Rothenburg and Rudesheim

Hotel number 10 has internet access so I am back or one last post!

We left Salzburg and headed for Rothenburg. The drive should have taken about 2 1/2-3 hous and it took 5..lots of construction and traffic. Of course hotel number 9 of 10 is where we run into our first hotel problem. We find the hotel after driving 5 hours so we are a little annoyed. As I walk into the hotel I see a board that says todays arrivals...and guess whose name was not listed. The owner comes out to tell me that he made a mistake and booked our hotel for the wrong day and he does not have a room....BOO...He had made other arrangements for us and gave us our tickets for the night watchman tour. He walked us about 2 blocks to the Pension Elke. it was very nice and I could tell the owner of the original place felt very bad..not quite sure how that happened..since i booked in January and reconfimed the week before we left...But after two weeks on vacation you are abel to just let these things slid off your back and move on.

We wandered around town and found the gardens which overlooked the town. Very nice! We found the world famous Christmas shop which is enormous..room after room of Christmas! We bought a few things and then found another shop that Rick Steeves recommended better selction..better service and lower prices. The owner was very friendly and asked us if we found it because of Rick Steeves. Of course we had! He said that he would give us a 10% discount and gave me a map of Rothenburg that his mother drew and she signes some every morning. Now of couse we had to buy something. Prices were really good and he kept throwing things in.

The owner fo the christmas shop recommended a place for dinner whcih was good german food. Then it was 8pm and time for the Nighwatchman tour. The tour meets in the main square at 8pm each evening for a tour in English. At about 745 the entire square is full! I think this tour is pretty much something you must do when in Rothenburg. The tour last about an hour and you make about 7 stops for a little history of the city and the job of the nightwatchman. He was a great guide and very funny. At the end you kind of pay on an honor system. It is only 7E per person and I am sure there are a few people that skip but I think everyone feels it is well worth it and pays.

After the tour we went to Hell..ha ha ha..yes the bar is named hell..On the tour the nightwatchman says..when somone tell you to go to Hell it is a good recommenation!

We sat with a couple from Amsterdam who were travelling by motorcycle for two weeks around Germany. Off ot bed at 11pm.

Our last drive was from Rothenburg to Rudeshiem. The drive was about 2 hours. Rudeshiem is located along the Rhine river in the heart of Wine counrty. It was quite rainy on the drive and all morning but cleared up by the time we were ready to explore the area. We found the cable car which goes to the top of the mountain with a great view of the Rhine and a few towns..then a stop for lunch and a little more wandering around old town...We are very sad that our vacation is coming to an end, it seemed to go by so fast! We are even more sad that we will not be taaing naps every afternoon...which is where we are now...330pm. Time for a nap!

We are flying home tomorrow and desperatly hoping for a business class upgrade!

See you when we get home!

SALZBURG

Day two in Salzburg started our a little rainy but we were very excited when it stopped in time for our Sound of Music Bike tour. The tour last about 3 1/2 hours. We took it more for the bike tour part rather than the Sound of Music part..and it was a great tour. We did see quite a few scenes from the movie. The front of the house and back of the house( two different houses) The gazebo and various other sights in the city that appeared in the move. We stopped at the gazebo which had been moved from the house due to tourist interest and it started to rain pretty heavy. Most other were prepared with ponchos or jackets. We were not. When the rain finally slowed down we hit the road for the last leg of the tour back to our starting point.It was a constant drizzle but not too bad. I defiantly think a bike tour is the best way to see any city rather than sitting on a bus..

After the tour we walked around for a bit in the old city stopped for lunch...learning again to watch what you order. I ordered sausages..with something??? It was only 4.80E so I did not expect much. It was pretty much two hot dogs..ok a little better than hot dogs..but not much

Tonight we went to a very nice Mozart Dinner show. There were performances between each course in and Old Baroque ballroom. The restaurant where it was held is said to be the oldest restaurant in Europe opened in 863! The show was very nice and dinner was good...not great but good..We sat with nice couple from England celebrating their 13th anniversary. It was nice to be able to finally meet people we would talk to. Wayne is usually always starting conversations at bars but it had been kind of hard when no one speaks the same language.

