Back to the track – The other end of the rainfall or the Struppen trout experience

Do you know that feeling – when you ride a track just the second time n your life- and things out of nothing seem familiar. You rember that mountain, the shalecovered traditional house across the street, the butchery with the funny name or even the feeling of riding that powerful unit of engine, frame, wheels and driver through everlasting curves and bends with hardly any traffic on.

And even going back to the other end of the city of “Rainfall “ left the same smile on my face, as when I passed the spot for the first time a couple of months ago. So the big hellos meeting Moni and Manfred in Struppen again felt even more familiar. The couldn´t be a better mirror of what results from overcoming longtime overdue borders , that were put up by politicians – not by the people. As a German-German-lovestory their warm hospitality kind of represents the good, that could only result from the daring changes in eastern Europe – and that was and is , what the Wind of Change was all about.

As much as the Ride-Of-Change followed the wind´s traces, to see where all the great ideas of the early nineties had been taken. And let us tell you – if it had not been for that – we would have made all the way through Saxonia for Manfred’s trout cooking – this was the ultimate Struppen experience from a gourmet´s point of view. Forget about 5-star-famous-celebrity-fancy-restaurants . If you can have such a dinner with friends near you and your bikes next to you ! And not to forget why people meet – though this might have happened anywhere – it happened for real riding a bike.

Another stunning symbol for peace and forgiving was next days visit to the city of Dresden.

Lots could be said and written about the city´s early and late history, its scenic baroque places and cites – all that has been shown, mentioned and described far more detailed and sophisticated, than this could ever be done here. 

What again impressed us deeply within all that Dresden was , is and will be, was to see the rebuild “Frauenkirche”. Bombed as senseless as any other bombed place in this world, this was a longtime memorial of reckless political ignorance and stupidity. How much more it has become a symbol for the “Spirit of the Common Man” – rising out of the ashes by a worldwide support of people expressing their will, to never allow this again. Though tourists inside tend to behave more than rude and reckless to a religious place ( that is why you do not see a single inside picture of the church here ) – it was and still is a breathtaking view , to see all the craftsmanship of the past being rebuild by the generous skills of those people , who have learned about mutual tolerance from the past.

 

As if this was not impressive enough , I got another , very personal déjà-vu right in front of the Frauenkirche. When I was a very small boy , my grandparents gave me a brass statue as a present. I then would not know, who was that man with mild, but serious looking eyes holding a thick book in his left arm. He stood on a columnlike base, inscriptions were on that base and the portraits of some other serious looking men . All I realized was the built in musical clock, sending me to sleep every night of my small childhoodyears . Well it was my brother to break this by firing my statue out of our bunkbed some day. The spring was broken, but my special relationship to that man on the pedestal stayed intact . The man I write and talk about is Martin Luther.

Growing older I learned more about the historic role he played , not only in Germany´s , but also the Eúropean and somewhat the world´s history. And if there was one thing for me to learn from his behaviour for my own live, that was to be authentic, have an opinion and stand for what you say and do. Even if this does not result in your personal advantage. Be a man – and do what you have to do !Like it or not.

Imagine my surprise, leaving the “Frauenkirche” and facing exactly that Martin Luther statue that so much accompanied my little boys life. Of course mine was a copy of this one – but if you had asked ma as a boy, I would have convinced you , that this was big copy of what stood next to my bed. Boys will be boys- say it ain´t so…?!

But his was just a start to more good Dresden experiences. Including we met Petras friends Dani and Robi, met the local people on and off the scene, toured Dresden at night with Moni and Manfred . Get some Dresden impressions here....

 

After we had said goodbye to our Struppen friends Manfred and Moni we toured on up the Elbe river – to meet Petras friend Wolfgang . Him being a Ducatista and KTM-Biker he spends the summer up in the Elbsandstein Mountains to restore a house near the river . That is where we headed for the next night, incuding late nite barbecue and full darkness badminton . Hey surprise – the more you drink , the more you miss your shuttlecock ;.) Great night again – and another pack of people to come back to .

Off the Elbvalley up the mountains east of Dresden : The Elbsandstein-Mountains. Writing these lines, I sometimes wonder where all the firwork of good, new experiences comes from in such short terms of riding- but yes:  There´s more to come. Not only the intense landscape with zigzagging montainroads, that sometimes follow their way back to the Elbvalley, as much as you all of a sudden land in the middle of a Vietnamese Sunday market – and it´s Czech without even seeing a signpost. Travelling gorgeous, greenish valleys that are formed by scenic little creeks inviting you for a spontaneous swim . 

Traditioal wooden mountainhouses clearly amrk the differences of lifestyles from Czech to Germany- as scenic they occur- you can literally smell long , cold and tiring winters in this remote areas far off major city centers.

And the “Kasachan road standards” express very obviously, that this is not the place where the money goes. So we enjoyed the friendly czech people, wondered aand smiled about some guy doing his garden work alongside the road fully nude ( well- maybe we were the only vehicles passing there in ages? )

On our way back to Dresden we firts passed a terrific 10 km  mountainracetracklike road  ( well , guess it made us right a bit too fast uín some places - which should turn out to be one of the oldest German mountainracetracks indeed - the former "Deutschlandring" .
As historic it is being  first started in 1912- as much fun this was .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wjYX2awqpjU 



Overlooking the track we passed the ancient Bikers`fortress of Hohenstein - and while we thought how to walk up the fortress I noticed a very special traffic sign at the historic entry gates : "Bikers access  permitted" !!! So you can imagine our big grin riding up the pasway on oru modern steelhorses - to find a bikersshop in the middle of the fortress, perfect places to eat, party and sleep - do not miss neither the racetrack nor the fortress , when you come along.

Our way home passed one of the biggest German windparks , growing bigger ever since the nuclear power catastrophe of Fukushima- at least one positiv result of unseen suffering in Japan.

