Munich, my final stop on The Summer of Jon, and the final bike tour of my glorious summer. By now I had terrifying bike tours (Prague), beautifully weird bike tours (Potsdam), bike tours where the guide was trying to lose the group (Vienna), and solo bike tours where I nearly rode into another country (Copenhagen), … More TSOJ: Bike Tour Of Munich, Free Shower Included
Before arriving in Munich, I took an informal poll of people sitting in my train seat. I asked myself, “What should I see in Munich?” This was a difficult question to answer because I had done very little research on where to go and what to do once I arrived. This phenomenon occurred because I … More TSOJ: Munich–What to do? Let’s get lost.
Before most bike tours start there is a tiny tutorial about how to use the bikes, the bike rules in the city, and how to avoid getting killed on the bike tour, but not with Walter (pronounced Valter for those of you who speak English properly.) Walter simply asked if we all had bikes, looked … More TSOJ: A Vienna Bike Tour with The Terminator
I have never been to an Opera. I have never really wanted to go to the Opera because you have to dress up a lot more than I want to, and I really don’t know enough about the operas to enjoy them, but when I found out that I could attend an opera for free … More TSOJ: A Night at the Opera…I put on pants for this?
10. Flavored beer has its limits. While in Berlin I sampled lime flavored/colored beer, raspberry flavored/colored beer, lemon beer, and grape/colored (is grape a color?) beer. The research was exhausting, but that is why I am here, I boldly drink what many women and children have drunk before. The lime beer was passable, the lemon … More TSOJ: Final Thoughts on Berlin
When you are in Berlin during the summer you will get a whiff of something unpleasant, something that smells like a sewer and that is because it is the sewer. I don’t know why the sewer smells like it does, but it is one of those distinctive aspects of Berlin that are inexplicable. In a … More TSOJ: Berlin, like a local (who speaks no German)
In my humble and important opinion, bike tours are one of the best ways to see most European cities, and my favorite bike tour company (Fat Tire Bike Tours) always manages to do all the things that make a bike tour great. I have taken three tours based in Paris (day tour, night tour, Versailles) … More TSOJ: Bike Tour of Potsdam
Let’s be honest, most Americans have a singular view of German history: Hitler. I don’t want to minimize Hitler’s impact on Germany, but reducing German history to the years around 1930-1945 is a little like reducing American history to the Reagan years. Berlin has seen it all and for any traveler interested in history, Berlin … More TSOJ: Berlin–Ugly Shoes, Horrible Hotels, and How Germany Won the War of Breakfast
Top Ten things I am looking forward to during The Summer of Jon 10. Eating three hotdogs each day while in Iceland at Bæjarins beztu pylsur. 9. A full day at the Blue Lagoon. (Slippers and robe included.) 8. Seeing Munch’s The Scream. 7. Spending some time … More Let The Summer of Jon Begin: Top Ten
Nestled along the Rhine River sits a little town named Bacharach. Bacharach is one of those towns that refuses to move into the 19th Century. Sure it has running water and toilets, but it is like a little town in a snow globe, it is as cute and unchanged as any place I have ever … More My Favorite Places: Bacharach, Germany
South of the Strait 