I think this may be my last post before my data plan runs out. Tomorrow we are off to Rothenberg Ob Der Tauber and doing the night watchman tour then one night in Rudeshiem which is a small wine town. We are already crossing our fingers for a business class upgrade on the way home.

Goodnight!

Goodbye Croatia! Hello Slovenia and Salzburg

We left Porec bright and early this morning knowing we had about a 4 1/2 hour drive ahead of us. This is the longest drive on the trip. We were originally going to stop somewhere for the night but decided Salburg was worth 2 nights and the drive..

Side note on the GPS in the car. she is very funy..sometimes she says..continue to follow the road until further instructed. Like it is a secret how long we have to be on that road or what is coming up next..the other day she said...traffic delay due to inquisitive drivers..how does she know that???

OK back to the trip. We crossed the boarder leaving Croatia and the boarder entering Slovenia- Why do all border agent looklike the are ready to shoot you.... We did have one toll booth challenge. I forgot that we had already bought our vignette for Slovenia on our way from Italy to Croatia when we briefly had to pass through Slovenia - which is basically a toll sticker. We got to a toll booth and had no idea what to do..pulled into a lane...backed out..pulled into another lane and backed out..then just drove through..thinking we would be getting a ticket later...then I remembered the toll sticker, so I think we are safe.

If you know my saying that I cannot actually count visiting someplace if I do not see something of interest. We were going to stop at the caves but missed that exit. I saw that Lake Bled was just a short detour off of the highway and thought I had heard abut it on one of the many travel shows we watched so off we went.

The Lake area was absolutley beautifuly. We got to the lake and there was a boat ride about to leave so we hopped in..no idea how long or how much..it ended up being about 1hour 15 min. Trip down the lake to an island where we wandered aroudn for about a 1/2 hour and back up the lake..and only 24E..which we thought was a pretty good deal. Then we had lunch overlooking the lake and decided this was a great unexpected stop.

Back on the road to Salzburg. We had about 2 more hours to drive. The Slovenian and Austian country side were beautiful. Small towns all throughout the amazing mountains. The pictures I was able to post do not do it justice.

We arrived in Salzburg and headed right out to visit the old town. We walked around the shopping area, found a pretty cool beer gaden and of couse had a beer..then found a place for dinner. We had the famous Austrian souffle kind of dessert..mixed reviews..very much like a souffle with a raspberry sauce..pretty much like eating air. It started to rain while we were having dinner in the garden so we moved into a semi covered area and finished our meal..and walked back to our hotel in the rain. Luckily it was not pouring..just a light rain..

We are in salzburg so of course the Sound of Music is on TV. I think they pretty much show it all the time.

Tomorrow we have a Sound of Music Bike tour in the morning and a Mozart Dinner in the evening..Very busy day! 10pm Now time for an epsisode of Downton Abbey and off to bed...Goodnight!

Our last day in Croatia

Last night we went to a small place for dinner and had pizza. Which is pretty much the fast food of Europe. We tried our hardest to find a burger but no luck. Every olace you go serves a grappa at the end of dinner. Last night was by far the worst one...almoost like gasoline..but we drank it!.

Today we started a boat ride at 930 am which took us to the town of Rovinj where we had about 2 hours to wander aound. We walked around did some shopping and climbed to the top of the bell tower ..the stairs were definately not OSHA compliant. Scary going up and even scarier coming back down. Pretty much just boards for steps. They did feel sturdy but when walking down there were huge spacies between the steps that could easily swallow a small child. It was quite a hike up but the view over the city was amazing. I think I got some really good pics.

Our next stop was Vrsar which was not much to speak of. We wandered a bit. We did not want to walk the climb to town so opted for an ice cream and them a beer before getting back on the boat for the trip back to Porec.