Our way home was planned through the mountains of Thüringen - but blocked by a major coldfront rushing in from Northwest- so we decided for a short but scenic trip back through saxonia and Bavaria - leaving full of new impressions with the firm intention to come back and find out more about the region.

While the alpes get flooded with bikers in the summer months , this is pretty much an insider´s tip to check out.

And lust but not least the Almighty has made it very close to the 100000 km club with 99.200 km on the clock when we got back home .

More to come soon !

Baba

New WP EDS II electronic suspension for the ALMIGHTY

Whilst Petra is chilling out a day with her folks I have an early morning appointment with our friends at WP Germany in Neutraubling. Despite the almighty still felt pretty stable and fast , when we rode the Italin Trentino mountains and passes – I could see, feel and even more hear it from the edges of my panneers – almost any major curve and definitely each serpentine first started with an always increasing scratchy sound of either the left or right front edge , getting louder still and eventually lifting and levering off the bikes rear tyre of the road – at least what was left over of it after the Italian speed orgy with Domingo, Kare and Sepp .

So before my new nickname “Chief Glowing Edge” kept spreading further, I had to decide about how to ride on with the Almighty into Saxonia. And despite al temptation I felt to by a new bike ( especially there was this “I-should-well-reward-myself-for-long-2-years-of-remote-study-and-passing-a-final-maserexam-feeling” – guess you can imagine how these feelings comes and grabs you )- but when I first sat back on my old faithful companion in May this year, including her new clutch, reverted starter and gear box and partially renewed camshaft drive ( it all still worked –but for my latest Danubian adventure I paid a certain BMW-learners-lesson) .

When I did so , listening to the powerful sound and strength of that engine with permanent torque and always enough power – all the good memories the Almighty and me share in the meantime convinced me to say – NO REAL NEED FOR ANOTHER BIKE.

And after this was even improved by my new Borbro seat – everything was back to regular – just not the front and rear shocks – they had done a brilliant job for 96000 kms in serious conditions – but now it was time for a change !

So what can I say about the incredible WP –Team what I did not say before ? As much when we were touring round the world in 2008 this team is a source of joy to work with : I got up early morning to be there in time for our early morning date. And Christian,Klaus and Bernhard would not even let me touch a single screw to fit the new Electronic EDS II system onto the Almighty . Sit down , have some coffee and a lot of good bikers chat and enjoy your brandnew suspension just a few hours later. That is WP !

And my first testride on the new system immediately showed, that this was not only a superb service by the team – but also a great new shock and suspension performance – The almighty is back on track – and there was 10 days of highlevel testriding ahead of us now on our way through Saxonia and Czech. So if you guys consider a new suspension performance for your GS – give the WP EDS II a try - it is worth it.

Bringing in an additional 1-2 cm suspension height I meanwhile have the pleasure to combine this with another excellent improvement for the GS. The new BORBRO seat . When some debile scooteridiot obviously destroyed my old seat punching 2 holes inside ( hey scooterboy – we always meet twice ) I had to look for either repairing the old seat ( not a real choice though) or getting a new seat.

That is how by accident I came along some forum news about Gabor from Hungary, who is building brandnew seats in all different heights at a totally fair price – and as quality reports were good , we got in contact via email . Thus I met another great biker from Hungary, who made it possible to send me a brandnew , excellent quality seat in time to use it for the Saxonia trip – and believe me – I should have had such a seat 29 years ago, when I started riding bikes.

Totally comfortable, in my version 5 cm higher than the original vesion, antislip material and fitting right from the spot. Even “Iron butts” like mine enjoy the new position on the bike, a very relaxed knee angle and a much better riding position – all this for 218 € including DHL-transport- and leaving your old seat completely with you . And without knowing each other Gabor send me the seat just on a trust base from biker to biker – wonder , where in business life you still get that ? Thank you Gabor for your trust !

After various long 8-12 hour rides in the recent weeks the seat was an excellent buy – and an easy recommendation at an unbeatable price – unless you prefer to spend tons of money on overprized gear ? Check Gabors site – it’s a very good quality start up – and you get seats in various hights , colours and models .


Baba ( happy bikers butt onboard )

RETURN TO SAXONIA – THE EASTERN CONFERENCE TO BE CONTINUED

 …as promised in May´s blogging Petra and me decided , to see more of the Oremountains in Saxonia , visit Moni and Manfred in Struppen near Dresden and enjoy a chilling ride in and out of Czech all the way east to the so called Elbsandstein mountains near Dresden.

Sometimes it seems difficult to imagine all that can happen within 10 days , yet it does. Thus showing us how much adventure and great people we can meet pretty close next door – with no need to travel all the long way around the world – but to simply open our eyes and minds wide enough to see with our hearts : “It´s only the heart to see properly “ is what St. Exupéry´s Little Prince told us once . Still very true.

 

 

Just A highlight to pass by on our way to Petras Parents and the almightys new shocks was the pittoresque HUNDERTWASSER Tower in Abensberg LINK . And yes we confess here and now : We did not climb up this time – as we were pretty tired from the final day of the safety training at 35° Celsius with no shade to hide – plus we had another 250 kms to go from where we started to make it to Petras parents. But we know this place o be near enough to get back there another day. 3 hours later we got to the tiny little village of Atzmansberg – including a big Hello with Petras family and a cold wheat beer – do not miss this if you make it to Bavaria . As much as ist sounds like a cliché and as liitle as we drink it regularly – but German beer definitely still is one of many good reasons to come and check the place ;-)

BABA ( beerdrinker and hellracer :-) )
but never ever drunken driving - even less on bikes !

Hatt Sommer – the saviour of Japans Fukushima nuclear disaster

Well, folks . I will easily understand , if you do not believe the following story. I first could not imagine, what Petra and me came across, when Hatt told us his personal Fukushima story. He showed us proof of all he told us by all the emailtraffic he performed then.

