Germany South to North

I was very organised this morning and left the campsite 8am. After climbing out of the town of Diaz, the hilly route ahead presented itself For the last week I have been having a breakfast at the campsite of a muesli bar and sometimes a banana, but I really fancied a cooked breakfast. To my delight I chanced upon   Enk's Hot Pan  A very successful business who realises that everyone likes a cooked breakfast now and again. I opted for brotchen and Spiegel Eis mit speck. A roll with fried egg and bacon bits. Plus free coffee. What a deal. A bit of storm damage to avoid. Later on there was a notice saying that drought caused by the Climate Crisis was leading to more failing trees and you enter the forest at your own risk. I travelled through a former military training area. Lots of signs warning about the danger of unexploded ordnance, but also information screens explaining how rich the nature was, because apart from the occasional explos...

I started today with some maintenance. After all the hills my front brake pads were worn out. Luckily I was carrying spares. It was a long way out of Siegen before I was in the countryside. Always a nice break to stop for a train It's always good to meet fellow travellers. This Dutch couple were in their way to Magdeburg I felt a bit better about all my kit as they had even more. Later on I met this chap, he couldn't speak much English and I can't speak much German. However he was able to warn me about and upcoming hill and we bonded over the fact that neither of us used electric bikes. I smelt beer being brewed before I arrived at the Krombacher brewery. I actually thought this was a fake brand only sold in Aldi. The site is massive and everywhere has a delightful brewery smell This was a beautiful spot, but with a sad story. On October 20, 1942, near the village of Rhonard, the Polish forced laborer  Stanislaus K...

I left this morning in drizzle. Fortunately the wind was behind me and it was mainly downhill. I only made one diversion off the main road and came across this statue of the Old Man of Müssenberg. Apparently he is a  Guardian to the Needy: Unlike malicious mythical figures, the Old Man is celebrated as a "friend to good children" and a helper to those in desperate need. Local lore details stories of him appearing to lost or impoverished travelers, offering them physical healing herbs, money, and comfort. All I wanted was the rain to stop and he didn't help me. He didn't help with the puncture I got a little later either. I had to fix this in the pouring rain, which was less than ideal. Most punctures occur in the rain as the rain makes bits of debris stick to the tyre and after a couple of revolutions the puncture has happened. In this case it was a chunk of glass. i was making my way to the Mohne dam made famous by the 1955 film the Dambusters...

A worrying start to the day when I opened the weather app. The wind was going to be behind me, but this could still be an issue of course. I'm the end it was a bit breezy but no worse than I've ridden in before I was headed for the town of Verl where we lived in a married quarter when I was posted there in 1983. There was a lake next to us, which was a former gravel pit. 43 years later. It's surrounded by mature trees. It seems there are a lot more trees everywhere, particularly alongside roads, which I don't remember from the 80s. My next stop was Mansergh Barracks in Gutersloh. This was a thriving community with a few different Army units, a school, a medical centre, living accommodation etc. It was sad to see it lying empty. My bike is parked next to a famous eagle. When the British took over the camp after WW2 this has been rendered over. My friend Mitch Milligan was driving an armoured vehicle and misjudged the juncti...

Today I was mainly following the River Weser from Minden towards Bremen. This was the impressive lock buildin g at Minden(bike for scale) I then followed the Weser Radwweg The path has a scale model of the planetary system   several of my cycling friends will be familiar with a similar thing on the York Cycle Path. I reached the town of Petershagen. The street was closed to traffic for a street festival. I watched the brass band for a while, then noticed I had a puncture. So I was able to fix while listening to the band. It didn't take me long to get back on the road. I was making towards my 2nd ferry of the trip.  The solar powered Petra ferry  I kept seeing these signs on roadside trees.  Google translate then explained that this was a warning about oak processionary caterpillars, which are very dangerous to touch I stopped in the town of Verden for a break. The local fire brigade posed for me ...