Into the heart of Bavaria...

A few things worth noting...

I'm now in Munich...home to Oktoberfest, BMW, lederhosen, and most importantly....weissbier (white (wheat) beer), drink of the Gods. I could drink more weissbier than I think Bavaria has produced in all of its ancient history, before losing my taste for the stuff. I could (and still might!) start to drink it alongside every meal of the day. Not only would that be outstanding training for Green Key, but legend has it that a month on weissbier alone aka "the weissbier diet," Supersize Me" style, will have people on the sidewalk mistaking you for Hercules before long. Get some...

Along with a lot of delicious beer, I've also been enjoying a balanced protein in-take. At least 3-4 healthy, adult (they must have been) bugs found there way past my cracked visor and into my mouth today on the autobahn. The ones that didn't land in my mouth splattered against my visor in what looked like tiny paintball splatters...bright. yellow. paint. balls. Pictures of that are on tap for tomorrow....

ALSO...just passed the 2,000 km mark! For all you western folk, that puts me just shy of 1,300 miles...

Back to business... I woke up in Regensburg this morning and after a quick meal, a short stroll, and a few photos, took off for Munich by way of Walhalla. "Valhalla," in Norse mythology, was the place where soldiers who had died heroically in battle were taken after death...comparable to the "Fields of Elysium" I think in Greek/Roman mytholgy...ya know? Like in "Gladiator"...? Anywho, the Walhalla in Germany is a massive temple dedicated to the best and brightest in German history. Those who reached the pinnacle of their respective fields or who did some great deed for Germany. Notable busts include the Ludwig Kings, Beethoven, Otto von Bismarck, and Einstein...very cool, very random, enjoy the photos...

I have arrived in Munich but have yet to bust out my camera. Will leave "HER" unsaddled and sitting in the garage and take the Bavarian capital by foot. Wish me luck. I've heard that the cobblestone streets take no prisoners....

 Street in Regensburg...you can just barely see the massive 

David vs. Goliath mural on the building to the left

 Outdoor cafes starting to open on an amazing day...75 and sunny

 Walhalla...looking from rear to front, out over the Danube and distant fields

 Looking through the western colonnade

View from down below, on the banks of the Danube

Schedule:

Munich for two days before heading further south through Austria

The 4th pilgrim...

Back in January I had a weekend off and visited an old friend in London. While there, I went to the Design Museum and saw an exhibit on John Pawson, a British architect, and his fairly recent renovation/design of a monastery in Bohemia, western Czech Republic. As it worked out, after visiting Prague this past weekend and continuing on towards Regensburg, I would passing within one hour of this monastery. So, long story longer, I sent the monks an email inquiring about a visit. In return, I got an offer to spend the night in their guesthouse...sweeeet.

So after departing Prague yesterday afternoon, I set out for Novy Dvur Monastery, just south of Touzim in the farm lands of western Czech Republic. I arrived and was greeted by 3 other men who were on their own respective pilgrimages to the monastery, which has become a real star of Catholicism in the Czech Republic since it was opened in 2004. One Frenchman (the shorter twin of Ratatouille's "Anton Ego") and two Czechs...the ensuing 24 hours, which included 3 services in the church, 3 meals eaten in silence, and a feeling of general isolation from the outside world, were amazing.

Photos to help explain...

 

On my way to the Monastery...a shot of the countryside alongside the highway

 The interior of the guest house...my room was the second on the left

My digs...no internet, no cell phone service. A crucifix, a bible, and the Monastic schedule....

Exterior of the Church...

http://www.yatzer.com/John-Pawson-Plain-Space-at-the-DESIGN-MUSEUM

Interior (not my photo...I wasn't allowed to shoot inside)

Awesome though, no?

After 7 a.m. Mass...a view from the guesthouse

Back to Germany! To Bavaria! Regensberg!

Evening arrival in Regensberg...doesn't get much better

What we all should be doing on days like this...

Enjoying the weather on the riverbank with beers and friends

Schedule:
Leaving Regensberg tomorrow afternoon for 2 days in Munich...

PRAGUE...

it feels a little bit like Disney World (which, fun fact, is where my sister is right now...) for two reasons. First, because of all the castles, which I just can't believe are actually as old as they say; as far back as the 1200's for a few...unbelievable. And second, because there are so many tourists speaking English that I might as well be in the States. A possible third reason might be the addicting vendor food! In Orlando I remember always wanting the "churros" from the Mexican house in Epcot. Here they have sugar coated dough twists too, but they're not called "churros"; I won't even try to come up with the Czech spelling, and to search for it would be pointless...my google skills don't transcend language barriers. Annddd a possible 4th reason for confusing the two places is that both make you feel like you're in a completely fabricated world, where you might be able to see cracks in the plaster an wood framing behind the faux stone-siding. In Florida, that's exactly what kind of world you're in. Obviously not Prague. I guess that's why it's the one of THE most popular tourist destinations in the world though, eh?

