A great view of the
Neckar, on my way out of Tübingen.
It is really a pleasant town. Bye bye!
It was great to visit with S and B, who were wonderful hosts. Lots of good company, amazing food and drink, rest, outdoors, and the nice landscapes and towns around the area, made for wonderfully pleasant trip. Now, here are some highlights.
Biking was a big part of my visit, and it was a great way to see things: from panoramic views of the Alps on Lake Constance, to recycling dumpsters, to the Mercedes Benz Museum (left) in Stuttgart.
I love the little biking signs like this one with the EU starred wheels, that guided us on our trip. It’s so darn cute. Needless to say, the trails are extremely well organized. You can pretty much go from one end of Western Europe to the other on bike trails. 
I'm proud to say that the grand total for all the biking: 156 kilometers! (97 miles!). Nothing like the 200 miles B and S did recently, but, hey, still good for the leisurely pace we took.
One of the major bike rides was along the German side of Lake Constance (or The Bodensee, as they call it in Germany). Below is a view of the Alps and lake from the town of Landau.
Above is one of the Ferraris from the Ferrari Club Germany party we ran into in Landau. Sweet. To the right is one of town's cute buildings.
Biking along Lake Constance we rode for a few minutes into Austria before turning back. I didn't even notice we had crossed over! The EU has made borders crossing easy. In 6 crossing, I was checked only once on my way back to Zurich.
Another big bike ride, along one of the Rhine River canals south of Strasbourg, France, on an absolutely perfect day. The only strange thing is that we couldn’t find a restaurant to eat lunch at in any of the small towns along the way. It seemed to us that a path that pleasant in Germany would be packed with beer gardens and restaurants. But it was nice to have the path almost to ourselves too. S and I ride away below.
There was also some hiking in the woods around Tübingen, and then later I went to Freiburg and hiked through some vineyards and hills there.
Above is the view of Freiburg, with the Black Forrest looming, from the vineyards I passed through before running into one of the workers who told me that it was private path. Ooops! But he was nice enough to direct me to the gate and told me I could jump over it, which I did.
I was bit starved for western art, so, besides looking at churches we also spend a day in Stuttgart and went to a museum. Among the expressionist I really can’t get enough of Max Beckmann. One of his paintings:
The food we had in France was amazing, and we pretty much splurged for dinner, about which I have no regrets whatsoever. And I can’t forget the pastries! It was funny to see B and S basically gallop to their favorite bakery in town when it came into sight! I think I might have overdone it by eating a chocolate éclair for breakfast, but I just couldn’t stop myself. Now it's back to Thailand and back to work. Thanks S and B for such a good time.
A great view of the 
Biking was a big part of my visit, and it was a great way to see things: from panoramic views of the Alps on Lake Constance, to recycling dumpsters, to the Mercedes Benz Museum (left) in 
Above is one of the Ferraris from the Ferrari Club Germany party we ran into in Landau. Sweet. To the right is one of town's cute buildings.
There was also some hiking in the woods around Tübingen, and then later I went to 
Above is the view of 
The food we had in 
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5 comments:
Eva, your trip to Europe looks like you have a wonderful time and saw so many beautiful places. How great that you could bike it. You could see what grand scenery was around. I also marveled at the churches and stained glass when we were there. Hope some day we can take another trip to Europe and see some different countries. Bonnie is here this weekend with her roommate, they went to a Dodgers/Cub game today. I have her cute little dog Roscoe here with me. Thanks for the update on your latest adventure. We love you, Aunt Janet PS Amanda and Billy just left, they said hi and take care.
Nice pictures - it's fun to see other posts about a trip we were on.
words cannot express how much i love that photo of you and your friend riding bikes through all of that vegetation.
it has a utopian feel to it. i have been looking for a place like that to ride my bike around but have had no luck.
You're right about the bike paths in Europe, UM. It was so wonderful to have such extensive, interconnected paths through natural settings. A taste of utopia for sure! I wonder when L.A. will become more rider friendly?
You posted the photo of a red ferrari - i couldn't tell from the angle what particular model it was. you may want to know that ferrari's top of the line model is a "testarossa" or "red head" in english. ferrari started using this model name starting in the late 50's, but the latest "testarossa" began life in the mid 80's, with a very powerful v-12 engine - all ferraris, especially the "testarossas", are known for their sensuously hand-crafted bodies, high quality, high speed, and fine engineering. a "testarossa" in the hands of an ordinary driver will be wasted since he/she wouldn't be able to bring the fine qualities of a "testarossa" to their full potential. the name "testarossa" is a double entendre: the cam covers (heads) are painted red (the color identified with ferrari). but the name, in italiano, also refers to a sensuous, curvaceous and high class woman (the italianos know this stuff!) if you have to ask how much a "testarossa" costs, chances are you can't afford one! fyi, when it first came out over 20 years ago, a "testarossa" went for about $200,000 u.s., seriously.
ajarn daeng, enjoy another "red" thing!
ho/you posted the photo of a red ferrari - i couldn't tell from the angle what particular model it was. you may want to know that ferrari's top of the line model is a "testarossa" or "red head" in english. ferrari started using this model name starting in the late 50's, but the latest "testarossa" began life in the mid 80's, with a very powerful v-12 engine - all ferraris, especially the "testarossas", are known for their sensuously hand-crafted bodies, high quality, high speed, and fine engineering. a "testarossa" in the hands of an ordinary driver will be wasted since he/she wouldn't be able to bring the fine qualities of a "testarossa" to their full potential. the name "testarossa" is a double entendre: the cam covers (heads) are painted red (the color identified with ferrari). but the name, in italiano, also refers to a sensuous, curvaceous and high class woman (the italianos know this stuff!) if you have to ask how much a "testarossa" costs, chances are you can't afford one! fyi, when it first came out over 20 years ago, a "testarossa" went for about $200,000 u.s., seriously.
ajarn daeng, enjoy another "red" thing!
ho/og
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