John Bickerstaff

John Bickerstaff

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Croatia Autumn 2024 John Bickerstaff
Another dose of Cavtat cherry goodness
2024年10月8日, クロアチア ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Autumn in this neck of the woods is subtle & easily missed. 7am looking out over the valley & the gentle coating of mist & the slight chill suggested it wasn't far off. Pre-breakie swim was off the agenda but things did warm up once the sun was out from behind the mountains. A couple of breakfasts, some lazing by the pool & a little planning. Decided to explore Cavtat - the local town & the villa guestbook suggested that there might be free parking somewhere rather than the main option which was somewhat expensive. The owners shed some light & post swim we were good to go. Luckily enough there was a spot left & just the small matter of a 15 min walk downhill. Lots of quiet walks around the various headlands protecting the sheltered harbour. Opted to nosey at the luxury yacht first & then take in the headland with the most 'beach' areas. The term beach is used loosely - mainly concreted sunbathing areas with access to the sea. Little evidence of sand. Still most of these areas were nice enough, plenty of shade as well. Ambled round, enjoying the sun & lack of hustle & bustle - all very quiet though there were quite a few British accents. Eventually settled at the most beach like offering and managed a swim. Bizarrely the sea was significantly warmer than the pool. Back to Cavtat for some lunch - sarnies & the most amazing cherry studel. My last meal in Cavtat was a breakfast of some superb cherries - seems apt. Found a bench looking out over the harbour & proceeded to be eyeballed by some very brave sparrows, not that they had any success. Headed round the southern headland dominated by the monolithic soviet era hotel (probably) Signs warned that food was not to be consumed & that sun loungers could not be reserved with towels or other personal items. That said the path became quiet & rugged. You could almost forget the hotel was there. Still, the circular route went through the grounds so it would be rude not to have a nosey. There was a finance and accounting conference on - don't think we fit in. Looked a nice enough place but the seaward side was definitely of the concrete monstrosity variety. Back to the car & back up the mountain to mess around in the pool & the evening sun.もっと詳しく
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Croatia Autumn 2024 John Bickerstaff
Exploring the 'Bat Tunnel'
2024年10月7日, クロアチア ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
Thankful for the bits and pieces supplied by the owners - breakfast sorted but a supermarket stock up was the priority and a groggy Liz wasn't for being hurried. There are worse places to laze and admire the view. Dipped toe in the pool & was a bit chilly for a morning dip. Hang fire till things are warmer... Drive to the shops was fairly busy but thankfully it was the opposite direction - lots of coaches suggest that while it is very quiet at the villa there are still plenty of tourists. The car park at Lidl backed that up. Sorted for supplies back to eat & mess around in the pool. Getting in was a bit of a battle. Once in though there was the added bonus of inflatable assistance. Liz looked on in bemusement. Lounged in the sun for a while but boredom thresholds differed. Opted to see if the 'Ciro cycle route' that beat me twice on my Croatian cycle could be found. Apparently it ran a little north of the villa. Unfortunately no bike to explore it with but at least then there won't be numerous punctures or disastrous wheel buckling caused by aggressive dogs. Steep hike up & 2 options the high road or the low. Apparently one of the tunnels along the route has become something of a bat habitat - a bat tunnel (not cave) Went for the low - no tunnels but great views out over the Konvale Valley. Trail was quite overgrown - wouldn't have been great on my bike - definitely mountain bike territory. Back to the high route & the tunnels were located. The second looked more promising - 250m of darkness, dripping and puddles but not a hint of bats. Scanned further with torch still nothing but found a piece of artwork - hidden half way in the darkness. How many people would miss that? Back for tea & sunset.もっと詳しく
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Croatia Autumn 2024 John Bickerstaff
Manchester airport shocker...
