Category: travel

Danke Schoen – Munich

On By Rick McIn cycling, friends, travelLeave a comment

Ich bin ein Münchner

… And you may find yourself in another part of the world …
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house …
And you may ask yourself, “Well, how did I get here?”

photo – Diego Delso

A Canadian College / Gymnastics friend has lived in Munich for decades. He runs his own health Club called AJs Fitness.

While I was fading on my Norway cycling adventure, AJ offered to have me house sit while he and his husband were gone for vacation. I jumped at the chance.

Great location close to the edge of the city. Hot tub. Fancy coffee machine.

Paradise. 🙏

House sitting was a terrific break from weeks cycling Norway. And I then used Munich as a base for cycling and hiking trips.

I had the Deutschlandticket — 49-Euro / Month for all regional and municipal transportation. Brilliant.

Munich is a fantastic tourist city, of course. I cycled all over town.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

At the start, Claudia was my tour guide.

Munich has a lot of green space.

Nymphenburg Palace Park, for example.

Sadly, no bicycles allowed in the park.

My favourite destination for cycling was the Isar river. Especially where it flows through English Garden (Englischer Garten).

The 1972 Olympic venue is terrific, as well.

I’ll be back. AJ and Darin are storing my bike and gear until my return summer 2024.

Thanks guys!

I’m already looking forward to my return to Munich.

Click PLAY or watch Rick Steves on YouTube.

Ulm Minster – World’s Tallest Church

On By Rick McIn travelLeave a comment

I quite enjoyed visiting Ulm, Germany. Hometown of Albert Einstein.

Of many highlights, most memorable is Ulm Minster (German: Ulmer Münster).

I went several times, calling it the MONSTER.

This photo and video do not do justice to the height of the thing.

The top is 161.53m (530ft) making it the “world’s tallest church“.

It’s one of 10 Famous Buildings In Germany.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Visiting Lindau on Lake Constance, Germany

On By Rick McIn travel1 Comment

I’d met a young hiker from the Bodensee (lake Constance) — and realized I knew nothing about the famed tourist destination.

After finishing a week cycling the Danube, I took a day off at the pretty town of Lindau.

… And by day off, I mean I only cycled 40km instead of 80+. 😀

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

When will I visit Bali?

On By Rick McIn travel, videoLeave a comment

Astonishingly, I’ve never been to Indonesia.

Rice fields, Bali, Indonesia

Bali is a magnet for YouTube creators.

And it does look like fun.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. Benn TK is one of my favourite travel vloggers.

Sleep Above a Glacier for $14 /night

On By Rick McIn hiking, travelLeave a comment

The bivouac “Gervasutti” stands on a rocky outcrop at the altitude of 2835 m, beneath the spectacular walls of Grandes and Petites Jorasses. …

The new hut is built with a modular chassis in sandwich composite and internally organized into 2 areas (the dining room, and dormitory with 12 beds) ….

The approach to the bivouac is in harsh environment, long and tiring that takes place mostly without path or track. Very easy to lose the way.   Many yellow signals and stone piles indicate the routes, but in a very rough. Pay attention to overcome a creek that becomes very dangerous during the afternoon. …

SummitPost

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Salzburg, Austra ➙ Red Bull Museum

On By Rick McIn travel1 Comment

Dietrich Mateschitz made a fortune selling Red Bull drinks to everyone — except me.

A typical rightwing billionaire, he died in 2022.

But the Red Bull legacy lives on.

… Hangar-7 in Salzburg, Austria, hosting a collection of historical airplanes, helicopters and Formula One racing cars, and serving as home for the Flying Bulls, a private aircraft fleet stationed in Salzburg.

Hangar-7 is owned by Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz.

It houses the Michelin-starred restaurant Ikarus,[1] two bars and a lounge.

The building is airfoil shaped, constructed of 1,200 tons of steel and 75,000 sqft of glass surface. “Hangar 8” is the name of the maintenance facility. …

I boycott motor sports myself, but if you like Formula 1, Hangar-7 is a bit of a pilgrimage destination.

I did get to try jumping from 39 kilometres (24 mi) above planet earth ➙ Red Bull Stratos.

It’s free. Worth the visit out by the airport.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Visiting Salzburg, Austria

On By Rick McIn travelLeave a comment

Mozart‘s home town. 😀

Though I only had a half day to cycle about Salzburg, I vividly remember the fortress of Hohensalzburg — which I hadn’t seen since 47-years-earlier. As a teenager.

Hohensalzburg Castle above the city of Salzburg in Austria. Salzburg is the fourth-largest city in Austria. The Old Town (Altstadt) has one of the best-preserved city centers north of the Alps. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

One unexpected highlight was the Red Bull museum called Hangar-7.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Visiting Dresden, Germany

On By Rick McIn travelLeave a comment

A happy surprise for this tourist.

Dresden is as interesting for the visitor as any city in Europe.

Best of all, there are very few tourists here compared with Prague or Budapest.

Like many English speakers my age, I first learned of Dresden from Kurt Vonnegut’s book. The author was in Dresden during the devastating and controversial Allied firebombing of the city that left it in ruins.

Vonnegut survived the attack by hiding in a meat locker of the slaughterhouse, hence the name of his breakthrough novel, Slaughterhouse-Five (1969).

It’s grim. Bombs killed approximately 25,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and destroyed most of the major buildings.

Dresden 1945. Facing south from the town hall (Rathaus) tower.

I had low expectations on arrival, mainly wanting to connect to nearby National Park of Saxon Switzerland for cycling and hiking:

Yet the city centre is known as the Jewel Box for the wondrous architecture.

Much has been rebuilt since WW II.

See my photos of Dresden in Black and White. An experiment for me. I’ve almost never edited in B&W.

Better are these tourist videos.

Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube. (4min)

Over 60% of the city is green space.

There is a huge green flood plain on the Elbe river.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Dresden in Black & White

On By Rick McIn photos, travel1 Comment

Faux-tography. 😀

What I liked best about Dresden, Germany was how few tourists cluttered up the great sights. Of the languages I heard, almost everyone spoke German. A few Russian. And a few spoke English.

Early or late in the day — or, especially, in the rain — I had the huge plazas nearly to myself even at the end of August.

Unlike Florence which is swarming with tourists at all times, my photos were mostly unpopulated.

For fun I decided to experiment with editing in black & white (Noir filter) and see if I could capture a feeling of the old East Germany.

My Pilgrimage to Garmisch-Partenkirchen

On By Rick McIn cycling, hiking, travelLeave a comment

You might know the (typically) long, hyphenated name Garmisch-Partenkirchen as it was the host of the 1932 Winter Olympics.

It’s the best hiking town in the Bavarian Alps — yet it took me 65 years to get there. 😀

I waited on a good weather window to make the trip down from Munich, and got some of the best days of the year.

Actually … I had hail and hard rain my first afternoon. Here I am sitting out the deluge in a city park.

Moon & Honey recommended the 7 best hikes in Garmisch-Partenkirchen:

With 3 nights, 2 days I managed five:

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Excellent.

I enjoyed the cycling, as well.

The valley looks something like Switzerland. But different in the many stark sheds in the fields.

Rick cycling early morning

The valley being super busy, I decided to tent legally rather than wild camp.

Campgrounds are generally lousy in Europe, compared with spacious Canada. This one is typical.

The towns of Garmisch and Partenkirchen are nothing special. I much prefer Chamonix, France, and even Whistler, Canada, as scenic ski towns.

The trains, cog railways, and cable cars are superb, however.

It’s still a terrific base for outdoor adventure sport.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen