Germany 2015

 Tuesday,  August 4, 2015

Peter wanted his car parked in his driveway while we were gone, so I picked him up at 6:15 a.m. and we drove to McDonald's for breakfast before our van arrived  at my house to take us to the airport.  Everything went without a hitch.  I was able to sleep during the flight after taking some Melatonin, arriving in Munich at about 10:00 a.m. Wednesday morning.  Sigi and Paul were waiting for us with a Welcome sign.  We went to Paul and Marianne's apartment where Marianne had breakfast ready on their patio.

Before checking into our hotel we arranged for a  bus trip to Paris.

We checked into the Montree Hotel, where we stayed before, and took a nap to get over our jet lag.  Sigi picked us up for supper with Paul, Marianne and Irmgard.  We could walk from Sigi's house to the restaurant  where I had my first Augustina and some pork schnitzel.  We called it a day early to let us get our body clocks adjusted.

Thursday,  August 6, 2015

Sigi picked us up and everyone took the train to Augsburg on a very hot day, in the 90s.  We walked the central business area and found a microbrewery.  There we sampled the product and had lunch.  I had a wurst salade: lettuce, red onions, other vegetables with thinly sliced wurst sausage with a vinegar and oil dressing. 

When we got back to Munich, we separated, and Peter and I headed to the Pedestrian Walk.

Friday, August 7, 2015

Today we spent a good share of the day at the BMW Museum.

 It was immense, with displays of their products from the past, present and future: airplane motors, boats, motorcycles, and of course, cars.  

We finished our outing at the Green Market where we enjoyed some music

 

At about 6:30 p.m. the stands were beginning  to close, but we managed to find a butcher shop that made some sandwiches to go with our radlers.

Saturday,  August 8, 2015

We were packed and waiting for Sigi to pick us up at 10:00 a.m.  He didn't come until 10:45; we were waiting outside the hotel and the temperature was over 90 degrees.  Sigi took us to his apartment and served some fruit, and sandwiches before taking us to the bus station.  We were very early for our 5:30 p.m. departure.  The  bus is very cramped and uncomfortable.  There was no restroom on the bus so we stopped at intervals for rest stops.  I was sound asleep when a new driver took over and announced that with people getting off, the bus was not filled to capacity and we would have to change buses.  I felt like a sleep walker.  Now we were in the very back, which was good for Peter, because he could stretch out along the entire back seat

Sunday, August 9, 2015

We arrived in Paris at 6:00 a.m.  I felt like I was put through a wringer; I'll never do that again.  We took showers in our hotel and a short nap then set out for the day.  I discovered a really neat app to navigate the metro system without having to be online.  Once you enter your station and your destination you are given directions how to get there.

We set our destination for Notre Dame.  We had ham and cheese sandwiches on crusty toasted rye bread, eating outdoors.  We watched a line across the street and decided that's where we would start. Once in line a couple from Plattville suggested getting a museum pass which we did and had a nice conversation while, we waited.   

Our first stop was the chapel of Sainte-Chapelle.  We marveled at the beautiful church, but the best was yet to come.  We proceeded up some narrow winding stairs to behold in wonder magnificent stained glass windows around the entire church with intricate designs beyond description for which this chapel is famous.

Next we got in line for Notre Dame.  We walked around the entire interior, with many naves and altars.

 

Our map showed us that the Pantheon was nearby.   We followed the directions for the subway, but could not find the RER line that we should take.  We learned that that system wasn't operating.  We walked quite a ways and finally found the Pantheon; it was worth the walk.  The interior had huge columns and many very large statues, all in  white.

Towards the end of the afternoon, we decided to head towards the Eiffel tower.  Once we got in the area we stopped for a very generous salad that we shared, along with a glass of Heineken.  We were at the end of a very long line, and as we neared admission an announcement flashed that the lift to the summit was closed due to crowding.  I was perfectly satisfied with the view from the second level as the city was beginning to light up.  

The night was clear, with a slight breeze and ideal temperature.

A long walk to the subway station, two transfers, and a walk to our hotel got us back at midnight.

Paris Subway system

The system runs very regularly and on time  with frequent arrivals.  We  never waited longer than 5 minutes for a train.  That was the positive part.  The rest has a lot to be desired.  There were so many stairs, it is hard to describe.  There were a few escalators, and fewer elevators.  Then to make a connection it usually involved a very long walk.  This system makes no allowances for the handicapped. One needs to be agile and fairly fit to navigate this system

Monday,  August 10, 2015...Peter's Birthday

We got tickets for a city tour and boat ride on the Hop On Hop Off bus, which took us first to an impressive looking arch with horses on top that was worth a photo stop.

