Ima gonna Wien

Picture updates!


Wittenberg, where Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation.


Giant pod asking for directions to the Bauhaus Museum in Dessau, Germany - the birthplace of modern architecture.


Our last day on the Elbe river, crossed the Czech-German border just after this photo was taken from a small ferry we took across the river. Can you see the castle on the hilltop?! I never thought that hilltop castles would become a common site...

PRAGUE:

Goulash. Mmm.


The John Lennon Wall.


View of the Castle from the Charles Bridge where we later found a Queen tribute band consisting of a singer and an accordion player. We got them to dedicate "I want to ride my bicycle" to us. Amazing.


Wandering around in Prague centre.

So, we left Vienna (Wien) this morning for Bratislava. I won't lie, I didn't know a single thing about Slovakia before we arrived. Many days of riding have passed since I last wrote... in fact, we have crossed through Austria - and tomorrow morning we will be on to Hungary. 4 countries down, 7 to go.

I don't even know how to start recapping without a guarantee of an unreadably long blog... so maybe just some highlights.

Czech Republic
Tabor - we rode here from Prague, but it took us a million years and not only did we get lost, but we did all sorts of circles around the city. We were up and down countless mountains in every direction before we found the place. At one point, we followed signs to some town that started with a 'B' only to find that we had just climbed a huge hill and ridden 15km off course toward the wrong 'B' town (oops). Then we thankfully stumbled upon a sign informing us we were 34 km away from Prague, with our cycling computers telling us we'd ridden 75 km and the time at 5:30pm. Awesome. But at least we weren't the last group to arrive... After bumbling around in the dark for a couple hours the final pod showed up around 11pm to lentil soup warming on the stove. It was a tough night for all the latecomers, as it always is when you ride really slow, get lost, have bike problems or body problems, or do "special k" as we like to call those extra kms you ride when you're not paying attention to signs or you take down the directions incorrectly.


How many agents does it take to find us on a map?


The lovely city of Tabor.


Gene and I arriving 1st to our second night accommodation in Tabor. It is an exciting thing to arrive 1st :)

Our accommodations in Tabor, however, made up for any and all those extra kms. The first night was spent at an artist's collective called CESTA. They had just thrown Tabor's first gay pride parade, were a super cool group, and our time there was packed with great conversation. Our second night in Tabor we switched accom sites and our hosts had a full blown hog roast (the vegetarians fought over the apple in it's mouth). This couple was really excited to host us - they had made a composting toilet and set up outdoor solar-heated showers for us, as well as a covered eating area and dancefloor in their yard. We are a very lucky bunch! Oh, and it thunderstormed like you wouldn't believe and poured rain the entire next day. Boo.


Ceske Budejovice. Doing the "Where am I and how did I get here"?!


Me winning the prize for the most ridiculous flat. If you can't tell, that is my tire completely off the rim and my tube tangled up in my cassette. Oops.

Cesky Krumlov
This place is spectacular. It's nestled in the valley and surrounded by mountains on all sides. It's pretty much the poster city of the Czech Republic, so it's super touristy and kind of expensive... but still one of the lovliest places I've visited. It helped that our host at the Kindergarten where we stayed was the ultimate in hospitality. She just kept bringing us sweets and treats and cut up some curtains for us to use as bike rags. Also, she didn't speak a word of English and teared up when we were all saying goodbye.


Just hanging out at the Kindergarten in Cesky Krumlov, cleaning bikes, eating candy, and loafing in the sun. Ahhhh.


This whole city is a World Heritage site. The ENTIRE city.

Austria
Vienna
Our third day in Austria and we found ourselves in Vienna with a day off! Austria was quite the adventure... Day 1 into Linz was extremely hilly - with a 14km downhill where I went 60km/hr in a 50 zone (haha!). Day 2 into Melk was our first encounter with the Danube and flat as can be but a 155km long day (our longest yet). Then Day 3 into Vienna was a breeze, clocking in at a tame 65km. We went out the first night in Vienna to celebrate the last night of our documentary crew (and a birthday). We ended up at a club in an area called the "Bermuda Triangle", which is funny because that is what we call the Bulgarian section of our trip along with any section where we get lost. We danced the night away and spent the next morning doing media things - interviews, photoshoots, radio. I did mention we're famous, right?! Next on the agenda was a tour of the UN office (one of the 4) and then a UN lecture. I feel like I know WAY more about the UN now, but that's a chat for later. Reid's mom (Sally) joined us for the UN stuff and then took me out for lunch and ice cream and a little bit of city wandering. Yay! That evening we had the most wonderful buffet dinner party put on for us by the Green Party of the 8th district... all you can eat and drink. We are so spoiled. I ducked out a little early to meet up with Reid's mom and dad for a drink and as the night was winding down we saw a killer storm unfold right before our eyes. Within minutes chairs were being blown down the sidewalk, glasses and other such breakables were smashed everywhere, powerlines and trees were down. The worst of it blew through pretty quickly, but it hit hard and on the radio this morning we heard that 8 people were killed in the storm (Europe-wide). Scary stuff. On a lighter note, Vienna was completely wonderful and our host brought us a delicious breakfast in the morning.

