Since leaving Paris over three weeks ago, we are already at the half way point of the trip.

The weather was more like winter as we rode through France, with the longest distance day to date of 130km giving us all the chance to see forest and mountain scenery through a veil of light rain, heavy rain and monsoon downpour. However, we had the luxury of being able to use the school hall to sleep in rather than under canvass. I think we were all grateful to the tour organisers and the mayor of Xertigny for that. The mood in camp was as low as the cloud at that point and the climb to the top of the Col de la Schlucht rewarded us with nothing more than 50m of visibility in the mist rather than the splendid Munster valley.

As one local told us, it always rains on the Xertigny side but the Munster side is always sunny. Turns out he was right, and as we crossed the border into Germany the sun started to shine and the mood in camp also brightened with the weather. From Freiburg, we had a short but climbing ride to see the source of the Danube, before following it using the cycle path through Ulm, Regensburg and Passau in Germany and then on through Linz and Vienna in Austria.

This is the ‘pastry route’ as the cycle trail follows the river but regularly diverts into the many villages along its banks. Whether you ride on the north or south side, there are plenty of chances to stop for a coffee and home baked cake or pastry at a Konditorei or Backerei. These also serve the coffee to go with whatever you eventually choose to eat, but 10 riders in a shop designed for two or three as well as their regular customers causes a bit of hilarity, and more congestion as they want to know why we are riding to Istanbul by bike. With a bit of knowledge of the language you can hear that the story you have told one being relayed to the others. This happened the day we missed the lunch stop by taking a short cut and taking a dinner of fresh asparagus at the only eating house in the village. The lady who was actually preparing the asparagus as we went in relayed our story to the locals having their lunchtime beer. In those places you are a star for those few minutes you are there.

As the days progress the joking amongst the group gets more and more and that relaxes any tiredness from the day’s ride. The evening meal is usually eaten with us sitting around a virtual camp fire which helps with the interaction between us all.

Tomorrow, we ride into Budapest to enjoy a rest day and also reach the half way point of the trip to Istanbul. No doubt this part of the trip will seem to go faster than getting here, and it will be memories we take with us rather than as much water as we can get onto bike frame and into jersey pockets.

- Stewart Sinclair

Since leaving Paris over three weeks ago, we are already at the half way point of the trip. The weather was more like winter as we rode through France, with the longest distance day to date of 130km giving us all the chance to see forest and mountain scenery through a veil of light rain, heavy rain and monsoon downpour. However, we had the luxury of being able to use the school hall to sleep in rather than under canvass. I think we were all grateful to the tour organisers and the mayor of Xertigny for that. The mood in camp was as low as the cloud at that point and the climb to the top of the Col de la Schlucht rewarded us with nothing more than 50m of visibility in the mist rather than the splendid Munster valley. As one local told us, it always rains on the Xertigny side but the Munster side is always sunny. Turns out he was right, and as we crossed the border into Germany the sun started to shine and the mood in camp also brightened with the weather. From Freiburg, we had a short but climbing ride to see the source of the Danube, before following it using the cycle path through Ulm, Regensburg and Passau in Germany and then on through Linz and Vienna in Austria. This is the ‘pastry route’ as the cycle trail follows the river but regularly diverts into the many villages along its banks. Whether you ride on the north or south side, there are plenty of chances to stop for a coffee and home baked cake or pastry at a Konditorei or Backerei. These also serve the coffee to go with whatever you eventually choose to eat, but 10 riders in a shop designed for two or three as well as their regular customers causes a bit of hilarity, and more congestion as they want to know why we are riding to Istanbul by bike. With a bit of knowledge of the language you can hear that the story you have told one being relayed to the others. This happened the day we missed the lunch stop by taking a short cut and taking a dinner of fresh asparagus at the only eating house in the village. The lady who was actually preparing the asparagus as we went in relayed our story to the locals having their lunchtime beer. In those places you are a star for those few minutes you are there. As the days progress the joking amongst the group gets more and more and that relaxes any tiredness from the day’s ride. The evening meal is usually eaten with us sitting around a virtual camp fire which helps with the interaction between us all. Tomorrow, we ride into Budapest to enjoy a rest day and also reach the half way point of the trip to Istanbul. No doubt this part of the trip will seem to go faster than getting here, and it will be memories we take with us rather than as much water as we can get onto bike frame and into jersey pockets. - Stewart Sinclair