2024年10月6日, クロアチア ⋅ 🌙 13 °C
A late afternoon flight (5:15) afforded a relaxed journey to the dark side. That all evaporated at the car park - drop off / pick up lumped in with those wanting to park produced nasty queuing. Entrance had 4 lanes in that merged into 1. Terrible planning. Chunnered for a while. Hit the terminal to find all seemed quiet - worried about tempting providence before tackling security but literally no queue. Straight to the scan & didn't need to empty bags. Could it be that there would be a passable Mancunian experience. Once through - comfy chairs and no screaming kids - is this the fabled out of school holiday travel? Bizarrely seat allocation had been either side of the aisle. Hopeful that a quiet airport would suggest a quiet plane & so it transpired - cheery greetings either side of the air bridge & the promise of emergency exit seats that they charge £30 for - half full & no-one allocated to the seats. Can't think why. Extra leg room for free. Watched the sun set over Holland & onwards to a late arrival in Croatia. Apparently the keys to the villa would be in the door - sounds like a trusting little village. As it happened the arrival was early & with a half full plane the queue at customs, though the biggest all day was fairly insignificant. No bags to claim & everyone else seemed to be on a package with bags and a transfer - no queue at the car hire. Little Corsa & very dark & steep 20 min drive to the cottage. That said the directions given were spot on. Parked & the owner appeared as if by magic. Cottage all good - apparently the pool is a bit cold - we'll see...もっと詳しく
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Le Tour July 2024
Illegal apple strudel
2024年7月22日, ドイツ ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
A 6.50 flight is always going to be challenging but having an 8 hour layover probably doesn't help. Such is having a flight re-arranged. Thankfully a taxi wasn't necessary - the first tram got in at 5.15 which while not the usual 2 hours was pretty close and the airport itself wasn't too busy so a couple of Euros was better than a taxi fare. All nice and smooth - boarded just as the sun was rising over the hilly backdrop of Nice. Aisle seat helped with my ankle - not sure trecking around Frankfurt was going to be the smartest move but hey what else can you do with 8 hours to burn. Pilot caused concern with his weather update - rain in Frankfurt & a wintry 17° Made it to Frankfurt airport by 8ish - no rain. Lies. Locate station and grab some breakfast was the priority. Google rather concerningly was stating that the walk to the station was 35 mins - mad considering the train into the city itself was 12 mins. More lies - 15 tops - but then Google is American. Tickets sorted, breakfast scoffed. Off to Frankfurt. Just need to find the correct platform - first try suggested the next train to the city was in an hour - surely not. Went back up and located the sign directing to trains to Frankfurt. Duh. Limited wait and a quick transfer into town. A couple of options stood out from the tourist suggestions the internet had produced - couple of towers to go up - Main Tower and the cathedral. In all likelihood the cathedral probably wouldn't have a lift so was rejected. Main Tower's lift covered the 54 floors at 18kph no less. Great views of the skyscraper frenzy that is Frankfurt. Considered the hop-on hop-off (ho ho) bus to avoid too much walking but a combination of price and time kicked it into touch. Short walk to the old town and the market square and then down to the river. Walked across the Old Iron Bridge & spotted the river cruise quay. There was a 50 min option that offered a different perspective and avoided walking too much. Went to get some drinks and cakes first and made sure we avoided the loud teenagers when on board. Didn't strike me as their thing & the way they conducted themselves suggested they'd been steamrollered into it. Glided along the Main, eating our cakes and listening to the delayed English commentary. It was only on our way off board that we saw the sign stating that no food was to be consumed on board. Ho- hum. Walked back along the river to the station via a very eclectic part of town - all manner of different restaurants and shops. Train & back into the clutches of air travel. Wouldn't let us go though the EU passport aisle - "it's the rules" If so why were we allowed to do that just 6 days ago. Sod Brexit and all its shittiness. Once through discovered that most of the restaurants were located in the rest of the terminals which were open to all but because we were through passport control we couldn't get to. Overpriced sarnie it is then.もっと詳しく
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Le Tour July 2024
Contre la montre
2024年7月21日, フランス ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
The big day - the final day and the race of truth against the clock. Unfortunately there wasn't as much riding on it as the organisers would've hoped. Unfortunately also the blisters on my ankle weren't subsiding as I hoped. Putting any footwear on risked bursting and infection so a quick trip downstairs to reception to ask for help - fortunately she spoke great English and located a dressing, tape and some dodgy scissors. Also told us where to find an open pharmacy - Sunday meant most were closed. Couple of tram trips and thankfully minimal walking. Bandaged ankle badly and hobbled to the tram. All pretty easy except managed to miss the escalator up. Pharmacist spoke English & Google helped as well. Got some jumbo blister plasters which he assured would do the job. Just get me through the time trial will do for me. Managed to get back to the tram in time for the return to still be part of the outward price so that cheered me up. Got plastered up & by now breakfast had pretty much passed so early lunch it was - sarnies on the prom, drops of rain & angry seagulls into the bargain. Plenty of cyclists heading into town. Decided against the Promenade de Anglais - whilst you'd get 2 views of each cyclist, guessed that it would be hideously busy. Instead, got the tram to the port and walked out of town along the route until we found space & there was plenty of specs. Also meant that it should be easier to get the tram back - didn't want to be walking back - that's what caused this blistery mess in the first place. Saw Cav & his final stage & it turns out that I was at his first stage