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Dear Folks -

First a little unpleasant business, then the more pleasant news of our trip. I'm writing
this from the youth hostel in Hamburg. Last night we stayed here and left our bikes parked
in the rack outside; this morning mine was gone - stolen. The bike belonged to the Krauters
in Beutelsbach, so I feel doubly bad about. Naturally I had to buy one to replace it, and
this we did this morning, after reporting the theft to the police. The cost of the replacement was
120 marks, and I think you could safely set the value of the Krauters' bike at $35.00. I hope
the family insurance (ours, not theirs) covers this sort of theft, as you mentioned before. If
it does we can get the $35 back; otherwise, unless the Krauters have insurance, we're out
that much money. Our equipment was all inside, so no problems there. The bike was not
locked because I left the key in Beutelsbach - too bad and stupid of course, but it's done
now. After lunch here, we're going on as planned, by train to Oldenburg tonight if
possible. So let me know by the mail whether anything can be done. Even though technically
I didn't own the bike, it was my responsibility, and I had to buy the replacement, so I think
this should be considered "personal property", don't you?

Our trip so far has been quite interesting, although the best part (Holland, I think) is still
to come. We got away Saturday about 3 pm after 2 days of finishing up anthro papers, packing,
etc. We went through Schorndorf, then turned northward in the general
direction of Schwäbisch Hall (hope you have good maps of Germany for all this geography).
That was to be our destination for the night, but we ran into some pretty rough country -
woods and creeks, steep hills, much like the Blackforest and very pretty. We had to push
our bikes up each hill, then ride down, push up the next. It was really exhausting
work (especially on our first day) and we finally quit about 8 pm, stopped at a gas station
and got directions to a nearby farmhouse. There they showed us a summer cabin with
a covered porch (roof, no walls of course) where we spread our sleeping bags for the night.
We ate a light snack (we have about 4 days food packed with us, will replenish as
we go) then turned in, just about froze by morning (frost on the pumpkin!) and
probably won't sleep outside again if we can avoid it. We need the rest to make the
mileage we want to. Anyway, up at 6:30, load up and on the way - about a mile of
pushing up hill and then the summit at last. From here mostly down or flat all the
way to Schwäbisch Hall (we went through Althütte, Gaildorf), sometimes coasting at 30 mph!
Along the way we passed through farmland, as well as forest, saw many small villages much
like Beutelsbach. This is the sort of thing that makes bikes better than cars, for we really do
see the countryside, and the small roads and villages as well as the cities.

From Schwäbisch Hall we took a train to Rothenburg, to save time and energy. There
we took our gear to the youth hostel and set out for a few hours look at the town. It
is a famous tourist center (though not in this season of course) because its an authentic
medieval city, bounded by the high walls, standing on steep bluffs overlooking the Tauber
river. Must have been an impregnable fortress in those days.