Rolling Across Europe: Our Engineer’s Inspiring e-Bicycle Expedition from Belgium to Sweden
Trip Summary
It is an e-bicycle expedition from Belgium to Sweden that takes 17 days. The journey starts from Belgium and moves towards northern Europe, visiting five countries, experiencing different cultures and local cuisines, meeting great people, taking a couple of fantastic ferry rides, living in tents, surviving heavy wind/rain, and having priceless moments. The whole journey was amazing; here, I try to share a few exciting experiences.
Day 1, Netherlands
Full of excitement, holding my breath for all negative thoughts, I started pedaling at noon across the North Sea coast and crossing into the Netherlands. After 100 km, it started getting dark, so I camped at Brugh Haamstede, Netherlands. The first day of the trip was hot and sweaty. The journey was amazing, with spectacular sealine and cycling across check dams.
1st pit stop Busum, Germany
It was the 7th day of cycling, and I had traveled 750 km. My legs and mind started giving up. Busum was still 2 hrs away, and the bicycle battery went dry. So, it took midnight to reach the Busum camping site. It was trivial; it was the time for a break. This coast is something else; it has a beautiful relaxing lagoon and is quite a famous fishing village that harbors awesome homegrown cousins. I was rehauled well and fixed a few issues with the bicycle.
Reaching the northern tip of Denmark
It was day 13 of the bicycle trip, and after a daybreak in Aarhus, Denmark, I continued pedaling towards Denmark. In a couple of hours, the rain started pouring down. It was stormy and wildly cold; the temperature was sub-10C, and my body started shivering. I took a train instead; it took 4 hours to reach the north tip of Denmark (Skagen), where the North Sea meets the South Sea. This place seems to be possessed by natural beauty and peace. I would call it the crown destination of this expedition.
Touch down at Sweden
On day 14, I took shelter in a camping site at Frederikshavn, Denmark. Because of the high wind and heavy showers, it was getting dark, and could not continue the journey any longer. And while cooking the dinner, I unfortunately had a cut on my palm. My palm started bleeding heavily; I used my first aid kit, but was not enough, thanks to my neighbor, who helped me immediately clean the wound and gave me first aid. The next day, I made a short ride to the Frederikshavn ferry dock, and the ferry was scheduled to leave at 1:30 pm to Gothenburg, Sweden. My first experience in traveling in such a gigantic vessel, it sailed creating tide in the sea. After 4 hours of ferry, I reached Gothenburg, Sweden. Validated my passport and Cycled in search of shelter and was lucky to find a hotel room which was managed by an Indian.
Final destination: Trelleborg, Sweden
Day 17, was the last day of the expedition as per the schedule. I had a good sleep at a camping site in Helsingborg, Sweden. The final destination of this trip was 100 km away. I left the camp relatively early expecting rain in the afternoon, but the wind was a little calm; cycling through the cold breeze of the East Sea is more than refreshing. By 1 pm, I reached Malmo, and it started raining mildly. I am a big fan of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and was very happy to visit Rosengard, where Zlatan was brought up. I reached Trelleborg after cycling through lavish villas and townships. End of a wonderful journey. Had a great time visiting 5 countries and traveling 1400+ km by bicycle, 200+ km by Train, and 100+ km by Ferry. Thanks to all who helped during my journey and for creating lifelong memories.
