*Last 4 days worth of posts can be found below. We've been staying in some pretty old fashion gastofs and internet connection is hit and miss.*
Well, last night was unfortunate. We stayed at our gastof for dinner and it was a huge mistake – craving some protein, I ordered a sirloin filet. When I dug into it, I was unable to decide if it had been boiled then thrown on a flat-top, or just deep fried. It had been tenderized to the point of beating, so it definitely wasn’t a sirloin. The consequence? I was up most of the night with extreme nausea. So, little sleep and a queasy stomach were the start to my day, neither of which are ever promising. (Dad must have a lead lined stomach – as far as I was concerned, his dinner was worse than mine: a pork cutlet topped with pineapple, honey dew melon, plantains and merichino cherries, smothered in a creamy curry sauce. It makes me ralph a little bit just thinking of it.)
So, a long night and an early start. I skipped breakfast, but dad and I headed over to the salt mines in Berchtesgaden shortly after 9. The saltworks have been in constant work since the 16th century. After donning a jump suit (no, there are no pictures of me in it), we got on this little train that headed into the mountain. Along for the ride was a German school group (PS. No matter what Dad sais, German kids are douchier than Canadian ones – I got jostled 3 times by 3 different kids trying to get to the front of whatever imaginary line they though was there. Ass holes. I’ll admit, I might not have been in the best of mind sets this morning either.) We got to slide down wooden slides, cross a lake (that’s how they mine the salt in the stone – flood a pocket and drain the water every 2 years, then refine the saline solution), and walk through some mine shafts. I now know all I’ll ever need (or want) to know about salt.
From Berchtesgaden, we headed for the Austrian border and Salzburg. We found a classy little hotel only seconds from the main Motzart-Plaz and checked in. Dad then took pity on me and let me relax a little bit while he went out for a late lunch. Around 3 we headed into the old city for some pictures. We wandered through the cathedral here in town, saw the Neptune fountain, picked up some knick knacks, saw Motzart’s birthplace and wandered the shopping district. There were lots of people out and about until 5pm – then it seemed like all the tours pulled out of town.
I think I’ll let Dad do his own thing for dinner tonight and stay in to nurse this stomach ache. I think the whole ‘go-go-go’ atmosphere of the trip so far has run me down, so I’ll relax tonight and hope for a fresh start in the morning. We’ve booked a hotel for the next two nights in Munich, and we’ll be headed out there early in the morning.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
A day of extremes.
Well, the day was a bit of an odd duck, if you ask me. We started out with breakfast in Fussen where our gastof is apparently used to house students during the week so they can go to school in town. German schools must start pretty early, because I head the kids leaving their rooms around 7 and they were apparently heading out by 7:30 when Dad put his stuff in the car. By the time I got to breakfast shortly before 8, the buffet had been pretty clearly picked over, and there wasn’t a whole lot left. I had a roll with a soft boiled egg and some herb creamed cheese and then we headed out.
The weather here has been pretty crappy the last few days. When we got into Lahr it was sunny and muggy and uncomfortable. Yesterday, for our tour of the royal castles, it was over-cast and we got some light drizzle around noon, but that was all. Today, the fog and clouds just wouldn’t lift and it rained quite a bit. We did have a few exceptions when we got out of the car, so we were pretty lucky with that.
Our first stop this morning was at the town of Weis, on the Romantistrass to see the pilgrimage church in town. I use the term ‘town’ loosely – it was made up of about 6 buildings (other than the church), a couple of herds of cows, and three stalls selling touristy knick-knacks. When we got there, we were the only ones really there and as we were walking out of the church a tour bus was unloading, so we lucked out with timing. Of course, always looking to make a quick buck, the local authorities (church?) was charging for parking – Dad paid two Euros (that’s all he had on him) which bought us almost two hours of parking. As we were leaving, Dad did his Christian duty of charity and gave our extra hour and a half to some people who were about to pay. Dad assures me it was less about being a Christian, and more about hating to pay for parking.
From Weis, we headed on to Oberammergau. Oberammergau is very famous for one thing – Passion Plays. Every 10 years, the city puts on a festival with the Passion Play being the centre of the festivities. I had wanted to go because I was thinking it would be a traditional Play, you know, with the guilds putting on a scene each and the apprentices getting drunk to celebrate. No so much – Oberammergau is now a tourist mecca for Brits and Americans. Dad and I stopped in town just to pick up some postcards and souvenirs, but on our way out, we caught a glimpse of the permanent theater where the Plays are staged – it is quite large, and really state of the art. We didn’t stay overnight for a performance since both Dad and I know how it ends, and it lasts 5 hours. No, thanks.
From Oberammergau we headed towards and autobahn, and this time, I really opened her up – got the ol’ VW up above 150 and could have gone higher, but had to exit. Driving an autobahn is quite an experience – not only are you watching the road ahead of you, but you have to watch the road behind you for quite a ways as well. The Germans come whipping down those highways so fast, that if you’re not watching your rear-view as much as the road in front of you, you can make the locals really frustrated and agro. The other problem with the autobahn is the on-ramps – they’re virtually non-existent. You’ve got to be ready and able to go from a complete stop at the end of the ‘on-ramp’ to at least 90 in only a few seconds to avoid becoming a bug on someone’s windshield. After you’re on the road, you’d better only use the left lane for passing – the locals have no problem getting right on your tail when you’re in their way. And signal lights? Forget them – they’re apparently considered a waste of time. All told, a lot of fun to drive on them, but only if you’re a very conscientious driver. (I think I freaked out Dad since he wasn’t saying very much, but I was comfortable doing the driving and fit right in with the Germans.)
Off the autobahn we were heading through the country side on a fast-ish highway to get to the next autobahn when we passed a Commonwealth war cemetery. After a u-turn, we stopped for a few minutes to have a look around. I signed the guestbook while Dad looked through the directory – we found 3 Guests buried there, all from British regiments. Dad figures there was a POW camp or hospital near by since a lot of the graves we saw there from late in 1944. I’m not a WWII historian, but the whole situation really hit me hard. I was having a hard time not bursting into tears walking through the rows of graves. I don’t know how people manage the Battlefields Tours – I would be a blubbering wreck the entire time. It’s starting to make me wonder how I’ll react at Dachau…
After we left the cemetery, we got onto another autobahn, only to get off shortly and head back into the country side. We stopped in a little town (seemingly in BFN, but Dad mentioned it was closer to Austria then that) for lunch. We pulled into a gastof and I was surprised to see how big and swanky the place was. It’s comforting to know that if we have to stay in the country side that was can find classy accommodations like that one. After lunch (Dad had some sort of pork stew and I had a ratatouille) we headed of to Berchtesgaden. We got in around 2, and started looking for a hotel. We found on that had pretty small rooms, and is within 3 blocks of 3 churches (to go by the bells that ring on the hour), but we’re only here for one night, so it will do.
