I drove to Berlin this morning – an early start and six hours on the Autobahn. I had a meeting there and continued on to Essen where I have a meeting tomorrow. Another 5 hours on the road. I’d like to say it was a fascinating day which inspired me to write a wonderful column on Germany’s capital – but that was not to be. I went from a grey Autobahn into a grey building and that was about it. So I’ll write about last Sunday in Austria instead. Continue reading →

As I described in Alpine Sunshine my friend Alan and I spent the day getting sunburned out in the mountains. The morning on skis and the afternoon walking up to our launch site and then paragliding. For two middle-aged blokes a very tiring day. We finished up with a couple of celebratory beers and then decided to make use of the Pension’s sauna before we went out for dinner. Continue reading →

Just a little filler today – something that Alan reminded me of as we came exited the roundabout at the top of our road. German drivers use their indicators a lot. Nearly all drivers are taught to indicate before every lane change on the Autobahn, not just when pulling out to the fast lane like in England. You will also see a whole line of drivers in the left or right hand filter-lane at a set of traffic lights all indicating. It seems a little like overkill because being in that lane means you have to turn. Continue reading →

The story so far… My friend, Alan, and I are staying down in Pfronten on the Bavarian/Austrian border and hope to spend our Sunday skiing in the morning and paragliding in the afternoon. Continue reading →

Up at 5:30 this morning to be on the road by 6:00 and beat the Easter Holiday traffic to the mountains. We live near Stuttgart and it is about a two hour drive to our destination, Pfronten, a small village at the foot of the Alps on the Austrian border. We had to set off early because some German states start their Easter holidays today and judging by the licence plates, Belgium and Luxemburg are also on holiday. The traffic can get pretty bad on such days and there is nothing worse than being stuck in a traffic jam on a sunny day in sight of the mountains.

Two hours later we were stuck in a traffic jam on a sunny day in sight of the mountains. We should have got off the autobahn an exit earlier. After a frustrating half hour we did make it onto the slip road and then to the small ski area. Even though it was a beautiful day and the snow on the mountain was excellent, the car park was only half-full and we didn’t have to queue. These small German resorts are very pretty but relatively low and the snow isn’t as reliable as it was 40 years ago.

We had a great day, skiing in the morning and flying in the afternoon. Then a couple of beers in the sun, followed by a shower and sauna in the hotel made us very tired. We then had a large, heavy dinner at the Gasthof Adler (every Bavarian village has a Gasthof Adler* – it’s the German equivalent of a classic pub name like the Black Bull, or Kings Arms).

The combination of fresh air, sunshine, beer and a heavy dinner are not conducive to writing an exciting blog. Apologies – I will write more tomorrow and make up for it. Promise….zzzzzz.

Bis morgen.

*Adler means eagle.

A good end to a tough week, as my friend Alan has joined us for dinner this evening. Alan is a Geordie, but has been living in Germany since 1988. We met over 20 years ago and manage to get away for a few weekends each year to indulge in our hobby/sport/passion of paragliding. This is our first outing in 2016 and for a change the weather looks excellent. This is not the norm. Usually any weekend we select puts the kiss of death on the weather. Our record was 1500km driving in three countries in a weekend for 15 minutes of flying – Continue reading →

Things started well with another ice-cold but sunny ride into the office. I am still feeling a bit peaky and so I was huffing and puffing a bit but at least the last few kilometers are downhill so by the time I got to the office I looked better than I felt. I thought to impress my wife by whizzing through the tight chicane on the steepest bit but unfortunately there Continue reading →

Last Sunday the states of Baden-Württemberg, Sachsen-Anhalt and Rheinland-Pfalz held elections for the state parliament. There are 16 states in Germany and their elections are usually out of sync with the national elections which are in turn out of sync with the local council elections. Somewhere in between the European elections take place but nobody really bothers to turn up for them (contrary to Telegraph columnists’ opinions, most Germans are fairly apathetic towards the EU). Continue reading →

Well, as hoped, a hot bath and a cheap Nurofen capsule did the trick and after a very sound night’s sleep I am feeling fairly good today already. I’m glad I didn’t go downhill because otherwise I would have missed a meeting in Mannheim which went very well and will help our little firm this summer. I drove up to Mannheim and back – it’s only a little bit more than an hour and as the journey wasn’t long enough for me to really concentrate on listening to a podcast, I listened to the radio. Continue reading →

I woke up with a scratchy throat and despite trying to tough it out and just not let myself get a cold… I have got a cold. I got through the working day all right, but this evening feel very empty so time for a hot bath and hopefully tomorrow I will be OK. Various bugs have been doing the rounds and we’ve not had a full house at work for weeks now (and there are only 12 of us). Still, it doesn’t feel too bad and probably a good night’s sleep will see me on the road to recovery. Continue reading →