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Europe 2025

April - July 2025
  • Peter George
  • Joanne George
Current
An open-ended adventure by Peter & Joanne Read more
  • Peter George
  • Joanne George
Currently traveling

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  • Italy Italy
  • Hungary Hungary
  • Slovakia Slovakia
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  • Germany Germany
  • Netherlands Netherlands
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  • 25.4kkilometers traveled
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  • Europe 2025
    4Another sculpture. Pretty cool how it supports itself though.
    1Arnhem visit with expats from aussie / Netherlands. Fantastic weekend with locals.Kroller Muller Hunting lodge, Arnhem2Weather forcast for Dubai today. Walking tour? 💯Dubai Old townTraditional Dhow's at Dubai old town2Food tour Dubai. Awesome Cold mint Lemon lime smoothie.2Title says it all. Spice Tea and Perfume shop. We bought T!A bit of work to do here Dubai.Quirky café with car parts for seating and tables at Dubai MallFood tour in Dubai....coated in dark honey, donuts of a sort.1In house entertainment while waiting for a seat.3Twin Towers, Dubai

    Homeward bound.

    June 21 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    A last weekend in Arnhem east of Amsterdam was a lovely way to finish our Europe escapade. We were guests of friends of friends, and they treated us like royalty. Had a great international hui as they winter in Aussie and return to Netherlands for Summer.
    With a couple of young porters, we got our boxed bikes and bags to the airport, down 3 flights of stairs, a tram and a train, and about a km of hike a bike/bag. We checked in a wee bit warm for our flight to Dubai.
    I must say Dubai has been quite interesting, and while the organization wasn't great, an afternoon on a food tour was quite cool. ( irony; check pictures). Pretty good way to get a mix of info and culture.
    Back to the hotel for a swim and across the road to the Dubai Mall. Lighting display on the Burj Khalifa was impressive but will leave going up there for another day. Views would have been spoilt by smog, I reckon.
    That ends the trip as we head back home tomorrow.
    Thanks for following, and I hope you enjoyed the rant! (At least you don't get asked for a review here)
    برج خليفة    Read more

  • Europe 2025
    1Canal garden tour. Planning the next food stop.
    The courtyard behind a canal house.Main drag, AmsterdamCruising . Complimentary nibbles, and a great evening.2The kissing couple plus 2, Amsterdam2Taking street art to a new level.House boats, and a wee bit of canal.1The view of life stylers in Zaanse Schans1Zaanse Schans5Zaanse Schans, a day ride from Nathan and Dana'sZaanse Schans2Furniture moving day. If you have an accommodating window. Nat doesn't.7Off to work at a relatively quiet intersection

    Amsterdam #2.

    June 14 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    We've been wandering the streets of Amsterdam this last week.
    Treated to a self guided canal cruise on an electric boat on another sunny evening, which was very calming. We won't mention hitting a pier...
    A canal house garden tour was interesting for as much as seeing the house's ( often needed to go through them to courtyard behind) as the gardens themselves.
    Joanne was guided through the red light district by Dana, but Monday nights apparently a quite night. We saw more action a couple of streets from home. (I was entertained by Nathan getting a squash lesson.)
    A days ride into the "country" to Zaanse Schans was very pretty passing the kissing couple, two ferry rides, and some peaceful glade and wetland riding.
    A visit to Anna Franks house last night to tick off a bucket list item. Interestingly, her dad was transported from Odessa to Marseille in the Monowai (NZ navy) after release from Auschwitz.    Read more

  • Europe 2025
    1A water wheel powered crane from the good Ole days retired in Bonn.
    Beethoven was born and lived here for 22 years.Posties have some interesting vehicles.1Remaining part of city wall and a mean looking gate.The mounted Police. Busy stopping people biking through malls. (We didn't in case you're wondering)The Rhine and a view of Kennedy bridge shown laterFrom Kennedy bridge looking back and Bonn.Kennedy bridge, 6 car lanes 2x train and 2x pedestrian. Come on, Auckland.1Freizeitpark BonnJapanese garden in Freizeit park2Rabenlay Skywalk view north of Bonn2Waste not want not....at last someone utilizing some of the reserves. So much long grass left.5Would love a play with this remote controlled mower mulcher. Once a farmer!

