Ahhhh! Gibralter, an English keyboard and 8 minutes in an Internet Cafe. Yesterday we docked in La Palma, the capital of Mallorca, one of the Balleric islands off the south coast of Spain. Rafael and Loretta, who oversee the Calvary Chapel Bible School and pastor the church there picked us up at the harbor and took us out to see the bible school before going into Palma and having a tapas lunch. We had less than four hours in port, but we really enjoyed our fellowship there.
Today, we arrived in Gibralter around 4:30 PM, which was just enough time to walk through town, spend the rest of our Euros on English language books to read on the trip, and take the cable car to the top of the rock, where we got some great pictures of the Barbary apes. We have a little less than four hours here as well.
The ship that we're on has some problems with one of its drive systems and can't go as fast as originally scheduled, so we won't be stopping in Madiera on our way back. Instead, we'll spend the next eight days at sea, and should arrive in Miami on November 4th.
The ship (the Norwegian Jewel) is pretty nice, although we tend to eat more than we did just traveling around via our rail pass. Although we didn't stick to our diet on our trip, both of us manage to avoid gaining weight. We'll probably have to hit the cycling machines every morning to keep that up on the cruise.
Since Internet access on the ship costs 75 cents a minute, this will be our last update until we get back to the states. See you all then!
--Steve and Kathy
Friday, October 26, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Day 42-44: Cinque Terre, Rome & Corsica
Still typing on a French keyboard (only 20 mins with a coffee) so short snippets again. Yesterday and the day before we took tours from the ship, visiting the Cinque Terre (5 picturesque cities on the Italian Riviera near Portofino) and Rome (the Forum, Colliseum, and St. Peters in the Vatican).
Today, we have 4 hours in port in Ajaccio, Corsica. We're really having a great time.
Today, we have 4 hours in port in Ajaccio, Corsica. We're really having a great time.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Day 40-41: Barcelona to Nice
Today (Saturday, October 20) we had a late breakfast on the Ramblas, came back and checked out of our hotel, and caught the boat to our ship, Norwegian Gem. We were in our stateroom by noon, had a leisurely lunch onboard, and then spent the rest of afternoon reading and watching the Barcelona harbor from the sun deck.
At 5:00 our ship pulled out; we had a nice dinner in the on-board Mexican restraunt, and then watched the cartoon Rattitoulie on the TV.
Sunday morning found us docking at Villefranche del Mar. After breakfast we went ashore where we caught the bus to Nice. In Nice we met up with Pierre and Nancy Petrignani of Calvary Chapel of Nice and had a nice Nice lunch together. Afterward they took us over to see their new church building and they let us use their computer (where I'm typing this very slowly on a French keyboard).
At 5:00 our ship pulled out; we had a nice dinner in the on-board Mexican restraunt, and then watched the cartoon Rattitoulie on the TV.
Sunday morning found us docking at Villefranche del Mar. After breakfast we went ashore where we caught the bus to Nice. In Nice we met up with Pierre and Nancy Petrignani of Calvary Chapel of Nice and had a nice Nice lunch together. Afterward they took us over to see their new church building and they let us use their computer (where I'm typing this very slowly on a French keyboard).
Friday, October 19, 2007
Day 38-39: Barcelona
Thursday, October 18th, our 38th day in Europe, and our second in Barcelona, got started with a bang at Starbucks. We stopped by a pasteleria and picked up some churros and pasteries, then got two large (Venti) coffees and took them to the Placa Catalunya, the main plaza in town. (Yesterday we had breakfast at Duncan Coffee, which looks exactly light Duncan Doughnuts in the States; I guess that Doughnut would be unrecognized here. I had a chocolate cake with coconut sprinkles, along with a cinnamon cake doughnut; both of us had large coffees.)While we were sitting in the Plaza Kathy struck up a conversation with a Filipino woman named Dena sitting next to us on the bench. She's come to Spain looking for a better life, and left her two children with a family member back in the Philippines. There she taught law at the university; here she's looking for any kind of work she can find. She feels that the sacrifice is worth it because there's a lot more opportunity in Spain and the EU than back home. Because the Philippines was once a Spanish colony, those who come to Spain can become citizens in only two years. We prayed with her for her situation and for her children (she showed us their photos), gave her some Bible promises, and then went off to do some Internet.
We spent about an hour at the EasyInternet Cafe over by the University, catching up on our email and the blog. Then, we went to have lunch across from the Catalan Concert Hall at La Dolca Herminia. Since we had to wait a half hour yesterday, today we wanted to make sure that we got there in plenty of time, so we showed up a half hour early. Rather than waiting around, we explored the old city around the concert hall, and then had a fine lunch. Like La Rita, La Dolca Herminia has a lunch special that draws a lot of locals (3 course meal for 8,40 including bread and beverage). I had the mixed Paella and Kathy had a Cordon Bleu type dish.
After lunch we decided to use our Metro pass and visit the mountain that overlooks the city named Tibidabo (which comes from the Latin words "to thee I shall give" spoken to Christ by the Devil when he showed him the kingdoms of the world during his temptation.) To get there we had to take a metro-like railway called FVG, and then we were supposed to switch to Barcelona's only remaining tram. We waited around for a little more than a half hour (along with an increasingly large crowd of other tourists). Finally, it was obvious that the tram wasn't running so we took a bus instead. The bus let us out pretty high up above the city, but to get to the top of the mountain we had to take a funicular (which wasn't covered by our Metro pass).
At the top, there are two churches, one on top of the other. The topmost church has a large statue of Christ, kind of like the one over Rio de Janiero in Brazil. Literally surrounding both churches is a large amusement part with roller coasters, Ferris wheels and other thrill rides, which is kind of surreal. It kind of makes the church look like "Jesus of the Roller Coaster".
When we came down from the mountain, we hopped on the Metro again and went out to Barcoleneta, the old port of Barcelona, along with the beach. The weather was absolutely perfect, and we got to walk along the beach up to the Olympic port that was created for the 1992 (I think) Summer Olympics. There was actually a 3 or 4 foot wind swell running and about 20 surfers in the water; the funny thing is that they really weren't as good as the surfers we found in Munich in the middle of the city. I guess that the waves there are more consistent than the waves in Barcelona. One thing, though, the weather and ambiance are certainly nicer in Barcelona.
Down by the Olympic marina we saw the giant Frank Gehry fish sculpture, and then stopped by one of the restaurants lining the boardwalk for a romantic dinner. We shared a salad, some pasta, and chicken. It was really a great ending to the day. After dinner, we hunted down the closest metro stop, and then made our way through the crowds on Las Ramblas back to our hotel. I left Kathy off at the hotel and I went down to the supermarket and picked up some fruit, bread, tomatoes, cheese and sliced meat for our breakfast in the morning. We've done Dunkin Doughnuts, Starbucks, and tomorrow we'll try a little picnic.
Friday, our 39th day, is also our last complete day in Barcelona. While Kathy showered, I ran down to Starbucks for coffee and we had our picnic overlooking the square from our balcony. After breakfast, we walked over to the port to see where our ship (the Norwegian Jewel) will leave from tomorrow. It was quite a walk, but we were able to talk to some of the Norwegian Cruise Line employees, and found out that we could actually start boarding tomorrow at 11:00 am (instead of 1:00 PM). We then found out about the Port bus, so we wouldn't have to carry our luggage all that way.
We spent the rest of the morning visiting the city history museum of Barcelona. This sounds kind of dry, but it's actually one of the most interesting sights in Barcelona. Underneath the palace where Christopher Columbus presented himself to Ferdnand and Isabella on his return to Spain, the museum as created an underground excavation. You can actually walk through the history of the city from about 4 BC, through the Roman, Visigoth and Middle ages periods, up to the present. Along with some of the restored digs, they have 3D computer simulations running on a screen showing how the site you're looking at has changed over the ages.
