29th-31st day

Tromso - Lucerne

almost no more cycling kilometers

accordingly, no average speed

sun, rain, everything

wind? what's that? as soon as you're not on the bike anymore, it suddenly becomes so much less important

My bike arrived safely in Oslo (by the way, so did I). I got in touch with Mirko and he was kind enough to offer me accommodation for one night. I had his address, which was a bit outside the city center. Originally, I planned to cycle from the airport to him (about 50km), but my left foot, which has been bothering me since the ride to the Cape, was against it. So I took the tram into the city and then cycled to him. Mirko and Eglè welcomed me very warmly and it felt good to take a shower and be back in civilization (I know that I will miss wild camping again after a week, but right now a hot shower, a sofa, sitting at the table... just the right thing.

In the afternoon we took a stroll (I hobbled more :) ) to a nearby lake and flew the drone once. After a few minutes of flying, the 64GB memory card was full. I'm afraid I'll have a lot of editing to do in the next few days for the tour footage. Maybe I can also post it here on the website.

Then Mirko and I organized my return home. Once again, there were some hurdles. One plan was to take a ferry from Kristiansand to Hirtshals and then continue by train to Kempten. It was over 4 hours by train to Kristiansand alone, then another 4 hours crossing and then 26 hours by train (I didn't even know if I could bring my bike at all). Not to mention all the waiting times between the different modes of transport. I didn't really feel like it. My left foot prohibited me from riding part of the way.

The ferry from Oslo to Kiel took 20 hours and cost 400,- and then there was the long train ride from Kiel to Kempten.

So I decided to fly after all. We couldn't find a place for me on short notice from Oslo to Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt or Friedrichshafen, or the flights were very expensive. In the end, there was a relatively cheap flight for Tuesday from Oslo to Zurich. Since I was allowed to stay another night with Mirko and Eglè, I chose this option. There were some complications when booking the second and third (bike) pieces of luggage over the phone, but everything was eventually sorted out (if everything should work out at the airport)

After a delicious barbecue, we talked for a while, but the two short nights caught up with me and Mirko and Eglè had to get up early, so it was soon time to go to bed.

The next day, I slept shamelessly long until 10:00 and by the time I was ready to explore the city a bit, it was shortly after 12. I really wanted to go to the Vigeland Sculpture Park in the city. A few years ago, I was in Oslo during a conference and accidentally ended up in the park and was immediately fascinated by the sculptures. On the one hand, I was excited about the many and unusual positions in which the figures were depicted, on the other hand, the sculptures also reminded me of Nazi art. In any case, I still had lively memories of the park and the same feelings arose again when looking at the figures. Fascination and at the same time something repulsive. It was also interesting that the artist hardly commented or interpreted his works, he left that to the viewer.

After a short walk through the harbor, I returned to Mirko, as I had promised that I would cook today. It was supposed to be bacon-spinach-cheese dumplings with mushroom cream sauce, and even though I tried my best (a lot of everything), they unfortunately turned out a bit watery when cooking. But they still tasted good (I think).

Again, we talked for a long time that evening and again the two had to get up early, so we didn't say goodbye too late and like the day before, I slept late into the next morning. I had no stress. My flight didn't leave until the evening and I took some time to explore the city a bit. I also visited Mirko at work. I really can't complain about my job, but the building was really great. So to speak, the first house at the harbor with a great all-around view of it.

At the airport, I wasn't really surprised when I was asked to unscrew the pedals, straighten the handlebars, and lower the saddle. It wasn't as easy as at the airport in Munich and as I was assured on the phone two days ago (No, you don't have to do anything to the bike). Fortunately, I had my 15mm wrench and hex keys within reach. Then I had to wrap up the whole bike (which I could understand, there was a lot of greasy, black oil on the bike), and off we went.

The return flight was very uneventful and I landed in Zurich at 10:00 PM. The bike and luggage arrived unharmed and I'm slowly getting the hang of getting my luggage out of the Ikea bags, stowing it in the bike bags, and attaching it to the bike.

After a 1 1/2 hour train ride, I was back in Ebikon, just threw my bags in the living room and fell into bed.