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Europe 2018
  • Kay's Travels
  • Kay's Travels

Europe 2018

Planning on 2 + months in Europe. First month with Illene - Berlin, Bilbao, walking the Camino in Spain and Lake Como Italy. After that, on my own. Milan, Budapest, Munich, Black Forest and London. Weiterlesen
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  • Kay's TravelsEurope 2018Reisender

    Menaggio

    6. Mai 2018 in Italien ⛅ 70 °F

    A sunny warm day with a lazy start. We were both tired after yesterday's escapades so we slept in and did not rush into anything this AM. Finally out the door around 11 for a ride over to Lake Maggiore. Lake Maggiore is a large lake in the Italian lakes chain, larger than Lake Como to the West of us. As with Lake Lugano it is partly in Italy and part in Switzerland. We decided to drive to Locarno, Switzerland on the Maggiore lakeside.

    Lovely Sunday for a ride, clear skies and spectacular lake and alpine scenery as we left Lake Como, drove by Lake Lugano and then to Lake Maggiore. All of this with steep tree covered mountains rising out of the waters and occasionally a really high mountain still snow covered peaking through. We saw cable cars going up the mountains, paragliders sailing above us and lots of boats, yachts and paddle boats. (The paddle boats in Locarno has 2 seat to paddle and 2 other lounge chair seats for passengers to sun while the other worked!)

    We walked the extensive Lido - went for miles. Watched all the families out for picnics, sports and water games. Ate a great lunch at one of the lakeside trattorias. Temperature climbing to over 80 today! Summer temps without the crowds. Then tried to find the Old Town - finally found it after we went back to get the car. Trying to find a castle that was supposed to be in the Old Town we found ourselves in a pedestrian only zone being followed by the Policia. :-( After a brief "discussion" and a threat of a 200 Swiss franc fine, we were on our way. No money paid, we have decided it was because we are so cute.

    Drove back to Menaggio and spent some time drinking wine and eating ice cream in the piazza there. It too was filled with families and tourists all enjoying the beautiful weather outdoors. We ordered a pizza to take home and off we went "up the hill" to home. Had an exciting cocktail hour in our back yard. Could see and feel a huge thunderstorm coming right up the lake from the South. Everything got dark, could not see across the lake, thunder and lightening - and just like that it was over. Got a couple sprinkles and that was it.

    Miles: 4.6    Weiterlesen

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    Menaggio

    7. Mai 2018 in Italien ⛅ 68 °F

    A morning to get chores done. Purchased a large box and filled with what we do not need anymore to send home. Sealed and mailed after an interesting half hour at the Italian post office. Then to the TI with questions, the grocery store and another stop for sandwiches for our hike Phew!!!!

    Finally on our way for our hike by 1PM. Chose what looked on paper to be a relatively easy hike through a valley close to Menaggio. However "looks are deceiving". First hour spent getting to the starting point from our parking place in Menaggio. Then an easy first couple miles through a wooded area and down the the river Sanagra that runs through the valley of the same name. Made wrong turns a couple times but fun "conversations"with the locals to get back on track.

    Decided to go the longer route as the scenery was so spectacular. In a narrow valley but occasional houses, a trout farm and tiny hotel. Lots of dogs. Reached our destination - spot called Sass Corbee - the bottom of a deep gorge rising rather steeply on both sides. We should have figured out we were our of our league when the was a ladder attached to a monolith to get you up 2 stories to the next level. We were looking for our connecting route to go back but the climb kept getting higher and drop off to the gorge significant. So we turned around and retraced our steps back to the next area to catch a loop trail back. More down and up and we finally found our way back to our starting point - btw - clouds arriving from all angles,thunder in the distance on both side. :-) Just a bit of rain on the last quarter mile in a race to our car.

    Home for wine and an early night.

    Miles: 8.9
    Flights Climbed: 76    Weiterlesen

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    Menaggio

    8. Mai 2018 in Italien 🌧 63 °F

    A day of R & R after our strenuous hiking escapade yesterday. A morning of breakfast on our terrace and lazy conversation about what to do today. Have not been to a market yet so off to a market day in Lenno, a town a few miles down the coast. Turned out to be a large market and fun to poke around. Since we just mailed a large box home yesterday the only purchase was fresh trout for dinner. Back to condo to refrig fish and a little nap on the terrace in the lounge chairs borrowed from the condo next door.

    To the local pizzeria for lunch - pizza with rocket salad. Just OK. Some "running around in Menaggio - trying to get nail appt, no luck as they do not do gel, grocery store, and, of course, gelato on the piazza. Home to find that the electrician had really (after several aborted attempts) been here today, fixed the light in Kay's bathroom {not working since arrival}, and more importantly installed a Roku for the TV. First English speaking TV we have had on the trip !!

    Workers working on the upstairs deck all day today. Went up tonight and they are filling the infinity pool! Therefore late this afternoon reading and planning and cocktail hour on the 4th floor deck with all of Lake Como and the surrounding Southern Alps for scenery. Pretty impressive.

    Trout, roasted potatoes and fresh green beans for dinner and, the first for this trip, TV after dinner. Amazing Roku channels here from all over the world. Saw a wonderful contemporary dance troupe from Israel. And the news that the US has pulled out of the Iran Nuclear Agreement. Hmmmmmm All of this interrupted by a significant thunderstorm outside. Most rain we have had on the trip. Amazing lightening storm lighting up the entire sky and thunder all around. Impressive is mother nature!!

