edgecorp

Part 6 - London, where DH begins the illness that "plagues" him the rest of the trip

We reached London on the evening of July 29th. We were thankful to find that the Tube has more escalators than the Metro, especially since they are REALLY LONG escalators. We do a repeat of arrival at Paris - Tube from the airport, big suitcases up an escalator. We're at Holiday Inn Mayfair, primarily because of the air conditioning and because all four of us could share one room and save a bit of money. This could possibly be considered Screw-Up #3: the air conditioner was really more of an "air circulator," so after four people showered in one hotel room with the windows shut (you had to call hotel staff to unlock the windows if you wanted to open one), there was no hope of the cool dry air keeping apace with the hot humid air. I decided to take my Palm to the lobby to check e-mail, but I couldn't get a signal anywhere, so I paid to use the hotel computer. I decided to download my digital camera to www.Snapfish.com to send home, but there was no ActiveX installed, and, of course, the system wouldn't let me install it. Ditch that idea. Then, I tried to send some e-mails, but the keyboard began substituting different letters than the ones I was typing. I began trying to guess what key would type what letter - some of them were simply reversed, but the "M" was nowhere to be found! (I couldn't even type my name - Kim - without that pesky "M.&quot I tried to explain in my e-mail that the keyboard was [m]essed up....DD1 told me when I got home that she got an e-mail from me that made absolutely no sense.

Back up in the sauna, we began to try and plug in all of our electronics in preparation for the night. DH uses a CPAP machine (or, as we call it, his "respirator&quot, we had to recharge iPods, the Palm, digital camera batteries, and the cell phone. We found two plug-ins in the bedroom, and there were none in the bathroom. CPAP, of course, won out for one, and I had to arm wrestle DS to recharge my camera battery instead of his iPod.

Because bed size and body size were issues, DH and DS slept in one bed, and DD and I had the other. For that reason, I wasn't aware that DH spent much of the night in the bathroom. Without causing him too much embarrassment, it will suffice to say that DH's stomach took issue with its circumstances and refused to cooperate. He had little sleep, so he shooed the kids and I out the door in the morning so he could try and recoup.

For some reason, this became the morning from hell. DD, DS, and I took the Tube to Piccadilly. They looked at Piccadilly Circus, then at me, as if to say, "So what?" (I kind of had to agree.) We headed next to the Tower of London. DD wanted to read every word on every sign and listen to every nuance on the audio-guide; DS wanted to glance at a building and move on. DD's legs hurt; DS was thirsty. Concern over DD? Lack of confidence in their new general? Who's to say, but I finally had to pull the do- you- realize- how- much- we've- spent- on- this- trip card and the I- never- wanted- to- have- to- be- the- tough- guy- but- I'm- really- disappointed- in- you card. We got a drink and rested our legs for a bit, and those children who were excited to be having the experience of a lifetime finally re-emerged.

DD felt sufficiently recovered that afternoon to join us on a visit of Hampton Court Palace. When we returned to the hotel that evening, we walked around and found a Mediterranean place called the Offshore Cafe. We were the only patrons, because the storefront was being remodeled and it appeared to be closed. DH, fresh from his bout with the Plague, tried a salted beef and pickle sandwich, and I had a lamb targine with prunes; DD and DS weren't quite so adventurous - DD stuck with spaghetti, and DS began his love affair with croques monsieur, even though he had waited one city too late, IMO.

missypie

My friend was from Mason - or was it Mason City? We all went to ISU.

Fodorite018

I am loving this report...and yes, all the details too

That is awful about Omaha Beach...I just cannot imagine anyone playing there. When we went, it was winter, and there was not another soul around, so it was a very different sight than what you had.

Keep the details coming!

edgecorp

missypie,

It's Mason City, which is also in Mason County. I live just in Mason County as well, so I'm only about 1/2 hour away from Mason City. Small world.

Kim

LCBoniti

I also love all the details - it's what enables me to feel that I am on the trip with you!

