• Betty Kothe
  • Betty Kothe

Northwestern Europe Nov. 2023

A 13-day adventure by Betty Read more
  • Trip start
    November 10, 2023
  • Bamberg 💞

    November 12, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 39 °F

    First meal in Germany. Schnitzel and spatzel. I'm in heaven. What a beautiful city. Ireland has nothing on these streets.

    It was an excellent day. Drove on the Autobahn and killed no one.🤣 now eating a bite of leftovers for supper and then hit the sack. I will be headed to Amsterdam in the morning.Read more

  • Ducks in Amsterdam

    November 13, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ 🌧 50 °F

    Not really. It was just me. I walked to Anne Frank's house from the hotel, and it was all cold and rainy. 6.2 miles. But was worth the walk. And Frank's house is amazing. And then I stopped and had Dutch pancakes. When I got back my room wasn't ready yet. So they gave me a free drink to sit and worry about it. 😆 Now, off to my coffin. (Pod)Read more

  • Another cold rainy day.

    November 14, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    Kind of glad this day is over. I don't feel very well today. After yesterday's in the rain for so long. I have a pretty nice head cold with coughing. I'm sure they all think it is covid.

    It was one of those days where everything went a little wrong. All day, cold pouring rain. Crazy driver, credit cards will not work.

    And the France are warm and welcoming people. (Not) Thank God their country is beautiful. We 😉

    I feel pretty good, 5 countries in 4 days.

    The little snack is bitterballens. It is a really big thing in the Netherlands. It is like fried macaroni and cheese, but with mushroom soup.
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  • Bonjour, from a nicer side of France.

    November 15, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ 🌧 48 °F

    Bonne soirée. France has been much nicer to me today. I guess there are poop people everywhere, and last night, I found some.

    Today started out rainy but cleared up by early afternoon. I went through quite a few countries today. At one point, I was in Lexumbourg, France, Germany, France, within 5 mins. Lol My poor international phone plan could not hardly keep up.

    The first two pictures are of the castle I stayed in last night. The next two are of the convent in Oberbronn, France, where I will stay to.

    My dinner reservations are at 6 p.m. so while I waited, I checked on Kitty, then drove to Bitche France to fill the car. Lmao. While I was there, I stopped at the Super Bitche and bought snacks for tomorrow.

    Ended my day with a fine meal. Cordon bleu de volaille savoyard and spatzel. Bon apatite.
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  • Back in Germany😃

    November 16, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 46 °F

    Well, that has been a crazy few days.
    But I hit quite a few countries.

    Today, I headed back to Germany for the rest of my trip. And as I did, I drove through the Black Forest to see the world's biggest cuckoo clock. It was a site to be held. Then to the shop with 1000 cuckoo clocks. I arrived there at noon, so it was very chaotic. The shopkeeper's mom was from South Pass Wyoming. So she knew exactly where I was from.

    I found out what was the hardest part of being in a country where I didn't speak the language, and that is grocery shopping. I'm not sure what I bought, but I hope it is good. 😊

    So I usually don't cook for myself at home but I go to Germany and I cook a homemade meal for myself. Vacation and dishes, too.
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  • Mind your Brain

    November 17, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 43 °F

    Guten Abend.
    It was a beautiful day today. It only rained a little bit this morning but not too bad.

    I didn't have to hit the road early this morning, so I slept in a little bit. Which was very nice. I had a bite of breakfast, which consisted of pomegranate and blood orange Greek yogurt, and it was delicious.

    I headed off to Heilbronn's science museum and spent most of the day there. Their special exhibit was Mind Your Brain. It was totally interactive and very interesting. One of the stations was Meditation with Chocolate, and I highly recommend us doing it every day in the coffee lounge.

    I had lunch there and had to order a cheeseburger because that is the only thing I could understand on the kiosk menu. I am beginning to have deep empathy and appreciation for non-native speaking people. It is difficult to navigate when you do not understand the rules and instructions of the culture.

