Augsburg and the Castles of Bavaria

September, 2001

In September of 2001, I attended a 2-week training class at NCR in Augsburg, Germany.
Augsburg is one of the 3 oldest cities in Germany and a wonderful place to wander around, aimlessly.
This is the so-called Hercules fountain on Maximilianstrasse.
The inscription reads "Shawn the Insufferable Smites All Who Do Not Pay Tribute."
(what's up with that ?)

A busy sidestreet full of weekend shoppers.
This is the Augsburg equivalent of "the Mall". Are we doing something wrong ?

The Mercury fountain on Maximilianstrasse.
Note: there are no straight streets in Augsburg !

The Dom (cathedral) at the North end of Karolinenstrasse.
Not far from here is Dudelsack, a famous but inconspicuous Irish pub
with over 140 exotic whiskeys to sample (don't ask).

A typical narrow side-strasse. When do you suppose that wall was built ?
Before or after the Fall of Rome ?

A chessnut-tree-lined path along one of the many channels of the River Lech.
Augsburg was founded as a Roman fort on the Lech and named after Emperor Augustus.

A typical residential street in Neusaess, a "suburb" of Augsburg.
Every house and commercial building has a redtile roof like these.
The woodwork is unbelievable. Every door is a work of art.

This autobahn is "submerged" in a cornfield that separates the town(stadt) of Neusaess from Augsburg.
If you lived in one of those nearby houses you wouldn't even know it was there.
Now, why can't we do that ?

This "farmers market" was a block from my hotel in Neusaess.
And there was a great Italian restaurant nearby, too !
Not to mention that other Italian place that served coffee,
exotic ice cream drinks with booze, and delicious "brochettes".
Sounds good ? (So why can't we do that ?)

Gabby and Wolfgang (left), proprietors of "Confetti",
a very warm, friendly, and classy cafe/pub in my Neusaess neighborhood.
They helped me get through September 11 without any access to English TV
and to otherwise fortify my spirits.
Gabby's unique way of asking if I want another: "So... the same procedure ?"

This is Neuschwanstein, the castle built by crazy King Ludwig II of Bavaria.
I think he backrupted Bavaria to do it, but he gave Walt Disney something to ripoff (3 times)
and then repackage and sell to the French as EuroDisney! Diabolical, oui ?

Looking down though a doorway in the neighboring castle of Hohenschwangau,
built by Ludwig I of Bavaria, who was not so obviously crazy as his son Ludwig II
(even though they both were big Wagner fans).
Sidebar: "Wagner's music is better then it sounds." - Mark Twain

An unobstructed view of the same thing.
Almost as cool as the view from Rib Mountain.

An aerial bridge (built by Ludwig II !) spans a deep chasm.
Seen from Neuschwanstein.

This is my friend Georg. He works for NCR in Oslo. He is a Unix Guru.
He is standing on that aerial bridge you saw above. Yes, that one.
Georg claims to be scared of heights, but it certainly doesn't show !
He also introduced me to Dudelsack, that Irish Whiskey Bar.
Thanks, Georg !

Neuschwanstein seen from the Bridge.

The castle of Hohenschwangau, as seen from Neuschwanstein.
Apparently, Papa's castle wasn't good enough for Junior.

Another view from Neuschwanstein. Hohenschwangau below.

The green Bavarian countryside seen from Neuschwanstein.
I really like this photo ! (or maybe it's just the frame ?)

Teradata Factory Workers of the World Unite.
You have nothing to lose but your chains !
And your AMPs and Vprocs and Cliques and NUSIs and ...



back to my homepage