cannondale rush

2 Guys 1 Bmw 5 Countries

Its funny how i have been in Germany for almost 10 months and haven't got outside the border (not counting the trip home) a single time. In fact the furthest i went was to Munich during my short Christmas break. Anyway, did i mention sometime ago that the city i am staying in (Karlsruhe) actually sits next to the border of France? Its so close that i once tried to cycle to the border which is approximately 10 km away but was forced to turn back because there was no ferry service across the river that separates Germany and France during the winter period.

So as i slowly get used to the pace of the university life here, i found more time to make my life here a little less erm.... routine? So when a friend told me that he would be visiting for a weekend in May, i thought i could use some proper holiday to clear my head.

Before coming to Germany, i have always dreamt about driving through the alps, shifting gears, taking corners all inspired after watching too much Top gear =D so when my friend asked whats there to do, there was nothing else in my mind other than a proper road trip to Switzerland. Intially, I suggested that we rent a cabriolet and drive to Switzerland in style , considering that its a one time experience, but after checking around the rental websites, the idea turned out to be too expensive for a student living on parent's allowances . After further research, we settled for a small Dynamic BMW 1 series, which would offer the same level of excitement if not more. At almost two third the price of the Peugeot 207, it was a bargain.

So for the 3 days rental, we had 900 free kilometers and the plan was to travel down the Autobahn A5 along the Blackforest, stop over in Triberg Blackforest for a quick original Blackforest cake, before heading across the winding roads of the blackforest and down in the direction of Zurich. After Zurick we head south east towards Walensee and then into Liechtenstein from the south before driving all the way back up through Liechteinstein into Austria where we would spend a night. (Cheapest accomodation compared to Switz and Liechtenstein). The second day itenary was to then travel eastwards in the direction of Tirol and then into Garmisch Partenkirche, from there we would drive north west past Ulm, Stuttgart and back into Karlsruhe. Estimated 870 km with 30 km to spare for getting lost.

The BMW we got was small but very well equipped, xenon lights, sunroof, heated seats and even a built in GPS. With the GPS set, we set off for the Blackforest cake. The very moment we hit the autobahn, it was Pedal to the metal! Turns out the top speed was only around 200, nevertheless, a personal best =D. Shortly we turned onto a smaller country B road and spent the next hour cruising past rows after rows of Blackforest hills . With the warm morning sun rays beaming across the clear blue skies, and the sunroof open, it was dreamy. As we drove deeper into the blackforest, the straight country roads became mountain bends. Shifted 2 gears down and the engine revved to life, with 2 hands now on the steering, its time for some real fun =D Must admit that we took the corners a little faster than we normally would but the stability of the car and the support from the sport seats did give me alot more confidence. Before you start judging me, the roads were dry and there wasn't much traffic. We were just trying to stick to the speed which the audis and mercs infront of us were doing. =D Although the stretch was a mere estimated 4 - 5 kilometers which lasted no more than 5 minutes, i couldn't stop grinning for the next hour.. until now i still get the feeling of adrenaline rush when i recall that very drive . It was really that good. Before we know it, it was Triberg. Wanted to check out the waterfalls as seen from the previous post but this time round they had people manning all the entrances to the waterfall. Not willing to pay 3 eurs to see a waterfall, we decided to spend it on the blackforest cake instead. After the stopover, i passed the keys to my friend and he drove it all the way to Austria....Nothing much along the way other than the fact that it started pouring when we entered Switzerland. Been here for 10 months and had never experience such heavy rain before. Infact it rained for the rest of the journey to Austria and into the next morning. Couldn't see shit as the low storm clouds covered the mountains. On the way across Switzerland, i spotted a Marche outlet! Turns out the Marche here is an R and R, those rest points along the expressways. We were almost starving after a 10 hour long drive, so we stopped for Lunch, at 5 pm ..Ordered sausage and Rotti, which cost around 15 eurs. Extremely expensive, but took comfort that its THE original Marche. After our so called lunch, the rain got even heavier. Didn't expect my first drive through in Switzerland to be so grey and wet. Extremely disappointing. Drove through Liechtenstein after dinner and there was pretty much nothing in it. Before we knew it, we were already at the Austrian border. Seeing that the storm was not easing anytime soon, we agreed that it made no sense to continue driving plus we had to stick to the route so we don't cross the limit. So we headed to the hotel to check in before using the BMW GPS to find a cozy affordable pizza restaurant for dinner. That pretty much ended our first day. A check on the speedometer, we were exactly on the halfway mark of our 900km limit.

The second day started off with grey skies and light drizzle. I honestly thought the rest of the trip was going to be like this. Luckily after an hour or so, the sky started clearing . Became hopeful again. As we couldn't see a thing on the first day, we decided that instead of sticking to our initial plan of driving to Garmisch Partenkirche, we shall head back to where we came from albeit through a different route, through a real mountain pass, Topgear Style without all the drifting and the supercars though. Was much careful this time. It was no longer pouring, but the roads were moist, and the corners much sharper and the drop much much higher. Being warned about the many speed traps that lined the roads in Switzerland, it was wiser to stick to the speed limit. The next part of the journey made all the money spent worthwhile. Can't remember how many times i went "woahhhhhh ", the swiss Alps are simply breathtaking. Those pictures you see on Ricola sweet containers really exist!