as well - the London prologue in 2007. Nice. Suspect he didn't do much better in that. The good thing about where we were was that we could wander about and get different views. Saw some of them haring downhill, some coming into a dicey bend (Danish corner) There was a raised side street which offered an aerial view of the race and someone's celebration BBQ. He offered - but we declined - the 20m drop and the heavy handed police meant crossing was impossible. All communicated with gestures. Wandered back down to our preferred spec opposite Danish corner. The cyclists slowed down for the bend and it was quite lively as well, also had some Slovenians. Managed to keep upto date with what was going on through the app and watched a little bit of the ITV coverage - a world away from the last time trial - a piece of paper with the running order and hoping to find a big screen to get some vague idea of the winner. Knew the stage winner before we got on the tram. Back to the hotel to see the presentations and to find out Liz had won the fantasy cycle game by 4 points. Quick dash out for tea and pack for a very early start.もっと詳しく
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Liz BickerstaffChampion 🏆💪🚲
2024/07/23返信する
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Le Tour July 2024
L'arrivee finale
2024年7月21日, フランス ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
A unique situation requires a unique response & such was Nice's responsibility - organise a Tour finale outside of Paris. The first of 2 stages had passed off smoothly. Now to the party. Not being party people, the fireworks would have to suffice. Unfortunately they were the final flourish way past bedtime. Decided to play it safe for tea - find the highest rated Thai restaurant nearish to the beach. Took in a wander round the harbour, with all the ridiculously expensive yachts. The Thai was in the rabbit warren that is the old town. The waiter was taken with my Feyenord top - found out as a fake when asked who my favourite player was. Oops. Very nice food. Wandered down to the beach & realised things were busy & loud. Couple of photos and scarper to find somewhere to sit & wait in relative peace. The DJs eventually finished & the main event - a combination of drones & fireworks. Initially thought they were using the drones to skimp on the fireworks, but nothing could be further from the truth. The drone animations were stunning and the fireworks spectacular. Only catch was getting back - the trams would either be a sweaty sardine can or have finished so a walk back it was. Got back to discover the bites on my ankle had been rubbing on my trainers throughout the night & had blistered spectacularly or rather disgustingly. Opted to wash them & hope they eased by morning.もっと詳しく
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Le Tour July 2024
3rd time lucky
2024年7月20日, フランス ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Just the small matter of getting the car back safely, getting to the hotel, hopefully dropping off the bags & then catching the penultimate stage of the tour and all likely to be in mid 30°s
Local roads - no tolls but slower. Left plenty of time which was a good job. Found the car hire easy enough but had to fill up within 5km. Had one in mind but it meant crossing the tram line. Uncertain where & ended up going the wrong way up a 1 way. Swift turn around and around the block except it was the most tortuous route taking in the car hire as well. Eventually filled up & headed back. Couldn't figure out how to get into the car park. Liz scooted in to check. We'd gone past, so had to go round the tortuous block again. Made it & dumped the car no probs. Tram to town from where we were (classed as the airport) was €10 but if we walked 5 mins to the Phoenix Park stop it became €1.70 - no brainer. Nice Aircon to the hotel & the hotel didn't bat an eye to us dumping the bags. Breakie and off to the tour. Pastries on the Promenade de Anglais and even at this early(ish) the temperature was hot stuff. Once at the road closures decided to head onto the road for some shade. Had a couple of blocks and was then told off by a jobs worth gendarme. Don't argue with them. Later saw one literally drag a guy over the hoarding off the road. Headed back a block for a shadier walk into town. Took in the fan park - very busy & very hot. Weren't giving away stuff - had to do competitions or stuff. Tried to get a fan but got pasta. Strange that the only bike manufacturer there was Brompton. Took in the Caravan for a third time and settled down in a shady spot to await the cyclists. Turned out we weren't on the route so a quick rethink scoot & re settle in a shadyish spot. Again very busy. Hate to think what it'll be like tomorrow. Chatted to an Elderly English couple that had flown in just before all the computer chaos - lucky. The cycling wasn't chaos. Glided by as if 35° was nothing at all.もっと詳しく
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Le Tour July 2024
First swim.
2024年7月19日, フランス ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
The small matter of getting to Nice or more accurately a distant (but cheaper) suburb of Nice. Either way a 4 hour drive with under half a tank of petrol and no idea how to adjust the display to show range. Worry about that when the light comes on. Was followed out of town by the Movistar bus - the first of many tour vehicles we stalked. The lunchtime stop at the services had too many tour / team employees to mention. The table behind us were watching it live but in Dutch / German. Couldn't get to the petrol station as it was blocked off for some strange reason so pushed on hoping the light wouldn't come on or at least Liz wouldn't see it come on. By my calculations we were 6 miles short but that didn't help when the light did appear. Thankfully avoided service prices but the price plumped for invariably was 10¢ more than the one just round the corner(ish) . Was now being followed by the Norwegian team bus. Unsurprisingly they weren't staying where we were. Checked in and delighted in the Aircon. Not so sure about the showers. Took a walk to the beach for a swim - at long last. There was sand which is an improvement on Nice & the water looked clean which was better than the lake. Stopped at the Marina for tea - which took a while - French don't do fast food.もっと詳しく
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Le Tour July 2024
Remco's piss.
