(AKA breaking the code with
counterprogramming)
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Munich outdoor beer gardens
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I’ve just returned to California from a 2-month trip to
Europe. My route was
Iceland->Belgium->Czech
Republic->Poland->Ireland->Germany->Austria. Although that seems like the path of a
convict trying to escape Interpol, in my case, it was just the route of an
American who was not very good at reading maps.
Ryan, who I first met carpooling to 6th grade in Hawaii,
crafted an amazing trip for us through Munich and northern Austria. His plan was ‘counterprogramming’ - which in
this case meant, let’s go to ski resorts in the summer when all the Europeans
vacation on the coast. His plan worked
flawlessly, we stayed in 4 and 5 star hotels in the Alps at 50-75% below peak
rates and the dollar was 40% stronger than normal.
By way of contrast, the first trip I took with Ryan was to
American Samoa to represent Hawaii in an all-Polynesian tennis tournament. In between matches we slept on a pig
farm. The second trip I took with him was
in Central America. I had less than a $20/day budget for 3 months of
travel. This time around, we traveled in
style … being middle-aged has some advantages after all J
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Strolling around the Austrian Alps
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We started in Munich and spent most of our time in The
English Park. The park was amazing, it
had a river running through it and all the locals were having beer rewarded swimming
races, dancing around in the water in swimsuits, and believe it or not, surfing
on waves in the river rapids. At the
center of the park was the main Hofbräu (beer garden) that had a Bavarian oompah
band playing on the second floor of a 6 story Chinese pagoda. The pagoda was surrounded by around 1000 park
tables were everyone socialized – the Bavarians are particularly friendly, and
each time Ryan and I sat somewhere new, we ended up getting to know the entire
table and sat with them for hours. They
only seemed to serve beer by the liter, so limiting yourself to 2 beers was not
a real act of temperance.
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Cycling along the Danube
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Fearing for our livers and our lives, we left Munich and
headed south to a town named Kitzbühel to start hiking the Austrian Alps. We originally intended to hike something
called the Eagle Walk (http://www.tyrol.com/eagle-walk)
and camp along the way, but this plan quickly changed into “let’s stay at boutique
hotels and go swimming after day hikes in a semi-private Olympic sized rooftop
pool.”
The Austrian hotels were to die for, they were charming
beyond measure, swarmed with attentive dirndl-clad beauties, had wonderful
views of the Alps, and were staffed with amazing chefs. I’m an atheist; however, having tasted
Austrian truffled poached eggs, I’m now open to the idea of a supreme being.
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Rooftop pools with amazing views
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In Kitzbühel, we climbed up the mountains that are usually
downhill ski runs and enjoyed a snack at a chalet at the various mountain
peaks. Some of the runs were too steep
to go straight up, so we took a gondola to bypass the hardest stretches. There was a clay-court tennis tournament in town,
so we were able to see some great professional tennis matches from fantastic
seats. Lastly, there was an annual
festival in old-town where everyone dressed in lederhosen and sang to
traditional music all night long … these are my kind of people!
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Kitzbühel hotel balcony view
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I wanted to cycle in wine country, so we took a two day trip
to an area called Melk that was on a beautiful stretch of the Danube
river. We rented power assist e-bikes and
did a 45 mile roundtrip trek through wineries and ancient towns that were
serviced by a dedicated bike path (no cars) that ran along the river. This area is cycling heaven. I plan one day to ship my bike over and ride
from Germany’s Black Forest, through Vienna, to Budapest, all along the Danube. Let me know if you want to join!
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No other guests used the pools, it was like a private
mansion
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As of a few days ago, I’m back in sunny California and
reunited with my amazing terrier. It was
a great trip, but it is nice to be back home and catch up with old
friends. Speaking of which, text me and
lets catch up, first round is on me!
J
Tony
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Box seats at an ATP event
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View of my outdoor pool from my
indoor pool
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