I had never seen an eclipse...as far as I could recall. Back in January 1999, I came across an item on the internet about the last total solar eclipse of the millennium, and decided that I would make the effort to see it. The path of "totality" crossed over Munich in Bavaria, so I thought that the eclipse would also be a good excuse to get together with my old mate, Allen Koenig, and his good lady, Gabi, who live in Giesing just to the south of Munich proper.

At the end of July I also received confirmation from Miguel Guzmán that he would be traveling from Pretoria to Nurnberg in Germany to be introduced to his girlfriend's parents. Nurnberg is close to Munich and, by sheer coincidence, Migs was going to be there on the day of the eclipse! I arranged for us to all get together at Allen's place to party out the night before the event, and to see the eclipse the following day.

The weather on the two days before the eclipse was atrocious. I spoke with Allen on the afternoon of the 10th and his advice to Débra and I was NOT to do the five hour ride from Prague to Munich as it was totally overcast and raining. The weather forecasters in Germany were saying that there was a greater than 98% chance of overcast weather at the time of the eclipse, and that it would almost certainly be raining. It didn't take us long to make up our minds - we were going! Our reasoning was "What if the skies just happened to open up at the right time and we missed the eclipse? We would not be able to forgive ourselves"!

We left after work on Tuesday, August 10. The traffic was light and we made good time in the 1200c Skoda "Felicia"...our "pool car of choice" ;-) We made good time to Giesing, but then couldn't find Allen's apartment. Goddamn, why did my GPS have to be in for a service this week! Sod's law. A few phone calls later and we had retrieved Miguel, Susanne, Allen and Gabi from the local pub, and by 23h00 we were cracking our first bottle in the Koenig apartment! A few snacks, some good wine....and then I rolled out the BIG stuff. Between Alan, Migs and I we almost finished a full bottle of Absinth !!! Yeeee-haaaaaaa!!! Allen made three long distance calls using the big white telephone, and Migs crashed in a recliner about an hour before the rest of us. Debs and I slept on the lounge floor - it was easy!

It was a rough night, as the pictures that follow will attest. There's always so much catching up to do when old friends get together.

We ALL felt like hell at 10h30 on the morning of Wednesday, August 11. Who cared if it was overcast and raining, we felt in no state to be tilting our eyes skywards! Gabi's magnificent breakfast hit the spot - coffee, tea, cold meats, bread......ahhh......felt vaguely human again! After about half a dozen cups of tea, and some headache tablets my head stopped pounding. Allen was still a fairly sick puppy, and was not a happy chap. He cowered in a corner, avoiding human contact!

The Met Department had been right for once - outside it was cold, wet and totally clouded over. But...every fifteen minutes or so we caught a glimpse of the sun and, with the eye protection we had bought earlier, caught the start of the eclipse. We decided to go down to the park across the road from Al & Gabi's flat. I set up my tripod and cameras, and it started bloody raining! Once the shower had passed, the cloud thinned, and we could all clearly see the moon moving across the sun. A remarkable experience! The Gods were really with us.... for the 20 minutes before the eclipse, and for the duration of the totality, we had a window of blue sky!!! The view could not have been better.

The instant of totality was one I will NEVER forget. Just before the darkness, the sun looked like a large diamond ring. Then, as light followed the valleys, craters and contours of the moon, it looked like a string of pearls. The WHAM....darkness, stars, and a flaming ring around the moon. Solar flares. 12h36 to 12h38. The small crowd in the park was overcome - people cheering, gasping and repeating one word "Wahnsinn"!! ("lunacy"...quite appropriate). I was so overcome, I forgot to shoot video, but Al did that anyway. I shot off about 20 pictures before and during the event, but Debs' camera gave in the ghost. Migs shot off about 40 shots!

The sun returned. What a fabulous experience - well worth traveling almost 1,000 km to witness. The next 100% solar eclipse will take place in South Africa on June 21, 2001...and we WILL be there!! I'm hooked!

The rest of the day was shopping. Migs and Susanne came to the BMW dealer with Debs and I. I got parts for my bike, parts for Don's bike, and a pair of Gore-Tex boots. We then sat in the traffic for an hour before dropping Migs & Susanne at the Hauptbahnhoff. I then tried to buy some computer pieces, with limited success. We left Munich at 17h00 and, with the post-eclipse traffic jamming the roads, it took us 2 hours to get onto the autobahn, and then 35 kilometers in a 30 km/h traffic jam! After almost running out of petrol and picking up a hitch-hiker at the border, we made it back home at 01h00.

Goddamn - what a day; what an experience. My advice: DON'T miss the next total solar eclipse in South Africa on June 21, 2001. Enjoy my pictures!