2024年7月19日, フランス ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
Another day, another stage - an absolute beast so the tour briefing goes. Starts at a tranquil lakeside retreat & ascends to hell and back, again according to the briefing. Cav'll be really looking forward to this. The ideal would be to head up into the mountains but pragmatism suggested otherwise - a 4 hour drive to Nice would've turned into 8 or more being stuck up a mountain behind 10 tonnes of tour traffic - a tour jam if you will. Decided to head to the lakeside start point which Google was saying was just 30 mins drive. Pleasant enough drive along the lake & dumped the car at the out of town supermarket. Toilets out of order there & McDonald's was closed. Good start. Followed the masses across the bridge & a friendly guy with a tour lanyard told us where the caravan of crap would be & where the start was. Onwards to battle with kids for fun size packs of snacks, hats and other assorted junk. It was at this point that an oversized strawberry shaped car approached that it dawned that glasses had been left in the car. Going well. Admired the tackiness and banked snacks, hats & suchlike - no weird beer though. Ambled back to the start - far less spacious than Gap & yet somehow managed to find ourselves at the team presentation. Cheered on Cav. Less enthusiastic about Jasper Philipson. Went back to the car for glasses & cold drinks / facilities. Back on site for the roll out up hill. Pog looked suitably relaxed. Cue everyone descending down to the retail park - even the team buses were queuing - this wasn't a good situation. Some poor guy was draining the shit & piss out of them before they left & as he unclipped there was spillage. Having to jump across Remco's piss wasn't on my Tour to do list.もっと詳しく
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Le Tour July 2024
Double dose.
2024年7月18日, フランス ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
The absence of Aircon provided heat control issues particularly when most of the time was being spent outside in mid 30° heat. McDonalds and a river side walk through a park helped but an extended drive was called for. Decided to try to take in the race as it drew to a close - 80km to go. Google seemed to be saying traffic was ok so it was merely a case of finding somewhere to dump the car & somewhere shady to have lunch. Stopped off in Lidl for supplies and the journey was as easy as suggested. Found a car park & sat on the kerb in the shade. The gendarmería came round suggesting we move back a little. How close can the cars come & they can't be going that fast. Turns out wrong on both counts. Retired to an alternative shady spot. One of us darted around between spots. One stayed put cheering on Cav. Second dose of Tour mayhem done decided to take in a local chateau oh and a little more Aircon. Got there to find it was being renovated. Still a nice walk up and some good views of the surroundings.もっと詳しく
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Le Tour July 2024
Roll out.
2024年7月18日, フランス ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
A new Tour de France experience - the start. Post Lidl breakie, a gentle walk into town to catch the tackiness that is the caravan parade. Found a shady spot & proceeded to chase tat. Mere amateurs by comparison to the locals & as for the class of infants brought down to watch - they swarmed out snaffling anything going. Managed some hats, snacks, cold drinks, a bottle opener and some detergent. Eclectic. Followed the masses & assumed they were heading out to the 'Tour Village' Rested at a shady spot & discovered the lemon & lime drinks were in fact lemon and lime flavoured non-alcoholic beer. Hmmm. It was cold though. The volume of people involved in the tour came into sharp focus on entering the village - town more like. Vast numbers of support vehicles, police, mechanics, tour officials. Tried to get into to see the presentations but only for VIPs. Watched the comings & goings for a while. No sign of Cav or Jonas. Headed off without Liz, phoned but no answer could be an interesting afternoon. Apparently she'd got stuck at a crossing when tour cars were going past. Found our shady spot for the roll out & watched as they 'lazily ambled' by. Just the small matter of 100+ miles in the Alps to go.もっと詳しく
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Le Tour July 2024
Monkey on a bike.
2024年7月17日, フランス ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
The tour starts here, well it doesn't figuratively or in practice but at some point they will fly past and be gone in seconds. The small matter of getting the hire car then driving from Nice to Gap - 150 miles. Easy to underestimate how big France is. Due to pick up the car at 10 at a nearby hotel. 5 minutes walk but already it was sweltering. Manager was a friendly guy (though I'm sure that's part of the job description) from Martinique who had lived for 20 years in Montreal. Got a little Quebec travel advice. Car sorted, time to negotiate the busy Cote d'azure motorways. Decided to take a hit on the tolls rather than the shorter but slower direct route. The small matter that somewhere along the way there seemed to be a road closure sealed the deal. Once beyond the main urban areas the roads cleared - Google took a detour to cut out a dog leg on the motorway which was a bit tortuous. Made it to Gap with a couple of hours to spare. Checked in to the Uber budget hotel - no air con. Argh. Walked into town to find the route - opted to head up the very lowest of the lower slopes of the days first climb. Found a shady spot. Turned out the race wasn't too far away. The saying goes that the French would cheer on a monkey on a bike and there were definitely a few characters around us like that. Every sponsor's car was getting rowdy responses. Each to their own. Chatted to a lady from Oxford whose husband had headed further up. The race was split into 3 groups and the slope slowed them a little. Once done wandered into town to see if there was anywhere to watch the culmination of the stage - other than a couple of bars there was not. Found some ice cream. Headed back for a rest out of the sun but the room was stifling. Eventually resorted to the car - took a drive to the beach at exactly the same time the hoardes were descending from the race. Something of a queue towards the lake. Was pretty enough but the water didn't look too inviting so back for tea.もっと詳しく
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Le Tour July 2024
Stresses & strains.