After the museum we had our last lunch in Barcelona at Les Qunze Nits on Placa Reial, sitting on the plaza, looking the first fountain and the first lampposts created in Barcelona by Gaudi. Kathy had chicken brochette and I had veal. A great last meal.
In the afternoon we were going to head up to Montjuic, the smaller mountain to the south of the city, where the Miro museum is located. When we went to get on the Metro, though, we found that our passes weren't for 72 hours but for 3 calendar days, so they had expired. Instead of going up to the mountain, we walked back to the beach, watched the surfers once again, and then headed home. After a little rest in our room, we walked over to the Internet Cafe, doing a little shopping on the way, and updated the blog one last time before we get on the boat for home.
Tomorrow morning, we'll head for home! Of course, it will take us a little time to get there. We'll be stopping at Nice, Florence, Rome, Corsica, Majorca Gibralter and Madiera before we finally set sail for Miami. Once on the boat, though, updating the blog might be a little bit tougher, so don't worry if you don't hear from us (unless there's a hurricane; then you can worry and pray!).
We're also taking a lot of pictures, but I've hit the limit on the free Flickr site I set up for the trip. When we get back, I'll post all of the pictures on my own site, along with some more details about our travels.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Day 35-37: Altea to Barcelona
Day 35 (Monday) in Altea was just wonderful. We are staying in a small 3 story "Casita", named El DISEÑO, in the old town. The Caligiuris will be using the ground floor as an art gallery, but the first exhibition isn't until November (next month), so we had the whole place to ourselves. (By the way, if you're interested, you can rent the place for your own holiday; check out their Web page.)Yesterday evening, we met with the students from the current semester of the Edge course up at the Library, which is used both as a school and community meeting place, for Tapas and conversation. If I were a 20-year-old student again, this is where I'd want to come. At 10 we headed back to the Casita and stopped on the way to share a pizza with a couple of students from Oregon.
Today, after a nice breakfast in a local cafe, we met Steven and Aryn for even more coffee down by the beach and ended up chatting the morning away. They invited us to join them around 3:30 for the weekly student debriefing and some teaching. Kathy and I walked the beachfront and found a supermarket where we bought some groceries for lunch (along with some instant coffee, so we could get coffee right when we woke up). Back at the house we made sandwiches (picture on our Flickr picture page) with cheese and coffee for desert, eaten on the patio overlooking the Mediterranean. It was absolutely delightful.
At 3:30, Havilah Caligiuri met us in the square and walked us to the Library where we listened to the students share about the contacts they'd made the previous week. This was their first week, but they had already met an amazing number of local people. Part of that is because they are all enrolled in Spanish courses at local universities and schools. Altea is home to one of the University's Art schools, and the Edge students have a lot of opportunities to interact with them. Plus the Art School attracts a large number of international students, which is great.
After the teaching, we went walking through the town for a bit, and then, back to the house to freshen up. At 10:00 we met Steven and Aryn for a nice dinner on the Cathedral plaza overlooking the city. As you can tell, the Spanish eat a lot later than we're used to. (We didn't tell them that Kathy is usually asleep by 8:30.)
The next morning, (Tuesday, Day 36, October 16), we met Steven down at the Bus stop in town at 7:45. With Steven's help, we caught the right bus into Alicante to pick up our 11:00 reservation for the train to Barcelona. This is the last day of our Eurail pass; we've been train-travelling now for exactly one month. The train to Barcelona was almost completely full; I can see why reservations are required. There are quite a bit fewer trains than in the northern countries, where we could jump on any train without any problem.
The trip to Barcelona took almost 5 and a half hours. We got in at 4:30, found the TI office in the train station, and bought a three-day metro/bus pass. Our ship doesn't leave until Saturday, so we'll be spending 4 nights in Barcelona. Once we got the Metro pass, we found our way to the hotel, which is on one of the prettiest squares in Barcelona (according to the Lonely Planet guidebook; I think that they're right.) We're staying at the El Jardi hotel, and have a room overlooking the square and Santa Maria Pi, the church where PI was discovered (just kidding about that!).
We had dinner at a nice (but overpriced) restaurant on the Ramblas (our hotel is only a couple blocks from this central walking street), and then walked from the top down to the harbor, and then to bed.
On our first full day in Barcelona (day 37, Wednesday, October 17) we did some domestic errands (finding a laundry to iron some shirts, getting some foot powder for my 35-day-old shoes, finding hairspray and doing some shopping.) We also got to do some power sight-seeing. Our focus today was Gaudi, the Barcelona Art Noveau architect and artist, and his various houses and his unfinished cathedral masterpiece, Sagrada Familia. We also had lunch at Cafe Rita in the Eixample district, which is really a find. (You have to get there before they open if you don't want to line up with everyone else for a seat.) The three-course lunch was 8,50, including bread and beverage.
After lunch we had a short siesta, then headed out to pick up the laundry and find the dock where the cruise ship comes in. (We'll try again tomorrow.) On the way back, we picked up sandwiches at subway and took them back to our room, rather than waiting for the restaurants to open up at 10:00.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Day 30-34: Obidos, Lisbon, Madrid and Altea
Short-shrift time again, I'm afraid; I'll write more later when we have more time. Right now we're in Altea, Spain. Tommorrow will be the last day on our Eurail pass, so we're headed for Barcelona in the morning.
We had good time in Coimbra before we went to the old walled city of Obidos, probably the prettiest city in Portugal. (Many Portugese get married there because it's so picturesque.) After Obidos, we headed down to Lisbon and spent the afternoon touring, before catching the overnight train to Madrid.
I was prepared to dislike Madrid, (since we had a very difficult time finding a hotel), but both of us loved the city. We went to the Prado museum in the morning, and visited all the major plazas and landmarks in the afternoon and evening. Madrid is an exciting, beautiful, clean city.
The next morning we went to Alicante, on Spain's southern coast, and then caught a series of busses, trams and trains to the small town of Altea on the Costa Blanca. Steve and Aryn Caligiuri have a unique cross-cultural ministry (called the Edge course) here, and we've spent a wonderful couple of days visiting with them.
We've had a chance to upload a few of our pictures, so make sure you check out our Flikr photo page to see what we've been up to.
We had good time in Coimbra before we went to the old walled city of Obidos, probably the prettiest city in Portugal. (Many Portugese get married there because it's so picturesque.) After Obidos, we headed down to Lisbon and spent the afternoon touring, before catching the overnight train to Madrid.
I was prepared to dislike Madrid, (since we had a very difficult time finding a hotel), but both of us loved the city. We went to the Prado museum in the morning, and visited all the major plazas and landmarks in the afternoon and evening. Madrid is an exciting, beautiful, clean city.
The next morning we went to Alicante, on Spain's southern coast, and then caught a series of busses, trams and trains to the small town of Altea on the Costa Blanca. Steve and Aryn Caligiuri have a unique cross-cultural ministry (called the Edge course) here, and we've spent a wonderful couple of days visiting with them.
We've had a chance to upload a few of our pictures, so make sure you check out our Flikr photo page to see what we've been up to.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Day 29: Braga to Coimbra
Today, (Wednesday), we took an express train down to Coimbra, the University town in Portugal's Beria province, which has recently been renamed the Centro region in an administrative overhaul. We picked several cities in different regions of the country to visit. We started with Porto in the Douro region, Braga in the northern Minho region, and now Coimbra in the center. Tomorrow will go further south and visit the walled city of Obidos, and finish up in Lisbon.
We woke up a little before dawn in Braga, and went for an early morning walk around the city, before coming back for breakfast around 9:00. After breakfast, we packed and checked out of the hotel, but left our bags, since our train didn't leave until 1:00. We walked around for a bit, touring the cathedral, which we'd missed yesterday, and then went looking for a place for lunch. Since we had to leave for the train station by 12:30, we couldn't find a regular restaurant that was open yet, so we settled for some hamburgers at a cafe. (All the burgers were topped with cheese, ham, and a fried egg.)