And we only now know and understand , our friend has contributed very essentially , to stop the ongoing nuclear meltdown in the Fukushima nuclear plants, saving Japan and its people from the even much worse outcome, that otherwise would most likely have resulted. Driven by the GIER of irresponsible TEPCO management and blinded political supporters.

When things by the time of the earthquaking Tsunami developed to a point of technical helplessness of the responsible forces, authorities called worldwide for technical support and ideas to solve the major problem of cooling down the reactors. One of the main problems by the time was to supply sufficient loads of water and how to transport them to the reactors constantly. At this stage Hatt stepped into the scene. Being a very skilled engineer himself he contacted a major German company producing special concrete pumps. Suggesting his technical approach to the company responsibles , they were neither willing nor interested to support his solution approach.

But Hatt would not be him if he had simply given up. He finally got a contact to the withdrawn family senior-CEO of the company. Him finally realized the technical competence in Hatt´s plans and made the company staff go for it . All the rest is readable history. How by Hatts plans the nuclear reactors in Fukushima could be cooled down and controlled again . Saving countless lives - and leaving a minimum of hope to the people of Fukushima and Japan.

Hatt is nobody to walk around and make big news on what he did. Even less a financial profit, though he invested a lot of his worktime into the planning. But we think , the world should know more of one of its silent heroes – not only building brilliant motorcycle gear – but bridges for the world to walk on. We feel proud to know you as our friend , Hatt.

In honour of a great engineer and friend - Hatt Sommer

BABA ( sunpowered;-)

THE LEGENDARY HATTECH WORKSHOP PARTY 2011

Summer 2011 once more took us back to our friend Hatt Sommer from Hattech Bike solutions- this time for a workshop barbecue with mates, friends and customers – most of whom became friends after having been very satisfied HATTECH customers. Just like us.
Der Sommer 2011 hat wieder sein bewährtes Fest bei unserem Freund Hatt Sommer. Am Feiern wir sonst mit den nettestenWürtembergern der Republik auf den Wiesen am Ausgang des Schmiechtals, hat Hatt diesmal die HATTECH Werkstatt zum Festgelände „umgebaut“





It is a great biker community crowding the companies workshop – and we share a great party with lots of fun – especially when Hatt, his brother Franz and Hatt`s great new employee Nico dress up to celebrate the “Suckling pig"Spanferkel – pure comedy with a great sense of humour .

.Während das Spanferkel knisternd seine Schwarte über dem Feuer bräunt, feiert eine bunte Mischung aus Familie, Freunden, Mitarbeitern und Kunden miteinander – von denen viele wie auch wir , aus zufriedenen Hattech-Kunden zu Freunden wurden. Genau das war und ist es , warum Hatt und auch die anderen Unterstützer unserer Tour von Anfag mehr als „Sponsoren“ unserer Reise waren. Der Mensch in diesem Unternehmen macht den Unterschied.
Eine große Bikerfamilie kommt hier zusammen- mit viel Spaß und echt schwäbisch rumänischen Kabaretteinlagen vom feinsten mit der „Hattech- Spanferkel_Comedy-Boy Group“ – Spaß vom Feinsten beim „Kill & Grill“.

What a high level standard company HATTECH represents , we do not only know from our own experience – when 2 MONOTRACER limited edition special bikes run into the place – first we hear is the intense sound of the Hattech exhaust system fitted on a 70.000 and a 100.000 € custmized limited edition – which were worth half the money, without that sound ;-)

Das HATTECH eine Hightechschmiede ist, das wußten wir nicht nur aus unseren eigenen Erfahrungen. Und so wundert es uns nicht, dass das erste, was wir von den 2 MONOTRACERn auf der Anfahrt durchs Schmiechtal hören, ein extrem kerniger HATTECH Sound ist. Die den limitierten Motorradjets ohne Flügeln aus der Schweiz erst den Sound verleiht, der die limitierten 100.000 € Gefährte zum Fliegen bringt – und ohne den sie nur die Hälfte wert wären 


The only bike at the spot to compete with that sound is Gerds 1976 MV Augusta ,– but this is old style Italian sound design on its own and still very much an eye – and earcather - maybe as much , as the highend cylindric spaceshuttle like MONOTRACER concept bikes .

Das einzige Bike am Platz, um sich dem Sound entgegenzustellen, ist Gerds 1976er Guzzi Le Mans – denn das gute alte Italosounddesign ist eben immer noch ein ganz besonderer Hingucker- oder besser Hinhörer – mindestens so sehr , wie die Highend Spaceshuttle Monotracer Conceptbikes.


Well guess who got on an exclusive copilot testride- or should I say “testflight”. Of course , our first ladies : Hatt´s wife Thida and Petra - enjoy her smiles like we enjoyed the Hattech thunder sound , when their “flights” took off. Special yes , was their experience – yet nothing to compare with riding a real, naked bike with the elements of nature getting you in straight contact with all that means : Riding a bike ! That is maybe like the difference of snorkelling on a reef to ride the oceans in a submarine...

Und falls irgendjemand geglaubt hatte , Hatt, ich oder die anderen laten Bikerhaudegen würden mal eben auf einen Testflug mit den Bikeraketen gehen – dann schaut mal, wer die Copilotinnen waren : Tida und Petra. Geniesst ihr glückseeliges Lachen beim Abheben – wir haben ns als „Bodenpesonal“ einfach über den Sound beim „Abheben“ der Bikes gefreut.

„Sehr speziell, ja.“ Meinten sie beide nach der Landung. Aber nichts im Vergleich mit all dem, was eine nacktes Bike Dir an Erlebnis in und unmittelbar mit der Natur vermiitelt. Eben so, wie der Unterschied , nur mit Schnorchel und Flossen am Riff zu tauchen – oder im U-Boot zu sitzen.



