I've been wanting to create a map that shows the route we took while cycling. Now that I'm more familiar with this program, I'll be able to use it for our future trips. The link is below details the map. There were a couple instances where we had to take a train in order to get across a bridge, or a ferry, of course, from Sweden to Denmark. Otherwise, we cycled this entire route - 3,000 miles in 2 months.
Kate and Martin's Cycle Route through Europe
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Final Thoughts on Cycling through Europe
The easiest cycling experience in a country we visited in was Germany, with Holland a close second. The German bicycle lanes and signs are everywhere. Signage directs you to any town you need to go to and gives you routes through small, less traveled roads. You can tell that bicycling has been a part of the German culture, not only for tourism but also a way to get from point A to point B, for a very long time. The cycling system in Germany is not new. In addition, there were usually direct ways to get to our destination. In addition, compared to the other countries we visited, German landscape had a lot more variety in the landscape. We started in Munich and cycled through the bavarian alps, to the hilly romantic road, and to cycling along flat river paths and cities. The terrain was interesting and changed a lot in the north, which made for interesting cycling. Pictured below of me cycling in the Bavarian alps.
Holland had amazing bike lanes and signs but it usually took extra kilometers to get to our destination. The routes seemed to be designed with tourists in mind and took the scenic way around cities, lakes, and canals. Don't get me wrong, they are beautiful routes, but when we are cycling an average of 100km a day, we just want the most direct way possible. The scenery in Holland did not change much. Cycling over bridges and navigating the system of canals continued throughout the small country. The bike lanes were amazing. Every day was exciting, because I knew that we wouldn't have to deal with busy roads or highways. These cycling paths were completely out of the way and very safe. Pictured below is me in Holland and an example of the excellent cycling paths.
Southern Belgium and Luxembourg proved to be a challenge, especially compared to Germany and Holland. The impression that Luxembourg left on us was sour to say the least. The people were less than hospitable. We left Germany thinking Luxembourg would be an excellent country to cycle in, but boy were we wrong. If you are looking for sports cars, this is the place. Are you looking to avoid taxes? Bring your money to Luxembourg. Cycling? Don't come here. No bike lanes. Barely a bicycle culture. People shout from cars, for no apparent reason.
When we first entered Belgium from Luxembourg, we were encouraged by the bike lanes in front of us. Unfortunately that only lasted for five or so kilometers. It was a tease. We took a main road all the way to Brussels, and that may have been a mistake but it was also the more direct way and less hilly. Southern Belgium is covered in hills so cycling is always up and down, up and down. The road we cycled goes through small towns but then shifts into a highway outside of the communities. As I described in an earlier post, sometimes there would be no shoulder at all. Similar to Luxembourg, it didn't seem like southern Belgium had much of cycling culture at all.
Northern Belgium was completely different. Cycling was a lot easier in Antwerp, even compared to Brussels. It may be because of their neighbor, Holland.
Overall, the trip was an amazing experience. Martin and I were really impressed with the kindness of people in all of the countries we visited. We had wonderful experiences visiting and meeting with locals and learning more about each culture. Europe, however, is crowded. There are no open spaces in Europe. We count our blessings every day in the U.S. that we have opportunities to explore without the crowds and get lost in nature. It seems to be nearly impossible to do that in the countries we visited.
Traveling by bicycle is something that we are going to continue to do. It allows us to slow down and see the country, city, or community intimately. In fact, after being back in the U.S. for a few weeks we are already planning our next bicycle adventure in Australia! We will be cycling the east coast of Australia for three months - March - June 2016, Melbourne to Brisbane. Stay tuned!
When we first entered Belgium from Luxembourg, we were encouraged by the bike lanes in front of us. Unfortunately that only lasted for five or so kilometers. It was a tease. We took a main road all the way to Brussels, and that may have been a mistake but it was also the more direct way and less hilly. Southern Belgium is covered in hills so cycling is always up and down, up and down. The road we cycled goes through small towns but then shifts into a highway outside of the communities. As I described in an earlier post, sometimes there would be no shoulder at all. Similar to Luxembourg, it didn't seem like southern Belgium had much of cycling culture at all.