    Miles: 3.3    Weiterlesen

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    Menaggio

    9. Mai 2018 in Italien ⛅ 63 °F

    Our last full day in this area of the world. Wanted to do one more hike so after some morning "planning and getting organized" we were off for a hike over towards Lugano, Switzerland but still in Italy in an area called the Valsolde. Lots of traffic on this road as the road that goes down the coast of Lake Como is closed due to a landslide. If it does not reopen it will effect our getaway day tomorrow as we will have to go to Milan via Switzerland.

    Could not find the turn off to the starting point of our hike so drove up the mountain a bit farther and found a parking spot at Loggio where we joined the trail. (also cut off about 500 ft of "up" too :-) A long way up, about an hour and a half of up - gradual but never
    ending. Amazing scenery on the way as we drew closer to the huge mountains all around us. Finally reached the top after losing the map for the rest of the way! :-) We had been warned that after the top it was a steep downhill and it was but we "pickd" our way down to a wonderful waterfall area where we stopped for our picnic lunch. Beautiful spot. Came out at a hamlet named Dasio. Tried to find our trail without a map and after several failed attempts (but some pretty walks) ended up just going back down the road to our car. About 7 miles today. Our last hike in the area and it was fun and a sense of accomplishment.

    Home to get cleaned up and out for a nice dinner. Planned on the Hotel Royal in Loveno but not yet open for the season. So back to the Vecchio Magnolia and had a very good dinner - Illene had perch and rice and I had beef (thin sliced and very tender with Polenta Taragna. Very different and terrific - Farina with cornmeal and buckwheat. I am not fan of polenta but this was very good - and different. One more trip downtown in the rain for our last Menaggio gelato. Home for some English TV and the end of our last day in Menaggio.

    Miles: 8.0
    Flights Climbed: 63!!    Weiterlesen

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    Menaggio to Milan

    10. Mai 2018 in Italien ⛅ 73 °F

    Today was another day of travel challenges. Left Menaggio and Lake Como behind and wended our way to Milan. The main road "out of town" by the lake was closed due to a major landslide earlier in the week so we had to go over and thru Switzerland to get to Milan. On the way we decided to return the car today as opposed to tomorrow so headed for Linate airport. The usual wind up of a car rental, fill with gas and try to find where to drop off the car in Italian.

    Kay's primary credit card denied several times and after 2 calls to Capital One - no resolution. (A problem when traveling). Problem must be in the card itself as it works on line just fine. So to Plan B - the secondary credit card. Third option is cash !! What a concept.

    Arrived at our new apartment around 4PM. We were not here long and took off for Milan center and the famous Duomo, Victor Emmanuel shopping gallery (upscale) and Teatro La Scala. Our host helped us with a myriad of questions we had around how to get Illene to the airport early in the AM, where Kay can get her nails done and other important things like that.

    Arrived via tram at the Duomo at the perfect time as the sun was right on the cathedral and great for pictures. Then looked for ties in the Galleria - have a request from a friend for a polka dot tie. Saw hundreds, if not thousands, of ties - now to decide which one.

    Had a glass of wine and some"nibbles" (dinner) in a outdoor cafe near La Scala this Italian opera. We had tickets at the Teatro La Scala opera house tonight for Francesco da Rimini.
    Illene is the opera buff, I go for the staging and the drama of Italian operas. Neither of us had seen this opera and we both enjoyed it a lot. Actually quite a sexy opera!! Home via tram - almost midnight.

    Miles: 4.4    Weiterlesen

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    Milano

    11. Mai 2018 in Italien ⛅ 70 °F

    Up very early to see Illene off to the airport. She had a 6AM taxi scheduled and all went off well. Kay in for a day of R & R so back to bed until 9ish. Then a lazy AM, working on "stuff" - catching up with life. Trying to get my credit card issue resolve. (Did not happen). More "work" on getting my UK phone card to have enough data and ability to call. That is now fixed. This is my first trip on using a SIM card and it has been a learning experience. However it is significantly cheaper than any of the US International plans when you are traveling for a long period of time and are using your phone a lot - not calls and text which are cheap but the amount of data needed for directions, driving and walking. Will definitely do it again.

    Love this apartment. In a residential neighborhood. Very tastefully decorated and all the amenities one could need. Alessandro has not missed a detail.

    Finally out around noon to find the nail place recommended by the owner here. My nails were in great need of attention. My last manicure in Pamplona was terrible and did not last so have needed a manicure for about 2 weeks. The gal did a great job - a Chinese/Italian gal. I got to practice my minimal Italian and her English was about as good as my Italian. I used my on-line dictionary a lot. :-) Then to the grocery store X2 to get staples needed for the weekend. Joel arrives tomorrow AM and we leave for Budapest on Monday night. Then lunch and a nap.

    A quiet evening. Found a "locals" place for dinner nearby that was just OK. Fun people watching however I was in the middle of the room and think more people were watching me. Home for 1 episode of The Crown on Nexflix and to bed.

