Travel

Nordkapp - Goodbye Germany…

The forecast had 15-25mph headwinds all day, wonderful! Managed to get a good going at them though as they’ve been a pretty big constant for most of the ride so far, can’t see them changing either sadly anytime soon. The morning with a bit of tree cover helped. The biggest improvement came from as a major but better maintained routes so you can actually get a move on and not worry about roots coming through the tarmac or cracks which have split it…guess this is something to look forward to on the new railway line if/when we get it!

I find the distinct building styles between each country very interesting. This trip has taken me from the wooden construction in Norway which blends into wood and brick in Sweden, and mostly brick made to look wooden or wooden cladding in Denmark. Germany is pretty much brick everything, paths and housing. The Netherlands so far seems to be following that style but with large brick which on the roads and cycle paths seem to be hold there level better so far.

Another interesting observation (at least to me) had been the European elections at the moment. What I’ve found quite curious at how each of the countries I’ve been through are doing things, or the politicians are differentially. In Sweden it was almost at a Trump level with some actually using the slogan “Make the EU Great again”, while in Denmark they had politicians looking sporty with one on a bike in lycra and another as a goal keeper, or the V candidates who I suspect can all dislocate their jaws and eat live rodents. In Germany one of the parties is complaining they don’t want to be ruled from Paris and it’s the French pushing them around. I found this pretty amusing as it’s identical to what we get at home about being ruled from Berlin. It’s nice to see the different perspectives in the various countries. Meanwhile at home it’s well something.

Now in the Netherlands and already the bike paths I’ve been on have been beautifully smooth, fast and will maintained. A huge improvement over what many of the German ones are like sadly. Will be interesting to see how that continues as I cross the country.

Tomorrow is going to have to be a decent day, Amsterdam is a touch further away than I had looked at… Should make for an interesting day tomorrow…