Oh, Harlingen...we love you as much as last time!
After breakfast, and needing excercise, we walked around the little town. It is a port for ferries that go out to the outer islands, and the canals are lined with boats, both small and large. Rowing is a big sport and, in the evenings, we watched teams rowing out to sea, practicing for a big race in about 10 days.
As we walked on the top of one of the dykes, an old classic Cadillac drive up and out stepped a bride, fully decked out, and a groom. It was quite cold out and windy but she must have a strong Dutch constitution posing for many pictures with the sea and boats in the background. I would have been covered with blue goose bumps.
Since we couldn't let our stomachs be even close to empty, we had an early lunch at a pancake/waffle café....delicious in a very cute red-checked place.
We drove out of Harlingen North to see an area where mega-yachts are built, but could not score a tour of ICON, one of the builders. We passed a big windmill part yard where the components to giant white windmills are ready for shipment. Huge!! Our hotel owner told us about a second shipyard south of Harlingen and we located the area. There we saw several truly gigantic new yachts in the water next to the ship builder's buildings getting their finishing touches. Amazing to think that anyone can afford such opulent boats. The town of Makkum is central to this business.
Makkum, itself, is a charming village. We wandered a bit and had a cold beer in a great bar/café. Nice place and a town that we will visit again.
On the way back to Harlingen, we saw, again, many sheep on the grassy slopes of the dyke. The sheep graze the grass an keep the dykes well trimmed. They look so pastoral against the green grass with little lambs among the adult sheep.
We're finding it fun to sit, either on our balcony or in the restaurant of our hotel, watching the boats come and go through the dyke gates and down the canals of the town. The bridges over the canals are raised when needed and the dyke gates open and close at various times, though we can't figure out what triggers and opening or closing.
Worth note is the fact that the majority of the houses are brick as are the village streets and sidewalks. Adds a good amount of charm.
Not sure what we are up to tomorrow, but will stay in Harlingen another night and adventure out from here. Nice to not have to pack up and find a new hotel for a few days!
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Gulliver's time in Lilliput and Tiptoeing through the Tulips
After another amazing hotel breakfast, we walked toward the waterfront in Scheveningen to the old, classic, grand Kurhaus Hotel, a typical old resort hotel straight out of the 30s and 40s. It is a beautiful old dowager and very elegant. One can just picture the people there long ago, dressed in formal attire for the evening and in bathing costumes for the beach during the day. It is still quite grand, and we would like to stay there some time.
It was also funny that on our walk to the old hotel, we saw, in a restaurant strip area, a Burger King, a Ben & Jerry's and New York Pizza all in a row!
We retrieved our car and drove a short distance to place called Madurodam, Wayne's surprise for me. It is a not-to-be-missed unique place where the country of Holland is all laid out in 1:25 scale down to the tiniest detail. The cathedrals, palaces, airport, ships, railroads, cars, hotels, office buildings are all perfect and landscaped with bonzai'd trees and bushes. I overheard a mother who was with her children at a water dyke designed to illustrate leaks that children were supposed to try to stop with their fingers. "Try to stop the water with your finger, Jamie...NO, don't drink the water, try to STOP it." Hillarious! We felt like Gulliver in Lilliput. A wonderful, imaginative place which makes one smile and feel very, very good.
After "tiny town", we drove to Keukenhof Gardens, an extraordinary place that is a MUST, if one is traveling in the area of Den Hague. It is a beautiful landscaped property with approximately six million tulips, daffodils and other bulb flowers covering many acres. We spent several hours wandering the gardens in amazement. It was so incredibly gorgeous. Obviously, we took lots photos and will remember the Gardens with great pleasure. Every year, the gardens are open only from late March to mid-May. After that, all the bulbs are dug up and the preparation for the planting design for the next year begins with hand planting done in the fall over about a 3 month period. Simply a wonderful place.
By four o'clock, we were driving North to Harlingen, a small Dutch village along the North coast of Holland. We are staying a the Hotel Zeezicht, where we have stayed before. It is a quaint old hotel with tons of charm. Our room looks out on the harbor to the sea and the canals running into and out of the town.
The town is surrounded by dykes and water and is a simply charming place. More exploration tomorrow.
It was also funny that on our walk to the old hotel, we saw, in a restaurant strip area, a Burger King, a Ben & Jerry's and New York Pizza all in a row!
We retrieved our car and drove a short distance to place called Madurodam, Wayne's surprise for me. It is a not-to-be-missed unique place where the country of Holland is all laid out in 1:25 scale down to the tiniest detail. The cathedrals, palaces, airport, ships, railroads, cars, hotels, office buildings are all perfect and landscaped with bonzai'd trees and bushes. I overheard a mother who was with her children at a water dyke designed to illustrate leaks that children were supposed to try to stop with their fingers. "Try to stop the water with your finger, Jamie...NO, don't drink the water, try to STOP it." Hillarious! We felt like Gulliver in Lilliput. A wonderful, imaginative place which makes one smile and feel very, very good.
