Settle down!! - Tuesday July 27, 2010

Settle down!! - Tuesday July 27, 2010


Well we are back home on terre firma.


BTW - HAPPY ANNIVERSERY JEAN - 42 years today - how did you ever put up with me that long??


Yesterday we were up early at our motel in Hallbergmoos, Germany and headed to get breakfast then off to return the car. The guy was an hour late but we had loads of time anyway. It was a cool 60 degrees F - coat weather. At the Munich airport when we went to check-in, the gal there said our flight to Boston was delayed 3 hours. Jean silently pointed out a little note beside the check-in counter which said that Lufthanza's policy states that if your flight is delayed more than 2 hours, the customer has the right to discuss other options. The gal did not even ask us if we wanted to discuss, she went ahead and looked for other flights right away. One option was a direct flight to Toronto but if was leaving in 40 min. and she said it would be too rushed but she did find a flight with a stopover in Frankfurt that put us in Toronto 3 hours ahead so we took that option. It was a very smooth flight - 8 hours though, due to a heavy head wind. We landed in TO around 8 pm - a warm 84 degrees, got a shuttle to our motel here in Mississauga and had a good night's rest. Because of the time change, we were awake at 4 am - 10 am Germany time - so are catching up on e-mails here.



What an awesome trip we were allowed to enjoy.

We are grateful to our God for - the opportunity we have had to travel to Europe these past 8 weeks:
- the privilege we have had to view so many wonders of His creation
- the health we have enjoyed throughout the summer weeks there
- the safety we have enjoyed in over 7500 km of travel by car in 5 countries
- the enjoyment we have experienced while riding our bikes for 538 km
- the endurance we were given to climb to inexplicable vistas
- the gratitude we have felt in walking in the footsteps of our forefathers who
fled to America to practice their faith
- the friends we have made along the way
- the opportunity to share some of these experiences with Merle and Phyllis
- the friends back home who very capably cared for our home while we were traveling
- our great family and friends who kept in touch with us while we were on the road
- the 2 families with Mennonite Your Way for opening their homes to us
- a relationship which allowed my wife and I to plan many details in the year(s)
before and during the trip without too many disagreements.

Last Day In Europe - July 25, 2010

Last Day In Europe - July 25, 2010


Today we traveled 45 minutes south west of Munich to the Ammersee area. It is fed by the Ammer River, one of the larger here in Germany. As with other waterfront areas, it is quite touristy but does not have the sandy beaches for swimming. It does have lots of bike trails around the sea but of coarse we did not have those to use. It is relatively close to Munich so is used by these people as a recreation area. What we saw most was sail boats - every little harbour had lots of sailboats and there were a large number using the lake today since it was SUNNY and windy for a change. We stopped at the town of Herrsching on the eastern shore - there was a Promenade along the waterfront and lots of folks were watching the sailboats and the wind surfers and the paddle wheel boats cross-crossing the lake. We ate lunch near the dock then walked further around the shoreline. The promenade at one point opened into a garden complete with a castle. On the trip "home" we circled the lake and headed back on the autobahn. Near the motel here we stopped at a vacant grocery store lot to clean the car out and re-arrange things before the car is turned in tomorrow morning at 9 am.
No those are not walruses on the beach - last evening we walked in town a bit - did we ever mention the slugs on the sidewalks here - ask Jean what happens when you run over them with the bicycle wheel.

Out Into The Countryside - Saturday July 24, 2010

Out Into The Countryside - Saturday July 24, 2010

Rained all night and rained all day - the canals around here are so muddy and full - at places it appears they are running over onto the road. We were serenaded all night with the rain running off the roof outside - no down spout. Which reminds me - some places here have a chain hanging down from the eavestrough opening - the water follows the chain down quietly.
Soooooo, today was mostly a driving day out into the country. We did find an OBI store equivalent to our Home Depot Stores but they also have more - everything except groceries I think. An observation or two - Germany has no round door knobs to buy... all door handles have right or left pointing handles. All windows and doors here have 3 positions for the handle...straight down is lock...straight up the top of the door or window tips into the room about a foot for ventilation and is locked....straight horizontal and the door or window opens on the side hinges into the room...ingenious. I love their doors and windows.
We found a McDonalds closeby so went for breakfast there. Great drive out into the countryside east of Munich - little willages every 3 -4 km - farms are in town and farmers come and go from the centre of town with their wagon loads of hay, corn or manure.
We observed more solar paneled barn roofs and also low free standing ground frames covering whole fields with solar panels.
Anyone know what crop the last picture is?? It grows to about 4 feet high and when harvested the stubble left is 2 feet high - stocks are about 1/2" thick.

