Switzerland

Switzerland, August 28 - September 6:

The view over Lake Neuchatel and Switzerland's largest vegetable growing region

Enjoying a fine meal with the Bublozs in Neuchatel

Switzerland's veggie belt

Near Interlaken

Interlaken

Up the Brunig Pass

Lucerne

We hopped the train in Freiburg and made our way to Biel/Bienne in Switzerland. We had barely stopped to check out the local sign maps when a cyclist approached to help us out. He set us off in the right direction, and our route was then easy to follow via the excellent maps and signs along the way.

Our destination was our good family friends in Neuchatel, Eric and Madeleine Bubloz, and their visitors Sevgi and Laura. They welcomed us with open arms, refrigerators, and washing machines! Eric took us on a quick tour of the ancient chateau in Neuchatel, and we visited the local history museum on the waterfront to learn about the Celtic, Roman and later roots of the region. Our hosts took us to the new Celtic festival at the head of the lake, with music, reenactments, crafts, foods and fun for all - good thing we asked a fellow cyclist about all that activity on our way into town! The Bublozs treated us to traditional local fare, including a heated cheese and bread dish called 'raclette', which of course must be eaten accompanied by local wines. We enjoyed speaking French with them, since it is our best second language (and much better than our German). A hike down from the nearby Chaumont hill and viewpoint was a challenge, but we arrived at the restaurant back in town just before the rain.What a treat to have such great hosts, wonderful Swiss hospitality, and to feel "at home" for a few days!

The Bublozs were then off to France, and we set off to the Swiss capital Berne. Along the way, we passed through the large drained marshlands that are now Switzerland's largest region for growing some 40 types of vegetables (something like Holland Marsh in Ontario). Further on, Berne is nestled in a large bend in the Aare river, with its old downtown another World Heritage Site. We enjoyed an evening exploring the old town and the panoramic promenade with fantastic views off to the high alps. Our next day took us and our bikes through the downtown and then descended to river level, with the turquoise Aare swirling by at good speed. Unfortunately, we did not have time to stop and try out the local sport of walking upstream, jumping in, floating merrily downriver, and then grabbing a bar or rope for this purpose anchored in the bank and hauling oneself out (often to walk upstream to do it again)!

Our ride towards the prealps and mountains was lovely, through streamside fields with views of treed slopes and hilly terrain. All the while, we could see the high alps clear ahead of us, gradually getting closer. We followed the Aare upstream to Interlaken, lying between two scenic lakes backed by looming mountains and ringed by parks, restaurants and marinas for the tour and sail boats drifting about. A couple of stretches led us through quiet paths in evergreen forests, over a deep gorge (with see-through metal decking!), up a few steep stretches as the mountains squeezed up to the lake, and then into town. We stayed at a good sized campground with a prime view of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau mountains, lit up from morning light into evening moonlight. A quick bus and train ride up into the mountain valley led us into the mountain village of Grindelwald and we had a tremendous day of hiking with a perfectly clear day with which to soak up the views. The next day we ventured one valley over to Lauterbrunen, with spectacular rock walls on both sides of the valley, and then took the fenicular up to Wengen. The hike to Kleine Scheidig was fantastic with Jungfrau mountain, glaciers and waterfalls rising up ahead of us, and parasailers gliding over the peaks above to then circle gracefully down to the valley below. Unfortunately, we dropped our camera trying to take a picture of ourselves, so our trusty Casio was traded in for a waterproof version with a whopping 12 megapixels!

From Interlaken, we cycled along the lake, with the trail being increasingly hilly and steep along the shore, including spectacular waterfalls tumbling into the valley from cliffs above. This was our day to do the Brunig pass, a steep, winding climb of 500 metres on a quiet gravel road. The pass was tough, but Ian hung in there and pedalled the whole way up. Sue went a little slower to... take in the view... really... (and fix a flat)! The big frustration of the day was climbing an extra 200 metres or so to get to our campsite, which was then another 100 metres down. We knew that we would be starting the next day with a long climb. However, we didn't find much sympathy at the campsite. The other cyclists there (from Australia) were towing a 60 kg trailer with their 2 year old in it, mounds of groceries, and who knows what all. Being mountain bike racers, they didn't think the climb was too tough... but we did notice that the next day one of them took the bus with all their stuff and the child ... !

The descent down the Brunig pass was awesome. We lucked out with another sunny, clear day and the cycling was superb. Pedalling past mountain lakes, through small towns, rolling hills and right around Lake Lucerne to Lucerne itself was a great ride. We did some sites in Lucerne the next day and then headed off to Salzberg, Austria by train.

