gabrieltraian

Apologize for a big mistake...

The game was Germany vs. Portugal.

Germany didn't score any goal when they played Italy.

I can't believe I made that mistake!

gabrieltraian

Day 3 – July 9

Blue Mountain

We had a relaxing morning around the house, and in the afternoon we went to the top of a mountain nearby.

We passed through Muellheim and Baden Weiler villages, climbed a winding road through a forest and we reached the Blue Mountain top, at 1100 metres.

The views from there were magnificent. We could see the Black Forest stretching far, far away in the distance, the Rhine meandering among many villages scattered in the hills and valleys.

We found a place where we had a superb view down the valley and we lay on the grass. It was a tranquil spot; only the murmur of the forest was around us.

We felt the scent of green and it was so relaxing. I nearly fell asleep lying like that in the middle of the nature.

We returned home later that evening and this time our neighbour came to us to watch the World Cup Final, for another evening of fun with snacks and beer.

To be continued (Colmar and Freiburg)...

logos999

<"Schweinsteiger"
It must have been hard for him in school with such a name. ;-) Acually last week I talked to someone with the name "Herr Fick". You don't start giggling of course, it's impolite!, but where do those names come from....?

gabrieltraian

Of cooourse, I won't start giggling. Noooo....

On a more serious note, such names come from old times, when there were no registrations like today.

Then someone would get a name by the trade he/ she had, or by what that person was known best for.

Schweinsteiger was the one taking care of the pigs, while a certain Mr. Fick would take care... oh, but I promised not to...

gabrieltraian

Day 4 – July 10

Colmar and Freiburg

In the morning of 10th July we left on a day trip to Colmar, and the trip report for that day is here (A Taste of the Alsatian Wine)

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34859250

This is a link to photos taken in Colmar.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsXqw

We left Colmar later in the afternoon and stopped in Freiburg. It was our second visit to this city and we just wanted to wander the streets of the old town.

We passed by the old town's Swabian Gate and then we found a nice café. We entered to see if we liked what cakes they had.

We saw the Black Forest cake and thought that since we were in that area, we might as well try it. It was delicious, with cherries and cherry liquor.

We continued our walk through the old town, discovering a few more narrow side streets and hidden corners, where small cafés, like some quiet oases, were enjoying the presence of a few customers.

One alley, Kaufhausgassle, was so narrow that we almost passed by without noticing it. It was of about half a metre width and we thought we should walk on it.

We squeezed ourselves in and walked. Some houses actually had their doors opening in that... street.

A few windows were facing the opposite wall, at only a few centimeters in front, and moreover, there was a street lamp as well, attached above one of the doors.

We admired some more of the old town architecture and reached the other old town gate, St. Martin's.

However, we were not very amused by the fact that on St. Martin's Gate, McDonald's have claimed their rights and put their name in big letters, easily seen from quite a distance.

I gathered that that was the historical, centuries old, McDonald's Gate to the old town of Freiburg.

To be continued (Lucerne and Basel)...

gabrieltraian

Days 5 and 6 – July 11 and 12

Lucerne and Basel

On days 5 and 6 we went on two day-trips, to Lucerne and Basel, respectively.

The trip report for those two days is here (Swiss Topping on my German Ice Cream)

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34861658

This is a link to photos taken in Lucerne.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsX3A

This is a link to photos taken in Basel.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsX7w

To be continued (Stuttgart)...

gabrieltraian

Day 7 – July 13

Stuttgart

This is a link to photos taken in Stuttgart.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsWFn

At around 9 o’clock we went to the station to take the train for Stuttgart.

We bought a Baden-Wurttemberg ticket from the automated machine and at around 1pm we arrived in Stuttgart.

We had to call our accommodation in advance, as the owner was out at work. We didn't do it before leaving for Stuttgart, so we called when we arrived.

The owner was at work till sometime in the afternoon. Since we couldn't check in until later, we thought of visiting first whatever was nearer to the station and according to the opening hours, while gradually moving towards the accommodation.

So we decided to visit Linden Museum of Ethnography, which was at about 10 minutes walking. We took a city map from the tourist office in front of the station and went to the museum.

It was a hot sunny day and we looked for shaded areas to walk. We liked very much the collections in this museum, displaying the life, art and culture of peoples from all over the world.