On The Road In The Rain - Friday July 23, 2010

On The Road In The Rain - Friday July 23, 2010

We left Gottingen around 8:15 a.m. after a terrific breakfast at the Clarion Motel. It rained most of the way as we drove south east about 350 km across Germany. It seemed many more people were doing the same - traffic was very heavy most of the way. We stopped 3 or 4 times for breaks and plodded on arriving at our Motel near Munich Airport. We will stay here for Saturday and Sunday before dropping off our car and catching our flight back to Toronto. There are several areas close here that we will check out in the next couple days. No pictures today - rain drops do not make for good photos.

Good-bye to Klixbull, Germany - Thursday July 21, 2010

Good-bye to Klixbull, Germany - Thursday July 21, 2010


We waved good-bye to Wera and Hans as we drove out their driveway and in front of their house then headed south. They are such a nice family so it was difficult to leave.
Last night I had picked the city of Gottingen as being about 1/2 way to Munich where we could spend the night. There were a number of major highways intersecting at that location and we have learned that it is easier to find a Motel near the autobahns. We stopped several times for rest on the autobahn - there is no time to relax on these autobahns - the traffic is very intense at times, especially around major cities.
Around noon the GPS traffic alarm went off - a loud ding-ding-ding, then instructions on the screen asking if I wanted her to find an alternate route since there was a major traffic back-up ahead. having never heard that before, I did not respond and we kept going at our normal speed - after all the traffic was moving along fine. About 1/2 an hour later - same alarm and this time I responded with "Yes". She even indicated on the screen how much time we could save with this detour. Soon she directed us off on a secondary road and we followed the autobahn for about 20 km and could see the traffic moving slowly. Her detour brought us back onto the autobahn and soon we were sitting still then would move a very little distance and stop again. It continued this way for an hour or so and then the first sign of any cause was a flashing light indicating for us to squeeze 3 lanes into 2. We thought - all this for construction. Then shortly when we were single lane we saw the cause of all this back-up. There had been an accident probably in the night and a major fire that set the woods and guardrails and who knows what else on fire. The road crew were working to repair the road and the guardrails. It must have been bad - the fire in the woods continued for a 1/2 km or more. Once we cleared that area it was smooth sailing on to Gottingen.
That is one feature of the new TomTom GPS that I think I might like. I still prefer my old Garman but somebody dripped it.
On the GPS we saw there was a Clarion Hotel just off the autobahn so checked it out and this is where we will spend the night. Supper was at a Burger King several blocks west.
Tomorrow the plan is to drive on to near Munich and get a motel there. We have Saturday and Sunday around Munich then before we catch our plane home.
Since we were traveling today we did not take pictures but have included some from the previous day near Dagebull, Germany just 20 km west of "home"
The rail line seems to extend out into the sea and we were not sure if they were taking the rock out to build up the track or shoreline further or perhaps they are mining this rock out there and shipping it inland. It did have black shiny places that looked a lot like coal.
The slanted barn roof is actually solar panels on the roof. The German government are offering major incentives for farmers and businesses so they are everywhere. It must be financially beneficial because some farmers are taking whole fields to install solar panel fields at ground level but on an angle to maximize the sun's rays I presume.

