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Vagabonding
  • TakeMeFurther
Currently traveling
Aug 2022 – Aug 2025

Vagabonding

An open-ended adventure by TakeMeFurther Read more
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  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding
    my office for one day. Has coffe, electricity and wifi in the vicinity. perfect

    Bordeaux

    October 12, 2022 in France ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    The modern traveller has basically the same needs as all other travellers before his time.
    What distinguishes them from their predecessors, however, is the need to back up their digital memories and refresh their electronic devices at regular intervals.
    I meet this need on the outskirts of Bordeaux and set up a mobile workstation in a shopping centre. Whenever such an oasis of modern conveniences appears before the eyes of the digital nomad, one should make the most of it. ☝️

    After this basic need has been satisfied, I take a look at the city. I really like Bordeaux and it gives me the impression of a city worth living in. I particularly like the long and wide riverside promenade. The French somehow manage to create a welcoming atmosphere for bikers and pedestrians - Stuttgart’s civil engineers could learn a lot here !
    It has a beautiful and well-balanced architecture - of course I like the traditional building style the most, but modern architecture also has its place here.    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding

    La Vélodyssée Pt. 2

    October 11, 2022 in France

    Nikolas, whom I met yesterday, is taking a different route today, so we split up again.

    Nothing really interesting happens on this section of the Vélodyssée.
    I cycle through an endless forest (that's how I imagine Finland), up and down a little, then a little left, a little right. And again from the beginning. For hours.
    Luckily it is still drizzling. 🤪

    In the afternoon I stop at a supermarket. After my shopping, a new rain shower awaits me outside. The internet connection has just been interrupted, therefore I can't check how long it will last.
    So I stand in the foyer and read a book. There are moments like that. 🤷‍♂️

    In the evening I take a ferry and meet Simon - a lawyer-to-be from Cologne. We get on well and because he has dragged his tent through half of France and then spent every night in overpriced youth hostels, I show him how easy wild camping is.
    The next day we drive to Bordeaux together, where he stays in a youth hostel he has already booked and I look for a nice spot in the forest. Everybody has his own preferences 😄    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding

    La Vélodyssée Pt. 1

    October 10, 2022 in France ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Since La Rochelle, I've always been asked the same question: Do you ride the Vélodysée?
    This is a famous long-distance cycle route in France. It starts in England, then goes through Brittany via Brest, Nantes and along the French Atlantic coast to the Basque coast.
    I want to cycle along the Atlantic anyway, so I set off on the cycle highway. After just a few kilometres, the first cyclist is standing at the side of the road. He looks in need of help and we start talking. 30 minutes later, we have exchanged tips and tricks and our experiences so far, and we continue cycling together. His name is Nikolas and he has now cycled 9000 km, has also changed bikes in between and now only rides with a duffel bag and trailer. For comparison: I have one such bag and four other bags plus a handlebar bag plus a food basket. 😅 -> I henceforth wear the name 'tank'.
    After another hour, we start talking to two Frenchmen who are taking a break. We take them straight into the pack and continue on our way. Oncoming passers-by give us astonished looks because of the size of our group and the completely different bike setups.
    Nikolas rides with minimal equipment and a trailer, I ride with full equipment, leather seat and all the trimmings,
    Anthony and Alicia with moderate luggage.
    This is where different cycling strategies really come together and for the next few days I think frantically about what else I could throw overboard in order to become lighter.
    Of course, I will ride a much longer distance but as my buddy Jeffrey* would say: 'You ride your bike x hours a day, it should be fun and not a torture, otherwise you won't last long!' . Right he is. 🐸

    We also pass a well-worn bridge on our way. More precisely, the Rochefort floating ferry. It towers high above the river and carries a gondola across the river. Unfortunately, it is out of service today, otherwise I would have ridden it directly. It's still missing from my collection of lift rides and extravagant rides. 😄

    Nikolas' comment on the last picture:
    'Look, a book exploded!' 😀

    * name changed    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding

    Île de Ré - vacation in paradise 🏝️

    October 8, 2022 in France ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    The map of France is in front of me and I look at possible destinations. I look along the Atlantic coast and find the island of Ré. It looks so small. I have to go there.
    Now I'm planning the details, zoomed in and realised that it's bigger than I thought: about 40 km to the top. 😅
    So I will spend two days there and take some time off 🏖️.

