BAVARIAN CYCLING HOLIDAY SEPT. 2008

This was a fourteen day holiday but would have liked more days.
Flew into Munich Airport 2nd September 2008. Was collected there by a representative of Bent's Bicycle and Walking Tours.
Travelled to Lenggries. Went for walk here and already I like this place. Beautiful buildings and scenery and friendly people and lots of sunshine. My hotel 'Hotel Alpenrose' was also excellent.
The idea of this particular holiday was to cycle to a destination and remain there for a day and two nights and then continue to next destination. It therefore left a day where we could cycle and explore the area we were in or just relax.
I met a wonderful English couple, Chris and Cherry, with whom I travelled  for the rest of the holiday.
Garmish-Partenkirchen:  After leaving Lenggries we cycled to here passing through Mittenwald.  Three Kilometres past Mittenwald we crossed border into Austria. Some steep hills here, which I enjoyed. 10km past Ehrwald we crossed border back into Germany and continued  on to Garmish-Partenkirchen. This was the only time on the holiday that the weather was not in our favour. It rained almost all day and prevented us from our planned trip to the summit of Germany's highest mountain, "The Zugspitze", which was unfortunate as I was really looking forward to that. That was the only day we had rain on the whole holiday.
Garmish to Hohenschwangau
Approx. a 27km cycle passing through Reinertshof and skirting Fussen. The focus of attention in Hohenschwangau were the castles of 'Mad King Ludwig', Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. After visiting the castles we went to the lake and hired a boat which Cherry, Peter and myself rowed about the lake on a beautiful sunny day. We had dinner in one of the restaurants in Hohenschwangau that evening, which I thoroughtly enjoyed. Hohenschwangau for me though was a bit overcomercialised and a tourist trap.
Hohenschwangau to Oberammergau
Another short trip, this time to Oberammergau.
Oberammergau is full of wonderful craftsmen, whose extensive skills working on wood would mesmerise you and hold you in awe of their extraordinary skills.
From here we did a trip to Ettal and back. Ettal is such a beautiful place. It's the kind of place you could visualise in a fairytale.
Oberammergau to Bernried
Travel through Diemendorf, Monatshausen, Kerschlach,and Bernried
This was our last cycle of the trip.
In Bernried I decided to take a sauna. I didn't know it at the time but it was used by both sexes. I'll say no more, other than I enjoyed my sauna, which I needed, after an enjoyable cycling holiday in a beautiful area of Germany and indeed Austria.
Next morning we would travel by train to Munich and then on to the airport for my flight home.
P.S. I loved the beauty of the scenery here . The people also, I found friendly and hospitable and might just return sometime in the future.

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MECHELEN TO AMSTERDAM CYCLE AND BARGE TRIP

Airline to Brussels where I stayed first night.

Travelled to Mechelen from Brussels by train next day just before lunch.

Walked from Train Station in Mechelen to boat.

Only a short trip on foot.

Impressed by my en-suite accommodation on the De Tidjgeest Barge.

Stayed moored in Mechelen first night after 25k cycle in area

Day1 toured Mechelen next day on foot

Day2 cycled approx 50k to Antwerp, a city I liked. The name 'Antwerp' literally means 'Hand Throw'and has a statue on the main square showing a person about to throw the hand of a giant in order to save his town. 'Ant' in the local language means "Hand" and 'werp' means "to throw". The story relating to this is a long one, and I won't go into it here. Did a walk here and liked it very much. Later that night we went to a beer tasting session which was organised especially for us. Got some lessons on how to taste beer properly. Very interesting indeed. The pub we were in had over 300 different beers. Didn't taste them all of course, hee, hee.

