Who needs a GPS when you have Diane and Trudy?

After retrieving our BMW rental car on the top deck of the Avis parking garage, Tom figured out the controls for the windshield wipers since it began to rain at a steady pace.   He programmed the GPS for Blois and we named the GPS ”Bridgette” since we were in France.   Bridgette instructed Tom to “dodge left, dodge right, move to center, then dodge left on the second turn," etc.   And although there were some who doubted Bridgette’s abilities (excluding Tom), she directed us right onto the freeway towards Paris.  After driving for about an hour, Trudy and Diane began to question Bridgette’s direction and felt that Bridgette had not considered all possible shortcuts to Blois,  and so they came up with an alternate route to cut off several miles from the trip.  Since Tom and Bridgette were out-voted, the motion to exit the freeway was carried.  As a result of this alternate route, we saw some beautiful French countryside, quaint villages, vineyards and amazing farm land.  Scattered throughout the farm land were wind powered turbines, but not as many as we saw in Germany and the Netherlands.  Overall, it is impressive how much Europe is into green energy programs.  Of course, as with the U.S., there are the European factions who complain that wind turbines are decimating the bird population.  However, Tom pointed out that there are many square miles of air space to the left, the right and above the wind turbines.   Therefore, the only birds being killed are most likely suicidal or inherently bad flyers.  As a result, wind turbines are improving the European bird gene pool.

After a few hours of traveling on two-lane roads, although the landscape was beautiful, Diane and Trudy admitted that Bridgette’s directions would have kept us on the four-lane freeway…which would have resulted in a 7:00 pm arrival time.   Instead, we arrived about 9:30 pm in Blois.   Lesson learned:  if you pay eleven Euro a day for a GPS unit, why not follow those directions.

The next day we were off to Chambord, the amazing chateau of Francois 1^st.    French chateaux (or palaces) differ from castles since they were not built for defensive purposes, but rather for “showing off” one’s wealth and power.  Chambord is the largest of the chateaux in the Loire valley.   It is a magnificent structure containing nearly a hundred unusual structures on the top level.  These various structures were supposed to resemble the skyline of Constantinople.  It is difficult to explain the sheer mass of Chambord and it’s requisite structures.  You could drive a Toyota Prius around the top of the chateau between these structures which appear to be a jumbled mass of small buildings from ground level.  The overall effect is a bit like being at Disney World.  The children of the various kings, queens (and mistresses of kings…yes…some were naughty) must have had a ball playing hide and seek and chasing each other around this make-believe city with its magnificent view of the countryside and impressive main approach lined with towering Sycamores. 

Here are some pictures taken by Diane.

That's all for now ...we are now 16 days behind in blogging and having trouble with our electronic devices!  It's always something!

Happy trails,

TNT

On to Strasbourg and an impressive cathedral

After prying Tom's hands from the Mercedes steering wheel, he reluctantly returned the rental car in Baden Baden on October 8.  We then boarded the train for Strasbourg, France.  We arrived at the Hotel Gutenberg in the afternoon.  This historic hotel has four normal floors, a refurbished attic with dormers (a.k.a. the fifth floor) and a sixth floor, which is really the "attic above the attic".  The sixth floor contained huge rafters that were at least 16 by 16 inches thick which ran through the hallways and guest rooms.  However, the rafters were painted white, giving them that "country french" flavor.  

Diane was lucky enough to get a room on the sixth floor.  Remember Harry Potter's room underneath the stairs at his mean Aunt and Uncle's house?  Harry's room was bigger than Diane's accommodations. However, the attic above the attic did have a skylight located over the bathroom sink allowing Diane to view the constellations as she brushed her teeth.  In fact, Diane described her room as "trying to get closer to the heavens" in the same spirit as the builders of cathedrals.  As a savvy traveler, Diane confirmed that there was a fire escape from the attic above the attic.  It consisted of a trap door in the hallway with a nylon chute in which you jumped feet first while keeping your arms raised over your head.  The directions did not illustrate where you ultimately land on the first floor after plummeting nearly six stories through a big sock. We have included a picture of the sixth floor emergency escape information.

