I forget how good it is to cycle in Germany. Cycling on the pavement is not illegal, helmets are not compulsory, there are extensive grade-separated cycle routes along many routes (sometimes one each side!), there are snowploughs which clear the cycle routes in the winter; almost without exception, everywhere cycle routes cross normal roads the kerb tapers gently away so that only the slightest bump is felt going up and down...
And this attention to cyclists' comfort and convenience pays dividends! Cycling is something that 'normal' people of all ages and social classes do in this country. It is common to see professionals of all ages commuting by bike, family bicycle outings, and senior citizens running their errands, or in groups of up to 30 travelling the cycle routes through the green countryside. I even saw several groups of 60-somethings cycle-touring along the Rhine with their camping gear.
I dream, pray vainly, that one day a similar outbreak of transport sanity could happen in car-saturated countries like NZ. The proposed National Cycleway is a step in the right direction, a move I hope will gather momentum as the currents of change lead us away from our erstwhile over-reliance on fossil-fueled private transportation. The Japanese and American youth are switching off cars in a big way (see e.g. this and this), why shouldn't that ultimately happen down our way too?
In my usual, somewhat blase way, I entered Germany via the Natuurpark Eifel without realising it, an area I knew to be one of the country's hilliest. I had emailed a few couchsurfing hosts located in Karlsruhe earlier, from Belgium, and rather optimistically expected to reach that city a mere 2-3 days later, but I'd massively underestimated the distance and undulations I had yet to face! Beautiful though the Eifels were, I was very happy to reach the Mosel river valley the next day and say goodbye to hills for a time. Then, where it neared the Rhine valley, I had only to go over the top of the range in between the two and I had a flat route all the way to Karlsruhe ahead of me!
The middle Rhine is a most pretty tranche of this green country, populated with hilltop castles, the vineyards of Germany's wine country, picturesque villages and steady streams of well-laden barges gliding by in either direction at just a touch slower than cycling pace. The sheer number of cycle tourists of all shapes and sizes on this route really floored me, too.
Most of the small amount of German I'd once spoken is now long-forgotten, but I'd retained enough to take care of the basics; when I needed water I simply asked people for it, or found it in cemeteries and restrooms. Finding wild camping spots descending the Rhine was relatively easy too, and I skipped a ton of food on a few lucky occasions. A cycle tourist's hunger is a mean foe indeed, though, and so when I didn't find anything appealing I of course bought it instead.
Another delight of Germany's cycle routes is the fruit trees that line them - particularly apples, cherries, pears and peaches. For the time being most of it not yet ripe, but I still had more than I could eat, and to anyone riding them in a month or so there will be a cornucopia of fruit; a month or two later chestnuts and walnuts also.
Arriving in Karlsruhe, I contacted one of my potential couchsurfing hosts, Alex, whom I'd notified of my delayed arrival. He replied that I was welcome to stay and so I found my way to his place, relieved that I'd found shelter for the many days of rain the weather forecast had told me were ahead.
I have really enjoyed talking to and spending time with Alex, who is about one of the most generous and easy-going people you could ever hope to meet. In the meantime, I have arranged with Lisa, a French friend of mine, to do a spot of touring in the Rhine area. Then I aim to have my final injections and finally set off for Ulm. to pick up the Danube river which will lead me eastward.
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