After checking in, we headed up to Kehlsteinhaus – or the Eagle’s Nest – more commonly known as Hitler’s Teahouse. It’s a small building, built at the very top of a peak in the mountains that was a gift to Hitler by the Nazi party for his 50th birthday. It was used as a diplomatic retreat and was never permanently lived in. When we got into Berchtesgaden the weather was committed to rain, and that hadn’t let up by the time we got to the base of the Kehlsteinhaus. At the base, you have to buy bus tickets to get up to the top – which starts to make sense when you realize that the roads are incredibly steep and only wide enough for one vehicle at a time (the organization that is running it even runs the buses up in convoys to avoid having them meet anywhere on the road). When we got to the top, we realized that we were above the fog line, but still below the cloud line. As we walked from one end of the ridge to the other that Kehlsteinhaus is on, we would sometimes loose sight of either side as the clouds/fogs obscured our view. We were able to see some of the surrounding mountains, as well as some of the high planes that surround the peak. We were constantly drizzled on, but when we went down the 124 meters to the front entrance of the retreat, the drizzle was full out rain.
Back in Berchtesgaden, we headed for our hotel and will eat here in the gastof, since both Dad and I are pretty wiped.
The weather here has been pretty crappy the last few days. When we got into Lahr it was sunny and muggy and uncomfortable. Yesterday, for our tour of the royal castles, it was over-cast and we got some light drizzle around noon, but that was all. Today, the fog and clouds just wouldn’t lift and it rained quite a bit. We did have a few exceptions when we got out of the car, so we were pretty lucky with that.
Our first stop this morning was at the town of Weis, on the Romantistrass to see the pilgrimage church in town. I use the term ‘town’ loosely – it was made up of about 6 buildings (other than the church), a couple of herds of cows, and three stalls selling touristy knick-knacks. When we got there, we were the only ones really there and as we were walking out of the church a tour bus was unloading, so we lucked out with timing. Of course, always looking to make a quick buck, the local authorities (church?) was charging for parking – Dad paid two Euros (that’s all he had on him) which bought us almost two hours of parking. As we were leaving, Dad did his Christian duty of charity and gave our extra hour and a half to some people who were about to pay. Dad assures me it was less about being a Christian, and more about hating to pay for parking.
From Weis, we headed on to Oberammergau. Oberammergau is very famous for one thing – Passion Plays. Every 10 years, the city puts on a festival with the Passion Play being the centre of the festivities. I had wanted to go because I was thinking it would be a traditional Play, you know, with the guilds putting on a scene each and the apprentices getting drunk to celebrate. No so much – Oberammergau is now a tourist mecca for Brits and Americans. Dad and I stopped in town just to pick up some postcards and souvenirs, but on our way out, we caught a glimpse of the permanent theater where the Plays are staged – it is quite large, and really state of the art. We didn’t stay overnight for a performance since both Dad and I know how it ends, and it lasts 5 hours. No, thanks.
From Oberammergau we headed towards and autobahn, and this time, I really opened her up – got the ol’ VW up above 150 and could have gone higher, but had to exit. Driving an autobahn is quite an experience – not only are you watching the road ahead of you, but you have to watch the road behind you for quite a ways as well. The Germans come whipping down those highways so fast, that if you’re not watching your rear-view as much as the road in front of you, you can make the locals really frustrated and agro. The other problem with the autobahn is the on-ramps – they’re virtually non-existent. You’ve got to be ready and able to go from a complete stop at the end of the ‘on-ramp’ to at least 90 in only a few seconds to avoid becoming a bug on someone’s windshield. After you’re on the road, you’d better only use the left lane for passing – the locals have no problem getting right on your tail when you’re in their way. And signal lights? Forget them – they’re apparently considered a waste of time. All told, a lot of fun to drive on them, but only if you’re a very conscientious driver. (I think I freaked out Dad since he wasn’t saying very much, but I was comfortable doing the driving and fit right in with the Germans.)
Off the autobahn we were heading through the country side on a fast-ish highway to get to the next autobahn when we passed a Commonwealth war cemetery. After a u-turn, we stopped for a few minutes to have a look around. I signed the guestbook while Dad looked through the directory – we found 3 Guests buried there, all from British regiments. Dad figures there was a POW camp or hospital near by since a lot of the graves we saw there from late in 1944. I’m not a WWII historian, but the whole situation really hit me hard. I was having a hard time not bursting into tears walking through the rows of graves. I don’t know how people manage the Battlefields Tours – I would be a blubbering wreck the entire time. It’s starting to make me wonder how I’ll react at Dachau…
After we left the cemetery, we got onto another autobahn, only to get off shortly and head back into the country side. We stopped in a little town (seemingly in BFN, but Dad mentioned it was closer to Austria then that) for lunch. We pulled into a gastof and I was surprised to see how big and swanky the place was. It’s comforting to know that if we have to stay in the country side that was can find classy accommodations like that one. After lunch (Dad had some sort of pork stew and I had a ratatouille) we headed of to Berchtesgaden. We got in around 2, and started looking for a hotel. We found on that had pretty small rooms, and is within 3 blocks of 3 churches (to go by the bells that ring on the hour), but we’re only here for one night, so it will do.
After checking in, we headed up to Kehlsteinhaus – or the Eagle’s Nest – more commonly known as Hitler’s Teahouse. It’s a small building, built at the very top of a peak in the mountains that was a gift to Hitler by the Nazi party for his 50th birthday. It was used as a diplomatic retreat and was never permanently lived in. When we got into Berchtesgaden the weather was committed to rain, and that hadn’t let up by the time we got to the base of the Kehlsteinhaus. At the base, you have to buy bus tickets to get up to the top – which starts to make sense when you realize that the roads are incredibly steep and only wide enough for one vehicle at a time (the organization that is running it even runs the buses up in convoys to avoid having them meet anywhere on the road). When we got to the top, we realized that we were above the fog line, but still below the cloud line. As we walked from one end of the ridge to the other that Kehlsteinhaus is on, we would sometimes loose sight of either side as the clouds/fogs obscured our view. We were able to see some of the surrounding mountains, as well as some of the high planes that surround the peak. We were constantly drizzled on, but when we went down the 124 meters to the front entrance of the retreat, the drizzle was full out rain.
Back in Berchtesgaden, we headed for our hotel and will eat here in the gastof, since both Dad and I are pretty wiped.
A Lud-icris day…
So, we spend our second night in Fussen last night so that we could head out to the Konigssehlossers (royal castles) today. There are two just outside the town of Fussen, the Schloss Hohenschwangau and the Schloss Newschwanstein. Both of which were residences of Ludwig II – the Newchwanstein was the fairy tale castle that ol’ Luddy commissioned as inspired by the operas of Wagner. But, I’m getting ahead of myself…
We got up and had breakfast here at the gastof this morning for 8am – it was pretty standard fare; cold cuts, cheeses, fresh rolls, spreads, and hard-boiled eggs. It was delicious, but I can see this getting old fast since there’s not a lot of variety in the German continental breakfast. A little before 9 we wandered into the Marketplaz here in Fussen to wait for the tourist info centre to open, then grabbed some info/maps on the town and headed out to the castles. We got to the small town at the foot of the hills which they are built on just before 9.30 at the place was already looking pretty busy. The only way you can visit either castle is via guided tour since they are still privately owned by the Duke of Bavaria. We got our tickets to see both castles, then hoofed it up to the Hohenschwangau.