After settling in, we were off to the Strasbourg cathedral.   What makes a cathedral a cathedral instead of just a really big church?   In order to be a cathedral, it must be a principal church of a Diocese where a bishop is officially associated.  The Strasbourg cathedral is a spectacular sight with tall spires and beautiful stained glass in hues of red, green and blue that contain strikingly detailed scenes.  While we were in the cathedral, organ music was being played throughout which really enhanced our visit.  We are including some of Diane's snapshots of the impressive entrance to the cathedral. 

The petite France section of Strasbourg has many half-timbered houses. It captures the feel and architectural elements of the French countryside.  This section of the city was filled with music, charm and the smells of fresh baked pastry.  Here are some  pictures of this area.

The next morning we were off to pick up our Avis rental car.  Tom was pouting at the thought of the three of us cramming into a Citroen A-3, after experiencing the Mercedes driving experience.  After our driving fiasco in Baden Baden, we were set on renting a car with GPS.  The only auto available with GPS was a BMW (picture a big smile on Tom's face), so we coughed up the additional cash and headed for the rental parking structure with the BMW car keys.  As we reached the parking structure, Diane pulled the large stainless steel door handle but could not open the door.  Then she tried sliding the door left and right...but no luck.  Tom then attempted to use his parking access card in a slot that looked logical but that only resulted in bending the access card.  At that point the three musketeers once again said "huh!"  Luckily, an Avis employee who was walking a few steps behind (and observing our inability to gain entry) stepped up and "pushed" the door open.  At this point the Americans and the French Avis employee all broke into uncontrollable laughter.  Now...in defense of Americans, unlike American doors, many doors in Germany and France have large handles on the outside which you would assume are for pulling, not for pushing.  However, you push to enter.  (Tom and Diane requested that this fact be documented in  the blog.)

After retrieving our car and loading up the luggage, it was time to head for Blois (pronounced "Blu Wah").  More on our trip to Blois and our visit to the chateau of Chambord in our next installment.

Happy trails,

TNT

When things went bad in Baden Baden

 Reader beware--the following is rather lengthy, feel free to skip to the pictures, but you might find Tom's recollection of this day amusing!

Baden Baden is the city of thermal baths.  The river Oos runs through the heart of the city for one and a half miles and has a pedestrian walking path along the river which is lined with some of the best tree specimens in Europe.  However, before you get to enjoy the beauty of Baden Baden, you have to get there.  Arriving in Baden Baden was where things went bad.

Our drive from St. Goar went amazingly well.  We exited the toll road and headed for the city center.  We knew our hotel was near the city center and the thermal baths.  We drove for several blocks into the city but after roughly twenty minutes, we realized that we needed assistance so we called our hotel.  As a result of that call, the following conversations took place (street names may not be accurate). 

Trudy: "Go straight away on Zuminheimer, then turn left."
Tom:  "Is this a pedestrian walkway...damn...I'm on a pedestrian walkway."
Diane:  "At least it's Sunday and there aren't many pedestrians."
Tom:  "Jeeze, I drove on the pedestrian walkway the last time we were here."
Trudy:  "No, the hotel lady says if we are by the avenue with the trees it's okay, now just go 'straight away' on Winkenheimer and we're almost there."
Tom:  " Should I be going up a hill?"
Diane: "It looks like we are going out of the city."
Tom:  " Am I supposed to be going up a big hill?
Trudy: " She says if you are passing a median with trees you are on the right street."
Diane:  " It's really pretty out here."
Tom:  " Did the lady say we're supposed to head for the trees...because this is a really big forest?
Trudy:  " She says to go 'straight away' on Winkenheimer to the top of the hill, then turn at the first left."
Tom:  " This looks more like a mountain."
Diane:  "This is really pretty."
Tom:  " Okay, we're at the top and I'm turning left....maybe this is the hotel."
Trudy:  " Does it say Heliopark Hotel?"
Diane:  " Looks like Accueview Orthopedic Clinic."

