People keep asking us what our favorite part of our recent cycling trip to Central Europe was. It’s a tough question to answer, since we both enjoyed the trip quite a bit, and each day brought different experiences. But I thought I’d gather a few thoughts on the high and low points of the trip. …
Damage Report
All in all, the bikes arrived relatively unscathed. However, there were some minor issues discovered when unpacking. Luckily, it is easy to deal with these things from the comfort of our own home. On the scale of things, these are pretty small issues. We’ll have the bikes up and running again in no time. Jennifer’s …
Back Home
The train ride to Frankfurt was relatively uneventful. We arrived just after 4AM, and after some coffee and pastries we had a smooth ride in the dark to our hotel. Luckily they let us check in very early, at about 6AM. Jennifer had her bike packed very soon, so we went out to look for …
Thoughts on Equipment
At this point in our trip (i.e. the end), I think we’ve been touring long enough to form definite opinions on the bicycle/tricycle/trailer equipment we are using. There are certainly pros and cons to each of our setups. Here are some thoughts: Description of our Setups I have been riding a Bike Friday Sat-R-Day recumbent …
Berlin: Lessons in Recent History
After arriving in Leipzig, we counted up the number of days we had left before our flight home, the number of days it would take to bicycle to our next destination, and the couple of days we needed to get to Frankfurt, pack up our bikes, and catch the flight home. The conclusion: more long-distance …
Racks and Signs
I’ve posted two picture galleries, one showing all the Bike Racks I photographed in Europe, and another of the various Signs we saw. Perhaps not very useful, but I enjoyed collecting them, and perhaps someone will enjoy looking at them. To find them, follow the links at the top of the blog page, or click …
Off river, in Leipzig
It took us two and a half days to reach Leipzig from Dresden. The first day was spent riding down pleasant paths along the Elbe river. We stopped midday in the town of Meißen, which was dominated by a large medieval fortress called Albrechtsburg. There we were able to stock up on some important supplies, …
Jakobsweg
Several times during our trip, we saw directional signs pointing out “Jakobsweg” (Jacob’s Way), with a distinctive starburst on the signs. We saw some in the first few days of the trip in Switzerland, and then later on when were were in Germany on the Danube. I was curious about who this Jacob was and …
Two National Parks and One City
When we were planning this trip, one of the reasons I wanted to try ride the Elbe River route was because where the river crosses the Czech-German border, both countries have national parks — Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic, and Saxon Switzerland in Germany. They sounded like pretty nice places (descriptions such as “the …
Czech national cycle route number 2
We set out from Prague on a rather cold and gray afternoon. After climbing a steep hill we were rewarded with some nice views of Prague and the Moldau river. Heading through the suburbs, we passed some pleasant parks and some nice paths, and finally got back down to river level. We hit a brief …