The Roast Chicken Van

From Hirschau to Eslarn was 62 kms nearly all by excellent quiet roads and including the highest hills so far. Virtually none on the cycle path. With a laden touring bike the apparent grade is the actual grade magnified about 25% so a bit weary tonight as my fitness is still adjusting. Some of the ups pushing my limits, but the downs some wonderful effortless windchilling at 55 kph. The effort put into climbing the hills ( as in potential energy) is not all useful on the downs because of the non-linearity of aerodynamic drag and our own personnally defined boundary conditions on max and min speed. 62 kms was a reasonable day.

Near the church another Camino de Santiago de Compostella stone and route maps through the region.

Many tiltles came to mind for this story. The first was "remembering Neil". Back a few days whilst meandering through Furth before Nurnberg, on an average road and not where I wanted to be, I could hear a truck approaching from behind and as it moved on another large noise behind so I just decided without looking to flick the bike right, onto the narrow footpath, and within seconds a large tractor and trailer went by. This morning, just after starting the ride, and as the multi-purpose path was excellent, I was on it, and just then another large tractor with trailer. It was back in 2008 somewhere just south of here on the Donau Radweg, that Neil, a North American and the elder statesman of our Orient Express ride, fell under a tractor and thanks to German medicine, he has survived and made a good recovery I hear.

Another possibility was The QantasLink Hostess who on the Canberra-Sydney flight would have a habit of scoring each landing out of 10. You see I was wondering about a score for this Pan Europa bike route. But as it is still a work in progress that would be premature to score as I would be unkind. And it also brought to mind my youthful understanding of what Qantas, and then Lufthansa, are acronyms for, so I thought better of it.

But it was in Wernberg-Koblitz about 30 kms into the day that a bit of clarity occurred. Whilst riding through the centre of town the strong smells of roast chicken wafted past and as I slowed to notice the roast chicken van I also noticed Backerei Melinger which was the sort of place I was really looking for. The owner spoke a very good version of english-canadian English. Apparently this town was the place for much recent fanfare where the politicians announced the official opening of the Pan Europa Paris Prague Radweg. The route is on my map in red like all the other major established bicycle routes that cover the country.

But the opening WAS like, when in 1948, the Prime Minister Ben Chifley in 1949 at Adaminaby announced the official opening of the Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme: viz construction had just begun and then we knew (well not me at the time as my understanding of english was very slight) what opening meant. That would turn out to be a wonderful project with much great technical challenges and as we subsequently saw, much technical development. (Unlike our recent small minded smarty-pants scheming prime minister John Howard who liked to call the Adelaide-Darwin railway project a modern "Snowy" project where there was no "development", no great challenges, a financial misadventure of a large kind, and no residual value:- there is no comparison).

It was NOT like when Premier Lang opened the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932 and you could then drive your car and ride your bikes over it.

The Pan Europa currently is a connecting sequence of paths, roads and goat tracks, and is under construction. The Backerei owner pointed me in the direction of the Rathaus (as in rat for information or advice) also known as the Mayor's house or simply town hall where she promised me there would be all the maps and information I needed to get me to Prague. Alas it was not to be but was useful and gave maps and the route I followed today. They also said Eslarn, from where I have just had dinner in the Gasthaus, was a popular tourist town, and their Rathaus would be very useful, and had lots of accommodation. This place it turns out is the only accommodation I could find but it is terrific.

The Rathaus is closed in the afternoon when all cyclists arrive.

So for dinner. There was myself and 3 couples of the traditional type - 2 together and the 3rd separate, all drinking beer from the traditional 0.5 L size mugs - no wine. The separate couple hardly said a word and spent the whole evening reading their own magazines. Would they be further round the marriage-go-round than the others? At least it was peaceful in the dining room and the waiter as good as you need.

For some reason I won't delay you for, the waiter gave me without asking a heated schnapps/liquor drink - exquisite! And the paprika schnitzel the best and with no fried bread crumbs.

Czech Republic now just a few kms away - perhaps 5 and Plzen 107 by some route.

the London Cartographer, Struggling, Blackbirds

Day 13 and I rode 85 kms to the only hotel in Hirschau - the Schlosshotel. A Monday, and there were 4 or us travellers, of some sort, alone at dinner. Disconnected in a way from the locals. There were 8 of them - middle aged men who had probably been coming here all their drinking life. For the usual beer fuelled inane conversation. And the barmaid of similar age who could not speak any Englisch, but somehow I got a bier and a delectable main course and an Apfelstrudel like no other - as in it did not appear like any I had eaten before.

The 8 drinking men and the waitress had some undetected rapport as the bier was provided when needed with each of the drinkers clearly having their own specific needs, as well as several rounds of the local firewater that required more bier chasers. All whilst I quietly without common language had dinner and departed a little weary after the day having appreciated the inanity as I could not understand a word.

