Bavaria!

Points of interest!

No trucks or 18-wheelers allowed on the autobahn/autostrata on Sundays!  The truck stops are packed.  Trucks with special permits are allowed to continue moving but this rule eliminates 95% of all truck traffic on Sundays.  This eases the free flow of traffic all across Europe on Sundays.

The other unique road visual is quad-runners are street legal on country/rural roads.  The rider must wear the same protective gear as moto riders.

It’s colder in Garmisch-P (5℃/41℉) than Nordkapp, Norway (11℃/51℉!)

Mon-May 14, 2012

Last night I knew it was going to be cold so I put everything I had on before crawling into the sleeping bag. Burrrrrrrrr!  This morning the rain drops that beaded on the tent were frozen.  It dropped down to -1℃ (30℉) last night.

We casually roust up and walk over to a coffee shop to thaw out.  By 9:00 AM we are ready for the day’s local ride.

The tram goes to the right peak center of photo.

Our first stop is the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany.  We ride 5 km to a cable tram which carry’s us up to 2962m (9,718 feet) ASL.  The view is amazing but after 30 minutes the clouds covered half the mountain.

The golden cross is 2962m (9,718 feet). This is the highest mountain in Germany.

When we first arrived at the top temperature indicates -9℃ (15.8℉), wind speed is 20 km/h and the visibility is 130 km (80 miles).

The tram started in the village in the center of the photo.

The view from the top is 130 km (80 miles).

My excuse is it's too early for beer, so...

Sideways icicles!

Neuschwanstein Castle

11AM we ride to King Ludwig II of Bavaria’s Neuschwanstein Castle in the Fussen, Schwangau area (~35 km away).  This is the castle that inspired Disneland’s castle.  I just wanted a photo op of my moto and the castle in the background.

Déjà vu

In another life, at a much younger time, I was the USA Team Leader, 1983 FAI World Hang Gliding Championships, Fussen/Tegelberg, Germany (Team 3rd, Individual 2nd).  I spent 2 weeks in the Fussen area and the mountain top Tegelberg hang gliding launch.

Moto Connection

Fussen is also one of the many film locations for The Great Escape. Steve McQueen’s motorcycle stunts and many other scenes were filmed in and around the town of Fussen.  Although McQueen did much of his own riding stunts, he did not do the classic 60-foot jump over a fence. This was done by McQueen’s friend Bud Elkins, who was managing a Los Angeles-area motorcycle shop when recruited for the stunt.

This photo op did not pan out.  First of all, the 80% of the Neuschwanstein castle is covered with scaffolding and canvas for repairs.  So the historic fantasyland castle has limited photo opportunities.  The traffic leading to the castle has changed since 1982.  No free parking!!  All the lots are now paid.  All parking is charged and to get to the castle one could walk or wait in huge queuing lines for trams!  After riding to the top lot, we wanted no part of this and moved on.  I later learned that 6,000 people tour the castle each day!

The King Ludwig Open 2012 starts Thursday.

The Tegelberg hang gliding/ skiing/ tourist tram base is a short 5-6 km from the Mad King’s castle.  High above launch 2-dozen hang gliders and lower a gaggle of paragliders made lazy 360s.  A pilot tells me the King Ludwig Hang Gliding Open starts Thursday.

The Tegelberg tram is up the road, hang gliding launch at the top of the range (center of photo) and off to the right, the shrouded Neuschwanstein castle

Schloss Linderhof

From Fussen we crossed into Austria for an hour before crossing back into Germany to arrive at Linderhof. Linderhof is the resident of King Ludwig.  It’s a mini Versailles.  I took the €8.5 “English” tour of the castle and gotto.  The entire day was cool, blue skies and high clouds.

Schloss Lindenhof - King Ludwig's residence

A mini Versailles

The Ettal Basilica and Monastery

Ettal Basilica

Our last stop was a monastery!   They make beer at this monastery.

Weather turns bad

Two weather reports confirm our suspicions of things getting colder and a dramatic change in the weather here.  The entire Bavarian area is forecast -1 or 2°C and 50% chance of rain tomorrow afternoon.  Below freezing and rain means snow and ice on the roads.

We make the decision to head back to Bamberg tomorrow.  Enough of the cold, I’m gonna go buy some Chilly Willy ear muffs!