Touring and sheltering

Touring Shelters.

Not only are there lots of cycleways in Germany, but the cyclist is well catered for along the way.

The touring cyclists may want to stop for a meal, for a rest, or for shelter, and shelters are frequently provided along the routes.  Here are some examples:-

Shelters come in a variety of designs, some more effective than others

 The one above, on the Weser-Radweg, has already been shown, but there are many more.

 Modern, and plain and simple

or a little ornate

The story behind the above picture is:-  that we were cycling through Switzerland in heavy, driving rain; desperate to find shelter, and in need to stoke our boilers.  When we came across what appeared to be a rather deserted railway-station with a rather battered shelter.  So we moved in and made ourselves at home; spread ourselves our ourselves down, and set the stove to work.  Quite cosy we were, as the picture shows, UNTIL that is, a woman arrived and entered 'our' shelter, and she just stood there silently:~ in ‘OUR’ shelter.  Hmmm.  Then after a while more people arrived, until the shelter became quite cramped.  People were standing shoulder to shoulder, .  How embarrassing!.  Fortunately nobody seemed to want to sit down.

    Fortunately a train arrived (fancy that, a train at a railway station) and the shelter quickly emptied, and we were left to ourselves once more.   As far as I can remember no one had said a word the whole time

.  In heavy rain on our way to Berlin, we deviated down a quiet road having spotted a bus shelter. But one can still get caught out if you are not careful, so on this occasion we checked the timetable, As it was about 2 hours before the next bus was due, so we had plenty of time to brew up and have something to eat.

      The smallest building we have waited in was a telephone box.