Something New On Our Last Day Here In North Germany - Wednesday July 21, 2010

Something New On Our Last Day Here In North Germany - Wednesday July 21, 2010


We were anxious to make good use of our bikes today since we are leaving them here when we leave tomorrow. Annika and Andre here bought them from us and we are happy with that decision since the cost of shipping them back home is quite significant. As far as we can determine, Air Canada has one of the highest rates for shipping bicycles back home. Our tickets over were with Austrian Air and the bicycles shipped at a much lower cost.
We had not explored the nearest coastal town of Dagebull yet so headed in that direction. It has a dock for large ferry service to nearby islands and beyond. Along with the ferry terminal there are a number of hotels and a large swimming area along the sea.
What was new however was the fact that as well as renting little bamboo cabanas, they also rent little sheds about the size of a garden sheds - just plain square corners, flat roofs with a vendor type door that opens up on the ocean side as well as a man door at the side. They are rented by families to store their ‘stuff ‘ while swimming. These are all planted about 6 feet apart - all different colours.
It was very windy and we were riding into the wind along a path that was shared by many sheep. At places there was a gate that we had to open and close behind us to keep the sheep in their proper field. At places we rode along the top of one of the many dykes, originally designed to contain the high sea water. After about 2 hours we headed back to the car and decided to follow the Windmill route closeby. Supposedly there were to be windmills along the route or in the towns that connected the route. We found neither windmills in the towns nor along the routes - the only “windmills” visible were the wind turbines - of coarse they are everywhere anyway. At one of the towns we decided to park the car and ride our bikes for one last time to the next town about 7 km away to where we thought we remembered there was a McDonalds. After asking at the edge of town, the lady said “no McDonalds- only 15 km away“. We opted for a coffee and icecream cone instead at a local café.
After arriving home here, I removed the panniers from my bike and packaged them up for shipping with us on the plane. I oiled the bikes and shined them up for Annika and Andre then put them in her Grandpa‘s shed.
We took one last drive out into the countryside after supper. It will be difficult to leave here tomorrow - we have enjoyed northern Germany and Denmark and especially our “home “ for the last 7 days at Wera and Hans Carstensen in Klizbull, Germany. If you are ever in the area and looking for a great place to stay we highly recommend them.

Down On The Farm - Tuesday July 20, 2010

Down On The Farm - Tuesday July 20, 2010


It was back to Denmark to bike today along the marked trail that criss-crosses the German/Denmark border - probably our last opportunity. It is only about 5 km north of “home” here in Klixbull.
We parked the Twingo, unloaded the bikes and headed east for about 5 km back through the farmland. Farmers with large tractors and huge wagons were on the back roads carrying loads of hay and chopped wheat back to the barns storage. Storage in Denmark is mostly above ground on large piles, packed down with tractor wheels and covered with black plactic - held down in place by old rubber tires placed edge to edge. It is only here that we see almost ripened wheat being chopped off for feed similar to as we used to chop corn with a forage harvester and blow it up into the silo except their silo is a mound about 10 feet high x 30 feet wide on the ground. The wheat at that stage must have the high protein for cattle feed needed during the winter months - not only winter months though - the cows are in the barn most all the time in the large dairy operations. It is very dry in places and many farmers are irrigating their corn and hay fields. We saw big fields of potatoes being irrigated along the way as well.
While riding along through Denmark we saw a farm sign with the farm name “Jersey Canada”. On the way back 2 fellows were out beside the barn so we wheeled in curious to know what was the Canada connection. The younger - about 25 years old - said that he worked on a farm in Alberta for 2 years and learned genetics and they are building a similar herd there in Denmark. He spoke English very well and when I told him such he just smiled and told me about his Alberta work story. I asked him if I could take a picture of the sign and he said to take all the pictures that I wanted. We lingered a while for a rest there in the shade by their driveway and took several more pictures of their operation.
Later we rode into the larger Danish town of Tonder and were soon in the middle of a market/sidewalk sale. It appears they have it every day since there were bus loads of tourists there to buy their wares - everything from vegetables to jewelry to clothes. FYI, Fran, I even had the chance to buy one of those delicious raw fish sandwiches but declined since we had our own lunches. We spent close to 2 hours there walking the cobbled - car - free streets. Near the end of our time there, the Knights went through town and followers were handing out leaflets about an upcoming event we assume. After riding about 14 km we headed back to the car and took the long way home along the border - farmer everywhere were busy taking advantage of the nice windy and sunny weather.
Danish roads signs are white with red letters an only a couple feet off the ground - they must not get a lot of snow accumulating or the drivers could not find their way. Perhaps it melts as soon as it hits the ground.

