Movies: “Travel by bike makes you happy” from me and “Free as a kangaroo – By bike across Australia” from Florian Schmale
When: Sunday, on 18.09.2016 at 8 pm
Where: Open air cinema Friedrichshagen, Hinter dem Kurpark 13, 12587 Berlin Map
Free admission. Everybody is welcome. Both movies will shown with English subtitles.
Place is for 500 people, around 50 places are sheltered. Toilets and a bar are on site. Bring a jacket and warm clothes.
Runtime: 42 Minutes Language: German and English Subtitles: English (available on youtube)
When I started my trip almost 4 years ago, I didn’t thought about to make a movie. But I made a kind of video diary. Therefore I took a GoPro camera and a simple clip-on microphone with me. During my trip I didn’t had the time and resources to edit the videos and put them online.
Since a half year I’m back home. About my videos I didn’t thought any more. Then my friend Arne asked me, if I could do a presentation about my trip in his cycle shop. He convinced me and I remembered my videos. From the video footage I wanted to make a movie. I selected the files and chosen the time for the cuts. But I had no idea of video editing. I’ve got help from my friend Tobias. He is cutting videos from time to time.
It started to snow heavily in Leipzig and surrounding before I left. But when I continued my trip, the temperature rises distinctly above zero degrees. It was Sunday morning when I made my way out of Leipzig, like in Berlin or Dresden, the city center was deserted on this day. Quickly I left the city and cycled through countryside in direction of Wittenberg. One place keeps in my memory, called Bad Schmiedeberg, because there is a large rehab center and most of the people in the village using walkind aid. At “Dubener Heide”, 30 km before Wittenberg, I camped in the forest close to a field. In the middle of the night I woke up because it was stormy outside, I thought the world will ends (just missed a thunderstorm).
Originally I wanted to go from Dresden to Prague and further. My mind wanted to go there, but not my body. Steffka talked into me and mentioned it would be better if I’m not doing such a big trip. Because I have to focus on cycling a lot, during the day I’m sleeping often and on little hills I have to push. On 23.11. I followed the river Elbe, but the other way towards Leipzig. One day before it started to snow. This was a new challenge for me, I never did a bike trip before in winter. After “Meissen” I left the cycle path by the Elbe and took smaller cycle ways and country roads. The landscape became hilly. I did 60 km and found a god spot next to a field to camp, nobody came along here. It was -1°C in the night. Fortunately I bought a new sleeping bag in Dresden (the old one was broke and only warm till +10°C). This time it wasn’t cold in the night.
After I got seriously sick in Japan and when I couldn’t walk anymore, I thought I could never do a bike trip again. But I had big luck. After a three months break (and hospital and rehab) I felt fit enough to travel again. My first destination was Dresden, I planed three days of bike riding for this place. Three and a half year ago, at the beginning of my trip, I cycled to Dresden already. This time I took another way, because I wanted to see the “Spreewald” (it’s a large forest where the river Spree runs through) and the “Lausitz”.
