Bacation Collasas Maximus continued

On Tuesday June 2 we flew German Wings to the ancient city of Rome. When I began thinking about places in Europe I would like to visit I always wanted to go to Rome. The taxi ride from the airport to the hotel was crazy. Cars, cycles, scooters everywhere. Makes you dizzy just riding in the taxi. We went on a Tour by night and dinner. It was a great bus tour which gave us a good overview of the city. We ate our dinner at 10:30 p.m. with a fun couple from New York. Joe and Maria. Joe has relatives who live in Rome and he spoke fluent Italian.
I had booked a hotel in the heart of Rome with a rooftop terrace. We had a lovely breakfast overlooking the city and talked with a couple from Ireland. Shorty after we left for a 3 hour walking tour of Imperial Rome. We had a great tour guide. To stand in the colleseum and think about the gladiators and the emperors and magnificent pageants that took place there was just mind blowing. I insisted that for dinner that night we go find a restaurant for dinner. We went to a pricey little place called Cafe de Paris. We paid 24 euro each for a salad. It was awful. We ate what we could and marked it up to experience.
Thursday morning we took an early flight to Berlin via Easy Jet. We settled in our hotel which had been a Russian orthodox church, went out for a walk and late lunch at a great little Italian restaurant, did a little shopping, and made plans for the next day.
Friday morning June 5 we rode the train to meet our tour guide. He had been a tour quide for 7 years, was very energetic, and spoke great English. It was very cold and windy, but we had a great day. After the tour we went back to the hotel and took a quick nap. We took the train back down town and experienced the Blue Man Group. Other than the colleseum my favorite part of the trip was Berlin.
Saturday, we took a taxi to pick up our rental car--a great little BMW deisel--and headed for Bremen to spend a couple of days with Martin and Betina and girls. We took a walk, visited, and cooked our own dinner on a Raclette grill. The raclette was developed in Switzerland and is a unique dinning experience. We liked it so much I ordered one online and had it shipped home. We had a great time learning to speak a little German with Mia and Lena.
Sunday morning was cold and rainy. Anne went with Betina and girls to Lenas horseback riding lesson and took Jack for a walk. I went with Martin to his final soccer game of the season. He was the head coach for a boys 8 and 9 year old team. The boys won the game and ended up in 2nd place in the league. That afternoon we took the train to downtown for Lenas school farewell at the storyhouse. It was a little like CHOM. It was an old 3 story house with live actors telling the stories of the history of Bremen. The actors all spoke German, so we could not understand much but we were able to talk with some of Lenas classmates who were eager to try there English skills. We walked around town marveling at the old church and other interesting buildings and shopping districts. We took our picture at the sculpture of the Bremen Town Musicians. Martin treated us to a great restaurant with white asparagus. We had a great visit and talked and laughed a lot.
Monday we made the 7 hr. drive back to Sindelfingen. It was very interesting driving on the autobahn. As my driving experience increased my speed increased also. Before I knew it I was driving @ 160 kph and some cars were still passing me like I was standing still. We arrived back at the Marriott checked in and ate at the restaurant in the hotel.
Tuesday and Wednesday I had to go to work. Anne did things like visit Bruinegerland, walk in the park, wash clothes, and check e-mail, etc.
Thursday, June 11 was a German holiday. I did not have to work and the children here were out of school. We drove to a nearby town and spent the day with our friends Thomas and Suzanna Supper and there 2 girls Natalie and Caroline. It was a rainy, cool day. We talked and visited a couple of hours. We then walked to a petting zoo nearby where they were having an outdoor festival. We had a great meal with them at home and got beat @ Wii bowling again.
Friday morning we drove to Hohenzollern to visit the castle there. I had been there back in February when it was very cold and cloudy. I wanted to see it again in the spring and wanted Anne to see it also. It was a bit cool but a clear day. We got a great view of the surrounding mountains and the castle grounds. The tour was in German, but we found an English speaking visitor who translated some of the important parts of the tour.
Saturday morning, June 13 found us heading to Strasbourg, France. It was a drive of about 1 and a half hours. It is a very old city just across the border with cobblestone streets, river canals, and the famous Notre Dame Cathedral. We visited the cathedral including a presentation about the gigantic working clock housed inside the church. Unbelievable.... That afternoon we took a boat tour through the city and witnessed a gay rights parade which was very interesting. I got turned around when we started back to the car. I was intently pondering my city map when I heard Anne talking to someone in English. When I turned around she was talking with a couple of missionaries from the church. After a short conversation with them and some directions from them we were able to recover our car. What can I say...Lost in France again.
We had been traveling so much we decided we would attend church in Stuttgart and have a restful afternoon. With the help of the navi we were able to find the Ward building. We were warmly received, lots of visitors there, good talks, and good lessons. It was called the Stuttgart International Ward. Monday morning I went back to work and Anne prepared to make the flight home. She did some last minute laundry for me and prepacked most of her bags. Tuesday morning I went to work and Anne took a cab back to the airport for the long trip home.
We had an amazing bacation and hope to return again to see more of this beautiful country. We missed our family and though and talked of you often. I love you all and will see you soon.

