Passes

What did we know about passes when we left Ampezzo this morning? We left after a nice breakfast of croissants the owner of the Albergo baked fresh for us. We have perfect weather, 21 degrees and bright sunshine.
After a while we run into road work where the asphalt has been milled off the road surface and only the harsh grooves remain for us to ride over. Some areas are already tarred for new paving but the road is open for traffic. Signs warn us of debris on the surface, too. After riding through the tar (we could not do otherwise) we pick up small stones on our tires. This makes for a weird ride when going around curves. Not only do we get a strange wiggle sensation from the grooves milled into the road, but now we feel like we are riding with pop corn tires too
the road is carved into the mountain side with twist and turns.
Paseo de Mauria is the first section for the day and a hard section to ride. We thought the road was fairly straight, judging from the map. But we get through it and are looking for a little relief with a straight section. No such thing today.
The next Pass is Falzaregopass and it is like a screw driver. I remember one curve in particular. A right hander, tight, first gear and as soon as I made the right turn, the road climbed immediately after the turn. It had kind of a bump in the road, right after a sharp turn. Only with lots of gas did I make this turn.
Next was the Pordoi Joch, another beauty. Carol and I just looked at each other and you could tell we were both not happy with so many of the twists. These constant hard sections will wear you out. Your arms hurt, your shoulders cramp up, your neck is strained from twisting your head all away around all day. And yet, here comes the Sella Joch.
It is now about 2.40 in the afternoon and with the warm sun, the bright light, the high elevations, and the constant strain on our nerves we are worn out. We have had it for the day. There was no lunch today, just water breaks and this town Wolkenstein has so many hotels that we will find one with a Wi-Fi someplace. We call a few hotels from a telephone board set up by the town, but no luck. We stop at 4 ort 5 places to just walk in but no internet. We wait for the Information Booth to open at 3 pm and they do help in printing out a list of hotels with Wi-Fi and we call all of them. No luck, they have no Wi-Fi, they might get some down the road, but they don’t have it yet. It is now 5 pm and we have had it. Back to the first place we found which looked clean and had a room and just breakfast. We took a room here.
Today we feel like we got beaten up by the mountains and then again by our hotel search. The roads got to us. We did everything right, nothing bad happened but we are bushed. These passes are something else, they don’t quit. They keep on coming up on you and twist and twist and so on. No mercy here, ride or else. There is no way out, we must ride out of these mountains even though we will land in other sections of the Alps but tomorrow is another day

Karnische Dolomiten Strasse

We found this road on the map and thought, this is not too twisty, let’s take this one, especially since it is marked with green dots alongside indicating a scenic route. We went out of our way to take it from west to east thinking we can connect later with a main road into Italy.
The Karnische started off smooth and winding, wonderful, with green grassy meadows,old huts in the valleys below; thru old towns with narrow streets and a feeling of time gone by but then it started to twist itself into knots.
Again, first and second gear but this time the drop offs were not that severe. It was not that high up so trees grew on the side of the road but that made the visibility around the corners a bit difficult. There is no field of vision, the corners are mostly blind corners and you hope nobody is in your lane when you come around the bend. The road was narrow especially thru the towns along the way.
jutted out into the streets, you literally must stop, look around the house if someone is coming and then proceed. Of course trucks and buses are there, too. If a truck comes your way you must back up or wait a bit and let him pass before you can proceed. A truck or bus and a bike do not fit on the roads. That is in the straight parts, forget the corners. In the corners, over the narrow bridges, might is right. The truck will go first.
We only made it as far as Ampezzo in Italy. was under the impression that this was Cortina D’Ampezzo, the 1964 Olympic town but it turned out to be a rundown town. We had a strange encounter here, or better 2 encounters.
The first was when we tried to check into the hotel. We agreed to the price and we left our helmet and jacket in the room when we walked down together, the gal who showed us the room was friendly enough and her English passable. Now she wanted my passport so I gave her my driver’s license instead. She wanted to keep it behind the counter, in free view of all and accessible to everybody who knows where to look. I refused to hand over my license for her to keep but agreed that she could make a photocopy. She was not happy; she wanted the license in her possession. She wanted the key back, too. A melee of confusion occurred about keys, identifications, etc. I handed over the key and now she refused to let us back into the room with the jackets and helmets being locked up inside. She did not kidnap us but she kidnapped our belongings. She wanted the physical passport or license. Finally, she agreed to open the door again for us to retrieve our belongings but only after she made copies of the driver’s license. The whole affair would have been a comedy if it I had not been involved. After much to do, we took our stuff and saddled up again and left.
Tired and worn out from riding the twisties, were do we go now? The town does not have another hotel. We rode down the main road a bit and found an Albergo, not so nice but we had a bed for the night. Nobody asked us for the license or passport here until in the morning and then only to copy down the number and the home address. The Albergo was a family affair. The daughter showed us the room and then disappeared. We walked around town to find a spot to quench our thirst and after a ginger wine for Carol and a beer for me the world was much better already.
Here is the 2nd event. After returning to our Albergo we asked if they knew of a place to eat. We asked in the bar downstairs and a man sitting at the bar took his cell phone and called around, trying to find a place that is open since the town really does not have a place to eat. He gets an answer on his cell phone and insists on driving us there. It is dark already, about 8.30 pm and this guy races with us thru the narrow alpine streets and drives us to the next town just so we can eat. He drops off us, leaves us his phone number to call him back once we have eaten and leaves. Ok, so we go inside this eatery and the kitchen is closed. The gas stove is broken, they cannot cook. Everybody is very sorry but they cannot cook. What to do? We call our driver back and he comes right away and picks us up. Everybody is shaking their head and all feel bad that we do not have anything to eat. He calls his wife at home (while driving FAST in the dark on twisty roads) and tells her to make spaghetti, just for us. It turned out, that our driver is the owner of the Albergo and his wife serves us freshly made, absolutely delicious spaghetti free of charge. We feel badly but no, they do not accept any money. Finito!
Now we are finished eating and ready to go to our room when the daughter comes to us and tells us, today is my 17th Birthday, I would like you to have some cake with my family and me. Naturally, we joined them and had champagne and cake for desert. We took lots of pictures of her, her mother and father, grandmother and grandfather, brother, 2 uncles and an aunt.
What did all this cost? Euro 50.- for the room.
The experience? Priceless !! Thank you, this old town Ampezzo might not have a great hotel or an eatery that is open but it has people with good hearts.