Trudy speaking with hotel clerk:  " Are you located near an orthopedic clinic?  No....there are a lot of trees...we are like in a forest setting....oh....you have no idea where we are?   Okay, thanks for trying.
Tom:  " Shite!" (British pronunciation)

We pulled out of the clinic and stopped at the top of the hill to ask two gentlemen who were walking along the road for directions.   They did not speak English, however, we showed them the address and they pointed down the hill, made a "cork screw" signal with their hands and said "zoom, zoom, zoom." We thanked them and headed down the hill zoom zoom zoom.  Unfortunately, we found ourselves entering a tunnel at least 1/4 mile long.  We decided to stop at a petrol station, where we were directed to go back through the tunnel and to go "straight away" on Lichtentaler until we come to the Festspielhaus, then park in the Vagner parking area.  Our next attempt went something like this. 

Tom: " Okay, we're through the tunnel, we're on Lichtentaler."
Trudy: " Looking good."
Diane: " Tom, you are driving this six speed so well...good job!"
Tom:  " Thanks, Diane, it's pretty easy since I had eight years of practice with my supra....looks like we have to turn here....shite....we're going back through the tunnel."

After returning back through the tunnel, it took three attempts to reach the parking garage, competing with bicycles, buses and motorcycles who ride the line between cars.  Here is a condensed version of our conversation which took place over roughly fifteen minutes of hectic maneuvering.

Trudy: " You need to get in the left lane."
Tom: " It's okay...both lanes are cutting left through the hairpin curve."
Trudy: " How fast are you going?"
Tom:  " Gotta stay with the traffic."
Trudy:  " Seems like you are speeding."
Diane: " I'm staying out of this."
Tom:  " Who is this guy...Mario Andretti trying to cut in ..."
Trudy: " Oh Jeeze....that's a pedestrian walkway."
Tom:  " It doesn't look like a pedestrian walkway...is that a pedestrian walkway?"
Trudy: " Tom...please don't hit that Mercedes!"
Tom:  " Is that gray car driving up the pedestrian walkway where it says Ausfahrt?
Diane:  " I'm staying out of this."
Tom: " Ausfahrt means exit....right?
Tom:  " Can somebody watch that red car and tell me if he Ausfahrts towards the pedestrian walkway?"
Trudy: " Can you just slow down?!"
Tom: " On the next turn I'm Ausfahrting."
Diane:  " I think it means exit...oh wait...my German phrase book doesn't have Ausfahrt."
Tom:  " The sun's in my eyes...I can't see..."
Trudy:  " You're driving up a pedestrian walkway."
Tom:  " It's the only way to get to the parking garage, ...I'm Ausfahrting.  There's the entrance to the garage."
Trudy:  "Well okay then....good job, Honey!"

And so we arrived in one piece at the Vagner parking structure, unloaded our luggage, got in the elevator in the parking garage, tried to act like we could read German and exited in the basement at the fruit market!  As Danna Roseanna Dana's father used to say..."It's always something!"

Pictures of one of our favorite places in Germany:

  We're on to Strasbourg!

Happy trails,
TNT

Blogging is like homework--you don't always want to do it!

Having visited Rothenburg once before, we knew Diane would enjoy seeing this medieval city so that was the next stop on the Musketeers' itinerary.  Here's a happy Tom when we were upgraded from a VW Passat to a Mercedes for our travel in Germany. 

Our travel time to Rothenburg should have been about 1 1/2 hours, but we chose the repetitive scenic tour going through Heilbronn again and again (remember Groundhog Day?)!  But 4 hours later we arrived in fairy tale Rothenburg, checked into our charming hotel within the walled city and life was pretty good again!  Thoroughly enjoyed our walk on the ramparts of the wall surrounding the city, had a delicious meal and then we were off to join the night watchman for a hilarious journey through the very dark streets of Rothenburg -- a great memory there! 

Here are some pictures of this quaint little city. 

The next one is of Diane and Tom trying not to get blown off the church tower!  It wasn't raining when we started our climb, but things changed suddenly!  I'm glad I was there with camera ready!

Travelers tip:  if you come to Rothenburg and are told you have to try a schneeball, save your money!  They definitely look better than they taste.  However for those of you who might want to try one, Diane took several home (they last for 8 weeks!) and will be having a schneeball party--date and time to be announced.  Here's what they look like.

