September 2013
Day 1 – Travel
Day 2 – Site Seeing
Day 3 – The delivery
Today was definitely a full day. I had planned on walking the two blocks to the train station and taking the subway up to BMW Welt. Tammy vetoed the idea and insisted on a cab. At the end of the day, she decided the extra two blocks of walking would have been terminal.
We got to the BMW Welt at 8:00 am and got signed in. Then we had almost an hour to tour BMW Welt before our delivery. BMW Welt is this beautiful building with all the cars and bikes available for inspection. They have displays to stress everything including their technology, the kinkiness of the MINI line, and the elegance of the Rolls Royce. The highlight for me was the guy on the GS-R 1200 that did a demo through the building. Just to make sure everyone got to see him close up he rode up the two flights of stairs, across several walk ways and back down a different set of stairs. I might be able to ride up and down stairs. However, there is no way I could do a stoppie half way down the stairs and live to tell about it.
Then it was up to the private lounge for something to eat before meeting our delivery guy. We spent almost an hour with him getting to know the car. You get to walk down a private staircase to the floor where the delivery cars are waiting. We had the first delivery of the day, and he said it would be a light day with only about 60 cars going out. Our luggage magically shows up next to the car, and I get to drive it out of the building. Then the Valet takes it so we can do the factory tour.
Of course, first we have to go back to the lounge for another snack. Then it’s off for the factory tour. They warned us it would be 2 hours and almost 3 kilometers of walking with no chance to leave the group, but Tammy hung in there. The factory was very interesting with three versions of the 3-series being built (Sedan, Coupe, and Touring). They have metal stamping, engine assembly, body shop, painting, and final assembly all at this location.
You guessed it, back to the lounge for more snacks and a chance for Tammy to raise her feet. Then it was off to the BMW Museum. Of course this means more walking since it is across the street. In addition to the permanent displays there was a temporary display on the history of Rolls Royce. Some of those older Rolls sure were amazing vehicles to see. You can see why royalty would pick a Rolls as a way to make a statement. You take an escalator to the top and follow the ramp down many floors to the basement. There a nice gentleman took pity on Tammy and showed her the secret elevator back up in lieu of the ramp up the three floors to the exit.
Yep, back to the BMW Welt and up to the lounge for a last snack. After maybe 15 minutes Tammy announced that if she sat any longer I’d have to come back in the morning to get her. Then I got my first chance to drive the new car in Munich traffic. It was now almost 5pm, so our first trip on the Autobahn maxed out at 15 mph. Fortunately, I had picked a hotel on the edge of town and about 12 miles from our starting point, so it didn’t take too long to get here.
I’ve attached one of the pictures they took of Tammy and I with our new car.
Day 4 – Dachau
We wanted to see one of the concentration camps, but the names I was most familiar with are all east of Germany. Dachau is about 10 miles from Munich and was the first one built. It then served as the model for the others. It turns out we couldn’t have made a better choice. After all these years of watching the History channel, I now feel I have a much more complete understanding of how the Holocaust happened.
Even when the camp was built in 1933, it was right on the edge of town. I’d always wondered how the German people could tolerate such a thing. Now I think I understand. You probably remember that the Nazi party won about 37% of the vote in the 1932 election. As a result, they were invited to help form the government in early 1933. Since the Nazi party had the largest vote percentage, and the powers thought they could control Hitler, he was named Chancellor. A month later, Hitler declared a state of emergency and suspended all civil rights. With 30% to 40% unemployment, the German people were desperate and willing to accept harsh measures if they might help.
The initial purpose of the concentration camps was to house the large number of people that were being arrested due to the state of emergency. In truth, Hitler was purging all opposition. Anyone that spoke out against the Nazi party was arrested and sent to the camp. If you were a typical German, you could either accept that dangerous people that needed to be removed from society were being put in the camps, or you could join them.
