Back home!
We had a great trip! We learned so much about the possibilities, expections and logistics of international travel.
Although we had expected and planned to be on the trip for 3 months travelling by bicycle, we were not disappointed by the outcome. Travelling by car for the last 4 weeks gave us the opportunity to spend more time to explore some beautiful European cities. Also, we really enjoyed seeing the lovely city of Prague which was not on the original plan.
A few final observations. Camping is very different in Europe than in Canada. Campsites are very crowded with virtually no privacy. Most campgrounds were in the middle of towns and "tent meadows" were not uncommon. Normally this is a field where you camp were you want. Sometimes there were outlined spots for tents, so it made for close neighbours.
Most campgrounds did offer special services for those on bikes/hikers including cooking tents with tables and chairs if the weather got bad, cooking hot plates , fridges and sometimes a microwave.
Washing facilites (bathrooms) were always an adventure. Some were designated, others not. They came in three parts ; the WC (toilets) the douche (shower) and the lavebo ( sinks). We started to rate the facilites based on the standard of the WC. They came in different varities; with or without paper, with or without seats plus all possible combinations of these. Other factors in our rating system included hot vs cold water, hooks on walls and handwashing soap or lack thereof.
All campsites offered a bread service. Order your baguette in the evening and the local bakery would deliver it fresh by 8 the next morning.
Finally a few facts:
Distance travelled- bike 1600 kms, train - 100 kms and car - 1600 kms
- Countries visited: France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia and Czech Republic.
- Bottles of wine consumed- 20+, French, Germany, Austrian, Slovak, Serbian and Czeck.
- Bagettes/bread: 40+
- Pastries: yes, lots
- Kgs of cheese: 5+
- Kgs of chocolate: not allowed to tell
- Friendly and hospitable people, hundreds from all countries.
- GUILT - 0
Travelling by bike is a wonderful way to visit a country. If we learnt anything on this trip it is how incredibly fortunate we are to have taken it.
It was great to hear from you during our travels. Thank you for your comments and words of encouragement.
We hope to do more bike touring in the future so stay tuned for the next adventure!!