    An almost three-kilometre-long and beautifully curved bridge leads onto the island. On the bridge the island first disappears from your view, leaving you alone with your own expectations, and then gives you a small glimpse of the first part of the island. The first few metres I already feel like I'm on holiday there - it's 20 degrees and the sun is shining. Only my heavy bike reminds me of my 'old' travelling life that I mentally left behind on the mainland. 😁

    As I roll along the bike lanes I come into a deer crossing behind a bend : a huge caterpillar makes its way across the lane. As beautiful as it is to look at, I wonder how many hectares it eats every day and which giant insect will later hatch from its cocoon. (Later I am told that it will be a death's-head hawkmoth.)

    What else is there to say about the island? It's a great place to spend a holiday, it's used for salt production, it has a prison (two donkeys patrol the moat, see photos) and probably the highest density of bicycle rentals in France.

    As I watch the sunset over the Atlantic, I get the feeling that I will one day look at this ocean from the other side.    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding

    La Rochelle

    October 8, 2022 in France ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    I go to La Rochelle for a short stroll through the city. A really beautiful city with many small alleys and a very lively market including a loud (!) market crier 😄

    Here I first find out what the pink umbrellas are all about (I've seen them in a couple of villages in France already): it's pink October and with the umbrellas one wants to raise awareness to breast cancer.

    Obviously, people from Baden or Swabia have already been here and left their advertisement 😄    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding
    not the best path for heavily loaden bikes
    stretching cows.. wtf

    Mervent

    October 6, 2022 in France ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    The route from Bressuire is again much more varied than along the Loire, because you are presented with something new around every bend. I ride part of the way through very beautiful forests, watch cows stretching (I've never seen cows do that before😳) and follow my route.

    I plan the route anew every day using an app. I enter the start and destination and don't bother with details. Most of the time it works well, you can even determine the type of bike and get adapted routes - but there is no category 'super heavy duty bike' (or 'tank' as I've been called lately 😁), which puts me in front of major obstacles from time to time.
    I am off-road on a track that is narrow and becomes a mountain bike track in the last few metres in the forest. There I have to dismount. Immediately afterwards, however, I am more than rewarded with the view of a beautiful lake in the middle of the forest, and the view in Mervent of the surrounding reservoir is also really beautiful.
    In the village I see the fantastic red coloured leaves.

    At night I wake up with a cramped back, which has happened quite often in the last weeks. There's no quick fix and I'm left with only a few pain-free sleeping positions for the night.
    Funnily enough, the next day I find a poster that aptly visualises the problem. So it's all about little red pests 😡 that get stuck in the muscles. All right.    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding
    my camp spot besides the grapes with a beautiful view over the landscape
    headwind all day long...this small card was smuggled into my luggagethe clear night guarantees a good view on the milky way. In the bottom right corner there's Orion

    Cheerful with the prospect of headwind

    October 5, 2022 in France ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    The evening before, I am preparing my dinner when a bird starts pecking behind me. Shortly afterwards a pheasant struts out of its cover, but before I can focus my camera well it disappears into a safe distance.

    The next morning the same thing happens again: the pheasant roars, I move towards the camera, but before I can focus properly it has flown away. I still have to practise.

    When I look at the weather forecast for the tour in the morning, I think to myself 'This is going to be fun'. There will be a headwind of around 20 km/h all day.
    I start and actually only manage about 13 km/h, a snail's pace. There's no other way. At least I'm accompanied by good music, which motivates me and lifts my spirits.

    In the afternoon I wash my clothes and dry them during a long break. I would hardly make any progress on the bike anyway. As I rummage in a bag, I see a business card in it and get a nice surprise:
    The card is from the baker in Beauvoir who looked after my bags while I visited Mont Saint Michel. She simply smuggled it into my bag without me noticing. 😄
    She writes "Thank you for passing through our bakery. I wish you many trips with your bike or with words" - I had been writing postcards in the bakery for several hours.
    How lovely. 😊    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding
    starting the day on a picknick-spot gives me the luxury of a desk and bench. 5/5 stars!
    a sculpture of donkey kong?