    Now I am back safe in my airbnb, and ended with a light supper, which I prepared. I'm seriously going to have to treat myself this well when I get home.

    I want to wish each of you a very nice evening. I am looking forward to tomorrow there's only 20% chance of rain. Perhaps I can do some Castle chasing.

    PS. Kitty is doing well, too😼
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  • All Aboard for Serendipity

    November 18, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F

    What a weird crazy wonderful day it was today.

    I woke up this morning and wanted to go on a train adventure, so I was going to try Rothenburg ob der Tauber for the second time. But I arrived at the train station too close to departure to buy the tickets. So I decided to go to Strasbourg France instead. (No reason behind it)

    Well, I was waiting for my connecting train in Karlsruhe, I realized it probably wasn't coming or I was at the wrong gate. I met a young woman named Prasanthi, who was also waiting for the train. She also was going to Strasbourg France and spoke English. Double bonus. We decided to go to information to find out what was going on.

    We found out that the train had been canceled and that we were put on another train with no notification. After finding our new train, we quickly became friends and decided to hang out for the afternoon in France.

    What a delightful time we had. Even though it was freezing cold, we walked to a beautiful cathedral, toured a museum of the palace of King Louie XIV, and was caught in a protest. Then we topped the afternoon with Starbucks.

    We had to run back to the train station to catch our returning trains before we were caught in the protest again. We decided to keep in touch. That is the grand bonus of all travel is New Friends. Thank you, Serendipity.

    The train trip back was full of delays and stops for right away, so I was 12 minutes late for my last train. It only sent me back 35 minutes. I am now back at the Airbnb ready for a good night's sleep.

    PS. The only cool thing I ate today was a real German pretzel. 😆
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  • And on the 7th day she rested

    November 19, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    Today was a pretty easy day. I have been here for only 8 days, but I've done about a month's worth of things. So today, I took a pretty easy.

    I drove to an open air Museum, Hohenlohe Freilandmuseum Schwabisch Hall Wackershofen. I did not get any photographs since my phone was acting up a bit. It was very cool, though, much like Fort Bridger or South Pass Wyoming.

    It had an amazing little restaurant that served a traditional German meal. It was a beautiful presentation and was delicious. Again, there are no photos😏 if you do not believe me regarding the beauty of this place and meal, you will need to look it up or come visit yourself. Lol

    On the way back, I stopped at Burg Lowenstein. Which is 2 kilometers from my airbnb. Then, a quick little stop at the delicatessen to try to decide the debate if White Forest cake is as good as Black Forest cake. I do believe that Black Forest cake is a bit better.

    After stuffing my face with cake, I laid down for a 5 hour nap. Then, I finished the leftover lunch.

    So yes, I spent most of my day eating and sleeping like a big old fat bear getting ready for winter.
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  • I'm not a Monster...

    November 20, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    This morning, I had to leave my beautiful apartment in Lowenstein. I am driving to Worms, Germany.

    On the way, I stopped by Frankenstein's Castle. The restaurant closed last week so I was unable to go in. However, I was able to see most of the outside walls.

    The Watertower of Worms is amazing. Here is the link for some history:

    https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasserturm_(Worms)

    I will be here for my last two days. I plan to walk around the city tomorrow. It has so much history.

    I'm now enjoying a dark German beer and bratwurst at the Brauhaus Zwolf Apostel. Then off to bed.

    PS a few wild mushrooms for my good friend, Torie🍄
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  • My last day in Germany

    November 21, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    Well, here we are, my last day in Germany. I walked around Worms today and ended up at the zoo and toured a cathedral in Worms. It was rainy, but I was prepared this time. I want a little over seven miles and enjoyed every minute of it.

    I came back to the apartment and went through my bags to make sure I'm prepared for tomorrow and Customs.

    It was a magnificent trip. However, I am looking forward to being home now.
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  • Trip end
    November 22, 2023