Our breakfast smorgasbord at the hotel in Swidnica was delicious, although I think our perceptions have shifted a little bit over the past few months because it wasn’t quite as spectacular as we’d hoped. Here’s what I think is going on: in New Zealand we were eating oatmeal for breakfast every single day. When we got the chance to eat toast, cereal, eggs, pastries, and more at the hotel during our forced layover between Auckland and Singapore, we thought we’d died and gone to heaven. All that food practically made up for the canceled flight and one day delay! Here in Europe we’ve been eating more than just oatmeal every day. When we stay with families we get to eat meals with them, which is wonderful. Also, we can usually afford to buy bread, cheese, muesli, and yogurt because they’re not as expensive here as they were in NZ. Yogurt is only 50c for 500 grams, and you can buy generic bags of muesli for only $1.

After breakfast we visited Swidnica’s World Heritage church. This is the largest wooden religious structure in Europe. It was built after the Catholic-Protestant war. The Catholics won the war and told the Protestants that they could build a church if it met the following conditions: built outside the city walls, made of impermanent materials (wood, clay, or straw), and finished construction within one year. So the most impressive fact is that people managed to build this gigantic structure in only one year and it is still standing.

The pretty city center of Swidnica:

We followed bicycle route 9 from Swidnica to Wroclaw. I was fed up with attempting to follow bicycle routes, but for some reason we decided to give it one more try. R9 was fairly well signed and we only got lost two times on the way to Wroclaw.

It was grey and rainy all day long which made the 85km seem to last forever. Ugh.

We arrived soaking wet and an hour late to the home of our couchsurfing host Jan. I felt a little embarrassed hauling our soaking wet bags and bikes into his apartment, but he was extremely friendly and sweet about it all. Jan turned out to be an excellent cook. We love food, so his efforts were very much appreciated by us! He had a delicious three course homemade Polish dinner waiting for us when we arrived. We had homemade tomato soup with cheese first, then chicken with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut, and finally a homemade dessert that was sort of like a warm gooey jello filled with tart cherries.

Sarah and Arthur (a cousin of Jan’s who was there during our stay):

We chatted with Jan and Arthur over a glass of wine after dinner. We had a lot of fun listening to them say Polish words that have an amazing number of consonants but almost no vowels. They sounded more like buzzing bees than people speaking. They also taught us how to say a few words. For example, the city name Wroclaw sounds nothing like we thought it did (Row-Claw or Raw-Claw). Instead it is pronounced something like Vrote-Suave.

In this picture I am looking up Polish words in the dictionary and asking Jan how to say them.

We went to bed early to get ready for a day of sightseeing in Wroclaw.

Good news everyone – our luck is changing. The day Jamie got his new FORT bike I found a very rare five leaf clover! Not kidding, I think this is a once in a lifetime find. And to my brothers: I do not need you writing to tell me that a five leaf clover is actually bad luck…I know you were thinking it!

After getting the new bike we set out for Adrspach-Teplice National Park. We camped near the park and spent two days hiking around exploring the gigantic rocks. The first day we’d cycled most of the day and did a short loop trail in the evening. The next day when we went back during the day we realized we were lucky to have visited the park outside of peak hours – it was packed full of Czech and Polish tourists and was an absolute madhouse. We did a longer hike through the park on the 2nd day. Many times the trail narrowed down to tiny staircases going up and down through the giant rocks. This was horrible because the trail was absolutely packed with hikers, so we’d all march along slowly in a long line. The BO problem we noticed in other parts of the Czech Republic was operating to full effect in the tight quarters of the stair-marches.

We found a nice campsite only a couple of kilometers from the park, but there were no picnic tables, so we spread everything out on the ground for each meal. I think we shocked the entire campground by doing this; people could not get enough of us. They walked past our site to stare at us, and then craned their necks to start some more. It feels like we blend in here because we don’t look very different from the Czech people, but we get started at a lot so there must be something very interesting about us… We just don’t know what it is.