Northern Belgium was completely different. Cycling was a lot easier in Antwerp, even compared to Brussels. It may be because of their neighbor, Holland.
Overall, the trip was an amazing experience. Martin and I were really impressed with the kindness of people in all of the countries we visited. We had wonderful experiences visiting and meeting with locals and learning more about each culture. Europe, however, is crowded. There are no open spaces in Europe. We count our blessings every day in the U.S. that we have opportunities to explore without the crowds and get lost in nature. It seems to be nearly impossible to do that in the countries we visited.
Traveling by bicycle is something that we are going to continue to do. It allows us to slow down and see the country, city, or community intimately. In fact, after being back in the U.S. for a few weeks we are already planning our next bicycle adventure in Australia! We will be cycling the east coast of Australia for three months - March - June 2016, Melbourne to Brisbane. Stay tuned!
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Denmark: The Happiest Country in the World
What can I say about Denmark? Denmark is known for being the "Happiest country in the world", so we were excited to see for ourselves what makes the Danish so happy and get a beginner lesson in Scandinavian culture.
Well, right off the bat, Denmark was good to us. We recieved some intel from one of our hosts in Germany, that camping can be free in Denmark. Just look for this sights on this website- http://udinaturen.naturstyrelsen.dk/udinaturen/ - only issue is that it is all in Danish. So most of the time we just marked our maps and did a nightly search for the "primitive campingsites". Night one, as I mentioned in my previous post, we were lucky, we found a perfect little dry cabin. But, unfortunately, that was the last of the comfortable nights. One night we came upon this wonderful sight that seemed quiet and comfortable (see pic below). Looks nice right?! It was...until midnight when a bunch of drunk teenagers showed up to party. I lost my cool on these kids so we had to relocate, in the rain. It was awful because neither of us got any sleep. So, even though there is "free" camping, what cost is it to have a flat ground to sleep on and silence during the night? But with a full week in Denmark, we still only paid for one night of sleeping!
Built a fire, not expecting a wake-up call...
It rained virtually every day we were cycling in Denmark. To make it worse, our bike bags leaked, and at one point everything we owned was wet. Not a fun feeling when its raining and 50 degrees. But our tent and sleeping bags were dry. Thank god the tent didn't leak. So, I'm not sure the weather contributes to what makes people happy in Denmark.
Well, right off the bat, Denmark was good to us. We recieved some intel from one of our hosts in Germany, that camping can be free in Denmark. Just look for this sights on this website- http://udinaturen.naturstyrelsen.dk/udinaturen/ - only issue is that it is all in Danish. So most of the time we just marked our maps and did a nightly search for the "primitive campingsites". Night one, as I mentioned in my previous post, we were lucky, we found a perfect little dry cabin. But, unfortunately, that was the last of the comfortable nights. One night we came upon this wonderful sight that seemed quiet and comfortable (see pic below). Looks nice right?! It was...until midnight when a bunch of drunk teenagers showed up to party. I lost my cool on these kids so we had to relocate, in the rain. It was awful because neither of us got any sleep. So, even though there is "free" camping, what cost is it to have a flat ground to sleep on and silence during the night? But with a full week in Denmark, we still only paid for one night of sleeping!
It rained virtually every day we were cycling in Denmark. To make it worse, our bike bags leaked, and at one point everything we owned was wet. Not a fun feeling when its raining and 50 degrees. But our tent and sleeping bags were dry. Thank god the tent didn't leak. So, I'm not sure the weather contributes to what makes people happy in Denmark.
Denmark also has terrible food. As my one friend's put it "I don't see a lot of Denmark cookbooks at Barnes & Noble....". For some reason we had a difficult time buying food in Denmark. Not only was everything realy expensive, it was mostly terrible. Granted, we did find a few bakeries that had wonderful pastries, specifically the "danish". Since we didin't bring a stove, we eat food that is on-the-go, so our go-to meal is bread, cheese, some kind of spread, sometimes a tomato, and of course, chocolate. We judge countries how well the bread and cheese is made. Denmark scored pretty low in this category. Their cheese was awful and the bread was okaaaay, but Germany does it better, hands down.
