European Trip 2000

England | France
Germany 1 | Germany 2 (Home | E-Mail)

Childrens' Skate race in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Germany 2

I went skating (hoping to get in on the skate race that day) while Lyn and Cathrine went shopping. The skate race would be about 6 miles with the track being circled 8 times. I had to leave before the race, but I did watch the kids race which was only two times around. I even took a lap around the course myself. I looked up in the sky and there were dozens, possibly over a hundred, para-gliders in the air. I learned later, that this was the European champoinships and they were racing from Garmisch to the Austrian border. I rejoined Lyn and Cathrine and we went to Munich to meet with Benedikt and skate around the town center and up to the English Gardens. In the evening we dined at a great Greek restaurant. Later we walked in the Schwabbing area, did some people watching, and had some ice cream.

In Garmisch-Partenkirchen
On Sunday, we skated the bike path to Andechs, which is about 9 miles each way. Except for some construction work initially (we had to walk for a ways), it was a beautiful bike path with gently rolling hills. We skated through one deserted town; it felt like I was in an episode of the Twilight Zone. Benedikt had a problem with a blister on his foot. When we finally reached our destination, by coincidence, we saw Alfrieda (Cathrine's mother) and her boyfriend Carl come walking up at the same time! After having another wonderful lunch, Cathrine and I skated back down, while Benedikt (nursing his blister) and Lyn (too tired) rode back with Alfrieda and Carl. Benedikt and Lyn were waiting for Cathrine and I at the end of the path. On the way back to Garmisch we went swimming in the Starnberger See. Later on, we met with Andy and Betina, looked at some of their vacation pictures, and had an ice cream and a walk in Garmisch.

Andy & Betina Betina and Andy
On Monday, we skated around Garmisch where there are beautifully decorated homes and buildings everywhere you look. We had lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant, the Colosseo. Seeing the food we left, the waiter asked if we didn't like the food, but the truth was that we just didn't have room. We skated back to the apartment, but I decided to skate on alongside the stream a little bit further. It was a beautiful path. Eventually, I skated by the ski jumping stadium, where the Olympics jumping competition was held in 1936. Further on, I passed through a see of people and reached the entrance to the Partnachlam, a beautiful canyon you can walk at the bottom of. The path there got so bad that I hitched a ride behind a horsedrawn carriage.

At the Munich Monday night skate

Above Garmisch-Partenkirchen
That evening, we returned to Munich and, for once, there were no accidents! This was a rarity. One time it had been "deja vu", as we saw a trailer that had turned over. With the trailer on its side, the hitch was way up in the air, which also raised the but of the car off the ground. We saw this same thing 2 years ago. We had dinner at the Augustina Beer Garden (oldest in Munich). I had nurmberger bratwurstel and potato salad and Lyn had fish (mackeral, I think) and a pretzel. We shared a Russe (1 liter).

The Munich Monday night skate was a disappointment, being slow and crowded. The reason was that the police escort wasn't going fast enough. Afterwards, we returned to the beer garden for another Russe, our third of the day. Heavy drinkers, aren't we? Tuesday was a holiday in Germany. We celebrated by hiking straight up a mountain and having a wonderful pancake with blueberries and cream at a cafe which seemed to look straight down on the town below. Carl, Alfrieda, and Micka came over for fantastic pasta dinner. That evening, we skated a bike path just outside of Garmisch. It crossed a few cattle guards. Two years ago, we had walked around them. This time I cruised right over them on my skates. Some rain slowed us down and we returned to the car as darkness fell.

Our last supper in Europe
On Wednesday, Cathrine dropped us off at the Munich Airport. Lufthansa airlines had better food, but the same poor leg room. Eleven hours later we were touching down in San Francisco. We managed to be among the first to pick up our luggage and we had to wait less than five minutes to catch a shuttle bus. By 4:30 p.m. we were back home to see the inside of the house covered in a layer of white fur. Our two (white) cats were plenty happy to see us. The mess caused us to work into the evening and we went to sleep at almost the normal time; I ended up with no jet lag.

Car badly damaged by flying portable toilet in Hamburg
Associated Press, Wednesday, June 9, 2004, HAMBURG, Germany
A woman's car was badly damaged Wednesday when a portable toilet was whisked into the air in a storm and flung down on the hood of her car, police said.
The accident happened as the woman was driving toward downtown Hamburg, police spokesman Ralf Kunz said. The woman was not hurt, but the toilet caused damage estimated at $6,000.