Of Germany's 16 states, I have now visited a total of 12 over the course of all my travels in Germany. The ones that still elude me are Niedersachsen ("Sower Saxony"), Brandenburg ("Burning Castle"), Hamburg ("Have Castle") and das Saarland ("The Saar Country"). I'm sure I'll get them eventually, though it may have to be on different journeys, especially since the Saarland is quite a ways away from the other three. Also note that in Germany, only a few states have subdivisions comparable with those of New Zealand and Japan, and the primary subdivisions are on a much smaller level, so I won't be enumerating all of those here.
Including all the travels we did in this book alone, Robert and I have covered about 3,500km on this journey by bus and train, which is considerably less than what I had on my clock in both New Zealand (6,000km) and Japan (10,200km). I suppose the elongated shapes of the two island countries more than compensate for their lack of width - and the fact that all the mountains tend to necessitate zig-zagging tracks probably helps too. However, this is still enough for us to get to from Munich to Lake Inari in Finland on the land route via St. Petersburg.
In addition to that, we did quite a bit of walking and cycling. On this journey alone, we covered over 460km on foot or by bike (roughly a third of which was by bike), and scaled a total of about 5,400m of altitude all the while. Again, this may not be as much as I did in New Zealand (1,620km x 16,500hm) or Japan (1,900km x 21,500hm), but considering we did it in the space of just over three weeks instead of a full year, I still think that's impressive. For reference, that distance would have taken us from Munich to Trier.
Our longest bike ride in terms of both time and distance was the Northermost Ride on Sylt (see Book IV ~ Chapter 8 ~ Sylt Stray Sillyness), where we covered 60km within 7 hours on our expedition to the northernmost point of Germany.
Our longest stray in terms of time was the Western Saxon Switzerland Stray in Bad Schandau (see Book IV ~ Chapter 2 ~ Scaling Saxon Switzerland's Serene Slopes) at 9.75 hours, while the longest in terms of distance was the significantly less mountainous Westernmost Stray in Geilenkirchen (see Book IV ~ Chapter 12 ~ Greenbelt Grounds of Geilenkirchen) with 28km.
So much for that, now a word on...
The Climate
Germany is subject to a temperate climate that ranges from oceanic in the north to continental in the south. That is, the temperatures average out on "pleasant" over the year, and in the south (where I live) we tend to have summers that are a bit hotter than comfortable and winters that are a bit colder than comfortable (weather extremes notwithstanding). All in all, these days temperatures rarely climb above 35°C in the summer and rarely drop below -10°C in the winter.
However, since I've been living here for over 30 years, I have also been able to actively observe climate change here. For one, back when I was a kid, the hottest days would rarely exceed 30°C and the coldest could drop down to -15°C. Also, snow days have been notably declining in recent decades. Before I was born, winters here in Munich would have an average of 57 snow days, ranging between 16 and a whopping 109, while after my birth we've only gotten an average of 38 snow days each winter, ranging between 87 at most and a sorry 1 day at the minimum.
That having been said, the climate here is definitely more pleasant than in either New Zealand or Japan. The houses are well-insulated and have good enough heating to make it through the winter without me getting cold, and as of yet the few really hot summer days are still manageable without air conditioning. Also, Radian is not quite as aggressive here, so with proper application of sunscreen during the summer I should manage to avoid any sunburns.
And now, for a short tour of the...
Places We've Been To
Chapter 2 ~ Bad Schandau
5-Sep-2020 – 7-Sep-2020
Total Stray Distance: 50.0km
Total Stray Ascents: 1,600m
Total Stray Duration: 18.75h
16/22🎁︎
Robert and I were overwhelmed by the natural beauty of Saxon Switzerland's sandstone mountains. The steep terrain proved to be a challenge for our legs, but in the end we were rewarded with marvellous views.
Chapter 4 ~ Görlitz
8-Sep-2020 – 10-Sep-2020
Total Stray/Ride Distance: 29.0km/57,0km
Total Stray/Ride Ascents: 390m/240m
Total Stray/Ride Duration: 8.5h/7,0h
10/11🎁︎
Our quest to reach the easternmost point of Germany led us to this town that had been split in twain by the war. Our quest for Oscypek was in vain, but we got to sample some savoury Polish cheese nonetheless.
