22 October 2016  |  Day 95 |  3850 kms  |  The journey
STockholm, Sweden : Current  location  next : Rome, italy

 

udine-to-skovde

Barks of trees speak to me,

quietly crackling messages of mischief.

Yellow leaves fall, pirouetting with bliss,

gentle and kind pleasing no eyes but mine.


SWEDEN

21The end is here, Skövde, SE

photo_0163031655mpwgwgKeeping warm on a winter’s day, Billingen, SE

photo_0163031649qwaskqLunch by a passage grave megalith, Falbygden, SE

photo_0163031638heylzfAutumn collonade, Slutarp, SE

photo_0163031631hnpuphChasing Shadows, Kinnarp, SE

photo_0163031625skxqtyHydration by a lake, Skottek, SE

photo_0163031613rofjvrGetting a bit of sun, Ulricehamn, SE

photo_0162972236kmzxnmWith a cyan sky for ceiling,  Kinnarp, SE

photo_0162972230wysqhzAllies on the road, Asarp, SE

photo_0162972154gyssplBliss amidst autumn trees, Kinnared, SE

photo_0162881508nxklqc-minTime travel, Valtorp, SE

photo_0162881506pduioeIs Tom Sawyer home ? Gryteryd, Sweden

photo_0162881500wcqjjxApt, Ön, Sweden


DENMARK

photo_0162972142twkumfWalking on water, Espergærde, Denmark

photo_0162972218tpfedwSailing at Dawn, Antonini & Leonardo, Dragør, DK

photo_0162881440poakig

Farewell Danish citizens, Rungsted, DK

photo_0162881442vjxtmuUrban palette, Copenhagen, DK

photo_0162881458oxjsnzAnton atop his mistress, Copenhagen, DK

photo_0162511913zwibbnHome, Kajakvej 21, 2770 Kastrup, DK

3With the wind as my witness, Avedore Holme, DK

photo_0162881453nvdybiApproaching Copenhagen, Avedore Holme, DK

photo_0162881449lxbzlrHarvesting my lunch, Hundige Strand, DK

photo_0162881451ceuhvd-minA spot of Mark Twain for lunch, Gammel Tappernoje, Denmark

photo_0162881445mtkbnoShaded by the hull of an upturned boat on the snug shore of  the Baltic Sea, Gammel Tappernoje, Denmark


“The holy road meanders before me to the mountains in the distance,

with this cyan sky for ceiling, I step onward seeking nostalgia for the yet unknown”

Often on the road I find pleasure in being an itinerant bereft of attachment and anchor, forever swimming, forever floating amongst the trees of unfamiliar woods and the lives of other beautiful souls I find on the path of my travel for short sojourns of civilization, but there does arrive a moment although extremely rarely of perfect cohesion between my own fortressed state of being and a collective familial disposition of open embraces and organic relationships festered through nothing but a deep sigh and a warm shrug of unexplained familiarity. And when it does, I can only hope to stand still, open my eyes as brightly as I can and sit cross legged to absorb and digest this celestial occurrence.

Hawila will remain entrenched forever in the fabric of my existence. I have found home and a family. I will remain immeasurably grateful to this cloud of compassion which defrosted the inner chambers of my heart, simmered gently to cook it to tender, delicious, ripe and seasoned perfection. I find myself an integral part of this fire that burns bright and ochre even during grey windy winters throwing light and fragrant warmth around shoulders of ones who huddle beneath the sails of this beautiful Scandinavian mother ship.

I arrived here into the bowels of Hawila in Kastrup, Copenhagen for 4 days to cook for my new family but have found myself unable to peel away now for almost a month. I stayed to swim in this mysterious soup to measure and produce architectural drawings of this beautiful vessel and decipher old whispered secrets fossilized on the keel, hanging from the bow and flowing windward from the mast.

And now the moment has arrived again to warm my hands in anticipation to continue my bicycle journey into Sweden and beyond as I gather my thoughts to return unto the holy road that forever meanders before me.

[ Hawila is a galeas sailing ship from Norway built in 1935 now being restored by a family of  friends in Kastrup, Copenhagen to eventually sail cargo across the oceans of the world.

Visit the website for a glimpse  http://www.hawilaproject.org/ ]

 

photo_0162511837vbwjiephoto_0162511913zwibbnphoto_0162511835svrnbphawila_1978-today_reducedphoto_0162430820xgqkpzphoto_0162430812kwkolmphoto_0162430847cksexgphoto_0162430832biedvr photo_0162430822tjayysphoto_0162430819idlihzphoto_0162430828kgzvnwphoto_0162430826lrxomg

photo_0162430814lcgrlnphoto_0162430829glpwgw-minphoto_0162430816uossrx-min


GERMANY

photo_0162430823ydsrdfOn the Ferry crossing the Baltic Sea into Denmark.  The second phase of my trip begins, Puutgarden to Rødby, EU.

photo_0162430745fkjlsbOver the bridge, Fehmarn, DE

photo_0162430830iqrkou-minBurrowing through the last stretches of Germany, Göldenitz, DE

photo_0162430817rbyedy-minLüneburg Heath in full bloom, Undeloh, DE

8Soul Kitchen (Watch the film NOW!)Finally found the building it was shot in ,  Industriestraße 101, Wilhelmsburg, 21107 Hamburg,DE

122000 Km done,Grünhof,DE

14Life along the Elbe,Elbestraße,DE

13-minMy dear Buddhist bike doctor who healed my ride quickly and precisely.