Next came the criminals, Homosexuals, and Asocials (Beggars and drunks). Again, the average German did not see any cause for alarm. The Jews did not come into play in a big way until about the time the war started. By then the camps had been running for 5 years. They may not have been as bad as later, but they were still bad. The initial purpose was to rid Germany of undesirable people and provide slave labor. After the war started, they added people from all the countries they conquered. Again, they were ridding the land of anyone other than desirable Germans.
Once things went bad in Russia, the sole purpose of the camps was to eliminate all Jews from Europe. The top guys knew there was a likelihood of their losing the war. Therefore, there was no longer a need to clear the general population to be replaced by Germans. Instead, they felt they could still accomplish something by focusing solely on Jews.
Our guide ended up talking about the famous behavioral studies that were done at Yale in 1960. The subjects were told to administer electric shocks to a person in the next room in increasing voltages. The assumption at the beginning of the study was that maybe 1% of the population would administer the maximum voltage. The study showed that over half of the people would do what a supposed respected authority told them was OK to do. Now think back to the German officers claiming they were only following orders. As we walked away Tammy commented that what she had learned put a whole new light on today’s Syria situation.
We spent the night in Colmberg. Tammy wanted to stay in a castle, and I picked a good one. While I was lying in a bed writing this and looking at some really big beams above my head, Tammy was enjoying the jetted bathtub. Later we ate a really good German meal, and had a god breakfast overlooking the town below.
I also had to do some rerouting for Day 5. We spent several hours more than planned at Dachau, and didn’t get to the castle until 6:30pm. There were a couple of places that we wanted to see that are being moved to tomorrow’s route.
You will actually get this note a day late. I wasn’t going to pay 5 Euro to connect to the Internet.
My car now has 151 miles on it.
Day 5 – Get to the Rhine
Day 5 started with a detour into Rothenburg to see a couple of sites we missed on Day 4. My first indication of a potential issue was when the GPS said the road went straight ahead, but we were looking at the old wall around the city. Now this wall has been here for hundreds of years, so why would Garmin think there was a road there? About that time a car came out of the gate in the wall. OK, in we go. Now we’re in the old walled city with roads that could get a GPS lost. We found the Handiworks shop, but no hope of finding a parking spot. Next we found the Torture Museum, but again, no parking. One of the guide books noted that Rothenburg is exactly how you would picture a medieval town built by Disney. With people everywhere we decided to push on.
Our next stop was at the Residence in Wurzburg. This is a palace built in the mid 1700’s. It was 80% destroyed in WW II, but has been faithfully rebuilt. The only slight problem was that the only two English tours started at 11am and 2pm. Since it was 11:30, we missed that opportunity. Since you have to be on a tour to visit the rooms inside, we decided German would be fine. The ceiling frescos were amazing. The artist was good at making his drawings appear in 3D, but he also went the extra mile. He would add objects that came out of the wall. For example, there was a cherub blowing a trumpet with a real trumpet coming out. The most amazing room was the mirrored room. All walls and the ceiling were covered in mirrors. Then they added ornate carvings dividing the mirrors into multiple shapes. The carvings are then covered in gold foil, and paintings are done on about half the mirrors. The end effect was stunning.
Next Tammy wanted to go to a small museum near the river that had a display showing how much of the town was destroyed in WW II. I found it on the GPS and head off. As we got close it told me to turn right, and I did. However, I had to swing a little wide to get around the saw horse. At the next turn things went to pot in a big way. We were now on a road that had trolley tack covering both sides with no extra space. We saw a trolley going the other way, and could see a trolley ahead going our way. By now it was also painfully clear that we were in a pedestrian only zone. There were thousands of people and street vendor stalls everywhere. All potential exits were blocked, and I gave up on the GPS. We spent about 20 minutes before I got back on a street with cars. I’m not letting Tammy pick again.
Then it was back on the Autobahn to Bingen. (I’m still in the break-in period and won’t go over 80mph, so I’m stuck in the right lane.) Our hotel is on the Rhine river and totally fine.
