Dammer Dom!

I woke up to an expectedly wet tent in this deep grass. Although the sky was clear and the sun shining down, my spot was still in the shade and feeling rather cold. As I rolled out with a wet bundle, I realized I had been barely 100 m from the house which was on a pretty busy road.

The weather soon turned extremely pleasant. So I stopped off at this windmill to dry out my tent in the sun. I was surprised to find out that there is an active bakery and flour mill still running in the foot of this windmill!

Here I was on the D7 bike path that should take me all the way to Bremen. With the great weather, it was hard to make fast progress with all the picnic breaks. To be able to enjoy this weather in a slow ride through the countryside, made the train hop worth it.

And suddenly in Damme the cathedral leaped out of the ground. The Dammer Dom stood tall, gleaming in the sun. The flatness of the landscape makes its stature all that more dramatic.

The road further through Steinfeld and Lohne was surprisingly varied. With the pleasant weather still going, I stopped early at the edge of a farm to enjoy the orange skies of a crisp sunset.

As I lay down in the tent, I looked around at the little details of my home of these last months. The streaks and folds of the tent fabric. The ghost trails of slugs. The blood stain from the smashed mosquito. The view through the mesh. As night fell, I closed my eyes to the dimming noises of insects and the light breeze.

Tomorrow, I will ride to Bremen where my cycling trip ends.Read more