Day 1: Strasbourg to Kappel
Day 2: Kappel to Weil am Rhein
Day 3: Weil am Rhein to Gugenmuhle
Day 4: Gugenmuhle to Meersburg
Day 5: Meersburg to Kempten
Day 6: Kempten to Kaufbeuren
Day 7: Kaufbeuren to Stockdorf (this one doesn't show the entire path to Stockdorf, a town near Gauting on the SW side of Munich - for some reason at lunch the GPS stopped recording data)
Day 8: Stockdorf to Munich (I realized a couple of miles into this one that the tracking had been off - still a short ride to the train station in Munich)
All of the links should be good now - remember to click on "Dashboard" to see the Gogle Maps interface and all of the stats.
Tschuss!
-Gerty
04 October 2007
Location is Everything
Wow. I can't believe it's been a week of this. I also can't wait to tally up some of the stats of the milage and hills. I think I'm hooked on this type of vacation. I'll admit, this was probably the mother of all of them in terms of distance and sights, but a smaller version between a few key cities would be pretty cool to do - plus I think I'd enjoy being part of a small group. Would make for some more reliable stories at least, but for sure it would be great to share these experiences with some friends.
I'm on the commuter train now to Munich to buy a train ticket to Italy and maybe stop by the Oktoberfest for a beer and some souvenirs. I might not be able to meet up with Phil tonight. We'll see if I can find him in the crowd of thousands.
The riding today was beautiful. Weather was perfect and I had a really good map. Tried to find a hotel in gauting but the only one was almost 100 Euros. The hotel was literally across the street from the train station. Then, riding around randomly in the entire town, I couldn't find another hotel or a single gasthaus. I wonder if this one place has a monoply in Gauting. I'll have to ask my officemate Steve, since I think his girlfriend lives there. Seems like a great little town. Lots of shopping and I really need to get one of those ice creams I keep drooling over.
So anyway, I rode in the direction of the train tracks and settled in Stockforf for less than half the price of the Gauting hotel. The room is fine if a little older and I have to use a common bathroom and shower.
l'm writing this part later, after I did get to meet up with Phil last night, and we did some exploring of the different tents at Oktoberfest, took lots of pictures, and struck up some pretty cool conversations with folks from Munich and around the world. We're going to meet at his hostel today in time to do some daytime sightseeing and then I get my bike on a train to Bologna. Yes, I didn't get a train ticket all the way to Rome since they couldn't take my bike the whole way. So, I'll either get another ticket to Rome once I get to Bologna, or I'll ride my bike from there. Just kidding - I'll rent a car and throw my bike in the back seat actually.
I'm going to enter this post, and then the next stop is Italy for the normal vacation to begin!
I'm on the commuter train now to Munich to buy a train ticket to Italy and maybe stop by the Oktoberfest for a beer and some souvenirs. I might not be able to meet up with Phil tonight. We'll see if I can find him in the crowd of thousands.
The riding today was beautiful. Weather was perfect and I had a really good map. Tried to find a hotel in gauting but the only one was almost 100 Euros. The hotel was literally across the street from the train station. Then, riding around randomly in the entire town, I couldn't find another hotel or a single gasthaus. I wonder if this one place has a monoply in Gauting. I'll have to ask my officemate Steve, since I think his girlfriend lives there. Seems like a great little town. Lots of shopping and I really need to get one of those ice creams I keep drooling over.
So anyway, I rode in the direction of the train tracks and settled in Stockforf for less than half the price of the Gauting hotel. The room is fine if a little older and I have to use a common bathroom and shower.
l'm writing this part later, after I did get to meet up with Phil last night, and we did some exploring of the different tents at Oktoberfest, took lots of pictures, and struck up some pretty cool conversations with folks from Munich and around the world. We're going to meet at his hostel today in time to do some daytime sightseeing and then I get my bike on a train to Bologna. Yes, I didn't get a train ticket all the way to Rome since they couldn't take my bike the whole way. So, I'll either get another ticket to Rome once I get to Bologna, or I'll ride my bike from there. Just kidding - I'll rent a car and throw my bike in the back seat actually.
I'm going to enter this post, and then the next stop is Italy for the normal vacation to begin!
02 October 2007
Short Day, Long Night?
Well, this one I'm writing from the train on my way to Munich. No, I didn't give up cycling, but I got 28 miles in, and since I was close enough to Munich to take a 1 hour trip there, I figured I would take advantage of the chance to meet up with Phil So, a friend of mine from Wednesday night hockey. He got into Studtgart today and is taking a train that gets in to Munich 10 minutes after mine.
I should go into details about how this is totally the way to do Oktoberfest. At the hotel it was no problem to get a room, it's a 10 minute walk to the train station, and it takes an hour to get to Munich. Now without any discounts, the ticket cost as much as the hotel room almost, but I suppose as I get closer to Munich, the hotel prices wll go up, and availability will go down, but the train fare will go down too. I'll find out tomorrow how it works to get a place closer to Munich. Last train to kaufburen will be at almost midnight, so to be sure I'd better get on that one. There's an earlier one too that may be a better idea.
It was neat riding over some of the same countryside I had seen two years ago. Still some construction in Marktoberdorf that screwed me up, but it was cool to see the same landmarks and remember how clueless I was about Germany as a whole. I mean I still am clueless, but it's a lot more comfortable getting around since I figured out how to follow the signage a little better. I'm also getting a little better at understanding the language. At least the written word if not what people are saying. Speaking is another issue. I can't put together sentences yet to save my life. At least I don't have to ask people if they speak English. I have enough of an accent to make them start on their own right away.
