The good

1. The mad mish-mash that is Berlin – the history, the street art, the food.
2. The astonishing network of bike paths all across Germany and Austria – both in terms of sheer quantity, and in the variety of surfaces and terrain.
3. The ease and peacefulness of cycling through the lakes and forests in Mecklinberg – helped by the warm sunny weather.
4. The beautiful towns and castles. Cruising down into Burghausen right on dusk and finding the town and castle lit up in a warm amber glow was a particular highlight.
5. The pastries and beer in Barvaria – consistently the best out of anywhere we went in Germany or Austria.
6. Managing to find a relatively ‘easy’ path across the alps, although we could have done without the ice on our panniers!

The bad

1. The unfriendly Austrians. While we did meet or come across some really lovely people, getting a smile or hello as you rode past was the exception rather than the norm. We also came across the first genuinly rude people on our trip (all in Austria or right on the border with Germany).
2. The lack of fresh food markets. We’re sure they were there somewhere, but we didn’t have a huge amount of luck finding many outside of Berlin, and the fruit and veg in the supermarkets left a lot to be desired.
3. The difficulty in finding internet in Germany. Sim/data cards were almost impossible to get, most campsites didn’t have wifi, and internet cafes were few and far between.

The surprising

We talked about this for a while, racking our brains trying to think of things we found particularly surprising or interesting from our nearly four weeks in Germany and Austria. In the end, all we really came up with was how little had surprised us. Outside of Berlin, everything in Germany and Austria is in its place, as expected, and there is very little that catches you unawares. We found ourselves seriously looking forward to Italy – craving some noise and a little less neatness.