Suzanne's Cycling Site
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        • Day 1 - Füssen to Peiting
        • Day 2 - Peiting to Klosterlechfeld
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        • Day 4 - Gersthofen to Donauwörth
        • Day 5 - Train Ride Home
      • Continuing on the Romantic Road >
        • Day 1 - Donauwörth to Raustetten
        • Day 2 - Raustetten to Dorfgütingen
        • Day 3 - Dorfgütingen to Creglingen
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        • Day 6 - Uettingen to Würzburg
      • Alpe-Adria Tour 2018 >
        • 1. Alsace or the Alps?
        • 2. We're Off: Munich to Bruckmühl
        • 3. Mountains Aready? Bruckmühl to Übersee
        • 4. Almost Salzburg: Übersee to Freilassing
        • 5. On the Ciclovia Alpe-Adria: Freilassing to Golling
        • 6. A Short Ride: Golling to Werfen
        • 7. A Patch of Blue Sky: Werfen to Sankt Veit
        • 8. Holed up in Sankt Veit
        • 9. The Big Climb: Sankt Veit to Unterkolbnitz
        • 10. Inching Our Way: Kolbnitz to Spittal
        • 11. Flat and Dry: Spittal to Arnoldstein
        • 12. Buongiorno Bella Italia: Arnoldstein to Chiusaforte
        • 13. Best Bike Path Ever: Chiusaforte to Tavagnacco
        • 14. Closer to the Sea: Tavagnacco to Palmanova
        • 15. Last Day on the Road: Palmanova to Grado
        • 16. Grado and How We Got Home
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    • 1986 - Southwest France
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Spring in January?

27/1/2019

2 Comments

 
No, it is definitely not spring yet although it was a few degrees warmer today than in the past few days. I somehow expected some spring-like vegetation in the Botanical Garden and since it was a bit warmer and there was no snow on the bike paths, Janos and I cycled there. This winter cycling is something new; last year when it got cold, I didn't get on my bike for at least three months. They say it's all about wearing the right clothing, so I bought some top-quality winter mittens, changed my attitude and have been cycling short disances in town since we got back from Spain.

In the Botanical Garden there wasn't even a tiny blossom on the witch hazel. I did see the tips of what I think will be snow drops poking through the layers of dry leaves and snow, though. Perhaps in a few weeks ... When it started to rain, we went into the Botanical Garden's cafe and had an early lunch along with many other inveterate botanical garden visitors who got caught in the rain.
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We take our usual route through the Olympic Park.
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When we got there, we warmed up a little in the greenhouse.
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The flower beds in winter sleep
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We take refuge.
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As it rained, the cafe soon filled up.
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We take a short walk and see some green beneath the snow.
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Our bikes are waiting.
2 Comments

The Ride Home

16/1/2019

0 Comments

 

January 7 - 10

No dallying, no sightseeing, no country roads - that was the program for the ride home. However, the first night we did plan a stop in a historical town with a castle and old walls since it was on our route and, well, we like these places. We were in Alarcón in the late afternoon and still had daylight to go out and take some pictures. Its location on a plateau was spectacular.
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Our little Skoda - we stopped to get a view of Alarcòn from the other side of the ravine.
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Alarcón
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On our walk in Alarcón
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Basking in the last rays of the evening sun
The next morning we woke up again to blue skies - but the temperature had dropped to below zero as Alarcón is at an altitude of 980 meters. As we lost altitude it warmed up and we had one more sunny day.
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Clementines and oranges from Valencia for sale at one of the parking areas along the highway
On the second day we crossed the border into France and slept in Perpignan.

A country a day - on day three we slept in Lausanne, Switzerland. No pictures at all.

We knew it had been snowing heavily in Bavaria and parts of Switzerland. Our day started out fine, dry roads, no snow, but then came snow flurries, and more snow and more snow. Salt had been strewn and snow plows were out but I wasn't enjoying the ride much any more. Around Zurich I was beginning to feel anxious. I am admittedly somewhat phobic about highway driving and speed anyway and the snow was stoking my fears. When we reached Lindau, just over the German border, I asked Janos to let me out at the train station. Although Janos is an excellent driver, I knew driving through the snow was going to be agony for me. I felt bad leaving Janos to drive the last stretch alone and I was relieved to hear afterwards that the roads had been fine. And I felt fine sitting in the train, relaxed and happy to watch the wonderful snowy landscape roll past the window.
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Lovely sky when we leave Lausanne in the morning
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Through an icy car window
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Through a train window
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Deep snow in Bavaria
And that was it. Janos and I got home almost the same time in the evening. When I got there, Janos had just dragged our luggage up the three flights of stairs. We soon fell into bed. I was happy to be home again.
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El Puerto de Santa Maria revisited

4/1/2019

1 Comment

 
Again we visited El Puerto, this time with our friends from Kassel. We strolled through the streets, visited the church with the storks, took pictures of the storks, had lunch, walked around the bull ring and hoped it would be open so we could have a look inside but it wasn't, stopped for a sherry, took some more pictures and drove home. Again a beautiful sunny day, not too warm and not too cool.
Here are the pictures.
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1 Comment

    My blog...