The day had started cold and overcast and stayed that way all day. My first day on the PPP for which I reminded myself - no expectations. The path in parts was first class with wide, perhaps 3 to 4 m, sealed and smooth pavement and lots of signs so only a few minor deviations. In other parts not quite a Pan European path. Some sections were rough gravel or single file dirt tracks and circuitous. This path is in high-status red on the adfc map.

Sulzbach-Rosenberg a larger town during the day and was on a distinct berg. Otherwise I became increasingly surrounded by them. It is now hilly Bavaria, the small towns well kept but virtually life-less as I passed through.

When I first looked for routes to Prague the most recognised seemed to be from Vienna or Regensburg; both I thought too far south and more circuitous than I wanted. The premier German cycling body the "adfc" had shown a route from Bamberg via Bayreuth but the connecting route in the Czech Republic did not look well defined. And so the Paneuropa Paris Prague ( or Paneuropa Radweg, or PAN) was chosen at it had the apparent credentials and seemingly a defined path. It is now clear the PPP is a work in progress. (photo). Like the London Cartographers of old who laid out national boundaries and town streets without touching foot in the places, so the route today seemed to have the same genesis. As the day unfolded and the average speed low with time ticking away, I left the recognised route and selected my own direct one along minor roads, or so I thought. But there it was within a few hundred metres, not a PPP but just another local bike path beside my chosen road directly to this hotel. So rather than meandering around the place at 15 or 20 km on unsealed tracks I was rocking along down this new path at 30 to 40 km/hr. Someone should tell them.

Arriving about 3.40 just as the sun briefly broke through the clouds - it had been struggling all day to do this and warm me up a bit. All in all, not a bad ride. And not for the first time I had noticed that on glass doors and windows that people might accidently crash into (whilst walking), the Germans place stickers of blackbirds rather than the more familiar to me non-descript graphic. They do lift the tone

The hotel manager gave some clues to the route and hotels ahead. The next few days could be the most exploratory of the entire trip and with an unfamiliar language as well. It should come as no surprise that the bicycle touring crowd I have seeing constantly until now are now gone. I was virtually the only touring rider all day except for a few small groups coming the other way in the afternoon.

Germanisches Museum

A photo album should unfold if you click the photo, I hope.

110918GMsm

Germanic National Museum

Mid 1800s somebody established this most important respository to record the life and culture of the 40 German speaking nations that became the unified German Nation about that time, being much larger than the current one.

It was given an underutilised double cloistered monastery, that was severely destroyed in the 2nd WW and rebuilt with quite appealing additions in the Bauhaus style. All artifacts were saved in WW2 in beer cellars etc.

Again Camino appears - I have only been here about 11 days and this is the third time.

There is a collection on Bourgeois Culture - The centre piece is a bicycle (the backdrop not well seen is a huge 8m x 5m painting) and the keen observer will notice the handbrake handle is missing.

A famous wood carving

Musical instruments in large numbers and variety.

Many works by Germany's most celebrated
painter

And the world's oldest globe, and it omits the Americas with a single ocean between Europe and Asia.

Deutsche Bahn Museum

Deutsche Bahn

Bahn means railway or rail track. Autobahn is a rail track but for cars hence motorway

Steam locomotives main driving wheels were about 2 m diameter and required their steel tyres to be replaced. These were heavy. The smaller non-driving wheels also needed tyres.

The museum had a large section on stations and station shops. Rail travel was a complete experience for all classes of society and for all purposes.

Just a sample to indicate that for the Germans, bicycles, trains and cars are all fundamental parts of life.

The next day

This looks like 1 modest days ride although the thunderstorms forecast today might continue again.

For this like me without a clear knowledge of the 16 German States here they are. I started briefly in Hesse and then most of the time in Bavaria. Dresden is in Saxony and Berlin is in ......

Nurnberg 2

A couple of festivals at the moment and more of them later if I remember, and noting that the next 5 days might be a bit isolated as I traverse the PPP to Prague, then later north to Dresden and Berlin. Which reminds me that the important Irish Catholic President John Kennedy famously said in the height of the cold war "icht bin eine Berliner" or similar. Now here the Nurnberger is their famous (small, hence 3) sausages that you can buy everywhere. Not quite the same.

I felt compelled to start the day by visiting the Nazi Parade Ground about 4 kms out. It does something to a person to be there and remember all the subsequent events. The parade ground is a bland 1,500 m x 60 m paved strip now largely used for parking for major events. The vast Documentation Centre is at the far end on the right out of sight. I sense the Germans and Nurnbergers are dealing with their past quite well (but I don't speak German!).

Next I chose to visit the Museum of Industrial Culture that has a focus on this region, but not solely. Bicycles and motorbikes were big here. The theme was mixed but included scenes on how technology and the associated production of energy reshaped the way we live. Many other museums are in this place - a good week might do it.

The festivals. It is Bavaria so at the Altstadt festival eating a lot of meat and drinking beer is the order of the day, with some fancy dress. The central square has the autumn market where amongst other autumn stuff is early fermented low alcohol grape liquid sort of called juice.

