The weather in Germany has turned hot. Anything much over 22 degrees and it’s too hot for the Velomobile (at least for someone with as much personal insulation as I have). So Alfie has been getting a few more rides recently, mostly in company with his new friend the Steintrikes Wild One (which seems, unfathomably,… Continue reading Alfie goes to the Maas River
Author: Auntie Helen
Alfie goes to Burg Linn, Krefeld
It’s a while since I’ve written up a trip on Alfie. This is partly because I’ve been using Penelope more but also because a lot of my Alfie trips have been as part of my Churches in Kreis Viersen challenge and so I haven’t written them up separately. Today I decided that I would write… Continue reading Alfie goes to Burg Linn, Krefeld
Six Wheels In Germany – Month 3
So it’s now the end of Month 3 in Germany. What have I noticed this month? (You can read about Month 1 here and Month 2 here). People I’ve met Gundi in Köln/Cologne I have a German friend called Gundi who lives in Colchester and who I met through a cycling group there. Gundi contacted… Continue reading Six Wheels In Germany – Month 3
Trice Q goes to Colchester
Today I went for a cycle ride – from Great Bromley to Colchester on my Trice Q. The Q is my original trike, now 6 years old, and it had done 25,000 miles before I bought Alfie (the newer trike) and retired the Q. (For some unfathomable reason the Q was never given its own… Continue reading Trice Q goes to Colchester
Churches in Kreis Viersen: 41-50
This is the fifth batch of church visits that I’ve blogged about. You can read about 1-10, 11-20, 21-30 and 31-40 as well. Churches 41-50 Churches visited this time (click on image to expand it): 41. St Nikolaus, Brüggen 42. Evangelische Kirche Brüggen 43. St Barbara Kirche in Brüggen-Holterheide 44. St Matthiaskapelle, Lötsch 45. St… Continue reading Churches in Kreis Viersen: 41-50
Churches in Kreis Viersen: 31-40
This is the fourth batch of church visits that I’ve blogged about. You can read about 1-10, 11-20 and 21-30 as well. Churches 31-40 Churches visited this time: 31. Kapelle in Haus Salus, Mülhausen 32. St Notburga, Viersen-Rahser 33. Anrath Evangelische Kirche 34. Pfarrkirche St Johannes Baptist, Anrath 35. St Clemens, Süchteln 36. Evangelische Kirchengemeinde… Continue reading Churches in Kreis Viersen: 31-40
1000 Versatile Miles
On 3 June 2014 Penelope crossed the 1000 mile / 1600km mark in my ownership. So what have I learned about my new bike in that time? Firstly, it’s brilliant fun riding a velomobile! Since I’ve had Penelope I’ve not used Alfie the ICE Sprint very much and, as is clear from the above screenshots… Continue reading 1000 Versatile Miles
Six Wheels In Germany – Month 2
So it’s the end of my second month as a German resident. Month 2 has gone swimmingly too – and I’ve had the benefit of meeting up with several friends. Oliver and his Mango Firstly I met Oliver, a friend through a German velomobile forum (although he’s from the Netherlands), for tea and cake in… Continue reading Six Wheels In Germany – Month 2
Trike Treffen, Schwalmtal 2014
I am a member of the German Velomobilforum.de – the people on there were very helpful when I was trying to find out if I could ride a velomobile. It just so happens that once a year they organise a weekend away camping for recumbent riders – and the 2014 event was taking place in… Continue reading Trike Treffen, Schwalmtal 2014
Churches in Kreis Viersen: 21-30
This is the third batch of church visits that I’ve blogged about. You can read about 1-10 and 11-20 as well. Churches 21-30 Churches visited this time: 21. St Vitus, Oedt 22. Versöhnungskirche, Oedt 23. Kreuzkapelle, Kempen 24. St Cornelius, Tönisvorst-St Tönis 25. Evangelische Kirchengemeinde Sankt Tönis 26. St Remigius, Viersen 27. St Franziskus, Süchteln… Continue reading Churches in Kreis Viersen: 21-30
