Saturday, 21 June 2014

Sin asunto


 

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Asunto: Sin asunto


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Thursday, 1 July 2010

For the commentators

Dear all commentators,
Your comments always gave me really good energy to continue. I just didn ´t have enough energy to write back. So I will do it now:

Mami, Papi, Andrés: Gracias por tantos mensajes de apoyo. Espero que nos veamos muy pronto para contarles todos los detalles.

Tamara: you were so right !!!!!We ate more than we pedaled although now I can challenge you any time you want to endure 20 days, doing 60 km per day, waking up at 6:30 am.:)

Martin y Matylda: Gracias por cuidar a los animales y leer nuestras aventuras. Gracias por acompañarnos un el trocito praguense!

Dearest Grace: I totally felt you were here with me as if I you were riding with us in the "back seat". You knew exactly what were talking about! Some pictures were done specifically for you like the one with the weird t shirt...and you knew it. He had a pic of himself with his son. Please tell me you do not have something like that yet.

Eva: Espero que podamos algún día hacer un viaje similar en menos de 15 días.

Myriam: Te apuntas?

All the other readers who I do not know who thet are, thanks.


THANK YOU

VIKA

Day 21_ From Roudnice nad Labem to Prague

Day 21_ From Roudnice nad Labem to Prague

 

We saw: Zdenek, Bela, Martin and Matylda in Prague!!!

We ate: bread  with salt and  fruits from Boris father's garden

We pedaled: 52 Km

Our average speed: no idea

We slept: Pension Josefina, Prague

 

We made it. We finally got to Prague, our last destination of this trip. It is hard to describe the feeling about it. The first word that comes to my head is silence.

Anyhow, I will start to describe it like any other day…

 

We left early in the morning and agreed to meet Zdeněk and Běla (Boris' father and his wife) somewhere along the way to have lunch with them. Trying to avoid the roads with traffic, we took the train to Kralupy nad Vltavou to get back on the cycle path.

 

We pedaled and as we were riding down a hill, in the next town called Roztoky, we finally saw Zdeněk waving to us.

 

Zdeněk and Běla were waiting for us at Hotel Alexander and welcomed us with bread, salt and strawberries, cherries, cranberries and blueberries picked from their garden. Then, they crowned us with a crown made of leaves that they did by hand for us. It was so beautiful! Běla made some arrangement with the hotel to serve us some lunch. We had a nice beef broth with noodles and the some chicken schnitzel with really good potatoes. We chat, told them about our experience and continue our last kilometers to the center of Prague. For me, this was the end because the way they both received us made me feel like we had cross the finish line and win the gold medal. I am sure that for Boris was a much deeper feeling having gone back to his home land after such long journey and having met with his father like that.

 

Soon after leaving them, we met on the road with Martin, (Boris' brother) and his step daughter, Matylda. They both biked with us all the way to Prague. This also closed part of the circle because they were the last ones we saw in Sevilla before leaving for the trip. They took care of our dogs and cat for a long while. So, we chat, stopped for some ice cream and beer (great combination) and afterwards, Martin guided us through the beautiful gardens of the city. We said good bye and continue to our final destination: Penzion Josefina.

 

Penzion Josefina, our last hotel, is located in the street called Nad Borislav, in Prague 6. This is the neighborhood where Boris lived through his university years until he left Prague in 1989. We usually stay here every time we come to Prague.

 

So. we arrived and…..we were finished. As I said, it is hard to describe. For me it was silence. It was a similar feeling as when you go to the movie theatre to watch a film. No matter how beautiful the film was, you just get up of your seat and go.

There is definitely a void, though. Pedaling was our daily thing. We will miss it. For me it was an unforgettable experience, worth it to repeat it again and again.

 

Thanks to Boris internal GPS, the I phone GPS and the maps, we pedaled 900 Km. Thanks to my diet intentions, we ate 9 million calories. We drank hundreds of liters of beer. We lost 0 kg of weight. We laughed every day. We are stronger in spirit, and we have stronger legs. Nothing hurts (ok maybe our upper legs hurt a bit when we go up the stairs). Our ass is intact and it is actually harder. This trip was truly about pedaling, food, an a huge lot of love.

 

Thank you all for being with us along the whole trip, wherever you were.

The trip has 3 more days so I will keep posting until then.

