RufusTFirefly

On just about every trip we've taken over the past 30+ years, we have come across a sight that was not in any guidebook nor had we heard it mentioned by anyone before the trip started. Sometimes these sights turn out to be one of the highlights of the trip. Here's one of ours. Any others?

On the last day of our trip to Germany in June 2002, we drove from Beilstein on the Mosel via the Rhein River gorge to the town of Walldorf, next to Frankfurt airport.

It was a rainy day, so we didn't do some of our planned activities, so we got to Hotel Albatros a couple of hours earlier than expected. We asked the hotel owner (a Turk who recently had become a German citizen) if there were any sights nearby worth visiting. He said there was a holocaust memorial in a wooded area 10 minutes walk from the hotel. And also recommended an Italian restaurant nearby for dinner.

Mrs. Fly and I got everything settled in our room, and headed out. The directions were clear and we arrived at the woods. The rain had cleared out, it was now sunny and everything was fresh and green.

We entered the wooded area and found that the town had set up a trail through the woods with display boards along the trail telling the story of 1700 Hungarian Jewish women who were brought to the camp in this wood to work on hardening the airport runways for the early jet fighter aircraft that the Germans had developed.

There were no buildings, just some stones and wreckage of them. We were practically alone--seeing only a couple of other people along the paths. The woods were lovely, the sun shining, birds were singing. And we were learning the story of this group of Hungarian Jews in 1944.

I won't go into details of their story, but Mrs. Fly and I were deeply moved by this pretty much unknown and simple memorial. The contrast between what these women went through, and the petty difficulties we've faced in our lives had an impact on both of us that I believe we will carry with us until we die.

http://www.kz-walldorf.de/

http://www.gg-online.de/html/kz_walldorf.htm

jmw44

My discoveries are trivial by comparison, Rufus. Yours is stunning. I wish I could take my highschool seniors there for the 'senior trip' instead of their habitual Cancun. What a lesson. I'll get there myself one day. Thank you. J.

simpsonc510

Mine, too, do not compare. But here goes anyway.
In Lucerne: Hubby and I were disappointed that one of our favorite restaurants is now permanently closed. The elderly owner must have passed on. But, the good news is we have now discovered a wonderful new place to dine (La Fenice) in the old city area.

On a trip to Genoa, arriving late in the evening... and w/no reservations for a hotel... we stumbled on to the gorgeous Bristol Palace Hotel. This hotel will remain in my memory as one of the grandest ones I've ever stayed in. And we just "happened" to find it!

Carol

Viajero2

Ruf-- that's a great story and a great topic. It reminded me of a rainy day in Spain back in 1993.

On a rainy day in 1993, my husband and I were driving to Algeciras, Spain on a kind of leisure drive day. On a whim, near Tarifa, we took a country road that took us miles on to a coastal road. All of sudden an unexpected and spectacular sight came to view; drapped on the side of hills and bordered by the Mediterranean: The Roman Ruins of Baelo Claudio. Back then there was no reference to this sight in a guidebook, it certainly took our breath away. Baelo Claudio was a prosperous Roman settlement destroyed by an earthquake and never rebuilt. We had the site to ourselves (local kids were playing around), there was a small adjacent, local tourism office with a guide map pointing out to the temples, amphiteather, markets, houses, forum, factories (fish processing). It was an unforgettable, real treat.

Nikki

Fifteen years ago my husband and I took a scenic drive in the mountains above Massa, in Tuscany. From the distance the mountains appear to be snow-covered, but the gleaming white color comes from marble which has been exposed by centuries of mining. The road through the mountains was winding and steep and passed through many tunnels. At the end of a tunnel under the highest peak was a marble monument showing a construction worker drilling the tunnel.

The view was staggering. When we pulled off the road we saw a large stepped marble ledge and walked up to the top. There was an enormous chunk cut out of the mountain, as if it were a block of cheese. There were smooth marble floors and a wall backing onto the mountain. Someone had hauled a chair up there. Sitting on it, I felt like I was on a throne in a marble palace at the top of the world.

RufusTFirefly

I also meant to give the name and address of the Italian restaurant (which was very good) just in case someone might want an Italian meal near the airport.

Ciao
Aschaffenburger Strasse 14-18

lexluther

We were in Aix en Provence and after 3 days there were itching to drive down to the coast. We drove due South and landed up in a beautiful fishing village called Cassis. On our whole trip of the French Riviera Cassis was a highlight maybe because it was unexpected.

On that same trip we were on the Italian Riviera and were supposed to be staying in a beachy town called camogli just outside of cinque terre. When we got to the town it was raining and dark and the whole town was deserted (it was december) we decided to ditch the town and keep driving we saw a little sign that said Portofino and we detoured from our itinerary and took that road. We saw Portofino which is beautiful and landed up staying in a hotel in the town near Portofino called Santa Margherita. Landed up being the highlight of our trip.