Wednesday 6 August 2008

Germany


Over the Border into Aachen and at last, Germany - a country we would spend the most time traveling as a pair. I had visited Northern Germany the previous year and I was delighted to be back. Instead of the pancake-flat Elbe river lowlands of the last visit, this time we would be traversing the hilly interior of the country, the heartland of Germany, starting with the Eifel National Park.


It was a startling change from the flat northern farmlands of Europe to be in a mountainous forest, but the scenery, breathtaking it it's semi-alpine beauty invigorated us with the extra energy required for the steep inclines.

After our contour exertions, we made camp on the Rhine River, bathed and relaxed. Following an offshoot of the Rhine, the Lahn River, Frankfurt Am Main - a metropolis, was thankfully skirted and we were more than halfway across the vast country, having quite an enjoyable time. We camped much of the time and bathed and washed our clothes in rivers and the like. It was a well-honed practice after a while, and I much preferred the mosquito netting and nylon of the tent to the brick-and-mortar of conventional dwellings. The freedom to stop anywhere along the route we took and the feeling of being close to nature had me hooked.

We continued through the dark green hues and summer bloom of Germany, stopping to stay with friends in Fulda and Suhl, two days of rest from cycling the mind and certainly the body needed greatly.

4 comments:

Complicated Philosophy said...

Kyle your speed across Europe is impressive matey. Your posts are interesting. Going to follow you all across the world. Hope all is good and that you have good sunshine on your journey. Simon (TNF)

Anonymous said...

Nice going dude. Do you have an online mapped version of your route?? Would be cool to see.

Good luck to the both of you, may the winds be with you :-)

Steve + Ang (Barce to Belfast)

Anonymous said...

I stumble on your blog and find you in ma adopted country. That's a good start. Where are you planning to go?

Vik said...

Hey Kyle,

What size Raven Nomad are you riding? How tall are you & what's your inseam?

How do you find the S&S couplers? Are they a pain to keep clean/tight?

safe travels,

Vik