Braunschweig

It is handy to have contacts... Joerg has been very helpful, prior to my journey and also guided me to a good source of beer. Then again I haven't found a bad source of beer in Germany either.
I can really tell I am in the old west... the town is alive business is is active and the cobblestones are friendlier to the bike.

Alas I only had one night here, however this place has more life that the "East" town put together. Another indicator is the number of cars has doubled since crossing the old border - which they have gone out of their way to hide BTW...

Well it is off to Hannover - nearly 70 klms of flat ground at low altitude and the temperature is going to be around 30 degrees not a cloud in the sky.

My internet went up and then down - router at the hotel died. But it is now back up again. My psoraisis has been acting up due to the heat and the strain i am placing on my body doing long distance rides... off to the Apotheke to get some cortisone.... unfortunately this means i need to wer a long sleeve jersy as the cream will make my skin untrasensitive to the sun... however a small price to pay to get rid of the itchyness and scalyness.

I have also cancelled my stay in Bielefeld - so many people tell me it is a boring shithole and after Magdeburg I am taking their advice... I lived in Rockhampton, QLD for 12 years so I am an expert in identifying boring shitholes. This also means a long haul ride from Porta westfalica to Muenster, but 2 days in porta which should be great fun.

a word of advice to others who want to follow in my path - if the accommodation has a bar/nitespot built in, you are guaranteed to have a good time as everyone in there is probably a tourist or a resident who is used to tourists. Germans have a real issue with 'pissing territories' when it comes to nightspots.... apparently you go out with your friends and spend the entire nite ignoring everybody else.

I'll spend some time talking about the travelling tradesman who we ran into in a tavern.... next post... i am running late and need to shower before heading off.