 Our next stop was The Louvre,  where we could use our museum passes. 

It would take months to see it all, but to take in what little we could was a memorable experience.  We spent some time in the sculpture area, then Italian artists which led the way to the Mona Lisa.  The push of the crowd was intense,  with guards holding people back.  I managed a couple of shots, but with all the shoving there was no way anyone could appreciate the painting; nobody was really looking at the painting,  just aiming their cameras.  

Again, there were many steps leading to various wings, a good place to get lost.  Next stop on the route was the Champs-Elysée, with a lovely fountain, an obelisk and other beautiful buildings. 

 

 

We approached the Arc de Triomphe by an underground pedestrian walk and after showing our passes we got in line not sure where we were going.  We started up some narrow, winding stairs with no way to reverse direction.  I had to stop a few times to let others pass.  One hundred sixty steps later we were on an upper level with a display of photographs of uniforms from some wars taken by some famous photographer.

Our bus took us to the Eiffel Tower, where we could get off and walk to where our boat was docked.  But it was a long walk to the right dock.  We shared a dinner of lamb chops and some beer before walking some distance to our boat.  We had to exchange our voucher for a ticket.  Peter was disappointed that it wasn't an open topped boat.  I managed a seat near an opening to take some pictures, but there weren't very many opportunities.  It was a pleasant one-hour ride.  

After we got off, we enjoyed ice cream cones under the Eiffel Tower.  

When we got back to our hotel we reserved a hotel for two nights in Budapest.  We got in at a more reasonable hour today.

Tuesday,  August 11, 2015

We Skyped with Sigi, outlining our plans for the next few days.  We checked out of the hotel, looked for the bus office and we just have to  check in one hour before departure.  We put our luggage in the hotel locker and spent time on a bench under a chestnut tree on the Seine.  We looked for a place for lunch and found a lovely park-like area behind Notre Dame, just what we were looking for, with a central statue surrounded by a beautiful garden.
We had a sandwich and soft drinks, took some pictures and relaxed for a while before heading back to collect our luggage.  Peter had a bottle of beer, I had a gin and tonic in the lobby, before claiming our luggage. 

THE BUS RIDE FROM HELL

Our bus left at 10:00 p.m.  It seemed more comfortable than the last time.  We settled in and tried to charge our devices with the overhead outlet, but our plugs didn't work.  I was able to sleep soundly and we were moving along at a good speed.....then we hit a construction zone.  It was stop and crawl, but mostly stop.  Sigi was supposed to pick us up at about 10:00 a.m; no way would we be at our meeting place at that time.  In Augsburg we left off a passenger and as the bus was exiting the station, it hit a car that was too far in the road.  So we lost another hour before the police came and got the details.  We arrived in  Munich at 16:11, six hours past our scheduled arrival.  We had been on the bus 18 hours!  When we got to the station  Peter asked a man to use his cell phone to call Sigi to pick us up.  Why we didn't ask to use a phone to alert Sigi of our delay was totally inconsiderate.  Sigi was not happy, neither was Paul  who was with him.  They waited 2 hours  before deciding to go home.

Sigi dropped us off at the barnhoff to get ticket for Budapest.   The earlier train involved two transfers, the 11:00 p.m. would be direct.  We bought the later tickets, even though we would be losing a night's lodging that was prepaid.

We got to Sigi and Irmgard's, took showers and had a nice supper of meat patties,  potato salad,  an assortment of vegetables and ice cream.  We are relaxing in their living room.  I called the hotel to tell them we would not be coming in tonight and reserved an extra night. Sigi took us to the train station to get the 11:08 p.m. train to Budapest.  We did not know we had reserved seating and got on  the wrong coach.  We tried maneuvering our luggage through the cars and around people with their luggage until I thought Peter would collapse.  We had to get off the train and find our coach from  outside, and our compartment, which we shared with four young people.  It was a cramped space and very warm.  I managed to sleep soundly.

Thursday August 13, 2015

We arrived in Budapest at about 9:00 a.m., took a cab to the Bara Junior hotel.  The desk clerk speaks perfect English and was very welcoming.   He gave us information about the Hop on Hop off bus, which we took to our room to consider.  We worked at the computer to arrange lodging for Passau before going to a very nice air conditioned restaurant for a delicious pizza. 