From there we went to visit Hegel's House, where the great German philosopher lived. We crossed a park, walked on the streets in the city centre, and found the house easily, guided by the map that I had with me.

We found out about Hegel's life and work through manuscripts, biographical notes, books, personal objects, letters, etc.

There were text panels and information related to his life and contemporary events. It was an interesting visit, especially for my wife, holder of a degree in Philosophy.

Not far from there, on Paulinen street, was our accommodation, and by now it was time for us to go and check in.

We found the place, a beautiful 19th century building, left our luggage and went to the State Gallery.

We chose to walk through the city centre to see Schillerplatz. We took a few pictures around Schiller's statue and with the church there, Stiftskirche. We liked this square.

We turned right towards Konrad Adenauer Street and then continued to the museum. It was a Thursday and some museums in Stuttgart have extended opening hours on Thursdays.

The State Gallery was open until 9pm. This museum is supposed to have a very good collection of Italian, Dutch and French paintings, but unfortunately this section was closed for renovation.

However, a special exhibition on Monet was going on: "Sun Effects – Fields in Spring". This really made up for missing the permanent collection.

The exhibition was held in a big hall and groups of people were here and there in front of some paintings, with a guide giving them explanations.

Couches and tables were placed around the hall, some people were dressed quite formally and at times this looked more like a reception.

Only the glasses of champagne or wine were missing, but I liked this classy atmosphere. We took our time to admire and rejoiced our souls in front of those beautiful colours and shades of Monet's paintings.

To be continued...

gabrieltraian

Near the State Gallery is the House of History, where we wanted to see Rommel's Field Marshal baton.

This museum closed at 9pm as well, so we had enough time, as it was only 6.30pm.

The House of History presents the history of Baden-Wurttemberg for the past 200 years, from the Napoleonic years, the years during and after the World War II, until the recent years.

In the World War II section, we saw Rommel's Field Marshal baton locked in a glass case, red velvet with golden insignia of eagles and hooked crosses on it. It looked quite beautiful.

Along with it were displayed all his decorations, including the two most valuable ones, Pour Le Merite and the Iron Cross, and a photo of himself holding the baton. We finished the visit and went for a walk down town.

We crossed the street and passed by the beautiful building of the Opera House. We walked in the park there and reached the New Palace building, with its beautiful Baroque architecture.

We were now in the Palace Square, such a beautiful wide green area, with the Jubilee Column rising high up to the skies, crowned with goddess Concordia.

Two superb sculpted fountains sprinkled their water at each side of the column.

We started to feel hungry, so we stopped at one of the numerous terraces on the very busy Konigstrasse. The tables were arranged in the middle of the all-pedestrian street, so we could watch people passing by.

From our table we could also have a glimpse at a part of the Palace Square and the front area of the huge Konigsbau (King's Building), a beautiful building with Ionic columns, housing a big commercial centre.

We enjoyed watching so many people in that square and along the street where we were.

We asked the waitress if she could recommend anything vegetarian and she said that she was a vegetarian herself and that she had something very good for us.

To our pleasant surprise, she offered us three options to choose from, and we each had a vegetarian wrap, but with different fillings.

It was a big rolled tortilla filled with lots of chopped vegetables, a diameter much bigger than I could open my mouth to bite from it.

It was so tasty, I don't know how they were prepared, what ingredients were in them, but they were so yummy.

We each had a monk made beer, a Dunkel and a Hefe, to complete the meal. My wife ordered a Paulaner and this became her favourite beer during all our stay in Germany.

Everywhere we went for a beer, she asked for a Paulaner. What could I do but comply happily, of course.

From there we continued our leisure walk on Konigstrasse, till we reached our accommodation on Paulinen street, late in the evening.

To be continued (Stuttgart and Burg Hohenzollern)...

aussiedreamer

"Just buckle up and join the ride, 'cause there's more coming right now!"

I'm buckled up and ready to go. We leave on the 17th Oct. We will be driving from Singen to Hannover over 4 days, and am reading with interest to help plan our route.

Thank you.

gabrieltraian

The place we stayed in South Germany doesn't seem far from Singen, so indeed, you could get some ideas from my trip.

I will soon post about our day trip to Hechingen, where we saw Hohenzollern Castle, then Ludwigsburg Imperial Palace and Wurzburg Residenz.

