We packed all our belongings from our three day stay in our Prague apartment. Somehow we managed to pay our bill of 24,000 crowns and get all of our acquisitions in the car. We left at 9:36, the weather changed, and we had a beautiful sunny day driving to Heidelberg. We filled up our gas tank while still in the Czech Republic because it was only $5.60 a gallon compared to the $7.00+ that we paid at the beginning of the trip. At 11:30 am we entered Germany where we cruised at 105 mph!!! Needless to say we made good time. The roads are wonderful because the Nazi’s were the first to invent divided highways. Under President Eisenhower the US began to do the same. At 12:45 we stopped at an Autohof (busy gas station, truck stop) and ate outside after going through their buffet line.
At this point we would like to say something about the toilets in Europe. We have been so impressed with the cleanliness and the ingenuity of their flushing systems. Today’s was the most interesting. The toilet seats rotate under a cleaning system after each flush….I could not believe it when I saw it start to move all the way around and come to rest in its original spot all clean. Wow! We would all like one of these at our house. However, we have to pay for this service…it’s almost always $.70 (except in Prague, where it was free) but to me it was worth it as I have had some weird experiences in the past…having to bring my own Kleenex many times.
We arrived in Heidelberg about 3:30 which is our last stop before returning to our “Day’s Inn” in Amsterdam. David has promised us we could do laundry immediately upon arrival at his home.
After checking in at the Marriott we took the tram down to the old town (Bismarckplatz), where we could stroll down the main (shopping) street in search of a the perfect view of the castle, the infamous bridge and the river, and, of course, to choose the perfect restaurant for dinner. This part of town was bustling with tourists and Sunday afternoon strollers. Of course, we couldn’t resist the souvenir shops and tourist stores, and felt compelled to again contribute the local economy.
To our surprise, Heidelberg came across as the least clean of all the cities we have visited. We stuck our heads into a few churches and walked half way out onto the bridge to get the perfect view (the money shot, for those of you in the know!). We even made a few purchases, ate a huge dinner, and took loads of pictures. The castle on the hill was built centuries ago, and became a ruin during the 30 Years War in the 1700s. Of course, we were entertained to see scaffolding on the castle ruins, demonstrated that even ruins need to be renovated! The oxymoron of the day
Our hotel is right on the Necker and we enjoyed a beautiful view of the sunset from the terrace. We are off to bed early as Jeff and David are anxious for us to get an early start in order to see Cologne – 2 hours to the north - before getting to Amsterdam. We all leave Amsterdam on Wednesday, Mary and Jeff fly together to Chicago where they part ways and Joy flies into DC, she hopes and then to NY and home next Sunday afternoon.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
May 30….Day in Prague
After a leisurely morning and breakfast in our apartment we got Mary all bandaged up, and got back in the car to head out for the Konopiste Castle, located about 45 minutes south of Prague. This Castle was built in 1350 but became famous for its last occupant, the heir to the Austrian throne, Franz Ferdinand. The Gothic castle has richly furnished apartments, collection of late Gothic paintings in the chapel, and a gallery of the Archduke’s artifacts relating to the cult of St. George. We were lucky to arrive right as the English speaking tour was leaving and enjoyed our cute guide who opened and closed doors between the 11 rooms that we were allowed to view. We started in the trophy room which contained more than 700 animals that he had mounted on the wall. All kinds of animals with plaques with the date and place of the kill were arranged very attractively. He is known to have killed over 275,000 in his career. Now don’t get excited…his servants arranged for the animals to stand in front of him while he stood or sometimes even sat in front of the animals and all he had to do was pull the trigger. Franz and his wife, Sophia were assassinated by a student in Sarajevo…this is the incident that sparked WWI. Franz was the richest of all the Hapsburgs because he inherited from his mother’s brother (from Italy) who had no children.
Franz married Sophia, a Bohemian countess who was beneath his station so none of his children were able to inherit the throne or even carry on his last name. However the 3 children (2 sons and 1 daughter) lived in the castle until 1922, at which time they were kicked out by the newly formed Czechoslovak government. The two sons were sent to concentration camps at the beginning of the war but survived, thanks to their brother-in-law who was a member of the Nazi Party. They died in 1962 having poor health resulting from the camps but the daughter lived until 1990. She died in Salzburg.
We drove back to the city for lunch and ate in the cellar of a Pizzeria, right around the corner from our hotel. After lunch we headed out for the Charles Bridge, hoping to get a better view today…but it was raining as we left. However, the rained stopped as we got to the bridge and were able to get some good pictures and enjoy the artists and their wares on the bridge. Of course we shopped and took another look at the clock before coming back to the hotel before dinner. We chose a typical Czech restaurant for dinner and decided to go all out….lots of dumplings, cabbage, various meats (Mary still eats only chicken) and of course, sauerkraut. But we could not bring ourselves to indulge in the apple strudel…home to reorganize for our trip to Heidelberg tomorrow. It promises to be warm and clear…TBTG!
After a leisurely morning and breakfast in our apartment we got Mary all bandaged up, and got back in the car to head out for the Konopiste Castle, located about 45 minutes south of Prague. This Castle was built in 1350 but became famous for its last occupant, the heir to the Austrian throne, Franz Ferdinand. The Gothic castle has richly furnished apartments, collection of late Gothic paintings in the chapel, and a gallery of the Archduke’s artifacts relating to the cult of St. George. We were lucky to arrive right as the English speaking tour was leaving and enjoyed our cute guide who opened and closed doors between the 11 rooms that we were allowed to view. We started in the trophy room which contained more than 700 animals that he had mounted on the wall. All kinds of animals with plaques with the date and place of the kill were arranged very attractively. He is known to have killed over 275,000 in his career. Now don’t get excited…his servants arranged for the animals to stand in front of him while he stood or sometimes even sat in front of the animals and all he had to do was pull the trigger. Franz and his wife, Sophia were assassinated by a student in Sarajevo…this is the incident that sparked WWI. Franz was the richest of all the Hapsburgs because he inherited from his mother’s brother (from Italy) who had no children.
Franz married Sophia, a Bohemian countess who was beneath his station so none of his children were able to inherit the throne or even carry on his last name. However the 3 children (2 sons and 1 daughter) lived in the castle until 1922, at which time they were kicked out by the newly formed Czechoslovak government. The two sons were sent to concentration camps at the beginning of the war but survived, thanks to their brother-in-law who was a member of the Nazi Party. They died in 1962 having poor health resulting from the camps but the daughter lived until 1990. She died in Salzburg.
We drove back to the city for lunch and ate in the cellar of a Pizzeria, right around the corner from our hotel. After lunch we headed out for the Charles Bridge, hoping to get a better view today…but it was raining as we left. However, the rained stopped as we got to the bridge and were able to get some good pictures and enjoy the artists and their wares on the bridge. Of course we shopped and took another look at the clock before coming back to the hotel before dinner. We chose a typical Czech restaurant for dinner and decided to go all out….lots of dumplings, cabbage, various meats (Mary still eats only chicken) and of course, sauerkraut. But we could not bring ourselves to indulge in the apple strudel…home to reorganize for our trip to Heidelberg tomorrow. It promises to be warm and clear…TBTG!
Friday May 29th Prague, in the rain and cold…about 40 degrees
We woke up with the ambition to cover all of Prague before it rained today, which the Weather Channel had predicted to start around noon. At 8:00 am it was still bright and sunny, although a little chilly, so we got out on the street just in time to make the 9:15 Prague City Tour including Prague Castle, where we were hoping to admire the grandeur of St. Vitus Cathedral and have a stunning view over the whole of Prague…but it was cold and rainy and very crowded. We stood out in the wind and cold for about 20 minutes and then we headed back to the bus.
Our city tour in the warmth of the bus was divine, seeing the old city, the new city, and many sites in between. Prague has a long a complicated history, having been taken over by the Austrians, French, Germans, Habsburgs, and then the Russians before regaining independence in 1989 in the Velvet Revolution. Only 4 short years later, there was the Velvet Divorce as Czechoslovakia split into two countries – the Czech Republic (with Prague as its capital) and Slovakia (with Bratislava as its capital, and where we stayed last week).
As promised, it started to rain exactly at 12 noon. However, shortly after lunch, if can you believe at TGI Friday’s, it stopped raining and we strolled through the city, shopped and took loads of pictures. We first headed off to buy the famous Bohemian crystal and look for the cheaper tourist souvenirs off the beaten path in the new city. Of course, it started to rain again, as soon as we got to the open air market, but that didn’t stop our hunt for just the right gifts to purchase.
After a pitstop back the hotel to drop off our new acquisitions, we headed out to the Jewish Quarter, called Josefov. Unfortunately, the synagogues and cemetery were closed since it was a Jewish holiday. They are also closed on Saturday, so we will have missed this site completely. We peeked through the gates and could see enough to know we missed a site. However, the outsides of the buildings are still there, and the most interesting thing is the wall clock outside of the town (precinct) hall, with a clock in Hebrew that runs backwards! Of course, when it started to rain again, we ducked back into the nearest souvenir shops to make some more acquisitions.
The rain slowed down a bit, so we made our way through the winding Karlova (street) to the Charles Bridge. We couldn’t resist even more tourist shops, but had to rest to have a 5:00 o’clock glass of wine and beer at an Italian restaurant. From here, we went to the garnet store that Mary had shopped 4 years ago, “just to have a look”. Next door was a Russian “embedded doll” store, with all kinds of US sports teams. Needless to say, both shops were happy to see us, and gladly took our money.
However, the rest of our day was wonderful but David is worried to death as to where all of our shopping bags are going to fit in his car.
After a delicious traditional Czech dinner (lots of dumplings, pancakes, lamb, pork, chicken and duck…a little chocolate to top it all off.) in a 16th century cellar restaurant (it had started raining again), we headed back to the main square and arrived just in time to see the astronomical clock chime in the Old Town Hall Tower. What a sight that is to see the twelve apostles appear in the window of the old clock every hour on the hour. This Town Hall was built originally in 1338 and refurbished in 1470…pretty old and beautiful.
All day slipping and sliding on the cobblestones we knew that it was likely disaster was going to strike….and it did, but not on the streets. Mary fell going up the steps from the grocery and bummed up her shin and wrist. It was scary but she didn’t break anything and after a hot tub, a first aid bandage from the car and David playing doctor, she felt much better. Tomorrow we are off to see Konopište Castle, the home of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (of Austria-Hungary), but more about that tomorrow…
We woke up with the ambition to cover all of Prague before it rained today, which the Weather Channel had predicted to start around noon. At 8:00 am it was still bright and sunny, although a little chilly, so we got out on the street just in time to make the 9:15 Prague City Tour including Prague Castle, where we were hoping to admire the grandeur of St. Vitus Cathedral and have a stunning view over the whole of Prague…but it was cold and rainy and very crowded. We stood out in the wind and cold for about 20 minutes and then we headed back to the bus.