Grossglockner and Heiligenblut

We had a slow start, took a leisurely breakfast and left when the sun started to warm up the coolness of the night. The temperatures vary greatly from day to night here and a sweater comes in handy.
We decided to take the Grossglockner Pass (RT107 South from Zell to Heiligenblut). This mountain, the Grossglockner (Big Bell Mountain) is the highest mountain in Austria at 3564 meters and a pass has crossed this mountain for millennia already. The Celts and the Romans marched across this high beast and made a trail for us to follow. You have to pay a Maut (toll) of 18 Euros per bike to be let thru the gate to take this road.
Today’s road peaks at about 2500 meters and is full of curves and switchbacks with large drop offs into the valleys far below. Few or no railings are present; don’t make a mistake, it will be your last if you make it in the wrong spot. This is a mountain pass of 1st and 2nd gear with very few chances to go to 3rd gear and generally a constant 12% grade up or down. There are 40 switchbacks (a turn of at least 180 degrees). you drive in one direction to fully turn around to go the other direction in a very limited amount of space, glued on the side of a mountain with traffic meeting you at any time or at any point. Yes, large buses, too. There is no time to panic, you are committed and you have no choice, you must go on. There is no place to pull over, no place to slow down too much. In the turns you must keep up your momentum to make it around the steeply banked roads. This is not a road for beginners. And if you are afraid of heights you might feel very anxious and your pulse rate will increase for sure. There is not much time to gaze about you and you cannot admire the wild landscape, your focus is on the road, on the next turn on the way to approach the oncoming traffic. There are some pull offs and we took a few to take some pictures
we gave ourselves a bigger break at the top. A large enough area gives you a reprieve. I believe you can have a coffee, too or something to eat but I cannot recall, really.
I saw a sign at this parking lot that said for bikers only and a narrow, paved with cobblestones, road twisting even further up the mountain. Naturally I took it but Carol had enough after 2 steep turns and waited for me to come down again. There was nothing on top, just the feeling, ok, I made this little bit, too.
We looked at a map posted on the side of the road and saw that a small detour further down the mountain leads us to a glacier. glacier is named after the last Austrian Emperor Franz-Joseph and it is said that he hiked to this spot once. If he did, it was an accomplishment, because this mountain is steep. The way down is not much easier than the way up. I let the motor brake my momentum; 2nd gear worked fine, without using the breaks too much. We made it safely to Heilingenblut (Holy Blood) at the other side of the Grossglockner.
Finding a hotel was easy but Internet connections are hard to come by. Dinner was in a rustic wooden house but it took a hike up the mountain to get to it. We deserved the beer that night.

