From England to Germany

It has been a while - it is hard to keep this up - maybe I will get more into it some day.

Anyway - after the tour of the south west of England, we spent about three more days in London doing all the touristy stuff. The British Museum is really all it is advertised as being. The Rosetta stone, the Elgin marbles, the Portland Vase and all the other stuff. Then there is the London Eye - great views of London and even though I am afraid of high places, this didn't bother me.

Finally it was off to St. Pancras Station to catch the Chunnel train over to Paris. Thought that it would be really exciting, but the train goes into a tunnel, stays there a while and comes out in France. Really is a speedy way to get across the channel but not terribly exciting.

From Paris we took a DeutscheBahn high speed train (almost 200 MPH!) to Saarbruken in Germany, spent the night then off to Lubeck. Lubeck was the largest city in the old Hanseatic League (check out your history books for more on Lubeck). A charming town with good beer and a hotel room right next to the train station.

Then it was off to Berlin for a couple of days. We stayed in an apartment for the price of a room and were in walking distance (but a long walk) from Berlin's new train station. Took a bus tour and saw most of the sights. Dinner found us trying out beer and eating traditional German fare. The schwarzbier that I got was almost as good as Guiness - and that is high praise from me.

Next on to Permassins to stay with Mary's relatives for a couple of days. Permassins is in the Saarland region and is near the French border.

Gudron and Herman Kress and their three children (Ulrike, Matthias and Uta) were truly wonderful hosts and the family members were so welcoming that we dream of going back again some time. Went to a restaraunt in France one night and then took our hosts to lunch on another day to an extremely nice restaurant.

Next it was Nuremberg. One reason we went there is that the old town is a walled city and the wall is mostly intact, we were told that it was similar to Rothenberg ob de Tauber, another walled city, and it was similar but much more modern in feel. Again, good German food and drink.

We then went to a US Miltary recreation center in Southern Germany near Garmisch-Partinkirchen (the Edelweiss Lodge). Interesting experience, as soon as we got onto the property, everyone spoke in English and the American dollar was the currency in use. The lodge is only a couple of years old and the facilities and staff were outstanding.

While at Edelwiess, we took a bus trip to Mad King Ludwig's fairy tale castle, the one that Walt Disney used as inspiration for his Magic Kingdom castle, Neuschwanstein Castle. Even though he only lived there for a short period before he was murdered for spending money on castles and not on war, one can imagine how life would have been lived here.

Finally - one last night in Germany in Munich. No stay in Munich would be complete without having a meal and more fine German beer at the Hofbrauhaus. It is amazing how big that place is - and a fine oompah band is playing most of the day. Lots of atmosphere and beer.

Then back home around Memorial Day! Next year, maybe, another trip across the big waters.

England and Germany

Since the last post I have fallen down on the job. Let me do it piece by piece and we can go from there.

England - Left from Elmira, NY on USAIR connecting in Philly to Gatwick in London. Fligts on time and comfortable (at least considering we were in coach class). Picked up on time in Gatwick by Globus travel and delivered to our first night's hotel, Novotel on the west side of London. Hotel was nice, location was out of the way a bit but close enough to a tube statiion. Dinner in the pub was good but breakfast (the famous Full English Breakfast) was outstanding.

For those of you who have never had a Full English Breakfast, think of the Sunday Brunch at most US hotels - and make that happen every morning. Granted, there were no Mimosas or Bloody Mary's, but the food was all there and good. I like breakfast anyway so the Full English is near and dear to my heart.

Second day in England and in th morning, the Globus tour bus was there to start us out good and early.

Over the next several days we would stay in Plymouth (embarkation point of the Pilgrims) and go to Land's End, see. St. Michael's Mount, the costal town of St. Ives and Lynmouth. Spending a night in Bristol and on back to London. But between London and London we would see Bath (the Roman baths), Stonehenge (for the third time - still inspiring), visit an Abbey, go for a short train ride and drink beer in several pubs - and pubs in England are so unlike our bars or restaurants. We have a couple of favorite pubs - in Oxford it is the King's Arms and in Salisbury it is the Queen's Arms - no support of the royalty from us!

When we returned to London, we spent one night in a hotle right across the street from Kennsington Park and then walked to Kennsington Close hotel for the next three nights.

We road the tube all over the place - hitting some great pubs like the George south of the Thames - a public house so old that it is in the National Trust, the Windsor Castle pub and the Churchill Arms (with a good collection of chamber pots and pictures of American presidents).

We went to the Tate Modern art museum for a brief visit, rode the London Eye, went to the British Museum and walked around the wonderful city.

Only downside, Ray developed a "crink in the neck" the second day in England and it continued to plague him.

Then it was time to leave for Germany.

It is actually several months later, but to continue the recap of the visit.