Aftr lunch, we picked up our bags and walked down to the train station where we caught the express train to Coimbra. The express train actually stops outside of Coimbra itself at the Coimbra-B station. Coimbra-B is actually a little more than a platform, so it took us a few minutes to find the regional train to the "real" Coimbra. Once we got into town, though, there was a regular station, with a helpful English-speaking information desk, who explained about the trains we'd need for Obidos and Lisbon.
Tomorrow's necessities out of the way, we headed for the hotel we'd booked last week, right across from the train station. It didn't look like much to look at, but our room was large and clean, even though the view was of the trains coming in. (Fortunately, we had good shutters which completely cut out the noise.) As we've done before, we just dropped our bags in our room and set out to explore the city. First stop, coffee and pastries.
We walked along the river to the bridge and grabbed a table on the Praca do Portegem, where we got coffee and two regional specialties involving custard and marmalade. Thus fortified, we headed out on our walking tour, up the pedestrian mall, past the commercial plaza (where they used to have bullfights), by the municipal market (open only in the morning) and over to the elevator to the university.
Coimbra University (one of the oldest in Europe) dominates the town from its position on the top of the hill. The dictator Salazar razed part of the old university to create the new university on a portion of the property, but it's still the old medieval university that's the big draw. We walked around the property, poked our heads into some of the hallways and the student cantena, and then headed back down to the cathedral and the old town.
After climbing down the hill, we headed back to our hotel room to get ready for dinner. We used our guidebook to locate a restaurant that served grilled meats. Even with the guide, though, it was hard to find, since it didn't look like a restaurant from the street; it looked like a meat market. You walk past a meat counter to the tables in the back. I had a mixed grill skewer (pork, beef, lamb, kid) and Kathy had chicken. Our meals came with fries and salad and were really filling. The total bill (with drinks) was 11 Euros.
After dinner, we walked around a little more and then headed back to the square for an ice-cream night-cap. Tomorrow, we're leaving at 9:35 for Obidos.
We woke up a little before dawn in Braga, and went for an early morning walk around the city, before coming back for breakfast around 9:00. After breakfast, we packed and checked out of the hotel, but left our bags, since our train didn't leave until 1:00. We walked around for a bit, touring the cathedral, which we'd missed yesterday, and then went looking for a place for lunch. Since we had to leave for the train station by 12:30, we couldn't find a regular restaurant that was open yet, so we settled for some hamburgers at a cafe. (All the burgers were topped with cheese, ham, and a fried egg.)
Aftr lunch, we picked up our bags and walked down to the train station where we caught the express train to Coimbra. The express train actually stops outside of Coimbra itself at the Coimbra-B station. Coimbra-B is actually a little more than a platform, so it took us a few minutes to find the regional train to the "real" Coimbra. Once we got into town, though, there was a regular station, with a helpful English-speaking information desk, who explained about the trains we'd need for Obidos and Lisbon.
Tomorrow's necessities out of the way, we headed for the hotel we'd booked last week, right across from the train station. It didn't look like much to look at, but our room was large and clean, even though the view was of the trains coming in. (Fortunately, we had good shutters which completely cut out the noise.) As we've done before, we just dropped our bags in our room and set out to explore the city. First stop, coffee and pastries.
We walked along the river to the bridge and grabbed a table on the Praca do Portegem, where we got coffee and two regional specialties involving custard and marmalade. Thus fortified, we headed out on our walking tour, up the pedestrian mall, past the commercial plaza (where they used to have bullfights), by the municipal market (open only in the morning) and over to the elevator to the university.
Coimbra University (one of the oldest in Europe) dominates the town from its position on the top of the hill. The dictator Salazar razed part of the old university to create the new university on a portion of the property, but it's still the old medieval university that's the big draw. We walked around the property, poked our heads into some of the hallways and the student cantena, and then headed back down to the cathedral and the old town.
After climbing down the hill, we headed back to our hotel room to get ready for dinner. We used our guidebook to locate a restaurant that served grilled meats. Even with the guide, though, it was hard to find, since it didn't look like a restaurant from the street; it looked like a meat market. You walk past a meat counter to the tables in the back. I had a mixed grill skewer (pork, beef, lamb, kid) and Kathy had chicken. Our meals came with fries and salad and were really filling. The total bill (with drinks) was 11 Euros.
After dinner, we walked around a little more and then headed back to the square for an ice-cream night-cap. Tomorrow, we're leaving at 9:35 for Obidos.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Day 28: Beautiful Braga
Today's Tuesday, and it's another perfect day in Portugal. This morning I woke up before sunrise and walked across the bridge over the Duro to catch Porto at sunrise. I got to the middle of the bridge before I remembered how terrified I am of heights. There I was, standing on a three-foot-wide metal sidewalk, with a guard rail lower than my waist, a strong wind blowing, and the tram rushing by six inches away (with no barrier). I can't imagine what I was thinking! I managed to slowly shuffle to the other side of the river (with all the locals walking past me like I was crazy).
Once I got to the other side, I got some beautiful pictures just as the sun came up. Rather than shuffle back, I caught the metro (since our day pass was valid until 9 AM) back to town and shot some more pictures as the city woke up. (You should see the McDonalds in Porto.) Then I headed back to the hotel for breakfast with Kathy. The prices in Portugal are so low that we could stay at a really nice hotel for less than we paid for some of the budget places in other parts of Europe; the buffet even had scrambled eggs.
After breakfast, we took one last walk through the town, picked up some pastieries at the town market, checked out of the hotel, and went down to the train station. Today, we were going to the University town of Braga in the northern state of Minho, about an hour north of Porto by regional commuter train. We got to the train station just as the 10:45 train pulled out of the station, and the next one wasn´t for an hour. We checked to make sure we could use our rail pass on the regionals and that we didn't need a reservation, then Kathy found a bench and sat down to read her book while I went to visit a few of the churches we hadn't seen yet.
As I went into the church across from the train station, the service was just starting, so I grabbed a pew and stayed for a while. It was really beautiful inside, with the light streaming down from the high ceiling. Afterwards, I walked over to the church that overlooks the city, and then back to the station.
Our train left right on time at 11:45 and stopped at every little station between Porto and Braga, where we arrived at 1:00 PM. There was no Tourist Information in the train station, but I had a map from a Lonely Planets guidebook, and I knew, more or less, where our hotel was located, so we set off walking. It turned out to be about a kilometer and a half from the train station.
We're staying at the Residential Hotel Donna Sofia which is located on a pretty little square about a block from the Cathedral. Even though we were a little early, we were able to check right in. Our room is really nice and has a view of the square.
Our first task was to find the Tourist Office, get a map, and then find some lunch. Braga is a really interesting city, with dozens of Baroque churches and wide squares and streets. It seems much more laid-back than Porto, and a little cleaner. We got our map, located the shopping district, and had lunch in a little restaurant recommended in the guidebook. We both had a large meal with drinks, and I had soup as well for less than 10€.
Afer lunch, we hit the grocery store for some soda and went home to try out the pasteries we bought in Porto before our siesta. They were good, but not as good as some we had the day before. The siesta was great; we should do that in the States.
Around 4 we decided to do some sightseeing in earnest so we walked through the main pedestrian mall, on outside of town to the ruins of an ancient Roman bath that have been found outside of the town. We walked around the exhibit for a while, then Kathy decided to excavate on her own and found a couple of old Roman potsherds for her collection. Afterwards we moseyed back through town a different way to the central square (very European, except for the McDonalds right in front of the Cathedral, which seems really wrong!). We got two Cafe con Leche and a large bowl of fruit and sherbet, and sat in front of the fountain to watch the people go by. (Kathy was bummed because the fountain shut off just as we sat down.)
It's really been an enjoyable time. It seems like every place we go, we can't believe that anything could be better, and each time we're proven wrong. Braga really is beautiful. One interesting thing is that in Porto, we saw a few American and English tourists, but in Braga, we haven't seen any other Americans. It really is kind of off the beaten path, I guess. The people we've met, though have really been friendly and helpful. It's been great.
