Re: [GERMANY] From Flensburg to Karlsruhe

Here below a short and preliminary flash report of the trip.
Thank you again to everybody who, with few but nevertheless vital suggestions, gave me the chance to prepare this fantastic journey in an authentic record time.

Left by flight on Aug the 26th from Milan to Copenhagen and then by train to Lund (Sweden), after three “relaxing” days in Lund, it's from here that I started my real planned cycling journey from Sweden to Italy(Aug the 29th).
A total of 2400 km entirely cycled over a period of 25 days.
Twelve nights in the tent, the rest in small hotels and rooms.
- The toughest part of the trip, by far, the Gotthard Pass on the Alps
- The most critical moment a night spent in the surroundings of Oppenheim (Germany) where, due to a contextual local fair in Frankfurt, I coundn’t find just one bed in the whole area. As a consequence, in the evening, with no light and under the rain, literally got by panic, I had to finally set my tent in an apparently not very safe place close to the rail, an area mainly conceived, I guess, as a one of those glass-plastic&paper recycling public yards !!
- The most lovely and charming places along the Vulkanradweg in Germany and along the Canal du Rhône au Rhin in Alsace.
- The most easy to cycle, definitely, is Germany. Cycling paths or country roads everywhere, a reassuring Bäckerei at any village and, most important, a Zimmer Frei when I actually needed it.
- The most annoying and not recommendable at all the North-South Route 3 in Switzerland.
- The most sad and shameful, due to the most absolute lack of suitable cycling facilities, the crossing of Milano area the day of my return home.

SWEDEN
From Lund, close to Malmo, till Helsingborg the path is fifty percent on dedicated cycling-paths and the rest generally on normal low-traffic roads.
The landscape is represented by endless grain fields, golf greens caressing the sea, little leisure ports.

DENMARK
Passed on the Danish side at Helsimbør, the journey keeps on to Copenhagen through national Cycling Route n.9 and then crossing the southern isles of Sealand, Møn, Falster and Lolland using national Cycling Route n.8.
Very useful the gps tracks that I downloaded from internet for free just the day before prior to leaving.
The itinerary is a mix of rural and small urbanized areas often characterised by enchanting corners in the between the forests and the sea.
Fairy-tale and, so far, wonderful houses, all perfectly shaped and maintained, dream flowered and carefully mowed gardens, …hundreds and hundreds of these houses and … most of them simply empty.
An aged couple met on one of the several ferries that I took to pass from an island to the other explained to me that these houses are actually empty and that they do represent a big problems for the owners too because, probably due to the crisis, they are now unable to properly hire them and at the same time they can’t pay back contracted bank loans.

GERMANY
Entered in Germany at Flensburg, I managed to reach the Nordseeküsten-Radweg 3 (NOK3) in correspondence of Husüm, then from here I followed, with some inevitable deviations the official path passing for St.Peter-Ording, Büsum, Meldor, Brunsbüttel, Glückstadt.
From here a ferry on the Elbe to Wischhafen and then, mainly due to a terrible weather, an “intelligent” shortcut to Bremervörde, Rotenburg and Verden where I officially entered in the Weser-Radweg till Hann.Münden.
From here I continued for the Fuldaradweg till Schlitz.
From here I followed the lovely Vulkanradweg till Altenstadt.
From here I reached and followed the Mainradweg till Mainz.
From Mainz I passed the Rhein in correspondence of Nierstein-Oppenheim and I stayed on the left hydrographic side of the river till the border with France (in front of Karlsrhue).
As a general comment I would say that cycling in Germany is quite pleasant and, so far, relatively easy.
More than one time I deliberately abandoned the official cycling path and preferred to follow very normal roads, most of them however and again, with a cycling strip aside, in many other cases very low traffic country roads.
That's, trying to live not only the reality of a somehow confined cycling path but also trying to experience and see by close a more real world made of real villages, real people, a real local economy.
Remarkable the passage for Kassel where at a certain point I’ve got totally lost.
Remarkable the instructions received by a local old man trying to help me in resuming the Fuldaradweg without entering into the Hannover “autobahn”.
Essential the help received by another local man, probably not a native German, who from the height of Kassel outskirts couldn’t hide a certain pride showing and indicating to me the local Volkswagen factory where he had been working, quite likely, since he arrived in Germany several years ago.
Remarkable the stories of very common people hiring “zimmer” or managing little “gasthof”, sometimes in the clear attempt to make a bit more decent their not very high pension.
Great Germany, it’s always a pleasure to travel in this country !!!

FRANCE
Entered in France at Lauterbourg on the left hydrographic side of the Rhein, I followed first the river along the Rheinradweg and then along the Canal du Rhône au Rhin (Alsace).
As in Germany, lovely places, and a direct contact with the real world.
When in France don’t go for camping, use the Gites de France/Chambres d’Hôte, an authentic and genuine contact with local people (same story as “zimmer” in Germany).
In one of them (at Marckolsheim) after that I’ve got the room, in the evening and just half an hour prior to go to sleep, an aged woman in her kitchen was stirring something that made me curious. I couldn’t believe it … she was preparing my breakfast prunes marmalade. Simply wonderful !!

SWITZERLAND
Not very positive indeed this part of the trip.
Coming from France and entering Switzerland west of Basel, without actually getting into the town and without even crossing the Rhein, I then managed to move east reaching the North-South Route 3 close to Olten.
The North-South Route 3, theoretically, connects Germany to Italy, from Basel to Chiasso.
In the reality this is not a cycling route, it’ s not a cycling path, it has nothing to do with Danish, German or French style equivalent patterns.
From Basel to Luzern is an endless and absurd sequence of short stretches sometimes passing in the between cultivated fields, some other time along totally anonymous commercial and industrial areas, .
The rest it’s represented by normal roads, quite often definitely high traffic roads.
From Luzern to Göschenen (where the Gotthard tunnel begins) just a few acceptable stretches.
From Göschenen to Andermatt (where the Gotthard pass road starts) it’s an authentic hell !!!

Traffic of any type: normal cars, sport cars, hundreds of motorbikes, TIRs, tourist and line buses ..!!!
In the galleries, due to my very low speed, I sometimes couldn’t follow a straightforward line and so, just for safety, I preferred simply to walk.
From Andermatt to the Gotthard pass and from the pass down to Airolo it’s only and again a very normal road.
From Airolo to Bellinzona and then from Bellinzona to Chiasso a great total mess again.
Are you planning to cross Switzerland using the North-South Route 3 ???
Please … take a train !!!

ITALY
Here I didn’t follow any specific route.
To reach Milano it’s a mess everywhere.

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Here below a few pictures: