Picking Up the Pieces

So, I am pretty proud that I have been able to travel and post every day on this trip. But, the long day getting home got the better of me. So, this may be a bit episodic, but it should finish up a flawless trip, a wonderful journey:

Traveling Day

So, transition day. The bicycles were packed and ready to go across the street, and we were glad for the location of this hotel. We were able to get carts and bring them into the hotel to load up-very convenient! The bags packed easily. Most of our stuff needed washing, so packing was more stuffing than anything. We had some worry over the weight of the bicycle boxes, but we felt they were close enough to not warrant any detail work in odd sized luggage.

The immediate desire we had in the morning was for us to find a way to post a package to family that had all the extra tape Blessed Ole had given us. He made sure that we were prepared. Plus, I wanted to leave my camera card reader for Finn. I had checked maps, and found a couple of prospective places to walk to. I was down to 70 Danish kroner cash, and my credit cards have been clunking on the ticket machines, so I found what looked like a post office near the hotel we used when we first arrived. Of course, we had bicycled there on arrival. But the general plan was to walk one way (3.5 km) and then hitch a train back.

It was overcast, and we made the walk with a little drizzle, but we found out that this postal place was an un-attended machine drop and pickup, no help to us. We tried one more place at a Meny grocery, but it would not open until 10 am, and we just didn’t have the time. So, back to a train station, credit card wouldn’t work again, but I paid 48 krona, the minimum, for a 3 km ride back to the airport. Easy.

We took showers, put the final touches on our expensive, IKEA duffles (kidding), and made our way down to the lobby, loading everything on carts and checking out of the Copenhagen Clarion. We had a couple of “squeezes” to get into the departure area, but everything went smoothly, and oversized luggage was just fine about the bike boxes.

Actually, the boxes that Blessed Ole got for us were the best size we have had so far. And, after we unload them in Santa Barbara, my intention is to keep them for our next trip.

We made our way through security, stopped to purchase some Bornholm Snaps to take back to California, and pretty much just went to the departure gate. I had brought my trusty “Aqua d Or” water bottle and I filled it with the intention of drinking a lot of Danish water on the flight, a brace against jet-lag.

We had been upgraded to Premium class, but I was unable to get seats side by side. I figured I would beg my case with a passenger and try to swap. And, that is just what I did. Lynette and I ended up in the second row, just fine. Oh, and when we checked in at departures, I had been told that I was chosen for an “extra” security check. That meant that prior to boarding, I got called to a back room, had to take my shoes off and have my backpack swabbed for explosives. Easy.

The flight was eleven hours and fifteen minutes. And even though the room and recline of the seat was fabulous, it was long. I just can’t binge watch the movies and get by. There was a guy in the front row seat to my left, and I watched him type on a “script,” for at least 9 hours of the flight. He was extremely focused. I was amazed.

Eventually, all torture, both severe and benign, come to an end. We arrived in LAX, passed the hoops (and I praise our Global Traveler cards), and made our way to the corner by the passenger pickup area, where I left Lynette with two bicycles, four bags, and a crush of passengers watching the jammed busses and cars honk and flail for forward progress in the crazy loop around the arrival ports for the different airlines.

Now, in Denmark, I had told everyone how terrible LAX was, and how intimidating traffic was, and I must have done a fine job of describing it, because I had certainly convinced myself that it was going to be bad. I made my way to B9, the purple pickup area for rental car companies, leaving Lynette to watch Angelenos abuse a poor airport employee who was trying to keep traffic moving. I spotted the Avis bus parallel to me, and raced to get there.

It was a mad-hatter’s ride to the Avis area, and even the bus driver was talking to herself and making angry noises in her intercom to the Avis mother ship. A traveler next to me, a woman, looked at me and we both shook our heads at disbelief in the ride. But, I disembarked at Avis Preferred, found my name on the board, with a Dodge Caravan in spot L22. I dropped the seats down for loading the bicycle boxes, gritted my teeth and drove back to the madness.

Now, I have made a point of talking about how Danish road design “forces” driver cooperation. In this case, the mass of busses, and cars and slow speed does the same. I almost missed the turn, but was able to park right next to Lynette, and we loaded the goods into the van, and made our way back into the jerk and stop of the traffic flow.