After "tiny town", we drove to Keukenhof Gardens, an extraordinary place that is a MUST, if one is traveling in the area of Den Hague. It is a beautiful landscaped property with approximately six million tulips, daffodils and other bulb flowers covering many acres. We spent several hours wandering the gardens in amazement. It was so incredibly gorgeous. Obviously, we took lots photos and will remember the Gardens with great pleasure. Every year, the gardens are open only from late March to mid-May. After that, all the bulbs are dug up and the preparation for the planting design for the next year begins with hand planting done in the fall over about a 3 month period. Simply a wonderful place.
By four o'clock, we were driving North to Harlingen, a small Dutch village along the North coast of Holland. We are staying a the Hotel Zeezicht, where we have stayed before. It is a quaint old hotel with tons of charm. Our room looks out on the harbor to the sea and the canals running into and out of the town.
The town is surrounded by dykes and water and is a simply charming place. More exploration tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Windmills....the old traditional kind
Is it already Tuesday, April 28? The time has flown by....
We woke up in Bastogne ( which is a good thing, since that's where we went to sleep...) and, as I posted on Facebook, we "strapped on the feed bag" once again for a marvelous European breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast, we began our adventures for the day.
We began by finding Mardasson, the WWII Memorial built to honor the Americans who freed Belgium from the Germans during the various battles of the Bulge campaign. The memorial is a huge structure in the shape of a five pointed star with many inscriptions detailing the events involving Bastogne and its liberation. Each state in the U.S. is recognized on the structure. One can (and two did) climb the spiral staircase to the top of the memorial and view the surrounding countryside from all directions. Very impressive. After that we toured the War Museum which was recently built. It has lots of great stuff, but the design is claustrophobic and jumbled and it is hard to work through it. We had trouble finding our way out!! Rather disappointing....
Our next goal was Kinderdyjk, a National Historic site. It is an amazing park and preservation site of old original windmills...19 to be exact. I was so excited to see what I had always envisioned Holland's windmills to be. Several of them were in operation and open for touring the inside. What a thrill to see the giant gears working as well as the living quarters for the family that operated the mill. We toured the area on a canal boat with stops along the way so we could hop on and hop off to take full advantage of the area. We viewed an excellent video on six screens that detailed the history of the Dutch windmill and the Kinderdyjk area. If you ever had the opportunity to visit this place. do it. It is so historical and is, at the same time, a storybook place.
We left Kinderdyjk for one of the high-speed freeways and headed for Den Haag (The Hague). It was late in the day and we scored a hotel, the Buildaburg Europa Hotel (name sort of reminds me of Build-a-Bear :) ). The room is tiny but well appointed and the bed seems to be quite comfy. It also has a normal shower!!!!
Tomorrow takes us to the Kuekenhof Gardens where millions of tulips are in full glory in April and May each year. Wayne has another surprise in store too.
We are still astonished by the massive number of trucks on the highways in Europe; hundreds line the freeways, mostly staying in the far right lane. No driving in the other lanes unless having to pass a very slow vehicle in the right lane.
More shenigans tomorrow!!
We woke up in Bastogne ( which is a good thing, since that's where we went to sleep...) and, as I posted on Facebook, we "strapped on the feed bag" once again for a marvelous European breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast, we began our adventures for the day.
We began by finding Mardasson, the WWII Memorial built to honor the Americans who freed Belgium from the Germans during the various battles of the Bulge campaign. The memorial is a huge structure in the shape of a five pointed star with many inscriptions detailing the events involving Bastogne and its liberation. Each state in the U.S. is recognized on the structure. One can (and two did) climb the spiral staircase to the top of the memorial and view the surrounding countryside from all directions. Very impressive. After that we toured the War Museum which was recently built. It has lots of great stuff, but the design is claustrophobic and jumbled and it is hard to work through it. We had trouble finding our way out!! Rather disappointing....
Our next goal was Kinderdyjk, a National Historic site. It is an amazing park and preservation site of old original windmills...19 to be exact. I was so excited to see what I had always envisioned Holland's windmills to be. Several of them were in operation and open for touring the inside. What a thrill to see the giant gears working as well as the living quarters for the family that operated the mill. We toured the area on a canal boat with stops along the way so we could hop on and hop off to take full advantage of the area. We viewed an excellent video on six screens that detailed the history of the Dutch windmill and the Kinderdyjk area. If you ever had the opportunity to visit this place. do it. It is so historical and is, at the same time, a storybook place.