Our city tour in the warmth of the bus was divine, seeing the old city, the new city, and many sites in between. Prague has a long a complicated history, having been taken over by the Austrians, French, Germans, Habsburgs, and then the Russians before regaining independence in 1989 in the Velvet Revolution. Only 4 short years later, there was the Velvet Divorce as Czechoslovakia split into two countries – the Czech Republic (with Prague as its capital) and Slovakia (with Bratislava as its capital, and where we stayed last week).
As promised, it started to rain exactly at 12 noon. However, shortly after lunch, if can you believe at TGI Friday’s, it stopped raining and we strolled through the city, shopped and took loads of pictures. We first headed off to buy the famous Bohemian crystal and look for the cheaper tourist souvenirs off the beaten path in the new city. Of course, it started to rain again, as soon as we got to the open air market, but that didn’t stop our hunt for just the right gifts to purchase.
After a pitstop back the hotel to drop off our new acquisitions, we headed out to the Jewish Quarter, called Josefov. Unfortunately, the synagogues and cemetery were closed since it was a Jewish holiday. They are also closed on Saturday, so we will have missed this site completely. We peeked through the gates and could see enough to know we missed a site. However, the outsides of the buildings are still there, and the most interesting thing is the wall clock outside of the town (precinct) hall, with a clock in Hebrew that runs backwards! Of course, when it started to rain again, we ducked back into the nearest souvenir shops to make some more acquisitions.
The rain slowed down a bit, so we made our way through the winding Karlova (street) to the Charles Bridge. We couldn’t resist even more tourist shops, but had to rest to have a 5:00 o’clock glass of wine and beer at an Italian restaurant. From here, we went to the garnet store that Mary had shopped 4 years ago, “just to have a look”. Next door was a Russian “embedded doll” store, with all kinds of US sports teams. Needless to say, both shops were happy to see us, and gladly took our money.
However, the rest of our day was wonderful but David is worried to death as to where all of our shopping bags are going to fit in his car.
After a delicious traditional Czech dinner (lots of dumplings, pancakes, lamb, pork, chicken and duck…a little chocolate to top it all off.) in a 16th century cellar restaurant (it had started raining again), we headed back to the main square and arrived just in time to see the astronomical clock chime in the Old Town Hall Tower. What a sight that is to see the twelve apostles appear in the window of the old clock every hour on the hour. This Town Hall was built originally in 1338 and refurbished in 1470…pretty old and beautiful.
All day slipping and sliding on the cobblestones we knew that it was likely disaster was going to strike….and it did, but not on the streets. Mary fell going up the steps from the grocery and bummed up her shin and wrist. It was scary but she didn’t break anything and after a hot tub, a first aid bandage from the car and David playing doctor, she felt much better. Tomorrow we are off to see Konopište Castle, the home of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (of Austria-Hungary), but more about that tomorrow…
Friday, May 29, 2009
Thursday May 28 Prague
We continued to have bath problems before we left this morning. I proceeded to take a shower and because the shower head was not stable I immediately flooded the bathroom….this before Mary ever got out of bed. In order to function we had to sop up 4 towels and wring them out about 5 or 6 times in order to just walk around. Picture this…Mary in her night gown and Joy, well she just got out of the shower…we leave the rest to your imagination.
After a big breakfast at the hotel, and packing our lunch we left immediately for Kehistein. This is a stone building resembling a mountain shelter and is known as the Adlerhorst or Eagle’s Nest. This was given to Hitler as a birthday present in 1939 by one of his close allies and it became his favorite residence. The approach to the building is a true engineering masterpiece: the initial section, the Kehisteinstalle, is a scenic mountain road which passes through five tunnels and offers some breathtaking views up the mountain. The down side was it was misty rain and very cold! But we braved the weather and went right on. The final ascent is an elevator, all brass and mirrored that took us up to the top…124 meters. Today the Eagle’s Nest houses a restaurant that is very popular with tourists, not only because of its history, but also for the spectacular views that it provides over the Alps.
From there we had a 5 ½ hr drive to Prague…stopping only once for gas and potty break, mostly on two lane roads, and through many small villages. We had to stop at the border of the Czech Republic to get a sticker for the car, $10.00 which is good for only a week. But the most interesting amusement, as we crossed the border, were the prostitutes along the highway beckoning the Austrians! We arrived at our lovely apartment in Prague where we will be for three nights. Mary and David have stayed here before and it is one of Mary’s favorites because it has a refrigerator and ice cubes.
We settled in, unpacked and hit the streets in search of favorite restaurants on the square. It was cold so we chose one with outdoor heaters and enjoyed a delicious dinner. The souvenir shops beckoned after dinner and we checked the tour schedule for tomorrow…off to bed as it is now midnight……
We continued to have bath problems before we left this morning. I proceeded to take a shower and because the shower head was not stable I immediately flooded the bathroom….this before Mary ever got out of bed. In order to function we had to sop up 4 towels and wring them out about 5 or 6 times in order to just walk around. Picture this…Mary in her night gown and Joy, well she just got out of the shower…we leave the rest to your imagination.
After a big breakfast at the hotel, and packing our lunch we left immediately for Kehistein. This is a stone building resembling a mountain shelter and is known as the Adlerhorst or Eagle’s Nest. This was given to Hitler as a birthday present in 1939 by one of his close allies and it became his favorite residence. The approach to the building is a true engineering masterpiece: the initial section, the Kehisteinstalle, is a scenic mountain road which passes through five tunnels and offers some breathtaking views up the mountain. The down side was it was misty rain and very cold! But we braved the weather and went right on. The final ascent is an elevator, all brass and mirrored that took us up to the top…124 meters. Today the Eagle’s Nest houses a restaurant that is very popular with tourists, not only because of its history, but also for the spectacular views that it provides over the Alps.
From there we had a 5 ½ hr drive to Prague…stopping only once for gas and potty break, mostly on two lane roads, and through many small villages. We had to stop at the border of the Czech Republic to get a sticker for the car, $10.00 which is good for only a week. But the most interesting amusement, as we crossed the border, were the prostitutes along the highway beckoning the Austrians! We arrived at our lovely apartment in Prague where we will be for three nights. Mary and David have stayed here before and it is one of Mary’s favorites because it has a refrigerator and ice cubes.
We settled in, unpacked and hit the streets in search of favorite restaurants on the square. It was cold so we chose one with outdoor heaters and enjoyed a delicious dinner. The souvenir shops beckoned after dinner and we checked the tour schedule for tomorrow…off to bed as it is now midnight……
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Day in Salzburg
We started off the day with the Sound of Music tour from the Mirabell Palace bus stop. The tour bus was full of Americans and Canadians who all had seen the movie multiple times. Most of the guys on the bus were there at the behest of their wives or mothers, and Jeff felt largely the same way. Our (camp) tour guide was an American who had married an Austrian 21 years ago (because his in-laws gave them a house). He was an army brat moving around the States and Europe in his youth and really knew how to work a North American crowd. The ladies loved him, but Jeff felt a little left out since he is not a Julie Andrews aficionado.
We saw many of the famous sites from the movie, while listening to the songs, and having half of the bus even try to sing along. Good thing there were no locals on the bus, else we would have felt hugely out of place. But having a bit of Americana nearby surely made us feel more at home after more than two weeks on the road.
One of the many things we noted on our trip through the Austrian countryside, were the beautiful vistas, mountain pastures and the many, many Linden trees that are everywhere (not to mention the Edelweiss flowers). Mary inquired why there were no linden trees in the US, and David responded that there were no maple trees in Europe……. Next question, Mary???
We at lunch at a schnellimbiss (another snack shop like at the Popcorn festival in Marion, Ohio or county fair), standing up feasting on bratwursts and pretzels, before moving to the Mirabell gardens. You might remember this from the movie, where the children and Julie Andrews sang the do-re-mi song dancing through the gardens, fountains, and dwarf statutes. Here we got the “money shot” with the photo of the gardens, the castle on the hill and the many church steeples in between. The weather decided to cooperate, and the sun even came out for our pictures.
David directed us over the river and to the old city, walking down the Getreidegasse (Produce Street), where we had the obligatory stop at the McDonald’s for what the boys thought would be a good, free “toilet break”. Unfortunately, the franchisee had figures out that he was at a “hot spot”, and he had installed a machine charging 50 cents through a turnstile to get in. Jeff paid his coin, but failed to take the ticket. When finished, he was “controlled” and (as he says) – “the man got in his face” for not taking his ticket. This set Jeff’s tone for the rest of the afternoon.
We moved on through the tunnels and alley ways to the University Church, had a rest in the church with a little quiet time then moved on the to the Archbishop’s Dom (Cathedral). – not much from the outside, but spectacular from the inside. There are endless tourist traps, all of which had to be visited by the ladies, and Jeff looking for his infamous T-shirt. We had a little dispute over the price of the Mozartkügel (Mozart’s candy balls), and the many styles of t-shirts. Fortunately, the sell Fruit-of the loom here. The talked me into a classical “Austrian style hat”, which everyone we met fell in love with (instead of my previously obligatory baseball caps!!) It was red to match my jacket. We loved it (see photos).
We chose not to take the funicular to the top of the mountain to go inside the castle…I took one look at that train going up the mountain and knew right away I was staying on the ground…so instead we walked back to the Augistinerbräu – a bierkeller (beer cellar) run by the Augustine monks. (This Day family is trying their best to corrupt me with these long cocktail hours!) On the way, we “raced” the Salzach River – a extremely fast flowing tributary of the Danube. The beer cellar itself is run by the monks and they don’t have any wine and of course, they had no ice cubes, but to maintain the illusion, the guys got us some beer mugs and poured our Cokes into them before we “toasted” to our good fortune for having a wonderful day in Salzburg. (Thank goodness we were not in Vienna!)
After a couple of beers (or cokes, as it were) we moved on to the Sternbräu, another beer hall, where we enjoyed a spectacular dinner. Instead of boring you all with the details of what we ate, Jeff took pictures, for those who really care. (David has decided that we should only stop talking about the price of everything (since the dollar is getting weaker every day), and that we should just enjoy our vacation!! (this will be a major challenge for Jeff and Mary!!)
Back to the hotel, they decided that they hadn’t had enough (since it was still daylight) so we went back to the Bierstübl (beer hall in the hotel) to have another round or two. I, of course went to search out the computer to get our commentary written before midnight.
(By the way – Mary finally got the joke about “there are no kangaroos in Austria” – so we can now share the answer. Apparently, many Americans confuse the country of Austria and Australia, since there are only two small letters in between. For the Anglo-Saxons, Australia is more popular, unless you are watching the winter Olympics).
Tomorrow we are “schon wieder auf der autobahn” (yes – they have translated the famous song into German – we are “on the road again!!)” on the way to Berchtesgaden and Prague. Wonderful day….Mary is in the tub…just pray I don’t hear my named called to help her out!
