I’m in Kassel, Germany with a half liter (edit: at the end of writing, make that 1.5L) of beer and some BBQ ribs on the way. At face value that sounds ideal. Yet today has been a day I’ve been gripped with the existential question: What the fuck am I doing this for?
The day itself was alright. I started the day in the weird child hostel in Fulda. I skipped breakfast because it was about 50 ten years olds in a cafeteria and I was not ready for that energy. I instead ate chocolate muffins and bananas in my room as I psyched myself up for the day. I set out feeling fairly strong. The climbs looked to be minimal and mostly were. My speed is increasing.
I followed streams much of the way typically pulling away into forested areas to pull away from the highway. All in it was an absolutely excellent ride.
Several of the roads and in particular the last climb were along very heavily trafficked roads without a shoulder. As the roads were narrow this typically led to traffic backs ups and me pedaling madly. Unfortunately the wind always seemed to be pushing me into the traffic.
Today I really took notice of the sheer number of timber frame houses. It is unique and I’d love to read more into the vernacular architecture of Germany.
Unfortunately, all through the day I kept asking myself why I am on this trip. The past couple days in particular have not fun as much as days of extended exercise. My intuition is that the novelty is wearing off but it could again be that I haven’t eaten enough food. I’m oddly missing computers which I thought was going to take several months. I can feel the projects percolating.
And now I’m in a hostel that was €23 instead of a campground (likely €15) with a top bunk in an 6-person dorm where almost all the other beds are filled with locals. It’s not a bad thing but it is a much different experience. Perhaps one I should be more open to and embrace. Alternately, I should be less concerned about cost optimization.
I am going to spent the rest of the night whittling the night away finally getting my blog updated. The process is unfortunately fairly involved since the tool I was using gitjournal was causing unexpected deletions.
I’ve traveled around 1450 miles. I think I’ll make my way towards Lamspringe tomorrow and perhaps climb one of the hills surrounding the town presuming I can get an early enough start. I rarely start early despite my best intentions.
I feel a rest day coming soon. Perhaps in Hamburg for that oh so special miniature museum I have in my dreams.