Slovakia
Bratislava
So off we went this morning. I was sweep again and we swept up all kinds of flat tires, but made it into Bratislava in time for a coffee and a quick wander of the city center. I love the feel of this place. It's got such a laid back vibe... kind of like a smaller, quieter version of Vienna (is that a terribly ignorant comment? I haven't spent much time in either city so that may be a bad comparison). The point is I really liked Bratislava and I would like to go back and visit sometime. There was a really cool photo exhibition which I really enjoyed about urban centres and how they have changed in 20 years... and a giant chessboard... and cheap delicious Eastern European ice cream.

Tonight we had another amazing accommodation experience. Our hosts set up their backyard for us and cooked us an amazing dinner. They kept bringing out wine and other treats and even a 2nd round of dinner (a different dinner) a few hours later! Craziness. I haven't ceased to be awestruck by the generosity, hospitality, and kindness of our hosts along the way. These people have taken us into their homes, fed us, showered us (not personally) and taken such good care of us... I can't imagine this trip without all of these wonderful accommodation experiences.

Time for bed though. There is a huge storm again tonight so we are crashing on the floor inside (again, awesome). Hopefully the rain will have stopped by tomorrow when we ride to Gyor, Hungary. Just 3 more days of riding and we will be in Budapest at our halfway mark!!! I can't believe how fast it's gone by.

All my love from the road.

Camera, baby deer, spud

... those were the words that Gala asked Sabrina to remember when she fell off her bike and hit her head. Yes, baby deer is TECHNICALLY two words. Nonetheless, she managed to remember them all and is fully recovered from her minor concussion.


Gala in the church in Hecklingen (just outside of Stassfurt)

Wittenburg

Along the Elbe en route to Dresden

Again

Ice cream with dino

Fountain in Dresden city center

Checking out the city

More Dresden

The lovely Gala

Ahhhh. No time, bad connection, so tired.

The video from week 2: http://blip.tv/file/2369147

We're in Cesky Krumlov right now for our last night in the Czech Republic. I can't believe it's already the beginning of week 4... almost halfway there! Tomorrow we ride into Linz, Austria. More to come later.

The smell of change

Hey, so I'm in Prague enjoying a much needed day off. I don't have much time on the tubes, and it's super slow so I can't upload photos, but it's enough to say that both the rides into Dresden and into the Czech Republic (along the Elbe River) were absolutely spectacular! 2 countries down, 9 to go.

I am experiencing so many new things on this trip - I've never been this: hungry, tired, dirty, stinky, bruised, exhausted, or frustrated. That being said, I've also never been so lucky as to experience riding long distances across foreign countries with a large extended family! So far there have been low lows and high highs, and I'm excited for what the next 6 weeks have to offer us.

Tomorrow we are on the road again, and since the internet situation is a constant unknown, if you're feeling like you need more updates, the Global Agents Blog is a great place to check up on us: http://www.globalafc.org/blog/blog/

Also, Chris has cut a video together that you can check out from week 1 (week 2 to follow soon): http://blip.tv/file/2319029

Much love from the Czech Republic!!

Ass Rash 1, Erin 0

Alright, so there is a lot of catching up to do...

I believe I left off at the army barracks in Ede. Since then we have ridden nearly one million kilometers, so this might be a lengthy post. Also, I don't know when I might get internet next (or as the Dutch at one of the campsites called it "za wee fee")... so here goes!

Some pics from the ride to Utrecht:




Talking to the people at Triodos Bank near Utrecht about microcredit, sustainable banking, and renewable energy.

A clothesline and hammock!

The ride to Utrecht, a sunny tree-lined path. So beautiful!