We bought a two-day bus ticket and headed up the hill to get the bus.  It was a killing walk; I didn't think we had to go all the way to the Citadel to catch it, and it was all uphill.  We finally got there and just wanted to enjoy the ride.  We got off at Heroes Square, a huge monument with columns and statues that was worth stopping to take pictures. 

Our next stop was the boat ride at 7:00 p.m.  We had enough time to have a gin and tonic before we left.  The boat ride on  the Danube was very pleasant, with a nice cooling breeze.   It lasted an hour.  

We got very disoriented and couldn't find where we were to get the bus.  We circled around until we got back to the boat dock and saw that the bus stop was right there!  The buses quit running 10 minutes ago, so the person at the boat dock called a cab, which was for the best, because had we taken the bus we would have had to walk back to our hotel from the Citadel. 

When we got back to the hotel, Peter Skyped with Ersche to talk about visiting them. 

Friday August 14, 2015

We took a city bus to connect with the Hop on Hop off by the bridge.  We are always walking too far and have to ask directions to get where we want to go.  We got on the red line and transferred to the yellow line and just stayed on.  We wanted to see the main cathedral and I thought it was St. Stevens, so when I asked where to get off for St. Stevens I got the right direction, but it was for the wrong church.   

What we wanted was St. Matthias in the castle district.  We got there and it looked like it would be quite a  climb; I also thought the bus would take us farther.  Instead,  the bus went back down the hill.  We finally got the right information and got to see the exterior of this beautiful cathedral and the surrounding buildings,  also a grand view of the Parliament Building and on overlook of the city.  

When we got to the Citadel stop, there was an outdoor restaurant that featured a cold platter for two.  It was more than enough for both of us and included Peter's favorite sausage.

When we got back to our hotel, Peter Skyped with Sigi who said visiting Ersche wouldn't be wise, because she is just recovering from some operation and it would be a hardship for her to put us up.  That meant changing our time line for hotels.  We did some searches and found one that would provide some relaxation time.  Peter sent a message to Ersche telling her we would not be seeing her.  We started packing for our departure. 

Saturday,  August 15, 2015

We were up bright and early, considered taking a bus to Passau  (night travel), decided to stick with the train.  The cab got us to the station in 10 minutes, then it was waiting to buy a ticket.  The first part seemed efficient enough: everyone took a number and your number would flash on a board when yours was next.  We had 628 and they were on 500 something.  I told Peter that we might not even make it out on this train.  They don't even have computers.  The clerk had to look up the timetable in a book for each ticket, then had to write the information by hand.  Talk about primitive! We just made it five minutes before the train was taking off.  The  train was packed, standing room mostly.  I could sit in a reserved seat until the person came to claim it; Peter mostly stood, guarding our luggage.   A woman was furious because her husband carelessly left their camera bag unattended and someone walked off with it.  We eventually had seating, but not together. We transferred at Lintz, and we are now on  our way to Passau.

Arriving at Passau, a woman cab driver said she knew where the hotel we were going was; however, she missed a turn and lost some time, but was not too far out of the way.  The Binder Hotel is very Bavarian, with a  beer garden and lovely facilities.  

We have a beautiful room with a balcony, where we sat and relaxed until dinner time.   We ate outdoors and had a Lowenbrau Passau, which won a top prize, before having our entrees: mine was a delicious Hungarian goulash with spaetzle.  We took a walk up a steep hill and found the bus stop if we decide going to Passau, also looked around the area surrounding the church.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

We woke up to a drizzly day.  We went down to breakfast, set our food down and didn't realize we had a reserved table.  We were directed to Zientek table and proceeded to fill our plates with a nice assortment of foods, including a large round of Camembert and different rolls and bread.   We walked in a drizzle to the 10:00 a.m. mass at St. Ulrich. 

I really appreciate my Laudate app where I could follow the German readings in English.  After mass we walked down a hill to a concert in a high school by a six-piece brass band.  

The audience was sparse: 11:00 a.m., most people stay in their homes  or have other things to do.  The concert lasted exactly an hour, and we had to trudge up the hill and then down to our hotel in a light rain.  We spent a good share of the afternoon taking advantage of the great spa amenities of this hotel.  The large pool had a constant depth up to my shoulders and a comfortable temperature.  There were aromatic rooms with different fragrances and temperatures,  also a steam aromatic room, a few saunas, showers with different jets and temperatures and a relaxing area.  Everything was very modern and plush; you wouldn't find such facilities in some upscale hotels.  After all that steaming and swimming,  a beer would have tasted good, but it was still too cool and raining, so we decided to wait until dinner.   I had beef rouladen that I could cut with my fork.  I liked the salad that had shredded carrots and sweet sour beets with a vinegar and oil dressing.  As we were finishing,  Alfred, the hotel manager, pulled up a chair and chatted with us for a while, then his father who talked with Peter at length about the business and his family. 

