Avoiding gliders

Frode Berg wrote:

What are good ways to avoid the gliders?
Do they have some sort of good/excellent lookout techniques, or are they
just flying around having a good time?

Of course we are having a good time flying around, after all, that's the
whole point of soaring!

More to the point: Second, no, glider pilots don't have a special
lookout technique, other than being paranoid and knowing how poorly
visible we are. I'm pretty sure the glider you passed has seen you long
before. (Of course you shouldn't bet your life at it. Besides, gliders
have the right of way.) The only thechnique that works is look, look,
look. Glider pilot students learn very early to forget about cockpit
instruments, to fly by horizon and butt and to permanently look out,
look out, look out. That's the whole trick.

But first and most important: Try to avoid regions where dense glider
traffic is to be expected. Flying through southeastern Germany at FL55
when there is some thermal activity is a very bad idea. This is one of
the most densly populated areas, gliderwise, and FL55 is more or less
the most active altitude band. Your best bet is to climb into airspace
C, but you don't always want to do so. Try to think like a glider pilot.
Try to know the most popular glider areas and avoid them. Try to
recognize thermals. Be aware that if you see a glider, the probability
is high that there are others in the vicinity you don't see, one glider
seldom flies alone. If you see a glider gaggle, make a big tour around
it. There are always more gliders in the air than you will see.

Stefan