Chapter 6 ~ Rügen
11-Sep-2020 – 13-Sep-2020
Total Stray Distance: 44.0km
Total Stray Ascents: 590m
Total Stray Duration: 14.25h
9/16🎁︎
We ventured out onto Germany's biggest island to see the marvellous chalk cliffs of Sassnitz. Our greatest adventure in these parts, however, should be finding a place to do our laundry at in Stralsund.
Chapter 8 ~ List
14-Sep-2020 – 16-Sep-2020
Total Stray/Ride Distance: 12.5km/60,0km
Total Stray/Ride Ascents: 85m/90m
Total Stray/Ride Duration: 4.25h/7,0h
9/13🎁︎
Setting out to visit the northernmost point of Germany took us on a cycling tour across one of the flattest islands I've ever been to. There, I resisted the temptation to defect to Denmark, but only just barely.
Chapter 10 ~ Bremen
17-Sep-2020 – 19-Sep-2020
Total Stray Distance: 52.0km
Total Stray Ascents: 130m
Total Stray Duration: 17.5h
16/29🎁︎
Our visit to this smallest state of Germany still brought with it the potential for ample exploration. We visited the town musicians, and just barely missed our chance to walk over into Lower Saxony.
Chapter 12 ~ Geilenkirchen
20-Sep-2020 – 22-Sep-2020
Total Stray Distance: 57.5km
Total Stray Ascents: 250m
Total Stray Duration: 17.0h
20/30🎁︎
Making our way to the westernmost point of Germany gave us the chance to hike through the Netherlands. The option to cross all the way over into Belgium, however, eluded us due to a lack of bikes.
Chapter 14 ~ Trier
23-Sep-2020 – 25-Sep-2020
Total Stray/Ride Distance: 32.25km/49,0km
Total Stray/Ride Ascents: 760m/140m
Total Stray/Ride Duration: 9.75h/6,25h
9/21🎁︎
The historic city in the valley of vineyards was a fantastic sight to behold. Our cycling tour that took us all the way into Luxembourg was a fitting finale for our journey.
Extra Chapter ~ Hochkrumbach
7-Aug-2021 – 8-Aug-2021
Total Stray Distance: 17.9km
Total Stray Ascents: 1,120m
Total Stray Duration: 7.75h
5/7🎁︎
Our weekend trip to the southernmost point of Germany proved to be our most challenging adventure yet. However, in the end we prevailed through wind and weather, and made our way over into Austria.
Some Statistics
So, what has been taking up my time ever since I returned home and joined the corps of the full-time employed once again? Unsurprisingly, my working time is now at an all-time height, while the time I get to work on Projects is lower than even in New Zealand. I also don't seem to get quite as much sleep anymore, but it's still close to the recommended 8-hour optimum. The time I have to spend on housekeeping is actually relatively low, thanks to me now having a dishwasher, dryer and washing machine all under the same roof. I don't seem to take as much time getting to bed or getting up in the morning anymore though (which might also be related to the sleep department). As for eating... since I am not in the habit of eating breakfast if I don't have to leave the house for work or such in the morning - and the Green Shnolz sorta saw to that - the time I spent on this rather vital activity has taken a significant dip. Not eating in restaurants or any other place where you tend to spend an hour on a meal probably helped too. Travelling time is at a record, all-time-low, again for the obvious pandemic reasons - and that is even factoring in all the travel time that Robert and I spent getting around Germany! As for learning, I am still keeping up my Japanese studies, but nowadays I also tend to get a bit of study in edgewise during work hours while builds and tests are running and I have literally nothing better to do since both my computer and the build server are busy, and no one will give me any code reviews to perform (that, plus I've already got about 300 hours of overtime that I'll never get back, so I figure taking some of that back as study time for compensation is okay). On a more pleasant note, my amount of play time is slightly above what it used to be back in New Zealand. Outside time meanwhile... eh, Corona. All-time-low and such. With me being settled in now and not really going places, both the time I had to spend on miscellaneous stuff and waiting are at a record low too. Meanwhile, with me finally having my own bathtub again, bath/showering time is way up again. Maybe most importantly, since I have my friends around I can finally spend lots of time with them, even with the pandemic interfering. The same goes for family time, which in the table falls under the "Other" category on account of it being ridiculously little during the first three books due to my family usually being thousands of kilometers away.
