We got into Germany around (6/29/12). First thing we ride into after we get off the boat is farm land. We ride through it for a bit then we hit a little town with a cool little fair going on. If we had money it we would have stopped but decided to keep on going. Not a lot happened we just camped off the side of the road and went on our way in the morning. The next day we got a camp site at a beach side resort town. We had some amazing German beer and schnitzel (which is amazing, kind of like chicken fried steak) with the view of the beach.
The next day I noticed 2 of my spokes were broken. We were in a different small town also on the beach. We looked for hotels, but like most of Europe, everything was closed for the weekend or way to expensive. The guys gave me the choice, either we get a hotel or we ride on. I said screw it I’m sure we can make it to the next town and see from there, it was only about 10 miles. My tire popped 5 miles in. The sun feels pretty hot when you have to slowly walk in it with a bike that doesn’t want to move. Good thing was we each bought a small bottle of wine for our lunch. Made the rest of walking better.
After a while Josh’s backrack broke leaving him and me in the shit. We found out that the town a little under a mile had a train station and we could probably get a train from there to Hamburg. We were taking a shot in the dark but it was the only chance we had. Chris rode off to it and hid his stuff there, while I dropped all of my stuff and ran with my bike, as josh rigged his bike to work for the 1Km we needed it for. Josh waited with my stuff till Chris came and they rode together to the station. I hate running, I’m American. I got the station a few moments before the guys. We bought our tickets right as the train pulled up.
We got to Hamburg around 10. The station is huge and full of advertisements and bars. We took out the gps and it said we had about 3 miles to walk to our hostel we had book for the next night. The town had a cool atmosphere so we decided that walking would be great. It wasn’t. That day with the breakdowns and walking a bike fully loaded with a flat tire and knowing that I’d have to pay for this, I really questioned sending the bike back home and buying a backpack and train pass. We got to the hostel and it was full. We walked to the next one and it was full too. We walked to another and it was expensive but I didn’t care. I needed a bed and a tv.
We spent the next couple days going around the city and talking to other travelers. We met a group of Brits during the Euro cup finals that we drank with. We plan on meeting the girls in Paris for some more drinks. Hamburg is an odd city. Graffiti EVERYWHERE, drunks walking around at all times, and people drinking beer(s) at 10:30 in the morning with their food. It was pretty cool to see all of it. At night during the weekend some of the streets fill up with young adults drinking and I mean full. The side walk to the street is packed. I want to go back some day. We left for Amsterdam on the 3rd. We all know that it’s a major party city so we were excited. On the 4th we had a mission. Celebrate the 4th of July like only Americans can.
(Sorry Mom.) We went and had a breakfast with 2 desserts and got to drinking. Josh had Aquavit and I had a $7 of whiskey. We mixed them up and got to work in the parking lot. We rode for about 10 minutes and got a little lost. We were waiting at a light to turn green and I saw something that made my day. 9 girls our age all in bathing suits and aviators (one sexy combination) we waited in the street next to a map just so they would walk by us. They giggled and said their hellos in a playful way. They asked where we were from and where we were going. We told them and then they walked off and kept on turning back and looking at us. Then one of them peed in the bushes of a house and it was a green light in my head. I said why not ask them where to go. We rode up to them and asked them for help. We didn’t need their help. We had it, but I’ve been riding with 2 guys for 3 weeks and I wanted to have some interaction with a girl. After they got help for us and making small talk with them they said they were in town to party. Josh asked if they needed some American partiers and something strange happened. The group of hot women in front of us got the shy, look down at the ground move I thought was only for nerdy guys that don’t know how to talk to girls. But regardless they shot us down nicely and we went on our way. Chris wasn’t happy that we weren’t going to party with them, but Josh and I were happy. The rest of the day gets hazy. I remember Chris crashing in front of a restaurant and having people laugh at him. He reacted like an American. (his mom reads this so we are leaving that part out) We rode and the rule was every time we stop we have to drink. My bottle and Josh’s went dry so we went into store and Chris got a bottle of knock off Jager. I was riding on the road for a bit and decided to get on the sidewalk. I looked and it was just a little bit of grass separating them. I went for it and was wrong. It was a curb. I went flying and landed pretty safely. Afterwards I tried to shake-and-bake Chris and almost got both of us in the bushes. I’ve seen Talladega Nights so many times I figured I could do it, but was wrong. I blacked out for most of Burger King. Story goes Chris tried to explain something to a woman and she didn’t understand English so he explained to her louder. Afterwards we rode till it got dark and heard some yelling and talking near a beach. Come to find out some people were swimming and drinking. We stopped to drink and talked to them. Met a guy in the German army and some of his friends. I was drunk and fell about a good 4-5 times so I was of course ready to soak my scratched up legs in salt water. We hung out with them and then left to find a place to sleep. We found a clearing in some woods off the north sea. Waking up the next day I did the math and found out we drank for about 12 hours straight.
A couple days after riding we went into this camp site and met Fabbien. A swiss guy whos doing a bike tour around the world for 5 years. English is a second language to him, but we get by. He likes to “Make party” so hes ok with us. He’s going with us to Amsterdam then to London, which pretty much makes him one of us now.
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