Hinterthal, Hoher Koenigsberg, Austria

This is our first full day of riding in Austria. Green meadows, fat cows, rich farmland, rolling hills and as close to the Sound of Music as you can get. We are near Salzburg but we do not want to see any more large cities. Show us some small town living please. That is what we said to ourselves. We took local roads, no highways.
As a trial run for the passes to come we took route 166 called the “Salzburger Dolomiten Strasse”. We paid the 3.50 Euro per bike Maut (Toll) and it was a mild experience which brought us just above the tree line to about 1300 meters. It was a curvy road with some first or second gear switchbacks. It is a ski area in winter and a good taste of what lies ahead.
We stopped for the night in a very small town on Rt 164 called Hinterthal. We stopped early for the day even though the weather was perfect for riding. This little town, in a dead end valley is a delight. The Hotel Theresa gave us a garage for the bikes, we talked to the son of the owner named Joseph (Seppl), who cooked in the kitchen and was leaving the next day to visit Toronto, Chicago and Detroit. We were taken in by the Miller family as if we were friends. The owner rides an 1150 GS and the son a KTM dirt bike.
The mountain range surrounding this valley, the Hochkoening (High King) has mountain peaks all over 2500 meters high. Snow was still visible in some spots. The air was crystal clear, no wind (there is never really a lot of wind in the Alps because the mountains block any air currents) cows grazed on the high meadows, wooded patches of firs or pines gave it a picture perfect feeling. the houses had balconies with flower boxes full of colorful flowers. Each house was neat and well taken care of. We had a beer in front of a garden restaurant and watched the people go by. It was such a peaceful, quiet, delightful and restful experience after a day’s ride. Carol did not want to leave; she was humming “The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music”, to herself. the hotel had had Wi-Fi we would have stayed longer.
During the war they wanted to run a rail road through this valley but it never happened. Thank God, it saved a pretty spot for us to visit. The food that night was delicious as was breakfast the next day.

Steyr, Austria

We made it into Austria in one day. I remembered the way the taxi driver drove and took the same route to get out of town. What a difference in appearance. Even before the border I could tell we were getting near Austria. The houses looked cleaner; the yards were tended with flower beds and vegetable gardens. The fields looked trimmed. Once we entered Austria it seemed a different world. Am I more sensitive to this than others? I don’t know, but to me it was evident.
On the way through unknown parts of the Czech Republic we ran into heavy fog. Carol pointed out that my tail light was out so I stopped on the side of the road to try to fix it. I took the tail light apart, checked the light bulb but all was ok. I checked the fuse panel, because when I looked after I stopped; I also had no head lights. I moved some fuses around because I could not find a burnt out one. Nothing seemed wrong but still no lights! I checked for loose connections or wires. Nothing! And then…. I saw that the light switch on the handle bar was not turned on. I have a European set up and you must switch the headlights and tail lights on manually. Well, somehow this was turned off. After resetting the switch, all was well. Shows you, sometimes the solution is so simple. Lesson learned, check the obvious first.
We rode as far as Steyr and stopped for the night in a hotel right on the joining of 2 rivers. The river Steyr runs into the river Enns. Hotel was a fabulous hotel; a 4-star rating and a former way station for the wood that was floated down the rivers. We had a wonderful view of the castle and a dozen or more swans feeding in the water below our room window. I checked for lesser priced accommodations but Steyr was sold out. We had a small room, normally used as maid quarters, but it was fine for one night. Even as small as the room was, way under the roof line with 2 small beds, the price was 80 Euros. What do you do when all is sold out and there is no room to be had anyplace? I guess you just pay!
I find the signage in Austria hard to read. No it is not a matter of language, I speak German and everything is written in German but somehow no long distance direction is given. The next town is mentioned on the signs but none of these towns are listed on the map. We have 2 maps. Very small towns are written in large letters on the map and are not really on any street sign. When asking people their answer is to go to familiar spots (to them) and then turn right. “Make a right at the Bank” What bank? There are 2 banks on the corner. Or follow the road until the 3rd crossing then turn right. I counted 6 road crossing and then I saw the right sign. Or, go 50 meters, then turn right and at the end of the road turn left. Well, after 50 meters there is a hole in the fence, do I enter? Yes, and then turn right on the next left, no that was wrong, it was the 2nd left, etc. Directions are hard to follow here whether by signage or given verbally. I am having a hard time with directions in Austria.