Daytona Beach Move Over - Sunday July 18, 2010

Daytona Beach Move Over - Sunday July 18, 2010

Today we decided to drive into Denmark, a distance of only 5 km to the border. No border check point or inspection booth - the border was simply a few flags along the highway and we were in. The landscape is flat, flat, flat with more wheat fields and sheep and cattle than we could have imagined - again like the Canadian prairies. The nearest city inside the border is Tonder just off the highway but we wanted to visit the island of Romo, another 25 km approx. to the north west and just off the coast. Unlike Sylt, it is connected though to the mainland by a vehicle causeway that is about 10 km long. Once on the island we saw a sign for internet café so we took advantage of 15 min. of time there to check our e-mails from home. The island is about 25 km long and 12 km wide. We drove south along the mainland side as far as possible then turned west to the ocean side. As we approached the west side we could see in the distance what appeared to be another dyke to hold the ocean back. As we drove up onto the top we could hardly believe our eyes. On the other side was a very wide sandy beach with small patches of water scattered throughout. What was more surprising was that cars, campers, motorcycles and bicyclers were driving up and down the beach much like we did years ago in Daytona Beach but there the strip was maybe 4 cars wide max. It was obvious that the tide had gone out several hours earlier leaving a smooth solid driving surface. The beach stretched all the way across to another island 3 - 4 km away. Many vehicles were driving across to the second island and it appeared some were wind surfing over there with 3 wheeled buggy type contraptions with rubber tired wheels. Many of these contraptions were mounted vertically on the back of the car on the trailer hitch - these were actual manufactured 3 wheeled wind sail buggies. No we did not rent one to try it out. We decided not to drive across (Jean would not let me for fear we would sink) but instead rode our bikes up and down the beach roadway for a short distance. The wind was very strong and it was tough going but coming back was easier. Cars were driving north along the sandy beach so we decided to see how far we could go. After driving probably 10 km the wide beach began to be lined with many more cars and campers especially out close to the waters edge. In places the beach was at least a km wide out to the water - smooth and solid sand. Cars were criss-crossing in every direction. We never did see the end of it. At one point we saw many cars heading away from the beach and it turned out to be the road to the internet café where we had been earlier. We then drove the road to the north end of the island as it was only a couple km further.
Once off the island we stuck to shoreline back roads and saw some very interesting farms and scenery through the Danish countryside and little towns.
After trying many locations for internet hot spots back in Niebull, we finally found a very weak one and were able to catch up on several blogs but it was too weak to upload photos so will have to add those tomorrow at the library hopefully.
After supper we headed out on the bikes for a ride to Bosbull about 6 km away. According to the little odometer on my bike, we have biked over 475 km so far in Europe.

Biking in Denmark - Monday July 19, 2010

Biking in Denmark - Monday July 19, 2010

Monday July 19, 2010

A bit of a frustrating morning. We had hoped to get e-mails at the library in Niebull when it opened this morning but when we got in there and logged in, within just a few minutes my computer ran out of battery - seems someone forgot to plug it back in after robbing the converter plug to charge his shaver. So it was back “home“ to plug it in and get on with our day.
On Sunday we had driven through the village of Holjer in Denmark on the way to the island of Romo. It caught our eye and we said we must come back and ride our bikes through the village and explore some trails nearby. After parking beside the church in town, we rode bikes over to an old style Dutch windmill museum near the centre of town. It was built in 1857 to grind flour and you could see on the inside how wind power was used. A sign beside the mill said that we were on the North Sea Cycle Route a joint co-operation of Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Netherlands, England and Scotland. We followed that route north for about 10 km then returned partly following the route and leaving the trail at times when it turned at times to gravel. It wound through farmland , through villages and along the dyke. At one point we rode up onto the dyke and looked at a sluce that allows them to control the water level into the farmland. At another point the trail went out to the North Sea. According to their map, the trail follows the ocean all the way north through Denmark into Sweden.
Arrived “home” for a brief nap them I rode back to the library in Niebull to catch up on the blog and answer some e-mails.
In the morning I was able to log on long enough to send an e-mail to Annika our contact person - we are staying with her grandparents here in Klixbull. We had decided to try to sell our bikes here in Germany rather than paying the high cost of shipping them back to Canada. When I returned from the library, Annika and Andre were at her grandparents - they test/rode the bikes and decided to buy them from us. That was fast and we are grateful to them for buying our bikes. She and her grandparents have been very helpful is making our visit here to Schlesweg/Holstein in Northern Germany most enjoyable. We told them that this is the best of facilities we have experienced while in Europe these 8 weeks - would highly recommend them if anyone is planning a visit here.

