Castle TV Show – Fantastic!

September14

I’m in love with this show, hilarious, great cast dynamic, etc etc. If you are looking for something fun check out Castle. Plus it’s got Nick from firefly which is also great.

Obviously slightly below BSG, The Wire, STNG, GOT… But on par with law and order svu and normal, 30 rock, etc.

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Freiburg Germany, Trails, Mountain Biking, and Culture Shock

September5

I spent August in Freiburg Germany exploring the Black Forest. Some pictures below:

German Trail System…
The German trail system is the most amazing I’ve ever seen! I biked over 120 miles and ran 100+ miles and I barely touched what was available. Beautiful dirt/gravel trails with off shoots everywhere for smaller harder climbs. I really hope more cities in the USA start expanding their trail networks through nearby national parks, rail lines, and canals. The closest thing I’ve seen in the USA is the DC canal path that goes up to Maryland. IMO, the most important part is that the trails are away from cars, you get so relaxed and meditative when running in the quiet of the forest.

Mountain Biking…
I really enjoyed Mountain Biking and it was a nice switch up as you can only run so many days before you need a break. Freiburg has some steep climbs though, sometimes I would be climbing thousands of feet for an hour or more. It sucks when you look at the odometer and realize you can run faster than you are going up the hill. Of course when you are going 30mph down the other side you realize you can’t run 30mph… Near the end I figured out it was a lot more fun to find small difficult tracks and go up those for a 30 min climb and then back down as fast as possible without injuring myself too badly. I’m looking forward to doing a lot more moutain biking back home and hopefully coming back to Freiburg since I docked my bike there for a year.

I didn’t get in as many rides as I wanted, but I forgot how sore your ass gets from a bike seat when you haven’t ridden one in over a year :).

Culture Shock…
Funny enough Germany was the first place in many many years I exp some culture shock. How? In Freiburg no stores are open on Sunday, and they close really early during the week. Quite a few times I was left eating almonds for dinner because I didn’t plan out groceries and nothing was open. And since I do a lot of phone calls in American hours it usually was too late by the time I finished to grab something. The only thing open in the entire town was a Turkish pizza place (luckily really really good just not very healthy)… Every other place I’ve visited in the last 5+ years has grocery stores or at least corner stores where I can buy some eggs and bread near 24/7. Or at least a sandwich. Germany/Freiburg is definitely more protective of their workforce but also somewhat annoying to an American not used to planning out his grocery shopping times…

I also spent an absurd amount of time trying to find Clean & Clear face wash with these little micro beads, I have developed a serious addiction to the stuff and its about the only thing I require when traveling… Germany doesn’t seem to have it available and I’m guessing it is illegal due to the micro beds (they stupidly make them with plastic instead of sand which is causing problems in lakes with fish)? Regardless it was quite weird given that I’ve been able to buy them in Peru, Panama, Argentina, Chile, Hong Kong, Australia, South Africa, Romania, etc etc.

All these things might sound ridiculous but when you are someplace new its a bit of a weird feeling when something so routine is so different. Plus, IMO Germany is one of the few places that has defended itself against the rise of the new “global culture”. Places like Croatia, Australia, and South America have such a strong immigrant population or tourist focus or global business outlook that large swaths of society have tapped into the new global culture. And when traveling to those places it is much easier to feel at home if you don’t deep dive under that layer. Freiburg is a smaller town and feels a lot more “German” than Berlin or Frankfurt or Munich too.

New Travel Policy

September4

I have a new travel policy of trying to leave a little blood + take a little dirt in each country I visit. Mountain biking can be very fun, especially when you fall. Plus I have to think this strengthens my immune system (and hopefully doesn’t kill the land with the high scotch content of my blood).

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This is bwb’s personal blog, so he can share his thoughts with the world, however scary or silly they might be. Plus family and friends can track what I am up to, and where I am in the world.

I am pretty simple. I love Mangos. I love the ocean (although mostly at sunset, as I’m a ginger). I love to travel, eat exotic food, do long bike rides, read, and use my imagination. At some point, I decided it was better to be a pirate captain than an admiral. I am a globalist and see the entire world as my responsibility and playground. And I am married to an amazing woman who makes life even more fun :)! And we are now the proud parents of Calico Jack :).


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