Reset search
2023 Croatia/Germany2023 Croatia/Germany
SatelliteEdit route

2023 Croatia/Germany

September - October 2023
A 29-day adventure by Davor & Deb Read more
  • 29footprints
  • 3countries
  • 29days
  • 299photos
  • 0videos
  • 19.3kkilometers
  • 16.6kkilometers
Follow Calendar Share Bucket list
Date ascending
  • 2023 Croatia/Germany
    12
    Day 10

    Ruins around Split

    September 28, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We took a trip to Salona, about 30 mins away and the birthplace Diocletian. It dated back to Roman times. The first 2 pics are of the amphitheater built in 150-200 AD and gladiators fought here in front of 17,000 spectators. The next 2 pics are other ruins in the area.
    Our next stop was nearby, Klis Fortress. What an amazing view of the Adriatic and Split from up there! Hope you can see it in our selfie! The next 3 pics are of the fortress built in 200AD.
    Finally, pizza for dinner! And an added 360 degree view from Klis Forteesa!

    Highlight of the day: the view of Split and the Adriatic from Klis Fortress. Breathtaking!    Read more

  • 2023 Croatia/Germany
    Day 11

    Leaving Croatia

    September 29, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    We left Split and Croatia. I think it was hard for Davor to leave Croatia…..
    Before driving to the airport we went down to the beach that we could see from our Airbnb balcony. It’s a popular beach in the area because of the fine sand.
    Pic 1 was taken down at the beach looking up at our Airbnb! If you zoom in, that white house on the hill with the laundry hanging out was where we were. We were in the floor below the laundry.
    The rest of the pics are at the beach and the views of the passing boats, yachts!
    Late afternoon we flew from Split to Munich. Split was such an easy airport. Our luggage was about
    5 lbs overweight, each of them! We were going to be charged $150 for each but then the lady had sympathy on us! That was nice since we’d already gotten a couple parking tickets in Split! For security we scanned our boarding passes. Because Croatia is part of the EU it was a “domestic” flight. They’d checked our passports at luggage checkin. As our stuff went thru the
    X-ray machines at security someone must have been looking at them remotely because there was only a person at the very end to pull your bag and talk to you if they saw something. We had to board the plane outside but they had a front and back door of the plane open so boarding went quickly! In a country where there are no self checkouts at the grocery store or the gas station….the airport was amazingly efficient!!
    And now, on to Germany where I can read the signs and speak the language!    Read more

  • 2023 Croatia/Germany
    1121
    Day 12

    Visiting Gerhard in Waiblingen

    September 30, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Yesterday we flew to Munich, rented a car and drove to a suburb of Stuttgart to spend a few days with an old friend! Gerhard and Davor met when they were students at the Technical University of Munich in 1974! I first met Gerhard and his wife when we moved to Munich in Dec 1979. We really hit it off and have remained close friends. Unfortunately Gerhard’s wife, Heike, had a brain tumor and slowly went downhill for 13 yrs. She died almost 10 years ago. It’s always sweet for the 3 of us to come together and reminisce about Heike and the times we shared and I think it’s comforting for Gerhard too.
    The first pic is Davor and Gerhard! He lives in an apt near downtown so we walked down to the market this morning. Pics 2-6 are pics downtown. The next 3 are of the old city wall.
    In the afternoon we went to a nearby village where Gerhard and Heike used to live. Their house was on the edge of a vineyard where we would often walk. So the 3 of us did that today! The grapes are ripe, and some have already been picked. There was an art exhibit in the middle of the vineyard! The first pic of the 5 women is called “The Women of Persil”. Persil is a detergent, that’s why their collars are so white. The second art pic is of heads made out of plaster by high school students!
    At the edge of the vineyard was a beer garden so we stopped for some food and a beer!