Before leaving our Switzerland post, we have to add that the cycling system and the signage for it was outstanding. Switzerland has 5 national trail systems, all efficiently laid out and signed: for bicycle touring, mountain biking, rollerblading, walking/hiking, and canoeing (the water here is so clear that you can read the signs on the bottom of the lakes - just kidding!). Even in the larger urban centres, we were thoughtfully signed the whole way through and the cycling facilities were reliable and great. Way to go, Switzerland! Even in Holland, we were sometimes 'dumped' with a lack of signage in the larger centres. What a treat was Switzerland cycling!

Freiburg, Germany - Where Dreams are Realized

August 26 - 28:

Vauban community centre

Solar Institute

Mobililty centre with secure bike parking adjacent to train station

How does the city of Freiburg rank to get its own blog entry? In it lives many of our dreams. Freiburg is achieving environmentally what we have been working for in Peterborough and elsewhere for a long time. There are solar panels and other environmental projects at every turn, backed by a comprehensive green strategy -- and its working! Freiburg is a bustling, thriving community. The main problem is accommodating all the people that want to live there - it is a great city. Their grassroots oriented development of the Vauban District (a former French army base) is a world class example of community participation in environmental design. Freiburg set its own standard for energy efficient building standards, and now the country has adopted the standard, with the city now going even further.

How did it happen? In the 1970's, a nuclear plant was proposed for a site 30 km from Freiburg. Protests started as both the city and rural population feared that their quality of life and standard of living would be affected by such a development. Vinters were against the project due to decreases in solar exposure anticipated due to the steam from the plant, city folks were worried about health impacts should any mishaps take place.. and then, the accident at Chernobyl happened. Meanwhile, the protesters realized that protesting was not enough and they set about creating the conditions for a sustainable future for Freiburg, without nuclear. The city is still evolving and learning.... what an inspiration! Their projects are so successful that there is a company set up just to provide tours and information to interested parties, many of them international. They have a solar research institute that is a professional carbon neutral building, a neighbourhood of energy plus houses (houses that produce more energy than they use), churches covered in solar panels on the south side. Even two grocery stores and a parking garage are covered in solar panels.

Freiburg is known for their solar initiatives, but their environmental commitment and initiatives run much deeper. Unlike in other European cities with environmental projects, the many people we stopped and asked about the initiatives in Freiburg were full of information, much the way most people in Peterborough could tell you about the Festival of Lights. Way to go, Freiburg (and the old downtown and neighbouring Black Forest are pretty nice, too)!

Wining and Dining Along the Mosel and the Rhine, Germany

August 18 - 25:

Twike - a tandem bike much snazzier than our rigs!

The rally car displays next to our campsite in Trier

Vineyards (and wine) abound at each bend in the Mosel

Beautiful riverside bikeways in Cochem

Kaiser Wilhelm monument at the confluence of the Mosel and Rhine in Koblenz

At times in our travels, the stops along the way are our rests as we cycle. In the case of this week's side trip along the Mosel and Rhine, our bikes were our transportation between places. We stopped often to photograph sites, especially the many castles, sample local wines and dine on the rich German food, which is much more affordable than other places we have visited. We logged only 35 - 45 km each day (with some hiking to castles and hoisting of glasses, for additional exercise). The campsites and food stops were so plentiful, as there are loads of touring cyclists, that we had to do little planning and could simply roll east down the Mosel, and then, up south along the Rhine without having to carry sufficient food for the next meal. The campsites were great and in terrific locations. We camped at the base of the famed Loreley cliff under a full moon (with delightful and helpful Dutch neighbours) and at the confluence of the Mosel and the Rhine in Koblenz.

The only challenge was our arrival in Trier, where we found there to be a lot of fast drivers. We were a bit surprised by our challenging ride to the campground until we found out that an international car rally (i.e. race) was taking place on the local roads that weekend, starting the next morning at 8 a.m. Guess how we found out? Many of the race marshals were camped (and drinking) alongside us at the crowded campground and the cars were all displayed along the river at the edge of the campground. As it turned out, we saw some of the cars in action along the narrow vineyard roads, but didn't have to vie for road space with them (or their helicopter and fan entourages).

Along the Mosel, we cycled through countless vineyards and quaint towns with traditional half-timbered German homes and toll towers. Many towns have ancient celtic and Roman roots, with building remnants that show the layers of history - particularly striking was Trier's Black Gate, Coliseum and Baths. The Rhine River from Koblenz to Bingen is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the landscape and river traffic kept us enthralled, with castles and views at every turn.

