Munich Day Trip - Hiking to Breitenstein (Bavarian Alps)

Last summer we joined a hike organized by the Munich chapter of Internations. This one was a short trip from Munich, to Breiteinstein in the Bavarian Alps. The drive took only an hour to reach the parking lot at the trailhead (in the village of Birkenstein, near Fischbachau).

You'll see in the Google Map below that Fischbachau lies east of Schliersee, near the Austrian border.

This is a good hike, with a mix of steep and easier stretches, as well as mixing meadows, forest, and rocky trails. 

The hike up takes around 2 1/2 hours and less than 2 hours down, depending on your stops. The trail begins around 850m elevation at Birkenstein, ascends to a hut at 1,585m, and finally to the peak at 1,622m (for a total rise of 1,170m).

You can see our destination below - we'll go all the way up to the small cross at the summit. 

 

The hike starts off with a steep walk up shady trails through the forest, before opening up into rolling meadows dotted with evergreens.  Not too bad, but definitely a challenge.

There are quite a few benches along the way to stop, rest, and enjoy the view. The wide trail then snakes through the meadows, with a steady (but not steep) climb upwards.

We then reach the bottom of a large grassy hill where cows graze, and gently wind around the hill into the forest on the right.

After passing through more shaded forest, we reach the Hubertushütte, a little hut serving drinks and snacks in a small valley below the peak of Breitenstein.  We stopped here for a snack before the final push up a rock-studded grassy hill up to the cross at Breitenstein. It's only another 10-15 minutes up to the peak.

Despite the not so steep-looking grassy meadow, the mountain drops off on the other side. At the top there is space to sit and look out over the villages in the valley, as this couple does. 

We ate lunch at the top, before heading down. Instead of the same route down, we passed along the ridge through a flat meadow where the cows grazed.

We pause to enjoy the view before descending.

 

Then back down the grassy hills. Herr J greets another one of our huge bovine friends. The cows were definitely one of my favorite parts of the day. 

 

Once again we had nice weather, friendly hiking companions, and great scenery (with animals!) -- this is why hiking in the Alps is so much fun.

Not your ordinary German beer...

I always enjoy seeing what they have in new grocery stores. (Herr J can attest to how long I can spend in a store in a foreign country, amazed by the different products). In Germany, I like to check out the beer section in different regions, to see if there are some new beers to try.

They've started carrying Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew, and Antarctica's Guarana soda in some of the stores in Munich.

However, my most recent discovery is really rather shocking.

No, your eyes are not decieving you...They really ARE selling The Beast and Busch here, in the Galleria store at Frankfurt Hauptwache!

Of all the American beers they could be selling here......

Munich Zoo - Large Carnivores

Lions, tigers, and bears.  The stuff of classic movies and some of the main attractions at every zoo.  Munich is no different, especially with their new Polar Bear exhibit.  We posted photos of the new baby elephant recently, but we also captured shots that day of some even wilder things.

Lions are funny, because we know they can be ferocious but usually find them sleeping.  All day.  Fortunately, the zoo lists feeding times for the lions & other animals, so this is the chance to see them actually move.  We found the lioness initially lying down, but when she heard the keeper's keys jingling she raised her head in interest.  Barely.

 

She then yawned a half-dozen times, stretched, groomed, yawned again, and THEN made her way to the food.  Still looking half asleep and completely oblivious to the people crowded around watching.  I have heard that their house-cat cousins are much the same...

 

After dining, she paced around for a few minutes.  It's the easiest wildlife photography we'll ever do -- an animal moving slowly about the same circular path, over and over and over.  Then she was back napping.

 

The Polar bears have a new exhibit, and it's great (for us and them, it's claimed).  The pen is long and relatively narrow, giving the bears room to roam but always in sight of the visitors.  This overview from the Zoo web site:

The bears have lots of toys, as usual - here is one of the two hanging out in the water, chomping on a plastic drum.

 
There are two of them - male and female.  Honestly, I'm not sure who this is playing.

The highlight was when one of the bears climbed out of the water and up on the "rocks", then dove into the water!  Frau A was quick with the camera and caught it in photos!  A real crowd pleaser - hugh splash but not nearly wide enough to get over the "panzer glass" lining the pen.

 

Frau A also got a great photo of the bear shaking off water after the dive.  There was a lot of activity from the bears, so a large crowd amassed and stayed around the exhibit.  We had to pull ourselves away to see other animals.

Lions... bears...... but no tigers in this post.  Sorry.  We didn't make it to the tiger part of the zoo this time.  How about European Wolves, key figures in German fairy tales (Little Red Riding Hood...)? 

