Tag Archives: Germany

Munich, Just plain good.

Some people in Bavaria consider themselves Bavarians, not Germans. Many of the Germans we met outside of Bavaria, could not stand the place. TWBR on the other hand could not get enough. Bavaria is a place that for all practical purposes is a separate country from Germany. The beer halls and beer gardens are full of silly music, guys in Lederhosen doing silly dances with silly hats, and beer chugging masses. The locals talk about beer like the French talk about wine. In fact we all went to a beer drinking course two times while in the region that would rival any wine tasting in Bordeaux (maybe because you are encouraged to drink the whole beer instead of just a sip like with wine).

No one takes things too seriously in Bavaria. It is a land where beer flows like water, people are focused on a good time, and the citizens hold on to their culture stronger than many places we have been in the world. I will continue to be confused for the rest of my life why anyone would not love it here, but I guess it just takes a good sense of humor to enjoy all that Munich and the area have to offer. Like most places we visited in Germany, this is on the must return to list. So for all of you too hot to trot fancy pantsies, I will be happy to enjoy a glass of wine with you and talk about the wonders of aging expensive cheeses, but your cries about the unruliness of the Bavarians will fall on deaf ears…I love those guys.

The Bavarian countryside...just lovely.Honestly I do not remember why or where we took this photo of a photo in Bavaria, but it's cool.For us sometimes finding either one of these brings the same level of excitement.One of countless fine beer drinking establishments in Munich.Here in Bavaria this is pretty much the way you look the whole time.Thomas, the man who runs the Easy Palace Hostel was generous enough to give us a couple of free nights lodging and one all you cThe usual group photo.  One word of advice, go to the Easy Palace some day in your life.Jagermeister, the favorite of the BavariansDigital cameras are fascinating while drinking fine German beer.Okay so we have 2 Togrogs, 1 Euro, 1 Pound and a Franc, what will that get us?The streets of MunichMore. More More.Ummmmmm.Can anyone tell me what this is used for.Steve was a little traumatized after he visited the local Bavarian

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Hilpolstein Photos

In the south of Germany, in Bavaria, there is an enchanting little town called Hilpolstein. Steve Bouey made some friends there a few years back while doing a triathlon called the Quell Challenge. When he left there they invited him back and demanded that Hilpolstein be placed on the route of The World by Road.

Luggi, Diana, and Felix’s demand’s were met and we could not have had a better time here. It was hands down one of the highlights of the expedition. I have a feeling that all of us will visit this town and our new found friends (or old friends) many more times in our life. In fact, Bouey has even talked about moving here, to be quite honest he was actually tearing up when we left:)!

We had a chance to speak to the students at Felix’s school, we were in the newspaper, and Luggi even took us up in the fireman’s ladder at the Firehaus where he is a volunteer. By the time we left, after being in the newspaper and a few late nights at the local pub, we knew a lot of the people in the town and they were standing in the streets waving and smiling as we left for our journey south to Switzerland.

TWBR hearts Hilpolstein, thanks so much Luggi, Diana and Felix.

This castle is in the center of the small town giving it a nice old European feel.This is the view from the hill of the castle to the quaint little town that was our home forWomen with kids and bikes only.We went and spoke to the students at the local schoolThe kids eyes lit up when they knew they would get out of class to look at the trucksWe had to do the usual group photo.The local Toyota dealer was happy to have a look at the infamous new Tundra.More group photos, we had a lot of friends in Hilpolstein by the time we were done.German is just cool...its an Autohaus silly, not a dealership.We could not leave Germany without getting a proper German engineered rotation and balance for the Autobahn.It just feels good to know you are in the hands of the people that invented modern highways.The seal of the Hilpolstein Fire DepartmentLuggi gave us a demo of the trucks.What a nice set of German fir fighting tools.More German Firefighting toolsIt's the Feuerwehr, it saves lifes, it's German, nuff said.German firefighting suits, strangly simliar to American firefighting suits, only German.They still keep a sweet antique truck on the grounds.Diana, Luggi, Felix, our favorite family of the expedition.Mark is such a poser...ahhh watch me I am pretending to be a fireman!Luggi then took us up in the ladder...everyone has got to do this once...incredible!This is the view from the top of the ladder, are you afraid of heights?We had to pose with them and put on some fire suits, we just had to.This is true German style, a fire house for a town of about 5,000 with more than one truck per 1,000 people.


Berlin Photos

It has taken forever to get more photos up and we all apologize. We have also been far behind on the blogs…and we apologize. We are also behind schedule…and we apologize. We are also extremely low on funds, and until we are able to raise enough money for South America, we will fall further behind, but you all can help with that a few different ways by clicking here.

Africa has been tough as you all well know from reading the blogs, but we made it through and, at least for me, it was a truly amazing experience. I am in the states now and have been working vigorously to get caught up on photos, video and more. While the guys have been having the crazy adventures, I have had to play office boy for a little while trying to organize shipping of the trucks and scrape together the funds we need to continue on.

But going through the photos and getting them online is a rejuvenating experience down memory lane. Europe was an incredible experience and that is where we left off in catching up with photos. So here is album number one on the catch up…BERLIN! It is a wonderful city and worth a visit in anyone’s lifetime.

After WWII the city was divded, half Russian, half American.  The Russians did things a little different wtih barbed wire and coBerlin's rebellious past shows through with the many artists and art galleries around the city.Communism turned capitalism at the gift shop with peices of the wall for sale.Even the hostels in Berlin are super funky.I don't think we were supposed to take photos of the photos, but ignorance is bliss.It is hard to imagine what it was like to see the other side through the cracks, knowing you will never get there.More Wall ArtMuch of the wall is still intact near the hostel we stayed at.Now just for show, the checkpoint still exists with guards dressed in historic uniforms.Now more of a tourist trap, checkpoint Charlie was the original border checkpoint between West and East Berlin.Photos show scenes of guards and others helping people to eascpe from East Berlin.Pieces of the wall are on display all over the city with beautiful works of art.Pieces of the wall are on display all over the city with beautiful works of art.So did BoueySo did MarkThe fall of the wall and the soviet union changed the lives of millions around the world.The famous kiss between Honecker and Brezhnev, the two former Soviet leaders is depicted in many paintings.The history of the wall is amazing.The long wall opressing people became a beautiful canvas over the years.The seal of the republik.The wall was known for its grafitti art, and the artists carry on with all types of murals and street art all over Berlin.This band of lights is the original set of lights from when the wall was intact to shine in oncoming drivers eyes.This shop/museum is definitely worth a visit?You gotta have a photo by it.