Hair Care 4

Hello.
It's been 8 weeks and 1 day since my last hair wash. That is WAY past my 6 week expectation to be appreciating long, luscious locks, and quite frankly... I'm still waiting.

Possibly the uncontrolled conditions I am performing my experiment in aren't helping. Its been very hot and humid, so an uncanny amount of sweating has occurred under my helmet, and the wind and sun are constantly baking my plait, leaving it bleached and frazzled.
Yet that is the easiest part of my hair to brush - and the closest I've got to resembling anything remotely luscious.

The other part - the head-part, I shall call it - is still thick, sticky, hard to detangle and impossible to style.

I only sport the plait or the pony-tail look, unless I am wind-drying my hair after a shower or a swim. However, it doesn't float gently like a thousand strands of silk blowing in the breeze, it moves as a whole piece - more like a cheap toupee.
Or a door mat...

Still, I don't think I'm in danger of buckling now, and I will continue hoping for luscious locks, and will let you know if, and when it happens.

And so I persevere...

Keeping abreast of things...

And so I finally threw all my toys out of the pram, amongst them the dynamo, which you may remember was originally employed as a source of power to charge my rather thirsty phone whilst cycling.
No medals or awards have been forth coming for my ceaseless efforts in trying to extract the odd volt, amp or watt from this miserable device, but someone still might recognise my efforts...

So it was our saviour, and very own man from Del-Monte, Dave, who swooped into Vienna in his large silver bird and like a caped crusader brought the solution in his gloved hand.
No, not an enormous extension cable, but a shiny new portable, foldable, carriable, put-in-the-panniers-able solar panel charger.
And hey ho...it works a treat! Well, in the sun, of course, and we do seem to be getting our fair share.
Cheers Dave!

Talking of Vienna, our final approach into this astonishing city occurred on a Sunday, when every Austrian in the whole country got their bikes out and took a ride on the Euro Velo 6 in the opposite direction to us.
Mums, dads, kids, grannies, dogs, 3-wheelers, 1-wheelers, tandems, skaters, all charged towards us with no particular lane in mind. An endless army of Sunday thrill-seekers.

If you've ever watched the slalom on ski-Sunday, well, that was how we rode. 10kms, 20kms, it's a blur...

To compound the hazards in our path and also enjoying the Sunday route, are the great clouds of midges that hover at head height, temporarily blinding anyone travelling through them. Also, if the unprepared rider has failed to do a spot of man-scaping, and shaved his arms and legs, these tiny aerial annoyances will stick like chocolate sprinkles on a Mr Whippy ice cream, especially if you've liberally smothered on the old factor 30 prior to leaving.
I observed many a serious rider sporting the fashionable trend of shaved limbs to avoid this phenomenon.
(I'd always assumed it was to gain speed...)

I arrived in Vienna looking like Velcro-Man.

Mind you, by the look of the hairy bikers we shared that night's campsite with, I think man-scaping could be a good topic to bring up over the campfire.

Now, where did I put my razor...?

Days 44-46

Hembroke went a-cherry pickin'
Kilos he did pick...
Don't eat too many cherries
Or you'll end up feeling sick.

Vienna to Komarom (Hungary)

No longer are our hazards wobbly tourists on uncontrollable E-bikes. We have entered a world where road markings are a thing of the future, pot-holes have as much right to be there as anyone else, and tree-roots constantly break through ageing tarmac. The currency is unfamiliar, and the language incomprehensible, but a smile still costs nothing, and unfortunately so does the locally brewed fire-water!

There was no question as to when we crossed from Austria into Slovakia, as the derelict buildings still stood, redundant now, but a reminder of when borders were still used here. Everything became instantly cheaper, and a little shabbier.

Bratislava, the capital, was a pleasant surprise. With only half a million inhabitants its historic parts were easy to walk around and soak up the atmosphere in one of the numerous original cafes that line the cobbled streets.
It is the only capital in the world located on the border of three countries, and we know it, as we breakfasted in Austria, lunched in Slovakia and dined in Hungary!

However, exactly when or where we entered Hungary is still a mystery to us. Steve noticed a lot of money exchange places in one town, and upon investigation we discovered that Hungary uses the Forint not the Euro, and that was that, we were in.

I can't tell you which country this horse drawn plough was in, except it wasn't Austria!

