Cycling through Belgium

Cycling through Belgium was certainly very different than cycling through Germany. Our days were long and we worked to pack on the kilometers. Since we didn't know any better, we cycled the National Route 4, which is pretty much a highway, all the way to Namur. Our time in southern Belgium was not enjoyed, as I'm sure you can imagine. There were no bike lanes in sight, and often no shoulder on rt. 4, plus the hills made for a more challenging ride. 

So, we were excited to stop for a day or two. Thankfully and luckily the Tour De France gave us an opportunity to slow down our pace and watch the fast cyclists speed by! This was our first opportunity to see the tour and we are so lucky we did, since it was completely unplanned! The tour went quickly up the hill of the citadel, which is a dominant feature in the historic city of Namur. 

Our seats were obviously the best! We sat next to these other cycle tourists from Britain who were telling us all about the tour and their trip - they were following the tour. 

Martin and I waiting for the tour to come through. It was hours of waiting with just minutes of excitement, but totally with the wait and layover day! 

In the evening, we cooked dinner for our host and he took us around town to see the sights. He let me use his E-bike, which was so fun! 

One of the many statues in Namur. 

Namur, a view from the Citadel

Statue called "measuring the clouds" 

Our host told us a different way to leave the city and a nice bike path to Brussels. So, on July 8th we set out for Brussels. We figured it would be a short day, about 60km but, of course we ended up taking a really long route, and ended up off course. So we ended up cycling about 90km to Brussels. The city had bike paths and a lot more cyclists than Namur. We camped in this weird little campground right in the center of the city. Honestly, it felt like a homeless camp. But it had showers and toilets. 

City center in Brussels was magnificent. It was huge and obviously hard to take pictures because of all the tourists! 

We were ready to leave Brussels. Some of the streets were really confusing and we were ready to continue our way North. On July 9 we had a relaxing ride to Antwerp - bike lanes the whole way! Antwerp is actually a really fun city and it felt a lot more organized than Brussels. There were a lot more bicyclists going to and from work. Northern Belgium feels a lot more bicycle friendly. 

In Antwerp Martin and I were on a mission of beer and chocolate. We knew it would be our last full day in Belgium so we had to taste more Belgian chocolate and beer! Martin found this crazy little pub with hundreds of beers listed. The bar was very popular but with very few seats. I'm pretty sure the owner was a pack rat because there were boxes everywhere! 

Martin looking through the book of beers

At the quirky little pub

We left around 8:30 am on July 10 we started our loooong treck to Rotterdam in Holland. As soon as we got close to the border of Holland the bike lanes got wider, the bicycling became more enjoyable, and it was flat! We crossed the border and it was heaven. Bicycling in Holland so far is the best we've experienced. The bike lanes are separate from the roads and from sidewalks. We biked to just outside of Rotterdam, and decided to take a short detour to Kinderdijk, where there are picturesque windmills lining the canals. 

Kinderdijk 

We already had exceeded our record by the time we biked to the windmills, so by the time we got to our hosts house we had cycled 177km or about 109 miles! It was a long day but worth every kilometer.  It is good to be in Holland! 

Saar region in Germany, Luxembourg , and the Ardennes in Belgium

Making our way through Germany continues to be a challenge with the heat and humidity. We have been getting used to getting up at 5 am and cycling for 5 hours then taking a three hour nap in the afternoon in the shade. We are still cycling long days, which I hope will change when we get to Holland and Denmark, but until then we will continue to build up our cycling muscles! 

On July 3 we made our way to our warmshowers hosts outside of Saarbruken. On the way we stopped at the Berghohlen Caves in Homburg. These caves were man-made to make glass. In WWII it was used as an air raid shelter for hundreds of people. During the Cold War it was used as an emergency shelter for the president of France, but he never needed it. 

   Martin in the caves

Of course we stopped in Saarbruken for a three hour nap before meeting our hosts. They made us a full meal and we shared stories of past trips. 