    Miles: 4.7    Weiterlesen

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    Milano

    12. Mai 2018 in Italien ⛅ 75 °F

    Awake early so took advantage of the time before Joel came and got my Verizon/Three and Capital One issues resolved - not to my satisfaction as my Capital One card does not work in the hand held machines used everywhere here. :-( Something happened to the chip - maybe. They are sending me a new one to home. Have a back up and there is always cash.

    Joel arrived around 10AM. He showered and we were off for the day. First to the canal area of Milan - Naviglio Grande. Who knew Venice had a canal? At one time the canal was up to 93 miles long. Started in the 1100s (everything here is old), it was added to in the 1500s with the help of Leanardo da Vinci but finally ceased operation in 1979. At one time if was the 13th largest port in Italy!! Today it is a pleasant combination of bars, cafes, restaurants and park area. You can walk for a long ways along the banks. We had a pleasant lunch and a beer by the wayside.

    Then off for Joel to see the Duomo - walkable from where we were. Impressive as ever and since it is a Saturday very busy. Passed many Milan landmarks on the way - the old entrance to the city, famous churches and a lively shopping area. Also walked the Vittorio Emmanuele II Galleria with its magnificent architecture and upscale shops. Took in La Scala from the outside. Then walked to the large park in the middle of Milan central - Parco Sempione. Again a Saturday event that had finished, a market and lots of gelato and food stands. A very lively crowd and we had a pleasant walk through the park to our Metro station and home for Joel to take a nap and Kay to clean up.

    A leisurely evening, catching up on family and San Francisco politics and activities. Our around 8 for pizza nearby and home for an early evening.

    Miles: 7.5    Weiterlesen

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    Milano

    13. Mai 2018 in Italien 🌧 61 °F

    Up early to start the planning for the day and relax on our little terrace that lets us look out on the city life below. After breakfast and several cups of coffee/tea we are off around 10AM. First stop, the Milan suburb of Brera. Lots of public transport today - metro and tram. The rest walking. Brera is the home of the Bohemian in Milan. (According to the tour books) Tram arrives near the obligatory church - San Marco.- the stone doorway is the only part that remains of the original church built in 1254. However my favorite was the sign on the cafe awning in front of the church. :-) Pic attached. We wandered the streets and of note was another very large building, the Palazzo Cusani, which houses a library and the well-known (in Milan) Pinacoteca Art Museum which boasts paintings by Raphael and Caravaggio. On the grounds of that building was a small botannical garden that was a nice secluded spot away from the street, lots of large trees (linden and ginko bilbao) and a pleasant walk around. Approaching lunch hour the place is alive with restaurants, cafes and shops opening after church.

    Then off to the Milan main train station - Centrale. We had seen a picture in the Eye Witness guide that was intriguing and Joel is a transportation buff. He loves figuring out public transportation in all the cities we visit, great for me as I am happy to leave it to him for a couple days. I would certainly recommend a quick stop there, the building is massive, the 2nd largest building MIlan next to the Duomo. The highlight is the cover/roof over the area where the trains leave. Will attach picture but could not get it in its entirety.

    Then the most fun find of the day while trying to find the Isola street art *which" we never found. I saw and elevated walk way with a lot of people walking and it reminded me of the NYC Highline. So we went to take a look and, indeed, it was huge expanse of walking, high end shops and unique architecture office buildings, fountains, pools, cafes and all elevated from the street. It was so fun. We had tea there and just enjoyed the ambiance and people watching. Off to take the metro home and a rest before dinner. Got on the metro, went about 4 stops and got off only to find a major thunderstorm in progress. It was pouring and actually had some hail in it. We took cover under the eaves of a building and waited it out. About 30 minutes later we made it home, quite wet.

    Rain passed and out for dinner to a great Asian Fusion restaurant near by. Joel surprised me by picking the place and then told me dinner was on him for Mothers Day!! So sweet and entirely unexpected. A great dinner, highly recommend the restaurant. DOU Asian Passion.    Weiterlesen

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    Milan to Budapest

    14. Mai 2018 in Italien ⛅ 55 °F

    Up and about to pack and clean up apartment. We have loved this place - would highly recommend. Alessandro's Place Milan Lombardy - Home Away. Address Via Vincenza Foppa 44. Joel and cleaned up andpacked. Our flight does not leave until 10PM so have all day to continue to explore Milan.

    First stop: Fondazione Prada (FP), an unheralded, great find in Milan. An interesting incident on our trolley ride to the site. One of the cables that hooks to the electrical line at the top broke, came down on the window of a taxi in back of us and shut down the electrical for the entire system on that line. :-( An of course, then none of the others could get around it so we walked the last mile or so.

    The FP was the brainchild of the Prada family (of Italian fashion fame). It is a unique building with an an art museum and other exhibition space for temporary exhibits. Both the interior and exterior are very modern and interesting. I talked with a fellow from Switzerland there who was an architect. He said it is a must see for architects.

    Fashion area

    Late flight to Budapest, did not leave until 10:20 PM. Note to self: Do not do that again. Flew Wizz air -a low cost Hungarian airline where you pay for everything but the base flight was about $30. Arrived Budapest at midnight along with about 3 other plane loads of people. Must have been 100 people in the taxi line as all other transportation at that time of night is done. Finally got a cab and then the cab driver could not find our place where our host was waiting. Then the police are following our cab with flashing lights - this is now about 1:30 in the morning. He finally left us off, told us it was to the left somewhere amidst construction while he dealt with the police. Joel got us going towards the apartment with GPS while I am texting back and forth with the host. What a fiasco. Had our orientation to the apartment and to bed sometime between 2 and 3AM !!