Please keep it coming . . .
Linda

edgecorp

Part 7 - London, and the washerwoman of the 4th floor

I had thought to do laundry in London. It had been hot enough that we wore shorts and tees every day, and they needed some refreshing by now. Plus, out of DS's 18 pairs of socks, there were only 4 pairs that he REALLY liked. I had in my notes from Frommer's Unofficial Guide to London that the Holiday Inn Mayfair had laundry facilities. I believed that this meant I could go throw a load or two in, but it actually meant that I could pay someone well to do it for me. I had 4 packets of Woolite and a makeshift clothesline with suction cups, so I went to work that second evening in the bathtub. Of course, everyone else was tired and needed to rest in front of the television. By the time I had wrung out by hand the 8th t-shirt, my hands wouldn't grip anything more. I had to affect a minor meltdown in order to get DD and DS to help me wring out the rest of our wet wardrobe. I have to wonder what the maids thought as they made their way through our makeshift clothes drying system....

Even though DH's stomach still wasn't entirely up to snuff the next morning, he agreed to venture out to Windsor. We had actually all been up for quite a while - a fire alarm had sounded around 6:00 am. DH, DS, and I all raised our heads from our beds at the sound, but DD jumped up, shrieking, looking like a disheveled scarecrow, limbs all askew, as she fought her way through the drying clothes. By the time the rest of us realized what the sound was, it had stopped. Being the laid-back people we are, we stayed in bed. DD headed for the door, and DH thought to warn her that she should touch the door first to make sure it wasn't hot. She peeked into the hallway, and we could hear her talking with a few other souls out there. No fire there, and we couldn't smell any smoke. Back to sleep, we decided, until .... the alarm sounded again at 6:45. DD made for the door again, while we buried our heads under our pillows. "There's other people in the hallway," DD reported. "Ask them if their rooms are as hot as ours," I mumbled. They were.

We enjoyed Windsor immensely. I found it interesting that the carpets were simply rolled up to pull them out of the way of traffic. Also, we had been noticing billboards all around London reminding the citizens that they could not use hoses or sprinklers to water their gardens during the drought. We're from an area with very sandy soil, and all of the crops are under irrigation, so the watering of lawns and gardens is of immense interest to us. DS and I had stepped out of the Chapel at Windsor and overheard a male Castle worker and a female Brit talking about the drought. When they paused in their conversation, we began to ask questions: Is this drought new? (It seems to us that it always rains in London, but there is a shortage of rain this year.) Are people abiding by the no-hose rule? (Yes, and, even though castles don't have to abide by the statute, they are doing so in an effort to be "polite.&quot

We found a small restaurant called the Drury something-or-other (close to the Highlander) in Windsor for lunch. DH's stomach was off again, so he just got apple pie and hot tea while the rest of us ate a full meal. DS has segued over to British food finally - he is now onto fish and chips and refuses to try anything else. Fish for lunch, fish for dinner.

This is our last afternoon in London, so we plan to do The Walk: Buckingham Palace, Banqueting Hall (we had watched "The Last King" about Charles II before we came and were interested in seeing where his father had been beheaded), Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster Abbey. We have really tired feet by now. We would grab a bite to eat here if we could only find a place to eat. No luck. We would take the Tube back to the hotel if we could only find an entrance. We wander; we sit in a small park with an interesting little pavilion dedicated to the abolition of slavery. A boys' soccer team is scrimmaging and kicks the ball my direction - my kids yell for me to kick it back, but I throw it instead. When we finally make our way back to Mayfair, DS convinces us to go back to the same restaurant as the first night - Henry's, right across from the Green Park station. He likes their fish and chips. Go figure. (Although I had a sauvignon blanc there that was the best I've ever tasted. I think it was a Montana from Australia, so I make a note to see if I can find a reseller in my area when I get home.)