The cycling in Denmark was pretty boring, so I didn't take many pictures. Once we got to the smaller islands, it seemed a lot more populated and easier to bike. A lot of people told us that Denmark was wonderful for biking. I didn't see the appeal. I think when people are talking about Denmark, they mostly are referring to Copenhagen.
Copenhagen was a wonderful city, however. We had a great time exploring the city for a day. We went to the National Museum, which was amazing. The "special exhibit" was about the rescue mission of Danish prisors in concentration camps during WWII. I had no idea that this mission had even existed, and learned alot about the Danish culture through this very large museum. The National Museum was in more than one building, and we stumbled upon an exhibit dedicated to the Tolkien books.
Lord of the Rings Exhibit.
Copenhagen Palace, clearly he loves his picture taken....
Happy in Copenhagen!
Prior to visiting Copenhagen, we went to the Viking Museum in Roskilde, which is about 35 km outside of Copenhagen. This museum had multiple wooden ship replicas and it was interesting to learn more about the Viking history.
When we first arrived in Denmark we were greeted with the kindest people. Martin fixed his bike for free at one bike shop, parts and all. A campground gave us two nights for free just because we are from America. But, other times we had less positive experiences with people in Denmark. After visiting Denmark, I'm not sure we fully understand the culture and what makes it the happiest country. But we enjoyed meeting some of the people, learning about the Danish lifestyle and especially cycling the streets of Copenhagen.
We are now back in Poland. After a 9 hour over-night ferry from Sweden to Poland, we arrived and cycled to Szszecin, Poland, a beautiful historic port city. We will be making our way back to Wroclaw by bicycle, which will probably take about a week. More to come!
On the train from Denmark to Sweden
Casting off!
Goodbye Sweden!
The cycling in Denmark was pretty boring, so I didn't take many pictures. Once we got to the smaller islands, it seemed a lot more populated and easier to bike. A lot of people told us that Denmark was wonderful for biking. I didn't see the appeal. I think when people are talking about Denmark, they mostly are referring to Copenhagen.
Copenhagen was a wonderful city, however. We had a great time exploring the city for a day. We went to the National Museum, which was amazing. The "special exhibit" was about the rescue mission of Danish prisors in concentration camps during WWII. I had no idea that this mission had even existed, and learned alot about the Danish culture through this very large museum. The National Museum was in more than one building, and we stumbled upon an exhibit dedicated to the Tolkien books.
Prior to visiting Copenhagen, we went to the Viking Museum in Roskilde, which is about 35 km outside of Copenhagen. This museum had multiple wooden ship replicas and it was interesting to learn more about the Viking history.
When we first arrived in Denmark we were greeted with the kindest people. Martin fixed his bike for free at one bike shop, parts and all. A campground gave us two nights for free just because we are from America. But, other times we had less positive experiences with people in Denmark. After visiting Denmark, I'm not sure we fully understand the culture and what makes it the happiest country. But we enjoyed meeting some of the people, learning about the Danish lifestyle and especially cycling the streets of Copenhagen.
We are now back in Poland. After a 9 hour over-night ferry from Sweden to Poland, we arrived and cycled to Szszecin, Poland, a beautiful historic port city. We will be making our way back to Wroclaw by bicycle, which will probably take about a week. More to come!
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Nothern Germany to southern Denmark
We arrived in Jaderburg, Germany on July18th. We crossed the border in the morning and continued our way north. We were sad to say goodbye to Holland but we were excited to see another part of Germany.
One of the few ships we explored
Museum 
Pouring rain -exploring the museum
One of the several ferries we took in Germany. 
At the North Sea! 
Beautiful and secluded camping...
A great escape from the rain for the night!
Small roads in Denmark
Cycling through the cute village of Mogeltonder.
Legoland!!
Yep this guy was all made from Legos!
Amsterdam- in Legos!
Holland- Lego style!
Kennedy space center- Legos!! 
Last Lego photo I promise. Oil tankers from Legos!
Our dinner view in Middlefart
Camels in Middlefart? Why not!
Middlefart pub.