    Bonn- (voyage)

    June 11 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We departed Zurich at 9 am( by bus), and a 1 hour stopover at Stuttgart airport turned into 2 1/2 hrs. Consequently, we arrived in Bonn around 9.15pm. A quick reload of bags onto bikes scoffing a pizza and a ride in rapidly darkening sky's to our apartment. It had to be the other end of town, of course. A 30-minute ride, some light rain (and a decision to not stop and put lights on), saw us safely there, albeit a bit damp.
    Bonn was the German capital until the 90s. Quite a pleasant city with the Rhine entertaining us with a lot of shipping. The Danube was very quiet. Barely any freight while the Rhine had a barge or tourist ship every 5 mins.
    A bit of haze spoilt any chance of great photos from the skywalk ( a 30km bike) but I hope Joanne thought it was worth it!(??) A beautiful ride riverside and up through forest. Lucky I got the loop direction right as the descent was quite steep.
    Onward to Amsterdam today...last bus trip (7 hours). Woohoo!    Read more

  • Europe 2025
    Apologies Italy. A mornings work getting to the top of the hill.
    Trying Grappa in Bassano Del Grappa1Bassano del Grappa1Treviso, locally referred to as "little Venice " arguably nicer as not crowded and cleaner.Treviso home of Italians, trout and an Italian version of a BeaverInteresting sculptures, and no,I didn't take the photo. The buxom boobs delivers wine occasionally!A boat graveyard near Mestre. Home to turtles as a bonus.Boat yard with bonus bikers!1Venice. Had to take some photos.A Venice food tour was a different and great experience for us.Venice fancy dress. Very tourist focusedZurich turned on a beautiful day.Zurich lakeQueues for a restaurant, or a mortgage broker if you're paying for the food.More from Zurich

    Mestre, Venice and Zurich

    June 4 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    We finished our bike ride in Mestre near Venice and in near 30-degree temperatures. It was a great week, and very lucky the weather held up for us.
    A day in Treviso was probably time better spent than Venice due to being less touristy and lovely clean canals stocked with trout.
    The ride between Treviso and Mestre through shady glades with Swans, turtles(?) and some single track was a great finale to the week.
    A day in Venice doing a food tour was a new experience for Joanne and I and something we'd do again. Black Cuttlefish and deep fried sardines are quite memorable.
    We're now heading towards Amsterdam to complete a loop, and so we're stopping over in Zurich for a couple of days.    Read more

  • Europe 2025
    The Dolomites, a couple of days of stunning clear mornings. So lucky.
    The clouds are starting to build and suddenly we have 4 weather forecasts?Pristine downhill following an old railway incline.1And where there's rail, there's tunnels. No need for headlights in any of them, though.Nathan cruising.Joanne in pursuit mode.This time a pending winter Olympics venue, CortinaDescending and departing the Dolomites.Snow ploughs parked up.5Starting to cloud up a bit...we're still debating the forcast. Typically 50 to 60km days1A nice spot3Some impressive infrastructure and a steady sprinkling of villages to admire.Beautiful shady paths on a 23 degree day. The heat before the rain.Smoko break. Cool drink time.We think this is nifty; extendable hay shed roof. But wait, there's more! ( room that is)Followed this river all day after a massive tour de France style hairpin descent.Darn, that water was tempting. Have to settle for more Gelato. 🥱Arrival in Bassano del Grappa.3King Kong Rhino sculpture was a stand out.2The famous Bassano del Grappa bridge. Every city has one apparently.

    Dolomites to Bassano del Grappa

    June 1 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We've now left the stunning high country behind us and (mostly) a steady descent through winding switchbacks and hidden bike paths to Bassano del Grappa en route to Venice, our end point.
    We've been very lucky with the weather and while it's not sparkling anymore we haven't had any serious rain. Heat and thunder showers have been mostly avoided.
    Hills have been more frequent than advertised ( sounds familiar? ) but an ebike rotation policy has been a solution. Great gradients, but always the occasional surprise.
    Nathan and Dana have adequate language skills for us to enjoy some foods we would never normally order. Evenings are, therefore, an interesting and slightly concerning experience . Successful so far, but cautious approval is required!    Read more

