Travelogue 1995 / Episode Nine

Travelogue Deutschland 1995 / Episode Nine

Breakfast with Matt and Pino
It was a bit difficult waking up early after the previous late night, but we all did and met in the kitchen for breakfast. This one would be a bit different than those of last week. Cereal and milk were on the menu and I was happy to have an American-style breakfast as an alternative. Matt made his special espresso for us, which was helpful for opening our sleepy eyes.

A Ride Into Town
Matt and Pino almost live on their bicycles, since a car can be *very* expensive to own and operate in Germany, and with all of the train service available, long distance travel is not really a problem for them. It was quite humorous to hear Matt and Pino tell about grocery shopping on bikes it must be even more fun to watch! We were provided with bikes for the ride into Darmstadt, I rode Pinos mountain bike, and Martin an older five speed touring bike, loaned by one of Matts colleagues at the ESA [European Space Agency]. The ride in was really nice the cities of Griesheim and Darmstadt sit in a flat valley, making biking an attractive mode of transportation. There was a nicely paved path that followed the main road into Darmstadt, with other commuters pedaling their way to work. We passed the ESA complex as we rolled toward the center of town it was set back in trees, behind parking lots and chain link fences. Soon we arrived in the city center and locked the bikes together at a bicycle rack.

A Walking Tour
We began walking around the cobbled streets, passing several shops along the way. Matt pointed out one Italian market where he found tortilla chips [some things that we take for granted in the US can be difficult to find in Europe] and other items that are hard to find. I wanted to check on some German-made tires for my mountain bike, thinking that they might be a bit less expensive than in the States. Well, in the first bike shop we visited, I found that not to be the case at all they were priced identically to the same tires in the US. In the second shop that we visited, we found that they did not even carry the brand that I was looking for, so we gave up on the search. Oh well, thats life...

Sketch Time
In our walking, we happened upon a castle, most likely rebuilt after the war. I liked the inner courtyard of the building because there was an interesting bell tower and doorway that looked to be a good sketching subject. I sketched, while Matt and Martin talked about school and internships, something that was on Martin's mind since he was to begin his internship in France after our two-week holiday was over.

Tour and Lunch at ESA
We had promised Pino that we would meet for lunch at their office, the European Space Agency, at twelve-thirty. We walked back to the bikes and rode to the ESA building, trading our passports for plastic visitor badges. Inside of the complex, Matt took us on a tour of the buildings, including the control rooms for several satellites some currently in operation and some that were scheduled for launch in the near future. We ended up in Matts building and office the newest and most modern on the campus. I had brought along my first week of Travelogue episodes to send out through America Online. It was very handy that Matt was also a subscriber to AOL, which allowed me to send episodes 1-6 from his mailbox and check my own mail as a guest. Soon a phone call came from Pino to meet her in the lobby of the building, so we left Matts office for lunch.

ESA Cafeteria Not Your Ordinary Cafeteria!
We arrived that the cafeteria in a few minutes, and it was quite a nice facility. The food there was excellent and *very* inexpensive as well. I think that none of us had a dinner for more than eight marks and remember that this is considered the main meal in Europe! Any dinner under ten marks a person is a good deal in Germany, so this could be considered a great deal it was good too! We met a few of the colleagues of Matt and Pino, and some were described to us while we ate our dinner. Outside of the interior cafeteria was a patio with tables that seemed to be very popular, but had some wasp problems so we stayed inside. After lunch we returned to Matts office to finish sending e-mails [the AOL connection was very slow that day] and show Martin what the World-Wide-Web and the Internet were and how they worked. At three or so, we finished playing on the web, and decided to set out for the ride to Burg Frankenstein. We realized that we had no patch kits or tubes or water and rode to the apartment to get ready for the ride up the mountain.

A *Real* Killer Hill to Burg Frankenstein
We prepared for the ride and changed into riding clothes before rolling off to the east towards Burg Frankenstein. The ride there was smooth and only had a few tight squeezes as road work was being done on some of the roads to the burg. At one point, Matt pointed up to the Burg, sitting on top of a high hill I thought to myself We... Im going to climb that mountain? Uh oh... Matt assured me that it was conquerable, so I continued along wondering how far I would make it up. After several twisting, turning roads, we began the climb up to the top. The road up snaked up the side of the hill and never seemed to stop! Matt was just climbing along and I was able to keep with him until about three quarters of the way from the top, where I had to stop and rest. I was starting to really lose power and confidence I hoped that the rest would let me regroup and tackle the remainder more easily. Matt and I talked a while and then we began the climb to the top again, this time with renewed confidence that the top of the mountain was near. Indeed it was and we all climbed the last little hill into the courtyard of the fortress where a cafe/restaurant overlooking the valley below stood. We took a few moments to catch our breath and have a look at the valley.

