Europe Archives - Page 4 of 10

Sunday, May 25, 2014 Luxembourg

We took the train to Saarbrücken and then the bus to Luxembourg. Seating was tight and Dennis was cramped, his knees stuck into the seat in front of him. We crossed the Moselle River about noon and then made our way into the capitol.

As the bus went through towns, I wondered what the folks were doing in their homes. Were they preparing Sunday dinner, reading the Sunday paper, and lazing about? Or were they busy with chores they could not get to during the week? I have a feeling most Europeans relax on Sunday, the towns were not a bustle of activity. Would I relax on Sunday as they did if I were to live in Europe? Probably not, unless I changed my ways—I have forgotten the lessons learned on the Camino. For this reason, I plan to retire after finishing this last series of books and enjoy my leisure time with Dennis.

We had no reservations, but were able to find a room in the hotel we stayed in last year. Hotel Bella Napoli. It is reputedly the best Italian restaurant in town with a few rooms above it that have no TV, phone, or WiFi. Without reservations, we were lucky to get that. Since the restaurant has Internet, we have to stand on the landing or sit in the café to get access.

After settling in, we took the local bus 15 to Hamm, the end of the line, and then walked to the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial where Dennis’s cousin Erving’s body is buried (Section H, Row 9, #15) along with 5, 075 other dead soldiers, including a female army nurse. Each grave has a cross or Star of David with an American and Luxembourg flag. Between the flag, lays a fresh rose bud, placed by the local people of Luxembourg.

General Patten, commander of the Third US Army, is buried between the flagpoles in from of the memorial and overlooking the grave area. His grave is has 3 dozen roses.

There are also two memorial Tablets of the Missing, listing the names of 371 whose remains were never recovered or are buried at the cemetery, unidentified.

Saturday, May 24, 2014 Sembach Germany

Henri drove us to the train station in Offenburg, Germany. From there we took the train to Kaiserslaurten. Fortunately, we had made reservations because the hotel was full. There are many conventions this time of year and without reservations, we would have been SOL.

We took the local bus to Sembach and walked about a mile or so to the base, where guards turned us back. Dennis was disappointed, but not surprised. The AF base is now an army base.

Since we had a four-hour wait for the return bus,we walked around this very small town for a couple of hours. Nothing was open. I sat in the sunshine, bundled in my raincoat and Dennis’s over my legs. Fortunately, I had my Kindle and could read; Dennis had nothing. We made it back to Kaiserlaurten around 7:15.

Friday, May 23, 2014 Kertzfeld, FR

Lydie went out early to the bakers and returned with two baguettes: one white, the other dark. She also purchased a sweet bread typical of the area, Hugel Loaf. In good company, we breakfasted on tea, bread, local creamy butter, and Lydie’s homemade preserves.

While Lydie prepared a traditional sauerkraut meal (oven-baked pork shoulder and sauerkraut, separately boiled potatoes and sausage, served with white wine and mustard), Henri took us to the Ebersmunster Abbey. The two exterior towers flanking the entrance are square at the bottom and then flare out like onion bulbs. At first glance, it reminded me of minarets, but Henri said there was no Muslim influence.

Walking into the L’Eglise Abbatiale, I gasped at the beauty of the combined stone, wood, and stucco. This abbey church is the only example in France of the Austrian baroque art, an artistic movement marked by rich ornamentation. Rose-colored stone floors, alabaster walls, and doors and windows painted in light-blue trimming create a light and welcoming atmosphere. Over the main rose marble altar is a canopy choir and above that a crown of gold surrounding a fresco of the Apocalypse Lamb and the Holy Trinity. Light-blue columns separated the main altar from the two side ones. Other ceiling frescoes (including the assumption of Mary and the martyrdom of St. Maurice) painted in the subtle gold, blue, rose, and white hues draw the eyes upward and add to the overall richness of the church’s ornamentation.

The Silberman Organ installed in 1732 maintains its original condition.