Travelling and camping along this section of the Rhine is noisy, though. The hills rise steeply from the river and there are virtually no bridges along this section. Thus, there is a road and busy railway, as well as the many commercial boats on the river contributing to creating an almost constant transportation related rumble. For most campers in caravans/trailers, this is not a problem, but our tent doesn't match up in the soundproofing department! We loved the scenery and wine here, but do miss the quiet of the Canadian wilderness!

Here We Come Kiera!

August 9 - 18:

Sue and Ian with Kiera outside the campground building and spa!

Wonderful reunion with the Naudaschers

Attridge home in Mahlberg from 1979-1981

And so we journeyed by train across Germany to meet up with our niece Kiera, who was visiting Lahr for over a month on an exchange. We breezed through the lovely Island of Bornholm, Denmark on our way to Rugen Island, Germany. This island is famed for its cycling, but we were unimpressed with the facilities provided and the island was crawling with bikes and cars, a holiday haven for sure, but not what we expected. We did enjoy swims from the long crescent of sandy beach, though! We had the luxery of a 2-day stopover in Berlin, where we scurried around to see what we could of the city. We loved Berlin, found it to be very cycling friendly, except for the tram tracks (Ian landed on his feet) ... We familiarized ourselves with German train travel again and had a great experience crossing the country to the southwest where we met up with Kiera, Ian's sister Karen's 16-year old daughter. We were pleasantly surprised to find that our campsite, situated in the scenic Black Forest, included a luxerious spa - regular sauna, Finnish sauna (super hot), steam room, rainforest shower, etc. Not bad digs for campers on bike!

Ian showed us around the little town of Mahlberg where his family lived from 1979-1981 and we had a great rendezvous with the Naudaschers, from whom Ian's family had rented the house where they lived in Germany. We had so much to share and talk about in their sunny windowed addition opening on the garden. It was a fun reunion to share stories, chat about biking and local history, meet young members on both sides, try fabulous cakes and wine from local vinyards, and even be serenaded by Kiera's singing! We also enjoyed meeting Kiera's host family in Lahr, who were generous in their hospitality to us and acted as a base for our excursions into the city. Before leaving the Black Forest, we had a delightful walk through the forest itself (a popular activity in these parts) and also rode our bikes up steep hills to the top of the peak housing the ancient Garoldseck Castle (a fun place to visit during Ian's late teens). The visit brought back many memories of family, friends, school events, birding along the Rhine, and adventures for Ian during these transformational years at the end of high school.

The Naudaschers all have solar panels on their houses. In Germany, we saw many solar panels on buildings, plus the wind turbines that are common in France, Holland, Denmark and Sweden, and also, tons of solar panels, both photovoltaics for electricity and hot water. The German solar incentive program has really caught on!

Sweden - Lavish Cities and Enticing Coastlines

July 21 - August 10:

Ian and Sue along the wind-blown limestone coast of Gotland

Sue at sunset on a lovely point on Gotland

Ales Stenne - ancient Viking meeting place on Sweden's south coast

Swedish chateau

Bike facility along a major highway

Sweden is known for its recent environmental initiatives and we were excited to come and take it all in. However, we did not anticipate that our bank cards would not work at the ATMs and that our Visa card would only work half the time at stores and not at all at the ATMs. Clerks often had to manually enter our Visa number for it to work and, for the ferry to Gotland, we missed our first reservation because none of our cards were accepted by their machines. Our sense is that there is a hiccup between banks in our two countries, and sometimes a strong and not always effective bureaucracy in Sweden... As we debated leaving the country, we discovered that our backup Citizens Bank Visa card could withdraw cash from an ATM, and thus we were flush for our Swedish excursions.

Due to the bike-train system, we had to travel from Oslo, Norway, south to Goteburg, Sweden, and then north-east to get to Stockholm. Bikes on trains and accessible stations are quite limited in Sweden and there is an extensive booking system that tried our patience. Still, our night in Goteburg was interesting as the world youth soccer championships were starting the next day and the city was buzzing with soccer fans; the place had a great vibe.

Once in Stockholm, we found that there is no camping in close proximity to the centre and some further venues were booked up. We found a fine youth hostel, which turned out to be a blessing because it rained a lot during our several days' stay. Stockholm's centre islands are compact and walking and riding between sites was a pleasure with its many bike lanes and trails. The city museums' displays on design, innovation and building conservation, the numerous boats, the winding waterfront parks, and architecture caught our attentions.

