Since ive been here in southern Germany im really enjoying a Fleischkäse in a Linzgau Brötchen – essentially a steaming hot slice of meat grilled on the edges in a freshly baked bread bun similar to sour dough with some sweet mustard. Hits like a bacon sandwich with brown but keeps you full all day.  Apologies to all vegetarians/vegans out there.

Just my 2 pence from living in the South of Germany for the last 6 years …

When you are in the south of Germany, be aware of signs saying “lärmschutz” and then a time eg: 2200-0600. Basically in some of the local towns and villages the speed is 50km/h – however between the times stated the speed is down to 30km/h (which can seem painfully slow in places.)

And dont forget to buy a vignetta if you want to drive on the main motorways / autobahns in Austria and Switzerland. They can be bought cheaply either online or at local petrol stations.

Have a great trip

I can happily second Griselda, excellent and gripping – I watched it as the rain came down outside and I pedalled away on the turbo …

Not Netflix – but I can also recommend some of Pete Santanello’s investigative/reporting videos on Youtube, the Borders series in the US was really interesting, along with the Deep South series. IMO it shows a side to countries/regions I was certainly unaware of and would likely be the same for most of us. (He’s also generally upbeat too which makes it easy to watch – look out for Titus!)

It was a pain here in the south of Germany – tractors blocking arterial routes and entries/exits from the autobahns (although not on the autobahns themselves) at commuter times for 3-4 random days so far.

In hindsight compared to some of the experiences described above, it could have been worse for us …

Survey duly completed, however similar experience to the above “Microsoft pop up asking me to sign in, so not sure if it was submitted or not”

It was a little ambiguous honestly.  No codes received as yet …

Yep, sadly ive been known to ruin a perfectly good ride with a swim and run either side! :0).

@alpin – sounds like a plan to get the new bike up there when I finally get it over here.

Nice to “meet” everyone also!

Thanks for the welcome :0)

Looking forward to my first ride this Saturday …

Haha, I see I have a lot of catching up to do on this forum … I’m sure I’ll be able to contribute accordingly!

Sadly, I don’t own a pizza oven, I might be struggling with the size of our balcony at the moment. However, never knowingly outdone: we do have an Italian restaurant on the ground floor of our apartment block, which serves up some pretty special pizza. Surely, that has to count for something?? ;0)

@alpin – Lindau is stunning, your lucky to have lived there previously, fair play. Info duly noted re the Pfänder, sounds pretty grim. I did the same in Meersburg a couple of weeks ago, sat and watched a storm roll over the alps in the direction of the lake. I should post up some pics at some point.

Thanks again for the warm reception – that’s really nice! (And appreciated!)

Yep, the summer storms are impressive here … Immenstaad –  Ive a couple of mates that work there at A’bus, in fact most of the Brits here work there thinking about it 😅

Just for clarity …

– I was deployed oversees at the start of my career, but nothing remarkable, back safely albeit with a greater appreciation of a lot of things, not the least being civvy work.

– As nice as this area is now, the first couple of years when I moved here were horrendous (both mentally and physically) and to this day there are aspects that I’ll never get used to, hence Im trying to enjoy the benefits of the area whilst I can …

– Always useful to have a Psychiatrist service to hand … appreciated 😉

– As for ‘Louise’ … that’s got me curious! 😅

Thanks rickmeister … with all the strange looks i get from the locals on a daily basis, it wont be long, I can see it … 🤪

Yep fully paid up member … 😎

Good point re the pedals … that reminds me I will have to buy some!

I was told the bike is a ’23 Alpine 160 Evo, its an ex display model and got it cheap as a result. As an ex garden gate Orange Five owner from way back when, I just fancied something different from whats readily available over here. Im hoping it should be good for some alps days out as well some more local XC loops.

Sadly no van at the moment – standard 3-series touring for me (company car), although the father in law has a pretty smart G-wagon/explorer truck we sometimes borrow for camping hols.

Work: ex forces for 15+ years, now in consulting (dare i say, in I.T … 😱)

As for the Bodensee, yep winter is not the best – definitely looking forward to spring as most folks are.

@alpin – they are still the same 😅 and your getaway vehicle is still in use in summer!

Haha what a welcome!  Thank you … judging by the comments, I think ive found a place thats just the ticket …

Just working through the Picolax thread … needed to take a break to let the tears disperse!

Ill try my best to accommodate the Q’s so far …

Here’s my new ride – sadly not my garden (it was the sellers!) – feel free to critique as required 😉

– Clearly I’ll be on flats, used to clips on the road, but with my limited off road skills, not for me at the moment!

– Im not too bad on the road, but my MTB exploits will be purely for enjoyment and exploring.

– Non E-biker for the moment, although they’re unbelievably popular here and i may get tempted at some point…

– Oxford comma …  I’ll let you know

@susepic – I’m just in Salem, I often ride through Unter Uhldingen on the way to work in the ‘off season.’ As lively as ever in winter… 😅

If all goes according to plan I should be out for my first off road ride this coming weekend on a local loop on the old bike, albeit wearing roadie kit 🤦‍♂️

Thanks for the welcome all!

’23 BMW 330 series touring, 2.0T petrol – (company car) owned from new & always driven very economically, the fuel economy is very poor IMO, mid to low 30’s at best. Couldn’t recommend honestly. Had the same in a diesel previously and that was a lot better 50+mpg pretty much everywhere.