Actually, we had planned to now tell about the vast plains with cork oaks. And then of the plantations of olive trees. About the desert-like plains that came after that. But yesterday afternoon’s events have pushed all that into the background. What got us into such a mess? That when one hesitated the other was … GR route
Suddenly we were among them: black tree stumps, often still with crown, but dead. Young plants on the ground indicate the fire was some time ago. The surroundings look bare: few tall trees. If there was forest here, it is gone now. A little further on new planting does take place, again eucalyptus, haven’t they … Flora
In Porto, we booked our train journey back to NL. On October 15th, we take the train from Barcelona to Rotterdam – so the end of this amazing journey is now really in sight. Almost at the same time, Geertrui, my sister, asked what it’s like to be together for 7 months. she adds: although … Collaboration
1.5 days with Sheila at The Abbots were wonderfully familiar. A quick visit to St Marie’s together to close it for the night; a takeaway; a nice chat. Monday a couple of hours sweating in the ‘vegetable garden’; stopping by Rosemary and Peter’s on the way to Sainsbury’s to drop off a book for the … Memory lane
We sit in the lobby of the boat waiting to be disembarked and muse for a while about our Norwegian adventure. It’s strange that other cyclists we meet seem to have had much less rain than us, until we consider that they have been cycling much faster (and/or electric) and have done a lap around … Norway
sorry friends, a Dutch poem is very hard to translate: Mountains, rivers, waterfalls. Lakes, fjords, streams. Clouds, fog, gusts of rain. Wet suit. Slope 5, 6, 7%. 8, 9 sometimes 10. Warms, heats.Hot sweat. Splash, splash, shoes wet. Waterproof socks. Tunnel, button, lights on. Steer steady, concentration. Shadow carousel.Deafening disorientation. Light, sigh, relief. Snacking, eating, … Waterland
Or: an accident never comes alone. We were so looking forward to just trekking again, this time through the Swedish countryside. The two stages to Uppsala were rolling in all respects: low hills that are easy to cycle up and roll off for a long time without pedalling. Fields that follow the curves of forests, … Murphy
3.5 months on the road now, and since Hungary (about 5 weeks) we have spent almost all nights at campsites. Almost never were there more than 4 guests, regularly we were alone or with one other couple of guests. “How do those camping owners manage?” we asked ourselves again and again. We sometimes heard complaints … The season has started….. right?
We tried to find a warmshower address for our stay in Łódź, but apparently the holiday season has really started now: of the 3 people we approached, 2 announced that they were travelling themselves and the third had no opportunity to accommodate us. However, Andrzej did offer to give us a bicycle tour of Łódź. … Łódź
After Częstochowa, we are really out of the hills. It still undulates, but it’s not hills anymore. Forests are still there, but also less continuous / less large. Agriculture takes over and our average speed gradually goes up. And with it, so does the distance we cover in a day, although this is mainly dictated … Polish plain
We are not very good at site-seeing. It happens quite often that we draw each other’s attention to something and then, a few hundred metres later, think we could have taken a photo of it. And cycling back; you don’t do that. At least we don’t, unless in exceptional situations. If we are prepared for … Site seeing (Krakow)
I wanted to write about the two cities we visited last week. About Belgrade and Szeged.About how we visited Belgrade by bus from Avala. It was May 1 – still a serious matter in Serbia – and Sunday. Apart from two demonstrations, we encountered a strange, disjointed city with diverse architectural styles – from art … Emotional rollercoaster
Near Belgrade, we cross the Danube and suddenly everything is different. It is flat. A lot of wetland along the river. But even after that it remains flat. There are no longer many villages and agriculture is suddenly large-scale: grain and rapeseed as far as the eye can see. We cycle long stretches straight roads; … Crossing borders
You can’t see the hills and valleys The snow on mountain peaks in the distance The vegetation on the slopes nearby. You don’t see how steep it is Or how bad the road Or how good How busy it is Or how quiet You don’t see the little monuments at the side of the road … What you don’t see