Our route in Sweden then took us south from Stockholm to the coast at Nynashamn, then on to Gotland and Oland Islands, to Kolmar and along the coast south to Ystad. Once on our bicycles in Sweden, we found our stride and had some of our best bicycle touring yet. The sites are interesting, the terrain varied and the longer routes made it easier to stretch out and get some momentum going.

We enjoyed the unique history of the islands of Gotland and Oland. These are long, narrow islands off the east coast with sand beaches, some cliffs, and a thriving agriculture. It was too windy to sail directly to Oland by ferry, so we got our own extended ferry and bus combo that ended with a campsite on the beach, just next to the hotspot for the local yard sale the next morning! On these islands there are graveyards made of large, upright rocks placed in the shape of stone ships, quaint churches, flat limestone alvar ecosystems, lots of birds, and great riding, especially on Oland. The town of Visby on Gotland Island was a treasure to visit with much of its medieval buildings, walls and character maintained, as well as its great location on the sparkling blue waters of the Baltic.

We were also enthralled with the city of Kolmar, on the mainland across from Oland Island. The castle there is fairytale-like and the streets full of charm. Highlights along the way included the huge Viking stone ship landmark called Ales Stennar on the windswept south coast, the dynamic world heritage naval city of Karlskrona, some cycling just north of there, grand beach vistas, and camping inside the protective walls of the quaint town of Kristianopel.

Along the coast of Sweden, we had some terrific roads with reliable and effective accommodation for cyclists. We saw some touring cyclists, but given the quality and length of the cycling infrastructure, we expected to see more. We had one challenging day where our route disappeared into a hiking trail that witnessed us lugging our bikes over ancient stone fences and around the staring cows! The weather was mixed with some gorgeous sunny days and a couple of dismal rainy ones too. Our rainiest day was rescued by a little local restaurant that was catering to the whole region, including those from the next town where there had been a power blackout. It never gets very hot in Sweden, so it was a great place to ride while heat (and tourists) permeated central Europe.

As we finished our coastal trek in Ystad, we enjoyed the historic downtown, a fine lunch, and then took the ferry to Bornholm Island (a Danish outlier) and on to Rugen Island, on the northeast coast of Germany. We thus bid farewell to our adventures in Scandinavia (for now ...).

Norway - From Oslo to the Fjords

July 14 - 21:

Iceberg sculpture outside Oslo's new Opera House

The narrowest point in the Sogne Fjord, a World Heritage Site

Florescent fjord fireweed

The famous new Holmenkollen ski jump, on Oslo's outskirts

We took a pricey overnight ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo and were of two minds about the beautiful view from the campground overlooking the city and the fjord. It was a heck of a climb with loaded bikes, but once there, the view was awesome! We can tell that all of Europe is on vacation now. The campground is a sea of campers and tents and the museums and streets are packed. Norway is awesome in many ways, but the cycling infrastructure is weaker than anywhere we have been yet. Oslo has a highway running along the waterfront and the rest of the roads seem to be quite neglected as they have been spending billions putting the multi-land road underground as they make the waterfront more accessible. After visiting large cities in Europe with no centre expressway, it seems a shame to spend such sums on a road that could be unnecessary. Hard to say for sure, we are merely passing through...

Before you get super excited about visiting Norway, you need to know that it is pricey. Oslo is said to be the second priciest city in the world after Tokyo, Japan. We could hardly afford a 20 dollar full meal deal at McDonalds. Apparently the prices are high due to the high standard of living brought on by their oil, but they seem very good on maximizing revenues. Even a visit to the toilet at the train station is 2 Euros, that is 2.60 Canadian. Not a place to bring the kids, that's for sure!

The sights in Norway are awesome. We enjoyed the sites in Oslo immensely, seeing their splendid city hall (with dramatic artworks, where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded), the Arctic exploring ship the Fram, the Nobel Peace Prize museum with South African winner profiles, the Viking ship museum, Maritime museum, fascinating Vigeland sculpture park and the new ski jump at Holmenkollen (from the top! now ready for the 2011 World Nordic Ski Championship). Won't those nordic skiers be surprised at the starting gate for their races!

We did not come to Norway to cycle (mountains and such being rather daunting!), so we parked our bikes at a hostel and took a bus up to the Sogne Fjord where we feasted on blueberries and learned about their weather patterns. Not surprisingly, it is like the west coast of Canada and there can be a lot of rain (despite the tourism photos). We did some hiking up to the meadows from the town of Mundal and took three different boats along the fjord, including along the narrowest in Norway and world heritage fjord, and completed the tour with the famously steep and dramatic Flam railway journey. We saw many gorgeous waterfalls and vistas, despite the misty weather.