Luxembourg! I was so excited to pass the border into Luxembourg, but was soon disappointed by the lack of bike lanes, terribly fast drivers, and the number of hills it took us to get to Luxembourg city. On the way to the city my spoke broke on my back wheel, which isn't a big deal of you have the tool to fix it, but we didn't. So, in Luxembourg City, late on a Saturday afternoon it took what seemed like forever to find a bike shop, and when we did, they were rude and not helpful.  They said we'd need to wait a week to get one spoke fixed. We asked to borrow their tools and we'd do it for ourselves, but they refused. This was our first impression of Luxembourg, and it wasn't good. Finally, we talked ( I begged) to the mechanic and he had no issues fixing it for us. We've never had a problem fixing our bike at a bike shop in the past, and we needed it done that day because on Sunday, everything is closed.

We we're finally ready to eat and check out the city center after my bike was fixed, but we ran into another issue- there were no grocery stores. We still don't know how people eat in Luxembourg. They must just go out to eat because all we saw were restaurants. We ate in city center and had a beer at the oldest pub. The city center was beautiful and the old town is set in a canyon. If you like high end shopping, this is the place to be. There are a lot of designer stores with hefty price tags.

 On our way to Luxembourg 

Peace memorial on our way to Luxembourg 

Luxembourg castle

Luxembourg castle

After Luxembourg I thought our hills were done. Boy, was I wrong. The Ardennes in Belgium are nothing but hills. One. After. The. Other. We made it across the border to Belgium on July 5. Martin and I weren't feeling so hot, so we only cycled 48 km this day. We were thinking it was the food in Luxembourg. We stopped in a weird little campground and woke up to cool weather! 

Yesterday we cycled 133km up and down, and up, and down the hills into Namur. We cycles through Bastogne, where the Battle of the Bulge took place. We didn't spend much time there, just went to city center and took some photos. My grandpa was in the Battle of the Bulge, so he was in my thoughts most of the day. 

Bastogne 

After finally stopping for the day in Namur, we were ready for a famous Belgium beer and chocolate. Our guidebook suggested a small bar tucked away on a side street. We found the bar and we're happy to be trying the Trappist beers from the region. They were excellent, much more hoppy than the German and Polish beers, and a lot more alcohol content. The chocolate, too, is amazing. Simple ingredients, but so tasty! 

Our host in Namur informed us yesterday that Tour De France is arriving this afternoon (7/7) through the city center and the Citadel. We are so lucky to be here just in time, and totally not planned, to see the Tour de France today! So we are taking an easy day today to sample more beer and chocolate. 

Le Chapitre, best bar in Namur, I think

The Trappist beers are tasty! 

Romantic Road to Rhineland-Palatinate

A lot has happened this past week. Lots of ups and lots of downs. And I mean both hills and emotionally for me. 

On June 26 we left Buching early so we could take advantage of the day. And we were lucky we did because we cycled 136km or about 84.5 miles. We cycled up and down hills, through some quaint villages and made our way to the city of Augsburg. Our host, through warmshowers.com, which I will go into later, was so accommodating. We were able to eat another cooked meal, sleep indoors, and take a cool shower after that long ride. 

Augsburg was a pretty city, and a highlight for me was the amazing Catheral, pictured below. The picture doesn't do it justice, really. It was huge! 

On June  27th we made our way to Nordlingen, a fortified city on the Roamantic Road. The wall is in such good condition that you can actually walk around it. We cycled a total of 102km this day and were too tired to walk the entire wall, as you can see in the pic below. We "wild" camped just outside of the city.

    Martin obviously thrilled about walking the wall. 

  Sampling some German Beer!

On June 28th we had a shorter day. Our midday stop was in Dinklesbuhl, another fortified small city. We stopped at a brewery and even had some ice cream. The city was colorful and full of tourists! 

After our mini-break we were on our way to Rothenburg! 

  Kate on her way in through the gate

   Colorful Dinklesbuhl. 

The heat in Germany is starting to pick up now, and cycling between 1:00 and 3:00 is near impossible. So, we had another pit stop on the way to Rothenburg. We stopped in a small village where we noticed a festival was in full swing. We were lucky enough to see a local summer festival under way with a full German band, traditional songs, and of course beer! Our stress levels were at high before this due to the heat, long days, and hills, but this brought us back to why we are here- to experience the culture! 

That evening we pitched our tent in the woods. Unfortunately, that night I was sick all night! We are thinking I either had the flu or caught a virus. The next day I was weak and useless on a bike. We biked just 2km to the nearest guesthouse where I could get a shower and a bed. 

