More Europe Pictures and a Video post

Pictures of our visit to Bavaria and the Neuschwanstein Castle can be viewed here.

If you have high speed internet, view a first-person video of a full run down the mountain here. It might take a minute to load, but it's worth it.

Austria

Pictures of Austria - our very short stay - can be viewed here.

Pictures of Munich

We only made a brief stop, but here are some eagle eye views of the beautiful city you would need weeks to see....

Europe Pictures Online

I have begun posting the "best of" the pictures from our trip. Here are public links to the first sets:

Haarlem & Amsterdam

Dutch Open Air Museum

The Rhine Valley

Rothenburg

My previous post has the link for Dachau.

Never Again

Pictures of our visit to Dachau have now been posted here.

This was a most difficult post.

Finally, Some Photos Posted

I have begun sorting through my 2,100 pictures and video from our Europe tour. The first small batches have been posted on facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=10936&l=3f109&id=695046499

You can view this link without joining facebook. I also have videos posted of my paragliding experience. Here's one, but I don't know if you can view it without joining. It's free, and relatively painless to join.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=4323706499

Europe: The Trip Home

Perhaps this should be titled "The Long Road Home" - except it was not a road. I'll give you the good news/bad news story.

Good news: Our taxi was on time. It cost less than estimated (45 Euros) and we arrived at the Charles De Gaul Airport right on time, 3 hours prior to our 1:30 p.m. flight. We were delighted to see there was no line up and began walking toward the agent.

Bad news: Just then an airline official stopped us and motioned behind the wall to.... you guessed it.... a different line. The queue was well away from the main area and already had at least 7-8 parties in it. I headed off to look for a toilet, and when I came back, Brent levied more bad news: the flight is delayed.

Good news: We can check in now, get our seat assignment and then Air Canada will provide a hotel room and lunch while we wait. Estimated departure: 9 p.m.

Bad news: The shuttles run every 10 minutes and hold 15 people. We had 150. With bags.

Good news: We got on the first shuttle.

Bad news: Our shuttle driver was a reject from the Formula 1 circuit. He had about 10 more stops before he hit our hotel. My stomach is getting upset just thinking about the ride.

Good news: Finally at the hotel, we were provided with a lunch voucher and two rooms. It was a group lunch, and nicely prepared. We had a lovely couple from France at our table. The husband spoke good English, but the wife was even better. She taught english.

After lunch Brent and Andrew had a nap and I sorted through receipts for purchases in preparation for customs clearance at the end of our trip. The TV popped on and a broadcast announcement came on... and it gave us

Bad news: Our flight is postponed yet again.

Good news: There will be a full sized bus at 8 pm for the 11 pm departure.

Bad news: The bus dropped us off at a completely different door and we had to walk quite a bit of distance to where our check in point actually was. I got disoriented and headed the wrong way, so we ended up in the back of the line.

More bad news: While we were waiting, we suddenly heard a whistle and the security guards all started waving the entire group backwards and giving stern instructions in French. No english.

Good news: The couple we had lunch with were close by and graciously explained that we must....

Bad news: ...Evacuate the building because someone left a bag unattended.

Good news: It didn't take long to clear the bag (10 minutes) and it didn't involve any explosions. As Brent is resistant to backing up too far, once we were cleared to line up again, we ended up 3rd in line.

Bad news: The line didn't move. The luggage belt was not working.

Good news: The computers were working, all bags were tagged and stacked, awaiting transport. I got in line for my tax refund from shopping at tax free stores and got about $45 Canadian dollars back.

Bad news: Even the flight attendants didn't know if the plane would arrive in time and doubted that it would be fully stocked.

Good news: It did and it was.

Bad news: We missed our direct flight to Calgary. (No surprise).

Good news: Our checked bags made it, we collected them and cleared customs in a breeze.

Bad news: Only one agent was available in Montreal to confirm new connecting flights for the 100+ people who missed the original connections.

Good news: We had a hotel room and breakfast supplied.

Bad news: Our hotel was circular. And huge. We were in room 2183, on the second floor exactly 83 rooms away from reception - the fartherest point in the entire hotel.