 

VIKA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 20_ From Bad Schandau to Roudnice nad Labem (CZ)

Day 20_ From Bad Schandau to Roudnice nad Labem (CZ)

 

We saw: the last part of Germany and the first of Czech Republic

We ate: chicken schnitzel with potatoes and sopsky salad

We pedaled: 64 Km

Our average speed: varied very much along the day

We slept: Hotel Amber Vavrinec, Roudnice nad Labem

 

This day was very long, very hot, very unusual to the rest of our days so far. We started pedaling quite late. We crossed over to the other side of the river with the ferry and left Bad Schandau, the last German town before crossing the Czech border. From the boat we could already  the first Czech mountain ahead of us. We pedaled along the cycle path and nothing changed except for a discrete post with the national shield of Czech Republic. Close to this post, there was also a peculiar sign with interesting advice from the German police. It showed a car with a big black hand over it saying:

"Stop the stealing! Do not leave any of your belongings inside your car! Lock your vehicle! Your Police."

 

Boris was not impressed…this was the way we  were welcomed to his country.

Perhaps it was just a typical German paranoia. So we kept pedaling, hoping to reach Decin, the first Czech town, where we could have a nice real Czech beer, real Czech sausage and so on. My first thought of this town was: "Where are the nice colorful houses with the geraniums on the window sills and the grandmothers watering them?"

It was a gray city, dirty, poor and sad. The only Czech people that we saw were gypsies poorly dressed and  that was it. But we were hot and extremely thirsty so we try to find a hospoda  which is a bier tavern that you find in every corner of the Czech Republic I used to know… Even this was difficult. But we found one. There we had some bier and a cold sausage but as we were going to pay, we realized we had no Czech crowns so we went to the closest bank machine, to only find out a sign that said "Out of Order". The truth was that it was completely "out". Someone had stolen that entire machine and there was only one hole in the wall!!!!!!!

 

I honestly felt bad for Boris, this was for him shocking, disappointing and I suppose also embarrassing to experience in front of me. I completely understand the feeling because this is how I feel about my country (Colombia). The feeling of impotence is overwhelming.

 

So finally, Boris paid the man in euros and we left. Another cyclist who was having a beer there with us, recommended to stop in the next town at some restaurant called Tivoli, where a nice waitress would serve us.We pedaled away although the cycle path was suddenly over and we had to take the normal roads with trucks and cars not giving a damn about the cyclists on the road.

 

We stopped at Tivoli restaurant, as the man suggested and indeed, the waitress was there…what was nice about her were her tits. She served us beer, chicken schnitzel with potatoes and we left again. We still had a long way ahead of us. But he heat was unbearable and the landscape was very industrial, so we reach a train station to cut some time and decided to finally stay in Roudnice nad Labem and call it a night.

Monday, 28 June 2010

Day 19_ From Miessen to Bad Schandau

Day 19_  From Miessen to Bad Schandau

 

We saw: Dresden, a surprisingly beautiful city

We ate: a lot in "Amtsblatt Sächsisch-Böhmisches Bierhaus", Dresden

We pedaled: 73 Km

Our average speed: 18 Km/h

We slept: Hotel Elbresidenz, Bad Schandau

 

Still in pedaling in Germany, probably for the last day. We are already finding road signs for Czech Republic, and even some Czech food in the menus.

The road today was absolutely beautiful, we left Miessen with the vineyards always by our side until we got to Dresden, a big architectural surprise. For a while we pedaled along with an Anglican Pastor or priest who told us he had been all over Germany with his bike. He would pedal 200 Km per day (That is what we do in 3 days!).

 

As we rode into Dresden, we thought  that good way to see the city a little bit better was to stop and eat something (obviously). We went to the main plaza and chose the best corner we could: "Amtsblatt Sächsisch-Böhmisches Bierhaus". They had Czech-German food specialties already written in Czech.

 

So we both had biers and to make the bier more fun we added some "Utopenec" (which means in Czech: a drowned person recovered from the water) and are sausages pickled in vinegar.  Then Boris ordered the Svíčková na smetaně (which is beef with sauce and semola dumplings) I ordered the Guláš with dumplings also. To remember old times with my dearest friends, Grace, Sara, Christine and Joyce in Moravia, I ordered what we baptized as "Blueberry Boobies". They are just 2 sweet dumplings with blueberry filling and blueberry sauce on top. Just delicious…but not the German ones… this were more like 2 dog balls with very little on them.

 

After the light meal, we continued our ride, now along beautiful rocky mountains and we entered the area known as the German Switzerland, which it is. All it is missing is Heidi (who I am sure was just helping Grandpa making some cheese).