After two days of hiking we left Adrspach-Teplice this morning and headed for Poland. We crossed the boarder at a “bicycle, pedestrian, and environmentally friendly wheelchair” crossing. There was no guard, no passport inspection, just a red and white painted pole that we walked past.

We cycled about 50km to the city of Swidnica where we spent over an hour searching for a campsite in the rain. We finally found what appeared to be the city’s campsite but it was deserted and locked up. It was getting too late to search much longer, and the countryside did not look promising for free camping – lots of open farm fields and fences. So we ended up in a way too expensive hotel. This is the first time we’ve tried to find camping and ended up in a hotel. We’re annoyed at the budget busting price, but we are also looking forward to the included breakfast smorgasbord!

It’s a FORT. Not the coolest name, but things could be worse; it could be called a FART.

My Longhaul Trucker has been relegated to the scrap heap. I’ll never again be able to call out “10-4 Lil’ Buddy. We’ve got some smokey up ahead!” to Sarah when we see a police car up the road.

The bike is not bad looking. It is an aluminum frame that claims to be handmade in the Czech Republic and its got a cool looking headbadge.

It also has a Suntour oil-suspension fork. I thought I was going to have to get a new front rack, but the mechanic at the bike shop was able to get my Surly rack on with a little bending of the attachment plates.

All the components were pulled from my bike except for the headset, crankset, and front derailleur. My crankset and front derailleur where also mangled during the accident, so now I’ve got a new crankset with 28 cogs on my little chainring. Nothing smaller was available so hopefully my legs and knees will be able to handle it!

The FORT felt comfortable on a short test ride; the biggest difference is that I am in a more aggressive position. I was expecting my Brooks saddle to be unridable in this new position, but it doesn’t feel too bad. We’ll see how it feels after several hours in the saddle though.

Sarah got her rear wheel trued and some new pedals. The total cost for everything including the minor repairs to Sarah’s bike was 9545 crowns (~US$477.25).

Tomorrow we hit the road again.

Our bad luck with our gear continued today when our tent and bicycles were hit by a car! Things could have been much worse though and luckily we were not injured at all.

We were sleeping in our tent at 8:00am when we heard a loud crunch and then felt our tent being pulled to one side. At first we didn’t realize what was going on, then we both woke up and realized there was a car right next to us that was still moving! We screamed for the driver to stop and he shut off the engine as we crawled out of the opposite side of the tent.

A large crowd formed immediately and after a lot of back in forth in Czech, we learned that the driver was attempting to pull out of his campsite without starting his engine and in doing so he lost control of his car and slid on the wet grass through our campsite before colliding with a tree and our bikes. He then attempted to start the engine and back the car away from the tree, and in doing so ran over the corner of our tent.

We were very lucky he didn’t run directly over our tent, or things could have been much worse. As it was, Sarah and I were OK, but our bikes were injured. My frame was bent in a couple of places, including the chainstay.

Sarah’s bike had less damage. She had a bent pedal and front rack and her rear wheel was out of true.

Our tent also now has two broken poles instead of one!

We spent the next couple of hours waiting around for the police to arrive. Everyone urged us to take a lot of pictures, especially once they learned we were American. “You know, in case you want to sue their asses.” It is funny to hear the conceptions people have about Americans. A few weeks ago we met a Dutch girl who asked us if it was really true that if you want to drink alcohol in public in America, the law states that the alcohol bottle must be wrapped in a paper bag!

Once the police showed up they helped us take the bicycles to a local mechanic to asses the damage. Luckily at this point we were being helped by Jana, the operations manager of the campsite, so she was able to translate for us. The mechanic’s verdict was that my frame was totaled but that Sarah’s bike was pretty much OK and just needed some minor repairs. We relieved to hear that he could put my components on a new Czech frame for less than $500. For a while we were wondering if our trip was going to be cut short!

After that, it was back to the police station to fill out a police report. We left our address in the United States with the police and the driver with the understanding that we would be reimbursed for the costs of the bicycle repairs after an insurance claim had been filed. We’ll let you know how that turns out!

