With bicycle from Stuttgart to the North Cape

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A few comments about the trip so far..........

In Germany there are cycle paths everywhere, so you rarely go on the roads with the traffic. Problem is that a lot of the paths knock hell out of your bike. I got a bit concerned on several occassions that I would break spokes or bend a rim or crack the frame carrying all this weight on my bike over cobblestones and worse. The path surface can be anything from smooth tarmac to gravel, dirt, cobblestones or whatever. Many times I took to the road for a smoother ride. Both my wheels got out of shape by the time I left Germany.
Wherever there is a river in Germany, there is usually a cycleway following it........I took 3 of these, following the Necker River to Heidelberg from Stuttgart (200 kms), the Fulda river from Fulda to Kassel (200 kms), and the Weser river from Kassel to Cuxhavn (500 kms).
When I got to Cuxhavn I was hoping to catch the ferry north across the Elbe river, but I arrived on Friday and the ferry only ran Tuesdays and Thursdays............so I peddled 50 kms towards Hamburg to catch the next ferry down the river.
The obvious advantage about following a river, apart from the scenery, is that its flat!
Having crossed the river Elbe, I picked up the Kiel Canal that carries ocean-going ships across the top end of Germany between the North Sea and what the Germans call the OstSee - the East sea - known to us as the Baltic sea. This is a short-cut for shipping, avoiding having to go around the top of Denmark.
Of my cycling through Germany, the trip up the Neckar river and along the Kiel Canal to Kiel, were by far the highlights. The path along the Canal was poor in places, but peddling alonside huge ships was quite spectacular.


OK, so to Denmark...........first thing that hits you is the quality of the cycleways - absolutely fantastic - very smooth tarmac on a network of 2-way paths that are well signed.........the second thing that hits you - is the cost....AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH !!!!!Expensive or what. I reckon at least 50% up on same stuff in Germany. Jeez, that is one pricey place. Glad I was only there 2 days!
The paths were excellant, and I got lucky with the tailwind.......but the insects......in the morning/evening, I got bitten a million times by christ knows what........and I'm still picking/scratching the bites............and during the day there were BILLIONS of those tiny little flies that you can barely see but make you itch like mad. We call them 'thunder bugs' in the UK.........my skin was black with them and I constantly scratched myself as I was peddling.
I came west to east through Denmark from the German border - I came that way to get to Malmo. If I hadnt been heading for Malmo I would have gone north through Denmark and crossed to Sweden further north. Check out a map if you're not familiar with the geography of Denmark. Anyway, west to east means crossing the sea 3 times to get through Denmark to Sweden. First crossing cost me 13 pounds (15E/$20) which I thought was expensive for a 20 minute ferry crossing. Second stretch of water to the next island is by a newish bridge, no ferry anymore........I'm thinking great, this will be quick and cheap. But no. Cycles are not allowed on the bridge - you gotta take a train over. So I go to the station. A ticket for me is 8 pounds ...............'and 4 pounds for the bike'......jeez, its expensive again............'and you'll need a reservation for the bike'..........another 4 pounds. Bloody hell. This is ridiculous.
Same thing happened getting from Kopenhagen to Malmo - there a big new bridge connecting the two, but cycles are not allowed. Take the train. So same bullshit. Not cheap getting across Denmark - even under your own steam!

After a week of rain, and 1250 kms on the clock, the bike chain was making quite a noise, as the lube had obviously dried out/been washed off, so I bought some very expensive oil made specifically for the chain (stainless steel chain no less-I told you the bike was the best of everything!).......and gave it a good soaking. So now the chain glides along as it should.




...............and to Sweden. Well, I only cycled the 5 minutes from Malmo Central train station to my mates' appartment so can't comment on the cycle paths, or lack of.
I can say that it's not as expensive as it used to be. The Swedish currency has lost 20% in value recently and it really isn't bad here price-wise. Certainly much cheaper than Denmark.



..........and lastly...........I came from Stuttgart in southern Germany, all the way to Malmo, Sweden, without a map! I'm not too familiar with Sweden, having been here briefly 30 years ago.......so treated myself to a cheap but light road map that covers the entire country. Not much detail, but it should head me in the right direction.
Still waiting for my saddle to arrive from England, then I'm off. Weather forecasst is shit for this weekend so I hope the post isn't too efficient.

I did the first 1300 kms of this trip on the flat........then in Denmark had a few rolling, gentle hills. Sweden is another ball game. this is a hilly country, so I'll head across to the east coast and follow it as much as I can as it should be the least hilly. I just can't do hills with the weight I'm carrying on the bike. It's all the camping gear I'm hauling.
At least here in Sweden you can 'wild camp'........so I won't need to hide every night when I set the tent up.





James

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