A most colourful walk through the Botanical Garden!
The Botanical Gardens are celebrating the Mexican holiday of Dias Des Muertos, so our walk was punctuated with some reminders of our days in Oaxaca Mexico…. Happy Halloween!
Prague night life
Just learned how to post a video! I wish I had taken a longer one but check out this street performer we watched on our after dinner stroll! [vimeo=1024500705]
Divoká Šárka nature reserve
A walk in the park away from the crowds of tourists! Another ‘golden autumn day’!
Fabulous Prague
From the moment we arrived at the gigantuan and beautiful train station, Prague has been a never ending slide show of picturesque historical buildings, castles and bridges, and autumn coloured foliage amongst the river scenery. (And we have only been here for 24 hours! We have 3 more days to go!) Ev...
More Exploring the Elbe River cycle path!
Well it seems we have arrived in another of Germany’s favorite parks. We saw lots of people today…hikers, cyclists, photographers. With such gorgeous fall weather it’s not surprising. Not sure if anyone noticed but a few weeks ago there was some pretty serious flooding in Eastern Europe including ri...
Can’t stop cycling!
Well here we are on the Elbe River which has a lovely long distance cycling path alongside and which we have heard so much about from our cycle touring friends. How could we not explore it? So off we go to the tourist office which rents bicycles and then up the river we go (into the wind!) on a sunn...
Heading home…the long way.
The bicycles and panniers are packed up and stored (til next year?) and now we make our way to Prague for the flight home via Berlin and Bad Schandau. Our dear friend, Anne (Toni’s sister) picked us up in Haßleben and drove us to her Mother’s (Hildegard’s, who just celebrated her 84 the birthday!) h...
One more short little ride…in the fog!
‘Home’ Base
Well the cycling portion of our trip is winding down…tomorrow we will carry on by car and train. We have done a few local rides and some lovely hiking in the forest nearby in the gorgeous fall weather. Every day the leaves are more beautifully coloured! Another ride on the smooth ‘Trail of Stones’ S...
Just one more perfect cycle path!
Today was another lovely day with warm temps of 18C, a light breeze and blue skies. From Templin to Boitzenberg we were on a smooth paved former rail bed called ‘Spur der Steines’ or Trail of Stones. Not sure how it got that name except that there was the odd pile of stones and some of the benches a...
The icing on the kuchen!
Today was the smoothest ride ever! Warm sunshine, blue sky and fall colours through the forest and the lakes! Our evening walk in Templin….
Smoother days
Well today was much better! We took a very quiet cycle path out of Neustrelitz along the lake. Mostly smooth cycle paths and some trails through the forest which we had done on our previous trip through this area. The fall colours are definitely happening now!
The UPS and Downs of cycle touring
Today began with a fabulous smoothly paved bike path which then turned into….Lots of hills and bumpy roads from Feldberg to Neustrelitz. We had about 6 km of a forestry road…hardpacked and loose gravel with the odd bit of soft sand thrown into the mix! A bit of a challenge and slowed us down conside...
Back in the saddle for another wee loop!
It was a beautiful sunny autumn day and so it is to be for the next 4-5 days…so we packed up our panniers this morning and headed out to the cycle paths…back towards the Müritz National Park. The leaves have started to turn red/orange and yellow as we have had some very cool, clear nights (4C). With...
Home away from home!
Well here we are back at Toni’s Forest House. Time for some RnR and planning the next stage of our adventure! Stay tuned…. Along the way we saw huge fields of this pretty purple flower…. Phacelia is a genus of about 60 species in the family Boraginaceae, native to North and South America. They devel...
Fast track to Prenzlau…completing the circle!
We have come full circle back to Prenzlau! This is where we had a picnic supper with Toni and Lisa oh so many weeks ago! And then a quick ride to our hotel in Röpersdorf….
Ozeaneum
Ozeaneum is a public aquarium in the German city of Stralsund. It is a main attraction of the German Oceanographic Museum (Deutsches Meeresmuseum), arguably one of the three largest institutions of its kind in Europe. The Ozeaneum — located at the historical Stralsund harbour on the Baltic coast — o...
The sights of Stralsund…a Hanseatic city.
Stralsund was granted city rights in 1234 and is thus the oldest city in Pomerania. It was one of the most prosperous members of the medieval Hanseatic League. In 1628, during the Thirty Years' War, the city came under Swedish rule and remained so until the upheavals of the Napoleonic Wars. It was t...