Day 6 – Rhine River
We took a cruise on the Rhine River today. If you want to see castles, this is the way to do it. In less than 4 hours we passed at least 10 castles. It seems most of these castles were built as toll booths. They would stretch a chain across the river, and you had to pay a toll to pass. There were places where you would pay a toll and be able to see the next toll booth maybe a half mile up the river.
The other fun thing to watch was the barge traffic. These are all motorized barges, and the crew lives on board. The fuel barges were full going up river and empty coming back down. The other barges seem to be hauling loads in either direction.
I’ve attached a picture of one of the castles.
We’re back on the road in the morning. I’ve got a route planned up the Mosel Valley. It is supposed to be the prettiest river valley with lots of wineries. The route is over 5 hours, so I hope I haven’t over stepped.
Lee
Notes from Tammy:
What Lee didn’t mention was along with all the barge traffic, we also shared the river with the river cruise ships, you know the ones you pay $4000 for a week cruise along a famous river. Well we went by the same scenery and castles while eating and drinking and our ticket only cost $13 each. However, we did have to pay extra for our food and drink. We feel like we got a bargain.
The Rhine was occupied in 400AD by some Roman troops (some of their original walls are still standing) Most of the castles were built over the next several hundred years. We need to look up our German history to see who invaded in the late 1600’s since most of the castles were destroyed then. Then in 1800’s several were rebuilt. Some are still open as youth hostels and a couple are hotels. They are all built up high on the very steep sides of the valley. You couldn’t see any roads going up to them from the bottom, but maybe you can drive to them from the road along to top of the cliffs.
Let us hear from you all.
Tammy
Day 7 – Mosel Valley
The Mosel Valley was a little out of the way, but I’m glad we made time for it. This is a major wine region with vineyards everywhere. Every town had their winery, and each turn in the river was prettier than the last one. The Mosel River is navigable with the aid of some locks. We saw a couple of barges making their way along the river.
This is also a major tourist destination for the Germans. We are well after the tourist season, and it really isn’t that crowded. However, you still won’t find a place to park. There are also little RV parks scattered all along the river. They are all full, and some of the campers look like they’ve moved in for a long stay.
We started getting hungry, but weren’t having any luck. Most of the places are closed (after season), or we couldn’t find a place to park. We saw the famous knife and fork symbol on the HWY and took an exit. The sign had said it was in a town 2km to the right, so I ignored the “No Vehicle” sign and headed into the woods. Sure enough, we found a rather large eating establishment with a big parking lot and plenty of tables. I went for the Jagersnitzel and Tammy stayed with the spaghetti and meat sauce.
I haven’t mentioned the weather. Let’s just say we’re glad we brought our rain gear. I think some amount of rain has fallen on us every day. It’s been mostly lite drizzle and an occasional shower. Today we had a little bit of sun, lots of drizzle, and some periods of heavy rain. Unfortunately, the heavy rain always seemed to come on the Autobahn at about 80 to 90 mph.
Another side note is that our GPS may have suffered a stroke. Every so often she will start to give an instruction and just stop in mid word for 5 to 10 seconds then complete the instruction. I’m hoping she’s just having trouble with the translation. Without the GPS, we’ll be lost for good.
Tammy has already hit the bed. She thinks she was tired from today’s drive. I’ll let her drive tomorrow if she wants to know how much energy tension can wring out of you.
I’m not paying for internet tonight, so you’ll be getting this one later.
Day 8 – Into the Black Forest
We left the Mosel River valley and headed into the Black Forest. I can vouch for the fact that it is black. These are the darkest woods I’ve ever seen. Of course, it was another rainy day, but the sun did pop out a few times.
