This week I would like to introduce you to the Bavarian market village of Neubeuern with its impressive castle or schloss (Schloß Neubeuern). Neubeuern is a particularly picturesque village and was voted as Germany’s most beautiful village in 1981. The village is built around a hill, which has an amazing back-drop of the Austrian/German Alps. I have a particular affiliation with Schloß Neubeuern because my son, Pascal, went to the Gymnasium (Grammar school) there. This is a well-known German mixed-sex boarding school and being based in a castle has something of a ‘Hogwarts‘ feel to it. Any young ‘Harry Potter‘ fan will not need to be asked twice to become a student there!

Pascal jumped at the opportunity to leave home for the Neubeuern castle at the age of 12. Coincidentally his brother Alex, 6 years earlier, had attended another castle school, Schloß Traunsee, in the Austrian Lake district – I will try to feature this in a forthcoming article. OK so J.K. Rowling may have had a titsy bit of influence on the selection of the boy’s educational establishments. I featured the boys in last week’s blog which can be found here).

Let me explain where Schloß Neubeuern is. The castle sits upon a hill which is surrounded by the pretty village of Neubeuern in the south of Bavaria not far from the border which leads into the Austrian Tyrol. It lies about half way between Munich and Salzburg. Here is the Google map which you can expand to find the nearest Autobahns and Towns:

Driving from my weekend retreat I crossed over the river Inn on the short journey from Bad Feilnbach to Neubeuern. The river Inn runs parallel to the Inntall Autobahn which is one of the key transit routes through the Alps between Bavaria and Italy.

Wherever you travel in this region you are not far from staggering alpine views.

Some of the best views of the castle ‘Schloß Neubeuern’ can be enjoyed by driving towards Neubeuern from the Austrian direction. It stands proud at the top of its own hill surrounded by the immediate countryside which is relatively flat. All of my photographs are prepared in high-definition so if you would like to see more detail just click your mouse with the cursor over the picture. After viewing the photograph use the backward arrow on your search machine to return to this article.

In order to enter the village square at Neubeuern you must drive through one of two villages gates or ‘Tors‘. This only allow traffic to pass in one direction at a time so drive slowly. These small gates ensure that large lorries do not enter into the village square.

As soon as you enter the gate you will be struck by the impressive old buildings with their colourful Frescos.

Once you arrive at the market square you get a view of the castle towering over the village. It is possible to park in the square and the town council is currently considering how they can increase the number of parking spaces. This has caused quite a heated debate because one of the proposals would involve removing two old trees from the square; an issue that has divided the residents of the village. If you would like to read more (in German) about this subject a local press article can be found here (don’t let it be said that http://www.ChrisDuggleby.com doesn’t bring issues of major environmental importance to the World stage!).

From the market square you can get a close up view of the beautiful hanging gardens which flow down the cliff face from Schloß Neubeuern to the village.

The colours of the hanging gardens are complemented by the well stocked window boxes of the many individually painted buildings below.

Even the buildings without flower baskets are artistically painted. Some of the paintings depict historical events or stories like the one below.

At the opposite side of the square to the castle is the village church. In addition, the castle has its own church which is also worth a visit. This ‘Schlosskapelle St. Augustin‘ has fine examples of Bavarian late Baroque Rococo architecture. If you would like to see a 360 degree sight-seeing tour of the schloss and the staggering sights from its grounds please visit the interactive tour from the school’s website which can be found here. (it can take a while to load!)

Just to the back of the church you will find a couple of the village’s picturesque restaurants. Many of the restaurants have garden terraces which allow customers to enjoy the amazing sights of the mountains and local countryside.

All around the village it is possible to catch views of the Alps which provide the perfect back-drop to this scenic masterpiece.

It is difficult to find a building without pretty hanging baskets and impressive fresco work.

The next one is one of my favourites.

After a great day enjoying one of Germany’s most beautiful villages I departed through the old village gate, but not before sampling some of the delights from the village baker.

In my view Neubeuern with its Schloß is well worth a visit and I will certainly be coming back. I hope you like the pictures and please do not hesitate to let me know if you have any suggestions or recommendations using the comments box below.