Leaving the abbey, we rode along the Rhine and saw a ferry that takes cars and passengers to Germany and back for free. Henri then showed us the tea house and gardens where he buys his teas.

After lunch the four of us went to Mont Ste Odile, a peak in the Vosques Mountains. We parked below the abbey and walked up about a mile (2 km). Lydie told us that this was a sacred Celtic place and that she is sensitive to the meridians of energy on the mountain. There was a legends exhibit along the path, and statues and ornament made the walk interesting.

From the top, we could see the Alsace valley with the Black Forest in the distance. On the other side are the Vosques Mountains. In the convent’s chapel, volunteers pray twenty-four-seven for world peace. Lydie is scheduled to participate in this vigil in January.

Ste. Odile was the blind daughter of a 7^th century king, who disowned her. In the Chapel of Tears (one of two chapels on the terrace), it is said that her tears created a crevice in the mountaintop, seeping down the mountain and mixing with the waters, where many blind people have supposedly received sight from the curative waters. In the Chapel of Angels, a mosaic displaces Mont St. Michel and Mont Ste. Odile and the WWII liberation.

According to Wikipedia, between August 2000 and May 2002 more than 1,000 ancient books went missing from the monastery library. A book collector stole the books after finding an old map showing a secret entrance into the library. The route was not easy, however, involving climbing up exterior walls, a steep staircase and a secret chamber. A mechanism then opened the back of one of five cupboards. The disappearance of so many books over such a length of time confused the librarian, the monks and the police, with Gosse finally being caught by closed-circuit television cameras.

Mont Ste. Odile is part of the Camino in France. From here, Santiago is 1423 miles (2291 km) away.

On our way back, we visited Obernai, the second most visited city in Alsace, after Strasbourg. We are grateful to our hosts, Henri and Lydie, for showing us this area. Without them, we would not have seen any of these sites.

Thursday, May 22, 2014 Strasbourg, FR

The birds and dawn woke me at 04:00. I rolled over and dozed until the alarm sounded two hours later. We arrived at the train station, activated our Senior Global Rail Pass (now good for 10 trips in 20 days), bought snacks for the 12-hour ride with the last of the krone, and then boarded our train.

To cross into Germany, the train with 6 cars boarded a ferry for the 45 minute ride across. All passengers were required to leave the train, which was then locked. On the ferry, there were shops, restaurants, and lounge chairs. I felt as if I were on board the NCL Star, once again. In the gift shop, I bought our hosts a box of Anthon Berg Danish chocolates. This was suggested to me as a nice gift to buy as a souvenir from Denmark.

Dennis is using his German. He can read some of the signs and understands a few words. It’s strange for me to rely on him to get around, but we will be in France today and I will again be the guide.

Once in Germany, we rode by beaches, sails boats, and golden rapeseed and dark green alfalfa, timothy and rye fields. Windmills lined up along the coast, their large blades spinning. The architecture consisted of A-frame style brick houses with dark slate or red-tiled roofs. This area of Germany is very flat, great for farming.

This part of the train ride is commuter, and we stopped at many small-town train stations. The more modern towns feature three-story brick buildings. Some train stations are older and not imposing like in the larger cities.

We had 8 minutes to OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA transfer in Hamburg, a large port city from where Dennis’s father shipped home following the war. We got on the train and found someone sitting in our seats, having confused which car she was in. As we found out in our first train ride in 2011, the seats are numbered and most often reserved. Only the local trains have free-seating.

After Hamburg, the terrain became more rolling and we started to go through tunnels. We crossed several narrow rivers, one with kayaks. The fields changed to forests. As we gained altitude, my ears popped. In the valleys I could see small towns with their church steeples.

The express trains have stewards who pass out candy, coffee, and sell ice cream. There are dining cars, but we bought sandwiches at the 7-11 at the station in Copenhagen, wanting to use up our Danish currency. By the time we reach Strasbourg, we will had travelled for more than eleven hours.

