Munich to Lindau

The U Bahn in Munich makes it simple to get around the city. We had dumped the rental car at the train station when we arrived and used the subway to get everywhere from then on. For the next leg of our adventure, we needed to get to a rental station in the north part of town to pick up our next mode of transportation

I had done a lot of research on renting vs. shipping our bike for the amount of time we are going to be here. The two advantages to bringing our own would have been having our custom setup on the bike and being able to ship the gear with the bike. The disadvantages would have been cost and being more at the mercy of weather planning than we were. As it was, we rented our cars and the bike from Sixt car rentals. Their prices have been very reasonable, especially for the bike, which was about half that of the competition. The downside is that they don't rent gear for you or the bike, but that was solved with a short trip to local vendors.

Jayne has a new helmet!

Looking for lunch in Percha

A sign we had to explore

Bavarian countryside

In the distance is a fairytale castle

We wanted to get a good look at Neuschwanstein Castle. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, they were closing for the day. We'll see if we can drop by later in the trip.

That doesn't mean we didn't see any other castles. this is Schloß 

Hohenschwangau, a summer residence of King Ludwig II

By many accounts, this was the model for the castle at Disneyland

We arrived in Lindau, on the Bodensee (or Lake Constance to the Swiss) in plenty of time to explore. It is a beautiful port city on a huge Alpine lake.

The lighthouse and lion

Hotel Freihof

Gondelsheim to Munich

From Gondelsheim it was off to Stuttgart. We needed to look at some cars. I think they were upset that we parked a Mercedes out front.

The first Porsche when FA worked for Daimler in Austria. Electric drive.

One of the classiest Porsche designs, again while he was working for Daimler.

A 356 roadster, one of our favorites.

This is almost as nice as the engine Predmore is working on. Doesn't Buckley need a 1912 Porsche fire engine?

A 911 GT3 Hybrid. Definitely not a Prius

Lunch was in Weilheim. 

They have their own ways of propping up old buildings when they renovate them.

 One of the reasons to get the Mercedes was to drive a little fast on the Autobahn. Not all of the Autobahn is unrestricted (much of the system is limited to 130 kph), but there is a stretch between Stuttgart and Munich that was suitable for a little spirited driving.

Driving the Autobahn

The speedometer is hard to see; the vibration and focus change makes it difficult. It was in the neighborhood of 235 kph, let's see that's, hmm, carry the one about 146 MPH. Fast enough for those conditions. We would have needed more clear road to squeeze out the last 15 kph.

We got to Munich and it was time for a beer. Like I said, I'm not much into beer, but what else are you going to drink at the Hofbrauhaus?

Marienplatz

 In the Marienplatz is the Neues Rathaus, or New Townhall. In it is the famous Glockspiel, with a little play that performs a couple of times a day.

In a few days, this will be jammed with people for Octoberfest

The Fraükirsch

 We had another vehicle stop to make. I really needed a new R1200RT t-shirt, but no luck.

My new car. The BMW i8 hybrid. It will go fast enough, and gets 50 mpg. Still not a Prius.

Here's a prototype we caught running around town.

I am a rum connoisseur. I'm alway looking for a great rum and Plantation is one of my favorites. I've never seen a bottle of 20 year old XO, but I can't get it into my motorcycle side cases.

Bastogne to Gondelsheim

From Bastogne, the path leads through the Ardennes Forest into Luxembourg. I could live in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. So much of it is pastoral farmlands and forests interspersed with the occasional castle.

Esch-sur-Sûre

Finally, we drop down into Luxembourg City, a hive of international activity. If I were the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, I would live here, and Jayne would be the Grand Duchess. A step down from Absolute Empress of the Universe, I know, but not a bad gig.

Duchess Jayne at the  Chateau (castle) gate

From here it's a quick hop on the Autobahn to Gondelsheim, a small village which is almost a suburb of Stuttgart. It's rural enough that tractors still run down the main street.

The Lowen-Thor

This roadhouse has been here at least since 1701. The beer is the best I've ever had - 11.4% alcohol. Brewed in the bottle. I liked it a lot, and I don't particularly like beer.

A wagon from the 1700s

It would be insignificant to most, but it's the village from which the Kellers came. I have been able to trace the family back to here in the late 1600's.

Schloß Gondelsheim

The family never lived here - they were farmers