Day 2 SeeHotel Leoni to Murnau (approx 40k

We have been spoiled with wonderful breakfasts. The selection at SeeHotel Leoni included cheeses, meats, eggs, roasted tomatoes, fruit, local preserves, breads and rolls of all types, cereal and, of course, wurst with sweet mustard.

We ate overlooking the lake in about 70 degrees on the terrace.

We packed our paniers, loaded the bikes, and checked out. The kids had requested a swim, so we biked about 10k to a lovely swim spot. There were lots of people enjoying the day on a green field. Sail boats drifted back and forth across the water and the alps loomed to our south. We stayed at the swim area through lunch, which consisted of local fish for Charlie and me. Our waiter wore traditional Bavarian Lederhosen with dark green wool socks decorated with a linden flower. Before departing, we chatted with him a bit and found out he splits his time between Bavaria and New York City, where he is a STOCK BROKER with a Rockefeller Center address. Yep, the world is flat.

The ride to Munau was 95% bike paths/trails. There was one graveling section for a couple of miles that was challenging. Our bikes are heavy and have large tires and can easily slip in thick gravel. We made it through without a problem.

Parts of this ride were through dense evergreen forests -which reminded me of Sherwood with tall pines as far as we could see. When we stopped for a break the mosquitos descended upon us. But they were not noticeable as soon as we were riding. I was glad we had not planned to camp there - we'd have been eaten up.

Exiting the forest, we were about 10 miles from Murnau and continued on concrete paths surrounded by fields of corn. There was one unexpected stop due to a bovine traffic jam. We had to dismount our bikes and let about 40 cows saunter from their field to the milk barn. The woman herding them smiled broadly at us and asked where we were from.

The last 6k into town was on a busy road without a bike path. We have told the boys how to manage this type of traffic and they did great. The europeans expect cyclists and give them room. I found out recently that if there is a car-bike accident, regardless of fault, the car driver is responsible for 30% of the costs, which clearly results in a safer biking environment.

Murnau is a gorgeous city with brightly painted buildings and cobblestone streets. It looks up at one of the German Alps, the name of which I am not yet familiar with. We found a hotel with a room large enough for all 5 of us to share for 100 Euro ($150) and unpacked and stored our bikes. So far any time we have asked for a place to leave the bikes overnight, it has been provided no problem and for no cost. Lucas had cased the joint and found a buffet at the hotel where we enjoyed a much-desired dinner of grilled meat, knoedel, spaetzli (small german noodles), baked zucchini, potato salad and bretzen. Charlie and I had a Weizen (a wheat beer served in a tall glass). We were told that the vitamins in Weizen are particularly good for you after exercise so decided we should do our best to have one at the end of each day!

The soccer commenced at 845: England v. Italy. We had several options as to where we watched the game and chose the beer garden that was right below our hotel room. Lucas' and Sho's wishes came true - they got to watch the game AND it came down to penalty kicks, Italy winning.

The forecast calls for light rain on Monday, so we may have our first wet ride from Murnau to Bad Kohlgrub...


Sent from my iPad