The End

Well, it's over.  My slow ride has come to an end.  

I arrived back in London on Saturday night after a 7 hour ferry trip across from Holland. England greeted my return with pouring rain.  An impromptu welcoming party cheered me on as I arrived at a bar in Highbury where I met Sam and Nadia, who were celebrating a friend's 35th birthday. High fives all round, pats on the back from strangers and loads of questions about my trip ensued.  After a quick champagne, I left the bar and jumped back on the bike into sheets of heavy rain to meet Sam and Nadia back at their flat.  I was saturated from head to foot in seconds while trying to deal with the chaotic Saturday night London traffic and stumbling drunks. Stopped at the front of a noisy bar to check my map, with The Smiths' This Charming Man blaring from the pub's stereo.  That song kept me company for the last 2 kilometeres of my ride, in the pouring rain, drenched, I was smiling and humming the tune. After so much riding in the hot sun, it was only appropriate that I finished the trip in the rain.

Not sure how many kilometres I covered by bike, foot, train, bus, scooter, car, boat and plane, but it was a lot.  I travelled through 9 countries during my 6 month trip, with 10 weeks in Italy being the longest time I spent in the one country.  The highlights? Impossible to choose, I loved it all (that day in the Sicilian mudslides was not fun though).  I suppose most of the best bits of my trip are scattered throughout this blog.  I met many great, caring, generous, beautiful people, many of which invited me into their homes without barely knowing me.  There were too many of these people to mention all here, and I would risk missing someone's name, but if you are reading this, thank you dearly and I sincerely hope we do stay in contact.  I will always have a place for you, wherever I may be living next year.  The ride was a brilliant way to see a country, slowly and at my own pace.  It was difficult at times, with the summer heat and the constant hills through parts of France and Italy, but to reach the tops of those hills, take in the views and then roll down the other side, always made it worth the pain.  

Travelling alone is not always easy either, particularly for 6 months.  Eating in bars, restaurants and cafes with my own company started to wear a bit thin during the second half of my trip.  Not being able to speak anything but english also made it difficult. I did have friends to visit in different countries though, which did help break the monotony of solo travel a great deal.  My bike held up magnificently, with only 2 punctures, both on the same day in Paris.  I thought I would never be able to ride it again after walking it through the mud and sand in Sicily for 5 kilometres, but the trusty companion kept going.  I look forward to more adventures on it in the new year.  Not sure who actually reads this blog (apart from my 23 loyal followers!), but I hope you have enjoyed following my journey for the past 6 months.  This trip is over now, I am in London where I first started the ride and will catch a plane back to Melbourne tomorrow.  I am very much looking forward to seeing my family and friends, I have missed you all heaps!

It feels like only yesterday that I was peddling my bike on the coast of northern France, breathing in the fresh sea air and contemplating the long journey ahead of me.  Life goes quick, doesn't it?

Turkey

Turkey was initially part of my travel plans before I started thıs trip, then I decided not to go and then I decided to go agaın. I am wıthout my bıke, havıng left it in Haarlem and it is a nice change to travel around wıth just a backpack. I stayed wıth a fellow cyclıst (who I met ın Italy) ın Istanbul for the fırst 3 days. Thankyou Ebru! Upon arrıvıng ın a town near Istanbul from the aırport by bus, I had the good fortune of meetıng a mıddle aged man named Jacob from Germany. He was vısıtıng Turkey for the upteenth tıme and was more than happy to pay for my phone call, pay for my döner and coke and then walk me to the taxı bay. All I asked hım for were dırectıons to the nearest phone booth. And he was a tourıst lıke me (not a thoughtful out of work local), offerıng me all thıs help, sımply out of the goodness of hıs heart. He could not speak englısh, but that dıdnt stop hım. I trıed wavıng hım goodbye but he was too busy lookıng for another tourıst to help; strange, but good. Istanbul was everythıng I ımagıned ıt to be, a bustlıng cıty wıth a strong blend of europe and arabıa. Too much hıstory to take ın over a lıfetıme let alone 3 days, so I just vısıted the one palace and museum. Took a 12 hour bus trıp to the southern coast for some more sunshıne and ıt has delıvered. Enjoyıng the peace and quıet of small medıterranean vıllages for a few days. Went paraglıdıng today, whıch was amazıng.

Amsterdam and Haarlem

Stayed in Amsterdam for a few days with Sam, Nadia, Mark Z, Sarah and Lenny. Enjoyed spending the time with friends, as we wondered around the beautiful city. For those of you that have been reading this blog recently, you may have noticed that my long distance bike riding has come to an end. Once I saw snow I pretty much knew it was time to give myself and the bike a rest. I have enjoyed riding the bike around Holland though. Now this is a country that seems to put bikes before cars, buses and trucks - and it works. I rode from Haarlem to the Dutch coast and walked along the beach for a while, taking the time to contemplate the distance I have travelled, the places I have seen and the good people I have met over the past 6 months. I stayed with a friend in Haarlem for a few days (thanks Nico!) and it rained most of the time I was there. A good opportunity to stay inside and read some more books and prepare myself for 10 days in Turkey.