Prague, Czech Republic

Now it is called the Czech Republic, before that it was Czechoslovakia. Before that is was Bohemia, part of the Austrian Empire and before that it was and so on and so on. A lot of history in Prague, a lot of old buildings and I am supposed to be impressed, I know it. What can I say? We arrived in the afternoon, stayed another day; even took a tourist bus tour with guide in English and yet, this city leaves me flat. It is just an old city. Oh, I know, I am supposed to say how lovely, how quaint, and how delightful. Yes, I saw the churches, saw the Prague Palace, and got the tour. think Prague is so popular, so full of tourists that all I saw were tourists. Bera said it best:” It’s so popular nobody goes there anymore”.
We checked the hostel that was recommended but we did not feel safe leaving our bikes unattended. There was just too much trash around for me to feel comfortable. Three buildings over was an Exotic Club so there would have been a lot of people there at night. We took a 4 star hotel instead with a guarded underground garage but they only had room for one night. So this makes it difficult to plan anything. Arriving in the late afternoon without having the hotel room for the next day gives us the next day to find another hotel. Besides the packing, unpacking, riding the bike across town and finding new parking for the bike makes multi hotel stays cumbersome. But what choice did we have? Well, we found another hotel in the center of the old city and we left the bike in the first, guarded hotel and took a taxi to the 2nd hotel. A bit of a roundabout way but it worked out just fine.
The streets are narrow in Prague, full of cobblestones and trolley tracks. I saw 2 missing manhole covers and there are steps built into the roads as speed bumps but no warning signs. take a leaning turn and hit one of those steps; you will go down on a bike. There are very few signs but the ones I saw were written in Czech only which is very hard to read. You have to guess the direction which is not easy while riding in narrow, twisted, one way roads, watching traffic and trying to read the few signs that are there. I managed but just barely.
I was glad to park the bike and use the trolley system on the first night. Again, not easy because what direction do we take? When do you get off? The signage is not user friendly. I cannot say that much is unfriendly in Prague but there is sure a different mentality present. A layout map of the bus and trolley system would have been nice. With so many tourists around I thought it was easier to get around. I was cheated in exchanging Euro into Czech Kronen. She was behind a thick glass window and when I called her a thief she said yes, I am. She knew there was nothing I could do to her. Sorry Prague, I did not have a nice experience and you leave me kind of flat and sad. I wish I could rave about you but I just cannot.
So we left after the two days and I must say I felt better once I was out of town and on the way to Austria. Just because people go to a place does not mean it is a good place especially if you are on a motorcycle. I can think of better places to ride.

Eisleben and Leibzig

When we left Koethen we rode into many road construction sites which completely blocked the road. There were no arrows as to how to circumnavigate the construction. We were surrounded by fields, the road was blocked and which way to go? The locals know of course, and we took a guess, only to end up blocked by the same construction further along. Our GPS was of little help, it did not have details fine enough. We talked to the workers and they let us through, even shoveled some dirt away so we could ride our bikes around the debris. It was a bit dangerous riding next to a 6 foot deep ditch on wet dirt. One slip and we would have been in the hole. Well, this was one construction site, but we ran into many others so we took just a dead reckoning and headed South West.
We rode through towns right out of the 15th Century. It was like finding Brigadoon with narrow cobblestone streets and pear trees on the side of the road, full of ripe pears, ready for picking. We only took 2 pears. We rode one cobblestone street that was registered as a museum road.
We even crossed the Elbe River on a small ferry on that road. And now, of course, it starts to rain. Just before we get into Eisleben it pours buckets. I lose Carol going through those narrow streets, dangerously slippery with wet cobblestones, and all the roads are one way streets. How to do you go back to search? Well I risked a dozen tickets and found Carol parked right next to a church. We took refuge in the church from this downpour and I talked to the ladies selling books and brochures. Where are we? We are in Eisleben, the birthplace and the place Martin Luther (1483-1546) died and he had his funeral services in this very church. Now how is this for a coincidence? We did not stay long, just dried out a bit and continued on our way to Leibzig. Something felt not right in Eisleben, I could not stay.

Leibzig is the cradle of the symphony orchestra to me. The Gewandhaus Orchestra is a world class orchestra and one of the busiest in the world. They play over 200 performances a year. Traditionally, the Gewandhaus plays in their own building as a symphony orchestra, then for every opera in Leibzig, as an opera orchestra and every Sunday at the Thomas Church. A busy schedule for sure and it has something to do with JS Bach. JSB was the Cantor for the Thomas Church for 27 years (1723-1750) and trained musicians, many of whom became members of the Gewandhaus.
The Thomas church started training boys as far back as 1254. Even today there is a choir at the church and yes, there is a Cantor. Every Friday they sing motets
and/or cantatas, many of them written by JS Bach.But JSB is not the only famous Cantor. Mendelssohn Bartholdi was a Cantor of the Thomas Church too.
Leibzig is music, music is Leibzig.
city was too long in the DDR, the former East Germany and is still trying to clean up its old buildings and sites. The old city center is a very comfortable place to spend a few days and we did stay 2 days.We found a room in an AO Hostel on the recommendation of two police officers. They even led us by car to the Hostel and stopped traffic for us.
Leibzig is music to my ears. I want to come back and stay and listen to some real JS Bach and real Mendelssohn one day. For now I just bought a CD, all that I could carry and, yes, the memories of a remarkable city.

J.S Bach and Koethen Anhalt

We arrived in Koethen on Monday a little after 4 pm and like it usually happens to me, the castle is closed. The visiting hours are posted; we have to wait until tomorrow at 10 am to see the exhibition of Johann Sebastian Bach who worked at this castle from 1717 to 1723. This is the place where JSB composed the Brandenburg Concertos as a gift for Frederick the Great, at the time Emperor of Germany; whom JSB met during a visit to Berlin.

Frederick the Great was an avid flute player so JSB wrote some concertos for him and presented them to the emperor as a gift. Well, old Fritz tried to play them, found them to be too difficult for his abilities so filed them in the royal archives. These notes were found years and years later by Mendelssohn Bartholdi and brought back to life. Amazing music written by a genius nobody recognized at his time.