Now for those of you who really want to feel like you are a part of our day, just click on this link, sent by my friend The Rev. Jim Metzger and get in the spirit of do, re, me….etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UE3CNu_rtY
We started off the day with the Sound of Music tour from the Mirabell Palace bus stop. The tour bus was full of Americans and Canadians who all had seen the movie multiple times. Most of the guys on the bus were there at the behest of their wives or mothers, and Jeff felt largely the same way. Our (camp) tour guide was an American who had married an Austrian 21 years ago (because his in-laws gave them a house). He was an army brat moving around the States and Europe in his youth and really knew how to work a North American crowd. The ladies loved him, but Jeff felt a little left out since he is not a Julie Andrews aficionado.
We saw many of the famous sites from the movie, while listening to the songs, and having half of the bus even try to sing along. Good thing there were no locals on the bus, else we would have felt hugely out of place. But having a bit of Americana nearby surely made us feel more at home after more than two weeks on the road.
One of the many things we noted on our trip through the Austrian countryside, were the beautiful vistas, mountain pastures and the many, many Linden trees that are everywhere (not to mention the Edelweiss flowers). Mary inquired why there were no linden trees in the US, and David responded that there were no maple trees in Europe……. Next question, Mary???
We at lunch at a schnellimbiss (another snack shop like at the Popcorn festival in Marion, Ohio or county fair), standing up feasting on bratwursts and pretzels, before moving to the Mirabell gardens. You might remember this from the movie, where the children and Julie Andrews sang the do-re-mi song dancing through the gardens, fountains, and dwarf statutes. Here we got the “money shot” with the photo of the gardens, the castle on the hill and the many church steeples in between. The weather decided to cooperate, and the sun even came out for our pictures.
David directed us over the river and to the old city, walking down the Getreidegasse (Produce Street), where we had the obligatory stop at the McDonald’s for what the boys thought would be a good, free “toilet break”. Unfortunately, the franchisee had figures out that he was at a “hot spot”, and he had installed a machine charging 50 cents through a turnstile to get in. Jeff paid his coin, but failed to take the ticket. When finished, he was “controlled” and (as he says) – “the man got in his face” for not taking his ticket. This set Jeff’s tone for the rest of the afternoon.
We moved on through the tunnels and alley ways to the University Church, had a rest in the church with a little quiet time then moved on the to the Archbishop’s Dom (Cathedral). – not much from the outside, but spectacular from the inside. There are endless tourist traps, all of which had to be visited by the ladies, and Jeff looking for his infamous T-shirt. We had a little dispute over the price of the Mozartkügel (Mozart’s candy balls), and the many styles of t-shirts. Fortunately, the sell Fruit-of the loom here. The talked me into a classical “Austrian style hat”, which everyone we met fell in love with (instead of my previously obligatory baseball caps!!) It was red to match my jacket. We loved it (see photos).
We chose not to take the funicular to the top of the mountain to go inside the castle…I took one look at that train going up the mountain and knew right away I was staying on the ground…so instead we walked back to the Augistinerbräu – a bierkeller (beer cellar) run by the Augustine monks. (This Day family is trying their best to corrupt me with these long cocktail hours!) On the way, we “raced” the Salzach River – a extremely fast flowing tributary of the Danube. The beer cellar itself is run by the monks and they don’t have any wine and of course, they had no ice cubes, but to maintain the illusion, the guys got us some beer mugs and poured our Cokes into them before we “toasted” to our good fortune for having a wonderful day in Salzburg. (Thank goodness we were not in Vienna!)
After a couple of beers (or cokes, as it were) we moved on to the Sternbräu, another beer hall, where we enjoyed a spectacular dinner. Instead of boring you all with the details of what we ate, Jeff took pictures, for those who really care. (David has decided that we should only stop talking about the price of everything (since the dollar is getting weaker every day), and that we should just enjoy our vacation!! (this will be a major challenge for Jeff and Mary!!)
Back to the hotel, they decided that they hadn’t had enough (since it was still daylight) so we went back to the Bierstübl (beer hall in the hotel) to have another round or two. I, of course went to search out the computer to get our commentary written before midnight.
(By the way – Mary finally got the joke about “there are no kangaroos in Austria” – so we can now share the answer. Apparently, many Americans confuse the country of Austria and Australia, since there are only two small letters in between. For the Anglo-Saxons, Australia is more popular, unless you are watching the winter Olympics).
Tomorrow we are “schon wieder auf der autobahn” (yes – they have translated the famous song into German – we are “on the road again!!)” on the way to Berchtesgaden and Prague. Wonderful day….Mary is in the tub…just pray I don’t hear my named called to help her out!
Now for those of you who really want to feel like you are a part of our day, just click on this link, sent by my friend The Rev. Jim Metzger and get in the spirit of do, re, me….etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UE3CNu_rtY
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Tuesday May 26, 2009
Before leaving Vienna we took the city tour which included the splendor of the Schönbrunn Palace. The tour started out with a ride through Vienna’s most historical sights such as the Museum of Applied Arts and the Museum of Fine Arts, the State Opera House, the Museum of Natural History and the Hofburg, the famous residence of Habsburgs’ Empress Elizabeth, affectionately known as Sisi to the Austrians. We also saw the City Hall, the Burgtheater, the University and the Votive Church. But our real treat was seeing the inside of the Schönbrunn palace, the summer residence of the Hapsburgs. While Maria Theresa, mother of Marie Antoinette, never lived here, there are many paintings commemorating her legend, as well as her children. Everyone remembers Marie Antoinette, who later became Queen to Louis XVI of France, and had her head chopped off at the guillotine. The palace was built between 1692 and 1715 and is bigger than Buckingham Palace. We were able to view over 50 rooms…a lot of gilded gold leaf and inlaid wooden pieces, tapestries, brocade, damask and paintings. For me the special treat was seeing the breakfast room…small table, beautiful china and crystal and gorgeous lace curtains. Now I have a new project when I get back to Andalusia.!
A little tidbit about Vienna...there are 9 provinces in Austria and Vienna is the smallest but has 20% of the population and still 50% is green pasture. Everything revolves around Maria Theresa who was not only queen of Bohemia and Hungry but also empress of the Holy Roman Empire and defended Austria against all the other European countries successfully.
The Opera House which was built in 1869, bombed in 1945, and now restored. All the Strauss waltzes were played here as well as in our bus! Beethoven and Mozart performed here as well.
This city was overwhelming to us. There are 163 famous buildings to see, each one more ornate than the other, with 1.7 million people milling around. Oh, forgot to say we saw the highest Ferris wheel in the world, and I think the first. (Thought Chicago had the first at their world’s fair) but we did get a glimpse of it off in the distance.
By 1:00 we had about had enough so again we settled in at Subway for a reality check, took the tram back to the hotel and off we flew (90 MPH) to Salzburg, about 3 hrs. away. The Days continued their repertoire and I took a wonderful nap. Mary was disappointed that there are so many fences by the highway blocking the beautiful view of the alpine villages and countryside. It was exciting to see the Alps with their snow covered peaks. David was thrilled to return to Salzburg, as he studied here for a year abroad from Bowling Green. He had chosen the perfect hotel for us. We dined outside in their courtyard until the rain threatened. Dinner was great and all was well until Mary got stuck in the bathtub. You can imagine my trying to get her out…with that thought we leave you for the day.
Before leaving Vienna we took the city tour which included the splendor of the Schönbrunn Palace. The tour started out with a ride through Vienna’s most historical sights such as the Museum of Applied Arts and the Museum of Fine Arts, the State Opera House, the Museum of Natural History and the Hofburg, the famous residence of Habsburgs’ Empress Elizabeth, affectionately known as Sisi to the Austrians. We also saw the City Hall, the Burgtheater, the University and the Votive Church. But our real treat was seeing the inside of the Schönbrunn palace, the summer residence of the Hapsburgs. While Maria Theresa, mother of Marie Antoinette, never lived here, there are many paintings commemorating her legend, as well as her children. Everyone remembers Marie Antoinette, who later became Queen to Louis XVI of France, and had her head chopped off at the guillotine. The palace was built between 1692 and 1715 and is bigger than Buckingham Palace. We were able to view over 50 rooms…a lot of gilded gold leaf and inlaid wooden pieces, tapestries, brocade, damask and paintings. For me the special treat was seeing the breakfast room…small table, beautiful china and crystal and gorgeous lace curtains. Now I have a new project when I get back to Andalusia.!
A little tidbit about Vienna...there are 9 provinces in Austria and Vienna is the smallest but has 20% of the population and still 50% is green pasture. Everything revolves around Maria Theresa who was not only queen of Bohemia and Hungry but also empress of the Holy Roman Empire and defended Austria against all the other European countries successfully.
The Opera House which was built in 1869, bombed in 1945, and now restored. All the Strauss waltzes were played here as well as in our bus! Beethoven and Mozart performed here as well.
This city was overwhelming to us. There are 163 famous buildings to see, each one more ornate than the other, with 1.7 million people milling around. Oh, forgot to say we saw the highest Ferris wheel in the world, and I think the first. (Thought Chicago had the first at their world’s fair) but we did get a glimpse of it off in the distance.
By 1:00 we had about had enough so again we settled in at Subway for a reality check, took the tram back to the hotel and off we flew (90 MPH) to Salzburg, about 3 hrs. away. The Days continued their repertoire and I took a wonderful nap. Mary was disappointed that there are so many fences by the highway blocking the beautiful view of the alpine villages and countryside. It was exciting to see the Alps with their snow covered peaks. David was thrilled to return to Salzburg, as he studied here for a year abroad from Bowling Green. He had chosen the perfect hotel for us. We dined outside in their courtyard until the rain threatened. Dinner was great and all was well until Mary got stuck in the bathtub. You can imagine my trying to get her out…with that thought we leave you for the day.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Monday May 25 Memorial Day at home…for us it’s on to Austria
We had a lavish buffet breakfast with everything from fresh fruits, cereal, eggs, cold cuts, etc. Joy just had no idea how to make toast. Then we were off for our 3 hr. City of Bratislava tour with our guide, Luba. The minibus picked us up at the hotel and drove us all around the city…from the wealthiest to the poorest sections of Bratislava. There are a half a million people in this capital city and 95% now are Slovaks. It wasn’t always that way – before WWI, the city was 50% German and 25% Hungarians, as the city was the once the capital of Hungary (during the Ottoman occupation of Hungary) and the Coronation City of the Habsburgs (of the Austro-Hungarian empire). Since the creation of Czechoslovakia in 1919, the Germans, Hungarians have gradually returned to their own countries.
Our first stop on our tour was the New Bridge over the Danube River, which we could see from our room, and was built in 1972. The flying saucer at the top of the bridge is a revolving restaurant and viewing tower. Up on the castle hill, we could see a small portion of the original wall around the city. Bratislava is the political, industrial, and cultural center of this country. There are three universities in the city, all of which are free of charge. Therefore it is known for being the city of young people. We saw the lavish home of the Slovak President, who has no power as the Prime Minister runs the show as well as the home of the American Ambassador whose home looks like a miniature White House overlooking the Danube…beautiful! From this height you can see Austria to the right and Hungry to the left.