I think that on your way up to Hannover, you could do in one day both Sigmaringen and Hohenzollern Castles. They are a short distance away from each other and they both belong to the Hohenzollern Royal Family.

Then from Hechingen is not far to Stuttgart, where you could spend the night. Visit a museum or two in Stuttgart, go to Ludwigsburg, which is more like a suburb of Stuttgart, and see the Imperial Palace there.

Then go to Wurzburg to see that beautiful city. Visit the Residenz and compare it with Ludwigsburg Palace.

You can do these and reach Hannover in 4 days.

I'll post details and photos about my experience at each and you will see if you'd like to do them.

gabrieltraian

Day 8 – July 14

Stuttgart and Burg Hohenzollern

This is a link with photos taken at the Hohenzollern Castle.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsWF2

This morning we went out just after 9 o'clock. We wanted to go to Hechingen to visit the Hohenzollern Castle, and on our way to the station, we walked through the city centre.

We stopped at the Market Hall, a very beautiful art nouveau building. The court was occupied with fruit and vegetable stands.

We entered through some arcades to see what was inside. There were rows of stands with fruits and vegetables, then we saw the cheeses and groceries, the drinks and various other foodstuff.

We decided to have a fruity healthy breakfast and bought a few boxes of very good, ripe cherries and raspberries.

The weather was nice so we walked slowly, admiring the old buildings and squares. We went again to Schiller Square, which we liked so much that we took another photo, including with the Protestant church Stiftskirche.

Next we were in Karlsplatz, where we took a few pictures, including with the equestrian statue of Emperor Wilhelm I.

In a few minutes we were again in the beautiful Palace Square. We liked it so much that we took another set of pictures with the Jubilee Column and the fountains nearby.

I couldn’t take pictures with the New Palace, as they were setting up a huge stage in the palace court, the big speakers were already put to test, and the palace building was obstructed from view.

Maybe they were preparing for a festival or a concert. We went towards the King’s Building, then turned on Konigstrasse to continue our morning leisure walking.

All of a sudden, I noticed that we had just 10 minutes left till our train departure. We were still some way from the station, even though, big as it is, we could easily see it in front of us.

We sped up our pace and once inside the station stopped at an automated ticket machine. Did the usual procedures for buying the lander ticket and when it came out we were puzzled by its appearance.

Until then, all the lander tickets purchased were bigger and rectangular, but this time we received a small square ticket and the text looked different on it.

We were a bit worried, of course, as we thought that maybe it was only a notification that the machine had run out of tickets, and we paid 25 euros, but we still needed a ticket...

We were confused, as you might realize. After a couple of minutes of studying it, and putting together bits and pieces of what little German I know, I realized that that was our Baden-Wurttemberg ticket for the day.

Yes, of course, I had asked someone passing by about that ticket, but that person was just as confused as us, so I thought I'd figure it on my own. Which I did.

To be continued...

gabrieltraian

We boarded our train and I wrote my name on the ticket. When the conductor came, he asked us where we were going.

I said Hechingen, and he started to explain that we had to change trains in Tubingen. I had thought that that was a direct train, but only the first two cars were going to Hechingen, and the rest of them would remain in Tubingen.

A passenger sitting on the other aisle heard the conversation and offered to help with translation. He confirmed that we had to move to one of the front cars.

So we moved. We couldn’t just go through the cars, as some of them had no communication in between, they were just separate cars, so we waited till we reached Tubingen.

We arrived in Hechingen and from there we took the bus that is scheduled only once a day, to the Hohenzollern Castle.

When we went out of town, we could see the castle perched high up on the top of a hill in the hazy distance. The bus left us in the parking lot below the castle and we took the castle's shuttle bus for the final leg on the way up.

The castle is beautiful and its setting is like from fairy tales. The hill on which Hohenzollern Castle stands is covered by a forest and the way to the top is winding, circling and in tight hairpins.

The castle discovered itself to us gradually, in all its splendour. From the castle gate we had to climb a circular walled ramp, then a long tunnel circling a charming courtyard.

We passed through the tower gate and we had a splendid view of the castle emerging in front of us. My camera was shivering with impatience to shoot photos, so I released it to go at will.

A nice garden to the left, where they served snacks, a cannon dominating the centre of the courtyard, a stunning ensemble of walls, towers and crenellations... where to look first?!

