Travelogue 1993 / Episode Nine

Travelogue Deutschland 1993 / Episode Nine

Morning in Pirna
I awakened to the sound of cars passing our semi-hidden motor hotel. The sky was gray, and the atmosphere in the car was damp and cold. I stayed in my sleeping bag for several minutes, not wanting to move from its warmth. The night in the car wasnt that uncomfortable, although if I had a choice between a bed and a reclining seat in an Opel, I would certainly take the bed.

We eventually roused ourselves and rolled up our sleeping bags. With breakfast on our minds, we started the car and drove back into Pirna. A small trackside cafe was open at the train station, so we bought two coffees and drank them while peering out the window at the railroad tracks. We returned to the car after drinking the coffee and returning our ceramic mugs. Martin had parked facing the train tracks and we watched trains pass by as we finished the last of the bread, jam and cheese.

On to Königstein
Our next destination on the road across Germany was the Fortress Konigstein, which lay to the East of Pirna. Konigstein was a small town, with the main attraction being the fortress perched high upon a hill overlooking it. Following signs to the fortress, we pulled into a parking lot, paid the lot attendant and parked the car.

On the edge of the lot stood two small buildings. At one of the shacks, we paid our admission to the fortress, the other shack was a souvenir/snack stand. As we began the walk towards the fortress, the operator of a motor driven tractor that was decorated to look like a train asked if we wanted a ride up the hill. We told him no, because we wanted to climb the hill on foot hoping that the brisk walk might wake us up.

At the top of the hill, fortress Konigstein seemed to be carved from the rocks baring themselves on the hillside. This place looked like a building designed for war, with metal spiked walls and numerous defensive structures built into the gates and entryways. The main walkway into the fortress was dark, steep and narrow. On the other end of the walkway the main courtyard resembled a small town.

We visited several buildings including the wine cellar house that had once held a 100,000 liter wine cask. Back in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, kings would attempt to one-up each other by building larger and larger wine casks.

In a building at the courtyards edge, there was a display of antique cannons, and military items which we visited for half an hour or so. We spent an hour and a half walking around the perimeter of the fortress, witnessing spectacular views of the Sachsen countryside.

The walk down to the car was much easier thanks to gravity. In the parking lot we stopped for a few minutes to enjoy an ice cream bar and have one last look at the fortress from below.

Onward to Geisling
Our final destination for today was to reach Geisling, a small farm village outside of Regensburg. My friends, Andi, and Karin had just moved into an apartment there and had no telephone. Andi had just started at a new job in Regensburg, about twenty kilometers from Geisling while Karin was still looking for work.

We tried to reach Andis parents several times as we traveled south without any luck. Eventually we were able to contact his father about our intentions to arrive that night, and hoped that Andi would call his father and learn of our plans.

On the way to the Autobahn, Martin stopped to ask directions of some backpackers on the road. They wanted a lift up the road, and Martin agreed to take them because one of the guys had his young daughter with him. We arrived at their destination a few minutes later.

We dropped them off near a park, and Martin wanted to take a hike on the trails that led through the woods and up the side of a bluff, so we did. While following the marked paths up to the top of the bluff, we spotted two rock climbers on the side of another high hill. At the top we took a few photos and then hiked back to the car. It was a nice break from driving.

Surprise, Surprise!
We were pretty far behind our original schedule of arriving in Geisling at seven or eight that night. Winding our way across the maze of old and sometimes poorly marked roads, we finally found the Autobahn. Construction on parts of the Autobahn delayed us even more and our arrival in Geisling ended up being about ten-thirty that evening. We were expecting the worst, that Andi would not be pleased at our late and possibly unannounced arrival. He knew that we were planning a visit sometime within the two weeks of my stay, but did not know any exact details.

After several stops along the one and only main street in town, we found his apartment. Just as we climbed out of the car and closed our doors, Andi came walking out and exclaimed Hey guys, how are you? As it turned out, Andi guessed that we might be coming sometime soon. He had called his father, and learned of our intended arrival that night. The three of us unloaded the car and hauled the baggage up to the apartment.

Karin greeted us as we carried our gear into a spare room. In the kitchen, Andi and Karin graciously offered us something to eat and drink as we talked about the trip and caught up on the latest news.

Around eleven-thirty we all decided that for Andi's sake we ought to sleep, since he had to get up early for work Monday. Martin and I unrolled our sleeping bags once again, and I was relieved to have somewhere to sleep besides the car.

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