Readers of my blog will remember that I had to import a potato peeler from the UK (courtesy of friend Olaf who was passing through my corner of Germany on his bike). This is because the German potato peelers just don’t work for me. My landlady Gudula didn’t believe my peeler was as good as… Continue reading The Potato Peeling Championships
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Alfie does the Tour des Monats im Kreis Viersen
Each month the ADFC (German cycling organisation) hold a ride called the ‘Tour des Monats in Kreis Viersen’ which is a leisurely ride of around 35km. I did this ride two months ago (last month I was in England) and really enjoyed it. This month’s ride also sounded rather interesting, although we ended up doing… Continue reading Alfie does the Tour des Monats im Kreis Viersen
Alfie goes to the Maas River
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
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