    ... is up and running again. It is a space for notes on my daily doings - walks, bike rides, photo outings, travel. Thanks for reading.

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  • Home
  • Bicycle Tours
    • 2021 >
      • Autumn in the Allgäu
      • Austria Again
      • A Dip into Tyrol
      • Wertheim and Beyond
      • We got as far as Wertheim
      • Bavarian Getaways
    • 2020 >
      • Out and About in Bavaria >
        • Day 1: Gauting - Bad Tölz
        • Day 2: Bad Tölz - Bad Kohlgrub
        • Day 3: Bad Kohlgrub - Landsberg
        • Day 4: Landsberg - Gauting
    • 2019 >
      • The Season Has Begun
      • Pedaling and Shooting in Bavaria >
        • Day 1
        • Day 2
      • More Pedaling in Bavaria >
        • Day 1
        • Day 2
      • Cycling the Inn in Austria >
        • Day 1 Gautig to Tölz
        • Day 2 Tölz to Jenbach
        • Day 3 Jenbach to Innsbruck
        • Day 4 Innsbruck to Rietz
        • Day 5 Rietz to Landeck
        • Day 6 Landeck and Home
    • 2018 >
      • A Two Day Outing
      • A nine-day tour in Lower Bavaria >
        • Day 1
        • Day 2
        • Day 3
        • Day 4
        • Day 5
        • Day 6
        • Day 7
        • Day 8
        • Day 9
      • The Romantic Road >
        • Day 1 - Füssen to Peiting
        • Day 2 - Peiting to Klosterlechfeld
        • Day 3 - Kosterlechfeld to Gersthofen
        • Day 4 - Gersthofen to Donauwörth
        • Day 5 - Train Ride Home
      • Continuing on the Romantic Road >
        • Day 1 - Donauwörth to Raustetten
        • Day 2 - Raustetten to Dorfgütingen
        • Day 3 - Dorfgütingen to Creglingen
        • Day 4 - Creglingen to Hochhausen
        • Day 5: Hochhausen to Uettingen
        • Day 6 - Uettingen to Würzburg
      • Alpe-Adria Tour 2018 >
        • 1. Alsace or the Alps?
        • 2. We're Off: Munich to Bruckmühl
        • 3. Mountains Aready? Bruckmühl to Übersee
        • 4. Almost Salzburg: Übersee to Freilassing
        • 5. On the Ciclovia Alpe-Adria: Freilassing to Golling
        • 6. A Short Ride: Golling to Werfen
        • 7. A Patch of Blue Sky: Werfen to Sankt Veit
        • 8. Holed up in Sankt Veit
        • 9. The Big Climb: Sankt Veit to Unterkolbnitz
        • 10. Inching Our Way: Kolbnitz to Spittal
        • 11. Flat and Dry: Spittal to Arnoldstein
        • 12. Buongiorno Bella Italia: Arnoldstein to Chiusaforte
        • 13. Best Bike Path Ever: Chiusaforte to Tavagnacco
        • 14. Closer to the Sea: Tavagnacco to Palmanova
        • 15. Last Day on the Road: Palmanova to Grado
        • 16. Grado and How We Got Home
    • 2016 >
      • To Berlin and Beyond
    • 2013 >
      • Eight Wheels in Transit
    • 2011 >
      • From Passau to Vienna
    • 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006
  • Day Rides
    • Rides 2023
    • 2022 Rides
    • 2021 Walks and Rides
    • 2020 Bicycle Days
    • 2019 Rides >
      • Bicycle Days 2019
    • 2018 Rides >
      • Bicycle Days 2018
      • 2018 Monthly Challenges
      • Cycling in Circles
    • 2017 Rides and Challenges >
      • Late to the Party
      • The Munich Kaffeeklatsch
  • Bicycle Memories
    • 1981: Bicycling with Daniel
    • 1981 - Passau to Vienna
    • 1982 - Provence with Daniel
    • 1985: Believe It or Not
    • 1986 - Southwest France
  • About
  • Contact
  • My Blog
  • Miscellaneous
    • Hochbunkers in Munich