Goddag,

Kilometers cycled so far: 11986

I mentioned in my last update that the central topic for this month would be beer and I'm pleased to report that this was indeed the case.

Belgium:

After leaving Luxembourg I cycled into the south-eastern corner of Belgium, through the Ardennes to Brussels. It rained every day I was in Belgium which was a bit of a bummer (but I should stop whinging, I could have been in Prague or Dresden!).

Brussels was nice, but packed with tourists and wet. So I took it pretty easy and the only "cultural" thing I did was to visit the Brewing Museum. Of course, the pubs were always dry and warm inside, so I made the most of these and sampled many of the fine Belgium beers. Some are as high as 12% alcohol, which caught me more than once.

From there it was on to Bruges and some glimpses of sunshine. Again, it was jammers with tourists and with good reason, it's a beautiful city. The highlight here was a visit to the Golden Broom Brewery Museum (which kicked the one in Brussles) and several glasses of their fantastic Bruges Blonde.

Holland:

I followed the coast northwards and took a small ferry ride to arrive in Zeeland. It rained again, so I was soaked, cycling around Middelburg with a wet tent - not a happy camper. I asked a bloke riding a bike if he knew any cheap hotels and his response was "come and give us a hand for half an hour and you can stay at our place". This was how I met Graham (an Englishman) and his (Dutch) wife Udith who showed me some brilliant hospitality. This has been the storey of my trip, when something negative happens, it doesn't take long before something really good happens to counter it.

From Middleburg I took my time cycling to Amsterdam via The Hague and Leiden. Holland brings cycle friendless to a whole new level, with lanes and traffic lights especially for bikes. I've visited Amsterdam before and love it and some sunny days ensured I wasn't disappointed on this occasion. Here, I checked out the Van Gogh museum, which was packed, but enjoyable. I actually camped about 10 kms from the centre in Amstelveen, which was a little more relaxed and meant that I still have my bike.

Germany:

My first stop was Muenster where I stayed with Joerg a friend who I met through my work there and it was nice to catch up with some old friends. Joerg is also partial to the occasional beer (what a happy coincidence!) so I don't see the need to go into more details of the weekend.

Then it was northwards to Hamburg where I spent the following weekend. Hamburg was a pleasent port city, relaxed and friendly with a wicked night life. Here I stayed at the Youth Hostel which is conveniently located 5 minutes from the Reeperbahn, a hotspot for bars and clubs and also the red light district. Surprisingly, it was not so seedy or expensive to go out here.

Denmark:

My run of sunny weather ended soon after arriving in Denmark, with some very mixed days. A visit to Egeskov castle on the island of Funen would have to be the highlight so far. Then it was the islands of Tåsinge, Langeland, Lolland and Falster before I hit Zealand and Copenhagen.

I've spent less than 24 hours here in Copenhagen, but so far I love it. It's a beautiful city with friendly, approachable people and of course, has a great night life (which I sampled yesterday and will again tonight). The sun is out today, so I better go and enjoy it rather than sitting in Internet cafes all day.

Well, that about wraps this month up... After spending a couple more days here, I'll cycle a little around north Zealand before catching the ferry from Helsingør to Sweeden and north-eastwards to Stockholm.

One last thing, Simon "Ronald" Wyss has prepared a little slid show of our Milan to Zurich leg. Unfortunatly, the beautiful Swiss country side is often obscured by my boof, but if you're interested, check it out at:

http://openalbum.barmen.ch/page.cfm?id=1916