Northern/Eastern Germany

September 18th

Wow it´s only the 18th and I´m in Germany!!! Just relaxing at an outside cafe in a tiny town called Schleswig. I stopped at this specific cafe becasue it is also a music store. SO I figured if they know music, they know English. I was wrong, but got my point across anyways. Capuccino is ubiquitous.

45km to the day so far and another 45-50 to go. My neck is quite sore today so I am hoping to make it to Kiel but don´t want to force it...still have a loooong way to go.

It was 9Celcius this morning but has since gone up to 14 or so.

So..... what do I know/think about Germany? Well, since my grandparents are from here I actually know a lot of foods (and saurkraut is #1 on my shopping list!) and a bit about their mannerisms, or as I like to describe it, their ´hardness´. Germans that I have met outside of Gernmany are, in my prejidous opinion, the epitome of "EuroTrash". They dress badly, listen to bad music, have bad accents, and are generally a bit harsh. I´ve only been here one morning so I can´t say much about these initial assumptions.

This place definitely has more chacter than Denmark. For instance, the slew of 24 hour sexshops and the Àmerican table dance´bar that was not only openbut absolutely pumpin´when I rode through Flensburg - at 9am this morning.

PS, if you can base expensiveness ona capuccino and gas prices, Germany seems actually quite cheap.

(3:15)

Surprise, surprise, surprise I´ve stopped again due to the rain. But I am not bitter! Why? It just so happens that I have had the most glorious tail wind all afternoon AND I am only 24km from Kiel now so I can see the light...it helps thatI have, in my hind, the fisrt German beer I have ever drank in Germany.

(9:30pm) 

Made it to Kiel and staying in a hotel with a warm, dry bed (hallelujia) and Internet. Did you know that a key board in germany has the y and z keys switched?

Oh, and I just hear the Canadian geese flying South. Damn, I need to follow them! 

September 19th 

(9am)
Oh the simple things in life; like a dry warm bed. But don't get me wrong, I'm still roughing it.Using my camping stove right now to make breakfast in my room. My window is open, mum, don't worry. Speaking of which, looking outside, it is raining again...
(10am)
What am I doing?!?! This isn't fun. I just got off the phone with Bastian - I was crying the entire time because I want to be there, in France, with him, but I am not. But why am I not? Well, we don't have a house yet. And he is starting a new school in a new country and I wanted to give him some space for that. But all I want now is to be with him. It isn't fun being alone anymore. Now that I know how much better life can be when you are with someone who makes it just so. Still waiting for the rain to stop....
(12pm)
So what does a girl do when she's been riding in the rain - in circles, in a huge city, just trying to find a bike route South - when she finally finds the route she's been looking for? Well, she stops at eh first warm cafe she can find, orders a Mocha (which they've never heard of here) and sips it, slowly, reveling in the warmth. The rain is, definitely getting to me. That and this constant worry about time. I'm not allowing myself to enjoy the journey because I've set all these time goals for myself. I must be in Berlin by the 21st; must arrive into Prague by the 24th; must start leaving Milan on the 1st... I don't want to feel these 'musts' nagging at my every thought but how do I just get rid of it? Don't I need to have these goals, too? Aside from the obvious of wanting to get to Bordeaux and Bastian ASAP, why else do I need to have placed all these rules on myself? Not having them, for instance, would allow me the time to enjoy the moment - right now, in a beautiful harbour city, in Northern Germany. I'm inside, sipping coffee, watching the rain come down. I have everything to be thankful for. So I guess this is my challenge for myself. Today I am going to live as if I don't need to be anywhere at any time. As if? But it's true!
(7pm)
I tried beating the sunset to Lubeck; but today I lost. Having said that, I really won, because I stumbledupon a great little campsite for only 11 Euros, and the guy at the front just went on and on about what to see and do in the area. And taught me a lot about Germany - in particular the issues and differences between the North, South, East and West.
The highlight of my day today was a little town called Plon. Just like all towns up North, you can see the spire of the city church from over 7kms away. As you come up to it, there is inevitably a coble-stoned walking street lined with cafes and people chatting in all sorts of languages. Plon was particularly special because it is practically and island; surrounded by lakes on all sides.



As an aside, I've eaten 7 bugs since my trip began. And I must confess, at least 1 so far has been on purpose. How does one eat a bug on purpose? well, it went into my mouth, as many bugs, innocently enough do, while you ride at 20km/hr. I immediately tried spitting it out, as is the natural tendency; however, this particular bug in question didn't taste like anything, really. And rather than spit as i held it to my lips, I actually changed the course of my and it's life forever, and swallowed.
I also must confess I've noticed myself talking to myself recently. I guess one begins talking to oneself as innocently as one might begin to eat bugs. It's started by simply singing to myself. Or I often find myself reading new words from signs or maps out loud. Then, much like the flavorless bug, a word or so out loud migh progess into a simple silly sentence like, "un chin, fahrt?" stop bike, "Oh I've got to get a picture of that." And this might comically extend to, "oh yeah, dad's going to think that's funny." Now, a question to you. Is that bad? Should I worry?
I definitely like Northern Germany. The trouble is, it's fall here. And it's big and open. Both of these facts have been making me quite lonely and a bit overwhelmed these past few days.


September 20th, 10am

Been riding for almost 2 hours now. In the pouring rain. I stink. 
I'd like to get to Schwerin today, which would be my last coastal city, well, until Italy! I've been feeling a bit down as Bastian and I are both torn between this and being together. Switching topics quickly, I am so sick of bread. It's practically all I've eaten (aside from the occasional piece of cheese or cucumber that might come in it) but I don't have much of a choice. Everything else is meat here and I haven't figured out how to go into a grocery store without leaving my bike and all of my earthly goods out for someone to steal. I just want some fruit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(3pm)
Stopped at Subway for a salad. My first salad in a week! I'm technically in East Germany now; which, at first didn't feel all that different, but now that I am in a town (Grevesmuhlen) I can see the people, their homes, and even the roads are quite different. The German here sounds really nice. Almost French. The wind constantly on my face and into my eyes is really starting to take a toll on my skin. And my eyes are so itchy! Holy, I just realized this salad cost 5.50 Euros. Why is it that eating healthy costs more? Wouldn't governments in particular want to promote healthy eating and thus create incentives such that people want to eat healthy? That 5.50 means I've already spent 10 today. Which, more importantly, means I guess I'm sleeping in a tent again tonight. My budget is 20 a day.

(8pm)
Eastern Germany reminds me of China in some ways. There is a sort of erie calm within this chaos that I'm not sure whether to feel excited or frightened by. The people seems to be a bit more inward and ignorant and there is just an air of communism/dictatorship on the streets, with everyone walking around willy-nilly passed huge soviet-style buildings.
I ate 2 dinners tonight. Then I had bought bananas for breakfast and just ate them. All 3. The cyclist tummy is on.