Oh, and I had a self- taught lesson in laundry terms when I tried out the self-service waschesalon this morning. Didn't get started until around 1300 because of that adventure.
Who knows, I might have an oktoberfest update on the way back from Munich on the train. I've already been splashed with lagerbier suds by some German kids on the train, so it's bound to be quite an evening.
I should go into details about how this is totally the way to do Oktoberfest. At the hotel it was no problem to get a room, it's a 10 minute walk to the train station, and it takes an hour to get to Munich. Now without any discounts, the ticket cost as much as the hotel room almost, but I suppose as I get closer to Munich, the hotel prices wll go up, and availability will go down, but the train fare will go down too. I'll find out tomorrow how it works to get a place closer to Munich. Last train to kaufburen will be at almost midnight, so to be sure I'd better get on that one. There's an earlier one too that may be a better idea.
It was neat riding over some of the same countryside I had seen two years ago. Still some construction in Marktoberdorf that screwed me up, but it was cool to see the same landmarks and remember how clueless I was about Germany as a whole. I mean I still am clueless, but it's a lot more comfortable getting around since I figured out how to follow the signage a little better. I'm also getting a little better at understanding the language. At least the written word if not what people are saying. Speaking is another issue. I can't put together sentences yet to save my life. At least I don't have to ask people if they speak English. I have enough of an accent to make them start on their own right away.
Oh, and I had a self- taught lesson in laundry terms when I tried out the self-service waschesalon this morning. Didn't get started until around 1300 because of that adventure.
Who knows, I might have an oktoberfest update on the way back from Munich on the train. I've already been splashed with lagerbier suds by some German kids on the train, so it's bound to be quite an evening.
Toll Roads
Everything seemed to come together today. Every bit of good fortune served to reward all of that vertical lift that I didn't expect. I broke the 2000 ft and 3000 ft barriers for the first time today. The rewards were key directions at perfect times, and a last 10 km or so of pure downhill, most of which came after sunset. And the hotel more than makes up for last night. The amenities? How about a flat screen TV, hefeweizen vending machines, and my own toilet!
Things kept happening today like the vending machine giving me free beer, the hotel was at the very end of the 10K downhill beckoning me with the Bayern flag, two people gave me critical directions totally randomly, and one guy even told me where to turn left and then drove ahead and waited for me to get there and find it!
I made a conscious decision to go north first and not take the Fussen track. In Germany no one I ask seems to know how to ride long distances too far away from where they are. I'm guessing the bicycle routes evolved from people wanting to get to the next town and then the government organized them by region, making the network.
I would ask everyone how they would go to Munich. A common answer to that was, "why would I want to ride my bike to Munich?" The one vote for Fussen I had was from a cycling shop clerk who thought it would be cool to take the chairlift up and cycle town the other side of the mountain (there's one of these setups right on the eastern edge of the Bodensee). I thought to myself as I left, what happens at the next mountain?
So I've been thinking. But, since this post is getting long already you'll have to see me personally for my philosphical ramblings.
But I will mention that so far on my bike I have passed: Barbara Morgan's doppelganger, 40+ German Shepherds, a herd of miniature elks, a biergarten or two, about a million reflective plastic posts every 20 meters or so which are the future of automated driving, too many baby bike trailers to count, something named after everyone in DX with German heritage, a petting zoo, a pretzel stand in Switzerland, and a really friendly dog who wants the pizza I have wrapped in foil right now. And that's without looking at my camera for ideas.
Yes, the road is taking a toll on my brain, so to speak. I may stick around this place in the morning and do a half day or something.... make sure I have correct change for the next toll road. Ja.
Things kept happening today like the vending machine giving me free beer, the hotel was at the very end of the 10K downhill beckoning me with the Bayern flag, two people gave me critical directions totally randomly, and one guy even told me where to turn left and then drove ahead and waited for me to get there and find it!
I made a conscious decision to go north first and not take the Fussen track. In Germany no one I ask seems to know how to ride long distances too far away from where they are. I'm guessing the bicycle routes evolved from people wanting to get to the next town and then the government organized them by region, making the network.
I would ask everyone how they would go to Munich. A common answer to that was, "why would I want to ride my bike to Munich?" The one vote for Fussen I had was from a cycling shop clerk who thought it would be cool to take the chairlift up and cycle town the other side of the mountain (there's one of these setups right on the eastern edge of the Bodensee). I thought to myself as I left, what happens at the next mountain?
So I've been thinking. But, since this post is getting long already you'll have to see me personally for my philosphical ramblings.
But I will mention that so far on my bike I have passed: Barbara Morgan's doppelganger, 40+ German Shepherds, a herd of miniature elks, a biergarten or two, about a million reflective plastic posts every 20 meters or so which are the future of automated driving, too many baby bike trailers to count, something named after everyone in DX with German heritage, a petting zoo, a pretzel stand in Switzerland, and a really friendly dog who wants the pizza I have wrapped in foil right now. And that's without looking at my camera for ideas.
Yes, the road is taking a toll on my brain, so to speak. I may stick around this place in the morning and do a half day or something.... make sure I have correct change for the next toll road. Ja.
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