Cam arrived by train today, Uncle Vic visited for a bit, Stephan and Sina came all the way from the east to visit. And the rest of the family paraded through as Penny and I sat at the dinner table greeting, eating, talking and just enjoying being inside while it rained all day.
It was a great day, really enjoyed hearing Cams stories, we planned a visit to Frankfurt for today and then leave for US on Tuesday.
Seems like our time on the road has just zipped by, already planing a fall visit. We have been so grateful every day that our bodies are strong and we have not needed those little international insurance cards in our pockets.
Life is good.
See you all soon.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Saturday, May 25, 2013
May 26, Weisbaden
Penny and I have gone from Salzburg, to Dachau, to Weisbaden and hiked for four days north on the Rhine River and back. We have put in many miles on our muddy boots. We heve visited five castles. One in ruins, one still lived in by the family after 33 generations, one is a hostile that provided us a room for the night and the other two gave us scenic, Robin hood walks through lush forests. Our days mirror each other, though the details vary, the consistency of German hospitality and cooperative rainfall stays the same.
Each morning begins with the "body part check". The evening's. aches and pains remind us of our age, but our quick recovery has been our signal that all is well and another day of walking is possible. Knees are the most fragile, so we surprise ourselves when a bit of rest brings them back to life.
We dress in our hiking clothes, we left suitcases at Caroline's, so we are truly road warriors now with our hiking clothes and our clean after-hike clothes. We are finding out what our hair looks like after four days without product. Not a pretty sight. The thing I love about Europe is that everyone is out, hiking, riding bikes, riding trains, weathering rain storms, so our look is common and no one sees our dirty boots and careless layers of unmatched clothing as anything unusual. We are just travelers like everyone else, happy to be out in the country.
The hotels, pensions, and hostiles have all included breakfast. It includes fresh German crusty rolls, dark nutty breads, home made jams and jellies, yogurt and mousli, fresh, dark coffee in tiny cups and slices of meats and cheeses. Goat cheese and herbs and Gouda continue to be my favorites. We have not refused the breads, glutin will go when we get home, but it seems rude to pass up the delights of the German breakfast.
Thought the cups are small, the pitchers of coffee are endless, so we drink our fill and commit to visiting every WC along the way. Our packing takes only a few minutes, our packs are small. Penny keeps buying things, like a sweater for Barry, and the pack seems to absorb the new volume easily. Squashing things into the corners is becoming a refined art. Mine seems to get heavier every day, even when I am only buying charms for my bracelet. We are both glad we left our big packs at home and we are keeping notes for "next time" since so much of what we brought has not been used. Leaving behind our entire suitcase, gives you an idea of how little we really need.
Once our day packs are loaded, we set off on the days trek. Usually uphill, one day we did the river trek, that was a favorite for both of us. Alone on the trail, heading forward gave us a particular thrill. Heading up has its challenges. Using our walking poles we protect our knees, but taking the back roads has lead us to new paths and often, the clear destination from the river bank, disappears once we step into the dense, spring forest and searching out the paths, deciphering the "to castle" signs, has been a challenge. There are basically castles in all directions, so the signs often point both ways.
Our morning treks have varied, but we use the sun to its full advantage and push to complete our hikes before the dark rain clouds start to gather. We have set our destinations to include lunch, rest and a sight seeing castle visit, then back on the road by 1 or so, heading by foot, boat or train to the next spot along the Rhine. Checking in to our hotel by 4 for a hot shower, dinner and several glasses of the delicious white wines of the area finish our day. Three of our four days brought rainfall as we were heading back, once, our plans got derailed by heavy rain, hail and cold winds that started about 11 so we took the boat on that day and did our walking early and late, still saw two castles, just not quite how we had planned. The towns are pretty quiet, tourists haven't arrived yet. So finding hotels on the fly has not been a problem.
Penny and I talk about our return to this area, the ease of traveling by bus, train bike and foot makes it unique and the possibilities see endless. Castles jut out on every hilltop and wineries fill the valleys. We never go a chance to go wine tasting, never took a boat on the Mosel river, and there are many towns we didn't get a glimpse of, so i hope to return with my little pack and maybe a bicycle to the lovely Rhine again.
