Biking Across Südtirol

Hi there,

Well this month we did a 7 day bike tour with our favorite bus company, Bender Royal Tours. This was our fourth time with Bender and as always, it was great. We took a bus from Geinsheim to our first Hotel in the Vinschgau area South Tyrol (Südtirol). Our hotel was way up the side of a mountain and in a 40 passenger bus pulling a trailer you did kind of hold on a little tighter.
Our hotel was fantastic.

HOTEL THAIRMÜHL, MARTELL

Wasn't kidding about the bus and trailer!

So we rode our bikes for 5 days. Each day was about 50 kilometers for a total of about 350 kilometers overall. What is that in miles you ask? Well 1 mile is 1.6 kilometers so about 220 miles. After riding each day, the bus would meet us and take us back to our hotel. We stayed 2 nights at the hotel Thairmühl and then balance of the trip at a hotel located in Auer.

HOTEL MARKUSHOF, AUER

Most of the ride was downhill or on flatland but the last day had a killer hill at the end. You would think I would be really skinny but all the fabulous food and red wine just cancelled it all out!

Our first day riding started in Glurns and took us to Naturns. Second Day Naturns to Eppan; third day Eppan to Auer; fourth day Auer to Trient; fifth day Trient to Gardasee. I think the best way to do this is to just show you pictures and hope you enjoy them as much as we did taking them. Northern Italy is incredibly beautiful and if you ever want to really enjoy a beautiful place in this world, plan a trip to South Tyrol.

The Zugspitz is the highest Mountain Germany

Wolfgang showing you all the trails and mountains he has climbed

Some pretty little lake we stopped at on our bus trip to Südtirol

For those of you that think spelling isn't important,
sometimes it can completely change the meaning!

This is a very famous church tower that is now located in the middle of a resevoir. The town was relocated when the dam was made with the exception of the church tower. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to say that I have stood at the bottom of the tower.

Unloading my bike from the trailer, thirty-five bikes in all.

Everyone getting started. Yes mom, I wear a helmet!

Just starting out.

Some monastery we rode past.
You know, it was those monks that invented beer and champagne!

Juval Castle.
This is the home of Reinhold Messner.
The only man that has ever climbed all 14 mountains over
8,000 meters (24,000 feet) without using oxygen tanks.

Wolfgang standing below the Castle Juval.

The northern Italian's way of letting you know that is a good idea to wear a helmet.

Every other day we had a picnic. Great food and always in a beautiful location.
This was next to a river with snow capped mountains all around.

The parks are filled with fantastic garden art.

This is part one of this art. A fountain would fill up his mouth and then....

Just a great deal of fun.

Südtirol is natually beautiful but there is always a human reminder of something from the past. This is one of three Bunkers from WWII that we saw along the way.


Südtirol is in Italy but pretty much everyone speaks German because it was originally German. Now the architecture is definitely Italian and if you look closely, you will see that some of the buildings are covered in paintings.

Again, if you look closely you will also see that German precision engineering was not a must when some of these buildings were made.

This is not a balcony I would want to stand on after drinking too much.


This building was on the last stretch of our journey. This clock is the biggest clock of its kind in the world. It is situated WAAAAAAY up on the side of a mountain. You may ask why and the answer because they wanted too. I don't know, maybe they knew that in a 100 years, it would be a tourist attraction for the area.



This was our highest point of the trip and it seemed like it was MUCH higher than what the sign says. Again, using that math stuff, this pass was about 861 feet over sea level. I was expecting snow by the time we got to the top but the ride down was fantastic because we ended the tour at Lake Garda. It was worth all the "if we aren't there soon, I think I am going to die!" thoughts on the way up.

So here is Wolfgang at Lake Garda, our final destination. A bit windy but nothing that a cold beer couldn't fix.

Well, you know me always meeting everyone!


Some of our most "refreshing moments".

Meran

Lake Garda

Our Hotel in Auer

A beer representing all the beers along the way!

So this was just a little bit of our 7 days. Can't wait for next year and where we will touring.

Flowers of Edible Foods

Well Spring is finally here in Germany and with that comes beautiful fields of flowers. Some of these fields are natural and some are planted by farmers. We have taken some pictures while we have been biking of a couple of these fields to show you. Please enjoy them and remember that they are not only beautiful but their fragrances are just as fantastic!

So the first pictures are when we rode through a local forest area and the wild Bärlauch was blooming. Last year I brought some of you Bärlauch salt and it comes from this plant. It smells and tastes like garlic but it doesn't have the side effects of garlic such as making you stink, etc.

It only grows in the forest and you must pick it before it blooms. Here are a couple of pictures of the Bärlauch plants after it blooms. All the white flowers you see are Bärlauch.

The next few pictures show Raps plants. They are planted fields. Raps plants are used for their oil. It is extremely versatile and is used for cooking oil and for oil in certain machines. I have brought honey to America a few times and it is Raps Honey because the bee keepers set up their bee boxes by the Raps fields. It is my favorite honey. The fragrance of the Raps fields is absolutely fantastic. If it could only be bottled. Also the color of the yellow is so intense that when you fly over Europe during Raps blooming time, you can see the fields from the sky.