The Hohenschwangau was the summer residence of the royal family of Bavaria since it was re-built after Napoleon destroyed it in the early 19th century. It took some walking (and more switch backs!) to get up there, but the view was worth it. On one side you got the flat farm valleys of the surrounding towns and on the other there are two lakes and the small town that relies on the tourist trade for survival. We wandered around the Hohenschwangau’s gardens waiting for our tour to start, then got to see the rooms of the king and queen. It’s a pretty small palace, but it was never used for formal receptions, but rater was used as a retreat palace.
From the Hohenschwangau, we headed into the town for a quick lunch. Dad wasn’t all to keen on trying the red deer goulash, so we settled for the restaurant of one of the hotels where he had moo-cow goulash and I had a spinach strudel. After our quick bite, we found the horse carriages that take people up to the Neuschwastein for 6 Euros a piece up, but 3 Euros down. We were in the front of the carriage, so I got to see just how hard a job the horses had it carting people up that hill repeatedly. And let’s not get confused – it was a hard f-ing trail to blaze. You’re more than welcome to walk up, and a lot of people do, but it was a very steep and hard road to take. So, though I felt bad, I’m glad it was the horses hoofing it and not me. (To be fair, we did walk down, and my calves are still jelly-like!)
From where the horses dropped us off, it was still a 10-15 minute walk up to Neuschwastein. We arrived a little early and got some pictures while milling around the court yard. But this time (almost 1) it was crawling with tourists all over the place. Our tour group was made up predominately by an English coach-tour full of really old people. To make matters worse, the tour starts on the second floor of the Neuschwastein, which is 68 spiral-stair case steps above the court yard (and yes, I counted) and the tour is spread out over 3 floors, so there was another 90 steps. It took a long time to get everyone in place because the median age of the group was around 60. Dad took that tour years ago, and he remembers it being quite rushed. Well, it still is. Apparently, Dad always recommends you wear your running shoes for the Neuschwastein tour. There were several rooms where we hadn’t even left before the next group was coming in behind us. Needless to say, there was a lot of noise and a lot of invasion of my personal bubble and I don’t do well with either. I wasn’t really digging the tour, so I jetted shortly after it ended.
The castle itself is unfinished – Ludwig died before it was completed. In actuality, only the second and half of the third floor is finished, and Ludwig inhabited it for 6 months before he died. After that, it was only a livable castle for another year and a half. The décor was inspired by Richard Wagner’s operas and the general motif is the 11/12th centuries gothic-style. All very ornate and over the top. On the way down from the theater (situated on the third floor under slopped roofs for the sake of acoustics) I counted 203 steps – and we exited via the servant’s entrance.
After we left, Dad decided he was going to take the trail that goes around the back of the Neuschwastein to the bridge the over looks it and the gorge for some pictures. I was so tired and stressed out by that point that I took a pass and instead perused the tourist stalls that lined the walk-up to the castle, picked up some post cards and a giant pretzel, then headed to the restaurant/inn at the place where the horses let us off to wait of Dad.
From there, we headed down the hill (on foot!) for the village to return to Fussen. We browsed through the tourist shops, but then headed for the car. When we got back to town it was only 3 so we wanted to see some of Fussen’s attractions as well. Unfortunately, I was really tired, and the main historical building (the fortress) is closed on Mondays, so we cut our losses and headed back to the Gastof. We chilled for a couple of hours, then headed back to the marketplaz for some dinner.
Tomorrow we head out for… a town that’s name I can’t pronounce yet, so I’d better get some rest!
We got up and had breakfast here at the gastof this morning for 8am – it was pretty standard fare; cold cuts, cheeses, fresh rolls, spreads, and hard-boiled eggs. It was delicious, but I can see this getting old fast since there’s not a lot of variety in the German continental breakfast. A little before 9 we wandered into the Marketplaz here in Fussen to wait for the tourist info centre to open, then grabbed some info/maps on the town and headed out to the castles. We got to the small town at the foot of the hills which they are built on just before 9.30 at the place was already looking pretty busy. The only way you can visit either castle is via guided tour since they are still privately owned by the Duke of Bavaria. We got our tickets to see both castles, then hoofed it up to the Hohenschwangau.
The Hohenschwangau was the summer residence of the royal family of Bavaria since it was re-built after Napoleon destroyed it in the early 19th century. It took some walking (and more switch backs!) to get up there, but the view was worth it. On one side you got the flat farm valleys of the surrounding towns and on the other there are two lakes and the small town that relies on the tourist trade for survival. We wandered around the Hohenschwangau’s gardens waiting for our tour to start, then got to see the rooms of the king and queen. It’s a pretty small palace, but it was never used for formal receptions, but rater was used as a retreat palace.
From the Hohenschwangau, we headed into the town for a quick lunch. Dad wasn’t all to keen on trying the red deer goulash, so we settled for the restaurant of one of the hotels where he had moo-cow goulash and I had a spinach strudel. After our quick bite, we found the horse carriages that take people up to the Neuschwastein for 6 Euros a piece up, but 3 Euros down. We were in the front of the carriage, so I got to see just how hard a job the horses had it carting people up that hill repeatedly. And let’s not get confused – it was a hard f-ing trail to blaze. You’re more than welcome to walk up, and a lot of people do, but it was a very steep and hard road to take. So, though I felt bad, I’m glad it was the horses hoofing it and not me. (To be fair, we did walk down, and my calves are still jelly-like!)
From where the horses dropped us off, it was still a 10-15 minute walk up to Neuschwastein. We arrived a little early and got some pictures while milling around the court yard. But this time (almost 1) it was crawling with tourists all over the place. Our tour group was made up predominately by an English coach-tour full of really old people. To make matters worse, the tour starts on the second floor of the Neuschwastein, which is 68 spiral-stair case steps above the court yard (and yes, I counted) and the tour is spread out over 3 floors, so there was another 90 steps. It took a long time to get everyone in place because the median age of the group was around 60. Dad took that tour years ago, and he remembers it being quite rushed. Well, it still is. Apparently, Dad always recommends you wear your running shoes for the Neuschwastein tour. There were several rooms where we hadn’t even left before the next group was coming in behind us. Needless to say, there was a lot of noise and a lot of invasion of my personal bubble and I don’t do well with either. I wasn’t really digging the tour, so I jetted shortly after it ended.
The castle itself is unfinished – Ludwig died before it was completed. In actuality, only the second and half of the third floor is finished, and Ludwig inhabited it for 6 months before he died. After that, it was only a livable castle for another year and a half. The décor was inspired by Richard Wagner’s operas and the general motif is the 11/12th centuries gothic-style. All very ornate and over the top. On the way down from the theater (situated on the third floor under slopped roofs for the sake of acoustics) I counted 203 steps – and we exited via the servant’s entrance.