2024年7月16日, フランス ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
All the stress started the day before. Online check-in is supposed to make things easier. Didn't help (in so many ways) that the booking was from Liverpool and the flights had been changed to Manchester. Initial attempts on the app were met with the disconcerting statement that no booking existed. A number of phone calls in amongst bike building eventually established primarily that there were flights and that patience would be the key. Eventually tried checking in on my lunch & dawned that passport info was needed. Cue Liz texting. Boarding passes sorted - travel day stresses to come. As it happened the main source of concern was numerous delays. M6 decided to add 20 mins to the journey - Warrington is such a joy. Thankfully an extra hour was built in so plenty of time to play with. Drop and go parking was a breeze and just a 5 min walk to the terminal. Got through easy enough to find the Frankfurt flight delayed firstly till 12.10 & then 12.40. A claimed arrival time suggested an hour to get across Frankfurt airport. Normal sized airport - that would be fine but Frankfurt is a beast. On arrival discovered that passport control had to be negotiated within the hour or so remaining. EU queue - nothing. Brexit idiot queue - massive. Sent Liz to negotiate with the passenger assistant. So happened he was Irish. Much ducking and diving out of the queue & just had to wait for the Spanish school party we'd been sat amongst on the plane to clear & happy days. Irish passports are great. Think we might just have been ok but probably would've involved running. Flight to Nice went smoothly - Liz is a firm fan of Lufthansa - 'free' choccy. Nice airport was much smaller & the hotel was walkable, though even at 6.30 the heat was still there. Checked in, quick sort and a little walk to the beach via the supermarche for a baguette. Bizarrely all the parks on the way were locked up & closed but found a spec and watched the world go by. Kids pretending to be superheroes & bullfighters. Teenagers preening and posing.もっと詳しく
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Across the Baltic to Berlin John Bickerstaff
Soviet times.
2024年6月9日, ドイツ ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
While the hotel was situated in Alexanderplatz - very much a product of communist city planning, capitalism has well and truly taken over. The journey to the airport largely runs along Karl Marx Straße, originally named in honour of Stalin but that was dropped - can't think why. Before hitting the commie stuff I had a little mooch around the nearby Middle Aged merchant quarter. Very picturesque and quiet, though most places will be on Sunday. Anyway, the design of KMS and look of the route is very much of that time. Huge boulevards at least meant substantial cycle lanes. Passed the missing Stalin monument - mysteriously disappeared on his death. Some nice fountains instead. With an early evening flight there was plenty of time to kill before braving pulling the bike apart. The two main things on the way to the airport that were designed to eat up time was the Stassi museum and the Union Berlin stadium and or shop. The idea was to do the shop first as it opened before the museum or so I thought. The shopping centre was definitely closed - checked and it opened at 10 on Monday. Another protest this time on bikes - this time not a clue what about but the Polizei have been doing well on the overtime. The Stassi (secret police) museum was interesting if another rather sombre experience. It was interesting how all encompassing it was in East German life and how ingeniously they managed to obtain and achieve their aims. On reflection it was a pretty good job the flight was the evening - a 23 mile cycle as well as other bits takes time. Even so it was fairly relaxed. Onwards to the footie or at least the ground, however it turns out there was a match - the ladies team were playing the last game of the season and it was definitely pulling in the punters. Followed some fans heading there on their bikes. Wondered if there would be many bikes at the ground. The bike park was rammed, not so much the car park. Possibly the women's game pulls in more families, though it sounded just as raucous. Struggled to get through the crowds with my panniers. A couple of people clocking the Liverpool shirt. Apparently the right colour. As for the club shop - it was closed. Makes no sense, though there was no way I'd have been able to get to it. Nice to see a ground with people in and around it. Unsurprisingly the route to the airport looked a little convoluted but at least it didn't involve motorways. On arrival - quick wash and then the battle with the bike. Unfortunately that wasn't the hard part. As always bikes have to be dumped in a separate section - oversized / bulky. Had to go through three different people to just get it labelled. I was then sent the wrong way to drop it off. Ended up dragging the bike the entire length of terminal 1 and the back. Not HP. Dumped it and wondered whether it was really worth having the wash.もっと詳しく
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Across the Baltic to Berlin John Bickerstaff
A little bit of politics.
