The weather conditions forced me to stay for three nights in Cologne but it was actually a really pleasant and useful break on my journey. Through Sam, the couch surfer, I met Susan – a lovely girl who is half German and half Iranian. In her stories, pictures and cuisine she took me to her second home country and thanks to her lively storytelling I got there. I got to Iran and it was awesome!
As I realised in Cologne, my cycling from Holland to Germany was awful also because of my breaks. They kept blocking the wheel so I needed twice as much force to cycle as I would need with properly working breaks. Fortunately, Sam and Susan took me to a wonderful university workshop where volunteers help people to repair their bikes (I think similar workshops are also in other German cities so if you should have a problem with your bicycle in Germany, try to ask at university if they have such a place). Under a supervision of a more experienced cyclist, I was trying to fix the breaks. We tried lots of different methods but none of them worked. In the end, we changed them completely. It took more than three hours but that was absolutely worth it! Firstly, I learned a lot about my bicycle. And secondly, the bike is smoother than ever and it is incredibly easier to ride.
Maybe thanks to the fact that the cycling became so easy, I managed to do about a hundred kilometres on Friday and following Rhein I got from Cologne to Coblenz. Unsure about the weather, I had contacted a couch surfing couple in Coblenz so I knew that I would be safe in case of heavy rain. Well, safe… Let´s say protected from bad weather. However… The place where I was sleeping was… interesting. There were candles everywhere (why not? just a romantic couple, right?), ropes (of course, they are climbers), leather clothes (yes, they said they were into Goth music) and trapeze (I also love acrobatics so I used it immediately for some exercise). Unusual but everything has an explanation. Hm, but what about the different kinds of whips? Yes, after seeing that I couldn´t deny it anymore. I was sleeping in a proper torture room :D.
The following morning they surprised me again by showing me their favourite TV programme – Sesame street. What a funny couple :D. Anyway, I left them watching it and followed Rhein again.
The route is extremely boring and sometimes annoying. It goes very often next to the cars, from one city to another. The near towns seem to be beautiful and there are plenty of ancient castles on the way but generally, it is not very inspiring. I miss the Belgian and Dutch fields and their freshly green countryside.
To get out of the path as soon as possible, I challenged myself for another hundred kilometres and got to Wiesbaden. Here I am staying with Janice, Susana´s friend who is similarly cool as Susana herself. With Busty, her boyfriend, they took me in their mega old school car to some kind of festival where I saw the ´typical´German fun – lots of sausages, beer, noise and raffle where you can win different kinds of plants. Amazed by the fact how many people want to win a plant, we gave that a try as well. And we won!
After not sleeping much at night and again due to the rain, they let me stay over another night. And tomorrow I´m starting to follow a smaller river- Main – with a new hope for more beautiful surrounding.
The more days I have been in Germany, the more unhappy I am about the cycling. But at the same time, the more I have been here, the more I love Germans. They are definitely making up for the miserable cycling and they are keeping my spirit up.
Lesson 4:
- When planning the route, it is good to consider whether it is a rural or industrial area. It makes a huuuge difference.
- There are people who are very open about their sexuality and they are great.
- A torture room is as good for sleeping as any other.
velo adven tures 