I had booked a room at the Crown Plaza for the night, a good choice for $150, and we didn’t have far to go to park, take minimal things upstairs, and get some rest after almost 24 hours of wakeful problem solving and travel. We pretty much skipped any more food. The airline food was okay, not great, but rest is what we needed, and Lynette was asleep fast.

Morning

I dreaded the drive back, but it wasn’t bad. We left the hotel at about 7:30, hitting morning traffic, which was slow, but only cost time. We had to creep all the way to the Getty, but once over the hill, and heading out of the San Fernando Valley, things picked up quite well. And, looking at the clock, I could see that we would probably be able to return the rental car by about 10:30 am. Originally, not planning the night in LA, I had figured about 10 am, but I had gotten the car late, so it ended up being about $100, roughly what a shuttle (no bikes though) would cost. I like our strategy on all this.

The dog was ecstatic to see us. The cats acted like we were Swedish terrorists, and skulked behind furniture for the longest time. But, eventually, Little Cat and Obie came round, and we were home.

Taking Notes

So, just as an indicator of Lynette’s attitude about these trips, she set about washing and repacking to be “ready to go.” What a trooper. I thought of the grim look on her face on the last ride, the uphill part, the rain, the wind, my offer to board a train, and her response, “I’ll leave it up to you,” and then her immense satisfaction at finishing the ride, with a real ride.

I went about making a list of what I took, what I used, what I could leave, and just planned for next time. By the way, (this is Wednesday), we took our morning walk this morning for coffee, and much of the conversation was about what worked, what didn’t, and how much support and love we got from our Danish cousins.

Some of the things we noted on our walk. Importantly, Lynette took no falls this trip. She was proud of this (I think there were two, last trip), and this is important because we love this travel, and we both understand that we need to be safe, and that injuries could end a trip. (Note, there have been multiple times when I get “cold feet,” a narrow shoulder, traffic, etc., and Lynette has encouraged getting it “over with,” and we have moved on.)

We traveled far less than on previous trips, but because we were taking it day by day, we really had some flexibility to respond to weather, to distance, and to the messages our bodies were giving us at any time. We were not really in bicycle shape for the trip. And, once again we gained strength over time. I have used 50 km as a benchmark for our trips (30 miles), and I think we were under that for the whole trip.

Once again, we had too much stuff. We were fortunate because Lynette’s cousins took at least 15 pounds of pannier fat off our hands for the trip. For better or worse, when we are traveling, we have our riding clothes, and our civilian clothes, and re-use when possible. Lynette has a green manual wash bag, but she only had to use it once. We found other options for washing. By the way, Denmark is a social democracy. People are taken care of. Self laundromats are not common.

We will get better.

Of course, the main components of this successful trip were varied and multiple. Most importantly, we moved our bodies. I know personally, that I feel better for the activity, both my back, my hip, and strength all improved.

And, everything else:

We connected with awesome family, who embraced us into small Denmark, family life in Denmark, not the big stuff, but the important stuff. We are so grateful for our inclusion.

Lynette and I are a team. A trip like this is a challenge. We love each other and support each other. Sometimes, like when the riding is grim, and I have carried our progress too far beyond food, I wonder why she is so willing to do this with me. But, I am thankful. I’m aware that she has little control over events on these trips, and her focus is always on riding safely and like a Dane, on a straight, true path. But, we figure things out. Paths are found. Bikes are packed. Our world moves.

And then there is what we learn. Of course, the embrace of culture is key. Our travel mantra, the answer is “Yes.” Do you want? Do you want to? Do you want to try?

YES.

No question. Sure, maybe you get a plate of gelatinous meat, but the point of travel is to bridge cultural differences, and saying no to anything would be criminal. And we had family birthday parties, exposure to weaving, Icelandic ponies, rutting deer, sand sculptures, and, really important, Danish schooling and youth. Just the best.

People. There isn’t enough that I could say about the folks we have touched and been supported by on this trip. Primary are cousins Finn, Marianne, Anne-Marie, Øle, and all the extended family. But more than that, everyone we met on the trip was kind and good to us. From Airbnb hosts, to hotel staff, just the best, and we are appreciative.

Of course, I could not disregard food. Sure, I have this thing for food porn photos. I believe strongly that one could view a slideshow of what they ate on a trip, and re-live the trip, with stories. And, we had a wonderful eating experience in Denmark. Of course, we often ate salads from the local markets, or had veggies and hummus and crackers for a meal, but the variety of tasty goods was solid.

