The beauty, the ugly and back to normal

Thursday, 11th of August. Leaving lovely Brugge while the sun is shining – I saw a swarm of doves just standing in the air and also flying backwards (caused through the heavy wind this day I think) – and cycling the first 25 kilometres along the very nice Kanaal Brugge-Oostende, which is mostly used by motor yachts. While I was cycling in direction north-west, the usual adverse wind caught me diagonal.

In Oostende I reached the sea. I love the sea. On the other hand the Belgium coast is pretty boring, but tries to stick up by being extremely stormy, Elise and Julien, my tonight's hosts, told me, the wind had 27–53 km/h, justifiably so you can say it was stormy (tomorrow it's probably better, it's said it will be 13–24 km/h). While I was still able to cycle around 20 km/h beneath the canal, I now had to slow down to 8 to 12 km/h, what I did for 20 kilometres from Oostende up to Westende (at the Albertkanaal it was 17 to 21 km/h). It was quite hard not to be blown away. At the end my face laced with grains of sand. The ugly houses, kind of high-riser with the charm of a building made with precast concrete slabs after all offered some wind protection.

I don't understand the Belgians. Like in Germany, too, they have places with caravans. In Germany there are many bowers within allotment garden, mostly placed at town border, often close to train tracks and also motor ways. But they are very green with much planting, a place for once own to relax. There are also places for static caravans, which are placed into the green, often into a recreation area. Usually nice places (if you are okay with the bourgeois middle-class character). But in Belgium they have places with static caravans, all of them same type, standing extremely close next to each other without any place for doing some personal arrangements. And they are usually placed beside the most highly frequented road. Why do they do this? Have they no sense for beauty and cosy settings?

The Belgian north looks shabby. It is reminiscent of Romania, where Klaus and I had been some years ago and also some parts in the North German Plain – uninteresting houses on a broken street with even worse bicycle paths. It turned to get better when I reached the Belgium/French frontier. Today's goal was Dunkerque, which I reached after 85 kilometres.

I had a warm welcome at Elise's and Julien's home. They are so friendly, relaxed and interested in a broad range. We had some dedicated talk about social and education system in France and Germany, including a side trip to politics, effective and useless development assistance in Third World Countries, being parents (I and their little one and a half year old son Simon immediately made friendship) and some more. They were so considerate, we had a great supper with an even better cake, Julien showed me the route to the harbour while moving the whole kilometres way on Google streetview… Elise and Julien, please come to visit me in Bamberg and make me able to be such a great host as you two are!

To Antwerp

Sunday, 7th of August. I decided to cycle the Albertkanaal, and as my little Google maps cantle, where on the backside I had written down all the names of the towns I had to pass by using an ink pen, was so much afflicted with yesterday's rain I needed some help from a local. He sent me to Beringen where the canal passes. There I lost my new sunglasses.

Right now I have lost (respectively forgotten):

• the good one of my 1 litre aluminium drinking bottles by leaving it after fixing the chain (I bought a new one in Bedburg, only 750 ml, but also with a drinking straw)
• one cotton bag with fruits during cycling and one cotton bag I used for collecting my laundry, which I left at Franzi's home, were I was able to use a washing machine (Octavian gave me two new one he didn't need)
• my water proofed windbreaker – but fortunately some car drivers adverted to that by honking the horn, so it's actually almost lost
• a nut slice which felt off the bag while I cycled downhill, holding the bag between my left hand and the handelbar
• my bicycle gloves, which I left at the toilette of a café, but realized it then I went on my bike

Things I forget to pack at home:

• a hairbrush (I bought one in Sittard)
• the camera cable to be able to use the photos on a computer (up to now I was often fortunate that my hosts had a card reader)

The bicycler's rules do no longer work: I had constantly wind from the west, that means adverse winds! – regardless how large the forthcoming cyclist's group was. This canal has a different character as my local Main–Danube Canal, bigger, much industry beneath and many people do water skying.

