Suzanne's Cycling Site
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      • Continuing on the Romantic Road >
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        • 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
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        • 13. Best Bike Path Ever: Chiusaforte to Tavagnacco
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        • 15. Last Day on the Road: Palmanova to Grado
        • 16. Grado and How We Got Home
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Late to the Party

Simulating Belgium: on a cold and rainy day

 Wednesday April 26, 2017, 7 km - Total so far: 22 km

We're planning a bicycle tour to Belgium, more specifically to Flanders, this summer. I'm looking forward to the beautiful and interesting towns and their architecture, good chocolate, a variety of beers, flat countryside and an extensive network of bike paths. What's not to like about Belgium? Well, I just googled belgium+climate. The entry starts out with "the climate of Belgium is cool and wet". Further on I read "precipitation is frequent" and "summer in Belgium is pretty cool on the coast... there is no shortage of clouds and rains". They didn't say anything about the wind... Let's not even think about the cobblestone streets. Let's think about chocolate and beer.

I will be prepared. As it didn't look like the weather was going to improve, I went out for my ride at 8:30 this morning. It was 4°C/39°F. Fortunately, I was already home when it began to rain - with a mixture of big gloppy snow flakes. Now I know that my new rain jacket is not warm enough for these temperatures, in spite of the long-sleeved merino shirt and fleece jacket I was wearing underneath.

Remember?...the theme for my rides is to get some shots that look like I am out in the country and not in Munich at all. My destination today was the Englischer Garten, one of the largest urban parks in the world, larger than Central Park in New York or Hyde Park in London. Who woulda thought! The park was given its name because it was laid out in the style of an English country park as opposed to the style of formal French gardens. The park is close by and promised some good photo opportunities for my theme.

Today I cycled around in a very small area at the southern end of the park where I still found plenty to see and photograph.
Picture
This is the entrance to the English Garden nearest to me.
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You smell it before you see it - fields of wild garlic (allium ursinum). In recent years wild garlic has become very popular in Germany and many peole like to gather it for use in salads, home-baked bread, pesto - you name it. You can also buy it in the supermarket.
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Everything is nice and green (thanks to the rain) but I found a patch of red,too.
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It's getting to look like I'm out in the country. The Eisbach is an artificial stream that runs through the English Garden.
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It's a favorite spot for river surfers. The pressure of the water emerging from an underground tunnel creates the wave. Even when it is below freezing in the winter you will find surfers here.
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Saw some wildlife today - goose and gosling.
Picture
The first Mandarin duck I've seen here.
I was freezing by the time I headed back and almost forgot to support the local economy! Unexpectedly, my usual market was closed for inventory - but the challenge, the challenge! So I rode a bit further, warmed up inside the store and found the few items on my list.

Picture
Bought some tulips.
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By the time I got home my bicycle and I were a muddy mess.
Picture
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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