Friday afternoon and Saturday

Had a pleasant lunch and great conversation with Susan. We went to Coffee Connection on South Ave. it’s the cafe that is run for and by recovering female drug addicts. They served some good soup and quiche. Afterwards I got lots of shopping done and made an appointment to have my car inspected before I drove down to Avon for a fish fry with Annemarie. It was great to see her again and catch up. This morning after breakfast, Mary Ellen and I put down some mulch before we went to the storage unit to get my bike. Then we ran some errands and went shopping. I managed to pick up a few more kids’ books from the Ogden Library stand at the open market. After we got done shopping, we came home and made lunch. I read and studied some Russian for a bit, then we headed to a friends pool for a while. It was refreshing in the 90 degree heat. we got back and I did more reading and studying before I grilled a Ziegle’s hot dog for supper. Boy, did that taste good! Tom I’m going to Annette’s for the day for more swimming. And I’ll also be able to catch up on the gossip from work.

Making lists

I had a nice lunch with cousin Dianne. I came back and continued making lists of all the the NYS I have to remember to do. The. I started r adding a little and took a short nap because I just couldn’t keep my eyes open. Susan emailed a reminded me that thursdays were the nights for the Unity Rides and did I want to o come. Of course I did. Since my bike is still in storage, she dug one up for me to use. There were about 30 of us there and we did the usual rid3 through the 19th Ward with the police escort. Always fun. And I met some new people. I started doing some work on my Russian yesterday. It is helpful! Even if I just learn some new vocabulary, it will be worth it. Have a wash in the machine now and will study while I’m waiting for it to get done. Then I’m going to lunch with Susan. There are a lot of bike issue to discuss.

Rainy, rainy Rochester

Got in at 12:30 a.m Wednesday and got to bed at about 1:30. I slept reasonable well. I ate something besides PORRIDGE for breakfast! I got some phone calls in, made some appointments and helped MARY Ellen go get some mulch for the garden. Then I took off and bought some desperately needed new shoes. Found some on the sale rack at DSW. now I can really save the old ones for working in the garden here. Then I headed over to Supercuts and finally got my hair cut. I was beginning to look like Jogi Loew, the German soccer trainer! Boy, do I feel better. The. It was on to Pittsford Plaza. I was going to meet the Humphrey House gang at Applebee’s at 6 and I had time to spare, so I went to Barnes and Noble and bought some books for my school kids. Even though I’ve found a store in Kazan that sells kids’ books In English, but the selection isn’t overwhelming so I wanted to pick up lots of the ones I remember reading my kids. After that I ran over to Applebee’s and had a great get-together with PJ and Sandra. T couldnt make it, but we are going to get together next week in Webster, so I will see her then. This morning I’m going to have lunch with cousin Di after I help Mary Ellen load some more mulch at Lowe’s. I also have to go get my bike out of storage. Yikes, I’m almost back to normal! Oh, and it’s been raining steadily since I’ve been back! Typical Rochester.

That was hairy

Wow, what a trip. I got to Lisbon from Frankfurt on time, found my gate, then I get frisked. They made me empty my pockets and my backpack. They checked my hands for dust. But we all got on and finally we ok off 45 minutes late. So, I get to JFK with enough breathing time and get sent upstairs to go through the TSA line. Wait 15 minutes, get up to the counter, and the guy tells me that, sinc3 I was a person of interest in Lisbon, I have to get a new boarding pass from JetBlue. Hmmmm, the line is long and time is getting short. It was mostly people rebooking flights because they’d missed their scheduled flights, so of course it was taking ages. The line didn’t move and didn’t move, so I got ou5 of line and went to the counter for special services. Th guy asked me if I needed a wheelchair. Nope, just a new boarding pass. He was so nice to give it to me right away. I quickly went back to TSA and waited in line ther3 for anothe4 10 minutes. But I’m through and just waiting to board for Rochester. Almost home.