This used to be a very famous wine making country…they even produced wine before Christ. However, since independence in 1991 and the onset of global warming, the wine growing regions have become less economically viable. All the children must learn English from either the first or the third grade.. The unemployment rate is 10% and the average salary is only 700 euros per month whereas in Austria, the average is 1400 euros per month so many commute the 10 miles over the border for higher wages. 41 euros a month is deducted from their salary for health insurance and 70 euros per month is deducted for social security.
Because we were in a hurry, we decided to violate our principals and committed the cardinal sin of having lunch at the local McDonald’s. At least they had a terrace on the square, so we didn’t feel totally guilty. We were in a hurry to move on to the next stop – Caranthum, a Roman ruin halfway between Bratislava and Vienna. Our principle goal was the Heiden Gate (pronounced like Joseph Hayden), which was the primary entrance into the ancient Roman legion city on the Danube in this area.
Back to the car, we moved on to Vienna – another wonderful hotel organized by Kelly Steward with giant beds and a refrigerator. Here we had a our next public transportation experience, buying tickets for the tram, and getting into the central city at the Steinbergerplatz – the square with a giant monument commemorating the Soviet led liberation of Vienna in May 1945. We walked up the main shopping street, looking for souvenirs, as our time here is limited. Joy got another souvenir for her quilt, and David forced some Mozart balls (Mozartkügel) and marzipan for everyone to try. We headed to the Stephansdom – ground zero of Vienna – a gigantic Gothic cathedral at the heart of the old city of Vienna. Around the corner, we found the Apostelskeller – a traditional Viennese “heuringa” restaurant, located in a cellar (think of a beer hall) of a building originally built in the 1500s. Great traditional Viennese food – even though Mary kept calling Vietnamese schnitzel (instead of Wienerschnitzel) – go figure!
The local violin player and accordion player came around the corner to us and sang New York, New York and several other Frank Sinatra numbers, which set Mary off to dancing in the aisles! Then back to the hotel for our well deserved night’s sleep. Tomorrow the Viennese city tour (or is it Vietnamese city tour?) The famous T-shirt ? “there are no kangaroos in Austria” - can you figure it out? (Mary couldn’t – answer tomorrow)
We had a lavish buffet breakfast with everything from fresh fruits, cereal, eggs, cold cuts, etc. Joy just had no idea how to make toast. Then we were off for our 3 hr. City of Bratislava tour with our guide, Luba. The minibus picked us up at the hotel and drove us all around the city…from the wealthiest to the poorest sections of Bratislava. There are a half a million people in this capital city and 95% now are Slovaks. It wasn’t always that way – before WWI, the city was 50% German and 25% Hungarians, as the city was the once the capital of Hungary (during the Ottoman occupation of Hungary) and the Coronation City of the Habsburgs (of the Austro-Hungarian empire). Since the creation of Czechoslovakia in 1919, the Germans, Hungarians have gradually returned to their own countries.
Our first stop on our tour was the New Bridge over the Danube River, which we could see from our room, and was built in 1972. The flying saucer at the top of the bridge is a revolving restaurant and viewing tower. Up on the castle hill, we could see a small portion of the original wall around the city. Bratislava is the political, industrial, and cultural center of this country. There are three universities in the city, all of which are free of charge. Therefore it is known for being the city of young people. We saw the lavish home of the Slovak President, who has no power as the Prime Minister runs the show as well as the home of the American Ambassador whose home looks like a miniature White House overlooking the Danube…beautiful! From this height you can see Austria to the right and Hungry to the left.
This used to be a very famous wine making country…they even produced wine before Christ. However, since independence in 1991 and the onset of global warming, the wine growing regions have become less economically viable. All the children must learn English from either the first or the third grade.. The unemployment rate is 10% and the average salary is only 700 euros per month whereas in Austria, the average is 1400 euros per month so many commute the 10 miles over the border for higher wages. 41 euros a month is deducted from their salary for health insurance and 70 euros per month is deducted for social security.
Because we were in a hurry, we decided to violate our principals and committed the cardinal sin of having lunch at the local McDonald’s. At least they had a terrace on the square, so we didn’t feel totally guilty. We were in a hurry to move on to the next stop – Caranthum, a Roman ruin halfway between Bratislava and Vienna. Our principle goal was the Heiden Gate (pronounced like Joseph Hayden), which was the primary entrance into the ancient Roman legion city on the Danube in this area.
Back to the car, we moved on to Vienna – another wonderful hotel organized by Kelly Steward with giant beds and a refrigerator. Here we had a our next public transportation experience, buying tickets for the tram, and getting into the central city at the Steinbergerplatz – the square with a giant monument commemorating the Soviet led liberation of Vienna in May 1945. We walked up the main shopping street, looking for souvenirs, as our time here is limited. Joy got another souvenir for her quilt, and David forced some Mozart balls (Mozartkügel) and marzipan for everyone to try. We headed to the Stephansdom – ground zero of Vienna – a gigantic Gothic cathedral at the heart of the old city of Vienna. Around the corner, we found the Apostelskeller – a traditional Viennese “heuringa” restaurant, located in a cellar (think of a beer hall) of a building originally built in the 1500s. Great traditional Viennese food – even though Mary kept calling Vietnamese schnitzel (instead of Wienerschnitzel) – go figure!
The local violin player and accordion player came around the corner to us and sang New York, New York and several other Frank Sinatra numbers, which set Mary off to dancing in the aisles! Then back to the hotel for our well deserved night’s sleep. Tomorrow the Viennese city tour (or is it Vietnamese city tour?) The famous T-shirt ? “there are no kangaroos in Austria” - can you figure it out? (Mary couldn’t – answer tomorrow)
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Sunday May 24….The Slovak Castle tour day.
We started out with the ambition to leave at 8:00 am, but didn’t get out of the hotel until 8:36! At least the breakfast was peaceful since the busloads of Norwegian and English school children had left the day before. This will be a new experience for David as this is one of the few parts of Europe that he has never seen. We left town for a 2 hour mountainous, wiggly-piggly road drive through the Southern Polish (Lower Poland and Silesia) countryside. It reminded us of Norris Dam in Tennessee in the “olden days” of going to Florida. We drove through many towns, each with its own Catholic church, and all of them full on a Sunday morning. Joy enjoyed taking pictures of many of the churches and the different styles along the way.
We went through the town of Żywiec, where they make the famous Polish beer we had been drinking. The factory (now owned by Heineken) still looks pretty old. Then we crossed the border to Slovakia, bought a highway sticker for 25 Polish złotys ($7), and drove through some very impoverished villages on our way to our first castle stop at Trenčin.
Our GPS lady (Betty) drove us right up to the front entrance gate of the Trenčin castle, but where we couldn’t go any further, even through we tried to bump a few tourists off of the small pathway leading up to the hill. To get there, we were really supposed to park at the bottom of the hill and hike up. We decided that this was simply too much effort, and instead chose to take pictures from the bottom of the mountain. Interesting was the football stadium next door, with its “magnifying glass” looking overhead lights.
The next stop was the castle ruins at Beckov. We knew this was just a picture taking opportunity, so we drove in circles around the castle base, trying to get to the “money shot” picture. Next up was Cachice castle ruins. We drove up another narrow, 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) lane to an impromptu parking lot about 500 yards from the castle base. From here we had to get out climbing the mountain to see the ruins. Why all of the effort? Mary wanted to see where the “Blood Countess Elizabeth” lived here in the 1500s. She was said to have killed over 600 young girls to drink their blood, which was supposed to maintain her young and comely looks. Of course, her portrait on the sign outside the ruins depicted a young looking woman indeed. The hike up the hill was well worth it, as we had been sitting in the car for more or less 2.5 hours, and needed to get out and move around.
After driving back down the harrowing path, we drove across the country side to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia and our destination for the night. Our hotel has a wonderful view out over the Danube River, with the modern bridge, and its revolving restaurant. Mary was sure happy to see the bath tub after 3 days without in Kraków.
Throughout the day, we were reminded of both Poland’s and Slovakia’s communist past, given the contrasts in building styles – pastel colored, old Austrian architecture vs. drab 1960s – 1970s style communist block houses where many people still live.
We quickly unpacked the few things we needed for this one night stand, and headed out to the old town. And guess what the first thing was that we saw? The American Embassy, of course! It is located right behind our hotel in the main park area, where we bought some souvenirs before viewing the Opera House, the Philharmonic and several other important buildings. Bratislava has even bought in some “fun statues” – our favorite being the “man at work”, which is a bronze statue of a construction worker climbing out of a manhole. It reminded us of our cross country trip last year to Rapid City, South Dakota, and Sheridan, Wyoming (both of which have statues located throughout their towns too).
We decided that we were going to eat Slovakian cuisine for the one night we were here, and ate at the Pressburg Restaurantja. Pressburg is the German name for Bratislava, when it was part of Austria. Mary had the Slovak potato soup, and a salad, while Joy partook of the local shish kebob with fried potatoes. Jeff had several goulash and sauerkraut dishes, while David had the old fashioned Wiener schnitzel. We were back in the Eurozone, so we could recognize the prices. Slovakia is cheap!
Back to the rooms to review our pictures, send out our mails, and go through the accounting. We are leaving on a city tour in the morning before we are off in the afternoon to Vienna. Only a short visit in both places, but we want to make the most of it!!
We started out with the ambition to leave at 8:00 am, but didn’t get out of the hotel until 8:36! At least the breakfast was peaceful since the busloads of Norwegian and English school children had left the day before. This will be a new experience for David as this is one of the few parts of Europe that he has never seen. We left town for a 2 hour mountainous, wiggly-piggly road drive through the Southern Polish (Lower Poland and Silesia) countryside. It reminded us of Norris Dam in Tennessee in the “olden days” of going to Florida. We drove through many towns, each with its own Catholic church, and all of them full on a Sunday morning. Joy enjoyed taking pictures of many of the churches and the different styles along the way.
We went through the town of Żywiec, where they make the famous Polish beer we had been drinking. The factory (now owned by Heineken) still looks pretty old. Then we crossed the border to Slovakia, bought a highway sticker for 25 Polish złotys ($7), and drove through some very impoverished villages on our way to our first castle stop at Trenčin.
Our GPS lady (Betty) drove us right up to the front entrance gate of the Trenčin castle, but where we couldn’t go any further, even through we tried to bump a few tourists off of the small pathway leading up to the hill. To get there, we were really supposed to park at the bottom of the hill and hike up. We decided that this was simply too much effort, and instead chose to take pictures from the bottom of the mountain. Interesting was the football stadium next door, with its “magnifying glass” looking overhead lights.