What is definutely most memorable, isthe hospitality of the bikers around Hatt and his company fellows , that makes the place - and makes us come back as soon as possible to ride out with you guys .
Was aber vor allem bleibt, ist die unglaubliche Gastfreundschaft von Hatt und seinen Bikern. Versprochen, wir kommen bald wieder !





















Petra and Baba

66666 kms - just a note from the road

66.666 kms on the clock

• 66666 km – und die kleine GS läüft und läuft und läuft…..

The little blue Harley hunter´s still alive and kicking Just a short keynote while riding the Ride-of-Change-GS 650 through the Allgäu mountains – 66.666 kms on the clock make it a really reliable friend on the road – 50.000 of which were round the world – including all what this means for a bike carrying tools, luggage, panneers, camping gear and spare tools – and we keep on running – and heading for new targets. Petra now riding the bike has become another friend of a bikeconcept , that simply does what its supposed to do – take you to the people of this world – its you to choose the right roads to get there .

Kleine Randnotiz von den Allgäuer Landstrassen : 66666 km stehen gerade af dem Tacho des „kleinen-Harley-Jägers“ – der nach fast 50000 Weltreiseklometern immer noch ein treuer Wegbegleiter ohne wesentliche Ausfälle oder Macken ist- vor allem wenn man einzuschätzen weiß, was das Bike alles an Werkzeug, Ersatzteilen, Koffern und Ausrüstung auf welchen Strassen um die Welt geschleppt hat . Auch Petra, die das Bike jetzt fährt , kommt sehr gut mit dem Bikekonzept zurecht, das einfach nur das tut, was ein Motorrad tun soll:

Uns zu den Menschen dieser Welt zu tragen - es liegt an uns, die richtigen Wege dorthin zu wählen 

BABA spending some 100 Octane birthday fuel

FAMILY WEEKEND, feat. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn

Just another week passed by to make a longtime wish come true : There was so little time for family due to my exams , that I felt the deep wish to invite my folks for an alpine family weekend.
Which we had - climbing up Mt. Breitenberg, stepping out on the “Pfronten Skywalk” (well not as big as he Grand Canyon one – but still a lot of people won´t dare to step out on the transparent steel and glass construction reaching over the edge and overlooking the Pfronten Valley . Lucky enough we could watch some biplace paragliders launch (from where I usually do so with my paraglider) and simply enjoy a great weekend of relaxed togetherness.

Das Masterstudium der letzen 2 Jahre hatte sehr viel Zeit, manchmal zu viel Zeit gekostet. Vor allem Zeit für Freunde und Familie. Umso schöner war es , dass wir kam eine Woche später endlich Zeit für ein gemeinsames Wochenende im Allgäu fanden. Der Aufstieg auf Pfrontens Hausberg, den Breitenberg wurde vom „Pfrontner Skywalk“ gekrönt. Eine mutige Konstruktion aus Stahl und Glas mit herrlichem Blick über das Pfrontner Tal. Nicht ganz so spektakulär wie der gläserne „Große Bruder“ im Grand Canyon- aber immer noch zu aufregend, für viele , die sich nicht herauftrauen. Unsere Hüttenbrotzeit wurde dann noch durch einige Gleitschirmkollegen gewürzt, die ihre Schirme am Oststart aufzogen, von wo aus auch ich häufig zu ruhigen und entspannten Flügen durch die Allgäuer Alpen starte. „3 Schritte in den Abgrund, und das Glücksgefühl zu schweben“ – Reinhard Meys Hymne „Ikarus“ über den uneschütterliche Flugpionier Otto Lilienthal sei jedem Flieger und Nichtflieger ans Herz gelegt, der diesen Moment des Abhebens aus eigener Kraft und Entscheidung mit einem Drachen oder Gleitschirm verstehen möchte. Ein trauriger Song voll inspirierender Kraft, seinen Traum zu leben. Vaclav Havel sagte einmal. „Hoffung ist nicht die Überzeugung, dass etwas gut ausgeht, sondern daß es Sinn macht. Egal wie es ausgeht.“

When my family was already on their way home, my nephew Paul (alias Huckleberry Finn) and me (alias Tom Sawyer) added a bit of outdoor adventure for another 3 days.

We first biked up the strenous cause hot southern route to Mt. Breitenberg to complete the 1000 m climb with an even better downhill back to my place, where we completed a really good day with a hot barbecue on a huge campfire, whilst my landlord Franz kept telling Paul stories from his youth in a rough farmers life in the alpes. A great eyperience to listen to - not only for younger fellows.

Nachdem wir unsere “Senioren-Familie” wieder sicher nach Hause gebracht hatten, hängten mein Neffe Paulalias “Huck Finn” und ich alias „Tom Sawyer“ noch 3 Outdoor-Tage in den Bergen hintendran. Erst mit den Mountainbikes über die richtig schön heiße Südroute auf den Breitenberg, dann die Strecke des Pfrontner Mountainbike-Marathons downhill zurück zum Bauernhof in Rehbichl, auf dem ich seit 10 Jahren wohne. Mit Franz, dem besten aller Vermieter ließen wir einen genauso schönen wie anstrengenden Tag mit Lagerfeuer, Steaks und Franzens Geschichten aus einer Zeit ausklingen, die ein junger Mensch nur aus den Erzählung der älteren erfahren kann. Kein Ei-Fon , keine Zentralheizung, kein Auto, kilometer durch tiefen Schnee zur Schule und zurück, harte, frühe Arbeit auf dem Hof und im Holz. Eine andere Zeit . Ob sie wirklich ärmer war ?

King Paul II. in his personal pooö in front of Neuschwanstein Castle

Our next day was out on the lake with my red canoe – picking another just great and sunny day we paddled all over the lakes 12 kms length to find us a stunning campsite on the southeastern shores of the lake , where we could put up our tent, collect lots of dry firewood to start our next campfire-barbecue.

