(postscipt) Schwabmühlhausen, Munich and the Alps


Schwabmühlhausen

On the way south through Germany going to Italy in May I make a special visit. Doris Wiedemann lives in a small village near Munich. She published some own books, for example the one about her travel alone on a bike through China, or the trip through Alaska - in winter time!

I read them all and since then we were in e-mail contact. Now it was time to meet in real. I am already a little time on tour, mostly bad weather, and she knows exactly what a frozen biker needs: hot shower, a bed and something substantial to eat. I can relax a couple of days and use the internet, which takes half of the work I am doing. 

Jesus Christ, when and how can I give back the hospitaity I got already on this trip?

Doris is a free lance writer and traveller, therefor a good help in my further project. The fact that she is a woman opens the perspective of traveling with a motorcycle, since men are more on the technical side and tend, with all the respect, to simplifying agreements. Doris says what she thinks and doesnt hold back with any criticism about my idea. Mainly its the size of it. Why around the world right away? My inexperience of biking long ways alone. The amount of work I have to master. Etc.. And she is right. I have to think over many points, but planning all unforseeable incidents is impossible and one has to be crazy anyway to try to do what I am planning.

She reduces the tips to what I am able to take, most is anyway a matter of experience and instinct. One issue which comes up with her as well, like in all talks with the long distance bikers, is what to take with you and what not. What you will need you will not have, and what you have you will not need. I carry a lot of stuff with me, which I constantly reduce, but still its a lot, and despite all critics I like it to have a whole big bag of tools and small spares. 

The weather gets a chance to get better after it was raining dayly and its time to get through the alps. 

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Real Bavarian Leberkäs, not the cheap one you know from the super market, in the making and almost ready. Doris ate about a quarter of it, the rest went into me.

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Check out Doris website, her books are really worth reading:

http://www.doriswiedemann.de/index.html


Munich

Being close to Munich needs a visit to the Goethe Institute. They are supporting my work since a long time, like in some places for this project.

Unannonced I visit Susanne Traub to tell her about the development. She is in charge in the center of the Goethe Institute for dance, where all information comes together. In full gear, still dripping from the rain, exited I give my rushed report, maybe more confusing for her then informative. Nevertheless I have to keep the contact up, since we discussed the project beforehand about the possibilities of support from them. While the tour goes on, local directors of Goethe Institutes might approach her for information about the project, so she needs to know what is happening.

In the moment I see that I missed a lot of opprtunities to make the performative presents, and the website and the riding consumes already so much time. I would need to stay in each place at least the double amount of time to do something with the people I meet on the journey without having appointments already and everybody is prepared for it. In the arranged places it works fine, just the plan to work in between these stations needs some reconsideration. Sometimes it is also the edge I have to overcome to link art whereever I am. But ok, it is three months now I am on the road, a lot of time is still in front of me and I am learning how to do it.


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More of Munich:

I visit Christine, I worked with back in Berlin. Its toime for an update of all and some real Bavarian Knödel. In her place lives a cameleon as well.

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All that in one day in Munich, including some gear shopping at the local Touratech place. Next day I crossed the Alps.

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Contact: thomaslehmen@thomaslehmen.de                                                                              © Thomas Lehmen 2013