With a five day, 500 kilometre stretch through Germany and Austria behind them, the riders have enjoyed idyllic cycling weather and a well deserved rest day in the magnificent city of Vienna. We knew we had left Deutschland and were in Osterreich when our cell phones simultaneously beeped the same -welcome-to-Austria-your-calls-will-cost-you-a-lot-more-now - message. No border post or passport check point marked the occasion of our crossing. From a scenic point of view, things remain pretty much the same as in Germany... farm fields, woodlands and charming villages not more than 5 to 10 kms apart unfurled before the riders as they continued to follow the cycle path along the mighty Danube river. But as we journeyed through the larger towns of Linz, Melk and into the city of Vienna, the change in the architecture signalled the difference. Those Holy Roman Emperors sure knew how to put on a good show. While completely over-the-top and excessive, the grandiose palaces, spires, domes, abbeys and churches perched atop hills and alongside the Danube are breath taking and awe inspiring. Vienna is art, music, palaces, statues, golden domes, fountains, pedestrian walkways, bicycles, magnificent gardens... and dogs. Coiffed and stylish, they trot alongside their human companions, ride on the subways and in bicycle baskets with a most regal air about them. Soccer fever swept across the city this afternoon as Italian and Portuguese fans poured in by bus and subway to get things warmed up for the critical match at the stadium. Faces painted, wrapped up in flags and sporting medieval carnival hats in their national colours, the fans did their best to out sing each other in the shadow of St. Stephan’s Cathedral. One particularly fervent fan was on his knees in the cathedral, clearly asking for divine intervention, in favour of Italy. Tomorrow we leave Austria and cross into Slovakia and, cell phone messages aside, we WILL be aware we are doing so this time. Due to the large influx of foreign soccer fans into Austria this weekend, security has been stepped up and passports will be required, we are told. Hmmm… Why am I not surprised? I did enjoy wearing my T-Shirt with the outline of the African continent stamped boldly on the front and the back, and watching the reactions of the ticket sellers at the over priced art galleries when I asked them if there were any special discounts for Africans!

En une quizaine de jours, nous avons parcourrus la partie germanophone de l'Orient-Express. Des nos premiers metres en Allemagne, la difference avec la France apparait. Les cyclistes quittent la route pour cheminer sur des voies qui leur sont dediees. Arrive a Freiburg, ce sont les boutiques de velos qui se multiplient. Pas des magasins élitistes où seul le matériel haut de gamme à le droit de site ou encore des grandes surfaces de sport qui ne proposent que leurs produits. Non, ici, les echoppes sont baroques (comme l'architecture), la bicyclette fabriquée par un artisant trône au milieu de nombreuses autres de marques différentes. Les vélos de courses, les VTT, les bicyclettes de villes, les vélos de randonnée se partagent la scène. Même dans les villages, on trouve des bouclards a coté de la boulangerie ou de l'épicerie. Le vélo est un mode de déplacement, pas seulement un loisir estival. L'Allemagne et l'Autriche ont conservé à la petite reine ses lettres de noblesses. Merci! - Olivier Thudor

