Realizing a long held dream, in the summer of 2001 we took an self-supported bicycle trip from Stockholm, Sweden to Rome, Italy. It's a trip that lasted two and a half months, totaled 2,600 miles of riding and covered the countries of Sweden, Denmark, Germany (North and Central), the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria and Italy, with a side train ride to Prague in the Czech Republic. We chose to ride north to south, not because it looked all downhill on the map, but because this would put the easier part of the ride first. Sweden Denmark Northern Germany Netherlands Belgium & Luxembourg Central Germany Czech Republic Austria Italy Sweden Sweden's Tourism Site Sweden -- small villages (consisting of 3 to 4 houses), bright red farm houses flying the Swedish pennant, and rolling countryside, sometimes too rolling. We stayed in villages with only one hotel and we were the only ones in it. We also spent a night in a Swedish youth camp where we were the only adults. At 7:30 AM we had flag raising but no pledge of allegiance, followed by the best porridge we have ever eaten, served with maple syrup and fresh berries. We met a couple checking out of the hotel that gave us their phone number and address in Germany to call. We met an Irishman, Martin, who was biking to the Arctic Circle. He started in the Algarve, Portugal. We met a German who was cycling from southern Germany to Stockholm and shared a tree waiting for the rain to pass. Stockholm Nynashamn 48 2554 5 Not easy! Lots of hills and packed dirt trails, plus construction outside of Stockholm Followed the Nynasleden bike trail, then the Nynasleden/Kustlingen What a first day! Headwinds all day, not flat nor paved as envisioned. No room at hotel. Ended up sleeping in the hotel conference room. And this was only day one! Nynashamn Visby 4 204 1 6:30 AM high speed ferry, a three hour ride Nynashamn ferry dock below hotel, rode to hotel in Visby Beautiful ride to Gotland Island. Bright sunny day. Checked into the hotel and walked around Visby. Visby Visby 67 1330 6 Flat with some climbs along the coast Route 149 to Rute then 148 back to Visby. Rode along the Baltic Sea,then turned inland at Lummelanda. Lots of Swans and climbing up bluffs for great views. Rained just as we got back to Visby Visby Timernabben 24 597 2.5 Flat along the coast From Oskarshamn followed coast bike route through Paskallavik and Monsteras to Timmernabben Cold gray day with a constant drizzle so we stopped early. Spent night in church camp, only place to sleep in the town. Timmernabben Orrefors 41 1082 4 Rolling country side, farms and forests Timmernabben to Backebo, to Flerohopp, to Flygsfors, the Orrefors Towns were so small there were no places to eat or buy food. Lots of weddings coming up; shipped lots of Orrefors glass home. Orrefors Tinsryd 47 1709 4.5 Not so gently rolling hills, lots of lakes. Holma to Hermanstorp, to Skruv, to Almeboda, to Konga , then R 120 to Tngsryd Lakes, farms, small villages and a place to stop for lunch, a perfect day. Well almost, lots of flies. Tinsryd Hassleholm 60 1709 5.5 Rolling country side, farms and forrests R 120 to Ryd then R 119 to Hassleholm Another warm sunny day with lots more flies. Had nice head winds all day. Hassleholm Helsingor 53 3828 5.5 Big climb into Avarps National Park, then up and down along a ridge line. R 21 to R 108 to the Sverigeleden bike route to Helsingborg ferry dock First big climb of the trip and we made it. No switch backs just up. Got to the ferry just as it was leaving. other useful web sites go here map goes here Denmark Denmark's Cycling Site Denmark was beautiful, riding through fields of flowers with their vibrant reds and blues, fields of wheat and rye abutting the shoreline, thatched roof houses, taking small ferries to small islands and trying to keep up with white haired ladies riding their 3 speed bikes. Everybody in Denmark rides bikes (cykels). Not only do they have bike lanes but bikes have their own traffic signals. If you're going too slowly and hogging the lane, rest assured a Dane will ring his bell until you move over, unlike the coastal trail in Half Moon Bay. We stayed in a converted post office, painted the official Danish yellow as dictated by King Christian IV, a private home, and a pension built in 1784 with not a level board on the floor. In Odense, home of Hans Christian