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 ...

With sunshine in the forecast I decided it was again time for a train trip to the countryside for some disc golf. I'd been periodically checking Udisc since some of the (relatively) nearby courses are seasonal or limited access. In particular the course at  Schwabmünchen  had been removed due to Covid then recently reopened. The train trip to Schwabmünchen from Munich requires a transfer which can take place in Buchloe or Augsburg which made finding tickets a little more of a challenge. Eventually though, I found the trains that were included as part of a single day regional ticket. Once again I started my day at the main Munich train station on tracks 26+ With each train trip the countryside gets greener and greener. I assume this will last longer than it does in California and the hills won't turn brown until the fall. My transfer at Buchloe was uneventful since I had 15 minutes and there are only 4 platforms. Once I arrived in Schwabmünchen I made my way across town to...

 The weather forecast called for a Sunny Easter Sunday so I decided it was high time I checked out the Alps. Google yielded plenty of hikes accessible by train, I decided on a Mountain called Wank outside the town of  Garmisch-Partenkirchen  since both the hike and the train ride were of reasonable length. Plus the town looked to have plenty of options if I couldn't find the right trail. The train started out through the green rolling hills in the immediate vicinity of Munich. After about 45 minutes the train entered the foothills and the scenery became more dramatic. The train was fairly full though I had a row to myself. Plenty of other people in hiking gear taking advantage of the nice weather. To avoid the crowds I booked it away from the train station in what I was fairly certain was the correct direction. Once I had gotten a few blocks away I started to take pictures and appreciate the alpine village. I had indeed gone the correct direction from the train station, ...

 This Friday was a company-wide day off not tied to any regular holiday. A perfect chance for me to explore somewhere a little further away and hopefully not have too many crowds. Back in the Bay Area I'd used previous company-wide day off (colloquially known as Sundar-days for the Alphabet CEO) to avoid crowds at the local disc golf courses so I decided to do the same here. The nearest 18 hole course to Munich is in Weilheim in Oberbayern  which is about a 40 minute train ride away. Buying tickets was straightforward since there is an english version of the Deutsche Bahn website and an App for E-tickets. I bought a single day regional ticket to get there and back but not tied to any specific train. Friday morning I checked the app and headed to track 29 which is on the northern addition of the train station. I arrived  early so the previous train had to depart before my train arrived. I was one of the first people on and took one of the seats with a table which...