Footnote

Coffee is big here and roasted beans are much cheaper than at home. They do all come from the same global market. However the default coffee is brewed or filtered and so whilst they embrace technology, not yet the espresso that, whilst readily available in the bigger places, is portrayed as a speciality. The other vital part of life is the ice-cream (eis) sundae. Everybody and everybody else indulges and so after seeing them for 10 days I succumbed. So now I have sufficient calories on board to get me a long part of the 5 or so days of hills to Prague, plus probable unplanned deviations.

Being German

For those that have needed to let their children understand that milk came from cows, not shops, then the next lesson is that advanced technology comes from Germany. Not the USA or Japan.

It is in their being and most of us know that but gloss over it. They remain the powerhouse of Europe and the largest world exporter of advanced technology (I recall). Why can this be so?

They developed the most important language and language is a precursor to technology. Their language is also the root of English but that has suffered by being mangled and blended with other languages, then later infused with Romantic French and standardised in 1500s or so with the aberrant thought that everybody should read the standardised bible. The Germans seem to me to have avoided that language problem and kept the purity of a good technologically-focussed language (I could tell from the tour guide in Bamberg with perfect diction).

They also have been profoundly influenced by many of their own large legacy of philosophers. And philosophy guides you in the direction of technology being the foundation of the creation of true wealth and a civilisation. Unlike the mirage or destruction of wealth that is the result of financial engineering as played out by many investment bankers generally, and the real estate policies of Australia.

Perhaps the 3rd relevant factor is their industriousness fueled by Fruhstuck (breakfast) that seems the most important factor in offering a hotel, and then the time Fruhstuck is served. I have previously mentioned, or imagined I have, a description of breakfast.

Marriage-go-round

The inscription reads 1541. So there are no surprises about the difficulties of marriage. Even so it took Australia till the 1970s to introduce the no-fault divorce. Back in 1541 with a slower pace of life and shorter life expectancy not so many would do the first circuit. Now many or us seem to do a few laps of this "go-round". The idea of marriage perhaps needs a little overhaul.

On a related matter. My modesty has so far constrained me from giving expression to another observation about dominant genes here. However one Frau approaching retirement age serving beer near me thrust her near naked bouncing breasts almost in my face so I now feel it is only right to record that buxom females and those compelled to prominently display them are evolutionary dominant in this cold north climate. A previous observation in 2008 a bit south of here on the Donau supports this observation. Again modesty prevented me from real photographs so these will have to do.

I was asked about food

In response to Janice's question about food. Yes I have been eating and sometimes very well. On riding days I have not developed a rythym nor felt really hungry (See breakfast below). On the well part I enjoyed a sumptuous salad and organic turkey steak a few days back in Volkach in the beer garden. On the other part there is a variety of wurst although that is a little unkind.

My conditioning was that sausages allowed the bad bits to be transformed into something palatable for the peasants, and the good bits by others. Now for a rich nation like this it appears there are no good bits, just wursts and wursts. Do they raise pigs without the expensive good bits? Another German bit of efficiency? Are they all peasants driving Mercedes and BMWs?

I am familiar with sausage in bread with sauce. They do the same thing here with a crucial difference - the number of wursts in the bread roll are mandated by custom that varies by locale. One, a pair, or a triple. I have so far had two pairs, not yet having been in a town where the other quantities are allowed.

Breakfast are mostly nourishing and often pleasurable with lots of choice and thankfully the ubiquitous boiled egg is a choice I am allowed to decline without offence that I have noticed. Juices, cereals with seeds etc, wursts and hams, cheeses, large range of rolls and breads (rarely white), jams, fruit salads, yoghurts plural, kuchen and coffee. So far many or all of these at each buffet breakfast, and sometimes also bacon and scrambled eggs. I am at this place 3 nights and the breakfast is 5 Euro. Lunch is not necessary.

And of course beer. Apparently around Bamberg there is one of the highest concentration of breweries in the world - 200 breweries has been mentioned and the speciality is smoked beer which is OK. I am sure there are more food stories to come as I have only really sampled the Franconian Region of the Bundesland (State) of Bavaria.

Some claim that the doner kebab was invented in Berlin about 40 years ago. Perhaps. The press clipping below is a few years old. They do them well here.

Just to clear the air a bit it came to my senses earlier today that 2 of the ever present parts of travel are the local food (except for US Americans) even more of which later, and toilets. Prices of hotels are a related issue. There have been a few anomalies in the price of hotels and this place is cheap whilst having been restored to the highest of standards and in the centre of a major tourist destination. But it is not an anomaly as people pay a lot for privacy here. The toilet is shared for rooms on this floor. And the shared toilet is internal without window or exhaust fan. It was instantly clear I was not first. The return on investment for a fan seemed like a compelling business decision.

The Route ahead from Bamberg

Today is my second day in Bamburg, then the idea is to leave the Main behind and head south to cycle along the canal to Nurenberg (near Furth), then east joining the Paneuropa path to Prague. Perhaps arriving in a week from now. Saturday might be a rest day as the forecast looks like thunderstorms and I do not have to ride - quite the converse.

Altos Rathaus attempt 2