Alle Beiträge von Eva Fischer

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06.08.2020 Miniature wonderland. Following the Green Belt south, we cycled through an area called Wendland, which impressed us with its stately farm houses built with pretty timber framing or red bricks or both. We tried the platform 1nitetent for the first time and camped on a farmstead with the main building dating back to the 1600s, surrounded by horses and friendly dogs. Then we finally had to say goodbye to the times of easy cycling across the flats of northern Germany because we found ourselves at the foot of a considerable highland area called Harz. Wanting to seize the occasion and go up all the way to the highest peak, which is Brocken with an elevation of 1,141 metres, we strategically chose a campsite where we could leave our bikes for a day in order to go on a hike and then spend another night there before moving on. On our way to the campsite as well as on the day of the actual hike, it felt a lot like we were moving around in a miniature railway setting. The Harz mountain range and national park are stunningly beautiful, with thick forests, colourful flower fields, idyllic streamlets, picturesque little villages full of pretty wooden houses, neat footpaths covered in fir needles and – to top it all – a steam railway network. We also found Harz to smell very good, which was mostly due to cones opening up in the sunshine and lots of freshly cut wood – some of which needs to be cut down in order to contain pests and diseases, unfortunately. Our excursion to the top of Brocken, a supposedly mystical place where the witches meet for Walpurgis Night, was good for the hiking part – which also gave our bums a rest day – but actually reaching the summit was slightly disappointing because it was really crowded up there and that spoiled the fun a bit – if not the great view. #scoutbound #cycling #worldbycycling #grünesband #harz #nationalparkharz #brocken #brockenbahn #hsb #schierke #schierkerfeuerstein #teufelssteig #camping

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03.08.2020 Iron Curtain Trail. There is a cycle trail along the historic line between capitalist countries and those supporting socialism during the Cold War era, from 1945 to 1989/90. It starts in northern Scandinavia, crosses twenty countries and ends almost 8000 kilometres later at the Black Sea. In Germany the trail follows down the former border between East and West Germany, which has been turned into the biosphere reserve 'Grünes Band Deutschland' (German Green Belt). We have learned about the methods of the GDR surveillance state and the time when Germany was separated on our tour through the area of former East Germany, and of course in history classes at school. In order to extend our knowledge about this chapter we decided to now follow the Iron Curtain Trail, which turns inland near Lübeck and heads south – just about where we wanted to go. In some parts it took us along the original border patrol roads, and all along the way there where watchtowers, some more and others less preserved. Some parts have been taken back by nature and others have been transformed into memorial sites to make the original border installations accessible to the public. The most impressive ones we passed were the enormous border checkpoint of Marienborn, where in past times the majority of travellers and goods crossed the border between the two German countries, and the original death strip installation in Hötensleben. We had heard about those structures before, but seeing them in full size left us speechless and showed us again how crazy the government must have been to lock up their own people and use rifles, spring guns and contact mines against anyone trying to escape. #scoutbound #dpsg #falterbikes #cube #cycling #bikes #worldbycycling #ict #ironcurtaintrail #eurovelo #grünesband #marienborn #hötensleben #wechselstube #grenze #border #memorial #checkpoint #gdr #ddr #coldwar