Once I got to the other side, I got some beautiful pictures just as the sun came up. Rather than shuffle back, I caught the metro (since our day pass was valid until 9 AM) back to town and shot some more pictures as the city woke up. (You should see the McDonalds in Porto.) Then I headed back to the hotel for breakfast with Kathy. The prices in Portugal are so low that we could stay at a really nice hotel for less than we paid for some of the budget places in other parts of Europe; the buffet even had scrambled eggs.
After breakfast, we took one last walk through the town, picked up some pastieries at the town market, checked out of the hotel, and went down to the train station. Today, we were going to the University town of Braga in the northern state of Minho, about an hour north of Porto by regional commuter train. We got to the train station just as the 10:45 train pulled out of the station, and the next one wasn´t for an hour. We checked to make sure we could use our rail pass on the regionals and that we didn't need a reservation, then Kathy found a bench and sat down to read her book while I went to visit a few of the churches we hadn't seen yet.
As I went into the church across from the train station, the service was just starting, so I grabbed a pew and stayed for a while. It was really beautiful inside, with the light streaming down from the high ceiling. Afterwards, I walked over to the church that overlooks the city, and then back to the station.
Our train left right on time at 11:45 and stopped at every little station between Porto and Braga, where we arrived at 1:00 PM. There was no Tourist Information in the train station, but I had a map from a Lonely Planets guidebook, and I knew, more or less, where our hotel was located, so we set off walking. It turned out to be about a kilometer and a half from the train station.
We're staying at the Residential Hotel Donna Sofia which is located on a pretty little square about a block from the Cathedral. Even though we were a little early, we were able to check right in. Our room is really nice and has a view of the square.
Our first task was to find the Tourist Office, get a map, and then find some lunch. Braga is a really interesting city, with dozens of Baroque churches and wide squares and streets. It seems much more laid-back than Porto, and a little cleaner. We got our map, located the shopping district, and had lunch in a little restaurant recommended in the guidebook. We both had a large meal with drinks, and I had soup as well for less than 10€.
Afer lunch, we hit the grocery store for some soda and went home to try out the pasteries we bought in Porto before our siesta. They were good, but not as good as some we had the day before. The siesta was great; we should do that in the States.
Around 4 we decided to do some sightseeing in earnest so we walked through the main pedestrian mall, on outside of town to the ruins of an ancient Roman bath that have been found outside of the town. We walked around the exhibit for a while, then Kathy decided to excavate on her own and found a couple of old Roman potsherds for her collection. Afterwards we moseyed back through town a different way to the central square (very European, except for the McDonalds right in front of the Cathedral, which seems really wrong!). We got two Cafe con Leche and a large bowl of fruit and sherbet, and sat in front of the fountain to watch the people go by. (Kathy was bummed because the fountain shut off just as we sat down.)
It's really been an enjoyable time. It seems like every place we go, we can't believe that anything could be better, and each time we're proven wrong. Braga really is beautiful. One interesting thing is that in Porto, we saw a few American and English tourists, but in Braga, we haven't seen any other Americans. It really is kind of off the beaten path, I guess. The people we've met, though have really been friendly and helpful. It's been great.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Day 27: Ryanair to Porto
Although the airport hotel was comfortable, both of us were restless. We had to be at checking by 4:30, so we set the alarm for 3:30, but I woke up every few hours and checked to clock to make sure we didn't oversleep. When the alarm finally went off, though, we got up and over to the airport right on time. It was a good thing we did, too, because the airport was filled with people waiting to check in at 4:30 AM!!!
The process went fairly quickly, though, and by 5:00 we'd checked our bags, got our boarding passes, and headed back to the hotel to eat breakfast (which was really great, rather than waiting in the airport terminal). Full and relaxed, we headed over a little before 6, went through security (a little less demanding than the states; we got to keep our shoes on, for instance), and boarded the plane for Porto.
There's no assigned seating on Ryanair, so everone lines up as soon as possible to board the plane. We were pretty fortunate, though, to get two exit-row seats, so I had plenty of leg room for the two hour flight. We also sat next to a fellow from Seattle who filled us in on all the Ryanair lore. (For instance, you are not allowed to have any baggage, including your coat, in your lap when you sit in the exit rows.)
The flight was only 2 hours, and by 9:15 we were off the plane and had retrieved our luggage. The airport at Porto very modern, and really clean and nice looking. Here's a picture of Kathy in the terminal:
You can see more of our pictures from Porto and Rothenburg on our Flickr upload site. I had a chance to upload a few more pictures today.
The first thing we had to do was to get a day-long transportation pass from the Tourist Information Office at the airport. When we went to get the pass, though, the lady at the counter told us that the person who handled that didn't come in until 9:00. Since it was about 20 minutes past nine, we wondered what was up. We didn't know that Portugal was in a different time zone than the rest of Europe!
The wait gave us time to look around the airport and get a cup of coffee. Everything, even at the airport, seems much less expensive in Portugal than the other countries we'd visited. When 9 AM rolled around, we went back to the TI office and picked up our two day passes and hopped on the metro line to the center of the city (about 14 Km away). The metro in Porto is also new and modern (but mostly above ground, which is really nice for sightseeing).
Our first stop in town was the San Beneto train station, where we made reservations for the express train to Coimbra and checked the schedules for the regular train to Braga, where we'll go tomorrow. In Portugal, Spain and Italy, you have to have a reservation for all express trains, even when you have a Eurail pass. In Spain, the reservations cost almost half as much as buying a ticket outright; in Portugal, though, reservations are only 4 Euro each.
Once we had our reservations, we decided to walk over to our hotel, to see if we could drop our luggage off there while we explored the city, even though check-in wasn't until 2:00 PM. When we got to the hotel (the Grande Hotel de Porto, an elegant old place right on the Rue Santa Catarina, the main shopping street), rather than having us stow our luggage, they just checked us right in. By 10:30 we were out exploring the street.
We started with the upper city, walking up Santa Catarina and noticing the beautifully decorated churches; they tile them with a technique that looks a little like Wedgewood china. Along the way we visited the central market which sells produce as well as flowers, poultry, fish, bread, olives and whatnot.
After that, we headed down to the river to see the Ribera district, the old houses and their steep stairways that line the river. We climbed down the steps to the river and then went to a recommended restaurant right on the river for lunch. In keeping with the theme of trying local food, we both had the green cabbage soup (which must be an acquired taste) along with our meal.
After our visit to the river, we took the funicular back up to the main part of the city, and then spent the rest of the afternoon riding the metro to every corner of town, and then getting out and exploring. That was really interesting. As it got late in the day, we rode over the river into the Ville del Gaia section of town (where the Port wine warehouses are all located) and climbed to the monastary that overlooks the town of Porto. It was really beautiful.
When we got back to town we stopped by a mall (hidden only a block from our hotel) and picked up some sodas and chips. Then, we headed back to our hotel, took a short rest and cleaned up, and then went out to the Majestic Cafe for a light supper. Kathy had a cheesburger (which was good) and I just had some soup, since I was still full from lunch and the chips.
After that, we headed over to the Internet Cafe where I was able to upload about a dozen pictures (which took a little longer than normal because of the way the Cafe computers are set up), and then we headed off to bed.
Porto is really a wonderful city.
The process went fairly quickly, though, and by 5:00 we'd checked our bags, got our boarding passes, and headed back to the hotel to eat breakfast (which was really great, rather than waiting in the airport terminal). Full and relaxed, we headed over a little before 6, went through security (a little less demanding than the states; we got to keep our shoes on, for instance), and boarded the plane for Porto.
There's no assigned seating on Ryanair, so everone lines up as soon as possible to board the plane. We were pretty fortunate, though, to get two exit-row seats, so I had plenty of leg room for the two hour flight. We also sat next to a fellow from Seattle who filled us in on all the Ryanair lore. (For instance, you are not allowed to have any baggage, including your coat, in your lap when you sit in the exit rows.)
