Germany Entries
-
Berlin with Friends: Day Three
Sunday, June 20th, 2010It has been my desire for quite some time now, to have a relaxing, fun-filled Sunday like we would at home. Today, with the best company a woman could ask for, I got my wish. First things first, we...
-
Berlin with Friends: Day Two
Saturday, June 19th, 2010We started the morning off with yet another excellent cappuccino from Felix and Nadine. Then, we all drove into Berlin for a day of sightseeing. Today, Nadine had a Plan. This was really nice; it ...
-
Berlin with Friends: Day One
Friday, June 18th, 2010Guess who came to Berlin to visit us? Our dear friends, Nadine and Felix! They drove six hours north from Munich in their big green VW Transporter to hang out with us for a few days in the city....
-
Driving Around Town
Thursday, June 17th, 2010We said a heartfelt goodbye to ba noi today (little did she know she would be whisked off to the airport soon after we left, as a surprise birthday trip to Paris!) and hopped in our little red car. ...
-
Berlin with Ann
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010We were hot and tired when we finished packing our bicycles into the trunk of our new car. Back inside, we enjoyed glasses of cold water, and chatted with our friend Tony's aunt, uncle, and cousin w...
-
Roadtrip Ready
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010This morning, we left ba noi's house bright and early, heading in the direction of the car dealership. This was it! We were about to get a car! It is hard to believe that this entire chain of even...
-
Puppet Museum
Monday, June 14th, 2010We're saving most of our Berlin sightseeing for when Nadine and Felix come to visit in a few days. In the meantime, we're working (a lot), sorting out car logistics, and very occasionally venturing ...
-
Working in Berlin
Sunday, June 13th, 2010Today, we spent some time designing a new website for our road trip. It is going really well! As was the case when we made Going Slowly, there were some frustrating bits where we stared at the scre...
-
Buying a Car in Germany
Saturday, June 12th, 2010Last night, after some hunting on mobile.de, we found a candidate car for our Siberian roadtrip: a 1991 Toyota Corolla from a single (retired) owner with 60,000km (37,000 miles). The asking price? ...
-
Cooking with Ba Noi
Friday, June 11th, 2010Life with ba noi is good. She is a kind-hearted grandmother who enjoys growing orchids and pedaling away on her miniature stationary bicycle, among many other things. She also loves to watch Kore...
-
To Berlin
Thursday, June 10th, 2010Normally, when we take any transport faster than a bicycle, we feel like we're missing out. Today, we were happy to watch the world go by without having to pedal through it. As we hurtled across th...
-
Just a Bike Ride
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010For the last few days, we've been taking some much needed rest. For us, this means cooking less, eating out more, "staying in", and leaving the camera behind when we go out. This welcome change of ...
-
Dresden Thunderstorm
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010It rained on and off all day. Nice, warm, summer rain. This evening, we enjoyed our most dramatic thunderstorm yet! this time last year Chez Pierre & Julien ...
-
Train to Dresden
Monday, June 7th, 2010After a thoroughly enjoyable break in Bamberg, it was time to move on to our next destination: Dresden. So, this morning we packed up one last time from our three-night river-side free camp, and rod...
-
Home from Work
Sunday, June 6th, 2010After a relaxing day of working, eating ice cream sundaes, and enjoying delicious, cheap Chinese food, we cycle back to our riverside free-camp along a string of nice bike paths on the outskirts of B...
-
Spargel!
Saturday, June 5th, 2010This morning we packed up from our free camp, commuted into town along smooth, shaded bike paths, and headed straight to McDonald's for work and lots of ice cream sundaes. When we're done, we'll sco...
-
Sunny Sneezefest
Friday, June 4th, 2010At long last, the day dawned bright and sunny. The inside of our tent was hot this morning! Off came our knitted hats, along with our tent's bone-dry rain-fly, but not before we donned our sorely n...
-
A Little Help From Our Friends
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010Us: The rain that falls on our tent this morning doesn't faze us. Our friends are here! Donning our rain jackets, we run over to their bright green van, and climb inside where they are already maki...
-
This is Nadine & Felix
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010We have decided to meet up with Tara and Tyler in Nürnberg. We have been missing them since they left Munich, and with a holiday coming up we will make good use of this possibility. They will be c...
-
Something's Got to Give
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010Tyler: We couldn't bear to leave our tent this morning. Safe and warm in our secluded forest free camp, listening to the constant patter of water pelting our rain fly, all motivation to start the da...
-
Into the Woods
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010Before leaving our pension this morning, I decide to visit one last thing before we leave Rothenburg-- The Craftsman' House. This is the oldest building in town, dating back to 1270(!) and is now fi...
-
Rainy Day in Rothenburg
Monday, May 31st, 2010Surprise, surprise... more rain! Most of the day was spent warm and dry, under the covers in our big bed at Gastehaus Raidel. We did get up to go to breakfast though! When we descended the first s...
-
Manic
Sunday, May 30th, 2010Today was one of those days when the weather was so manic it was almost baffling. One moment it was sunny, and we were happily riding through quaint small towns... (...while eating really delici...
-
Altmühltal Cycle Route
Saturday, May 29th, 2010Like every other night in recent memory, it rained heavily. This morning, our well-shaded forest free camp was very chilly and very wet. Thanks to a perfectly timed downpour last night (which caugh...
-
Fields of Green
Friday, May 28th, 2010We packed up after eating a breakfast of hearty meusli, and hit the road at the late hour of 12:30. Our string of late departure times for the last few days continues. On the road, everything felt ...
-
Leaving Dachau
Thursday, May 27th, 2010We biked away from Dachau, once again at the late hour of 2PM. Feeling saddened from all we'd seen, we took to the German bicycle path leaving the site for a quiet, grey afternoon of meditative cycl...
-
Dachau Concentration Camp
Thursday, May 27th, 2010I'm not sure what I was expecting when we decided to visit Dachau Concentration Camp. I can, however, say one thing for certain: I was in no way prepared for the enormity of the memorial. We spent ...
-
Leaving
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010It was difficult, and a little sad leaving Felix and Nadine's cozy apartment. I wonder if it will ever be easy to pick up and go again once we've settled in somewhere for a few days? Along with bei...
-
Working in Munich
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010This morning, we groggily shared a round of excellent coffee with our new friends Felix and Nadine. With a bit of caffeine to carve through the haze, Nadine departed to Däerr (an outdoors store in ...
-
Hiking in the Bavarian Alps
Monday, May 24th, 2010After drinking some of the best coffee I've had in recent memory (hand ground by Felix, brewed in a shiny silver cafetiere, and finally dolloped with foam frothed in a French press) we made our way t...
-
A Ride in Munich
Sunday, May 23rd, 2010This morning we met Felix and Nadine at the "Rathaus Glockenspiel", a famous attraction in downtown Munich. Every day at 11AM and 5PM, the clock tower in the town hall comes to life with bells, chim...
-
New Friends
Saturday, May 22nd, 2010When we got back from our resupply mission yesterday, we had an email waiting for us from Nadine, a really nice cashier at one of the outdoors stores we visited. Before we made it back to our hotel,...
-
Resupply Mission
Friday, May 21st, 2010This morning we picked up some new supplies for our upcoming trek through Siberia. It was a freeing feeling, strolling around sports and expedition shops, having easy access to all manner of supplie...
-
Vienna Vagabonds: A Train Story, Part Three
Thursday, May 20th, 201012:00 AM After trying to change our tickets to a middle-of-the-night train so we can sleep on the way, hopefully avoiding homelessness for the night, we find that the ticket office is closed. Looks ...