2024年6月8日, ドイツ ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
The one thing booked in advance was access to the Reichstag roof and dome. Checked where to go on my way back and the impression was that the time was flexible. Decided to walk in taking my time in the parks between the hotel and the parliament. Clearly the area around the hotel was in the former East if only for the Karl Marx statue in the local park though the architecture and planning also smack of the soviet era. Wurst for lunch - as there was little hurry sat and watched the world go by for a while. Also took advantage of the quiet room in the Brandenburg Gate. It was quiet striking when you left it and had to brave the hustle and bustle again. Got to the Reichstag a full hour early and they weren't arsed. Very arsed about id checks and security which isn't wholly surprising. Huge lift up to the terrace and a great audio guide picking out significant buildings and sights. Also got an aerial view of all the fan park prep for the Euros. Really going to town on this. On the way back stopped of at the DDR museum, commemorating all that was East Germany. Lots of hands on stuff and recreations. I would imagine to younger folk so much of it looks really alien and validates the museum but tape players and type writers are just a bit old. Suspect that it represents peak East Germany when the rest of the West had moved on. Passed a bit of time before tea. Packing was postponed somewhat by nosiness - huge police presence outside the hotel. Turns out they were escorting a pro- Palestine march.もっと詳しく
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Across the Baltic to Berlin John Bickerstaff
Whistlestop bike tour.
2024年6月8日, ドイツ ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
On reflection the amount to see, the time available and the distance either necessitated either using the u-bahn or the bike. Much as my arse needed a break - cycling was free and probably would be quicker. What also appealed was making an early(ish) start to avoid the mammoth scrums at the Brandenburg Gate. Hopefully the Berlin Wall memorial and Checkpoint Charlie could be ticked off fairly painlessly. Pleasantly the roads were quiet so despite a lack of cycle lanes all was good. Got to the park to find I was the only person looking round, a few were walking their dogs. The wall memorial combines a preserved chunk of wall in situ with a recreation of what it would have been like. There are also some memorials to those that lost their lives. The visitor centre unfortunately didn't open till 10. Onwards to the next point of interest. Checkpoint Charlie - a recreation of the border post. Bit cheesy but a nice photo of - managed to get in before the coach party - cue selfie frenzy. Potsdammer Platz is in essence a business district so lots of big skyscrapers. Also stopped in at Hansa Studios where loads of huge albums were recorded. There was a film crew outside - who might be working in there? Waited for a while but nothing happened - boredom set in quickly. Today's morbid chapter was the Holocaust Memorial. 2500 individual black concrete blocks of varying sizes. Felt a lot like a maze and buried beneath it a visitor centre again focussing on the stories. Not for the faint hearted. On the way back checked in at the Brandenburg Gate - not horrendously busy and the cathedral - not busy but horrendously expensive. If there'd been a guaranteed tower climb they would've been ok but nothing mentioned so nothing doing.もっと詳しく
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Across the Baltic to Berlin John Bickerstaff
Berlin
2024年6月7日, ドイツ ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
I spent 2 - 3 hours at the concentration camp so had to get a bit of wriggle on to take in the other stuff. Head down to try and clock off the miles to get me to Spandau - reckoned it was 15 - 20 so a bit far for lunch especially since it pretty much was already. Tried to get to 40 before worrying about food & almost made - then McDonald's got in the way. Quick, easy and full of energy. Went down a treat. Quick mooch around around the castle. Then onto the Olympic Stadium. Not overly optimistic that it would be accessible since they would be setting up the opening ceremony for the Euros a week today. As it happened that was right - got reasonably close but a very officious guard wasn't for turning a blind eye. Some happy German cyclists got chatting & I took a photo of them and they returned the favour. They'd done about the same distance just from Southern Germany. Off to tackle the big city hecticness.
Managed to find bike lanes most of the way, which was good, the queue for check in less good. Happy to find me a secure place for my bike - no charge. Hmmmm. Couldn't resist going up to the top floor to take in the views. Think they were supposed to charge for it but no-one asked and there was no way I was going to volunteer. Great views and then onto food - both breakfast and tea. Supermarket on the face of it would be easy. Navigating in & of the shopping mall not so much - much aimless wandering but eventually escaped with food.
Tea had to be a nearby Poutine restaurant.もっと詳しく
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Across the Baltic to Berlin John Bickerstaff
Utter grimness.
2024年6月7日, ドイツ ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
Busy day - the small matter of 60 miles but needing to leave time enough to absorb the horror that is the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. Also wanted to stop off at Spandau Citadel and the Olympic Stadium. A lot to cram in. Helped that the first 30 was a pretty dull affair - both weather and flat & boring. So just got my head down & got to the memorial centre just before 11. In fairness they've handled something unspeakably bad pretty well - don't charge, range of media, English translations everywhere. However it was horrendous to read about - the photos and the stories just were so hard. Glad to have done it but not something necessarily to be recommended.もっと詳しく
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Across the Baltic to Berlin John Bickerstaff
Pay to park my bike!!!
2024年6月6日, ドイツ ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
Made it to Rheinsberg for lunch as per the plan. Just had to find some food and somewhere to eat it. The second bit should be easy with the lakeside castle the main tourist draw here. Thankfully that also meant shops were rather more common than yesterday. Settled down with my picnic to watch endless people try take a picture of the castle with the lilies in foreground while dodging the endless goose crap on the lawn. Speedily scooted round the gardens on the bike then to knock off the final 15 miles except it was a bit more - arrived at the hotel and it wasn't there. Slap dash with the navigation prep. Eventually found it & decided to pass on the clothes washing fiasco - enough clean stuff to last me - can't be arsed. Decided to walk into town instead. Had a nice ice cream, took a wander along the lakeside promenade with it's bizarre sculpture. All very nice. Not hungry so opted for pastries from the nearby Aldi. Good mood dissipated on getting back. Asked where I could store my bike securely. Not a problem but it will cost you. Do you charge car drivers? No. In all the places I've stayed with a bike & not one has ever suggested charging. Not HP.もっと詳しく
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Across the Baltic to Berlin John Bickerstaff
Cycle lane heaven.