We left Kinderdyjk for one of the high-speed freeways and headed for Den Haag (The Hague). It was late in the day and we scored a hotel, the Buildaburg Europa Hotel (name sort of reminds me of Build-a-Bear :) ). The room is tiny but well appointed and the bed seems to be quite comfy. It also has a normal shower!!!!
Tomorrow takes us to the Kuekenhof Gardens where millions of tulips are in full glory in April and May each year. Wayne has another surprise in store too.
We are still astonished by the massive number of trucks on the highways in Europe; hundreds line the freeways, mostly staying in the far right lane. No driving in the other lanes unless having to pass a very slow vehicle in the right lane.
More shenigans tomorrow!!
Monday, April 27, 2015
Such a deal......Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday...4 in 1 :)
Busy whirlwind days...Friday night, Wayne's friend from Frankfurt (Horst) and friends from Finland (Marko and Leila) joined us for dinner at our hotel, the Park Hotel in Rodermark, a suburb of Frankfurt. Wayne has known Horst and Marko for many years through prior business associations. Fortunately, they all speak good English!! Too bad the U.S. doesn't begin second languages in elementary schools as many European countries do.
I talked with Leila a bit about the Finnish school methods and found it to be most sensible and really forward thinking. Wish the US would adopt a great many of the methods.
On Saturday, Horst toured us all around Frankfurt after a delicious lunch at an Italian restaurant that has been owned by friends of his for many years. (In the Hotel Garibaldi) This is the second time Wayne and I have eaten there and it has been wonderful every time. We had an early dinner in an old part of Frankfurt know for its Applewine, a kind of apple beer. We had traditional German food and then went back to the hotel for a nightcap.
Sunday, after breakfast, Horst drove us along the Rhine River to wine country and the Ruddeshiem area where we had lunch on the way at the Johannesburg Schloss, a huge mansion formerly owned by some long ago "princes". There are many, many acres of grape vine,s and the area is a major wine producer. The views from the schloss were spectacular and I will post more pics on Facebook whenever I have enough band width on wi-fi to do so. After lunch, we wondered around Ruddesheim looking at shops and churches and quaint old German streets. Very cute town. After a glass of wine, we headed for the airport in Frankfort to drop Marko and Leila off for their return flight to Helsinki. Horst chauffeured us to our hotel, joined us for a nightcap and a busy day was at an end.
Monday, we said good bye to Frankfurt and set a goal of reaching Bastogne, Belgium by evening.
The day was very rainy, but we did do a little drive-by site seeing in Trier, Germany which has a massive old Roman city "gate", beautiful cathedral, and an old Roman amphitheater. It was too cold and rainy to do much more than look, take a few photos, and jump back into the car.
From Trier, we drove on through Luxembourg into Belgium and to Bastogne, known for it's place in WWII and the Battle of the Bulge in which many Americans and other Allied soldiers died. The Allies eventually defeated the Germans, but at a very high cost. We plan to visit various WW II memorials and museums tomorrow before going North in Holland.
A few notes....the intensely yellow fields that we thought we mustard are really Rapeseed fields that are grown to produce canola oil. They are so beautiful and so brilliant. It was good to know exactly what they are.
...and as we drove into Bastogne, we saw what we thought were medium sized cows...NOT...they were gigantic pigs!! There were some babies too. Amazing porkers!!!
...and, as those who have traveled in Europe know, the toilet paper is like paper towels paper (the cheap kind), and hotels rarely have washcloths.
...and, there are virtually NO Laundromats. We are in sink washing mode and fortunately, since we expected this, had generally quick drying clothes.
Tonight we are at a Best Western Hotel (imagine that). It is clean, pleasant, and quite friendly. After we checked in, we walked a few blocks to the town square and had dinner at a small French restaurant. It was a challenge, since the people there spoke no English and my French is minimal, but it all worked out and the food was good. There was a little boy there, one of the staff's children, who was dressed to the "nines" in a little suit and tie, who helped wait on us. I asked if I could take his photo and he gave a big smile and then got very serious for the pic. I will post it on FB.
We are back at the hotel, catching up with emails and blog and then will plan our day tomorrow.
Here's hoping for warmth and sun!
I talked with Leila a bit about the Finnish school methods and found it to be most sensible and really forward thinking. Wish the US would adopt a great many of the methods.
On Saturday, Horst toured us all around Frankfurt after a delicious lunch at an Italian restaurant that has been owned by friends of his for many years. (In the Hotel Garibaldi) This is the second time Wayne and I have eaten there and it has been wonderful every time. We had an early dinner in an old part of Frankfurt know for its Applewine, a kind of apple beer. We had traditional German food and then went back to the hotel for a nightcap.