That was a beautiful castle! I was taken by its charm and as I aimed at a certain part a wall and towers, I didn't notice that I was standing in somebody else's way.

Another tourist was waiting patiently for me to finish my shooting, 'cause I was right between him and a small group waiting for their photo to be taken.

I noticed that only after I shot mine, and then I apologized, realizing how badly I had interfered with their photo opportunity.

The American tourist was gracious enough to accept my apology with a nice smile. I know so well how it is when someone else comes in your way, while you are taking a photo.

Same like Sigmaringen, this castle could be visited only with a guided tour, which again, unfortunately, was not available in English.

We were getting used to this by now, so we relied on the castle's small guide book. However, we were amazed at what we saw during the tour: superb work on the ceilings, objects of art, splendid furniture.

In the Ancestral Hall the walls were decorated with the Hohenzollern family tree, a beautiful display of curving branches with leaves and circled names.

The Count’s Hall was quite impressive with its nicely painted rib vaults, springing from marble columns alongside the walls.

We liked Margrave’s Parlour with its combination of mahogany paneling and dark green curtains. In the Blue Parlour we liked the blue colour of the furniture upholstery.

This was one of the most delightful rooms in the castle, with its gilded coffered ceiling and golden patterns wallpaper.

In the Royal Treasury we saw some magnificent jewels, like the Royal Prussian Crown, snuff boxes, decorations and medals of honor.

One exhibit that stood out in that room was the magnificent court dress and train woven in silver, worn by Queen Louise of Prussia. They say that she wore that dress at her meeting with Emperor Napoleon in Tilsit, in 1807.

After finishing the tour, we had lunch at the castle's traditional restaurant, Burgschenke. It was a nice atmosphere inside, we liked the big solid wooden tables and the wooden interior decorations.

We had our vegetarian dishes and sprinkled them with a Dunkel and a Hefe beer.

To be continued...

gabrieltraian

Then we visited St. Michael’s Chapel, where we liked the stained windows. As we entered, the equestrian statue of St. George slaying the dragon welcomed us in the vestibule.

The other side of the court was Christ’s Chapel. This was bigger and more lively decorated than St. Michael’s Chapel.

Besides the superb stained windows, we liked the ceiling, a splendid rib vaulted ceiling painted in blue with gold patterns.

It was still early and we decided to take a walk around the castle. We enjoyed views till far away over the hills, with villages popping up here and there in the forests, green hills and valleys everywhere around.

It was 3 pm and the bus back to the station was leaving only at 4.10 pm. Our train back to Stuttgart was at 5.21 pm.

The weather was pleasant, clouds were running on the sky, covering the sun now and then, so we decided to walk the long way to town.

The descent from the top of the hill was a treat. Going on that winding road down through the forest, we smelled and breathed fresh air and felt a breeze coming along with us.

We stopped for an ice cream in the parking lot, where the bus from Hechingen stops, and decided to continue walking all the way back to the station.

The time was about 3.15 pm, and the fact that we still had two hours to catch our train was another factor, along with the nice weather, that made us take this decision.

After about 15-20 minutes, as we were walking happily like that, coming down the hill, we heard thunders from above the forest.

My wife told me that the noise was coming from the pointed towers of the castle scratching the clouds.

Rain didn’t catch us, however, and soon we were down in the plains. The castle looked stunning high up there, at the top of the hill.

We took several pictures with it as we walked that road on the field, and even some of the rare cars passing by stopped for some photo opportunities.

We reached a highway and were amazed at the speed with which some cars were whizzing by. There was a big parking lot with a big round sign at the entrance.

In the middle was the Prussian eagle, and on the board was written: Prussia – Hohenzollern Land.

Behind it, majestically dominating the Hohenzollern territory from atop an 855 metre high hill, overlooking a breathtakingly beautiful countryside, was the Hohenzollern Castle. Of course, I took the required picture.

The distance to the railway station in Hechingen proved to be much longer than we had ever imagined. We reached Hechingen and found our way through the town’s streets, but the station was nowhere near.

In the meantime the skies had cleared, there was no trace of those rainy clouds that had threatened with a heavy rain, and the sun was striking down on us.

The walk became tiring due to the hot weather. We started to ask people and luckily, we were heading in the right direction, however, we still had a long way to go.

