2015 - Southern Germany / Bavaria by Bicycle

For what it's worth here it is.  One great thing about cycle touring, you can always improve on the way you do the next one. Taking the points from the tour we did last year from Zurich to Amsterdam, here’s what we improved on, and where we still need improvement.   Navigation System .  As the success of using Google Maps on Wendy’s iPhone with a local sim last year, we both decided to get local sims and both navigate.  This was a real bonus as there were times when one could guide the other if we were ever a tad geographically embarrassed. Cycle Routes .  After riding on some really scary roads with no verge last year, all the routes this year were more carefully planned.  There was the occasional day when we were on the roads, but most of them had decent verges and we never felt threatened at all.  We also caught the train on a few occasions to overcome the lack of a decent cycle path.  Kit.  We didn’t take the water heating elemen...

Due to our 3 hour delay in Dubai, we arrived in Sydney later than scheduled.   We had planned to have at least six hours in Sydney to avoid having to rush.   However, QANTAS, in their wisdom, had altered the return leg, giving us only four hours. So, whilst we did not miss our connecting flight to Hervey Bay, we did have to hurry along to re-check the bags, board the transfer bus and get to the domestic terminal.   It ’ s not really what you need after a longer than expected flight.   We made it to the domestic terminal with enough time to have a coffee in the QANTAS Club. The flight from Sydney to Hervey Bay was uneventful, well, apart from Wendy ’ s head, which kept falling off her neck!!   We arrived in HVB on time and after collecting the luggage, we were collected by our good mate John and taken back to our wonderful home. It's always so nice to be home, regardless of how good, or bad, the trip was.   The kangaroos and birds were there to greet us ...

We boarded a little late for our flight to Sydney and then sat in the plane for over three hours while the engineers tried to resolve a "minor issue".   The captain had to shut the whole plane down twice to do that.   It is not a good thing to sit in a plane without aircon in Dubai, where it is 46deg in the shade!! Eventually the problem was fixed; well that's what they told us, and announced that we were taking off.   However, after pulling back from the gate they discovered a new problem so back to the parking bay.   Whilst the “ repairs ” didn ’ t take that long, waiting for the engineers to sign-off on the fix and then having to re-join the queue for take-off took forever.   The problem with delays on the ground on these really long flights (14 hours) is that you are cooped up in the plane even longer!! Everyone was very well behaved, even the kids, and we eventually got underway over three hours behind schedule.   The flight continued without further ...

16-22 deg C, cloudy but fine.   Our last day in Frankfurt started with a leisurely brekkie in the hotel. We had all day to sort and pack. Greg decided to walk to the Palm Garden and then take a look through the Botanic Garden. Wendy opted for a walk along the river and chilling out at the hotel.   The gardens were excellent, especially the climate controlled tropical glass houses, some dating back to 1869. The Palm House is the largest building of its kind in the world.   On the way back to the hotel Greg happened upon a media scrum around the Euro symbol statue, an iconic sight in Frankfurt. It had become shabby over the years and it was being dismantled for renovation.   This happened to be done when the whole Greek crisis is putting pressure on the Euro's survival. So the media are very into its dismantling as it may be a "sign" that the Euro and the Euro statue are on the way out.   Sadly it was finally time to pack up and go to the airport. The suppose...

Estimated km: 0; Actual km: 0; Total km for tour 1,574km   7-25 deg cloudy and cooler.   As we are back at the Holiday Inn where we started, we had a nice hearty brekkie in-house. Bus-loads of Chinese and Indian tourists were still here.   It's nice to see that they now are the new "middle class" and have the resources to travel and see the world.   That way they can share the joys of their success.    Today we cleaned the bikes (for our very fussy Customs & Quarantine people) and put them back in their boxes for the trip home.   It's much easier if you can use the same boxes and packing they came in instead of trying to find new ones at the departure point.   This is the reason we try and fly in and out of the same airport.   We retrieved our boxes from the hotel staff and 35 minutes later we had disassembled the two cleaned bikes (remove pedals, handle-bars, front wheel & seat) and had them packed up and sealed.    T...

Estimated km: 40; Actual km: 45; Total km: 1574; Ride time: 3h04m; Av speed: 14.7 kph   21-33deg, fine and pleasant.   Our last day on the bikes for this tour, where has the time gone?   As Maccas was across the street from the hotel, some (who shall remain nameless) had to wait until they opened to have brekky.   Maccas opens very late (8am) here compared to Oz. They actually serve a nice bacon and eggs breakfast in Germany so it's not too bad for you. Greg had brekkie in the room.   We rode away at 9am and headed back to the city centre of Mainz for a look around.   As it was a short-ride day there was no hurry to make tracks. Market Square, the main square in Mainz, by this time was bustling with fresh food stalls, shoppers and cyclists.   What a lovely way to buy your weekly food supplies.   Market Square is right next to the Mainz Cathedral, yet another massive old church from the 11th century.   About this time in history the Bi...