No, we are not dead

We are sorry for the low update rate lately.  But as many of you might have figured out already, we are now home after four weeks of bicycling. We really enjoyed the journey and we both feel addicted to bicycling. We have spent our time fixing and brushing up our bikes. It was needed because they looked all dirty after 1700km. We only used the tent and the couchsurfing webpage, so in the end we did not pay for accommodation or camping a single night(!) For next year we are thinking about going from Brussels to Spain. Anyone who wants to join?

We booked our flights home from Brussels on the 25th of July when we were still in Malmö. However, we didnt tell anyone. Therefore mom and dad were super surprised to see our tent and our bikes in the garden. Mom saw us when she went out on the balcony to pick some freshly grown lettuce. As she saw our tent, she rushed inside to tell dad: "Krille, Krille kom å titta!!" Whilst crying in happiness, she prepared breakfast extremely rapidly and came out with a tray with our favourite breakfast: Frökus with cheese for Sammy and müsli with milk for Jenny.

They asked us, (and you might wonder as well) "why didn't you ask us to pick you up from the airport?" Well, the simple answer is that if we had, they would have told us: "Why don't you bicycle?"

The flight from Brussels to Stockholm went smoothly. Fortunately we didn't have any problems at the airport. We didn't have to pack the bikes, which is often the case. Sammy couldn't take his pedals off, but that wasn't a problem either.We just put them at the check-in and a guy came to pick them up. We also got another luggage (21kg) for free.  Unbelievable!

The piece of luggage that we checked in looked a bit weird and the man at the Check-in just looked at it, seemingly out of words, until he finally said with a smile: "You know you are not allowed to take those right?", pointing at the two IKEA bags fixed together with duck tape. 


Brussels airport really made us feel at home! 

Brussels in general was great! We didn't know what to expect, but we were both positively surprised. 

The way to Brussels was an adventure. The bicycle routes kind of stopped to exist and we got lost.
When we had 6km left my back wheel broke, in four(!) places... 

Fortunately we met a guy called Pierre, who invited us to his home, brought out his old bikes and tried to exchange my broken wheel for one of his old ones. The third wheel worked :) He then decided to follow us to Brussels and give us a guided tour. He showed us the EU headquarters, the big church, the grand place and loads more. It was so nice! Pierre really made Brussels to a very nice experience. It seems to be the people in a place that makes the place - not so much the architecture or the landscape.

Going through Brussels on our way to the airport

Sitting in the metro listening to the metro music and eating some cheese from our new blue bike box

Belgium

Our lqst night in the Netherlands we stqyed with Brechje. She  net us in the city center and gave us a nice place to sleep. The day after she took us to the supermarket and printed a map for us to follow.

We t'end to buy loads of sweet things to eat. Here is a picture of when we decided to try all dutch speciqlities :)

The border to Belgium was a disappointment. There was no real sign and we soon noticed that the road quality wasnt too good.

In Lier we stayed at Sofies place. She gave us a tour in the city and sat down at a pizzeria.

Wastebasket

Sweden still has a bit to go before it becomes as cycle friendly as Belgium!

France vs chilling

According to Google we now have 113km left to France! However, we are thinking about staying in Belgium. The weather is supposed to get better and since we have had rain every day since we left Sweden it would be nice with some "chill'n" in the sun!

A short update from the south of the Netherlands

We have now reached a city called Breda in the south of the Netherlands. Our next stop is Antwerpen in Belgium tomorrow. We have tried to upload some pictures of this beauuuutiful country, but the computer doesnt want to cooperate :/

The Netherlands is a fantastic country to bicycle in. We really enjoy it! There are loads of signs to follow, good roads, nice people to ask for the way and a beautiful scenery. We are all excited about it!

We have spent all our nights couchsurfing, so we have met a lot of new people the last few days. It is a nice way to travell, because we get to know a lot of things we wouldnt get to know otherwise. The bonus is that we also get the opportunity to wash our clothes, take showers and sleep inside. 

We have also tried to answer your questions. So here they are!

Melinda (the one and only)18 juli 2012 06:13

Hur går det med tidsplanen? (How is your time plan?)

Hur långt är det kvar att cykla? (How long do you have left?)

Sweden took way more time than we thought it would. We didnt take the fastest route, but rather the beautiful route along the coast. Germany also took way more time than we planned, since I fell ill and as the streets were in bad condition. Here in the Netherlands it is super windy, which is also a problem. Usually we bike between 17-20km/h, but one day here we couldnt go any faster than 8km/h. So in the end we do not think that we will make it to Bordeaux. We are looking over the options right now (Air plane? Which airport? Bus? Train?)

Hinner ni hem i tid till plugget? (Will you make it back home in time for your studies?)

Well, we have to ;) 

Klarar ni er på maten? (Do you have enough food?) 

Yeah, this trip has turned out to become sort of a food journey. We now try to avoid e-numbers and only buy ecological food. It is a kind of unexpected consequence of this journey. But to answer your question, yes we do have enough food. We eat a lot of peanut butter and nutella, but also fiber pasta, fish, youghurt, musli, oats and  raisins. Lately we have also started to eat in restaurants and cafees. Luxury!

Har ni sett några djur längs vägen? Vilka? (Have you seen any animals on the way?)

We have actually seen LOADS of animals. Expect the insects in our hair and tent we have also seen mouses, rats, toads, goats, horses, cows, sheep, ostrichs, pigs, lamas, donkeys, snakes, fishes, dogs, cats, rabbits, ducks, hares, a badger, roe deers, chickens and other random weird birds

Krille17 juli 2012 14:00

Är ni sådär glada hela tiden eller bara när kameran åker fram? (Are you happy all the time, or only when the camera is there?)

We are always happy! Sometimes we are stressed, tired or hungry, but always happy :)

Anita15 juli 2012 12:29

Ska ni cykla tillbaka också? (Are you going to bicycle back as well?)

Eh, no. We are going to find another way to go back. It would be nice to go back by bike but we just dont have the time right now. Unfortunately.

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The Netherlands!

We have now finally reached the Netherlands!! People are super friendly, but know no English and talk funny. We thought that we would understand quite a bit, but no. We just nod, smile and hope for the best.

The bicycle lanes are G-R-E-A-T!! They are enormous and the cars actually care about the bicyclists. In other words, not at all like Sweden. The living standard seems to be quite high (judging from the road quality) and we have more of a “Sweden-feeling” compared to Germany. 

Yesterday it rained the WHOLE day, so it was very nice to sleep in Gerald’s flat in Ommen. We got to shower and he invited us for beer and breakfast. Now we are searching for hosts in Amsterdam. Hopefully we will find a nice place to stay at. If not, I guess we will have to try out a hostel or ordinary camping.

In Bremen we reached a low point. We couldn’t find the way out and Sammy was not feeling well. In the end he sat down on the ground next to a huge bird shitting place.

 

 On our way in Germany we met Heinrich, a super cool guy who both invited us for ice cream and showed us the way. We played on the LOTTO together, so hopefully we will soon se more of eachother!

 A nice camping spot in the German forest

 Making noodles in the evening

 Happy faces when we reached the Netherlands

 Breakfast at Gerald's place

Germany

We thought about what to write, but we are not sure. We havent got as far as we hoped. Sammy hasn't been feeling well and the German roads have been disastrous. 

We have had problems finding the way and finding places to camp in the wild. There are cities everywhere and it is easy to get lost. 

But the worst thing, however, is the constant rain. There hasn't passed a day without rain. Right now we just want to get out of Germany and reach the Netherlands. 

The only positivt thing is that there are cycle lanes along all big roads. They are not cozy or beautiful, but at least they are efficient.