On my way to the USA

Wow, that month went by quickly. But I got to see everybody I wanted to see. Had a nice time with everyone. This morning I took the 5:15 bus to Frankfurt. I wasn’t supposed to take off until 11.40, but there are often traffic jams on the autobahn and I didn’t want to chance it. Got there in plenty of time. Got checked on. Got an aisle seat and, of course, someone was sitting in it. Didn’t I want to move over to the window? Nope. Then we all get in the plane and the stewardess announces that there is a situation and we will take off an hour late. No explanation about what the situation is. I’m sweating bricks because it’s Cutting it close with my connection. Good thing Lisbon is an hour earlier than Frankfurt. So, we land and it takes ages for everyone to get off. Then it takes ages for everyone to get on the buses. And it takes ages to get to the terminal. But I got lucky going through customs and. Now I’m just waiting for my flight to JFK to board. So far, so good.

The last pictures from the bike tour

Monday

Monday. We’re on our way home. It’s another long bus ride (13 hours) but no traffic jams yet, so we might really make it on time.

Sunday

Sunday The weather report said we might get rain today. Fortunately, it was very early in the morning while we were still in the hotel. After breakfast we took the bikes and headed for the boat that was going to take Us to Roebel. It was an hour and a half ride and several of us sat up on the top deck and enjoyed the fresh air and the scenery. Roebel looked like a nice little town but we really didn’t get to see any of it. We rode out of town to Bollewick, which has the largest field stone barn in Germany (Europe, the world?). We could have spared ourselves this trip. It’s basically a designer shopping center now. I can’t think of anyone who takes a bike trip to go shopping for large paintings and lingerie from Victoria’s secret. After looking around there for an hour, we headed back into Roebel and rode down the path to the other end of town. We stopped at a little place where we could get some fish sandwiches for lunch. There were smoking the fish right there! I had a very tasty bowl of fish soup. Then we got on our way again and were lucky to have mostly tailwinds. But there were still a couple of places where I pushed uphill. We rode on to Kline again where we got a close up of town he castle, then went on to that great sandy beach we had see two days ago. Of course I went wading. The water was really pleasant. We got back to the hotel at 4:30 and had to be ready again at 5:30 because we had to return the bikes before 6. Keep in mind that the Germans were playing their World Cup watch against Mexico at 5. We got the bikes back on time and then we all walked down to the harbor to walk around until 7, when we had a table reserved at our first restaurant. Every restaurant had a TV standing outside again. Germany lost 0-1 and we could to the restaurant in peace. I had another nice fish dinner and we sat for a long while and talked. I certainly didn’t feel as tired as I did the day before and all in all, it wasn’t a bad tour and the people were all pleasant. But it was more for people who don’t do long tours regularly.

Saturday

Saturday So, Saturday was going to be our long day to Neubrandenburg. Two “normal” bikes riders decided to stay in Waren and relax. We knew it was going to be about 60 kms but it actually ended up being more than 70 with our unplanned detours. We went down to breakfast a little early so that we could get an early start. The first stops were at the grocery store and bakery in town because we knew we wouldn’t find anything in the towns along the way. And it really was a tough day. The path from west to east was very hilly because of earlier glacial activity and we hit a lot of sand on some of the trails was murderous. I pushed my bike more than once. Our first goal was to ride to the source of the Havel River. It was a steep , sandy downhill. When we got down there, there wasn’t really much to see except some water oozing out of the ground with a marker next to it explaining that it was the Havel source. We ate our lunch there, which we shared with another gazillion mosquitoes. I was glad we only stayed there for 15 minutes. We rode on farther to a town called Penzlin. We found a little cafe right in the courtyard of the old castle and had a nice, relaxed hour there. Then we just kept slugging on until we reached Neubrandenburg. Remember, we had already gone about 60 km. And surprise, surprise, the city was one entire construction site. Of course, we ended up taking wrong turns and riding many more kms than we had planned. We had to be at the train station (also a construction site!) at 5:30. It was 4:30 when we got there and not one of us wanted to take a side trip into the inner city for 30 minutes. We all sat down at the little grill near the train station and enjoy d something to drink. The original plan had been that we were going to take a bus with a bicycle trailer back to Waren. Unfortunately. The bus doesn’t take bikes on Saturday and Sunday. This is not very logical, since it’s a bike touring region and that’s when you’re going to get the majority of the bike riders. In any case, we got the train tickets, rode 30 minutes to Neustrelitz where we transferred to the train on the opposite of the platform and were in Waren in another 30 minutes. It certainly went quicker than the ride in! We got back and gathered everybody for another walk into the city center to find a restaurant. This time we didn’t go down to the harbor. We found a great place and I had some delicious salmon on a bed of spinach. Then it was back to the hotel for another night.