Alex Boncourt (Zweiradmechanikermeister), Fahrradwerft,Hitzacker,DE

24Disaster! Nienwedel,DE

18Morning sunshine, Nienwedel,DE

6Holy Cow,Havelberg, DE

10-minBreakfast amongst the grasses,Strodehne, DE

19On the throne of nowhereland, Gülper Sea,DE

2Mother nature takes care of you if you let her, Wiesenaue, DE

5A proper German beauty, Friesack, DE

4Is there anybody out there?Berlin,DE

7Cool,Berlin, DE

23Don’t be a darn “Tourist”  Berlin,DE

16Under the leaves on a soft floor of moss, Steinreich, DE

21The Northwestern wind enchants me endlessly, Fichtwald, DE

17The Eastern wilderness awaits, Rückersdorf-Drößiger-Heidelandschaft, DE

11Bowing before the Frauenkirche (Thank you, Dan Cruickshank), Dresden, DE

9-minFlat grasslands delight my tired limbs, Ebenheit, Germany

20Guten Morgen Deutschland under the shade of tall tress, Breitenau, Germany


 CZECH REPUBLIC

22Farewell my dear Česká, I will come back, Křešice along the Elbe, CZ

15Leaving Česká and Germany unfurls around the corner, Usti Nad Labem, CZ

1 Lunch Bench, CZLunch bench by the road, Dušníky, CZ

Harp bridge, CZBridge in the sky, Litoměřice, CZ

TresticeSurveying the environment, Třeštice, CZ

Old PragueLooking up, Jan Zizkov, Vitkov, Prague, CZ

Old and the new, CZNational Museum, Vinohradská 1, Prague, CZ

Wild Berry Lunch 2Wild berry lunch on the road again, Babice, CZ

1Fields of golden brown, Znojmo, Czech Republic

4First thousand kilometers, plenty more to go, Vanůvek, Czech Republic

2The silent plains of Želetava, Czech Republic


AUSTRIA

12Goodbye beloved Austria

6Bless thy journey, Wullersdorf, Austria

13The Nobleman. Delivering supermarket food surplus to ones who need it with Martin Ebenhöh & Wiener Tafel, Vienna.

11Basking in the warmth of Art Nouveau. Majolikahaus, Linke Wienzeile 40, Vienna, Austria

7Vineyard on a hill, Jungberg, Austria

Austrıa HöfExploring the countryside, Höf, Austria

8Sketching in the rain under the shade of a bus shelter, Höf, Austria

2Sliding the green slopes of Austria

WoodsIn the woods again, Rassach, Austria

3The streets of Graz, Austria

Wild BerriesWild berry lunch by the road, Schilingsdorf, Austria

Gleısdorf 1Barbara & Martin Regelsberger, my clouds of compassion, Gleisdorf, Austria

Ekran Resmi 2016-08-02 09.20.15 kopyaMartin on the unicycle, Gleisdorf, Austria

Ekran Resmi 2016-08-02 09.26.30 kopyaAnd then, I gave it a go and failed spectacularly


SLOVENIA

Anoop Skrilje 200716Zdravo (Hello) Slovenia !

Anoop Slovenia 200716Exploring the woods, Dobravlje, Slovenia

Anoop Slovenia 210716Camping in the woods, Dobravlje, Slovenia

Anoop Slovenia 220716 1Polish bikers from Warsaw, Lot, Slovenia

2The streets of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Anoop Slovenia 230716Ana & Saso, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Anoop Slovenia 220716Crossing the valley, Vransko, Slovenia

Anoop Slovenia 230716 1Negotiating the bends of Slovenia

Anoop Slovenia 240716Exploring the hills around Sostanj, Slovenia

Anoop Slovenia 250716Looking for Geocachers around the lakes of Velenje, Slovenia

Anoop Slovenia 240716 1Caving/Spelunking under the hills of Gaberke, Slovenia

20160723_225532Camping on the hills overlooking the lakes of Velenje, Slovenia

Indian Dinner Sloveni Gaberke 1Eating with hands. Indian supper with Denis’s family in Gaberke, Slovenia


ITALY

1Arrividerci Italy, see you in October (Gorizia, Italy-Slovenia border)


Route map

Start Date    :    20 July 2016

A bicycle trip from the sun soaked streets of Udine through central Europe around the Baltic Sea to the northern most placid hang up of the Gulf of Bothnia and then slide back down the other side all in time to start my second year at the University of Rome in October.

I begin on the 20th of July 2016 and go on for 90 days glued to my saddle, catching my breath, unfurling my tent and burning the midnight oil of warm smiling beans for supper under night skies across 14 countries while following the summer sun north and hopefully then head back down south to find myself snug and sheltered in the south of Italy before winter peeks its mischievous smirk from around the corner.

You can follow my progress on this page in spirit or perhaps join me for a stretch.

TRIP ItineraryThe KitAll that I need.
Man on Bike Graph

 

Leave me a comment below to let me know what you think or check out my earlier wanderings

Walkabout 2012

And perhaps visit the home page by clicking here and stroll around the rest of the website to visit my architecture, design and writing page.