On leaving Nick and Emmas we were on a mission to get to Munich in time for Oktoberfest. Some how we took a track and ended up circling through the grounds surrounding a military base. Seeing shops and a road ahead we steamed on and came to a gate the same time as a car driven by a young man dressed in military uniform. He open the gate and asked us for our ID. Talking it through we figured we were trying to get onto a military base, not the road we were searching for – oops. The military guy didn’t seem too impressed, but then it was the day before 911 so security was probably at an all time high.
Eventually finding our way and with the help of a German lady ‘where are you driving’? ‘Ah Neustad’ we replied hesitantly ‘follow me’. She was very German, no nonsense, but lovely. When we left her and thanked her for her help she stated ‘If you came back I would help you again’. We biked on with smiles on our faces beginning to get the hang of the direct German culture.
The rest of the day we biked through part of the wine route. It had to be a contender for the prettiest place we had been so far; narrow cobbled streets sandwiched between ancient 2 story houses and shops all decorated with flowers boxes. Between these towns we biked through vineyards and Jons found wild hops which excited him a great amount.
There was a gorgeous campsite up in one of these pretty little towns and we eventually found it. At the campsite we met an older American couple, the guy finished his sentences with ‘man’ and ‘dude’ in a Californian accent. They loved our bike and thought what we were doing was awesome. They were travelling around in a Kombi pop top van and were coming back to Europe next summer to continue.
The next camping ground was an old quarry, now a lake with wind surfing. It rained all night so we took shelter in the bar and read our books.
This whole trip we have not been verbally abused. Maybe the odd cold stare as we are difficult to get around on the road due to our length, but nothing major. Most people stare, smile, point, the occasional laugh or thumbs up. Our good luck ran out. We managed to cop two rants from angry German drivers in two days. The crazy thing was that both times were in a bike lane and it seemed as if the car was the one in the wrong and not us for once. The first angry driver was pulling up to an intersection while we were biking straight ahead. He saw us and attempted to run us over. When we didn’t screech to a stop to let him right turn he pulled out into the traffic, drove up to us spewing violent abuse in a language we couldn’t understand, but got the gist of his meaning.
The next morning we charged on and spent the night in a campground which felt like an old decrepit institution of some sort. It was still raining, although we somehow managed to avoid the worst of it, camping out during showers in the laundry room. Classy stuff.
Next stop Stuttgart.
tandemoniumeurope 