Good news: We had no problems with our check in for the Toronto flight, where we would then catch our flight to Calgary.

Bad news: If we'd come earlier, we could have taken a direct flight to Calgary.

More bad news: Our Toronto flight was delayed - after we were on board. 35 minutes at the gate. Then we arrived in Toronto and there was no power to the bridge. 15 more minutes delay.

Good news: Brent had Maple Leaf lounge passes. They provided a light lunch and yummy snacks, plus free computer/internet usage.

Good news: Last leg from Toronto to Calgary was in a newer plane with personal entertainment units (video on demand) in the seat back. Other than headphones that had to be replaced and entertainment units that had to be reset for all three of us, we each got to pick our own video entertainment (movies, TV, sports, news) and had more leg room than any plane on the whole trip, and we made the flight in record time.

Hooray, we're home.

Bernadette thought our arrival was nothing but good news. She looked like she never missed us - that's good news. Bad news: I can't post any pictures until I sort them out. I have 2,100 pictures/video (3.4 gig) to purge and sort. I'll post the best of the best as soon as I can.

Wish you were here!

Europe: France

Beaune, in the Burgundy region - the wine region - of France...

We only spent one night but took in a lovely wine tasting and learned a great deal about wines. My favorite was Creme de cassis - an apertif or dessert wine. It will go well on ice cream or pancakes.

Our hotel was in a lovely courtyard. Our rooms had double glass doors into the vine covered area. I had a great supper as Andrew had suggested we all have a final meal together to say goodbye to our driver, Richard, who would be dropping us off in Paris the next day and heading for home. So, the restaurant our guide found did not have anyone who spoke English so she translated everything. Andrew made a speech to thank him - and Richard was given a group gift. It was fun and the food was fabulous.

Then Paris...

We arrived around noon, got settled in and had lunch on our own - easyn because we were in the Rue Cler area. Lots of shops and restaurants. Andrw and I had crepes and they were fabulous. Then we took a walking tour, saw Notre Dame and Saint Chapelle then we and Shields headed for the adjacent island to have supper; in a quaint liitle cafe with only one guy running things. Then Berthillon glace and a trip to the Arc de Triumphe for a sunset walk to the top. What a view, what an experience.

Brent wanted to walk down the Champs de Elyse and so we did. I could not believe how alive the city was; Everything was open, especially car stores. Toyota was the best, with a formula race car simulator that Andrew got to drive. We took the metro home and then met in the morning for a guided tour of the Louvre. For those of you who were never sure, that is pronounced with 2 syllables, not one. The French say so!!!

After that, just our family went to the Versailles palace and then home. More about this later....the opulence was overwhelming.

Then dinner in a fancy restaurant with our guide and a tour to the Eifel Tower. Did you know, it twinkles every hour for 5-10 minutes??

Then home to a bittersweet goodbye with our new friends for life, the Shields, and off to bed I go.

Wish you were here.

Europe: Switzerland in the Lauterbrunnen Valley

When I woke up yesterday, I had no idea that today I would do one of the three life goals I set out to do.

Para-gliding.

And I got to do it in Switzerland.

Off a cliff.

Well, actually, we ran down a steep slope and gently lifted off. There was no jumping off, there was no falling. There were no stomach flipflops. I flew tandem with an experienced professional who does up to 4 tandem flights each day in the summer. He was clear, encouraging, funny and very capable. We were harnessed together and I was able to sit in a flexible chair after running with him to do the liftoff - we both had to run full speed down a very steep slope but there was no way I coud have fallen. It was absolutely unbelievable!!!!!!!

We are in the Laterbrunnen Valley, with Interlachen at the head and Stechelberg at the very end. From there you can hike up to Schilthorn (and Piz Gloria) from the movie "In Her Majesty's Secret Service" James Bond movie (circa 1972). Or, you could do it our way and take the gondola, switching lines twice: first at Grimmelweld, then Murren.

It was from Murren that we launched. Nine people from our group, including myself, Andrew, Katie and Tim. I went in the second group, the young people went in the first, and Andrew went first of all. He had a false start and had to be reset. The wind died just as they were trying to lift off. I was able to calmly sit by and watch him launch, videotaping and snapping digital pics all the while.

