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Bicycle Tour Adventure #39

Germany: Trip Notes, Lessons Learned,
Tour Comments; Sep-Oct, 2011

  • Fact: Hamburg has more waterway mileage and more bridges than Amsterdam and Venice put together!


  • Fact - Germany is known for Quality Wine: Before WWII, Germany was the world's leader in quality wine in terms of world demand for the best liked, bought and favored wines. After WWII, France took this honor, but Germany is steadfastly gaining favor again.


  • Safety: Different countries have different practices for public/consumer safety. During this trip, each one of us slipped and fell while taking or exiting from a shower. In both cases it was the clean pristine slick wet porcelain deck that was the culprit. Dennis slipped in a formal glass walled shower stall and Terry slipped in a Bathtub with sliding glass doors. Not in one shower stall for our entire trip did we ever see anti slip self-stick pads nor did the facility have anti slip rubber mats. It was a real pay attention safety situation.


  • Driving: Stop the vehicle at least one car length away from light signals. Most German (and European) light signals for automobiles are placed high and placed at the stopping side of intersections (not across the street like in the USA) such that if one stops their vehicle directly at the pedestrian cross walk then one will not be able to see the light signal.


  • Driving: In Italian toll booths at the beginning of a toll road there may be a machine that dispenses a pass/ticket that is collected at the other end. The vehicle must have a ticket/pass or the driver will be accessed a fine. I managed to follow another vehicle close enough as to keep the up/down gate from operating and therefore not issue a pass/ticket, thus I drove through before realizing my mistake.


  • Driving: All of Europe, other than the UK, drives on the right side of the road.


  • Driving: There are many lane mergers on all road types (from city and county roads to state 'A' highways (Autobahns) which tend to queue traffic from two lanes to one lane. The mergers that result in the most time consumption are the types that merge left lanes into right lanes. The Germans tend to take it in stride and do not perform much lane jumping.


  • Driving: Navigating in a city with two lanes in one direction is always interesting. Buses and trucks stop in Right Lane all the time and then one has to face the issue of either of the Left or Right Lanes being a turn only lane. I sort of developed a sense of following the traffic; when all the cars in front are drifting out of the Left Turn then it is highly likely that they know that the Left Lane is a Left Turn Only Lane; same/same Right Lane.


  • Cruise-Control / Speed-Limiter on German Rental Vehicles: Our Avis rental vehicle did not have a Cruise-Control but it had a Speed-Limiter. A Speed Limiter limits the vehicle's top-end speed but allows the vehicle to coast to a stop if the gas/fuel pedal is not pushed (it does not lock down the fuel pedal like a Cruise-Control). On this system, one must be engaging the fuel pedal to get the speed up to the limiter's setting. Also, a Cruise Control vehicle will allow a person to press down on the fuel pedal to go faster but will maintain the cruise speed setting when there is no pressure on the fuel pedal. When I queried other people about this feature, it was the consensus that this was an Avis Rental Feature and not typical of European vehicles (which do have Cruise-Controls).

    Regarding the Speed Limiter, and this idea is an assumption, it seems that the fuel delivery computer handles fuel flow management so that fuel is not wasted by over-pressing the pedal, the computer simply uses only the minimum amount of fuel to maintain the Speed Limit Setting (as long as there is some pressure on the fuel pedal) - The vehicle simply gets up to the speed setting that is set by the Speed Limiter and the vehicle holds to that speed as long as the fuel pedal is pressed down. The Avis Speed-Limiter controls are on the steering column and there were a few times when we used the speed limiter setting lever in lieu of the other lever, the turn-signal lever.


  • Detours: They happen. We arrived in Berlin with a carefully planned arrival route that led us to our place of stay. HOWEVER, the main roads (Strasse of 17 June and Unter den Linden to Brandenburg Tor [Gate]) were barricaded and we were directed away and to the north by Police (at a barricaded road). Our apartment was located just two blocks south of the Brandenburg Gate [where the American Embassy is located]. Had we gone south, we would have arrived at our hotel in 10-15 more minutes. HOWEVER due to the major city and government buildings being to the north (with their many one way streets, blocked streets, and terminal streets not indicated on the map) we arrived at our apartment reservation center 60 minutes later and it was closed. HOWEVER someone on the staff realized that the last minute government affair/event would interfere with our arrival and they stayed late just to help us. Gosh we were lucky and thankful.