Hechingen lies on several hills, and the streets were going quite abruptly up and down. We reached the station at 5 pm, after about two hours of walking from the top of the hill, where Hohenzollern Castle is.

If we had known how hard it would be, we’d have waited there for the bus back to the station. We were tired and the only thought on our minds was “BEER”.

Back to Stuttgart, find a “biergarten” and “beer on” the evening. And this is exactly what we did that evening.

We went to a beer garden somewhere behind the station and bought ourselves two 1-litre Dunkel beers to quench our thirst.

We were in a big garden with so many tables, all taken. We chose one of the long tables with only 4 persons at one end, and asked permission to sit at the other end.

It was a joyous atmosphere and beer flowed in cascades. We found some veggie options to eat, a kind of cheese ball with butter and some herbs, some salad with big onion slices, carrots and other veggie stuff and a butter pretzel, of course.

We liked that food so much! This garden was set up in a big park, and children were playing on the grass, by the beer garden.

We beer-ed and enjoyed the atmosphere till later that evening, and then walked home through the city centre, on Konigstrasse.

To be continued (Morning in Stuttgart)...

gabrieltraian

Day 9 – July 15

We left sometime after 9 o’clock in the morning and walked on Konigstrasse to look for a café.

We stopped at the Market Hall somewhere on the right as we came from Paulinenstrasse, to make our fill of cherries and raspberries, then went to the Palace Square.

We passed by the Jubileum Column and back again on Konigstrasse, by the King’s Building. We wanted to choose a terrace where we could have an energizing morning coffee.

We found a place where the sun cast a shadow over the tables on the street, and ordered our coffee. The waitress didn’t seem too jovial that morning, but what did we care.

It was a beautiful morning, the city centre was nearly deserted, and only two other tables were taken at that café by the subway entrance, across the street from the station.

As we didn’t have a list of coffees available, we just ordered “coffee”, and the glum waitress, visibly indifferent to her customers, brought us two mugs on the table.

Of course, we were expecting an espresso or something similar, in small cups, but no, we were going to have a good ole American coffee.

Good enough. We still enjoyed ourselves, the place, the sunny morning, watched the people coming out from the subway.

It was a beautiful morning and the coffee was a good refresher, nonetheless. When the time came near, we went through the underground and crossed to the station.

There was a food store inside and I went in to buy some water. Through one of the narrow aisles I happened to come across a lady, who said to me in German: “Enschuldigung!”

Given the circumstances, I thought that that meant “Excuse me!” I was then in line at the cashier and this lady was just behind me.

I turned to her and asked in German whether she spoke English. She said “a little”, and then I asked her whether “enschuldigung” meant “excuse me”.

What a bright sunny smile she gave me, confirming that yes, it did mean “excuse me”, or “I am sorry”! That brief exchange was so rewarding.

Not only I had learnt a new German word (and a complicated one!), but I had a pleasant experience to associate it with.

Well, enschuldigung, I got a train to catch and a story to tell!

To be continued (Ludwigsburg)...

logos999

Thanks for those posts, I really enjoy reading them. So many details, not just "the usual". The new word you leaned is "Entschuldigung", don't forget the "t".

gabrieltraian

Oh... entschuldigung for that!

Thank you, logos999!

gabrieltraian

Ludwigsburg

Photos taken at Ludwigsburg Palace are here

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsWGJ

At Stuttgart train station we bought a Happy Weekend (Schone Wochenende) ticket, as from Ludwigsburg we wanted to go to Wurzburg, in another land.

For this reason we had planned to be in Ludwigsburg on a Saturday, and make our trip to Wurzburg the same day. A Happy Weekend ticket is good for travel across Germany at a cost of 30 euros for up to five persons travelling together.

We boarded an “S” train to Ludwigsburg, and after a few stops we were there. We left our luggage in a locker and walked towards the Imperial Palace.

It was a Saturday, 15 July, and that was the day when the Market Square Festival took place.

On various streets, in and around the market square, were stages set up where artists performed, and many food stalls and tables, crowds of people having a good time in the open air, over a beer and a wurst.

It was a joyful atmosphere on that sunny Saturday morning in Ludwigsburg, and we liked it.