Once or twice in a lifetime, if you are fortunate, you come into the presence of a human being who seems to possess, with such grace and ease, the attributes of a celestial being... non-judgemental, compassionate, intelligent, humorous, respectful, endowed with infinite optimism and joie de vivre and the ability to make everyone feel they’re worth more than a billion dollars. One of the 2008 OE riders, Neil van Steenbergen, is one such rare being. And for the past 18 days we were indeed a fortunate and privileged group. His free spirited, curious and enthusiastic approach to living seems to be his secret to ensuring that every moment of every day is an adventure. And every adventure has a story. At 81 years old, with many wise and wonderful stories to share, he is inspiration and joy personified. Neil had an accident on the road yesterday just outside Passau, Germany, and is sadly unable to continue with us onto Istanbul. A few days ago, we asked him if he’d share his impressions with us on his journey so far.... his thoughts follow on from this. We miss him and his smile ... and wish him ‘au revoir’, a speedy recovery and many, many more glorious adventures. Vignettes - Paris to Istanbul. By Neil van Steenbergen. 15 June 2008 About 20 k out of Chaumont on Rainy Day Five in France, a young snail crawled onto the top of my handle bars and seemed quite content to be an observer for a while. After a bit I gently picked him off and dropped him in the grass by the road, having no idea why I assumed that snail was a male. I knew it was one of the hoard of snails and slugs on my tent and bike after two wet days of camping in Chaumont. I was happy. So, I think, was my travelling handlebar partner. I smile a lot on this 50 day 4000 km ride from Paris to Istanbul. That playfulness of riding my bike with our group on June 1st – the best deal Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, Seine River, Arc de Triomphe and then getting totally, absolutely lost between Paris and Provins. We had been cautioned about being occasionally lost – but to get lost before lunch on Day One takes some sort of prize which I still haven’t collected! There is an ease about this group. A genuine support and acceptance, a rhythm and flow. We seem to like each other. The staff is extraordinary. I’ve made some friends here that will be lifelong. And I smile. It’s rained a lot. Tents are wet almost every morning and it’s not that big a deal. The country side is magnificent – red poppies, farms and fields, champagne country in France, picturesque villages, some with maypoles to dance around. A major day of rain riding into a wet field in Xertigny, a small town in eastern France, Duncan performs miracles and gets us inside accommodation inside a town hall where we can’t wear muddy shoes because of a big party the next night and the floor has just been waxed. So we hang wet tents around the edges and have a kind of slumber party. After falling off unstable three -legged camp stools at meals two days in a row, I was a recipient of a four legged camp chair with a back and it is heavenly. The staff got three other comparable chairs for the three other oldest riders. Everybody knows I’m really responsible for this largesse and I take full credit and offer to rent my chair out occasionally. I smile a lot. I talk with people – staff, riders and locals. Theresa, a white South African staff woman, and I talked this morning about some of the results of years of apartheid in South Africa – the rage and feelings of entitlement on the part of many black South Africans (“We want no less than an apology”) and the resistance and defensiveness on the part of many white South Africans (“We didn’t do it. It was before our time”) reminds me of the work on white privilege that I am doing in Oregon. I am sitting on the steps of the great church in Regensburg, Germany, writing in the sun and watching people on the Dom Plaz take pictures of me. I suppose they may want the Dom in the background as well. I smile a lot. I am in exactly the right place in my life. Life is good. And I am content.

Guten tag! So far... We have just begun our first and only five day riding week from amazing, quaint and medieval Regensburg to Vienna, Austria. Since starting on June 1, with a sightseeing convoy lap around Paris, taking in the top attractions including the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, we were another 5 days in France which went by somewhat quickly, rolling into Germany, country #2, which we are in for the longest time- being 12 days. Beautiful country side, lush woodland and forests, we are now alongside the mighty Danube river on cycle-only trails, which is peaceful and scenic offering many opportunities for coffee and pastry stops mixed with the odd wrong turn! Cool weather making for ideal conditions is what we’ve been experiencing, but as we approach the east of Europe the mercury is set to rise as are the daily challenges of travelling in some vastly different but rapidly advancing cultures and societies. Guten fahrad reise! - Duncan Jerard