All this happened before TV, radio or even electricity. If you wanted music for a party, a celebration or a special occasion you had to hire a musician or even an orchestra. Music before JSB was rather simple and was mostly played on single instruments. JSB changed that and wrote complicated music for a whole orchestra. Each instrument adjusted to play alongside, in connection with or above all the other instruments. It was a new thing at the time.

Religion was the main guideline of life during the 17th century and it shows in the writings and words used to accompany JSB’s music. JSB was a very religious, very bourgeois man. Yet his music is genius. I wanted to visit the place where he worked, where he wrote music that gives me goose-bumps.

So now we have to find a place to stay for the night. I ask folks in the street for the nearest hotel. A lady, who does not shut up and keeps talking about her 9 years old grandchild, who takes piano lessons at the school, etc, etc. tells me that the only worthwhile hotel is Hotel A.

So we follow her advice but find the price of 80 Euro too high. Besides, I did not like the attitude of the receptionist. Sure enough, after we left the building, she comes running after us and says 70 is the lowest she can go but even saying it the way she said it makes me want to sleep on a park bench, rather than give her the money.

So we ride around and we see a Pension that looks neat and comes recommended by people nearby as having great food. Problem is they only open at 6 pm or you must call a phone number to reserve a room. Sorry, I don’t have a phone, nor do I intent to wait until 6 pm to hear ‘sorry, all sold out’.

So now we are down to the only other place near the train station. It looks old and big and not well taken care of. I ask 2 other people about this place and surprise, they say Hotel Koethen is actually the best place to stay. After we find the entrance to this hotel and walk in we find an old but clean place with a lot of charm and character. Built in 1824 it needs outside work but it runs well on the inside. Like on a motorcycle, don’t judge the inside by the outside, Hans. I was pleasantly surprised by the price of 62 Euros incl. breakfast. We had a great dinner there, too.

The next morning we visited the small exhibition inside the castle and after all our travels and all the waiting, there is not that much to see. it was a pleasant surprise, this small town of Koethen. I learned again not to judge something from the outside; a lesson I need to remember.

Wittenberg and Martin Luther

Wittenberg is the town where the religious split between Catholics and Protestants started. Later this split was called the Reformation. In October in 1518 Martin Luther wrote his famous 95 theses (arguments) against the selling of Indulgences.
These indulgences were sold with papal blessing to forgive sins and avoid purgatory; a wonderful money maker for Rome. Martin Luther’s action in objecting to the greed of the Bishops, was condemned by the Pope l during Luther’s 1521 religious trial in Worms, Germany where he ended his defense with the words: “Here I stand. God help me, I cannot do otherwise. Amen.”
Wittenberg at the time was a well known town. It had a University since 1502 and became a Mecca for the newly invented printing process. This process was invented by Gutenberg in a nearby town, who used movable print for the first time. The royal house of Frederick the Third (the Wise), who reigned at this time in Wittenberg, attracted artists and the famous painter Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) who was a known personality and gifted artist then. , I think because of the University, was an ‘in’ town in the 16th Century. Today it is totally asleep.
I was in Wittenberg once before. I had already seen this small town and so I asked myself “Why did I come here”? Wittenberg today is a town like many others, the only thing it has going for itself is that Martin Luther preached here and nailed his 95 theses on the Castle Church door. Oh yes, he is buried here, too.
this town had royalty once, and because of that artists flocked here, schools settled here, etc. but that would not make this town special. Many towns had similar histories. Now I am back in Wittenberg. Why?
Something about Martin Luther’s defiance of authority gets to me. I just read a book () and I guess it rattled my curiosity about the ability of a single man to change history. Not that I want to be a man like this, I am just curious as to what makes this happen. Is it the town, the upbringing, the area one grows up in or just luck? Luther studied Law, then became a monk and priest by a fluke and changed history after that. Was he in control? Am I in control? When riding my bike I wonder sometimes why I ride like I do. I sit in the rain, in the cold or heat and just ride around. Yes, I like it, yet why am I doing it? A car is so much more comfortable. Am I really in control of my destiny? This all sounds like a brain fade but why am I riding a bike around the world and ending up in little Wittenberg?
I can only misquote Luther: “Here I am, I ride, I cannot do otherwise.