Today us
Each morning begins with the "body part check". The evening's. aches and pains remind us of our age, but our quick recovery has been our signal that all is well and another day of walking is possible. Knees are the most fragile, so we surprise ourselves when a bit of rest brings them back to life.
We dress in our hiking clothes, we left suitcases at Caroline's, so we are truly road warriors now with our hiking clothes and our clean after-hike clothes. We are finding out what our hair looks like after four days without product. Not a pretty sight. The thing I love about Europe is that everyone is out, hiking, riding bikes, riding trains, weathering rain storms, so our look is common and no one sees our dirty boots and careless layers of unmatched clothing as anything unusual. We are just travelers like everyone else, happy to be out in the country.
The hotels, pensions, and hostiles have all included breakfast. It includes fresh German crusty rolls, dark nutty breads, home made jams and jellies, yogurt and mousli, fresh, dark coffee in tiny cups and slices of meats and cheeses. Goat cheese and herbs and Gouda continue to be my favorites. We have not refused the breads, glutin will go when we get home, but it seems rude to pass up the delights of the German breakfast.
Thought the cups are small, the pitchers of coffee are endless, so we drink our fill and commit to visiting every WC along the way. Our packing takes only a few minutes, our packs are small. Penny keeps buying things, like a sweater for Barry, and the pack seems to absorb the new volume easily. Squashing things into the corners is becoming a refined art. Mine seems to get heavier every day, even when I am only buying charms for my bracelet. We are both glad we left our big packs at home and we are keeping notes for "next time" since so much of what we brought has not been used. Leaving behind our entire suitcase, gives you an idea of how little we really need.
Once our day packs are loaded, we set off on the days trek. Usually uphill, one day we did the river trek, that was a favorite for both of us. Alone on the trail, heading forward gave us a particular thrill. Heading up has its challenges. Using our walking poles we protect our knees, but taking the back roads has lead us to new paths and often, the clear destination from the river bank, disappears once we step into the dense, spring forest and searching out the paths, deciphering the "to castle" signs, has been a challenge. There are basically castles in all directions, so the signs often point both ways.
Our morning treks have varied, but we use the sun to its full advantage and push to complete our hikes before the dark rain clouds start to gather. We have set our destinations to include lunch, rest and a sight seeing castle visit, then back on the road by 1 or so, heading by foot, boat or train to the next spot along the Rhine. Checking in to our hotel by 4 for a hot shower, dinner and several glasses of the delicious white wines of the area finish our day. Three of our four days brought rainfall as we were heading back, once, our plans got derailed by heavy rain, hail and cold winds that started about 11 so we took the boat on that day and did our walking early and late, still saw two castles, just not quite how we had planned. The towns are pretty quiet, tourists haven't arrived yet. So finding hotels on the fly has not been a problem.
Penny and I talk about our return to this area, the ease of traveling by bus, train bike and foot makes it unique and the possibilities see endless. Castles jut out on every hilltop and wineries fill the valleys. We never go a chance to go wine tasting, never took a boat on the Mosel river, and there are many towns we didn't get a glimpse of, so i hope to return with my little pack and maybe a bicycle to the lovely Rhine again.
Today us
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Settling in to Salzburg
Okay, I was a bit harsh in my description of Salzburg. It was a hard travel day, but now we have settled in, gotten to know the neighborhood, learned to tolerate the jack hammers and are planning our next visit.
Yesterday we took the Sound of Music tour, our guide was really funny and the hills were definitely alive. After a day with our guide and a Mozart concert and dinner in the Salzburg fortress that has been standing for 1000 years give or take 500, history has never been my strength. We dashed home in the rain and feel like this is a city to love.
Today, we walked about 8 miles along the river out to a town called Hellbraun and visited a castle for lunch. Garlic soup and green salad, yummmm. We have decided we have seen enough churches to last the rest of the trip, but castles, we love castles. Many more castles to come in Germany. Salzburg has 38 churches in a very small area, we can't keep them straight. They should be good landmarks. But green onion domes are a dime a dozen and they all look the same to us.