Sunday, after breakfast, Horst drove us along the Rhine River to wine country and the Ruddeshiem area where we had lunch on the way at the Johannesburg Schloss, a huge mansion formerly owned by some long ago "princes". There are many, many acres of grape vine,s and the area is a major wine producer. The views from the schloss were spectacular and I will post more pics on Facebook whenever I have enough band width on wi-fi to do so. After lunch, we wondered around Ruddesheim looking at shops and churches and quaint old German streets. Very cute town. After a glass of wine, we headed for the airport in Frankfort to drop Marko and Leila off for their return flight to Helsinki. Horst chauffeured us to our hotel, joined us for a nightcap and a busy day was at an end.
Monday, we said good bye to Frankfurt and set a goal of reaching Bastogne, Belgium by evening.
The day was very rainy, but we did do a little drive-by site seeing in Trier, Germany which has a massive old Roman city "gate", beautiful cathedral, and an old Roman amphitheater. It was too cold and rainy to do much more than look, take a few photos, and jump back into the car.
From Trier, we drove on through Luxembourg into Belgium and to Bastogne, known for it's place in WWII and the Battle of the Bulge in which many Americans and other Allied soldiers died. The Allies eventually defeated the Germans, but at a very high cost. We plan to visit various WW II memorials and museums tomorrow before going North in Holland.
A few notes....the intensely yellow fields that we thought we mustard are really Rapeseed fields that are grown to produce canola oil. They are so beautiful and so brilliant. It was good to know exactly what they are.
...and as we drove into Bastogne, we saw what we thought were medium sized cows...NOT...they were gigantic pigs!! There were some babies too. Amazing porkers!!!
...and, as those who have traveled in Europe know, the toilet paper is like paper towels paper (the cheap kind), and hotels rarely have washcloths.
...and, there are virtually NO Laundromats. We are in sink washing mode and fortunately, since we expected this, had generally quick drying clothes.
Tonight we are at a Best Western Hotel (imagine that). It is clean, pleasant, and quite friendly. After we checked in, we walked a few blocks to the town square and had dinner at a small French restaurant. It was a challenge, since the people there spoke no English and my French is minimal, but it all worked out and the food was good. There was a little boy there, one of the staff's children, who was dressed to the "nines" in a little suit and tie, who helped wait on us. I asked if I could take his photo and he gave a big smile and then got very serious for the pic. I will post it on FB.
We are back at the hotel, catching up with emails and blog and then will plan our day tomorrow.
Here's hoping for warmth and sun!
Friday, April 24, 2015
More of Marcia and Wayne's Excellent Adventure....
Good Morning Frankfurt! Today we have a quiet, catch-up day...yes, we are learning to travel in at a slower, stop-and-smell-the-roses manner rather than driving like mad demons from place to place and not savoring each.
We hesitantly said 'goodbye' to wonderful Rothenburg (until next time) on Thursday morning after investing in a outrageously beautiful cuckoo clock. We set the GPS for "avoid freeways" and drove many miles through beautiful German countryside on winding, narrow, two lane road,s passing through little villages, many of which were very picturesque and a few, not so much!
We picnicked again by the roadside and enjoyed the spring weather. Unfortunately, even though Germany is generally incredibly clean, roadside stops are not. Trash everywhere and not a rubbish can to be seen.
Our first goal was Marnheim, where some of the Staats family emigrated from. The town was so-so
and the graveyard that we found had no stones with 'Staat's on them. We did learn from a friend of Wayne's that most graves are only maintained in original form for 30 years unless someone from the family tends them, so most likely the old Staats graves are long hidden. We do have an email address for the church near the graveyard and hope to email to see if their records contain any information. The German churches have traditionally be exemplary in keeping records a long way back, even prior to 1600.
The countryside is full of grape vineyards, acres and acres!! The various fruit trees are in bloom, especially what I believe to be pear trees...absolutely gorgeous. The only thing that disappoints are the many gigantic modern windmills that often splotch up the views. Bright yellow mustard fields stripe the farmscapes interspersing the barley fields, vineyards and other crops.
We have been amazed at the number of signs along the road promoting fresh "spargel" which is we found out is asparagus!! Tis the season for both white and green spargel. We tried to order some last night, but our hotel didn't have it.....annoying!!
We passed through Worms and hope to visit this city someday as it looks very interesting. We arrived in Frankfurt at our hotel around 7 p.m., had dinner at the hotel and called it a day. Today, we reorganize, do a little hand laundry, enjoy some down time relaxing a looking at the little lake and fountain just beyond our balcony. Tonight, we have dinner with old friends of Wayne's, and, Horst, one of the friends, has many things planned for Saturday and Sunday.
Until later....auf Wiedersehen.......
We hesitantly said 'goodbye' to wonderful Rothenburg (until next time) on Thursday morning after investing in a outrageously beautiful cuckoo clock. We set the GPS for "avoid freeways" and drove many miles through beautiful German countryside on winding, narrow, two lane road,s passing through little villages, many of which were very picturesque and a few, not so much!