After we left, Dad decided he was going to take the trail that goes around the back of the Neuschwastein to the bridge the over looks it and the gorge for some pictures. I was so tired and stressed out by that point that I took a pass and instead perused the tourist stalls that lined the walk-up to the castle, picked up some post cards and a giant pretzel, then headed to the restaurant/inn at the place where the horses let us off to wait of Dad.
From there, we headed down the hill (on foot!) for the village to return to Fussen. We browsed through the tourist shops, but then headed for the car. When we got back to town it was only 3 so we wanted to see some of Fussen’s attractions as well. Unfortunately, I was really tired, and the main historical building (the fortress) is closed on Mondays, so we cut our losses and headed back to the Gastof. We chilled for a couple of hours, then headed back to the marketplaz for some dinner.
Tomorrow we head out for… a town that’s name I can’t pronounce yet, so I’d better get some rest!
Well, we tried (as a refrain for the day).
Lots doing today! We left Freiburg early this morning after stopping at the German equivalent of a Timmy’s for breakfast. I had a pretzel with creamed cheese (the concept of a bagel appears lost on the German people) and an apple juice (which was fizzy – they’ll fiz up anything here). It was a nice way to start the day. We also started the day by celebrating Father’s Day! Since the guy’s brought me to Germany, it’s not like I could ignore it – I got him Shit my Dad Said because it reminds me so much of him.
As we left Frieburg, we headed into the hills for a scenic drive; it was kind of a bust. There was clouds, fog, and a light rain all morning. We headed up what is called a road, since it appears in my dad’s atlas, but to be frank, it was a single-car width cow-lane that happened to be paved. Between the fog, the sharp switch backs, the rain, and the crazy-assed locals who were driving to/from wherever and using that road, it was kind of stressful. The route was poorly marked, so Dad had to get out a couple of times to check road-signs (I was driving – that’s why I didn’t get out). To sum of the adventure, I had to ask Dad once “Which creepy-assed road to you want me to take? The one into the creepy-assed and dark forest, or the one into the creepy-assed blind turn and decent?” It all worked out in the end, and we started back up hill to what was supposed to be a scenic view point. It was scenic in so far as we were above the fog cover, but not the clouds. Either way, it was a nice drive and we got some nice pictures of a couple of different views.
Dad had some more scenic routs planned, but it became pretty obvious that it was going to be a bust, so we cut our losses and headed for the autobahn. For those of you who play poker, haven’t you always wanted to play in a no-limits, big stakes game? That’s what driving an autobahn is for me – there are no speed limits between towns and you’re free to go as fast as your little heart desires. We’ve got us a VW Golf for this trip and while it’s great on all the little winding roads, it’s not all that great for high-speeds in a hurry. Needless to say, I got to go 130km/h for quite a while, but I was driving in the slow lane and being passed like I was standing still by the domestic drivers. (I observed to Dad that we should have done this trip when I was younger and stupider and I would have been right along side the locals making like I was Mario Andreti.) Maybe in a few days when I’m feeling up to it, I’ll really open her up and let loose on the autobahn. (On that note, they seem pretty serious about limiting speeds in the small towns along the smaller roads – which makes sense – and how did we find that out? As I was leaving one of these towns – doing almost 70 in a posted 50 zone – I got distracted by a bright flash of light from what was most assuredly a photo speed-trap. So, not only have we racked up a parking ticket already, but now we’ll probably have a speeding ticket to add to the list of experiences.)
Anyway…. We switched over on the driving not long after getting on the Autobahn after stopping for a quick snack. The autobahn road-side service stations are amazing. They are clean and have the classiest cafeteria/restaurants imaginable. And how do they manage this? By ‘suggesting’ donations to use the washrooms. I wasn’t stopped, but I use the ladies twice without paying, and felt like a thief steeling into the night afterwards. Oh well. Along the autobahn we went until a detour forced us off of it onto a smaller highway that circled around Lake Bodensee (also known as Lake Constance). We stopped at a beautiful church along the way which looked out over some grape fields down to the water, which was full of sail boats, with Switzerland on the other side. We didn’t go into the church since it was Sunday around noon and the service was just letting out. It was still a nice little stop to have made.
From there, we drove onto Lindau. The old part of the city sits on a little island, so we crossed the bridge and found a place to park and take some pictures, then moved on and parked to wander into the old town. The original purpose to Lindau was to act as a customs stop between Austria/Switzerland and Germany. Because of this, the harbour has a large lighthouse and a giant stone lion that faces out into the lake and at those other two countries. After a wander around we started looking for a place to have lunch. We passed by a few joints then settled on one that was on the main street of the town – what a good call! We were halfway through our lunch when I picked up a marching beat – it turns out that the surrounding towns were putting on a parade of marching bands. We got to sit in the second floor of the restaurant, eat our lunches, and watch about a dozen marching bands (dressed in traditional Bavarian garb) go marching by. It was a real case of being in the right place at the right time!
From Lindau we headed on towards Fussen where we were spending the next two nights. Dad had planned to take the Deutch Alpenstrass, a scenic road-way that gets some views of the Alps, but because of the weather, it was a pretty big bust. By the time we came down from the hills the rain was really getting heavy. We drove straight into Fussen to look for a hotel. We tried a couple of places that were either full or too expensive, before finding the Brauereigasthof on a little side street, just outside the old city centre. There is a restaurant downstairs, and the hotel’s reception also serves as the bar, but the rooms are quite large (though the bathrooms are tiney-tiny) and the food in the restaurant was really good. We had a nice supper and I’ve turned in early since tomorrow is going to be another big day – we’re heading out to see some of the royal castles (even if the weather is utter crap like today).
An observation:
The German people LOVE walking and bike riding. On the little hills that I get nervous about driving up and down because of the 12% gradient (or worse) we see men (and some women) kitted out like Lance Armstrong heading both up and down, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Even in the pouring rain they’re out there. It’s the same with the walkers – it was raining really bad for a while, be we were still seeing people out walking along foot-paths or their cars parked at the entrance to nature preserves. We even saw two guys swimming in one of the larger lakes we passed by (and it was only about 15 degrees at the time). Everywhere we’ve gone, we’ve seen random bus stops for some form of public transit that seems designed to not only take people from village to village, but also to take people out into the middle of nowhere so they can make a day of walking home. We figured after a few big meals (Dad’s with beer) that this is how the Germans have figured out how to enjoy the culinary expertise.
As we left Frieburg, we headed into the hills for a scenic drive; it was kind of a bust. There was clouds, fog, and a light rain all morning. We headed up what is called a road, since it appears in my dad’s atlas, but to be frank, it was a single-car width cow-lane that happened to be paved. Between the fog, the sharp switch backs, the rain, and the crazy-assed locals who were driving to/from wherever and using that road, it was kind of stressful. The route was poorly marked, so Dad had to get out a couple of times to check road-signs (I was driving – that’s why I didn’t get out). To sum of the adventure, I had to ask Dad once “Which creepy-assed road to you want me to take? The one into the creepy-assed and dark forest, or the one into the creepy-assed blind turn and decent?” It all worked out in the end, and we started back up hill to what was supposed to be a scenic view point. It was scenic in so far as we were above the fog cover, but not the clouds. Either way, it was a nice drive and we got some nice pictures of a couple of different views.