We planned to leave Trutnov today, but now we will be waiting here for three more days. There is a train that runs to the National Park, so we may take that to the park to do some hiking while we wait.

We spent two days sightseeing in beautiful Prague and have had an interesting couple of days since leaving the city.

First let’s talk about the Czech bicycle trails. We made a brief mention of the elusive Route 3 when we first entered the country. I think we now know why the route was so elusive. Let’s start with getting out of Prague. We were optimistic that leaving the city would be easy because we picked up a nice bicycle map of the area from Tourist Information and there was a trail leaving north from the city – perfect for us! Things went decently well for the first 10 km through the city but then the trail deteriorated into a dirt rut covered in large sharp rocks. I am not talking gravel – I’m talking about brick-sized jagged black rocks. Not fun at all on a loaded touring bike! We pushed on because we were definitely still on the marked bicycle trail, we thought maybe the trail was under construction.

Next the rocks went away but the trail narrowed to a single-track dirt rut running alongside the river and through thick undisturbed forest. This part would’ve been really fun on a mountain bike – zipping around sharp corners and riding within twelve inches of the river. But what I mostly felt was terror. It is not easy to precisely steer a heavy bike with front panniers and I was not at all confident in my ability to stay on the path and out of the river! I spent the next hour with white knuckles thinking about what it would feel like to fall six feet off the retaining wall and into the river.

Every once in awhile the path would wind its way up a steep root-covered hill so we’d have to get off and push.

The trail also passed under a giant leaning tree which we had to duck under. Please note how close I am to the actual river bank; this was the reason for my white knuckles!

I am willing to bet that Cycle Route 3 was a dirt trail running off along some crazy mountain ridge and that’s the reason we couldn’t find it. Thank goodness we didn’t!

We got off the trail at the first opportunity and began cycling on secondary roads. There was almost no traffic and many roads were lined with apple trees. We started a contest where the first person to pick an apple from a tree while riding (and without slowing down) won. Jamie claimed the title after two days of playing. He ate his prize and claims it was very tasty.

Once on the road, we passed through hilly, rural scenery with the occasional pipeline passing over the road for entertainment.

The one thing that has stood out about the architecture here is that so many buildings are falling apart. All the small towns and villages we pass through are usually in pretty rough shape; at least half the buildings look totally neglected.

One side effect of sticking to secondary and tertiary routes is that it is impossible to ride a decently direct route to anywhere. Instead we have noticed that after three days of riding we have managed to ride in a semi-circle or hook shaped route each and every day. I am not exaggerating. This drives me absolutely crazy. I try to relax and enjoy the scenery but when you ride all day long and then see a sign saying you are only 26 km from your original destination it is infuriating! Also, the back roads tend to be much more hilly than the others. One day we turned off a too-busy highway and ended up climbing up and over a 744 meter peak, the absolute highest thing around!

Now for some more observations about the country of Czech Republic. We’ve noticed some interesting behavior. First of all is the omnipresent bikini and speedo. Everyone wears swimming wear as often as possible here. There is no need to be close to water – a bikini while mowing the lawn or taking your baby for a walk in the stroller is considered normal. A speedo while unloading the car or sanding the stucco wall of your house is acceptable. Today a woman riding a bicycle in her bikini almost ran into me outside of the grocery store. The closest swimming place was at least 10km away.

Next is body odor. Maybe deodorant is not popular here, but we have noticed a big upswing in the number of times we’ve smell wretched BO since we’ve been here. There’s always a moment of panic in the line at the store when you wonder: is that ME? Then you realize it is the normal looking guy behind you and you are temporarily relieved. But then you think again and you know for sure: everyone in the store thinks that smell is coming from you because you are obviously the one that’s been out cycling all day in the heat!

Finally, Jamie says he gets stared at a lot here. Our theory is that people are wondering whether or not he is blind. He got these new prescription sunglasses in Bangkok which he wears all the time. He tends to forget he is wearing them after a day of riding and wears them indoors at inappropriate times, like in the bathroom while brushing his teeth. People are probably staring at him thinking (1) he doesn’t know they’re all looking at him, and (2) how is a blind man able to so dexterously floss his teeth?