Thursday July 2nd - Vreden, Spvgg Football Club
No pictures from today... left my camera charger behind in Utrecht!! :(
But we were interviewed for the local newspaper, and we got free beer from the club! I was so tired that evening, I barely made it through the group meeting... let alone our first 100 km day.

Friday July 3rd - Munster, Organic farm hosted by the Young Greens
Here we turned a 60km day into a 106km day. We rode through thunderstorms, on highways, up mountains, forested trails, cobblestone streets... and somehow we made it there in one piece, even if we were a giant blob of demoralized, soaking wetness. I was so exhausted I nearly cried when I realized I had left my toothbrush behind somewhere. Our ridiculous day prompted a meeting about maps - because I may not have mentioned, but we've been riding without maps - just lists of towns or end addresses. Too many people riding way more kms than necessary.

Saturday July 4th - Munster, day off
I found a camera charger in Munster, along with some wonderful Aladdin pants (air flow!!). We had such a great day off, just what I needed. We rode into town and explored the churches and a spectacular outdoor market. Then we stopped for coffee and beer at a cute little cafe and stumbled upon an Afrikani festival with live music and dancing where we spent the rest of the day. We also found some bike maps at a bookstore! Later that night our hosts (the Munster Young Greens - did you know the Green party in Germany gets 9-12% of the national vote?!) had a big bbq and we roasted bread on a stick - a German camping tradition (kind of like s'mores for us?) - followed by the best campfire singalong I've ever been a part of. Guitars, harmonica, violin, 30 enthusiastic voices, and tons of songbooks. Amazing.

Sunday July 5th - Gutersloh, Wapelbad Camping
This place was like a resort, complete with volleyball courts, a pool, ping pong tables, and live music playing as we rolled in. My ride day was super laid back and casual, which was such a nice treat... and for the first time - WE DIDN'T GET LOST!!! However Shani did lose the map book we bought in Munster (I have no idea how this happened). Maybe it's a sign that I need to not be so anal and just trust that I can get there. Maybe it's just bad luck... who knows.

We started the best dance party yet and jumped off a nearby bridge into the river (that meant I didn't have to shower). Oh yeah, and the host of the place was also a Young Greens supporter and gave us free beer, fries, sausages, drinks, everything. This place was heavenly. I could have stayed for days! Another interview put us in another German paper and we met up with the Young Greens from Gutersloh as well. Cool cool.


Just our lunch stop :)



On the way to Hoxter.

Monday July 6th - Hoxter, Church hall
This was a tough day for me. I rode with three fast boys and I was sure my leg muscles were replaced with rubber chickens the night before. The whole riding in a pod thing has been tricky to figure out, too. Everyone has such different riding styles and people are still figuring each other out. It's also really easy to get caught up in your own ride and zone out a little bit. Groups have been separated, people have been mistakenly lost behind. There has been a great deal of frustrationg.... HOWEVER, there have also been so many magical experiences that it's hard to focus on the negatives for long before you realize that exciting new things are happening around you every second of every day. I mean, I am sitting here in a church hall in East Germany in a town of 7000 writing this right now. That's crazy.

Okay back to Hoxter. We arrived 2nd - even though we were positive we were somewhere near the back of the pack. This was my first time getting somewhere sort of early, and that little bit of extra time to get settled, find a place to sleep, lock up my bike, take a sink shower (yep, a sink shower), wash my bike shorts and jersey, get dinner started, write in my journal a bit, and have a lucid conversation with someone... well, it was really energizing. We got in around 6:30pm and the last group (called 'sweep') got in at 9pm, soaking wet and completely exhausted. It was really cool not being in that last group! Since I had all my stuff taken care of, it gave me a chance to help people take care of their business and get some food in their bellies. That was a really special moment for me. Taking care of each other is an integral part of the equation if this group is to function in a healthy manner...

Later that evening our host, Marie, took us to the firestation where she is a volunteer firefighter - for yet another German interview. Seriously folks, we're famous over here! I put on some firefighting gear and we all piled into one of the trucks. Fun stuff.




Tuesday July 7th - Goslar, Church hall
Ooooh. This was an intense day. My first shot at being sweep and making sure no one gets left behind! The morning was tough as it always is (I am a cranky morning rider), but the day totally picked up and even though it was endlessly hilly and rainy, I managed to keep my spirits high. We rounded up some strays (Keely and Gala) about 40km from our destination. They had ridden 20 extra kms already, so we greeted them with tupperwares full of cherries that we had just finished picking off trees that lined the side of the road.

