From Munich

It's been about two weeks since I updated the blog last time, I was in Erlach, town which divides the French/German speaking parts of Switzerland.

Once more, thanks to people's hospitality I barely had to use my tent in all these time. In Zurich Rainer and Guang accepted my very last minute request via WS. We shared a nice dinner and went for walk afterwards, shame they had to leave early next day as they had lots of interesting stories from their travels. Then I continued my way towards Immerstadt (in Germany) where I meet my good friend Oli, who despite having a really stressful week took some time to spend with me and paid my hotel expenses! The next stop was Fussen, where I visited castle of Neuschwanstein. Nearby I was hosted by Arto and Sandra who are also members of WS and prepared a nice dinner for me.

 And yet I had one more friend to visit on my way to  Munich, Uli whom I’d met  last summer while hiking across the Pyrenees, he invited me for a traditional Bavarian menu, perfect to recover from a long cycling day.

And now I’m in Munich, a friend from my hometown, Isaac, has allowed me to stay with him for a whole week, it’s been nice to take some time off the bike and became a “conventional” tourist. Thanks to him I also have met some Basque people and get to know a bit more about living as foreigners in Germany.

   The Bavarian scenery is the favourite of this trip so far, it has a really nice combination of traditional villages, lakes, woods and mountains.

Now the plan is to head south towards Greece, passing through Austria, Slovenia, Croatia…

Erlach-Munich ENGLISH from lander on Vimeo.

Munich-etik

Kaixo,

Azkenekoz idatzi nuenean, Erlach-en negoen, Suiza "alemaniarra" hasten den tokian, orduztik Austriako zati txiki bat gurutzatu eta iparraldera jarraituz Munitxeraino iritsi naiz.

Bidean jende berria ezagutu eta aspaldiko lagunekin gozatzeko aukera izan det.  Zurich-en Rainer eta Guang-en etxean egon nintzen, gero  kontanz lakua inguratu eta Austrian 40km egin ondoren Alemaniara iritsi nintzen, bertan aspaldiko laguna nuen Oli bixitatu nuen Immenstadt-en, izugarrizko hotzarekin iritsi nintzen baina berak gonbidatu ninduen menu bavariari esker segituan ahaztu zitzaizkidan eguneko goraberak, oso denobora gutxirekin zebilen baina halaere tarte bat hartu zuen nerekin egoteko. Ondoren Fussen inguruan  Arto eta Sandra WS-ko kideen laguntza izan nuen, bertan neuschwanstein-eko gaztelu famatua bixitatu eta handik Wolfratshausen-era, GR11 ibilbidea egiten ezagutu nuen Uliren etxera. Honek ere menu bavariar batera  gonbidatu ninduen eta garagardo batzuk edanez solasaldi ederra izan genuen. Horrela zainduta, ia erabat indar berriturik Munitxera iritsi nintzen, Ixak tolosarrarak bere etxean geratzeko gonbidapena luzatu zidan eta aze nolako astea igaro dudadana! Municheko uskaldunak ezagutu, garagardo batzuk dastatu, herriko bisita turistikoak, bizikletan bueltak, parrandak, denetik egin degu. Tolosatik pasaeran zegon Josu-rekin egun bat pasaatzeko aukera ere izan degu.

Ikusten dezuen bezela aspertzeko denborarik gabe ibili naiz, hemendik eskerrak heman nahi dizkiet lagun zahar/berri hauei denei.

Bihar Austria aldera abiatuko naiz, gero eslovenia eta kroazia aldera jarraitzeko asmoz.

Laisterarte!!

Erlach-Munich Euskaraz from lander on Vimeo.

Switzerland- English

The arrival to Chamonix was not as I had imagined in my dreams, it was rainning heavily and the mountains were hidden among the thick fog. However, once again luck was on my side as Yohann had accepted my last minute request to stay in his house.

Yohann has been travelling around Europe for 11months with his wife and son on a very tight budget, I enjoyed hearing his stories from the road, he talked about the harsh conditions they encountered in Iceland and how whenever he saw a rainbow or a shooting star he took it as a good omen. The weather didn't help while I stayed at Yohann's so after a short visit to Chamonix we said our goodbyes and I set off towards Geneva. On that night, after pitching my tent, as I was getting in the sleeping bag a shooting star crossed the sky, then I remembered my conversation with Yohann... within minutes rain started pouring down.

Next morning things didn't get any better, the rain didn't stop and the contact I had in Geneva sent me a text saying he could no longer host me. Feeling a bit down and after buying some food provisions I crossed the border into Switzerland. What happened next was simply amazing, Pierre took me to his house to help me planning the Swiss route, later I met Sebastien who has a pedicab business in the city and he immediately invited me to stay in his house, things were looking great already and yet on the way to Sabastien’s house, another cyclist, Juan, approached me and after a short conversation he invited me for lunch lunch with his Colombian family!

