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Rolling on Europe
  • Arjun
  • Arjun

Rolling on Europe

Rolling about the continent looking for an exit. Read more
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  • ArjunRolling on EuropeTraveler
    Happy Easter!
    Happy Blackface!These gates sure add to the sense of arrival

    Lauingen

    March 29, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Headed out of camp and rode in to Lauingen for a coffee. It seems normal by now to ride an hour to get coffee. The dozen men still drunk and drinking in the cafe probably wouldn't.

    The town was eireely quiet. Then I saw the eggs and realized it's Good Friday. They'd gone all out for an impressive Easter display. Maybe trying to distract us from the blackface town shield.Read more

  • ArjunRolling on EuropeTraveler
    Silvia in her mad house
    Silvia and Philipp pondering logistics of a bike trip with the kidsAll geared up next morning, with all levels of enthusiasm"See you on the Danube way, maybe. Good trip!"

    Sudden and silly Silvia

    March 29, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    "Do you want to meet for a coffee? I'm in Ulm."

    "Oooh yes! Of course, come over!"

    Spontaneous as ever, Silvia and her family welcomed me. With stories of 14 years - of Viertel, of babies born, life as a known artist/scientist, studying architecture, children and climate change - this was a great catch up conversation. And what tasty authentic Mescal to go with it!

    Cool art by Silvia at www.silviakeppler.de

    S and family were prepping a bicycle trip for the Easter weekend. Spontaneous of course. I turn up as the bicycle angel and see them off on the train. And then ride out with Schopper in the same direction.    Read more

  • ArjunRolling on EuropeTraveler
    Tufted ducks

    Tractor trails theater

    March 30, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    The lands all over are being tilled and turned to get them ready for planting the crop for summer. This leaves me wondering what will grow here? Like coming too early to a theater while the stage is still being set.

    Here was a plot of land already being grown... by a big metal monster.    Read more

  • ArjunRolling on EuropeTraveler
    Camp set up next to the Donau
    Dinner of spiced curry and rice, with a yummy local brew1Gently swaying river plants2Easter Sunday breakfast when all bakeries are closed. One had a vending machine with ice cream.

    Easter camp meals

    March 30, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    I was asked What do I eat? And how?

    Today I went to the brewery in Zwiefaltendorf (running since 1878!) and picked up a couple of cold beers. At camp I cooked up some rice and chickpeas, garnished by my tactical spices. Then, I ate and drank while watching the flocks of swans and ducks on the Wiese.

    Next morning is a different affair. It's Easter Sunday and 3 of 3 bakeries I visited were closed. So... Ice cream for breakfast?    Read more

  • ArjunRolling on EuropeTraveler

    An Ode to the Sandal

    March 31, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    The threads are bare.
    Frayed, chaffed and ripped.
    Rest not, for the road is yet long
    You've proved the doubters wrong.

  • ArjunRolling on EuropeTraveler
    Nearby at Inzigkofen Kloster

    Sigmaringen

    March 31, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Seems here is where Karl dreamed of a unified Germany. Impressive castle. I think here begins the upper reaches of the Danube.

  • ArjunRolling on EuropeTraveler

    Upper Donautal is horrible!

    March 31, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    From the camp site I could hear the trains run by in the distance. I didn't hear them for long, as I promptly fell asleep after riding 90 km and 4.3 km ascent.

    I woke up half hour before the alarm I had set for 6 am. I had to prepare for the showdown - storm brewing with 70 km/h gusts! I was packed up and pedalling as the first birds were still waking.

    Soon enough, the weather caught up with me. At least, my clothes were only wet from sweat.

    As Dinah noted, what a difference a day makes. 🎶    Read more

  • ArjunRolling on EuropeTraveler

    Donauquelle unlocked!

    April 1, 2024 in Germany ⋅ 🌬 5 °C

    After storm chasing (or fleeing), I got to the nominal source of the Danube. This crazy river that starts in a little trickle and crosses 10 countries and empties into the Black Sea.

