Rehab vacation in Kärnten

The river Drau in Austria's Kärnten region

After arriving in Europe in early June I spent the first week or so with Sabine in Freising, getting used to listening to the local Bavarian dialect, going for almost daily road bike rides in cool temperatures, and enjoying the various cold cuts and cheeses that I have had to do without for almost a year and a half. After one of the coldest Mays in Germany in recent memory I had been bracing myself for an equally cool June, but apparently I had packed some nice weather when I left the US and there was more sun than clouds and none of our rides were cut short by rain.

Arrival greeting in Freising

Chilly riding with the girls

 

Colors around Freising

Even though the seedlings in the corn fields around Freising were woefully underdeveloped, mother nature burst with greens and yellows in a way that we just don't know in Texas. On my first ride I joined Sabine and some of her girlfriends and had a tough time hanging on; from then on, either it was she and I together or solo excursions for me. I stayed away as much as possible from anything hilly as even the autobahn overpasses caused me to immediately drop speed. The right leg just wasn't ready yet to work in normal ways.

Too much!

Bike path along the river Isar—the gravel bikes are perfect here

Excursions to one of the many Biergärten along the way, this one close to Oberschleißheim

During this initial period in Europe we started to think about where we might be able to go for a weeklong vacation. Sabine hadn't left town since the start of the pandemic and was eager to leave Freising for a few days, especially since she still needed to burn off some 2020 vacation time. We had been thinking about northern Italy (flat cycling), but COVID was still presenting various barriers and it wasn't clear how my passport status would affect testing or quarantine requirements as all of the info seemed to pertain to US travelers arriving by air. We also thought about northern Croatia, which had fewer restrictions but where the cycling is much, much hillier.

Waffle time

Along the Isar river

And then Sabine came up with a brilliant idea: Let's go to Kärnten, a region in central Austria that is home to numerous lakes and rivers with wide valleys surrounded by the Alps. With just a few days before traveling, our first Airbnb search didn't reveal anything that we really liked for a weeklong stay, but then I checked another portal for vacation rentals (FeWo.de) and we quickly booked a century-old house near Villach, on the the Ossiacher See. Two days later we were on the way, hoping that the weather would hold despite some questionable forecasts.

Ominous clouds in Austria close to Obertauern

Riding along the Drau river in its wide valley between Spittal and Villach

The first few days in Austria brought quite a few clouds but also some sunshine

A year ago, Sabine and her friend Gudrun had taken the train to Toblach, at the western end of the Drau valley, and had ridden their bikes for four days along the banks of this large river to Klagenfurt, at the eastern end of the Wörthersee. From there they had taken the train back to Munich. Instead of the train we took Sabine's Skoda, which comfortably holds us, two bikes, and all the crap we take along when we travel. The drive took about four hours, and we went through some well-known ski areas such as Obertauern, with amazing scenery that was unfortunately somewhat obscured by clouds.

Late afternoon view from our porch

Our vacation home in Annenheim on the Ossiacher See, close to Villach

Breakfast on the porch

Our house was located about 250 meters by paved road from the shore of the beautiful Ossiacher See and overlooked not only the western end of the lake but also offered an unparalleled view of the surrounding Karawanken, part of the so-called Chalk Alps. We had the entire house to ourselves, and our porch had the best view of any vacation home we've ever rented. Bingo! The old wood house had creaky staircases but two modern baths, a decent kitchen, a huge living/dining room that opened to the covered porch, and a homey bedroom that only lacked in bedding comfort. Oh well, that's old-school Europe for you.

Despite some ominous skies we somehow managed to stay dry before the sun took over

When we arrived in Austria, it was still rather chilly and there were more clouds than sun. But the weather improved every day, and we spent the only "rain" day off the bikes in nearby Villach. For one of our excursions we were able to take advantage of an offer by the local tourism bureau which provides free shuttle services for cyclists (and their bikes) twice a week to two different towns on the Drau and Gail rivers, making it possible to follow the cycling paths downhill back to the Villach area. Since advance reservations were needed we missed one of these opportunities but still drove the Skoda to the starting point in Spittal, rode the bikes back to Villach (about 30 miles), and then Sabine took the train back to Spittal to pick up the car. A bit convoluted but still worth it.

Making the best out of our time in Villach, a pleasant small town

Even though none of these rides featured any extended climbs, there were some rollers. We had decided to take our gravel bikes since many of the cycling paths are not paved, and the choice was good; it also allowed for more walking-friendly footwear, which was a good thing a couple of times when we had to walk short but steep inclines. As always, we mapped out our rides with the help of Locus, but even without this mapping program navigating would be fairly easy since there are well-marked and -labelled bike paths all over the place.