Back in the room, I pull out the ironing board to put some semblance of order to the newly-dry, hand-wrung clothes before we stuff them back into our suitcases. The iron works for about five minutes and then goes cold. (It's the hotel's iron, not mine.) I go downstairs to the front desk to ask for a replacement iron and request a fan while I'm there. They look surprised - an iron that doesn't work? And, your air conditioner isn't working properly? - but they politely comply with both requisitions. I buy 45 minutes on the lobby computer (they have another one in a far corner with a working keyboard, apparently) to send a sensible e-mail off to family and friends, and I agree to let DD and DS split the final 24 minutes checking their own e-mails. I wink at the gentleman sitting nearby as I get up to leave, and ask him to make sure they don't get in any arguments.

edgecorp

Part 8 - London to Paris to Munich via some Third-World country

Our flight from Heathrow to Paris CDG was supposed to leave at 2 pm; there was no gate assigned until 1:40, but everything seemed to go smoothly. I don't know if this is usual for Heathrow (late gate assignments), but, in retrospect, you have to wonder how much they knew at that time (August 1st) about the terrorist plot.

We did the usual tour at CDG - de-planing at some remote spot, busing it to the terminal. Our outbound flight to Munich was assigned to gate 78D, and we had well over an hour to wait. We kept following signs that listed only gates 78 and 79, as if these were "special" gates. We finally found them in the basement of CDG - they had their own x-ray machines and their own special attendants, who easily could have passed as Soviet KGB agents. It was like the Twilight Zone of CDG - there was a special restroom downstairs for gates 78 and 79, but you had to pass back through the x-ray machine if you went. I finally decided I needed to heed nature's call, so I left my belongings with my family to make a quick run out to the facilities. Nope. Can't do it. Have to take your belongings out with you to pee, then you have to have them re-x-rayed when you come back in. Whew. Of course, even though we were leaving through some special basement gate at CDG, we still had to board a bus to be taken to the nether reaches of the airport.

Munich Airport had about 20 people in it when we arrived that evening. We bought tickets for the S-bahn into the main train station and whizzed through the countryside toward Munich. The Haupbahnhof (main train station) is a huge, bustling place, as you might imagine, and there are escalators going up and down all over the place. We determine that we're at some middle level - we think the U-bahn (underground) is a level below us; we need to go up. We head for an escalator with our big suitcases, and just as we prepare to step on the first step ... the escalator stops! This can't be! We look around us, but all of the escalators have stopped moving. Are they on a timer? The lights are all on, so it's not an electrical issue. All we can do is shake our heads and head for the flight of steps that reach all the way to the stars....

Here is our first taste of German hospitality: DS's suitcase is relatively light, because he just has four pairs of shorts and 18 pairs of socks, so he makes his way quickly up the steps. I don't view DD's progress, but I know she is ahead of me. DH heads up and tells me he'll come back down to help. I start to "bump" the suitcase up the steps - lift it up one step, rest, lift it up another. I can sense a woman talking to a man behind me, and I see her gesture at him as if she's telling him off. Next thing I know, this slight German woman of my own age has grabbed a side handle of my suitcase and is helping me haul it up the steps. Apparently, the woman had asked her male companion to help me up the steps; when he refused, she just did it herself. I knew just enough to turn to her at the top of the steps and tell her "danke" with all my heart!

We had made reservations at the InterCity hotel, which is virtually adjacent to the train station. We were back to the two-room scenario, and DD and I were amazed to see that the large bed in our room had two down-filled blankets rolled on top but no sheet with which to cover. This was a rather novel concept for us; we enjoyed the freedom of having our own individual bedding, but the down-stuffed duvet was almost too warm. (The alternative of lying uncovered, however, was at the opposite extreme of the temperature spectrum - quite chilly.) We were hungry by this time, so we stepped across the street to the "Wienerwald" (perhaps the Ponderosa of Germany?) to each down a quarter of a chicken fixed various ways. For the first time since we'd left the US, we were served a soft drink over the size of 6 ounces - these glasses had to be 16 ounces! Huge Cokes! The kids had died and gone to heaven! I had a wonderful German beer, and I commented to poor DH as he sipped his Coke that he had picked a rotten time to contract the Plague.

