England

The ride from Dover was hilly but uneventful and the sun even managed shine!!!  Yup, I made it to London!! Below are some pictures from the English countryside and I will be posting a final recap of my journey in the next few days.

Dover

Belgium

10000km (6000mi)

Yes its true the streets of Belgium are lined with Belgian waffles, because I found one! Belgium like most of the countries in Europe in quite small so I did not spend a lot of time there. But in my short time I did manage to get picked up off the street again by a stranger, Stephen.  He was a local cyclist who spotted us and invited to his home for tea, chocolate, and waffles not sure you can ask for much else in Belgium. In addition, he rode with us to put us on the bike path along the canal all the way to Bruges.  I had visited Bruges before years ago and really enjoyed it, but now its slightly turned into Disneyland and feels almost fake with new buildings built to appear that they have been there for centuries. But we enjoyed a nice couple days in an inn run by a friendly couple before riding to France to catch the ferry to country #12, England!

The friendly Belgian who had us over for tea

In the buff 

Bruges 

A Belgian  sea turtle......

The lovely Belgian seaside

The Netherlands

When I think back to my time in Holland I will remember old friends I reunited with and of course the attic I slept in during my time in Amsterdam.  I am not sure there can be a better experience then doing my best Anne Frank impression by residing in an Amsterdam attic. Luckily nobody was trying to hunt me down at least I was not aware of anyone chasing me. I was also greeted with a celebratory bottle champagne from my good friend Barbara who also was in Thailand to bid me farewell.  Upon reaching Amsterdam, I new the journey was coming to an end and I most likely was going to be able to reach England so the feelings of accomplishment was beginning to set in.  . In addition, I met my good friend, Stuart, who actually put this crazy idea in my head when we crossed paths over a year ago in Thailand.  Therefore, I was no longer riding solo I had an escort all the way to London!!! But of course mother nature greeted me with strong headwinds all the way south from here to the ferry across the English Channel in France. 

Mr. Forrest arrives to the cozy attic

Bike repair with Arnold who was kind enough to let us crash in his attic

Wow I really need a haircut

Leaving Amsterdam

I never knew there were cheetahs in Holland

Germany

The weather was turning cold when I entered Germany therefore little sight seeing was done or much of anything besides riding across to The Netherlands.  I was still camping most of the time in Germany and its never a good feeling when your tent is covered in ice every morning and all the local town thermometers remind you that the temperatures are hovering around freezing. I am pretty sure I never saw the sun in Germany, but there was good beer and sausages!  Germany was also the country where I discovered tiny dreadlocks in my mane, I kept them until the end!

Whoo Fehmam, Germany

German farmhouse

Denmark

My best viking impression.

Ohh the happy Danes!! After spending a short time in Denmark I decided the happiness comes from the pristine bike paths they can use everyday. They do not even have to worry about a leaf being in their way. Of course there is bicycle protocol that must be followed which gave me a constant feeling that I was not following proper bicycle etiquette.  Fortunately, I was never run over by the thousands of cyclists zooming along on Copenhagen's streets, although some bells were rung in my direction.  It was quite impressive to watch the Danes race around their capital city with carts, wagons, and baskets attached to their bikes prepared to perform any task that day such as dropping the kids off at school or grocery shopping. It makes one wish cities in America could become that bike friendly where the use of machines is rarely needed.  Once out of Copenhagen it was easy riding south along well marked bike paths to the town of Rodyhavn where I caught the ferry over to Puttgarden, Germany

The inspiration for The Little Mermaid located in Copenhagen

The formal military barracks taken over by squatters in the 70's

Wonderful Copenhagen

The coast near Copenhagen

A real life viking aka my couch-surfing host, Maria, in Copenhagen

Pristine Danish roads

Maribo, Denmark

South of Maribo

A lovely Danish park