The flight was only 2 hours, and by 9:15 we were off the plane and had retrieved our luggage. The airport at Porto very modern, and really clean and nice looking. Here's a picture of Kathy in the terminal:
You can see more of our pictures from Porto and Rothenburg on our Flickr upload site. I had a chance to upload a few more pictures today.
The first thing we had to do was to get a day-long transportation pass from the Tourist Information Office at the airport. When we went to get the pass, though, the lady at the counter told us that the person who handled that didn't come in until 9:00. Since it was about 20 minutes past nine, we wondered what was up. We didn't know that Portugal was in a different time zone than the rest of Europe!
The wait gave us time to look around the airport and get a cup of coffee. Everything, even at the airport, seems much less expensive in Portugal than the other countries we'd visited. When 9 AM rolled around, we went back to the TI office and picked up our two day passes and hopped on the metro line to the center of the city (about 14 Km away). The metro in Porto is also new and modern (but mostly above ground, which is really nice for sightseeing).
Our first stop in town was the San Beneto train station, where we made reservations for the express train to Coimbra and checked the schedules for the regular train to Braga, where we'll go tomorrow. In Portugal, Spain and Italy, you have to have a reservation for all express trains, even when you have a Eurail pass. In Spain, the reservations cost almost half as much as buying a ticket outright; in Portugal, though, reservations are only 4 Euro each.
Once we had our reservations, we decided to walk over to our hotel, to see if we could drop our luggage off there while we explored the city, even though check-in wasn't until 2:00 PM. When we got to the hotel (the Grande Hotel de Porto, an elegant old place right on the Rue Santa Catarina, the main shopping street), rather than having us stow our luggage, they just checked us right in. By 10:30 we were out exploring the street.
We started with the upper city, walking up Santa Catarina and noticing the beautifully decorated churches; they tile them with a technique that looks a little like Wedgewood china. Along the way we visited the central market which sells produce as well as flowers, poultry, fish, bread, olives and whatnot.
After that, we headed down to the river to see the Ribera district, the old houses and their steep stairways that line the river. We climbed down the steps to the river and then went to a recommended restaurant right on the river for lunch. In keeping with the theme of trying local food, we both had the green cabbage soup (which must be an acquired taste) along with our meal.
After our visit to the river, we took the funicular back up to the main part of the city, and then spent the rest of the afternoon riding the metro to every corner of town, and then getting out and exploring. That was really interesting. As it got late in the day, we rode over the river into the Ville del Gaia section of town (where the Port wine warehouses are all located) and climbed to the monastary that overlooks the town of Porto. It was really beautiful.
When we got back to town we stopped by a mall (hidden only a block from our hotel) and picked up some sodas and chips. Then, we headed back to our hotel, took a short rest and cleaned up, and then went out to the Majestic Cafe for a light supper. Kathy had a cheesburger (which was good) and I just had some soup, since I was still full from lunch and the chips.
After that, we headed over to the Internet Cafe where I was able to upload about a dozen pictures (which took a little longer than normal because of the way the Cafe computers are set up), and then we headed off to bed.
Porto is really a wonderful city.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Day 26: Frankfurt Hahn
Today was mostly a travel day, but we still got to see the Lord at work. Both of us are almost completely healed from our colds. We were up before 7:00, had breakfast, checked out and got on a train to Steinach all before 8:00. Things were going perfectly.
When we got to Steinach, though, we were supposed to hop on a train for Wurtzburg. Instead, we accidentally followed everyone else on the platform and hopped on a train coming from Wurtzburg, going the opposite direction. We asked the conductor, and he told us to hop off at the first stop and then get on another train. When we got off, we found a fast train going to Nurnburg, rather than Wurzburg.
When we got to Nurnburg, we found a completely uncrowded English speaking reservation center, and were able to make the train reservations that we needed for Spain and Portugal; something that might have been difficult in Wurzburg. Even better, we were able to hop on a fast ICE train to Frankfurt (where we found some gifts that we were looking for) and then found another fast train to Mainz, where we hopped on the airport shuttle to Franfurt Hahn airport. Because of our "missed connection", we actually shaved several hours off of our original itinerary.
Once we got to the airport we checked into our hotel and then made some phone calls to nail down our last few reservations in Portugal and Spain. The only problem we had was finding a hotel in Madrid, which was completely filled up because of a national holiday. After making a dozen calls, we finally found a place, although it cost a little more than we liked.
We had a nice spaghetti dinner in the airport terminal, made a few more phone calls to our families, checked our email and headed over to bed pretty early. Our plane for Porto, Portugal leaves at 6:30 AM, and we have to check in 2 hours before that, so we need to get to sleep.
When we got to Steinach, though, we were supposed to hop on a train for Wurtzburg. Instead, we accidentally followed everyone else on the platform and hopped on a train coming from Wurtzburg, going the opposite direction. We asked the conductor, and he told us to hop off at the first stop and then get on another train. When we got off, we found a fast train going to Nurnburg, rather than Wurzburg.
When we got to Nurnburg, we found a completely uncrowded English speaking reservation center, and were able to make the train reservations that we needed for Spain and Portugal; something that might have been difficult in Wurzburg. Even better, we were able to hop on a fast ICE train to Frankfurt (where we found some gifts that we were looking for) and then found another fast train to Mainz, where we hopped on the airport shuttle to Franfurt Hahn airport. Because of our "missed connection", we actually shaved several hours off of our original itinerary.
Once we got to the airport we checked into our hotel and then made some phone calls to nail down our last few reservations in Portugal and Spain. The only problem we had was finding a hotel in Madrid, which was completely filled up because of a national holiday. After making a dozen calls, we finally found a place, although it cost a little more than we liked.
We had a nice spaghetti dinner in the airport terminal, made a few more phone calls to our families, checked our email and headed over to bed pretty early. Our plane for Porto, Portugal leaves at 6:30 AM, and we have to check in 2 hours before that, so we need to get to sleep.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Day 25: Rothenburg
Today is Saturday and it's our last real day in the northern part of Europe. Tomorrow we'll spend the night at the Frankfurt Hahn Airport, and at 4:30 AM on Monday morning we'll set off for Portugal (with a little apprehension, since we don't have all of our train and hotel reservations finished, like we've had so far.)
We both felt a little better this morning, and, after a nice breakfast, we were ready to go explore the city. As we were leaving the hotel, though, Kathy noticed a computer (rather than a coin-operated Internet terminal, which we've been using) and she asked if we could use it. I was able to plug in my camera to the USB port and transfer some photos to my thumb drive and upload a few to Flickr. When it came time to eject the camera, though, we had to ask the desk clerk to read the German menus to us (I didn't want to hit "Format" instead of "Eject" after all!) We both had the impression that we shouldn't have used the computer to upload pictures, rather than just browse the 'Net. In the future, I guess we'll be a little more explicit.
I don't have time to link to all the pictures, but you can click here to see the photos I've uploaded to Flickr so far.
Our guidebook had a pretty complete self-guided walking tour of the city, so we set out to follow it. We started at the Marketplatz and the clock tower with the animated figures drinking wine, illustrating an old town legend, the Meistertrunk, that was actually first dreamed up as part of a play in the 1800 designed to increase the romatic image of Rothenburg. At St. Jakob's church, built in the 14th century, we saw the 500-year-old, 35-foot-high wood carving by Timan Riemenshneider, called the Alter of the Hold Blood. The detail was very impressive.
After the church, we wandered the city, looking at the old houses, walking the wall, climbing the gates, and visiting the gardens until it was time for lunch. During our trip we've tried to read books with a European background, and then, when we're finished, leave them at the hotel for others to read. I just finished Brandenburg Gate and we wanted to leave it, but the hotel didn't have a library. To make sure it would get read, we went looking for the city's youth hostel, and left it there.