When I had my turn, the wind was in the wrong direction - 180 degrees wrong. We waited a bit and I prayed like crazy... it turned within a couple minutes and we all launched... seven in a row. My pilot was Bernie. He let me steer. He did some tricks with Andrew. He took pictures. I took pictures and video. It was 2100 metres in elevation and we flew over the village and then the cliff dropped away, and waterfalls we flew by were sparkling and accented with rainbows in the morning sun.

It was the most thrilling recreational activity of my life.

The night before had been a little different. The idea had been proposed on the bus and turned out it peaked my interest. When I found out another person was going I said I'd like to go. Andrew wanted to go too - Brent's suggestion! Brent doesn't do this kind of thing and he was happy to let us do it. I was game to go, but woke with a racing heart in the middle of the night. I got up and read scripture, asking God for a confirming word from him as to whether I was being foolish and should reconsider going.

I went to my PDA, where I store my electronic Bible. I opened it to the last verse I had read a few weeks back (I have been reading a devotional instead on vacation), and the very next verse was Psalm 148:1 - "Praise the Lord in the heavens. Praise the Lord in the heights above."

Seems like an okay there!

But I had to read more...

Deuteronomy 33:26-27 "There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms."

Okay, that sealed it, I thought with a smile, and got ready to go to bed in peace. However, my friends were a bit concerned about sending their 12 year old, so I asked for a word from the Lord for them and this is where I was led:

Deuteronomy 33:12 About Benjamin he said: "Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders."

This was amazingly like a wink from the Lord, because their name is Shields and the picture of the paragliding promo shows a young boy cradled in front of the instructor, cradled between his shoulders. And then my instructor was Bennie! As in "Benjamin"?!

If you are not a believer, this perhaps seems insignificant or coincidental. I know it is a dialogue between God and I. It was so reassuring to know God cares and answers when we ask. Then he takes us up to the heavens with him and gives us his view of beauty:

There's so much more, but my time is limited - I really miss my own internet connection.

France tomorrow....

Wish you were here.

Europe: Cinque Terre, Italian Riviera

Oh my gracious sakes alive. I've died and gone to heaven.

Five little hill towns. Villages. Perched on the edge of the most dramatic Mediterranean blue sea, practically falling off the edge of the vineyard-covered mountains. Grapes, apples, apricots, olives, kumquats, cactus and a plethora of glorious vibrant flowers, a hiking path out of "The Best Views in the World" linking it all. The horizon completely indiscernable between sea and sky. Pebble beaches (our town has the largest one) and great cafes (village #3). Difficult hiking (the steps that never end, ascending half the mountain) between village 1 and 2, boats that take you to all but one of the villages in the slow pace of life in the Italian Riviera, or trains that zip you between villages with grace and economy. I am in the Cinque Terre.

Marble floors in our hotel, air conditioning, terraces and balconies, extra pillows and absorbent thin towels I could wrap around my body twice. A breakfast worthy of any five star luxury hotel. Dinner outdoors, overlooking the bay as the sun sets.

We three hiked together with Wayne, Kathy, Katie and Tim (our new friends from Florida). We took the first leg between Monterosso and Vernazza, estimated to be 1.5 hours. We stopped lots with the younger boy in tow and the kids' grumbling finally subsided when we got to the top of what had to be at least 600 steps and began the most fabulous hillside walk with a photo op around every corner. It took the group of seven two hours to complete, then we had lunch and boated back to Monterosso. The temperatures have been in the 40s, which was brutal in Rome on the hot pavement and noisy traffic, but here in the sun with the ocean crashing below and sea breezes combining with the trees to provide some cooling relief, we survived.

We got the kids and Kathy set up to go to the beach and then Wayne, Brent and I boated to the last town of the five and started our further adventure. We hiked between three of the towns, exploring each along the way and getting many more photo ops. I decided to return by train from the middle town, leaving the two men to finish the last leg, another 1.5 to 2 hour jaunt.

The group had an optional get together after I got home, sharing wine, cheese, bread, crackers, juice and strawberries. The fruit here is so fresh, I cannot explain....