Dad had some more scenic routs planned, but it became pretty obvious that it was going to be a bust, so we cut our losses and headed for the autobahn. For those of you who play poker, haven’t you always wanted to play in a no-limits, big stakes game? That’s what driving an autobahn is for me – there are no speed limits between towns and you’re free to go as fast as your little heart desires. We’ve got us a VW Golf for this trip and while it’s great on all the little winding roads, it’s not all that great for high-speeds in a hurry. Needless to say, I got to go 130km/h for quite a while, but I was driving in the slow lane and being passed like I was standing still by the domestic drivers. (I observed to Dad that we should have done this trip when I was younger and stupider and I would have been right along side the locals making like I was Mario Andreti.) Maybe in a few days when I’m feeling up to it, I’ll really open her up and let loose on the autobahn. (On that note, they seem pretty serious about limiting speeds in the small towns along the smaller roads – which makes sense – and how did we find that out? As I was leaving one of these towns – doing almost 70 in a posted 50 zone – I got distracted by a bright flash of light from what was most assuredly a photo speed-trap. So, not only have we racked up a parking ticket already, but now we’ll probably have a speeding ticket to add to the list of experiences.)
Anyway…. We switched over on the driving not long after getting on the Autobahn after stopping for a quick snack. The autobahn road-side service stations are amazing. They are clean and have the classiest cafeteria/restaurants imaginable. And how do they manage this? By ‘suggesting’ donations to use the washrooms. I wasn’t stopped, but I use the ladies twice without paying, and felt like a thief steeling into the night afterwards. Oh well. Along the autobahn we went until a detour forced us off of it onto a smaller highway that circled around Lake Bodensee (also known as Lake Constance). We stopped at a beautiful church along the way which looked out over some grape fields down to the water, which was full of sail boats, with Switzerland on the other side. We didn’t go into the church since it was Sunday around noon and the service was just letting out. It was still a nice little stop to have made.
From there, we drove onto Lindau. The old part of the city sits on a little island, so we crossed the bridge and found a place to park and take some pictures, then moved on and parked to wander into the old town. The original purpose to Lindau was to act as a customs stop between Austria/Switzerland and Germany. Because of this, the harbour has a large lighthouse and a giant stone lion that faces out into the lake and at those other two countries. After a wander around we started looking for a place to have lunch. We passed by a few joints then settled on one that was on the main street of the town – what a good call! We were halfway through our lunch when I picked up a marching beat – it turns out that the surrounding towns were putting on a parade of marching bands. We got to sit in the second floor of the restaurant, eat our lunches, and watch about a dozen marching bands (dressed in traditional Bavarian garb) go marching by. It was a real case of being in the right place at the right time!
From Lindau we headed on towards Fussen where we were spending the next two nights. Dad had planned to take the Deutch Alpenstrass, a scenic road-way that gets some views of the Alps, but because of the weather, it was a pretty big bust. By the time we came down from the hills the rain was really getting heavy. We drove straight into Fussen to look for a hotel. We tried a couple of places that were either full or too expensive, before finding the Brauereigasthof on a little side street, just outside the old city centre. There is a restaurant downstairs, and the hotel’s reception also serves as the bar, but the rooms are quite large (though the bathrooms are tiney-tiny) and the food in the restaurant was really good. We had a nice supper and I’ve turned in early since tomorrow is going to be another big day – we’re heading out to see some of the royal castles (even if the weather is utter crap like today).
An observation:
The German people LOVE walking and bike riding. On the little hills that I get nervous about driving up and down because of the 12% gradient (or worse) we see men (and some women) kitted out like Lance Armstrong heading both up and down, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Even in the pouring rain they’re out there. It’s the same with the walkers – it was raining really bad for a while, be we were still seeing people out walking along foot-paths or their cars parked at the entrance to nature preserves. We even saw two guys swimming in one of the larger lakes we passed by (and it was only about 15 degrees at the time). Everywhere we’ve gone, we’ve seen random bus stops for some form of public transit that seems designed to not only take people from village to village, but also to take people out into the middle of nowhere so they can make a day of walking home. We figured after a few big meals (Dad’s with beer) that this is how the Germans have figured out how to enjoy the culinary expertise.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Switch back after switch back after switch back after switch back after… well, you get the point.
Wooooo, what a long day. We’ve been doing stuff for two days now, and already the vacation as a “This is Tuesday, so this must be Belgium” feel to it. The morning started off weird – I was up at quarter to six, and dad and I had planed to meet for breakfast in the hotel restaurant for 7.30. I rolled down to the restaurant around 7.15 and was surprised that he wasn’t already there. I waited for 45 minutes, but by 7.45 I was trying to figure out how to get the body home (fyi, I don’t think dad’s slept past 7am since he was my age). At 8, I finally had enough of waiting so went to knock on his door. It took 3 tries to wake him up. Turns out, he was woken up in the middle of the night and couldn’t get back to sleep. When he finally did, it was so early in the am, that he slept right though. I’m never going to let him live this down. Sgt Guest’s o’dark-thirty start time went out the window because he slept in….
Anyway, when we finally got on the road (see what I did there? Yeah, he’s going to be hearing about this for a while) we headed out of Lahr for a drive through the very southern tip of the black forest. Around 11 we stopped at Freudenstadt for a coffee and a snack and a walk around the marketplaz. We found some nice durndles and leiderhossen in some shops, but didn’t stop to try them on. Oh well. Most of the day was spent driving through the little hills between villages. We drove about 200km, but it took us most of 8 hours. It’s the kind of driving conditions where you can’t shift above second gear going up a hill, and you stay in second coming down because of the speed. The way the massive ‘hills’ around here are managed is via switch back; you are basically driving a zig-zag up the hill and it’s very often quite steep.
In the valleys we would drive through small towns that had one of three industries: 1- logging (because duh, it’s the black forest), 2- water bottling (lots of little springs), or 3- health spas/hospitals. We got stuck behind a double-trailer from a water bottling factory going up some switch backs and it was nerve racking watching this massive 18 wheeler almost jackknife multiple times. To make matters worse on these roads, people are permitted to pass, so you’re often wondering as you going around blind corners if you’re going to meet anyone head on, if the road it wide enough for both cars, or if the person behind you if going to try to pass and cause an accident. What’s more, there are rarely guard rails on the sides of these switch backs, so you’re always very conscious of just how far a drop it is to the valley floor. (But, Dad is always reminding me that we’re more than likely to hit a bunch of trees to stop the fall. Thanks Dad.) The driving is never boring, so the signs that indicate roads are going to narrow are more of a joke than helpful (I mean, come on, some roads are barely wide enough for one car, let alone two).
