17.5.2023  -  12.5 km / 62 hm.    Seengen - Kiel

Update(July 14, 2023):
To make the blog easier to read, I've changed the order (oldest first). To get to the newest posts please scroll to the very end or click here !

At 7:15 my bike trip to the far north starts together with Urs and Roswitha in Seengen. With a last photo in front of their house, we start fully packed on the bike our first stage to Lenzburg.

It turns out that we haven't been on the SBB with bikes very often, we board the train through the wrong door and block the passage completely. There follows a short intermezzo in the station Aarau so that the journey to Basel can be continued a little more comfortably.

There we enjoyed a last espresso and a croissant, then we stowed our bikes in the backmost wagon of the DB to take our seats in the frontmost wagon.

To our astonishment, the train leaves Basel with Swiss punctuality and to our even greater astonishment, the delay to Kiel adds up to a paltry 15 minutes. This after the union of the DB employees had threatened with strike and train cancellations the day before.

With full vigor we take the first few kilometers to the hotel under the wheels. When we check into the hotel, we have to overcome the next hurdle: the second room key is missing, which should have been deposited. Since we arrive on a holiday, in the German gastronomy staff shortage prevails, we are lucky that a randomly still present employee can help us out of the jam.

For dinner we get back on the bike. Ride to the restaurant "Kiek ut", located directly by the sea, where our hunger is satisfied with local delicacies.

 

Ankunft in Kiel

 

18.5.2023 - 11.6 km / 57 hm.    Kiel - Oslo

Bright sunshine greets us in Kiel in the morning. From the hotel, we take a leisurely drive toward the harbor, where an unfamiliar and impressive world opens up for us Swiss.

As if they were skyscrapers, the huge ferries and cruise ships lie at anchor. With solid ground under our feet we enjoy the wonderful summer weather again with coffee and beer.

A very special experience is the entrance with our bicycles on the ferry. Finally, as a cyclist, we are treated preferentially compared to the cars.

The dimensions of the ferry are enormous: 224 m long, 35 m wide, 6.8 m draft, 750 car places, 1270 parking meters for trucks, 2400 passengers, 42400 HP power, 15 decks!

The interior is more reminiscent of a shopping center than a ship.

If you book an inside cabin, you feel more like you are in a tin can.

The 3-course menu tastes fine, the bottle of wine as well.

The morning meal is a bit more chaotic. For *** passengers are no fixed tables reserved, which means as much as "who comes last bites the dogs". At least there are alternatives even if they are not always friendly.

Vor dem Königspalast ...

19.5.2023 - 15.6 km / 455 hm.    Oslo

Today is sightseeing in Oslo. The bike turns out to be an extremely good choice to see something of this city.

The infrastructure for cycling leaves almost nothing to be desired. Most Swiss cities could probably get some inspiration from this. From the hotel down to the sea promenade, from the opera house to Aker Brygge, Tjuvholmen (impressive architecture) and the Astrup Fearnly Museum of Modern Arts.

Again and again we have to pause in front of huge cruise ships - it is hard to imagine that such a giant barge can be moved at all.

To celebrate the day, we enjoy the fine fish cuisine at Skur 33 directly at the harbor.

 

20. 5. 2023 - 32.9 km / 476 hm.    Oslo - Skjetten

Finally, it's time to get going on the bike. A "short" warm-up ride to Skjetten is the order of the day.

Shortly after Oslo and its agglomeration, the landscape changes and becomes more rural and greener. Even outside the urban environment we are surprised by the excellent cycle paths. Mostly completely separated from the rest of the road traffic or clearly marked by a red ground marking.

Shortly before the day's goal comes again something hectic on my part. At our last rest before the hotel my backpack with passport/ID etc. remains lying. So full throttle back, where I find the "Corpus Delicti" intact. Again luck had.

Super nice hotel with fine cuisine and enormous morning buffet.

21. 5. 2023 - 47.8 km / 356 hm.    Skjetten - Dal

Our tour continues on side roads northward through very agricultural landscape with huge fields which are prepared for sowing.

In summer heat, we take our coffee break in Jessheim to relax again shortly after at a small swimming lake.

Our hotel in Dal is very close to the airport Gaerdemon (Oslo). This may be the reason that the hotel is designed for transit guests. Accordingly, the cuisine is also very reminiscent of a canteen meal. No comparison to the day before.

In the evening then still small maintenance work at the bicycle accomplished (chain lubricate, Pneus pump). Thereby, my small pump proves to be a tube killer, I tear but smoothly the valve from the tube. So I may now practice a first and hopefully last time tube change.

22. 5. 2023 - 74.4 km / 900 hm.    Dal - Stange

First stop today at Intersport in Raholt to get a new spare tube. The tour follows the waters of the Mjøsa for long stretches.

The Mjøsa is with an area of 369 km² the largest lake in Norway. With its length of 117 km, it will be at our side for a while.

Due to the proximity to the water, the temperature is pleasantly fresh at the beginning, but it rises to summer-like values at noon. Sufficient water reserves are needed.

We spend the night on a Demeter farm. Unfortunately, no food is served, not even breakfast. So we are forced to get on the bike again to get a salad and a pizza.

23. 5. 2023 - 55 km / 734 hm.    Stange - Biri

Today shows a completely different side. We start with some teething problems in cold, wet weather.

The rain gear goes through a first stress test. Breakfast is served after about 10 km in Hamar. On the way to Biri we stop in Brumunddal and eat in the "Wood Hotel". The Wood Hotel, the highest wooden building in the world, rises an impressive 86 meters (18 stories) above the ground.

The hotel is perfectly located on the edge of Mjøsa in Brumunddal. From the observation deck so high above the ground, the panoramic view is breathtaking.

The onward journey is quiet. At the end of the day, there's a short but tough climb to Hotel Honne - the "pièce de résistance", so to speak.