    Miles:    Weiterlesen

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    Budapest

    15. Mai 2018 in Ungarn ⛅ 64 °F

    A late start to the day due to last night's early AM escapade on our arrival. Out for the essentials in a new country: ATM, breakfast and grocery store. Rainy in the AM but sunshine showing through the clouds in the afternoon. Out to do a walkaround of the major tourist sights. St Stephens Basilica is about 2 blocks from the apartment and is a massive cathedral with a beautiful interior. I liked it especially as it is more understated (less gold) than those we saw in Italy. Then out the beautiful pedestrian promenade towards the mighty Danube. The river marks the separation of Buda in the west and Pest in the East. The scenery of Castle Hill with the Buda Palace (not a castle as many people think), the Matthias Church (Franz Liszt first performance of his Coronation Mass); and the Fisherman's Bastion is highly impressive.

    We walked across the Danube on the famous Chain Bridge and took the funicular to the top of the hill. Quite a sight from the top, looking back across the river to Pest and we were so fortunate to have such great weather and after the rain, everything sparkled. Walked all around the hill and stopped for late lunch and a beer at one of the numerous cafes.

    Back to our apartment around 5 and a clean up and cocktail hour before up to the corner cafe/pub for hamburgers for dinner. An after dinner walk over to St Stephens and up the promenade to the river where all on Castle Hill is lit up and so beautiful. A truly magical city. Back for an early bedtime for some catch up sleep.

    Miles: 7.9    Weiterlesen

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    Budapest

    16. Mai 2018 in Ungarn ⛅ 57 °F

    Last day with Joel. He is going to a hotel tonight as his flight to Barcelona is at 6:15 tomorrow AM. Off we went to see the Parliament buildings. On the banks of the Danube and a huge complex. All lit up at night and quite a sight. Hungary is a parliamentary representative democratic republic with a president (largely ceremonial) and a prime minister who runs the government. We saw the guards of the buildings do their stately "walkaround" - apparently q15 minutes. Then off to Margaret Island, a large island in the Danube which is totally pedestrian (except for bus service and service deliveries) about 2 miles long and maybe a half mile across. The entire island is a park - a beautiful place to walk and look at the attractions. The best was a "musical fountain" where a large fountain with many spouts "dances" to classical music. It was great. Also a lovely Japanese garden, an athletic field, quite a few cafes, a hotel but most of all lots of green grass and lovely big green trees. Quite a find. We spent several hours there including lunch at one of the cafes. (Kolbasa for Kay - very good.) Then back to apartment for Joel to pick up his gear and go to check into his hotel. Kay found the local TI and got literature for what to do the next 3 days as well as schedules for the nightly music venues.

    Our host had told us about a couple restaurants and after checking out several, we chose the Menza for our last dinner together. It was excellent. Duck liver on mashed potatoes with a cherry sauce for Kay with ratatouille with egg as an appetizer. A real Hungarian dinner and it was terrific. Chocolate cake (think warm lava cake) with pistachio ice cream for desert.

    End of dinner was punctuated by a brief but impressive thundershower - it really poured for about 15 minutes. We huddled up under the blankets provided by the restaurant while we finished our wine. The the sun came out at 7PM !! Said goodby to Joel and did some necessities shopping on the way home and back to apartment for the rest of the evening.

    Miles: 7.7    Weiterlesen

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    Budapest

    17. Mai 2018 in Ungarn ⛅ 63 °F

    First day "on my own". Decided I wanted to do one of the Walking Tours of Budapest. They are free with a tip for the leader obligatory at the end. Joel and I had seen most of the sights but this time got more information to make the sights more meaningful. Also got a lot of Hungarian history - they have been on the losing side of most all major wars. As our tour guide said - if WW3 comes along, look to see what side Hungary is aligned with and do the opposite. :-) Tour included several of the large and pleasant squares, St Stephens cathedral, the Danube, bridges of Budapest, Castle Hill and the Parliament buildings . Not any real good pictures as the day was mostly cloudy and a bit of rain right at the end of our tour. Back to have lunch at "home" and a rest and some planning for my last 2 days in Budapest. Out late afternoon to check out where I get the express bus for the airport on Sunday. Only about $3.50 US to go the 30 minutes to the airport. Hungary has their own currency, the Forint. It has way to many zeros and is about 264 to US $1.

    Tonight attended the classical music concert at St. Stephens cathedral - organ, flute and opera singer. Interesting combination. A terrific venue for a concert and the organ music filled the cathedral. Afterwards a bowl of goulash and red wine at a local cafe and home.