Day 3 cycled to Tholen. The Zeeland landscape is preserved here. The scenery changes from pastures, grazing land, orchards and characteristic villages and farms. The Family of American president Franklin D. Roosevelt emigrated from the village of Tholen to New Amsterdam. In front of the church is a monument citing the Four Freedoms from US president Franklin Roosevelt's famous 1941 State of the Union speech. We visited a restored old Windmill and this was a highlight for me. We got a tour from the owner who put a lot of time, effort, and money into restoring it to it's original specifications. Absolutely wonderful to see the workings of the Mill.

Day 4 Cycled from Tholen to Williamstad a walled city, 40k. The bastions of picturesque town 'Williamstad' were built in 1583 by Willem van Oranje and are named after the seven provinces and are unique in themselves. Apparently the influence of the House of Orange is also seen in the name of the windmill 'The Oranjemolen'. I loved this place. The barge was docked about 3 miles outside the town. The guide and I walked into the town and while there the heavens opened and I had no coat. I was saturated. Luckily enough it didn't last too long and by the time we had left the pub I was dry again and the rain had stopped. By the time I had walked back to the barge I was completely dry and in good form.

Day 5 Boat to Geertuidenberg-s. Cycled from there to Hertogenbosch, 45k. Geertuidenberg was once an important trade centre and a place where the representatives of cities came together. In 1421 that came to an end and the city lost a lot of its privilages and the area became one of the smallest regions of the country. Not a great thing to be known for.

Day 6 Travelled from Hertogenbosch to Tiel and to Vianen . This for me was the toughest trip, and only about 40k.

Hertogenbosch become a city in 1190. Before that it was inhabited by Batavians. The city was most prosperous in the 15th - 16th centuries. During this period St. John's Cathedral was built in Gothic Brabant style. Wasn't here long enough to really form an opinion unfortunately.

Tiel is in the province of Gelderland and is a former Hanseatic City. It is one of the oldest cities of the Netherlands. It originates from 850 - 1100. It became famous as a trade area because of its harbour the businesses had a trade organisation in operation with UK and German Rhineland. The King also had a residence here, which signified it's importance. I liked this city also and was intrigued by the buildings and layout of the city. Loved this place really.

Vianen People first arrived here about 1000BC when the first settlements were founded. Their claim to fame was acquiring the right to have a market two times a year.

I had a problem on this section of the journey. The problem was one of a strong wind which made it very difficult to cycle against. The wind which was very strong was in our face for most of the trip. my legs were quite tired at end of this trip. Time perhaps, is catching up with me. Now if I hear the word 'Vianen' an exclamation emanates from my tonsils "Aaaaaagggghhhhh"

Day 7 Final cycling day was Vianen to Breukelen to Amsterdam
Last day of cycling. Regrets and relief come to mind. The regrets relate to the soreness of my legs and only lasted as long as the soreness lasted. The relief was that I was about to achieve what I had set out to acheive.

Breukelen dates back to the 7th century. It is still indicated as Attingahem. The name refers to a certain Atto or Attinga. The family rented several pieces of ground from the King. The family of Atto founded a Villa and called it 'Breukelerhof'. From this the name 'Breukelen' is derived. The trip from Breukelen to Amsterdam was probably one of the easier ones for me.


Amsterdam. When we arrived back to the barge in Amsterdam that evening a special meal was prepared by the chef to acknowledge the final dinner of the trip. After breakfast the next morning we would pack our bags and move out.


Conclusion of Trip. This was a wonderful trip with great people, accommodation, food, and lots of fun, and one I am delighted to have done


Day 8 Toured Amsterdam Walked around Amsterdam and visited many buildings of interest. Needless to say had lunch and dinner in an Irish Pub.


That night I met an old friend from Ireland and we did another tour of Amsterdam. My friend had lived here for 27 years. A good night but ended around 1.30am. I didn't have to be at the airport until 10am so not so bad.

Day 9 Flight from Amsterdam to Dublin


My only problem was tiredness at end of a trip I enjoyed
I did learn something though. I thought I was fitter.
Everyone on trip was nice which added to the overall enjoyment for me.

Jan the guide was great