After the "happy hour" I joined our hiking group (minus Wayne and Brent) and we all went for dinner, then I joined the kids for a swim. No one else was on the beach. After 6 everyone disappears. I guess it gets too cold for the Germans and Italians who spend their time on the beach primarily to get sun. The water was absolutely perfect. I could float beautifully. The beach was not sand - it was pebbles and was hard on the feet. Flip flops came in handy. I climbed a very large volcanic rock - will post pictures when I get home. Then I floated, watching the quarter moon waxing and we ended up with a stop at the cappucino bar.

Last night we had the most lovely dinner - I had an unusual seafood dish that was baked in a large terra cotta urn and fed four of us. It included an octopus, whole prawns, lobster, mussels and something that looked like a mini stingray. So tender, so fresh, so tasty = a great eating adventure. Then there was a very sweet dessert drink called sciacchetrá, served with biscoti. Sigh.

Wish you were here.

Relive the memories with me by visiting the photo album here.

Europe: Rome

I've been here before, but I've never seen Rome.

The Colosseum
Arc of Constantine
The Vatican Museum
Sistine Chapel
St. Peter's Basilica (including the crypt and cupola)
The ancient ruins on Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum
The Pantheon (just finished with restoration)
The Metro (subway) and bus systems
The Trevi Fountain
Circus Maximus

and the incredible local guides hired by Rick Steves' Tour. They are so good, so knowledgeable, so experienced, philosophical, entertaining, and make it all come so alive and make so much sense and teach us to think for ourselves about the implications of what we are seeing.

Marble everywhere, history alive, so much more... I can't begin to express. The noise, the crowds, the people, the babble, the good food, the unbelievable gelato!

You can see selected photos at this link.

Europe: Florence

I have visited this city before, but only for the three hour tour.

This was immersion. We checked into our hotel and then took a Renaissance walk before dinner. Florence is a very busy, vibrant city aware that there is more to life than the tourist business. We stayed in the historic centre, half block from the Midici Chapels. Our guide has been giving us great history lessons and cultivated a great appreciation for the varied and vast architecture and history of the places are visiting. You know, it doesn't matter how many documentaries you watch, books you read or pictures you see, you have to be there in person to really appreciate the masterpieces.

Our dinner was truly Italian and I would have enjoyed lingering over a coffee, but we had to do laundry and the night was getting away. We found the laundrymat just down the street from the hotel. The nearby Minimarket had cold water and the laundrymat became a very social hub as several of our tour members gathered there.

The next morning we headed for the crown jewel: Uffizi Gallery - our private guided tour started as soon as the doors opened and we got to spend the entire morning. Such masterpieces (Bottecelli, Rembrandt, Michaelangelo and so many more). Such history. Such depth. I was taken by surprise at my own depth of emotion while viewing Botticelli's Annunciation and the interpretation of Mary's reaction as depicted by our local Florentine guide. This gallery is the oldest known museum collection in the world. Google it. Better yet, visit it. Soon.

We had the afternoon free and ended up exploring the Market and the street market kiosks. The ones further from the piazzas had the best prices but I said no to the leather jacket and yes to a couple of cashmere scarves and silk ties. AGB had fun bargaining for sunglasses for Katie, one of the teens on the trip. At closing time around 7 pm, the vendors folded up and rolled their kiosks home or pulled it into a truck or rolled it up into a parking garage of sorts. And I thought carrying a briefcase home was hard work!

I was appalled by the begging gypsies. Pitiful pictures of humanity, my heart goes out to them.

We had a great lunch on our own at a pizzeria in air conditioned comfort. Brent asked for ice in his drink. I miss ice. Very much.

We had a late afternoon appointment to see Michelangelo's David in the Academia Gallery. There are so many sculptures, but he dwarfs them all. I am so glad to have seen it in person and to have unlimited time to study it. A 360 degree digital David on a nearby computer display entertained the kids and gave an amazing close up perspective of the detail of this magnificent work. This museum also included a large room of plaster models - prework for sculpters' masterpieces. There was a musical instrument exhibition that I found facinating as well. With two music teachers on our tour, we found it a great visit. Then we went to dinner outside the market and finished the evening with a walk to Ponte Vecchio.