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21.07.2020 Sand in our shoes. We have just come back 'home' from a visit to the third island of our journey. We are staying on the island of Rügen for four nights, and this morning we set off on a one-day expedition to Hiddensee, Rügen's 'little sister', leaving our tent and camping gear behind. So now we have walked the beaches of three islands, have had as many sea buckthorn delicacies as we could get hold of, and have collected quite some sand in our shoes. Hiddensee is definitely the most cyclist-friendly island of the lot, as there is no private and thus almost no motorised traffic there, and apart from that it offers incredibly beautiful natural spaces and – in our opinion – the highest density of thatched roofs. Rügen is, quite incontestably, the star of them all, with the most and poshest beach resorts. Places like Binz and Sellin were already popular when Germany was still an empire, and fortunately their splendour survived even when the GDR regime clearly failed to invest in the upkeep of their most iconic buildings, like Sellin Pier. The history of another place starts in the Nazi era and shows what madness can bring about: In Prora, we visited the impressive remains of what was once meant to become a seaside resort for 20,000 people, accommodated in a single, monstrous building complex with a total length of 4.5 kilometres. Apart from fantastic white sand to walk on, the islands and the northern mainland also offer quite a variety of surfaces that make for interesting cycle paths: There are old GDR military roads made of concrete slabs and panels that are now in different states of decay, dirt roads that can be quite muddy or quite sandy, and cobblestone roads – a phenomenon we used to associate with historic inner-city quarters only, but which is ubiquitous up here. We are curious to see what is in store for us when we hit the road again and leave Rügen tomorrow. #scoutbound #rügen #hiddensee #prora #mecklenburgvorpommern #mv #germany #kdfseebad #sellin #seebrücke #leuchtturm #lighthouse #sunset #cycling #worldbycycling #kreidefelsen #dünenheide

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16.07.2020 The sea, finally. It was quite a long way from our place in southern Germany to the coast – mostly because there was so much to see and do on the way, and due to the fact that we most definitely chose the scenic route over the short one. And then, when we finally arrived on the country's most eastern island the day before yesterday, we did not really feel the maritime vibes right away. Reason one was that Usedom is only a stone's throw from the mainland and separated from it by what is basically a big lake and some streams, and reason two was that the cycling paths here barely run along the coastline, and the roads, towns, fields and forests of the central island look very much like any other in Germany. However, once we had crossed the island and reached its Baltic Sea coast, we can see why people praise Usedom's pretty seaside resorts and fantastic white beaches. Unfortunately, it was rather cold and rainy during our stay, so we did not have the option to just spend the day in one of the comfy roofed wicker chairs for two that are so typical of German beaches. But we gave it a try as soon as the sky opened up a bit yesterday, and whiled away the rest of the day in Usedom's cosy cafés. The rain also kept us from cycling over to Poland again, which is only a couple of kilometres to the east, as the border runs right across the island. Today we are leaving the island via a bridge in Wolgast and cycling on to the city of Greifswald and beyond, but we are planning to be back at the coast tonight and start a new island adventure tomorrow. #scoutbound #usedom #heringsdorf #strand #strandkorb #ostsee #trabant #trabi #ddrmuseum

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14.07.2020 To the sea. No tour of East Germany would be complete without a visit to the coast of the Baltic Sea, and after spending so much time in Berlin, conquering the great outdoors again sounded just fine. For people living in Berlin and feeling like a quick trip to the seaside, the go-to option is a three-hour drive to the island of Usedom, which is separated from the mainland by large bodies of brackish freshwater while the Baltic Sea touches only its northern shores. Usedom and the capital are linked by a popular cycle path, but we decided to take the long way and follow the river Oder, which quite precisely marks the German-Polish border. Starting in Berlin, we went east until we reached Lower Oder Valley National Park and then followed the Oder-Neiße cycle path, another scenic and comfortable route to the coast. It was pretty much only when Addy's bike ripped a shift cable that we decided we should take a little detour to the closest bigger city, which is Szczecin in Poland. So oops, we cycled out of the country again! Having successfully shopped for and repaired Alter Falter, we had some utterly delicious Polish food in this bustling place. In the evening, we camped on a tiny pony farm in the most remote corner of our country. Today, we have reached the town of Ueckermünde, where we are now waiting for the little ferry to take us and about 30 other cyclists across the waters of Stettiner Haff to Usedom. Ship ahoy! #scoutbound #cycling #worldbycycling #polen #poland #szczecin #stettin #stettinerhaff #ueckermünde #oder #oderneisseradweg #odra #unteresodertal #ferry