Chris Duggleby.

If you are interested in reading my other health focused articles try the following

Torture In The Shower – Face and Body Soap Allergies – Main Suspect: Pears Transparent Soap

Poison in your Washing Machine: Allergic Contact Dermatitis from Laundry Detergents, Softeners, Conditioners and Whiteners

Is Alzheimer’s caused by the Gum Disease Bacterium P. Gingivalis – A Dementia Prevention/Treatment Breakthrough?

Toxic Chemicals in Sex Toys – 18 Vibrators, Cock Rings, Love Balls Tested – Only 3 Get All Clear

My T-shirt Made Me Sick – Textile Allergies – Sinusitis From Your Underwear

While you read the following article why not listen to my e-baroque compositions – just click on the box below:

or if techno music is more your cup of tea here are my techno/ambient compositions:

I hope you find the information below interesting…please visit chrisduggleby.com again.

My two sons in a Bavarian beer garden

This week I am reserving a little space in the blog for a small family reunion. My son Alex, who lives in Vienna popped over to Munich on the way to Gmunden, in the Austrian lake district. More observant readers will know that going from Vienna to Gmunden via Munich is not the most direct way of travelling but it does allow one to drop in on one’s parents on the way. Gmunden is a very pretty town on the Traunsee or Traun Lake next to the Traunstein mountain (the Austrian one!). We were fortunate enough to live there many years ago while Alex went to school in Schloß Traunsee.

As most of our family meetings tend to be via Skype, and we could be separated by rather large distances in December, we decided to bring forward Christmas lunch by about two months. So Pascal came over from Rosenheim on his Quadbike and we all popped over to the Bärenstub’n, a very nice restaurant in Bad Feilnbach where you can sit outside on a sunny day and enjoy the Alpine views. If you do happen to visit Bad Feilnbach we can highly recommend the excellent food and friendly service of this local restaurant. Their website can be found here.

As you will see from the picture above our faithful guard dog RISKKO jumped at the opportunity to have a ride on Pascal’s new Quadbike. Following on from this there is a serious risk that our four-legged friend may give up spending his time riding in luxury convertible sport’s cars with beautiful ladies and take up the life of a beach bum on a quad bike (for Bavarian guests instead of ‘beach bum’ please read ‘Baggersee Po’) . Watch this space.

Pascal works in Event Management and a quad bike can be a pretty effective way of getting round the large Bavarian music festivals – especially once the mud arrives! It was very nice to have the boys together and I am including a snap shot of them at the restaurant so that their extended family and international fans (well mainly my niece Estela in Spain!) can share in the occasion.

RISKKO particularly likes this restaurant because the chef is one of his best friends and always prepares a special treat for him.

While we were in the kitchen something else caught my eye – the restaurant was selling some of Bad Feilnbach’s excellent honey. During my many trips up the Schwarzenberg mountain I have always been impressed by the large number of the bees at the top of the mountain. Like the cows grazing on the mountain pastures the bees are clearly very happy and therefore the honey they make is especially delicious (more information about the Schwarzenberg can be found in my article here). I have to say I have never seen a sad or depressed bee up there.

Honey has been in the press quite a lot recently. To be precise blue, green and chocolate-brown honey produced by some rather naughty French bees who were more interested in M&M’s than they were in pollen. If you would like to find out more please read my article which can be found here.

In addition to the family Christmas lunch in Bavaria the RiskBusters’ ‘Team Duggleby’ also managed to find a night when we were all in the same country (England). This meant that we could finally have the team dinner we have been promising ourselves for many months. We found a nice Italian restaurant in Twickenham near the Thames and I did my best not to whinge the whole night about the cost (coming from Yorkshire anything more than £5 a head can cause severe psychological trauma – I am still undergoing therapy!). The restaurant was Osteria Pulcinella and the food was so good that, although we were only 8 people, we seemed to get through 12 deserts!

It was quite an international evening as the team was made up of representatives from South Africa (Michele), Germany (Ulrike and Klaus), China (May), Australia (Tong), France (Vincent), Lancashire (Nikki) and Yorkshire (guess who). Clearly the last two represent two of the culturally most distant races, especially linguistically.

