| 1. Check out youth hostels in Holland
which carry the "STAYOKAY"
symbol, it means quality and a friendly welcome. 2. Look out for cycle lanes throughout Europe. In Holland the
comprehensive network is well marked, in Belgium and Germany, less
so, but the lanes are there, and you will rarely have to cycle on a
main road. Keep your eyes peeled for signs or paved paths at the
road sides.
3. I can recommend the hostel "4 You" in Munich, Germany.
It is
close the the centre and to the railway station, and is clean,
friendly and reasonably priced.
4. On the other hand, don't touch the Youth Hostel in Freundenstatt,
Germany, as it is owned by a family who clearly love everything about
running hostels, EXCEPT having customers. They were surly, bad
tempered and the hostel was not well run.
5. Down in Bavaria, there is a great network of hotels,
FremdenZimmer (B&B) and Guesthouses which welcome cyclists. They
come under the banner "Bett und Bike", and have a website
www.bettundbike.de
I stayed in a lovely place in Vilshofen, run by the Sageren family
and can recommend it highly. The places have secure bike storage,
drying facilities and can also do basic repairs for you.
6. The Danube Cycleway. This ia a fully marked, 90% tarmacced, traffic
free route which runs alongside the great river from Passau in Germany to
Vienna in Austria. (It does go further, into Hungary, but after Vienna, I
found it less well serviced, although still worth riding). I mention it
particularly as a wonderful ride for young or beginner cyclists to do. It is
flat, safe, scenic, and served by endless accommodation and eating places.
It is the only place on my trip so far where as a cyclist, I have blended
into the scenery, rather than stuck out like a sore thumb. Want to start
cycling? Start here.
7. Do stay...at Hostel Sofia in Positano Street in the Bulgarian
capital. The owner has made her home her business, and her business to look
after travellers.
Do NOT stay....at Hostel Thessaloniki in Greece. It is awful beyond
words. I checked in and paid for 2 nights, and checked out after one,
happily forfeiting my wasted 15 euro.
8. Which language to speak when traversing 12 European countries in
7 weeks? Not, as you may think, English, but German! My degree in German has
been the single most useful thing I have carried across central Europe. Very
few people seem to speak English, but everywhere they speak a smattering of
German. It has become my first language the further south east I travelled.
9. "Zimmer Frei" - I need to mention this, as it has prevailed
right through Europe, from Germany to Greece. It is basically a "room for
Rent" or B&B concept. Choose ones that are affiliated to the national
tourist board, and you will inevitably get hotel- room quality at a B&B
price.
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