We continued meeting more and more fellow riders and their age keeps actually increasing. Boris has been enjoying this trip very much, I see that he has a lot of time to think and suddenly, he tells me his conclusions: "I think that the bicycle is a very democratic thing. It gives older people the opportunity to move faster!" I couldn't stop laughing…

 

We went up hill, down hill, crossed the Elbe one more time in the small ferry and finally we arrived in Bad Schandau. We got to our new hotel "Elbreisdenz", which by its name could actually be a Seniors residence with views to the Elbe. Well it is not it is actually a SPA. But today we are not in the mood for posh things. Brazil is playing against Chile now and so we are sitting in a public tent in front of the Hotel,  watching the game in a big screen with real Germans drinking more real German beer and sausage.  Let's hope Brazil wins!!!! Prost!

 

VIKA

Day 18_ From Torgau to Miessen

Day 18_  From Torgau to Miessen

 

We saw: a church for cyclists "Radfahrerkirche" in Wessnig

We ate: bad soup

We pedaled: 76 Km

Our average speed: 14 Km/h

We slept: Park Hotel, Miessen

 

Since we left Berlin I had a soft cold that evolved into a hard one. We pedaled 76 Km and there were times where I could only hear myself breath, or better still, not breathe, due to the amount of snot in my nose. I could pedal slower but I could still pedal. Boris was patient enough with the situation and did not rush me at any point, so slowly we finally reached our destiny: Miessen. The landscape towards this town started slowly changing, the mountains appeared again, reminding us that the minute we cross the border with Czech Republic, we have to climb back again. We are 3 days away from that task, so we better enjoy the simplicity of our ride. A new feature of the landscape were the wine yards. Miessen is known for its wine. Since we entered Germany, we have been drinking a Riesling called Müller Thurgau mild, nice. We realized today it is from this town so we had some more. The food was not too good, to be honest, the food has not been good at all since we left Denmark. The Chinese food in Hamburg was so far the best. But other than that, we keep looking for a good soup and sausage everywhere we go and we do not find it. The good German food is in the south. From Mucnich, down.

 

The Park Hotel in Miessen was great, it can definitely go into the Posh Biking list. Miessen's porcelain is very famous. Even the church bells are made of porcelain and the bell play sounds beautiful.

 

We couldn't miss today's  soccer match: Germany- England. What a humiliation. The Germans eliminated the British  by 4 goals to 1! Aufwiedersehen England!!!

 

Let's see what the next day will bring us in with our pedals.

 

VIKA

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday, 26 June 2010

Day 17_ From Berlin to Torgau

Day 17_  From Berlin to Torgau

 

We saw: that after Km 50 the "itch" starts

We ate: nothing worth mentioning at Herr Käte.

We pedaled: 71 Km

Our average speed: 20 Km/h

We slept: Central Hotel, Torgau

 

Ok, so after resting for 3 nights, we got back on our bikes and  started pedaling out of Berlin. We took the train from Berlin's Haupt Bahnhof to Lutherstadt-Wittenberg and continue pedaling from there. We pedaled and pedaled and today I confirmed that at Km 50, your ass (there is no other word for it) starts itching...you need to get up from pedaling and let it air, then you sit down again and so, you realize that it is not itching really, it is actually getting NUMB. So knowing this now, I will not get up tomorrow, I will just continue to pedal.


After pedaling for 60 Km, we arrived in Torgau. This town served as the meeting point for the Russians and the Americans towards the end of the second world war. The town seems quite dead to be a Saturday afternoon but we still had to discover its culinary qualities. Any boring town in Germany will serve you decent German food. We left our hotel (Central Hotel), with a reference from the reception girl where to eat well. Bad choice. It was some modern fusion German cuisine crossed with Thai ideas and very creative names for  the menu: "For the color"..(soups); "From the cheeses"..(meats) that did not match with the food you were supposed to order.

 

Unfortunately, we had no luck in Torgau. The hotel is ok, clean and the room has a big bed. To shower, you have to hold the shower in your hand but Mr. Boris the all-fixer, fixed it with some duct tape to the wall and we can have a normal shower…

 

The bicycle journey was beautiful though, the landscape is slowly changing into something else. The names of the towns sound more Polish and Czech the more we advance south.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 15 and 16_ Two days in Berlin

`

Day 15 and 16_  Two days in Berlin

 

We saw: Slovakia against Italy and Spain against Chile

We ate: German sausages at Kadewe and pizza at Adlan.