    Miles: 5.7    Weiterlesen

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    Budapest

    18. Mai 2018 in Ungarn ⛅ 63 °F

    Have a list of what to do yet in Budapest and time to get started. First the Jewish walking tour of Budapest. The Jewish section which is now quite small after WW11 is close to my apartment. Met the group of about 20-25 at 10AM. The first hour was the history of Jews in Hungary (Summary: protected by Germany {as Hungary was allied with the Axis powers} until almost the end of the war, 1944, when the Hungarian government was thinking about "changing sides" - then Budapest was occupied and estimates of 600,000 Jews transported and/or killed in 6 weeks) and sites of synagogues in Budapest. The 2nd half of the tour included the very recent past 5-6 years in the development of the Jewish sector with restaurants and Ruin Bars. Many of the old alley ways, now lined with cafes and bars. The newest fad in Budapest is the Ruin Bars. They are old dilapidated buildings that have been turned into quirky, fascinating bars and are hugely popular. We visited the original - Szimpla - it is many levels, amazingly decorated with pop art and old furniture. Many have warrens and mazes that open into courtyards. Check on-line for images as this explanation is inadequate. I plan on visiting again Saturday night. And yes, for those of you who look at pictures first, the Rubik's cube was invented by a Hungarian

    Then to the Central Market. A very large building and hundreds of stalls and vendors. It seems to go on forever. Their "food court" was a zoo of many stalls with delicious looking food - so hard to choose. I ended up going to a cafeteria (more places to sit) and had a goulash tasting menu. (3 types of goulash and some sauerkraut and pickles. Apparently there are a lot of ways to make goulash. Wandered the market for awhile, buying the obligatory paprika and back to home to do a wash. Need time for it to dry on a rack before I leave on Sunday.

    Out in the early evening for a classical music concert at the Matthias Church. (Picture posted previously). This was all strings - 4 violins, a cello and a bass. It was terrific. Most all well know classical music. Out to find dinner. Public transport here is great, combination of trams, buses and metro - and inexpensive. Went to an area near my place that I had not yet explored and had a late evening salad with some good Sauvignon Blanc.

    Miles: 8.3    Weiterlesen

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    Budapest

    19. Mai 2018 in Ungarn ⛅ 66 °F

    I will be so glad when this wedding is over !!!! Its all I can get on Sky or CNN. (Wedding of Harry and Meghan is today).

    Last day in Budapest. :-( Plan for today is to go to the "baths". This is out of my comfort zone as I have never done this before. However the baths are a big part of Hungarian culture since being occupied by the Turks a long time ago. They have many bath sites. I asked my walking tour guide yesterday which one she would recommend. She gave me 2 choices - one was the largest and one was the most beautiful. I went for the most beautiful - the Gellert Baths. It was amazing. Indoor and outdoor pools, thermal, cool and hot. Also Finnish sauna - outside. They even had a wave pool - what fun. Had a lazy 3 hours looking at everything and working on a sun tan. A perfect day with sun and clouds in the low 70s. And yes, if you are thinking, all do wear bathing suits. Although on some of the young girls, it was hard to tell. (just jealous).

    Wended my way home via tram, a stop at the grocery store, and just made it home before a brief thundershower. Winding down on my Budapest stay, still have a list of things I did not get to so will happily have to come back. Made my final plans for the rest of this trip. Tomorrow to Munich and then some time in the Black Forest in Germany,near Baden Baden and the border with France. Then to London and home on June 12.

    Out for the evening to check out a Ruin Bar. Went to Szimpla - what fun. Drank a beer and checked out all of the rooms and watched the people. By 8:30 the place was packed and still pouring in. Must have 10 different bars in the place. Then to dinner at the other restaurant Sebastiano had recommended. The Ruben Restaurant. Had venison "stew" with dill dumplings. Amazing. Home for some wedding wrap up. :-)    Weiterlesen

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    Budapest to Munich

    20. Mai 2018 in Deutschland 🌙 61 °F

    A travel day. Off to airport and sorry to leave Budapest. Could have spent another couple days here to see all on my list. Uneventful flight to Munich, a bit late - tram from airport to within a mile of my new home for the next 6 days. Ulrich met me at the apartment - easy to find . On the 8th floor of an apartment building in East Munich. View is terrific!! Have a 180 view of the Alps in both the living room and the bedroom and from an outside balcony. A real step up from Budapest. The location in Budapest was terrific - the apartment pretty basic.

    Out for a walk before dinner. Checked out the neighborhood. ATM, etc Found out tomorrow is a holiday in Germany so no grocery stores open tonight or all day tomorrow. Did manage to find wine and beer at a German 7/11 :-) !!! Then around the corner for dinner - good pasta and a very generous wine pour from the waiter - my new best friend. Spend the dinner hour with my German dictionary. Back to apartment and another episode of Sneaky Pete on my Ipad.

    Miles: 5.5
    Not a single picture today    Weiterlesen

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    Munich

    21. Mai 2018 in Deutschland ⛅ 63 °F

    Bright sunshiny day and off early for downtown Munich - about a 20-25 minute walk and tram ride away Today is a holiday in Germany, Ascension Day, (40 days after Easter) so no shops or grocery stores open again. (Yesterday was Sunday) Went "downtown" - Marienplatz - city center and lots of cafes and tons of tourists - to find breakfast. Amazing the number of people having beer for breakfast!! This is a very beer drinking culture (wine is secondary). Pretzels (the bread that comes with all meals) eggs and ham - tasted good as I have been having cereal and yogurt for many day s in a row.