We were originally planning on cycling to Bohemian Switzerland National Park, but we changed our mine and headed for Adrspach-Teplic National Park instead. The scenery is supposed to be more dramatic there. Today we are about 15km away in a town called Trutnov. We are pretty close to the Polish border now. After checking out the park, we are going to cross into Poland and check out Wroclaw and maybe Krakow.

Bad news! We’ve had two pieces of gear fail in Europe already. Only seven months into the trip and we are falling apart! Good thing we are not in Tibet.

The first thing to fail was our REI Trekker sleeping mats. They would no longer stay inflated; 30 minutes after we filled them up they’d be flat again. We tried searching for punctures, but that didn’t work and then we realized that both mats were leaking air where the valve connected to the fabric.

The second thing to fail was one of the poles of our Mountain Hardware Haven 3 tent. One night while setting it up, I heard a soft cracking sound. At first I thought I must have stepped on a twig, but then I realized the top of the tent was askew and further investigation revealed that a section of one of the poles had split at the end.

We were able to construct a splint using a stake and we can still attach our rain-fly (even thought it is a little lopsided).

The good news is that the customer service from REI and Mountain Hardwear has been great. Immediately after we told them about our problems they asked where they could send the replacement parts. We had everything sent Poste Restante to Wroclaw, Poland so hopefully our gear will be waiting there for us when we arrive.

Speaking of camping, we haven’t free-camped once in the Czech Republic. The fact that a campsite costs around $7.50 and that every single one has a bar serving 0.5L mugs of great Czech beer for less than $1 sapped any motivation we had to free camp here.

Our last stretch of riding in Germany on the Regental and Chambtal Radwegs was our favorite of all. The countryside was less populated and there were fewer fields of corn and more forests; it was the most beautiful scenery we have seen in Germany. No spectacular mountains, but just nice green forested hills with clear blue lakes and rivers.

We also got off the cycle paths and onto the roads more on this last stretch. For some reason, cycling on a road is more enjoyable than a cycle path for us. There is something nice about traveling along quickly along a smooth, open road and we feel like we are actually seeing the country rather than riding in a park the entire time.

Saying goodbye to Germany meant saying goodbye to amazing bread and copious amounts of Haribo gummy bears. I spent most of the last days with my cheeks packed full of gummy bears as we rode along. Better than any energy gel I’ve ever tasted!

As we neared the border, things got more and more hilly. We were never very high, but the climbs were short and steep. Sarah shows off her now famous “Lance” face.

We were glad we were going down this one instead of up! The German translates roughly as “Give up you poor bastard.”

We were just about to cross the border from Germany into the Czech Republic when we decided to stop on a residential corner to eat our last meal of German bread, cheese, and salami. We had only been sitting in the grass for a few minutes when a woman came over and said something quickly to us in German. It took us a few seconds to realize that she was asking us if we would rather eat our meal on her porch instead of the curb. Once we understood the message we quickly said yes and followed her to her house. I can speak a little German, so we were able to tell her that we were Americans and that we were cycling through Eastern Europe for four months. She was impressed, but even more impressed when we told her that we were cycling for one year and had come from New Zealand and Southeast Asia before Europe. We chatted for a few minutes and she fed us some delicious cheesecake and coffee. Just as we were about to leave, she asked us where we were going to stay for the night and we told her that we planned to cross the border and after that, we didn’t know. Hearing that, we were invited to camp in the garden and we accepted. As we headed to the backyard to set up our tent, we realized that there were a dozen kids running around the yard. At first we thought it was a daycare but then we realized all the children were cousins and they were together to celebrate the first day of summer vacation from school in Bavaria. We were introduced to all the children of the family and we spent the evening practicing our German with all the kids and cousins. In the morning we had breakfast with the family and then set off. Here are Monika, Veronika, and Helena. Vielen Dank to the entire family for welcoming us into their home!