I’d set our route to stay off the Autobahn, since we didn’t have all that far to go. We were rewarded with a whole host of small towns. The major industries in this reason appear to be lumber and tourism. The towns are what you think of as Bavarian picture cards. The architecture is also starting to shift more to the Swiss style as the hills are turning into mountains. We’re not in any real mountains yet, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t had some serious hills. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an 18% grade hill before.
We found our hotel and settled in early. We were a little concerned when we pulled up and found 4 busses parked out front. Fortunately they were just here for lunch. As the lady said, they would leave at 2pm and things would get back to peaceful. We’re taking it easy this afternoon, since Tammy has lost her perky.
We’ve got a loop tour scheduled for tomorrow. The weather is calling for an 80% chance of rain, so the scenic lookouts may not be that scenic.
Lee
Notes from Tammy:
The Rhine and Mosel valleys were into grape growing in a big way. They had vineyards growing on hillsides that are so steep the only way I can imagine they can harvest would be to rappel down from the top. As we moved into the Black Forest, the hills got steeper and the valleys are so green we were almost glad it wasn’t sunny. There still seems to be a little town or settlement every 5 miles or so. Most of what we drove thru this morning was set up for tourists. Every little town had several hotels and at least one bakery. There were lots of hiking trail heads leading into the woods. We had our first Black Forest cake today, not the same as we get from the shop on Vickery in Ft. worth.
This afternoon the area changed to light industrial (lots of lumber mills) and then back to agricultural with farms growing crops (mostly corn) and having a few cows. I get the feeling from the cords and cords of firewood stacked at each house that it gets pretty cold here in the winter.
The scenery has been spectacular and I expect it to get even better as we head into the Alps in a couple of days. It’s a shame Lee isn’t getting to see anything except what is 100 feet in front of the car or what is in his rear view mirrors!!
We turned in our dirty clothes to the hotel today and they promised clean ones back tomorrow. We’ll see how it works out.
Tammy
Day 9 – Black Forest Loop Tour
Today’s route was picked to focus on the best scenery of the Black Forest. There was just one small problem. Today was the heaviest rain we’ve had so far. All of the mountain tops were covered in cloud with light to heavy rain and wind. We still got to see some beautiful sites, we just missed the big vistas.
We stopped to check out the St Blasie Abbey and found one of the more unique structures I’ve seen. The main structure is a round dome over 50m high with the inside made out of white marble. It was very different from the Gothic churches we are more used to seeing, but the effect was equally stunning. Tammy found the following link to show you what the inside was like.
The town around the Abbey was an obvious tourist destination, and we took advantage in the break in the rain to do some walking. It was time for lunch, so Tammy searched out an Italian food restaurant.
Back on the road we passed a couple of lakes and more small villages. In one of the villages there was a place that is supposed to have the best Black Forest Cake in the Black Forest. Tammy passed up the chance, so she is obviously getting very sick.
The way back to our hotel went through the “Hell’s Valley”. This was one of the last valleys in the region to get a road. The valley gets so narrow and steep that every time they tried to build a road over the past hundreds of years the rock slides would block it. At one famous point the valley is about 100m deep but only 25m across at the top. This leaves some awfully steep sides. The other fun part to this route is that it is part of a major European North South truck route to avoid tolls.
We made it back to the hotel and Tammy decided she needed another nap while I went for a walk around the neighborhood. I got Tammy out later for a walk with a possibility of dinner. There aren’t a lot of choices in our small town, and none of them sounded good enough to stop. When we got back to our hotel it was locked. Fortunately, we had a second key on our key ring that opened the front door.
The weather forecasts show a chance for us to see some sun shine in the next few days. From what I see, you’ll be getting some rain out of the Mexico storms. We both should enjoy the upcoming weather.
Lee
Day 10 – Lake Constance
Day 11 – Ludwig’s Castles
We decided to skip the island back on Lake Constance. Tammy figured she had a limited number of steps and wanted to save them for the castles. That turned out to be a wise decision.