So organic is not only healthy but sometimes really beautiful.

Fun in Prague

EASTER WEEKEND IN PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC

Sarah, Wolfgang & Hayley in front of the River Moldau

Hi everyone Well we spent our Easter weekend in Prague, Czech Republic. It was really a fantastic trip. Wolfgang, my niece Hayley, and I went with Bender Royal Tours. This is a tour bus group that we use every year for our bike tours. We had really spectacular weather. Anyway, here are a few pictures from our tour. Hope you enjoy them.

Our bus

Hayley and her Easterbunny

Our first stop was in Pilsen home of Pilsner Urquell beer. Of course we tried every beer available in the Czech Republic and didn't find one that we didn't like. Below are pictures of the Market Place and one from the Bell Tower of the Church. Wolfgang and Hayley climbed all 297 steps to take it.

Pilsner Beer

Hayley and Wolfgang at the Marketplace

The Czech Republic buildings have beautiful Facades

Top of the Church Tower

Next stop Prague (Praha)

Our second stop was Prague, a fabulous city. We were there after the Obama visit and stood in the same location as Obama. They forgot to leave the stage but we dealt with it. We then visited the Jewish Getto, the Old Town area and the Charles Bridge. An incredibly beautiful city. In the evening we went on a dinner cruise on the River Moldau and got to go through a Locke with our boat and about 17 other dinner cruise boats.

Prague Castle

Same local as the Obama Speech

Where he looked while giving his speech
(Of course the beautiful women weren't there)

Astronomical Clock main Marketplace in Prague

True Tourist Location. Do you think that he bought his books here?

Well it was Easter Weekend!

Charles Bridge There are 30 statues of the Saints on this bridge

Our Next Location to stop at was Budvar, the home of the Original Budweiser Beer. It tastes nothing like American Budweiser Beer. It actually tastes good.

A huge marketplace for a little tiny town and again, fantastic facades. The blue and white building is the Cityhall

We think Hayley is correct in why they made this window in this tower, it adds a little light inside!

Practice for a job at the Hofbräu Haus in Munich!

Wow, now that's a beer!

When you say Budweiser, you've said it ALL!

Now the best for last, we stayed for one night in a town Krumlov. It is an UNESCO world heritage site. It was really fantastic town that included a castle with a bear moat. What is a bear moat, it is a moat around the front of the castle with hungry bears at the bottom! A great town to visit.

A incredible town with a fantastic Castle

A real haunted house. No one will live in this house

The picture speaks for itself

New King and Queen?

OK, so until our next adventure.....

Our Weekend Feb/March

Saturday, February 28

So this weekend we did a couple of fun things. Our first was the invitation to our friends', Rosi and Günther, for dinner. We always have a good time together. Wolfgang and Günther grew up together. They are the same age and have known each other since they were 3 or 4 years old and they are still friends throughout the years.

Rosi, Wolfgang & Günther

Rosi is a master chief. She laughs but it is true. I have learned so much from her as to how to cook and what everything is for such as spices and techniques. Who else makes the carrots in the soup shaped like hearts but a person that loves to cook.



I am Rosi's helper and here is the proof. I hold the bowls.

Here is Rosi's cat Uschi. She is a very nice girl but was happy when we went home because Günther was sitting in her spot the entire evening.



It was a wonderful evening, as always. Rosi made Vegetable soup with Markklößchen (strange little meatballs made with the marrow of a bone), potatoes and the highlight of the evening, Tafelspitz with horseradish sauce. It is a form of Roastbeef that is boiled (I know it sounds terrible but think of a crockpot dish) not baked. It was so yummy, there was nothing left.

Saturday, March 1st,

This afternoon, Wolfgang and I took one of our favorite rides to the Rheingau. If you have ever been to Germany, the Rheingau is the area where Rüdesheim am Rhein is located. It is absolutely our favorite place to go for fun. We love to go walking and then find a Straußwirtschaft to visit.

A Straußwirtschaft is a private local that a wine vintner will open for a maximum of 3 months in the year. It must not be for three sequencial months but most make this in this fashion. A Strauß is a bouquet of flowers. A Wirtschaft is like a pub or tavern. The vintners use to hang a bouquet of flowers on their big gates to let the town know that they were open, hence a Straußwirtschaft.

Wolfgang and I have visited many different locals because they are always fun, have good food and you sit with lots of interesting people. The rule is, if there is a place open at your table then anyone can sit with you. I love this. We have met many wonderful people over the years and had a great time.

Today, we were in Kiedrich in the Rheingau where we found a new local, the Weingut Münz-Albus. Here are a few pictures of the couples we sat with and had a great time together.

Wolfgang in Kiedrich

Where we were on Sunday

The first couple that we sat with..

The second couple that sat with us after the first went home.

It was a wonderful weekend.