Thu 16.May.2013
Plauen, Saxony, Germany
A steady, soaking, rainy day here in Lovran, Croatia. A great day to stay in bed and
see if I can get some photos posted. In the last few sunny days, I have plenty of enjoyable
photos of Lovran, but first let's clear a backlog from the last week and a half or so.
Prologue: Paris
You don't ride from Sevilla to Plauen in one long push.
I broke the journey with
three nights in Paris, which was just as overcast and grey as I had left it three weeks
earlier.
OK, Now Plauen
A French bullet train got me from Paris to Stuttgart, Germany in record time. A German
InterCity sailed smoothly at normal speeds through the lush Swabian Forest to Nuernberg,
and a regional train made its way up into the hills, negotiating some kind of detour
around Bayreuth, and eventually reached Plauen.
My now-usual neighborhood in Paris includes a hole-in-the-wall bistro called
Plan B. Small city Plauen hasn't gotten that ironic yet. Plan A restaurant
is on a main square in the old part of town.
Brew Alley, and it looks it - a narrow cobbled lane, about half way between
the old malting house and the old city hall.
Home away from home for these few days, or at least the street level entrance.
The late lamented Schweizerstube (Swiss Lounge), now revived and called Hotel
Garni am Klostermarkt
The cellar of the Malzhaus, getting prepared for a weekend of music.
Bardo Thodol, the wonderful band from - of all places - Opava, Moravia
in the eastern Czech Republic.
The outdoor terrace of the Malzhaus overlooks the valley of the White Elster
river.
Old-looking stone work in the Malzhaus, whose older parts go back to medieval times.
The medieval old city hall. The clock tower behind belongs to its more ponderous
ninteenth-century replacement.
Postlogue
I had an afternoon free after leaving Plauen on Sunday, before boarding the night train from
Munich a bit before midnight. I got myself an all-you-can-ride rail pass, good for
one day on any Bavarian train, and explored around.
Ascencion Day anchors a major holiday weekend in Germany, as it combines with
Father's and Mother's Days. Travelling in Germany that Sunday can be stressful,
even with an all-day pass.
The historic city of Regensburg provided a useful
rest-and-food break around sunset, though a cancelled train from there to Munich caused
me considerable anxiety after dinner. The following train, my last hope, was slightly
late, but it did the job.