We started off with a detour to find the Zepplin Museum. All we had was a tourist flyer in German, but it had the address. The address was the Neu Zepplin company at an airport. When we got there I decided the flyer was for rides in the Blimp. There was a blimp tethered and a place to check in. There was no museum.
Then we were off to the castles. There are two castles within about a mile of each other. The older one was built by King Ludwig II’s father as their summer retreat. Little Ludwig liked it so much, that he had his own built across the valley. Now bear in mind these are from the 1800’s, so they are really houses built on the foundations of old castles.
Ludwig went a little nuts during the 17 years it took to build his castle, and never got it finished. He had become a recluse and was blurring the lines between fantasy and reality. He finally moved in, but was arrested as being insane 6 months later. One day later Ludwig and the Psychiatrist that had pronounced him insane died on a lake. No one knows the true story.
Anyway, you started in town and bought your tickets. We were betting that the season was over and it wouldn’t be crowded. Boy, I’d hate to see it in high season. We had a little over an hour wait to see the old castle and a little over 3 hours before we could see the new castle. Then the issue became getting to the castles. The old castle is closer, and the walk would only be 30 minutes. Tammy chose the horse drawn carriage. The walk down wasn’t too bad.
Between castles I got Tammy to eat her first Bratwurst, and she liked it. There were three ways to get to the new castle: 40 minute walk up the hill; bus ride that dropped you 10 minutes above the castle; or horse drawn carriage that dropped you 10 minutes below the castle. We caught the last bus. After the castle we hiked downhill and took the carriage home.
We’d spent more time than I had planned, so I was in a rush to make Innsbruck before dark. I got my first taste of Austrian drivers, and I was surprised. I had expected them to be the same as the Germans, but they are not. First, we are getting into the Alps proper, so the mountains are steeper and the roads even more twisty (if that is possible). We had a string of 20 or more cars behind a truck. I couldn’t believe how fast the truck was going, so I thought everything would be OK. Oh foolish me. Every time we had any kind of straight, cars would start passing cars. Then a truck would appear around the corner, and everyone had to find a new order. The bikes were even crazier. They didn’t wait for the straights.
We finally made it to our hotel. The Garmin took us up a rather odd route through the little village. I couldn’t tell the difference between the streets and drive ways. I had to do 3 point turns to get around a couple of the switchbacks. It was worth it. We’ve got a corner room with mountain views out both side and a balcony for sitting on. We ate down stairs last night and it was pretty good. I’m hoping to eat breakfast, but they only serve until 10am. It is now 8:15, and I can’t get Tammy out from under the covers. I doubt we’ll get much done today. That’s OK. This view is going to take several hours to absorb.
Right now I’m having trouble getting the mail server to come up, so the report may be delayed.
Day 12 – Resting
Day 13 – Eagle Nest
We left our last hotel early by our standards (9:30). It was only an hour and a half to our next hotel, so we got here plenty of day left, so we headed off to see the Eagles Nest. My car hit 2000 km shortly after leaving the hotel, so it is officially broken in now. Oh boy, let’s hit the Autobahn! The route to the Eagles Nest had about 50 km of Autobahn, but with construction and a short section through Austria, there were very few miles with the unlimited speed. Then the traffic conspired to hold the speed down.
They guy at the hotel had checked to make sure I had the Austria toll sticker. Then I saw multiple signs reminding you on the way. This was confusing me, since I thought I was staying in Germany. Well, there was a truck stop at what must have been the border with signs all over advertising the stickers. We took the second exit after the truck stop, and there were the police. They already had one guy pulled over on the side. He saw my temporary license plate and the stop flag came out. As I slowed down he took a god look at the dates on my sticker and waved me on. That was the best €10 I spent on the trip.