Don’t Judge A Book By It’s Cover - Saturday July 17, 2010

Don’t Judge A Book By It’s Cover - Saturday July 17, 2010

Our destination today was Sylt, Germany’s most northerly island in the North Sea. It is accessible only by rail transportation across a narrow causeway. We had decided to take only our bicycles to navigate around the island so we left at 6:45 a.m. to ride to the bahnhof in Niebull. It is about a 30 minute ride from where we are staying. It was bright and sunny when we left. We got our tickets and boarded the train, bikes and all at 8:01 and the train left right on the dot. The ride north and across the causeway was what we had expected since we had seen some of the landscape yesterday. Upon arrival at the bahnhof in Westerland, we began to realize that what we had researched on the web and seen in books was not total reality. We had seen peaceful paths along the North Sea passing through small villages as it would it’s way from one end of the island to the other - a distance of some 35 km. We knew there would be cars and delivery trucks and a few busses maybe but what we saw was a major city train and bus terminal linked together - with hoards of people going in every direction. We had no idea where to start so we just began by riding down through the car free main street 7-8 blocks to the end - the North Sea. And what we saw here was another surprise. Admission to the beach was 3.50 Euro per person and it was already crowded at 8:30 a.m. Those now familiar and rentable wicker cabanas with large black numbers on the back were already scattered across the beach as far as we could see. It soon became clear that we were not on a quiet, peaceful little island - the first clue should have been the 13 rail lines leading into the station when we got off. The 2 outside rail lines were reserved for the trains carrying busses, trucks and lots of cars , the one side for unloading and the opposite side for loading. I counted 144 cars on the double decker rail cars as the occupants drove their vehicles off down the ramp. As soon as those rail cars were unloaded the train moved over to the other side for those loading/leaving the island. The schedule was trains arriving and leaving every 25 minutes all day long until 11 p.m. The middle 9 rail lines were for passanger trains coming and leaving from all over northern germany and Denmark.
It was often difficult to navigate around the island with so many vehicles, walkers and bicycles.
Most of the homes are upperclass but with thatched roofs - a lot of them are Zimmers and a lot in the towns are fashion stores or combinations of each.
From the end of the street at the North Sea we simply decided to ride paths as close to the shoreline but after seeing high sand dunes and too many little white admission shacks to the beach, we turned across to the other side of the island where we were told by a local that it was much quieter. For a few km we found a dirt path very close to the North Sea - not sure if we were to be on it with bikes but no one told us to get off. It was quieter at the other side but whenever we had to ride through towns it was - fight with the “traffic” again. By about 2 p.m. we had seen all of the island we wanted to see so headed back to the bahnhof. By then it was starting to rain so we found shelter at the train station and waited for the 3:52 train back to the mainland. It was still raining when we got off the train in Niebull so we donned the rain coats and road home the last 30 min. in the rain. We were glad we went and have no regrets but now we know not to totally trust what we see in fancy tourist information.

Lost out in the field - Friday July 16, 2010

Lost out in the field - Friday July 16, 2010


This morning we wanted to head to the closest town with internet connection since we do not have it here. We had driven into the town of Niebull last evening and found a library with internet at a reasonable price so planned to bike into the library this morning and send a few messages home. On a map that we had picked up there at Information in Zentrum last evening it showed a road - a shortcut through the fields over to Niebull from out stay here in Klixbull. Annika our contact person here had said it was only 20 minutes to the library by bicycle so we headed out. Found a road that showed on the map off the main highway here in the general direction of Niebull but it seemed to go away from the town - thought maybe it would curve around back. Now I must tell you that the grasses along the fence rows are very tall and it is difficult to see landmarks. Also it did seem that the road was getting closer to town - we had a tower in town Zentrum to guide us. Only trouble was when we biked closer to town, the big trees blocked the tower and we kept going further than we wanted. When we finally found the right trail, we had circled the town and entered from the south side - our stay is on the north side. About an hour later we arrived at the library.
Thought we would have learned from out mistakes when we returned home but seems they forgot to put the name of our town, Klixbull, on the signs so after 2 “rotaries” we were lost again. Finally after retracing out tracks for several km we got on the right road. Come to find out on our way home there are 2 other paths that head toward where we had wanted to go - think we will try those tomorrow but maybe should take TomTom with us - d’ya think? Another hour of peddeling and this time it was into the wind.

