Here comes the sun!
One internet site I recently visited summed it up quite well, I thought. Germany has had a seminal impact on Continental history. From Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire to Otto von Bismarck's German Reich, Nazism and the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall, no other nation has moulded Europe the way Germany has - for better or worse. Upon discovering their amazing cycle pathways, superb beer, and the fact that someone switched the sun back on in Freiburg, I grudgingly came to terms with leaving France!
As we crossed the Rhine river and entered the Federal Republic of Germany, it became immediately evident that things were different. While the French landscape sprawls out haphazardly like a beautiful, languid lover at rest, the Germans, bless them, seem to like things a little more ordered and regimented. Not that it is not beautiful. The wooded forests, hills, rivers, valleys and charming towns are breath-taking, in a picture post card perfect sort of way. But haphazard or languid it is not! There is a place for everything and everything is in its place, it seems. I watched a man with a garbage trolley outside our hotel this morning, wielding what looked like a long pair of tweezers. He disdainfully picked up a leaf that had fallen onto the ground and disposed of it immediately. Into the bag marked ‘Leaves’, I have no doubt. No place for garbage, dirt or anything unsanitary in this here place. One of the riders told me that as she stood up to flush the toilet, it immediately started cleaning itself! So the German hoteliers dig really deep when 42 grimy, rain sodden cyclists bumble into their pristine lobbies.
Our first stop in Germany, which included a rest day, was the eco-conscious university city of Freiburg – which generates nearly as much solar power as the whole of Britain. Philip Moeller, a native of Freiburg who worked on the Silk Route Expedition as bike mechanic last year, met up with us for dinner, lots of laughs and reminiscing and a night time walk about the city. Medieval buildings, cobbled stones, bars, bicycles everywhere... it’s laid back, congenial and home to over 20 000 students.
Along with the beer, one of the things the Germans have certainly got right are their cycle paths. Away from the traffic and the autobahns, the Danube Cycle Way, which starts in Donaueschingen at the source of the Danube River, stretches for 1400 km all the way to Budapest. For the past two days, the riders have been meandering past celestial castles and through the wooded forests and quaint villages that nestle along the banks of the Danube. Every few kilometres, there is a little cafe or restaurant to stop in at for coffee and cake. Cyclists, pedestrians and locals are all out and about on the path which makes every moment on it an adventure. It’s relatively well sign posted, but even so, a few of the riders have done more than a few extra k’s a day as they’ve taken a ‘wrong’ turn here or there.
Today we are in the city of Ulm... the birthplace of Einstein. We are whizzing through our rest day duties so that we can get out and explore what looks like a most fascinating town, with 16th century architecture, old bridges and some interesting artwork.
While we say a big welcome to Lesley and Charles Hughes from South Africa who joined us in Donaueschingen, we say a sad farewell to Marilyn and Murray McCraig from Canada. Marilyn broke her ankle yesterday between Sigmaringen and Ulm. Wishing you a safe trip home, guys. We will miss you.
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Posted June 13, 2008 by Theresa Brown
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