Notime for a nap today! Tonight we went back to Konoba Aba for dinner. Small family run restaurant I found on Trip adivor and excellent. We both had spaghetti with seafood which was very good.

We are all packed up to hit the road tomorrow to Salzburg. We have decided to skip the Eagles net since is primarily just a restaurant now and since we were at the tof Mount Pilatus for an amazing view of the alps. We will head right to Salburg and do a walking tour on our own. Maybe it will be less than 90degrees tomorrow.

Good Night!

Happy Anniversay to us! Visit to Motovun

Today we celebrated our 5 year anniversary! It really does feel like it was just yesterday...

We took the boat over to Nikola island and rented some chairs and spent the day at the beach. I think we both spent a little too much time in the sun and we both have a little sun burn to prove it.

I do have to say that I almost felt out of place with a one piece suit on and even with a top on!

Of course there was an afternon nap and back out for dinner about 9pm. We went to the same restaurant where we had the sea bass in salt a few days ago. It is called Cardo. We had another delicious meal! We went with meat this time...Yes my not eating red meat did end on this vacation but I did last 7 months at home. I did break it in Italy with Carpaccio of all things.

A few more drinks after dinner and off to bed.

We had originally planned another beach day for today but felt as thought we had enough sun so we took a drive in the countryside to Motovun. It is a small beautiful hilltop top. When Anthony Bourdain filmed his No Reservaiton episode on Croatia he visited Motovun and we had lunch in the same resturant. Lunch was delicous. We had the motovun mixed plate appetizer which was all things Motovun and Istria are known for: procuitto, cheese, olives and peppers all with a little olive oil. We walked around the town for a bit and did a little shopping. It is a small artist community so lots of hand made and local crafts.

There are olive trees and grapes vines eveywhere. The Istrian wine is very good and the olive oil is excellent! We learned that when croatia joins the EU next year they can only have what vines and olive trees they already have and will not be able to plant new ones so you see new plantings everywhere.

It is now 315..must mean it is nap time!

Tomorrow we are going to take an all day boat trip down the coast to Rovinj, the Fjord and Vrsar with lunch and swimming!

Pula, Croatia

This morning we took a drive to Pula which is about 45 minutes south of Porec. We went to see the Collisieum which was pretty amazing I still have not figured out how to put photos here but there are some on Facebook. It was still really hot here and I see it is the same at home.

Came back to town and it got a little cloudy so we walked around town and did some shopping and had lunch. Then of course nap time.

We went out for a great dinner at Konobo Aba which is a small family run resturant. The food was great and the price was excellent. Wayne had a nice steak with truffle sauce. The Istrian penninsula is know for their truffles.

There is a folklore dance festival going on in town so we watched the dance troupe from Egypt for a few minutes.

We found a bar for a cocktail with some live music. Quite a mix of music..from Pink Floyd and Janis Joplin to John Mayer and Eric Clapton. There were pretty good. It started raining so that was the end of our night.

It is 1231 here so if is officially our 5 year anniversary! Happy Anniversary to us!

End of Day two in Porec.

We had a great dinner tonight..Fresh caught Sea bass cooked in salt and fileted(sp?) tableside. It was delicious. Stopped and bought my first anniversary gift a nice gold and citrine ring.

We found a casino down the steet so we stopped in and I actually carried Wayne this time. He only lost 20 Euro but I won 290 Euro!! Lucky number 7. I was kind of bummed that after I hit with 5 euro on 7 I cashed out and then 7 came out again!!! but we walked away winners!

I am feeling the sun as the day goes on. I fell asleep a little too long and got a little too much sun on the back of my legs. Tomorrow we are off for a drive to see the Collisieum which is older that the one in Rome and still in use.

Good Night!

WE DO COOL STUFF..

WE DO COOL STUFF..is pretty much our slogan when we have the opportunity to experience all of the amazing things that we do..Next stop on our list of COOL STUFF..Porec Croatia!