edgecorp

Part 9 - Munich and sign language with our table-mates at the Hofbrauhaus

We took the S-bahn to the Marienplatz, or the old city center after we downed a stale pastry and some REALLY strong coffee at the train station. It's cooler here - cool enough to wear pants and forget about the hand-washed shorts and tees. We've seen on CNN that it's still really hot back home, and we're happy that we're not there to experience it.... We followed a general walking tour that I had copied from a Frommer's guidebook, and I rattled off what all of the buildings were supposed to be. We originally had intended to skip the Residenz Museum - I had read that it wasn't as interesting as Schloss Nymphenburg - but we decided on the spur of the moment to go in. We are so glad we did. Just seeing the Grotto and the photos of the destruction to the place during WWII was well worth it. As we walked through the opulence, we began asking ourselves about the family who had lived there - the Wittelsbachs. We hadn't realized that there was a Napoleon connection here - Josephine's son Eugene, whom Napoleon adopted, married Princess Augusta Amalia Ludovika Georgia of Bavaria. We hadn't taken the time to go to anything to do with Napoleon in Paris, so it was interesting to find so much information here.

That afternoon, we took the U-bahn and the tram to Schloss Nymphenburg. DH and I laugh because we live on a farm, far from the city, and our kids have been on almost every mode of transportation known to man in the past few days. We find the inside of the main palace at Nymphenburg to look rather worn but beautiful, and the carriages and sleighs in the Marstallmuseum look like something out of a fairy tale. What really catches my eye, however, is the Amalienborg - the "hunting lodge" built in the woods of the estate. The Amalienborg is small by palace standards, but every bit as ornate. There is a small room that has curved cut-outs at floor level all around the room. What can those be, we ask ourselves? I laugh and say, maybe their dogs stay there, because they are in the shape of the door to a doghouse. We ask a guide; No English, he tells us. The man taking tickets speaks English, and we ask him. Sure enough, the curved indentations are for dogs to sit in.

We made our way back to the famous Hofbrauhaus. It is filled with big, scarred, wooden trestle tables. We find an empty one and sit at one end; soon, two couples a bit older than DH and I join us. Before we know it, three liter-size glasses of beer have appeared at our end of the table - one for me, one for DH, and ... one for DD! She looks at us with a question in her eyes. Go ahead, we tell her. After all, it is legal for her to drink a beer here. I take a picture of DD and DS holding up these huge mugs of beer, and they have huge smiles on their faces! We make the acquaintance of our seat-mates, sort of. They know about 8 words of English; DD took one year of high school German and knows all of her numbers. Through their 8 words, our German numbers, and lots of hand signals, we can determine all of our children's ages and that the men are heading to a "football" (soccer) game, while the women intend to "shop." I suddenly recall that I had loaded German-to-English and English-to-German dictionaries on my Palm. I pulled it out of my purse to find that it was dead - no help there. It was amazing to be sitting by these complete strangers, trying to understand what the other was saying, but feeling like they could easily be our neighbors back home in our small town of 600. We could have been sitting in the small local restaurant in our own hometown; we felt very much at home in Munich.

edgecorp

Part 10 - Grayline tour of Ludwig's castles

This was the first truly rainy day we had - how fortunate. We met the bus for this tour right across the street from our hotel; there was some discussion between the tour guide and his "boss" concerning the fact that we'd booked on the internet. I could almost imagine that I heard reference to his "tip," but I could be mistaken. I began to wonder if we would be asked to fork over some more money or if the tour guide would be surly to us, but he turned out to be a very good guide. He was a college student in Munich, although he looked older than a typical 18-22 yr-old. I was impressed with the depth of knowledge he showed throughout the trip - there was one man who kept asking questions. One of those questions was something like - "I see cows grazing in pastures. If Bavaria serves so much pork, why aren't the pigs out grazing?" Of course, since we raise pigs ourselves, we knew the answer and have often responded to the same question, but the guide knew the answer: pigs are raised in buildings, as are most cattle that are not milk-producers.

