Every day when I’m travelling I see something cool. Sometimes it’s just the colour of the sky or the crispness of the snow, other days it’s a momument, a building or archeological remains.
We're ready to leave even earlier than before, but right as we want to sweep out of the castle courtyard Arne's luggage frame drops right off his bike. It seems it was being held on the bike with four screws, which have all come loose. No problem, we get the bags off, MacGyver it back… Continue reading deer
Nowhere to be today, we're just staying in Anholz. We still get up at seven though, this is so ingrained that we usually wake up before the alarm goes off. We have a copious breakfast and try to take it really slow, but even so we're done at half past eight. No problem, we pack… Continue reading a day off
Up, breakfast, pack up and leave around nine as usual. While Arne is checking out, I chat with another bike traveller. He's with a group of 80+ guys (I do mean a group of guys who's older than 80) who do a four day bike tour every year since twenty years. They're doing 50 km… Continue reading Windy
So warm in the room, we left the windows wide open during the night and the shutters a bit open, so they let through a bit of cool air, but still not much improvement. We really must start remembering looking for hotels with airconditioning when travelling in the summer. Breakfast around seven in the big… Continue reading westwards
so tired, it's late, do not have enough energy to write a full post right now. today's highlights: the impressively large Schloss Bentheim water castle Haus Welbergen the many kilometers of bicycle tracks along old railroad routes Schloss Steinfurt the german buffet dinner statistics: Today's distance: 92.8 km - waaay more than planned time in… Continue reading brief
So yesterday evening we were going through the PDF folder again and we noticed that the distances between towns are marked on the overview map at the end. We calculated that we would have to do about 80 km today and also notice a small note in the description of the Nort loop: teilweise stärkere… Continue reading Oops again
It's just too hot in the room under the roof, we both slept badly and wake up at 6.30 before the alarm goes off. During breakfast we check today's route: sights, lunch options, kilometers. We pack, put on 50 spf sun screen, get the bikes out of the locked garage and set off around nine,… Continue reading 82
We forgot to move the alarm clock, so up at 6 am it is. We finish up the last fruit and porridge, take care of some administration and then start packing. No stress, our starting point Münster is only a three hour drive away so we want to leave in the early afternoon and have… Continue reading to Münster
I'm getting good at this. I usually make a Wunderlist of 'things to take', 'stuff to do before leaving' but now I've gotten smart and actually made a few generic reusable lists. After all, I'm taking more or less the same things on every bike trip and check the same stuff before locking up the… Continue reading Preparations
It was just four days, but seemed pretty long, which is a good thing for a holiday. I only had a tablet with me so the writing didn't go so smooth and I couldn't get the pictures of the reflex digital camera, so the trip was not as well documented as usual. Home now, all… Continue reading Wesel – Summary
Today is our day out on the bikes. We googled and apped and have decided on a self made 70 km tour from Wesel, starting along the Lippe river canal, then following an old railroad to Schermbeck and back north and west through the fields and forests. It's dry when we leave, I even put… Continue reading Lippe und Dämmerwald
I love shopping for clothes in Düsseldorf, there's a great mix of designer stores and malls and plenty of room for pedestrians. Whereas in Paris I often have to buy the largest size, here I'm absolutely average and have no trouble finding items in my size. We take the car, there's plenty of highways to… Continue reading Shopping in Düsseldorf
No idea where the exotic name comes from, doesn't sound German at all, Xanten is a pretty little German town by the Rhein river. In Roman days it was a large city with its own legion, you can still see some of it now and that's why we're going there. After a big breakfast from… Continue reading Xanten
Wrapping up our first evening in Wesel, in the Nordrhein area of Germany. The hotel here is in the list of 'Bett und Bike' hotels, it seems they have these all over Germany and even Europe! Never heard of it before, but really practical if you're planning to travel by bike or - as in… Continue reading Nordrhein
Flora maybe a bit boring, but I found the huge grassy plain of Maiden Castle impressive. It looks huge and you only realize it's the inside of a fort when you're standing on the ramparts. something somewheresomething at Sudeley castletulips in a Bath parksomething in Brightonsomething along the pathtiny flower in Campbell castle Fauna the… Continue reading Highlights
Our last day! We're taking the ferry from Hull this evening and need to be there at five, so we get up at six. After a quick breakfast and an efficient exodus we drive south. I really still want to see the Firth of Forth bridge, a steel cantilever rail bridge of almost 130 years… Continue reading Homeward bound
The weather continues to be cold and sunny, we want to spend time outside and so a walk is planned for the morning. I use the same website to investigate some options and we decide on a loop from Comrie (see Wikiloc trail here). It's a nice drive by car, the last kilometers are through… Continue reading more Highlands
It's still sunny! The car windows are frosted and there is a bit of fog early in the morning, but the sky is blue and cloudless. Still pretty cold, with just a little wind, really enjoyable weather. So far we've been really lucky with the weather.. We drive to the Falkirk Wheel, a 21st century… Continue reading Modern engineering and an old castle
Only one destination today, it's a big one so we're up early! After calculating the different transport options we've decided to take the car to the Ingliston P+R and then the tram to the city centre. It's advised to buy entry tickets for Edinburgh Castle up front since each ticket is for a specific timeslot,… Continue reading Edinburgh
Today is supposed to be the finest day of the week meteorologically and we've planned to do a small hike. Yesterday evening I used the website https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/ to search for the best trail for our varied family group and used parameters like grade (meaning difficulty), ascent (meaning how many meters will you climb and descend)… Continue reading Highlands
Today we explore Stirling! We're a bit early, so we take it easy on the walk up to the castle. We walk around the old jail, get some information from the tourist office and then walk inside the castle just in time to follow one of the free guided tours. It's still pretty cold, maybe… Continue reading Stirling
Febe writes 