Hengstforde - Leer - To France the Long Way 2009

July 8, 2009

Hengstforde - Leer

Today we have sun for the start, then comes the rain - and wind of course. But let's first talk about the wonderful breakfast we had.

Most people associate "tea time" with Britain, however in the 18th century tea found its way to this part of Germany through the ports of the Baltic and North Sea. It was all the rage and the Frisians became hooked while the rest of Germany remained resolute coffee drinkers.

Carefully prepared tea, taken with rock sugar and heavy cream, enjoyed in a cosy atmosphere (in German: Gemütlichkeit, an indispensable word in these parts) is a cherished tradition in East Friesland. Our hotel breakfast verifies the Frisian's reputation. The table is set with care and the China and tablecloth are of the finest, however it is not stiff and formal but rather inviting and intimate - "gemütlich" is the word that describes it. The tea is served as traditionally as it gets and the breakfast buffet includes various kinds of bread, cold meats, smoked fish, cheese and jams - nothing is left to be desired. By the way - you can eat all you want but making sandwiches to take with you is considered uncouth.

I might add that I am not really a tea drinker, but you've got to love drinking tea here. If we had been able to camp, we might have saved money but this is something we would have missed . As a matter of fact, many of our breakfasts in Germany, generally included in the price of the room, have been the culinary highlights of the day.

Side view of our hotel - as we leave the sun is shining.

Now it's time to get out into the wind, and eventually, rain. As in the past days, our way treats us to an abundance of roadside flowers, black and white cows and dramatic cloud formations.

The concrete bricks aren't all that bad to ride on.

We ride the Jümme Bike Path where 14 km before we reach Leer the rain finds us, only giving us a reprieve with bright sunshine to admire the Schloss Evenburg and its park. This is the kind of weather that goes with the landscape - it's part of the package and if you don't have rain and wind you haven't seen East Friesland. I think we are earning our East Friesland badge.

We follow the meanderings of the Jümme River for much of our ride today.

Our bike path along the winding Jümme River

Black clouds gathering, rain is on its way.

We arrive in Leer around noon. It has a well preserved old town with pretty houses and little shops. Situated between the rivers Ems and Leda, it is also a port.

Leer is worth mentioning for yet another reason. Exactly one month after our day in Leer (right place, wrong time), the European Championship race for recumbents was held. This year's European Champion (www.merkur-online.de/lokales/sport/liegend-europameistertitel-485623.html) in recumbent racing is none less than Andreas Seilinger from Ottenhofen near Munich - our Bike Friday dealer www.traumvelo.de.

Here is a reference in another journal of mine to Andreas and his shop Traumvelo: www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?page_id=105546.

Andreas Seilinger, travelling at speeds up to 60 km/h, won this year's European Recumbent Championship in Leer.

We eat our little picnic during the short bouts of sun, ride around the streets in between the showers and decide to head for the camping ground across the river. Our plans to camp are foiled again by an inundating downpour and we opt for a hotel we spy on our way out of town. It was a short cycling day and the weather report for tomorrow isn't much better. We are feeling discouraged by rain, cool temperatures and having to resort to hotels so often. Our evening meal of pizza in a Greek restaurant says it all - this is not southern Europe.

Today's ride: 32 km (20 miles)
Total: 1,385 km (860 miles)

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