On the banks of the Rather murky Danube

New in this edition of the Adventures of Emrys.... Musings on Germany and Austria, Technical Issues, The Scenary.

As i leave the first country and have about 19 or there abouts left to go it is perhaps time for a little refelction. The pseudu hippy in me couldn´t help notice the difference between parks in Australia and those in Germany (and Austria too for the most part). Here it is not possible to walk for more than an hour or so even in a park and not be within easy reach of other people. As a somewhat nomadic person who likes people but also likes to get away from them this is a somewhat strange concepet to grasp.
Austrians, i think, must have a rather diferent attitude to getting thier kit off. Adelaide has Maslins beach but it seems that anywhere there is water here people love to get naked. I did wonder at the comfort factor of a bloke riding a bike in his birthday suit however. Likwise for the rather portly old bloke who was rollerblading in a g string ( and nothing else). Whatever chokes your chicken i guess.

I am greatful for the generosity i have been shown by the people i have met so far too. I think i am still to burn off the kilos i put on while in Nehaus but it has served me greatly in the last few days. I can´t thank Sybilla, Martin and Georg for all they have done. And to Christoph too for help in building the bike.

And on the concept of group travel.... I met a young Australian lad in his gap year who had embarked on the kontiki experience. He confided in me they had more or less been drinking for the entire 9 days of the trip ( with another 8 or so to go). Thiers was a zig zag city tour taking in all the sites. It struck me as a rather strange way to experience a country and culture. In a semi permanent haze and surrounded by people from your own country? I know all the arguments for such tours, not having the expeince or confidence to do it on your own, safe etc and a good bit of tiking boxes too. Sometimes though life has to be grabbed by the bits. Perhaps i am a little cynical but i am feeling glad i have chosen the method of travel i have.


Technical issues:

So far they have been minimal. I think i may have shagged a crank bearing already. I has started clicking rather a bit but i shall let it turn into soup beofre i try and pull it out.

I bought some fuel which i though was stove mix. Alas it is primer for wood fires. I burns, just. Instead of my nice qucik starting stove i now have a black smoke billowing machine that takes a good 5 mins to prime. I shall be more carefull with the nex lot of fuel i buy.

I thought i had met my end when i corssed a railway line the other day. The bike when over just fine but there was an almighty crash as the trailer went over. I looked back to see my wheel in the middle of the road and the trailer ( rather like a brake drum on a certain Nt Gov vehicle) dragging on the ground. It turned out to be nothing more than the bolts working loose ( same as before on with less consiquences!) and a nice police man helped me put it back together.


The Scenary:
This has been diverse to say the least. I have been following the danube river for the most part all the way along with a few diversions into farmland. On crossing the German border the river passes into a narrow valley that was very beutiful with high mountains on either side. After this there were a few less savoury excursions into the industraial land on the edge of the river epsically on the outskirts of Linz.

And next:
I have about 5 days or so in Vienna. A chance to try and do some free stuff and not blow the budget too much . After that it is on to Hungary, Slovakia and then Bulgaria. Guolash, Pickled cabbage with rice and meat and cheap wine coming up!

Ciao

The journy finallay Begins!

After a very shakey start in Regensburg the trip is slowly taking shape. The initial ride was from the top of the hill down to the danube river. Given i had only a tenious hold on the bike it was a bit of a terrifingy experience.

Once out of Regenburg however it was a relitivly straight ride along the river in mostly nice sunshine. A few rounds of getting lost and more than a few trailer upsets and it was a bit of tiring day.

I had an awesome camp in the forest but the wins and rain picked up in the night. The next morning i was greated but heavy rain that didnt let up for most tof the day.

I eventaully made it to Passau and then the mother of all hill climbs out of the town up to Nehaus. Not what you want after an 80km ride but made it none the less

Have done some serious repacking and hope to get the weight sitting lower so as it is more stable ( unlike me!) Tommrrow i will start out once more following the danube to Liz and then Vienna. One country down- 19 to go!

In this edition.... trips to france, cheese, sleeping in ditches and walking tough dope fields.

Whatq crazy week or so i has been. After spending a wonderful afternoon in Regensburg with Georg i jumped on the midnight train to Paris. I had the fortune of sharing a cabin with a group of yagermeister swilling hippy americans. They were harless enough i guess and were kind enought put p with the smell when i took my boots off! I arrived to find my jet lagged mother sleeping true hobo style in the train station. What suprised me more was the blokes in army kit walking around. I thought i had arrived in Bahgdad wheni saw three blokes with assult rifles wandering around the platform- apprently its normal! Add to this the fighter jets that were flying low above us for mch of the hike and you start to wonder about the place!

I learnt a few other things about France too. First rule- nothing happens on a sunday. So in a town with 5 hotels- none of them will be open.



The view from our hotel- yes that is the road from underneath the rose bushes that we slept under!


Second the make some damn fine cheese. In a toen called Chource we had the local speciality which is some kind of soft cheese. It was like the biscuits and the cheese all in one! Our diiner that nightconsisted of said cheese on top of Carmens muselie bars- bon appetite.

On our way down to tonnere i came across a strange site. I thought mmmm 'that kinda look lke a dope plant' 'Oh that is a dope plant' 'Oh that is a field of the things' Alas it was only hemp but was good for the smell at least.

A day in Paris ( which was mnore than enough). I think i may have appreciated it less due to having walked for the previous 8 days but the hoards of American and Aussie tourists was a bit f a turn off. The que for Notre damn was about 200m long! Hence i didnt bother to go in!


And lastly i learnt about strage pictures in French Churches. This one was my fave. What i want to know is why is the bloke about to get his tesitcles cut off with a sword???? Thats a bit harsh even by biblical standards.


And since when did the 12 apostles ( i assume thats what these blokes are meant to be) take on the look of the seven dwarves????

Now i am back in Germany, first in Leipzing and then back to Regensburg to pick up the bike and start the journy! Giddy up!

Another edition to the random adventures of emrys....


The Bike is progressing.....slowly. I am now waiting on a few key parts ( like tyres and tubes) to arrive but this may not happen for a few days. In the meantime i have been enjoying the fine city of Regensburg.
Yesterday i made it to the botanic gardens. Being the plant geek that i am i figured i would see if there were any Aussies growing there. A bit of searching and i eventaully found one- a trusty bull rush growing in a display of waterplants























I also had another wander around the old town and went to the regensburg history musem which is housed in a disused church. It was very interesting though none of it was in English so i had to take a bit of a punt as to waht was going on. Regensburg has been a city since Roman times and in fact still has sections of the Roman Wall surounding the old town. It was also one of the few German cities to escape anihilation at the hands of the Allies in WWII- even though it had an aircraft factory nearby.
Can someone tell me that this picture doesn't bear a creepy resembelence to a certain well know terrorist????

















Oh and everyone here rides bikes!!! This was the bike stand for one of the shopping centres- a pretty small one.




















Last night i went to an outdoor cinema. A rather genours farmer had donated his barn and a good section of his barley crop to the exercise. The movie was a French one which had been overdubbed into German. This takes a bit of getting used to when you are used to seeing peoples lips move in time with thier speech. It was a comedy which was just as well as i dont think my barnyard german would have been up to a complex legal thriller.

In the next adventure..... to Paris by train!