Our second stop of the day was at Triberg to see the highest waterfall in Germany. It’s an extremely well maintained tourist site that starts mid-way up the valley wall and has lots of paths leading up along side the falls. These paths are laid out, of course, in switch backs. It never ends here. Dad and I made it up to the last viewing bridge across the falls, then opted to NOT continue walking to the top of the hill (since it was still quite a ways up). Walking down was almost as hard as going up – my legs still feel a bit like jelly and I fear a charlyhorse tonight.
Leaving Triberg we started heading to Freiburg. We detoured a bit to see both the witches valley (Hexeloch Mill) – it was a really charming place, but the roads were ridiculously small. The mill at the bottom of the valley is now a restaurant, but the local legend is that the area was a haven for witches and this is supported by the fact that the snow supposedly lasts longer there than in the other parts of the area. Our second stop was to see a statue of a stag, placed on an outcropping of rocks along the highway. It’s supposed to commemorate a local legend that tells of a great hunter’s chase of a stag through the surrounding valleys only to loose out on the kill when the stag jumped across the valley to get away. If you ask me, it sounds like the hunter was either at a gastoff and needed an excuse for why he didn’t bring home dinner, or he just lost the trail but wouldn’t admit it. Either way, a nice story and a nice detour.
From there, we headed back towards Freiburg. I was shocked (shocked, I say) to see that PricewaterhouseCoopers has a massive bank of offices in town, right next to the train station. I was so surprised and busy staring at the building that I missed the fact that my light turned green. Getting over my surprise, Dad and I parked at the train station/concert hall and started walking through the old town looking for a hotel. Dad was looking for the Hotel Victoria, the place he used to stay when he came here for some hell-raising. He apparently skipped out on a bill here once, but came back the next weekend to pay it. It’s safe to say that it’s a lot classier of a joint now – it’s a 4 star Best Western and I love it here. Air conditioned rooms, blow driers in the bathrooms, shower stalls of a decent size and right across the street from a lovely park and close to the Marketplaz. We’ll only be there tonight, but it’s nice to have a bit of luxury.
Well, it’s been a long day, and tomorrow is going to be an early start, so I’ll sign off!
Anyway, when we finally got on the road (see what I did there? Yeah, he’s going to be hearing about this for a while) we headed out of Lahr for a drive through the very southern tip of the black forest. Around 11 we stopped at Freudenstadt for a coffee and a snack and a walk around the marketplaz. We found some nice durndles and leiderhossen in some shops, but didn’t stop to try them on. Oh well. Most of the day was spent driving through the little hills between villages. We drove about 200km, but it took us most of 8 hours. It’s the kind of driving conditions where you can’t shift above second gear going up a hill, and you stay in second coming down because of the speed. The way the massive ‘hills’ around here are managed is via switch back; you are basically driving a zig-zag up the hill and it’s very often quite steep.
In the valleys we would drive through small towns that had one of three industries: 1- logging (because duh, it’s the black forest), 2- water bottling (lots of little springs), or 3- health spas/hospitals. We got stuck behind a double-trailer from a water bottling factory going up some switch backs and it was nerve racking watching this massive 18 wheeler almost jackknife multiple times. To make matters worse on these roads, people are permitted to pass, so you’re often wondering as you going around blind corners if you’re going to meet anyone head on, if the road it wide enough for both cars, or if the person behind you if going to try to pass and cause an accident. What’s more, there are rarely guard rails on the sides of these switch backs, so you’re always very conscious of just how far a drop it is to the valley floor. (But, Dad is always reminding me that we’re more than likely to hit a bunch of trees to stop the fall. Thanks Dad.) The driving is never boring, so the signs that indicate roads are going to narrow are more of a joke than helpful (I mean, come on, some roads are barely wide enough for one car, let alone two).
Our second stop of the day was at Triberg to see the highest waterfall in Germany. It’s an extremely well maintained tourist site that starts mid-way up the valley wall and has lots of paths leading up along side the falls. These paths are laid out, of course, in switch backs. It never ends here. Dad and I made it up to the last viewing bridge across the falls, then opted to NOT continue walking to the top of the hill (since it was still quite a ways up). Walking down was almost as hard as going up – my legs still feel a bit like jelly and I fear a charlyhorse tonight.
Leaving Triberg we started heading to Freiburg. We detoured a bit to see both the witches valley (Hexeloch Mill) – it was a really charming place, but the roads were ridiculously small. The mill at the bottom of the valley is now a restaurant, but the local legend is that the area was a haven for witches and this is supported by the fact that the snow supposedly lasts longer there than in the other parts of the area. Our second stop was to see a statue of a stag, placed on an outcropping of rocks along the highway. It’s supposed to commemorate a local legend that tells of a great hunter’s chase of a stag through the surrounding valleys only to loose out on the kill when the stag jumped across the valley to get away. If you ask me, it sounds like the hunter was either at a gastoff and needed an excuse for why he didn’t bring home dinner, or he just lost the trail but wouldn’t admit it. Either way, a nice story and a nice detour.
From there, we headed back towards Freiburg. I was shocked (shocked, I say) to see that PricewaterhouseCoopers has a massive bank of offices in town, right next to the train station. I was so surprised and busy staring at the building that I missed the fact that my light turned green. Getting over my surprise, Dad and I parked at the train station/concert hall and started walking through the old town looking for a hotel. Dad was looking for the Hotel Victoria, the place he used to stay when he came here for some hell-raising. He apparently skipped out on a bill here once, but came back the next weekend to pay it. It’s safe to say that it’s a lot classier of a joint now – it’s a 4 star Best Western and I love it here. Air conditioned rooms, blow driers in the bathrooms, shower stalls of a decent size and right across the street from a lovely park and close to the Marketplaz. We’ll only be there tonight, but it’s nice to have a bit of luxury.
Well, it’s been a long day, and tomorrow is going to be an early start, so I’ll sign off!
Friday, June 11, 2010
(A lot of) Long and Winding Roads
Feeling much better today! Went to bed last night around 10:30 (no clock in the room, so had to guess off my watch which is tiny and dark-faced). I got caught up watching the finale of Germany’s Next Top Model, hosted by Heidi Klum, LIVE from a stadium the size of Madison Square Garden – I was amazed at the public participation/interested in a TV show that, in the States/Canada, is barely seen/spoken about (but I love ANTM, don’t get me wrong). I didn’t watch it through to the end – I decided that, since I had no clue who the models were, nor do I speak German, it was probably a better idea to get some sleep.
Woke up today around 7:30, then had a light breakfast in the hotel’s dining room. It was either a prochuto and cheese and role or granola and yogurt kind of breakfast. I had yogurt since my stomach is still adjusting to the long flight and being back on normal person time. Around 8:30 Dad and I headed out in the Golf for a drive around the small town that surround Lahr. We switched over driving at the first small town we came to and I was really glad to find out that driving stick is like driving a bike – I picked back up on it right away and didn’t stall out, not once! We drove through a bunch of the little villages in the valley that Lahr sits in, and even took a gravel road that went along one of the Rhine tributaries and then a dyke. The water was quite high and moving really quick and that can probably be attributed to the massive thunderstorms that rolled through the valley here last night.
