When we rented the car at the airport in Memmingen, Germany,
a Renault Elf, it had 9 kilometers on it. They drove it straight from the lot
for us to rent. That intoxicating new car smell was quickly replaced with the
wind from the Alps and all our fruit and cheese snacks that filled the vehicle.
I’m so much like my dad, who is also super sensitive to smells in general. I
don’t like perfume, or scented soap, or nail polish. They give me a headache. I
far prefer the scent of the fresh alpine air, the freshest blooming flowers,
and the animals that roam freely, grazing on the mountain grass.
The car was a must for this journey, however, and we had a
blast putting over 1000 kilometers on it in the short time it was ours. We
drove all through the Bavarian Alps, visiting old spots that I used to frequent
in solitude, and we explored outside of what I knew by heading in to the
Austrian and Swiss alps, and of course a stop over in Liechtenstein, just for
fun.
We took to the road for the sake of being on the road this
time around, and with one final destination in mind, a small town in Southwest
Germany, deep in the Black Forest. The town is Totdnauburg, and had the honor
of being the place where the great philosopher Martin Heidegger kept his
summerhouse. There he did a vast majority of his contemplating and writing. And
by the looks of this place, it was a good spot for these mental tasks. Being as
we are both Philosophically inclined individuals it seemed a good place to add
to our journey, and we were very pleased to find it so serene, quiet, and
remote. Not a tourist destination, but a simple hut up the mountain, on a
simple trail, with a killer view.
After a happy stop at this aforementioned location we
continued to traverse the mountain roads through the black forest and north to
a small town called Nagold, on the same-named river. That evening there was a
football (that’s soccer to Americans) match between Germany and Greece. It was
politically charged, and high energy, to
say the least. Germany won, so I’m glad we were in Germany, where the
celebration was a dramatic display of joy in the streets for hours and hours
that included millions of honking car horns.
Somehow we managed to get a really solid nights sleep
through the intense celebration that lasted late into the night. We must be
tired these days… And in the sunny morning we took the road again, avoiding the
large and speedy autobahn for the most part, leaving the navigating up to me
and our trusty map. We found simple two-lane roads that sent us through
forests, along side vineyards and farms and rivers, and through miniscule
towns. We like this style of road trippin. It takes more time, but it’s more
beautiful. Who’s in a hurry? A wise person once told me, if you live your life quickly you will live your life quickly. Think
about it.
Next stop Aschaffenburg, where our lovely German friends,
Markus and Christine, awaited with their beautiful home and wonderful
hospitality. We explored their pretty city and caught up after many months,
cooked some meals and drank some beers, played a rainy game of put-put golf,
and rested up before the last leg of our journey took place.
Which is where I write from now, thirty-something thousand miles above the sea (what’s that in kilometers? That’s where my mind has been this past 1.5 years). We are mid-flight, homeward bound. And that my friends, is another story. Stay tuned for more.
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