After we crossed the border into the Czech Republic (very easy, the guard was impressed we’d ridden from Frankfurt), the terrain was very similar to Germany.

The towns and villages looked a little shabbier though. All the buildings were a little more run-down.

The people were noticeably different too. Mullets are popular here as is dying your hair various shades of red. Blonde with red stripes is a popular option.

The Czech Republic has a network of bicycle routes running all over it, including the elusive international route number 3. Route 3 runs from Vienna to Prague and we were thinking of following it, but this sign was the last we saw of it and soon we found ourselves on the busy main highway.

We stopped at an internet cafe along the way to try and figure out where we went wrong, but there is very little information on the Czech cycling routes online, so we decided to forge our own path. This is actually the first country where we have had to avoid major roads. In every other country we have cycled in, there was only one road to follow so we didn’t have much of a choice. There are lots of roads here in the Czech Republic so we have been searching out the nice quiet ones where we can relax.

We were planning on riding all the way to Pilsen on our first day, but the hills got the best of us and we stopped at a campsite outside a small town called Nepomunk. We only had to pay 135.00 crowns for our site (less than 5€)which is quite a bit more reasonable than the 20€ we paid once for a nasty, crowded site in Germany!

Today we woke up with some tired legs, so we decided to take a rest day here at the campsite. We spent the day relaxing by the lakeside and enjoying the famous Pilsner Urquell lager while perusing through our Lonely Planet Eastern Europe and planning the rest of our route. Tomorrow we head for Prague and the Bohemian Switzerland National Park.

Hello from Regensburg! We finally found an internet cafe here in Germany. They seem to be few and far between in this region we are traveling through. Maybe it is because this country is more developed and everybody has an internet connection at home or maybe because all the tourists here are over 65 years old! We’ll see if there is an improvement in the Czech Republic.

We are still really loving the touring in Germany – it almost feels like we are on a luxury bicycle vacation! One of the nicest parts are the impressive network of bicycle trails the cover the entire country. These are not bicycle lanes that are part of the actual road, meaning you ride beside cars all day but have your own tiny bicycle lane. Instead, these are small roads for bicycles only – they weave through forests, along rivers, through the centers of tiny villages, and beside fields of wheat and corn. We can ride side by side and chat all day long, stopping for a picnic lunch of German bread, cheese, and meat at one of the many benches along the way. Here’s a typical lunch for us – Jamie is especially delighted by the huge selection of sausages and salami. I love the cheese.

There are also Haribo gummy candies everywhere here. This makes Jamie very happy. Here is how he preps his bike for a long ride; note the gummy candies lined up on his handlebar bag for easy access:

Here is another favorite snack for James. Bratwurst. Touring German style people!.

We tend to make very slow progress during our actual riding time. This is in part due to the bicycle trails – they tend to be full of twists and turns, which makes building up speed almost impossible. Also, the signs indicating turns on the trail are very tiny. We are so busy sightseeing that we ride right pass the trail signs and get lost. This happens at least a few times per day, which is really frustrating. As a result, we have finally begun to use our compass to determine which way we need to ride to re-find the bike trail. Germany is the absolute last place I thought we’d be breaking out our compass, but it has turned out to be very useful!

Yesterday we got lost and found ourselves completely off the bicycle trail, riding along a small rut in the grass next to some train tracks in the middle of nowhere. We used our trusty compass to determine that the city we could see far in the distance was in the correct direction of our final destination for the day, so we pushed on and ran into the bicycle trail a few kilometers later. I felt like Indiana Jones, finding my way through the remote wilderness of a German farm back to the civilization of the bicycle trail using only a compass!

Another reason for our slow progress is the wind. It has been extremely windy here for the past week – just as bad as parts of New Zealand! It is great fun when the wind is behind you because you can cruise along at 20km/hr without even pedaling! Riding into the wind is miserable though. It makes the riding as difficult as climbing up a big hill, but the difference is that with the wind it can go on all day long. You never know when or if it will end, which drives me crazy. Here’s Jamie giving a wind-strength demonstration using our map:

And here he is attempting to stay upright in the fierce gale!