We had a rest day and a half as today we rode a mere 60 km from Regensburg to Straubing. The group has grown accustomed to riding an average of 100 km per day rain or shine, so this brief day is a nice treat and a welcome change. They all seem relaxed and content and I can’t help but smirk a little when I think of the challenges they have ahead. Unlike our expedition through Africa, where things start tough and rugged and slowly become more comfortable as you progress to Cape Town, the Orient Express starts in the western comforts of France, Germany, and Austria, where we cycle into places like Straubing – the cycleway at the main entrance and a full service bike shop a 5 minute walk away, and a grocery store across the street. This will all change in eastern Europe where amenities are fewer and further between, where people and cars are less familiar with cyclists and how they behave on the roadways. Where the campsites and hotels don’t necessarily match up to what we have experienced so far. The roads are rougher, the mountains are taller, and it’s likely to be damn hot as well. But, all that aside, eastern Europe for me holds much more interest and exoticism. These are places that seemed to have not changed in hundreds of years. These are exciting places that force us out of our comforts of western living and into something slightly different. We will see isolated farming villages, urban sprawl, skyscrapers and the beautiful Black Sea Coast. We will experience the remnants of a communist past and the warmth of the Muslim peoples of Turkey. Stay tuned...

Rest day duties done, I set off in the late afternoon to explore downtown New Ulm, just a few blocks away from the hotel. I didn not manage to get to the pile of rocks in Ulm, on the other side of the river, that apparently marks the spot of the now non-existent home in which Einstein first saw the light of day, but breathing in the same air that he once did was good enough for me. The elegant, moody spire of the Ulm cathedral (apparently the highest cathedral spire in the world) dominates the skyline and exudes a strange magnetism. Dark and mystical, inside and out, its towering proportions evoked in me what I suspect was the intended effect of 16th century Christianity – “You insignificant thing!” I crept quietly up to one of the dirgey side alters to light a few candles and, for just a moment, the clouds parted and the late afternoon sunshine poured in through the magnificent stained glass work set in the massive arched windows. It was breathtaking and I had to respect the creativity and ingenuity of those old time architects and artisans who put the whole show together. Must-do touristy stuff done, I set off to lose myself down the cobbled streets and alley ways, appreciating the way in which 20th century development has been considerately woven into the tapestry this 16th century city.... and wondering all the while if Einstein had walked here...eaten there... The soundtrack to my afternoon stroll was a loud, quadraphonic roar. Soccer fever is rampant across the Germany and judging by the howls of despair emanating from the television audiences packed into every bar, cafe and restaurant in Ulm, Croatia was clearly thumping the Germans in an all important European Cup match. With beer being cheaper than any other beverage in Germany, I settled down with a tall one and a kebab to watch the passing parade before heading back to the hotel to prepare for the three day stretch ahead of us to Regensburg. Mostly overcast with the odd shower here and there, we’ve had three days of perfect cycling weather from Ulm to Regensburg. Gentle tail winds, a good mix of gravel and paved surfaces, pristine forests, rolling wheat fields, prolific bird life, fabulous campsites and Chef Jon’s exquisite food combinations have delighted the riders along this stretch of the Danau cycle path. A few of the riders stumbled across a medieval festival happening in Eickestadt. The locals, dressed up in medieval costumes were having a merry old time celebrating the 1100th birthday of their town and it didn’t take much to persuade the riders to get jiggy with them too! Sassy, humorous and not a little irreverent, the 2008 OE riders have taken it upon themselves to ridicule or respect one of their own each day through the passing on of the Lame Duck Award. Nimbly ‘uplifted’ by Joss from his hotel bathroom in Ulm, the little rubber duck has so far graced the handle bars of Stewart (who thought, when reading the daily direction board, that ‘Zig Zag’ was the name of town) and John (who cycled 10 kms out of the campsite to find Liz a bottle of wine, not realising that he could have bought one at the campsite shop) Today we are at rest in the 2000 year old city of Regensburg...a somewhat mind blowing experience for someone coming from South Africa, where the oldest surviving building is the 400 year old fort built by the Dutchies in Cape Town. With over 1200 historic buildings clustered together in the centre, the ‘City of Towers’ is a Unesco world heritage site. Particularly characteristic are the mansions built by rich patrician families who traded with cities as far away as Kiev in the east and Venice in the south who proudly displayed their wealth to all by building great houses with towers rising high into the sky. Dating back to Roman times, it’s all ancient, old stone work, quaint cobbled streets, churches, museums, theatres and concert halls reflecting in the waters of the Danube river. It’s also home to 20 000 university students, the current Pope, the oldest music academy in the world, a flourishing artistic community and it prides itself on innovative products that come out of the biotechnical research done here. Rest day duties done and dusted, camera charged up, I’m heading off to explore. With Germany playing Austria, I predict loud, raucous revellry in the ‘City of Dreams’ tonight.