We picnicked again by the roadside and enjoyed the spring weather. Unfortunately, even though Germany is generally incredibly clean, roadside stops are not. Trash everywhere and not a rubbish can to be seen.
Our first goal was Marnheim, where some of the Staats family emigrated from. The town was so-so
and the graveyard that we found had no stones with 'Staat's on them. We did learn from a friend of Wayne's that most graves are only maintained in original form for 30 years unless someone from the family tends them, so most likely the old Staats graves are long hidden. We do have an email address for the church near the graveyard and hope to email to see if their records contain any information. The German churches have traditionally be exemplary in keeping records a long way back, even prior to 1600.
The countryside is full of grape vineyards, acres and acres!! The various fruit trees are in bloom, especially what I believe to be pear trees...absolutely gorgeous. The only thing that disappoints are the many gigantic modern windmills that often splotch up the views. Bright yellow mustard fields stripe the farmscapes interspersing the barley fields, vineyards and other crops.
We have been amazed at the number of signs along the road promoting fresh "spargel" which is we found out is asparagus!! Tis the season for both white and green spargel. We tried to order some last night, but our hotel didn't have it.....annoying!!
We passed through Worms and hope to visit this city someday as it looks very interesting. We arrived in Frankfurt at our hotel around 7 p.m., had dinner at the hotel and called it a day. Today, we reorganize, do a little hand laundry, enjoy some down time relaxing a looking at the little lake and fountain just beyond our balcony. Tonight, we have dinner with old friends of Wayne's, and, Horst, one of the friends, has many things planned for Saturday and Sunday.
Until later....auf Wiedersehen.......
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Rothenburg ob-der-tauber....a fairytail town!!
Ah, beautiful. fairytale Rothenburg! What a delightful place. Every trip should have a shining star, and so far, Rothenburg is the one for this trip.
We spent the day wandering the ancient streets, perusing shops, eating wonderful food. The town still has most of the ancient town wall intact. We walked the top of it for a good distance and had great views over the town. The original castle that was located near the town was destroyed in a earthquake in the 1400s, but in its location is a lovely garden and views of the surrounding countryside. Given more time, I could spend some quiet hours sitting the garden reading a good book!
Our wanderings included a search for the perfect high quality Black Forest-made cuckoo clock...something that both of us have wished for. We think we may have found it and, if so, we will ship it home, our wallets much the lighter for it.
The day was again a brilliant blue and the tourist volume was still low, so the whole experience was totally pleasant. Tomorrow we leave Rothenburg mid-morning to find a tiny town by the name of Marnheim (not to be confused with a larger town, Mannheim) where some of Wayne's ancestors came from. We hope to find some record of their being there, but so many records were destroyed during the wars that it may be a fruitless search, but fun to see the village anyway.
Then on to Heidelberg and surrounds and on Friday, Frankfurt to meet up with some friends.
More tomorrow!!
We spent the day wandering the ancient streets, perusing shops, eating wonderful food. The town still has most of the ancient town wall intact. We walked the top of it for a good distance and had great views over the town. The original castle that was located near the town was destroyed in a earthquake in the 1400s, but in its location is a lovely garden and views of the surrounding countryside. Given more time, I could spend some quiet hours sitting the garden reading a good book!
Our wanderings included a search for the perfect high quality Black Forest-made cuckoo clock...something that both of us have wished for. We think we may have found it and, if so, we will ship it home, our wallets much the lighter for it.
The day was again a brilliant blue and the tourist volume was still low, so the whole experience was totally pleasant. Tomorrow we leave Rothenburg mid-morning to find a tiny town by the name of Marnheim (not to be confused with a larger town, Mannheim) where some of Wayne's ancestors came from. We hope to find some record of their being there, but so many records were destroyed during the wars that it may be a fruitless search, but fun to see the village anyway.
Then on to Heidelberg and surrounds and on Friday, Frankfurt to meet up with some friends.
More tomorrow!!
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Germany's Romantic Road
After a night in Regensburg, we set off to travel the middle part of the Romantic Road, our first goal...Nordlingen.
First though a few notes about the Czech Republic...It is a country still recovering from the terrible years under Soviet rule...the people often seem a little bleak and untrusting. The country has lots of disrepair and sadness to overcome. The Communists are a major party there and many fear their resurgence. Those things being said, it is a country of great possibilities and one that could and should have foreign investments to aid in their recovery. Opportunity is there.
A couple of other observations....there are an inordinate number of Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in the Czech Rep. We found that rather amusing. Of course McDonald's and
Burger King are there too. And there are SO many trucks on the streets and highways moving goods everywhere. It is not uncommon to see up to 50 trucks traveling in the right lane of a freeway one after the other. This is true in Germany too.