Island Hopping in Denmark

July 5 - July 13:

Ferry from Denmark unloading in Putgarden, Germany

Sunset on Lolland Island

Wooden yachts with character and beauty in every harbour

Ian beside a dolman on Aero Island

Our favourite farm house

Viking museum, Roskilde

Copenhagen

We arrived in Denmark after several hours of train hopping through northern Germany and taking a ferry from Puttgarden, Germany to Lolland Island, Denmark. The trains in Germany are superb for accommodating bicycles. There are almost always elevators to the train platforms and the low floor trains are easy to get the bicycles on and off. There is a fee for taking bikes on the train, but we were happy to pay it with the great service provided. After performing bicycle gymnastics to get bikes on the train in France and Holland, we knew what to appreciate! In Germany, the cyclists all work together and with a friendly, relaxed attitude, figure out how to get all the bikes to fit when the train gets a bit crowded. We were quite impressed.

The German trains are not completely barrier-free, but they are getting very close. The bike car is also for strollers and wheelchairs, who benefit from the train and train station designs as well. From a cycling perspective, the regional trains with a flexible car for bikes, strollers and wheelchairs worked better than the cars where a specific space is allotted to the bicycle. It is much harder to maneouver the bicycles in the cars with bike specific racks. We also preferred the platforms that had a long, wide ramps rather than an elevator because it is faster and accommodates more people in a short time, which is necessary when making connections.

Our first camping experience in Denmark was exceptional, a themed western camp, including campers decked out in checkered shirts and cowboy boots and hats, and bonafide line dancing on a stage near the reception area. We left the western camp the next morning, able to leave the western hats behind because they didn't fit under our bike helmets. We headed to the next island and the lands at Tranekar Slot (castle), featuring a large semi-forested area with sculptures made with natural materials that may or may not decompose with time. Either we had become more disoriented than usual, or there has been a lot of decomposition in the park! We did manage to find a few impressive sculptures, as well as a very wet thunderstorm!

We then moved on to Aero Island, our favourite, complete with quaint harbour towns like Marstal, prehistoric dolman rocks marking ancient cemeteries, smoked fish and delicious strawberries and sugar snap peas set out at roadside farms on the honour system. After loosing many strawberries cycling over some cobblestone streets in France, we didn't take any risks, and downed the strawberries we purchased on the spot. Hint: if you head north from France, through Holland and then Denmark from June through July, you get a very long strawberry season!

The Marstal harbour is large for the small town that it is and we enjoyed seeing all the boats, with the classic wooden sailing vessels competing with the sleek new yachts for attention. The boats are also terrific at the Svendborg harbour on the next island over, Funan.

The cycling in Denmark is fabulous. The islands are large enough to feel like you are going somewhere, but small enough to encourage a relaxed pace. The rolling countryside has Baltic Sea views around almost every corner and the roads are quiet, and well, lovely. Almost every farm has sheep, horses or cows, many taking a casual interest in passing cyclists. Like the other countries we have been in, there are a surprising number of gorgeous horses at the farms we pass.

Multi-modal transportation is key in Denmark as you cannot go very far without taking a ferry. We traversed five islands in four days, ending with Zealand, where Copenhagen is located. On route to Copenhagen, we visited the town of Roskilde where there is a Viking museum with a focus on the Viking boats. There is an extensive boat exhibit in the harbour adjacent to the museum, making us think about how the Canoe Museum in Peterborough could function on Little Lake downtown. Luckily or not, we had just missed the annual Roskilde Rock Festival. This event is run by almost everyone in the community, nets a couple million dollars a year, all of which goes to local sports teams, cultural events, museums, environmental initiatives, etc. Quite an amazing feat for a small city.

In Copenhagen, we enjoyed the jazz festival and watched the final match of the World Cup soccer championships on a large screen TV at the makeshift campground (all the buildings are portable) with 50 or so other campers of various origins. We didn't clue in until the end of the game, with a winning goal from Spain, that we were in a minority rooting for Holland... a tolerant crowd! Copenhagen is a fascinating city, full of character and contrasts, from sophisticated jazz venues (dixieland on the streets, cool jazz in the clubs during the festival), to anarachy in Christiana to waterside promenades. We enjoyed it all.

Cycling is big in Copenhagen, like Amsterdam, but the streets are wider and there is not as much predictability of cycling infrastructure. In Denmark, a cyclist must make a left hand turn in two motions like an upsidedown L. It is not legal to move into the left lane and then make a turn. This is likely due to the history of the separated cycling tracks along the side of the road. Even with the volume of cyclists present, the L left hand turns worked quite well.