Nachdem meine Kamera endlich von der reparatur zurück ist, habe ich jetzt mal ein Photoblog angefangen... keine Ahnung wie regelmäßig ich das aktualisieren werde...

Da meine "Syndications" (Planet Debian, Planet XMLhack, Munichblogs...) alle entweder den deutschen oder den englischen Teil betreffen, aber die Fotos in beides passen, hab ich sie zu einer eigenen Kategorie gemacht.

Naja, und wie ihr sie in euren RSS-Reader aufnehmt etc. wisst ihr eh selbst. Wenn ihr mich gerne in einem "Planet" hättet, schreibt mir doch ne Mail.

Hier ist noch mein "Eröffnungsphoto":

Since my camera just came back from being repaired, I just started a photo blog. Most of my syndications (Planet Debian, Planet XMLhack, Munichblogs) are either german or english only, my photoblog is somewhat independent, so I made the photoblog separate. If you are interested you know how to add it anyway. If you'd like to add it to a planet, just drop me an email.

I don't know if I'll be updating it frequently... anyway, here's my opening photo (titled "the last train") to get you interested (or not...):

I open my photoblog with an experimental shot I did last night:

Ich eröffne mein Photoblog mit einem experimentellen Photo von letzter Nacht:

The last train to munich rushing by.

Der letzte Zug nach München rauscht vorbei.

I love riding my bicycle in Munich. Once you know the hidden roads with low traffic or where there is a nice bike lane it's really fun.

I especially like riding back my bike at night (at least when it's not too cold, some rain is okay, since I'm going to take a shower afterwards anyway) - it's so peaceful and quiet. I've seen a fox, I've seen rabbits. I often scare cats...

I'm pretty fast with my bike - usually faster than with public transit, and searching for free parking in Munich sucks a lot. Also you are much more free to do what you want: drink some beers - doesn't matter much (I'm not driving much on the roads...) - stay as long as you like (riding a bike will keep you awake, and you also do not have to catch the last train home or pay lots for a cab).

My typical distance is 12-16 km. I need 45min to one hour for that, and this is a distance I can do at "full" speed without being tired afterwards. I've done much longer trips of course, but you ride these differently.

Today I did a couple of photos, to make a web page explaining my route, to encourage others to do the same. By doing that (and by seeing a couple of city tour busses) I noticed how many nice spots in Munich I come by everyday - my route is almost a city tour! And with the bike you can just stop, enjoy the scenery, take a picture.

Whenever I have some time in a city, I try to walk around a bit. Without that you'll never really know how the city feels like, how life is like there. In San Francisco (well, I'm not an insider, but I think many people have been to SF, so some might know what I'm talking about), I recommend you to walk from mission district to Castro, and maybe a second day from Golden Gate park to the bridge, then maybe on to Fishermans Wharf. A third tour would be from Embacadero to Telegraph Hill then Chinatown, Columbus Ave and to Fishermans Wharf. Maybe take a cable car back then. You'll see very different sides of the city this way. The tourist side, the shopping parts - and the quiet living quarters in Richmond.

Munich is much safer than any US city. It's in fact one of the safest citys in the world. So you can walk around there at night without feeling threatened (except by crazy car drivers). Since I'm mostly using my bike there I can't really recommend routes for walking, since I don't have a good feeling for walking distances. ;-)

So here are some recommendations: Walk from Hauptbahnhof to Marienplatz. This is the heart of Munich, a big shopping zone and Marienplatz is very touristic. Now turn north, and you'll pass by the Feldhernhalle, which has an historic role in Nazi Germany, btw. and you'll end up at the Ludwigsstraße. This is maybe the biggest street in Munich, and there are lots of "classic" Munich buildings there. A couple of official stuff, but also the university. The place at the university is called "Geschwister Scholl-Platz" on the left side, and "Professor Huber-Platz" on the right, to honor their resistance against Nazi Germany. Next you'll see the Siegestor, which was built in the 1840s to honor the bavarian military. Since world war II it bears the words "Dem Sieg geweiht, im Krieg zerstört, zum Frieden mahnend" (dedicated to victory, destroyed in war, reminding to keep peace") then continue on the road (now called Leopoldstraße) through a quarter with lots of bars and cafes. When you reach "Münchner Freiheit" which is a very nice place in Munich, get some ice cream, then turn right and walk random streets until you reach the "Englischer Garten". This is a huge park in Munich, and where many people relax. Walk south-east, following the Eisbach (a small stream) until you've seen the surfers (yes, you can do surfing in munich, on this small stream!). Then turn left of Prinzregentenstraße. You'll come by the bavarian national museum. When you reach the Isar, you'll see the "Friedensengel" (Angel of peace) statue on the other side. Go there, then continue south on the east side of the river (another part of the "Englischer Garten" stretches there). At the next bridge is the bavarian "Landtag", this is where the parliament of bavaria meets. At the south-east end of the bridge, find your way uphills through a park. Behind a small childrens' playground you'll find a "secret" entrance to a "Biergarten". You should be able to hear it from a distance - whenever there is good weather there are people there chatting and enjoying their beer and food. This already makes a nice end for the trip, but you can also continue to the east where there a dozens of nice cafés and "Kneipen" up to the "Ostbahnhof", which is the second most important train station in Munich. On the east side of that you'll find dozens of clubs to spend the night in - this is the most famous party zone.