Our next destination was the little town of Sankt Goar along the Rhine River.  Tom and I had been telling Diane how much she will enjoy the accommodations at the Rheinfels Castle on top of the hill, the lovely meal we will have in their restaurant overlooking the Rhine, etc.  Well!  Things went a little different than expected!  On attempting to check in at Schloss Rheinfels we were told we did not have reservations there...high on the hill...where kings used to live.  We discovered that our reservations were for Hotel Rheinfels...located in the valley below the castle...where serfs,  farmers and yeomen  resided long ago.  However, we were not about to leave the castle reception area empty handed.  So after literally begging for dinner reservations for the next night, a very gracious young hostess agreed to squeeze us in for dinner the following evening.  We then descended into the valley of "tourists-who-made-the-wrong-hotel-reservation."

After seeing our room, I was actually glad to be 5' tall; Tom required a neck adjustment after our two nights there.  He said that his head was going to permanently tilt to the right, which was required whenever he used the bathroom or walked on the left side of the bed.  We had a skylight which allowed us to wave to many neighbors as they looked in on us while we were sleeping.  Did I mention that Diane had a Rhine view?  But the room was clean and we had our nice dinner to look forward to on our last night in Sankt Goar.  Here are some pictures of the Rheinfels Castle we explored.

On Saturday we took a cruise on the Rhine, getting off to enjoy the towns of Rudesheim and Bacharach.  Here are a few pictures taken along the way.  We encountered a little light rain, but it was relatively warm and reminded us of fall weather in Wisconsin.

This is the oldest house (Altes House) in Bacharach.  So cute!

After returning from our cruise, we put on our evening clothes, and drove up the steep hill to Rheinfels Castle.  Although it was raining fairly hard, we briskly made the 100 yard dash across the outer parking area, the wooden pedestrian bridge, and the inner hotel guest parking area in anticipation of the meal awaiting us inside...where we would be seated in the glass enclosed terrace overlooking the Rhine and the valley far below...where serfs, yeoman and farmers lived long ago and more recently Tom, Trudy and Diane.  However, once again, the fates were against us.  The gracious young hostess who worked so diligently to make our dinner reservations on Friday advised us that  the reservation "was for Friday night...not Saturday."   Unfortunately, she held a table for three until 9:00 PM on Friday night and she was rather surprised when we were "no shows!" The three musketeers (who at this point looked rather wet and soggy in their dinner clothing) seemed to forget how to speak.   Finally, one of the musketeers (not sure who) said "huh?" 

Apparently, there was a miscommunication somewhere regarding our dinner reservation.  In an effort to remedy the situation, our hostess led us down several steps to what was once probably the castle dungeon.   However, it is currently the German pizza parlor adjacent to the souvenir area for the castle.  We were the only three customers for quite sometime. While the meals were not five star, they were okay.   The saving grace was the dessert menu!  In recounting the day's occurrences, we had some good laughs, indulged in some decadent desserts, and left Rheinfels Castle pizza parlor with our heads held high...except for  Tom, whose head tilted slightly to the right.

Happy trails,
TNT 

Good times and hot wine in Heidelberg!

Before our hot wine story, we must share Lesson No. 2 in European Train Travel for Dummies:

Monday we boarded our train to Heidelberg with first-class tickets in hand, anticipating free coffee, sandwiches, cocktails, croissants and other goodies, plus free Wi-Fi . . . because this is what we experienced when traveling first-class on the high speed train from Brussels to Cologne.  In expectation of the sumptuous free feast awaiting us in first class we decided to just have coffee and a croissant for breakfast and skip lunch.  However, our first clue that this "first-class" trip would be different was when we were asked if we wanted to "purchase" drinks or food.  Our second clue was when we couldn't access "free"  Wi-Fi because there was "no" Wi-Fi on our "high-speed" train.  Our third clue that our first-class trip would be different was when a young college student sitting next to Trudy explained that this was not a "high-speed" train, just an IC (inter-city) train!  And so we arrived in Heidelberg hungry, thirsty and laughing! 

The silver-lining to this story is that we spent the last hour of our train ride conversing with Arne, a delightful young man studying topography (map-making).  After sharing our plans to travel in Europe for awhile and the description of ourselves as "homeless", Arne was intrigued enough to ask for our blog.  So if you're reading this, Arne, good luck with your thesis and thanks for the tips on driving in Germany!