The night was alive with African men trying to sell designer handbag knockoffs, entertainers, accordianist duo sounding like a pipe organ, artists drawing masterpiece copies (quite accurately) in chalk on the street.

We walked to the bridge, took pictures at sunset, then hunted down the best gelato in town. Met an interesting family from Arizona whose son is a goalie and wants to live in Banff (and snowboard). We rubbed the snout of the wild boar at the former straw market, posed in front of Giotto's bell tower (Campanile) beside the Duomo, photographed the Paradise doors of the Baptistry, checked out the Farmacia and dollar store. Bed was pleasant that night!

There are a ton of vehicles, even more motor bikes or mopeds. You take your life in your hands crossing the street. Yet they are all passionate and expressive. Even the locals were exclaiming about the heat... it was 38 degrees here today. I'm sure glad for air conditioning.

Wish you were here. See my limited photos at this link.

Europe: More Detail

I left out the part about one of our group members having to go to the hospital because of her heart rate flaring up - a preexisting condition. She missed all of Florence as a result, but is fine and has rejoined the tour with her hubby.

On the way to Venice, the terrain had been amazing: many tunnels, curving roads, the tallest bridge, the Dolomite mountains rising dramatically up from the broad valley floor to almost 9000 feet (don't check my facts, I don't have time to research the exact height, at 5 euro per hour on my internet access). The mountains were alternatively tree covered, or sheer rock face, many vineyards and apple orchards on the slopes. We stopped for lunch at Egna-Ora, a picturesque town and restaurant with bright orange and red flowered table cloths and our first Italian sandwiches and gelato.

On the way from Venice, we took a water taxi back to the bus parking. It cost over 500 euro for the bus to park during our visit to the city. We headed beyond Florence through crazy dangerous roads with narrow lanes and many trucks and tunnels to contend with. Our driver is absolutely amazing. He drives that bus like it was a sports car and succeeds.

Florence, what do I say? I've been here twice before, but had no idea what it was really like. We only got the three hour tour on the previous two visits.

I will have to bring you up to date later, my time is almost up.

Europe: Venice, Chapter 2

More on Venice.

The big, bustling, broiling hot city of water. We stayed at Pension Seguso, small but right on the big lagoon near the Zattere water taxi stop on the south side of Venice - in the belly of the fish, if you know the map of the city looks like a fish. We were very close to the Academia which is on the Grand Canal. We had lots of time on our own and we made the most of it.

We had our walking tour and then a glass blowing demonstration. Brent wanted to buy Venitian glass so we got a decanter and goblets along with a display tray in the famous red glass colour and they engraved our family name on it. After all, he said, "How often to we go to Venice?" We then had lunch at the Cafe Florian, the most famous restaurant on the plaza, and it cost a fortune but was delightful, and very posh with a great menu and the orchestra playing and sitting in the shadow of the Correr and looking upon the plaza and the bell tower.

The tour of the Basilica was overcrowded and lacked appeal without our regular guide. However, the Doge's Palace was unbelievable. The seat of government for many years, this museum is filled with magnificent art and murals. When you exit, you go across the Bridge of Sighs and tour the former prison - that was not pleasant.

We also toured the Correr. Breathtaking masterpieces and a precursor to Florence masterpieces. Brent and I walked the boat bridge to the Redentore church on Le Guideca. As a special treat, we road the water taxi along the Grand Canal to Rialto Bridge but most of the shops were closed or closing as we were late in the day.

We did catch a view of the marketplace and enjoyed some fresh cut fruit which held us over til we had a bad and very expensive dinner on our own close to San Marco plaza and then we headed up the bell tower - the Campanile - to view Venice at sunset just before our gondola ride. See my previous post about that one...

After the gondola I wanted to linger on the plaza but we went back to the hotel so the young people could go to bed. I sat outside and visited with a few group members until I was cooled off, then went to sleep with the shutters closed. I opted for dead air in our ancient but regal hotel rather than the street noise.

