Berlin was a wonderful experience and our stay there too short. As our time there was coming to an end we were already making plans to return. Much as we were enjoying the city, the impending start of the bike trip leg of our trip began to intrude our thoughts. For us we had planned the
trip, Berlin and Wetzlar were appetizers, the bike tour was to be the main course and Copenhagen dessert. The bike tour's title was Berlin to Copenhagen but we were to meet our group in Neustrelitz. Boarding the train at Berlin HBF we were struck by the number of bicycles on board.
Turns out, the Berlin to Copenhagen bikeway is a major tourist activity. and Neustrelitz, while not part of the bikeway route serves as a regional train access point. Seeing the wide age, relaxed attitude
and BMI range of the cyclists on board, we began to wonder- what would our fellow tour travelers and guides be like? Kinda like first day of school low grade anxiety. Out of several tours, we've onlyhad one suboptimal experience (great guides, high-maintenance-roadie mindset fellow riders). Otherwise, the company of our fellow bicyclists and guides have made for great memories and are one of the many reasons why bike tours are our favorite vacation format.
Whatever worries were accumulating, were promptly resolved. As we stepped out of the train station street entrance, a millennial couple having figured out we were likely part of the Freewheeling tour walked up to introduce themselves. We then met one of their parents also on the tour and then two other solo members. All of us had been on multiple bike tours and were of a similar mindset about what we enjoyed about them: the degree of engagement compared to other forms of travel, the company of fellow cyclists, being physically active while at the same time speed/watt output not the priority, good food and nice places to sleep.
We traded bike trip stories and other get acquainted small talk thinking we would be waiting awhile for our van given that we arrived two hours early. The van, however arrived about a half hour later.
On the way to our hotel, the guides filled us in on the remaining group members- an elderly lady who was legally blind and an additional company guide who would ride with her on a tandem. Another bike tour first- two riders had opted for e-bikes.
Germany
Neustrelitz is a regional tourist attraction in its own right. There's an interesting mix of urban redevelopment consistent with Germany's prosperity along with plenty of reminders of not so benign neglect of many parts of the former GDR.
It was reassuring in a way to see the locals express themselves,although not as proficiently
or as artistically as Berliners.
Some of our group were up for a swim, thus Zeiker Lake was suggested as an activity and a should see item even if not up for a dip. It made for a nice walk and a contemplative setting.
Neustrelitz to Waren
In addition to another tour guide, our senior member provided yet another bonus, her service dog who promptly became a center of attraction and was very much one of the gang. Garnet's manners, discipline and disposition would put any number of humans to shame.
The train ride to Neustrelitz served as a good preview of the bikeway- relaxed riders, family oriented and mostly car-free. One of the contrasts observed in seeing cyclists in general on this trip was the scarcity of roadie culture. One of the irritating aspects of American's approach to physical activity is how wound up people get about it, especially the roadie crowd. As a result, Americans are either professional wannabe athletes or sedentary. Contrast this to the presence of young and old, BMI's from the low 20's to the 30's, and mostly on modestly priced bicyles, but out in large numbers and it seemed often as families or other social groups.
Day 1 was, to quote our direction sheet, on quiet roads and rural farmlands.
Waren was another small lakeside town with an appealing mix of well-worn and renovated. It was happily busy in tourist season. A great benefit of the bicycling tour format is not having to book hotels during the high season. One of our favorite vacation activities is checking out the local bookstores. Even in Berlin and in Copenhagen, there was so much to do and see that we did not get to do much of that during this trip
This is as close as I got to addressing our bookish bent during the bike tour. As far as reading, the relaxed pace, frequent stops for photo-ops and long, social dinners combined with a decrease in stamina from what I initially thought was an asthma flare-up due to dusty country roads and the prevalence of smoking in the former GDR made for early bedtimes.
There was more tobacco smoking in Berlin than what I normally have to deal with (basically none in my usual surroundings). It was even more prevalent in these small town and harder to avoid.
It seems one of the legacies of the former communist culture- the memo that smoking is a health hazard arrived much later in this part of Germany.
Waren to Gustrow
As a tourist one usually is exposed to the more accessible destinations- large cities or resort areas. Here was a more isolated and, while still very scenic and tranquil, more economically modest. East German cars hold an attraction in part as another GDR legacy.
Like many other material aspects, the
cars were not as well maintained
in the rural former GDR
compared to the former GDR
as a tourist attraction.
The degree to which the land itself was cared for, however, was impressive. Granted, we were on a major tourist attraction; still how well the roads were maintained and marked was a contrast to what we have in the States. Note the e-bike zipping by ever so effortlessly.
The forest trial roads even though not paved could have been driven on 28c road bike tires, although
30-32c would have been optimal. Hopefully Freewheeling will transition to the newer road bikes with clearance for wider tires and drop handlebars. Apropos, I had requested drop bars on this trip and was offered that option but with a different route in some sections as the drop-bar equipped bikes had skinny tires. I went with the standard bike so as to conform to the mean. It was reassuring to find out that another group member had made a similar request for much the same reasons- old cyclotouristes think alike.
The meticulously groomed German forests brought to mind Trump's admonishment of how last summers California forest fires could be have been avoided. How to pay for that was a detail left out given the GOP's disinclination for government spending for the public good or a legacy for future generations.
Gustrow to Rostock
Sophie had promptly (day 1) labeled me as a paparazzi . Indeed one of the many attractions of bike tours combining photography and bicycling. To put in perspective, not too many PBP anciens took two cameras along with them; one of many reasons I barely finished the ride on time. Taking photos is kind of a Fartlek activity when done in group rides- stop, take a photo, then pedal fast to catch up.
As it turned out, most of the group were shutterbugs (Sophie included) and we stopped often for photo-ops. This was fortunate, my respiratory tract being sub-par, as it did not take much added effort to catch up or several of us stopped to take in the sight.
Before arriving to Rostock, we had fun negotiating this terraced ramp.
Martin our intrepid tour leader was the only one able to negotiate all the turns w/o dismounting.
Churches along with libraries have always held an attraction being cultural artifacts of the highest level yet accessible to and used by the general public. Below is a striking church interior scene- a peek into the mindset of a time and people.
We were on our own for dinner that evening. Our priority was healthy food in a quiet, no-smoking setting as my coughing and wheezing were getting worse. Asthma had been severe as a kid, but is now pretty much a thing of the past, except in certain environments. Turns out Northern Germany with dusty roads and lots of second hand smoke was one of them. Fortunately we had brought two inhalers. Finding a restaurant with said criteria in a tourist beach town setting took a while. we made our way in a circular direction and were headed back somewhat dispirited to our hotel when we found what we were looking for less than two blocks away from the hotel. If we had started in the opposite direction, we could have dined at least a half hour earlier.
Due to an order mix-up we wound up having a glass of wine and a glass of port with dinner. A serendipitous event, our very pleasant experience and account of it to our group the next day resulted in port being part of dinner by us and others on several occasions there after.
In addition to being hungry, the delay in eating dinner was irritating because we wanted to return to our hotel in time for sunset as we had scoped the hotel after cleaning up and found it to be a great location for that. It was a bit rushed but we made it on time.
To be continued...