The next stop was the castle ruins at Beckov. We knew this was just a picture taking opportunity, so we drove in circles around the castle base, trying to get to the “money shot” picture. Next up was Cachice castle ruins. We drove up another narrow, 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) lane to an impromptu parking lot about 500 yards from the castle base. From here we had to get out climbing the mountain to see the ruins. Why all of the effort? Mary wanted to see where the “Blood Countess Elizabeth” lived here in the 1500s. She was said to have killed over 600 young girls to drink their blood, which was supposed to maintain her young and comely looks. Of course, her portrait on the sign outside the ruins depicted a young looking woman indeed. The hike up the hill was well worth it, as we had been sitting in the car for more or less 2.5 hours, and needed to get out and move around.
After driving back down the harrowing path, we drove across the country side to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia and our destination for the night. Our hotel has a wonderful view out over the Danube River, with the modern bridge, and its revolving restaurant. Mary was sure happy to see the bath tub after 3 days without in Kraków.
Throughout the day, we were reminded of both Poland’s and Slovakia’s communist past, given the contrasts in building styles – pastel colored, old Austrian architecture vs. drab 1960s – 1970s style communist block houses where many people still live.
We quickly unpacked the few things we needed for this one night stand, and headed out to the old town. And guess what the first thing was that we saw? The American Embassy, of course! It is located right behind our hotel in the main park area, where we bought some souvenirs before viewing the Opera House, the Philharmonic and several other important buildings. Bratislava has even bought in some “fun statues” – our favorite being the “man at work”, which is a bronze statue of a construction worker climbing out of a manhole. It reminded us of our cross country trip last year to Rapid City, South Dakota, and Sheridan, Wyoming (both of which have statues located throughout their towns too).
We decided that we were going to eat Slovakian cuisine for the one night we were here, and ate at the Pressburg Restaurantja. Pressburg is the German name for Bratislava, when it was part of Austria. Mary had the Slovak potato soup, and a salad, while Joy partook of the local shish kebob with fried potatoes. Jeff had several goulash and sauerkraut dishes, while David had the old fashioned Wiener schnitzel. We were back in the Eurozone, so we could recognize the prices. Slovakia is cheap!
Back to the rooms to review our pictures, send out our mails, and go through the accounting. We are leaving on a city tour in the morning before we are off in the afternoon to Vienna. Only a short visit in both places, but we want to make the most of it!!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Saturday takes us to Auschwitz.
We boarded the bus at our hotel at 8:45 after eating a hearty breakfast, and making sandwiches to take with us. There are no restaurants in Auschwitz so we are going prepared. We drove about an hour on back roads to get to the first camp. A video was shown during the bus trip to provide us with background information on the Holocaust, World War II and Auschwitz itself.
We received headphones with a receiver so we could listen to the Polish guide (speaking English). The place was very crowded so we had to be very careful to stick together and stay with our group. Last night at dinner we met a couple from Norway and they were also with our group. We enjoyed interacting with them. The tour lasted about 4 hours and there was a lot of walking between camps.
As for comments about the day, I am not able to do that for you tonight. It is going to take me a little time to process the day. It was very moving, sad and most informative. I had dreaded going but am glad I did. This is something Mary has wanted to do for a long time so for her sake I am glad we were able to work it in. As most of you know 1.1 million people were killed of which 91% were Jews.
When we returned to Krakow and Mary treated us to a horse and buggy ride through the city. This lifted our spirits some so we did a little shopping and found the perfect Polish restaurant for dinner…that is after much discussion as to why we should not eat pizza!
Home to pack for Sloyakian castle tours tomorrow and hopefully send you this email with a few pictures from Auschwitz.
We boarded the bus at our hotel at 8:45 after eating a hearty breakfast, and making sandwiches to take with us. There are no restaurants in Auschwitz so we are going prepared. We drove about an hour on back roads to get to the first camp. A video was shown during the bus trip to provide us with background information on the Holocaust, World War II and Auschwitz itself.
We received headphones with a receiver so we could listen to the Polish guide (speaking English). The place was very crowded so we had to be very careful to stick together and stay with our group. Last night at dinner we met a couple from Norway and they were also with our group. We enjoyed interacting with them. The tour lasted about 4 hours and there was a lot of walking between camps.
As for comments about the day, I am not able to do that for you tonight. It is going to take me a little time to process the day. It was very moving, sad and most informative. I had dreaded going but am glad I did. This is something Mary has wanted to do for a long time so for her sake I am glad we were able to work it in. As most of you know 1.1 million people were killed of which 91% were Jews.
When we returned to Krakow and Mary treated us to a horse and buggy ride through the city. This lifted our spirits some so we did a little shopping and found the perfect Polish restaurant for dinner…that is after much discussion as to why we should not eat pizza!
Home to pack for Sloyakian castle tours tomorrow and hopefully send you this email with a few pictures from Auschwitz.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Hurrah for Joy . she was able to access the internet in the lobby
this morning so you did hear from us here in Poland. What a day we
have had in Krakow starting with a huge breakfast in the hotel. Joy
and I both slept really well and surprisingly did not touch! David
opted for the floor and Jeff got the bed. They hope to get their
room changed tonight. Then we started out on foot to see the sights
with David as our tour director. Showers were in the forecast so we
did take our umbrellas.smart move.
Krakow was the original capital of Poland (now Warsaw) and has
Catholic churches about every 500 feet. This is an old old city
dating back to 1000 AD which originally was surrounded by a wall and
moat. We could see portions of the original wall. The beautiful
Planty park was built where the wall use to be and now surrounds the
city. We walked through the gate to the city, called the Royal Way,
which still stands. As we entered the Old City we encountered an
authentic Polish Band, dressed in costumes, playing lively music.
Pictures flashed.
Our first stop was to stop at McDonalds.because when they built this
building they discovered a Gothic cellar so they excavated it, added
seated, and called it medieval McVault. We thought it was fun to
see. (Picture)
Strolling further on Florianska (the main shopping street) we ducked
into several souvenir shops until we arrived at St. Marks. This
church has a huge shrine attached on the outside of the church. Then
to the Jagielliln University, the 2nd oldest university in Europe
(Prague has the oldest). Pope John Paul II and Nicholas Copernicus
both attended this university. We were fortunate to be there at
11:00 when the clock with the revolving apostles chimed. Tons of
school children were there to see this take place. From there we went
to the music school where Chopin studied. Just around the corner is
the Archbishop's Episcopate (house) where Pope Paul II lived and
started his career. There is a beautiful statue of the pope in the
courtyard with billboards showing highlights of his priesthood.
From there we moved on to the Dominican Church of the Holy Trinity.
Noon mass was about to begin. 89% of the population of Poland is
Catholic.
Our next stop was lunch, pretzels, which are sold on every corner,
and coke. We sat under a tree on a bench and enjoyed ice cream cones
for dessert to rest for the long ride up the hill to Wawil, Krakaw's
main attraction, the royal castle of the kings and the adjoining
cathedral where coronations and funerals for all the royalty were
held. Again, there were several school groups there to see these
historical sites. The tapestries and the medieval furniture in the
castle state rooms especially caught out attention.
Finally we got to the Cloth Hall which is an old building and housed
all the souvenir shops. We delighted ourselves with more than 100
vendors and bought several things.
Our original plan was to have dinner at the Wentzl, which was
recommended by Bill Tway's friend who lived in Krakow, where we
started out with the prize spot on the town square but a thunder
storm blew in and we had to move inside. We consumed more wine than
usual trying to outlast the storm before we started our 15 minute
walk home. It had turned cold but we did have our umbrellas!!!!
Wonderful, but exhausting day.
this morning so you did hear from us here in Poland. What a day we
have had in Krakow starting with a huge breakfast in the hotel. Joy
and I both slept really well and surprisingly did not touch! David
opted for the floor and Jeff got the bed. They hope to get their
room changed tonight. Then we started out on foot to see the sights
with David as our tour director. Showers were in the forecast so we
did take our umbrellas.smart move.
Krakow was the original capital of Poland (now Warsaw) and has
Catholic churches about every 500 feet. This is an old old city
dating back to 1000 AD which originally was surrounded by a wall and
moat. We could see portions of the original wall. The beautiful
Planty park was built where the wall use to be and now surrounds the
city. We walked through the gate to the city, called the Royal Way,
which still stands. As we entered the Old City we encountered an
authentic Polish Band, dressed in costumes, playing lively music.
Pictures flashed.
Our first stop was to stop at McDonalds.because when they built this
building they discovered a Gothic cellar so they excavated it, added
seated, and called it medieval McVault. We thought it was fun to
see. (Picture)
Strolling further on Florianska (the main shopping street) we ducked
into several souvenir shops until we arrived at St. Marks. This
church has a huge shrine attached on the outside of the church. Then
to the Jagielliln University, the 2nd oldest university in Europe
(Prague has the oldest). Pope John Paul II and Nicholas Copernicus
both attended this university. We were fortunate to be there at
11:00 when the clock with the revolving apostles chimed. Tons of
school children were there to see this take place. From there we went
to the music school where Chopin studied. Just around the corner is
the Archbishop's Episcopate (house) where Pope Paul II lived and
started his career. There is a beautiful statue of the pope in the
courtyard with billboards showing highlights of his priesthood.
From there we moved on to the Dominican Church of the Holy Trinity.
Noon mass was about to begin. 89% of the population of Poland is
Catholic.
Our next stop was lunch, pretzels, which are sold on every corner,
and coke. We sat under a tree on a bench and enjoyed ice cream cones
for dessert to rest for the long ride up the hill to Wawil, Krakaw's
main attraction, the royal castle of the kings and the adjoining
cathedral where coronations and funerals for all the royalty were
held. Again, there were several school groups there to see these
historical sites. The tapestries and the medieval furniture in the
castle state rooms especially caught out attention.
Finally we got to the Cloth Hall which is an old building and housed
all the souvenir shops. We delighted ourselves with more than 100
vendors and bought several things.
Our original plan was to have dinner at the Wentzl, which was
recommended by Bill Tway's friend who lived in Krakow, where we
started out with the prize spot on the town square but a thunder
storm blew in and we had to move inside. We consumed more wine than
usual trying to outlast the storm before we started our 15 minute
walk home. It had turned cold but we did have our umbrellas!!!!
Wonderful, but exhausting day.
Thursday May 21….Drive to KRAKOW ….written on Friday morning.
We were packed and were on the way by 8:15. Today is a holiday in Berlin (Ascension Day) so the traffic was light. To our surprise the highway was new most of the way to Krakow, so David was able to drive fast…97 on cruise control. However, as soon as we reached the Polish border at 9:30, things changed. We bumped along on very rough roads for an hour but as I said, surprisingly the roads were new the rest of the day. Along the way Jeff entertained us with more Fun Facts and included a Polish language lesson. We did not do very well. We came up with Jac Samash…for “how are you”.
We encountered our first Polish joke, just 12 miles outside of our lunch stop, Wroclaw….”How do you set up a Polish Construction Project”? Well, first you squeeze all the traffic to one lane on the left which brings you to a complete stop, then you allow the traffic to flow in two lanes for about 10 meters, and then you squeeze all the traffic to the right which of course causes another complete stop. This costs us about 45 minutes but we laughed over their ingenuity.