We pedaled: 0 Km but walked all over the place

Our average speed: 6 Km/h

We slept: Bristol Hotel Kempiski, Berlin

 

Ok, so we rested one extra day! Our plans for Berlin were: go to see our friend Marc, (which we did) and the next day, just relax  have our laundry done, and leave the next morning. We did except that I realized as we were leaving in the morning, that I had lost my small travel wallet with my credits cards, some Danish money and some Euros. So typical of me, so we called the restaurant where we had eaten night before and they said to come by at 1:00 to see if it was found. So we decided to stay one more day with the hope of finding it, plus on top, we were not feeling to good….diarrhea, sore throat and so it was a perfect extra day to take off. We did not find the wallet but I slept through afternoon, Boris rested and then we watched the game: Spain against Chile (2:1). Both made to the next round. The match from the day  before was better: Slovakia managed to eliminate ITALY out of the World Cup. How amazing is that??? The Italians were crying like babies!! Ha! I liked it! I am not fan of the Italians in soccer…sorry my dear Sara, I prefer Brazil. They always smile while playing and they do amazing things with the ball…they really enjoy playing soccer.

 

So yes, Berlin was somehow, a soccer break and other than that, we went to have pizza to my favorite pizza place in Berlin, "Adlan". Our dearest friend Nazan took us there for the first time and told us the great story about  the owner who is actually Turkish.

 

Thursday, 24 June 2010

Day 14_ From Wittenberge to Berlin

Day 14_  From Wittenberge to Berlin

 

We saw: our friend Marc, his wife Lotte and the kids, Malu and Emil, in Berlin

We ate: BBQ rump stake and gilthead bream (dorada) with asparagus in Marc's garden

We pedaled: 51 Km

Our average speed: 20 Km/h

We slept: Bristol Hotel Kempiski, Berlin

 

Wittenberge was a desolated town with beautiful abandoned buildings from the DDR period. We walked by a real estate agency where they had ads for amazing properties under amazing prices. The reason being, apparently, is because this area has still such a feeling of DDR -"grey and sad"-, that no one ones to live there! It is such a pity because it really beautiful, and would be a perfect spot for having a country house.

 

So we left Wittenberg in the morning to go to Berlin. We decided to take the train to Nauen, in order to pedal 50 Km into Berlin. This way we could advance some distance and stay 2 days in the city, since our friend Marc, a graphic-film artist who lives in Berlin with his family, had invited us to his house for a barbeque.

He bike ride was through beautiful forests and deliciously paved cycling lanes but biking into the city was awful. Smelly, noisy, crowded and impolite riders. No one said even said hello anymore. But we arrived to our destination anyhow, thanks to Boris piloting again. He is amazing at it and seems to really enjoy figuring out the map.

 

Let's not forget that the Soccer World Cup started the same day that we started our bike trip. So today, Berlin was revolutionized by the fact that Germany was playing against Ghana. Germany had to win otherwise, they would have be eliminated from the tournament. So after some German beers, a delicious barbequed Dorada fish and wine, we watched the soccer game with our friends. The Germans were dressed for the occasion, where wearing all-black uniforms with golden numbers and in the second half of the game, the Turkish hero, Mesul Özil, gave Deutschland the victory. Ironic.

 

We ended the night with some Camapri and ice and went back to our camping grounds, the Kempiski Hotel, for the sake of keeping up with the Posh Biking theme. There, resting our heads in horse hair pillows, and nice cotton sheets, we had sweet dreams. (Although my dreams were about stressfully traveling to Canada, I had gone through every security check but now, I was inside the plane and it did not know how to store my bike in the upper luggage compartment!).

Tuesday, 22 June 2010

Day 13_ From Dömitz to Wittenberge

Day 13_  From Dömitz to Wittenberge

 

We saw: the real east side of  Germany where nothing has changed

We ate: besides our riding snack, nothing more interesting yet.

We pedaled: 54 Km

Our average speed: 18 Km/h

We slept: Germania Hotel, Wittenberge

 

On this day, we can gladly announce that we have completed over 500 Km. Wow! We arrived to Wittenberge but there is noting to say about this deserted town. Boring and sad.

We had a very calm ride, all flat and always along the Elbe river (as it will be for the rest of the trip before we cross over to Czech Republic). It was so smooth, so tranquil, so nice. It made me realize that I miss having some music on me to listen to, I miss music a lot. So, I sang, what the heck! Why not?  I have had the same song in my head since we started pedaling…….