I spent three beautiful days in Geneva, I enjoyed spending time with Seabastien and his housemates, had a chance to try some Colombian Sancocho soup and also had a great laugh with Juan's family. 

After saying goodbye to my new friends in the city, I continued north around the Lake Leman, visiting Lausanne and Neuchatel on the way. The Swiss countryside is really pretty and it's got excellent bike lines. I'm currently in Erlach, I have been invited to stay at Ines's and Vincent's house, both seasoned travellers with lots of interesting stories from their trips.   Now I plant to continue towards Germany, passing through Zurich and Lake Kostanz. While I continue my way north, I’ll keep an eye for rainbows and shooting stars! 

Alvertville-Erlach-English from lander on Vimeo.

Suiza- Euskaraz

 Chamonix ingurura iristea ez zen nik imaginatu nuen bezain idilikoa izan; hotza, euria eta mendiak lainoz estalirik topatu nituen... halere beste behin zortea izan nuen eta Les Hauches-eko herrian Yohann-ek bere etxean egoteko baimena heman zidan.

 Yohann bere emazte eta semearekin europan zehar 11hilabetez bidaiatzen ibilia da. Islandiako haize bortitzaz eta bideko beste mila anekdotataz hitzegin zidan, eta baita ostadar edo izar iheskor bat ikusten zuen aldiro nola zorte ona ekarriko zion fedea izaten zuen esan zidan.

Eguraldiak etzidanez lagundu, Chamonixera bixita azkar bat eginda, Yohann-etaz agurtu eta Ginebra-runtz abiatu nintzen. Gau artan bertan, zerura begira nengoela izar iheskor bat ikusi nuen eta Yohannek esandakoaz gogoratu nintzen, hortik gutxira izugarrizko euri zaparrada hasi zuen...

 Hurrengo goizean oraindik euripean eta 5 graduko frexkurarekin, Suizareko mugara iritsi nintzen. Muga gurutzatu aurretik erosketa egin eta emailak irakurtzeko tartea hartu nuen, Ginebran neukan kontaktuak mezu bat bidali zidan bere etxean ezingo nuela geratu esanez. Horrela pixkat burumakur iritsi nintzen Ginebrara.

 Iritsi eta segituan Pierre izeneko tipo bat gerturatu zitzaidan eta bere etxera eraman ninduen suizako mapak erakutsiz ibilbidea planifikatzeko,ezta hasiera txarra, pentsatu nuen. Ortik gutxira Sebastien ezagutu nuen, bizikleta-taxi batekin ari zen lanean eta segituan luzatu zidan bere etxean geratzeko gonbidapena eta ori nahikoa ez bazen Sebastienen etxera bidean nijoala, Juanek, Kolonbiako txirrindulari batek, hurrengo egunean bere familiarekin bazkaltzera gonbidatu ninduen!!

Sebastienen etxeko jende irikiari esker etxean bezela sentitu nintzen,  Juan-en familiarekin berriz Sancocho zopa dastatu eta kolonbiar umorearekin nahiko farre egiteko aukera izan nuen.

 Hiru egun igaro ondoren hiriko lagunetaz agurtu eta abiatzeko garaia iritsi zen,  Leman lakua inguratuz, Lausanne eta Neuchatel-etik igaroz Erlach izeneko herri batera iritsi naiz, hemen berriz ere ezezagun batek, Vince-ek bere lagun baten etxera gonbidatu nau, Ines-ren etxera. Munduan zehar ibiliak dira hauek ere eta makina bat histori interesgarri entzuteko aukera izan det. Orain Zurich-etik barrena pasaz Munich aldera jarraitzeko asmoa daukat, badaezpada oheratu aurretik erne egongo naiz ea beste izar iheskor bat ikusten  deten!

Alvertville-Erlach-Euskera from lander on Vimeo.

Alps- ENGLISH

Hi,

I’m currently in Albertville, I’ve ditched the initial plan of following the Rhone river all the way to Switzerland, when I saw the alps in the horizon it was too tempting not to leave the beautiful but rather boring river path on the side.

Last time I updated the blog I was in Montpellier, I had a great time thanks to David, a guy from Madrid who approached me on the street (must have looked a bit lost) and within 2 minutes he invited me to stay in his apartment!