Obviously, this was not high season for tourists yet, but even so the number of cyclists was astonishing. Of course, we were in the minority with our non-motorized bikes: I want to stay at least 75% of all the bikes that we saw were eBikes. Whatever it takes, get the masses on bikes!

Final dip into the Wörthersee after a day of riding with Brad and Erica

While we were still in Freising my old friend Brad had seen one of my Strava files and had contacted me. We hadn't seen each other for more than ten years, and when I found out that he and his wife, Erica, live in Velden on the Wörthersee it became clear that we had to see one another. After a few messages back and forth we worked out a plan to visit them in their home, and we spent a wonderful evening with them. Two days later, the four of us rode once around the Wörthersee, ending the day in the Velden Strandbad (the public beach). And to round it out, the two of them reciprocated our visit two days before our departure from our house in Annenheim. We celebrated with quite a Jause! What a bonus to see the two of them.

With the weather getting nicer every day we decided to tack on an extra two nights to our stay as no new guests were scheduled to arrive. These two days made the week seem last so much longer. We rode almost every day, and on the final three days we made use of the free entry to the tiny Strandbad "Christa" just minutes from our place. This place really was just a private grassy area with lake access and a cozy little pub where one could enjoy a cold beer—just perfect after a long, hot ride.

Relaxing after the ride in Strandbad "Christa"

The daily riding was probably the best rehab work I could do for my hip. From day to day I could feel how my right leg got somewhat stronger, and after a while inclines were no longer as impossible as they had been before. still, we cheated by putting the bikes into the Skoda and driving down to the lake to avoid having to walk up those 250 meters at 15 or more percent—we tried to ride this once, and we failed miserably.

Our rides differed in length from between 30 to 40 miles, with the longest day 43 miles but also a short one that was just 10 miles because we both felt tired and wanted to spend more time in the water. This part of Kärnten is definitively a great place for a cycling vacation as there are so many different routes so that one can choose a different one every day. For those into mountain bikes, there are vast trail systems in the surrounding mountains—better bring an eBike as it is steep! One is never very far from a Gasthof or a Jausen Station where cyclist can order beer and savory snacks. But just like in pretty much every place but Lubbock, expect to pay a few extra dollars for what you consume.

Beer delivery on Faaker See

Possibly the most authentic Jause of the entire trip, with apple cider

Local noodles that resemble ginormous ravioli

We spent a total of nine nights in our home-away-from-home, enjoying the quiet, the views, and the riding. Despite some ominous weather forecasts we lucked out on that front, and when we drove back through the Alps we could enjoy the mountain scenery to its fullest. It's a grandiose drive, just the way the travel brochures portray this part of the world. In other words, this was just the way to ease back into traveling with no other restrictions than wearing masks in stores and on the trains. Even at the border from Germany to Austria and back, police conducted only spot checks, but we would have been prepared with our vaccination records as well as QR codes from our pre-travel registration for Austria. Maybe we're finally getting back to normal.

Driving through the Austrian Alps on a gorgeous day

Last picnic on the way back to Freising

Just like the last blog-post, I've been writing this one while traveling by train on the Munich-Berlin-Munich route, and in a third post that I hope to write sometime next week I'll cover my short visit with my brother as well as the return trip to the US that is going to start tomorrow. Yesterday I was able to complete my mandatory COVID test for transit through Heathrow and re-entry into the US as well as complete the needed registration forms. Maybe it's not quite normal yet, after all.

Jürgen

What does it take to travel as a US citizen to Germany during the Pandemic? Patience.....

The last word says it all: PATIENCE! And perseverance and an ability to shrug off all the BS that has been dealt to all of us during the past year-and-a-half. Add to that the fact that since last summer, when an overzealous member of the German General Consulate in Houston confiscated my German passport, I have been stuck in the German court system trying to regain my citizenship of birth. As a non-EU passport holder I have been thrown into the same travel restrictions as all other US citizens.

AA counter agents simply went on break and told everyone to wait for half an hour

What all this meant was checking on updates to COVID-19 travel restrictions and trying to adapt. I had planned several times in late 2020 to fly to Europe (and simply use up many of my miles) but every time I ended up cancelling my flights because of the craziness and new regulations and restrictions.

Dropping the ball, AA style

When I finally flew over to Munich about three weeks ago I had to get a negative COVID-19 test result to board even my first flight out of Lubbock. This test was not required for Germany, which just about 10 days before my travel had eased restrictions on vaccinated visitors from abroad but rather to transit through London's Heathrow—mind you, that's an airside stop-through for a few hours. I had been able to get a self-administered test at Walgreens two days before my departure (the results had been e-mailed within 45 minutes, and the test was free), with enough of a time buffer to meet the UK's 72-hour time requirement. (Germany, until it had lifted its test requirement, had stipulated no more than 48 hours from the time of taking the test to actual arrival in Germany, which in a best-case scenario would have given me a two-and-a-half hour safety margin!)