    Headed for the TI and the City Walking Tour at 10:45. Nice small group - only 6 of us there for the English tour - our guide originally from Rhode Island. We toured the City highlight city buildings, history of Munich and WWII history, as well as churches and the English garden (where they surf in Munich). Some German engineer managed to create a wave area in the myriad of underground waterways (used to be moats) and now it is well known venue for the surfing community. A nice group of people and a good tour. Nice conversation with a professor from Rutgers who was traveling Germany speaking on political psychology. I managed to spend some time with the tour leader and got some recommendations on museums (there are so many you have to chose), restaurants and other sights.

    After the tour, back to the TI for information and tonight's reading materials. Then to the central train station where there were stores open and I found a grocery store. I was thrilled. Back to the city center and a late lunch at Neurnberger Bratwurst for their specialty - sausages and sauerkraut. And of course the obligatory beer. :-)

    Back to the apartment for some catch up, a visit from the owner who was able to adjust the TV for some English TV stations (CNN and BBC) and some time on my balcony just admiring the view. Out late to check out a geocache near by. Too funny. As I am crawling under a railing looking for the geocache another couple comes up and, as it turns out, they are looking for the same geocache! Geocaching is big in Germany. They found it quite quickly so we shared in the find together. They were from Northern Germany, near the border with the Netherlands. Down the street for a take out pizza and home for TV and pizza.

    Miles: 7.5    Weiterlesen

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    Munich

    22. Mai 2018 in Deutschland ⛅ 61 °F

    Up and out for another walking tour. Today to Dachau, a small city (around 50,000) only 12 miles from Munich. Its hard to decide if you "want" to go to a former concentration camp. Not exactly a fun activity while traveling. I had been to Auschwitz several years ago and afterwards was glad I had had the experience, this Dachau this time.

    The camp was similar to Auschwitz however I learned that Dachau was Labor Camp not an Extermination Camp as was Auschwitz. No gassing was done in Dachau - that is not to say that many were not killed, just not gassed The atrocities were just as horrible. But the labor force of the camp supported the Hitler war effort. Medical experiments carried out as well. The memorial is well done, depressing and thought provoking.

    The tour was most of the day. Unlike yesterday, the group was much larger - around 30. We left at 10:15 and back by 3:30. A walk through the market in Marienplatz, bought a bottle of French white for home consumption. Then back to "home" and off to the grocery store. Got supplies for the next 3 days. Home for an evening of planning and leftover pizza for dinner.

    Miles: 5.6    Weiterlesen

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    Munich

    23. Mai 2018 in Deutschland ⛅ 63 °F

    A day off of tourism. Felt lazy today and was very tired last night so today a day with not much to report. Planned to go to the Deutches Museum but when I finally got around to getting there, it was 3:30 and when I checked the website they closed at 5PM - so tomorrow.

    So the day consisted of some "body maintenance" - pedicure - and actually some shopping. Weather has been warm and I left my favorite "runaround" dress at home, so went shopping for a dress to throw on and wear for "tourism". Found one for 20 Euros so if it lasts until I get home I will be happy.

    My travels on foot - shopping and looking for a place to get a pedicure - took me to some new parts to the city. Tons of shopping here, for those that are reading this and do not know me well, I am NOT a shopper. But some new vistas, more beautiful buildings, lots of cafes and a beautiful day in the low 70s to just enjoy. This afternoon I went back to the surfing area in the English Garden to watch longer and get some better picture. Took some videos, fun to watch the kids and this "engineered surfing".

    Home for a night of cocktails on my balcony watching the weather - a T storm presently, salad for dinner and some CNN/BBC. Started a new book and think it is going to be good - The House by the River. A book written by Greek author - Lena Manta - in 2007 and just translated into English in 2017.

    Miles: 6.1    Weiterlesen

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    Munich

    24. Mai 2018 in Deutschland ⛅ 66 °F

    Today I did get to the Deutches Museum. Had read a fair amount about this museum so had pretty much planned what I want to see. The museum in on an island in the Isar river that flows through Munich. It is touted as the largest Science and Technology museum in the world - and it is huge. I was not the only person in Munich going there on this day - line to pay took almost 1/2 hour. Museum is quite amazing - probably helps to be an engineer or related field for most of the exhibits. Lots of things for kids and they were having a ball. I did the ceramics, glass and paper exhibits as well as the pharmaceuticals. The most impressive for me was the reproduction of the Altamira cave in Spain where they found paintings from up to 21,000 years ago. An exhibit showed how they did the reproduction in the cave.

    I had read in some tourist information to go across the street - sort of - to the Volksbad for lunch. (Clearly they did not think much of the museum food). I was ready for something different so found my way there - by the river Isar. The Volksbad is a spa with baths, etc and had a lovely cafe outdoors with lots of greenery. A good tip.

    After lunch, I wandered about town - bought 2 new T-shirts - I am very tired of the ones that I have been wearing for 7 weeks! I checked out the Hofbrauhaus - modestly known as the most famous tavern in the world. It seats 1300 beer drinkers inside and I do not know how many more in the large courtyard. It is open every day of the year. Apparently it is the "Mecca" for religious beer drinkers.

    Sat in one of the hundreds of cafes and had some tea while waiting for some music that I wanted to go to in the evening. I was able to get a ticket and the Classical music concert with Violin and Cembola (Harpischord). Least you think I know what a Cembola was, I had to look it up when I got home. :-) It was wonderful. The violinist was outstanding. And the setting was a small chapel in a "used to be" palace. Very baroque in design and lovely. The music fit the setting. Another great day.