We thought Wroclaw was beautiful. Fortunately we were able to park in the luxurious Sofitel hotel (French) parking garage, use their facilities (which were free…most places we pay $.50) and only walk a short distance to the very large square. There were a lot of restaurants around the square but we did notice there were very few souvenir shops, much to Joy’s chagrin. We picked the Town Hall restaurant and fortunately we had looked at pictures of Polish food in our guide book that morning so we had some idea what to order and the menu was in English. David had Zurek soup in a bread bowl, which had mushrooms, white sausage and hard boiled eggs in it along with a huge order of fries! They are big on hard boiled eggs, I’ve noticed. Jeff braved the goulash and had a Bigos…not sure what that was…cabbage, meat, and mushrooms all mixed together. Joy choose the Pierogi that was delicious. It was ravioli stuffed with meat (who knows what kind) sauerkraut and mushrooms. We were shocked that we got ice with our drinks without even asking. Naturally, Mary had a large grilled salad with lots of vegetables.
After lunch, we walked around the Old Town Square admiring the Dutch Golden Age architectural style buildings. We stopped to go inside two of the churches (now we are in Catholic territory), the church of Mary Magdalene and church of Saint Elizabeth, which had a bust of the pope as he had spoken here. Took lots of pictures and returned to the car for our 2 ½ hr. trip to Krakow. This was a toll road, paid to get on, and paid to get off, and because of more construction we did not arrive at our hotel until after 6PM. This was the one hotel choice which David was nervous about as the town is full of tourists and he had trouble even getting us a hotel. And nervous he was when he saw the small room, small double bed and small everything that he and Jeff were to share! Mary and I made out fine, except that the bed is almost on the floor…but quaint it is and typical Polish located in a residual neighborhood and a 10 minute walk to the square.
Poland is a very poor country, being under Communists rule for so long they are still struggling to repair the country. With only 10 yrs of Capitalism experience they are still learning “:how to do”. The legal age to drink in Poland is 16, 18 to drive and fight in the war and 14 for sex…interesting, don’t you think?
We picked a restaurant where David had been before that had good ole American food that he yearned for after driving all day. It was like a TGI Fridays. We enjoyed sitting outside and people watching as it took forever to get our food etc. There are so many young people around and not many white hairs. The meal was wonderful and because David does not speak any Polish, we ended up with 8 orders of French Fries when we only ordered 1...that was a hoot! The Polish money is called Zolty and fortunately David pays, and Jeff keeps the accounting. Mary and I just trust. When we returned to our hotel it was close to midnight and we fell into our little bed. Happily we discovered they offer free internet, however the signal is so weak in our room we hope to send this from the lobby downstairs. I am still in the dark as to who won American Idol and it is driving me nuts! Off to tour the city today on foot after hopefully sending this to you. Free breakfast in the hotel restaurant….
The pictures of us are in Warclaw, having lunch, David in front of ING bank, where he works in Amsterdam, Mary in the square with flowers, and the Days in the square in Wroclaw.
The other two pictures of the buildings alone were taken in the square in Krakow.
We were packed and were on the way by 8:15. Today is a holiday in Berlin (Ascension Day) so the traffic was light. To our surprise the highway was new most of the way to Krakow, so David was able to drive fast…97 on cruise control. However, as soon as we reached the Polish border at 9:30, things changed. We bumped along on very rough roads for an hour but as I said, surprisingly the roads were new the rest of the day. Along the way Jeff entertained us with more Fun Facts and included a Polish language lesson. We did not do very well. We came up with Jac Samash…for “how are you”.
We encountered our first Polish joke, just 12 miles outside of our lunch stop, Wroclaw….”How do you set up a Polish Construction Project”? Well, first you squeeze all the traffic to one lane on the left which brings you to a complete stop, then you allow the traffic to flow in two lanes for about 10 meters, and then you squeeze all the traffic to the right which of course causes another complete stop. This costs us about 45 minutes but we laughed over their ingenuity.
We thought Wroclaw was beautiful. Fortunately we were able to park in the luxurious Sofitel hotel (French) parking garage, use their facilities (which were free…most places we pay $.50) and only walk a short distance to the very large square. There were a lot of restaurants around the square but we did notice there were very few souvenir shops, much to Joy’s chagrin. We picked the Town Hall restaurant and fortunately we had looked at pictures of Polish food in our guide book that morning so we had some idea what to order and the menu was in English. David had Zurek soup in a bread bowl, which had mushrooms, white sausage and hard boiled eggs in it along with a huge order of fries! They are big on hard boiled eggs, I’ve noticed. Jeff braved the goulash and had a Bigos…not sure what that was…cabbage, meat, and mushrooms all mixed together. Joy choose the Pierogi that was delicious. It was ravioli stuffed with meat (who knows what kind) sauerkraut and mushrooms. We were shocked that we got ice with our drinks without even asking. Naturally, Mary had a large grilled salad with lots of vegetables.
After lunch, we walked around the Old Town Square admiring the Dutch Golden Age architectural style buildings. We stopped to go inside two of the churches (now we are in Catholic territory), the church of Mary Magdalene and church of Saint Elizabeth, which had a bust of the pope as he had spoken here. Took lots of pictures and returned to the car for our 2 ½ hr. trip to Krakow. This was a toll road, paid to get on, and paid to get off, and because of more construction we did not arrive at our hotel until after 6PM. This was the one hotel choice which David was nervous about as the town is full of tourists and he had trouble even getting us a hotel. And nervous he was when he saw the small room, small double bed and small everything that he and Jeff were to share! Mary and I made out fine, except that the bed is almost on the floor…but quaint it is and typical Polish located in a residual neighborhood and a 10 minute walk to the square.
Poland is a very poor country, being under Communists rule for so long they are still struggling to repair the country. With only 10 yrs of Capitalism experience they are still learning “:how to do”. The legal age to drink in Poland is 16, 18 to drive and fight in the war and 14 for sex…interesting, don’t you think?
We picked a restaurant where David had been before that had good ole American food that he yearned for after driving all day. It was like a TGI Fridays. We enjoyed sitting outside and people watching as it took forever to get our food etc. There are so many young people around and not many white hairs. The meal was wonderful and because David does not speak any Polish, we ended up with 8 orders of French Fries when we only ordered 1...that was a hoot! The Polish money is called Zolty and fortunately David pays, and Jeff keeps the accounting. Mary and I just trust. When we returned to our hotel it was close to midnight and we fell into our little bed. Happily we discovered they offer free internet, however the signal is so weak in our room we hope to send this from the lobby downstairs. I am still in the dark as to who won American Idol and it is driving me nuts! Off to tour the city today on foot after hopefully sending this to you. Free breakfast in the hotel restaurant….
The pictures of us are in Warclaw, having lunch, David in front of ING bank, where he works in Amsterdam, Mary in the square with flowers, and the Days in the square in Wroclaw.
The other two pictures of the buildings alone were taken in the square in Krakow.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Wednesday, May 20th Potsdam
We were on our way to Potsdam by 8AM with the Wall Street Journal and USA Today on hand. Joy was thrilled to see that Shawn Johnson won Dancing with the Stars and Jeff was saddened that the market lost 29 points. Potsdam is located in the former German Democratic Republic, just outside the wall surrounding West Berlin.
It was great that we got to Sanssouci (“without a care”) early. This is the Palace of Frederic the Great, who used it as his summer home. We strolled through all the beautiful gardens and enjoyed seeing the interior of the palace for 12 euros to see 12 rooms. There are 740 acres but we opted not to see it all!!!! Frederick the Great (King of Prussia for 46 yrs.) built this palace in 1745 in the rococo style, his favorite and famous for its vineyards .We walked around the grounds for an hour viewing the statues, vineyards and flowers…what a treat! David and I went down another lane and ran into the Chinese Tea House…Jackie would have loved it. As we left we stopped by his grave where he and his 8 dogs are all buried …no wife…she never came here but chose to live in the palace in Berlin. Wouldn’t you know she was barren.
Outside the grounds we grabbed a quick lunch from an outdoor stand as it was warm and sunny. Joy had a boiled egg sandwich, Mary had a German pizza, and Jeff and David ate sausage etc. It was good except for our day’s disaster….Mary lost a part of her tooth…she’s ok…noticed it has not stopped her from eating. From there we drove to the New Palace, also built by Frederick the Great, which was only 6 euros to see 24 rooms. “Twice the palace for half the price”, was David’s comment. Even though it needs a lot of work the part we saw was much more elegant than Sanssouci. This palace was one of Germany’s most extravagant and most dazzling. Part of this palace (the guest rooms) now houses the University of Potsdam.
We went from there to Alexandrowka, which is the Russian colony in the northern part of Potsdam. It consists of 13 wooden houses in the Russian style which were built between 1826 and 1827. Very unique! Frederick Wilhelm III had these houses built for the Russian singers of the Prussian Regiment….as he loved music. Some of those ancestors still live in these houses today.
From there we drove to Cecilienhof, the site of the Potsdam Conference held between July 17 and August 2, 1945. Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Clement Atlee met to decide the future of Germany and post war Europe. Mary was chagrined that we opted to not pay 6 euros to see the room where this took place, as she had been there before and it made a lasting impression on her. We elected to buy lots of postcards instead.
Then we drove by the Dutch Quarter which was built in 1732 at the request of Frederick Wilhelm I, the soldier king. This was a series of three streets that looked a lot like Amsterdam with their gable roofs.
Our last site out of Potsdam back to Berlin, only 17 miles, was the Glienicke Bridge where prisoner’s exchanges were made during the Cold War. Creepy!
Now all we have to do today is decide where and what to eat for dinner and pack and be ready to leave by 8AM tomorrow. Just as a reminder, we are now going to Poland so you may not hear from us for a few days. Hopefully we can find an internet café as we are not counting on our hotel having internet connection.
We were on our way to Potsdam by 8AM with the Wall Street Journal and USA Today on hand. Joy was thrilled to see that Shawn Johnson won Dancing with the Stars and Jeff was saddened that the market lost 29 points. Potsdam is located in the former German Democratic Republic, just outside the wall surrounding West Berlin.
It was great that we got to Sanssouci (“without a care”) early. This is the Palace of Frederic the Great, who used it as his summer home. We strolled through all the beautiful gardens and enjoyed seeing the interior of the palace for 12 euros to see 12 rooms. There are 740 acres but we opted not to see it all!!!! Frederick the Great (King of Prussia for 46 yrs.) built this palace in 1745 in the rococo style, his favorite and famous for its vineyards .We walked around the grounds for an hour viewing the statues, vineyards and flowers…what a treat! David and I went down another lane and ran into the Chinese Tea House…Jackie would have loved it. As we left we stopped by his grave where he and his 8 dogs are all buried …no wife…she never came here but chose to live in the palace in Berlin. Wouldn’t you know she was barren.
