Lost in an Endless Sea of Muck

After a light rain all night I tried to bike around the Trammersee for the first time; this is my story.

I chose this route because it seemed like it might be nice and level and I wouldn't have to push my bike up so many hills. The first part was very nice. I passed through some small hamlets with thatched roof houses and saw some cattle that were reddish and very hairy. They reminded me of the Scottish Highland cattle but were a little different. They looked up and stared at me as I passed but it was hard to see their eyes, kind of like a sheep dog.



I got to a small town and missed my turn. I almost went the right way but it didn't "look right" to me and I turned back. I went down a promising road that seemed to be going the way I wanted around the Trammer See, but the road slowly dwindled into a muddy trail and it got harder to pedal. Mud was accumulating around the brakes and sticking to the tires, but I could keep moving forward because I was going down hill. Then this trail finally disappeared under waves of plowed mud and I was at the bottom of a long hill. I had to slog through the sop and push the bike. The wheel's rotation got stuck once in a while and I pushed the bike sled-like, gliding over the mud. I tried walking up to a low ridge because I figured it would be drained better. It was but this meant the mud had a more sticky consistency and it started adhering to my shoes in bigger and bigger globs, making each step weigh more. At one point I wondered if they would find me here in the spring encased in a cocoon of dried mud. I made my way to a grassy bank and scrambled up it. Even on this I slipped and slid on slick muck and barely made it to the top. The field on the other side was higher and less sticky but there was no way I could go back and push the bike up over the bank with me, so I looped my belt and reached down and lassoed the handlebars and pulled the bike up the bank with my belt. The other side was easier going and eventually I found the right trail. It was nice and hard packed with grass on either side and an extension of the road I almost went down before. I made it back to Plön and went through the centre of town (the altstadt, old city) with my lower half and the bike covered in mud. Everyone else seemed to be immaculately clean and I got some looks as I pedalled by.

At work I found out the results of super Tuesday. McCain has pulled ahead on the Republican side and Obama and Hillary are still neck and neck, which makes it more interesting. As I have said earlier I prefer Obama, then McCain. Also, I realized one big difference from America was that the super bowl passed by last Sunday and I didn't hear a thing about it, which is fine with me. I never liked (American) football.

For supper, R (an Italian-Canadian) invited G (British) and I to supper at his apartment along with another American living in Plön. He said bring something to fix so we grabbed some fondue chocolate and fruit. I have never had fondue before so I wasn't sure what to expect. We melted it in a double boiler and I suggested adding some hot pepper powder for some spice. So we added that and R added some soy milk to make it more liquid but it had the opposite effect and thickened it to a frosting consistency, so we frosted the fruit bits with chocolate and ate that. The red pepper wasn't bad; it was kind of a spicy aftertaste.

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