After checking into our hotel we went  in pursuit of something to eat.  Now street-vendor food has never appealed to us, but after chowing down those turkey sandwiches sold on the first corner we came to, we have a new respect for them!  That was definitely worth the 2,8 euro!  Having fed our empty bellies, off we go to meet Diane who is arriving on a shuttle from Frankfurt Airport, and The Three Musketeers begin their adventure!

Refreshed after a good night's sleep, we are ready to tackle Heidelberg's castle and the 340+ steps to get up there.  With just a few stops in between, the not-so-young Musketeers reach the top and are delighted to see a beverage stand there.  So Diane insists on buying Tom a "retirement drink" and she attempts to order 3 bottles of water.  Now anyone who knows Diane is familiar with her "southern" accent and that's why Tom and I think we got HOT WINE instead of ice cold water . . . lost in translation!  The proprietor waited with a smile and gestured (our interpretation: bottoms up!).  We all took a taste, smiled in approval at the proprietor, walked away and tossed the hot wine!  Note to ourselves: avoid "gluhwein" in the morning or letting a southerner order for you!

Here are some pics of the castle.

We enjoyed a spectacular view of the city after taking the funicular at a 43% grade up another 1000 feet ( the castle was at 846 feet). . . and a few more pictures.

The legend of the next picture goes something like this:  the baboon holds a mirror to remind the people of Heidelberg that they are no better than anyone else in the reflection of the mirror.  Or our interpretation of what was said by another passer-by we asked:  the monkey sees penguins on the ice!  I guess we'll go with the philosophical legend.

 

Amazing cathedral in Cologne!

Our time in Cologne, Germany was rather short, but we felt we saw the highlights.  The cathedral here is why we put Cologne on our itinerary and it certainly didn't disappoint!  It is Germany's largest (but not tallest) cathedral, started in 1248 and completed in 1880.  This cathedral suffered more than 70 hits from bombings during WWII but remained standing while much of Cologne was destroyed.  The word "majestic" comes to mind as you gaze up at the twin towers which are over 500 feet and wonder at the marvels that men created using primitive crane and pulley devices.   We were there on Sunday and they have services almost every hour throughout the day, but tourists are still free to step in and observe.  It was wonderful to hear the service (albeit in German!), listen to the choir and the amazing acoustics and just imagine people centuries ago enjoying this same experience.  As someone very dear to us once said, "you are almost Catholic", and so we continue to light candles in each of these magnificent churches and say a prayer for the continued good health of our daughter and several dear friends that are going through difficult times.  You are all in our thoughts and prayers. 

Here are a few attempts at capturing the cathedral with our sad little camera.

 And a few more pictures of a Sunday afternoon stroll along the Rhine in Cologne.  Enjoy!

This little guy would not come out of the water!

 

 And so we say goodbye to Cologne, and it's on the train to Heidelberg where we will meet our traveling companion for the next 15 days.

Happy trails,
TnT



 

Why we shouldn't blog at 11 pm!

As we sent the blog the other night, we realized that we didn't share anything about our visit to the Museum of Instruments in Brussels.  This was the best 5  Euros we spent all week.   The museum is relatively new and is located in a former department store near the royal square.  It was difficult to determine which display cases were new and which ones were original to the department store.  Regardless of origin, the wood, trim and ornate brass trimmings of the display cases were as pleasing as the presentation of over 7,000 instruments from around the world.  Many were dated from the 1700's and 1800's.

Each of four floors were temperature and humidity controlled to protect the numerous wood instruments.  Some of the instruments were like a fine work of art, while others represented some musician's well-worn violin, flute, accordion,mandolin or guitar.  The coolest part of the exhibit was the newly enhanced audio headsets.   You simply walk to the front of the instrument display you wish to view and a tune is played on that instrument.  It is hard to imagine the value alone of the harps and clarinets dating from the 1700's.  And it is simply mind boggling to attempt to value all 7,000 of these rare instruments.   We were fortunate to attend the museum while visitation is not at the peak levels of July and August, since you need to spend at least a few minutes in front of each exhibit.  We rate this experience 10+!