The wait to see Rothenburg was worth it! It was also our last stop on the Romantic Road. Rothenburg was beautiful! As you can see from the photos below. 

 Not back to normal yet but happy to be feeling almost normal! 

After Rothenburg we biked 89 long km. I was not totally ready for a long day since I still felt a bit weak. But our warm showers host was in a small village in the hills and we committed to get there. Up and down the hills we cycled and we finally found the beautiful home of Uli, his wife, and 5 year old daughter! They greeted us with such a warm welcome, including a full meal and beer! 

July 1st we made a commitment to do less hills and biked by the river. We cycled 122.59 km in total towards heidlburg. Thank goodness we were by the river because we had to jump in to cool off a few times. It reached high 90s yesterday and it felt it! We camped about 10km away from the city. 

Today, July 2, we cycled 121km to Kaiserslautern. In the morning we walked the grounds of the castle in Heidlburg. We both agreed it was beautiful but not sure off it was worth our slight detour. We were smart today and only biked until about 1:00. We stopped in Bad Durkheim for a long and much needed break. This is where the "wine trail" begins in Germany and heads south towards France. We saw a lot of wineries but weren't up for it since it was too hot! At 3:00 we made our way up up up the hills and back down to Kaiserslautern, where there is a large U.S. army base. We are now in the middle of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany.  

A quick note about the Romantic Road: the cycling was smooth, easy, and scenic. We never had to worry about where we were because there were signs on pretty much every corner. I recommend cycling this portion to anyone wanting to start bicycle touring- it is a great way to start and there are many options for accommodations! It has been a highlight for us so far on our trip through Germany! 

Signs like this line the sidewalks and give us directions throughout Germany! 

A note about our hosts: we've been using social media to set up hosts throughout our travel, specifically a site called warmshowers.com.  If you are familiar with couchsurfing, it is the same thing but geared for bicycle tourists specifically. We hosted for about a year and met some wonderful people and now we are being hosted and it gives us a chance to meet with locals and chat with new people! And a bonus, it's free! 

We are going to continue to make our way West towards Luxembourg. 

Wroclaw to Munich to Bavarian Alps

Wifi is not as widespread in Germany as I had thought. But I will update the blog every chance I get! 

We started our bicycle journey out of Tymowa and cycled 80km to Wroclaw. Martins Aunt and Uncle were gracious hosts as always. I only wish I knew what they were saying. ;)

The next day, Saturday, June 20th, we took the train to Prague. We weren't sure if there was a train from Prague to Munich so our backup plan was to stay the night in Prague. We've both been to Prague before so our main goal was to get to Munich. We did find a train to Munich, luckily with room for our pesky bikes! So after 11 hours of travel, 4 trains, and 1 bus we finally made it to Munich. 

     Bikes on the train!! Sometimes it can be a hassle. 

We found a campsite in Munich and decided to stay for two nights so we can sight see. On Sunday, June 21, we went to the city center, visited both the toy museum and the residence museum. Both were great but the Residence Museum exceeded my expectations. It was better done inside than any other castle I've been too. Over 300 rooms! 

Martin in Munich. 

Munich

On Monday, June 22, we started biking. It was a long day but well worth the work because we had made it to the Bavarian alps! The biking trails in Germany are wonderful! The roads are so smooth, not a bump to be found. This long trip made us so excited for the upcoming week of cycling theough Germany. 

Rest stop somewhere in Bavaria. 

The goal for the day was to get to Garmisch or Grainau, where Germany's largest peak looms overhead. When we were about 70km in, but I didn't think I'd make it much farther. It was only 3pm so we took our time and cycled into the mountains and made it to a campsite. We cycled 117km, which is a record for us while carrying heavy loads, and really the first day of bicycling! We were proud of ourselves to say the least. 

On Tuesday, June 23 we left the campground bright and early with hopes of summiting Zugspitz. We biked to the nearest information center and they gave us directions to the best possibilities for hiking. We biked up to Ehrwald, Austria, and then up, up, and up to the hiking trail. By the time I got to the trail I was worn out, but Martin was determined to make it to the top. Unfortunately due to weather he had to turn around. 

See, I'm tired. 