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10.07.2020 The capital. The biggest milestone on our way through the east of Germany was a stop in Berlin. Addy had never been to his own capital before and Eva had visited once as a kid and again in 2018, with two American friends, but just for a very short time. That is why both of us were eager to spend a couple of days exploring this historically significant and culturally diverse city. It bears marks left by the imperial period, the Nazi regime, WW II, the division of the country during the Cold War era – when the Wall ran right through the city – as well as modern city planning, politics and lifestyle. We visited lots of sights, but former border checkpoint Tränenpalast, abandoned airport Tempelhof and GDR State Security prison Hohenschönhausen were the places most fascinating to us. The first few days in Berlin, we stayed with Anna and André. They accepted to host us even though Anna's cousin and partner from France were also there for an evening. True to the motto 'the more the merrier', we spent a great German-French evening together, with traditional East German food. Yummy! With a tent that needed (and got) some repair and two old friends from school we wanted to meet up with, there were a lot more things to do than just sightseeing, and we ended up spending an entire week in the capital. We are going to continue our journey tomorrow morning, but we still have a list of ideas and things to do for the next visit to Berlin. #scoutbound #tempelhoferfeld #berlintempelhof #berlin #germany #alexanderplatz #fernsehturm #fernsehturmberlin #tränenpalast #bahnhoffriedrichstrasse #hausderdeutschengeschichte #hohenschönhausen #brandenburgertor #ampelmann #cycling #worldbycycling #sonycenter #potsdamerplatz #rejka #camp4berlin #camping

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03.07.2020 The Spreewald experience. The easiest way to get from the Elbe valley to Berlin was, in our opinion, to cycle to the city of Bautzen and then follow the river Spree to the capital. The morning we set off, we got to know two like-minded travellers: Lena and Hendrik from Kempten in Bavaria, who are also cycle touring the East for a couple of weeks. We promised to meet again at the Bautzen campsite in the evening, having no idea that we would actually spend quite some time together in the days to come. On our way to Bautzen, the two of us actually left Germany for about half an hour, as there was a shorter and flatter route on Czech soil. The next day, we explored Bautzen in a group of four, and we found that with its numerous historical towers, a unique cemetery in and around a church ruin, and – with Bautz'ner Senf mustard being the city's most famous product – the inevitable mustard shop, it is a place really worth visiting. From Bautzen to Cottbus, road signs are bilingual: Due to the presence of a Sorbian minority, most places have a German and a Sorbian name. North of Cottbus, in an area called Spreewald or 'Spree forest', the river shows some weird behaviour: It splits into several small branches which, together with a bunch of artificially built channels, form a dense grid of waterways. This area is well known for its pickled cucumbers, incredibly cute little villages and endless opportunity for leisure paddling. So yesterday we rented a paddle boat for a day and toured the area, stopping when we felt like it for drinks or a picnic. It was so much fun, and exercising our arms instead of our legs made for a nice change. And although we had gone for different campsites, we bumped into Lena and Hendrik again, and did so once more today, when cycling on towards Berlin – a good occasion to share a jar of Spreewald pickles with them. #scoutbound #spreewald #bautzen #cottbus #sachsen #saxony #lichtenhainerwasserfall #storkowersee #spremberg #spreeradweg #gurkenradweg #cycling #worldbycycling #kajak #kanu #paddleboat #sunset #lake #see

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28.06.2020 Micro adventure. Our Dresden hosts Tina and Matthias have different classifications for their bike rides, depending on how long they are. Yesterday all four of us started out on a 'micro adventure' into the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, where we wanted to stay for one night. We cycled along the river Elbe and then up into the highlands to a bivouac shelter Tina had found for us, close to the Czech border. Some hikers had chosen the same destination, so we were quite a few people to spend the evening together at the campfire, baking bread on sticks, frying sausages and singing along with Tina, who played the ukulele she had brought on her bike. On our way back down into the valley we hiked up to the top of Großer Zschirnstein, the highest hill in the Saxon Sandstone Mountains, and enjoyed the stunning view across endless forests. Back down at the river we had lunch and some beers before finally parting company. We had a terrific time with our two fellow adventurers and we wish them all the best for their future rides. Having visited a lot of cities in the past few weeks, we were very happy to be in the great outdoors again, and we are now looking forward to spending some more days in the countryside before reaching Berlin. #scoutbound #cycling #worldbycycling #dresden #microadventure #elbsandsteingebirge #elbe #elbesandstonemountains #sachsenforst #biwak #bivouac #forest #zschirnstein #großerzschirnstein