Der nächste Morgen brachte uns früh mit dem Kajak an den Forggensee. Nach über 20 km Paddeltour mit Blick auf Zugspitze, Säuling, am Fuß der Königsschlösser Neuschwanstein und Hohenschwangau und des Füssener Schlosses, mit herrlichem Blick in die Allgäuer Alpen mit Säuling und der Zgspitze am östlichen Horizont suchen wir uns am Südostufer einen Zeltplatz für die Nacht.

Wie in den alten Sagen oft erzählt lagern am Ostufer 2 gefürchtete Allgäuer-Altschragen-Faltenhexen . Eine gefürchtete und maximal unfeundliche Hexenart. Als Paul und ich uns „ihrem Ufer“ auf der Suche nch Zeltplatz und Feuerholz nähern und Paul an Land gehen will,, beginnen sie beide sofort , mit giftiger Feuergalle auf unser kleines rotes Kajak zu spucken, was wir bei Ihrer Hexenhöhle zu suchen haben, wir sollen von „ihrem Ufer“ verschwinden und dass es eine Unverschämtheit sei, dass wir überhaupt da seien..

Hey ihr beiden Gifthexen – wir hatten Euch ja versprochen, dass ihr berühmt werdet. Jetzt seid ihr es mit eigenem, traurigem Webauftritt !

Seid also vorsichtig, wenn ihr Euch im Sommer dem Ostufer des Forgensees nähert und ihr die beiden Althexen seht – die über 50 Quadratkilometer des Sees gehören nur diese beiden Botschafterinnen der Unfreundlichkeit. Selbst mein 12 jähriger Neffe schüttelte nur den Kopf, wie man an einem solch schönen Tag so schlechte Laune verbreiten kann ?!

Dafür findnen wir bald an einem hexenfreien Stück des Sees einen idealen Zeltplatz, umgeben von Feuerholz für unsere Steaks und das wärmende Lagerfeuer der Nacht.

Und während Neuschwanstein im abendlichen Alpenglühen versank, unsere Steaks über dem Feuer brutzelten, und die Welt einfach nur gut war, lässt Paul ganz lässig beim „chillen“ am Feuer einen Spruch mit klassikerpotential heraus : „Eines Tages werden die Menschen verstehen, dass Lagerfeuer eine Droge sind.“ Nicht viel hinzuzufügen von meiner Seite.

And whilst we did our steaks with a unique sunset making glow Neuschwanstein castle in the background , it was my 12-year old nephew Paul, chilling along the fire putting out a phrase , that I think might become a classic some day. Here´s what he said :

“Some day mankind will learn , that campfires are a drug” .

Well - nothing much to add from my side.

Just to complete the story Paul got a bit "lost" on his way home as he fell asleep in the train, when he was supposed to get off it in Schweinfurt. An hour later he got back home with another train – looks like adventures have more power to make young powerful nephews exhausted than all the artificial world Gameboyz and Nintendos ?

Das Paul dann auf der Heimfahrt mit dem Zug nach Schweinfurt noch für 1 Stunde vermisst gemeldet wurde, wel er vor lauter Abenteuermüdigkeit eingeschlafen war, zeigt am Ende doch nur, daß echte Abenteuer selbst meinen Powerneffen mehr schaffen, als alle künstlichen Nintendos und Gameboyz es jemals könnten- und dass auch Neffenhandys nur funktionieren, wenn der Neffe sie ins Ladegerät steckt ;-)

BABA (in honour of unforgotten Mark Twain)

WOODSTOCK 2011

4 years ago I was on my back home from the very special , non commercial, independent “WOODSTOCK” openair – festival on the ridge of the famous crater of the so called “Nördlinger Ries” .

Riding home after 3 days of love, peace and music I managed to loose my way 3 times , searching for a proper, curvy road home on my bike. I still wonder how it happened I got back 3 times on the same spot in the middle of the same tiny village in the real middle of nowhere . When I finally found a beautiful, blond haired lady to ask for the way ( she was the only person to be on the road for miles in that village and standing next to her little convertible ) – guess what I got as an answer : “I have lost my way too.” This was the begin of a wonderful love story ever since 

Eine ebenso bemerkenswerte wie wunderbare Liebesgeschichte hat vor 4 Jahren auf dem Woodstock-Open-Air bei Dornstadt auf dem Meteoritenkrater des Nördlinger Ries begonnen (an dieser Stelle muß man einfach einmal den „Waldgeistern“ ein wirklich dickes Lob aussprechen, für all die Arbeit, die darin steckt, ein solches Festival zu organisieren – Chapeau dafür!) . Nach 3 Tagen friedlichen Feierns mit entspannten Menschen bei klasse Musik auf einem der letzten nichtkommerziellen Festivals war ich mit der Allmächtigen auf dem Heimweg. Es war bullenheiß, schwül, und ich auf de Suche nach einer kleinen Landstrasse mit vielen Kurven Richtung Allgäu. Anders als sonst ließ ich das NAvi den Weg suchen und fuhr nicht nach Kompaß und Sonnenstand. Warum auch immer. Das NAvi lotste mich 3 mal zurück in ein von der Hitze menschenleeres kleines Dorf irgendwo im Nirgendwo. Niemand auf der Straße, um nach Weg oder Richtung zu fragen- und das NAvi wie fremdgesteuert immer wieder dahin zurück, wo ich herkam. Als ich mich gerae darüber wundern wollte, stand plötzliche eine wunderchöne blonde Frau mit Engelslocken neben ihrem MG-Cabrio an der Strasse. Und der Anfnag unserer Liebesgeschichte wa ihre Antwort, als ich e nach dem Weg fragte : „ ich habe mich selbst gerade auch verfahren….“ Seitdem fahren wir zusammen und kommen immer an 

So we got on our bikes to go back to the Woodstock Festival 2011 to celebrate our 4^th anniversary in a great mix of great people , geat music and great friends, as Sonja and Alois got on their bikes too to ride all the way from Waging to join us for the party. Despite cloudy weather we stayed safe from major rainfalls and met some excellent new bands. What left me a bit sad is to see , how few people make the effort to pack their bikes and put up their tents, if you compare this to the seventies and eighties festivals .