Around 11 we pulled into Gengenback, a touristy-town in the hills around here. We got out and walked a bit and that’s when I realized that I was going to have to make sure I wasn’t sitting so cramped when driving – the VW Golf is a little car and my right knee was all cramped from having to be close enough to hit the clutch. It might be a long vacation! Either way, Gengenback was a nice little stop. We popped into a coffee shop for a mid-morning snack. When Dad asked the waitress what kind of pastries she had, we were told to follow her and she took us next-door into the bakery where we picked out what we wanted. Dad had a struddle and I had a millefeuille. Trés yummy.
We wandered around the town, picked up some postcards, then headed back to the car. Only to realize we should have paid to park where we had. Thinking it would be pricey to have illegally parked in such a tourist district, I was shocked to see it was only 5 Euros. Since I’ve paid more than $300 on one ticket once, I’m gonna say 5 Euros isn’t the end of the world. From Gengenback we headed out to the hills to drive around some more – the roads are so narrow at some points that you wonder how 2 cars are supposed to pass at the same time. Coupled with the winding nature, going up one side of a hill/mountain in a zig-zag, you become even more confused as to why anyone would allow passing on those roads, but they do – most of them have broken dividing lines. Creepy.
Our last big stop of the day was at Hohengeroldseck – a castle that sits at the very top of one of the highest hills around that was built by the local noble to control trade/travel in the region. We were able to drive most of the way up (on a tiny little road that definitely fit only one car at a time) but had to walk up to the very top. Very steep – very long – very worth it. Once we got to the top, we realized that we were the only ones there; there wasn’t even a tourism official/caretaker on the site. This worked to our advantage, since I was able to drop my purse on some benches and not have to schlep it through the castle. We were able to climb up to the very top (which was 4 stories) and get some amazing views of the hills and valleys around us. Considering the original building started up there in the 1200s, it’s pretty amazing that it’s still standing. But, I will admit, I wasn’t getting all that close to the guard rails that had been put up in the 60’s since they don’t have centuries of guaranteed stability behind them like the rest of the building did.
Coming down from the castle and walking around the outer bailey area, there was finally another soul to be see – just one other dude had wandered into the precincts. We were leaving at that point, so started the steep walk back down to where we had parked the car. After we reached the valley floor we headed across the street to the longest running gastoff (restaurant/inn/home buildings that are everywhere here) for lunch. The menu made mention of something being operational on that site since 799, and I take it they’ve been serving food and drink ever since. I finally had some of my appetite back, so ordered a chopped salad which was delicious (it came with a vinaigrette-based potato salad and a marinated carrot salad) while Dad had some long hot-dog looking things and a beer.
It having been a very long day, we headed back to the Lahr so I could change (because of the clouds I started the day in jeans, but was regretting that by the time we left Hehengeroldseck). We were going to stop at the Statpark here in Lahr, but since it was so hot, I vetoed paying the 2 Euro a piece entry fee. We headed back to the hotel so I could change, them back out to the hills for a bit more driving. We didn’t last to long at that – Dad wanted a chance to relax so we came back to he hotel before dinner and I decided to update the ol’ blog and upload some pictures. Unfortunately, the wireless internet in the hotel here is really slow, so I'll have to upload those photos later! Man, I was born for a digital age - I've got almost 300 to put up!
We'll leave Lahr tomorrow for.... okay, I'll admit it, I don't know. Dad's got this whole vacation planned out, but I'm not up to speed on everything we're doing. More tomorrow though!
Woke up today around 7:30, then had a light breakfast in the hotel’s dining room. It was either a prochuto and cheese and role or granola and yogurt kind of breakfast. I had yogurt since my stomach is still adjusting to the long flight and being back on normal person time. Around 8:30 Dad and I headed out in the Golf for a drive around the small town that surround Lahr. We switched over driving at the first small town we came to and I was really glad to find out that driving stick is like driving a bike – I picked back up on it right away and didn’t stall out, not once! We drove through a bunch of the little villages in the valley that Lahr sits in, and even took a gravel road that went along one of the Rhine tributaries and then a dyke. The water was quite high and moving really quick and that can probably be attributed to the massive thunderstorms that rolled through the valley here last night.
Around 11 we pulled into Gengenback, a touristy-town in the hills around here. We got out and walked a bit and that’s when I realized that I was going to have to make sure I wasn’t sitting so cramped when driving – the VW Golf is a little car and my right knee was all cramped from having to be close enough to hit the clutch. It might be a long vacation! Either way, Gengenback was a nice little stop. We popped into a coffee shop for a mid-morning snack. When Dad asked the waitress what kind of pastries she had, we were told to follow her and she took us next-door into the bakery where we picked out what we wanted. Dad had a struddle and I had a millefeuille. Trés yummy.
We wandered around the town, picked up some postcards, then headed back to the car. Only to realize we should have paid to park where we had. Thinking it would be pricey to have illegally parked in such a tourist district, I was shocked to see it was only 5 Euros. Since I’ve paid more than $300 on one ticket once, I’m gonna say 5 Euros isn’t the end of the world. From Gengenback we headed out to the hills to drive around some more – the roads are so narrow at some points that you wonder how 2 cars are supposed to pass at the same time. Coupled with the winding nature, going up one side of a hill/mountain in a zig-zag, you become even more confused as to why anyone would allow passing on those roads, but they do – most of them have broken dividing lines. Creepy.
Our last big stop of the day was at Hohengeroldseck – a castle that sits at the very top of one of the highest hills around that was built by the local noble to control trade/travel in the region. We were able to drive most of the way up (on a tiny little road that definitely fit only one car at a time) but had to walk up to the very top. Very steep – very long – very worth it. Once we got to the top, we realized that we were the only ones there; there wasn’t even a tourism official/caretaker on the site. This worked to our advantage, since I was able to drop my purse on some benches and not have to schlep it through the castle. We were able to climb up to the very top (which was 4 stories) and get some amazing views of the hills and valleys around us. Considering the original building started up there in the 1200s, it’s pretty amazing that it’s still standing. But, I will admit, I wasn’t getting all that close to the guard rails that had been put up in the 60’s since they don’t have centuries of guaranteed stability behind them like the rest of the building did.
Coming down from the castle and walking around the outer bailey area, there was finally another soul to be see – just one other dude had wandered into the precincts. We were leaving at that point, so started the steep walk back down to where we had parked the car. After we reached the valley floor we headed across the street to the longest running gastoff (restaurant/inn/home buildings that are everywhere here) for lunch. The menu made mention of something being operational on that site since 799, and I take it they’ve been serving food and drink ever since. I finally had some of my appetite back, so ordered a chopped salad which was delicious (it came with a vinaigrette-based potato salad and a marinated carrot salad) while Dad had some long hot-dog looking things and a beer.
