Bikepacking

Impressions I’ve now spent 21 days traveling in Denmark, Sweden and Germany. I spent about 2 days on the train, took a day off in Sweden and spent a day with friends in Cologne. Unfortunately, the south of Sweden didn’t really impress me on this solo trip. Most of the time, the Kattegattleden west coast cycle route ran through tourist regions, industrial areas or along main roads. Although this was not entirely unexpected, it was unfortunately confirmed. You can easily escape the hustle and bustle inland. Just a few kilometers from the coast, you drive alone through the forest, far away from people, supermarkets and shelters. However, as a solo traveler, I didn’t feel like that for several days. That’s why I decided to take the last ferry back to Denmark before Oslo. ...

Impressions As the weather looked promising, I decided to cycle from Cologne to Karlsruhe. I finished off the trip with another 300 km on the Rhine cycle path. Jan joined the tour for the last few kilometers. As he was unable to organize camping equipment so spontaneously, we decided to spend the last two nights in accommodation. For this reason, I sent my camping equipment home by post the day before and traveled the last few kilometers with a pleasantly light pack. ...

Impressions The day started today in thick fog. Without the sun, it was impossible to even think about getting the tent any kind of sign. So I had to pack everything soaking wet. After 10 km on the bike I reached Ribe, the former capital of Denmark. At 9 a.m., the beautiful old town was still pretty sleepy and unfortunately I couldn’t see the inside of the Viking cathedral. From there, it was almost a direct route towards Flensburg. Unfortunately, it started to rain and I felt like I was on the only road in Denmark without a cycle path. ...

Impressions A short stage was on the agenda for today. After the last two longer cycling days, I need to relax a bit. My legs told me that in no uncertain terms this morning. So I set off late at half past ten, after spending the morning having a nice chat at the shelter. My first destination for today was the town of Esbjerg, which I reached after a long breakfast break at around 13:30. Once there, I treated myself to a delicious cappuccino. ...

Impressions The day started off comfortably today. The first thing I did was drive in the wrong direction, hoping to see seals. Unfortunately, I was denied that again. So I headed south without a care in the world. The start of the day’s stage was pretty tough today. Luckily I still had a bit of a tailwind. So I made it through to the lunch break in sunshine and light drizzle. ...

Impressions After ending yesterday evening around a campfire with Danish hikers, I set off this morning in bright sunshine. At first I took the wrong route on the satnav and drove 15 km inland. Fortunately, this didn’t send me in the completely wrong direction, but only cost me a few kilometers of the West Coast Cycle Route. So until the lunch break, the route was mainly on gravel roads through beautiful dunes and forests. ...

Impressions When I got up this morning, the whole shelter was covered in fog. Somehow everything was slightly wet. As a result, the meadow was full of slugs and little frogs, which was kind of funny. An hour later, I was still able to set off in the sun. The first part of the route through the northern interior of Denmark felt like Sweden all over again. As the coast got closer and closer, clouds and a cold sea breeze came with it. The plan to go for a swim somehow became less and less attractive. ...

Impressions The last few kilometers on the Kattlegattleden to Gothenburg were done quickly. I set off with enough time to spare so as not to miss the ferry due to a breakdown. Arriving without a breakdown, I still had enough time to take in Gothenburg and fill my stomach with cinnamon buns. Once I arrived at the ferry port, I met several other bikepackers. The 3:30 hour crossing passed quickly with nice conversations and coffee. ...

Impressions The day started with sunshine and a coffee on a jetty by the lake at the sleeping area. The night was relaxed and restful. At the shelter site I met Alex, who was also on his way north. So we decided to cycle together that day. It was a welcome change in many ways. It wasn’t just the two of us, we also had sunshine and sometimes even a bit of a tailwind. ...

Impressions This morning I finally set off again in bright sunshine. I cycled along the coast through dunes and forests to Halmstad, where I had breakfast at the harbor. After Halmstad, the Kattlegattle unfortunately mainly ran along roads. It wasn’t so nice to look at, but it would almost have invited me to do a good stretch. If it hadn’t been for the headwind. I don’t think I need to mention that in future. It’s always windy. ...