    Miles: 6.2    Weiterlesen

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    Munich

    25. Mai 2018 in Deutschland ☀️ 64 °F

    Last day in Munich dawned bright sunshine and warm. My streak of incredible weather continues. Some housekeeping chores first: my adapter for my computer died and had to find a new one, needed hand lotion and a new transport ticket.

    After all of that off to the Pinakothek Museum. There are 3 Pinakothek museums: old, new, and modern - in the same area. I decided to go to the new, new should be in quotes as the first New Pinakotek was built in the late 1800s! However as with most buildings in Munich, it was destroyed in 1944 and has been rebuilt. This museum houses art from about 1600-1850 so is after the Renaissance and includes the Impressionists. Another huge building but I love what they have done with the space. All of the art has a lot of room, there may be only 7 or 8 paintings in a 600 sq foot room. And most of the walls that the art hangs on are painted blue. Thoroughly enjoyed the museum. Took time for a "tea" break and later lunch in their lovely outdoor cafe.

    Back for my final trip to the City Center - Marienplatz - and the market nearby for a bottle of German white wine and "home"early to pack and a relaxing evening. Enjoying the last glass of wine on my balcony with its terrific view.    Weiterlesen

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    Munich to Bad Wildbad

    26. Mai 2018 in Deutschland ☀️ 61 °F

    Up and out for another new adventure. Made my way to the Munich airport where I rented my new car. A Ford Fiesta - automatic. :-) And with air conditioning which was needed. Weather had gone from perfect temps in the low to mid 70s to upper 70s and low 80s. Today around 80 most of the way. About a 3 hour drive from Munich to Bad Wildbad. Bad Wildbad is a spa town in the Black Forest near the French border. I chose it for a more rural setting (have done 3 cities in a row) and ready for some more hiking. Only made one wrong turn driving, it turned out to be a relatively long detour as where I was supposed to get back on the freeway, the ramp was closed and all the GPS wanted to do was to get me to that on ramp. Finally turned off the GPS and following the signs for a town a bit away and then reset the GPS and found the freeway.

    Arrived here around 5PM, met the owner who kept the orientation short with a promise from me to have tea together later. I needed to get to a grocery store as tomorrow is Sunday and everything will be closed. The area I am staying is up the mountain from the town about 2 miles but a community into itself. Found my way back down the hill and there are 2 large grocery stores in town, tried them both. Very excited to find some Sancere wine at one of them. Check out the town just a bit. There is a railroad station which I can use for free within a certain distance. Will use it to see local area towns just for fun. I want to go to Heidelberg one day - it is about 50 miles from here.

    Back for my "orientation" to the area. Milka (??sp) went through her entire book of tourist information and how to get everywhere and opening and closing hours of restaurants, how to get to the walking trails, etc. We had a cup of tea together, she is lovely but a bit over the top with enthusiasm. They have a lovely outside space here. Lots of lounge chairs and very green with flowers and right on the edge of the forest. I can start walking from the back door.

    On my own and it is almost 8PM. I have my own outside terrace with chairs and table - a great place for my wine. Had picked up a salad for dinner. Enjoyed that outside as well. An episode of Berlin Station (Netflix) and to bed.    Weiterlesen

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    Bad Wildbad

    27. Mai 2018 in Deutschland ⛅ 73 °F

    A really lazy day, must have needed a recup day. Woke up early and took a morning and afternoon nap !! :-) I went out late AM to check out the Black Forest area around me.
    This settlement is at the top of Sommerberg mountain and attracts a lot of tourists and weekend folk. Lots of folk doing the Treetop Walk - an amazing walk in the woods to a huge tower that you walk around until you are above the trees. Its minutes away from my doorstep. Pictures are not good as weather started to turn. Day started with sunshine but, the weather forecast was correct and around noon significant thunder though very little rain. Checked out the first longer walk I want to do tomorrow - about 7-8 mile rt to a little town about 4 miles away in the forest that is supposed to have a good restaurant. This is also a big biking area with trails all over that are "engineered" - e.g. bank and bumps, etc. Not your usual biking through the woods. A ski hut close to here with a rope tow nearby. I was amazed to see a fellow coming up the rope tow on his bicycle - they have some kind of device that attached to the rope tow that brings them up the mountain on the rope tow!! My kind of cycling - all downhill. Having said that, I saw a lot of trails that were engineered above my ability even it it was downhill.!!!

    Took a ride this afternoon, checked out the downtown of Bad Wildbad and a town about 4K away. Lots to do here and a railroad station to get me to wherever I do not want to drive.

    Out to dinner tonight. There are 2 hotels in this area that I can walk to and not have to take the car down the mountain. Ate at one of them - the Auerhahn. Was ready for a good dinner and had Salmon-trout (steelhead to me) with asparagus and potatoes. It was very good. Home for some back yard silence and back to apartment.