  • Navigation and GPS: There never was a location more suited to GPS travel than Europe; city and village streets change directions and/or names every three blocks and signs leaves a lot to be desired (they are either non-existent, sparse, or in the wrong place). I still remember an Italian guy shaking his fist at a bunch of signs (it was a T intersection and he could go to the nearest village in either direction).


  • Bicycle Build Issue: I built our tandem on the ground (on top of a plastic sheet) and I unwittingly had the bottom tube's shift and brake cable metal guides on the ground and bent them to the point that they folded closed; I had to make some crude field repair bends with pliers and flat screw driver blade to open the folds and reshape them. I was lucky that I could and did reshape the guides to a good enough shape. I'm sort of surprised that I have never made this mistake before while building any bicycle - maybe I knew better once upon a time. At least now I will be aware of the issue for a year or two before I forget again. I will add this to the bicycle Building/Shipping checklist (if it is not already there).


  • Bicycle Build Issue: Rear Derailer Stop Ring Issue. We assembled the bicycle from memory and we did well except for mounting the Rear Derailer (this is on me), I mounted the Rear Derailer without setting the Stop Ring at the base correctly - This is the second or third time that I have done this, so I now realize that it is an issue (particularly to myself).

    There is not a natural/idiot-proof way to mount the Rear Derailer's Stop Ring (as I have proven) so one must rationalize a proper solution by knowing the Stop Ring's purpose. It serves as the stop for the B-Adjustment Screw and the average person does not know the purpose of the B-Screw. B-Screw is an acronym for [Rear Derailer] Body Adjustment Screw and its purpose is to adjust the rear derailer's 'Fore and Aft' position to allow the top Guide/Jockey Pulley to come as close as possible to the Rear Drive Sprockets (Cassette Sprockets) without letting the chain around the Drive Sprockets to rub against the Chain going around the Guide Pulley. Once the B-Screw (itself) is set it almost never needs to be adjusted again (ergo, why almost no one knows its function). However, if like me, one moves the Stop's Position, then one has unwittingly changed the Derailer's Fore and Aft position and the result will likely be the sound of a chain grinding noise (the opposite effect is a chain that is too tight, especially around the big ring and big sprocket). Ideally one usually wants 2-3 mm of space between the chain's loop while the chain is in motion (in opposite directions - best seen when the chain is around the smallest rear sprocket). It only takes a short test ride to figure something is wrong (because the rider will hear the grinding noise of the chain rubbing upon itself).

    BTW, I learned all of this from a girl named 'Kat' Grünner-Goss (she was then, the Chief Tech at BBI).


  • Bicycle (Protect the Rear Derailer - Lay Bicycles on their left side, NOT on the right side): We normally have full panniers (front and rear) but this time we had to travel lighter for the airlines so we only brought one pannier. If one has full panniers then how one lays down the bicycle does not matter (because the pannier acts as a protection buffer, thus keeping the rear derailer out of harm's way). If one lays a bicycle on its right side then the derailer and derailer arm can become bent, thus mal effecting shifting. One just cannot remember everything.


  • Bicycle Kick Stand: We normally have a Bipod Kick Stand on our bike. We removed our Kick Stand to save weight but we wish we hadn't for a couple reasons (maintenance, adjustments, and parking space issues). Its functional use benefit was not justified for the weight reduction effort.


  • National Holidays: We do a fairly good job of pre-checking the Holidays for each country that we visit. We did, however, get caught in a schedule change where we were originally going to be in Italy during a German Holiday but because we flip flopped the schedule due to Oktoberfest (always on 1 Oktober) in Munich where the insane hotel prices went from €35/night/single to €350/night/single for the Oktoberfest weekend.


  • Museums Closed on Mondays: Almost all Museums are closed on Mondays in Germany - Learn to remember and plan daily travels and visits around this fact.


