Day 3: Kassel - Leipzig

Well, the fun has officially begun. The last couple of days have been pretty taxing, especially the 8-9 hour ride through to Kassel. Kind of felt like I was going through the motions for the trip rather than for me, but that’s starting to change now.

It was a 6.30am start this morning, making sure I was ready for a quick and light breakfast courtesy of my German hosts (the platter of meat was politely refused – yup, still vegetarian) before gathering everything together and hitting the road by 7.30am.

I covered the 180+ mile journey in just under five hours, arriving into Leipzig at lunchtime. Starting out from Kassel so early in the morning was a bit of a risk with the amount of traffic on the road, but I soon found where I needed to be. The only thing I wasn’t prepared for was the cold and the fog. I’d specifically chosen a route that would take me past lakes, hills, mountains and the like - and I’m sure they were there, however visibility was down to 20-30m in places so it made it hard to appreciate anything other than the road. This changed just before I got onto the A80 headed for Leipzig, where I broke through the fog after a long climb through the hills and had to pull over to admire the view.

I’d planned on taking route 80 all the way to Leipzig, but after the length of time riding yesterday I figured the autobahn would be just as good and get me there a little quicker. The sun was breaking through the fog at this point too, and I was perfectly happy trundling along at 70-75mph, finding that any speed restrictions which came into force were either higher or bang on what I was doing anyway.

As ever, the motorway ride was uneventful, however I crossed some fantastic bridges on the A38 and made sure to drop a gear as I went through a tunnel, making the V-Twin that little bit louder as I made my way across Germany. I did come off the motorway once to locate some petrol (only because I’d covered over 100 miles without seeing a single petrol station). Finding myself in the German countryside it was a real head vs heart moment, my head focussing on getting some fuel before I really got myself in trouble, with my heart loving every second of exploring the tiny German hamlets I’d discovered. Turns out, if I’d gone right after leaving the motorway instead of left, I’d have got fuel right away – something which only came to light from “speaking” to some very, very German locals, but then I’d not have had the brief 20 minute adventure that I did - so it was worth the mistake. After refuelling just outside Nordhausen (with a choice of three different unleaded petrols don’t you know) I headed back onto the autobahn and finished off the remainder of the days riding.

I decided to have a bit of a cruise around Leipzig when I arrived, rather than finding a hotel straight away. By the time I got there the sun was well and truly out, so a nice potter about through the streets in the sunshine was the perfect way to displace some of the adrenaline and caffeine I’d been exposed too whilst navigating my way there. Soon I was in the centre of the city. People milling about, shopping or making the most of the day in the plentiful parks located all around. Then I saw it...

Now I always knew technology would be against me on this trip. Something was bound to go horribly wrong, as it always inevitably does. I’d had no Internet of any kind since leaving the ferry (and that wasn’t exactly great), and my phone wasn’t picking up a signal, despite my SIM being unlocked. So seeing a giant T-Mobile branded building in the centre of Leipzig was a dream come true! Finally, I’d be able to get things working the way I wanted them too. Tweeting on the go, keeping up with my emails, posting blog updates and whatever needed sorted whilst I was away etc. That was the hope anyway.

So I’ve found myself in the Ramada hotel in Leipzig, about a ¾ mile walk from the real heart of the city, chosen mainly for its underground car park. At €79, plus €7 for the parking it is a bit more than I was hoping to pay, but I figure a night of relative luxury after a couple of days on the road is deserved.

After check-in I wandered over to the T-Mobile store, where it took an absolute age to get seen too (no change to the UK there then!). Turns out my SIM is fine (worked great in a German handset) – it’s the phone that’s locked to the UK. As I’d not spoken to my folks since leaving the UK and all being quiet on the blog and Twitter front, I figured I should sort something out to let them know I was fine and to make sure I had something for emergencies. I had tried to use the hotel phone in Kassel to call home, but that was nothing short of a nightmare – no-one needs short elderly German women shouting at them in a foreign language... So, I have bought myself a German Handy! Guaranteed to work throughout Europe using my existing SIM, the new Samsung GT-E1190 I’m now sporting is the epitome of cool – well as much cool as you can get for €39.95. No Internet, no Twitter, but it does do exotic things like call and text so it’s not all bad...

Thus far I’ve spent a few hours exploring the city outside of the T-Mobile store, and it’s absolutely amazing. I could quite happily spend several days here. The architecture is incredible, it’s easy to get around and everyone I’ve met has been extremely friendly. It’s like the best bits of London, Sheffield and Amsterdam all combined with the relaxed touch of the Mediterranean, yet at the same time also managing to be unmistakeably German.

After a long wander about I stopped off for an early dinner at Umaii, a “Japanese  Nudel Lounge” a restaurant which was nowhere near as rude as it sounds. The Japanese waitress who served me was fluent in both English and German, and seemed a little shocked when I decided to make the most of the situation and order my meal and drink using her native tongue. Sitting outside with my Kirin Ichiban, Vegetable Gyoza, and Miso-Udon mit Tofu (all for about £10), we got chatting about the trip when she noticed and enquired about my jacket sleeve. Seems her husband is a keen biker too, and she was eager to know whether I was running a website or a blog after finding out it was a charity run too. I jotted down the URL and said I’d mention our meeting, so if you’re reading this – here you go!

She also told me that it’s around about two hours from Leipzig to Prague (having made the trip herself last weekend), which is perfect. I’ve had a fantastic day exploring Leipzig and look forward to doing the same thing in Prague tomorrow. Not having the time to look around Kassel makes me feel I’ve done it a bit of a disservice as I wasn’t overly impressed, but I’m pinning that on being tired and a bit grumpy when I arrived. I figure a relatively late start around 10ish tomorrow should see me get to Prague with plenty of time to find a decent place for Betty and I to stay before doing much the same as I have done today, just relaxing and taking in the sights and sounds of places I’ve never been before.

It does feel very, very strange not having work to do, or people relying on you for things, but it’s also quite nice! I suppose I could get quite used to this “holiday” malarkey.

As I’ve got a late-ish start tomorrow I think I’m going to relax in the hotel for a couple of hours and then head out and have a few beers. It’d be a shame to visit Germany and not track down at least one European techno-metal bar (though I’m expecting good things from Prague tomorrow on that front)!