Greetings from Dave (73) and Jill (63) who live in Bend, Oregon. In 2022 we bought e-bikes in Munich and found a place to store them (in Munich) with the intention of doing an extended tour in Europe every year so long as our bodies hold up. Last year we more or less successfully completed a loop around Central Europe.  

We are now heading back to Europe for another 2.5 month journey.  We fly to Munich on June 21st where we'll get our bearings and gear together. We will do some leg warming rides around Munich before boarding a train (What could go wrong there?!) and head towards Berlin which Jill has seen but Dave has never visited before. After that we will take another train to the northern coast of Germany where we will catch a ferry to Denmark and the ride will begin in earnest from Gedser, Denmark. Below are maps of the planned route.

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This is a very rough- and not precise -  description of our route. But it gives you the idea. I noticed that a Cycleblaze couple from Vancouver are in the process of doing a somewhat similar route so I will read their efforts with interest.

There were some additional challenges to planning a trip to Scandinavia.

1. Expense: 

It’s way more expensive than Central Europe. Scandinavia is generally more expensive but this has been exacerbated by the fall in the USD relative to the euro. I read today that the dollar has decreased by eight percent over the last year. Many cycle tourers in Scandinavia opt to camp, which would greatly decrease the cost, but Dave and I are just at the stage of our life where that is no longer appealing. (On a long trip in Australia in 2019 I ONE TIME booked a room with the a bathroom down the hall and - while Dave is usually very tolerant with the accommodation choices I make —made it very clear after that experience that this was not an option he wanted me to repeat! So, we now just bite the bullet and pay for a nice- ish room). 

2.  Accommodations: 

Speaking of accommodations, another challenge is that they are scarce in Scandinavia. Most cycle touring  requires sleeping in rural areas and there just aren't that many choices in rural Scandinavia. This issue is exacerbated by the fact the summer tourist season is very short - two months- so everyone is there at the same time. I managed to get a room in every locale but I am worried that if we have to change plans (which invariably happens) it may be difficult. We shall see.

3. Trains, trains, trains: this is the eternal bane of cycle tourers everywhere and we are no exception. (When you read that seasoned tourers Scott and Rachel Anderson have trouble occasionally on a train, you know you are doomed.). For those of you kind enough to have read last year’s journal, you know that even the most benign train journey stumped us. It was the challenge of buying the right ticket, the right seat reservation, the right bike slot, interpreting the schedule, figuring out the track, figuring out the elevator or stairs, lifting the bikes on the train, unloading the bikes - you name it, we had trouble with it.   But as Dave has pointed out, unless we want to spend the rest of our cycling days touring  only around Southern Germany, we have to figure this out.  So, this year we are booked on five different trains, three of which are longer journeys to reach Denmark from Munich and then returning from Northern Germany to Munich at the end of our ride. None require transfers (honestly I think that would finish us off.) 

4. Ferries: because we don’t live, and have never lived, around major bodies of water, neither of us are very familiar with ferry travel, and I have a ton of that planned. We have 3 overnight ferries scheduled and then a dozen shorter ferry rides, mostly in Norway in the fjords. Hopefully after our second one we will be comfortable with the process.

So, thanks for following us!