Europe R1 advice...

[doog]

Hotel or camping? I would say both, although German hotels appeared to me to be less expensive than their UK equivalents, the costs can mount up, also the tent just gives you greater flexibility. If camping, you don't need to do the full thing and can often eat out relatively inexpensively. Why pay dearly for an hotel room in which you will lie asleep for most of the time when you could sleep just as comfortably in a tent? It's a personal choice.

Agree..do both at the very least a hotel is a great escape from the weather if you need it.Many pubs and bars in Germany have rooms upstairs for silly cheap money when you chuck in the exchange (Pound- Euro)...but it does mount up like you say..meal and beer downstairs and suddenly this isnt a 5 Euro camp site with a tin of goulash chucked on the stove

Holland can be a risk tent wise..its gets soggy underfoot quite easily (cant think why)

 

[Yorksman]

I have a plan to fly to Berlin and cycle home to Scotland.

If you are flying out with your bike, I'd quite like to know the procedure behind that if you have the time.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Materials (eg from Amazon about £11): One scrounged cardboard bike box (from an LBS). 5m of 28mm pipe insulation, roll of electrical (PVC) tape, 5m x 60mm roll of bubble wrap, packing tape. Big rubbish bag for disposing of packing at destination.
Tools for reassembling at destination, including pump. Helps if pedals have allen key fitting rather than needing a pedal spanner.

Method: The larger sized bike box can take the bike with the rear wheel still in place, so all that's needed is removing pedals, stem/handlebar combi (Edit: for quill stem - just handlebar otherwise), saddle (maybe, depends on frame size and size of box, could just fully depress), front wheel (and front pannier racks/mudguard if fitted). Piping insulation round all the tubes and the forks. Pad all the vulnerable bits. Let some air out of the tyres (but leave 20psi in there - protects rims in extremis). Be prepared to reassure the airline you've let (all the) air out of your tyres. Rolled cardboard brace between fork drop outs, taped in place. Front wheel goes down non-drive side. Pay attention and pad out all possible places where bike frame may rub against something else (eg handlebars or front wheel), and also the places the bike pushes against the (inside of) the box (eg front wheel hub).

Youtube videos widely available. Practice voluntary. Booking baggage with airline economically done beforehand, investigating weight limits.