    Saumur

    October 4, 2022 in France ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    While I was driving along the Loire in the last few days and kept seeing sandbanks, I remembered the headlines in German newspapers, according to which France has experienced a particularly severe drought this year.
    In conversation with an interested citizen, this was confirmed: the water level had dropped massively, which is why you can see sandy beaches on the banks everywhere. I talk to him about the central government of France, the generation conflict and that one can only learn from one's mistakes.
    One of my travel wishes has been fulfilled with this dialogue: to have good conversations with locals and to have a little insight into their world. At the same time, it confirms my assumption that you can find like-minded people everywhere. Of course, that is still easy here within Europe, so I am all the more excited about the future. ☺️

    Finally, he gives me the tip to continue on to Saumur, one of the pearls along the Loire.    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding
    pay attention to the solar panel which sucks all the light out of the sky.
    a bald eagle in europe

    Two sides of the same river

    October 2, 2022 in France ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    My original plan was to cycle directly south to Bordeaux. Now I read how beautiful the Loire cycle path is and get excited. It is the most popular cycle path of all, so I take a look at it and head east.
    The path is not well developed: sometimes it is asphalted, sometimes just a larger forest path. It is relatively narrow, muddy and today I use it together with participants of a regional run. On top of that, there are almost no views. To my left is the fortification wall of a railway track bed, to my right is dense tree growth.
    This drags on for 10 km and I begin to wonder what the other candidates for the best cycle path might look like.

    I finally decide not to continue along this cycle path, but to take the road to Bordeaux. To do so, I have to cross the river and cycle back a bit.
    On the other bank, the path is suddenly much nicer: wide, well paved, it is altogether brighter and offers beautiful views.
    I change the plan again: I will ride along this side of the river, which turns out to be the best decision of the day, because after a short while I climb an ascent and have a spectacular view over the river.

    As I ride through small sleepy towns, sometimes only a few houses, I notice that the architecture is now more Mediterranean- or what I associate with it: red roof tiles, sand/cream coloured walls and a bit of a crumbling facade.

    I end the day at a picnic spot. I lie down in the sun and read. Life is good.

    PS: the bird in the picture is the first bald eagle sighted here.    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding
    beware of the machines!
    my favourite sculpture in Nantes

    There is no place like home

    October 1, 2022 in France ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Chestnuts. There are chestnuts all over the ground. Not the beautiful, brown, smooth kernels that are pleasant in the hand, but the green prickly vegetation hedgehogs that surround the brown kernels.
    On the bike, I tried to ride in circles around them at first for fear of a flat tyre, but now I'm looking for a place to pitch my tent. I clear an area of about 4 square metres for about 10 minutes to avoid holes in the tent floor and go for it.

    For the night I found a special sleeping niche: in a strip of green between two fields. It is about 10 metres wide and lined on the outside by a row of trees, which is complemented by opaque bushes. No one will find me here, even from a distance of two metres from the strip my tent is not visible. I go to sleep while it starts to rain again outside.

    The next day I want to have a look at Nantes. I am too lazy to take down the tent and decide that the spot is so good that I will leave all my sleeping things here in the tent. As I drive towards the city, I can rely on my faithful Breton companion, the drizzle.

    I head for the island in the Loire and visit the fantastic mechanical animals there, which are based on ideas by Jules Verne (born in Nantes) and Leonardo da Vinci. The main attraction is the huge elephant that stomps across the square of the former factory site and spits water to the delight of the kids.

    I roll through the city for a while and get a very positive impression. The city is alive, it has large, wide and bright streets, pedestrian zones and squares. Everywhere you see people, here and there are art sculptures.