Outside the grounds we grabbed a quick lunch from an outdoor stand as it was warm and sunny. Joy had a boiled egg sandwich, Mary had a German pizza, and Jeff and David ate sausage etc. It was good except for our day’s disaster….Mary lost a part of her tooth…she’s ok…noticed it has not stopped her from eating. From there we drove to the New Palace, also built by Frederick the Great, which was only 6 euros to see 24 rooms. “Twice the palace for half the price”, was David’s comment. Even though it needs a lot of work the part we saw was much more elegant than Sanssouci. This palace was one of Germany’s most extravagant and most dazzling. Part of this palace (the guest rooms) now houses the University of Potsdam.
We went from there to Alexandrowka, which is the Russian colony in the northern part of Potsdam. It consists of 13 wooden houses in the Russian style which were built between 1826 and 1827. Very unique! Frederick Wilhelm III had these houses built for the Russian singers of the Prussian Regiment….as he loved music. Some of those ancestors still live in these houses today.
From there we drove to Cecilienhof, the site of the Potsdam Conference held between July 17 and August 2, 1945. Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Clement Atlee met to decide the future of Germany and post war Europe. Mary was chagrined that we opted to not pay 6 euros to see the room where this took place, as she had been there before and it made a lasting impression on her. We elected to buy lots of postcards instead.
Then we drove by the Dutch Quarter which was built in 1732 at the request of Frederick Wilhelm I, the soldier king. This was a series of three streets that looked a lot like Amsterdam with their gable roofs.
Our last site out of Potsdam back to Berlin, only 17 miles, was the Glienicke Bridge where prisoner’s exchanges were made during the Cold War. Creepy!
Now all we have to do today is decide where and what to eat for dinner and pack and be ready to leave by 8AM tomorrow. Just as a reminder, we are now going to Poland so you may not hear from us for a few days. Hopefully we can find an internet café as we are not counting on our hotel having internet connection.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Monday May 18….Jeff’s 52nd Birthday
Our 8AM departure commenced at 8:15…delayed an additional 5 minutes for Passport check. We have 450 miles to travel today to Berlin. Halfway thru the rush hour traffic to Utrecht, Mary discovered to her dismay that she had left her pillow which has not left her side for lo these 70 yrs and David refused to return. Oh, the joy!
Jeff entrained us with fun facts about Amsterdam and the Netherlands as be began our road trip to Berlin. For instance, Amsterdam had only 26 traffic deaths and 18 murders last yeast in this city of 750,000. Also, this population has 465,000 bicycles of which 54,000 are stolen in a year. When you get too old for a bicycle you buy a Smart Car. There were 100,000 Dutch Jews deported to concentration camps of which only 876 returned. Only 20% of the population of Amsterdam attend church. 60% of the population lives below sea level.
We stopped for gas which was approximately $8.00 per gallon. At 10 AM we crossed into Germany which has no speed limit. David floored it to about 90MPH…and many other cars passed us; At one time David was going 110MPH…it was a little scary and I opted to fasten my seat belt even in the back seat.
Our first tourist stop was at Xanten, Germany, where we saw the largest archeological open air museum in the country. Here we walked among the ruins of a walled city where 10,000 Romans lived in the 2nd century.
In order to clean our David’s refrigerator her packed ham and cheese sandwiches for us to eat in the car…this saved us some time for sure.
We had an impromptu stop at the Kaiser Wilhelm monument. He was the first emperor of Germany as he united all the German speaking areas into one country in 1871. It was a beautiful ride thru the forest to get up to the site of this giant monument that was built in 1892-96. It was his grandson, Kaiser Wilhelm 2nd that had the monument constructed. Wilhelm 2nd was the Kaiser during WWI.
We arrived in Berlin with a brief city tour driving into town starting with the former East German border crossing into West Berlin. We drove through the Tiergarten to the bombed out ruins of the Memorial Church. We then arrived at the Marriott where the bell boy got very excited over the quantity of luggage he had to bring to our rooms for a mere 5 euro tip. Checking in was no problem, thanks to Kelly Steward’s special arrangements. We have two rooms, each with two queen size beds overlooking the Potsdamer Platz right in the middle of the former “no man’s land” of the Berlin Wall. While unpacking Mary discovered she had not left her pillow after all…whew!
At Jeff’s request we picked a German beer hall for all the traditional German food, including Wiener schnitzel with white asparagus (Joy’s favorite) and Hunter sauce, sausages and dumplings…way more than we could devour! Of course David and Jeff pounded back a liter and a half of German beer each!
To walk that all off, we took a walk through the newly finished”Monument to the Murdered Jews”, which consists of 2711 stelae (marble slabs). These are on a rolling hill on the top of Hitler’s bunker where he killed himself. From there we proceeded to the Brandenburg Gate which was the symbol of the division of Germany. We saw the new American Embassy across the street from the new French Embassy as we stood in East Berlin looking through the gate to the West. After taking lots and lots of pictures we walked to the Reichstag, the German Parliament. This is the building that the Nazis burned down in 1933 to wrestle the reins of power from Hindenburg, while blaming it all on the communists. We did get back to the hotel right before dark. Tomorrow we plan a bus tour of Berlin…Happy birthday, Jeff!
Our 8AM departure commenced at 8:15…delayed an additional 5 minutes for Passport check. We have 450 miles to travel today to Berlin. Halfway thru the rush hour traffic to Utrecht, Mary discovered to her dismay that she had left her pillow which has not left her side for lo these 70 yrs and David refused to return. Oh, the joy!
Jeff entrained us with fun facts about Amsterdam and the Netherlands as be began our road trip to Berlin. For instance, Amsterdam had only 26 traffic deaths and 18 murders last yeast in this city of 750,000. Also, this population has 465,000 bicycles of which 54,000 are stolen in a year. When you get too old for a bicycle you buy a Smart Car. There were 100,000 Dutch Jews deported to concentration camps of which only 876 returned. Only 20% of the population of Amsterdam attend church. 60% of the population lives below sea level.
We stopped for gas which was approximately $8.00 per gallon. At 10 AM we crossed into Germany which has no speed limit. David floored it to about 90MPH…and many other cars passed us; At one time David was going 110MPH…it was a little scary and I opted to fasten my seat belt even in the back seat.
Our first tourist stop was at Xanten, Germany, where we saw the largest archeological open air museum in the country. Here we walked among the ruins of a walled city where 10,000 Romans lived in the 2nd century.
In order to clean our David’s refrigerator her packed ham and cheese sandwiches for us to eat in the car…this saved us some time for sure.
We had an impromptu stop at the Kaiser Wilhelm monument. He was the first emperor of Germany as he united all the German speaking areas into one country in 1871. It was a beautiful ride thru the forest to get up to the site of this giant monument that was built in 1892-96. It was his grandson, Kaiser Wilhelm 2nd that had the monument constructed. Wilhelm 2nd was the Kaiser during WWI.
We arrived in Berlin with a brief city tour driving into town starting with the former East German border crossing into West Berlin. We drove through the Tiergarten to the bombed out ruins of the Memorial Church. We then arrived at the Marriott where the bell boy got very excited over the quantity of luggage he had to bring to our rooms for a mere 5 euro tip. Checking in was no problem, thanks to Kelly Steward’s special arrangements. We have two rooms, each with two queen size beds overlooking the Potsdamer Platz right in the middle of the former “no man’s land” of the Berlin Wall. While unpacking Mary discovered she had not left her pillow after all…whew!
At Jeff’s request we picked a German beer hall for all the traditional German food, including Wiener schnitzel with white asparagus (Joy’s favorite) and Hunter sauce, sausages and dumplings…way more than we could devour! Of course David and Jeff pounded back a liter and a half of German beer each!
To walk that all off, we took a walk through the newly finished”Monument to the Murdered Jews”, which consists of 2711 stelae (marble slabs). These are on a rolling hill on the top of Hitler’s bunker where he killed himself. From there we proceeded to the Brandenburg Gate which was the symbol of the division of Germany. We saw the new American Embassy across the street from the new French Embassy as we stood in East Berlin looking through the gate to the West. After taking lots and lots of pictures we walked to the Reichstag, the German Parliament. This is the building that the Nazis burned down in 1933 to wrestle the reins of power from Hindenburg, while blaming it all on the communists. We did get back to the hotel right before dark. Tomorrow we plan a bus tour of Berlin…Happy birthday, Jeff!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
After we went to bed last night we listened to the rain on the
skylight all night. We chose to delay our departure due to the
inclement weather and instead Joy and Mary chose to update our blogs
and photo logs! We so enjoyed our leisurely morning. Jeff, our
accountant worked on our finances as he is keeping up with who owes
whom. At noon we strolled to the van Gogh and Rijks museums which
are located close to each other. The line was way too long at the
van Gogh so we sat on a picnic table in the park where Mary and Joy
shared a chicken salad sandwich which was delicious and cheap. David
had a hot dog and Jeff continued to fast just for the day…not sure
why. David is a member of the Rijks through his bank, so we were
able to get in the fast lane and go to the head of the line paying
only 11 euros for all four of us when normally it would have cost us
11 each. It was Joy and Jeff’s first time and they really loved
it…especially the Rembrandts. It was pretty awesome to see the huge
“Night Watch” canvas. Of interest was the special exhibit of
Johannes Vermeer on loan for three months from the National Gallery
of Art in Washington DC. David then took us on a two hour walking
tour of the canal district, with cobble streets, bicycles, and trams
going every which way. The canals and the architecture of the
brownstones with their magnificent gables were explained expertly by
our own tour guide, David. Fascinating!
At the Western Church which is where the kings are crowned we were
intrigued by the Homomonument…three marble triangles. One of the
marble points dips into the Princes Canal…lovely.
Around the corner is the Anne Frank House where Jeff and Joy took the
tour. It was an unforgettable experience to see where 8 people lived
for 3 ½ years in that tiny space. Mary and David enjoyed sitting by
the canal watching the pleasure boats drift by.
The today’s disaster struck (we are hoping this will be our last)…Joy
tripped over a cobblestone coming out of the Anne Frank house and
fell flat on her face. Her knees are banged up again but it has not
slowed her down any. Sorry Jeff did not get the perfect photo.
We took the tram home as the afternoon rains came. This time Joy and
Jeff had umbrellas and by the time we got home, it was over. For
dinner we walked around the corner to Sardegna’s … a neighborhood
Italian restaurant. We celebrated the eve of Jeff’s birthday with
crepes complete with ice cream and figs for dessert following pizza
and ravioli. The Day boys presented us with Mother’s Day cards…they
sort of got their Sunday’s mixed up…but we loved being thought of in
that special way. Returning home we packed for our 14 day sojourn.
