Saturday was my last day in Deutschland, and I was faced with a dilemma. On one hand, many folks had encouraged me to take the bus tour to visit Neuschwanstein Castle, the eye-popping Gothic-revival structure built by Mad King Ludwig in the late 19th century. On the other hand, Munich is known to have among the best art galleries in the world. And time being the thief that it is, it was clear that the clock and calendar would rob me of at least one of these. Ev...

Guten Tag, Blogonauts! Or should I say instead, "Bon Appetit!" My title for today's entry is a Dickensian pun, not a whine. Some folks have wondered about my dietary adventures traveling around Germania. I've taken a few photos of my meals, and rather than spread the pics about willy-nilly, I've consolidated the entire lot into this blog post. Let's say that the German diet is a lot like the traditional American diet: heavy on the meat and potatoes. Nonetheles...

Guten Tag, Blogonauts! Normally I allow myself to get to know a new city on my own ... wandering about with a tourists' guidebook and a map, letting my curiosity determine my course. But while I was employing this haphazard habit soon after my arrival in Munich, I heard someone say, "Ah, there's someone with Rick Steves' guidebook! That's a sure sign of an English speaker." And that's how I was introduced to Lenny, of Lenny's Bike Tours, who talked me into joi...