    Schopper looked at the water with interest. Maybe he wants to follow.Read more

  • ArjunRolling on EuropeTraveler
    Ivo the angel, and Finn's hitman, turns up to bundle me into a carFinn suggests taking the train over the mountainsA Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte finally in SchwarzwaldNot just Osterhase but also Osterlamm, alongside the local brews.Marveling at the inner workings of this 100 year old cuckoo clockThe city gates proclaim that they have joined Germany. For now.Katha, Finn and I at the city churchGot the low-down from the ex-ober-ministrantinFritz the Alemannen wizardFritz proving that he actually did a semester of clockmaking back in the dayI got to don the Bauernhut and check out the classic tractorPer cleaning out the ashes of this traditional KachelofenFinn is surprised I want to go on despite the stormA fountain work from Donaueschingen, grudgingly allowed.

    Who is here at Bräunlingen?

    Apr 1–3, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Huh... what? Finn is back!

     I needed help with the storm planning, so Finn helpfully sent Ivo to bring Schopper and me to Katha's parents' home in Bräunlingen.

    Fritz and Petra invited me to a lunch of yummy soup and Bärlauch Späzle and Reh-braten. Over lunch, Fritz told me of the proud history of this city, not village, of 6000 people going back to 1305. And the long-standing fight against the Prince of Donaueschingen, with help actually coming from the Habsburgs in Vienna! Then I learnt about the super house he built himself from Black Forest wood, and got to check out the classic Kramer tractor that was manufactured two towns over. This Alemannische wizard had so much to share!

    Katha and Finn then took me on a tour of the most important city sights. I got to see how these Zähringer cities were built, with concentric walls and houses along them. Only 12 such cities exist in Europe.

    This turned out to be a Schwarzwald festival! What a wonderful home, and pride in an utterly local and rich heritage.    Read more

  • ArjunRolling on EuropeTraveler

    Schwarzwald to Titisee

    April 3, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Decided that it's enough waiting. I will get going early and ride into the Black Forest before the storm picks up.

    The Black Forest is a serene landscape, deeply quiet and then suddenly loud with birdsong. I had the feeling of being watched from the woods by some creatures. A pretty cool ride through the forest, getting cooler so it started to rain.

    A full day of uphill, climbed up to reach Titisee. By then it was raining and gusting pretty heavily, and I was shivering till I changed out a new warm layer.

    Then, Paula this young woman on the street, also in a drenched purple poncho, approached me. She was walking alone with her backpack, and she asked "You are on the road for a while. Right?"

    We got out of the rain and had lunch of pizza and flammkuchen together and got chatting. She has a background in geology, and has walked the last few weeks around Lake Constanz. She gets interested in bike touring. And the rain only gets heavier. So does the conversation.

    "It is really ekelig out there. Shall we just have a beer instead and take the train out?"

    So that's how I put in the work to make the 1000 m long climb up to Titisee, shivering and exhausted. And then I did not get to enjoy the fantastic step downhill. I was probably saved from an accident by this encounter with an interesting stranger.    Read more

  • ArjunRolling on EuropeTraveler
    With lovely Ines and Matze
    Jona is a BlumenkopfOh yeah, Freiburg❤️We're still silly together. Good that some things don't change.

    Freiburg is for friends

    Apr 3–5, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Arrived in Freiburg, for a long overdue catch-up with Ines and Matze. Talking about old times in Mexico, in Antarctica, in MPI, about the new times with children, jobs and homes. So great to sit with good friends and just continue from where we left off years ago.

    I've designated their house as my sanctuary in Germany.    Read more

  • ArjunRolling on EuropeTraveler
    Notice how the forest on one side is more... French
    The French seemed to have installed spring a few weeks earlierOh, la vie c'est dure!

    Salut la France! 🇫🇷

    April 5, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Ça va, toi?

    This bridge over the Rhine, which marks the border with France. I crossed over expecting to find more isolated and quiet lands. It is starting to even feel a bit muggy by now.

    Got to love the open borders of the EU!Read more

  • ArjunRolling on EuropeTraveler
    Riding through the forests of Hardt, teeming with sounds

    Hardt camping

    April 5, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Camping in the Hardtwald. Guess how many of the letters of the name the French don't pronounce?

    It turned out to be a great decision to cross over into France to ride through here. The forest is isolated and deep. Unlike the Black Forest, this is made of mixed scrub and vegetation. So it has so many more birds and insects in it.

