載我走 (Carrying Me Away)

A Travelling Song to Share With You


This is one of my favourite songs when I am on the road. The singer, Kay Tse, is very well-known in Hong Kong.

Original Lyrics

My Best Moments So Far - Part 1

The Bavarian Rain

In two weeks there have already been several evenings of very heavy rain. I should be forgiven in thinking that I am in a rain forest rather than Bavarian, save for the lack of extreme heat and humidity. Right now as I write this entry, it is already late evening, and the rain is heavy, dense and loud.  The sound is incredibly musical; the sky is completely dark. A dim street light lit up a small patch of trees. The leaves are wet and shimmering. I am standing on the balcony of the house, overseeing the garden, where my friend's pair of pet bunnies seek shelter under a huge stool. Far away, a family is having a party in the garden. The merry laughter of the party-goers punctuate the music of rain, occasionally. There is a unique freshness in the air. As I inhale, it travels through my nose, my lungs and permeates my entire body. I took another breath.

Doing Over 180km/h On the Deutsche Autobahn on a Rainy Night (The German Motorway)

I wasn't doing the driving, unfortunately, as I only recently got my license in a country that drives on a different side of the road and has speed limits on its motorways, quite unlike most of the stretches of the Autobahn. The combination of being allowed to drive at this speed and the capacity of the car to remain smooth at this speed turns driving into an art. In the darkness all the other cars (going at more or less the same speed if not higher) flashed by like lightning. We overtook at least seven cars within half an hour, each time revving up even higher. This was the moment I fell in love with speed - I promise myself to firstly, become a really good driver, and secondly, learn to drive on the left, and lastly, move to Germany.

NB. It is NOT true that there is no speed limit at all. When the ground is wet, the limit is usually 100km/h and sometimes that also applies between 10pm - 6am. The funny thing was, most of these German car/speed-lovers observe such rules, even if it's on five minutes past10pm!

Early Morning Stroll from Stachus to Marienplatz (a.k.a. centre of the Münchner Universe)

My daily commute in Munich consists of 15-min walk to the village train station, 30-min ride on the S-Bahn (when it decides to run normally, which is not always the case. I will save the rant for another time), interchanging at Marienplatz to the U-Bahn, another 20-minute ride plus a 10-min walk to the classroom. One morning I got off at Stachus, one stop before Marienplatz and walked the stop. It was a straight line along Munich's high street (Neuhauser Straße and Kaufinger Straße) which during the day is packed with local folks and tourists. Since it was only 8:35am, the street was deserted save for the fruit stall owners who are setting up. It was so peaceful and stress-free, and reminded me of Luxemburg, one of my favourite places in the world.





Solo-Meandering in the Forest I live next to...and finding something unexpected...

The second weekend of August was a long weekend (Bavaria = Catholic state, + Assumption Day = Monday 15 August is a day off) so the wonderful MVV decided to do work on my S-Bahn line meaning I couldn't go into Munich quite so easily. So instead I went for a little exploration around the village. Googlemap told me that there is another tiny village behind the forest I live next to. But as soon as I got into forest I loved it so much I stayed inside the forest. Armed with a compass (so old school), a camera, water and a bar of hanuta, I went deeper and deeper. The forest turns out to be Forstenrieder Park. About an hour and a bit of brisk walking I noticed this...

then this...

Red Mushrooms, Fairy-Tale Style! I have never seen wild mushrooms in my own life, let alone this type of mushrooms! : )

Travel Soundtrack: 1

Some songs inspire you to travel, others remind you of a past journey. Here I share with you some of such songs, the first being the following...

陳綺貞 - 旅行的意義 (The Meaning of Travelling)

你看過了許多美景 你看過了許多美女 

你迷失在地圖上每一道短暫的光陰

你品嚐了夜的巴黎 你踏過下雪的北京

你熟記書本裡每一句你最愛的真理

卻說不出你愛我的原因 卻說不出你欣賞我哪一種表情

卻說不出在什麼場合我曾讓你動心 說不出離開的原因

你累計了許多飛行 你用心挑選紀念品

你蒐集了地圖上每一次的風和日麗

你擁抱熱情的島嶼 你埋葬記憶的土耳其

你流連電影裡美麗的不真實的場景

卻說不出你愛我的原因 卻說不出你欣賞我哪一種表情

卻說不出在什麼場合我曾讓你分心 說不出旅行的意義

勉強說出你為我寄出的每一封信 都是你離開的原因

你離開我　就是旅行的意義

This song is about a girl wondering the meaning of her boy's travels. The reason in the final line: "You have left me...this is the meaning of your journey."