So after a strong focus this week on food I promise in next week’s blog to have some more scenic photographs. There will be a special focus on a Bavarian hilltop-castle and its beautiful town. By the way here is a close-up of the Forest Bear we saw on the Schwarzenberg Mountain – fortunately it was preoccupied with its cub. Don’t say you don’t get exciting wildlife pics on the Chris Duggleby website!

Happy eating and remember to keep an eye out for any bees showing early signs of obeesity.

Chris Duggleby.

While you read why not listen to my album ‘Electro Baroque‘ (all tracks are also available on iTunes using the link here)? Classical music using modern instruments:

or if you prefer to listen to my electro/techno album ‘Studio Valiumm‘ here are the videos (also on iTunes using the link here):

More info about my music is at the dedicated website www.TRANSFORMATES.com

Today it is raining and therefore a perfect day to test my conviction that the Alps can cheer you up on even the most dismal of days – you just need to get off your butt, go outside and open your eyes.

I decided to visit a lake which quite frankly I had never heard of before; this is how most of my sightseeing trips start off. Those of us who have lived in this region are very familiar with lakes like the Chiemsee and the Tegernsee. Both are beautiful locations but because of their close proximity to the A8 Autobahn which connects Munich with Salzburg they are very popular with city dwellers and can get very crowded. They are also therefore rather commercialised and just finding a parking space can be a challenge. Although you can see the alps in the distance the immediate countryside around these lakes is rather flat so if, like me, you have a mountain fetish they can be a bit frustrating.

So on this rainy day I headed down the Deutsche Alpen Straße (B 307) in the direction of the Achensee. From my alpine hideaway in Bad Feilnbach this route took me past the Schliersee and then the Tegernsee. So before I had reached my ultimate destination I had already had a chance to see two very scenic lakes and, since the (kind) rain had kept most of the tourists indoors, the roads were relatively free. As the photographs in this blog will show the rain did not prevent me from enjoying some fantastic mountain views.

In fact the clouds, together with the mountains, can often help to create some very dramatic images like the one below. As all of my photographs are in high-definition you can get a much more detailed version by clicking your mouse over the picture. In particular this will help to bring the wider panoramic landscape pictures to life.

One of the things that impressed me most about the Achensee is that it is surrounded on all sides by incredible mountain scenery. It sits in the Achental valley which divides the Brandenberg Alps to the east from the Karwendel mountain range in the west.

Sometimes lakes in this region have waterfront properties which go right to the shore-line preventing visitors from walking round the lake. This is not the case with the Achensee which has very pleasant made-up walking paths around its perimeter. Clearly on a rainy day it is advisable to bring an umberella. Because this is the largest lake in the Tyrol a stroll around the edge can be something of a challenge; the lake is 1 km wide and 9.4 km long!

Wherever you go along the side of the lake you will be able to enjoy splendid alpine views like the ones in the photos below.

On the north side of the lake there are sporting facilities. These include a swimming area with a huge wooden platform. The water of the lake is almost of drinking quality and it is so clear you can see down to a depth of up to 10 metres. There are many sailing activities on the lake due to its large size and the winds created along the valley. It is therefore very popular with windsurfers.

Among the sporting facilities there are also beach volley-ball courts which thanks to this rainy day did not challenge my blood pressure with a preponderance of lightly clad volley-ballettes (today the only naked surface in view was that of the volley-ball court itself!).

The mountain scenes at the beginning of the blog were taken from the South side of the lake. Moving 10 kilometers to the North I took the photographs here and those below which show a totally different alpine perspective.

If you are interested in reading about, and seeing photographs of other scenic ‘secrets’ from the alpine region please take a look at some of my other blog entries. These can be found using the links below:

here (Spitzingsee or Spitzing Lake in the Bavarian Alps)

here (Bavarian Schwarzenberg or the Black Mountain in the Voralpen region)

here (Thiersee or Lake Thier in the Austrian Tyrol), and

here (Bayrischzell: a Bavarian village with an impressive background)

Here’s looking forward to the next rainy day!

