friland, Denmark

                                             

We’re staying at Friland, an eco-village on the east side of Denmark. It’s a really amazing place, where people are all building their own homes, out of low tech sustainable materials. There are criteria for moving here, including not having any large debts, a commitment to building sustainably and one member of the family working from home, to create a living community, in all ways. We’ve seen houses insulated with straw and clay sitting on foundations of oyster shells, really beautiful green roofs, and plans for a serious vegetable garden in the center of it. We’re staying with some wonderful people, who were kind enough to take us to all the houses, and inside many of them. Some highlights, a house built inside a repurposed industrial glass greenhouse, rows and rows of Kale growing (the first we’ve seen that isn’t sold frozen on our whole trip), and riding aboad an old Danish sailboat at sunset with our hosts.

Photos

If you’re looking for photos – look no further!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/farmcycle/

You can also click on the ‘Photo Map’ link on the bar above to see geo-referenced photos along our route on our Trippermap.

La Ferme Musicale – June 6-9

We rode over the Pyrénées from Espana and landed smack dab in the middle of a lush tropical yet mediteranean climate of France perfect for growing just about anything. Riding into the town of Palau del Vidre, we rolled in late to meet Ursula, the matriarch of La Ferme Musicale.  Ursula specializes in agricultual education, and her husband, Vincent, teaches children about music made from vegetables like gourds.  They have a large farm with mixed vegetable and fruit production, and a couple of chickens. Ursula spoke English and put us to work – picking cherries, tying tomatoes and weeding and making cherry jam.  Jess and Christi got to play games with the children and showed them potato-digging with the school groups that came through each morning. I, luckily, got off easy and just weeded and tied up tomatoes and smiled and waved at the kids. I can only imaging the stress of trying to teach children in French. Ursula was a great host – she fed us tons of food from the garden and lots of her homemade jams – zuccini jam! A special treat was elderflower syrup and water, as well as claufoutie, a cherry flan. We met some other great WWOOFers and learned some delicious jam tricks. We’re off now along the coast of France to the FAR collective in the French Alps, but for now, check out Le Ferme’s website.

www.fermemusicale.com

Can Masdeu – Barcelona. June 1-3

Our first day in europe, spain, and barcelona. after an epic day of pushing our loaded bikes at full speed to catch the train to the airport, watching in horror at the “mandatory” saran wrapping of our bikes, flying for 8 hours and riding into barcelona with no legitimate map, we arrived at the loveliest squat at the top of a mountain overlooking the city. we ate a delicious supper at 10pm while the sun set, and met the dozen or so people who live and work here. everyone we met was amazing, sharing their food and space with us and giving us advice on our route. we learned a little bit about the squat; that they began living there 7 years ago, that they celebrated two birthdays – the day they started squatting and the day of the resistance, when they non-violently protested their eviction by hanging onto the outside of the building for 3 days until the police gave up. fresh spring water runs throughout their terraced gardens, half of which they use and half of which is for a community of neighbors that garden there. They all work for two days each week on the property, fixing up the 15th century nunnery they live in, and working in the gardens.
all in all, the best place we could hope to stay in on our first nights abroad.