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11.06.2020 Four days, four states. Germany is made up of 16 federal states, six of which are often called the 'new' ones because they only became part of the Federal Republic when the two German states were united in 1990. As it is technically possible to drive through the entire country in a single day, travellers can visit different federal states within a very short time. By bike, we have managed to go from Baden-Wuerttemberg to Bavaria, Hesse and Thuringia in just the past four days, with Thuringia being the first one of the 'new' or formerly communist states which we want to visit in the upcoming weeks. Where Hesse adjoins Thuringia, we came across Point Alpha memorial site, where preserved watchtowers and other historical structures bear witness to the time when there was an inner German border. These days, state borders are merely marked by roadsigns, but you will notice that dialects and gastronomic specialities change when you enter a different state, and ALDI South becomes ALDI North at some point. Due to federalism, we have 16 different school systems, so sometimes people living in the same small country do not know what exactly a student from further north or south is talking about when they say what kind of school they attend. Public holidays also vary. This morning, we started the fourth day of our journey in Fulda in Hesse, and had anticipated that they would be celebrating the feast of Corpus Christi today. Knowing that all shops and supermarkets would be closed, we went for some groceries the night before – only to learn that in Berka/Werra in Thuringia, where we arrived this evening, it is not a holiday at all, and that we can well go to the shops here. Coronavirus regulations are also different in each state, so while we have been fine in most places, we had some trouble finding accommodation in Bavaria, where some campsites and, much to our regret, an interesting scout-run castle which is also a hostel were still closed when we passed through. #scoutbound #cycling #worldbycycling #dpsg #vcp #rieneck #montekali #kalimanjaro #fronleichnam #pointalpha #hausaufdergrenze #fulda #berkawerra

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08.06.2020 On the road again. Two months ago, our travel plans were upset by the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of flying from New Zealand to the US and cycling up the West Coast, all the way to Canada, we went straight home, and stayed there. We spent several weeks, from Addy's birthday in mid-April to Eva's in early June, mostly in an around our flat, trying to do our bit to flatten the curve. But now that case numbers are declining and restrictions are becoming less severe in Germany, we have come up with a new plan: We are hitting the road again, this time cycling from our place in the south of the country up to Berlin an the Baltic Sea. This trip will mainly lead us through the area that was once, from 1945 to 1990, separated from West Germany and known as the German Democratic Republic. We are starting off the first stage today by following the little river Tauber to the Main valley, past impressive vineyards and idyllic little towns. We have packed our face masks and will have to wear them in shops, and we do expect that accommodation options and people's hospitality will be somewhat limited. But it feels good to be back in the saddle, almost constantly in the open air, and to get the chance to experience a new adventure. #scoutbound #germany #tauber #main #wertheim #cycling #worldbycycling #dpsg #eis

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19.04.2020 From lockdown to quarantine. We are back home, and it has been almost a week since we arrived. What felt rather surreal in the beginning is now the new normal: We can follow the development of the global pandemic from the shelter of our own home – and, by the way, from there only. Due to a policy introduced only recently in our federal state, we have to stay home 24/7 for two weeks after our arrival. It is very similar to what we did in New Zealand before leaving, minus the occasional trips to the supermarket or around the block that we could go on once in a while, because now we are supposed to isolate ourselves at home at all times. Thank God there are friends and family members nearby to leave groceries and puzzles on the stairs outside our flat. Or the occasional bunch of flowers and cake, for it was Addy's birthday only two days after our  return. We would have loved to celebrate it in New Zealand, somewhere on the road – but we made it an okay day anyway. We really miss Paul's garden, as the weather is upsettingly perfect right now but we can only enjoy the warm spring sun from our tiny balcony. There are many not-terribly-exciting things to do in the study, like paperwork and general decluttering, and we also fill our days with phone and video calls, some indoor yoga and, of course, cooking. We turned our bathroom into a hairdresser's for an afternoon, and there is of course our bike workshop in the basement. Elfi and Alter Falter have been reassembled, and are now dreaming of better times, or an exciting future trip to the supermarket maybe. #scoutbound #schrozberg #quarantine #cycling #covid_19 #corona #stayhome

