Germany
Munich, Day One
Arrived at the airport a bit bleary from travel but excited to be there. We were most relieved the ease of negotiating through the airport and to the train for the hour ride to downtown Munich. Hucking luggage was a bit challenging. At least our hostel was just a block from the train station. Carla and Cathy stayed in a nice motel while Erich, Mike, Bob, John and I shared a room with bunk beds and a tiny bathroom in the hostel. Hey the price was right, included breakfast and had a bar with an English speaking bartender. The bike store, located in the train station had good quality touring bikes and bags for those who needed them. We headed to the downtown plaza for our first taste of Germany.
Erich had remembered the famous Hoffbrau house from his trip several years ago. We ate there and were not disappointed. John discovered the large fresh pretzels. We all liked the beer.
Munich Day Two
Erich had arranged for a guided bike tour through the city. Our guide was born in South Africa, moved to London but had lived in Munich for years. The bike paths and bike lanes in Munich are quite impressive. One can go almost anywhere by bike. German laws are quite favorable to bikes, and, we observed, the Germans are quite rigorous about obeying the laws. Our tour took us by magnificent old cathedrals,
WWI monuments and several WW2 buildings and monuments. The German version of the rise of Hitler sound a little different than what I was taught in school. Their take was that the German population really didn’t know what Hitler was trying to accomplish until it was too late to resist. Today, several of the German government buildings have large glass facades as a way to demonstrate that now the government’s actions are transparent; nothing is done in secret.
By far the most delightful part of the ride was the English gardens. It’s right in the city and is approximately 10 miles long by 3 miles wide. It was actually designed by an architect from the American colonies who supported the British during our Revolution. He made a hasty exit from America when the war was over and landed the job.
We'll bet you didn't know that Munich is famous in Europe for surfing. Yep, there is one spillway in downtown where there is actually one wave big enough for one surfer at a time to ride.
The path led us past the 1972 summer Olympic stadium and away from most traffic.
Of course, no tourist trip to Munich would be complete without watching the glockenspiel work. It’s quite of feat of mechanics with 2 full floors of rotating and spinning figures moving in time with the chimed music.
Munich to Murnau Day Three
We had arranged for our biking guide to get us out of the city and towards the next city. What a beautiful ride with small towns between stretches of countryside. We stopped in one small town for a coffee and pastry break and discovered that bakeries are as competitive as soccer. Each wants to be the best and every small town has several. In this one town of fewer than 2000 people there were 4 competing bakeries.
Our original plan was to take the bike paths along the side of the long Steinberger Lake. Our guide suggested that we take the ferry. It proved to be a fun break in the day and quite scenic.
It’s a good thing we took this short cut as we arrived in Murnau near dusk and quite tired. We were quickly able to find a hotel with private rooms.
Murnau to Mittenwald
The countryside just kept getting better as we biked along perfectly maintained paths farther south into the heart of Bavaria. In September several of us biked in N.E. Colorado and toured a dairy cow production facility. Thousands of dairy cows were confined to feed lots and let into barns twice a day for milking. Each animal carried and RFID chip that identified it when it was attached to the milking machine. In Bavaria there were small herds munching in fields of rich green grass. Each cow was identified with a bell that jingled when she ate or moved. Each bell was different. See video.
The towns were all small, immaculate and many buildings were painted with scenes and Catholic saints.
Oh, and did I mention the bakeries loaded with fresh pretzels? We also biked to the stadium used for the 1936 Winter Olympics.
We chanced on quite luxurious accommodations, an advantage of going during the off season. Erich remembered a special inn where he’d dined and stayed. We ate dinner there in the courtyard.
Mittenwald to Innsbruck Austria
On the map Mittenwald is only separated by one mountain pass, Brenner Pass, from Innsbruck.
How difficult could that be for 7 Colorado riders? It took a bit to find the right path and climbing with fully loaded touring bikes was a bit more challenge than any of us had expected. The group remained cheerful, the weather held and we slogged slowly uphill first on paths and then on the road to the large Olympic monument above the ski town of Seefield.
We had not been to Europe before so we were pleasantly surprised by the ease of border crossings. No check points, no monetary exchange, just a small sign indicating the cross into Austria. It’s quite different from crossing from the US to Mexico. From Seefield we could see down to the valley were Innsbruck is located. Ahh, downhill. There was a fair amount of traffic but drivers always gave us plenty of room. Handling a fully loaded touring bike on a descent was more challenging than I expected. None of us expected the warning sign “16% grade 4.6KM”, vertigo with momentum increased by mass. It was steep enough that there were 5, yes 5, runaway truck ramps. There was a second section of 16% of less than 2KM. Near the bottom of the descent we could see a parking lot. It seemed like it might be possible to pull into it and stop. Just before the parking lot we saw the sign that warned that bicycles were forbidden on that road. Oops, fortunately we weren’t stopped.