Monday,  August 17, 2015

After our substantial breakfast,  Peter phoned Rudy to see if we could visit with him and Toni, with hopes of staying at his other house. We packed, planning on that prospect.  Rudy picked us up with a car full of people, Toni, her son and family that just arrived from London.  We stopped at a grocery store, passed the hotel of his grandparents, the home where he grew up and where he went to school, then drove to his completely refurbished home.  

He had many modern features in such an old home.  We had a beer and visited while Rudy made arrangements for us to stay in a pension, walking distance from his home, then went to dinner.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Rudy picked us up about 10:30 and we drove to the Koller Pension to arrange for our stay until Friday.  

The lady is very pleasant and the room is charming.  We also met her husband, and the woman's brother lives in Sheboygan.  I know we will be very comfortable here.  After everyone was rounded up, Rudy drove us to Passau for a Swarovski boat ride. Before the boat left at 3:15, we had time to see St. Stephen's church with its world famous organ, 

the city hall and shops.  The dining room of the boat has layers of crystals from the ceiling, crystals embedded in the stairs and incorporated in other decorations.  

We had  front seats on the top deck for a pleasant ride on the Danube which merges with the Im and the Ilz.  The narration was in German, so it didn't do me much good. 

Rudy was waiting for us and we drove us to a restaurant overlooking the Danube where we had beers. 

 Then he drove back to Passau to the highest point where we could see the city lit up at night and closed the Augustina with beers.  When we got back at 11:00, we had trouble opening the door, because we were entering the wrong door.

Wednesday,  August 19, 2015

I had a very restful sleep on a comfortable bed; everything smells so fresh and clean.  The bathroom has a hair dryer and even a magnifying mirror that some better hotels don't have.

After a very nice breakfast that was laid out at our table, 

we walked to a camera store that had a lot more than cameras: hardware, household items, watches, decorative items, etc.  We bought a newspaper and a stamp for Claude's postcard when I had to rush home. 

We walked to Rudy's and he took us on another drive, first to the cemetery next to Holy Trinity church with its beautifully tended graves and the inside of the church. 

Next we drove to a Bavarian State Park to see a very tall elliptical observation tower and relaxed on a park bench for awhile.

 

We walked back to our car in a light drizzle.  Rudy dropped us off at our pension and we walked to one store and bought cold cuts and another for rolls, fruit and beer that we ate in our room.  We walked to Rudy's and spent the rest of the evening talking, I did knitting, and Rudy drove us home.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Cool and overcast, about 70 degrees.

After breakfast we walked around the town, cemetery, and war memorial,  where Rudy spotted us and drove us to his house.   Everyone was going to Passau: Marcus and his family to play tennis, Rudy to get his computer fixed, we would like to get out train tickets to Munich.  We covered a lot of territory and stops along the way before ending back at Rudy's for a beer and Jagermeisters before climbing up the hill to our pension.  We had a roll and some cold cuts left over from  yesterday,  which filled the bill, for our supper.

Friday,  August 21, 2015

Overcast and cool.

We are packed before having our breakfast of eggs, rolls, sausage,  cheese, jam and coffee.  Aggie is sociable and visited with us.

We walked to Rudy's to wait for him to take us to the train station; his cousin was visiting.  We got there in plenty of time and had comfortable seats.  What a good idea it was to buy our tickets yesterday.  We transferred once in the rain, but the skies were clearing as we got close to Munich.  We checked into the Montree Hotel and after settling our bags, Peter asked to have our room changed to one off the street.  Once we got that taken care of we packed all of our soiled clothes and walked to the laundromat; that was a good way to finish the day and not have to spend precious time doing laundry.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

The shower is a joke. The wash bowl is very modern, but there is no space to put anything, even towels, without getting them soaked.  There is no stall shower or curtain so the water splashes everywhere.