The road up to Obersalzburg set another new standard. I couldn’t get a picture, but we have now seen a sign with a 24% grade warning. Hitler spent more time in Obersalzburg than anywhere else. You’ve all seen the pictures of him relaxing outside overlooking the valley. Well, all the original buildings were destroyed long ago. We bombed them in the war. Then after the war we knocked down anything that was left. Then later they dug up the foundations and planted trees where the buildings had been. They didn’t want any sign of Hitler’s resort. There is one exception. They had a tea house built at the top of the peak. The Mayor of Obersalzburg talked them into leaving it intact, and it still serves as a restaurant with the proceeds going to charity. You have to take special buses on the 6.5 km road up to the parking lot. Then there is a 124m elevator ride up to the top. The view is unbelievable.
Then there was a documentation center with the History of the Nazi party and WWII. It was built above a bunker complex, and you got to tour part of the bunkers.
When we got back to the hotel we put the car in the underground parking garage. Your key opens the door and you drive down a curving ramp that I swear a bigger car couldn’t fit around. I found my parking space and spent a couple of minutes getting the car in. Let’s just say it was tight. Then we headed for the exit about the time the lights decided we’d had long enough. Boy can it get dark down there. I stumbled back near the car and hit the remote to get some light. Tammy found the rope to open the garage door, but that didn’t bring in much light because of the turning ramp. Then we found the door to the elevator and made our escape. Whew.
Day 14-15 – Salzburg
Day 16 – Car Drop Off
The major task for today was dropping off the car. The drop off point was a shipping company in an industrial part of town. The GPS found the address, and we turned into a parking lot that belonged to some Customs agency. A little looking and we found the company. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of the fence. We made our way back out to the street and found the entrance further down. I had to do some talking to convince the guard that it was OK to let us into the secure area.
The paperwork and inspection went just as expected, and they called a cab for us. I was busy checking out the cars outside while Tammy sat inside. Every 15 minutes they would call the cab company again. Apparently, they were having even more trouble than we’d had finding the correct entry point. Tammy says the last call was really special. There was lots of screaming before the lady on our end slammed down the phone. She then called a second cab company which managed to get there. This ended up burning about 2 hours, so we took the cab back to the hotel.
The tours we wanted to take would take more time than remained, so we decided to do the major tour the next day. I headed down to the river to scope out the boat tours while Tammy cooled her heels in the hotel. While I was at the river, I stopped in at a sausage vendor and ordered something. I have no idea what it was. However, as she was getting it ready, I did understand “spicy?” Of course, I said yes. The result was a foot long sausage in a bun with spicy mustard and onions. Wow was it good. While I sat there enjoying my thing, I was doing people watching. For the past two weeks it’s been all German, now I’m hearing a lot of Eastern European languages being spoken.
Lee
Thoughts from Tammy:
Well, I didn’t die!! Lee didn’t tell me till afternoon the next day that the end of my report got deleted.
To give you the short version: we got on the bus that didn’t go all the way to the convention center, but somehow the driver knew that whoever spoke English needed to be on the bus directly behind us. We changed buses and still have no idea how the driver knew ???
Day 17 – River Tour
Day 18 – Train to Prague
Day 19 – Prague
Day 12 – Last of Prague
Tammy had too much fun yesterday, so I headed out to see Prague on my own. My first destination was the train station to get tickets to Frankfurt. We start with a bus to Nurnberg then catch an ICE train to Frankfurt. Taking the bus allows us to leave an hour later and get there an hour earlier.
I headed back down to Wenes square. The big draw today was a guy in full gear playing the bagpipes. I headed back down into Old Town to see if the crowds had dissipated. There were definitely fewer people, but it was still pretty crowed. I found a good sausage vendor and a couple of gelato vendors (Strawberry and Raspberry). The people watching was first class with more different languages being spoken than I’ve ever heard in one place. I stumbled on a Museum of torture, so I had to have a look. I’m sure glad I wasn’t born during the Inquisition.
When my feet got tired I headed back to the hotel to find Tammy recovering. A quick trip to the local market got us dinner, and we started thinking about packing for the trip home. Oh well, it can wait a little longer.