I had my own fresh bath in the morning in the shared bathroom on the floor while B and A juggled their own bath/showers in our in room bath.

It was a great time but I was looking forward to the air conditioning in Florence.

Europe: Venice

It is a feast for the senses. Too much to absorb, really. I am completely understanding of why a student would want to backpack across Europe. In Bacharach we saw what was reportedly the first youth hostel - now there are hundreds.

Our accommodations are better than hostels, though in Bacharach the hostel was in a castle! I would say that the European's definition of air conditioning is quite different than someone from North America. Slightly cooled would be the better term here.

Venice. Venezia. Words fail me. AGB didn't like it. Too crowded, too hot, too dirty, not enough shops open late. He wants to go back to Germany where things were tidy and orderly and based on where we stayed, relatively quiet. However, he does like the Italian gelato....

Our views differ. I wouldn't want to live here, but Venice is its own unique and delightful city. See photos: Beautiful Venice.

We arrived on the date of the Redentore celebration. Lights lined the street, a boat bridge went from our island to the Redentore church ... also called The Redeemer. This celebration happens once a year when they commemorate the end of the plague in the 1500s. They prayed that the plague would go away and promised God if it did, they would build a church in remembrance. The plague ended, they kept their promise.

Every year they celebrate. Special mass on a number of occasions over two days in the church, the bridge across the water... only one day... the lights along the canal... special only for this celebration... and fireworks... oh my goodness, what fireworks... visible beautifully from our hotel and set to music for the first time ever. Nearly 40 minutes long. Photos: The Redentore Festival

We .. as a family.. saw St. Marks Basilica, The Doges Palace, the Correr Museum, the Calliere bell tower, Rialto Bridge, the Market, and to finish it off, Rick Steve's people arranged an evening gondola ride with musicians for 45 minutes along the canals, opening in to the Grand Canal right at the Rialto Bridge. B and I got to be in the gondola with the accordianist and the singer. It was glorious. To do it as a group wasn't quite as romantic but was a lot more fun!

See photos: Venice Classic Shots and The Gondola Ride

Reutte to Venice

The drive from Austria to Italy was about 8 hours, but was broken up nicely by the glorious landscape and a lovely lunch midway.

Our first view was of Innsbruck and the remaining ski jump from the 1976 Winter Olympics. Just south about 10 minutes, we stopped at an Autogrill just after crossing the Europabrucke. A lovely little chapel, Europakappelle, overlooked this tall bridge from above.

The remaining drive was filled with broad valleys of vineyards and fruit plantations, towering mountains (the Dolomites) and the Etsch River. Our first lunch, in Egna, was delightful, though we got our first taste of the southern heat which stayed with us for the next eight days.

See the pictures here.

Europe: Neuschwanstein

The castle that defines all castles. See pictures here.

It only has a few rooms finished, but those were decorated with many very romantic murals depicting the Wagner operas. King Ludwig was a patron and devoted fan of Wagnerian operas. It is said he would sit in a gondola on the water in one of his castles in the artifical grotto and have an orchestra playing Wagner from the shore.

He was eventually declared unfit to rule by his psychiratrist and a few days later they both mysteriously drowned while boating together in the lake. He had lived in Neuschwanstein 142 days.

His bedroom alone kept 14 woodcarvers busy for 4 years. The ballroom was set up for private performances of Wagner operas and other concerts. The castle sits high about the town, to the west is a tall, plummeting waterfall and a suspension bridge. If you've never heard of this, google it and just take a look. I'll post pics when I'm home or somewhere where there's an internet cafe.

We walked out of the castle and up the hill to the suspended bridge overlooking the castle. It is the side view you get of the castle on so many posters and postcards. Upon our return four of us took a detour on the Polletschult - the gorge along the waterfall and rushing stream - to return back to the bus. B missed that because he had worked out an arrangement with the tour guide to get a single ticket to Hoenschwangau, the family home. He loved it, was happy happy happy to have been able to see that. We had a bag lunch provided by our tour guide and off we headed for our summer luge ride.

I may have written about this, I can't remember.... you sit on a sled type thing and plummet downhill on what consistutes a giant slipery slide. It truly is designed like a luge run. It was exhilarating. See pictures here.

