Someone asked me what I'm doing in Europe...
...and I said, 'Taking the train and riding my bike.'
As an Australian living in Germany, I often get asked what I’m doing here, rather than living in Australia. While there’s no doubting Australia is a very special place with many advantages, I’ve now been away so long, it would take quite some adjustment for me to live there again.
It was my uncle who asked me what I’m doing in Europe, with the rather barbed implication that I should be ‘at home’. It was a poor mobile data connection (I was talking to my parents, who are grey nomads, currently somewhere on the Gulf of Carpentaria - i.e. so incredibly remote, a European can barely comprehend it) and I don’t think he expected a serious answer, but what I came out with was, ‘Taking the train and riding my bike.’ It’s a very literal answer, but also one that means a lot to me - not that my uncle would have realised that, I think.
I was supposed to live in Europe for 'a year', nineteen years ago and one of the main reasons I've stayed is simply because of the ease of travelling here, which I hope I will never grow complacent about. Within 500km, we could cross five or six different country borders (we could even cross the Austrian border twice, since Tyrol is so narrow). A highlight for me, since I haven’t driven a car in fifteen years, is that I can make most trips by train (often powered by electricity from renewable sources) and you can even cross the continent on a bike.
Cycling is a popular sport in Australia, but the distances involved are HARD and the infrastructure make casual leisure cycling or cycling for transport that bit more of a challenge. I was never much of a cyclist in Australia, but in Europe, I fell hard for bikepacking.
I love the freedom of cycling from town to town with a tent on the back of my bike (or my husband’s bike, while I carry the cooker and sleeping bags). We cycled in the Czech Republic, France, Belgium, Luxembourg (the ‘three countries’ route, which was gorgeous) and the UK and these trips were definitely part of the reason I decided to write a cycling romance, even though it’s about professional road cycling and not bikepacking (you don’t know how many times I tried to work out a plot for a bikepacking romance!)
I don't own a car (I've never owned a car in my whole life!) and it's something that creeps into my books (more or less intentionally). You remember Cara didn't drive, right back in My Christmas Number One? Lou in Italy Ever After also doesn't have access to a car (although she gets a lift occasionally - including one memorable trip on a Vespa with Nick) and the epic trip back to tell Nick she loves him used eight - I think? - forms of public transport (and a tractor that doesn't count). In Venice of course there are naturally no cars. One of the threads in Twenty-One Nights in Paris was Ren learning to use the Metro. Jenn in a Taste of Italian Sunshine had temporarily lost her licence and then in Snow Days With You, Luna discovers she doesn't have the appropriate tyres for winter in Chamonix and ends up ditching her car for the winter. You see the theme here?
I'm continually impressed with the many trips I've managed, mostly with the family, only using public transport. Chamonix with public transport was completely unproblematic because you get a transport card that includes all buses and trains when you check in to any accommodation (how cool is that?). We got there by train too, which involved a scenic stretch over the border from Switzerland. It's a bit of a long way around by train, but you get used to it (and it takes a long time to drive too). I even visited the Prosecco Hills with the kids on public transport, which was much more complicated (and not that cheap as the buses charged the same for adults and children!). But it was still a lot cheaper than hiring a car and I got used to the weird bus timetables while we were there.
This summer, I’m going home to Australia for a visit. We haven’t been back in over seven years, for various reasons, so it’s going to be wild. I hope I’ll have time to appreciate some of the lovely tourist spots my childhood home has to offer, in between visiting all the family members I haven’t seen in far too long. I’ll be up in Far North Queensland for some of it. I never lived there, but my grandparents did and now my parents have moved up and I’ve always felt a fondness for FNQ, so I’m looking forward to that.
I’m sure some photos will end up in here!
love Leonie x
Today is the Romance Book Blast! My novella is included in this, as well as soooo many other books. Check it out to find your next read.
When I traveled to Europe I planned every trip around train access. I loved it. Only thing is I wish for the old private carriages like in Agatha Christie movies where it’s two benches in a little compartment. Much easier with a toddler I’m thinking.