The podium finish

Man just hear that crowd go!

Oh Vienna!

we are now sitting in a bar in Vienna drinking Erdinger beer and relaxing after a sprint finish yesterday. Man what a trip. The final count was 917 miles, 4 punctures, and 15 three course breakfasts (we took breakfasts very seriously). Thanks to all that have supported us and sponsored us! We'll be in touch...

Crossing the Schmugglerweg

Day 12 Obernzell to Linz

That's the sign that greeted us on the German / Austrian border that we crossed today. Of course, we didn't smuggle anything - that would be illegal.

2 Day to go and we're feeling it! Low on Muscle energy but high in spirits - this riding down the Danube malarkey provides an awesome aesthetic boost for the ride...

Just to say...

Thanks so much for all your encouragement and the comments youäve been leaving for us here. Also, thanks for all the donations so far.

All we have to say is, keep 'em coming and if you know anyone you think might be interested, pass on the link to this blog.

love andrea and dan

Over hill and soggy dale

Day 10 - Neustadt to Velberg

We had all that a bad biking trip could throw at us yesterday. Wind - in the wrong direction, big hills, ambiguous signage, and loads of all of it - we had over 80 miles on the clock after 13 hours of cycling last night. Thankfully, the hotel was full of stuffed animals and amongst the dead was a live, whistling parrot!

The highlight of the day was a stop for lunch of chips with paprika on them! recommended culinary tweak there.

We had another navigation disaster. At one point we crossed the same junction 4 times including through a soggy field, before eventually finding the right route. Suffice to say, the signage here isn't great. It´s all character building stuff.

By the way, we passed this sign which let us know that we were 840km from london, and 630km to Vienna. Nice.

Now break!

Day 7 - Frankfurt

We've schlepped around, enjoying our day off drinking Apfelwein and reading a rather cotly Guardian newspaper. Briefly made it into the Deutches Arkitektur Museum, but otherwise nothing but eating and a rubbish curry at that.

We're having trouble uploading any pictures in the internet cafes so Dan says if anyone's got an installation diskette for Windows 95 with camera drivers that you can send us, let us know!

Off to do more sleeping and eating.

Champagne and Impressionist Women.

Day 6 - Kamp Bornhofen to Frankfurt

The last day before our break in Frankfurt started with the sun in the sky and, unfortunately, the wind in our faces. The stress and strain was aleviated by the glass of red Assmanhausen champagne in a rather fancy, riverside joint for lunch.

The rest of the journey passed without merit and we soon found ourselves weaving in and out of Frankfurt tourist-traffic on the bank of the river. We quickly settled and found we'd arrived just in time for a one-night only opportunity to see all of Frankfurt's museums. Guess how many Dan wanted to visit! Suffice to say we made 5 and made it home by midnight.

A taste of Rhine.

Day 5 - Bonn to Kamp Bornhofen

Leaving behind us the unremarkable city of Bonn, we started our journey down the Rhine, stopping only to stuff our faces with an ice-cream sundae in a random town we can't remember.

Another map disaster ensued as we lost our way in Koblenz and nearly ended up cycling back into Holland. The route got more interesting as we passed alongside the many vineyards on the banks of the river. Kamp Bornhofen gave us a our first taste of sweet, German vino.