If you have high speed internet, view a first-person video of a full run down the mountain here. It might take a minute to load, but it's worth it.

Impressions of our hotel in Austria, for the two nights around visiting the castle, included a lot of motor bikes, many languages, the glorious smell of blossoms on a number of trees permeating the air. I was delighted to find out the hotel would do our laundry for only 12 euros. How nice to get clean clothes back on our bodies and into our suitcases.

So, great meals and great scenery - this is my memory of southern Germany and Austria. That and the fact that 3 people sharing one bathroom is impossible.

Europe: Dachau, Munich and Reutte

Rothenburg to Ruette, Austria

I can't believe I almost left out this day. You know the trip is overwhelming when the day with the best meals doesn't make top billing on my blog.

Before Venice we made a lovely stop in Austria, and crossed back over the German border into Bavaria for sight seeing.

Tuesday morning we got up early in Rotenburg and had the best breakfast of the tour. I counted 11 different types of fresh fruit/berries, plus many cheeses, buns, meat, desserts, cereal, coffee, juice, spreads, etc. Unbelievable.

We then journeyed to Dachau Concentration Camp. Brent and I watched a 20 minute documentary and then I felt so overwhelmed, I could not visit the museum. I walked the grounds and saw the huge rows of barrack after barrack where housing intended for 200 had housed over 800 in each row. The former site of the crematorium is now a memorial site with individual buildings serving as memorials for the Jews, the Catholics and the Protestants. Further on at the back of the property was the grave of the unknown prisoners and the location where ashes were buried behind the new crematorium. Dachau had a gas chamber but it was not put into service like it was at Auchwitz and other locations. As I went to exit the camp, picture-greedy tourists were holding the gate shut while they took pictures of the camp motto on the entrance: Through Work, Freedom. I could not be barred from exiting, so they had to retake their picture. It was psychologically so troubling, yet the memorials gave some closure, peace and time to pray. I have posted a few pictures here.

Our guide is German. She shared very openly and candidly about how difficult it is to have the Holocost as part of your country's heritage. She shared her own sense of a lack of identity as youth growing up in the 80s - not free to feel pride in their country because of how Hitler had abused that for his own purposes. The point is, are you judging Germans still? I have the same heritage in my background and found I myself was guilty of misjudging. It was not a bad German gene that perverted Hitler... this kind of holocost could occur anywhere when aggression is tolerated and one ethnic group singled out; where governing is done without checks and balances.

We then had a complete change of perspective as we entered Munich. The city is beautiful. We all went to the famous Hofbrauhaus - a beer garden. It is a big tourist draw (4 million visitors per year) with the most famous beer and pretzels, along with many typical dishes. This was our guide's home town and her parents and husband - an American playing basketball professionally in Europe - joined us there for lunch. We had fun, a great band playing and a good lunch to eat, then the younger group and I climbed the church tower - over 400 steps - to gain a fabulous view of the city. See photos here.

We then continued on to our hotel in Reutte, Austria, just over the border in the Tirol region. On the way we caught a great view of Neuschwanstein Castle and Hoenschwangau - the fairy tale castle used as Disney's model and the family home of King Ludwig II respectively. We would visit these the next day.

That evening we had the best meal of the tour so far... three courses plus dessert in traditional Austrian style, at the Hotel Ernburg in Reutte. Some of us walked into town for gelato and/or bank machine withdrawals or to visit a beautiful church and unique cemetary. The kids chose to play on the zip line in the playground. Others of us ventured out to the cultural evening at the community hall filled with traditional Austrian dancing and music- dulcimers, harps, accordians, slap dancing, twirling girls in dirndles and boys in lederhosen. It was a wonderful, rich experience. Photos of Reutte can be viewed here.

Great time. More about the trip in the next post.

Europe: Rothenburg

Bacharach to Rothenburg (pronounced ROE-ten-burg). You've no idea how badly I want to post my pictures! Every day gets that much better. (Later edit - pictures now posted here.)