    It starts to drizzle again and I make my way to the place I call home tonight. I'm looking forward to the finished, served meal, the warm fireplace, the made bed. What a lovely thought. 😊    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding

    Lusanger

    September 29, 2022 in France ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    I fondly remember a scene from Star Wars: young Anakin Skywalker sits in the homemade pod racer he has just repaired. His face is dirty, his hands smeared with oil. He starts the podracer, the turbines begin to spin, jets of fire shoot out of their ends and the machine comes to life.
    "IT'S WORKING!!!" He shouts loudly: it's working, his machine is running.
    That's exactly how I've felt since I changed that old hose in Rennes. Its working! In the last few days, my legs have undergone a real strength training, so that now I'm rolling over the roads at ape-like speed.

    At 4 p.m. I see the sun for the first time in days and I find a beautiful spot that is completely different from the surrounding area because of the vegetation. Besides it is very quiet. Here I end the day early with a sunbath and also the next day I can't get away from this place before noon.    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding
    what a nice forecast!
    I wish there were more air pumps for bicyclists. Rennes has some of themamazing street art!look at those colors!awesome!my DIY beer can cooker. See Youtube for tutorials

    Rennes

    September 27, 2022 in France ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    Eve of the city visit

    Rennes, the capital of Brittany - like the whole of Brittany itself - will always be a rainy place in my memory after today's visit. I have rarely experienced such wet weather, and for so many days in a row. I know that's unfair to the region because the last week of September was wet all over France but it fits the narrative and life isn't always fair. 😃

    In the evening I found a refuge in the forest where I made myself comfortable. There I built myself a cheap second cooker.
    My actual cooker works with petrol and it's a bit complicated to get pure petrol here (or it's expensive). After a few attempts, I was finally able to prepare my dinner and now have a cheap burner variant that has low consumption and also gives me some heat. 🔥

    28 September

    It rains cats and dogs all night and I am glad that the tent is watertight. It will stay like this all morning so there is no reason to get up early.
    In the morning I am woken by a few approaching voices, but I stay in the tent as it is still raining outside and I have no reason to leave the warmth of my sleeping bag.
    I have my breakfast in the shelter and notice that the forest is teeming with young people. Talking to their teacher, I learn that they are learning to orientate and navigate in the forest.

    The actual visit to the city is briefly summarised, as I am in Rennes for quite banal reasons:
    1. buy and change an inner tube, my current one has to be pumped up every few hours. I do this at 'Le Citron 🍋', a bike shop that also offers a café.
    2. I have to do some laundry.
    After that, I roll through the old town and admire the half-timbered houses and street art, then I roll off into the sunset.    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding
    what a nice weather!
    after some time the clouds made way for some sun rays

    Le Mont-Saint-Michel

    September 26, 2022 in France ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    After storing all my bike bags in a bakery, I was able to visit the unique mountain without any worries. (By the way, the lack of storage facilities for luggage is the biggest obstacle for me as a bicycle traveller, but I realise that I am travelling in a niche, because others use hotels or campsites. )

    I knew it was going to rain hard and the wind was going to be fierce, so I wrapped myself up as best I could. For me, the 1.5 km walk was therefore a great experience despite the rain and wind, others were not so well prepared and came to meet me with soaking wet trousers, distorted faces, bent umbrellas and sad looking dogs.

    The inside of the monastery walls is very touristy. There are many restaurants, snack stalls and souvenir shops, a bit of a pity because the atmosphere suffers as a result.
    I bought a ticket for a tour of the abbey, which is centrally located and perched at the top of the mountain. Without an audio guide, I had no further information about the individual halls, crypts, chambers, rooms etc. and therefore found the interior ordinary. However, all the views from up there were spectacular.    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding

    Beauvoir

    September 26, 2022 in France ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    The weather that day was supposed to be really bad from early morning to midday. For this reason, I wanted to find a creperie and spend several hours there, sitting comfortably in the warm, eating crepes, recharging batteries and planning the rest of the route before heading to Mont Saint Michel in the afternoon.
    I drove through Beauvoir and immediately found a creperie with all the amenities I wanted. The owner seemed to be just opening and set up the chairs outside. I made myself comfortable and ate two crepes when the owner told me he was about to close.
    I was a bit puzzled but couldn't figure out why he was about to close.