We arrived in Croatia on July 4th about 130. and My friend Jackie's father and his girlfriend who lives here arrived about 2pm..He has been an amazing help in planning our whole trip and especially our time in Croatia!

He gave us a great overview of the area ..things to do etc and we took a short walk around town. Then we headed inland up a mountain for a little wine tasting. It was a really nice winery and we brought a bottle to enjoy later. Back to Porec for an amazing dinner on the waterfron. We have had some great Istrian proscuitto - which is differnt than italian- I think I liked it more. For our entree we has very very fresh fish..great wine..all aroung amazing meal..Branko left to drive home and we headed to bed. Great 1st day in Croatia.

The town we are in in a waterfront peninsula town..with a long promenade with all kinds of shops and crazy things to buy..It seems to be getting more crowded and crazy as we get closer to the weekend..There are a few clubs aound us and a place for all of the luxury yachts and sailboats to dock.

Today we were up early for breakfast at the hotel and took a nice long walk. At 9am we were already sweating. I hear the US is breaking all kinds of heat records. Europe is too and we are still in the middle of an unusual heat wave.

We hopped on a boat to the neighboring Fortuna Island where we could rent beach chairs and relax. We spent most of the day between the chairs, water and napping. Very relaxing day. The water of the Adriatic is very clear but all rocks. We were glad Jackie told us to be sure we had water shoes. There is no way we would have been able to go in the water without them. Even the "beach" area is all pebbles and small stones so the beach shoes were a must have.

A little lunch break and another nap.. which we know is not going to be good when we have to go back to work and cannot take afternoon naps.

All caught up! Looking foward to 5 more days in Croatia!

Venice

We ended our time in venice with a wonderful gondola ride and a nice dinner...off to Croatia tomorrow!

Venice!

We arrived in Venice yesterday early afternoon. We did a good job of figuring out where to park and then pick up our 2 day water bus tickets and on the water bus to our hotel. Luckily they give very specic and great directions...

> They say Venice is the city to get lost in and that is definately true! We wandered around for a bit in the afternoon then rested for about 30 minutes and back out for dinner. We headed to meet Alessandro for our pub tour but I obviously did not have the meeting spot right so we are going to try agin tonight to see if we can join his tour.

We came back to the hotel for a dinner recommendation and headed to Rosa Rosso..I amnot srue how we found it the first time and I hae not idea if we couldfindit agin butit was very good. We sat outside but at least in the shade. It was still about 90 degrees out..you cannot even stand still without sweating..

We had a nice dinner and headed to bed about 10...The heat and walking wear you out..

We thought about getting a pedometer before our trip and now are thinking we definately should have..It would be interesting to know how many miles we have walked...again definately rethinking the time of year we take these walking, hiking sightseeing vacations....

The hotel we are in is very nice and today while sitting at a little bistro out front we were able to direct new arriving guests. You have to go though this large iron gate which looks like someplace you should not be going..The hotel staff is extremely friendly and helpful..We locked ourselves out of the safe in the room and let then know. When we came back in the afternoon they - knew that we needed help and came right up to open the safe and walk us through setting it...

We had breakfast at the hotel this morning where they have a nice buffet and make eggs to order..then off to the Doges Palace secret itineraries tour..It was a very intersting tour and I am glad we had booked it a few months in advance. It was were Casanova was held and supposedly escaped from. Quick stop back at the hotel to drop off the Tripod..At least I can saw we used it..and took a few pictures together. We headed to the water bus to Murano and wandered around..had lunch and saw a glass blowing demonstration..very cool..

Back on the water bus St Marcos Square and here we are...rest time in the nice cool AC..

I did make my first purchase..which Wayne is very surprised by( the fact that this was my first purchase)..bought a nice leather venice made handbag... Tomorrow we are off to Croatia for 6 days of relaxation!