  • Small Bills and Coin Change, Always Have: We arrived with small bills and coins (Euros) from a previous trip and it was very helpful not to have to break bills for change. We have in the past bought something like a Snickers bar at an airport just to make change and have coins.


  • Cell Phones and Public Phones: They are getting more and more difficult to find. We got fooled into believing that we had European Cell Phone Service by AT&T, when we did not. Luckily there was no incident, but it was a pain in the butt and cost us another 50-60 Euros in Hotel Phone costs (about $80 USD).


  • Information Overload: We hit it.


  • Clothing Forgotten at Hotel: We had a spotless record for not leaving things behind, jumping from lodging to lodging. We left behind a nice pair of shoes, each, and we left behind an entire stack of bicycle padded shorts (at about $30/ea USD).


  • Twin Beds: 99.9% of all full beds in Germany, Austria, and Italy are two twin beds put together in a full frame and they have separate bottom sheets and covers. There is always a crack down the center but some are tolerable and most are not (for sleeping next to your mate). I think the practice of twin beds come from the hospitality industry supporting a lot of business men traveling together and staying in one room to save money, keeping in mind that most rooms are small by American customs.


  • Music: We like hearing the music of the area that is being visited; however, we frequently experience proprietors changing their music or radio stations when we enter an establishment. It's kind of a two edge sword; the proprietor is often demonstrating that they appreciate our music (American) or they are proudly demonstrating that they like Americans. We never say anything one way or the other; it is always nice to be appreciated. We always appreciate hearing the music of our hosts.


  • Courtesy: I was reminded once, that when placing a meal request in a café or restaurant, it is polite to say 'Bitte' (which means Please), even if one does not know any other German words - It is good advice.


  • Memorials - Memorial Rock Placement is Not a Desecration: We visited Sachsenhausen, which was used by the Nazi's as a concentration camp. Later in WWII, the Nazi's added high ranking Allied POWs and high profile European political prisoners at the same location but in a separate compound - The prisoners did not know of one another. After WWII the camp was used the Russians for political prisoners.

    People place rocks at memorials as a way of connection and respect. There was a memorial for all of the fallen, dead, murdered, and for the survivors at Sachsenhausen. At my first experience, I noticed that someone had placed a single rock on the person represented as suffering in the Sachsenhausen Prisoner Memorial Statue. I, not knowing better, thought it was a purposeful desecration, so not knowing better, I removed the single rock and placed the rock on the ground. Later, I noticed small thumb sized rocks on other memorials and then I realized at some point that the action was a purposeful, personal, and meaningful connection. I think the spirits will forgive me - my heart meant well.

    Later, I got to ask my friend Ray and he confirmed as much. He added that it was a little like the small rock spirit temples made in the Himalayas by the mountain people.


  • Off-Beat Observation (perhaps a little sexist): It seemed that many women over the age of 40 years, dye their hair Red or a shade of Red; it seemed to be a popular fad just to have Red Hair and naturalness does not seem to matter (the effect ranged from natural and subtle to florescent or flaming).


  • Tourist and Hostelry Costs and Work Ethic: For the record, we found the hotel prices to be comparable to USA hotel pricing or have just a little more bang to the buck (Euro) and they all seemed to have better services. It seemed that everyone had a good attitude about their work, no matter the task.


  • German Cost of Living: When comparing European prices for foods, goods, and services among other European Nations (like France in particular), in general, Germany seemed to have lower prices for their goods and service (especially when compared to France or England).


  • Boat Design: There are so many arched bridges in Hamburg (and other parts of Europe) that the boats of commerce have curved roof arches designed so as to allow the most boat capacity/volume possible to proceed under a bridge without the boat hitting the bridge. Boat Pilot/Captain: It takes a little skill, often unseen and un-appreciated, to pilot a boat under a bridge - Unseeingly, the Captain is compensating for invisible side pushing or even twisting water currents, all the while calmly steering the boat through a water and bridgework passage.


  • 'Strasse' versus 'Straße': We have seen the word for Street spelled either way and we have not uncovered any reason for a difference, we get the pronunciation difference, the ß is pronounced as 'sz', like (in English) 'strasza' instead of 'strassa'.



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