    A little further on I found the bakery Bellevoisine, where I gave it a second try. I told the shop assistant that I wanted to go to Mt Saint Michel and asked if there was a train station or another way to keep my bike bags safe. She replied that I could leave them with her at the bakery and so this challenge was resolved.    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding
    the village has style

    Be honest!

    September 25, 2022 in France ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    The thing about wild camping is a bit tricky - actually it's not allowed, but as long as you don't disturb anyone it's tolerated. I remember the beginning of my trip and a conversation in Bonn that got a bit complicated when I tried to hide my wild camping intentions.

    Man: where are you staying today?
    Me: Well, at a camping site (I don't dare say that I actually wanted to spend the night in the city forest).
    Him: Which one? There are two.
    Me: Well, I'll have a look.
    Him: Are you going up or down the Rhine?
    Me: Uh, to the south!
    He: Oh, but that one is still 40 km away, you'll have to go all the way! And the other one is 10 km back, that's a bad alternative, too.
    Me: (I didn't want to complicate the situation any further, because another woman had just joined the conversation to help):
    Yes, driving back is not the best idea. I better get going to the next oine in the south..

    In the meantime, I have received very positive feedback when being honest about wildcamping here in France. While being in Courtils I have the following conversation with an elderly gentleman:
    (course of conversation):

    He: You have a lot of luggage!
    - I'm going on a world tour.
    - What? How far are you going to travel?
    - Maybe 40,000 km.
    - Ouuuf!
    - But I only plan for about a week at a time, then I don't think about the big distance.
    - Where do you sleep?
    - I'm going to look for a field or a forest somewhere.
    - Turn right here, that's the way to go, otherwise it's difficult.
    - Okay, thank you very much!

    For five minutes I follow that direction.
    A car comes up behind me, it's the gentleman again: "Have you found it? It's just up ahead."

    He drives ahead and stops 100m further on in front of a dirt road. The path is blocked with a barbed wire gate.
    Him: you can go there, just open the gate.
    Me: and it's okay if I open it?
    Him:
    Yeah, sure, I know ---- (hopefully the owner)....
    Me: okay! Thanks a lot!
    He disappears into the sunset.

    That day I also encountered the cow that has by far the funniest stain - it looks like a little child that has tampered with its mother's make-up case. In the sad hours of my trip (and every time I look through my photos) she brings a smile to my face. 😁    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding
    during WW2 a paratrooper got stuck in the roof of the church.a doll still hangs there today and reminds of the storywhen I was in town I was lucky enough to see a Willys MB Army jeepa US Sherman tank used in WW2a german heavy duty vehicle of 2009 which is used to carry tons of stuff around

    Saint-Mère-Eglise

    September 24, 2022 in France ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    I meet Philip at the market square in St Mère-Eglise. He is Irish and has several bicycles on several continents - so that's how it works!

    I then visit the Airborne Museum, which focuses on the paratrooper units in the Second World War. The subject is really well covered in the media and what fascinates me most are the operations to cover up the Normandy landings:
    - Complete bases were built and managed so that they looked functional from the outside.
    - Even radio messages, non-existent units and even gossip on the false bases were spread by radio and radio stations.
    - In parallel with the Normandy landings, dummies were parachuted into other locations to simulate an invasion elsewhere.    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding

    Lion-sur-Mer

    September 20, 2022 in France ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    To solve the problem of my tent pole, I look for a nice campsite.

    The drama continues there.
    To recap:
    1. I had lost my bright red tent pole in the forest.
    2. the replacement I had ordered was incomplete, one of the needed parts was missing but time was too short for another replacement.

    So now I have the idea to create a handicraft solution. First I have to saw around a piece of metal, then shorten hollow poles and thread a rubber cord through to get a bendable tent pole.
    The sawing works wonderfully and I start threading. And I notice that one of the segments is not hollow. Glue has filled the hollow space through which the cord has to pass. This is something that should be noticed in the quality assurance of the production. With the limited means I have, I hammer a hole through the glue. Afterwards, the hole is still much too thin to thread the string through, so I glue the string to a wire with super glue and thread it through the narrow opening.
    The whole thing takes several more hours, but despite all the trouble it easily saves me 100 euros.