It will be very interesting from here on, as WiFi doesn't seem so readily available, English is hardly spoken, the cycle signs vary from slightly official metal ones to hand drawn paper arrows, and no sign shows any distance in kilometers to anywhere!

We left our first Hungarian campsite at 8.30am, and arrived at the next one at 6.30pm, having crossed every type of terrain possible - pot-holed roads, dirt-tracks, woods, fields and even tracks that were still being made as we pedalled over them. The worst thing was, we'd only travelled about 40kms as the crow flies!

Our bones are shaken, our knees are swollen and our bodies exhausted. Hopefully our rest day has prepared us for whatever lies ahead.

It feels like our warm-up period is over. Now the real adventure begins...

Days 39-43

The campsite in Vienna
Was full of vans, and hikers,
So we squashed in between festival goer's
And a bunch of hairy bikers!

Linz to Vienna

Now, as you know, I don't like to harp on about all this spectacular scenery we are seeing, but Austria has been...well, spectacular! The all round vista, at all times, has been lush green mountains covered with tall trees, with the occasional grand baroque tower poking out if the tree tops. Every village and town had been picture perfect, all houses in perfect condition, gardens in full bloom, elder flowers scenting the air and not a blade of grass out of place. (This is mostly due to the automatic robot lawn mowers that are constantly prowling the lawns, frantically searching for that stray blade.) Add to this idyllic lakes for swimming, the best cycle path signs so far, and a fantastic wine growing region, and I think I've harped on enough.

The main disappointment for us budget travellers has been the expense here, and the difficulty in free-camping. Their are physically few places you can pitch a tent, due to the proximity of the river to the trail - usually only a few feet - and on the other side the steep slopes of the valley, and the only possible places have been signed "VERBOTEN" and a picture of a tent with a cross through it. I am taking an educated guess that this means forbidden, not welcome.

We are constantly scanning the tree tops for spectacular castles and ruins that could otherwise be easily missed. However, the towns are so full of great buildings it would hardly matter if you missed one.

The Wacchau region was unknown to us, but Austria's wine growing region is well known here. We found a "heuriger" - for local wine tasting, after a cooling dip in the Danube after a long, hot day's cycle. The chilled white wines were delicious, and very different from anything we've tasted before, as was the red we tried, which they've only been able to grow in the last 10 years due to increase in temperatures here. The Familie Rinner were happy to explain about their wines and schnapps they sold at their "Heuringenschank" as we sat on the terrace overlooking the vineyard. Every wine had to be grown within 10kms of where it is produced, giving it a completely pure taste. Even the water they served tasted different, fresh from the mountains.

And so we reached Vienna. After 8 long, hot days in the saddle out bodies are very ready for a rest. My knees start to swell after about 5 days and Steve's sense of direction goes a bit random. And guess who we met here for some Wienerschnitzel?
Dave!
He also brought along a solar panel that Steve had ordered, finally deciding to give up the ghost with the dynamo, which has never charged a thing in the 6 weeks we've carried it around. So far the panel is working splendidly.

We spent our rest day cycling around Vienna, which once again, unbeknown to us, was a public holiday, making it very easy to circumnavigate. Its difficult to describe what Vienna is like, you have to see it for yourself to appreciate the vast array of magnificent buildings, one after another, after another...

More Musings from Steve...

One of the benefits of visiting campsites is being able to do a spot of laundry. Now. Being a bloke, I know this can be a somewhat minimal requirement, especially in the absence of any offers from the other half. But the need does rise occasionally to do ones smalls. A relatively simple operation one might imagine for a guy like me.

Think again.

It seems the modern campsite attempts to discouraged this routine chore. They provide plenty of hot and cold water, a bespoke sink with a specially ridged drainer for rubbing out those stubborn stains, but unfortunately they routinely fail to provide a simple plug.

Combine the absence of this essential component with a special tap which only works when pressed, and certain difficulties become apparent.

One needs the extra limbs of an octopus to press the tap, hold something in the plughole, and have two free hands to rinse your Y-fronts.

I've tried pushing the tap with my head, elbow, shoulder, nose and chin without much success. Forcing a sock or boxers down the plughole - and every combination, without satisfaction. I've even waited and watched Julia's attempts in the hope that her superior experience in these matters may teach me. But, alas, she is also deficient in the limb department.