Woodstock war nach 4 Jahren wieder unser Ziel- zusammen mit unseren Freunden Sonja und Alois , die mit hornbewähter alten 100GS Gummikuh extra vom Waginger See zur Party kamen. Ein gnädiger Wettergott ließ uns die Regenwolken zwar immer sehen, verschonte uns dafür aber von der Original-Woodstock-Schlammschlacht. Dafür gab es umsomehr auf die Ohren- richtig gute Musik, neue Bands und die männliche Stimme von Janis Joplin LINK.

Ein wenig traurig wird man , wenn man sieht , wie wenig (junge) Menschen mittlerweile die Mühen eine Zeltes auf dem Motorrad auf sich nehmen. Alle im (neuen) Auto, von Papa gesponsort, und möglichst bequem …

Or to put it back into Bob Dylans Woodstock lyrics :

“For the times, they are achanging “

Oder um es mit Bob Dylans Woodstock-Worten zu sagen :

“ Die Zeiten wandeln sich”

This festival keeps up the spirit of the original, famous Woodstock festival, whilst introducing a lot of new , independent music- most of which you will hardly find in the commercial charts. Yet once you were celebrating the spirit of peace, love and rhythm with these excellent musicians you may easily imagine , how much you miss out on listening to mainstream charts only – as life itself – there´s always more colours around us, than we tend to see in daily routines. Guess you might save a weekend for next years “WOODSTOCK 2012” – check for details here and a very special thanks to the “Waldgeister Dornstadt” , who keep running this very special event by making a big, yearlong effort since 10 years !

Das Woodstock-Festival der Waldgeister in Dornstadt versucht mit seiner nichtkommerziellen Ausrichtung den Geist des Original-Woodstocks aus dem Jahr ?????? lebendig und glaubwürdig zuhalten. Dabei schaffen es die Jungs , jede Menge bekannter Bands mit neuen Independance Musikern zusammen auf die Waldbühne zu stellen, die kaum in den kommerzeillenCharts zu finden sind. Und wie im richtigen Leben- auch hier spürt man im Geist von Frieden , Liebe und Musik, warum es sich immer wieder lohnt, die ausgtertetenen Pfade zu verlassen, aufzubrechen zu neune Ufern und Unbekanntes zu wagen. Wer kann , sollte Woodstock 2012 in Dornstadt nicht verpassen.

BABA- blue as blues can be

Is there anybody out there......?!?!?!

Well, well, well – this is pure magic , but :

“...is there anybody OUT there ????? ”

Anybody with a sense of and spirit for music most likely knows these Pink Floyd lyrics from THE WALL. Going back into 1980 ( hey , I was 16 then !) there was an announcement of Pink Floyd performing „THE WALL“ four times worldwide. LA. London, New Yoork and ? Believe it or not – yes : Dortmund- Germany . Me and my brother were totally mad and collected all our money ( which was rather low level income ) to pay for a bus transport up the 500 kms and the ticket – and believe me – this was BIG money for us by the time. What we then experienced , was the reference of all music i ever sinced listended to – be it liveconcert, disc, cd, on video or unplugged. This was and is unreached in quality, performance and story message. Guess how excited I was , when the news spread of Roger Waters reperforming a new Version of „THE WALL“ in June in Düsseldorf.

Wer immer sich in seinem Leben mit anspruchsvoller Musik beschäftigt hat , wird die Tetzeilen aus Pink Floyds „THE WALL“ kennen. Ich war 16, als sich 1980 das Gerücht wie ein Lauffeuer verbreitete, dass Pink Floyd ihr Meisterwerk „The Wall“ live aufführen werden. In LA. New York; London und man mochte es kaum glauben- in Dortmund in Deutschland. Mein Bruder und drehten fast komplett am Rad und kratzten unsere letzten Kröten für Tickets und die 500 km- Busfahrt zusammen – und das war damals richtig viel Geld für uns.

Was wir dann in Dortmund erleben durften , ist seitdem nicht nur für uns der Maßstab aller musikalischen Erlebnisse geblieben – sei es live , Open Air, auf CD, Bühnnshow, Sound und vor allem auch die Message angeht ,die eine Band ihrem Publikum mit auf den Weg geben will. „THE WALL“ war und ist seitdem unerreicht. Vielleicht versteht man jetzt meine Aufregung besser, als Roger Waters ankündigte, dass er „The Wall“ neu inszenieren und im Juni in Düsseldorf aufführen werde.

And how much even better this was to combine the visit to my favourite Uncle Borwin in Düsseldorf and my unique Peruvian-Hamburg friend Manuel with his wife Cornelia and his sweet daughters Saskia and Marla. As if all this had not been good enough words spread, Pink Floyd cofounder and guitarist David Gilmour might join into the show – which he did in London some weeks before. Though he finally did not it was as intense a performance by Roger Waters : Leaving the audience and the world with the incredible message , what loneliness, hate , intolerance, fascism war and the still too present destructive power of men´s greed make the world look like, out of the eyes of a mistreated and beaten indvidual.

And what it takes , to break down the walls.