Chris Duggleby

While you read why not listen to my album ‘Electro Baroque‘ (all tracks are also available on iTunes using the link here)? Classical music using modern instruments:

or if you prefer to listen to my electro/techno album ‘Studio Valiumm‘ here are the videos (also on iTunes using the link here):

More info about my music is at the dedicated website www.TRANSFORMATES.com

Have you ever heard of the Thiersee Lake? It is hidden in the Austrian Tyrol not far from the border with Germany. The lake is surrounded by some of the most beautiful countryside in Europe and is within an hours drive of Munich or Salzburg. To help set the scene here is a Google satellite map (if you want to check the way from one of the major towns or airports you can expand the map using the minus sign) :

The objective of this week’s blog is to highlight yet another of fantastic little lake in the Austro/German Alps which is only known to insiders. Regular readers may remember my article about the Spitzingsee lake on the German side of the alpine border. If you would like to take a look at this earlier blog entry you can find it here.

Now let’s get back to the Thiersee Lake. It is in the Austrian municipality of Thiersee which until 1504 belonged to Bavaria. The transient nature of the country borders helps us to understand how the communities in these German and Austrian regions feel a special ‘alpine’ bond. They share similar dialects, clothing, customs and sports. If you would like to learn more about their special sporting links you might find my article on Fingerhakeln (Finger wrestling) interesting: the link (with videos) is here. In addition to pulling each other over a beer table with their middle finger the alpine people also like to race each other on their Bullocks. I have also prepared an article on the local Oxenrennen Olympics (Bullock Racing – again with videos) which can be found here.

If you are fortunate enough to visit Thiersee the lake has a path which allows you to walk around the perimeter. There is also a well tended, grassed, bathing area near a car park which includes showers and (clean!) toilets. By the way all of these photos have been taken using high definition so if you want to see more detail just click your mouse over the picture (this will help to enhance the panoramic ones which were made using a special ‘panning’ technology).

In addition to offering a beautiful location for pleasant walks and bathing the lake also can be used for fishing, sailing and paddle boats. Not surprisingly there are lots of very inviting cafes and restaurants in the village to the north side of the lake.

If you are well disposed you might even consider buying or building your home overlooking this alpine paradise. In the post war period this area was used as the setting for 18 Austrian feature films

During my visit I was also accompanied by a couple of film stars. Pink Lips just couldn’t resist trying out her new convertible with her faithful guard dog RISKKO. You probably wont find these topless (Mercedes) bathing photos of our royal princess bear in the French press! Thiersee provides a discrete location for the rich and famous to have fun.

In addition to the lake there are lots of very pleasant Austrian villages in the surrounding countryside. The one featured below is called Hinterthiersee (on the L30).

….and finally another widescreen photo taken from the lake……

If you would like me to post more articles of photos from other ‘lesser known’ gems around the Alpine region please do not hesitate to let me know in the comments box below. By the way there is another rather famous event taking place in Bavaria at the moment – but I guess I do not need to introduce readers to the Oktoberfest (which always occurs in September!). After you have purchased your Lederhosen and Dirndl to attend the World’s largest Beer Festival you can bring them with you when you go for a walk around the Thiersee. They are prefered attire in this region.

Chris Duggleby

While you read why not listen to my album ‘Electro Baroque‘ (all tracks are also available on iTunes using the link here)? Classical music using modern instruments:

or if you prefer to listen to my electro/techno album ‘Studio Valiumm‘ here are the videos (also on iTunes using the link here):

More info about my music is at the dedicated website www.TRANSFORMATES.com

Rain Forests get their name because of the high level of rain they receive. It is generally understood that it is the location of the rainfall that determines the location of the rain forest. However, research published in Science this weekend by the Max Planck Institute for chemistry in Mainz, Germany, provides evidence of the opposite. This research highlights the role played by the forest vegetation, and especially its fungi, in determining where it will rain.