And politics. So, we were on the road for six weeks. We watched television once, just to look at a weather report. We were aware of US news, just because we were online. (BTW, ATT charges 15 dollars a day for international access. We purchased 30 day SIMs for our unlocked phones, 60 GB data/10 hours talk, for 15 dollars each. US rip off. Save an unlocked phone. We ALWAYS knew where we were.)

But the point is that the Danes never held any ill feelings toward us. I think they see our administration as dangerous, but we made such good, happy connections by saying, “Yeah, we are from California, and we are not here to buy Greenland.”

(*Trump said he wanted to buy Greenland and dissed the Danish government. Insulting.)

Instant friendship and laughter. Such good people, the Danish. So generous. So accepting.

This is about components of our joy. And, the most important component, the most important aspect of this whole thing is, “What’s next?”

Truth. The journey continues, and we are blessed to be able to do it. Lynette, I suspect, would be happy to go to Denmark again, now, next week, when she is packed (and, she is packed). We shall see. We hope to see visitors from our family in Denmark, and we hope to continue our adventures. And, we are hoping for a journey with Mallory and David.

The future will bring itself.

Back to Prague

It is good to be back in Prague again!

We awoke in Regensburg a little blurry eyed from all of the beer festival stimulation, but eager to make another trip into the city before we had to check out from the hotel. We showered and packed everything, and then we charged off again on a now familiar path to the old town. It is amazing to me how quickly we (me?) can find our way around a place. Really, we were only in town for forty-eight hours. Verena said that she thought we knew the town better than Dennis-it was a nice complement.

Anyway, we went toward the cafe that we had enjoyed breakfast in the previous day, but we discovered that it was not open. It was Sunday, and of course things did not start as early. We wandered over to the cathedral, and found an open hotel cafe right across from the massive facade of St. Peter’s Cathedral. It was still in the shade, and the day was going to warm, and we took a seat and ordered cappuccinos and a breakfast to share, with fruit and bread and eggs and quiche.

Breakfast in front of the cathedral

It was approaching ten, so we finished up and started our way back through the streets, so many narrow, winding, shop lined streets indeed. I saw one street that I thought we had not done in the area near the information center, and I was tempted to turn back and explore it, but we were a bit pressed for time, so we continued on. And, we have this philosophy-strategy about this anyway. It is a term we learned from my backcountry friend, John E. It is called “unfinished business.” John always used it in terms of mountain peaks he tried to climb, but had to delay for circumstance. And it is not a bad thing because it means that one has a reason to return, a logic to bring oneself to a place again, often a praise of the worthiness of a place to be seen and experienced. And so, that street in Regensburg will just have to remain unfinished business until the next trip.

A couple of other things I thought about while there. One often thinks of the German mentality as being efficient, with straight line thinking and no nonsense rule following. Our tour guide noted this when our group was divided at a crossing light. We waited for it to turn green before we became whole again. She said, “We never cross on a red here. We follow rules.” And the morning that Lynette and I cut through the park to the riverside, we were passed by a mature couple jogging, a man and a woman sporting bright colored shoes. They passed at a steady jog, side by side, but what struck me was that they were perfectly in sync. At the exact moment the man’s left foot hit the ground, the woman’s left foot hit the ground, in perfect rhythm, together exactly, for the hundred meters that I was able to observe them.

And yet, that beer festival was rowdy, raucous fun!

We made our way out of town and back onto the highway, heading back toward Plzen, enjoying the fast roads once again. We were supposed to meet Oleh, our friend and bike expert sometime after four. He had offered us a room to use before and after the biking. But the road was so fast, that we found ourselves heading to Prague too early. I saw a sign for a side trip to Castle Kozel, six miles off the road, and that is where we headed, off into the forest and farmland, and up a narrow, tree-lined road, a canopy of gorgeous forest. The Castle was a hunting lodge, with beautiful grounds. We wandered into the area, stopped for a Birell and a sausage at the cafe, and enjoyed a slight cooling breeze in the hot air while I wrote in the blog.

