After a few days catching up with Sabrina in Braunschweig once again it was time to hit the road. With a new rear tyre the bike felt much better on the cobbled streets as we headed out of the city. The rear brake felt a little scratchy. I think they must’ve removed the pads at the shop, yesterday. Then discovered the replacement pads were the wrong ones and put the old ones back on but on opposite sides. I think I’ll have to really nurse them until we get to Almere Stadt in the Nederlands.
The countryside around Braunschweig was in full bloom. Wildflowers along the side of the road and fields of barley, wheat, sugar beat and waist high corn.
Herds of well fed brown and white Fleckvieh cattle and the black and white Holsteins grazed in ankle deep lush green grass. We even spotted a few deer grazing near some of the woodland surrounding some of the fields. The recent afternoon showers have really brought the countryside alive.
The run from Braunschweig to Bremen is only a short 180 km hop so there’s no pressure to get there fast. The only factor was of course the weather. Low clouds threatened us the whole way. As we drew close to Bremen the rain started so we hastily headed for a lunch bar. We found a French creperie making crepes and galettes which was the perfect place to take shelter from the rain. We ordered a few galettes which were phenomenal, the buckwheat pancakes were just so tasty.
Once the rain had cleared we rolled the last few kilometres to our friends house. For the next few days we’re staying with the very first person we ever couch surfed with. On our first visit to Germany Michele sent a couch request and was accepted. It was snowing heavily the evening we arrived, so our train was delayed by over an hour. We texted our host Christine but with no response. When we arrived in Bremen we expected that there would be no one to meet us. Christine of course was waiting with a smile. Soon she was guiding us to the Christmas markets to experience a little German culture. Crowds of people drifted through the lines of little stalls decorated with fairy lights. Hot Glüwein flowed as hordes of people stood around eating bratwurst and kartofelln. It was so nice. Later Christine’s son Lukas and his friend Felix couchsurfed with us in Perth. Since then we’ve visited Christine and her family every time we visit Germany. They’ve become like family to us.
Over the next few days we want to visit the Bremerhaven area and some of the north sea coast.