Bacation Collasas Maximus

The much awaited blog entry for our Bacation Collasas Maximus finally begins. We had a great Bacation--my grandson Hudson coined the word on our way to a Thanksgiving family getaway in Gatlinburg a few years ago. Mom made some notes for me to follow as I try to remember all the great places we visited. We bought a new camera before we left, Mom took pictures of everything from family and friends to spectacular views to a McDonalds menu in Berlin. Unbelievable.

We arrived in Stuttgart on Wednesday morning, May 27. We picked up our rental--Kia Rio--and headed for the Marriott in Sindelfingen. We went to a nearby mall--Brunigerland--picked up some cokes and snacks. We were both suffering from severe jet lag so we laid down for a nice much needed 3 hr. nap. We later walked around downtown Sindelfingen and a nearby park.

Thursday morning we took the S-Bahn to Herringberg which is closeby. We climbed the steep steps of the old church and went to view the marvelous handiwork. We spent a couple of hours walking around and enjoying this typical German town. We then headed down the tracks to spend the remainder of the day in Stuttgart. We visited a museum housed in the small castle there in town. We also visited a small musical museum near the old church. We ate at my favorite restaurant--Block House--had a great waiter named Ali from Pakistan. At the train station in Stuttgart while waiting for our train we met 2 missionaries and talked for awhile about their experiences.

Friday morning we headed out for the Black Forest area. The Black Forest is aply named because of the tall dense trees present there. We walked through some shops and an eager salesman gave us a crash course about cuccoo clocks. What to look for in workmanship and authenticity. It was a beautiful sunny day but very cool. We went about another 40 minutes down the road to Lake Titisee. Lots of boats were on the water and shops and restaurants were plentiful. We ate at a nice restaurant at an outside table. Had a great fresh salad. The waitress spoke no English, but was very pleasant and friendly. As a sidenote the Rio did not have a navi. We got a mapquest from the hotel before leaving on our trips each day. We had to stop and ask directions from a couple of really nice guys who spoke no English but as it turns out the names of local towns and hand directions work pretty well. We got turned around coming home, probably went a little out of our way, but returned to our hotel totally worn out.

Saturday morning we set out to visit Neusweinstein Castle. We were traveling with another couple, Eugene and Toni Price from Northport. Eugene had a company pool car with a navi, so we took his car. Toni input our destination for Fussion and off we were to the castle. 3hours later when the navi told us to get off the autobahn Eugene said something doesnt look right. He had been to the castle several times before and it just didnt look right. As he consulted his map and checked the spelling of our destination and reentered the info we found we were still another 3 hours from the castle. We were about 1 hr from Innsbruck, Austria so we headed that direction and had just a magnificent drive through the mountains of Austria on our way to the castle. We did arrive in time to tour the castle and had a pleasant visit with Eugene and Toni and a beautiful ride back to our hotel.

Sunday morning we drove to Rothenburg, about 1 and a half hours away. I had visited the walled city on my last trip and wanted to go back with Anne. As it turned out there was an annual Medieval Festival that day in the city. There was a parade in the afternoon, lots of horses, wagons, bands, and people dressed in authentic Medieval costumes. There were also some cool old cars driving through the cobblestone streets. We visited a toy museum, bought some gifts for our friends here in Germany. We also bought a Christmas navity carosell and a 3-D picture which is being shipped home. Another exhausting but enjoyable day.

Monday was a holiday here in Germany and schools were closed. We were invited to visit Jenz and Christina Ruttiger and their two children Max and Claira. They live in a small town called Waldenbuch about 20 minutes from the hotel. They live directly behind the Ritter Sport chocolate factory. So we left a little early and got our stash of chocolates. We had barbeque pork, chicken, potatoe salad and a variety of fresh veggies. We had a great visit and it was nice to relax a little with our friends.

Well I am about blogged out. My next entry will begin with our flight to Rome on Tuesday, June 2.