    Highlight of the day: the joy of being with an old friend!    Read more

  • 2023 Croatia/Germany
    111
    Day 13

    Stuttgart

    October 1, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    This morning we drove into Stuttgart and went to Birkenkopf. As we walked through the park
    ( pic 1), we finally got to the top of the hill. This is where they put all the ruins from Stuttgart after it was bombed in WWII. Fifty percent of the city was destroyed. 165 million cubic feet of destroyed buildings were moved to this area and it added 130 ft of height to the hill (Pics2-5). The view of Stuttgart from above was great!(pic 6,7).
    Saw a wonderful church in Stuttgart, Johanneskirche(pics 8-10). It was closed so we could only enjoy it from outside.
    Enjoyed lunch at a beer garden near the church. I always drink a Radler, a mixture of beer and sprite! It’s very refreshing.
    Then we went to the Porsche Museum(pic 11). I think the guys really took it in.
    The second to last my bit of humor for the day from the bathroom at the beer garden!
    And the last pic is of the 3 of us at The top of Birkenkopf.

    Highlight of the day: the weather here has been perfect, sunny but cool temps!    Read more

  • 2023 Croatia/Germany
    Day 14

    A relaxing day in Waiblingen

    October 2, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Gerhard has been in a rowing club since he was
    14 yrs old. I’ve always known this was a big part of his life so I told him I wanted to see his boat. We walked a couple miles along the Rems River
    (pic #1) in Waiblingen, to the boathouse (pic 2). He showed us the 4 man boats and oars (pic 3&4). Pic 5 is Gerhard’s one person boat. He paddles with club members several times a week.
    On the walk back we stopped at a beer garden for lunch. We had “weisswurst”, a veal sausage that is white, you peel off the outer skin. Tradition has it that weisswurst should be eaten before noon! We had weisswurst with sweet German mustard, a pretzel and of course a beer, I had my radler. The relaxed atmosphere of the beer garden invites you to sit back and just enjoy life, enjoy the weather, and for Davor and Gerhard it was a chance to reminisce about fun times in their friendship. It was also a sweet time to talk about Gerhard’s sweet wife, Heike. The last pic is of one of the decorative entrances to Waiblingen.

    Highlight of the day: relaxing in the beer garden    Read more

  • 2023 Croatia/Germany
    11
    Day 15

    Rothenburg ob der Tauber

    October 3, 2023 in Germany ⋅ 🌬 24 °C

    Today we drove from Waiblingen to Rothenburg ob derTauber. It’s a medieval town founded in 1274.
    The pics today are all from there. After walking around town we stopped at a beer garden and had some typical German food.
    From Rothenburg we drove to Bayreuth. We will spend a few days with our nephew, Rainer and his wife, Olivia.    Read more

  • 2023 Croatia/Germany
    1
    Day 16

    Leipzig

    October 4, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Today was our first day with Rainer, our nephew, and his wife Olivia. We drove 2 hours from their apt. and spent the day in Leipzig. Leipzig was part of the former East Germany. I learned a lot about what life in the former East Germany was like and also about the uprisings that caused the wall to fall and the reunification of Germany.
    The first pic is of the 4 of us in Leipzig. Pic 2, a painting on the side of a building expressed the frustration of the people. Some of the sayings: “we are the people” “freedom” “free elections” “freedom of the press” “ the wall has to go” “democracy”. (Unfortunately my pics are a little out of order..) Pic 7 is of Nikolai Kirche and pic 3 is the inside of the church. It all started at this church with prayers for freedom on Mondays at 5pm. That evolved into peaceful demonstrations in the streets of Leipzig that lead to the fall of East Germany. Stepping out of that church and walking along the streets suddenly took on new meaning today after I read the history of what had happened here.
    Pics 4,5 & 6 are some of the buildings in the city.
    Pic 8 is the university library and pic 9 is the “assembly hall and university church of St Paul” that is attached to the library.
    The East Germans demolished the church in 1968. The church was rebuilt after the reunification but is now used sometimes as a church and sometimes as a lecture hall.
    The last pic shows the contrast between the plain, functional architecture of the East German era and the historic building in background. We visited an exhibit titled East Germany: 1945 to the Reunification. Such an eye opening, thought provoking exhibit.