It having been a very long day, we headed back to the Lahr so I could change (because of the clouds I started the day in jeans, but was regretting that by the time we left Hehengeroldseck). We were going to stop at the Statpark here in Lahr, but since it was so hot, I vetoed paying the 2 Euro a piece entry fee. We headed back to the hotel so I could change, them back out to the hills for a bit more driving. We didn’t last to long at that – Dad wanted a chance to relax so we came back to he hotel before dinner and I decided to update the ol’ blog and upload some pictures. Unfortunately, the wireless internet in the hotel here is really slow, so I'll have to upload those photos later! Man, I was born for a digital age - I've got almost 300 to put up!
We'll leave Lahr tomorrow for.... okay, I'll admit it, I don't know. Dad's got this whole vacation planned out, but I'm not up to speed on everything we're doing. More tomorrow though!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Planes, trains, buses, taxies and automobiles.
So, it has been an incredibly loooong day (and it's only 2pm!). Things started off promising and, well, then fate intervened. But let me paint you a picture.
I arrived at the Ottawa airport yesterday at 3ish and was able to clear check-in and security in 10 minutes. Record time and an awesome way to start the trip – I wasn’t even charged for excessive baggage this time!
The plane wasn’t full, so there were a few empty seats around us, but nothing we could take advantage of. Ironically, I had the same seat on this trip as I had going to London and, unless things change, I’ll have the same seat going home. In front of us sat a couple of old bitties to chatted a fair bit and reclined their chairs all the way first thing, and behind us was a pair I affectionately (ok, not so much) referred to as Augustus and Mrs. Gloop – the kid was a douche, making all kinds of noise all night long and both of them not seeming to be able to grasp the concept that touching the seat in front of them in anyway was going to be felt by dad and I. Dad at one point asked the mother to have the son stop kicking his chair and was told (in pretty good English) “I don’t speak English.” The both calmed down the douchiness though, so we had that going for us. All told, I got less than an hours sleep on the plane – not a good stepping stone for the rest of the day.
We landed in Frankfurt around 6:10 and rather than pull up to a terminal, had to unload on the tarmac then get on buses to be taken to the terminal, about 5 minutes away. Picture the 95, but with more luggage and more jerks. This woman, who’s kid cried for the last 45 minutes (NON STOP) of the flight was the last to get off the plane, took her sweet time getting the kid in the stroller, then mosied on up to our bus and we had to cram in to make room for her, her stroller and a rolling carry on. Some people….
From the bus we cleared passport control with no problems – the guy didn’t even look to check I was in the broad in the picture and didn’t ask me any questions about what we were doing here. We collected our luggage and headed to the train station across the street from the airport. At this point, the exhaustion was starting to catch up with me and making me nauseous. We sat down to wait the hour and bit for our train which we caught with no problems. The first train ride (that’s right, the FIRST) was about 30 minutes and I dozed. The second train ride (that’s right, the SECOND) was about an hour and I managed to get some sleep – we were in a Harry Potter style compartment so it was a bit cozier. The third train ride (that’s right, the THRID) was about 15 minutes and we pulled into Lahr shortly before 11.
After getting a taxi ride to the rental car place, we found out that they had no cars on hand, so the girl behind the desk drove us to our hotel. I took a 2 hour nap and was woken by reception letting us know that someone was here to take us back to the car rental place. We just got back from picking up a Volkswagon Golf and are now chilling for a couple of hours.
All in all, I like the travelling, but HATE the getting here. Next time I travel with dad, he sure as shit better listen to what I’m physically able to deal with following an over-night cross Atlantic!
Some observations:
- Euro-trash! I was on European soil for less than 15 minutes before I saw me some prime examples. One dude was in a linen suit, with a linen aqua shirt (open to mid-chest), carrying a LV murse and wearing really douch-y shoes. I had to keep from laughing.
- Music: such an odd combo. The taxi driver was listening to a Spice Girls remix and most of the radio station I’ve heard are all playing techno-ish music. There also seems to be a lot of music about traveling: imagine a Phil Collins/Abba hybrid about Brussles. It’s odd.
I arrived at the Ottawa airport yesterday at 3ish and was able to clear check-in and security in 10 minutes. Record time and an awesome way to start the trip – I wasn’t even charged for excessive baggage this time!
The plane wasn’t full, so there were a few empty seats around us, but nothing we could take advantage of. Ironically, I had the same seat on this trip as I had going to London and, unless things change, I’ll have the same seat going home. In front of us sat a couple of old bitties to chatted a fair bit and reclined their chairs all the way first thing, and behind us was a pair I affectionately (ok, not so much) referred to as Augustus and Mrs. Gloop – the kid was a douche, making all kinds of noise all night long and both of them not seeming to be able to grasp the concept that touching the seat in front of them in anyway was going to be felt by dad and I. Dad at one point asked the mother to have the son stop kicking his chair and was told (in pretty good English) “I don’t speak English.” The both calmed down the douchiness though, so we had that going for us. All told, I got less than an hours sleep on the plane – not a good stepping stone for the rest of the day.
We landed in Frankfurt around 6:10 and rather than pull up to a terminal, had to unload on the tarmac then get on buses to be taken to the terminal, about 5 minutes away. Picture the 95, but with more luggage and more jerks. This woman, who’s kid cried for the last 45 minutes (NON STOP) of the flight was the last to get off the plane, took her sweet time getting the kid in the stroller, then mosied on up to our bus and we had to cram in to make room for her, her stroller and a rolling carry on. Some people….
From the bus we cleared passport control with no problems – the guy didn’t even look to check I was in the broad in the picture and didn’t ask me any questions about what we were doing here. We collected our luggage and headed to the train station across the street from the airport. At this point, the exhaustion was starting to catch up with me and making me nauseous. We sat down to wait the hour and bit for our train which we caught with no problems. The first train ride (that’s right, the FIRST) was about 30 minutes and I dozed. The second train ride (that’s right, the SECOND) was about an hour and I managed to get some sleep – we were in a Harry Potter style compartment so it was a bit cozier. The third train ride (that’s right, the THRID) was about 15 minutes and we pulled into Lahr shortly before 11.
After getting a taxi ride to the rental car place, we found out that they had no cars on hand, so the girl behind the desk drove us to our hotel. I took a 2 hour nap and was woken by reception letting us know that someone was here to take us back to the car rental place. We just got back from picking up a Volkswagon Golf and are now chilling for a couple of hours.
All in all, I like the travelling, but HATE the getting here. Next time I travel with dad, he sure as shit better listen to what I’m physically able to deal with following an over-night cross Atlantic!
Some observations:
- Euro-trash! I was on European soil for less than 15 minutes before I saw me some prime examples. One dude was in a linen suit, with a linen aqua shirt (open to mid-chest), carrying a LV murse and wearing really douch-y shoes. I had to keep from laughing.
- Music: such an odd combo. The taxi driver was listening to a Spice Girls remix and most of the radio station I’ve heard are all playing techno-ish music. There also seems to be a lot of music about traveling: imagine a Phil Collins/Abba hybrid about Brussles. It’s odd.
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