Wow, what a summer! It has been a busy one. My first adventure was flying home to met my nephew. Thomas Paul was born June 8. Let me just say I am head over heels in love with this little man. I was able to spend three weeks watching him grow and spending time with my sister and mom.
0 Comments
Over Memorial Day weekend, Mario and I took advance of crossing another country off our list. We traveled to Barcelona, Spain. Spain makes country # 16 for me! We arrived early evening and took the Aerobus into the city center and then walked about 15 mins to our hotel. Our hotel is located on the northern part the city but close to a train station which has two metro lines. Ireland has been on the top of bucket list for some time. Any book that I read whose setting is in Ireland describes a magical place and one I wanted to visit. Mario and I had the opportunity to explore Ireland over a long weekend and we were not disappointed!
We took advance of the first three day weekend of the new year but crossing another place off our list. We headed to Edinburgh, Scotland! I am a fan of the Harry Potter series and Edinburgh is the birthplace of it , so I was eager to see the places which help J. K. Rowling create Harry Potter Series.
As 2017 was coming to an end, Mario and I decided to crossed off two more cities from our bucket list. We decided to make Ramstein-Miesenbach our hub which was about 2 to 2.5 hours from the house depending on traffic. By doing this we decreased the commute time to these cities
Last weekend, a friend and I explored the Ludwigsburg Christmas Market. Here are a few pictures.
Tis the season for Christmas markets, one of my favorite times of the year. Last weekend a friend and I headed to Maulbronn which is about a 45 min drive from the house. It is home to the Maulbronn Monastery which is the former Roman Catholic Cistercian Abbey and Protestant seminary.
I headed to London over Thanksgiving break. This was time number three but still one of my favorite places to visit. The weather was cool and windy at times but all in all pretty nice weather for end of November.
The dogs and I along with a friend went to Lake Titisee which is about a 2hrs drive from the house. It is located in the southern part of Black Forest. It is the largest natural lake in Black Forest. It was about a 5 mile hike around the lake, the dogs did great! Of course before we left we explored the shops!
We took a last minute getaway to celebrate Mario’s birthday. Our first stop was Lake Chiemsee which is known as the “Bavarian Sea”. It is the largest lake in Bavaria which can be seen from the highway and has tides like the sea. There are three islands on this lake, but we only visited Herreninsel which is home to King Ludwig’s Schloss Herrenchiesmsee. This was the finaly castle we need to see from King Ludwig since we had previously visited his Linderhoff and Neuschwanstein. We found our parking and caught the boat 3 minutes before it left. The boat ride was about 20 minutes to the island. The coolest part was dogs were allowed, so the dogs rode their first boat today. They did awesome! We got off the first stop which was Herreninsel to explore the castle. We couldn’t go inside because of the dogs but we enjoy the views of the castle from the garden and caught the fountains right before they turned off. Then we walked back to ferry/boat and waited for our return trip to the car. From there we travel another 1.5 hours through the beautiful country side. I have decided from Munich east to Salzburg is such a beautiful stretch of land. Instead of driving through Salzburg to get to our final destination and paying the toll, we decided on taking the scenic way though little Germany towns. We finally arrive at Lake Konigssee. Our hotel was located right on the lake, so we had to travel down the shopping pedestrian road which is filled with touristy shop and tourist to get to our hotel. Always makes me nervous driving these sidewalk type roads. Our room had a balcony which provided a view of the lake. The next morning started off with foggy skies and cooler temperatures. By seeing the fog roll off the lake was so pretty. Since it’s the end of September and getting close to the off season it was a ghost town when the dogs and I were out for our morning walk. We decided it was the best time to visit, as the day went on it did fill up with tourist but nothing compared to what summer would bring. We decided to start off early and glad we did, when we were coming back to the hotel around lunch time, the people were out and it was crowded. A little bit about the lake: It is a narrow, fjord- like lake is 8 km long (5 miles), up to 1,2 km wide (3/4 mile) and lies 602 meters (2000 ft) above sea level. With a maximum depth of 192 meters (650 ft), Lake Königssee retains its cold temperature even during the hottest time of the year. It is actually the deepest and, thanks to environmental protection, the cleanest lake in Germany. Today’s adventure was seeing St. Bartholomew’s Church and exploring Lake Obersee, both I had seen on Pinterest and wanted to explore myself. A ride on the ferry boat was the only way there unless you wanted to do some extreme hiking. We got our tickets and boarded the boat. It was about 30 minutes to our first stop. The views as we sailed were so pretty, half way into the boat ride, they stop the boat and play different tunes on the trumpet which echo around the lake and sounds like an answer, it was really neat. It Our first stop was St. Bartholomew’s Church. Here is some information from Bavarian Palace Department: The palace and pilgrimage church were founded by the Prince-Provosts of Berchtesgaden in 1134. The triple-concha design of the church dates back to 1697; the stucco-work is by the Salzburg master Joseph Schmidt. In the 18th century the summer and hunting palace was rebuilt, with older building sections incorporated. After Berchtesgaden became part of Bavaria in 1810, the palace became a hunting lodge for the Bavarian kings and was one of their favorite haunts. Since the Romantic period, the world-famous pilgrimage church, set against the Watzmann range, has been a source of inspiration for numerous landscape painters. From there we boarded the boat again and went down to Salat to see the Lake Obersee which means “Upper Lake”. It is located in Berschtesgaden National Park. It was about an 15 minute hike from the boat drop off to the other lake but the views along the way were awesome. You can hear the cattle bell from the cattle gazed on the mountain side and the brook running along the path. When we arrived at the lake you could see the Rothbach waterfall in the distance, it was about an 1.5 hour hike each way and we decided we would enjoy from a distance. It took about an hour to get back to the hotel. It was such a great day with sunny skies and a cool breeze. We ate a quick lunch at one of the restaurant near the lake and relax for a bit. I sat on our room’s balcony and soaked up some autumn sun. Then I walked along the pedestrian street and looked into the shops, buying nothing more than a few postcards. The next morning, I enjoyed some morning fog off the lake and then we headed out of town. On the way we stopped in Ramsau and took some pictures of St. Stephan church and surrounding area. It is so pretty and the leaves are staring to change..Fall is here!