    ***

    I also visit the nearby bunker museum and try to poduce crepes. They are damn difficult to make and the crumbs I produce that evening cannot yet be called crepes. But by now I know what the problem could be. ☺️    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding
    exemplary view into a west-german living room during the cold warexemplary view into a east-german living room during the cold war

    Caen

    September 20, 2022 in France ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    You have probably already gone outside for sports and thought about how to dress appropriately. With continuous weather and exertion, it's easy to gauge.
    The thing that drains me on the ride to Caen is the constantly changing conditions:
    The area is hilly so I ride sometimes uphill, sometimes downhill.
    I have a crosswind at times. It is partly cloudy.
    Due to the frequent change of all these factors from one extreme to the other, I am always dressed too hot and shortly afterwards too cold, or I have to use much more power because of the crosswind. So all the time I'm getting dressed and undressed, half on , three-quarters off, opening the jacket a little wider, closing it again because of the wind, and so on and so forth.
    In the end, I find the ideal position is to put my jacket only half on and tie the other half around my waist. It looks rather strange but "form follows function" in this case.

    In Caen, I visit the local Memorial de Caen, which deals with the Allied landings in Normandy during the Second World War. After a few hours, I reach the end of the exhibition (already completely saturated with information) and add the special exhibition 'Cold War' at the end. The two living room photos in the gallery are supposed to give an insight into a West and an East living room.
    😵‍💫 Very exciting, but I would have preferred a 2-day ticket, given the wealth of information.

    The last film shown there summarises the exciting European history in the 19th and 20th centuries very well and leaves me wanting to do more research.    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding
    View of the Church of St Joan of Arc 1/2View of the Church of St Joan of Arc 2/2the Gros Horloge, a famous mark of the city

    Rouen

    September 17, 2022 in France

    Rouen. What do I know about Rouen? There are half-timbered houses there! How beautiful. ❤️
    That's what I know when I roll into town, and it's exactly what is immediately and irretrievably destroyed.
    Rouen is like any big city: confusing for cyclists. This is reflected in the fact that I choose the wrong side of the river for a break and then need 15 minutes to correct this mistake. Annoyed, I ride to the outskirts of town to do some shopping.

    Hungry as I am, I leave the supermarket with supplies for a three-man picnic. I meet an elderly gentleman with whom I talk about cycling, Tour de France, football, doping, Formula 1, Michael Schumacher and finally about German and French culture. We say goodbye with various greetings in each other's language. The day is saved.

    The next day I drive into town again - there must be nice places here too... and indeed I get exactly the ambience I had wished for in the old town quarter. It's dreamlike: narrow streets, half-timbered houses. Aesthetics.
    When I leave the city, I even like the districts with new architecture.    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding

    Reims

    September 14, 2022 in France ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

    It is four in the morning. I have just woken up and can't get back to sleep because the weather forecast for the coming day predicts a thunderstorm starting in the afternoon and continuing into the evening. A public place to seek shelter won't be enough this time. Fortunately, I find a suitable and cheap place to stay and fall asleep again.

    During the day, I run errands in town and in the afternoon I drive to Claudia*, where I am warmly welcomed.
    Fortunately, my French is good enough for a conversation with her and her husband and I get a little insight into their world.

    It's not until the next morning that I realise I'm in Champagne. 🫢
    I keep passing sweet-smelling little houses and gradually the penny drops.

    * name changed    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding
    sight from one of the gun turrets
    Monsieur, un pain à emporter, s'il vous plaît!the city looks really nice these days

    Verdun

    September 12, 2022 in France ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    I remember Verdun from my history lessons as the largest battlefield of the First World War, so I really want to see it to better understand Franco-German history.

    My first museum there is a small privately run museum (l'ouvrage de la Falouse) that recreates life in a WW1 fortress. It's unbelievable how simple life was for the people and how much it was reduced to the bare essentials. A museum well worth seeing. The imitation rats are particularly cute 😄.

    Of course, I also want to visit the Ossuaire of Douaumont, with its interesting architecture and the largest cemetery I have ever seen. The number of graves is enormous and I will notice several more cemeteries of different nations involved in the following days.

