Some of you might already know that my cycling adventure is partly sponsored by UFL in the form of equipment and some cash and among the equipment UFL sponsored and supplied are products manufactured by Deuter of Germany, so as we were in Gersthofen where Deuter operates from we paid a visit to the Company. We were warmly welcomed by Mr Rainer Wenninger, the Marketing Manager and Mr Melvyn Jones, the International sales Manager and after being briefed and showed around the Deuter complex we were presented with Deuter products that we needed to continue with our cycling. Among the items were a new set of panniers, handlebar panniers, a backpack, a sleeping bag and waist pouches. Deuter is big in Germany and their products are of a high quality. Half of their total volume are for Germany and the other half are for export. I am indeed grateful to Deuter for the support.
My cycling adventure have also been covered by the local media and on the whole I find that people are quite amazed when I tell them that I am from Malaysia. That is because , although most people in Europe are quite used to seeing Europeans on such long journeys on bicycles, not many are from Asia let alone Malaysia. And the fact that I am about seventy is to most a respectable effort by any standards. So far I have appeared on TV in Lahore,Pakistan, the Kurier newspaper in Austria, in Passau, Germany and again here in Gersthofen , carried by the local newspaper Augsburger Allgemene. At some Guesthouses or Pensions and even some hotels I was given generous discounts when I disclosed the nature of my journey. At bicycle outlets we were either given free services or given discounts on items purchased. In Kissing, a small town about 50 kilometer from Munich when we stopped to have the bicycle chain replaced and the rack checked, the outlet manager Ado not only had everything attended to but also did everything for free. Also given free were tubes for our tyres and sets of brake pads.
We made a brief visit to Munich and while there we stayed at the residence of Dr Winfried Kapfhammer who was kind enough to take us in as guests although we did not know him. We were only told to look him up by a mutual friend Sajjad from Pakistan. In spite of his busy schedule Dr Winfried was able to have dinner with us at an Indian restaurant near his house and of course the choice had to be Briyani, Mutton Briyani and mutton curry and rice. The last time we had briyani was when we were in Lahore in January. Dr Winfried is a much travelled man and had travelled extensively in Asia and Europe. He must have left an impression in Pakistan because some people from there still keep in touch with him regularly although the last time he was there was about ten years ago.
There is a lot to see and do in Germany but accommodation is very expensive so we cannot be certain as to how long we will be here before moving on to the Netherlands and Belgium before crossing to England. We have done some 'wild' camping in Germany although we are told that such camping is illegal. Well, if we are caught perhaps we'll get free accommodation in the police station.
I have sometimes been asked if there are wild animals in Malaysia and if camping in Malaysia is safe. They must have watched Tourism Malaysia's promotions on TV showing the wild side of Malaysia. They also asked if there are many monkeys in Malaysia. I have always answered in the affirmative but added that most of the 'monkeys' are found in Putra Jaya, he! he!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
On the Danube in Neuberg
With Mr Rainer of Deuter
At the Deuter complex
With Ado at his Bicycle outlet
Wild Camping
Kaiser's Palace in Munich
Munich's City Hall
The Museum
River Surfing in Munich
The Old Fountain
Dinner with Dr Winfried
Ado attending to my bicycle
Munich
The King's Garden
With Dr Winfried at his residence
The baby goes everywhere with me
In the centre of Munich
With Michael at Hotel Romerstadt.
My cycling adventure have also been covered by the local media and on the whole I find that people are quite amazed when I tell them that I am from Malaysia. That is because , although most people in Europe are quite used to seeing Europeans on such long journeys on bicycles, not many are from Asia let alone Malaysia. And the fact that I am about seventy is to most a respectable effort by any standards. So far I have appeared on TV in Lahore,Pakistan, the Kurier newspaper in Austria, in Passau, Germany and again here in Gersthofen , carried by the local newspaper Augsburger Allgemene. At some Guesthouses or Pensions and even some hotels I was given generous discounts when I disclosed the nature of my journey. At bicycle outlets we were either given free services or given discounts on items purchased. In Kissing, a small town about 50 kilometer from Munich when we stopped to have the bicycle chain replaced and the rack checked, the outlet manager Ado not only had everything attended to but also did everything for free. Also given free were tubes for our tyres and sets of brake pads.
We made a brief visit to Munich and while there we stayed at the residence of Dr Winfried Kapfhammer who was kind enough to take us in as guests although we did not know him. We were only told to look him up by a mutual friend Sajjad from Pakistan. In spite of his busy schedule Dr Winfried was able to have dinner with us at an Indian restaurant near his house and of course the choice had to be Briyani, Mutton Briyani and mutton curry and rice. The last time we had briyani was when we were in Lahore in January. Dr Winfried is a much travelled man and had travelled extensively in Asia and Europe. He must have left an impression in Pakistan because some people from there still keep in touch with him regularly although the last time he was there was about ten years ago.
There is a lot to see and do in Germany but accommodation is very expensive so we cannot be certain as to how long we will be here before moving on to the Netherlands and Belgium before crossing to England. We have done some 'wild' camping in Germany although we are told that such camping is illegal. Well, if we are caught perhaps we'll get free accommodation in the police station.
I have sometimes been asked if there are wild animals in Malaysia and if camping in Malaysia is safe. They must have watched Tourism Malaysia's promotions on TV showing the wild side of Malaysia. They also asked if there are many monkeys in Malaysia. I have always answered in the affirmative but added that most of the 'monkeys' are found in Putra Jaya, he! he!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
On the Danube in Neuberg
With Mr Rainer of Deuter
At the Deuter complex
With Ado at his Bicycle outlet
Wild Camping
Kaiser's Palace in Munich
Munich's City Hall
The Museum
River Surfing in Munich
The Old Fountain
Dinner with Dr Winfried
Ado attending to my bicycle
Munich
The King's Garden
With Dr Winfried at his residence
The baby goes everywhere with me
In the centre of Munich
With Michael at Hotel Romerstadt.
5 comments:
hey my full respect for your effort and your endurance.
(even if you didnt tell i changed your tube in fürstenfeldbruck)
joking aside,it was very an honour to meet you 2.
peter from zweirad fischbeck
hai mr.adnan and aede, your writings kept me laughing, especially the last part. dont worry we will replace those creatures with intelligent human beings any time soon. hope u will bring those paper cuttings to print in your publishing travel books. bravo bravo abang nan and aede. dont forget to move ur head left and right while pedalling, may god bless us all, bye. deen j.b.Malaysia.
Hi Adnan, What progress you have made!Your writing gets more and more interesting. I just got back from climbing Mt Rinjani, and a visit to Adelaide to see my son.
London is round the corner now. Dr Lee
You are now getting very close to your final destination. Have fun!
Hi Adnan, Aede.
Munich's City Hall has got that look where everyone takes a photo of it. Near the city hall there is this famous Beer garden. Munich has lots of Kebabs shops.
So where are you all off to now? Like the last part of this letter. Wild monkeys. The trailer behind your bike is that given to you? Well you know what can be done in M'sia. LOL going to the wet market , Haha. Hey Take care and a safe trip to London. Hoy.
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