The pier at the campground
The cycling through Northern Germany has been pretty flat and nothing but farm lands. We've been avoiding big cities like Hamburg, because they are a mess to cycle through. The weather has been preventing us from getting an early start. In Germany, it rained until mid morning or later so we just wait it out.
A few things that I noticed while cycling through Germany - Northern Germany is certainly not as scenic as Southern Germany. We cycled passed farms, cows, sheep, and more farms and modern windmills. There were 2 or 3 nuclear power plants that we cycled past and it was mostly flat. So, it was a pretty boring ride compared to the mountains and small cute villages we cycled through in Southern Germany.
- Public bathrooms don't exist in Germany. None. Northern Germany also had very few secluded areas so it was hard to find any privacy.
-Supermarkets are few and far between in small villages and in larger towns there are often 2 or more supermarkets. We don't bring a stove or have much room to carry a lot of food, so this was a problem for us. Sometimes we'd cycle for an hour looking for a supermarket. The saving grace for us was bakery's. There were bakery's in every small town. Germans make hundreds of different kinds of bread. Since our diet is mostly based on bread and cheese since it is cheap and easy, we've had a great selection of bread and it was all really good!
Our last few days in Germany was rainy. On July 19th we made our way to Bremerhaven, taking 2 ferries to get there to cross rivers that feeds into the North Sea. In Bremerhaven, since it was raining, we decided to stop at the maritime museum. It was a large museum that covered everything from the German Navy, to water sports, to the history of life saving, to polar exhibitions, and so much more. We spent most of the day wondering through the museum and later climbed on a couple historic ships which were available to explore. It was certaintly worth our delay. We cycled another 15 or so kilometers to a campground overlooking the North Sea.
On July 20th we had another long day of cycling. We were working to make up for the short days we've beeninf having due to weather. we cycled 133km to Brunsbuttle, again using the ferry system to cross large rivers. The ferry system must be doing very well in Germany, since there seems to be a lack of bridges.
On July 21 we crossed into Denmark! We were excited to get out of Germany and experience a new culture and new money! Denmark is not in the euro yet, so we had to exchange our money for the Denmark Krown. Unfortunately, even though we thought we were getting a great deal by exchanging €300 for over 2,000krown, everything costs at least twice as much here. We are paying a lot for food, but thankfully, we did our research and found some sites where there is free camping. The first night we stumbled on a cabin that was unlocked and available. It was a nice retreat to our cramped tent!
Our first day in Denmark cycled through the historic town of Mogeltonder, where the small village boasts old historic houses and is home to (one of) the prince and princess' homes.
We cycled past small villages on small roads and made our way to the historic village of Ribe, Denmark's oldest city. We arrived in Ribe on the morning of July 22, and we were convinced the town was still asleep, which was odd since it is a touristy town. I'm pretty sure the Danish just don't get out until after noon. We had a full breakfast at a bakery in the old town and walked around the historic city center and church.
On July 23 we cycled to Billund, birthplace of Legos. We didn't think we'd make it as far north as we did, but Denmark is a really small country, so cycling is going quite a bit more quick than in Germany. Billund itself is a surprisingly desolate city, with little to do except for the main attraction of Legoland. But we bought our tickets to Legoland and were committed to spend the next day revisiting our childhood!
July 24th we made it to Legoland! We went in the morning when it first opened and walked around the "mini land" which was sights all made from Legos- very impressive. I think Martin was more impressed with the Star Wars x-wing fighter completely made from Legos. We quickly grew tired of the crowds and children after lunch and left to cycle another 94km.
We cycled to a town called Middlefart. A beautiful seaside town overlooking a section of the Baltic Sea. We are dinner and finally had ourselves a fine hoppy beer.
It was getting late and we needed to find camping quick so we cycled our of town to a small peninsula off the middle island of Denmark. Thank goodness we found a nice place to camp because weather has been keeping us from cycling, and were "forced" to take a layover day at a beautiful campground overlooking the sea with a sauna! The campground host was so excited that we were from the U.S. that he gave us two nights free camping!
Tomorrow we plan to cycle towards Copenhagen and decide on whether we will take a ferry from there to Poland or go to Sweden and take a ferry from there.