Berlin Day 2

On this 2nd day in Berlin we performed the same routine as yesterday; using the train to get in from Zossen, from about 40 minutes south of the Capital. Last night on the way back Berlin, at the rail road station I asked some strangers if they could give us a ride back to the hotel. Without much to do these young, hippies looking, folks packed us in a VW bus and we did not have to walk the 2 miles from the Railroad Station to the Hotel. It all worked like clockwork.
After getting into Berlin on Day 2, we wanted to visit the Reichstag Building, part of the German Bundestag (Parliament). Already, at 10am a long line waited to see the inside of this Building. We saw the line yesterday and figured that on a Sunday morning we would not have to wait. Well, there is always a line up to see the glass cupola Sir Norman Foster, the British Architect, created for this old building. There is a security check before entering the building. Outside the Reichstag looks old, but inside it is very modern, totally new and technologically advanced. A glass cupola was chosen to show the transparency of Government. Admission to the glass dome is free but only so many people are allowed in at once. Large, adjustable mirrors hang on a center column to direct the sunlight into the actual Parliament right below. A rotating sunscreen was added to create shade, if and when needed. This design by Sir Norman Foster was effective and artistically pleasing.
The concept, this very modern approach to a building inside an old, historic building could be a guide for many historic places. I liked it a lot. Could we have planned better and also get a tour of the actual plenary chamber of the German Bundestag section? This is the room where political discussions are held. Well, there is so much to do, so much to plan, we were happy with the little we could see. Besides, in the 2 days we had, where is your preference?
Being in Berlin we wanted to experience a classical music performance. Carol read about a 4pm performance at the Konzerthaus on the Gendarme Market. This building, like many buildings in Berlin was designed by Karl Friederich Schinkel, the famed Architect of the 18th Century. It is a splendid building on a famous square lined with outdoor café’s. We used one of these coffee places to write some postcards and then it rained. Lucky for us we had a cover but it rained extremely heavily. I don’t know about you but I love to sit in a protected area having a coffee and watch people’s reaction to a heavy downpour. To me this is the ultimate in people watching. We just sat and enjoyed our coffee and let the world go by.
We learned later that while we were sitting there peacefully, all tickets to this afternoon’s performance were being sold. Not a seat left for the 4 pm Concert. What to do? We are off to KaDeWe, the largest Department store in Continental Europe.
There are tons of articles for sale on about 600,000 Square feet. There are 2000 employees servicing 180,000 daily customers. The 6th floor is famous since here alone 34,000 products are available in the Deli Dept. Yet when we go there, on a Sunday afternoon, it is closed! The store hours in Germany, yes, even in big Berlin, are much more moderate than in the U.S. or Canada. Normal store hours are from 10am to 6pm Mon-Fri, Sat until 2pm only and Sunday most of the stores are closed. We took a chance that KaDeWe would be open but no such thing. So we had to think of an alternative.
We tested out the U-Bahn system and liked it a lot; it was much easier getting around the city than using buses. On one platform we read that the ‘Blue Man Group” had a performance and we bought the tickets for this performance right away, having learned from our Konzerthaus experience. After a slow dinner of typical german food (sausage and sauerkraut for me, Berliner liver for Carol), we experienced the world famous Blue Man Group performance. A pantomime in blue with loud, weird music and slap stick comedy. Not my favorite thing to see. Yet, it is all part of life and life is good in Berlin. We might come back to this city some day. For now, we are off to explore places in the former DDR that were hidden for so long by politics.