Andersen, we met a wonderful Dane named Poul who gave us directions and invited us to his home for dinner. Helsingor Copenhagen 29 613 3 Flat ride along Oresund National Bike Route 9 Rode down the Oresund (North Sound) past thatched roof houses and beautiful summer homes. Copenhagen 0 0 0 self-guided walking tours Time to tour city and to get broken brake lever and shifter replaced. Pedal-Atleten - great bike shop in center of pedestrian shopping area of city - fixed bike that day so we could get on our way. Copenhagen Soro 62 1472 6.5 Relatively flat National Bike Route 4 & 6 out of Copenhagen to Roskilde. Route 14 to Ringsted. Route 150 to Soro Strong headwinds all day. Ended day in Soro-a picture perfect town between two lakes and home of one of the oldest abbeys in Denmark. Soro Nyborg 30 954 3.5 Flat terrain with gently rolling hils Route 150 to Korsor, cycle bus over bridge to Nyborg Rode past fields of red poppies, windmills and took a bus that had a special trailer for bikes over the bridge to Fyn Island Nyborg Odense 24 736 2.5 Flat and gently rolling National Bike Route 6 Odense-home of Hans Christen Andersen. Met a Dane name Poul who gave us directions and even invited us to his home for dinner. Odense Æroskobing 52 1911 5 Flat to Faaborg. Rolling hills along coast. Regional Bike Route 65 to Faaborg. National Bike Route 8 to Svendborg. Ferry to Æroskobing An absolutely beautiful ride from Faaborg to Svendborg -- fields of flowers on one side, water on the other. Æroskobing Sonderborg 28 1132 3 Flat with the exception of one hill on a dirt path through a cow pasture Regional Route 90 to Soby. Ferry from Soby to Mommark. Regional Route 2 to Viboge. Regional Route 32 to Horuphav. National Route 8 to Sonderborg. Great views riding along the coast of Æros Island--farmland, flower fields, water. Fresh strawberries for sale on the honor system. Took smallest ferry of the trip. Sonderborg, Denmark Flensburg, Germany 26 1132 3 Climbed up and out of Sonderborg and rode along Flensburg Fiord National Route 8 to German border. OSEE Route to Flensburg. Beautiful ride along the fiord other useful web sites go here map with route marked goes here Northern Germany Germany's Tourism Site Our first day in Germany we were lost most of the time. We must have biked through every little village in the area. On the positive side, we stumbled on an equestrian competition. Everyone was dressed in fox hunting outfits with different color sashes representing their villages. With our riding outfits and metal horses, we really stood out in the bratwurst line. We blitzkrieged through the rest of Northern Germany experiencing a feeling of history crossing the Elbe, Wesser and Ems Rivers. We spent a night in Husum, a fishing village on the North Sea and a night in Gluckstadt, a city on the Elba River where Ben dined on the specialty, cold herring served with three sauces. In Hesel our pictures were taken, with our bikes of course, by the German Tourist Bureau. We were the first American cyclists to stop in at the office. With our photo shoot came an invitation for drinks and dinner. The houses all have beautiful rose bushes growing in the tiniest plot of soil. We met a Brit who was cycling from London to Stockholm to visit his grandchild. It seems that most of the people we meet who are on long cycling tours are old retired guys like Ben. Day 1 Flensburg Husum 39 578 4 description of terrain goes here route traveled goes here general notes on the ride go here Husum Gluckstadt 68 941 6.5 Gluckstadt Standstedt 58 1267 5 Standstedt Leers 62 723 6 Leers, Germany Winschoten, Holland 40 429 4.5 other useful web sites go here map with route marked goes here The Netherlands Holland's Tourism Site On our first full day of cycling in the NL we followed canals past shipyards building ships so large you wondered how they got them out of the canals. As we neared our destination for the day, Leeuwarden, we saw lots of planes in the sky. We cycled to the town to find out it was fully booked for an air show, as was everything in a 30 kilometer radius. Considering it was 5 PM and we had just cycled 110 km in 96 degree heat, we took the train to the end of the line and biked an additional 20 km to Zurich. As we were told at the hotel bar where the locals bought us beers, Zurich is a town of 200 people, 600 sheep and a million flies. Our room was conveniently