 

The wolves were also quite active, in a dog-like way.  They would circle their large area constantly, taking occasional breaks to lie down or socialize.  They weren't running, but moving pretty fast though, and the light was somewhat dim -- so we learned then how difficult "wildlife" photography must be.  It took a lot of failed attempts before we captured good shots of the jogging wolves, especially when they're coming at you (continuous focus is easier when something moves across the frame, equidistant from you -- rather than toward or away from you).

 

When they paused to kiss, Frau A captured the moment.  In this "wildlife" photography we really learned the advantage the professional cameras like her Nikon D700 bring, vs. my nice-but-clearly-amateur Olympus Pen (and for sports too).  She could focus faster, maintain focus, and get off more shots per second.

This one stopped and ventured right to the edge of their area (before the "moat" and fence that keeps them from escaping).  He looked up briefly to check us out, then went back to jogging and playing.  European wolves are smaller than their North American relatives, but just as beautiful.

 

Coming in a future post - sea lions!

Photoblog - Vienna (Nightlife)

It seems like a long time ago, but it was just last Winter when Frau A and I visited Vienna for the weekend.  We saw Schoenbrunn Palace and ice skating around the Town Hall... but kept busy in the evenings too.

One of the main reasons for the trip was to see the show "Ich war noch niemals in New York".  In the spirit of "jukebox musicals" like Mamma Mia! (Abba) and Movin' Out (Billy Joel), this production features the songs of Udo Juergens.  Juergens is one of the most popular, successful, and beloved schlager singers.  (He's up top in our schlager post.)  He has sold over 100 million records and still sells out concert halls in his mid-70s today.  And yes, he won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1966.

The title means "I've never been to New York" -- in the story, an older couple aren't feeling "alive" anymore and therefore make a spontaneous decision to take a cruise ship to the Big Apple for the first time. (Notice the heart-shaped life preserver and rope in the banner.)  Although the story was a bit predictable, it was satisfying and Juergen's catchy tunes got everyone clapping and singing along.  And love & happiness prevail in the end.  Just like it should be.

The hotel was not far from the Bahnhof, so there were plenty of late-night options nearby.  So on another evening we checked out the nearby billiards bar, called "Köö - The Great Entertainer", on the second floor above some clothing stores & coffee shop.

 

The first order of business was to try the local beer, called Gösser.  It's a lot like the Munich helles, and in fact the styles are often combined for beer competitions into a group called VOM - Vienna, Oktoberfest, and Märzen (March) styles.  In the official BJCP Beer Style Guidelines it's called European Amber Lager.  Frau A and I love 'em -- a little less hoppy/bitter and crisp but richer and smoother than a pils.

There is a smoking ban in Munich now, so the haze and smells of the bar here were quite a surprise.  But together with the loud music and crack of caroming balls at the tables, it really felt like a pool hall.

The tables were all full (or reserved for hours) so we moved to the dart boards.  Warning:  do NOT be fooled by her quiet demeanor, long flowing hair, and friendly smile.  Frau A is a hustler and will beat you at darts.  She won all three of the first games again me.  I thought a second beer would change things - no luck.  She took 2 of the next 3.  Ouch.

The great thing about Vienna is that there are so many things to see in daylight, and just as many things to do at night.  We're hoping to return this summer and hang out with a colleague of mine who lives there (but works in the Munich office, staying Monday-Wednesday).  Stay tuned.

2018 Olympics: The Decision

The 2018 Winter Games were announced today, and (sniff, sniff) Munich did not win. They'll be held in Pyongchan South Korea instead.

After months of campaigning and signs everywhere, Munich held a day-long party culminating in the broadcast of "Die Entscheidung," or The Decision at a couple of public viewing points.  The biggest festivities were at the BMW World by OlympiaPark, which would have held many of the games.

We stopped by Marienplatz to watch the announcement.  It was far more crowded than the average summer tourist Glockenspiel viewing - actually very close to the point of being dangerous.  Rather unusual for Germany and its usual efficient crowd control!

Despite not having a win to celebrate, they went ahead and released the balloons and shot off some cannons or fireworks or something from the tower as the crowd quickly dispersed.

All in all, it was a nice bit of sun on an otherwise busy work day! And any perfect summer day is a day worth celebrating!

P.S.....I really don't know what this was, but had to take a picture. If anyone knows the story behind these types of vehicles (and the related crazy Austrian backpacks), I'd love to know! I'm not sure how to describe these in English, so I have no idea where to begin Googling them in German! But I'm curious.

Here's the Austrian cousin we saw at the World Cup downhill skiing event

Photoblog - Back to the English Garden

Following our initial post on Munich's English Garden, Frau A and I went back for more photos.  (Frau A also wanted to see if any new chicks had hatched from the water bird population.)

