Germany on a pair of wheels

So I wake up around 1 PM on Saturday (jet lag sucks) and the sun was shining. It was as if I had woken up back in California. I was determined to make the most of this rare moment of sun so I put my bike in the car and headed for the Romantic Road. Right before I left for CA, I rode the German Wine Trail (Deutscheweinestrasse) from Bad Durkheim to Neustadt where I rode through the vineyards of Germany's most famous wine region. Instead of biergartens, they had weingartens (see pix). Anyhow, I was ready for yet another ride.

Back to the Romantic Road, this scenic route runs from Frankfurt in Hessen all the way down to the Austrian border for a total of 420 kilometers (roughly 280 miles) https://www.romantischestrasse.de/?lang=uk .

Since I had limited time, I only did a little over 35 km. The journey started in the breathtaking medieval town of Rothenburg (see pix of entry to the old city) and ended in the town of Dinksbuehl.

My legs and knees disagree with me but the ride was fantastic! The sun was shining, the tulips and wildflowers were in full bloom, and seemingly all of Germany was outside enjoying every minute of it.

Jumping to another subject, I had the chance to chat with a really interesting chap during my ride back from the Frankfurt Airport. This guy was a two deployment veteran who served in the infantry with the mechanized unit out of Baumholder (a Army post about a half hour north of Ramstein). He was telling me what it was like downrange and his stories were riveting. For instance, his vehicle was hit by an IED on three different occasions. Luckily he is still with us all to tell his story. Sadly the same can't be said for some of his buddies. He was stationed in Ramadi which, unfortunately, is a cesspool for insurgents. Anyhow, he also mentioned that since separating from the Army (after spending 3 of 4 years in Iraq, who could blame him?) he stuck around Germany, met a fraulein and joined a heavy metal band as a drummer. If you get a chance, check out their website at http://myspace.com/thehandofglory and vote for his band to play in "Summerfest". It's amazing to me that all this guy wants after giving so much to the US is a chance for his band to play a regional heavy metal festival. Pretty amazing stuff...and his music isn't bad either!