"Bye, bye Ms. American pie, drove my Chevy to the Levy but the levy was dry..and good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing this will be the day that I die…." (I even saved a video of my performance. Please feel free to take a look. at the Picassa link)

 

While riding and singing, we saw more cows, more birds, and more fellow riders (confirming again that this is the sport for the aging ones).

 

On the other hand, somehow, as smooth as it was to ride today, I was in pain, a funny, almost tickling sort of pain. The type of pain whether you are not too sure whether it feels bad or actually feels good, the type of pain that when you change from one sitting position to another, or go up the stairs or down, or walk or talk or laugh or even think, makes you go: "Ahh!" Not "ayyayai". Not "it hurts". Not "f***ck", none of that…just "Ahh!" in a very high feminine tone with just enough volume for the person in front of you to hear it.

 

I must confess, it hurts everywhere along my body, plus after the 3 falls I have had so far, I looked like an abused woman, bruised all over. Bruises that become darker every day and get mixed up with the grease from the bike chain, so I look even dirtier. So yes, you would think that your butt hurts after so much riding but it hurts your butt, your arms, your wrists, your thighs, your knees, your feet, everything!!! Boris never complains, he is tough. (But he likes to get his feet massaged at night).

 

Anyhow, one day of complaining after 13 days, is not bad and I am sure this will be the only day of complaining because this trip is the nicest thing I have done in years to come. We are having so much fun and enjoying every minute. I can't wait until tomorrow we get back on our bikes and start pedaling again… even if it hurts some more.

 

VIKA

Monday, 21 June 2010

Day 12_ From Lauenberg to Dömitz

Day 12_ From Lauenberg to Dömitz

We saw: the border between the east and west Germany along the Elbe river

We ate: Smoked salmon and herrings on rye bread

We pedaled: 75.13 Km

Our average speed: 21 Km/h

We slept: Hotel Dömitzer Hafen

Now, today we broke all records: 75, 136 Km and here we are sitting at the bar having some Riesling wine as nothing had happened. We are getting much better at this task of pedaling. I have to confess that our segment today was soooooooooo flat. Not one single hill. We followed the Elbe line which was full of green land and Bauernhofs with animals and potatoes plantations. We also were accompanied by lot of sheep working really hard to leave the landscape manicured for the Germans. This is the "green way" to do it without using any artificial energy. We took a small boat to cross over to the other side of the river and continue to Dömitz.

Unlike in Denmark, here in this Elbe Weg, we saw many many fellow riders. All traveling in pairs and carrying wisely only 2 panniers each like us. But if this trip was to demonstrate that we were still young and could hop on such an adventure, these fellow riders we saw today, demonstrated the complete opposite.

We have become old. We are entering into the senior age. Our fellow riders were all over 65 years old. We were the younger ones feeling young. This is terrible, I was embarrassed to be so young and doing already their sport, making them all fell they were going maybe too slow! Ringing my bike ring so that they move out of the way.

I apologize to all our fellow riders of today: that was not our intention. Let's put it this way: we are just training for our seniority years.

VIKA

Sunday, 20 June 2010

Day 11_ From Hamburg to Lauenberg

Day 11_  From Hamburg to Lauenberg

 

We saw: The most weird dotted horse and 2 to 70+ old gay men going for a picnic on their bikes with a trolley full of beer.

We ate: herrings and German sausage with potatoes

We pedaled: 58.5 Km

Our average speed: 20 km/h

We slept: Hotel Zum Alten Shifferhaus, Lauenburg

 

One more day of biking in German lands. After Flensburg, we have to admit that things are getting better. Leaving Hamburg was filled with industrial landscapes, first the anti-flood dam, then green houses: kilometers of plastic covering their nice flowers and strawberries. But slowly we got into a beautiful forest, deep inside, and thanks to the amount  of rain, the Germans have had, we could still smell the mushrooms.

 

Boris' invention of the day: he fixed our small tripod to my handle bar and I have officially a traveling camera with me all the time. Unfortunately do to the rain, I could not use it very much. But we pedaled and pedaled and we arrived to the nice little town of Lauenberg. Typical German. Flowers in their balconies and stone streets.

 

And the hotel: not for the Posh Biking list at all, but with some character. The owner is a woman who could also be a man. She smiles very little and wants cash up front. She likes rules and wants her guests to follow them. When she lets you get a bit closer to her, you can notice that her nails are manicured with the GERMAN FLAG!!!!!!!!!