Milan - Football and the Last Supper

Ok I am not sure that Football should come before the last supper in the heading... We left Luzern early and headed to Milan. The driving in Milan was not as bad as we expected. We took the metro to the Duomo which is aboslutley amazing! walked around the inside and then took the elevator to the roof! Yes it is the actual roof! Amazing view of the city and great close of view of the church spires..we headed to Maria Della Grazie to see the last supper..we had pre-purchsed tickets and had a tour in English. You are only allowed to stay in the room for 15 minutes and the guide does a great description of the scene and the messages.. We headed back to the Duomo and found a place for cocktails on a roof top..we had a few cocktails and then some sushi and headed to the square...where we spent the next few hours with thousands of people cheering on Italy in the world cup finale. They had a big screen and Italians do love their football..it was a crazy atmosphere and still very hot - we last until about half time and jumped in a cab back ot the hotel and watched the rest of the game in the hotel lounge..We are thinking maybe we are bad luck..we were in Germany and they lost and now in Italy and they lost...Sorry Germany and Italy... Ok now we are all caught up..It is Monday morning and we are headed to breakfast an off to Venice for 2 nights. We are looking forward to 2 nights in the same place!

On to Luzern!

We were up bright an early once again..but we were to the first to breakfat today..ok we were 2nd..Nice bfst.. Then on the road once agin. We headed to the Car ferry over Lake Konstanz to the Town of Konstance and then drove to Luzern..the gps in the car was not as cooperative today..we missed about 3 differnt exits on the highway and our turn in town..but finally ended up at the Renaissance in Luzern! We headed right ot the visitor center to get our golden Ticket for the Mount Pilatus tour. We took a 90 minute boat ride on the lake..in about 100 degrees...of course there is a heat wave in europe right now...we really need to rethink the time of year we do these type of vacations...We forgot to put sunscreen on so were trying our best to not get burnt...after 90 minutes we come to the cog wheel train..the steepest one in the world! They thought there were two seats for us but since there were not they put us in the conductor cabin on the back of the train..great views on the way up the mountain..It is about a 30 minute ride to the top of the mountain and absolutley amazing!! At the top there were different performances going on and we did a quick 10 minute hike to a top look out point...It was a little hazy but not enougth to dappen the beautiful view of the alps and the lake! We had lunch wandered around little more and came across a guy getting ready to jump off the mountain! He had a parachute type contraption and got all set and just ran off the mountian and flew around for a while. Very Cool!! We headed back down on the Cable car which was REALLY high and quite scary for me! I could not even look out the front window...We had to take a cable car that held about 25 people and then a gondola on our own...The gondola was not as bad.. Then to the bus and back to town.. Once again time for a nap! We love our vacation naps! We headed out for dinner and there was a huge music festival goign on and the crowds were insane!! We tried to find a place for dinner and ended up back a the hotel in their mexican cantina...not bad but not great...we talked to a girl sitting next to us who is coming to Phila in a few week and DC, NYC and AC! Small world! We had a few more cocktais at the bar next to the restaurant and headed to bed..which was right above the nighclub and the AC did not seem to work very well...I guess the Friends and family rate is who you put in this room on a sold out Saturday night.. Until Tomorrow!

Day 2 Tubingen - Burg Hozenhollern- Meersburg

We woke up at 6am..still getting used to the time change. Since it was too early for breakfast we headed out for a walk around town to take some pictures...beautiful quiet morning. We ended up at the town square where eveyone was very busy settign up for the morning market. Flowers, meats ..cheeses..Back tot he otel for a quick bfst them we hit the road. We drove about 30 minutes to Burg Hozenhollern - very old castle way up on a mountain. I thought it opened at 930 but found out when we got there that it did not open until 1000..so we parked in lot which was about half way up and hiked the rest of the steep climb up...it was quite the work out and showed us just how out of shape we are! it took about 30 minutes to get to the top and we just wandered around waiting for someone to kick us out but noone ever did!! So we hiked back down - which was much easier..on the way down we came across a group of about 10 germans probably in their 60 hiking their way up ..and as we passed them they broke out into song..very surreal hiking throught the black forest and song breaking out..they were really good too! We drove about 1 more hour to Meesburg..beautiful lake town on Lake Konstanz. We checked into the Hotel Baren right in the center of town and wandered areound..found a nice spot for lunch on the lake..another menu we could not read so just picked soemthing and both ended up with nice salads..It was about 90 degrees and like an oven..I had to give in and buy a hat before my scalp got burnt..It was a very good call! We also did the tour of the Old Castle( There is a new one too) ..then back to the room for a nap..we headed out for dinner and ended up back on the lake front and ended the night at a small wine bar! Great little town... We were kept up pretty late by the bar across the street..I can't imagine what it would have been like if Germany had won...I am sure much lounder..Although we were rooting for Germany while in Germany we wll now be rooting for Italy while in Milan for the final game of the world cup!! Until Tomottow!

