Mittenwald Germany Trip 2020

 Day 1 (Driving to Mittenwald)

I got the idea of staying in Mittenwald from my German friend Werner.  It is located near the Austrian border.

Even though I have been to Schwangau a few times to see the Neuschwanstein castle, I wanted to stop here before checking in at the hotel to capture a picture of the castle from a different angle.  Since there is all this social distancing stuff, it was an hour wait to cross the Marien bridge.  Once on the other side of the bridge, I hiked up the mountain about 35 minutes and got this picture.  It wasn't the angle I was hoping for but it was an awesome view nonetheless. 

  

Mittenwald is a charming town with plenty of cafes and shops.  Strolling through the town center you can enjoy the colorfully decorated buildings with "Luftlmalereien" murals.  This dates back to the 18th century and the murals are based on biblical themes and the peaceful everyday life of the Bavarian people.

I stayed at the Alpenhotel Rieger which is only a one minute walk to the pedestrian center with all the shops and restaurants. The room was nice and offered a great view of the Karwendel Mountains.

Day 2 (Partnachklamm)

Started the day early to see the Partnachklamm in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.  It worked out nice because I arrived shortly after it opened and I had the place all to myself.  

The Partnachklamm is a 2300 ft (702 meters) gorge.  The giant stone walls, narrow passages and rushing water are just amazing.  

After going through the gorge, the only way back to the beginning is to do some hiking through the mountain side.  

View from bridge

The trail takes you to the Eiserne Brucke (Iron Bridge).

So glad I stopped to see this gorge.

Day 3 (Leutascher Geisterklamm)

Rain was in the forecast on this day so I headed out early for the Leutascher Geisterklamm.  It was about a 30 minute walk from my hotel.  There was a little hiking involved but not too bad. 

This gorge opened in 2006 and is impressive too.  It was very peaceful out there with just the sound of the water racing through the gorge. 

Panoramic bridge at 
Leutascher Geisterklamm

In the same area as the gorge is the Leutasch Gorge waterfall.  I went there in the afternoon and it was not bad.  Here you can also see stone walls and of course the waterfall that is tucked in a nook type area.

Day 4  (Karwendel Mountains and Museum of Violin Making)

 

I was fortunate to have great weather this day.  From the hotel, it was a 15 minute walk to the Karwendel cable car that takes you to the top of the mountain.  With an altitude of over 7,300 feet, you get a great view of the towns below and the surrounding alps. 

Once on top, you can hike around the area to get different views from different peaks.  It also offers a few hiking trails down the mountain that range from 3 to 7 hours.  I chose to take the cable car back down.  The clear skies made it a perfect day to enjoy this amazing place.

I did not know this but Mittenwald ranks among the world's major centers of violin making.  I stopped by to check out the Museum of Violin Making.  It is housed in one of the oldest houses in town.

Last day (Zugspitze and Eibsee)

I wasn't sure if I would make it to the Zugspitze, Germany's highest peak, but the skies were going to be clear so I bought my ticket for the cable car ride to the summit.  

At 2,962 m (9,718 ft), the view is simply amazing.  There is not much to do up there except sit and enjoy the splendor of the alps.  I climbed up to the summit cross and enjoyed a beer on one of the terraces. 

Back at the bottom of the Zugspitze, I rode around a lake named Eibsee.  

There is a nice trail around the lake that is a little over 7 km.  There were a lot of people walking and some bike riders.  There were also "beach" areas where visitors were having picnics and sunbathing.  It was a very nice area with the Zugspitze as a backdrop.  

Final thoughts

I thought Mittenwald was a nice destination to spend a few days to enjoy nature and the outdoors.  It is close to Garmisch-Partenkirchen (about a 30 minute drive).  The gorges I visited were amazing and the views from the mountain tops were spectacular.  If you visit here, you will not be disappointed.

