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Well I made it to Munich by the weekend which was my target, just in time to watch England get defeated by Germany surrounded by hundreds of screaming Germans. I didn't mind too much though as the atmosphere in Munich after the game was electric. Being the science geek I am, within half an hour of arriving in Munich I found myself wondering around the science museum, well worth it.
Since my last blog entry I have covered a huge amount of ground, in the last two and a half days alone I have cycled over 350km (about 220 miles), it took me the same amount of time in England to cycle 120 miles. This has been partly because I want to get through this part of my trip relatively quickly, leaving me more time for the Alps and relaxing on the the Croatian coast. But also it's due to how much my fitness has improved since I left two weeks ago. In my first week I cycled from London to Bastogne in Belgium, the second week I have cycled right across Luxembourg and Germany to Munich, if you look at a map you'll notice there must be at least a few hundred miles difference between the two distances. This is all the more important now the next leg of my journey takes me over the Alps.
A couple of hours after I wrote my last blog I met an American man called Ron who's been living in Germany since the seventies. He was a really friendly guy and was so excited when I explained my trip to him. "You've really got the world by the balls!" he said to me, and for the first time since I left home I realised just how epic an adventure this is. I'm living some people's dream; to cycle over the Alps is what some aspire to do their whole lives, let alone right across Europe. I felt truly privileged.
The past two weeks have pretty much blurred into one. The landscape hasn't changed much, except for the beauiful vineyards which make excellent places to spend the night. Usually when I go travelling I'm amazed at how different parts of the world can be. This time (I know it's still only western Europe but...) I'm surprised at how similar things are. The same people get into the same cars and go to the same jobs. Each town has the same teenagers and the same troublemakers. The same old ladies sit in the same parks chatting about the same things. The part of Europe I have cycled through so far is like one big country, only as time goes by have the houses got nicer and the language funnier. One thing that is definitely different to home is the endless number of bakeries, several in each town. I'm sampling about five pastries or cakes a day. I tell you, if they had bakeries like this in England I'd be rolling to Istanbul not cycling.
I've had nothing but blue skies the past week, I really hope it lasts for the mountains. Since my trip began I've stayed in just two campsites, usually towards the end of the week when I'm itching for a shower and civilization. But I'm trying to only spend money on somewhere to stay once a week. I used my bike for the first time yesterday without all the luggage loaded on, it felt so unsteady I fell off within the first twenty seconds. I'm feeling less lonely now too, I'm paying close attention to my sanity though as there's no-one around to tell me if I'm going mad. I find myself sitting in a strawberry field endulging in an endless supply of strawberries, and telling the strawberries how delicious they are. Or sitting amongst cows discussing the weather, but there's only a certain amount you can say to a cow before the conversation runs a little dry, but enough about the German girls...I'm only joking the Germans are lovely.
This afternoon I'm leaving for Austria, and the Alps. There is a major river, the Isar, which runs straight through Munich and so I can just follow that south almost all the way to Innsbruck. I can't wait for the next part of this trip, and then after the Alps I have the coast to look forward to. I need a change from the rolling fields that have been following me since England.
Next blog from Italy hopefully!
Tom
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