Berlin, Day 1

With precision, all went as planned. Amazing how things work in Germany. The train was on time and we arrived at the new (3 years old ) Berlin Hauptbahnhof. We read that 300,000 people come through this station every day and it is punctual to the minute.
Things work here. Everything is well-planned but you have to know how things work. We bought a Berlin Card for unlimited transportation and steep discounts at shows and museums. Everybody speaks English. The vibrancy and energy in Berlin is palatable. There is so much so see and so much to do that it defies description.
We started off taking a local bus to see the now freely accessible Brandenburg Gate. I remember the Gate being blocked off by barbed wire and ‘You are now leaving the American Sector’ signs. Perfectly restored, the Brandenburg Gate is now the heart of Berlin. Built between 1788 and 1791, it was outside the wall of the old city of Berlin and was actually a gate. Now it is almost in the center of the new city.
Twenty-seven districts were incorporated into what is now Berlin. Due to god planning, Berlin does not feel cramped. The layout is such that almost every point can be reached via U-Bahn (Subway) or S-Bahn (Local train Service) or bus or tram. We made good use of our Berlin Card and used this system frequently. By asking a few questions in English, we found everything. It is easy to get around.
Yes, Berlin is a bit touristy in some spots and to get over this feeling we bought a trip ticket for a sightseeing bus tour, just to get a feel for the layout of monuments, for what is worth seeing and revisiting. This was the on/off trip we all know. Get off anyplace and get on anyplace within a certain circuit.
During the train ride in we read about a museum that shows the history of Berlin called “The Story of Berlin” and this exhibit was well done. It included a trip into an nuclear bomb shelter, located right under the busy Kurfuerstendamm shopping street. Three thousand, six hundred people could survive there for 2 weeks after a nuclear bomb blast, or so it was thought in the 1970’s during the Cold War when the place was built. It is still ready for occupation at any time but after seeing the conditions under which life would continue, I’ll pass. I would rather light up quick and get it over with than perish below in a place like this. It was a shocking, surreal experience, something I don’t think about every day. Berlin thought about this for years and for generations as the preparation and the public location for these 16 bunkers throughout the city, shows. This museum esxhibit also shows living conditions in Berlin before WW2 and the total destruction during and after WW2. “The Story of Berlin” is informative yet not pretentious. Berlin does not shy away from its dark side during the Nazi period either. It is open and discusses the terrible side of its past freely.
Berlin is an amazing place. We visited the Kaiser Wilhelm Church, the bombed out shell of a church that was turned into a memorial. Not much is left of this once splendid, almost flamboyant Cathedral. The left over pieces of the tiled murals shows the past splendor.
Right next to the cathedral, on an open plaza, Fire Departments from cities throughout Germany had a timed, rescue competition. Haul a pack of large hoses up 3 stories, then pull up one more bundle via a rope, run down the stairs, use a sledge hammer to move a heavy object, run thru a maze, use a fire hose to hit a target
and then pull a 180 lbs dummy across the parking lot; all that with full gear on, using only the oxygen provided by the breathing apparatus on your back and in rather warm, humid weather. I think the best time was 2 minutes, 20 seconds or something like it. It is a hard job being a fire fighter. I am thinking of my daughter Michelle who has chosen this job as her life time occupation. Not easy to do, you have to be in great physical and mental condition. These are the preparations needed when you are called to save a house or a person within a burning house; these games prove to be invaluable when really needed. I was fascinated by what I saw and how it was done.
We spent our first day here just getting a feel for this amazing city. Yes, we were tourists, but also observers of the life around us. Not only did we see the buildings but we watched and interacted with the people. We had a discussion with a Motorcycle Police Officer about BMW bikes and he let Carol sit on his bike. We spoke with Special Police Force Units trained to deal with the 8.3 protests that happen somewhere in Berlin daily. We heard people shouting against the fur industry and the use of animals in test labs. We were detoured because a demonstration blocked off some streets altogether. Berlin is an active place politically. I don’t think that I have ever seen a place as interested in political or world issues as I have in Berlin.
We visited ‘Hackersche Markt”, a place of mixed old and new buildings where a green grocer market is held, giving a feeling of small town living. Some people call Berlin a ‘Dorf’; small town within a large area. Whatever it is called, Berlin is a great town to visit.

How to Find a New Tire

So now it is time for a new tire. My old front tire is bald and I am nervous riding at high speed on a front tire like this knowing the Autobahn will eat the rubber quickly. We are just north of Frankfurt/Oder and surely we can find a tire place. I will just ride in to town and ask, somebody will know a BMW shop or a bike shop that has tires. I ask a taxi driver stopped in queue and he tells me he knows of a Honda shop but his driving instructions are difficult to follow. Nevertheless, I find a certified BMW mechanic who services all kinds of bikes. No, it is not the place the cab driver told me about but who cares. Somebody will fix my bike in Frankfurt/Oder and then we are off to go further south.
Or so I thought. It comes down to having a tire in stock. There are so many different tires for bikes now that nobody stocks any tires. The next available Tourance tire is in Zossen, 45 minutes south of Berlin. The guy at the dealership in Frankfort/Oder is friendly and calls BMW Wernecke in Zossen for us and yes they have tires and can do it if we get there in time. It is Friday afternoon by now, no time to lose. Off we go to find Zossen. The GPS helps a lot and we find it right away. The receptionist finds Martin who speaks English well and within 2 hours I have a new tire, the kickstand is fixed and the oil is changed in the motor, transmission and final drive and Carol’s chain is tightened and she has an oil change as well.
We could go on our way now. But….. why? What’s the hurry? Besides, Carol’s bike needs a gizmo (ABS sensor) that fixes her stopped speedometer and ABS. It could be in tomorrow, Saturday, and they will replace it early Monday morning. Can we wait? There is a hotel right down the road and BMW guests get a special discount rate. We could take the train into Berlin. Why not stay the weekend? The hotel has the room, best in the area, for Euro 75/night with breakfast. We could take the train into Berlin as the train station is only a bit more than a mile away and the hotel owner will drive us there in the morning right after breakfast. She will inquire about the train schedule for Saturday and Sunday. We are so close; we just have to see Berlin and get a feel for the town. Wernecke BMW can hold the bikes, helmets, jackets, and stuff we do not need, in storage over the weekend, all secure and locked up. All seems the most natural thing and all seems to fall into place. Is it any wonder we took the weekend off and visited Berlin via train? With all this stuff taken care of, we took a carefree weekend and just visited Berlin. The front tire is changed, oil is changed, kickstand is working and Monday we are off again to go south.