Speaking of wind, let’s talk gas. The human kind. One surprising thing we noticed in Asia is that we never farted there. I mean never. We had been in Thailand for about ten days when we both realized we hadn’t passes gas in over a week. Something about that Asian diet really worked wonders for us! But after about three days back on this diet of bread, meat, cheese, milk, and yogurt we were back to our usual gassy selves. So, if you have a hot date planned for the night you might want to choose the Thai restaurant over the German deli.

A final reason behind our slow daily progress are a all the diversions along the way. Yesterday we rode past a park with lots of fun playground equipment that we don’t have in the parks back home. For example – a zip line!!

And a giant basket-like swing that you can lay down in, for extra scariness on those high pushes:

The scenery in the country side is very pretty with rolling hills, farmed fields, and small rivers. Every village we pass through is beautiful and almost fake looking. It is hard to believe all these buildings weren’t built for decoration in a theme park, but are originals from the 17th and 18th centuries. The Germans think it is hilarious that we are amazed by a building from 1700. They are only impressed if it was built in year 600 or 700.

They used to pour hot pitch through this mask on attackers!

We took a break from staying with German families for the past two nights and instead tested out our free camping skills. Both nights we were able to find very nice secluded spots next to farmed fields. The only thing we have to worry about before camping for the night is getting enough water for dinner, drinking, and breakfast. We can carry 6 1/2 liters in our water bottle cages, and then we have 3 3-liter water bags. We can drink the tap water here, so instead of buying water for the night like we did in Asia we find somewhere to get it for free here. Businesses like gas stations and coffee shops are the easiest, but twice we have found ourselves far from any businesses and had to get water from people’s houses. The first time we filled up from someone’s front yard hose (with their blessing), and the second time we had to knock on a few doors in the early afternoon to find someone at home. We were a little nervous about doing this, but the woman we ended up meeting was more than happy to let us use her kitchen sink to refill our bottles. She even offered us a snack and apologized she didn’t have something substantial for us to eat! These Germans are amazing!

Here are our peaceful camping spots.

I learned how to squat like a true Asian in Thailand so now I never need a picnic table to eat my breakfast in the morning!

We are about to turn northeast and head for the border with the Czech Republic. We think we should make it to Prague in three to four days.

Sorry for the delay, we’ve been too busy living the good life here in Deutschland to write any journal entries!

First of all, thank you to everyone who has hosted us here! Melanie, Ingo, and Ronja in Frankfurt, Thomas and Sabina in Aschaffenburg, the Stobbies Family in Wertheim, and the Kuttenkeuler family in Würzburg. We have been overwhelmed by the friendliness and generosity of everyone. We are really getting spoiled here.

Germany has been a bicycle touring dream so far; I think it would be the perfect place for a luxury bicycle touring vacation or honeymoon. The entire country is covered with beautiful bicycle paths that pass through small, romantic villages and there is a Biergarten every kilometer or so. What more could you ask for!

Bicycle touring also seems to be the national pastime here. Every bicycle shop is stocked with a full array of touring gear and bicycles. Whenever we walk into one of these, everyone looks at Sarah’s lugged steel bike and says “Das ist old skool!” No one can believe her bike is new and expensive. The bicycle paths also have extremely detailed maps complete with contour lines and descriptions of the local sights and history. It is a good thing they are written in German, otherwise we would we would probably go broke buying them all! There are even two magazines dedicated to bicycle touring here. It’s like we’ve discovered a whole new world.

In fact, it has almost been a little too easy here. I didn’t think we would have any culture shock coming here, but we did. It was a strange feeling to leave the dirty, crowded streets of Bangkok in the morning and walk out of the airport in Frankfurt in the evening to see pristine sidewalks and to feel a cool breeze on your face. It really makes you think about how different things are and how amazing it is that you can travel so far in one day. The cycling has also been very different: traveling on a quiet path meandering along a river valley and through small fields of wheat and sunflowers. After being constantly surrounded by the sights, sounds, and smells of Asia it feels a little lonely. I told Sarah that I didn’t feel like we were really traveling anymore because I need to feel like I am going to die “at least once a day” and she almost died laughing, saying those are the last words she ever expected to hear coming out of my mouth. Rest in peace Mr. Safety!