Düsseldorf war dabei eine sehr gute Location im doppelten Sinne : Wohnt dort neben meine Lieblingsonkel Borwin doch auch noch mein alter, peuanischer Freund Manuel mit seiner Frau Corelia und seinen witzigen Töchtern Saskia und Marla. Als ob dasnicht alles schon klassse genug wäre, verbreitete sich über das Inernet dann auch noch das Gerücht, dass Pink Floyd-Gitarrist und Mitbegründer David Gilmour mitz auf der Bühne von the Wall stehen könnte, nachder er beim Auftritt in London zuvor unangekündigt sein legendäres Gitarrensolo in „Comfortably Numb“ inszenierte. Auch wenn er letztlich nicht dabei sein konnte ( aber auf allerhöchstem Niveu „vertreten“ wurde) : Die Intensität der Botschaft einer leider viel zu sehr existenten Realität, mit der Roger Waters das Publikum nicht nur konfrontierte, sondern auch mit dieser einen Botschaft zurück in die Welt schickt, gilt heute leider noch genauso sehr wie damals :

Das es das Vetrauen der Menschen zu sich selbst uund untereinander braucht , um die Mauern aus Einsamkeit, Hass, Intoleranz, faschistischen Kriegstreibereien und menschlicher Gier endgültig einzureissen.

If these walls had not come down before – we never would have met all these wonderful friends around the world , even less our friends in Russia, Ukraine, Kasachstan and Mongolia, South Korea, Alaska, Canada and the United States. So keep those off power , who ever try to rebuild those walls again. Whoever. Whyever. Wherever.

Wären eben diese Mauern nicht gefallen - weder Hombre noch ich hätten die wunderbaren Menschen dieser Welt jemals so kennengelernt, , noch weniger unsere Freunde in Russland, der Ukraine, Kasachstan und der Mongolei, Südkorea, Alaska, Canada oder den USA. Wir sind alle aufgerufen, diejenigen von der Macht fernzuhalten, die eben diese Mauern gerne wieder errichten möchten - egal wer, wo und warum.

Einen kleinen Eindruck findet Ihr auf Roger Waters The Wall - Special Appearance by David Gilmour, O2, - und auf den Links zur Homepage von Roger Waters - vergesst nicht , den Sound aufzudrehen ;.)

To get an impression of what I talk about – check the link below and make sure you put up he volume  This is the Roger Waters The Wall - Special Appearance by David Gilmour, O2, London - May 12, 2011 Offical video For more check Roger Water´s website here

Düsseldorf further surprised us in many other ways besides of the wall and its friendly people :

Aber Düsseldorf hat außer THE WALL und freundlichen Menschen noch mehr zu bieten :

We found scooters at their proper destination as bulky waste and some friendly lady bumped into our parked rented car just when we were off to catch our flight back home to Munich. So enough to have had a really intense weekend ;-)

Roller werden artgerecht auf dem Sperrmüll abgestellt, und eine nette Nachbarin fuhr uns unmittelbar vor dem Abflug nach München noch eine ebenso freundliche Beule in den Mietwagen. Alles in allem also ein echt lebhaftes Wochenende ;-)

Just to add another nice off topic story the one before : While I just type this blog riding my daily 2 hours train ride back home from hospital , three little Chinese girls with their father sit next to me. 4 year old little Sheixin puts her little nose into my laptop and starts showing me , she can already type her name . So while she teaches me Chinese , I teach her how to type a smiley face on the keyboard. The results you can see below – and we had lots of fun with everyone in the train – without speaking a language but mutual understanding and not loosing the child inside of us.
Noch eine kleine Zuggeschichte zum Schluß : Während ich gerade den Blog auf meinem täglichen 2-Stunden-Zugtrip von der Klinik nach Hause fahre, steigen 3 süße, putzmuntere chinesische Mädchen mit ihrem Vater in den Zug. Die 4 jährige Sheixin steckt direkt ihre kleine Stupsnase mitten in meinen Monitor . Erst um zu schauen, was ich da mache. dann entert sie blitzschnell meine Tastatur und zeigt mir stolz wie ein kleiner Pfau, daß sie schon ihren Namen tippen kann. Und während sie mir mein erstes Chinesisch beibringt, zeige ich ihr, wie man ein Smiley mit der Tastatur schreibt. Das Ergebnis seht ihr unten. Zusammen haben wir den halben Waggon unterhalten . Und das ganz ohne gemeinsame Sprache - aber mit dem Kind in uns allen ;-)

sheixin

sheixin

sheixin 

sheixin

sheixin 

:-) sheixinsheixinsheixin

& BABA

UP and DOWN – the roads of Germany

Summer ahead of us brought back some chilling experience of last years bow and drum sessions out in the fields - with Petras rhythm in the back and the alps surrounding us - this is really relaxing - give it a try , if you can :-)




Next to come in June was a wonderful 1500 km bikers-family-roundtrip through Germany, taking Petra and me first to my brothers new home in Schweinfurt, in the wine region of Frankonia. Thus being forced for some serious winetasting ;-) next day we went up quite a stretch north to the Sauerland Region in Northwestern Germany . In the scenic small city of Schmallenkirchen Petras sister with her husband and family recently have bought an old cornmill to rebuild the place and start a hotel and Café-business in the nearby future . Maybe we get a newbikers meeting point up there ? Hopefully !

By all means the petty forerested area is a warm recommendation for all bikers to visit , as you will find many splendid, small and curvy roads in excellent condition – as always , most likely if you are ready to leave the beaten track and turn right and left off the major roads. Give it a ry if you get there- maybe you meet some of our young fellow bikers , that I took for a joyride on my “almighty" .

On our way back we passed my moms place in Heidelberg with a big “Hello” and a warm welcome , only a mom can give to you . Coming home is alays a good and uniqiue place to be – no matter, how far you may have travelled – home is home .

All this was highlighted by great and sunny weather, making it an even greater trip with the very last 50 kms pouring down – no matter how wet we got by the very end – it was a great trip through one of the most beautiful countries I have come across – Germany. And is there better friends to meet than your family ?

BABA - still swinging over the roads of Germany

Throw away the bowlines....Leinen los !

June 2009

Bikers and friends – WHAT A SUMMER this has been and still is. As promised this summer was as intense as it could be . Keeping me offline quite a bit – let me tell you about so many good reasons to have been on and off the road.