My finances have also somewhat recovered, though naturally I had to make some kinda expensive investments in order to get the Fox Loft properly furnished. As such, they are not quite what they used to be before I started travelling, but they are also not something that I have to worry about or anything - thanks to my late relatives Trudi and Birgit, who were kind enough to think of me in their testaments. Without those inheritances, things would have looked a bit more tight for me. I would probably still have been able to do both New Zealand and Japan, but Book III might have been a bit tight, and I probably would not have been able to pay off the mortgage I inherited on the Fox Loft at this point.
As for the distribution of expenses... with expensive flights leaving the equation, accommodation and shopping costs rank up. After that, I definitely spent more on equipment for the Fox Loft. Paying off the mortgage was a big chunk, but fortunately a one-time thing that should also serve to get the ongoing accommodation costs down. I also invested a bit more into a private pension fund, and also have to pay for a household insurance for the Fox Loft, so insurance costs went up. What's new is my expenses for my two cats, which may seem quite high, but that's due to the fact that getting the cat lattice installed was already about 800€, and the adoption costs came at another 200€. Without that, this would rank behind furniture, which should also be a one-time cost. Catering ranks down since I barely eat out during the times of the Green Shnolz, while taxes become a contributing factor as I owe the tax agency some refunds for the time I worked as an independent contractor for Netfira abroad. I also spend quite a bit on charity as I adopted a bat-eared fox from the Cheetah Outreach in South Africa (see Book III ~ Chapter 5 ~ African Adventures). Short-distance travel meanwhile was not that much of a contributor due to the pandemic. Then there's games, family, clothes, internet, my bike, health care and other expenses that were so low during Book III that they didn't even factor in. Most of that was compensated through my wage, but without additional income in the form of tax refunds, gifts, and a slow steady trickle coming in from my Patreon presence], I would have made a slight loss over the course of this book.
And that's enough statistics for now. Next, let's have a look at the...
Top Stay Places
On our tour around Germany (plus the southernmost spot), Robert and I stayed at a total of eight different places. How did they compare to one another? Well, here's the top three:
The Third-Best Place
Location: Geilenkirchen, Nordrhein-Westfalen
As seen in: Book IV ~ Chapter 12 ~ Greenbelt Grounds of Geilenkirchen
Our apartment in Geilenkirchen was a neat place. It was nice and big, clean, located close to both the station and shopping, and the host was nice too. It wasn't too expensive either, earning this Airbnb a well-earned third place.
The Second-Best Place
Location: Rambin, Rügen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
As seen in: Book IV ~ Chapter 6 ~ Roaming Rügen
The attic-apartment on Rügen was also a nice and spacious place with a great view of the surrounding landscape, not too far from the local station and shopping options. The beds and bathrooms were a bit better than in Geilenkirchen though, letting this Airbnb come in second.
The Best Place
Location: Hochkrumbach, Vorarlberg, Austria
As seen in: Book IV ~ Extra Chapter ~ The Heroic Haldenwang Hike
This hotel room, though spacious and expensive, offered a few nifty perks that catapulted it to first place. For one, a tasty and plentiful dinner and breakfast each was included in the price (or technically, the dinner wasn't included in the room price but I included it in the calculation for the price-value ratio), the beds were comfy, there were plenty of facilities available (such as a sauna, even though we didn't actually make use of them), the staff was friendly, the place was quiet, and though certainly remote, there was a bus stop right in front of the hotel, and we also got a free bus pass. So even though it certainly was expensive, the perks more than made up for it. Maybe I need to consider staying in hotels more often in the future.
The Road Ahead
And with that, this book finally comes to a close... or does it? Because the next adventures are already over the horizon: For one, Robert and I have decided to play a visit to half the centers of Germany, and for another, I am on my way to a new job, which just so happens to be for the German branch office of a Canadian company. As it happens, they would like to have me over there for training for a few weeks, so it looks like over two years on the ground, I will soon be taking flight to a new country again. I guess travelling is just my lot in life.
Anyway, for all of you, both of these mean that my travels are clearly far from over, and you can look forward to at the very least a few more upcoming adventures from the Travelling Fox. So until then, stay tuned, and be of great cheer!