It started hailing halfway through our drive so we had to stop at a farmhouse and wait out the storm. Soon after the sun came out and the sunroof came up! haha. Somehow along the way i realised that my ipad could take HD videos, so we set it up on the dashboard like a police camera. After spending an entire morning driving through the Alps, we headed towards Lake Konstanz, which sits on the border of switzerland and Germany. Weather became cranky again as we arrived, plus it was Sunday, so all the shops were closed. Nothing much to photograph as it was cloudy and wet. So left my camera in the car. The innen Altstadt, or city center has pretty nice architecture, definitely worth coming back again when the weather is good. Which i did yesterday! More on that later. Had a quick dinner in Konstanz before i suggested that we could actually head into Strausborg, a french city on the border about 100km away from Karlsurhe. It was not exactly on the way, we had to make a detour. Wasn't too sure if we could stick to the 900km limit but a small check on the BMW GPS revealed that should we go ahead with the plan, we would have used a total of 897 km. No kidding. If we were to cross the limit, we had to pay 20 cents for every extra kilometer so it wasn't that bad if its just a couple of kilometers.

Also my first time into France, really surprising to see how the architecture differs from those German cities just on the otherside of the border. By the time we finally reached France, it was already dark. Took a little walk around the city center, checked out the train station before driving our final stretch back to Karlsruhe.

Total distance travelled, 899.5 km. Amazing huh. Total spending, 120 eurs, but the experience ,priceless.

New Ride 2

As from my previous post, i brought my red Specialized back and left it there to sell. So now i need to find my new Stallion, which i did a week ago. It yet another specialized, newer, faster and meaner =D . Been pretty engaged in mountainbiking recently, so i had to get something nice. May i present my new Stallion Specialized Epic Expert! Kinda like spiderman huh, turned from red to black, looking not just better but also sleeker. If you're wondering wheres the waterfall, took a trip to Triberg somewhere in the middle of Blackforest with 3 singaporean girls whom i met incidentally outside a Kebab stall. More on that later perhaps..

Back Home

As you can see, its a picture of my red bike back in my Singapore home! Its funny how when I'm home, all I can think of is going overseas, but when I'm overseas, all I can think of is going home. , don't get me wrong, at no point am i regretting my decision coming to Germany, but months after months of independence since i left singapore to take the route less trodden, i did yearn for some family care. Unlike most other school systems whereby students get summer holidays, the german exams (at least for mine) are planned such that they span through the entire 2 months holiday. Yes, meaning we have lectures and classes for 4 months, and then exams for 2 months. So thats one semester.

So i wasn't suppose to fly back since i was suppose to have my last paper on the 6 April, which is roughly 4 days before the start of the new semester. But it was computer science. The lecturer was so bad that i haven't been to lectures for the past 1.5 months, so i was pretty clueless about the chapters covered during that period. Had 2 weeks to prepare for the exam which would have been sufficient if i didn't need to learn new stuff, so decided to postpone it till the new semester. And thats how my 2 weeks of holidays back in Singapore was made possible. I booked the plane tickets 3 hours after i decided not to take the exam, that has got to be a record. It was partly also due to the fact that there was a promotion going on and the tickets cost only 500 eurs as compared to 1000 in december, so i guess it was fated eh?

Nothing much to talk about back home, spent mainly meeting friends, spending time with family, eating, buying things that would have been extraordinarily expensive in Germany and recharging for the new semester. Oh yes and selling my red hot bicycle to earn back a little of my flight ticket.

Now that i burned a hole in my pocket and with an extra exam waiting for me next semester, i doubt i will be back anytime soon. Then again who knows what may pop up within the next 2 semester right?

Gourmet in Germany!

Cooked and photographed by me!

Spring 2011!

First entry of the year! Seems like i can only manage to come up with one entry per season. Far from the 1 per 2 days i managed in my first blog. Been really busy with all the weekly challenges throughout the semester and the exams during my holidays. There is simply no time to write like before when you need to spend 3 hours trying to solve 1 part of the assignment. Did make me feel pretty stupid at times but after a while, i realised its just the norm. I've been too hard on myself.

So March 2011, spring is back, flowers are blooming, sun is shining. Perfect time for cycling! Haven't been able to do much since i don't party, so i was either studying, cooking, watching Scrubs, amazing race (finished 2 seasons in 2 da

ys) or cycling. Strangely, watching amazing did give me a feeling that i was back home. After being here for sometime already, the desire to lug around my SLR has diminished so now i go around with my mulitfunctional 2 megapixel HTC

tattoo. Yup all the photos from this post is from my phone =)

Its just amazing how easy it is to bring your bike onto the train, travel down to Blackforest, ride up the mountains, and speed back down and back in Karlsruhe, all within a matter of 5 hours. And the best part of it, i didn't have to pay a single cent. It was awfully fun even though the Black forest mountains are not as high or pretty as those in the Alps, but the opportunity to cycle through nature on my baby is really priceless.

Tried one trail on my own last tuesday, it was one hell of a ride. Took me more than 2 hours of continous cli

mb at around 7 degrees gradient. As i slowly crawl to the highest point of the trail, 700m above starting poin

t, i couldn't help but notice how the landscape changes. First it got colder, then windier, then some snow on the side of the path, then some snow on the path and path totally covered by snow. Soon after, it became snow and trees across the path. So after 14 km of gruelling climb, i found myself standing infront of what looked like an obstacle course (one of the pics). Didn't want to give up so easily since it took so much effort to get to the top, but after scaling over 6 fallen trees with the bike on my back, snow in my shoes and god knows how many scratches on my leg from

the branches of the fallen christmas trees (yeah i was in shorts), i decided that it would be a wiser choice to turn back before it gets colder and darker. The way back down was freaking awesome. I don't think there is a better word for it. Trip down took just 15 mins. Honestly, 2 hours of hell for 15 mins of fun wasn't quite worth it, but didn't and couldn't think much about it when i was coming down at 60km/h down the gravel roads. Thats what i call travelling in europe!