Liebe Freunde, Biker und alle Blogleser,

was war das nur für ein Sommer – der längst noch nit vorüber ist. Auch wenn es nicht einfach war, noch den Blog zu schreiben vor lauter Action und Veränderung – es gab viele gute Gründe für ein lange Offline-Etappe – auf und abseits der Bikerstrassen dieser einzigartigen Welt.

Guess this is a liitle bit time for reflecting backwards and looking forward at the same time. Which then highlights some milestones in the summer of 2011- making it maybe THE SUMMER 2011 :-)

Mit der Ruhe kommt die Zeit, auf einige Meilensteine des Sommers 2011 zurückzuschauen – und dabei ein wenig auch in die Zkunft zu schauen – und dabei vielleicht festzustellen , das der Sommer 2011 nicht nur viel besser war als sein Ruf – sonern viellecht sogar DER SOMMER 2011 gewesen ist.

Throw away the bowlines…Leinen los….

Keeping to the chronicles the supposedly most important issue after terminating my master thesis was to change my job. After having worked my butt off for almost ten years in intense hospital work, the time was due for leaving a beaten track to discover new lands. I enjoyed the pleasure to have worked with some of the finest people I ever met in two very caring , high quality hospitals. As much as this was a pleasure, as frustrating the political behaviour of the responsible levels finally drove forward my decision , to discover new horizons offshore the wellknown and familiar coastal lines . It was and partly still is a very intense decision to leave – but it´s me too not to stick to a place, if wrong decisions of the wrong people run down the hard and honest work of those , who do the job. You hospital guys reading these lines here know how to translate this properly- fair enough to stop the issue here.

This is a final thank you to all those wonderful fellows of all medical and other professions in my old hospital – which is as warm and big as all your good wishes , when we said „farewell“ one week ago.No better way to describe it , than in the words you folks gave me for goodbye :

„It doesn´t matter , which direction the winds blow from –
but how you put up your sails.“

Der Reihe nach…

Die wohl wichtigste Konsequenz dieses Sommers, nachdem ich meine Masterarbeit im April abgeschlossen hatte, war die Entscheidung, meinen Job zu kündigen und nach 10 Jahren einen menschlich zwar sehr schmerzhaften Schlussstrich unter ein sehr prägendes Kapitel meines Lebens zu ziehen. Den einfachsten und bequemsten Weg zu gehen , war noch nie mein Ding .

Wenn aber ehrliche, harte Arbeit alleine nicht mehr ausreicht, all das zu korrigieren, was passiert ,wenn die Reeder eines Schiffes den Kahn ahnungslos und mutwillig, mit unterdurchschnittlicher Begabung und Wissen um die Seefahrt aufgrund setzen, nachdem sie zuvor die Offiziere und Steuerleute über die Planke gejagt haben, dann ist es für die einfachen Seeleute höchste Zeit – entweder zu meutern oder in die Boote zugehen und einen eigenen Kurs zu neuen Ufern zu bestimmen. Es war eine Freude , medizinisch und in allen anderen Bereichen mit unseren Mitarbeitern an der bestmöglichen Versorgung unserer Patienten zu wirken. Wildgewordene Machtpolitiker sollten in Kliniken nichts verloren haben- wo sie wirken , ist für die Seefahrer kein Platz mehr im Schiff. Die Titanic ist letztlich wegen ihrer Reeder gesunken – aus Geschichte kann man lernen – wenn man bereit dazu ist. Die Menschen in unseren Kliniken sind eine der intensivsten, positivsten und bereicherndsten Erfahrungen meines bisherigen Lebens – und diejenigen von euch , die hier immer noch mitlesen, werden diese Zeilen verstehen. Zum guten Ende dieser Zeit steht hier mein Dank an alledie wundervollen, positiven Mitstreiter auf hoher Krankenhaus-See – der ebenso warm und herzlich ist, wie all Euren guten Wünsche zum Abschied sein soll. Man kann es nicht besser als mit Euren eigenen Worten zu meinem Abschied sagen :Und damit soll es ab hier auch gut sein mit diesem Thema..

„Es ist egal woher der Wind weht .

Wichtig ist nur, wie man die Segel setzt.“

So when I decided to swob the job there was a variety of opportunities to choose from ( what a privilege indeed) – and finally a decision was made, which provides a very good outlook for the oncoming future, as far as I can say from my first week in the 2 new hospitals I work in now. I very much look forward to a new task – yet never forgetting where I came from.

• So this is where I will be working from now on : http://www.kliniken-muehldorf.de/
  

• Some more impression comes from a hosputal information movie you find here

As much as this is affecting my life these days ( which gets pretty obvious by getting up 4:45 am to catch a 6:am train travelling 300 kms a day – not moaning , as I can use the time like just now writing the blog and get some works done on the train and keeping fit by 90 minutes walk each day ) - there´s more to tell about summer 2011.

Erfreulicherweise gab es ein Reihe von interessanten Angeboten – und ich glaube aus diesen eine sehr tragfähige Wahl getroffen zu haben- die mich positiv gestimmt in die nähere Zukunft schauen lässt, ohne dabei meine Wurzeln zu vergessen – Ehrlichkeit, Aufrichtigkeit und Rückgrat fürs eigen Spiegelbild.

So sehr dies auch meinen Lebensalltag betreffen wird ( was einem morgens um viertel vor fünf beim Aufstehen genauso schnell klar wird, wie auf täglichen 300 km Zug- und Autofahrt , oder bei den täglichen 1,5 Stunden Fußmarsch vom und zum Bahnhof ) – vieles ist eine Frage des Blickwinkels. So hält mich der tägliche Fußmarsch fit, gibt genug Zeit zum Nachdenken, und die Zeit im Zug gehört der Arbeit, einem guten Buch ( zur Zeit Zen oder de Kunst ein Motorrad zu warten) oder ich kann wie gerade Zeit nutzen, um den Blog zu schreiben. Und es gibt noch viel zu erzählen – aus dem Sommer 2011.

Looking forward for an all-friends.summer

BABA