Waking to the sight of 6 goslings eating on your front door step whilst their protective parents look over them isn’t the worst way to start the day.
The camping experience in Germany is, like the rest of the country, pretty well organised . Arrive, be shown your “pitch” space , pay your EUR 10 , and you’re left to your own devices. As the touring season has yet to begin I think I was one of about 5 people in the entire camping area. There did look to be a lot of empty caravans that seemed permanent. Why you’d want to come back to the same campground year after year beats me , especially as this one was a km downwind of a major motorway and the white noise was quite incredible.
Being this early none of the grounds faculties were open and food was defintiely not provided. That meant calling in a delivery pizza from the nearest town which at 9 EUR was almost as expensive as my tent space . Thankfully the shower block was open and once you’ve slotted in your 50 cents Into the machine inside the shower recess you get a 3 minute shower . Good water pressure I might add and clean facilities .
Breakfast this morning was going to have be at my customary 25 km coffee stop and so it proved to be at Osnabrück.
Now riddle me this Batman. Why is it that in Germany when you appear at a hotel to check in they basically take every detail of your personal status including your passport and ask you for a signature. Turn up at a campsite and hand over your 10 EUR and thats all they require.
Much of the morning ride was along busy roads but at least cyclists and pedestrians had a dedicated lane.
From Osnabrück to Bremen the scenery was dominated by vast tracts of open farm land interspersed with an abundance of woods. The air was pungent with the smell of freshly manured / fertilised fields in readiness for the summer crops to the point where the aroma was quite acrid at times. This was serious horse owners countryside and also some attractive domestic maypoles .
Sorry kids. The farmland takes priority so you’ll have to play out on the lane.
Following on from the one I saw a day or two ago this gets second prize for most floral bus stop . Along this stretch of the road there seemed to be a neighbourly completion ongoing .
As I said a floral competition seemed to be ongoing as every farmers house looked like this.
This was one of about 40 woods I was thrown into by my route. Serious woodchoppers territory. At least the dedicated cycling lane remained .
Woodchoppers will chop wood .
Another attractive bus stop with its own bird box tower .
This character , with 3 rods out , seemed to have all the bases covered.
Agricultural lines.
At one point I rode down this piece of “road”. 3 km of dead straight concrete pavement that ran alongside an army barracks and was 4 cars wide. Call me conspiratorial but me thinks that’s an airstrip I just rode on. Escpecially given their were no road markings and the speed limit was 30 kph.
Meet Kurt. He is 2 years retired from the office furniture making business and lives in central Bremen. He and his wife own a hobby farm 40km outside of Bremen. 3 times a week he rides out to it to tend to farming matters and then rides back into Bremen. 80 km round trip each time. I met him at some lights about 15 km out of town and he offered to show me a short cut into the city centre that was primarily on quiet cycle lanes and alongside the river. Thank you Kurt.
It hadn’t been my intention when I set off from camp to ride 157 km today . I got to 100 km at 3 pm and passed what was to later prove to be the last accommodation I would see for the next 57 km. That will teach me .