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!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
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.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Canuks in Deutschland
Well, it's been a looooong time coming, but Dad and I are finally going to Germany! I believe this trip was first suggested as a High School graduation trip, but never got off the ground back then. After that, it was going to be an undergrad graduation gift, but Dad was convinced I would have a job upon graduation so he didn't want to interupt my first few month of grown-up work (that was the summer I was under, then unemployed, so that wasn't a necessary consideration). Then... last year at this time, I was sitting in the British Library (see my blog Britannia's Lineage for details of that trip) and Dad emails me to the effect: you're pictures are great, I'm jealous, I've started making plans for Germany next spring. Being in the middle of a research dissertation and trip, I didn't pay much attention, but by the time I got home, he had started going all out with the trip-planning. And he's been at it ever since.
So, the long and the short of it is, we're leaving June 9th for Frankfurt. I'm not entirely up-to-date on what all we'll be doing every day (though Dad does have a colour-coded spreadsheet with places, distances, times, days and all that jazz). But here's a brief over-view of the trip:
We land in Frankfurt and take a train into Lahr. In Lahr we're renting a car and will be driving around southern Germany, pop into western France, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Lichenstein, Italy, Belgum and Amsterdam. I've basically told him I'll follow along with his plans, but I've laid down the ground rules on a couple of really important stops: Nuremburg, Baden Baden, Dachau, and (holy mother of God, the thing I'm MOST looking forward too) Waterloo.
Like I did in Britain, I'm going to be writing every day and posting as often as possible. Pictures will be up on facebook.
Looking forwards to 26 days of vaycay with the Pops!
So, the long and the short of it is, we're leaving June 9th for Frankfurt. I'm not entirely up-to-date on what all we'll be doing every day (though Dad does have a colour-coded spreadsheet with places, distances, times, days and all that jazz). But here's a brief over-view of the trip:
We land in Frankfurt and take a train into Lahr. In Lahr we're renting a car and will be driving around southern Germany, pop into western France, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Lichenstein, Italy, Belgum and Amsterdam. I've basically told him I'll follow along with his plans, but I've laid down the ground rules on a couple of really important stops: Nuremburg, Baden Baden, Dachau, and (holy mother of God, the thing I'm MOST looking forward too) Waterloo.
Like I did in Britain, I'm going to be writing every day and posting as often as possible. Pictures will be up on facebook.
Looking forwards to 26 days of vaycay with the Pops!
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