In addition to the proof of a negative test I also had to register for both the UK as well as Germany on various government portals, saving QR codes to my smartphone as well as printing out all kind of documentation, just in case. In Lubbock, I was given my boarding passes for the flights to DFW and LHR, but nothing for my connecting flight to Munich, even though this was an AA flight but operated by BA. So, that meant that I would have to deal with that in London, which shouldn't have been too much of an issues since I had a multi-hour layover at Heathrow.

Of course, things never work out as scheduled (as I'm finding out at this very moment while I am standing with hundreds of passengers on the Nürnberg train station platform since we have to switch from our originally delayed ICE super train to a replacement because of a "Technische Störung"!) After the almost-to-be-expected 45-minute delay getting out of Lubbock, flight AA50 to London was first delayed by about an hour, and then we had to return to the gate because a replacement crew member had not packed his mandatory Emergency Manual. Seriously, we had to return to the gate to pick up an extra paper copy or tablet because each crew member has to have this document according to FAA rules.

Three windows to yourself means First Class

I had upgraded my Business Class flight to First Class as American Airlines hadn't announced yet that soon-expiring systemwide elite upgrades would be extended. But let me tell you, thanks to COVID First Class is anything but! Not even a pre-take-off champagne? All beverages out of cheap plastic cups, not even the crystal clear ones that Lufthansa has been using forever even in their Economy? The same meal choices (that are plastic wrapped and don't even have warmed-up bread) as in Business? Come on. It's all about saving money ad using COVID as an excuse. 

Once in London, about three, close to four hours late, I went through the process of getting my boarding pass to Europe. Since my travel was deemed non-essential and, once again, I am not a German passport holder I had to meet the EU's requirements under which "unmarried partners" of EU and non-EU countries may get together. I had copies of a hand-written invitation letter from Sabine, a copy of her passport, blogpost printouts showing photos of us together, and copies of boarding passes where we flew together that "proved" that we had met at least once. Seriously! All this was meeting the regulations—the only problem was that the BA agent who was to issue the boarding pass didn't speak German and thus could not understand Sabine's letter! So, it took them about 20minutes to find somebody who could authenticate the content of the invitation. Good thing I don't have a relationship with somebody in Hungary!

Eventually I received my boarding pass, passed through UK security and into the airside transit area, and enjoyed the Heathrow T5 lounge. As a First Class passenger, I would have been admitted to the super-exclusive Concorde Room, but just like AA's Flagship Lounge in DFW it was closed, thanks to COVID. However, unlike in AA's Admiral's Club where international First Class passengers don't even get a decent beer for free, the BA lounge really does an outstanding job providing service and amenities to its passengers: Order a drink (what about a Bloody Mary menu with six different approaches?) or à la carte food, and within less than 5 minutes a server will appear with your delectables at you table. Kudos to BA on figuring out how not to treat your so-called best passengers. American Airlines on this flight failed more miserably than they ever have in my experience, and the token 8,000 miles that were deposited into my account are nothing but a band aid. (I didn't even write about the check-in experience in Lubbock, even though there are some photos of the 30-minure "break.")

Deserted Heathrow

After something like 28 hours of traveling I finally made it to Munich, where the Grenzpolizei or Bundespolizei (I can't remember what they're calling themselves now) strictly inspected all my paperwork for unmarried partners as if I was an asylum seeker. And of course they wanted to see my proof of vaccination. Fortunately, I had remembered to go to the Lubbock Health Department with one of my 25-year-old yellow international vaccination passes (last entry: a cholera shot) and had my COVID vaccination record transferred into it. Who knows whether they would have accepted my little white CDC card, the one without an official-looking sticker or stamp. I'd probably still be standing there in front of the officers. 

Approach into Munich

After all the shit that had come with my travel, the uncertainties, the fact that I am still recovering from the replaced hip, the sheer emotional weight of entering the country that I was born in but that has renounced my birthright, all that was almost too much. But I didn't melt down, coming just awfully close to it.

My patience and preparation paid off, and I finally made it to Munich to see Sabine for the first time since last March, when we had to flee Mallorca. But I can't say that the entire travel experience was as much fun as it should have been. It'll be interesting to see how the return trip will pan out. Before then, I'll post about my initial time in Freising, our just-completed trip to Austria, and my current weekend-hop to see my brother in Berlin.

Jürgen