Here are the links to all my photos: I’ve captioned some of
them, but I have a long way to go!
Thursday, September 26, 2024
Photo Links!
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Update: Germany 9/14-17/2024
We have been so busy that it has been difficult to update pictures and blog posts, but I will try to do better for those of you who are following me!
9/12/2024:
Today we drove to a region called the Eifel, which is an agricultural area with many small towns. We hiked up to 2 castles ruins. There was a larger castle called Lowenburg Castle. It was so interesting walking around the ruins of a castle that was built in 1215! On the hike we saw HUGE slugs! They were about 1 inch thick and 4 inches long! The ruins were just up the hill from the tiny town of Monreal where we went into the cathedral. The strange vegetable is called a Kohlrabi and Iris made a wonderful soup with it.
9/14/2024
Iris had to work, so today Michel and I went to a museum that exhibited Germany's history after WWII. I learned so many things I didn't know before. We stopped at the Museum cafe to have a sweet snack!
9/15/2024
Today we visited Drachenfels Castle ruins. It looked familiar so I checked and Rachael and I went there in 2017!
Later that day we went to Schloss Drachenburg, which was built in the 1900's by a rich german. It looks old, but it isn't!
9/16-9/17/2024
On Monday, the 16th, I worked several hours. We still had some time to visit Burg Eltz and Cochem Castle in Cochem and have some traditional German Schnitzel!
Thursday, September 12, 2024
Castle Ruins! 9/12/2024
Today we went to a cute little village and hiked up to see two castle ruin sites! Monreal and Phillips Castles
We had such a wonderful time! Michel and Iris are so cute together! I was very happy to see that Michel found someone wonderful to have in his life! It is so strange to touch the walls and ruins of a place where people lived so long ago !
Good Morning from Bonn Germany!
I can't believe I'm really here! I left Colorado Springs a little nervous, but my flights were smooth and I met many fellow travelers along the way!
I did not have jet lag as I did the last time I was in Europe. This time I prepared. No need for jet lag pills. I went to bed earlier a few days before departure, drank water with electrolytes on the plane, and took something to help me sleep on the plane. While it wasn't the most comfortable sleep I've ever had, it was enough for me to wake up and think, "wow, we are in Germany already". When I arrived in Munich, I was a little worried about navigating around the airport, but it was unnecessary. the airline app. told me what gate to go to and even gave me a map of the terminal! All the signs were in both German and English. If that failed me, I had Google Translate! Everything went smoothly and I was completely at ease!
Once at the KOLN airport I was greeted heartily by my friend Michel. I saw him last at Rachael's wedding in April 2023, but it seemed like no time at all had passed! I told Michel that I wanted to get a big, soft pretzel with mustard and he scoffed at me! No one in Germany would put mustard on a pretzel! I was very surprised! So much for "Bavarian Pretzels". This is a mystery that Michel is determined to figure out!
As we drove to Bonn, from Cologne, I looked around at my surroundings. The houses are so quaint. So different than many of the places I've lived in the U.S.
We went first to the grocery store so that I could get some things to eat for breakfast. The atmosphere itself was so different from the states. Just friendlier. The bread here is irresistible! There are so many items that are different. I have noted before that just going shopping in another country is an adventure! We are so spoiled in the U.S. I wanted to buy carrots, but Michel said that it might be too late for that. They only have fresh vegetables and fruits when they are in season! Of course, you can always get canned or frozen, but they do not grow things all times of the year or import them from far away places.
We arrived finally at the house and I met Michel's partner, Iris, and her daughter, Finya. Warm, wonderful, people. I felt right at home.😊 The house is beautiful. It is three levels and the garden is also amazing! It was a wonderful first day in Germany!
Here are yesterday's pictures!
Monday, July 29, 2024
Thursday, July 6, 2017
Montserrat: July 1, 2017
This morning we packed up and took the car out of the city. As we did not have to go downtown, driving was not a problem. We headed first to Montserrat which is a range of unusually shaped mountains. At the top of the mountain is an old monastery and an old city. The idea was to hike to the top. We hiked for several hours, but some of the signs were faded and we weren't sure that we were on the correct trail.
Towards the end it was climbing, not hiking !
975 meters is 3,198 feet above sea level !!! We did find a trail to the top of the mountain, hiked up most of the way, but at the very last part, we decided we couldn't proceed without the proper gear, so we didn't go all the way to the top.