I have added some videos I have been meaning to add for some time now. You can find them in my travels through Scotland, France and Italy in the archives. One of the videos will have a special meaning to the good people I enjoyed New Years with in Marlo last year.

Berlin

Back into Germany by train, eventually reaching Berlin after a night in Dresden. Heard so many good things about Berlin so I was very much looking forward to spending some time there. The visit was made all the more enjoyable as I spent the 9 days there with friends, Marnie for the first 3 days and Mark for the last 3 days. Did as much sight seeing as the weather would allow us to do, it rained most of the time I was in Berlin. One day it even snowed. Enjoyed the break in Berlin, rode my bike around a lot, saw a few photo exhibitions, museums and the East Side Gallery. Visited plenty of bars and cafes ofcourse, heaps to choose from. One night I went out to see some live music with a few new friends (a hospitality student from Brazil, a translator from South Korea and an online Poker Player from America) from the hostel I was staying at. I chose the venue as I heard it had live music playing every night. We stepped down into a dark cellar under a bar in a back street of Kreuzberg. There was an old electric guitar lying on a rickety table with an empty chair. About 15 people sat around the walls of the room drinking beer and wine, staring at the guitar, wondering if it was going to play itself or not. Finally a young man sat at the table, turned a few knobs on his amp and began yanking strings on the guitar, scraping metal objects across the strings and generally making a lot of distorted noise. 30 minutes later he had finished and he never once picked up the guitar. It was like watching a surgeon dissect a patient, without using an anaesthetic. The screams of the guitar still haunt me.

Prague

Caught a train from Bamberg to Prague with a book and my ipod to keep me company. Eventually found a hostel to stay in after some riding around the city. Prague was ok, maybe not quite living up to the amount of hype I have heard about it. Perhaps I have just been on the road for too long. Often found myself lost in the cities winding, narrow lanes. Yes, the beer is cheap in Prague. 3 nights was enough and I looked forward to reaching Berlin.

Germany

Got a lift in Hermann´s van to a train station near Munich. Loaded the bike on the train and made it to Wurzburg a few hours later. Spent 2 nights in Wurzburg, one at an underground basement party with Lenny Holderhead and a whole lot of Germans that I didn´t know. Rode my bike from Wurzburg to Volcach the next day along the river Main for about 60kms, shaking my head at the decision to wear tight jeans. It drizzled rain most of the way, glad I had my new gloves though. Spent 3 nights in Volcach, a small village situated amongst vineyards on the river. Lenny showed me the vineyard he has been working on and gave me a tour of the wine cellar, where the magic happens. Had a taste of almost every wine that they produced and enjoyed the peace and quiet of German village life. Jumped back on the bike a few days later and rode into Bamberg, with autumn leaves falling all around me. A pretty city Bamberg. Found myself staying in a retirement village near a park for a good price. Each morning I shared breakfast with people who were around when Hitler was first manicuring ´that moustache´.

Austria

Timed my arrival in Austria to perfection, with the first falls of snow welcoming me to this lush, visually stunning country. A week earlier I was riding my bike in 25 degree heat - it has been a trip of extremes. Stayed with Hermann and Marion near Salzburg for 2 nights and they gave me the 'Austrian experience'. They live in the lakes district of Austria, surrounded by huge mountains and green fields. I have made the transition from Pizza and Pasta to Wienner Schnitzel and Milka chocolate very quickly, a welcome change of diet.

Venice

I felt like I really should go to Venice if I was in the north of Italy, so I did. It was exactly what I expected; heaps of tourists, lots of water and extremely overpriced. Take away all the people and the souvenir shops and I would have found it a lot more enjoyable. A beautiful looking city all the same, but not great for the lone traveller (especially with a bike - which are banned in Venice). Stayed a night and jumped on a train to Austria the next day.

San Marco in Lamis with the Villani family

After about 5 days of dragging my bike on and off trains through southern Italy and then a gruelling 10km mountain climb, I arrived in San Marco in Lamis - home of the Villani family. Carolyn's grandparents, Luigi and Carolina, were from this town before migrating to Australia. I was welcomed with open arms by the family, despite my lack of Italian and their lack of English. I stayed in Luigi's brother Michelino's house in the centre of town. The Villani girls took me on a drive throughout the Gargano Promontory, a beautiful part of Apulia where the forests meet the Adriatic sea. And there is actual sand on the beaches, rather than the rocks that dominate the western Mediterranean coast. I also visited many churches and the monastery of Padre Pio. I was spoilt for 3 days and although it was difficult to converse, I probably learnt more Italian in those 3 days than I had for the previous 10 weeks.