In the afternoon we took to the car to explore the northern shore of Germany. It is an interesting sight to see trains carrying cars, campers, large trucks with supplies, ambulances, fully loaded busses and bicycles, across a narrow causway to the island of Sylt - all these vehicles with the people still sitting in them, some vehicles facing forward and some backward but most with windows down and folks snapping pictures. We plan to hop that train tomorrow to experience the island ourselves. As we drove close to the shoreline of the North Sea, we drove through one dyke with an opening just the size for a vehicle - grooves in the walls of this “gate” indicate that the sea could be blocked if necessary by lowering huge beams down into these grooves. On the other side of the gate was a wide expanse of wheat fields with the odd farm and house in a clump of trees visible off in the distance - very much as we remembered our crossing of the Canadian praires some years ago - wheat fields as far as the eye could see. After driving across this expanse, we came to a dead end with a high dyke in front of us. Another car was parked there so we decided to climb the dyke and see the ocean on the other side. Surprise - from the top was visible another wide expanse of low grasses but even more surprising were the thousands of sheep grazing on these grasses some part way up the dyke, some sheep walking along the top.

Near the North Sea - Thursday July 15, 2010

Near the North Sea - Thursday July 15, 2010

After a good night’s sleep in Kiel, along the Baltic Sea, we stopped this morning just a few kms in the town of Molfsee to visit a Pioneer Village called Schleswig-Holsteinisches Freilicht museum. They have collected probably 50 older thatched roof buildings and re-assembled them with furniture and implements as they were 100 - 200 or more years ago. Most of them were house/barn combinations and it was good to see inside how the layout and arrangement of the interior was set up. Usually the house was across one end and occupied less than a ¼ of the entire interior space. In nearly all the structures we saw, a large fireplace was included in the dividing wall between the house and barn. The fireplace was accessed on the barn side but provided heat for both house and barn. The cow stalls and horse stalls were located along the sides of the barn and the middle was left open for implements. Hay storage was above all this including the house providing insulation for both house and barn. Quite clever they were and still are at sharing and using space to best advantage under this large thatched roofs. As we traveled today we saw several loads of bundled reed grasses on transport trucks probably headed to a new thatched structure or to repair some older ones. The thatch is about 1 foot thick and at that thickness would provide good insulation in itself. It was obvious that the village had been there for many years evidenced by the size of the large lemon trees that lined the walkways.
We arrived at out last “stay” here in Klixbull around 3 p.m. Annika and her family were outside to welcome us. She is the daughter - speaks good English and introduced us to her father, her 1 year old daughter and her grand-parents who own the home. Annika does all the bookings and grandma and grandpa provide the space. They have 2 apartments on the 2nd level, complete with kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and living room - one apartment at each end of the house with a common stairway on both levels between. After showing us around, they left for swimming and we settled in. About 5 p.m. we headed out to find some groceries. No stores here in Klixbull but found lots of stores in Niebull about 10 min away. Lots of towns nearby end in ...bull - must find out what that means. We are about 5 kn from the Denmark border and about 7 km from the North Sea on the west. Nice cool breeze here right now for which we are thankful.

Perfect Vacation Spot - Wednesday July 14, 2010

Perfect Vacation Spot - Wednesday July 14, 2010

Well GPS #3 got us safely to Kiel here on the Baltic Sea. Before leaving Wismar this a.m. I stopped at the local mall and bought some clear tape to wrap up #2 GPS and send her back. There is a 2 year warranty on it so hopefully I can get my money back. It would have been simple to credit my Credit Card but they only accepted cash. At a Post Office here in a little town along the way today, I stopped and mailed it at the Poste in the village of Gressow - no sign out front - had to stop 2 x and ask - actually it went DHL - they are all over the place here too.
There are many little coves along the north shoreline - sometimes we followed the shore and most times we were inland a few km. We are starting to see more and more homes and barns with thatched roofs. At one point today we saw in the distance a large windmill - the old style house and with wooden blades so we stopped and checked it out. It appeared to be a museum now but was well preserved. A plaque out front had a date of 1750 on it but am not sure if that is the original one.
Further along we started to see many cars and people walking along the road obviously on the way to the beach. Turns out it is a resort town - Timmendorfer Strand - very much like Myrtle Beach complete with major hotels and beach grasses and brick boardwalk and a pier. We parked and walked out to the beach and could hardly believe our eyes - crowds of people in every direction - some in the water - some in little thatched/woven huts for shade, some in brightly coloured canvas huts and others just walking or biking along the boardwalk. A perfect spot for your next vacation at a cool 70 - 80 degrees F.
Our hunt for a motel was not quite as easy as we have had. There were no Zimmers advertized along the roads close to Kiel so we opted to check out a few motels. We ended back at the Best Western in downtown Kiel - I know we do not normally do downtowns but this one is in a good location and fairly new. We were shown a room right behind the reception counter and another for 10 E more on the 4th floor - a 3 room suite. Guess which one we took?
Right across the street is a Pizza shop so will probably head there soon.