Fungi, as part of their reproductive process, emit potassium salts into the atmosphere when they launch their spores. These potassium salts combine with organic compounds which are also given off by the forest vegetation to create minute atmospheric particles, or aerosols, which provide a surface upon which water vapour can condense and create rain droplets. This condensation is similar to the process that turns water vapour into dew drops on the grass at sunrise or leads to condensed water ‘misting’ on a cold window pane.

Those of us fortunate enough to live near forests are well aware of the wonderful smells and refreshing atmosphere we enjoy walking through these woodlands, especially after it has rained. This comes from a combination of factors including the many organic compounds given off by plants and the high concentration of oxygen created when vegetation removes carbon from carbon dioxide as part of the process of harnessing energy through photosynthesis.

Christopher Pöhlker, a graduate researcher at the Max Planck Institute has been evaluating the emissions from vegetation in the Brazilian Rain Forests near Manaus as part of his PhD studies. Using an 80 meter high tower over the forest he obtained three different kinds of aerosol samples from the air. It is these aerosols which are believed to play a key role in converting the moisture in the atmosphere into mist or droplets of rain. They are, in effect, acting as tiny rain ‘catalysts’.

The aerosol samples were analysed by Pöhlker and his coworkers using the new technique of Scanning Transmission X-Ray Microscopy with Near Edge X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure (STXM-NEXAFS). He expected to find out which volatile compounds, like isoprene, were given off by the plants in the rain forest and wanted to understand their composition. These organic compounds were predicted to be mainly made up from carbon, oxygen and nitrogen. However, to the researcher’s surprise, he found a high percentage, up to 20%, of potassium in the aerosol samples taken from above the rain forest.

This potassium is believed to come from the spore releasing mechanism of the forest fungi. It creates nanometer to micrometer sized condensation ‘nuclei’ to which the other organic molecules in the forest biosphere can stick. These aerosols formed by combining potassium salts with the organic gel-like substances are very effective in converting water vapour to mist and droplets of rain. As a result fungi and plants can have a direct influence on the number and properties of aerosol particles in the air and thereby on the formation and composition of mist and clouds: they are able to influence the amount of precipitation occurring over the rainforest

So next time you take a walk through the forest and admire the beautiful flowers and butterflies (photos featured in some of my recent blogs here and here) take some time to also consider the important role of the humble fungus. This research underscores the crucial part fungi play in maintaining the balance and health of our ecosystem. They may even help us to avoid the worst effects of climate change by ensuring the forests of the world get enough rain to carry out their vital carbon dioxide purging role.

As a tribute to these heroes of the forest biosphere I have added some photos taken over the last couple of weeks of some of the beautiful fungi decorating my local alpine forests (when there was a break in the rain!).

If you are interested in other similar forest and wildlife news issues please either visit my blog archives here or check out the Alpine News archive which I use to bring important news items to the attention of the non-german speaking international community. These articles can be found here.

Enjoy the fungus (and treasure it),

Chris Duggleby.

If you would like to learn more about this research project from the Max Planck Institute you will find more information (in German) here and (in English) here. I am indebted to them for providing me with a timely excuse to publish my recent photographs of fungi from the Alpine Forests. In addition to Christopher Pöhlker, acknowledgments to Dr. Ulrich Pöschl and Prof. Dr. Meinrat O. Andreae, all of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz and their co-researchers in Germany, Brazil, India and the US. The original paper ‘Biogenic potassium salt particles as seeds for secondary organic aerosol in the Amazon’ was published in Science on August 31, 2012.

Now prepare for an uplifting experience! 

I am sure some of my readers may consider the title of this week’s blog to be a bit provocative. The idea of regulating (or more precisely over-regulating) these dear cows as they eat grass is abhorrent and I feel it is time to bring these issues to the attention of the civilised World. This week I came across a number of articles in the alpine press which indicated that some people in authority are prepared to use their powers to ban, tax or fine innocent animals (specifically cows trying to make milk) which are just trying to go about their normal business. Repression appears to be alive in the heart of Europe.

When taken at face value the articles I have reviewed may appear to indicate that authorities in the civilised world are going mad. However, I prefer to consider them to be symptoms of something much more wonderful: the German sense of humour.

