We woke up for our first morning in Germany to find a blanket of snow covering our tents, turning our riverside campsite into a beatiful winter scene. The snow has persisted throughout our time in Germany as we passed through the rolling hills of the Black Forest (stopping to sample some gateau on the way of course) and into Bavaria. The scenery has rarely been less than stunning, from the snowy conifer lined hillsides and fields to the neat and meticulously maintained villages.

We had originally planned to make extensive use of Germany's excellent traffic free cycle routes, but unfortunately the snow forced us to stick to the well ploughed and gritted roads. This caused some alarm amongst a few Bavarian drivers, who honked and gestured wildly that we should return to the ice covered cycle lanes (we politely declined).

Just as in France, we have been the subject of considerable curiosity in the street, with many people approaching us to ask us where we are headed and where we have come from. We quickly learn the word for 'China' in each new language, and can tell when we have got the message across from the wide eyed expression on our new friends' faces!

Camping in the snow has brought with it a whole new set of challenges, from waking up to find water bottles frozen solid, to the impossibility of pushing pegs into frozen ground. The latter problem has solved itself since the snow became over a foot deep, providing plenty of hold for the pegs without getting near the soil! Once again we have found some excellent camping spots, most notably last night at around 1000m on a hillside in the foothills of the Alps. When it all gets a bit too much we can always resort to a youth hostel, for example in Biberach where we were surprised to find ourselves sharing a hostel with a large group of German choirgirls.

Despite all the snow we have continued to make reasonably good progress, except for the regular breaks whilst Dave repairs his punctures (to be fair he did try to make up the time by leading us down a motorway at one stage).

The majestic peaks of the Alps have slowly loomed onto the horizon as we headed towards Austria, and now dominate the skyline in every direction. We will be spending a well earned day off in Innsbruck as we prepare the conquer the Brenner Pass through the heart of the Alps into Italy.