We walked from the cafe and found a cool spot with a breeze under a shade tree by the front of the courtyard castle structure. I worked on the blog, and various other visitors came by. Eventually, an older guy in motorcycle blacks came up and sat next to me. We had a conversation with hand signals and minimal language. I think he was from Plzen, liked photography, used to rock climb, and enjoyed motorcycles. But, heck he was friendly and positive and it was a good conversation.

We left the castle, made our way through the canopy forest, found the highway, and finished our drive into Prague. We made one wrong turn, which led to driving adventure, but eventually we found the street of Oleh’s apartment. Oleh came down and helped me park in an envelope sized space while we unloaded our luggage. We met Vinuta, his girlfriend from London (Mauritus descent), and got our stuff in his comfortable, large roomed apartment. We dropped the rental car off at the Avis office in Prague, and walked back to the apartment.

We discussed the bicycling and Vinuta cooked a delicious meal of Indian flavor with rice, vegetables, and meat with some wine from Lednice. Our plan is to do a three day bike trip with Oleh and Vinuta, return to Prague for a day, and then Lynette and I will start on our trip to Dresden. Oleh said that one can begin by the River Vltava, near his apartment, and go all the way. It’s flat. Errr, it is said to be flat. Nothing is ever really flat.

Oleh was going to take us for a walk in the park, but we were just exhausted. Indeed, we both slept like stones, not really moving till almost eight. Heck, that is almost a record. But it was a good sleep, a sound sleep, a long sleep, the kind of sleep that promises good adventure with good people on a new day.

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Beer Tent Video

Here is a fifteen second beer tent shot:

Beer Songs from Jack Meyer on Vimeo.

 

 

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Beer Festival

Regensburg was marvelous.

We got out of the hotel early and set off to explore the old town, about a mile from our brewery hotel. As usual, we took a different route, a strategy that really helps us to figure out where we are and how to get around. We cut through a park, and walked toward the Danube, finding a path along the river edge. We wandered along until we came to a footbridge to the other side, an island between river and canal, and west of the historic bridge. The entire length of the bridge was decorated with love locks, colorful symbols of commitment and relationship, most inscribed with names, some clever: antique locks, combination locks, or heavy duty theft resistant locks. The railing spaces were almost filled in the most desirable level of the railing.

We walked along the river and under the historic bridge, eventually crossing back into the old art of town, observing some early morning tour bubbles of people being lectured to by devices hanging around their necks, with earphone attachments. We wandered into one of the plazas near the cathedral, and we discovered a farmers market with many stalls and trailers displaying great looking vegetables and meats and cheeses. We bought some croissants and sat near the cathedral to eat them. Wandering back, we stopped at an outdoor cafe and ordered some yogurt and cappuccinos to share. Goodstuff.

We were set to meet with Varena and Dennis at the information center for an English tour at 1:30, so we headed back for a quick nap and regroup. We met them on time, and the tour was fascinating, covering the old Roman settlement, the foundational buildings in a Gothic style, and the later revions of the facades, incorporating Renaissance architectural influences. Our guide was wonderful, the group civilized, and we learned a great deal. I particularly like how matter of fact she was about the culture: and that group of young men (all in lederhosen and matching shirts, flowing by loudly) have been out drinking, and I suspect they are on their way to the festival, where they will drink some more. She noted how wonderful it was to have a university in town, and the festivities did not seem a problem.

After the tour, we went to the WurstKüchen for delicious sausages next to the Danube. We hit a boat ride for an hour, and then separated to regroup for the beer fest that evening, choosing a place to meet up at 7:15. Dennis and Varena explained that they would be wearing traditional clothing, but not just because they wanted to impress us, but because that is what people do. We even went into a clothing shop to check out the traditional clothing. Fun stuff. I found a pair of swim trunks in the lederhosen style, but they didn’t have my size. Dennis thought I could get by wearing them to the beer garden.

We met with Varena and Dennis, and they looked grand. We walked into the fair and it was magnificent. The first part was all miscellaneous items for sale, belts, brushes, household decorations. The next part was food, all kinds, but lots of sausages and deep fried whole fish and pretzels and sweets. There was a place selling steak, and Dennis said that they always named those places with Mexican names. This place was Dos Amigos.