On my travels across the world I have often heard people comment that ‘the Germans don’t have a sense of humour’. Usually my reply to this has been that in my experience German people do have a sense of humour but you need to have a good understanding of the language to appreciate the joke. You also you need to look in some rather unusual places to see German humour at its best.

So this week I have reviewed four articles which for me reconfirmed that the German-speaking Peoples do have a sense of humour. You should keep this in mind when you read about some of their more excentric proposals about the creation of unusual rules and laws. In the end sanity usually prevails – but you can have a lot of fun on the way.

Article 1: Horse Poo crimes in Berlin

This is a subject which is getting ever more attention from the Berlin Public Order Authorities. The article explains the nature of the problem and what can happen to you if you get on the wrong side of the Horse Poo authorities (Berlin staatlischen Pferdescheiß Behörden). It also describes how some of the best technical brains are working on an innovative solution to ensure that visitor’s encounters with poo are kept to an absolute minimum.

The article can be found by clicking here.

Article 2: Proposed tax on snakes in Cologne

Snakes (Schlangen) are becoming an increasing problem on the streets of Cologne, particularly after hours. At the same time, like many cities, the authorities are trying to find ways of raising more taxes. The proposed solution is pretty simple: tax the snakes (Schlangensteuer). This article explains in more detail what kinds of snakes the authorities are considering taxing and how the tax will be applied (here the length and width of the snakes is quite important). Interestingly the biggest snakes tend to be found outside of Cologne’s discos and pubs.

If this brief summary is enough to wet your appetite please take a look at the article which can be found by clicking here.

Article 3: Men Only Slides at the Water Amusement Park in Erding

Clearly ladies (and especially German ones) are not poor defenceless animals but my attention was drawn to this article because it followed on so closely after the ‘men only parking spaces‘ in the German town of Triberg (if you would like to read that article just click on the link here). When I researched a little more deeply I realised that there was an important health issue for any ladies who use the high-speed slides found in these leisure parks and therefore I have reviewed the available facts in a new article. A number of ladies have had to visit the hospital after using the water slide in Erding so clearly this is a serious issue.

To find out more, including what ladies can do to minimise the risk, please read the article which can be found by clicking here.

Article 4: Alpine cows get fines in Austria for ringing their cow bells

This is this weeks horror story. Anyone who has visited the alps will be familiar with the welcoming sound of cow bells as our industrious friends go about their milk producing business. For those of us who spend a lot of time on the mountains it will be clear that the bells are essential for finding cows that have strayed from their normal grazing ground and get lost in the mountain forests. The bells are also a useful reminder to visitors to give grazing cattle a wide berth – they have important jobs to do and do not take kindly to disturbances.

Therefore it was with horror that I discovered that some of these poor, hard-working, innocent creatures have been fined for ringing their bells while grazing. Please read the article to find out more – but be warned – you may not sleep easily afterwards. The details can be found by clicking here.

After reading about this bovine trauma in the Alps I immediately took my camera and raced up my local mountain (the Schwarzenberg Mountain, above Bad Feilnbach in Bavaria). There I took some photos of my local mooing friends (I mean cows of course) who were happily ringing their bells as they munched on the mountain grass. If the Austrian courts have their way this is may soon become a thing of the past. Therefore I am dedicating the rest of this blog to the cows I met today; please see the photographs below which I took this afternoon. Long may the alpine cows eat grass and ring their bells!

Happy reading,

Chris Duggleby

If you are interested in reading my other health focused articles try the following

Torture In The Shower – Face and Body Soap Allergies – Main Suspect: Pears Transparent Soap

Poison in your Washing Machine: Allergic Contact Dermatitis from Laundry Detergents, Softeners, Conditioners and Whiteners

Is Alzheimer’s caused by the Gum Disease Bacterium P. Gingivalis – A Dementia Prevention/Treatment Breakthrough?

Toxic Chemicals in Sex Toys – 18 Vibrators, Cock Rings, Love Balls Tested – Only 3 Get All Clear

My T-shirt Made Me Sick – Textile Allergies – Sinusitis From Your Underwear