Even though Switzerland borders Italy, yesterday was a long bus day for us because to get there, you need to go up, up, up into the Alps and then back down. Hair-pin turns in a big ol’ tour bus can take some time.

But ah! the Alps! Driving through the heart of these majestic kings of scenery makes the extra time worth it and then some. Continue reading →

It’s 7:20 in the morning on Tuesday, and I’m breaking Kevin’s and my self-imposed rule about no blogging on bus mornings. I was too lazy yesterday to do much of anything than walk around beautiful Monterosso, the first of five little coastal Mediterranean towns called the Cinque Terra, a.k.a the Italian Riviera. Continue reading →

…. it started to rain. But I,m getting ahead of myself.

We left Florence early, and got into Rome by mid afternoon. After settling into our hotel (which is on the same street as the Italian ministry, so Italian soldiers lurk around the streets with their uzzi’s…fun!), we walked the half an hour through Rome to the ancient Roman ruins in the center of town. Continue reading →

We left Venice early yesterday. On our walk to the dock, we passed a photo shoot for Vogue or some such thing going on in the Piazza San Marco; a glamourous girl in a sky blue evening gown twirled on a pedastal in front of the Doges’ palace. I snapped a quick photo, which I intend to sell to the highest bidder (just kidding). Continue reading →

Early yesterday after breakfast, we all gathered up our laundry, which we had the opportunity to wash and dry on the line at our Hotel Schluxen; as our tour director promised, it did smell like the wonderful, fresh Austrian mountain air — not, as I feared, like horse poop from the farm next door. Packed by 8 am, we hopped on the bus and prepared to say goodbye to Austria, Germany, and bratwurst.

We headed south. We took a last look at the austere pine forests on peaked mountains; they seemed to watch us go by like silent sentries, saying, “Remember, the world is a mysterious place. Tread carefully.” Continue reading →

The sun woke us up at 6 this morning. Plenty of time to shower, dress, eat some fresh bread, sausage, etc. and head out into the crisp, cloudless morning for an hour’s walk through the Austrian forest hills toward Neuschwanstein castle. We actually crossed the ”border” back into Germany on foot; there is still a little gate and a cabin where the guard used to stand stamping passports, before the unification of Europe. Continue reading →

Tonight’s post has to be fast, as the internet costs money and there are no cash machines here, so if we want to eat lunch tomorrow, no chatty tomes.

Last night’s Greek food was amazing; the owner/cook made us a feast worthy of a queen. I find new heros everywhere I go on this trip. Continue reading →

I survived last evening’s trek up the mountain to the castle. It’s now a youth hostel, probably because youth are the only ones who could imagine dragging their suitcases half a mile up a windy trail. Once at the top, though, it’s a view to die for of the town of Bacharach and the Rhein. Kevin said this hike was his favorite part of the day. (Don’t tell Herr Jung.)

Had my first actual conversaton in German today, at about 7 am, even:

Me: ”Ein Kaffe, bitte.”
Baker: ”Milch und sugar?”
Me: ”No – er, nein, danke.”

At this point, I had exhausted my confidence; luckily she did not ask me if I wanted a lid. Continue reading →

We boarded the bus at 8:30 am in Haarlem, and spent the next several hours practicing our pidgin German. Stopped for a tour of the Open Air Museum on the Dutch-German border, where we learned in 3D how people lived in the bad old days. Worst medieval job goes to Landress, although foot soldier runs a close second.

A few more hours on the bus and we crested a hill overlooking beautiful little German towns on the banks of the Rhein. Bacharach is home base for the next two days; its castle walls have been here since the 16th century, and the Tower, which is the hotel in which we are staying, was built in 1100. Continue reading →

I’ve decided to tell Rick Steves that the second day of this trip should be billed in the literature as Museum Day. I have the sore feet and full brain to prove it.

I had a brief flash of home on the train ride to Amsterdaam – we passed a huge Ikea. Bet you all can’t wait for the picture of that. Continue reading →