2024年6月6日, ドイツ ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
My alarm spared me the surreal experience of being woken by traditional German music being blared out over the hostel intercom. Dashed down to beat the school party rush & just managed. Small matter of getting round Muritz lake & then southwards towards Berlin. Bike lanes on busy roads, I guess for the tourist heavy area. Once that was negotiated it was largely green lanes and quiet country roads. All very pleasant, very little traffic - mostly geriatrics on e-bikes. A couple of notable points - having to pass on jumbo jars of local honey in Viperow and just beyond a memorial to a Russian pilot who died saving the population of the village he was about to crash into. Had a little double take - why would a Russian be in Germany but it was East Germany then. Further down the line was having a break in the middle of nowhere when a school party on bikes appeared - steady stream. Later on some stragglers appeared and had to ask me directions - not a good sign. Further on there was the mad (good) situation where the bike lane was a better surface than the road. Things could only get worse from here. Cue road closure. Google had suggested it might be the case but was ignored. Problem was unlike yesterday there was no reasonable way round. So wheeled the bike through the building site and then some substantial bushes. Damned if I was adding another 20+ miles. The joy of these cycle lanes was the wildlife - hares, countless colourful birds and red squirrels.もっと詳しく
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Across the Baltic to Berlin John Bickerstaff
Top tips.
2024年6月5日, ドイツ ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Early check in ✔️ though he had to go and get his mate to help with the English. He had plenty to say - lots of tips, not that I'd have that much time. Duly reprimanded for the shortness of my stay. The stand out was the church tower in town - great views of the lake. By now the sun was out so quick shower and sort then a wander into town along the lake, ideally taking in a shop for a snack - the last 40 miles had yielded not a single food shop - loads of builders merchants. Clearly a sparsely populated area. Sorted bed and paid the balance. Much as cycling in would be quicker a break and leisurely walk suited better. Loved the loungers dotted along the shore. As for the church tower - definitely not something you'd stumble on - the access door had to be unlocked and there was no signs advertising it as a possibility. Definitely worth the princely sum of 2€ & had the place to myself. By now it seemed as easy to have an early tea rather than a snack and return later for tea. Went with hostel guy's recommendation & again top notch.もっと詳しく
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Across the Baltic to Berlin John Bickerstaff
Gutter cycling
2024年6月5日, ドイツ ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
Far more leisurely start to the day. Unfortunately part of the reason was the forecast which didn't inspire, though on looking out things seemed dry. That changed as departure approached. Extending the route through Rostock didn't seem too wise so took in what was on the way. Rush hour in Rostock was of the traditional type & it didn't look good. Neither did the clouds - the rain may have eased but the prospects seemed pretty bleak.
Watched a steady stream of typhoons. The aircraft - not the weather. Rostock airport, from the looks of things, was also used by the military - lots of warplanes landing. Eventually the weather took a turn for the worse and ended up sheltering under trees. Can only do that for so long. Pushed on & in the short term things did get a bit worse the forecast suggested that eventually things would pick up. The constant presence of black clouds didn't reassure. The hit & miss roads also was a headache. Cobbles all over the place, grass in the middle and forest gravel tracks - bad navigation but so much of the ride was trying to find a smooth path in the gutter. Just as the sun came out I was faced with a road closure - how dare they build railways in my way. 3 mile detour. Despite all that got into Waren at about 2.30. Would there be an early check in?もっと詳しく
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Across the Baltic to Berlin John Bickerstaff
Crossing the Baltic
2024年6月4日, ドイツ ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Got back to the 'terminal' to find the numbers had swollen (ish) - there were a few more. Had to wait for the cycle access route to be unlocked. Once the ferry was on the verge of docking we were lead to the embarkation area and were given instructions in German & English. He was a very cheerful soul - joking throughout the English version. Not sure he was in the German or they didn't have a sense of humour. The great thing about cycling onto a ferry is that everyone has to wait for you. Took our time. Locked up and headed up on deck to watch the departure. Didn't hang about. Once out at see settled down for a meal and to do some blogging. No time at all (well 2 hours) we were heading up the estuary towards Rostock. See how clockwork the Germans have the disembarking. All the wagons off first, then us. Follow the cycle lane - makes sense. Downside was you ended up on the wrong side of the road. Even better it drops you off & if you weren't careful you'd end up on the motorway. Thankfully spotted and made a sharp exit. Think the couple following me did the same but they were German so they should know better. No matter only 3 miles to go to the hotel & a short ferry across the estuary. Or at least that was the theory. In practice, on arrival all looked locked up and closed. The sign on the gangway suggested the ferries probably wouldn't run on the 4th. Very helpful. Just added another 5 miles. Relieved to finally get in & a supermarket across the road meant tea and breakie were sorted. Had a short walk down to the docks to see the preserved cranes but struggled getting back - definitely on a go slow.もっと詳しく
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Across the Baltic to Berlin John Bickerstaff
Sunrise over the Dansk Canyon.
