Unfettered

Germany continues its gradual return to normalcy, outdoor sports no longer require tests nor have participant limits, indoor dining opens tomorrow, and the Google offices are scheduled to open week after next. All of which means I'm spending more time out doing things and less writing about them. In particular the return of Frisbee means I have the opportunity to practice 3 nights a week which cuts into my trip planning and blog writing time. That said last weekend was another company wide day off to give folks in the US an extra day for Memorial day weekend. Per the recommendation of a coworker I took the S-Bahn to  Ammersee  one of the local finger lakes.  Aside from the lake itself the other attraction is Kloster Andechs  an abby with associated brewery. I took the bus from the train station but there's a bit of a walk up the hill on which the abby sits. The view from the top was definitely worth it. I felt weird taking pictures inside the extremely ornate church but the ste

The weather this week continued to be quite variable. This did make for some rainbows visible from my apartment. Lucky for us the weather mostly held off for Wednesday night Frisbee practice. On Thursday after work I bought another second hand bike. This one is cyclocross bike which should be more fun to ride long distances on dirt roads than my City bike. Naturally I had to take it on a longer maiden voyage on Saturday so I took the same route south down the Isar as I did a couple weeks ago. This time I never felt the need to walk my bike so a definite success.  I took a different route home than last time though so I could check out Burg Grünwald .  I also appreciated the hotel next door. Once I was back in Munich proper I found a different biergarten for lunch. This time I ordered the seasonal delicacy of Spargel or white asparagus. It tasted a little milder than the green variety, certainly good but I still don't understand the locals obsession with it. Sunday was frisbee pract

Over the past couple weeks thing here have been trending in a decidedly positive direction. The case rates have dropped out of the most restrictive tier so things like outdoor dining have started reopening. On the weekend of May 8th I went for a bike ride south down the Isar to Grünwalder Brücke. The last third or so of the trail there was all gravel so I had to walk my bike for a few sections. Luckily it was pretty. The bridge itself is unremarkable but as you can see it was a great day for biking. I rode back on the other side of the river which was paved the whole way. Lots of people out enjoying the sun, biking, picnicking, even a couple of kayakers. I stopped for lunch at a roadside stand, the fish this guy was grilling looked good but more work than I wanted so I opted for a wurst instead. On Sunday my friend Yuchen, who I met through my roommate when we both lived in San Francisco, convinced me join him and a couple friends for the "Wings for Life World Run". You downl

Naturally in amongst my expeditions I'm keeping myself fed. Some weekends I'll stroll to a local bakery or coffee shop for a mid morning snack (not technically kaffee mit kuchen since thats an afternoon tradition). I couldn't quite pin down the fruit in this cheesecake but it tasted good. Sometimes I'll opt to get dinner out. This is the local street food favorite currywurst mit pommes, basically sausages and fries with curry ketchup. I can see why its popular though not something I need to eat regularly. From the Boulangerie Dompierre a quiche and Kouing Aman. Another coffee and cake this time from the bakery inside one of the local grocery stores, not overly sweet despite the cream filling. Mostly I cook dinners for myself. This is a vegetarian Shepherd's pie based on a Moosewood recipe. The key innovation is using frozen grated tofu mixed with Walnuts as a substitute for ground lamb. Keeping with the casserole theme, I also made Moussaka. Again vegetarian in this