Nijmegen

On Thursday 25 Oct I got the train from Hilversum over to Utrect. I had a quick walk around town where there was another big church and some nice shopping streets with an old river port running through the centre of town. Then I got the train over to Nijmegen where I checked out the park with the ruins of an old castle but there wasnt much left of it. I met Ewe and stayed at her place.
The next day I borrowed Ewe's bike and went for a ride up to Berg en Daal which must be the only hill in Holland, but is right on the German border. Cruised around some wetlands and then checked out the centre of town. Ewe's mate Christoph came over in the evening to cook up some traditional polish food... was like potato cake but was actually pretty nice. We hit up a little bar in town and found that my pool skills have diminished somewhat.
On Saturday Ewe and I took the car and cruised all over Holland. First stop was Breda so she could do some shopping and I checked out town, we had lunch in a restaurant at Middelburg and then checked out the beach. Drove over some big dykes that stop Holland from going underwater and drove back through Rotterdam to Nijmegen.
The next morning I got the bus over to the airport in Germany for my flight down to Rome.

Luxembourg

On Sunday I got the train from Trier to Wasserbillig, right on the border, and then the bus over to Echternach. This was a lovely town with a lively market going on in the centre and a great river through town (the german border) which was perfect for a walk along. I met Kevin in the afternoon and went with his family for dinner at a restaurant in Beaufort.

Trier

On Friday I wanted to leave Hiedelberg for Trier. Most of the trains werent operating due to a train driver strike, but lukily the 2 trains I needed were going, although they were packed full with drunk old german men singing and dancing trying to pick up old german ladies.
The trip from Mainz along the Rhine river to Koblenz was really nice with lots of hills and castles - the perfect place for a weekend of cycling. I arrived in Trier about 1400h and had lunch at the palace gardens. I also visited the Jesuit church which used to be the throne room for the roman emperors when they were in town. In the evening I met Raphael and after cooking up a great meal we headed to the Panic Club party for the night.
On Saturaday, Raphael, his girlfriend Julie, his housemate Julia, and I took the tourist train around town. It was a popular town being the oldest north of the Alps. Every construction site keeps getting shut down when they inevitably dig up some more roman ruins. We relaxed away the afternoon with a few beers in the plaza.

Black Forest, Karlsruhe and Hiedelberg

On Wednesday 3 Oct it was a public holiday in Germany to celebrate the reunification of east and west. I left Stuttgart and took the train to Bad Wildbad in the middle of the northern part of the Black Forest. It was a nice place with rolling hills and the sun shining in the resort town of Bad Wildbad. There was a huge queue for the fernicular up to Sommerberg so I walked up instead. It would be a nice place to go walking for a couple of days, but I didnt have time so just got to the top and back down again. Then I got the train to Karlsruhe. It had a huge zoo in the middle of town and on the other side another big palace. It had some nice gardens too full of people enjoying the sun, and even an old steam train driving around. In the evening I caught the train over to Hiedelberg which turned out to be really back on the tourist trail. Walked from the train station along the longest shopping street I have come across in a little university town and found a pub with a spare bed.
On Thursday I explored Hiedelberg. It is famous for a huge castle up on the hill overlooking town, so I went up there. It was nice enough but couldnt get inside. I walked up the hill on the opposite side of the valley for a view across town and went to have a beer at one of the terraces in town. In the evening I went out for a few drinks with some Americans, which turned out like any night out with Americans.

Stuttgart

On Sunday 30 Sept I jumped on the ICE train from Munich to Stuttgart. I met Christoph at the railway station. First stop was the top of the railway station tower for a view over the city. Contrary to what people from Munich say, it was a very nice town set up in the valley. The World Cycling Championships were being held this week, with the Men's grand final just underway, so we headed up and saw them all wizz past, but didnt hang around to see them do all 200 laps. In the evening I went for a walk around the centre of town. The Schlossplatz and the many gardens in town were really nice to lay on the grass and enjoy a beer.
On Monday I went for a walk out of Stuttgart to the 3 lakes area, Pfaffersee, Neuersee, and Barensee. I came across the little castle of Barenschlossle where everyone was enjoying a coffee in the sun. I also enjoyed the sun as it was the first sun since a whole rainy week in Munich. I continued on to Solitude Castle but it was closed on Mondays, however it was nice enough from the outside. Afterwards I got the bus and old tram up to the TV Tower which is one of the most famous landmarks in Stuttgart. From the top of the 150m tower I had a great view over the entire region of Stuttgart and the black forest.
On Tuesday I took the train out to Ludwigsberg to visit a big palace there. The tour was in German so didnt understand too much, but like all the other palaces there were plenty of fancy rooms, paintings and furniture. One interesting fact was how the Queen went to the toilet. Apparently they didnt have toilet paper back then and you werent allowed to wipe, so after doing her business in a bucket so simply sprayed on some perfume and that was it.
In the afternoon I headed back into town and visited the Mercedes Benz museum. Stuttgart is the headquarters of Merc and Porshe so there were plenty of cars here to see. In the evening I went with Christoph to the Kellar Klub to see a local band do their last performance before going on tour around Australia.