Friday

Friday Friday after a good breakfast, we headed for a wisant reserve in Federow. A wisant looks like a skinny buffalo and is, in fact, a cousin of the American bison. We wanted to watch the animals at feeding time. We were a little early so we walked down to the lake for a nice view and a fight with a gazillion mosquitos. Man, those little buggers were nasty. I really didn’t get bit too much, but some of the people had really big welts on their legs by the time the trip was over. We came back to the platform and watched the animals get fed and listened to the keeper tell a little about them. They are being bred there and sent all over Europe. We then headed out for Malchow, which is a picturesque little town, part of which is on an island. To get onto the island there is, of course, a bridge. This bridge doesn’t raise and lower for ships, it rotates on a spindle. We a stop on the near side of the bridge to grab a fish sandwich for lunch but were told to be on the other side of the bridge before 2, otherwise it might be half an hour before we could get going again. We all made it, and I have to say, the entire group was always punctual for everything. We all got along just fine and were all considerate of one another. I think most impressive for me about the group was that, there was one younger man along, who obviously mentally handicapped. But he was able to fully function in a group situation and the entire group treated as an equal and never once talked down to him. Its experiences Ike that they allow one to keep believing in the goodness of humanity, in spite of what happens in politics. Along the way, the landscape was stunning. There were gigantic fields of ripe, yellow wheat edged with cornflowers and poppies. And maybe we were lucky because the school vacations haven’t started yet, but there weren’t an awful lot of people under way with bikes. It was after Malchow that the first people started complaining that the e-bikers were setting a pace that was too fast. I was in the back with some other women who didn’t ride e-bikes and we were holding our own. But we weren’t planning on riding the Tour de France, but we were riding a comfortable pace. Nobody was mad, but the older woman mentioned it and just made a point of saying that, if we didn’t keep up, please wait for us at the next turn. Everyone was good with that. What we also noticed was that the paths were hilly and sometimes so sandy that I had to push my bike. It was like trying to ride on the beach. We stopped a a place called Kline for coffee. It was actually pretty warm that day so we were glad for the break. The last ride into Waren was sandy and steep, so we were glad when we got in, even if it was a little late. We just had time to lock up the bikes and shower before we walked back to the harbor for dinner at a different restaurant. This wasn’t such a pleasant experience. First of all, soccer was on TV. Every restaurant had TVs out on the sidewalk so that even the customers sitting outside could watch. And the waiter was a smarmy jerk who kept making “funny”jokes but took forever to wait on us. I was glad when we finally got out of there because we were sitting outside and we were cold. Two women decided that they were not going to ride along the next day. It was supposed to be about 60 km and they were exhausted from the ride we had done to Malchow. It turned out to be a good choice for them.

Thursday

Thursday I forgot to mention from Thursday that I heard a statement that was so typically German I had to laugh. It was a little cool and we had made a stop at an observation tower. One lady said to me, “It’s so cold, I’m going to put socks on, even if it looks stupid.” Older German women are so concerned about what they imagine other people think of them. Also forgot to mention that we had a good meal at a very pleasant restaurant down by the harbor. I had a great fish dish. Except for o e evening when I just HAD. To have a pizza, I ate as much fish as possible. Boy, am I spoiled in Russia. I’m so used to cheap prices for everything. the prices in Germany are very expensive in comparison.

