On and Off the Autobahn

Flowering Apple Tree Overhanging Walking/Biking Path, Oberlenbach, Germany
The network of paths seems endless and it seems to be well used by both farmers and dog walkers. There are many places to sit and enjoy a view.
Asparagus, Wurzburg, Germany
Asparagus is in season. Every restaurant has a special set of menu items devoted to asparagus. Most serve only the blond variety, but some serve a mixture. It is interesting the different set of flavors prominent in the ones without pigment.
Wurzburg as Viewed From the Fortress Across the Main River, Germany
This town has a lot of pretty vistas walkways. There are well preserved buildings over a large area. There is a river running through the middle and the surrounding hillsides are covered with grapevines. I found it attractive that streets are full of people living and working here. The locals sit in the square and have a coffee while enjoying the view the same as the tourists.
Hafenplatz, Insel Lindau, Germany
There is a harbor here with many sailboats and small, private crafts. There is also a ferry service to towns on the Swiss side of Lake Constance.
Salzgasse, Insel Lindau, Germany
I was charmed to see clematis crossing the street on an overhead phone wire.
Maximilianstrasse, Insel Lindau, Germany
This is a main street on which are main expensive shops, restaurants and hotels.
Fischergasse, Insel Lindau, Germany
Afternoon light filters through beech trees.
Schutzingerweg, Insel Lindau, Germany
One may walk much of the island's perimeter. This particular section was particularly popular; sporting an expansive view of Lake Constance, the Alps and overhung with chestnuts in peak bloom.
Guarda, Switzerland
This a cute town that is hard to catch a glimpse of from the highway. I walked a trail that led up to a refuge on the hill above. I ran into a foot of snow in only twenty minutes. I stayed for lunch at a low-key pub on the main street and was served a very nice meal at an outside table.
Tosens, Austria
I found a trail behind my hotel and followed it up the hill to a cluster of houses and this church. The trail ran out in a field where there was a man in a tree blind hunting for deer. I was embarrassed I had disturbed his hunt. But he made me to understand that bagging a deer was secondary to spending time alone, smoking his pipe and enjoying the company of his dog.

I am a serious fan of those service centers dedicated to the autobahn. I like the plentiful bathrooms – even if I have to pay a buck every time I want to pee. I love cafeterias where I can point to what I want to eat. I love the fresh assortment of desserts.

I love the German idea of dessert – a serious chunk of cake topped with a little Bavarian cream, supporting a tower of fresh fruit, all held together with thin layer of gelatin like a mortarless castle wall.

I am charmed by the fact that a German waiter would sooner let you sit at a table until closing than present you with a bill before you ask for it.

They have a bigger culture around open air dining in Europe. Very few restaurants are without outside tables. Part of this could be that so many restaurants sport beautiful views. Most are clustered around monuments or crossroads – where there are at least plenty of other people to look at. It also seems like eating into the evening is more comfortable here than in Portland, because there is less difference between day and night time temperatures. And then, of course, people can smoke through dinner if they are sitting outside.

I feel like that last person on Earth who doesn’t smoke here. I found a little coin-op cigarette pack dispenser at the entrance to a little subdivision in the middle of suburbia(!). And when is the last time I saw a cigarette ad? Marlboro has a big campaign going on here just now. The slogan is “Don’t be a maybe, be a Marlboro.” (Actually, I read in Wikipedia that the latest WHO data indicates 27% of the population in Germany smokes vs. 20.6% in the US. And that Germany is the leader in smoking among European countries. And get this – Germany has the largest number of cigarette vending machines per capita in the world!)

Most light switches are placed outside the room they control. (I assume this is to give kids the opportunity to turn the light off on people inside bathrooms.)

Most doors swing opposite those in the US – toward the inside of a building rather than toward the outside. Of course, just as soon as I get this straight in my mind, I find an exception to the rule.

Their window casings are a work of art. They are all double pane, about 6 inches thick and have all kinds of gadgetry hidden in the frame. Turn the handle one way and they open to the side like a door. Turn the handle the other way and they open at the top like a vent.

Walking trails are everywhere – and people are using them all hours of the day! In outlying areas they usually double as access roads to fields. There are no fences around fields like we have in the Northwest. I’m not sure what that indicates about their concept of private property.

There is a preponderance of classic American rock and classical stations on the radio. There seems to be a lot of Michael Jackson and Tina Turner playing (on the classic rock stations). I even heard the same Tina Turner song being played on two different stations as I scanned.

A lot more motorcycles here.

Driving the autobahn takes a lot more concentration than do our freeways because there are trucks in the slow lane that are legally bound to travel 90 kmh or less and cars in the fast last lane doing upwards of 170 kmh. If you want to troll along at a comfortable 120 kmh or so, you constantly have to move back and forth between lanes.

I am surprised to find that the beers here taste like pilsner compared the microbrews we have in Portland. However, I found that weisenbiers reliably have the most taste. Once when I asked for the strongest beer on tap, the waiter said I might like this new thing they are beginning to see more of – “unfiltered beer”. Well yes, that would have more flavor.  (But when I asked for one in the next town, the lady looked at me like, “crazy, dumb, tourist question.”)