We finally settled on a beer tent, and their were many, and we found seating near to the front. And once the music started, all the young people around us stood in the bench seating at the tables so they could sing along with the drinking songs. It was fabulous, noisy, full of energy, the benches bending under the swaying and hoisting, and Dennis translated the lyrics, which tended to be bawdy with references to drinking more beer. Dennis said that they have laws about how often the bands can play drinking songs. The beer sellers would have every song be a drinking song, of course.

The women bringing the beer (table service) were hardy and steady strong. We saw them carrying up to five one liter steins in a hand with ease. I imagine they make a ton of money in tips. In the center of the tent was a slick pole, and from time to time a young man would grab the pole and make an attempt to get to the top and ring a bell.

We could feel our hearing going, so we moved to the back of the tent, ordered more beer, and Dennis picked out some food, pretzels, cheese, radishes, some sausage. Goodstuff. Later, he went through a complicated decision making process to decide what kind of esoteric pork shoulder part to order and share. Whatever it was, it was great, not something common in the U.S. I took a photo of that part of the menu, so maybe someone can figure out what it was.

We had the second one from the bottom.

Eventually, we wandered back to the hotel, late at night, said our goodbyes to Varena and Dennis with recommendations for them to come visit California. The whole thing was exotic, exceptional, and new. It makes us want to try the real Oktoberfest in Munich.

All in all, just a grand day. Thirteen miles of walking, and so many, many new adventures. And Varena and Dennis were wonderful hosts!

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Bavaria

We drove to Regensburg, Germany to meet up with a friend of my cousin Tom. Verena and I communicated several times, and she encouraged us to come take a look at her city on the Danube. We booked a hotel and made arrangements to meet.

The drive from Plzen was super efficient. The German roads lived up to their reputation, pristine, fast, and smooth. There were pull-out rest stops quite often. Anyone driving under 120 km (70+ mph) was holding up traffic. We made one stop to switch to Euros and check a paper map (no German SIM) and we found ourselves rapidly in Regensburg. We got to the hotel, a three star next to a brewery, parked the car, and then went into old town to check things out. It was too early to check into the hotel.

Beer fest dresses

A famous hat shop that does hats for J. Depp

We stumbled into town and found an O2 mobile shop right away. I had one extra unlocked iPhone, so we put a SIM with a data plan on it and set it up to be a hotspot for the rest of our phones. Now, I think it is pretty reasonable, thirty five euro for a sim and a five GB plan. It works well, although the hotspot phone has to be woken from time to time to get the connections to work. We went on, found the Bismarck Platz where we would meet Verena and eventually headed back to the beer garden at the hotel.

Regensburg is a maze of streets lined with shops and cafes. My first impression was that it would be perfect for my friend Bonnie, a shopping advocate. The narrowest of streets could hold a shop or cafe or two. Bikes were everywhere. It seemed to be the most efficient way to move about the city. The variety of shops was amazing, too. By the way, we passed a Viking tour group, a bubble of people, and were glad we were exploring on our own.

Pretzel at the hotel we stayed at

German brats, ooooh so good!

Lynette got some spaetzle-goodstuff

We got back to the hotel and settled into the beer garden before checking in. The food was great. Brats and beer and schnitzel and spaetzle and pretzel. Too good. I discovered also that a large beer here is really large. A mature couple with panniers walked by and I asked them where they were cycling to. They said Vienna. We were impressed. We checked in the hotel after lunch and took a power nap before meeting Varenna and her boyfriend, Dennis.

Meeting Verena and Dennis

Verena works at Seimens, her father is a teacher, and Dennis is an emerging dentist. We chatted and got to know one another, and walked to the Gothic St Peter’s Cathedral, an amazing thing indeed, with high vaulted ceilings, stunning stained glass windows, and airy spires similar to conic cheese graters. Beyond the church we passed the hat maker shop that did Johnny Depp’s hat in Chocolat, and hats for many other Disney movies. We also passed the oldest brat shop in these parts, the WurstKuch(?), before settling down in a beer garden by the Danube to drink beer and Radlers (beer and lemonade) and talk about travel and culture.

Cheese grater spires

Vaulted ceilings and a hanging organ

We left Verena and Dennis after 10, and the city was alive. A moon was rising above the cathedral, and during our walk home we were treated to a fireworks show above the Danube. I should say the cafes were full, the air pleasant and cool, and the walk home was a treat.

Regensburg by night

This is a wonderful town.

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