On our way into Germany, we came upon a railroad crossing where the crossing gate was being lowered manually by a woman cranking big wheels to move the gate down into position...she must have some big muscles!!!
The ancient medieval towns along the Romantic Road are out of Grimm's fairy tale books, so quaint, beautiful and totally wonderful. We passed through Nordlingen, wandered through Dinkelsbuhl and landed for the evening in Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber, truly a special end to the day. We plan to do a walking tour tomorrow of this magical place.
We are staying the night at the Burg-Hotel, an absolute treasure in a building in the old city wall that was once a monastery in the 1400s. It is top notch while remaining historic and enchanting. We are on the 3rd floor and there are no elevators. The owner said the building was constructed in the 9th century and "there were no elevators then". The climb is worth it, believe me. The views are lovely.
The owners have a restaurant across the street that serves wonderful food and delicious desserts, all in a beer garden that is really a lovely flower garden. What place to finish the day.
Finally, we had a clear, warm blue day and the landscapes were as pretty as pictures all the way. Tomorrow will be a treasure too and we will stay here one more night because we like it so much!
First though a few notes about the Czech Republic...It is a country still recovering from the terrible years under Soviet rule...the people often seem a little bleak and untrusting. The country has lots of disrepair and sadness to overcome. The Communists are a major party there and many fear their resurgence. Those things being said, it is a country of great possibilities and one that could and should have foreign investments to aid in their recovery. Opportunity is there.
A couple of other observations....there are an inordinate number of Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in the Czech Rep. We found that rather amusing. Of course McDonald's and
Burger King are there too. And there are SO many trucks on the streets and highways moving goods everywhere. It is not uncommon to see up to 50 trucks traveling in the right lane of a freeway one after the other. This is true in Germany too.
On our way into Germany, we came upon a railroad crossing where the crossing gate was being lowered manually by a woman cranking big wheels to move the gate down into position...she must have some big muscles!!!
The ancient medieval towns along the Romantic Road are out of Grimm's fairy tale books, so quaint, beautiful and totally wonderful. We passed through Nordlingen, wandered through Dinkelsbuhl and landed for the evening in Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber, truly a special end to the day. We plan to do a walking tour tomorrow of this magical place.
We are staying the night at the Burg-Hotel, an absolute treasure in a building in the old city wall that was once a monastery in the 1400s. It is top notch while remaining historic and enchanting. We are on the 3rd floor and there are no elevators. The owner said the building was constructed in the 9th century and "there were no elevators then". The climb is worth it, believe me. The views are lovely.
The owners have a restaurant across the street that serves wonderful food and delicious desserts, all in a beer garden that is really a lovely flower garden. What place to finish the day.
Finally, we had a clear, warm blue day and the landscapes were as pretty as pictures all the way. Tomorrow will be a treasure too and we will stay here one more night because we like it so much!
Monday, April 20, 2015
The Case of the Missing Mercedes and the Mysterious Elevator
Good Morning and Good bye Prague!
We packed to leave Prague this morning and, after breakfast at our hotel (the Ankora), Wayne went to the underground garage to take a couple of bags down while I checked out. Within minutes he was back saying "We have a big problem...our car is GONE!". It was not in the space that we thought we had parked in.
You should know that the Ankora has an underground garage that is reached by driving one's car into a compartment that is a car elevator which then automatically delivers you to the garage. What we did not know was that the elevator may not always go to the first floor first....this is what happened to us. Always before, it had taken us to the first floor, however, yesterday, it apparently decided to take us to the second subterranean level. When Wayne went to the first level...no car....we did find it on the second level. A car elevator is weird enough, but one that decides where to take you is even weirder!!
We finally got on our way and said goodbye to Prague, lovely city, and headed for Plzen to tour the Pilzen Urquell Brewery. Great tour or a grand brewery with a big glass of unfiltered, unpasteurized beer at the end.
We drove on into Germany and landed at a quaint old hotel, the St. George in Regensberg. Tomorrow, we start traveling the Romantic Road visiting smaller little German towns, probably ending near Rothenburg. Hope to see many parts of the Danube on our way there.
Weather had been beautiful and spring-like. Flowers are blooming, fields are green and the sky is blue.
Now off to dreamland.....
We packed to leave Prague this morning and, after breakfast at our hotel (the Ankora), Wayne went to the underground garage to take a couple of bags down while I checked out. Within minutes he was back saying "We have a big problem...our car is GONE!". It was not in the space that we thought we had parked in.
You should know that the Ankora has an underground garage that is reached by driving one's car into a compartment that is a car elevator which then automatically delivers you to the garage. What we did not know was that the elevator may not always go to the first floor first....this is what happened to us. Always before, it had taken us to the first floor, however, yesterday, it apparently decided to take us to the second subterranean level. When Wayne went to the first level...no car....we did find it on the second level. A car elevator is weird enough, but one that decides where to take you is even weirder!!