  • Europe 2025
    1Packed and leaving friedrichshafen .
    Innsbruck old Town on a stunning, warm day.5I see these guys were using a template to lay Cobbles. New boys on the block?Innsbruck from the ski jumpMore of innesbuck5The view from a Skier's perspective2Every bit as steep as it looks. 28000seating capacityFor context. Sky jump left side picture. Winter Olympics 1964, 1976.Watching Silage being made from the bedroom window, Villabassa (Italy)An extracurricular activity. Heading uphill to Lake Braies5Lake Braies....worth the 1hr 20 bike hill climb to get here.2The crew. Still arguing over who should take the photo and whose is best.This gal is happy to pose....what a background, eh? Photo credits, Joanne.2This is us after the hill climb....ruined.6Panoramic (photo cred Nat)

    Innsbruck and villabassa

    May 29 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    A final pack up, and we've left Lake Constance, which was beautiful, by the way. Highly recommended.
    The plan was to meet Nathan and Dana in Innsbruck for the weekend. They were delayed, but we still loved the short time here in a winter Olympics village with awesome, warm days and scenery.
    Independently (due to bike transport issues), we've made our way to Villabassa, having moved sth east from Austria to Italy.
    Welcomed by jaw-dropping scenery, we're looking forward to a week's riding into Venice.
    Lake Braies was on the recommendation of our shuttle driver, and despite some unsavory looks from the crew heading up a big climb, it was time well spent.    Read more

  • Europe 2025
    Konstanz in the evening
    Morning Coffee; a car ferry crossing the lake.Queuing for a different ferry. Bikes and passengers only. It would be crazy busy in summer.1This wasn't our order, damn it.1Joanne's got me lined up for an upgrade.7Jo reckons the Mrs must have kicked him out?No Sun at the moment. Reconstructed Archeological Pole houses.4Mandatory Gelato....still working through the flavors. We may run out of time.Meersburg Castle and village, evening stroll....6km later.MeersburgLake Constance at Sundown. Spot the Zeppelin.4That's all real....picture perfect.I'm actually getting used to this. First sip is a shocker though.Zeppelin to scale. The area at bottom thats cut out is the passengers space. Blow up in 2nd frame.Today's version from Zeppelin. Tours daily, and this one lands back at base.Zeppelin turned to cars eventually. The co. Was gifted to the town. Flights $900/30 mins. Yeah nah.1Blimmen Muldoons sculpture over here. Who would have thought?1Blimmen Oath. I need a holiday from booking crap for our holiday.

    Konstanz Friedrichshafen

    May 26 in Germany

    That finishes our partial circumnavigation of Lake Konstanz, 160km for us this trip, but maybe we'll come back one day. It's packed with scenery and probably tourists when summer gets here. There's plenty of capacity as there's a lot of empty restaurant tables this week. Unfortunately, we only grabbed occasional sun ( and a bit of rain), but it's still a beautiful spot. Meersburg and Uberlinger on the east coast are small but stunning little places.
    Bike paths are busy on this side of the lake with EU tourists all seemingly in a hurry. I don't know why?
    Heading to Innsbruck (Austria) tomorrow to rendezvous with Nathan and Dana.    Read more

  • Europe 2025
    Mid ride on a bridge in the rain, between Bregenz and Konstanz
    Blasted Flixbus all have different racks. This Thule required handlebars being revolved.A quick look at some Buffalo products. Second farm we've ridden past.1Sunday excursion. I suspect it wasn't going anywhere though as there was no track in front of it.Some good sculptures enroute to Konstanz.More sculptures 🤭Mainau Island. The biggest tourist thing in Konstanz.4Another beautiful glade enroute to Mainau Island. Not very warm.6No, do not try this at home.5From the bottom...looking up.And looking back down.3