We took the U-Bahn north, from downtown to Münchener Freiheit.  It's one stop past Giselastrasse, just off the top of the map you see here.  The idea was to walk south through the park from Kleinhesseloher Lake, photographing the Chinese Tower, Monopteros, and surfers (yes, surfers, you'll see) on the Eisbach.  Lastly, the State Chancellory is just outside on the park on the way home.

On the map you can see a creek running along the west side of the park, which feeds eventually back into the Isar river.  Atop the bridge railing as you enter the English Garden, the park service installed a new flower planter.  Very nice.  The Germans really like flowers and have high quality displays throughout the city.

We kept walking west to the Kleinhesseloher See.  This is most famous for the beergarden that sits on its shore, called the Seehaus.  It seats 2500 people!  In addition to the Seehaus, one can rent paddleboats and canoes to take on the water.  On our last visit, we weren't experimenting with HDR Photography, so this time I bracketed and tonemapped the waiting paddleboats.  More HDR to come.

In the next photo's background you can see the throngs enjoying food & beer at the Seehaus -- in good weather it is always packed.  Perhaps this guy wished he'd picked a paddle boat instead -- look's like he's taking a rest from rowing his sweetheart around?   She looks relaxed though.

These guys know how to enjoy life.  Take refreshment with you onto the water, put your feet up, and soak in the sunshine.  (The sun gave us a colorful reflection on the water too.)  Notice the geese hanging around, just in case any humans care to share their snacks.

On the southern tip of the lake, where it narrows to a feeder heading towards the Isar river, Frau A saw the feathery babies she was hoping for.  This train of goslings was motoring after mom & dad.  The guy in back seems to be yelling for everyone to wait up.

We brought breadcrumbs to feed the waterfowl - some come out to get a more strategic position.  It's harder to see in the web-sized photo, but you can see this baby's tiny teeth.  Notice also that the adult in the background has a tag around its foot, part of the wildlife management in the English Garden.

Next along the way was the Chinese Tower.  There's a beer garden here also (not shown).  There was a German "oom-pah" band playing on the second story (hidden from this view) -- common entertainment in good weather.  The sun was really bright now - even with bracketing and tonemapping there are still some blown highlights, but that's just my inexperience showing.

 

We continued walking south to the Monopteros.  This was a prime candidate for HDR too.  I got some serious vignetting, but it doesn't distract too much so I didn't try to fix it in post processing (also a bit lazy... could correct for some distortion as well...).  As usual, HDR brings out texture in stone and contrast in the clouds that you wouldn't get in low-dynamic range output.

As you near the park's south exit, you should always stop at the Eisbach to see the surfers.  The Eisbach is a small man-made river flowing through the English Garden (and another small Isar tributary).  One section at the end has a standing wave, perfect for surfing -- the surfer stays in place as the water flows by.

Technically, this was illegal... but never enforced.  That's probably why they made it legal in 2010 and now just post warning signs.  The surfers only have a few meters in which to go back & forth, so you can catch the spray on camera:

There will often be a lot of spectators, watching from both banks of the small river, or loooking down from a small bridge that spans the Eisbach just a couple of meters before the wave.  The guy below was probably the best surfer we saw that day and gave us plenty of opportunity to get some good photos.

Check out this Eisbach surfing video on YouTube, taken from the bridge.  There are regular surfers, beginners just lying on the board, and even body surfers!  The water is cold, hence the wetsuits.

Finally at the end of the afternoon, one more chance to bracket photographs and try HDR - at the Bavarian Chancellory building.  This is outside the English Garden, inside the small Hofgarten.  Lots of glass and stone make for a good subject to tonemap.

There is just so much to see in the English Garden.  Frau and I will return again in Autumn to see how things have changed and photograph some other nice spots.

Google Doodles Quiz - Part 10...Media and multi-theme logos

In this prior post we briefly described Google Doodles and had a quiz.  This blog entry is the 10th "quiz" of Doodles and the last one (for now).

Below are three Doodles recognizing the birthdays of radio and film directors, two historical figures that did not fit into the previous categories, plus two Doodles that each reflect two topics:

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

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Answers below:

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#1    Birthday of Alfred Hitchcock (The Birds)
#2    Birthday of Akira Kurosawa (Japanese film director)
#3    Birthday of H. G. Wells (War of the Worlds)
#4    Birthday of Ghandi
#5    "Birthday" of Confucius
#6    Independence Day (4th of July)  and  Birthday of Rube Goldberg (cartoons of complex machines)
#7    New Year's Day  and  Birthday of TCP/IP which is the communications protocol for the Internet!