A Tour of Burg Frankenstein
After a few minutes of recovery and water replenishing, we began walking toward the old fortress. First stop was the old chapel, which had three very interesting old tombstones mounted on three walls inside the small building. Past the chapel, we walked up the stairwell to the first floor of the fortress and looked out over the burg ruin. The fortress was partially destroyed and open except for one small room in a turret and repaired stairways. There was another level above us, so we climbed the second set of stairs for an even better view of the valley. The atmosphere was very hazy, but off in the distance, northwest of the burg, I could see the stack of a nuclear power plant. It was strange, because the stack was nearly invisible in the haze of the late afternoon horizon.

The Ride Home
It was almost four when we left Burg Frankenstein and it was a much easier ride back home. We took the road down the other side of the hill, through the Oldenwald mountains. This road snaked through the forest much like the Schwartzwald and it felt great to coast and cruise downhill after the long climb up. We followed Matt in a loose paceline back to the apartment Later Martin said that he was happy to cruise behind us since he was out of power on the way back. All I knew was that my riding coach Dave [not a paid coach, just my riding buddy] would have been happy to know that I was able to get a good ride in, even on vacation.

A Last Night in Griesheim
It was great to arrive back at Matt and Pinos place great to relax and enjoy the evening. We had a pasta dish for dinner [another tasty Pino creation] and of course Matt took another opportunity to make his special cappucino for us. After dinner we spent more time to talk about a variety of subjects and I spent some time showing them my design work [its much easier to show design work than explain it]. Of course, we did spend some time on Matts Mac, but that was to be expected were Mac nuts! All in all, it was a fun day, spent wandering around Darmstadt, visiting ESA and the ride to Burg Frankenstein. Tomorrow, we would return to Zavelstein again for a the last few days in the Schwartzwald before Andi and Karins wedding.

A Final Morning in Darmstadt
It was a last breakfast with Matt and Pino and another American-style cereal breakfast before would leave for Zavelstein. After breakfast we said goodbye to Pino as she left for work. Matt stayed with us and helped us load our things into the car then we dropped him off at the ESA on the way to the Autobahn. We let him out of the car and said thanks for the fun times, and wished him a farewell.

On to Karlsruhe
Our next stop was in the city of Karlsruhe, on the way back to Martin's parents house in the Black Forest. This was the same city outside of which we encountered the forty minute traffic jam on the way to Matt and Pinos. We arrived in the city at about ten that morning and spent fifteen minutes looking for a parking spot It seemed that downtown Karlsruhe was a busy place in the morning. Eventually, we did find a place a few blocks away from the shopping center and began walking towards it. The streets were remarkably full for a wednesday morning and several of the stores had goods on their sidewalks from the end of summer sale. We visited several shops Martin found several shirts for his internship and I found a vest and polo shirt for sixteen marks each. We took a break in the center of the city at a small cafe/restaurant, where we enjoyed a relaxing lunchbreak from shopping. It was quite warm, even under an umbrella which I think combined with my reduction in sleep [Being a Mac enthusiast sometimes has its drawbacks] caused a terrible headache to start. After lunch we did a bit more shopping, but skipped the castle in Karlsruhe, because I was starting to feel so bad. At about two-thirty or three, we arrived back at the car and began the return trip to Zavelstein.

Home Again, Needed Rest
On the trip back to the Black Forest, I closed my eyes and tried to relax as Martin drove us back. Soon we were climbing back up into the cool forest of the Schwartzwald again. After arriving home again, I made a beeline for my room, and took two excedrins and a two-hour nap. Later that evening, Martin woke me up and invited me to join the family for some dinner. I felt *much* better after the nap. Dinner was great [as usual] and I was hungry, so it was perfect timing. After dinner, Martin and I took a walk into the forest again, taking time to talk about the past week and a half as well as the last few days to come. On the return trip to the house, I could see a large front coming towards Zavelstein, complete with lightning and thunder it was very cool. We returned to the house before the storm approached and I was happy to see the coming of rain since that always means a great night of sleep for me.

Powerbook | Travelogue | FontBank | CoolSites | Home