Travelogue – On the bicycle

Tuesday, August 20

As I mentioned a few days ago a good chunk of today was taken up by laundry. So I didn't get dressed until late in the afternoon. The rain canceled possible other events. So not a lot happened.

Brother went down the street to a Turkish takeout for Döner, pita bread or wraps filled with lettuce, cabbage, tomato, onion, a couple sauces, spices, and grilled meat. Back in Detroit the meat would be beef and lamb. Here the meat is turkey and chicken. The meat is layered and put on a large spit. As it turns it is toasted. When an order is filled the attendant has a device to shave off bits to scoop up into the meal. Since Brother doesn't do much cooking (other than breakfast) he has to be careful not to default to eating a Döner every day for lunch.

We all ventured out in the evening, with umbrellas, to an Indian restaurant a few blocks away. Good food!

Beyond that I spent most of the day writing, reviewing, and selecting photos for blog posts of our travels.



Wednesday, August 21

Another quiet and slow morning including a late breakfast.

By 12:30 we were ready for adventure. Brother has a really good bicycle and borrowed a couple more from friends. From the apartment we traveled (on designated bike lanes – thank you Munich!) over to the Isar River a few blocks away. We got on the bike paths beside the river and headed south and upstream. The weather was mostly overcast with a high of 64F. That makes for comfortable riding – one doesn't get sweaty – though I was a bit chilly during lunch.

By 1:45 we had ridden about a dozen kilometers and were near a pub. We decided to have lunch then in case the pub closed for the afternoon at 2:00.

Once fed we went a couple more kilometers south. Beyond that point the trail was less maintained and rather hilly. It was a good place to turn around.

For much of our route there is a canal alongside the river. The canal is there to allow for occasional dams to generate power. For part of the return trip we rode atop the levee between the canal and river.

There was one problem with the trip. The seat on my loaner bike was uncomfortable and by the end downright painful. Brother has another bike trip planned for Saturday with friends in the foothills of the Alps. This one includes taking a train south to a nice starting point. I said it sounds good – only if I get a comfortable bike seat.

While at Tintagel Brother bought a book about the adventures of King Arthur. Niece has been reading to us from it during meals. She even took it on the bike trip too read during lunch and at rest stops.

This book has prompted Niece to read up on King Arthur. Because of the legends must there be a kernel of truth? Or is Arthur the historians' biggest waste of time? If Arthur did exist he would have lived sometime about 450-600, after the Romans left Britain and during the time the residents were dealing with the horrible decision to hire the Saxons to keep the peace. Alas, the Saxons kept upping their salary demands and pillaging the countryside when their demands weren't met. Someone had to drive them out. This summary is according to Niece.

The illustrations of the King Arthur book are new for the 2016 edition. The text is from 1902 and is quite archaic to our ears. We frequently interrupt the reading to comment on details that seem to be from after the Norman invasion (the whole idea of chivalrous knights) or even after Henry VIII created the church of England (the prominence of the Archbishop of Canterbury). We also interrup to point out which parts of the story must be legend (Arthur healing from a sword blow to the head in four days) and how the legend might serve the storytellers of 1900. And more interruptions to comment on some absurd part of the tale. This has been fun. The story has been pretty good too.

We were back at the apartment before 5:00 and headed out to a pub for supper at 6:30 (rather early for us). Niece thought the pub, only a few blocks from the apartment, is an active part of the gay neighborhood (we did see a few rainbow flags). Was one of the hints the spinning disco ball?

Back at the apartment I created an evening concert through the wonderful resource of YouTube. We had talked about various kinds of music during our journeys and this was a chance to listen to a few of them. First in the play list was minimalism, so featured Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich (about 9 minutes of that hour long piece was enough, though Niece though it would be good sonic wallpaper), then A Short Ride in a Fast Machine and the last movement of Harmonielehre both by John Adams (the composer, not the president). Niece thought this would make good movie music, though not so good to simply listen to. From there we ventured into the Prelude and Liebestodt from Tristan and Isolde by Wagner. I played this because of the lovers' association with Tintagel. Then on to the last movement of the Great C Major Symphony of Schubert, before cycling back to Wagner and Wotan's Farewell from Die Walküre. Niece says she may be on her way of becoming a Wagner fan.