27 June 2023

Photo Finish with Culinary Review in Rheinberg (6.193 km)


Distance: 6,193 kilometers = 3,848miles
Travel period: 19.05.2023 - 24.06.2023 = 36 days
Countries: 6 (PL • SK • MD • RO • H • A)
Photos: about 2,700
Traffic tickets: none
Major problem: Syncopation (one hospital day) in Sandomierz
Travel expenses: affordable, but more expensive than in previous years due to inflation
Personal meetings: numerous, but less than in previous years
Experiences: priceless
Risk of repetition: extremely high


Apple Pie in Opole

Grilled Sausages in Nuremberg

Appetizer Plate in Vienna

Shawarama in Budapest

Mămăligă with Cabbage Rolls in Cetate

Shakshuka in Bucharest

Papanași in Iași

Bonsai in Chișinău

Chili Con Carne in Košice

Chocolate-Orange Cake in Sandomierz

24 June 2023

Time to Hand Over the Baton in Nuremberg (5,683 km)

(2023-06-23/24) Nuremberg is the 20th and last stage of my tour this year before I head home. So it's time to hand over the baton and who would be more suitable than the enthusiasts, who will be taking part in the Altmühl Classic Sprint tomorrow with their beautiful classic cars? No sooner said than done! But since we have generously overlooked the CO₂ emissions out of sheer fascination for technology, a slow-motion choreography at the Ship of Fools Fountain follows to compensate. The fountain sculpture goes back to "The Ship of Fools" by Albrecht Dürer from 1497. And, almost as ordered, the two circulating banners on the fountain establish the reference to our present as an appeal against environmental destruction, war and violence.

23 June 2023

„Never Say Never Again“ in Vienna (5,170 km)


(2023-06-21/23) There is no Union Square in Vienna like the ones in Iași or Timișoara, but Yppen Square stands for another, a completely different, multicultural unity. Especially at temperatures well above 30°C [86°F], the square exudes a southern flair. A former problem district has become a hip scene meeting place.


Let’s go from here to the Burgtheater [Imperial Court Theater], where Klaus Maria Brandauer's 80th birthday will be celebrated today, June 22. Whether as Hendrik Höfgen in "Mephisto", as Maximilian Largo, James Bond's antagonist, in "Never Say Never Again", or as fortune teller Erik Jan Hanussen in the film of the same name, Klaus Maria Brandauer has achieved worldwide fame beyond the German-speaking world. There is no one who does not know him. Really, no one? An extravagant older gentleman is greeted most cordially by the visitors in front of the Burgtheater and smiles kindly into my camera. Happy about the successful snapshot, I thank him and congratulate him glibly on his round birthday. The only problem is that it's not Klaus Maria Brandauer, but his 20 years younger son, the musician Christian Brandauer. In my honor, could you possibly admit that Christian looks much older and very much like his father Klaus Maria Brandauer?



20 June 2023

Live and Let Die in Budapest (4,834 km)

(2023-06-19/21) We haven't been to a Jewish cemetery for a long time; the last one was in Orșova, but you don't necessarily want to live there, let alone be buried there. Since 2006, I have been touring by motorcycle almost every year, mostly through Eastern Europe, and have been to Budapest at least six times during that time, but have not yet been to a Jewish cemetery. Time to catch up, and at the current 30°C (86°F), Kozma Street Cemetery is almost an oasis. If that's too morbid for you, you can join the colorful street life on Pozsonyi út in the (Jewish) Újlipótváros district and then head to Mazel Tov for lunch or dinner.


19 June 2023

Union Square in Iași vs. Union Square in Timișoara (4,533 km)

(2023-06-18/19) Six stages earlier, we were still together in Iași, looking at Union Square, which was designec by Gheorghe Hussar, one of my 3rd cousins, in the 1960s. Fortunately he kept his hands off the Union Square in Timișoara. Thus, the square was able to survive the centuries and today presents itself in new splendor with its baroque churches and palaces. As European Capital of Culture 2023, Timișoara has spruced itself up. During the Romanian Revolution of 1989, Piața Victoriei [Victory Square] was the central scene of the mass demonstrations that ultimately led to the overthrow of Nicolae Ceaușescu. From the individual platforms of the vertical Tree Nursery with its 1306 different plants for Timișoara we get the right view. All in all, the score is now 0:2 for Timișoara, and that after just one single day!