Kostrzyn, Poland or Lebus in Germany

We had enough Zlotys (Polish dollars) left to stay one more night in Poland. While riding towards the German Border I reflected on Poland’s comparison to the rest of Europe and I am very happy for Poland. What Poland accomplished since 1991, after liberation from the Soviet System, is amazing. Poland did not have a big brother like East Germany had West Germany. Poland had to do it all alone. Yes, with the help of the EU, but the EU only gave a proportional amount of money to Poland. Congratulations, Poland! You did well and you did it mostly yourself and you can be proud of your accomplishments. Sometimes I felt a twinge of loss when I rode through the former German provinces. When I went to school I was taught that these areas ARE German and that we will get them back, someday. Amazing how stuff like that sticks in your head when you are taught nonsense like this. What did I know, I was a kid going to school in Germany and the teacher is right, right? Hopefully people will learn, like I learned, that borders are only an indication of Government, not a line to be fought over. The history of Europe, no matter what country, is full of fights for ownership, beliefs and power struggles. I hope that Poland can keep her land and can keep her borders open so that all can come and appreciate her beauty.
We still saw a lot of Soviet System leftovers. We saw old Soviet made apartment buildings, falling down in disrepair. I noticed pipelines above the ground running alongside the roads and gasoline stations with the tanks above ground next to the pumps, rusty and not maintained. We saw farms that still use machinery from 50 years ago. Cargo is sometimes still hauled by horse drawn wagons and coal is delivered this way. Roads are patched to make them passable and while most are paved and super smooth, there are some that are still cobble stones. Poland is a mix of Soviet and Western Politics. It is walking away from the Soviet System, embracing Western ideals especially in the larger towns while small villages are still struggling with the Soviet heritage.
We decided to stay the last night in Kostrzyn, Poland, east of Berlin and then cross over to Germany the next day. Well, we rode around and tried to find a hotel in Kostrzyn. Wow, this town is exactly what I described above. All the hotels we saw where below par. Yes, there is a newer one right at the border but then we might as well cross into Germany. We tried to find any accommodations but all we saw were Siberia Style shops selling I don’t know what. The people grew up with this look and don’t know better, but for me this was the worst town I experienced in Poland.
So we decided to cross just to the next German town and find a hotel there. Good thinking, Hans, but… there is no hotel in the next town in Germany. It is getting late and we are riding south towards Frankfurt on the Oder when I spot Hotel on the side of the road. I stop and ask if they have rooms and the guy tells me, yes, come and ask the lady inside. Well, we parked the bikes, smiling inside to find this hotel with a restaurant attached only to find out that nothing is available, all taken.
Off we go further south along route B 112 and see a sign for Zimmer with an arrow. We have not used this yet, a room in somebody’s home. It turned out to be perfect. Safe place to park our bikes in their yard, within walking distance to a restaurant in an idyllic spot right on the river Elbe. Quiet at night and with a big bed. No footboards so I can really stretch out. Now who would have thought that the town of Lebus had a place like this? This town, by the way was mentioned in papers dating back to the year 1100. We are talking history. You would not believe this town. Nothing happened here, yet people live a life of contentment, an old man was walking his dog like he does every night, I suppose. Such a contrast to the way I live. They are totally content and we? We just visited.

Teutonic Knights

One of the forces to be reckoned with in the early middle Ages was the Order of the Teutonic Knights. They wore a white tunic with a black Cross. Spartan living, water, bread and old, worn clothing were all the Order promised the Knights.
After the Crusades ended (about 1198) the returning pilgrims did not know where to go or what to do and many had no clue where their home was. Some were good fighters, some were the 2nd or 3rd sons of the gentry and they found solace in the church. They joined religious orders like the Knights Templar for France or the Teutonic Knights for Germany. Being very religious they spread the good news of Christ by force, if needed, throughout the Eastern part of Europe. Notorious for brutality, for collection of taxes to support their castles, they were none the less the ‘good’ guys because they were religious zealots sanctioned by the Church. I can’t imagine what the bad guys did. Malbork (Marienburg) in Pomerania, Germany was their headquarters, at least until 1457 when the Polish took over and converted the Castle into a Royal stronghold for their King. Marienburg was held by Poland until 1772 when the German Prussians reclaimed it. In between, the Castle was besieged by Swedes, Russians, etc.
We had a tour of history. All the historical, religious changes before, during and after the Reformation in Germany can be found right here. Mostly destroyed during WW2, it has been rebuilt by Poland and is today a tourist attraction. It has the feel of a cloister with battle stations all around. Heavy fortifications, tricky traps, its immense size and history made it a worthwhile visit. Prices are high to help rebuild this former strong hold of the Teutonic Knights.
We are done with Poland, the conquest of countries and the spread of belief systems. From now on we are following the Muse. Let’s visit the Birthplace of J.S. Bach, see where he lived, where he wrote, what he wrote, etc. I think this is more fun. Besides… our bikes need some service now. We learned today that Heinz Bals in Cammer, near Minden, Germany is the best BMW mechanic. We will visit him too.