We motor to Berlin tomorrow.
skylight all night. We chose to delay our departure due to the
inclement weather and instead Joy and Mary chose to update our blogs
and photo logs! We so enjoyed our leisurely morning. Jeff, our
accountant worked on our finances as he is keeping up with who owes
whom. At noon we strolled to the van Gogh and Rijks museums which
are located close to each other. The line was way too long at the
van Gogh so we sat on a picnic table in the park where Mary and Joy
shared a chicken salad sandwich which was delicious and cheap. David
had a hot dog and Jeff continued to fast just for the day…not sure
why. David is a member of the Rijks through his bank, so we were
able to get in the fast lane and go to the head of the line paying
only 11 euros for all four of us when normally it would have cost us
11 each. It was Joy and Jeff’s first time and they really loved
it…especially the Rembrandts. It was pretty awesome to see the huge
“Night Watch” canvas. Of interest was the special exhibit of
Johannes Vermeer on loan for three months from the National Gallery
of Art in Washington DC. David then took us on a two hour walking
tour of the canal district, with cobble streets, bicycles, and trams
going every which way. The canals and the architecture of the
brownstones with their magnificent gables were explained expertly by
our own tour guide, David. Fascinating!
At the Western Church which is where the kings are crowned we were
intrigued by the Homomonument…three marble triangles. One of the
marble points dips into the Princes Canal…lovely.
Around the corner is the Anne Frank House where Jeff and Joy took the
tour. It was an unforgettable experience to see where 8 people lived
for 3 ½ years in that tiny space. Mary and David enjoyed sitting by
the canal watching the pleasure boats drift by.
The today’s disaster struck (we are hoping this will be our last)…Joy
tripped over a cobblestone coming out of the Anne Frank house and
fell flat on her face. Her knees are banged up again but it has not
slowed her down any. Sorry Jeff did not get the perfect photo.
We took the tram home as the afternoon rains came. This time Joy and
Jeff had umbrellas and by the time we got home, it was over. For
dinner we walked around the corner to Sardegna’s … a neighborhood
Italian restaurant. We celebrated the eve of Jeff’s birthday with
crepes complete with ice cream and figs for dessert following pizza
and ravioli. The Day boys presented us with Mother’s Day cards…they
sort of got their Sunday’s mixed up…but we loved being thought of in
that special way. Returning home we packed for our 14 day sojourn.
We motor to Berlin tomorrow.
Knowing we had an 11 hr. day we were up and out by 9:15AM in order to beat the crowds (only 15 minutes late!). A chilly day but sunny, we opted to head for the flower fields and beautiful gardens of the world famous Keukenhof. This is a three month exhibition so we were lucky to make it before it closes in 5 days…the reason being, the flowers die. We loved the tulips and rhododendrons the most but surprising to Joy were the beautiful azaleas still in bloom. The sweet sweet smell of the hyacinths and lilies was wonderful. It was all breathtaking even though the daffodils were gone. A photographer’s paradise but Mary had our second disaster. After charging her camera battery overnight it did not make it back to the camera but Joy made up for it by taking over 100 pictures. We spent 2 ½ hrs there, not only seeing the gorgeous flowers but watching the filming of a Bollywood (Indian) film complete with handsome men and beautiful women dancing amongst amid the tulips. There were few American tourists, mostly Indian, Asians and the Dutch, of course. Except we did meet a guy from Columbus, Ohio complete with an Ohio State Buckeye sweatshirt. For you Andalusia people, Alan Cotton was outdone!
From there we drove to Delft, a lovely city. Being Saturday, everyone was downtown in the square for Market Day. Lots of stalls with fruits, vegetables, bakery goods, cheeses, antiques….a massive garage sale….of which Joy could not get enough.
We ate lunch at the King’s house where we had good Dutch sandwiches (too hard to explain) complete with a Delft toilet seat. (Picture) We went to several Delft factories to search out just the right piece and for Jeff to find just the right T shirt. The square is surrounded by the two Dutch Reform churches, the New Church, where the royal family’s crypts are located and the Old Church which was built in the 3rd century. As we left the market square the bells chimed and the rain came.
We decided to drive an half an hour out of our way to see Kinderdijk where there are 19 well preserved working windmills. They were built in 1750 to drain the swamp. In the 1920s the steam generated pumps were installed. The whole purpose was to pump the water up to the North Sea. By walking out on the dike with the windmills in the background, David had planned this to be the picture perfect spot of the Dutch countryside. Even the sun came out but Joy had her sinking spell and never came out of the restaurant/gift shop. Too bad!
It was 7PM by the time we got back to David’s for a quick refresher and a warm jacket to head out to catch the tram for restaurant row. We picked Chicanos, a Mexican – American restaurant. We had a cute young Mexican waiter (Rodrigo) who entertained us trying to answer Mary’s too many questions. Par for the course we watched the rain come down and wondered how in the world we were going to get home, as naturally we left our umbrellas in the car from the afternoon. After a great dinner we braved the rain and finally got home before 11…tired, wet and happy.
We still had to sort out all the pictures taken for the day when we discovered Mary and Jeff had not remembered to bring their cords to hook up to the computer so you guys will have to settle for pictures from Joy (287 taken today) and David (61). After midnight we fell asleep listening to the rain on the skylight. The rain was good for David’s beautiful plantings out on his two terraces.
Whew!
From there we drove to Delft, a lovely city. Being Saturday, everyone was downtown in the square for Market Day. Lots of stalls with fruits, vegetables, bakery goods, cheeses, antiques….a massive garage sale….of which Joy could not get enough.
We ate lunch at the King’s house where we had good Dutch sandwiches (too hard to explain) complete with a Delft toilet seat. (Picture) We went to several Delft factories to search out just the right piece and for Jeff to find just the right T shirt. The square is surrounded by the two Dutch Reform churches, the New Church, where the royal family’s crypts are located and the Old Church which was built in the 3rd century. As we left the market square the bells chimed and the rain came.
We decided to drive an half an hour out of our way to see Kinderdijk where there are 19 well preserved working windmills. They were built in 1750 to drain the swamp. In the 1920s the steam generated pumps were installed. The whole purpose was to pump the water up to the North Sea. By walking out on the dike with the windmills in the background, David had planned this to be the picture perfect spot of the Dutch countryside. Even the sun came out but Joy had her sinking spell and never came out of the restaurant/gift shop. Too bad!
It was 7PM by the time we got back to David’s for a quick refresher and a warm jacket to head out to catch the tram for restaurant row. We picked Chicanos, a Mexican – American restaurant. We had a cute young Mexican waiter (Rodrigo) who entertained us trying to answer Mary’s too many questions. Par for the course we watched the rain come down and wondered how in the world we were going to get home, as naturally we left our umbrellas in the car from the afternoon. After a great dinner we braved the rain and finally got home before 11…tired, wet and happy.
We still had to sort out all the pictures taken for the day when we discovered Mary and Jeff had not remembered to bring their cords to hook up to the computer so you guys will have to settle for pictures from Joy (287 taken today) and David (61). After midnight we fell asleep listening to the rain on the skylight. The rain was good for David’s beautiful plantings out on his two terraces.
Whew!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Leaving for the airport...10:30 AM
Leaving NY @ 2:30...hoping to meet Mary in DC
Leaving DC @ 4:50
Thursday and Friday
Bill took me to Laguardia two hours early (necessary for overseas flight) and after three delays posted on my flight to DC I knew I was not going to make my connection with Mary and Jeff in DC. Finally got the attendant to help me he told me I would have to leave the next day on the same flights, or fly to Washington, spend the night and take the same flight out on Friday for Amsterdam. About the time I decided to do this...he said, "wait a minute, they have you booked to fly to Chicago and from there directly to Amsterdam" which will put me there about 2 hrs. later than the flight out of DC. I was thrilled and was able to contact Danny who was able to contact David so he would know what happened to me. In the meantime, at the airport in Washington, Jeff arrives, checks both flights for Mary and me and discovers that I am not going to make it. He has sense enough to go to Customer Service and ask what the airline had done to me and got the info that I was going thru Chicago. He met Mary's plane with the news. I was very relieved when I got to Chicago that I had a voice mail from Mary telling me that all was well, they knew where I was and that David would meet me. The ironic thing about this is when we were making our original plans Jeff had opted for us to leave out of DC instead of Chicago because he thought that would be closer for me since I was leaving from New York. Then to top it all off, Mary and Jeff set on the tarmac for 2 hrs. in Washington and only arrived in Amsterdam 1/2 hr. ahead of me. The good part is my luggage followed me and after much search it was right where it was suppose to be. Coming out of baggage and seeing David was a wonderful sight! We managed to get all the baggage and all of us in David's car and headed for his apartment...the Day's Inn. We settled in, had a little lunch as it is now noon on Friday, a short nap and are now preparing to hit the streets.
Leaving NY @ 2:30...hoping to meet Mary in DC
Leaving DC @ 4:50
Thursday and Friday
Bill took me to Laguardia two hours early (necessary for overseas flight) and after three delays posted on my flight to DC I knew I was not going to make my connection with Mary and Jeff in DC. Finally got the attendant to help me he told me I would have to leave the next day on the same flights, or fly to Washington, spend the night and take the same flight out on Friday for Amsterdam. About the time I decided to do this...he said, "wait a minute, they have you booked to fly to Chicago and from there directly to Amsterdam" which will put me there about 2 hrs. later than the flight out of DC. I was thrilled and was able to contact Danny who was able to contact David so he would know what happened to me. In the meantime, at the airport in Washington, Jeff arrives, checks both flights for Mary and me and discovers that I am not going to make it. He has sense enough to go to Customer Service and ask what the airline had done to me and got the info that I was going thru Chicago. He met Mary's plane with the news. I was very relieved when I got to Chicago that I had a voice mail from Mary telling me that all was well, they knew where I was and that David would meet me. The ironic thing about this is when we were making our original plans Jeff had opted for us to leave out of DC instead of Chicago because he thought that would be closer for me since I was leaving from New York. Then to top it all off, Mary and Jeff set on the tarmac for 2 hrs. in Washington and only arrived in Amsterdam 1/2 hr. ahead of me. The good part is my luggage followed me and after much search it was right where it was suppose to be. Coming out of baggage and seeing David was a wonderful sight! We managed to get all the baggage and all of us in David's car and headed for his apartment...the Day's Inn. We settled in, had a little lunch as it is now noon on Friday, a short nap and are now preparing to hit the streets.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Grand Tour of Central Europe
The Grand Central European Adventure May 2009
with Mary, Jeff, and David Day
May 15 Arrive in Amsterdam (staying at David's apt) "Days Inn"
16 Visit Dutch Countryside - Leukenhof and Delft
17 Amsterdam city tour
18 Depart for Berlin
19 Prussian Palace Tour of Potsdam
20 Sightsee Berlin
21 Travel to Cracow
22 Crackling Krakow
23 Day trip to Auschwitz
24 Slovakian Castle Day; night in Slovakia
25 Moring in Bratislava, Slovakia, afternoon and night in Vienna
26 Morning in Vienne, late afternoon to Salzbury
27 Salzburg-Sound of Music Tour and city walk (Biergarten with the monks)
28 Travel to Prague
29 Day in Prague
30 Bohemian Rhapsody (Outskirts if Prague) - Karlstejn Castle
31 Travel to Heidelberg
June 1 Travel back to Amsterdam
2 See more of Amsterdam
3 Depart back to New York
7 Home to Andy!!!
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