As we got nearer and nearer, we could see the palace more and more in all its magnificence. Indeed, Ludwigsburg Palace is one of Europe's largest and most beautiful baroque residences.

We bought our tickets for the guided tours of the Main Palace and the Favourite Palace.

As the tours were scheduled for certain times, we visited other areas and museums within the palace, available without a guided tour.

The first was the Fashion Museum, which was quite good. We were given an audio guide, as it was included with the entry ticket.

The audio tour took us on a journey in the evolution of fashion and courtly clothing for men, women and children, starting with the middle of the 18th century to the end of the 20th century.

When we finished our fashion history travel, the time was up for the guided tour and we joined the group that was formed at the entrance.

When we first came into the inner court of the palace, we saw a wedding going on in front of the Old Main Building. A bride was there and a few vintage cars.

After we finished the visit to the Fashion Museum, we came out in the inner court again, and this time was another wedding, with a different vintage car and a group of well-dressed participants.

We didn’t have time to admire the bride, as we had a tour starting. We climbed a magnificent stair into the Palace Museum.

This palace is a huge art gallery in itself. We kept looking around us at every step we made, we couldn’t help gaping in awe all the time.

Touring the Palace Museum, we had the chance to admire three great periods, Baroque, Rococo and Empire. We were overwhelmed by the beauty and splendour of the works of art inside.

To watch and admire those superb chandeliers, those frescoes on the ceilings, the stucco work, the mirrors, was almost crushing.

Ludwigsburg Palace exceeded any and all our expectations of richness and grandeur, it was a hidden jewel waiting to be discovered.

The palace is surrounded by a splendid Baroque garden, so after this tour we went for a walk around it. We were delighted to see such a superb embroidery, like a lace.

Our next scheduled tour was at the Favorite Palace. We walked on an alley with lovely coloured flowers, and we could see the Baroque façade of the small palace in the background, across a quite busy road.

We had to cross over a walking bridge, then walk on a climbing path. A clock at the door showed that there was still time till the next guided tour, so we went for a walk in the park and forest behind the palace.

This palace was the "favorite" hunting lodge and we could see a large deer park there. A big herd of deer was roaming near the main foot path, showing little fear of humans.

We were so happy to take a few pictures with one of them near us! They were quite cute with their flat antlers, like some spatulas.

We sat on a bench in the shade and took in a little of the park’s greenery and soothing murmur, while looking at the deer grazing peacefully in front of us.

When the time was up, we went to the front door of the palace, to start our tour. We didn’t see anyone there and we thought that we were late.

We went inside and looked around. Behind a counter was a lone lady. We approached her timidly and asked if she knew of any tour that had started or what happened.

She said that she was the one to guide the tour and that there was nobody else joining. So this nice lady took us around for the tour!

We were the only ones, just my wife and I, and we felt privileged. It was like a private, exclusive tour.

We couldn’t believe the lack of interest shown by other tourists present at the main palace, but didn’t care to cross the road and come to see this little jewel.

The Favorite Palace is small, we visited about seven rooms. We saw some beautiful works of art, rich silver and gold covered ribbon work, fine stucco ornaments and pieces of furniture.

Then we returned back to the big palace. We visited Carl Eugen Apartments, another display of splendid interior decorations, furniture and objects of art.

We crossed the inner court to go to the Baroque Gallery, and saw two more brides with their accompanying parties.

The Baroque Gallery in the Old Main Building is a branch of the State Gallery Stuttgart, and presents a collection of Baroque paintings, mainly German and Italian.

We didn’t have enough time to visit the Theatre Museum, as we had to catch a direct train to Wurzburg. We had the Happy Weekend Ticket, so we just collected our luggage from the lockers and boarded the train.

Ludwigsburg is such a beautiful town, with its big infusion of Baroque. It is a thrill for such a small place to have a grand and crushingly superb Imperial Palace like that.

To be continued (Arrival in Wurzburg)...

Pam1951

Thank you, thank you for this wonderful trip report. I am learning much. We will be in southern Germany for only about a week in November. Reading your report is very helpful

Pam

Laurie

Yes, Thank you so much for this wonderful story! We will be in this area in June 2007 and you have given me many ideas for great side trips! Please continue..

Laurie

gabrieltraian

Pam and Laurie,

Thank you for your kind appreciation!

I'm so glad that you're enjoying my report and that it is useful to you.