Here, right before you reach the top, you have to hold on to the chain and pull yourself on to the rocks. I tried to do it, but it cut my hands. We decided that we needed gloves and long pants to do this safely. Since we didn't have those, we decided that it was better to go back and live to hike another day. If we'd slipped, the trip, and our lives, would be over.
We climbed down, and after another 2 hours were back at the car. We then headed to Olot to see our friends Macarena and Dani (Daniel). When we arrived, they prepared a wonderful meal for us.
Downtown Barcelona: June 30, 2017
Today we decided to wander around the city and visit some of the squares we saw on the way to the beach. Here is some of the beautiful architecture.
The building in the background is currently an art museum. When we first saw it we thought that it was an old Chateau, like in the movie "the count of Monticristo". Our fantasy was ruined when we found out that it was really just a fancy building built for a big Spanish celebration about 20 years ago. Still, it is beautiful !
I imagined beautifully clad men and women walking these steps.
At the top you can see the entire city stretched out before you, and the mountains in the distance !
After walking around the city, we decided to try out the famous 'Tapas' that everyone talks about. The word tapas just means "small portion" and so the idea is that you order a bunch of these small portions and share them while having drinks. Well, the small portions are really TINY portions. For instance when ordering scallops, I ordered one "unit" (for 3 euros) and received exactly ONE scallop. There were all sorts of unusual things on the menu. Pig's ears (real thing !) and a lot of other things I wasn't too keen on trying. The menu was itself entertaining, so please get a good laugh by viewing it here. We did try something new and
interesting, Quail thighs in Escabeche marinade. They were pretty good, but not very filling.
We didn't try the pork jowls or some of the other "interesting" items. We did have an arugula and mozzarella salad with mango dressing that was AMAZING. In the end, we ate enough to feel satisfied, but it came with a large price tag !
Since we would be driving to Olot, in the morning, it was time for us to go to the airport to get the rental car. Getting to the airport on the bus was no problem. DRIVING back to our place with the car, well that was a nightmare ! Downtown Barcelona is full of huge 'round abouts'. Some of them have other lanes of traffic going through them. I couldn't figure out how to navigate them and several times we thought we were literally going to die. Then there's the "exits". There is a "highway" and there are small ramps that go straight up. And there are side streets. It is difficult to explain unless you see it, but suffice it to say we turned a 20 minute trip into a two hour ordeal. One problem was that somehow we kept going around in circles. Then, my phone died and we didn't have any way to navigate to our destination. I pulled over into a neighborhood and tried to figure out what to do. Apparently we were at the entrance to a tennis club. A man, seeing that we were distraught, offered to help us. It ended up that we went into the club with him and walked around until my phone charged up again. Once we got back to the area where we were staying, it was VERY difficult to find a place to park the car. I finally had to pay 21 euros to park the car overnight. In retrospect, I would have been better off had I just gotten the car in the morning instead of the night before.--Lesson learned !
It was really hot and humid, not unlike Florida or NC at this time of year. Thankfully for us, most places in Barcelona have air conditioning ! I actually like the way it's done here though. The AC is on, but it's just comfortable, not COLD like in most places you go in the states.
interesting, Quail thighs in Escabeche marinade. They were pretty good, but not very filling.
Since we would be driving to Olot, in the morning, it was time for us to go to the airport to get the rental car. Getting to the airport on the bus was no problem. DRIVING back to our place with the car, well that was a nightmare ! Downtown Barcelona is full of huge 'round abouts'. Some of them have other lanes of traffic going through them. I couldn't figure out how to navigate them and several times we thought we were literally going to die. Then there's the "exits". There is a "highway" and there are small ramps that go straight up. And there are side streets. It is difficult to explain unless you see it, but suffice it to say we turned a 20 minute trip into a two hour ordeal. One problem was that somehow we kept going around in circles. Then, my phone died and we didn't have any way to navigate to our destination. I pulled over into a neighborhood and tried to figure out what to do. Apparently we were at the entrance to a tennis club. A man, seeing that we were distraught, offered to help us. It ended up that we went into the club with him and walked around until my phone charged up again. Once we got back to the area where we were staying, it was VERY difficult to find a place to park the car. I finally had to pay 21 euros to park the car overnight. In retrospect, I would have been better off had I just gotten the car in the morning instead of the night before.--Lesson learned !
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