildings in the Neustadt area. In Geneva's old town In Geneva's old town
2015-10-24: Day in Geneve
My bug is back with a vengeance. When I get sick, normally I just lay down and sleep for two (sometimes three) days. This time, I've been pushing myself to spend at least half a day moving around and I think I set myself back. Vertigo and exhaustion are back. It meant that \"Site Archeologique de la Cathedrale Saint-Pierre\", rather than being \"a\" destination for the day, was \"the\" destination for the day. Then, I demanded sushi and a nap. I hope this is over soon. Sigh. One thing I haven't been able to bring myself to do in Switzerland is eat dinner in a restaurant. The cheapest option we found was a Korean restaurant (in Geneva) that would have cost about $100CAD for a simple dinner for the two of us. Brent was ready to suck it up and go for it, but I just couldn't do it. We had dep dinners the whole time we were in Switzerland. Geneva's \"flower clock\" Site Archeologique de la Cathedrale Saint-Pierre Excavation of previous churches and chapels underneath the existing chapel. Fascinating! Site Archeologique de la Cathedrale Saint-Pierre One thing they talk about is how this beautiful tile floor had some sloppy repairs over the years. You can see a really noticeable example of this in the bottom-right corner where the \"weave\" pattern goes from being great to being \"WTF-ey\".
2015-10-25: Train to Bruges
A long day on the train today, starting with the Claustrophobic Chaos Car from Geneve to Paris. We were at the very end of the train, in a separate little compartment with seating enough for 16. There were 16 of us in the compartment, which doesn't sound too bad until you take into account that it included a man with his entourage of three women and three small children, each with a suitcase big enough for Brent and I to live in, plus a group of six Oriental Amazon people who were all legs, sniffles and electronics. It was a bad B-Movie scene.
2015-10-26: Bruges
Bruges is AMAZING!! I thought we were burned out on awesomeness and didn't have it in us to digest any more, but Bruges has proven us wrong. Bruges Bruges Bruges Bruges Bruges Bruges Bruges Bruges Bruges Bruges Bruges
2015-10-27: Bruges
We're both trying not to focus on how soon our trip will be at an end... but we can't help it. We keep talking about what day it is and how many days we have left before we're back in barfy Edmonton. Sigh. Another great day exploring Bruges. At Pascale's urging, we did a boat tour today, which was great. Bruges Check out this hinky house in Bruges Bruges Bruges Bruges Bruges Bruges Bruges Bridge Great shot by Brent of people touching the under-side of a bridge on the boat tour in Bruges
2015-10-28: To Dublin
Another long journey day. Train from Bruges to Brussels, then fly to Dublin, then shuttle bus into Dublin. We left Bruges pretty early, which was nice because it gave us a couple of hours in Brussels. We loved the Grand Place, and Rue des Bouchers was interesting. It gets a lot of bad press as a \"tourist trap\" and a \"rip off\", but we enjoyed it. RyanAir still has some things to figure out, it would seem. Like... how to load passengers onto an airplane. They started boarding our plane today 40 minutes before departure time. By departure time, they had put everyone through the boarding card check... and into the hallway in between their desk and the jetway... where we stood for about 30 minutes before they opened the door and let us onto the plane. Very weird. When we deplaned, we saw a queue of vexed-looking people in a hallway waiting to get on the plane that we'd just left. They'd be standing there for a while yet as the plane would have to be cleaned before they could put people on it. Very weird. We were questioned quite thoroughly by the border guard going into Ireland today, and Brent went on a bit of a runner explaining what we were doing and why. We got passport visas valid until tomorrow only... no messing around! Store fronts growing out of the wall of this church in Brussels... like tumors Rue des Bouchers in Brussels Grand Place in Brussels
2015-10-29: To Paris
Coming into Paris today (back into Schengen, 181 days after we entered at Iceland on May 2nd), the border guard didn't blink or ask us a single question. I'm dying to see how it will go when we leave Iceland on Saturday.
2015-10-30: \r\nParis - Prep to go home
We wandered around Paris today, largely in vain, looking for a book store and a map store. We wandered down to the tower thinking that we would go up it this time, but when Brent saw the line-ups he lost the will. We circled back to a cycle store and bought frame locks for our non-existent bikes and found out where the elusive map store was and went back there where I dropped a small fortune on cycle tour books for France. Yay!
2015-10-31: Fly to Edmonton
An uneventful journey home, which is always nice. Doug drove out from Vancouver to pick us up at the airport which was super nice. It was still trick-or-treat time when we got home, and we were unsuccessful at getting Halloween candy at Safeway. Good thing Doug had a handful of little chocolate bars with him because we got one whole trick-or-treat-er. Ian was here packing and cleaning when we got home so the four of us had a great \"welcome home\" visit. Yay! A number of people suggested to us that we ignore the Schengen laws of 90 days, but neither of us was interested in doing that. We carefully made sure we didn't exceed our welcome. When we got to passport control in Iceland, the fellow asked us when we first entered Europe. \"MAY SECOND!?\" he exclaimed when I told him... I could tell he was steeling himself for dealing with the Canadian scofflaws standing in front of him (I'm sure it's not his favorite thing to do). Then I clarified with, we were in and out of Schengen for a total of 90 days within Schengen, and another 90 days outside of Schengen. We were golden. He happily gave us our exit stamps and sent us on our way. I didn't even have to show him my fancy spreadsheet. For you inquiring minds out there, here's the final financial tally for our six-month endeavor. \n A couple years before our trip, Brent and I had a little \"family meeting\" to discuss finances, which went something like this:\n \"How much money do you think we should save?\"\n \"I dunno. How much money do you think we should save?\"\n \"I dunno. Maybe we should each save $20,000.\"\n \"OK.\"\n A month or two before our trip, we had another little \"family meeting\" which went something like this:\n \"How much money did you save?\"\n \"$30,000. How much money did you save?\"\n \"$30,000\"\n So, we had collectively saved $60,000 for our trip, which I thought/hoped would give us a lot of wiggle room. $10,000 a month should more than sustain us, right?\n Throughout the trip, I paid for online items and \"big ticket\" items using my credit card. Brent used his bank card to stay topped up on cash and paid for the steady stream of smaller expenses, and for accommodations that were cash-only (which we had a lot of). It worked out really well. My bank card and his credit card were not used - they spent the whole trip in the \"boob safe\".\n We kept an eye on how we were doing as we went. Some months were hideously expensive (UK, train trip including Switzerland), and some months were quite affordable (Germany with lots of camping and dep meals, and Croatia) but overall we seemed to be on track and neither of us was concerned. Now that we're home and finished, we have figured out our final tally... wait for it... drumroll...\n Total cost approximately $46,000. We both came home with about $7G left over. I'm happy we both saved extra. It let us do everything we wanted to without having to compromise at the end because we'd short-changed ourselves. We always kept an eye on the finances... we weren't throwing money around on expensive accommodation, restaurant meals and admission to every attraction we could have gone to, but we didn't cheat ourselves either. It was fantastic. Brent and I ended up taking approximately 8000 photos on the trip. That number is actually probably 1000 files (or more) low since I already culled a bunch of my duplicates and duds, but I didn't cull Brent's. That's an average of about 50 photos per day. OneDrive was my cloud tool of choice for storing pics. I didn't want to store them just on the Windows Surface in case it got lost or damaged. Plus the Surface didn't have enough space on the hard drive for all the pics. I also sent backups home with Dawn and Laura, and mailed one backup home in mid-July \"just in case\". I've copied all the photos down to my hard drive at home now so I don't need the \"just in case\" backups anymore. Yay!