    Konstanz

    May 25 in Austria ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    A long day on the bus to get to Lake Constance, which borders Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Passed back through rolling bushclad Austrian hillsides and into what surely must be some of the most productive country in the world near Munich. Beautiful Barley, Wheat, and horticultural crops, including fields of flowering poppies.
    We literally entered all three countries in a 75km ride, getting caught out by currency conversion as we didn't realise we were in Switzerland.
    Unfortunately, the weather has broken after 3 fine (cold) weeks it's now wet and cold. Worse to come, so I better harden up.
    It's very scenic riding, though, and we think superior to the Danube. Lots of interesting villages, countryside, and sights along what is part of a 5000km route, Amsterdam to Russia. ( another trip?)
    We visited Mainau Island today, which was pretty cool ( and wet so sheltered in the church during the worst of it, again).
    A ferry crossing tomorrow to move to the eastern side of the lake.    Read more

  • Europe 2025
    Volksgarten Vienna
    The Local Sweet specialty. Quality control in action.(€9) Described on next photo.Almost as good as NZ chocolate cake. We need to market Pav's better.The home of Mozart (statue) and Hitler (5yrs) when he was a wannabe artist.Last remaining Jewish synagogue in Vienna of 40. Protected by police after deaths by terrorist 2021.Clever artwork on the way to a museumA great 110 year old clock, moving figures etc.A trade show ( basically) showcasing regional tourism.Schönbrunn PalaceNeptune fountain Schönbrunn PalaceNeptune again1Obelisk Fountain Schönbrunn PalaceSchönbrunn Palace3We need the mk2 version of this with adjustable legs for pruning at homeThese ebikes pretty popular in Europe ( some in NZ)They come in 101 different models with one careful lady owner.Tricky with trams sharing the road. Occasionally, we need to ride between tram line and raised curb.

    Vienna, take two;

    May 21 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We have spent 4 days in Vienna, backtracking a bit, and we're still discovering parts of the city that are jaw-dropping if you're into architecture.
    Every new street seems to have another glamourous palace, cathedral, statue, or something to catch your eye. We haven't even tried to take photos of them and I've never been to a city with so many museums.
    Just as well, we don't bother with them either (unless it's wet) as how would you choose?
    We did do a self guided walking tour and a Jewish trace's and Hitlers Vienna guided tour and found them interesting.
    We've noticed a Police presence around (e.g. Jewish) buildings and this is because of terrorist attacks. Most recently, in 2021. I dont think Cindy is going to make any difference with her efforts as the Jews continue to be harassed and that's been going on forever.
    We've passed on going to the Opera even though it's Viennas thing. Many churches doubling as theatres, which is actually a great idea. There's multitudes of them.
    Footnote; Mauthausen Camp we visited recently. There's a film on Netflix " The photographer of Mauthausen " Depicts exactly the History. A good (?) watch.    Read more

  • Europe 2025
    5Hungary Parliament buildings. Extensive. Got growled at for riding our bikes through. Oops.
    2Parliament at night.5Szalonna; Fatback made of smoked pork fat with the rindLocal market cheese. Always looks great but they don't have tasting platters!Not Our favorite bridges having to ride across this with tourists everywhere, no bike lane,2m wide.Budapest parliament across the river from Castle Hill3sculpture. Symbolic as 60 jews / time were stripped and pushed into freezing river.4Local treat, Chimney Cake. $15 for our ice cream model.4Peonies have looked great. An example outside a typical Slovakia village house.Fisherman's Bastion. All the best views of BudapestThe Church on Castle Hill. Many many amazing buildings in Budapest.And at night.Budapest by night.This group were attending a rock concert, with a Police escort. Second big group we've encountered.4

    Budapest.

    May 17 in Hungary ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    That's 620km of Danube riding ticked off, and I can count the hills (rises, really) on one hand.
    Finishing this leg in Budapest with an astonishing number of beautiful buildings to admire.
    I'm starting to miss my steak. Only pork and chicken are available in supermarkets here. A Bistro owner loved NZ lamb but could only get it very occasionally.
    According to butchers here “a man under 100 kilos is just a Christmas tree ornament.”
    Apparently, a foot and mouth outbreak near the Slovakia/Hungary border has shut down exports to the UK.
    Bakeries and sweet treats are in abundance, but cafes are limited to big city tourist areas.
    It's very hard to shop as seldom do they have display windows. A shop door could have anything behind it. Not even a lot of signage, not that would be much help to us. I did manage to buy a new tube today after getting a puncture within 50m of catching a ferry. We had it changed before the ferry crossed the river to pick us up, so perfect timing.    Read more

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