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.

It is midday. We are somewhere between the exquisite medieval French champagne communes of Provins and Xertigney. The temperature is around 15 degrees, perhaps? Whatever. It is spring in France. And it is cold. And wet. The rain has been pelting down for four days now and I am on lunch truck duty. One by one, the bedraggled riders roll into the half way mark for the day. “Anybody got any marijuana?” “Isn’t it GREAT to see some rain again?” “Are we having fun, yet?” “I didn’t sign up for this rain.” “Why is there no more peanut butter?” As Chef Jon remarked, “Lunch brings out the best and worst in everyone.” Reactions to the first week on the road in France range from gung-ho hard core “I’ve- been -round- the- world- on- a- bike” to “Where- is- the- hair dryer?” But, give them their due, when it comes to priorities, this bunch of (predominantly) baby boomers knows exactly what to do when it comes to keeping their bruschetta, camembert and rocket sandwiches from getting soggy! Having travelled just over 500 kms from Paris, through some of France’s most fabulous towns and villages on highways, byways and cycling paths, we are in the commune of Munster tonight. At this point, I take everything back that I said about the stereotypical Frenchie! On lunch today, just outside the stunning town of La Bresse, we parked the lunch truck at the bottom of a 15 km, 1139m climb up to Clos de la Schlucht. As we put up the gazebo, a woman from a beautiful guest house across the road came over to find out what was going on. Her name was Anka Krizmanic and she alerted the media, fortified us with fantastic stories, coffee and chocolate, great French music, a vase of exquisite lupins on our step ladder and the gift of ‘ubuntu’ as we call it in Africa. Anka, it was great to meet you! Thank you for the gifts and blessings. And if anyone is ever thinking of staying in La Bresse, be sure to contact her on k.ankal@orange.fr. While the daily distances have ranged between 90 and 130 kms and the mist and the rain has been unrelenting, none of it has managed to drown the spirits of the 2008 OE expedition riders. Yet...! We have it on good authority from Janice of Australia that the best we can expect for the next while is “Pas beaucoup du soleil” which translates into “Not a lot of sun”. I asked a couple of the riders what some of their highlights have been so far. For Big Don from America, drinking coke out of a real glass bottle and not a can did it for him. Garris from New Zealand raved about the undulations from Chaumont to Xertigney. Manon, Graham and Nicole from Australia belted down a hill and through a sleepy village reaching a top speed of 60 kms. Some of Duncan’s fondest memories include “Peas, grapes, orchids, poppies. The Julien Canal cycle path. Meandering through lush country fields and villages. Favourable winds. Superb meals. Light traffic. Champagne tasting. The rest of the day was history!” For all of us, it’s the joy of experiencing first hand a soupcon of the 36 000 villages or ‘communes’ that exist in France. It’s stopping in at a 200 year old brasserie or pattiserie and savouring what the French do so well – food and beverage. But with only a day left in the land of cheese, bread and wine, I hope that someone listens to Kurt’s suggestion and switches the sun back on. Soon.