A post shared by scoutbound (@scoutbound.de) on Apr 24, 2020 at 9:27am PDT

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12.04.2020 Leaving on a jetplane. Even without the Covid-19 pandemic, we would have had to say goodbye to New Zealand at the end of April. However, leaving from Christchurch today, on a Lufthansa repatriation flight, feels totally odd. There are places we would have loved to visit towards the end of our stay, and invitations we could not take people up on. We are leaving all of this prematurely. A week ago, right after signing up for the German repatriation programme, we got our gear ready for the trip home. Through social media we found a local tour guide, Brian, who provided us with two cardboard bike boxes. We dismantled and packed up our bicycles, and then waited. We still had not heard back from our government when five days later the embassy announced online that the final flights would leave within the next three days. We waited for one more long day before we were eventually informed that we were on a waiting list, and about 24h later, this morning, we learned that we were stand-by passengers for a flight in the evening. Paul used his neighbour's two-seater ute to get Eva and the boxes and bags to the airport, while Addy went on his final NZ bike ride on one of Paul's three bikes to reach the airport. 17 days in lockdown, many shared meals and evening film sessions, heaps of walnuts as well as a short but clearly noticeable 4.3 earthquake later, our amazing host bid us farewell. After queueing for a couple of hours, we finally got admission to board the plane – being literally two of the final 20 stand-by passengers to be given a ticket. And the long wait is really paying off, as we are now comfortably seated in business class, ready for a 26h trip to Frankfurt via Bangkok. The presence of Lufthansa aircraft in New Zealand is a very rare thing, so both airport staff and flight crew radiate excitement, and we are to leave Christchurch with a lap of honour. Before takeoff, the German ambassador came aboard and via loudspeaker wished us Happy Easter and told us that we are part of a truly historic event. #scoutbound #nz #newzealand #christchurch #repatriation #lufthansa #auswaertigesamt #CHC #BKK #FRA #covid_19 #corona #boeing747 #airbridge #boeing

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07.04.2020 Big decisions. We are in week two of New Zealand's national lockdown. It is not much different from the first one, except that Paul has started to take us for short walks through the neighbourhood. We can go outside as long as we stay away from other people, do not stray too far from home and do not put our safety at risk. The walks are really interesting because as an architect, a true native of Christchurch and a witness of the earthquakes 10 years ago, Paul knows a thing or two about the city. We are trying to keep up with the news, the numbers, the situation at home in Germany. It is interesting to see how the NZ government has swiftly and consistently put the entire country, i.e. four million citizens and thousands of visitors, under complete lockdown, while in Germany all federal states want to have a say in this and there is no uniform stay-at-home order or travel ban in effect. However, how Germany deals with the crisis may soon become really relevant to us. Meanwhile we have come to realise that this global state of emergency and its aftereffects will probably last longer than just a few weeks, both in Europe and here. Our original plan, travelling on to North America at the end of April, is going out the window. Even if it was allowed, it would feel wrong to start cycle-touring New Zealand again right after lockdown, and it will definitely be cold out there. We are okay here, but could make even more of our free time if we spent it at our own place. And we might not get home easily if we do not go now. So four days ago, we signed up for the newly resumed German repatriation programme. It is not easy to leave New Zealand and abandon our travel plans just like that, but these are exceptional times, we are really not in a position to complain, and we truly stay positive. #scoutbound #nz #newzealand #christchurch #lockdown #stayhome #covid_19 #uniteagainstcovid19 #corona #repatriation

A post shared by scoutbound (@scoutbound.de) on Apr 8, 2020 at 4:26am PDT

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01.04.2020 Home bubble diary. We have been at Paul's house in Christchurch for a week now, and it seems like we manage to successfully ward off cabin fever. Something that really helps make confinement bearable is the garden, where we can enjoy the autumn sun on the wooden deck or in our hammock, stretch and do yoga, clean and service our bicycles, or air our brains and lungs while gathering nuts and fallen leaves. We all try to leave the property as rarely as possible, and only for short walks in the neighbourhood or unavoidable trips to the supermarket. The two of us cook and bake on a daily basis, as it is fun and we have plenty of walnuts to use up and also because we want to give back to Paul, our host. Paul is in his sixties and every inch a scout. We suspect he did not even think twice about offering us to stay at his place, also because he lived through the severe Canterbury earthquakes in 2010 and 2011, when half his house came tumbling down and Christchurch residents closed ranks and overcame the crisis together. Paul has definitely seen worse than this nationwide curfew, and to him solidarity and finding makeshift solutions are a matter of course. During the day, he is busy with his work as an architect, private paperwork and some correspondence for the National Scout Museum. For evening entertainment, he always has us choose between watching a film or going through a section of his vast and super interesting collection of national and international scout stamps and bagdes together.  There have been some rainy days and overcast mornings, but we always find something to do: We keep in touch with friends and family at home and abroad, check the news, read and write, listen to audio books and podcasts, take online classes and, in Addy's case, practise the guitar. Just hours before the onset of national lockdown, he managed to find and buy a used one via social media. So even if our journey has taken an unexpected turn, we make the most of it and still enjoy our free time. #scoutbound #nz #newzealand #christchurch #stayhome #uniteagainstcovid19 #covid_19 #lockdown #corona #garden #guitar