With our new crew we ascended mountains (who knew there were mountains here?!) and navigated with shotty German. One guy we asked spoke to us in German for 15 minutes before he finally asked us if we spoke English - which led to a roar of celebration and cheer.




Once back on track we got stuck in a thundershower, but we were so lucky to have great people giving us directions and even a car escort us to the center of town where we were staying at the most beautiful church! The pastor there was so kind and hospitable (as it seems all of our hosts have been) and the city was medieval and breathtaking. I had a tough time staying awake though, and my legs were aching, so I made myself a little fort in the corner and went to sleep right after our group meeting (about following rules and safety first and respect and stuff like that). I really wish we could have spent our day off in Goslar, but that would have meant 6 days straight of 100+ km... and there were a lot of people who weren't so sure they could handle that, especially when 100+ could mean anywhere from 101-140. In the morning before we left we climbed the stairs of the church tower with the preist and were blessed with the best views of the city you can get. Yay!






Wednesday July 8th - Stassfurt, Church hall
This was another really good day. We had such a cool pod, everyone got along really well and had a ton of fun. We also got hear early-ish... just in time for the town hall meeting our host set up for us in a castle nearby. Crazy! Another reporter, another newspaper (still famous). After the meeting, we had a social at the castle bar (what?!) and got free booze and a chance to mingle with some of the townsfolk. Gala, Gene and I spent some time speaking with a German couple who spoke German, English, and Russian (we crossed the border into East Germany yesterday, so now a lot of people speak Russian). Gene is Russian, so that made for a pretty funny conversation in a mix of the three languages with comments being translated back and forth. It was a real treat to get a chance to interact with some locals... I did mention we're in a town of 7000, right? Neat stuff.


Fixing a flat.

We crossed into East Germany and the difference in scenery was immediately obvious.

A castle on top of a mountain!

The church where we are staying.

Okay everyone is going to town, and my bike is making squeaky sounds so I'm going to see if I can get it tuned up. Tomorrow starts our string of 5 days of 100+ km, so I may be too exhausted to write again until our next day off IN PRAGUE!!! I can't believe I'm going to be in Prague in 6 days. This whole trip is constantly mindblowing.

K peace out!

Let op!

Last night was probably the most chill and most fun night we've had so far. We stayed at an abandoned office building that had been converted to living space. The kids that lived there were couchsurfers and were getting paid to stay there so no one else squatted cause I guess it's getting torn down soon. But the important part is that there were 4 wings, all with rooms and all just for us!! The hosts were super chill, made us all pancakes for breakfast, bought us beer, and played the most epic giant building-wide game of pitch black hide and seek. Ever.

We even got some minimalist Dutch lessons: Ik hou van jou = I love you (only one I remember because Gala and I wrote it on our arms). When our host Sam asked us if we had any other things we wanted to learn, everyone was really curious about the meaning of two signs: "Let op!", which turned out to mean "Watch out!" (not "Let's go!" as we had originally thought)and the other, which meant "Cyclists dismount"... might have been some good ones to know in advance. Oh well, on to Germany tomorrow!

The ride today was pretty manageable, not too long... but so hot here. We rode through beautiful forests with tree-lined paths most of the way, except for when we were lost. And everybody (EVERYBODY) has gotten lost everyday. All the time. It's a wonder some of us even made it today. but nonetheless, we are all here... at the Dutch army barracks in Ede! Pretty much the polar opposite of last night's accomodation.

Some things:

-Bike tans are ridiculously funny
-You cannot ride on the highway in Holland (because they have made you your own two-lane bike highway right nextdoor, or maybe even a bridge just for bikes next to the car bridge that also has bike lanes)
-Couchsurfers are amazing people - everyone should be a part of this: http://www.couchsurfing.org/
-Jake's chain fell off today, got caught in his wheel, and took out two spokes... he got his bike fixed and a new tube for 6 Euros
-Gene fell in a ditch trying to get his camera out of his backpack
-Our food budget is 4 Euros per person PER DAY (Haha. Oh wait, that's not funny)
-Charles likes the word "lovely" and sent his mom everyone's blogs so that he didn't have to update her as much
-I'm on the wake up crew (with Chris, Charles, and Yash) and this morning we woke everyone up 15 minutes early with a megaphone singing 'Oh Canada'
-Two more days of riding and we get a day off

Okay it's dinner time, I wonder what the remainder of our 4 Euros will get us tonight...