Lucky again with the weather
Well the weather prediction for today was rain from noon to 3 pm. But it dawned a sunny day and stayed that way for our ride to Stralsund. A few hills, a bit of wind but all smooth sailing the whole way. Our hotel in Barhoft…about as far north in Germany as we’ll ever get! An interesting timber fram...
A perfect day
Another gorgeous sunny, breezy day! We made our way out of Barth and headed east following the south shore of the Inland Sea. It seemed that we left most of the tourists behind. Along this stretch it was 90% smooth pavement cycle paths with very little traffic. The views were wide and expansive in a...
A 10/10 Day!
Simply a gorgeous day for cycling! We did an out and back from Barth to Michaelsdorf on a smooth paved cycle path along the southern shore of the Bodensee, fields and forest. We could see across to Born and Weick where we cycled from a few days ago.
Hogan’s Heros revisited.
This morning we went to the market in town, visited the 700 year old church and wandered around the ‘yacht haven’ (harbour). Only 2 stalls at the market but one of them had some fresh sauerkraut and fermented pickles (ie no vinegar) which at home we eat regularly for all those trendy little bacteria...
Surprised again!
Today we went from the Bodensee to the Baltic and then back again! Every campground we passed was chock-a-block packed with line ups at the entrances! There were masses of people/families cycling every where we looked! We happened across a lovely little craft market in Prerow…where we found some ver...
A little bit like Netherlands….
Today’s ride reminded me of Netherlands….tidy colorful gardens, thatched roof houses, flat paved riding on a dike, and, it wouldn’t be Netherlands without the WIND IN YOUR FACE! Oh yes and LOTS of people cycling! so now we have moved from the Baltic Coast to the Bodensee…. very open and lots of wind...
The Health Resort…Baltic Sea Footbath!
Well we certainly have landed in the right place! Apparently Graal-Muritz is known as Germany‘s Health Resort and Spa Town. It reminds me a bit of Tofino/Long Beach in BC , with its winding trails through the forests and long sandy beaches (no rocky shores or rocks of any kind though) and big fancy...
A brighter day
Well today looks promising…a few clouds, a bit of blue sky and the sun peeking in and out. The ride today is easy peasy, short and flat and not much wind. After we cross the Warnemünde channel on the little ferry we decide to ride out to the light and take in all the action of ships and boats coming...
Exploring Rostock by train and foot.
A day off from cycling (except to get to the train station and back). It was a cool, rainy windy day with gusts up to 50 km/hr and seeing that our next leg is through the dunes beside the Baltic Sea, we decided to wait for a better day. So we went for a tour of the city of Rostock and a stroll along...
The Fix!
Before our tour of Warnemünde yesterday, we were rode to 3 different bike shops in the area to try to get someone to look at Mark’s bicycle. Everyone was either too busy or couldn’t understand our hopeless explanations in English. The sounds coming from the rear hub were quite loud! Finally when we...
On the Baltic Sea!
A short ride to Warnemünde, a walk along the Baltic Coast and lots of tourists! We saw three ferries arrive within 30 minutes! Most likely from Denmark. Some amazing and detailed sand sculptures along the waterfront…
Krakow am See to Bützow
We manage to avoid getting wet from Krakow am See to Bützow…a 50 km ride with dark clouds threatening. Not much time to stop for pictures. We went by the castle in Güstrow but it was covered with scaffolding so not much to see there. We did stop here at Rapinzel’s tower!
(T)raining Day
Since Mark’s tire change back in Malchow his rear wheel hub has been making some weird crunching sounds. Between that and the heavy rain forecast we decide to take the train to Rostock. It all went very smoothly! All the elevators were working and we managed to avoid the rush hour traffic. Just got...
More ups and downs
This morning I am finally getting a chance to write. Our journey a few days ago from Lenz-Sud began with a rear flat tire for Mark. Luckily, it was flat before we left the hotel and the owner, Benny was kind enough to drive Mark, his bike and all our panniers to Malchow to the bicycle ‘doctor’. I cy...
Catching up…
Well here we are now in Lenz on the Plauersee. It’s been a few days since I last wrote anything, but all is well. The weather has been very good to us but it looks like tomorrow it’s all going to change! There were a lot of ‘ups and downs’ on the ride here…and I’m not just talking about the hills! W...
Mirow to Gotthun
Forgot to mention the Harvest festival going on in Vipperow! This Elena and her pony Gin…first prize!
