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Across the Baltic to Berlin
  • John Bickerstaff
June 2024

Across the Baltic to Berlin

A 9-day adventure by John Read more
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  • Trip start
    June 1, 2024
    John BickerstaffAcross the Baltic to BerlinJohn Bickerstaff

    A happy pilot

    June 1, 2024 in Denmark ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    The small matter of getting to the start point - Copenhagen. Direct flights existed from Manchester but prohibitively expensive charges for bikes and Lufthansa's previously relaxed approach meant a trip via Frankfurt. 'Taxi Driver' ... Liz had an important zoom meeting so an early drop off was the option. Meant the bike was dropped off and security negotiated with surprising ease. Did an uber session of Spanish which really should've been German. Relying on CSE grade 2 from 30 years ago. Could be patchy. Dawned that with boarding passes being on my phone the battery had to be preserved - chewing up 25% on Spanish wasn't the smartest move. Not packing the right cable for the power bank even more so. Settled for some eye resting on the first leg. Frankfurt airport is massive. Must've taxied for 10 mins and then had a 20 min trek to the terminal. Chilled for a while - discovered the right cable so chilled a bit more. Sarnies and a catch up with Liz before the next leg. Not the most German approach to boarding - opened the gates before the door to the plane was ready - cue panicked boarding manager and quite a queue. On board the pilot forgot to give the English welcome - much apologising. Despite that, boarding was ahead of schedule much to the pilots pleasure. Able to redeem himself with an early departure, depending on the length of the taxiing - might taxi to Copenhagen. Then to the small matter of bike reassembly. A lot of back & forth trying to figure out where my bike would appear but thankfully it did - a couple of chunks missing from the box - concerned - what bits could have dropped out. No need to worry - all went together fairly easily & on my way by 8ish. 5 miles to the hostel - all cycle lane. Past a huge bike park at the airport and no less than 10 bike shops in that short distance. Hostel was rammed - full of school party sports teams - a couple of lads weren't too impressed with my Liverpool t-shirt claiming utd and chelski were better - not the sharpest it would seem. Quick shower & sort out. Little bit of an explore. Sat outside the fine art gallery eating snacks - as close to culture as is likely for me. Saturday night is a bit lively lots of party buses roaming the streets. Not for me...Read more

  • John BickerstaffAcross the Baltic to BerlinJohn Bickerstaff

    The cruise curse

    June 2, 2024 in Denmark ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Some sleep was achieved despite seemingly endless party buses, police sirens and mammoth firework displays. Stoked up with distinctly Danish breakie Chia pudding with rhubarb was the second & third portion option. Pretty decent spread for a hostel. Morning walk and then an afternoon cycle loosener. Found a walking tour route in a guide book - took a photo & transferred it to a free city map. Convoluted. About half way round took a little detour to the Round Tower - a recommended viewpoint with very few steps - just a gradual slope. Opened at 10 & panicked that with being a church offshoot they might not take cards. No-one queuing so off to find a cashie. Found one but was going to charge an admin. No way - take my chances. By the time I was back the queue had formed - rats. No matter - quick moving and of course the church takes cards - any way they can get money. Great views and despite the queue not horrendously busy - extra bits & pieces on the way up thinned the crowd. Headed to the canals and Nyhavn - getting tourist central - quaint harbour with colourful fronted houses. Very busy - tour parties billowing out onto the road so cars & bikes were swerving to avoid them. Still very pretty and some superb ice cream. Final planned stop - the little mermaid. Very warm walk with no shade. A couple of nice little parks helped. What didn't help were the 2 cruise liners docked just a stone's throw from it. Absolute mayhem. It was a battle just to get a clear view of her without the hoardes trying to get selfies etc. Quick photo and a sharp exit. Very warm so thought about getting the water bus back but tickets had to be done online - couldn't figure it out along with some geriatric Italians - not aging well.Read more

  • John BickerstaffAcross the Baltic to BerlinJohn Bickerstaff

    Doing a 'John'

    June 2, 2024 in Denmark ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Got back somewhat sweaty but was pleased to find a bottom bunk had become available. Decamped & spread out. Took a while to cool down. Mapped out a route to take in a few more offbeat destinations a little further out - the Christiana region was a hippy enclave but for the most part has been somewhat gentrified - we'll see. Also wanted to see Coppenhill - a incinerator that has the added feature of being an artificial ski slope. You can hike to the top and get great views of the city. Up & down a few times due to forgotten bits and pieces. A sign of things to come. Managed to take in a couple of parts of Christiana that seemed to suggest what it might have been. Some nice little tracks and waterside spots though. Off skiing - well not but the ski slope. Was half expecting them to charge to go up. Guess the thirsty captive market at the rooftop cafe paid for itself & then some. A 100m climb later, somewhat sweaty & enjoying the views - could see the bridge linking Denmark to Sweden. All very nice. The casual stroll back down became rather more urgent when I began to ponder what on earth had become of my satnav - remembered taking it off & putting it on the rack while I sorted out. Then a blank but it wasn't in my pockets. Very black feeling - putting the Danish honesty to the test so soon. Initial sightings of my bike were inconclusive - damn my shit eyes. Thankfully the Danes can be trusted - satnav sat exactly where I left it. Phew - the cycle can continue. Pushed onto the beach, along with half of Copenhagen it would seem, though no congestion carnage here, just loads of bikes. Admittedly the bike parks were very full and as for the beach - no swim just a punnet of strawberries in a shady quiet spot away from the noise.Read more

  • John BickerstaffAcross the Baltic to BerlinJohn Bickerstaff

    If Carlsberg did cycle tours...

    June 3, 2024 in Denmark ⋅ ☁️ 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.Read more

  • John BickerstaffAcross the Baltic to BerlinJohn Bickerstaff

    Entrance hunting & fossil hunting

    June 3, 2024 in Denmark ⋅ 🌬 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.Read more

  • John BickerstaffAcross the Baltic to BerlinJohn Bickerstaff

    Sunrise over the Dansk Canyon.

    June 4, 2024 in Denmark ⋅ ☁️ 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.Read more

  • John BickerstaffAcross the Baltic to BerlinJohn Bickerstaff

    Crossing the Baltic

    June 4, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 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.Read more

  • John BickerstaffAcross the Baltic to BerlinJohn Bickerstaff

    Gutter cycling

    June 5, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 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?    Read more

  • John BickerstaffAcross the Baltic to BerlinJohn Bickerstaff

    Top tips.

    June 5, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 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.Read more

  • John BickerstaffAcross the Baltic to BerlinJohn Bickerstaff

    Cycle lane heaven.

    June 6, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 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.Read more

  • John BickerstaffAcross the Baltic to BerlinJohn Bickerstaff

    Pay to park my bike!!!

    June 6, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 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.Read more

  • John BickerstaffAcross the Baltic to BerlinJohn Bickerstaff

    Utter grimness.

    June 7, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 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.Read more

  • John BickerstaffAcross the Baltic to BerlinJohn Bickerstaff

    Berlin

    June 7, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 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.    Read more

  • John BickerstaffAcross the Baltic to BerlinJohn Bickerstaff

    Whistlestop bike tour.

    June 8, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 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.Read more

  • John BickerstaffAcross the Baltic to BerlinJohn Bickerstaff

    A little bit of politics.

    June 8, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 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.Read more

  • John BickerstaffAcross the Baltic to BerlinJohn Bickerstaff

    Soviet times.

    June 9, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 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.Read more

    Trip end
    June 9, 2024
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