Rothenburg is a walled city - the best-preserved medieval town in Europe. A complete working town - active and alive, with a booming tourist industry and tall peaked roofs.

• St. Jaykob's church (complete with glorious pipe organ, stain glass and flying buttresses) has an altarpiece which is intricately carved lifesize wooden last supper with a removable Judas.
• The town hall tower is a winding climb to a narrow result which gives great views of the square and town.
• The Crime and Punishment Museum is an amazing collection of ancient and more recent torture tools and judicial documentation.
• The Christmas store (largest I've ever seen) netted my souvenir: a handpainted Rothenburg scene on a glass bulb.
• Numerous restaurants and bakeries gave many food options, every other building was a store of some kind - my favorite purchase was a Swiss Army knife engraved with my name. Got one for Andrew and a small one for Tim - it was his birthday today.
• A town legend is depicted in moving figures behind windows which open like a cookoo clock on the hour.
• The Night Watchman looked more like the Pied Piper for his one hour tour... there must have been 100 people following along.
• Enjoyed gelato and coffee (koffee) just off the main square.
• Walked along the town wall around half the city to return to our hotel.

Almost relieved we're only here one day - it's something of a sensory overload.

Met many people, two parties from Canada (the Canadian flag on my pack helped that happen) and one from Maine.

Biggest event of the day: we met Rick Steves! It had been rumoured that he was in the area - shop keepers were whispering bright-eyed that he was supposed to be coming - almost the same way a child anticipates the arrival of Saint Nicholas in December. Rick is doing research in the area and dropped by the same restaurant during supper (one recommended in his guidebook). He greeted us warmly, heard we were on one of his tours, posed for pictures and then graciously excused himself to ''Go make his guidebooks better.'' We may see him visit the tour group at breakfast tomorrow.

When he showed up in the Square later to greet his friend, the Night Watchman, it was as if a rock star had arrived. His books (and his tours) are that good. They really are.

We finished the night (B & I) with a walk along the town wall back to our hotel. Didn't need a guide but was glad I brought my flashlight!

Wish you were here.

Europe: Bacharach, St. Goar, Rhinefelds Castle

We travelled to Bacharach on the Rhine. I've stepped out of the bus into a fairy tale. Each corner I turn is like turning the page in an illustrated story book. Later edit - view photos here.

We dined overlooking the Rhine, slept in one of the nine remaining towers from the original city wall. Now a picturesque inn. Right beside the railroad tracks, but it wasn't a problem. German engineering ensured they were speedy and quiet - more like a hum than the bone jarring skreech and clang of CP Rail in Canada. Morning took me for a quiet time beside the banks of the river to hear God's voice.

We took a walking tour along the town wall, streets and vineyards with Rolf Jung, a retired school master, who had us laughing and crying, shared his view of WWII from the perspective of a German boy who watched flyers killing each other above his town and losing his own brother to the Russian front... presumed dead. His down to earth manner was a complete treat. He took us through town to the local artist whose watercolours brought the town architecture alive and whose piano playing had us all singing. Katie returned later to play classical selections on his circa 1900 piano.

St. Goar's Rheinfels Castle (largest on the Rhine, built 1245) had more treasures. Though in ruins, you could easily imagine the knights and the ladies, the royalty, the battles, the seiges. One path took braver ones among us through mine tunnels - 3 feet high, dark, damp, 200 metres of crouching progress, single file, claustrophobic, but exciting. They used to pack these tunnels with explosives and blow them up as enemies approached. I likely wouldn't have done it without a guide and my flashlight. Another path took us to the highest tower where we had breathtaking views up and down the Rhine Valley.

Cruised the Rhine back to Bacharach for night 2, seeing ''Loreley'' and several more castles along the way. We wrapped up our activities for the day by biking with the Shields family (Wayne, Kathy, Katie & Tim) south along the banks of the Rhine to the next castle. Dined in a rustic inn - on Wild Boar Headcheese and applestrudel. Celebrated Katie's 17th birthday. Hiked to the ruins of a church. Misty morning came early and I hiked the 380 steps plus incline to the former castle above the town, now a youth hostel.

I'm quite certain Hansel and Gretel share a cottage near where I walked.