Beyond to Bavaria Part 4Beyond to Bavaria
So, the next day, September 12, we were supposed to pick up our car at 9am. Jeff had booked through Auto Europe, which equates to Sixt, when you get there. We walked to the agent and were there EARLY, of course, and OF COURSE, it was not ready. NO big deal, but it probably was getting on toward 11am, by the time we went back to the hotel, picked up the luggage and checked out.
NOW, about driving on the Autobahn….HOLY SH..! Not for the faint-hearted and definitely NOT FOR ME :shock: OK, I was prepared for the fact that everyone was going to be going several hundred miles an hour, but NOT for the fact that a whole new set of rules apply. On a 6 lane road, if you are in the center or the far left lane, you HAVE to be passing someone. Now this works well in theory, BUT, seems that there are times when everything comes to a screeching halt, and one had better be prepared to HIT THE BRAKES, HARD. OH YES, with me totally unused to a manual shift, I can just see myself stalling out in the left lane. WE WOULD HAVE DIED INSTANTLY!!!! :shock: :shock:
Thankfully, Jeff was comfortable doing the driving, GOD BLESS HIM!!!! :D
And, then, OH YES, there is the bit about Exit Number Markers on the Autobahn. IF you are lucky, you have ONE SHOT at reading them, cause they appear ONLY ONCE!!!!!, IF AT ALL (I mentioned this to Iris, and she replied….WHAT?, we have Exit NUMBERS?????)
So you really have to look to where you are going “toward”. NOW, if that doesn’t match what you have on your Google directions, you are again in trouble!!!! :roll:
THEN, of course, once we were off the main roads, forget the Google directions. NOTHING made much sense. OH, for a GPS. Wonder if that would have worked. Believe me, should I ever do this again, I WILL HAVE ONE
Well, we got there, about 2 hours later than planned, but MADE IT. :D
WHAT A WONDERFUL TIME WE HAD IN RONSBERG :!: :!: :!: :lol: :lol: :lol:
I did drive a little bit in Ronsberg, and found that driving a shift car is like riding a bicycle. You don’t forget how!!
Our first day there, we both were nursing colds, and I, I think wisely, opted out of the planned walking tour. It was sunny and warm, and I sat in the sun and read. I drove with Iris to the pharmacy and got some magic German cold medicine, and I was fine, the next day.
THANK GOD, I did not go!!!!!! The “coming down” portion of this turned into a trip from HELL, with hikers falling, sliding, TUMBLING down and getting hurt. Wolfgang, Conny and Jeff made it safely, Thank Goodness :D .
I was ready for the next day’s hiking tour……up the Mittentag, where we had our successful stalk. Tony, how GREAT that was :D :D . Of course, it poured rain as we were going up on the Ski Lift, and, short of jumping off, you just had to grin and bear it. It also got quite windy, and heard from Wolfgang later, that if the wind were too high, they would have shut it down. THANK GOD, that did not happen.
Up the Mittentag video, before the rain hit
We went for coffee in the restaurant on top, and the sun soon came out, and we dried out and warmed up
Then, for the walk down
Walking down the Mittentag video
THAT part was wonderful, BUT, the trail soon degenerated into something less than wonderful. I made it fine, with Wolfgang holding on to me, but kept thinking, if I break an ankle, LORD, what then. NO, no pictures of this part, as Conny was carrying my camera. On the way home, we stopped and explored the ruins of an ancient castle and also saw a Water Ski Park, which was pretty incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it, before.
Bavaria Pictures
Water Ski Park video
On our last day in Bavaria, we went to the Bodensee and did a cruise on the lake on the MS Bavaria. The Bodensee is the 3rd largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, with the lovely Bavarian resort town of Lindau on its shore. The lake touches Germany, Switzerland and Austria, with no defined border between the countries. The Rhine flows through it, and you can see the color difference.
Julia came with us. So great to see her again :D :D . Much fun, but my camera card was full, and Jeff didn’t get much, either. These pictures are from Julia
Bodensee Pictures
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Iris Update.
I haven’t heard anything this week???? Last I heard was Sept 27. It was decided that Sydney would be too expensive for Iris to live and work, and she flew North to the Sunshine Coast to a hostel, Cottontree Backpackers. This is 100K north of Brisbane
http://www.totaltravel.com.au/link.asp?fid=595581
Sun, sand and surf :!: :!: :!: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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All good things must end :cry: :cry: , and on the 16th we drove back to the Prague Airport, for next day’s flight home. Wolfgang escorted us to the Autobahn entrance in Stettin, and the drive to Prague was fairly uneventful. Much of it turned out to be on back roads, so we got to see quite a bit more of the countryside. It was not until we were almost into Prague, that we were back on a highway.
One note,... we were told on the ship that tourists needed a windshield sticker to drive on Autobahns in the Czech Republic. If you are caught without one, the fine is $1,000 :shock: . This is evidently a “mostly ignored rule”. We did get one for 8 Euros (good for a week) at the Border, but we were not stopped
Hotel Tranzit at the airport was quite adequate, and turning the car in the next morning was a snap, cause the rental return was right at the terminal. Flight back to Atlanta was loooooooong (10 hours, plus) and boring!!!
On my flight to Newark, I sat next to a woman who was just returning from six months in Afghanistan with the “military”. Considering that she was my age, I found this a bit strange :?: , but she was exhausted from many days of travel, so I didn’t have much time for questions. She did say that she was in “culture shock” from the Atlanta airport, where it was amazing to see people actually eating!!!!!