We bought a day ticket and went to Dachau.  We signed up for an 11:00 a.m. guided tour. Our tour guide added much emotion as she led us through the exhibits, more so than reading the extensive text or listening to an audio guide.  I didn't realize the camp was so huge.  We stayed after the tour to read some of the text in the museum and left with feeling how humanity can submit others to such brutal treatment. 

Our next stop was the Hirshgarten, the largest beer garden in Munich,  named for the deer in the park. Thousands of people as far as the eye can see drinking beer and eating.  No music,  no entertainment, just drinking beer.  I had meatballs and potato salad and a big stein of beer. 

Sunday, August 23, 2015

We didn't hear from Sigi or Paul so we took the train to Allianz for a stadium tour; no tour on game day.  I saw it blocked out on the computer,  but I thought it was because you couldn't buy tickets online on the same day.  We went back to the city and were in time for the 11 a.m. mass at Holy Ghost church.  Checked in at McDonald's for messages, still none.  We decided to have a light lunch at Schneider Weiss. 

I didn't see a wasp or yellow jacket in my glass until it was in my mouth.  I spit it out, but not before it stung me on my upper lip. It hurt like the devil. The bartender gave me some ice, and that took away the initial pain, but my lip was starting to puff up.

We spent some time in the old botanical garden, walking and sitting.  We walked to some impressive buildings arranged facing each other, and took some pictures. We saw a lovely Italian style garden attached to an art gallery.  We could go in the garden and thought we might return to see the art.  

We were going to have coffee at an outdoor cafe, when it started to pour.  We waited until it stopped and started back to our hotel, when a pizza seemed like a good idea, especially oven fired.  It rained really hard while we were eating.  We walked back to our hotel in a light rain.

Monday, August 24, 2015

Too few guests at the hotel to serve breakfast,  so we ate across the street.

We took the Ubahn to Allianz and were there by about 10. The walk is ridiculous:  a very long walk from the Ubahn to the stadium, then walk all around the stadium and up stairs for the tour.  We had a very pleasant English-speaking guide for the 10:45 tour. It proceeded much like the Brewers or Lambeau tours.

 

 Our next stop was the Munich Botanical Gardens. It was wonderfully close to the bus stop and a great way to spend the afternoon.  Many dahlias were in bloom, along with late summer flowers. 

We found a bench to take in the beauty and while away the time until we would meet Sigi, Irmgard, Paul and Marianne for dinner. When we were entering Sigi's yard, Paul and Marianne were getting out of their car.  We walked to a neighborhood restaurant and everyone had a full meal which Sigi insisted on paying for. 

 We lingered at the restaurant a while then gathered at Sigi's for more German conversation.  

Tuesday, August 24, 2015

We were awake at 6:30, started packing, got some money from the ATM and settled our bill.  Because I wanted a credit on my charge bill instead of euros, that took a while. Promptly at 9:30 Sigi rapped at or door and we were ready to go to Paul and Marianne's for breakfast.  We were there until 12:30.  Sigi and Paul drove us to the airport.  Again, another flare-up when Sigi was waiting for us at Air Canada and we were waiting for him where he dropped us off. They stayed with us until security,  when I tucked 200 euros in Sigi's  pocket, much to his disapproval.  They kept waving to us until we were out of sight.  

A shuttle took us a long way to our plane (I thought we were driving to Toronto). I'm hoping there is space available on an earlier flight to Milwaukee to avoid that 14 hour layover. But  packed as this plane is, I don't hold much hope.  

We arrived in Toronto at 6:40 p.m. the bus left for Milwaukee at 6:30. An agent told us to go to Customer service to see if another flight would be possible, after we claimed our luggage.  Peter and I thought our luggage would go straight to Milwaukee.   No luggage; further checking,  we were right.  There was nothing available, so we just would have to wait 14 hours in a lounge area.  We found some quiet spot, tried to make ourselves comfortable with our heads on bunched up clothing, and got some shut-eye.  

The verbal exchange was not pleasant.  I was as miserable as Peter,  but I had to take all of his abuse besides.  At 5:00 a.m. We started the ticketing process. We split a sandwich with coffee, got our tickets and went through a lot of hoops: immigration, customs, security, (Peter was upset we had to take our shoes off) to finally get to our boarding area.  

The short flight was pleasant,  we got to Milwaukee. Go rite way got us to my house before 10.  When I opened the trunk to load Peter's luggage, no power, dead battery after being idle for three weeks.  I called AAA, and even though the battery was installed on July 18,  being idle drained it.  I put in a pizza, and we ate on the patio.  We parted as if nothing unpleasant had ever happened. 

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