Friday, July 17, 2015
Holland: a cycle tourists dream
We Since tomorrow will be our last day in Holland, I thought now would be a good time to update you all on this amazing country.
I left my last post off in Rotterdam. We managed to break our distance record with a lot of help from the wind and some detours.
As soon as we crossed the border into Holland the cycling got easier. Clear signs to Rotterdam just for cyclists and the infrastructure just for bicycles is astounding! 
In the first city we cycled through called Roosendal, we saw this e-bike plug-in, which are in most city centers in Holland. We don't see this in the States.
Since we had the wind at our backs and the cycling seemed easy, we decided to take a detour to Kinderdijk. This is a well-known area where the famed wind-mills line the canals. We bikes up and down the canals and took photos of these beautiful windmills. 
We finally made it to our hosts house later than we thought, tired and drained from the very long day of cycling. Our hosts, Karen and Giji, were kind enough to let us stay. We made food, told stories of current and past cycling trips and planned for the next day.
Houseboat in Rotterdam.
On July 11th we made our way to Wassenaar, where our friends from Alaska currently live. We were excited to visit Annette, Jeff, and meet their little girl Elsa! We were able to spend a bit of time with them, hear how life is as an expat in Holland, and eat the best ice cream we've had so far! 
Annette and I
Saying our goodbyes and off to Amsterdam we bike!
July 12, after a half a day at Annette's and Jeff's house, we slowly made our way to Amsterdam. Thankfully, it is only about 60km to the city center, so it was a relaxing short day. We bicycled around the airport for what felt like forever. The airplanes landing seemed so close, I felt like I could jump up and touch them. We arrived at the campground at about 5:00pm. Since this is Amsterdam, the campground was not empty, nor was it quiet. We were going to check out the city that night, but Martin wasn't feeling well so we had an early evening, unlike everyone else in the campground.
On July 13, we decided to spend one more night in Amsterdam. We started our day waiting in line for the Van Gogh Museum. This museum was wonderful, besides the crowd of people. It was difficult to ignore all the people when you are fighting to catch a glimpse of paintings or read the descriptions.
We walked up and down the canals through the red light district, past coffee shops, and finally we found a brewery.
If you know us, you know we like our beer!
On July 14th we had a late start. Since my chain broke the night before, and I couldn't fix it myself, we had to walk my bike to a bike shop. Thankfully they are all over and we got it fixed in no time! We left at noon and made our way through small towns following some long distance routes. The canals line this country like roads. They are everywhere.
We stumbled on an open wind mill and went inside to see the grinding at work.
After that we continued on through canals past houseboats and sail boats. We cycled through small farming communities, and as we got closer to the North Sea, some vacation communities.
Holland is Flat!
We found a hidden area within the sand dunes, where we set up our tent.
The next morning we woke up to drizzling rain. We decided to wait the weather out, so we packed up and left at about 2:00pm. Even with the late start, and rainy weather, we still managed to bike 110km, since the wind pushed us north. We cycled past beautiful fields of flowers, which gave color to our grey day.
Late in the day we cycled on Hollands longest bridge, the Afsluitdijk, which is more of a spit of land than a bridge.
On July 16, we cycled 89km, straight into the strong wind. I didn't take any photos this day because I was too busy battling the strong winds. When the wind is on your side in Holland you are cruising, otherwise I feel like I am just struggling to keep my bike from drifting into a canal! We fought long and hard and decided to camp at the very next campground. Thankfully, the campground owner provided us with a hot meal and beer, which at that point was much needed.
Today, July 17, we started the day cycling into the wind. We bicycled through Lauwersmeer National Park. We changed our route halfway to our destination to bicycle with the wind, which made a huge difference. We arrived at our hosts home in Finsterwold in good time. Our host, a former member of Parliament, and current dairy farmer gave us a tour of his farm and the area, which is just 30 km from the German border. He told us about the engineering that goes into the water systems here to prevent floods and salt water contamination.
I am sad to be leaving Holland. The bike paths and lanes are amazing here. So many resources has gone into developing the cycling system here with the special long distance routes, maps every few kilometers, and signs everywhere. I thought Germany cycling signs were good, but Holland is by far the best I've seen.
Map of Holland and all the Long distance routes.
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