After a morning of riding through the German countryside, we spent the afternoon visiting crazy King Ludwig's Linderhof Palace, one of his favorite residences. Ludwig II almost bankrupted Germany with all of his crazy castle building in the 1800's. Who knew that he would eventually inspire Walt Disney (with Neuschwanstein Castle) and that these outrageous castles and palaces would eventually become some of the biggest tourist attractions in Germany. This is one of the funny little details in the many statues around the palace. (more pics at markaltenberg.com/linderhof.)

We take a break from the bike riding to visit Munich for the day, a little over an hour away from Garmisch-Partenkirchen by train. We're tourists, so naturally we get trapped in the world famous Hofbräuhaus for the afternoon. We barely speak French and our cycling friends speak little English, but we all find a common language in beer drinking and traditional German beer drinking songs!

Andy shows Steve the difference between a traditional Maß Bier (1 liter) and the wimpy halbes Maß (1/2 liter).

The French contemplate lunch. The Californians do yoga.

On our first day of cycling around Garmisch-Partenkirchen, we rode 95 miles (80 planned miles + 15 bonus miles for a missed turn) and were visited by no less than 4 separate rain storms, two of which were torrential downpours that made it difficult to see the road!

It's actually Hotel Königshof in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, our home base for then next week of bike riding with the French tour group, Les Stages du Soliel.

Guido take note - this optometrist in Garmisch knows how to put his old Campy bike parts to good use.

Hang around the bike shop too long and you just might need to buy something.