After 30 kilometres on the canal path I decided to try another route. So I reached Geel, where lots of young people broke up from a raggae festival. Much of funny cars (painted and/or old), also interesting smelling smoke. Bart, my today's host in Antwerp, told me later that this was the festival he had visited, while he wasn't able to host me the day before.

Because it was still windy while using the street I turned back to the canal.
Once a forthcoming racing cyclist made the thumbs up sign (regarding the wind plus my package, I think). This was one of the few communicative situations in Belgium. Greeting isn't common there – normally you don't get a reaction when you are greeting. Greeting forthcoming people (especially bicyclists) is one of my hobbies: In Germany they normally answer the greeting and you often get a smile, in the Netherlands they smile at you a priori and you have to be fast to be the first one to greet someone. But in Belgium there's just nothing – not even some irritation, what also would be nice. I really like the people from the Netherlands, other than the Belgium people (nevertheless they are cooperative and friendly when you're searching for the road and so on).

After 105 kilometres I reached Antwerp. First impression was disappointing. Big streets, much traffic, allover industry. But than I met a racing cyclist which stopped while I was asking a woman how to cross a bridge which wasn't allowed for bicycle. He offered to lead my to my host's home, and not only that, it was great to chat. He had seen me on the canal when cycling the other direction, and he was so kind, he choose a route through the historic part of Antwerp and made a small tourist guiding. Thank you so much, Wim, I would love to here from you again!

From Germscheid up to Oppendorf/Bedburg

Thursday, 4th of August. My first real cycling day! Because looking after my legs and knees for the last days, while my thigh felt very keen from time to time (and surely especially while doing exhausting cycling) I now felt able to cycle with power. (Still no muscle soreness at all.) While I wanted to follow the Rhine river, my first few kilometres were still somehow hilly (remember: edge of Westerwald). I was guerdoned with an 8…kilometres downhill upon a twisting road!

From Bad Honnef, North Rhine-Westphalia, up to Bornheim I cycled along the Rhine river. In Königswinter I took a ferry to switch sides and had a nice talk with an old lady who was also on a bicycling tour together with her more than 80 year old husband. She had travelled so much all across the world with her bike in earlier times, that I felt just like a newbie. She commended my bike as a very good one– I was so glad, because I love my old vehicle and think it's good quality, too.

Close to Bonn there was so much bicycling traffic (mixed up with promenaders). While the sun was shining so bright everybody was outside although it was Thursday early afternoon. I don't like these slowly Sunday drivers, often overweight, clinging to their handle bar and tottering as if they'd need all their concentration not tilting over. Excursionists!

To hear all the various dialects while cycling through different parts of Germany is funny. The dialect allows to transport an anyway individual part of the character. And once I needed an emergency toilet, so I asked a woman who was working in her garden. And she not only let me in but also gave me some freshly-picked plums while saying: "Vitamins!" in broken German (I think she was Vietnamese).

In Marten I had to climb a hill with my bike and then on the wide top navigate by looking at the position of the sun (that means the shadow) through a complex system of windy paths across a forest to find my way down to the little Erft river – did I mention that the bicycle guiding system in North Rhine-Westphalia is absolutely bad? Sometimes they write the name of a town on a sign, sometimes not, although you're just trying to follow. They don't try to guide you, it is much more a hide and seek – they don't put a sign when the surrounding area changes, they put it somewhere else, maybe as an award for guessing the right direction.

To cycle the Erft river was so pretty and therefore I was able to do the next reparation inside this very nice location. Once again I had trouble with my gearshift, the chain switched all the time up and down the gears while making bad noise. Now I saw why. Bless god I took a chain tool with me (and have had not listened to my boyfriend …).

Note: Klaus is the best companion in life I could imagine. Normally he knows nearly everything, is technical gifted (and also in many other ways) and he is the one person I want to spend my life and share my thoughts, my feelings and everything. You are great, I love you so much.

Although today's stage was planed with 80 kilometres it took me 105 (probably 10 to 15 kilometres is due to the subject of searching for the route). This was the first time I was able to reach today's couchsurfing host at the right time (I try to arrive between 6 and 8 P.M. and I caught 7 o'clock). And I came late enough only to see the the puddles and wet streets but not get wet myself, because the rain was over. What was left was some stormy weather.