Day1 is coming to a close..goodnight Tubingen

Day 1 is coming to a close...we are back in our room watching the end of the Germany /Italy world cup game..it is not looking good for Germany so the town is quite quiet.. We wonderd around for a few hours today and had lunch at a place that did not have an english menu so we just picked something and both ended up with a whole pizza..They were both good and not extremely large. We did nap for a few hours this afternoon..we could barely keep our eyes open. Headed out for dinner and ended up a Neckmueller( which did have an english menu..but I still had noidea what i was eating) I took the servers recommendation for a pork an spatzel dish. The restaurant was located on the river..stopped for soem gelato and then found a bar with a few bar stools open and watched the 1st half of the game and headed back to our room. There is a little bar across the street that we can hear the moans or the screams when something happens... Tubingen was a neat little town..just what you would think of a germany village..the castle next to our hotel was built in 1050! Sorry I still have not figured out how to load a pic... Tomorrow we are off to Meersburg!

We have arrived! Stop 1 Tubingen Germany

We arrived safe and sound. The business class upgrade definately made the 8 hour flight much easier to bear. We tried to sleep about 5 hours but it was not a restful sleep for either one of us.. Our arrival and rental car pick up went very smooth and we hit the road...we had to drive about 2 hours to Tubingen and were ablet o checkinto our room..so we took a nap...Only about an hour but we want to be sure we can stay up tonight to watch teh World cup Germany game! What better place than a univeristy town to see Germany play! We are getting showered and ready to explore the town! As soon as I can figure out how to add a picture i will share our view of the castle!

And Were Off and Upgraded!

Upgraded to business class!! Yea!!! hanging out in the lounge before our flight!

crash course in the iPad

Amy is letting me take her ipad so I am at the O'Shea's getting a crash course!

The Final Count Down

Just a few more days until we are off to Europe!  Wayne's task was to get his  International Drivers license which we can now check off the list..One more shopping trip tomorrow and then shopping in Amy's closet on Sunday.  Planning to have everything all packed up by Sunday night..

I keep checking  the airline to see if first and business class are still for sale...they both are which hopefully will translate to an upgrade!! I am not sure who pays $10000 one way to fly to Germany but hopefully no one at this point!

This is our first stop- Tubingen Germany- About 2 hours south of Frankfurt!  Small University town.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ9atrRze-s&feature=player_embedded#!

I booked us a Sound of Music Bike tour in Salzburg..I am sure you can imagine how excited Wayne was about this!  We have borrowed the Sound of Music so we can watch it before we leave...Wayne does not  remember if he ever saw it and I don't knw the last time I watched it..


thttp://www.mariasbicycletours.com/index.php?view=sysBicycleTour.navDesign&lng=en&PHPSESSID=ntrrpqp62459ife5qfemrntpn3

13 days and Counting!

13 Days until our 2012 Big Euro vacation!  The stress of getting everything at work settled before we leave is setting in and causing me to actually wake up in the morning before my alarm!  I have been planning the trip for months and the travel binder is about 50 pages at this point...Wayne laughs at my binder but he will appreciate the work I have done when we are bouncing around Europe!  Planning for me is part of the fun!

I am feeling pretty good about our chances of a first or business class upgrade on our flight! Fingers Crossed!