It was on this trip that we met Willie and Billie. We had noticed several people on the tour with name badges that said "Deliverance at Hand." DH finally asked someone what the group was, and he was told that they were Jehovah's Witnesses who had been to a convention in Prague. Willie and Billie had been to this convention. They were 85 and 79, I believe, and they lived in Los Angeles. They asked DS's name, and he answered "Will." They laughed, because they were Willie and Billie; Willie got confused, though, and began to call DS "Marc," which was the tour guide's name. DS caught on and found it simpler to answer to Marc the rest of the tour.

We stopped at Linderhof Castle first, and it was my favorite. It was amazing, because it was this ornate palace that was created solely for King Ludwig - it had no guest rooms. There was a man-made waterfall out one of the windows that rumbled down these long stairsteps - we commented that it looked like a forerunner of an eternity pool.

The next stop was Oberammergau - the site of the famous Passion play. The town is renowned for its fresco paintings around the windows of its homes. Too bad it was raining - it was difficult to take pictures through the bus windows.

Finally we make it to the foot of the mountain where Neuschwanstein is perched. It is an interesting day - it is still misting rain, but there is fog floating along the peaks of the mountains, and the castle kind of peeks in and out from this fog, making it appear even more dream-like. We are urged to grab a bite at the Hotel Muller restaurant before we head up, and DD accidentally ends up with pickled trout. I ordered what I thought was a toasted cheese sandwich, but it was actually cold Swiss cheese tossed on two slices of bread.

We took the bus up to within 15 minutes of the castle and walked the rest of the way. Willie, who had had a hip replacement, rode in one of the horse-drawn carts, and she met our group there with a big smile. The inside of the castle wasn't as impressive as the outside - because the decor was all based on Wagnerian operas, one room pretty much looked like another.

On our return to Munich, questions about the upcoming Oktoberfest persuaded the tour guide to take a detour by the grounds. They are already setting up the facilities, and Marc (the guide) explained that virtually every Munich citizen will don lederhosen or dirndls when they attend the festivities.

FauxSteMarie

If anyone goes to Fussen and does not see the Ludwig II musical in the evening, they are missing one grand show. I did this during my exchange south of Munich last September. It is a fantastic show. It is in German, but they do have English language plot summaries. The musical is stunning!

A tip, if you go out of season, as I did, buy the cheapest seats. It will not be sold out. Once you get there, they will exchange them for better seats. I went on a bus tour out of Scheidigg (near the Austrian border)where I was home exchanging and I did buy an inexpensive seat. I had no idea I would get upgraded, but I did.

I cannot say enough how wonderful this musical is. You will enjoy it even if you do not know two words of German. I bought the CD and enjoy the music often.

This musical was one of the highlights of my Bavarian trip, but, sad to say, there weren't many because the home exchangers' car basically did not run and I broke my ankle on the first day of the trip.

Anxious to see how the rest of your trip develops.

edgecorp

FauxSteMarie,

I saw advertising for the Ludwig musical, and it looked fascinating. I find him to be such an interesting "character" anyway. Sorry to hear about your travails on your trip.

It's getting late, and I'm running out of steam. I feel like I'm not giving my all to Munich, but we truly loved Bavaria. DD sings classically - sometimes in German, so I'm sure she would love the musical.

Kim

edgecorp

Part 11 - Last day in Munich: Dachau, and discovering that we are not technologically-minded at all

There was a light rain as we headed out to Dachau on our last morning - it seemed fitting. I have to wonder how much DS really knew about concentration camps, but he quietly read the information in the museum. (DH said he asked a lot of questions when they were lying in bed that night.) The reproduced barracks and the crematorium and gas chamber don't present the horror they could, because they are clean and devoid of any realism. Your mind just can't imagine that something that horrible could happen in such a lovely, tree-shaded park setting. Plus, when it gets to be too much, we just walk away.

