Reviews for Three Men on the Bummel

The average rating for Three Men on the Bummel based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-08-05 00:00:00 Barney Me Before our little jaunt into yesteryear, I must confess ... miss the irreplaceable dog, and his charismatic presence ...this sequel to , Three Men in a Boat, a hilarious story, lacks the forward charge of the indomitable animal, (more human than many) where is the fearless leader , Montmorency ? Three Men on the Bummel (stroll) has our good friends a decade later, older but not wiser, yes fatter, richer but still eager to get away again, from dear, cold England. A pleasant adventurous bicycle trip, around Germany they plan, particularly the ominous, nevertheless interesting Black Forest of mystery and myth. J. and Harris are married, their wives show no disinclination, to the idea in fact, they secretly welcome it, a pleasurable break a vacation too, for the spouses and children of the unlovable, if truth be told men... Sounds real nice, the two must be annoying husbands. Still George the bachelor, has only an old aunt, who cares... the trio, after the usual long discussions , useless talk and the procrastinating, finally get under way, two bicycles and three men, no problem, one is a tandem bicycle, they'll switch often to keep themselves fresh (it's a solemn agreement). Arriving by boat, in Hamburg, then Hanover and later going to intriguing Berlin...Staying in hotels and inns, farmer's foul barns if nothing else is available, imagine the rather strange smells , they encounter still the animals don't mind the boys, too much though...In the famous and illustrious capital of the nation, the men are quite disappointed, with the city no grandeur exists, a plain, ordinary metropolis . Germany has clean towns, somewhat humdrum, but they're fascinated by the German people, law abiding, citizens, following the rules set by their superiors, mostly the police. These men are god- like, to them, never would they dare, to disobey, the children (boys), all want to become mighty policemen...The reserved Germans, polite and remote to foreigners , love eating and drinking, becoming often so drunk, the revelers need just a little help... to get home. Even boisterous students are encouraged to do the same, a long tradition, gladly followed by the boys, at the universities. Sword dueling a tradition in school clubs , students are happiest when they receives bloody scars on the face, proud to show his friends, basking in their admiration, the girls flock to him, he is brave, a real man...In the legendary Black Forest, the clueless trio become very lost indeed, can't tell which way is north or south, or east or west, neither. Exhausted, climbing a steep hill, to get their bearings, embarrassed, seeing the village, the men just left a short time ago , yet try again the same galling results, the magical village appears once more. Hour after hour of hiking, they can't find a route out a storm comes, thunder and lightning , the rains pour down and the soaked men seeking shelter under a tree, cold and wet, miserable...The curious owner of the nearby restaurant wonders why, they didn't come in from the downpour. Better go get the odd strangers, Englishmen...everyone says , on the continent, are all mad!

Review # 2 was written on 2018-04-16 00:00:00 James Husband This is the second book about the three London-based friends going on an adventure. This time, some years have passed since the boat trip, the dog is no longer with them, and two of them are married. It's all about escaping, once again, and romping through a countryside without having the first clue but being convinced one is an expert and all others are idiots. Thus, the three embark upon a journey to and through Germany. Their route is weird if one knows the country and not all statements are correct (Münster, for example, is neither in the Black Forest nor Alsatia) but it's not about accuracy anyway. On their way from Hamburg via Berlin and Hannover to Constance and other places, they have the usual hilarious encounters. This time made even more funny by the usual prejudices about the nation-without-humour, a lack linguistic skills and their general almost endearing idiocy. I couldn't enjoy the narration of this audiobook as much as the first but that might also have to do (in part) with the fact that I had to listen to this at a slower speed. The humour and mishaps, however, were as great as in the first book, this time made even a tad more enjoyable because I am German and therefore know which of the prejudices was absolutely correct so I sometimes burst out laughing. And there was some dog there near the end after all. Oh, and the word "Bummel" is German and is not what the narrator says in the end. *lol* It's basically strolling around and looking at everything while doing so, with time to spare (or not caring about time). Most often associated with a shopping spree.