Distance: 84km
Country: Germany
Song of the Day: Broken Toy - Keane
I woke up early for once. Which is even more amazing because I had stayed up very late updating my blog. But I knew that Peter was going to work early, so I didn't want to leave without being able to say goodbye. He was up when I got downstairs and made me a pot of tea. Really good tea too. Shortly after that Heidi came down and put together some breakfast. It was good German bread with homemade plum jam. So yummy. Soon Peter left for work, but the girls came down and joined us. Except for Gisa, who, apparently is like me, and likes to sleep in.
After breakfast I checked my e-mail one last time and got all packed up. I asked Heidi if I could have some of the plum jam they made. I guess they are going to sell it at the Christmas market to earn a little money for a trip to Tanzania they are planning. So I was going to pay for it, but Heidi would have none of it. As I was leaving Heidi said I was welcome back any time. Frankly, I would really like that. My time in Germany has been so wonderful. I do think a return trip is in order. Maybe I will even learn some German as well. To the family, you guys are great. Staying with you really meant a lot. I cannot thank you enough. I wish you all the best.
My first stop was just in town. I guess there is a cistercian monastery in town. When Peter first started talking with me I guess he thought that is why I wanted to go to Maulbronn. (Actually, Maulbronn was just the next town.) He said it was really special. So I stopped there first. It actually was pretty neat. Frankly, it reminded me of a lot of the stuff in Anathem. It was also weird to see this wonderful and beautiful stonework in a place where the monks weren't really allowed to have any posessions. They lived in poverty, but in something akin to a beautiful palace.
I also stopped at a bakery on my way out of town. In France I would stop in an get an pain chocolate. In Germany, I usually get a pretzel. I love pretzels. Probably been eating an unhealty amount of those... Most of the shops also have good sandwiches for just a couple of euro. So I will often get one of those too. You can also go to a butcher's shop (which I did later). They will often give you some warm processed meat with bread. I don't know what the meat is... but that is all part of the fun.
From there I went to the next town and follwed the Enz river for a while. Rivers are great because they mean no hills. After leaving the Enz though I did get a bit lost. I do have a map that lists the bike routes, but it is awful in the cities. You can follow the signs, but that is only if you see them all and everything is marked correctly. I have gotten okay at guessing the routes, but it is still frustraiting. If you miss a sign, you don't know until it is too late. So when I figured out I was lost it was too late to go back. Instead I just headed overland in the general direction of Stuttgart.
This worked, but I ended up asking a bunch of people where to go. One very nice fellow biker even went with me to show me the way. I guess we were going the same way for most of the route, but it is cool that they are willing to help out a stranger. By this time it was dark. I was going to stop at a camping site just outside of Stuttgart. Well I guess I passed it the first time. I asked a guy about the camping and that got me into a big conversation. I guess he learned english from classic Rock'n Roll. So he talked to me for a long time about the music he liked and the concerts he had been too. He also told me his feelings that current music is crap. For the most part, I can agree with that. He just wouldn't shut up though. I think he would have talked with me all night, but it was getting cold and I wanted to get some food and go to bed.
When I got to the campsite it was right next to these giant beer tents. Beirzelten. I think they were left over from the Octoberfest events from the begining of the month. I guess they just hadn't been taken down yet. These things are big. At first I thought they might be circus tents.
In camp I got my tent up and headed off to find some dinner. The cafe at the site had some cheap food. I had some suasage with mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes were good. The suasage was not. From there I headed down to the supermarket. I needed some supplies (like breakfast) for the next day. Then it was off to bed.
-Dravis
Country: Germany
Song of the Day: Broken Toy - Keane
I woke up early for once. Which is even more amazing because I had stayed up very late updating my blog. But I knew that Peter was going to work early, so I didn't want to leave without being able to say goodbye. He was up when I got downstairs and made me a pot of tea. Really good tea too. Shortly after that Heidi came down and put together some breakfast. It was good German bread with homemade plum jam. So yummy. Soon Peter left for work, but the girls came down and joined us. Except for Gisa, who, apparently is like me, and likes to sleep in.
After breakfast I checked my e-mail one last time and got all packed up. I asked Heidi if I could have some of the plum jam they made. I guess they are going to sell it at the Christmas market to earn a little money for a trip to Tanzania they are planning. So I was going to pay for it, but Heidi would have none of it. As I was leaving Heidi said I was welcome back any time. Frankly, I would really like that. My time in Germany has been so wonderful. I do think a return trip is in order. Maybe I will even learn some German as well. To the family, you guys are great. Staying with you really meant a lot. I cannot thank you enough. I wish you all the best.
My first stop was just in town. I guess there is a cistercian monastery in town. When Peter first started talking with me I guess he thought that is why I wanted to go to Maulbronn. (Actually, Maulbronn was just the next town.) He said it was really special. So I stopped there first. It actually was pretty neat. Frankly, it reminded me of a lot of the stuff in Anathem. It was also weird to see this wonderful and beautiful stonework in a place where the monks weren't really allowed to have any posessions. They lived in poverty, but in something akin to a beautiful palace.
I also stopped at a bakery on my way out of town. In France I would stop in an get an pain chocolate. In Germany, I usually get a pretzel. I love pretzels. Probably been eating an unhealty amount of those... Most of the shops also have good sandwiches for just a couple of euro. So I will often get one of those too. You can also go to a butcher's shop (which I did later). They will often give you some warm processed meat with bread. I don't know what the meat is... but that is all part of the fun.
From there I went to the next town and follwed the Enz river for a while. Rivers are great because they mean no hills. After leaving the Enz though I did get a bit lost. I do have a map that lists the bike routes, but it is awful in the cities. You can follow the signs, but that is only if you see them all and everything is marked correctly. I have gotten okay at guessing the routes, but it is still frustraiting. If you miss a sign, you don't know until it is too late. So when I figured out I was lost it was too late to go back. Instead I just headed overland in the general direction of Stuttgart.
This worked, but I ended up asking a bunch of people where to go. One very nice fellow biker even went with me to show me the way. I guess we were going the same way for most of the route, but it is cool that they are willing to help out a stranger. By this time it was dark. I was going to stop at a camping site just outside of Stuttgart. Well I guess I passed it the first time. I asked a guy about the camping and that got me into a big conversation. I guess he learned english from classic Rock'n Roll. So he talked to me for a long time about the music he liked and the concerts he had been too. He also told me his feelings that current music is crap. For the most part, I can agree with that. He just wouldn't shut up though. I think he would have talked with me all night, but it was getting cold and I wanted to get some food and go to bed.
When I got to the campsite it was right next to these giant beer tents. Beirzelten. I think they were left over from the Octoberfest events from the begining of the month. I guess they just hadn't been taken down yet. These things are big. At first I thought they might be circus tents.
In camp I got my tent up and headed off to find some dinner. The cafe at the site had some cheap food. I had some suasage with mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes were good. The suasage was not. From there I headed down to the supermarket. I needed some supplies (like breakfast) for the next day. Then it was off to bed.
-Dravis
No comments:
Post a Comment