Then, because we were close to one of the recommended restaurants in our guidebook, we stopped for lunch at the Gasthof zur Goldenen Rose, where we had some good filling German food. After lunch we walked the long way pack to the hotel and then spent the first part of the afternoon trying to nail down our plans for Spain and Portugal. Tommorrow we'll be traveling through Nurnberg which has a large Reservation Travel area in the train station, and we'd like to get as much nailed down as possible before we head for Iberia.
Around 4:00 we headed over to a Cafe where we'd seen a sign for Internet access. Along the way we called Hosanna, and Kathy bought a couple of pasteries recommended in our guidebook. After lunch she bought a tasteless pie-crust pastery called a Schneeballen, that is heavily promoted all over town. Our guidebook said not to bother, but she wanted to try them out anyway. Since they were such a disappointment, she felt we really had to try out the pasteries that the book recommended. At the Cafe, Kathy had a large coffee and I answered emails and brought the blog up to date.
We both felt a little better this morning, and, after a nice breakfast, we were ready to go explore the city. As we were leaving the hotel, though, Kathy noticed a computer (rather than a coin-operated Internet terminal, which we've been using) and she asked if we could use it. I was able to plug in my camera to the USB port and transfer some photos to my thumb drive and upload a few to Flickr. When it came time to eject the camera, though, we had to ask the desk clerk to read the German menus to us (I didn't want to hit "Format" instead of "Eject" after all!) We both had the impression that we shouldn't have used the computer to upload pictures, rather than just browse the 'Net. In the future, I guess we'll be a little more explicit.
I don't have time to link to all the pictures, but you can click here to see the photos I've uploaded to Flickr so far.
Our guidebook had a pretty complete self-guided walking tour of the city, so we set out to follow it. We started at the Marketplatz and the clock tower with the animated figures drinking wine, illustrating an old town legend, the Meistertrunk, that was actually first dreamed up as part of a play in the 1800 designed to increase the romatic image of Rothenburg. At St. Jakob's church, built in the 14th century, we saw the 500-year-old, 35-foot-high wood carving by Timan Riemenshneider, called the Alter of the Hold Blood. The detail was very impressive.
After the church, we wandered the city, looking at the old houses, walking the wall, climbing the gates, and visiting the gardens until it was time for lunch. During our trip we've tried to read books with a European background, and then, when we're finished, leave them at the hotel for others to read. I just finished Brandenburg Gate and we wanted to leave it, but the hotel didn't have a library. To make sure it would get read, we went looking for the city's youth hostel, and left it there.
Then, because we were close to one of the recommended restaurants in our guidebook, we stopped for lunch at the Gasthof zur Goldenen Rose, where we had some good filling German food. After lunch we walked the long way pack to the hotel and then spent the first part of the afternoon trying to nail down our plans for Spain and Portugal. Tommorrow we'll be traveling through Nurnberg which has a large Reservation Travel area in the train station, and we'd like to get as much nailed down as possible before we head for Iberia.
Around 4:00 we headed over to a Cafe where we'd seen a sign for Internet access. Along the way we called Hosanna, and Kathy bought a couple of pasteries recommended in our guidebook. After lunch she bought a tasteless pie-crust pastery called a Schneeballen, that is heavily promoted all over town. Our guidebook said not to bother, but she wanted to try them out anyway. Since they were such a disappointment, she felt we really had to try out the pasteries that the book recommended. At the Cafe, Kathy had a large coffee and I answered emails and brought the blog up to date.
Day 24: Trains to Rothenburg
Today we traveled from Lauterbrunnen in the Alps to Rothenberg on the "Romantic Road" in southern Germany, taking five different trains, and it was really exhausting. We were up before 7:00, had a quick breakfast, and caught the 7:50 Junfraubahn train for Interlaken. It was a beautiful, sunny day. (Too bad it couldn't have rained today and been sunny yesterday!)
At Interlaken we had a half-hour break, so we spent our last Swiss francs on some postcards, and then caught the train through Bern and Zurich to Stuttgart. That's when things came unraveled a bit. Stuttgart was extremely crowded, and we had only 10 minutes to change trains. When we got to the platform, our train wasn't there! There were a lot of train officials milling around, though, so we asked where our train was and found that it had been cancelled (along with 50 or 60 others) because of a German rail strike.
We were able to catch a later train to Ansbach, but it was extremely crowded (as you can imagine with all of the people trying to make alternate connections.) Fortunately, once we got to Ansbach, the trains from there to Steinach and from Steinach to Rothenburg were still running hourly, so even though we were late, we were able to catch a later train. That got us into Rothenburg a little after 6:00 instead of before 5:00 as we originally planned.
Rothenburg is one of the best preserved medieval walled villages in all of Europe and is a real tourist destination. Our hotel was only a few blocks from the train station, right outside the old city walls, and we were checked in by 5:00. On the way to the hotel we noticed a mall, so before we went out exploring, we headed over there to pick up some supplies. I'd managed to catch Kathy's cold so now both of us were sniffling, sneezing and coughing. We found a pharmacy and picked up some cough drops, the German version of Tylenol, and some "Wicks" Nyquil. (The logo looks just like the "Vicks" logo in the states, so I'm pretty sure it's the same company.) Then, Kathy picked up some makeup and cleaning supplies, while I picked up a Doner Kebap sliced meat pita sandwich and a Coke which we shared.
After taking care of business, we walked back to the old city and took a quick stroll through the streets. Since neither of us were feeling very well, though, we decided to get some dinner and then just go back to bed. Our guidebook had a recommendation for a Chinese restaurant, so we headed over to Lotus China and had a non-German dinner for a change. After that, we headed back to the hotel, I chug-a-lugged some Nyquil, and was lost to the world.
At Interlaken we had a half-hour break, so we spent our last Swiss francs on some postcards, and then caught the train through Bern and Zurich to Stuttgart. That's when things came unraveled a bit. Stuttgart was extremely crowded, and we had only 10 minutes to change trains. When we got to the platform, our train wasn't there! There were a lot of train officials milling around, though, so we asked where our train was and found that it had been cancelled (along with 50 or 60 others) because of a German rail strike.
We were able to catch a later train to Ansbach, but it was extremely crowded (as you can imagine with all of the people trying to make alternate connections.) Fortunately, once we got to Ansbach, the trains from there to Steinach and from Steinach to Rothenburg were still running hourly, so even though we were late, we were able to catch a later train. That got us into Rothenburg a little after 6:00 instead of before 5:00 as we originally planned.
Rothenburg is one of the best preserved medieval walled villages in all of Europe and is a real tourist destination. Our hotel was only a few blocks from the train station, right outside the old city walls, and we were checked in by 5:00. On the way to the hotel we noticed a mall, so before we went out exploring, we headed over there to pick up some supplies. I'd managed to catch Kathy's cold so now both of us were sniffling, sneezing and coughing. We found a pharmacy and picked up some cough drops, the German version of Tylenol, and some "Wicks" Nyquil. (The logo looks just like the "Vicks" logo in the states, so I'm pretty sure it's the same company.) Then, Kathy picked up some makeup and cleaning supplies, while I picked up a Doner Kebap sliced meat pita sandwich and a Coke which we shared.
After taking care of business, we walked back to the old city and took a quick stroll through the streets. Since neither of us were feeling very well, though, we decided to get some dinner and then just go back to bed. Our guidebook had a recommendation for a Chinese restaurant, so we headed over to Lotus China and had a non-German dinner for a change. After that, we headed back to the hotel, I chug-a-lugged some Nyquil, and was lost to the world.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Day 23: Lauterbrunnen
We woke this morning to the sound of rain. Real rain, none of this light drizzle stuff. I knew that there was a reason that the countryside looked so green.
Kathy and I had a nice breakfast and then went upstairs to our room. Kathy spent the morning reading and looking out the window, while I finally got my journal up-to-date. Then, around 11:30, we headed in to town to the Internet Cafe to answer some emails, thinking that if the rain let up, we'd head up to the higher elevations. That didn't look very promising, though. I went ahead and updated yesterday's blog and then around 1:00 we walked over to the Oberland Hotel across the street for lunch. Since it was still cold and rainy, both of us settled on hot soup and bread, which made us feel a little better.
