A Relaxing Day on the Bodensee

Sunday June 25, 2011

Today, Sunday, is an odd continuation of my departure day. Those of you who have flown to Europe are familiar with the curious realization that though you've not yet finished the day you were in, when you land in Europe, you're already starting the next one! I did my best to prepare for this by sleeping after dinner was served on the plane, and was successful in getting about 5 hours of uninterrupted rest. That and the general excitement of seeing old friends and a new environment kept me awake and refreshed well into Sunday.

My arrival in Zurich was without incident and, as promised, Ron was waiting for me after I cleared Swiss customs, which was uneventful. Unteruhldingen, the German village where Ron and family live, lies on the north shore of Lake Constance, known to Germans as Bodensee. Though there are routes around the lake, Ron decided we should take the ferry across, and we spent 30 minutes or so on the ride enjoying the beautiful weather - apparently it and I arrived simultaneously.

We had planned this to be a "low key" day in anticipation of my being jet-lagged, so Ron shared some of the local culture and flavor with me. Ron, Christi, and I walked along the lakefront as he expertly played tour guide - answering my questions, translating the maddening German language ("V" is pronounced "F", "W" is pronunced "V", and there's a large, pregnant-looking "B" that is actually "ss") And all of this is before ANY of the accent marks, modifiers, and such. The Germans have a curious habit of creating new words by splicing two or more existing words together into a 30-plus letter conglomeration obviously intended to confound North American minds and tongues. Mission accomplished.

Kudos to the Germans for being trailblazers in "green" living. They recycle EVERYTHING, partly evidenced by the separate bins for different types of trash in public places. This is nothing but a great idea, and makes me want to rethink my lack of recycling effort.



We're off to visit famous castles on Monday.

Journey to the Old World

Saturday June 25, 2011

Well, today's the day. After months of planning, emails, phone calls, logistical problems, stress, and - well, you get the picture - I'm sitting at Little Rock airport waiting to board the first of three legs in my first journey to continental Europe. The purpose? Two weeks of touring through Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and France.

The protagonists for this trip include ME of course, and my lifelong friend and riding partner Ron Rogers. If you have read any of the previous entries in this literary masterpiece, you'll recognize us from our last 2-wheeled get-together back in the summer of 2006. Ron has been living with his family and working in southern Germany for several years now, and has spent the entirety of the time pestering me to visit and enticing me with volumes of photos of stellar motorcycling roads. It took a very few moments to convince me to come, and months to make it happen. Regrettably, my son Connor opted to stay stateside and though I'll really miss his being here, he had his reasons to opt out I guess.

Flying wasn't a great joy BEFORE 9/11, but it is a real chore these days. Of course, as time has gone by we've adapted to removing our shoes and getting through a vacation with only 3 ounces of deodorant and shampoo. (the latter not so bad for me!). Just because we can do it doesn't make it enjoyable. The only thing to advocate for air travel is getting there quickly.

So I sit, jealously guarding my phone-charging spot here at Washington Dulles while I wait for the coveted "100%" indicator, and pondering the aftermath of the Wolfgang Puck airport pizza I tossed down quickly at Chicago - O'Hare. Next stop - Zurich, Switzerland.