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so, this weekend past, i was feeling stir crazy, and though the threat to rain was in the air, i rented a motorad from Cintula Honda - a Honda TransAlp 650 - and headed south to check out Dresden, and some other relevant historical and natural German sites, as well as to meander through the countryside.
though not my first choice, enduro bikes are very popular around here these days, as the guys like to drift them around mountain curves (yes, like drifting cars, but different) and this one did the job adequately. i actually recieved a couple of compliments on the bike - one in particular from an old guy who, i found out, even with our limited capacity to communicate, rides an '84 BMW R80, set up for touring. i tried to explain that i have a '72 BMW R75 in America, but i think that was beyond my ability to communicate, and his to understand. but, he seemed impressed with my chosen steed, and put it best when he said, with a huge old guy grin, "Riding motorbikes is the best."
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So, i rented the bike, and with clouds in the sky, hoped to make it out of Berlin before the rain hit. Well, that was not meant to be. had i been 10 minutes earlier, i would have been fine (i guess i should have skipped the salami baguette), but as it was, i got hit by the worst rain storm i had seen in days, at the first redlight i stopped at by the hotel. For those familiar with my pad in LA, that would be like leaving the driveway - no rain, stopping at the redlight on 26th - downpour. HA!
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Dresden was very cool. a charming little place on the Elba river, it is more well know for the fact that we (the allies) basically completely leveled it at the end of WWII. i spent most of my time in the "historic" section, which i loved. because i love history. i didnt really get much of the history from my time there, mostly because i dont speak german, but i got enough. and i went on a tour of the "old fortess."
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after dinner, i wandered around a bit more, and went to bed, and the Hilton, where i stayed for no better reason than: it was there, available, close, and i didnt feel like trying to find something cheaper. it was right in the middle of the historic stuff, and that was enough for me. they offered a complimentary breakfast which was fan-freaking-tastic. complete with omletes, sausage, potatoes, eggs, bacon, pancakes, bread, pastries, fruits, baked beans (for the English), and fresh squeezed juice. soooo goood. there were some engilsh peeps there in a big group, must have been for some kind of conference or something, and i heard one skinny little girl complement the breakfast to her friend saying that she had eaten four plates of food - and the plate she was holding was not empty by anymeans. i chuckeled to myself judgementally: "way to go fatty . . . " i thought as i glanced down at the table in front of me . . . . wich also had . . . four plates . . . (oohh those pancakes were gooood). at which point i promptly finished my omlet, got one more piece of hypocritical bacon and left.
so i headed south, my destination: Festung Konigstein - an old fortress first built in the 1500's, which has been used in every military conflict that the area has been involved in . . . ever. pretty impressive, i think, for a crazy huge fortress built on top of a rock in the middle of nowhere, basically.
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after the fortress, i headed out through the countryside to Bastei. some crazy rock formations across the river from the Festung Konigstein. due to its popularity with toursits, already, in the 1800's, somebody thought it would be a good idea to build a big stone bridge across some rocks. why they picked the location that they did, or why they even thought it was a good idea to build a stone bridge in the first place, i dont know. i heard it was meant to replace a wooden bridge in the same spot. whatever reason, i'm glad they did, cause its crazy!
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after an enjoyable day cruising through history and the great outdoors, i pointed my motorcycle back toward Berlin. i had thought to drive through the towns of Radeberg and Pulsnitz on my way out, but, i learned something important about Germany and signs and maps here. The signage here is not really designed for the out of towner. you get to the middle of a villiage (and there is one about every 5 km or so) and you see, oh, maybe 10 signs, all pointing down a road to another villiage. This, at first glance seems very helpful. however, the problem becomes that, though you have a myriad of signs to chose from. . . none of the names on those signs correspond to the names of villiages on your map of all Germany. HA! so, you just cruise around it what you think is the right direction for a while, untill you find something you recognize, or a highway, or fireworks in Dresden, 20 km away.
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the kid pointed me in the right direction, and eventually i made it back to Berlin, even if a little later than expected. but man was it a great trip.
5 comments:
so jealous. even if your bike was not moto-rad but moto-gay. my favorite part was the bridge.
don't call my bike names just cause you had to settle for a crappy cell phone, instead of the gay-cessory that you crave.
dude. I read the entire post. where's my cookie?
Happy b-day ya champ! I'm jealous because you're living a much cooler life than funk.
I hate you and envy you and love you and miss you all at once.... but mostly hate.
This was a great post.
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