Ich bin in Bayern!

I'm finally in Germany - after a tiny hiccup that is a one-hour delay at Heathrow, I arrived in Munich by yesterday evening. (Thank you BA, thank you London) My friend, who came to meet me at the airport, didn't get my messages about the delay and was panicking in the traffic jam. Yesterday was the last day of school in Bavaria, and according to her, the efficient Germans are so militant with their holiday planning that school children get collected from school and driven directly to the holiday destinations. Not a minute wasted, I suppose, except for the time spent stuck in the jam to get out of Munich because every German family had the same idea.

My course doesn't start until next week so this will be a chilled out weekend for me to settle down, do a trial run of the daily commute I will have to do and get a feel for the city.

Bis bald,

E x

Pre-Departure Impressions: Bavaria & Munich

Plan: Munich - Bayreuth - Nuremberg


Ach! Bavaria. For the average Hong Kong Chinese, Bavaria is Germany: beer, sausages, the Alps and covered in endless forests. (Oh and leiderhosen) German restaurants in Hong Kong also feed the stereotype, with inventive names like "Biergarten" and "King Ludwig Beer Hall." As Time Out Hong Kong commented,

It’s difficult to know whether King Ludwig is going for the genuine beer hall experience or a piss-take of all things German.

Last time I was in Munich, the capital of Bavaria, was August 2007, as the final stop of a huge Germany round trip. Exhausted and having eaten one too many wurst, I didn't care much for the city. There were photos of me holding a litre of beer in Viktualienmarkt but I don't remember that at all (something to do with the beer I reckon). Rather Munich was used as a base for venturing to Dachau (the camp, not the town) and Schloss Neuschwanstein. I was also in Nuremberg but only to visit the Zepplinfeld (part of thge Nazi Party rally grounds)

This time I will head first to Bayreuth during the month-long Bayreuther Festspiele (Bayreuth Festival) which is a celebration of Wagner's operas. Then I will return to Nuremberg to see the historical city walls and gates, before crossing into Baden-Württemberg.

Pre-Departure Impressions: Baden-Württemberg

"We can do everything, except Standard German." You gotta love the Swabians.

The Plan: after many revisions...
Stuttgart - Karlsruhe - Freiburg - somewhere in Schwarzwald - someone near Bodensee; to
Stuttgart - Karlsruhe - Baden-Baden - Freiburg -  Gutach im Schwarzwald - Konstanz; to
Stuttgart - Baden-Baden - Freiburg - Gutach im Schwarzwald - Konstanz; to
Stuttgart - Baden-Baden - Freiburg - Triberg im Schwarzwald - Konstanz - Ulm; to
Stuttgart - Baden-Baden - Freiburg - Triberg im Schwarzwald - Konstanz - Ulm; to...
Stuttgart - Freiburg - Triberg im Schwarzwald - Konstanz  - Friedrichshafen - Ulm; to...
Stuttgart - Freiburg - Triberg im Schwarzwald - Friedrichshafen - Ulm; to...


Finally: Stuttgart - Freiburg - Triberg im Schwarzwald - Überlingen am Bodensee - Ulm
(still subject to change)

I don't know why but I've been way more excited about Baden-Württemberg than Bavaria. Perhaps it is the variety: I start off at a city, then a university town with a huge cathedral in the centre, followed by a village in the forest and a town by Bodensee (Lake Constance) finishing at the twin city of Ulm and Neu-Ulm.

Some highlights I am quite looking forward to...

• Weindorf (literally: wine village) in Stuttgart - would love to try a lovely Riesling...
• Staying in Breisach, just 20-mins on the S-Bahn out of Freiburg, overlooking the Rhein and France is on the opposite bank over the river!
• Wandering in the forests near Triberg - see post on Schwarzwald
• Strolling by Bodensee - nothing makes an Aquarius girl happier than being near water

Pre-Departure Impressions: Der Schwarzwald

To any German readers of this blog, I apologise, once and for all, for all the stereotypes that I associate with your country. But it's impossible for a Hong Kong girl like myself to fantasise about the Schwarzwald (The Black Forest). The sight of thick, endless forests, of misty mountains and of quaint little villages, the sweet taste of gateaux, the sound of water flowing and the smell of wood and of dampness in the air. In other words, all things that are the opposite of the urban concrete city I grew up in.