Despite it being a rainy and cool Sunday, a friend and I heading to Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. Dachau is located on the outskirts of Munich and depending on traffic it about a 2-2.5 hours trip
A quick piece of history: In March 1933 this area became known as the Dachau Concentration camp for political prisoners and in the 12 years of it's existence over 200,000 people were incarcerated and more than 43,000 died here. On April 29, 1945, US troops liberated the survivors. In 1965 it become a memorial site. After a busy week, we decided to escape for the day and explore the city on Ulm. Albert Einstein was born there and is a little over an hour away from the house. I wasn't sure if the rainy weather would hold off, but it turned out to be a nice and cool day which is great for exploring. Our first stop was Ulm Munster or Cathedral which has the highest church tower in the world and is the largest Protestant church in Germany. A concert was happening in the church so we didn’t go inside, we opted to climb the 768 steps to the top of the tower instead. All I can say is that is alot of steps. The views from the top were amazing. I was feeling adventurous so I climb to the tallest point of the tower. The coolest part was while we were climbing the noon bells starting to ring and you can see them and they were super loud. I took a video but can't upload on here. From there we saw the Tower Hall, then walked along the river Danube River to get to the area of town known as the Fishermen’s and Tanners Quarter. This area has tiber framed houses. One of the houses is the famous Leaning House which is a 14th century timber framed home which now houses a hotel but still leans over the river being supported by ancient beans. We then headed back towards the car but took a quick detour to see the rose garden which was still pretty but would have been nicer earlier in the summer. Next on our list, was the Monastery Wiblingen which was about a 15 minutes from the of Ulm. Wiblingen Abbey was a former Benedictine abbey which was later used as barracks. Today its buildings house several departments of the medical faculty of the University of Ulm. The big attraction was the Library Hall. It was so beautiful and the picture doesn't do it justice. We paid our admission and the photograph fee which was so worth it and explore. We didn’t explore the Church next door due to a wedding. From there we travel to Blaubeuren which was about 30 mins west of Ulm on our way home. While searching on Pinterest one day I came across a city with a the blue lake so I wanted to check it out and glad I did. In German it is known as Blautopf because Blau is blue and topf is pot. It is a spring that serves as the source of the river Blau in the karst landscape on the Swabian Jura's southern edge, in Southern Germany. The Blautopf is 21 meters deep and one of the deepest and largest sources in Germany
While there a noticed a statue placed at the bank of this spring, so after some research here is the legend behind it. The story of the Schöne Lau, a mermaid and her husband, a male water-nix from the Black Sea, is told in great detail. Because the Schöne Lau could not laugh, the nix punished her by confining her to the Blautopf, and only allowing her to have still-born children. He would only allow her to return and give birth to a living child once she had laughed five times. In the end, the landlady of the inn Nonnenhof came to her aid. Legend info came from wikipedia I headed to Krakow, Poland with a friend for a few days of exploring. Krakow is located in the southern part of Poland near the border of Czech Republic. We took an early morning flight which gave us a whole extra day to explore. One of the biggest thing I love about living overseas, even through there are many, is the public transportation options. I can leave my house and walk or take a bus to the train station and then take a train straight to the airport and then vice versa. After arriving in Krakow, we took the train into city center. There was a mall attached to the train station, what a great idea! From the train station to our hotel was about a 15-minute walk. The best part was our room was ready when we arrive at 10am, that is what I call service! We dropped off our bags and set off the explore. Our hotel was recommended by fellow friends and it was an awesome place, would definitely stay there again if my travels bring me back. I normally don’t comment about the places I stay but this one was great, it’s called Hotel Wielopole and was only a few minutes walk to city center. If you ever travel to Krakow check them out! Before I start off telling you about my adventures in Krakow, here is some interesting facts. The name is spelling Krakow or Cracow. The history of Krakow dates back to the 4th century. It is one of the oldest cities in Poland was once the capital until it was moved to Warsaw. The legend behind how the city was name is pretty neat, I will tell about it when we explore the Wawel Castle Complex later on in my adventure. Poland currency is Zlotsky which is about 1 zloty to .27cent US. For example, if something was 300 zlotksy was $82 US. Krakow’s center is divided into two main sections the Old Town and Kazimierz (former Jewish Quarter) with the Wawel (formal Royal Castle) in between. We explored the Old Town and the Wawel Castle complex. First, we headed towards the main square. We walked around the Cloth Hall, which is a neo-Gothic structure which has been a market for merchants since the Middle Ages and still is today. It also houses two museums in addition to