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27.06.2020 Dresden, now and then. Both of us have been to Dresden before and we are excited to be here again. Dresden is one of Germany's most beautiful cities and it could be even more gorgeous if it had not been bombed and destroyed to a great extent at the end of World War II. We visited the 360 degrees exhibition 'Dresden 1945' in an old gasometer, which provides a lot of information and pictures of different eras: what Dresden looked like before and right after the war, how it changed during the GDR period, and what is there today. Strolling through the city and climbing up to the top of Frauenkirche cathedral we compared what we saw at the exhibition with the sight that meets the eye today. But it is not just the city of Dresden that is awesome, this is also true for its people: Tina and Matthias gave us the possibility to stay with them – to be precise, they let us choose between sleeping in their living room or on their balcony, above the rooftops of Dresden and beneath the stars. We went for the second option, although our hosts have the coolest and most interesting flat we have seen so far. They own a pet chameleon, they build their own bikes out of bamboo and they are bike enthusiasts too, so we always had something to talk and laugh about while enjoying the evenings in Dresden's beer gardens. One more discovery we made is that Chemnitz is not as ugly as a lot of people had told us before. On our way to Dresden we spent a day in the city formerly called Karl-Marx-Stadt and we liked it. The city has a beautiful centre and we enjoyed a ride on the park railway. #scoutbound #cycling #worldbycycling #dresden #frauenkirche #panometer #panometerdresden #zwergchamäleon #chamäleon #chameleon #viaduct #cherryeating #cherries #chemnitz #karlmarx #karlmarxstadt #nischel #parkeisenbahn

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23.06.2020 Spontaneous invitation. We did not spend a lot of time in Halle, but will remember it for its very affordable no-frills campsite. We discovered some amusing murals, saw the fault line running below a central square, and emptied a box of Halloren chocolates while listening to the church bells. Our next stop was Leipzig, where we camped in an area called Neuseenland, 'land of new lakes'. It truly is full of big artificial lakes that were created to renaturalise open pits when brown coal mining stopped not too long ago. On our first evening, we got to know a super lovely couple, Suse and Stefan. They are Neuseenland locals, love riding their road bikes around the lakes, and also have some cycle touring experience. We quickly found common ground, and in the end they spontaneously invited us to their place for a night. We were really thrilled by this degree of kindness and hospitality, which, quite frankly, we had not expected to experience in Germany, where people do not readily open their doors to strangers. We did not think twice and extended our stay, and our hosts treated us to a great evening at their cosy family home, where we had yummy food, got to know two of their kids, and totally recharged our batteries. They also helped us deal with an issue that had come up a day earlier: Eva and her bike got hit by a car. Luckily, the doctor that Suse advised us to see just confirmed that the injuries are only minor – and Elfi is fine, too. With the extra time, we could spend a full day at the lake and still visit the city centre of Leipzig. Upon Suse's recommendation, we went to Zeitgeschichtliches Forum, a fascinating museum covering German history after 1945. Leipzig and its people played an important role in the peaceful revolution of 1989/90, and it was great to learn about key events at the museum and then see some venues in real life, like the building that housed a branch office of the State Security of the GDR. Outside this place, people once gathered to stop the destruction of telltale documents that had started inside once the authorities realised their case was lost. #scoutbound #halle #leipzig #gdr #ddr #halloren #cycling #völkerschlachtdenkmal

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