located above the bar. We cycled over the longest dike in Holland, 31 km, and followed the Mass River to Belgium. We had head winds, tail winds and side winds. The NL is one windy country. We stayed in the home of a wonderful retired couple in Medemblick where the town was having its local festival, a quaint hotel on the Maas River where we watched the river barges go by, and a hotel in the oldest city in NL that was the headquarters for the 9th U.S. Army in WWII. In Amsterdam we visited Ann Frank's hiding place -- very moving, the Van Gogh museum -- impressive, took a midnight boat ride around the canals -- romantic, and found out the real reason diamonds are expensive. They use Italian olive oil in the polishing processes. Day 1 departure city goes here destination city goes here miles rode goes here feet climbed goes here duration of day's ride goes here description of terrain goes here route traveled goes here general notes on the ride go here BLANK TEMPLATE other useful web sites go here map with route marked goes here Belgium/Luxembourg Luxembourg's Tourism Site Amazing what happens when you cross a border. Welcome to Belgium -- good-bye bike lanes, flat land and wind; hello busy roads, hills and rain. It rained all day. We arrived in the town of Spa dripping wet and cold. To add insult to injury the spas were closed. They close at 3 PM. Our late arrival was due to Ben's brakes burning out when we finally got to a downhill. We walked to the next town where there was a bike shop to fix the brakes, only riding when we could go uphill. The next day it looked like rain again. Being wet and tired we invoked the 'When in pain, take the train' mantra. We shared our bike compartment with Belgium scouts, boys and girls, on their way to camp. We arrived in Diekirch, Luxembourg and toured the Battle of the Bulge museum. Diekirch was having a summer festival with an 'Om Pah' band playing the Yellow Rose of Texas. The beer gardens were set up behind the Catholic church that was built in the 7th century. We cycled along the Sauer River on bike paths to the German border and the Mosel River. Day 1 departure city goes here destination city goes here miles rode goes here feet climbed goes here duration of day's ride goes here description of terrain goes here route traveled goes here general notes on the ride go here BLANK TEMPLATE other useful web sites go here map with route marked goes here Central Germany Germany's Tourism Site Up the Mosel, down the Rhine, and all around the Main we rode (sounds like a bad song.) The Mosel was our favorite -- steep hills to the river's edge covered with vineyards and castles dating back to the Roman times. Along the banks were quaint villages that looked like they came out of storybooks. We started in the oldest city in Germany, Trier, where our room looked out on the city gate constructed by the Romans before Christ. We ended in Bayreuth, the birthplace of Wagner. In between we cycled through the bergs -- Miltenberg, Wurzberg, and Bamberg. All three are Medieval villages on the banks of the Main River. We raced river barges on perfectly flat bike paths and we won because they had to stop to go through the locks and we went over them. We missed tasting no Mosel wine. In one little village there were 10 wineries with signs saying "Bicyclists Welcome". It's a wonder we ever got off the Mosel. Outside a small farm town we stumbled upon a Sunday beer fest - brats, sauerkraut, red cabbage, boiled potatoes and lots of beer -- all the food groups a hungry cyclist needs. Day 1 departure city goes here destination city goes here miles rode goes here feet climbed goes here duration of day's ride goes here description of terrain goes here route traveled goes here general notes on the ride go here BLANK TEMPLATE other useful web sites go here map with route marked goes here The Czech Republic The Czech Republic's Tourism Site We arrived in Prague tired and worn out to be energized by a beautiful city, fascinating architecture. They know how to keep time in Prague. In the Jewish ghetto we saw a Hebrew clock which ran backwards (right to left). The longer we looked at it the younger we got. At the palace, one clock kept the hours and below it, another kept the minutes. And the best clock was in the old town square where on the hour the windows opened and the twelve apostles appeared as they have since