A downhill ride????
Well we don’t quite understand it, but today’s ride was at least 80% downhill, 15% flat and maybe 5% uphill! So a tip for anyone wanting to cycle the Berlin - Copenhagen Eurovelo 7, be sure to go from south to north in Germany! All things seem to flow to the Baltic Sea from here. Another perfect sun...
Eurovelo 7…Road to the Sun
It was another beautiful day to ride through the forest and alongside the lakes outside of Lychen. We met a fellow from Berlin who was riding the ‘Brandenberg Radweg’ which is 1300 km around the state of Brandenberg! He was on an e-bike. We had planned our route to see as many lakes as possible and...
The Uckermark Radweg
Today we continued on the UMW route that we found yesterday…beautiful smooth pavement amongst gently rolling hills of forests and fields. We saw lots of bird life…Sandhill cranes, small and large hawks, woodpeckers. We also noticed many more cyclists on the trails. Here are some photos of our waterf...
D(eparture) Day, at last!
Finally, we are ready to hit the long distance cycling trails! Fully loaded…. It took us a lot of time with maps and Apps to decide on a route (Google Earth, PocketEarth, Komoot, Maps…) We wanted to avoid the L highways as they seemed to be busier and have no shoulder especially with very big trucks...
No flooding here in Uckermark…just a bit more rain.
We happened to check the news last night and have been reading about the extreme flooding events here in Europe. It seems that the downpour we had a few days ago was a small part of the torrential rains that came in Czechia and Poland! Many rivers here are flooded so our plans to cycle on the Oder o...
Here we go again…
Another loop today on some very quiet roads…not much traffic on Sunday and definitely no shopping! All shops are closed. We go by a few churches and even they don’t seem to attract much of a crowd. And another roadside farm stand…apples, Apple cider and flowers!
A party in Beenz!
Today we are going to explore the forest trails as we try to take a short cut over to Beenz where there is an ‘end of summer’ celebration. It’s a great day to ride in the forest as there is a very strong northwest wind and it’s clear and sunny. We have been invited there by Toni’s sister Anna and sh...
Unpredictable weather!
Another test ride today. We filled our panniers (mine were just over 7 kg) and took to the hills. bought some fresh carrots from this vegetable stand and eggs from another our picnic spot…out of the rain Sorry, no pictures arriving home after we got soaked by some very heavy rain which was NOT predi...
Gently rolling along….
We are really enjoying the beautiful scenery here. It very much reminds us of Southern Ontario where we grew up. The gently rolling hills and fields of corn, the lakes glistening in the distance. The hills are a novelty and I am realizing how much fun the downhill part is! We’ll see about the uphill...
Meeting Anna’s sheep!
Toni’s sister Anna takes us for a tour to her sheep farm in Beenz where we help her put up an electric fence in a new field of tall grass. Then we carry on to the castle in Kröcklenldorf where we pose for a photo in front of the famous church where couples from afar to get married. Not sure who was...
Back in the saddle
The weather has changed for the better and we have a perfect cycling day…sunny, breezy and dry. Today Toni and Lisa will be our tour guides again but this time on our bicycles. We are heading for the town of Boitzenburg where there is a castle(schloss) and a brewery/coffee roaster/chocolatiere….now...
A drive through the country
Sunday we were on our way to the apartment of the mother of our friend Toni (who at one time was our neighbour in Powell River). It was a little bit easier going down the 8 flights of stairs! We took a taxi to Toni‘s mother’s place so we wouldn’t have to drag our bags around the public transit syste...
A walk in Berlin
Our apartment…the train route to our apartment from the airport…. We stopped here for a lunch of curryworst and sauerkraut! Today we walked about 10 km around Berlin. The best park was the colorful and crowded ‘Turkish’ street market, although it wasn’t strictly Turkish as there was all kinds of cra...
How to navigate Berlin in a complete and utter daze!
Leaving Vancouver I am writing this on Sept 7 because if I had tried to do it yesterday it would have been complete gibberish! No matter how I tried, there was just no sleeping, although it was hard to keep my eyes open so at times I had to shut them just give them a rest. We had about 90 minutes to...
A gorgeous day for a scenic coastal flight!
Clear blue skies and sun meant we had a smooth plane ride into Richmond (South terminal YVR) although the plane was delayed slightly which was a bit unnerving to start our trip. All is well now after a warm sunny walk along the Fraser River, a light dinner and an early bed time, which according to R...