Pictures of Saturday's ride

Pictures from along the way. We did more than 50 miles today.

Pictures from day 2

We rode past this beach. We visited the wisant reserve (European cousin of the buffalo),and we took a break in Malchow.

The first day’s trip

So, we ate breakfast at 7:30. It was the usual breakfast buffet in Germany. It was enough, but not outstanding. Then we were to meet at 8:45 to go pick up the bikes. Some of us came down to the lobby early because it’s the only place we can get decent WiFi. In any case, we were all punctual and we walked into the pedestrian zone to the bike shop. First the guy gets out all the e bikes and explains them to the ones who rented them. He adjusted saddles and put on bike baskets. Then he finally got to the people who wanted “normal” bikes. He brings me mine, I have the seat lowered and try it out. Then I ask him to tip the front of the seat up just a bit because I feel as if I’m falling off. Him: I can’t do that. it’s a ratchet and it will point up straight. Me: I just want it up one notch. I know what is comfortable for me. 5 minutes later. Me: I need the front of my saddle raised. Him: I can’t do that. It’s a ratchet and it will stand up straight. Me: No it won’t. He walks away. Then the tour guide says she has tools with her and we will fix it as soon as we are out of town. Me: (loudly) Nope. I paid for a service and I expect to get it. The guy finally comes and says he has to get a wrench. He comes back with the wrong wrench and has to get another. He turns the wrench to loosen the saddle moves it up one notch and I tell him that’s where I want it. It would have been so easy just to do that In The first place. Bite me, you lazy jerk! (Complaint no.1) So we head out past the harbor and into the National Park. We stopped after about 2 miles to adjust seats etc., then we started riding through a beautiful forest. The Trails are pretty flat, with a couple of small hills here and there, but nothing dramatic. Nobody had any problems getting up any of the inclines. The tempo started off well. Everyone could keep up. Our first stop was at a station where they had a camera trained on a sea eagle’s nest. We looked around for a little bit, used the bathrooms and then rode on. These place is called the sea flats for a reason. There’s a gazillion little lakes and a lot of marshy swamp in between. We climbed a couple of outlook tours along the way and just enjoyed the beautiful landscape. We stopped in a hamlet named Boek for lunch. I had a great goulash soup. I looked in a couple of churches and we just generally rode through a refreshingly undeveloped area that wasn’t full of a lot of tourist traps. We got back to Waren at about 4:30 and everybody did their own thing till 6:00. I bought myself a map of the area since the tour didn’t provide any map material for the riders. (Complaint no.2) Then I walked back to the hotel with one of the other ladies and we locked the bikes up in the shed at the hotel. After a great shower and some rest, we met at 6:30 and all went to a restaurant together. We decided that would eat dinner together, but always in a difference place that the tour guide picks out. She’s been here before so she is familiar with the good restaurants. Now we’re in for the night. We did about 35 miles today so we are all tired. Tomorrow it will be about 40. The guide says some of the paths tomorrow will be narrow so we will have to ride carefully. Today was a good ride. I’m looking forward to another one tomorrow.

Pictures of the first day's tour in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Our hotel is in Waren/Mueritz and we do a tour in a different direction every day.

On the bike trip.

I’m finally writing after a long time again I got on the bus this morning to go up to the north east corner of Germany for a bike trip. It was a long ride because we hit several traffic jams. There were 30 people on the bus who are at another hotel and are just going to go sightseeing. Then there were 12 of us and on trip leader who went on to another hotel for the bike trip. Well stay there for 5 nights and ride in a different direction each day. it didnt rain today on the bus trip, but it was cloudy and cool. Of the twelve of us, the youngest is about 45 and he’s never taken a bike trip before. About half of the people have reserved e-bikes. This will certainly be an interesting trip. We had a late supper and now that I’ve got WiFi in the lobby I wanted to get a short blog in before I go to bed. I should have pictures tomorrow.