Traffic was bad as we entered Innsbruck. A bus driver spotted us and directed us to the bike path away from traffic. In the heart of downtown we found the “Information Center” where the agent booked rooms for us. These agents must be able to speak at least 3 -5 languages, and now with the greater influx of Asian tourists add Chinese, Japanese and Korean to the mix. The hotel was right in the old town about a block from the town square. The building was built in the mid 1400’s. It’s a marvel that these old buildings were updated for plumbing, electric and Wi-Fi. Erich claims he didn’t plan it but we arrived just in time for the wine festival. There were wine and beer booths set up on the cobblestones and a stage for the band. They don’t use disposables in Germany so all wine was served in crystal stemware. I didn’t see a single shard of broken glass all night. We could hear the band playing traditional OmmPaPa German music from our hotel. As we approached the stage we could see the lederhosen on the lead singer. He was accompanied by a harp, accordion a player of multiple instruments and a percussionist on a wooden box.
They switched to European pop music then did a rousing version of the Rolling Stones “Honkey Tonk Woman” in English. I’m sure I’ll never hear that song again played on the accordion and harp. The locals and other tourists partied almost ‘til dawn. After a nice dinner we headed back to the hotel.
Innsbruck to Mittenwald to Wallgau
We took the train back to Mittenwald. There is an impressive tram that goes directly up the side of the Alps there. Look closely and you’ll see the hiking path through the rocks.
I’m told they actually ski down this. Quite the view from to top.
Once back down we followed yet another beautiful bike path along the river between the many ski resorts to the town of Wallgau. It was off season there our dinner options were somewhat limited. We found a good pizza place with outdoor seating a short distance from the exceptionally nice hotel.
Wallgau to Bad Tolz
This was the only day it really threatened rain. We followed the Esar River north as the Alps gradually disappeared to the south. The route took us through a national forest on a toll road for cars but free for bikes.
It was so lush and green it reminded me of the Pacific Northwest. If you like solitude and fishing, take a look at the reservoir we viewed from the road on the dam.
The route flattened considerably by Bad Tolz. It had started to rain lightly and we ducked into a bakery/grocery for coffee and a treat. It had a self-serve espresso/latte machine. It seemed fairly obvious to me how it worked even though the instructions were in German. Apparently I was about to make a terrible mess because the cashier flew out from behind the counter to the far end of the store, grabbed the cup from me and proceeded to give me a thorough Teutonic tongue lashing. At least the rain had stopped by the time I escaped. Bad Tolz was yet another amazing, picturesque town with modern amenities.
There was a bike path that kept us out of traffic. It passed a campground and street sign pointing to a toilette [whew, needed that]. The weekly market was taking place with all manner of things for sale.
I love the way they incorporated such deeply traditional Bavarian architecture with solar panels. We had great accommodations again, with a swimming pool complete with water jets so strong they could push us half way across the pool.
Bad Tolz to Munich
The Alps were behind us but the scenery certainly was not. We went through dairy country, up gravel bike paths past flowers and farms with solar paneled barns with houses attached. The apples were still on the trees.
As we continued the path ran on a canal bank that led to this spillway structure.
Coming into Munich I was so impressed at what a scenic entrance we had to the city. We entered through a park and begin to see the cityscapes then rode back into a dense urban forest before emerging near downtown.
We made our way back to the hostel but this time had private rooms.
Salzburg
After a leisurely breakfast we took the train to Salzburg, Austria for the day.
The old city is full of history, cathedrals and tourists. We took the tram up the side of the mountain to the castle.
It followed the same route the original builders did. It’s nearly vertical. The builders devised a track and carts and pulled it up by means of horses walking around a turnstile. I’m sure it was considerably slower that our electrified ascent. From the top one can see the old city bumping into the modern.
The main cathedral is the epitome of ornate with every stone, plaster or wood surface either carved or painted.
There are 4 full organs including the one played by Mozart. We passed several building intriguingly built into the cliff wall.
By far our favorite street scene was this “silent busker”. I hope he made good money for all the trouble to do the makeup, costume, set up.
Munich to Colorado via Iceland
It’s a long trip with an 8 hour time change. It was intriguing flying the massive ice fields of Greenland and the northernmost areas of Canada. It was good to get home.