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Thursday 27 June 2013

Our last post

We are glad that you followed us on our bike tour in Europe. We had fun writing down our adventures, hopefully for your enjoyment. As of today we received more than 1800 views of the blog from over 10 countries, including Latvia, Russia and the 
Ukraine (who are our viewers from there?)

We have now returned to Montreal. Today, we'll put together the bikes and then visit family and friends for the next few day.

Please write us a final comment
What did you think of this blog? Should we do another one of our next bike trip? What did you enjoy and missed?

Monday 24 June 2013

Helsingør, Denmark & Helsingborg, Sweden


We took the train to Helsingør to see a charming and empty town, as everything is closed on Sunday. Under a threatening sky, we visited the Kronborg Castle (also known as Hamlet's castle). Very impressive defence moats surrounding the castle. We then took a 20 minutes ferry ride to Helsingborg, Sweden. Visited the town and looked at the castle grounds. Then back on the ferry and onto the train, (same station) to arrive at our hotel not even an hour later. Amazing!


Friday 21 June 2013

Koge to Copenhagen, our final destination.

After 64km we arrived in Copenhagen( a day early). Our total  kilometres was  645km.  We were welcomed by fantastic architecture and MANY bikes. Wow! What an inspiring city.

That is bike culture. Parking at the Central Train Station.

Stege to Koge

As we get closer to Copenhagen the Baltic Sea is more inviting, maybe it was the heat, 30 deg C today. Joey went for a mid- day swim.
Another fantastic day of riding, 110 km!  Again the route was mostly on quiet, enjoyable country roads. 
The signage has been excellent, even in the most remote area.

Daily Door


Wednesday 19 June 2013

Tan lines of a cyclist


That's what happens when one wears sandals to ride for days.

Nykobing Falster to Stege

Above is a picturesque Danish farmhouse

74 Km today. So far most of the riding in Denmark has been on quiet country roads, some of which is on segregated bike routes.
Above is a city gate to Stege that dates back to the 15th century.
Stege is a quaint friendly town and tonight we had a very good 'Stoberiet' style dinner. This restaurant     was an extension of a butcher shop, you choose your cut of meat which they then cook for you. They also had a buffet of vegetables and wine or beer, pay what you drink. The meal was excellent and economical (by Danish standards).

Daily Door


Rostock to Nykobing Falster

54 Km today, plus ferry ride from Rostock to Gedser, Denmark
Surprisingly the ferry was almost empty, except for transport trucks. 
Our first impression of Denmark was windmills, not the one above, but of the modern version. 
As the ferry docked we saw an off-shore wind farm of over 100. Then as we started riding it appeared every farm had at least 1 or 2. Apparently on a windy day Denmark can generate all of its electrical requirements from wind. 

Below, cycling the Baltic Sea!

Daily Door


Monday 17 June 2013

Güstrow to Rostock

54 Km today, again on nice country roads

 
Also some nice looking farmhouses
Rostock is another pretty town and includes one of the first European universities dating from the 15th century.
As a special treat we bought some Gore bicycle shorts for both of us and some Schwalbe tires for John (first class German products and much cheaper than available in Canada).

Daily Door



We felt the above door justified 2 doors today. Faharradraum means Bike Room in German. This was from our hotel last night.

Sunday 16 June 2013

Waren to Güstrow -

80 Km today. Again the ride was pleasant, mostly off road and meandering through farms and forests. Surprisingly there were few cyclists, motorists or hikers (maybe because it was Sunday).

The castle at Güstrow. The Daily Door is there on the left.

A street festival in Güstrow. Most of the towns we passed through, no matter how small, had various street festivals planned. Of course, beer and alcohol sales are a central part of the festivals. Everyone was well behaved and civilized.

Daily Door

Side door to the castle in Güstrow 

Saturday 15 June 2013

Neustrelitz to Waren

We are catching up on our posts today. Accessing the Internet has been spotty lately
A castle on the route today

79 Km today - that includes 8 extra Km when we got lost.
Waren is quaint historic town with lots of German tourists. We met a cycling couple on the road today who were staying in Waren for a week and then going on different bike trips each day.

Below is the bicycle parking for our hotel. So far all the hotels have been set up to accomodate cyclists (no so good for WiFi though)


Daily Door


Furstenberg/Havel to Neustrelitz

Our entertainment in Neustrelitz 

49 Km on the third day. The weather started off threatening to pour, however it cleared up to become a nice day.


Much of the route is through farmland and forests

Daily Door

Watch the first step........

Some German Bike Culture

A transit bus pulling a bike trailer (that can hold 18 bikes). This bus served a national park that we cycled through.
A pedicab type of bike carrying a person who was mobility impaired.

A common sight

Oranienburg to Furstenberg/Havel

79 Km on the second day. Route was easy to follow, mostly off road and mostly paved. 

Furstenberg/Havel is a quant little town with a number of old restored buildings. Home to a former concentration camp (which we rode by and had a quick look). Yikes! Also home to a former Soviet nuclear weapons base (which we did not see).
A deer with its 2 babies

Daily Door


Self explanatory