Some photos from today's adventures...!

Palm Sunday service inside "Church of Our Lady Before Tyn"

Darth Vader made an appearance, helmetless

Easter Market in the Old Town main square

Looking up towards Prague Castle from Wellenstein Garden

Inside St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle...cavernous

 Exterior of St. Vitus...dumb Renaissance crown on an otherwise Gothic building

 St. Vitus' backside...thick

AND, a new addition to the blog...

From now on, I'll be posting photos of the best "tourist poses" encountered in each major city. As you might imagine, I've seen some real beauties so far. Every culture's got their own picture-posing-philosophy and I'm hoping to exploit as many as possible for one and only reason...your enjoyment.

Here's #1. A weak start, but I had to get the concept introduced before it was too late!

Notice hands-on-hips and toe positions...get some, Eastern Europe!

Schedule:

Leaving Prague in the morning and heading west. Next stop to be unveiled tomorrow....

Who's guilty?

...of having been to Dresden and NOT recommending it to me? Fess up.

It is currently sitting atop my rankings for "Most Underrated City", the winner of which will be announced at the end of my trip. Dresden...it's as though it wasn't bombed at all during WWII. As if all that talk of destruction was fabricated to exaggerate the Allied victories. Obviously not true. The city lay in ruins, and only after painstaking refurbishing and re-building has it been revived. Now it seems that there is MORE medieval/gothic/dark-aged architecture than there could possibly have been before the war! I've never been in a city like it before....not until I got to Prague anyway. But everyone sings Prague's praises...why not Dresden? I'm throwing it out there...go visit!
 
Pics to prove it...

 Massive porcelain mosaic, "Fürtenzug" (The Procession of the Dukes) on Augustastrasse

 Brühlsche Terrasse at the end of Augustastrasse...the river Elbe is just behind me

 

 Small café-lined alley winding up alongside the Frauen Kirche

 Couldn't resist adding this one. Wedding photo. Such a spectacle...right in front of the Frauen Kirche, Dresden's most famous historical landmark. Look at all the characters...

 

And pics from Czech and Prague, where I've just recently arrived, proving that it is truly unmatched...

 Northwestern Czech Republic countryside, in case you ever wondered...

Frank Gehry's "Dancing House" in profile

 Prague Castle. Going to see it up close tomorrow...

 "Church of Our Lady Before Tyn" in the main square of the old town

Looking back towards the square...

Schedule:

Prague until Monday, then back towards Regensburg with a "to be announced" visit along the way...

A Beer In the Basement of the Bauhaus???

Sorry to disappoint you faithful followers with my non-post last night. I'm making up for it today with a double whammy. #2 to come later...

<><><><>

Yesterday, en route to Dresden, there were two places that I wanted to stop. "Einstein's Tower" in Potsdam & and the Bauhaus in Dessau. A straight shot from Berlin to Dresden is about 2 hours. My intended route made it 4...

Sometimes, you're just not sure if the reward is worth the risk, right? Not sure if that jacket you really want is worth the extra money, or if that last drink will actually improve your night. Or, for the sake of "Guten Riding," if Potsdam & Dessau are worth the extra two hours of night-time riding...cold weather, dark and lonely (though awesome) roads.

And then, on the flipside, there's that feeling of righteousness...of relief and fleeting self-doubt. You know what I'm talking about? When you realize the reward was fully worth the risk...

That's where I was at 11 last night...that second feeling. Sitting in the basement of the Bauhaus on a Friday night in April, in Germany, riding solo. Drinking a beer in the belly of one of architecture's most admired and beloved buildings, I was feeling good...

<><><><>

Notes from the day:

I spent the first 8 hours of the day in Berlin because that city is awesome and deserves far more than just a 36 hour visit...highly recommended!

At about 10:30 last night, riding through Leipzig, I passed alongside the airport just as two massive jets were taking off. "Highway to the Danger Zone" immediately kicked in, and I threw a fist pump at the airliner....eat your heart out, Tom Cruise.

Lastly, I've got terrible allergies right now, terrible. And when you can't access your eyes/nose because you're wearing a helmet, you gotta just take the pain (of a runny nose) like a man. Or in my case, like a 2nd grader....and recycle that action from nose to mouth!

<><><><>

Pics from Berlin and Dessau...

 

Brandenburg Gate in all its deserved glory!

 

In the Neue Nationalgalerie, a combo installation by Frank Stella and Santiago Calatrava.

 

Also in the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin.

The sculpture might not do it for you, but I liked this photo...

Jewish Museum, Berlin

 Bau-hizzy...late but not too late.