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25.03.2020 Refuge in Christchurch. With New Zealand moving into national lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we essentially had to choose between cutting our journey short and trying to make a hasty departure for Germany, or finding a place here where we could stay put for at least four weeks. While essential businesses like supermarkets are staying open, from midnight today and for four weeks or more most places are going to be closed and everyone is supposed to stay at home and avoid physical contact with anyone outside that social bubble.  For several reasons, trying to catch a flight (or rather, several connecting flights) back to Germany was never really an option. Instead, we decided not to leave and find shelter here. Luckily, we got plenty of helpful response to our urgent request for a place to stay – several scout groups offered us their campground facilities, and Paul, our scout friend from Christchurch, invited us to stay with him. We gladly accepted, and only needed to figure out how to travel 600 kilometres north (and, as a nice side-effect, into warmer climate – it is autumn now and it was getting quite chilly around Invercargill) and ideally take our bikes with us. Only one solution seemed truly feasible: We decided against flying or taking a bus, but managed to find one of the last operating car rental companies and hired a car. Before loading it with our bikes and bags, we quickly drove down to Bluff yesterday. We had actually been looking forward to cycling down the last 22 km to the southernmost town of the island, but unfortunately our priorities have changed now. Today we are driving up to what will be our home for the next few weeks. Shouts to our fellow cyclists Clarisse and Adrien, who have just done exactly the same – rented a car and driven up to Christchurch, and Marie from our hometown, who wanted to fly back to Germany yesterday but will also have to stay in Christchurch for a bit longer. It is a pity we cannot meet in person right now, but as for everyone, it is good to know that we are all in this together. #scoutbound #newzealand #nz #corona #covid_19 #bluff #invercargill #cycling #stirlingpoint #stayhome

A post shared by scoutbound (@scoutbound.de) on Mar 30, 2020 at 12:14am PDT

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22.03.2020 Rainbow country. Shortly after our arrival in New Zealand, several local cyclists recommended cycling the Catlins, a coastal region on the southeastern tip of New Zealand's South Island. And four months later, we eventually got the chance to do so, and went off on what would be a ride of about 300 kilometres in five days, from Dunedin to Invercargill. Towards the beginning, we stopped in Balclutha for a lovely quick coffee break with Marie, another traveller from our German hometown. In the Catlins, it is not possible to actually cycle along the coast all the time, but the road to take is nice and calm enough and connects green farmland with ancient woods and some sections that are indeed close to the shore, so we did get a glimpse of the ocean once in a while. If we had to describe the area in a few words, we would probably boil it down to something like "green, rolling hills that the road uncompromisingly follows up- and downhill, with a high chance of rainbows." The weather is really capricious down here: On more than one occasion, we were cycling in the sunshine, under a mostly blue sky, and still got drenched by rain blown about by the gusty wind. We found some great campsites on the coast, where we repeatedly marvelled at the beauty of nature, for example when visiting Nugget Point or strolling through the living native forests of Papatowai and Curio Bay. The latter contrasts nicely with a unique and stunning petrified forest only a short walk away, right on the shore, and seeing and hearing massive waves crash on the black cliffs there was also really good fun. Besides, Curio Bay was where we met our fellow cyclists Clarisse and Adrien again, a French couple we had briefly talked to in Baldwin Street, Dunedin. Together, we fought our way through a very windy final leg to Invercargill today, and then shared some pizzas and stories in celebration of our Catlins experience. #scoutbound #nz #newzealand #catlins #thecatlins #southland #otago #curiobay #nuggetpoint #papatowai #rainbow #waves #forest #pacificocean #scouts #dpsg #lighthouse #niagarafalls #cycling #worldbycycling #touring

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