A Drummer's Tale Part 2

 

The drummers of today probably hear this all the time from drummers my age: “YouTube wasn’t around when I was learning how to play drums.” Of course this is true for any instrument. I wasn’t fortunate to have private lessons so I relied on learning from drummers I heard on the radio and my albums. It was a lot of trial and error and a lot of playing along to my favorite songs until it sounded close enough. This method was all I did during my high school years and the years to follow.

There are good and bad things about this method. The bad is that you miss out on learning technique and someone showing you common drum licks.  The good thing, at least for me, is that you learn to listen to the music, play with dynamics and in the struggle to learn certain licks you may stumble onto other licks. I probably could have also benefitted from playing with others in bands. I was 19 years old when I played with the first groups of guys. It didn’t last long but it was fun and an experience.

When I was 20, I joined the army and I didn’t think I would play the drums again so I sold my CB 700 drum set.  Well, being without drums didn’t last long…I met some guys while I was stationed in Egypt and we jammed and played music for our friends. When I came back to the states, I knew I wanted to continue playing drums. I saw a “drums for sale” ad in the paper and that’s when I got my black Tama Imperial Star kit. On a side note, when I was in Egypt, that’s when I learned the basics of playing guitar.

Mark Palomelio trying to play my
Tama Imperial Star, Germany 1996

I was living in Savannah, GA, had a drum set and was practicing again.  I found a place downtown that had open mic nights and I started jamming with the house band and other local musicians.  The music played was primarily blues. I really enjoyed the jam sessions. It was a valuable lesson in learning to play with others, how to play in the pocket, and how to control myself from overplaying.

Singapore 2020

Beautiful view from hotel room balcony

Hello all,
So this month we took our chances among the Covid-19 concerns and followed through with out travel arrangements to Singapore.

We had a great time during our six day stay.

We stayed at the hotel Swissotel in downtown Singapore. It was a really nice hotel with its own market place for food.

      
A main attraction is the Skywalk at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. Here you can get a great view of the city.  One good thing about coming at a time when many places were restricting travel is there weren't crowds of people.  We didn't feel rushed and we were able to get some good pictures.

   

The Merlion, a half-fish and half-lion statue, has become an icon of Singapore. There are six Merlion statues throughout Singapore but the one in Marina Bay is the only one that spouts out water. 

The Merlion

The food was also amazing. We tried a couple of the hawker food centers.  They are really convenient and offer something for everyone.  Alex and I only had one bad meal the entire trip and that was because we were super hungry and we just stopped at the first place we found.

   

  

Singapore was a cool place to visit. We visited the botanical gardens, Gardens by the Bay and the Super Tree Grove, The Jewel shopping center, the wave bridge, and some temples.

      I think I really enjoyed Singapore because there were no crowds. It may have been a different experience with many tourists there but I would definitely go back to this destination.

  

Visiting Krakow, Poland

Billy, Chris and me

My visit to Krakow was based off seeing KISS in concert on their End of the World Tour.  I arrived on Sunday with one of my friends from work (Billy Maloney).  We were met by Chris Wilks.  He is a friend of ours that lives in Krakow with his Polish wife.  We know Chris from our Army days, we all served together in the same platoon in Iraq 2003.

Old Town Market Square

Sunday afternoon Chris took us on a quick walking tour of Krakow.
If you have ever been to Prague, it is very similar...I call it a mini-Prague.
The Old Town  and Market Square are the heart of the city.  The square is surrounded by cafes and restaurants.  Also in the Market Square you will see ST. Mary's Basilica and the Adam Mickiewicz Monument.  At the top of the basilica is the watchtower where a bugler plays the city's famous bugle call (hejnal) every hour on the hour.  We actually had a chance to here it.

ST. Mary's Basilica

Adam Mickiewicz Monument

Crest of Krakow

Florianska Gare

There is a lot to see here like the Bishop's Palace, the Wawel  Castel, and the Gothic gateway tower: Florianska Gate.

Unfortunately, we didn't have time to go into any of the museums or churches.  So I would definitely come back to this charming city.

The next day we visited Auschwitz concentration camp...but that is for another time.