We finally got on our way and said goodbye to Prague, lovely city, and headed for Plzen to tour the Pilzen Urquell Brewery. Great tour or a grand brewery with a big glass of unfiltered, unpasteurized beer at the end.
We drove on into Germany and landed at a quaint old hotel, the St. George in Regensberg. Tomorrow, we start traveling the Romantic Road visiting smaller little German towns, probably ending near Rothenburg. Hope to see many parts of the Danube on our way there.
Weather had been beautiful and spring-like. Flowers are blooming, fields are green and the sky is blue.
Now off to dreamland.....
Sunday, April 19, 2015
The Birthday & The Bone Church....
Wayne's 39th birthday was today and we both totally forgot that fact until we were on our way to our various destinations! Pretty pitiful.....Today, Sunday, was beautiful with blue skies and warmish temps. The countryside east of Prague is mostly rolling hills and farm country. Spring is here and trees have new leaves, fields are green, and bushes are blooming. Very picturesque and lovely.
First destination...Kutna Hora. We were very curious about Kutna Hora and its rather macabre fame resulting from an old Catholic ossuary in which more than 40,000 human bones were arranged in creative designs, pyramids and other, the reason for which you could find by googling it. It was grizzly in a way, but very interesting. There is also a beautiful church nearby that is worth a look.
After the "bones", we headed for Pelc, a little town further east in the Czech Republic. It's fame, well deserved, is its walled old town with a beautiful village square and well preserved pastel buildings lining both sides.
We made the long drive back to Prague and braved the subway system to go to the Old Town for dinner at a traditional Czech restaurant. My directional disfunction got us off on the wrong street for our trip to find the subway station, but we finally got to it and then managed pretty well.
Tomorrow we leave Prague and travel to Plzen, the home of the Pilsner Urquell Brewery. More after our next landing...
Saturday, April 18, 2015
A day in Prague
What a difference a good night's sleep makes!! We were actually happy to crawl out from under the duvets, have breakfast at the hotel, and join our group tour "The Ultimate Tour" at 10:30.
Our tour guide was Blanca, a round, jovial woman, who clearly enjoyed showing off the beauty and the warts of her city.
We started in the Wenceslas Square and walked on to Old Town which is separated from New Town by "Ditch" Street, formerly a large sewer ditch in long ago times. Old town is amazing...we, from the US, don't know "old" since our country is so new in comparison to the old in Europe. The amazing astronomical clock is in the old section. Please google it to see its long history. The clock is one of only 3 in existence and I believe the only one that has been maintained and still operates.
After a brief stop in the Jewish section, we walked to the river to board a river boat for a short trip to get views from that perspective and traveled under several of Prague's wonderful old bridges including the famous Charles Bridge.
After the water trip, we returned to the Jewish section to get some history on the few remaining original buildings still there. The Jewish cemetery is interesting... it is very small and has had to accommodate new residents by stacking new ones on top of old ones. Most of the gravestones of both the old and the new are on top and create a crazy scene of the remnants of the people who once lived and died there.
We proceeded to a Czech restaurant for lunch, the name of which you don't need to know, since the food was below average and the atmosphere the same.
A walk across the Charles Bridge was next, very crowded, but still enchanting. At the other side of the bridge, we left the group who were headed for the Prague castle. We had already toured there and the weather was cold enough that we opted out of another visit.
With great fake bravado, we boarded one of the trams (street cars) and headed for our hotel area. As we crossed one of the bridges, the trams and traffic were stopped by a big demonstration about something...what, we never found out. The police finally cleared the tracks and we were on our way. As we were about 3 stops from our destination, there was some kind of "tram jam" and about 5 trams were stuck in an intersection. Everyone got out, including the drivers. We hoofed it the rest of the way after googling directions on Wayne's cell phone.
Then it was NAP time until 8 pm when we went out for dinner at a traditional Czech restaurant. The goulash was delicious as were the Czech dumplings, and Wayne's Czech kabob was equally good. Food here is quite inexpensive as is almost everything, if you stay away from tourist traps.
Tomorrow, we will drive to several little towns within a 50 km radius of Prague. Thank technology for GPS....we haven't been lost yet!!
Our tour guide was Blanca, a round, jovial woman, who clearly enjoyed showing off the beauty and the warts of her city.
We started in the Wenceslas Square and walked on to Old Town which is separated from New Town by "Ditch" Street, formerly a large sewer ditch in long ago times. Old town is amazing...we, from the US, don't know "old" since our country is so new in comparison to the old in Europe. The amazing astronomical clock is in the old section. Please google it to see its long history. The clock is one of only 3 in existence and I believe the only one that has been maintained and still operates.
