Tag: photos
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43. A Rolling stone gathers no moss for 4000 kms (July 23)
The terrain rose up and became beautifully hilly. Massive piles of mossy granite boulders pushed up through the oats fields while balancing trees on their heads. These hills are perfectly spaced to allow cyclists to whizz down a steep slope for 10 seconds before starting up the next for 10 minutes. Up and down like…
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39. Bridging the Baltic Sea (July 17)
The great crossing began with a blue sun. Our posh hotel elevator, being slightly too short for a bike body, had the girls doing a circus trick by balancing the front wheels up on the golden hand rail. It was a frizzling hot day, so we had ice-cream at the beach and a large Döner…
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38. Coasting along! (July 16)
Moments in Hamburg that I couldn’t resist sharing, even under sprinkling grey skies we were happy to explore. It was a sunshine and birdsong day as we rolled out of town, eventually, the three of us on our eeeee-bikes. It took us most of the morning to get going, city exits are always a…
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36. Hamburger sophistication (July 11)
What do you order for dinner in Hamburg? Sweet-potato chips. But ask any Hamburger citizen and they will tell you with pride that the food here is highly sophisticated and exquisite. From rich and savoury to spicy and sweet, luscious meats, delightful veggies, free range biofriendly everything under the sun and rain. I began the…
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32. Goodbye my friend, Rhine. (July 5)
This is yesterday’s post. Hotel’s and hostels offer very poor wifi, so the blog cannot be shared when it should be, it has to wait for the next stop, just like many things in life. The sun is dragging his billowing sky down to the smoking chimney stacks. A giant storm growled through dinner, but…
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29. Painting at the riverside. (June 29)
The morning was exuberant with fresh vineyards. Riesling grapes still budding on the vines. The Rhein is becoming greener too. My little paintbox made happy colours and manifested this naivety. Someone had set up the perfect table and chairs on the riverbank just for me. I felt very happy under my number. Would a…
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25. Strasbourg. (June 25)
Sunday was a celebration day for us, our precious Elia turned ONE. What a joy it is to have two fabulous grandsons, and a baby on the way! Now that my feet are firmly in socks and sandals on German soil, I can talk about practical issues without embarrassment. The question I am asked the…
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22. Bed bugzzzi. (June 22)
The only men I attract by my appearance these days, are those with noisy machines. – mowers, tractors, builders and lorry drivers. Even the rubbish truck man made a comment after a near miss. I don’t think it was complimentary. But the hoteliers usually always shake my hand when I leave, which is sweet. My…
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21. Emerald River blues. (June 19-21)
19 June 2018. Early morning ride along the southern shore of lake Constance (Bodensee in German) which forms the border between Switzerland and Germany, was so calm after the turbulent river that feeds it, unlike me who woke up in the night with vertigo! I was horrified of course, and so worried that I would…
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19. Arlberg Pass to Stuben (June 17)
It was the first day of my 3 week trip so far, that I had absolutely no idea where I was going. The thought of a steep pass made me anxious, so I delayed along the way and dabbled with my paint and took leisurely photographs of flowers. Dilly-dallied all the way along the valley,…
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16. Truck spray. (June 13)
This morning some of the Everest Hotel guests vanished with the key to the dungeon where the bicycles are stored overnight, so I had to wait for them to come and open the lock. It was an imperfect start to a few other annoyances that came up first thing. I pedalled out to the river…
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15. Going into the Alps. (June 13)
Lucy Lui gave me breakfast in her back garden, and waved me goodbye. All my hosts and hostesses so far have been truly generous and kind. Mantova was just waking up when I passed along her northern shores, sneaking along a little path in the woods. A large sticky spider web attached itself to my…
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14. Po River flats. (June 10)
I was thrilled to have an egg for breakfast at Pico Hotel. Usually it’s a matter of cornetti with jam and a coffee. Set off a bit late this morning, due to it being Sunday. Lesson 3. Don’t sing with your mouth open when riding a bike. Hum, because insects can get in your lung.…