A beer in the basement!

Schedule:

In Dresden, about to leave for 2 days Prague. Will post upon my arrival there!

BERLIN

Just pics tonight, I'm too tired. Good day in the capitol.

Enjoy...

 

Die Fernsehturm ("THE Tower") of Berlin, taken from the top of the Berliner Dom

 

The Berliner Dom

 

 Interior shot of the dome in the Berliner Dome

Altes Museum, muy importante y famoso in the world of architecture

 Brandenburg Gate....not a great shot, NATO summit happening next
door meant beefed security & limited access...

 A few tags from street artist/political activist "Banksy"... cool to randomly walk by them

 Interior of the Neue Wache, "memorializing those who have suffered in times of war & tyranny"

The lone sculpture sits directly under a small opening in the roof, exposing it to the weather

Schedule:

Berlin again tomorrow, followed by stops in Potsdam and Dessau en route to Dresden

En route to Berlin...

So most of the roads that I have been using in my recent travels are classified either A or B....for example, "the A2" or the "B505". "A" roads = Autobahn, and they are full of "pushers," my less-than-affectionate name for 18-wheelers whose excessive bulk is responsible for pushing tidal waves of air into neighboring lanes. At 80 mph, on two wheels and with no floor board between myself and the concrete, passing one of them can be a little scary...a tad bit terrifying. These "pushers," along with the general attitude of highway driving in Germany (speed, speed, speed) should be enough to understand why "big roads" are to be avoided on this trip...

Instead, I ride the "B's"...and they are unbelievable. Two-lane roads that meander through the German countryside, usually sporting "no speed limit" signs, amazing views of the rolling landscape, and brief tours through picturesque villages. I think these roads must have been designed by the same guys who work for the big German automakers. They just make sense...there for the sake of enjoying the ride. Dad, wipe that drool off your chin right now....

So to take full advantage of this guten ride (and for the sake of making it to Berlin before midnight!), I didn't take too many photo-breaks on today's 300 km journey. I did make a couple of exceptions, however, and hope you can enjoy them as well as if you'd been on the bike with me...

Heavenly!

I stumbled upon the tiny town of Wöbbelin, where a WWII memorial (pictured in front of the big, white building) is dedicated to the lives lost at the Wöbbelin concentration camp.

Views that demanded some extra attention...

 One side of the square in Wöbbelin. I felt like I had ridden right into 1935...

 Giant windmill farms make you feel tiny! Notice the telephone poles...

And lastly, my first food shot! Some good eatin' in Hamburg, 

before I hit the road. Potato soup with sausage and a coffee.

Schedule:
Berlin for the next two days, followed by a brief stay in Dresden!

Hamburgers, well done!

4 things...

1. I left the horse in the barn today and took the city by foot. That is, I left my motorcycle in the parking lot and grabbed a subway into downtown Hamburg.

2. Residents of Hamburg are called "Hamburgers," no joke.

3. Really good news. German women find solace at the bottom of pints of Ben & Jerry's ice cream too! I've seen three separate incidents in the last 2 days and am relieved to think that "Vermonsters" aren't too far out of the question...

4. I got off the subway today just outside Hamburg city center, and before too long an older woman approached me looking lost. For all intents and purposes, she could have been a long lost aunt or something. Nothing strange about her appearance, perfectly normal older woman. She asked me in broken English if I knew where "the dollhouses" were. "Miniatur Wunderland," the world's largest train set, runs through a miniature replication of Hamburg and had popped up in a few of the guide books I had skimmed. So, follow my logic here..."dollhouses," "Miniatur Wunderland," miniature houses, dolls are probably involved somehow, right?...I threw it out there. "Oh, you mean the miniature train set? That's down by the..." She interuppted me. "No, no, no! The sex shop!!" Of course...

That's when I realized that I had just turned onto Reeperbahn, the main street running through the second largest red light district in Europe. So I spent the next few hours searching for love, going from one fine establishment to the next, remembering only too late that true love can't be bought...

Kidddding, Ginge!

Enjoy the pics! Hamburg is beautiful, even if it is cold, wet, and windy...

Rathaus (City Hall) to the left, and cafes to the right

A lot of "new world" butting right up against "old world"

 

Buildings along one of the major canals 

 Church of St. Nikolai, or what was left of it after WWII bombing raids

Cloudy/sunny/cloudy/sunny...churches and the Elb

The warehouses of Speicherstadt, in recently gentrified Hafen (Harbor) City

Speicherstadt warehouses again, going and going and going
Also, notice the droplets of water on the lens..not that much fun

And lastly, the new Elbphilharmonie (on the Elb river) 

By architecture heavyweights Herzog & de Meuron

Slated as the next "Sydney Opera House"....still a ways to go, but even now it's impressive

Check it out