However, we are able to navigate a lot better after three days, and I have had lots less trouble with street beggars. I think we were targets walking with our luggage. We are taking the bus back to the train station tomorrow, avoiding the mile of walking with our luggage.
Our host here, Vivian, has been great, so helpful and friendly. She is 28 and taking on the running and ownership of this hotel. Pretty bold. She fixes us cappuccinos in the morning and has a wonderful spread of food for her guests in a cozy dinning room. Will definitely come back. For the record the name is Trummer-Strube.
It was just a short walk out of the city where all of the bike riders and baby carriages are wheeling along. We spent most of our day hoofing along the trails.
The Lake District is so beautiful, and Monsee is worth a second look. Next time I would like to come during the festival and take in much more Mozart. We went to his residence today for a bit of history, found it disappointing. The main emphasis was on authentication images of him. He is the most painted musician in history. So lots of imitations that were done of other people and the later changed to Mozart when he got famous. I would have preferred another concert, his chamber music is so great here in his city.
Off to Munich tomorrow,
Yesterday we took the Sound of Music tour, our guide was really funny and the hills were definitely alive. After a day with our guide and a Mozart concert and dinner in the Salzburg fortress that has been standing for 1000 years give or take 500, history has never been my strength. We dashed home in the rain and feel like this is a city to love.
Today, we walked about 8 miles along the river out to a town called Hellbraun and visited a castle for lunch. Garlic soup and green salad, yummmm. We have decided we have seen enough churches to last the rest of the trip, but castles, we love castles. Many more castles to come in Germany. Salzburg has 38 churches in a very small area, we can't keep them straight. They should be good landmarks. But green onion domes are a dime a dozen and they all look the same to us.
However, we are able to navigate a lot better after three days, and I have had lots less trouble with street beggars. I think we were targets walking with our luggage. We are taking the bus back to the train station tomorrow, avoiding the mile of walking with our luggage.
Our host here, Vivian, has been great, so helpful and friendly. She is 28 and taking on the running and ownership of this hotel. Pretty bold. She fixes us cappuccinos in the morning and has a wonderful spread of food for her guests in a cozy dinning room. Will definitely come back. For the record the name is Trummer-Strube.
It was just a short walk out of the city where all of the bike riders and baby carriages are wheeling along. We spent most of our day hoofing along the trails.
The Lake District is so beautiful, and Monsee is worth a second look. Next time I would like to come during the festival and take in much more Mozart. We went to his residence today for a bit of history, found it disappointing. The main emphasis was on authentication images of him. He is the most painted musician in history. So lots of imitations that were done of other people and the later changed to Mozart when he got famous. I would have preferred another concert, his chamber music is so great here in his city.
Off to Munich tomorrow,
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Crowds in Salzburg
We found the crowds and intensity of the city a bit much today after leaving our quiet little spot in Hallstatt. This is our last big city, so we will tolerate the dirt and noise, but be glad to move on. I was approached by at least a dozen people asking for money. it gets unnerving after awhile. Also can't believe the number of young people smoking. Seems like more than I have ever noticed before. Everyone seems to be lighting up. It is sad to see so many really young people smoking so much. The temperatures are really nice, but sitting outside is a pain with the smokers.
Funny thing happened this evening. While Penny and I were out having the best meal of the trip so far. Tortellini with fresh garlic sauce, unbelievable!! Her pants, which were hung in the window to dry, fell out of the four story window and are now caught on a flag pole over the street. We can see them, but can't possibly get them without help for e hotel staff. Too funny. The last hotel wouldn't let us do any laundry, so Penny washed a bunch when we arrived today. The good part is that our luggage is really heavy, with the extra gifts, etc. so losing a few items on flag poles might not be a bad thing.
We had a few train incidents today. The train to Salzburg stopped in a little town and everyone had to get off the train and walk across the tracks to get on another train. Luckily, I asked a young man what was going on and he helped us. But getting up into the train from the track level proved harder than we thought. We started to heave our luggage up and it was too heavy. A nice man, helped both of us get our luggage up. Then we climbed aboard. Lots of panting and sweating accompanied that transfer.