Our Camino friends Henri and Lydie greeted us at the depot. They escorted us around Strasbourg, Henri’s home town. We visited the cathedral, Little Paris, and other plazas in the city. We had traditional regional pizza with its flaky cracker-like crust, sweet onions, and cheese. We tried a soft white cheese, a goat cheese, and a blue cheese pizza–all yummy with red wine.

Afterwards we went to their beautifully decorated home in Kertzfeld, about 25 Km north of Strasbourg. The garden in the back has a pool and the frogs serenaded us with at least three different songs: the ribbit-ribbit, the deep-throated grump-garump, and the comical he-he-he-he-he, which made me laugh. Henri has red fish and one black one which swim to the surface when he feeds them. When the black one matures, it turns red.

The terrain in this area of France reminds me of New England with is soil and foliage. The towns however show the Bavarian influence with the Tudor-style buildings, town and street names, and local cuisine.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014 Copenhagen

Tivoli’s grassy lawns entice people to settle down with a picnic lunch or just to enjoy the outdoors. Lounge chairs are available and people relaxed in the sunshine. Lots of children, dogs, and elderly on the green.

Compare these prices with your last visit to the café: The Big Cheeseburger 145 DKK ($30.00); French Fries 30 DKK (6.00) and Cowboy Rib-eye 240 DKK ($48.00). Imagine take out a family. Fortunately for the Danes, this is not abnormally out of range, based on their earnings, but it is out of range for most tourists.

Teens ran from ride to ride, daring each other. This brings back memories of my childhood excursions to amusement parks. As we passed the bumper cars, I tell Dennis about my first time on this attraction. It was at Old Orchard Beach, Me. I was with my sister and my cousin, Joan (pronounced Joann). She was so proud at driving around without bumping into anyone. To this day, I don’t think she has every been in an accident where she was at fault. I, on the other hand….

At the Bier Garten, we talked with a woman dressed in traditional Bavarian garb. She is a student working on her masters. As a student she receives a stipend, which covers rent and food. She works for the extras. Imagine students in the US getting paid to study. Having a highly educated populace most likely is a contributor to Denmark’s high standard of living.

We left the gardens and headed to the boat tour of the canals. We passed the Danish Architecture Center and then got off at Nyhavn to walk along the promenade, listen to the buskers, and enjoy a Carlsberg brown beer. Afterward jumping on the next boat, we visited the Experimentarium (science museum), the Trekroner Fortress which protected the harbor, passed the harbor stones called the Little Mermaid. We were going to stop at the alternative living quadrant, Chrisianshavn, but there were no later boats. In this section, people pay no rent and various types of marijuana are available in smoke shops. Though we did not get a chance to visit it, out hosts at the B&B said it was in interesting place to visit. Maybe next time.

From the tour boat landing, we walked around town looking for a traditional Danish Restaurant. Our roaming ended up being about six miles.

As I sat enjoying the last of perfect day, I felt so grateful and fortunate to have Dennis, good health, and the means to travel and experience the world.

Monday, May 19, 2014 Copenhagen DK

The ship let us off about six miles from the hotel. Since there were no ATMs (this happened at the dock in Barcelona as well, so I should have known better) we were unable to use the city bus. We managed to find a map in a gift shop (not in the terminal, which would have been logical). Based on the shop owner’s advice we decided to take a cab, which cost us $70 dollars. Good thing the taxi took credit cards. The driver was Persian, but immigrated to Denmark 30 years ago. He is a building engineer between contracts and working as a cab driver for something to do.

The Pea Blossom B&B is conveniently located. According to the cabbie, we are near the red light district, across the street from a grocery store, and 10 minutes walk from the train station. The establishment is 5 flights up a circular staircase. (if you are booking rooms, it’s advisable to inquire if a lift is available). The apartment is large by Danish terms: 6 guests rooms, common room, and kitchen. The floors are wood, the walls white, the furnishings are natural wooden. The high ceilings have decorative and crown mouldings.

Our room is bright, spacious, and overlooks a quiet street. The owner is in Paris at the moment, so it is more like a high-class hostel, which is fine with us.