    Highlight of the day: learning the history of Nikolai Kirche, Leipzig and East Germany    Read more

  • 2023 Croatia/Germany
    1
    Day 17

    Baumwipfelfad in Steigerwald

    October 5, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    We drove out in the country today, through lots of little villages. We stopped at a bakery and then visited the Abteikirche in Ebrach. It was built 1200-1285. It was a church and monastery, today the church still serves its purpose, but the monastery is a juvenile detention center! As you can see from the outside, pic 1, the church doesn’t look like much. We were surprised when we stepped inside and saw how decorated and beautiful it was(pics 2-4)!
    Then we did something very unique, we went on a walkway in the woods. It took us above the treetops, to a height of 138.1 feet! The wooden walkway took us through the trees and there were things to entertain us along the way, like trying to walk on different surfaces, pics 7&8 and then pretending to be a Rotwild and actually seeing one! They are similar to a white tailed deer. After awhile we started walking up this spiral structure to the top! Pics 4-14 are of this experience. It was a cloudy and chilly day, but really fun.
    Afterward we stopped at a cafe for coffee to warm up!

    Highlight of the day: Baumwipfelfad! The walkway above the treetops!    Read more

  • 2023 Croatia/Germany
    211
    Day 18

    Bayreuth

    October 6, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    We spent the day wandering around Bayreuth, the town where Rainer and Olivia live. Olivia had to go to her aunt’s funeral so Rainer walked around with us and told us some history of the town.
    Pic 1: Around the 1700’s Bayreuth had a very liberal marriage policy ie different classes could intermarry. In order to be married here you had to be living in Bayreuth so they had this small house. People would spend one night in the little house, become “official” residents of the city, and could get married the next day!
    We walked around the pedestrian shopping area downtown and stopped for bratwurst for lunch (pic 2). Pics 3&4 are the pedestrian shopping area.
    The rest of the pics are of the Opera House. It was built by a rich family that wanted a special place for their only daughter to get married. It was quite ornate and the building was only expected to last for a few years. Now almost 175 years later it still stands.
    The interesting thing is that it isn’t all, as it appears. Pic 5 is of the stage, it does not have all the columns and ornate features that your eye sees, really it was just painted wood or paintings on the walls. The architect was a master of illusion! The ceiling in pic 9 is not painted, but cloth was painted and attached to wood! The other pics really are fancy as they appear. It would be fun to sit in that wonderful atmosphere and listen to an opera!

    Highlight of the day: spending the morning with Rainer as he told us stories and the history of Bayreuth!    Read more

  • 2023 Croatia/Germany
    Day 19

    Nuremberg

    October 7, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Today we drove to Nuremberg. The first pic is of the train station. We then visited the Nazi Party Rally grounds where the military would parade in front of Hitler. It’s been very interesting to see how the German people openly discuss the Nazi time period and want to be sure that people understand it, so something so horrible never happens again.
    I really wanted to visit the courtroom where the Nuremberg trials took place. We had an English speaking guide who really helped us understand how the trials happened. Pic 2 is of the courthouse. This courthouse was chosen because it was in the American sector of Germany and it was one of the few courthouses still standing after the war. Nuremberg was heavily bombed but because the courthouse wasn’t in the middle of the city, it escaped. The last reason Nuremberg was chosen for the trials was because a jail was attached to the courthouse. They didn’t want to transport the 23 defendants and maybe have them escape. They had to walk from the jail directly to the courtroom. Pic 6 is of the inside of the courtroom. It isn’t very big. There were 23 defendants, each with 2 attorneys, there were translators, stenographers, reporters, people filming the whole trial, 2 judges from each of the 4 allied countries, Russia, England, France and the US and the prosecutor was from the US Supreme Court. During the first meeting of the judges, the Russians said, “They’re all guilty, let’s just kill them”. The English and French agreed but the American judges said, “No, we have to look at the evidence and hold a trial”. The trial lasted 11 months. 12 defendants were found guilty and were hanged shortly thereafter. 7 went to prison, 3 were found not guilty but when tried in the German courts they were found guilty, and one committed suicide with a cyanide pill his attorney gave him.
    After the courthouse we needed to do something “lighter” so we went to an area of town that has a lot of crafts. Pic 3 is of the entrance into the old town where these shops were. Pic 4 is of the area. Pic 5 is lunchtime! 6 little bratwurst, and potato salad. Simple but yummy. At the end of the day Olivia caught a train back to Bayreuth and Davor and I continued our trip to the Regensburg area to visit his sister and brother in law.

    Highlight of the day: Visiting courtroom 600 where the Nuremberg Trials took place    Read more

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English