Salzburg is full of construction. Our street is dusty with jack hammer dirt and guard rails are all around to keep people for falling into huge holes. Made for a dirty and dusty day in this neighborhood.
The streets below are full of the noises of you people partying, we hope thins will settle down so we can sleep.
More later
Funny thing happened this evening. While Penny and I were out having the best meal of the trip so far. Tortellini with fresh garlic sauce, unbelievable!! Her pants, which were hung in the window to dry, fell out of the four story window and are now caught on a flag pole over the street. We can see them, but can't possibly get them without help for e hotel staff. Too funny. The last hotel wouldn't let us do any laundry, so Penny washed a bunch when we arrived today. The good part is that our luggage is really heavy, with the extra gifts, etc. so losing a few items on flag poles might not be a bad thing.
We had a few train incidents today. The train to Salzburg stopped in a little town and everyone had to get off the train and walk across the tracks to get on another train. Luckily, I asked a young man what was going on and he helped us. But getting up into the train from the track level proved harder than we thought. We started to heave our luggage up and it was too heavy. A nice man, helped both of us get our luggage up. Then we climbed aboard. Lots of panting and sweating accompanied that transfer.
Salzburg is full of construction. Our street is dusty with jack hammer dirt and guard rails are all around to keep people for falling into huge holes. Made for a dirty and dusty day in this neighborhood.
The streets below are full of the noises of you people partying, we hope thins will settle down so we can sleep.
More later
Leaving Halstatt :( The land of contrast
Halstatt showed us the contrast of experiences over the past days. One of our favorite experiences was going though a 7000 year old salt mine. The contrast was ni the hi tech displays that were projected inside the cave to help us understand how salt deposits get formed and locked into places in the earths crust. Really cool cave projections. We went to the mines after walking 7 k around the lake,it was mid day and hot. After walking another 100 steps to the mine entrance, the temperature dropped to 11 centigrade within m 20 steps. Such a contrast. We also experienced the contrast of trying to simplify our travel by buying more stuff.. Both Penny and I are struggling with our day packs. We carry our water, lunch, jackets, walking poles,, etc for our day and in the end, the uneven weight and pull on our shoulders causes us pain. So our efforts simplify, seems to make things harder. We both bought day packs today, designed by experts, the packs have waist bands, shoulder support, ergonomic back supporters. So, here we are using high tech stuff to do very low tech travel, walking. Seems crazy, but we seem to need the advanced design to simplify.
We met up with. Cam today, only a moment as we passes at the boat stop. It was such a surprise to see him, so random that we were on that boat and there he was too. The boat run every hour, so there were lots of other choices.
More later,
Carol
We met up with. Cam today, only a moment as we passes at the boat stop. It was such a surprise to see him, so random that we were on that boat and there he was too. The boat run every hour, so there were lots of other choices.
More later,
Carol
Monday, May 13, 2013
The Dolomites beat us up!!
We have had two days of pretty grueling mountaintop hiking. Can't decide if it is harder climbing or descending both have challenges. Today we left the poles behind in our hotel room, big mistake, we needed them for the sharp ascent to the east side of the valley above the river. We got close to two castles today but the third remained un conquered, just out of reach on the next ridge. We appreciate the selection of the castle locations, certainly they were safe from the tourist attack:).
I think today is just a hint of what we will encounter in Germany. The beauty of climbing in Italy, is the gelato at the end of the day!! Makes it all worth while. Also the Venitian spritz is a great cool drink for the hot hikers. We balance our days with a bit I'd window shopping and a bit of touring, so we feel like it isn't just hiking. Though we are out there for about 4 or 5 hours. Our muscles will remember this trip, even if our brains forget.
Mother's Day celebration included a trip to Oberbozen, two long walks and then dinner at a memorable place where pizza and Venetian spritz are the specialties. We sat next to a group that included four adults, five young children, one huge dog, two or maybe three languages. It was a great show for us as we sipped our spritz's and loosened our boots. Those days are behind us.
The days have been perfect with a bit of cool breezes, lots of sun and occasional cloud cover. The mountains are so beautiful, we can't help taking lots of photos. We are both very pleased with the performance of our boots, they are getting a workout. I am ready to start the "beyond Rick Steves" series for people with more time and are interested in getting dirty while traveling.