20140519_145311 bakery near Pea Blossom Around the corner from the B&B is a bakery where we bought Danish sandwiches and a latte for lunch.As we ate, I people watched. There are people everywhere. Mothers push babies–often twins–in large black hooded prams. Children sit in seats on the back or front of bicycles. Some bikes have an extended front wheel to accommodate a cart where children sit; sometimes the cart is attached to the back of the bike. Since autos are imported in Denmark, they are very costly; the Danes pay about three times the car’s price in taxes.

Women’s attire varies. Professionals dress in suits and high heels. Others are more casual. Muslim women are covered up, as everywhere, but wear brightly colored shoes such as fluorescent-blue sneakers. Tall hairy or short-cropped men tower over short and stocky ones. Old people walk hand-in-hand and teens bop along. There are all shades of skin tones–a panoply of humanity.

We walked around the neighborhood, and then bought groceries for supper, saving exploring until Tuesday.

Sunday, May 18, 2014 Helsingborg, Sweden

Around 10 A.M, we took the tender from the ship to the port and got my passport stamped. Dennis and I found a map of the walking trails around the city. We passed a park with waist-high tulips. I had never seen such large and colorful blossoms. The Swedes must like flowers: homes had them in the windows

We meandered through the forest on the Longensberg Promenade to Paisjokvarn to the north of the City, about 2 miles and returned on a coastal path. We doubled the number of stairs that we climbed in Dover (over 900 steps). Once back, we toured the city.

We walked on the oldest pedestrian street (Kullagatan) in the Nordic countries. In the marina, was an open house for a Swedish vessel that may have been a submersible, we could not read the panels. Lots of military and arms.

As we approached the statue of Magnus Stenbock (see below), the town hall clock started to play the noon songs, one of which was “America the Beautiful.” The three songs played repeatedly for ten minutes. The statue depicts the field Marshal who lead the Swedes in the final victory over the Danes in 1710.

The money unit is the Swedish Krona, so everything looks expensive. Two beers cost 125 SEK. I nearly choked when I found it that was $20. That was about 10 times more expensive than getting a domestic beer in the supermarket. This is a port city so I expect prices of dining, transportation, and entertainment to be higher than other Swedish cities, but I think this was gouging. Otherwise, how can the Swedes afford to live in Helsingborg? Looking into store windows I was surprised that clothing on display was not priced.

We contacted T-Mobile to get our phones to work. Evidently, when we called before the trip to confirm that our phones would work in Europe, the person we spoke to disconnected that service. Not surprised, she was the one who said Europe was not one of the countries that had a contract with T-Mobile, but did confirm that each country we listed was part of the deal. What are we teaching–or not teaching—our kids?

It started to pour so we never finished our walk. Just as well, Dennis has sore legs from Dover’s walk. For lunch, we tried Swedish coffee (rich and strong) and sandwiches. Mine was an open-faced Swedish meatball with beets. It was tasty, but I think Dennis’s might have been better. He raved about the chicken salad sandwich.

It felt good to return to the ship and get out of our wet clothes. Though we had rain jackets, our pants and shoes were wet.

September 7: Amsterdam

Why is Amsterdam so noisy. Its 4:30 A.M. and the city is keeping me awake. Does the din have to do with the low altitude, the tall stone buildings, the long wide streets?

People’s voices are amplified; someone talking on a cell phone appears as if they were speaking into a megaphone. The tapping of a cane is an offensive rat-tat-tat on my eardrums. Cars rumble by for what seems like ages.

Friday night party-goers yell and giggle, but when I look out the window, I can’t see them; they are so far away, and yet so loud.

Add the underlying city din and the noise level is excruciating–I don’t even hear Dennis’ snoring. I long to be back in a quiet locale.

September 6: Amsterdam

This is the West Tower, the tallest tower in Amsterdam, 85 meters (279 feet). The West Church was purposely built by Protestants in 1620. Rembrandt is buried here. In her diary, Anne Frank mentions listening to this church’s bells while she was hiding in a storage building across the street.