After a brief stop in the Jewish section, we walked to the river to board a river boat for a short trip to get views from that perspective and traveled under several of Prague's wonderful old bridges including the famous Charles Bridge.
After the water trip, we returned to the Jewish section to get some history on the few remaining original buildings still there. The Jewish cemetery is interesting... it is very small and has had to accommodate new residents by stacking new ones on top of old ones. Most of the gravestones of both the old and the new are on top and create a crazy scene of the remnants of the people who once lived and died there.
We proceeded to a Czech restaurant for lunch, the name of which you don't need to know, since the food was below average and the atmosphere the same.
A walk across the Charles Bridge was next, very crowded, but still enchanting. At the other side of the bridge, we left the group who were headed for the Prague castle. We had already toured there and the weather was cold enough that we opted out of another visit.
With great fake bravado, we boarded one of the trams (street cars) and headed for our hotel area. As we crossed one of the bridges, the trams and traffic were stopped by a big demonstration about something...what, we never found out. The police finally cleared the tracks and we were on our way. As we were about 3 stops from our destination, there was some kind of "tram jam" and about 5 trams were stuck in an intersection. Everyone got out, including the drivers. We hoofed it the rest of the way after googling directions on Wayne's cell phone.
Then it was NAP time until 8 pm when we went out for dinner at a traditional Czech restaurant. The goulash was delicious as were the Czech dumplings, and Wayne's Czech kabob was equally good. Food here is quite inexpensive as is almost everything, if you stay away from tourist traps.
Tomorrow, we will drive to several little towns within a 50 km radius of Prague. Thank technology for GPS....we haven't been lost yet!!
Friday, April 17, 2015
We aren't 25 anymore!!
To be sure,we wish we were! After an on-time flight from Chicago to Frankfurt, zipped through immigration and tried to find customs to no avail. We concluded that if Germany wanted us to go through customs, it would have been obvious...we just picked up our rental car and were on our way.
To Prague....5 hours away...a lofty goal given that we had had no sleep and had spent the night as sardines in the new squished seating on Lufthansa with passengers in front of us in full recline!! We both hit the jet lag "wall" about 4 hours into the drive but managed to get to Prague with minimal damage to any of the citizens of the Czech Republic!
Prague is as beautiful as ever...a grand, elegant old city that has made a comeback from the ravages of Communism.
Our hotel, the Hotel Ankora, where we stayed on a previous visit, is as comfortable and welcoming as before. We have a great room with a spa tub...very delicious after the days travails.
Dinner found us at a wonderful Italian restaurant on the Wenceslas (sp) Square where we will dine again on a future visit. Ristorante Italiano Buschetto provided superior service, excellent food and good music.
Tomorrow will find us taking a 6 hour Prague tour to give us an overall view of the city and its history. We don't often do these, but this one seems particularly good.
Now off to bed to try to beat the ravages of time change!! Maybe to wake up younger in body than tonite!!!!
To Prague....5 hours away...a lofty goal given that we had had no sleep and had spent the night as sardines in the new squished seating on Lufthansa with passengers in front of us in full recline!! We both hit the jet lag "wall" about 4 hours into the drive but managed to get to Prague with minimal damage to any of the citizens of the Czech Republic!
Prague is as beautiful as ever...a grand, elegant old city that has made a comeback from the ravages of Communism.
Our hotel, the Hotel Ankora, where we stayed on a previous visit, is as comfortable and welcoming as before. We have a great room with a spa tub...very delicious after the days travails.
Dinner found us at a wonderful Italian restaurant on the Wenceslas (sp) Square where we will dine again on a future visit. Ristorante Italiano Buschetto provided superior service, excellent food and good music.
Tomorrow will find us taking a 6 hour Prague tour to give us an overall view of the city and its history. We don't often do these, but this one seems particularly good.
Now off to bed to try to beat the ravages of time change!! Maybe to wake up younger in body than tonite!!!!
Monday, April 13, 2015
Why can't I pack like Rick Steves?
There is NO Way the either Wayne or I could possibly fit 3 weeks worth of stuff in 2 regular sized backpacks!! We keep paring down, but a checked bag for each is the only way! One would think with all of our wanderings, we would be very efficient, minimal, and streamlined.
We did buy a Rick Steve's traveling clothesline and mesh packing bags. So we are somewhat more minimal, but will NEVER reach world class Steve's level.
I almost GIVE UP!!
We did buy a Rick Steve's traveling clothesline and mesh packing bags. So we are somewhat more minimal, but will NEVER reach world class Steve's level.
I almost GIVE UP!!
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Getting ready to go!!
Wayne & Marcia will make another adventurous trip to Europe starting this week. If you would ike to follow our escapades, please plan visit our blog every few days. Our postings will be dependent upon availability of wi-fi, so be patient, hold your breath, and stand by for our happenings!!
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