Before we flew to Frankfurt, we signed up for an account on CouchSurfing and arranged to stay with Melanie and Ingo. We ended up spending three nights with them and their adorable daughter Ronja. Melanie and Ingo completed a year-long world trip on bicycles in 2006 and we had a blast discussing our experiences with them. They toured South America and are now planning on moving to Argentina to start a guesthouse and mountain bike tour company. They are going to be in Argentina this winter so we may be able to see them again if we go there! Ingo is also an expert mechanic and he helped us a lot with some small repairs we needed on our bicycles. After three days, we were sufficiently recovered from our jetlag and we hit the road. Here is Ingo leading us out of the city.

Since then we have followed the Main and Tauber rivers to Würzburg where we are now. We have been cycling through the river valleys enjoying the scenery and stopping at small villages that look like they are straight out of a fairytale.

We have also both been loving the bread here. Every village has a bakery in the town center where they bake all kinds of bread fresh daily.

The bread is so dense it is unbelievable. We’ve added a chainsaw to our list of most-wanted gear. This loaf literally weighed 5 kilograms and Sarah almost broke her arm again ripping a piece off.

Along the way in Wertheim, we spent a night with Johann Stobbies and his family in the former schoolhouse that they live in. The schoolhouse was built in 1870 and Johann did a beautiful job restoring it. He was also absolutely hilarious and we had a lot of fun laughing and talking with him. Here is the Stobbies family minus their youngest son outside their home.

We arrived in Würzburg yesterday and spent today exploring the palaces, castles, and churches of the city. We found our first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Europe at the Residenz here.

We are staying with the Kutttenkeuler family here and have had a wonderful time eating, drinking, and talking with them. Tomorrow we will head south towards Rothenburg ob der Tauber, which suffered no damage during WWII. A rare thing around here.

We’re headed to Europe!

On the 17th we are flying from Bangkok to Frankfurt, Germany and from there we will head east and south to tour Eastern Europe on our bicycles. We plan to cycle through the Czech Republic, Croatia, Romania, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Albania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. We have goulash, polka music, and supermodels in our future!

It was a hard decision to skip China and India. We kept debating back and forth on whether we should take the approach of attempting to see it all in one giant trip or to stick to our original plan of one year and pick and choose our spots. It feels like this may be our one and only shot to travel abroad on bicycles like this. Especially since we want to have children. The overwhelming constant among the older bicycle-tourist couples that we have met is that they don’t have any kids. We also haven’t given up on our careers or other dreams like starting a business, so neither of us was ready to commit to traveling for three to five years at this point. We tell ourselves that we can always do shorter trips in the future, but deep down I’m not really sure if that’s true. Who knows what the future will hold? In the end, we decided to go to Eastern Europe now because it is high on our list of places to travel and it will put us in a good position to go to South America this winter if we are up for it. We think we’ll be in Europe for about four months.

Right after we posted the worst things about bicycle touring, we realized we had forgotten the absolute worst thing of all: flying with our bicycles. The flights from Bangkok to Germany were around $600 on all the airlines and they all had the same baggage allowances. 20 kilograms of checked luggage and a whopping $37 for every kilogram over the limit. To get our bicycles and gear on the flight it would be a ridiculous $1850 in excess baggage charges! Once again it was going to be cheaper to just purchase actual tickets for our bicycles. Luckily, we did some research and found out that there was a UPS promotion that allowed us to send 25 kilograms of our gear to Frankfurt for $188.73 and we found out that Etihad Airlines had recently upped their baggage allowance to 30 kilograms, so we purchased a ticket with them and we think we’ll be under the limit.

We only plan to stay in Frankfurt a day or two before hitting the road, so we should have some new journal entries shortly. If you just can’t wait until then, check out this set of our favorite pictures we created on Flickr.