We have our first and only American meal - we go to Burger King as DS wishes. The double cheeseburgers taste pretty much as they do in the US, but the onion rings were fried to within an inch of their lives.

We intended to spend the afternoon at the Deutsches Museum. We were primarily interested in the Automobile and Train segments - DS especially wanted to see the early Mercedes Benz. To our dismay, both of those exhibits were closed. We wandered through the aviation display and marveled at the cross section of the jumbo jet; the sailing ships were interesting as well. It was not any more, however, than what we have at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, and too many of the signs were not translated from the German. We decide that we enjoy learning about the history of an area more than looking through technical exhibits.

We left early and found our way back to the Marienplatz - we hadn't seen the glockenspiel at work yet, so we decided to try and grab a seat under the umbrellas of the beer garden across the plaza. We found a front-row seat, ordered a beer, and waited for the performance. A perfect send-off from a wonderful city. To make our last evening even more memorable, we strolled back to the area of the Viktualmarkt (food market) and found a restaurant called the Restaurant Bratwurstherz at Dreifaltigkeitsplatz 1. The ceiling was barrel-vaulted and lined with bricks, and the sausages were cooked over an open wood fire. We finished stuffing ourselves by ordering their dessert special, consisting of shredded crepes, covered with powered sugar, raisins, almonds, and applesauce. We waddled back to the hotel to pack for our flight home the next morning.

It will be interesting for me, as a mother, to see how this experience broadens the minds of my children. We don't go to any large city often, and DS was moved by the homeless people we saw everywhere. DD and DS both got to interact with people who were friendly and people who were not so friendly. They watched with disbelief as an American woman told us in the airport in Munich that we didn't "belong" in the line behind her, because we weren't flying first class. (All we had seen was the Air France insignia; we missed the "First Class" part.) They also watched a total stranger help their mother up the steps of the train station with her luggage. They talked to people from Australia, from all parts of the US, from Japan, and from Europe. They not only READ about history, they saw where it happened. I recall my older children saying how cool it was to read about Versailles in their history books and to know they'd walked in its halls.

I have enjoyed reliving our experiences by sharing them. I know that I found so much invaluable information here while I spent the past six months planning our adventure; maybe someone else will find something of use here.

Kim

pantelia

Thank you for such a wonderful report! I absolutely enjoyed reading it.

lvktravel

Kim,
I really enjoyed your trip report.
Thanks for sharing.
Laura

LoveItaly

Kim, thank you for taking us along on your trip with your family. I loved your report and your sense of humor. And aren't teens fun..especially when it comes to food! I can only imagine how long this report took you to type..thank you!! I must learn to take notes and write a report as so many of your Fodorites do..your report was truly interesting and charming.

LCBoniti

I second LoveItaly's comments.
Thank you so much for a lovely evening read!

SandyBrit

Kim,

Another poster now living in Southern Illinois. My husband grew up on a farm 50 miles north of Champaign. I am originally from the U.K. We do miss the direct connections out of St. Louis but prefer that to making the long drive to Chicago.

Nicely done report and enjoyed hearing about your family and adventures. Thank you for taking the time to post.

Sandy

Barbara_in_CT

Great report. It is eye-opening for kids to realize how others live. It will take a few years to find out how the trip has changed them but it certainly did.

Thanks for sharing.

logos999

>and DS was moved by the homeless people we saw everywhere.
In which city?

TinaLee204

Thank you so much for all the detail in your report. As our daughter is studying classical vocal performance in college, you will probably understand her strong desire to have her college graduation trip be to Italy... with a focus on all the opera houses.

I have to ask, did you daughter ever get the urge to just break into song?? Our friends jokingly tell our daughter that she won't be able to control herself... the arias will just come pouring out!

Thanks again for the great trip report. Your children are very lucky that their parents want to broaden their horizons!

TinaLee