the 1500's. We strolled the King Charles Bridge and touched the plaque where St. John the Confessor was thrown into the river. We drank wine for $1.25 a glass and had gourmet dinners for $25 for two. But, best of all Ben got a haircut for $1.25. Beth thought it was worth twice that amount. We left Prague at 5 AM, pedaling down cobblestone streets to the train station. Yes, we took the train to Vienna. A note about Czech trains: You don't change trains; they uncouple the cars. You must sit in the car labeled with the city you are traveling to -- a hard concept for us to grasp. Day 1 departure city goes here destination city goes here miles rode goes here feet climbed goes here duration of day's ride goes here description of terrain goes here route traveled goes here general notes on the ride go here BLANK TEMPLATE other useful web sites go here map with route marked goes here Austria Austria's Cycling Site We spent two days touring the majestic city of Vienna. Riding out of Vienna, we made a left at the Danube. We felt like salmon swimming upstream since all the other Radlers were going toward Vienna. Our first stop was Durnstein where Richard the Lionhearted was held for ransom on his return from the Crusades. We climbed up to the castle ruins; Richard had a spectacular view. Our next stop was the Abbey at Melk. Wow--Benedictines, Baroque and books, 160,000 volumes. We turned inland at Ybbs and began climbing to get to the alpine lakes of Austria. After the lakes it was on to Salzburg. There we followed the Salzach River and climbed to the town of Zell am See, an alpine lake and our gateway to the Dolomites. One look at the Grossglockner Pass, 3727 meters high, and we took the train to Lienz. We were not the only ones; the bicycle car was jammed. Lienz was so beautiful we declared a rest day to hike in the Dolomites. The next day started with a 30 kilometer uphill climb to the Italian border. We crossed the border to be greeted by hordes of Italians cycling in our direction, 3 and 4 abreast, talking on cell phones and videotaping as they rode. From the order of Austria to the chaos of Italy, all by crossing an imaginary line. departure city goes here destination city goes here miles rode goes here feet climbed goes here duration of day's ride goes here description of terrain goes here route traveled goes here general notes on the ride go here BLANK TEMPLATE other useful web sites go here map with route marked goes here Italy Italy's Toursim Site The Italian segment began with us cycling out of the Dolomites trying to beat an on-coming thunder storm. The storm won. The next day saw more rain and found us on the train to Venice, a city for boats, not bikes. We had to carry our bikes over the Grand Canal and walk them through the alleys and passage ways to catch a ferry to the Lido. We cycled down the Lido taking ferries between the islands to Chiogga, the working man's Venice. We ended the day in Adria. From Adria we followed the Po River to Ferrara where we had the good fortune to stumble upon the town's music and performing arts festival. The next day we were on the Adriatic Sea at Ravenna, the Byzantine art capital of Western Europe. The towns along the coast are like Miami Beach, circa 1950 -- art deco buildings and beach umbrella on top of beach umbrella. We climbed the bluffs along the Adriatic to Pesaro, enjoying the vistas of the sea on one side and the vineyards on the other. From Pesaro it was on to the hill towns: Urbino, the birthplace of Raphael; Gubbio, famous for the Fountain of Lunatics; Perugia with its Medieval arches and chocolates; Todi with the perfect Medieval square; and Orvieto with its amazing frescoes in its duomo. Every day was like biking the Oakville Grade but we were powered by pasta, porcinis, truffles and, of course, wine. Our last stop before Rome was Braccione on Lago di Braccione. The city had a castle so perfect you would have thought Disney built it. We entered Rome crossing the Tiber River and rode down the Via del Corso to our hotel, 2600 miles from our start in Stockholm. Finito! Day 1 departure city goes here destination city goes here miles rode goes here feet climbed goes here duration of day's ride goes here description of terrain goes here route traveled goes here general notes on the ride go here BLANK TEMPLATE other useful web sites go here map with route marked goes here