    Miles: 3    Weiterlesen

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    Bad Wildbad

    28. Mai 2018 in Deutschland ⛅ 68 °F

    Lots of plans for today. My first longer walk in the Black Forest. My host suggested a place on the map called Grunhutte, a guest house in the middle of the forest about 3+ miles away. Sounded good for my first trip into the forest. Walk was beautiful and easy, green everywhere. The forest is really not like "hiking", it truly is a walk. Some of the trails are what we call in the US, forest roads. All is very clean, lots of benches along the paths and little huts every couple miles. The guest house was lovely - lots of flowers and outdoor seating for walkers. Went a different way on the way back and stopped at one of the hut areas - all have picnic benches 0 to have my sandwich.

    Back by 1:30PM, a little rest and out to check out Bad Wildbad. To get to town, you can take the funicular down the mountain, do your business and take it back up. Decided to do this once just for the fun of it. (I do have a car of course). Fun ride, lots of people here at the top of the mountain use it as their daily means to get back and forth. I checked out the TI (tourist information) looking for some music in the area. Did find some for Friday night. The town is long and skinny as it takes advantage of the riverfront. Lots of cafes, some shops and of course, bakeries and ice cream everywhere. I checked all of that out on my way to the grocery store for a few more provisions and then back up the mountain for cocktail hour. :-)

    Made some pasta sauce, did some planning for a trip to Heidelberg tomorrow, and had pasta on my deck about 9PM. Good day.

    Miles: 9.1    Weiterlesen

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    Bad Wildbad

    29. Mai 2018 in Deutschland ☁️ 63 °F

    Off to Heidelberg via train on the 8:35. Heidelberg is only about 50 miles away but decided to take the train to save the hassle of constant GPS navigation and parking once I was there. Turned out to be a questionable decision. :-)

    I had always wanted to go back to Heidelberg, a city that I just drove through once and thought it looked pretty and worth coming back to. Train schedules from here (a small town) usually have multiple transfers to get to anything over 20 miles away. I looked on line (very good and user friendly website) and found one that only had one transfer so took that. My host told me that if I parked in Calmbach, a town about 2-3 miles from Bad Wildbad, I would not need to pay for parking. Bad Wildbad has virtually no street parking, all in large parking garages. So left from Calmbach, the train stopped every 5 minutes, filled with commuter folk and those just going to the grocery store. Found a new "best friend" in a kid who worked in one of the towns along the way but was on his way back home to Romania for vacation. 20 something very social and loved to talk about what he was doing. 20 something and speaks 3 languages !!! The 2nd train was a bullet train and sped right along to Heidelberg.

    Arrived at the train station, a big and busy place. TI right outside to get a map and transit information. Transportation is cheap here as this is primarily a university town, The famous Heidelberg University. Bus/tram ticket only about $1.60. I took a tram to the Old Town - a large area where most of the tourist sites are located. Walked the Old Town, took the Old Bridge across the Neckar river which flows through the City. Climbed to the top of one of the old churches (Protestant) and great 360 views. Pictures not great as it was cloudy. Sun came out at 4PM. Warm and sticky. Heidelberg castle on the hill above the town is a major tourist attraction. Did not go up there, chose instead to walk across the river to the Philosopher's walk - a lovely wooded walk high on a hill across the river from the Old Town. Known as the Philosopher's Walk as it is where the professors and philosophers from the university could converse in the beautiful green way and enjoy the views of the Old Town and Castle across the river. A truly beautiful spot. Checked out a lot of buildings that are a part of the university. Heidelberg population is 20% students and of the 25,000 students, about 20% are international. I heard a lot of English being spoken from the kids. Also found a place to get my nails done!!

    Back to train station for my 7:30PM train - which, when it showed up on the board was going to be 90 minutes late. So I had to get another set of trains that had 2 transfers and did not leave until 8:10PM. One of them only had 8 minutes to get from one train to another. Needless to say a bit stressful but all went well and was home only an hour later than I planed. A very busy day. A day off from tourism tomorrow.

    Miles: 8.5
    Floors Climbed: 38    Weiterlesen

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    Bad Wildbad

    30. Mai 2018 in Deutschland 🌧 72 °F

    A very lazy morning after 2 full days of tourism. Did not get started until about 1PM. Then off to check out a couple towns in the area. Read an article on the 10 best towns in the Black Forest so started on that list. The town of Calw (no idea how to pronounce) was noted as one of the most picturesque in the forest so decided to start there as it was only about 20 miles from my current home. What a treat! Good roads, easy to get to and easy to park. A combination not found frequently in Europe.

    A town full of half timbered houses set along the Enz River! If you love to see tons of this type of architecture, this is the place for you. Every color combination imaginable. Lovely to walk around and the usual cafes and shops. An interesting church with a butterfly as the focal point, could not find out what that was all about. (Sometimes it pays to go on a tour.) Wandered around for a couple hours, taking pictures and enjoying an apple sparkling water by the riverside. Good find.

    Then to check out another town, Kaltenbroon - mainly because I want to hike to there tomorrow. By foot through the forest its about 7 miles to get there from "home", by car its 14 miles !! Checked it out, got a map and have decided to drive over there in the AM and walk from there. There is a big nature preserve there as well as a couple lakes I would like to see and it looks like a nice walk. Weather has been warm (up to 80) but some of the humidity from the last couple days is gone. And always cooler in the forest.

    Back to town for a grocery store stop and home for pasta.

    Miles: 3    Weiterlesen

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