Day 18 - Lunch in Liechtenstein - 5 July 2007, 2:01 PM
I’m now in Liechtenstein.
Yesterday, after having started very early (my roof had gone at 5:00 am very sharp, typical German), I cycled under the rain and under the big rain towards the lake Constance (Bodensee). Then I found myself in Austria. I haven’t really noticed that I’d pass via Austria.
At 7:30 am I already had done 30 km. I couldn’t really stop anywhere, it was way too early, it was alternatively raining or about to rain, and I was in this lukewarm zone where you’re not really neither comfortable nor uncomfortable, but if you stop then you’ll start to be cold, you’ll realize how much the water got in everywhere it could and you’ll be uncomfortable. Sometimes (even often) there’s no real choice, you have to go on. If I stop, I’m a stranger, an alien, in this cold and humid country. On my bicycle, while moving, I’m at home, I’m fine.
And something might happen later on, by continuing to go on.
But I was trusting, I knew that I didn’t really had to worry, that something would (or would not) happen and that I would be fine.
I crossed to Switzerland without wanting it, while trying to follow the directions for a café with a wireless LAN (Internet access) that someone gave me. I do not cycle back to where I came from. For me, was has passed on the road has passed and there are so many things just waiting in front of me that I very rarely go back to where I come from, no matter why. (And it’s also to Spain, more than 1500 km further in front of me, that I want to go!) I go on, forward, that’s all.
So I followed the Rhine for a while on the Swiss side, before going back to Austria at another bridge. I hadn’t finished with Austria yet (and it’s cheaper in the Euro zone).
At 16:30, after 70 km and a huge number of fruitless stops to try to find an Internet access with a warm soup, it was still grey and rainy, showers where cyclically soaking everything again and I was strongly looking for an Internet access to find someone from the Hospitality Club (http://www.hospitalityclub.org ) to host me for the night. Sleeping under the tent wasn’t too much appealing, I would have loved to be a bit dry and to avoid humidity. Passing by Feldkirch, Tom, a very friendly-looking young man greets me, tells me something in German (obviously!) and invites me to have a coffee at his house. He also had an Internet access and offered me hospitality for the night.
I could wash clothes (with a machine!), warm myself up, change a tire on my bicycle, dry up my tent (the door of yesterday’s truck had to stay open, so it was still raining a bit on me) and sleep dry.
There are people, like that, that appears just when you need them. I’m very grateful for that…