Penelope does the Tour des Monats im Kreis Viersen
The ADFC (German cycle club) in the region Krefeld-Kreis Viersen seem to have quite a lot going on (hurrah), although I suppose this is to be expected as this part of Germany is well known for its cycling. Having been on the ADFC ride to Xanten and Wesel last Sunday I was interested to see… Continue reading Penelope does the Tour des Monats im Kreis Viersen
Churches in Kreis Viersen: 11-20
See here for my first blog post on visiting the 105 churches in Kreis Viersen that I have so far identified. Churches 11-20 Churches visited this time: 11. Kapelle Heumischhof, Kempen-Ziegelheide 12. Maria-Hilf Kriegergedächtniskapelle, Kempen 13. Evangelische Kirchengemeinde Tönisberg 14. St Antonius, Tönisberg 15. St Josef, Vinkrath 16. Friedenskirche Grefrath 17. Pfarrkirche St Laurentius, Grefrath… Continue reading Churches in Kreis Viersen: 11-20
Alfie goes to Xanten and Wesel
Today, for only the second time since I’ve been in Germany (and I’ve been here over five weeks), I took Alfie out on a long cycle ride. This was because it was a ride with the ADFC (the Allgemeine Deutsche Fahrrad-Club), which is the German touring cyclists’ group (like the CTC in the UK). And… Continue reading Alfie goes to Xanten and Wesel
Churches in Kreis Viersen: 1-10
One of my challenges for my year (or more) in Germany is to cycle to all the churches in Kreis Viersen. Kreis Viersen is sort-of equivalent to a UK local council area, such as Tendring in Essex where I live. Here is some information from the German Wikipedia site about Kreis Viersen: So with an… Continue reading Churches in Kreis Viersen: 1-10
Penelope goes to Venlo
Today Penelope returned to her home country of the Netherlands. Today is 1st May and in Germany it’s a public holiday – thus most of the shops are shut. So it seemed like a good day to visit the Netherlands (I had already checked and that was still open). Yesterday I happened to pass the… Continue reading Penelope goes to Venlo
Six Wheels In Germany – Month 1
So I have now been here in Germany for one month. I thought it would be good to offer a quick summary of life for a British person in Germany as I have experienced it. Did it live up to my expectations? Were the stereotypes of life in Germany accurate? Short answers – YES and… Continue reading Six Wheels In Germany – Month 1
SPEZI Radmesse – a quick report
For the past nineteen years there has been a Special Bike Show in Germersheim near Mannheim in Germany, called SPEZI Radmesse. This year was my chance to attend! Last July I met a bunch of velomobile riders from Germany, one of whom lives near me in Schwalmtal. Back them he said that I could go… Continue reading SPEZI Radmesse – a quick report
Penelope goes to Hinsbeck
My ride today was actually one of the rides where I am visiting different churches in Kreis Viersen (I am trying to bag all 112 churches this year), but it turned out to be such an enjoyable ride I thought I’d do a short write-up now rather than adding lots of extra info to the… Continue reading Penelope goes to Hinsbeck
Penelope goes to the Rhine at Orsoy/Walsum
Today Penelope went for a trip to the River Rhine, a river that I’ve cycled along on my Trice Q and on Alfie many times but this was Penelope’s first visit (as far as I am aware). Today is Easter Saturday. However, yesterday Penelope also got to stretch her legs (metaphorically!) as we went to… Continue reading Penelope goes to the Rhine at Orsoy/Walsum
Penelope goes to Straelen
It’s mid April and the weather is being pretty variable – two days ago it was extremely windy, yesterday it was pretty cold but today dawned with a clear blue sky. I took the dog out for a walk and decided it was definitely cycling weather. I had no specific plans for the day except… Continue reading Penelope goes to Straelen