I was cycling like a bat out of Hades to make it back to Germany, where a cholera vaccine awaited me in my relative´s refrigerator in Euskirchen. It felt good to reach the border of the Bundesrepublik Deutschland near Venlo, only one and a half days after departing Amsterdam. I stopped for a very late lunch and an old lady ran over my water bottle, apologizing profusely, although I explained to her that it was my fault. (9/14/04)

A reactor near Pulheim, Germany, sending clouds of steam into the atmosphere in the sweet light. (9/14/04)

I swallowed a cholera cocktail in Euskirchen, and hung out at my relative´s place once again, thereby causing a minor stir in the neighborhood because the relatives were actually away in nothern California at the time. When they returned, several neighbors reported my presence to them. After leaving, I made a terrible mistake in Essen, and in a faulty attempt to trim my beard (which was catching too many food particles and disturbing my sleep) I ended up with an uneven result that made me look like I had facial hair disease. It is now gone, and this is the last beard photograph that will be seen for some time, so you should savor it like a fine Belgian chocolate. (9/16/04) *

I stopped in Essen, the largest city in the Ruhrgebeit, but I did not do much in the way of sightseeing because it was Monday (museum closing day nationwide). Although the Ruhrgebeit is heavily industrialized and populated, much of my ride was spent cycling through parks along forest streams trying to dodge hikers that were sharing the path. Essen is supposedly a shopping mecca, so I took a picture of this modern cathedral to consumerism, topped with a giant shopping bag idol. (9/20/04)

I am really glad that I decided to pay Münster a visit. It has a really strong college town feel (which I always love), with over 50,000 students, and there are tons of cyclists, book stores, and health food stores (where I can buy a liverwurst-like spread made out of smoked tofu - it tastes great on my morning brötchen). It has been raining here off and on, and there were about twelve or so rain showers here today that I noticed. This is a picture of St. Lamberti church with the sun sparkling on rain-soaked cobblestones in the center of the Altstadt. If you click on the photo twice you can see three metal cages above the church´s gold clock dial. In the sixteenth century some Anabaptists declared Münster the headquarters of their new religious paradise. The catholic authorities decided not to join and instead promptly tortured and threw the three main instigators into these metal cages to die high above the town. There are a couple of other interesting cathedrals in town, one of which houses a giant statue of St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers - the statute is actually holding an authentic giant tree trunk in his hand as a walking staff.(9/21/04)

In Münster I paid a visit to the Ratshaus, where the Peace of Westphalia was signed. This, of course, ended the bloody post-reformation Thirty Years War that had been waged at great cost throughout Europe. Although it was great taking a peak at the room where this historically important event occurred, the room itself was not as grand as I had expected, and I was a little upset at having spent 1.50 € for the entry. Now you can see it for free.(9/21/04)

**UPDATE: I am still alive and kicking in Leipzig, but have been unable to locate USB port access for some time know. I should be in Berlin in a couple of days when I can update. The former DDR is INCREDIBLE!!!!!! WOO HOOOOO!!!! YEE HAW!!!!!!! Can you feel the excitement? Seriously, I am loving it. (9/28/04) *

The days are getting shorter and the nights correspondingly longer, and the rain, which seems to be one of the dominant features of the northern European fall, has become defintely colder. Sometimes in the rain I can smell smoke coming from wood-burning fireplaces and I think of happy German families nestled around the hearth, roasting chestnuts and things of that nature. I had my first crash in the morning riding from Münster to Paderborn when I was staring at a directional sign and ran into a wooden fence - but it was a low speed impact, and the only damage was to one of my rain covers, which I will patch with my innertube repair kit. The camping season is definitely coming to an end, and since Essen my tent has been all by its lonesome in the tent meadow, although the caravaners are still there. It was raining when I pulled into the campground at Paderborn, and the reception box (pictured here), which I thought looked like a green Checkpoint Charlie was unmanned. When I located the caretaker I only paid 5 Euros (!) and the old woman even gave me free shower coins (Hooray)! In the wee hours of the morning some sort of animal was making loud rustling noises near my tent and then stuck its hand under the vestibule, but went off running when I clapped my hands. I think it was a raccoon, but I am not sure. (9/22/04)

I started off from Paderborn to Kassel with near twilight conditions caused by storm clouds that were pouring down refrigerator-cold waters as I was breaking camp. I slipped into cold and wet gear and headed for the highway with my breath forming clouds in the air. It rained evil cold well into the afternoon, and as I cycled through towns of half-timber houses and cobblestone lanes, the conditions felt medieval in many respects. But my fortunes were soon to change . . . (9/23/04) *

In the tiny village of Oberslingen I asked Ralf (pictured in the blue sweater, bottom right), who was purchasing cigarrettes from the street vending machine near the fork in the highway, if the road I was on led to Zierenberg. He himself was visiting from Stuttgart, but told me that the people he was visiting would know. Next thing I knew, I was drinking Hefeweizen and downing delicious dumplings and sauerkraut with the generous and hospitable folks in the house pictured above. They were in the process of doing a complete renovation of the place when I arrived. Ralf was very gregarious, and would refill my glass anytime it was running a bit low, and had lots of interesting and funny things to say. David, the blond kid, was in his first year of school and already writing. Everyone was supernice and thought my trip was a little crazy. I peddled away feeling great, the sun was out and sparkling, and a brave new world awaited me. (9/23/04)