For the Techies: Die Schwarzwaldbahn (The Black Forest Railway)

Running from Offenberg to Singen, this twin-tracked railway was build between 1866 and 1873 and is known to be one of the most scenic rides in Germany. It is 149 km long and passes through no further than 39 tunnels because the motto of its engineer, Robert Gedwig, is "Wenige Brücken - viele Tunnel" (Less bridges - more tunnels) The railway itself is a fine piece of engineering. The most technically challenging part also happens to be the most beautiful part: between Hornberg-Triberg-St Georgen.

The problem: it has to run between Hornberg and Sommersau. The shortest distance between the two places is 11km, but there's a 483m height difference between the two places. The train would have to climb one hell of a slope.

Robert Gedwig's solution: Using a double hair pin loop (its first use in world history) and 36 tunnels. Although this extended the distance to 26 km, the maximum gradient of the railway is kept under 20 per mile.

(It doesn't really look like this. This is a special version only)

For the Foodies: Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cherry Cake)

Many happy childhood memories of mine involved a Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. In the 90s this was one of the most popular cakes being sold by Hong Kong bakeries. However, it's not the real thing because of the lack of Kirschewasser, an essential ingredient, which is a clear, cherry liquor and a specialty of Schwarzwald. Hmm...I cannot wait to try the real thing...

For the Treehuggers: Triberg and the Countryside

Triberg was not my initial choice. I wanted to go to Gutach but the Schwarzwaldbahn doesn't stop there and there's no youth hostel there. So far, Triberg sounds pretty nice. It has a Black Forest Museum. But what I am more interested in is walking in the surrounding forest! Apparently there's a series of lovely, tall waterfalls which is quite accessible.

For the Arty-Farties: Cuckoo Clocks

I have good reason to be so fond of cuckoo clocks: my family owns one! It's quite a rare (read: odd) thing to find in a Chinese home, and we bought ours somewhere in Switzerland circa 1999 and handcarried the beauty back to London and then to Hong Kong. It has a special spot on our wall and plays two songs: Edelweiss and Der fröhliche Wanderer (The Happy Wanderer). The bird pops out and tells the time every half hour, once at half past, and the number of hours at full hour, with the little figures in traditional dresses doing a little dance.

(So 12 midnight meant 12 "cuckoo"s which had roused the entire flat on many occasions when we forgot to switch the sound off before bed. "Damn clock!!" we cursed. But we love it to bits really, even though now it doesn't tell the correct time and the bird sings at random times.)

Triberg also has one of those house-sized cuckoo clocks that contends to be the biggest cuckoo clock in the world. There're several of these, according to Deutsche Welle. As I explained this with some enthusiasm to my father, he mused, "Would the resident of such clock house have to step out onto his balcony every 30 minutes, and do a little dance at every full hour?"

An Overview

Pre-Departure, Part I

The majority of August will be spent studying German, five days a week, 4 hours per day at the Münchener Internationale Sommeruniversität (Munich International Summer University, MISU) at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (University of Munich, LMU) with weekend excursions to

• Salzburg (yes, in Austria, thank you Schengen!), 
• Schloss Neuschwanstein (Neuschwanstein Castle) and Wieskirche (Wies Church), 
• KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau (Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site) 
• And a "Brauerei" (brewery) - it's Bavaria after all.

Not much planning needed for this bit because I'm staying with die Feministin, my ex-flatmate and a LMU alumni and Munich native, in Gauting, a leafy village just 35-min on the S-Bahn (overground rail) out of Munich.

The bit I need to plan is where I should go when finally finish slaving away with the German Grammar book! I will have 11 days to roam around Germany! Of course I plan to make the most out of it...so the question is how?

First, the ticket. I plan to get an Interrail Germany Pass i.e. a railpass that gives you unlimited travel within a month for a certain number of days which need not be continuous. My problem is whether I should go for the 6-day or the 8-day pass. Which leads to my second and more major consideration of what would I like to see in Germany.

It's not unlike putting me in front of a enormous buffet.

I've already been to a fair few major cities and historical towns (well, my last count was 12) but those visits were so rushed I hardly even scratched the surface. Another rushed trip is the last thing I want. So the first to go is northern Germany (incl. Berlin) out since that's pretty accessible from London. Shrinking my focus even further, I will travel within the two states of Bayern (Bavaria) and Baden-Württemberg, constituting southern Germany - "The most beautiful part of Germany." (source: my mother)