    Eurasian blackbirds, blackcaps, robins, swans, ducks, beetles, ladybugs, flies and so much more. In the distance, a cuckoo keeps calling out. At one point a fox stopped on the road ahead to look at me, and then walked on into the woods.

    This forest is abuzz with life. Bien joué, la France!    Read more

  • ArjunRolling on EuropeTraveler
    Mariastein trees are in a raging blossom
    Great spot for lunch. Can see the snowy peaks of the Alps peeking out.

    Lunch on top of Mariastein

    April 6, 2024 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    The Jura route gave me the opportunity to climb up some 600 m, and thus earn a lunch spot that was just fantastic. Another legendary bench discovered, overlooking the mounts towards the Alps.

  • ArjunRolling on EuropeTraveler
    Made a loop around the Lac de Lucelle
    Sometimes a forest path is just a forest. Schopper shows his skill here.This spot was serene, distant church bells. No rain tonight, so I can sleep looking at the canopy.

    Lac de Lucelle forest camp

    April 6, 2024 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    The road today coiled like a snake around the French-Swiss border, crossing over some 15 times. With this weather and the weekend, there were so many motorcycles careening down the slopes. I was thinking again about getting a motorbike someday.... while sweatily, but happily, pedaling on to Lac de Lucelle.

    The monks in the 12th century created this cistern, which has now become a biodiversity preserve for amphibians and wetland birds. Pity for me, because I had hoped to swim in it to cool off.

    I consoled myself with a Weissbier, and pedaled on to find a spot to sleep. The swiss sure do love to fence off all of this beautiful landscape. A forest path challenges Schopper, but he just trundles on and leads me to home for the night. Good horsey!

    Note to self: the Nduja di Spilinga I bought in Freiburg makes every sandwich magical. Find more of this!    Read more

  • ArjunRolling on EuropeTraveler
    A view over the Jura mountains on the way to the Col
    The birds that greeted the day in the forestZipping down from the Col de la CroixSwitchback so I can admire the view with my other eye

    Up to Col de la Croix

    April 7, 2024 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Waking up in a bath of birdsong, I turned around and listened for a while with my eyes shut. All sorts of birds singing the day in.

    Once I got going, it was soon clear the kind of day it was going to be. A massive slog uphill. I pushed and cranked and groaned my way up to Col de la Croix at 589 m.

    Met a lovely swiss family, parents and a boy of 8 years and a daughter a bit older, up there going the other way. They approved of Schopper not being an electric bike and seemed to regret not having pedaled Ausland. I assured them that they were living well pedaling around Switzerland, and then freewheeled down a luscious green hill till I had to squeal in delight.    Read more

  • ArjunRolling on EuropeTraveler
    Schopper striking a pose with his backside at St Ursanne
    The Doubs flows gently through the town centerThis ancient cathedral/cloister was a landmark in the 13th centuryThe Swiss sure know how to traverse mountains, here a stunning rail bridge

    St. Ursanne on the Doubs

    April 7, 2024 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    The ancient town of St. Ursanne seems to be the destination that brings all the motorbikers out here this sunny Sunday. A charming town with the river Doubs to swim in - a fact I regrettably discovered too late, as I had already eaten a hungry sandwich on the bench at the river.

    Kiran called me there to remind me that he expects me at home soon, and that I am "still so far away". Papa is coming, I assured him.    Read more

  • ArjunRolling on EuropeTraveler
    View from the climb near Montmelon
    View from the climb near MontmelonThe climb todayA generous host near Les SarlainsComic relief on the climb up to Les InfersScouted out this fantastic campsite and wondered if I should break early. Decided to cycle on.

    With Dervla up to Les Infers

    April 7, 2024 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    A long slog up through Montmelon to Scuet to Saint Brais to Les Infers. A climb of 540 m over 9 km, which involved a good deal of walking and worrying about running out of water.

    When I felt weak, I put on the audiobook of Full Tilt by Dervla Murphy. This woman traveled alone by bicycle from Ireland to India in 1963. Her candid telling of an incredible journey with Irish humor and stoicism is greatly entertaining - and humbled me to push on over the aching slopes. She crossed the Babusar pass unaided! And she is the maybe the tenth travel writer who reaffirms my ideas that Afghanistan is a fantastic place to travel.Read more

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