It was the first time for Franzi to host (and she wasn't able to surf so far, too). Right now she has passed Abitur, is sweet 19 years old, still living with her mother until she'll hopefully starts to study teaching degree for secondary schools next semester. Franzi was so sweet-natured and willing to be a courteous host. And it sounds so nice when she's giggling! It makes me smiling when I remember it. I had a gorgeous evening together with her, her mother and her mother's boyfriend, and let's not forget the two dogs! We talked about education and the educational system. It's just such an open, living house, where people – and not only couchsurfers! – can come and sometimes stay for a while. Franzi, visit me and Klaus in Bamberg!

From Hüttenstadt up to Germscheid – and once again a train part…

Wednesday, 3th of August. I left Susanne at 11 A.M. shortly before it started to rain, wherefore I had another stop to search for my rain clothes. Naturally the rain stopped at the moment I had done my rain clothes. But since it was still some cold I kept it on. My first goal for this day was Wetzlar because of its wonderful historic city centre. It's a straight road which leads to this small town. There was a bike path next to the street. My heart didn't misgave me, when the path left the road – bike paths do such things sometimes, perhaps when the street planers don't want you to cycle upon a hill. This path was really winding and went on to veer away from the road. But I went on, because the landscape was so nice and I trusted in the fact that the path had to lead to somewhere.

After maybe one kilometre with slight down-grade the bike path mutated into a path of asphalt tile, then into a cart track, then into a muddy cart track, then into a muddy seldom used upward cart track … I started to push my bike, but I was still curious. Finally the so-called path ended as a overgrown thing, but at this time I could fortunately hear the cars riding on the road. The last maybe 50 metres I unloaded my bike and carried first my stuff and than my bike across the forest. Altogether it took me two hours, but I was so proud of myself that I wasn't frustrated or something like that, but just able to handle the situation. I was completely all in a sweat. My spats had been very useful; otherwise my shoes and feet would have been totally wet, too. But my clothes had been really dirty from the mud.

The historic centre of Wetzlar is actually as nice and well worth seeing as Susanne had told me. It has a Dom with only one finished tower, then there hadn't been enough money to build the other one…

Best of all: now I followed a bike path along the Lahn river. I bought two bicycle tubes in a bicycle store, and as I started to answer the question whereto I'm cycling: "through Belgium and …" the mechanic cut me off saying: “Ah … – that kind of trip.” As I had some problems with my gearshift I asked if he could take a look and in the end he fixed it for free “to sponsor the trip”. Very much thanks to Armin from bykx Radstudio in Solms-Oberbiel! Cycling along the Lahn was just great. But sadly after 50 cycled kilometres I had to switch to train, when arriving in Weilburg at 6 A.M. – there was no later connection from another station available and otherwise I would have arrived in Germscheid eventually at midnight. Maybe it wasn't the worst decision, because shortly after it started to rain once again. This day I decided to send some of my stuff back home, so I took advantage of the time during the train ride to sort out. In Limburg I had to change trains – it seemed to be the wrong time for travelling with the bike … Once again I had to carry my bike.

Olli, my today's host, picked me up at Altenkirchen train station and we drove with his car to his home in Germscheid, Rhineland-Palatinate. (Once again: Thanks to him and also the other couchsurfing hosts who helped me so much with my tour.) Olli is a friendly and relaxed guy. After school he made a motor bicycle tour, which was planed as an one year trip up to Australia and ended up as a two year tour up to New Zealand. Then he started to breed Galloway cows. He commemorated Dave, a dear friend of mine, who is so open and tender but so hard to reach inside.

When we attained the 150 year old farm house in a small village at the edge of Westerwald there was a bonfire and some friends and neighbours who celebrated hay harvest with eating and drinking together. I felt so welcome and had a very nice evening with some chit-chat. And Olli has such a lovely outgoing young daughter! I have also to thank Olli for agreeing to send my stuff back home. Cheers!