Since it was raining so hard, we planned at lunch to do a little shopping when the supermarket opened at 2:00. When we got out of the restaurant, though, surprise!, the rain had stopped. Rather than sitting around all afternoon, we decided to redeem the time and head for the hills after all. We first stopped by the hotel so Kathy could change into her boots and then we headed for the gondola lift up to the town of Grutschalp. Lauterbrunnen, where our hotel is located, is on the valley floor at about 2,600 feet. The lift takes you up to a little over 4,800 feet.
At the top of the lift there's a whole other world lying above the high cliffs that surround the valley. Along the cliff there's a panormaic train that takes you through the village of Winteregg (which has a restraunt and little else) and Murren. Murren is not accessible by regular car; all of the vehickles in the town are kind of like the little Cushman carts that the maintenance folks drive around OCC.
Murren does have a lot of hotels and restaurants, though, because the view of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau is just spectacular.
Here's a picture from the Web showing the dramatic view from the village on a sunny day. I'll upload my own (less dramatic, I'm afraid) pictures when we are able. From Murren there are hiking trails going en every direction, designed for every level of ability from children to senior citizens. (They're not that attractive when wet, though.)
There's also a lift up to the Schilthorn at about 10,000 feet, which is the highest lift on this side of the valley. We briefly considered taking the gondola up (it's the spot that James Bond escaped from Telly Savalas in the 1969 film,On Her Majesty's Secret Service).
We really weren't sure how the weather would hold, and, even though it's 5,000 feet higher than Murren, it's hard to see how the view could be more awe-inspiring. Instead, we spend about an hour and a half walking through Murren, which is apparently quite a winter sports center. We didn't see any USA-style ski runs, so perhaps all of the skiing in the area is cross-country alpine instead of downhill.
Around 4:00 we headed bak to the train station, rode the little alpine train back to the gondola lift and grabbed the gondola back to the valley floor. On the way back to the hotel we stopped by the store and picked up some necessities (chocolate, fruit, cheese and chips) for our trip tommorrow, and then stopped by the hotel for a quick cup of coffee before heading out on a walk up the valley floor beside the river.
The rain continued to hold off as we walked for about an hour, up and back. Finally, we finished off the evening with some Swiss food back at the Oberland Hotel. This time I had the "farmer's" Rosti. Rosti is basically hash browns, prepared with different toppings. The farmer's Rosti was topped with Swiss cheese on one half and mushrooms and onions on the other. It was pretty good. You never know how you'll like an unfamiliar dish, though, so Kathy got Fish & Chips in case my dinner turned out terrible, and then we each took turns sharing.
After dinner, we hit the Internet Cafe one last time to get the blog up-to-date and check our email one last time before heading back to Germany in the morning.
Kathy and I had a nice breakfast and then went upstairs to our room. Kathy spent the morning reading and looking out the window, while I finally got my journal up-to-date. Then, around 11:30, we headed in to town to the Internet Cafe to answer some emails, thinking that if the rain let up, we'd head up to the higher elevations. That didn't look very promising, though. I went ahead and updated yesterday's blog and then around 1:00 we walked over to the Oberland Hotel across the street for lunch. Since it was still cold and rainy, both of us settled on hot soup and bread, which made us feel a little better.Since it was raining so hard, we planned at lunch to do a little shopping when the supermarket opened at 2:00. When we got out of the restaurant, though, surprise!, the rain had stopped. Rather than sitting around all afternoon, we decided to redeem the time and head for the hills after all. We first stopped by the hotel so Kathy could change into her boots and then we headed for the gondola lift up to the town of Grutschalp. Lauterbrunnen, where our hotel is located, is on the valley floor at about 2,600 feet. The lift takes you up to a little over 4,800 feet.
At the top of the lift there's a whole other world lying above the high cliffs that surround the valley. Along the cliff there's a panormaic train that takes you through the village of Winteregg (which has a restraunt and little else) and Murren. Murren is not accessible by regular car; all of the vehickles in the town are kind of like the little Cushman carts that the maintenance folks drive around OCC.
Murren does have a lot of hotels and restaurants, though, because the view of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau is just spectacular.
Here's a picture from the Web showing the dramatic view from the village on a sunny day. I'll upload my own (less dramatic, I'm afraid) pictures when we are able. From Murren there are hiking trails going en every direction, designed for every level of ability from children to senior citizens. (They're not that attractive when wet, though.)
There's also a lift up to the Schilthorn at about 10,000 feet, which is the highest lift on this side of the valley. We briefly considered taking the gondola up (it's the spot that James Bond escaped from Telly Savalas in the 1969 film,On Her Majesty's Secret Service). We really weren't sure how the weather would hold, and, even though it's 5,000 feet higher than Murren, it's hard to see how the view could be more awe-inspiring. Instead, we spend about an hour and a half walking through Murren, which is apparently quite a winter sports center. We didn't see any USA-style ski runs, so perhaps all of the skiing in the area is cross-country alpine instead of downhill.
Around 4:00 we headed bak to the train station, rode the little alpine train back to the gondola lift and grabbed the gondola back to the valley floor. On the way back to the hotel we stopped by the store and picked up some necessities (chocolate, fruit, cheese and chips) for our trip tommorrow, and then stopped by the hotel for a quick cup of coffee before heading out on a walk up the valley floor beside the river.
The rain continued to hold off as we walked for about an hour, up and back. Finally, we finished off the evening with some Swiss food back at the Oberland Hotel. This time I had the "farmer's" Rosti. Rosti is basically hash browns, prepared with different toppings. The farmer's Rosti was topped with Swiss cheese on one half and mushrooms and onions on the other. It was pretty good. You never know how you'll like an unfamiliar dish, though, so Kathy got Fish & Chips in case my dinner turned out terrible, and then we each took turns sharing.
After dinner, we hit the Internet Cafe one last time to get the blog up-to-date and check our email one last time before heading back to Germany in the morning.
Day 22: Colmar to Lauterbrunnen
Another quick update so y'all can tell where we're at. I'll have more extensive updates when I get a few more minutes. We left Paris on Tuesday, the 21st and went to Colmar in the southeast corner of France, right where Germany, France and Switzerland all meet. This is a holiday town for both French and German tourists.
On Wednesday, the 22nd we took several trains down to the Jungfrau region of Switzerland in the Alps. The train to Basel Switzerland left at 10:24, so we had time for a leisurely breakfast at the hotel (a really complete, nice, European-style buffet), checked out, and picked up our train with no problem.
The trains from France end right at the border. You get off the train, walk across the border, past a deserted immigration and passport checking area and into the Swiss train station. We found the Swiss train to Interlaken with no problem. It seems like the trains in each country have their own distinctive characteristics; the Swiss train we got on was ultra-modern and very clean.
We got to Interlaken by 1:30. It was a beautiful sunny day with spectacular view of the lake, and, as we approached Interlaken, of the snowy peaks of the Jungfrou, Monch, and Eiger peaks. Apparently it's quite common to come to this region of Switzerland and find the mountains completely invisible, engulfed in clouds and fog. While there were some clouds, the sky was a brilliant blue and all three peaks were clearly visible. It's hard to take pictures, though, since the contrast between the brilliand snowy peaks and the surrounding countryside is so great that the peaks seem to "wash out". This is one time that I think that regular old film might be better than digital. (But maybe a more expensive digital camera would work better.)
At Interlaken we needed to catch a private train (part of the Jungfraubahn line) up to our hotel in the town of Lauterbrunnen in the Berner Oberland region. Because of our railpass the tickets were only 5 SF each (about 1.2SF per dollar); we got tickets up to Lauterbrunnen and purchased our return tickets for the trip back on Friday at the same time. We also got some Swiss francs from the ATM, since Switzerland, like Hungary, doesn't use the Euro. (It's really kind of confusing comparing prices, since the Swiss france is worth a little less than a dollar, while the Euro is worth a little--or maybe a lot--more.)