As I write, the clock tower on the Rijksmuseum near the hotel where we are staying plays Fur Elise to announce 3:45. It plays different songs each time it rings. Luckily it does not chime during the night.

Amsterdam has 165 canals — with a combined length of 100 km (60 mi.) On this morning’s tour of the canals, I learned that 15,000 bikes are fished our of the canal annually, along with 10 cars and 51 dead bodies–mostly men who urinate in the canal, fall in, and cannot get out. Of interest, is that 50% of Amsterdam’s population is under 34 years of age and that 75% of the homes are owned by singles, maybe because they are so narrow.

The tour guides discussed Amsterdam’s architecture several times.Various forms of gables helped distinguish the old narrow buildings, as did various decorations. To the right is an example of a step gable. Other styles include spout, step, neck, bell, and cornice. Some gables include scrolls and ornamentation; others have markings that indicate what was stored in the warehouse, such as coffee, beer, meat, etc.

The red brick portion of the tower on the left is part of the old protective wall, Montelbaanstoren. The decorative tower and clocks were added in 1606. Since each of the four clocks did not keep accurate time, which caused the bells to ring indiscriminately–or not at all– the tower became known as “Silly Jack.” The tower now houses Amsterdam’s Department of Sewage and Water Management.

In Amsterdam, taxes are based on the width of the property, not the height. According to Iamsterdam.com “The narrowest house in the world is located at Singel 7. The house is a meter (about 40 inches) wide — barely wider than its front door. But appearances can be deceiving! The Singel-facing side is actually the back of the house, and the front is much wider.”

This is a masthead from the replica of the 19th century merchant ship, the Amsterdam, now located at the National Maritime Museum in Amsterdam. Each year Amsterdam has a theme to attract tourist. Next year, there will be a Tall Ships Race.

Amsterdam is the second largest port in the Netherlands. It is located on the bank of a former bay named the IJ and the North Sea Canal.

Returning from the port, the tour boat took us on a canal where you can see seven bridges. We also traveled up the Gentleman’s canal. Here the wealthy would purchase two land plots and build one home, often with two front doors. The Herengracht is a museum depicting the homes and lifestyle of Amsterdam’s rich.

There are approximately 2500 houseboats on Amsterdam’s canal, some are made of concrete, some are slabs with what looks like a modular building, others are more elaborate. Imagine having a home where tour boats drive by all day and people are constantly peering in your windows.

After the tour, we browsed through the tulip market. Too bad these flowers don’t grow in Sarasota, they are lovely. I would love to plant some of the giant varieties.

We snacked near the market and watched as people strolled by. It seems almost every nationality was represented; Amsterdam is really an international city.

September 5: Amsterdam

The Netherlands is the most densely populated country in the world, and Amsterdam is its capital and most populous city. In addition there are the tourists. According to Wikipedia, “Amsterdam is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, receiving more than 4.63 million international visitors annually, this is excluding the 16 million day trippers visiting the city every year.” As you can imagine, there are people everywhere. As we sat having dinner and people watched, we concluded that this has to be the city with the tallest people. A Google search confirms our suspicions: the average height for all adults in the Netherlands is 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m), making them the nation with the tallest citizens. I wonder how they navigate the almost perpendicular stairs.

We walked about 9 miles around the city. First we went to the Verzetsmuseum (the Resistance Museum), spending hours reading all the information and personal stories. After dinner, we strolled over to the Red Light District (RLD). On the way, the setting sun illuminated the architecture and canals (right). Once in the RLD, women clad in skimpy outfits (but nothing that could not be seen on Florida beaches) stood like mannequins or moved suggestively in large-paned window. The area smelled of hash, booze, and men. There were peep shows, strip bars, and adult toy shops. Surprisingly, the area was replete with bars and international eateries where men and women sat sipping a drink or eating dinner. There were tour groups with guides explaining the area sites. Since they spoke a language I did not understand, I could not tell what they were describing, but I am pretty sure it had nothing to do with the women, since people were looking at buildings and statues.