View of the valley below- Austria! 

The peak is somewhere behind me. 

Wednesday, June 24-Martin was determined to get up this peak. So we decided to make our way to Erwald again, except this time by train to save our already sore legs, and Martin would spend the day hiking while I spent the day looking for Internet and drinking beer in Erwald. Unfortunately no internet, but had a wonderful Pilsner with the peak in my view! 5 hours later Martin was back down and we on our bikes again, this time in Austria. We were hoping to make it to Fussen but with our sore legs, we stopped and camped in Reutte, Austria. 

Veiw from Erwald 

Zugspitz is somewhere in those clouds! 

One thing about Austrian cycling as compare to Germany- Austria has a lot to learn about organized, smooth, and well signed cycling in Germany. Granted, the bike paths were signed, however roads where bikes don't belong were not signed and instead we were greeted with honks and yelling. We quickly got off the road only to find the bike paths were gravel and no fun to ride on with small tires and a heavy load. 

Thursday, June 25- we made it through Austria and back onto the smooth streets of Germany! We took our time today, knowing we'd only need to bike 40km or so. We made our way to Fussen, and checked out the old town. 

Fussen old town

On our way into Fussen

We went to Neuschwanstien castle, which inspired Disneys sleeping Beauty. I didn't go in but we walked around it and up to it and we were able to see it from all angles as we were biking in. It is truly spectacular. The castle was never truly finished before Ludwig II died. We also saw the Hohenschwangau castle, which was the original home of the king of Bavaria. 

We made our way to Buching, where we were welcomed by a local couple through the bicycle tourists website "Warm Showers". It'll be nice to sleep inside and have clean clothes! 

"Eat, Eat! You're too skinny!

 We've spent the last week and a half in Tymowa, the village where Marcin's grandma and granpa live, also where Marcin spent a lot of his childhood. Martin's family was always hospitable, inviting, and never left us hungry, ever. We are dinner at 2:00 pm and supper was at 5:00 pretty much every day. Food was what you'd expect in Poland- lots of sausage, pierogies, and potatoes. From what Marin told me, his family would say to me "eat, eat! You're too skinny!"  

The house where Martin grew up is a farm house. The backyard has a view of field, once used for cow pasture. The surrounding houses had chickens, roosters, dogs, and goats. Martins grandparents live unlike their neighbors. Water at their house was precious,so precious that the water pump broke the day before we left. To get someone to replace the pump will take weeks, and this water battle has been going on for months (this is not the first time the water pump died). The house is big and gives me slight reminders of my
Grandma Yenik's house.

During our visit I learned a lot of polish. I'm going to commit to learning when we are back and settled down in the states. It's really hard not knowing what Martin's family is saying. Martin had some chores to do like mow the law and cut up wood. In addition, we visited Martin's grandmother in the assisted living home often. It was a 27km bike ride one way, so  we were able to start training.

Today we rode back to Wroclaw, which was about 85km total. I've made a couple observations while biking in Poland:

1)  The back roads are terrible.
I'm not talking about the main roadways, but the small village roads, which I usually prefer to ride. These roads are worse then dirt roads, they are worse than New Orleans roads,and Poland doesn't have hurricanes! It is easier to ride on cobblestones than it is on these roads. okay, enogh about the terrible roads. There are a lot of roads with really great bike paths!

2) Everyone Bikes!
I've noticed this aboutt a lot of the other countries I've been to, but its not as common in the US. Everyone bicycles to get from point A to  point B, and I mean everyone. elderly men and women with cane in hand while riding their old circa 1945 bicycle. It's impressive!

We are back in Wroclaw today, staying with Marcin's aunt and uncle for one night. We got tickets to take a train to Prague and hopefully tomorrow afternoon we'll be on our way from Prague to Germany! Next plan is Nuremberg or Munich in Germany, depending on train schedules from Prague, and then offically start our bicycle trip via the "Romantic Road".   

Marcin and his grandma

Marcin and his grandpa

The home in Tymowa

View of the backyard. 

ADT security would do great in Poland! All the houses, and I mean every single house, has this sign which means " warning! Bad dog"

In order to heat water, We had to stoke this about an hour before we took a shower. 

Our bike ride to see grandma. 

In Wroclaw!