We have really enjoyed meeting the other walkers along the paths and getting the feel of the European walkers. Not many Americans out there on the paths, but I am sure they would find it enlightening if they tried it.
You may be wondering what our destinations have been. Well, our primary destination every day is to walk three or four hours. Even if it is just around town, many times we circle and come back to where we start, sometimes we find something interesting, but we usually don't end up in the place we intended. There are so many paths and each is numbered and arrows point in all directions. We just stay on the paths and keep going. Today the path got so steep we took a break and two young people came along, we asked them how far or the next town, they said one hour up hill, we decided, we would call it quits and head down back to the river. The whole trip up and back took about four hours and here we are back in our room, Penny is napping and I am blogging. We leave tomorrow for Hallstatt, via Salzburg and may not get service there. We are doing great.
I think today is just a hint of what we will encounter in Germany. The beauty of climbing in Italy, is the gelato at the end of the day!! Makes it all worth while. Also the Venitian spritz is a great cool drink for the hot hikers. We balance our days with a bit I'd window shopping and a bit of touring, so we feel like it isn't just hiking. Though we are out there for about 4 or 5 hours. Our muscles will remember this trip, even if our brains forget.
Mother's Day celebration included a trip to Oberbozen, two long walks and then dinner at a memorable place where pizza and Venetian spritz are the specialties. We sat next to a group that included four adults, five young children, one huge dog, two or maybe three languages. It was a great show for us as we sipped our spritz's and loosened our boots. Those days are behind us.
The days have been perfect with a bit of cool breezes, lots of sun and occasional cloud cover. The mountains are so beautiful, we can't help taking lots of photos. We are both very pleased with the performance of our boots, they are getting a workout. I am ready to start the "beyond Rick Steves" series for people with more time and are interested in getting dirty while traveling.
We have really enjoyed meeting the other walkers along the paths and getting the feel of the European walkers. Not many Americans out there on the paths, but I am sure they would find it enlightening if they tried it.
You may be wondering what our destinations have been. Well, our primary destination every day is to walk three or four hours. Even if it is just around town, many times we circle and come back to where we start, sometimes we find something interesting, but we usually don't end up in the place we intended. There are so many paths and each is numbered and arrows point in all directions. We just stay on the paths and keep going. Today the path got so steep we took a break and two young people came along, we asked them how far or the next town, they said one hour up hill, we decided, we would call it quits and head down back to the river. The whole trip up and back took about four hours and here we are back in our room, Penny is napping and I am blogging. We leave tomorrow for Hallstatt, via Salzburg and may not get service there. We are doing great.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Venice
Venice has dropped from a favorite. I had trouble getting us on the correct water bus, so we spent an hour this morning traveling the back waters of Venice. When we finally figured out, the crowds had beaten us and were found ourselves packed into saint mark's square. We enjoyed the orientation tour by Rick Steves and then headed to the back streets away from the crowds. I just don't remember it being so intense before. The shopping g is overwhelming. Every corner houses another five shops, they are are every where. We found Frari church and spent some time enjoying the art work. Found our way through the maze of streets, what a travelers nightmare. Every one is looking at maps, asking for directions and looking hot and frustrated. We got a tip from Rick Steves that helped us a lot. Each square has signs that point to main attractions. The signs are not very noticeable unless you know where to look. They saved us.
We are glad to be staying near the train station, easy to locate.
Back at our room we enjoyed a glass of wine in the patio and the had a dinner of fresh fish and spinach. Yum.
Time for bed, we go to Bolzano tomorrow, hope it doesn't disappoint. We are doing well. Venice proved to be a bit too intense for me. Will be back when it isn't peek season,
We are glad to be staying near the train station, easy to locate.
Back at our room we enjoyed a glass of wine in the patio and the had a dinner of fresh fish and spinach. Yum.
Time for bed, we go to Bolzano tomorrow, hope it doesn't disappoint. We are doing well. Venice proved to be a bit too intense for me. Will be back when it isn't peek season,
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