green pastures

leaving Eschenhof

 Yesterday afternoon I finally recieved my tent's 'footprint' at

Echenhof, the commune in Hamburg. The package's absence had been a

happy excuse to stop a week there, not that I needed one, or to rest

any particular fatigue - I'd only ridden 6 days before. Really I

stayed just because it was such a pleasant and inspiring environment;

six days flew. I must've spent 6 or 7 hours each day working on their

various construction jobs and amost as many eating of the excellent

and apparently infinite vegan banquet that was in a constant state of

being served to residents, guests, workers and indeed hangers on

alike. As well as gorging it was also good to learn how to use a

chainsaw, to give my two bits towards the tricky extrication of

failing ceiling joists in the barn and to install their replacements.

By night we had fires in the courtyard, wine and shandy; once to the

pictures in town; twice out dancing. May Day was of course a holiday

for the anarchists (the whole of Hamburg also) and was accordingly

blessed with full summer sunshine. I rode the hour into town, via a

quick swim in the Elbe, for sightseeing. I followed the 'Euro May Day'

parade for a bit (like a family friendly alternative to the hardercore

protests going on - still with placards and soundsystems but without

the kettling and baton charges) and thoroughly enjoyed exploring a

city where cycling is evidently completely mainstream. It was also a

joy to relax into riding one of Eschenhof's old and unladen guest

bikes; fun like a toy after a few days on mine with its ridiculous

load and spec. 

kindred?

But it was an equal joy to settle back into my own (rather fine)
saddle this morning and to start heading South East along the Elbe. As
I write this, sprawled between the thin young forest of my camp and
green pastures sloping to the river, I am being barked at by a small
stag. He quite surprised me having snuck right up to within 20 metres.
I didn't know they barked. In the time its taken me to write that down
(the Kindle 3G makes a clumsy typist of me) he's circled back into the
woods and is crashing about and barking somewhere close behind
me. I hope he's not calling his mates for a midnight goring. Actually
the wildlife has been ace today (mosquitos and headburrowing, blood
sucking forest ticks (yes, just near my groin) excepting): loads of deer
and massive birds and hares even. It is nice to be out amongst it.

In other good news I got a huge haul of food out of the supermarket
bins in Bleckede. I hadn't thought to look anywhere yet but I will do
now and if it's that good regularly my outgoings will be almost nil
once I've invested in a trailer to tow all the food...

So anyway I'll add some photos to this once I get to a computer
somewhere, Berlin next week probably. Its totally dark now and the
barker is back so I'm gonna go hunt him.