Cooler In The Baltic - Tuesday July 13, 2010

Cooler In The Baltic - Tuesday July 13, 2010.

After a heavy rain storm, the temperature has dropped here considerably. It was 70 degrees on the car thermometer when last checked. More GPS woes however made the temperature hotter - at least in my mind. That new TomTom GPS we bought 2 days ago in Lubbeneau 300+ km south east of here decided to freeze on the main button "Plan New Trip". Other than the fact that it was real hot the day we bought it, cannot figure what happened. Even so we were in the car all day travelling and it seemed to work fine but when we fired it up yesterday it would not co-operate. A store clerk here had a look at it and in my limited German, he said something about a software problem. It was a shelf model, the only left and the box of coarse had been opened before. We tried today to survive without one but it was very frustrating. By about noon we had decided to send the other one back to where we bought it and purchase another one. They are about 1/2 the price here as in Canada but we just feel we need one for the remainder of the trip. Hopefully I will get money back from the store where it was returned or from TomTom.
This afternoon we drove out onto INSEL POEL an island out in the Baltic Sea just north of Wismar, Germany. There are numerous villages scattered around the fringes of the island so we parked and road our bikes on the trails connecting 4 or 5 of these villages. Most paths followed the road but most all villages are connected "through the back door" so to speak via dirt paths right up to paved/cemented paths through farmers fields. We biked for probably 16 km before heading back to the car. The villages are all connected to the beach culture be it sun bathers or beach walkers or campers enjoying the water. Except for the large farms of grain, beans or hay, the main activity in the communities centered around the beach - food stands - Zimmers for rent - bars and restaurants. The homes are mostly all Brick construction with tile roofs and lots of roses around the houses and along the streets. Some homes have thatched roofs and we saw one new home under construction with a roof 1/2 completed - it was interesting to stop and look at how they are building the 12" thick thatched roof. Our only comment was "hope they do not have a fire up there" but maybe they treat it somehow to prevent that. The weather for riding was very pleasant for a change and we enjoyed the paths through town and country.
Several stops on the way home - one to McDonalds for a salad and chicken fingers and another for tomorrow's groceries.

From lush and mountainous green to flat parched and dry - Monday, July 12, 2010

From lush and mountainous green to flat parched and dry - Monday, July 12, 2010

The last 2 days we have seen major changes both in terrain as well as land color. Today we drove into northern Germany - just hit the autobahn and tried to keep up with the traffic. The trucks are governed to go maximum 80 km per hour - translated is 48 mph. That seems great and it is except you feel like you are always passing a truck or 3 or 4 in a row. They are allowed to pass only if the truck in front is going less than 80. Cars here pass with great speed and immediately move over to the far right to let other speeders go by - in that way they are quite courteous. Just make sure you get over ASAP if passing a truck or another car.
It was a nerve wracking day today. It started off with me dropping the GPS on the brick road beside out Zimmer. Two-thirds of the screen at the top was scrambled when I plugged it in and no matter what I did would correct the screen - so it was off to find another one. Fortunately there was an Electronic store in the same town - much like our Radio Shack stores. I had to wait until 9 am for it to open but they had a Tom-Tom (the only brand they carried) so I had the salesman set it to English and we were on the road again. I cannot understand how we ever survived without a GPS on the previous trips - guess we just bought more detailed maps. Especially today we were routed right through the centre of Berlin on our way north - fortunately she took us safely through and out the other side to flat dry farmland.
We are now in a Best Western hotel along the Baltic Sea near a little town of Wismar. What a switch though - when we arrived it was 98 F but as we were in a local mall for groceries a major storm went through. The winds were so fierce that the TV news showed trees down and roads closed all around. The police and fire sirens were going in all different directions. For about an hour it just teemed down with strong winds and now would you believe it is actually quite pleasant - probably in the low 70’s F. We just may stay here a couple days - cooler - free internet - air conditioned room and some attractions nearby. We are not scheduled to be at our new Zimmer in Klixbull near Denmark border until Thursday noon.