Cycling Lake Constance in Europe

On By Rick McIn cycling, travelLeave a comment

My cycle touring began July 3, 2024.

Getting off the train from Munich in Lindau, I first cycled to Bregenz, Austria to test the bike with a full load.

NO PROBLEMS.

I’d read that the cycling north of the lake was more interesting than the south, so planned to put in another 40km on my first day.

BUT it rained hard. And was scheduled to rain until 9pm … so I checked into a hostel rather than camping.

Lindau is very pretty, even in the rain.

Cycling Europe I see a hundred interesting things a day.

For example, this water fountain in a hostel. Choose TAP or CARBONATED.

The main cycling route is great and (usually) easy to follow. I only share with motor vehicles about 25% of the time.

I was intrigued by Friedrichshafen.

The Zeppelin factory here, 1942 and 1945, used slave labor of hundreds of concentration camp prisoners from Dachau and Dora-Mittelbau.

Terrible history. But interesting tourist stop.

I’d planned to cycle around the lake into Switzerland — but by coincidence I rode up to the ferry one minute before it departed.

KARMA

Switzerland is far more expensive than Germany. Double the price for some things.

It’s more rural on the Swiss side of the lake. Many vineyards.

Finding no place to wild camp, I finally checked into a pretty campground on the lake.

Camping is highest priority for families with kids. A paradise here.

Like last year, there has been a lot of flooding in Germany.

Water is still very high.

Next day I rode on to Rhine Falls (Rheinfalls), Switzerland — the highlight, so far.

Salvation – season 1

On By Rick McIn TVLeave a comment

Salvation (2017) is an American thriller TV series.

Not bad, as thrillers go. But only 47% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The cast is compelling.

Santiago Cabrera as Darius Tanz is good. Something like an Elon Musk.

… an asteroid that will impact the Earth in just six months, highlighting the attempts to prevent it and its worldwide ramifications. The show looks at how different individuals and groups of people react to the impending doom.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Rhine Falls (Rheinfalls), Switzerland

On By Rick McIn travel2 Comments

The highlight of my Rhine river cycling tour — so far — has been the the most powerful waterfall in Europe.

The Rhine Falls (German: Rheinfall) are 150 metres (490 ft) wide and 23 metres (75 ft) high. 

There are other highlights nearby, including the Wörth Castle (Swiss German: Schlössli Wörth) — BUT I couldn’t safely leave my bike and gear to visit those.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Argylle – Book and Movie

On By Rick McIn books, moviesLeave a comment

Watch the film. Skip the book.

Argylle is a 2024 spy action comedy film: Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, Henry Cavill, Dua Lipa, Ariana DeBose, John Cena, and Samuel L. Jackson.


Argylle Delivers Twisty-Turny Tedium, But Its Action Scenes Are Great

That sums it up.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I thought the book would be similar.

It’s not.

I thought the book would be a fun action thriller — something like the film.

It’s not.

In 2024, Terry Hayes and Tammy Cohen were revealed as the writers of the tie-in novel to the film Argylle, under the pseudonym “Elly Conway“.

… I can’t really find any relationship between the movie and book from the word Argylle.

At most you might call the book some kind of origin story for Aubrey Argylle.

But the only interesting character for me was the Russian / American uber-villain and wealthy tycoon Vasily Federov.

Terry Hayes and Tammy Cohen

Off to Cycle the Rhine 🚴

On By Rick McIn cycling, hiking, travel2 Comments

I picked up my bike in Munich. Friends had been storing it for me since LAST summer.

We had a great time. Several good meals. Plenty of wine. And one round of golf.

Claudia and her buoys 😀

I’m planning to cycle the Rhine north through Germany ➙ Continue up to Denmark ➙ Ferry to the Faroe Islands ➙ And on to Iceland.

I’ll fly out of Reykjavík.

I’ll start in July 2024 where I quit cycling summer of 2023 — in beautiful Lindau on Lake Constance, Germany.

… I want to get back to this kind of shape. 6 foot, 3 inches. 215 pounds. 😀

Summer 2023

I’ll mostly be riding the Eurovela 15 – Rhine Cycle Route.

As the Deutschland Rail ticket is still next to free in 2024, I’ll hop local trains as needed in Germany.

At some point I’ll leave the river and head for the Danish border. Likely joining the Eurovela 12, the North Sea Cycle Route

I must reach the north tip of Denmark to catch my long scheduled ferry to the Faroe Islands.

The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Hmm. Not nearly as good as the previous novel.

In the 12th book of the Ruth Galloway series, everyone is surprised.

Ruth has a new job, home, and partner, and she is no longer North Norfolk police’s resident forensic archaeologist.

That is, until convicted murderer Ivor March offers to make DCI Nelson a deal.

Nelson was always sure that March killed more women than he was charged with. Now March confirms this and offers to show Nelson where the other bodies are buried—but only if Ruth will do the digging.

Curious, but wary, Ruth agrees.

March tells Ruth that he killed four more women and that their bodies are buried near a village bordering the fens, said to be haunted by the Lantern Men, mysterious figures holding lights that lure travelers to their deaths.

Is Ivor March himself a lantern man, luring Ruth back to Norfolk?

What is his plan, and why is she so crucial to it?

And are the killings really over?

The Good, the Bad and the Aunties by Sutanto

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Silly and entertaining. I’d call this a Young Adult novel.

Jesse Q. Sutanto is a Chinese-Indonesian author.

She grew up in Singapore, Indonesia, and Oxford.

In 2021, Sutanto published her hit novel, Dial A for Aunties. 

The Good, the Bad and the Aunties (2024) is one of the sequels. A comedy.

On Meddy Chan’s honeymoon travels, the happy couple flies to Jakarta for a Chinese New Years family reunion.

… theft, hostage taking, and abduction. But it’s nothing the aunties can’t handle.

Farewell Austria – Leaving Salzburg

On By Rick McIn travelLeave a comment

Of the 4 largest cities in Austria, Salzburg is easily my favourite.

This time I walked several times through high parklands above town. Up on these cliffs.

There are surprisingly few people up there.

And great vistas, of course.

The old town is great.

But there are many modern touches, as well.

All that said — I much prefer Germany to Austria. 😀

Visiting Kitzbühel, Austria

On By Rick McIn hiking, travelLeave a comment

You’ll already know the name Kitzbühel as a legendary winter sports resort, 

The famous Hahnenkamm mountain above Kitzbühel, where every January the world’s best downhill skiers race for World Cup glory. Many consider it the most challenge course on the circuit.

I went to hike down that famed slope. Over 1200m. … I took a cable car up. 😀

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Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Crazy Canucks Tod Brooker and Ken Read won here.

The town itself is not particularly gorgeous when compared against other famed ski villages.

But I still enjoyed it.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Phantom Orbit by David Ignatius

On By Rick McIn books, governmentLeave a comment

David Ignatius is an acclaimed journalist and expert on the CIA.

A fiction author, as well, with 11 novels in the suspense/espionage fiction genre.

This is the first for me — and probably the last. The story telling was TOO SLOW.

An un-Thriller.

Phantom Orbit is his 2024 book. And it is very much up-to-date in terms of technology. The detail, relevancy, and realism are impressive.

Threats to the American GPS system and satellites, especially from Russia and China, is the main thread.

It follows Ivan Volkov, a Russian student in Beijing …

The years pass, and they are not kind to Volkov.

After the loss of his son, a prosecutor who’d been too tough on corruption, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Volkov makes the fraught decision to contact the CIA.

He writes: Satellites are your enemies, especially your own…Hidden codes can make time stop and turn north into south…If you are smart, you will find me.