Said goodbye to all the family and left earlier than expected, at 10:00. The route leaving Hamm was still very familiar, after a while even the names of places became less and less well known.
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For my first break I had bought plums at a farm, my second break was in the gardens of a baroque castle, both very nice.
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I had only really meant to go to Gütersloh or nearby, but the going was good, I was feeling fine (Maybe thanks to the first day without cycling in over a month yesterday…), so I carried on to Bielefeld. There I am in the youth hostel, which is very empty tonight. Managed to do my washing in a machine, the luxury.
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It is not that I come to Bielefeld often, but every time I see different aspects of it. The youth hostel is near the Dürkopp-Werke, which is where my grandfather‘s bike must have been made. He was always very proud of it.
Had a brief wander into the centre, which was nicer than I had remembered/expected.
I still ride a Dürkopp bicycle, inherited from my mother. It was bought in the early 1950ies and cost then about 150 Marks, a month salary of my father.
I don’t think I have ever been to Bielefeld – it looks really nice