So, happily we reach a compromise. I control the water supply and drainage operations, while Julia carries out the proper work. But even this method requires a certain amount of timing, discipline, and above all, contortion, often attracting admiring and approving glances at our technique from our fellow campers. This collaboration does provide some advantages - not only protecting ones dignity, but you also get your washing done by the missus.

In the same way that walking, running, swimming etc have become common place events among althetes, I do think this equally normal activity has future potential as an Olympic sport. Interested Athletics clubs can contact me through these pages.

Now, did I tell you about the mermaid I met...?

Days 34-38

At the start we stopped little, and not for that long
For fear our bodies would freeze,
Now we must scoff and just pedal off
In the hope of catching a breeze.

Gunzburg to Linz via Munich

So, there you have it, it's too bloody hot now! There's just no pleasing some people... but a little adjustment period might have been nice...

Anyway, less moaning about the weather, and more about Munchen.
What a great city! Unknowingly, we arrived on a public holiday, so the city was deserted making it ideal for a bike tour with our friends, and the banks of the Isar river and the beer gardens were rammed so we got right into the local way...

Now, being so far from the coast you would think that surfing was out of the question. But not in Munich! You can surf on the canal right in the middle of the city - and I'm not talking about the internet...

The Viktualien Market, selling all sorts of Bavarian commodities, had Steve smiling all day with its vast selection of food stalls to choose from, and add to that a scrumptious BBQ and lots of local beers and we were more than well fed and rested. Kristin and Tobias certainly treated us well, pictured below with their daughter Lucia (blondie) and her friend Emily.

We even got invited with them to a Congolese first Communion ceremony - spoken part in Conglose, part German and the odd bit of French, so as you can imagine we had very little idea what was going on, but were made very welcome. The drum replaced the organ in the church and the singing was very gospel. Afterwards at the party we sampled some tasty traditional dishes, (catfish in a spicy sauce and cooked plantains being among the favourites) and music and dancing.
As you can imagine, it was very hard to leave our friends. Thank you guys for a wonderful stay!

We picked up the Danube again at Regensburg - a UNESCO world heritage site since 2006 due to its array of medieval buildings and bridge, built 1135. There was also a marathon going on so lots of atmosphere and street music to enjoy too.

The towns along this part of the Danube, like Straubing, Degendorf and Kunzig, are lovely to visit and have a coffee or ice cream and take in the atmosphere, but they all look spookily similar to one another. Typical Bavarian pastel coloured buildings, decorated clock towers, and cobbled, pedestrianised market centres may have you wondering if you've just cycled around in circles.

Not far from Regensburg, perched dominantly high above the Danube, is the Greek looking temple called Walhalla. Inspired by the ancient Parthenon in Athens, this was in fact built in the 19th century by the Bavarian King Ludwig 1st, to remember great German speaking men and women and to inspire the nation.

We free camped two nights along the river - in what we thought we're idyllic spots: beaches for dipping in the water, trees and shade. Even the Bavarian shepherd agreed..

that was until...dusk. Now, we've both visited our fair share of tropical countries, but neither of us have encountered such a viscous and frenzied attack from so many mosquitoes at once, and dusk only lasts for half an hour there. Within seconds every inch of skin was covered, and clothing didn't stop them either. With one slap of the hand you could eliminate at least ten of them. The only respite was to put up the tent and sweat inside it until about 10pm.
I have to plug a product here -Incognito mosquito repellent. All natural and won all sorts of awards and better than deet products, so they told us, and really, these mozzies didn't like it at all, so I highly recommend it.

Passau, the city on three rivers, is near the Austrian and Czech border. The Danube, Inn and Ilz rivers meet here, as do the many river boat cruises that pass up and down. And somewhere beyond there we entered into Austria, but there was no fanfare, flag or even sign, so we're not really sure where it happened...

Hair Care 3

Hello.
It's been 36 days since my last hair wash.
I have to inform you that last time I misinformed you.
My hair was not at its most mankiest. It got mankier. It became more of a thick, sticky mess, harder to brush and definitely benefited from a good rinse due to the hot and sweaty weather we've been experiencing. Steve even noticed a faintly unpleasant odour emanating from it if he got too close. I overcame the urge to wash it - mainly due to the fact that I am not carrying any shampoo - and I think we've finally turned the corner now.

I have once again proved my dedication to the cause whilst staying in Munich, in civilization, with clean, fresh smells and hair products to hand, and have resisted all temptation to wash those so called self-cleaning oils down the plughole.
I will continue to persevere...