many different stalls selling many different things. From there we admired the outside of St. Mary’s Basilica. The must see is the Veit Stoss Altar inside. We got our tickets and our pass to take pictures, many places charged a few dollars to take pictures. We had to wait for our timed entry, so we ate an Obwarzanek, which is the unofficial symbol of Krakow. It is pretty much a bagel with different toppings, I got one with cheese. They are pretty cheap at 1.50 zlotsky which is 42 cent US. In the summer, they make around 200,000 and are best ate within three hours of making. At end of the day the pigeon’s get the left overs. As we entered the church, I was in awe of how pretty it was. My pictures below don’t do it justice. We soon discovered that the altar opens and waited for the ceremony. I took a video of the opening, but I can't upload videos on here unless I pay, but believe me it was super neat! I was super excited that we timed it just right and were able to see the altar opened and closed. The altar was created in the years of 1477-1489. It is made of wood and is the largest altar of its kind in Europe. Later that evening, we went back to the square and explored one of Krakow’s main commercial streets and came across the Florianska Gate and Barbican, both part of the city’s defense in the late 15th century. We also walked the Planty which was once the outside of the walled part of the city, now it is a park like green space where you can walk around. Many evenings were spent here explore the side streets that connected to the main square. The next day we explored the Wawel Castle Complex. On the way, we stopped to admire the Church of Saints Peter & Paul which has the sculptures of the 12 disciples before it. The door was open so we went inside for a look. From there we walked up the hill to the complex.The complex is made of many parts for you to explore such as the Staterooms and Royal Private Apartments, Wawel Cathedral and its crypt and the Sandomierska Tower. The interior courtyard and cathedral were free so we started there. We journey down to the cave entrance and saw the dragon sculpture which breaths fire. Legend of the naming of Krakow and the dragon. Wawel Hill is a formation of limestone which is filled with caves and crawl spaces. One of those spaces was home to Smok Wawelski or the Wawel Drgaon. He was nasty and enjoy filling his belly with sheep and maidens. The village was running out of maidens and the King promised his daughter’s hand to any hero who could get rid of the beast. So many came but a poor cobbler named Krak tricked Smok into eating a sheep stuffed with sulfur, hence causing his belly to explode. He married the princess and became king and his built his castle on top of the dragon’s lair. Smok bones hung outside the entrance to the cathedral today. The next day, we headed to the sites of Auschwitz and Auschwitz II-Birkenau which were about an hour’s drive from Krakow’s city center. Our hotel handled the booking for us. In the sentences that follow, I will explain a little bit, if for prefer not to read, jump to the next section about the Wieliczka Salt Mine Tour. The town of Oswiecim was once a quiet backwater community until it become known as Auschwitz under German occupation. Between 1.1-1.5 million people perished here. There was some confusion when booking this tour and we were given an independent tour, which I am glad it worked out this way. I think a guided tour would have been a little too much. We received a guide book and toured the museum on our own. You can walk along a guided path by different buildings and the barbed wire fences. Some building housed exhibits and provided additional information in there form of showing the personal objects collected, photographs and how the rooms looked. From there we boarded a shuttle bus which took us a few minutes down the road to Auschwitz II-Birkenau. This second camp was added in 1942 which grew to become the biggest and most savage of all the Nazi death factories with up to 100,000 prisoners held there in 1944. Today, little is left. Many building has been leveled and destroyed, but smoke stacks still stand tall. The weather was cloudy, windy, and cool which fit the experience. I only took pictures of the main gates. I felt it is a place you truly need to experience in real life and I felt learning from the experience was enough. The next day we headed to the outskirt of Krakow about a 30 minute drive to explore the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Once again, our hotel handed the booking for us. In my travels, I have explored a few different mines, but this one was by far the biggest and coolest one! It is a very popular tourist spot with 1.4 million people visiting each year. You have the option of taking the tourist tour or the miner’s tour. We opted for the tourist tour which took us to many different parts of the mine. There is nine different levels, but we only tour the first three. Our tour started with 380 wooden stairs to the first level. The tunnels are re-enforced by timber logs. We visited different chambers and chapels. After the tour, we had the options to visit the Underground museum to learn more about the mine, but we opted to leave and relax outside while we waiting for our ride back to the hotel. After a wonderful few days in Krakow, we headed out of town Saturday morning. We took an early afternoon flight which had us back home before dinner.
All information came from the Krakow In Your Pocket guide June-July 2017 |
AuthorA teacher who loves traveling the world. Categories
All
Archives
June 2023
|