2024年6月4日, デンマーク ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
Whether it was a worried mind, a weak bladder or just a light morning but I was awake at stupid o'clock. Thought I'd take in sunrise over the quarry and then go back to bed for a while. Outside, though, was pretty fresh and waiting around for the sun, shivering away kind of brushed away the cobwebs. Anyway an early start wasn't the end of the world - best part of 60 miles to do before 1. Had a more leisurely breakfast than expected and still managed to get away before 6. Layered up for it was still cold with limited prospects, though it wasn't forecast to rain... yet. Nice quiet roads through lots of pretty little farming hamlets. Occasional clouds of cornflies dampened enthusiasm for the rural life. Followed the east coast down before cutting across to Vordinborg - this facing the 1 and only noteworthy climb of the day - all of 0.3 miles averaging 5%. Pure evil. Vordinborg offered the surprise of castle to explore, albeit rather quickly. The best preserved tower in Scandinavia, oddly named the Goose Tower. Things got hairy from there - headed towards the bridge off Zealand & encountered roadworks & multiple diversions. Had the route been set up before the bridge I had to get across had been closed? In actual fact it was just a new one being built and the knackered one was still available. Phew I think. Again going across more clouds of cornfly. Going through them in fields of corn is expected not 20m high on a bridge over the sea. Where had they come from? Now a 25 mile slog across Falster island but time was looking good. Short detour through Nykobing, along the coast. Kind of see what you could've won - originally planned to stay there. Lucky escape. Grim industrial mess. Made it to Gedser with 90 mins to spare. Tickets boxes off and bored so cycled to the nearby vintage rail restoration project. Passed the time and got to mess around in trains.もっと詳しく
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Across the Baltic to Berlin John Bickerstaff
Entrance hunting & fossil hunting
2024年6月3日, デンマーク ⋅ 🌬 20 °C
A last minute route change was made to take in a castle with supposedly freely accessible grounds. Another bonus was the end of cycle lanes. Much as it was good having them for so long, it was a by-product of busy roads. The route to Vallø Slot was quiet & so the bike lanes stopped. Quiet works for me. What wasn't working for me was the wind - definitely a problem in a flat country. Picnic sorted, arrived at the castle & headed to the front. No sign of ticketing or an entrance. Wandered round the side and could see people walking around the grounds but the gate was locked. Decided to head back to a car park I'd passed - see if there were any clues there. There weren't but the gate was open here so went on in. There was a toilet block nearby so must be open for the public. And as for the fleet of robot lawn mowers - keep the place nice and neat looking but don't pay anyone. Great spot for lunch and a nice leg stretcher. Onwards to Faxe. Somehow the wind was a little kinder so the miles passed fairly easily. Checked in at the hostel - no dorm - no snoring. Took in the view of the deepest hole in Denmark. They claim you can't fail to find fossils in the quarry. The plan was to get some help from the nearby museum who run fossil hunting tours. It closed 5 mins before my arrival. Going solo. Followed a trail down into the quarry & there was indeed plenty of fossilised coral. Success. Back to contemplate tea. A combination of a member's kitchen & suspect reviews for the limited restaurants available meant Thai Red Curry ready meal. Nice & cheap too.もっと詳しく
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Across the Baltic to Berlin John Bickerstaff
If Carlsberg did cycle tours...
2024年6月3日, デンマーク ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Packed & ready to go post breakfast. Just the small matter of rush hour traffic but Danish style. Bikes everywhere & consistently cars giving way for bikes. Definitely a critical mass thing. On the way out of Copenhagen a couple of sights to take in - the Carlsberg brewery, not that they were doing tours that fitted in with my schedule. Been to a few brewery tours anyway - how different can it be? Then onwards to the Brondby Stadium. Seemed like the route was taking me into a posher part of town - that didn't seem right. Then out into the sticks. Eventually resigned myself to the fact that I'd missed it, though couldn't see how. Hadn't - and managed to blag my way in. Some electricians were doing some work & they didn't care if I had a little wander in. Not sure the groundsmen working on the pitch agreed. Onwards & still exclusively on bike lanes which continued for around 25 miles from the hostel. Stopped at a World War 1 fort. Not sure how Denmark figured in that - guessing Germany had designs on invading but the info was exclusively in Danish so we'll never know. There was a school trip with the kids running around playing - which didn't quite fit with the place but I can imagine it was a fun place to play in.もっと詳しく
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