We had time to walk around Interlaken for about a half hour before our train, which then took another half hour to travel up the valley to Lauterbrunnen. Lauterbrunnen is a really small town, with maybe 20 hotels and restaurants, a small supermarket and some specialty stores. It's still the commercial hub of this region, though; to get to the surrounding villages, like Gimmelwald or Murren, you need to take a cable-car or lift.
The whole town is set into a very steep valley (kind of like Yosemite, but narrower) with a very swift river running down the center, and a single street going through town. We walked through the entire town and found our hotel (the Hotel Staubbach) at the foot of Staubbach falls across from the church. This was the original hotel in the valley, founded in 1866, and it's recently been restored.
When we got to the hotel at 3:00 PM, there was no one at the reception desk, just a note telling us to check our names off the list on the counter, grab our key and head on up to our rooms. (Later at night, Kathy and I walked past the supermarket which was closed, and noticed the boxes of sodas and other merchandise piled on the steps, left unlocked and unprotected after closing. I guess that theft is not a big problem here.)
After we put our luggage in our room, we set off to explore the town, and to get a bite to eat, since we hadn't had a long enough layover in Interlaken for lunch. We found a cafe that was still serving, (unlike Italy where they all closed down in the afternoons), and I had a bowl of soup while Kathy ordered a pizza (which I helped her finish off). It was getting a little hazy by this time as the clouds rolled in (although it was still dry), and Kathy was still feeling pretty sick from the sore throat that started yesterday, so we decided to postpone visiting the upper villages and to do our hiking tommorrow.
Instead of heading off to a lift, we hiked up the little trail right underneath the Staubbach falls above our hotel. There was a tunnel cut into the rocks and we were able to hike back up underneath the falls themselves. Afterwards, we walked past the church, over to the (closed) museum, and took a back trail into town. At the little supermarket we got some laundry soap (actually shower gel, which was easier to pack and transport), some deodorant, a little knife and some chocolate.
Then, we walked across the street to the youth hostel's Internet cafe. They must get a lot of Americans, because all of the machines had US keyboards. Kathy did some emailing, and I picked up my email from my regular account for the first time, and had a chance to delete some of the spam. (The cafe uses coin-operated machines that cost 10 SFr an hour. I can't actually access the machines to get to a USB port, so I can't upload any of my pictures.) You can't believe how much easier having an American keyboard makes using the Internet though. (As you can tell from the length of this post.)
In the dark we walked back to our hotel, and spent the rest of the evening reading and soaking in the large bathtub with plenty of hot water; that's a real luxury over here.
On Wednesday, the 22nd we took several trains down to the Jungfrau region of Switzerland in the Alps. The train to Basel Switzerland left at 10:24, so we had time for a leisurely breakfast at the hotel (a really complete, nice, European-style buffet), checked out, and picked up our train with no problem.
The trains from France end right at the border. You get off the train, walk across the border, past a deserted immigration and passport checking area and into the Swiss train station. We found the Swiss train to Interlaken with no problem. It seems like the trains in each country have their own distinctive characteristics; the Swiss train we got on was ultra-modern and very clean.
We got to Interlaken by 1:30. It was a beautiful sunny day with spectacular view of the lake, and, as we approached Interlaken, of the snowy peaks of the Jungfrou, Monch, and Eiger peaks. Apparently it's quite common to come to this region of Switzerland and find the mountains completely invisible, engulfed in clouds and fog. While there were some clouds, the sky was a brilliant blue and all three peaks were clearly visible. It's hard to take pictures, though, since the contrast between the brilliand snowy peaks and the surrounding countryside is so great that the peaks seem to "wash out". This is one time that I think that regular old film might be better than digital. (But maybe a more expensive digital camera would work better.)
At Interlaken we needed to catch a private train (part of the Jungfraubahn line) up to our hotel in the town of Lauterbrunnen in the Berner Oberland region. Because of our railpass the tickets were only 5 SF each (about 1.2SF per dollar); we got tickets up to Lauterbrunnen and purchased our return tickets for the trip back on Friday at the same time. We also got some Swiss francs from the ATM, since Switzerland, like Hungary, doesn't use the Euro. (It's really kind of confusing comparing prices, since the Swiss france is worth a little less than a dollar, while the Euro is worth a little--or maybe a lot--more.)
We had time to walk around Interlaken for about a half hour before our train, which then took another half hour to travel up the valley to Lauterbrunnen. Lauterbrunnen is a really small town, with maybe 20 hotels and restaurants, a small supermarket and some specialty stores. It's still the commercial hub of this region, though; to get to the surrounding villages, like Gimmelwald or Murren, you need to take a cable-car or lift.
The whole town is set into a very steep valley (kind of like Yosemite, but narrower) with a very swift river running down the center, and a single street going through town. We walked through the entire town and found our hotel (the Hotel Staubbach) at the foot of Staubbach falls across from the church. This was the original hotel in the valley, founded in 1866, and it's recently been restored.
When we got to the hotel at 3:00 PM, there was no one at the reception desk, just a note telling us to check our names off the list on the counter, grab our key and head on up to our rooms. (Later at night, Kathy and I walked past the supermarket which was closed, and noticed the boxes of sodas and other merchandise piled on the steps, left unlocked and unprotected after closing. I guess that theft is not a big problem here.)
After we put our luggage in our room, we set off to explore the town, and to get a bite to eat, since we hadn't had a long enough layover in Interlaken for lunch. We found a cafe that was still serving, (unlike Italy where they all closed down in the afternoons), and I had a bowl of soup while Kathy ordered a pizza (which I helped her finish off). It was getting a little hazy by this time as the clouds rolled in (although it was still dry), and Kathy was still feeling pretty sick from the sore throat that started yesterday, so we decided to postpone visiting the upper villages and to do our hiking tommorrow.
Instead of heading off to a lift, we hiked up the little trail right underneath the Staubbach falls above our hotel. There was a tunnel cut into the rocks and we were able to hike back up underneath the falls themselves. Afterwards, we walked past the church, over to the (closed) museum, and took a back trail into town. At the little supermarket we got some laundry soap (actually shower gel, which was easier to pack and transport), some deodorant, a little knife and some chocolate.
Then, we walked across the street to the youth hostel's Internet cafe. They must get a lot of Americans, because all of the machines had US keyboards. Kathy did some emailing, and I picked up my email from my regular account for the first time, and had a chance to delete some of the spam. (The cafe uses coin-operated machines that cost 10 SFr an hour. I can't actually access the machines to get to a USB port, so I can't upload any of my pictures.) You can't believe how much easier having an American keyboard makes using the Internet though. (As you can tell from the length of this post.)
In the dark we walked back to our hotel, and spent the rest of the evening reading and soaking in the large bathtub with plenty of hot water; that's a real luxury over here.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Day 17-21: Venice, Torino & Paris
Sorry we haven't kept up the commentary; German keyboards had one letter switched but French keyboards have all the keys jumbled; even hunt-n-peck is almost impossible for an English speaker.
We had a wonderful time in Venice (highly recommended), saw the Shroud of Turin in the Torino Cathedral, and got to Paris two days ago. We saw all the sights, rode the Metro until 11:00 PM each night, and had a great visit with Mike & Becky Dente. We,re grabbing a few minutes right before our train (and maybe a French quarter-pounder with cheese) before heading off to Colmar in Alsace, France and then off to Switzerland for a couple of days.
We had a wonderful time in Venice (highly recommended), saw the Shroud of Turin in the Torino Cathedral, and got to Paris two days ago. We saw all the sights, rode the Metro until 11:00 PM each night, and had a great visit with Mike & Becky Dente. We,re grabbing a few minutes right before our train (and maybe a French quarter-pounder with cheese) before heading off to Colmar in Alsace, France and then off to Switzerland for a couple of days.
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