I spend two fantastic days with him, he not only showed me the touristy bits of the city but also took me for a bike ride along the coast and gave me lots of interesting facts about the city, French culture etc. After spending time with David I was ready to hit the road again, this time I was heading towards Grenoble where I’ve contacted Tan via CS.

To get to Grenoble I had to do more kilometres than I’m used to and most of them on hills, I was absolutely knackered by the time I made it to Tan’s house but it was worth every effort because I was about to meet Tan, another great host in this trip.

Tan is from Vietnam, he’s a scientist finishing his PHD. In Grenoble. He is one of the most hospitable person I’ve ever met, he always welcomes travellers from all over the world and cooks delicious meals for them. I ended up spending three days with him, we cycled, hiked, swam and above all had great time getting to know each other.

Now I really hope both David and Tan will be able to come to see me when I’m finished with this trip, it will be a pleasure to host them.

Thank you guys!

Now the next destination is Chamonix, really looking forward to take a closer look to those giant mountains.

PS. In the video a made few mistakes and some parts are in Basque, it’s too time consuming to fix it so hope you are able to enjoy it as it is!

Montpellier-Alvertville-engl from lander on Vimeo.

Alpeen hasiera- EUSKARAZ

Kaixo,

Montpellierren gutxitan gertatzen diren gauza orietako bat pasa zitzaidan, ezezagun bat bizikletan urbildu eta bere etxean geratzeko gonbidapena luzatzea.

 David Madrildarra da eta dentista bezela lan egiten du hemen. Kasualitatez, bera ezagutu eta hurrengo eguna jai zuenez,  bizikletak hartu eta Monpellierko visita turistikoa eginez kostaldera eraman ninduen. Gauz interesgarri asko ikasi nituen Davidekin baino bi egun pasa ta gero abiatzeko garaia iritsi zen, pena pixkatekin David agurtu eta kosta alde batera utziz iparralderuntz abiatu nintzen.

Monpellier atzean utzi eta laister izan nituen alpeak begibistan, hasiera batean Rodano ibaia jarraitzeko asmoa izan Suizan arren mendiak ikusit eta berehala ideiaz aldatu nuen!

Orduan helburua Grenoblera iristea zen, bertan Couchsurfing-eko tipo batek bere etxean egoteko eskaera onartu bai zidan, bi egunetan 210km egin nituen mendietan barrena, eta nahiz eta mendi txikiak izan, erabat txikituta iritsi nintzen Grenoblera.  Normalean lasaiago joaten naiz baino Tan zain neukan Grenoblen eta bestalde eguraldi oso txarra iragarrita zegoen.

Tan Vietnameko zientzilari bat da, Grenoblen bere doktoradutza bukatzen ari da. Gutxitan ezugutu ditut bera bezain portsona eskuzabalak, bere etxea beti gonbidatuz beteta dago. Berarekin hiria ezagutu, mendi bat igo igeri egin eta batez ere jende asko ezagutu nuen. Iluntze batean 8 lagun elkartu ginen bere etxean afaltzen eta inork ez genuen elkar ezagutzen. Gainera bidean aurrerago pasako naizen herrietarako kontktuak heman dizkit, artista earra da Tan!  

Horrela bailarak jarraituz  Albertvillera iritsi naiz, atzo jai  hartu nuen  bloga eguneratzeko. Ta gaur eguerdi aldera berriz bideari ekingo asmoa daukat, Chamonix aldera, gogoa haundia daukat mendi erraldoi horiek bertatik ikusteko, ea eguraldia portatzen den!

Laisterarte

Bideoa ez da oso txukun geratu baino nahiko denbora kendu dit ta bero ortan uztea erabaki det…

Montpellier-Alvertville-Euskaraz from lander on Vimeo.

Across France

Hi

It’s been nearly a week since I entered France through the coll of Banyuls, this same pass was chosen by many refugees who escaped from Franco’s troops in 1939. I’m not trying to escape from anyone but going rather slowly.

I have some communication issues as I speak no French and despite I’ve been told many of them speak Spanish I had no luck finding those people. However the universal “sign language” is working perfectly and have to say that French people have been most helpful; I’m currently in Montpellier, this morning I’ve must have looked lost when a cyclist approached me and offered accommodation in his house, or earlier this week as I was having lunch on a bench someone invited me to have coffee in his house…

Things are easy for cyclists in France, there are plenty of cycle lanes and campsites, I try to free camp whenever I can otherwise I might have to get a job before I get to Tokyo!

I’ve also decided the route for the following days, I’ll be going to Switzerland through Grenoble and exit the country cycling by lake Costanz toward Munich where I plan to visit some friends.

Below I video that should have been uploaded few days ago and some pictures of the last week.

bcn eng from lander on Vimeo.