"Willkommen", she said, "Don't be late for breakfast"

 

VIKA

Day 10_ One day rest in Hamburg

Day 10_ One day rest in Hamburg

 

We saw: the rain from the window while we rested and did nothing and some

We ate: chicken noodle soup, dim sum, pak choi, beef with vegetables, sesame chicken and steam rice at Tsao Restaurant.

We pedaled: 0 Km

Our average speed: 0 km/h

We slept: Hotel Atlantic Kempiski

 

Ok, we deserve one day of rest. We have reached our record distance and speed on this trip so, we did not need to be pedaling out in the rain. So we didn't.

We slept in, we went shopping for some extra long sleeve clothing for this awful German summer and at night we had some delicious Chinese food a Tsao Restaurant.

To avoid getting away from the concept of  Posh Biking, we decided to get a "4-hand massage" at the hotel but it was to late and they had no appointments free for the night.

So we had to go to bed, just popping some muscle relaxant pill to get ready for the next day's ride! (That was ok, too).

 

VIKA

Day 9_From Falsled to Hamburg

Day 9_From Falsled to Hamburg


We saw: the last fjord of Denmark and one man sitting quietly in the border of Germany

We ate: Local  Hamburg asparagus  with breaded sea bass and Wiener schnitzel

We pedaled: 71.5 Km

Our average speed: 18 km/h

We slept: Hotel Atlantic Kempiski, Hamburg

 

Here we are again. It was our last day in Denmark, we had to start pedaling in Falsled and end up in Hamburg. We pedaled first to Bøjden to catch the ferry and cross over to Als island. The ferry ride lasted 1 hour and all we saw was the windy sea. We arrived in Fynshav where we decided to skip the map's "sight-seeing" route and go across the normal road. It would have been a waist of time for us because with so much wind we could not have seen anything. So instead, we saw a lot of asphalt and a lot of cars…nothing interesting…plus we had a lot of hills…so combine wind and hill and what do you get? A sore ass and a burned face. But nevertheless, we did it!

 

We also had to stop at the last bike shop to get fixed a little noise Boris got in his bicycle. It turned out to be something lose in the handlebar, nothing serious. So we pedaled some more towards the border, Kruså. There, we saw the last fjord of Denmark and got lost in the forest where I fell down once again. I forgot that I had  my feet fixed to pedals and just went before hitting the floor I managed to hurt myself even worse trying to avoid falling on the ground. I now have a new bruise added to my collection of this trip.

 

Crossing over to Germany was absolutely surreal. We left the fjords behind and saw the last signs towards Flensburg, the first German city we would ride to. The first impression was strange: a forest, a regular man sitting down in a small chair and the n houses with German flags in their gardens. Good bye perfect gardens, good bye fjords, just  Audis and VW with more German flags…

 

Everything I have written so far about Denmark perhaps sounds to you a bit silly, too pretty, too perfect, too fairy tail….well crossing over to Flensburg, confirms that was true! Then we got into downtown: It was scary, dirty,  filled with hooligans and destroyed cycle lanes. We decide to take the train to Hamburg directly so that we wouldn't have to sleep in this ugly town.

 

We took the "Deutsche Bahn" to Hamburg, a 2 hour ride through Schleswig Holstein, so guess what we saw? Cows and more cows.

Under the label of "Posh Biking", we obviously got 1st class tickets to be able to sit in the luxury wagon drinking some wine and  eating some snacks to our surprise the Flensburg- Hamburg train did not have such service. Instead, we got a German little man with his little car full of Bier and Brötchen…That worked out too. We had 4 beers and 2 Brötchen mit Käse und Schinken.

 

We finally arrived to Hamburg, where Boris once againg piloted us to the hotel. This time, Hotel Atlantic Kempiski. After such a long day, 70 km of biking , plus a ferry and a train ride, we were really looking forward to some nice warm hearty soup. But instead, and once again under the label of Posh Biking, we had some menu full of "Essence of lobster, with foam of whatever…." Give me a break! We wanted some German sausage and potatoes soup! Impossible. So Boris ordered asparagus with  Wiener schnitzel and I ordered the same with sea bass. We went to bed and since the weather was damn ugly for the next day, we decided to stay in Hamburg for one more day to let the rain passed,

while our dirty laundry was being cleaned!

 

VIKA