    Rather by chance, I stumble across the Memorial de Verdun and learn everything about the battle there. The multimedia presentation is impressive and gives a good overview of the complicated back and forth of the front line.    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding

    Berthelming

    September 9, 2022 in France ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    10 September

    As the day is very rainy, we decide to visit the Musee de la Guerre de 1870 et de l'annexion and brush up on German-French history.
    For me, the museum will be the first step in further museum visits. After a couple of hours, we leave the museum satisfied but hungry and get some pizza - there will be plenty of French delicacies later - and drive to the next meadow, which will accommodate us tonight.

    11 September

    It's time to say goodbye. Jeffrey* and Amelia* drive back to Germany after breakfast, for me the exciting part of my journey begins right here and now.
    I stand on the field for a minute and feel a sense of being alone for the first time: I'm in France, my friends have just left and I can't communicate exceptionally well.
    Then the familiar routine sets in and displaces this thought. I have to pack things, set off westwards (there is no exact destination at this point) and stock up on supplies.

    The adventure begins. 🇫🇷

    *names changed    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding

    Strasbourg

    September 9, 2022 in France ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    The first step (kick) into France is taken. I roll over the bridge that crosses the Rhine and I am in France. Little by little I have to get used to the basic things: Right-before-left rule, behaviour at zebra crossings....

    Jeffrey* and I roll past the European Parliament and then follow the Canal de la Marne au Rhin out of the city.
    It was once the longest canal in France, with several locks and a total length of over 300km. It connected the Moselle with the Rhine and had great economic importance at that time. Nowadays, it is mainly houseboats that lie at anchor.

    In the evening we arrive at Jeffrey's* and Amelia's* favourite meadow near Berthelming and set up camp.

    * names changed    Read more

  • TakeMeFurtherTravelerVagabonding

    Stuttgart

    September 2, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    The last big stop in Germany is coming up. The biggest to be exact. I lived there for a few years. It didn't help me much professionally, but I made some good friends. So it happens that I visit several friends there, especially Robin*, Susi* and my godchild Daniela*.
    We spend almost a whole week together and I have the time be part of her everyday life, for which I am incredibly grateful. Every day she makes little progress and I have to hide my camera from her when I take photos, because once she has focused on something, she wants it! 🫢

    Together with Maria*, another friend, we attend the Bukahara concert, which has been postponed for two years due to the global pandemic. We don't get the same carefree feeling we had back then when I purchased the tickets, but the visit is certainly worth it.

    One evening my algerian friend Susi* discovers a huge spider in the flat. It has long hairy legs. You know what I'm talking about.
    I get the biggest glass I can find, approach slowly and set it down with a sigh of relief. The whole thing must have looked pretty funny because Susi* starts laughing: "Til, you sleep outside in nature! Why are you of all people so afraid of this spider?"
    "That's why I only sleep in a tent , so they all stay outside !" I retort.
    (And besides, natural spiders are much smaller, no idea why.)

    During my time in Stuttgart I also visit Bibi* and Jan* and get to know their son Martin*. Bright little guy, with a smile that blows you away. 😊

    My last stop leads me to Jeffrey* , who has ignited in me the desire for 'real' cycling. Not as blatantly as he does 😇 but still.

    Shortly after Düsseldorf, so already a few days ago, I noticed the loss of my tent pole. It's just an extending pole that enlarges the tent. It is not absolutely necessary but nice-to-have.
    Since losing it, I've been wondering what's wrong with me - how you can lose a bright red tent pole in a forest.
    (Unfortunately not the first but the most important/expensive thing I lost on this trip).
    I have since ordered a replacement and had it delivered to him. I open the package and find that the packaging has been opened and is incomplete - one of the end caps is missing 🥳.
    There is not much time to think about a solution, I have to find it later. So I take everything I need with me and get the bike ready to go. (Tent pole drama 2/3 )

    The next day Jeffrey* and me head off through the Black Forest. We're having good progress - in my estimation - but are still pretty slow, because my bike is not made for ihgh speeds.
    I must emphasise here that I rode the following days completely without luggage, so that I could keep up with him somehow. What a riding experience! 😄

    * all names changed :)    Read more

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