Apr 6, 2013 - Breisach & Black Forest, Germany

Got up early this morning for breakfast, then took the tour bus through the Black Forest. Lots of snow! The countryside was beautiful and the farmhouses are huge. We stopped in a little village. They took some of the people on a 20-minute talk up one of the mountains to a little waterfall. Then into the cuckoo clock shop! Loved this! One of the clock makers gave us a talk on the history and how the clocks are made. The store has a clock covering every square inch of the walls. Of course, it gets pretty noisy when the clocks go off! Then...

Jan 9, 2013 - Christmas in Germany

Christmas in Germany was rather uneventful. My main objective was to spend some time with my mom. She will turn 85 and is still very healthy. My hikes and excursions were somewhat limited due to weather and my mom's desire to spend time at home. We have two holidays for Christmas in Germany and on the 2nd day, which would boxing day in some parts of the world, my brother and family came to visit from Stuttgart.a We went out for dinner at a local restaurant, called "Gasthaus zum Ochsen". You have to check it out if you ever get into the...

Dec 25, 2012 - Christmas Day

After the hustle and bustle of yesterday, Christmas Day came as something of a relief. We rose just before 9.00am so that we could make breakfast (despite our protestations, our hostess insisted on making us breakfast before returning to her family). We then had the luxury of taking our time to shower, re-dress, and relax before heading up the hill to join the others. We arrived around 10.45am and settled in to the family routine of the day. Once the kids were sorted and fed, we decided to follow our hosts to Bad Mergentheim for a walk....

Dec 24, 2012 - Christmas Eve in Weikersheim

Another good start to the day, complete with the eggs and ham for Barb. We woke to another sunny and mild day here in Germany – around 13˚. After we got ourselves sorted we drove to the supermarket to get a couple of items before heading up to Lars and Antje’s place. Ron took the girls to Bad Mergentheim whilst Barb stayed and went last minute grocery shopping with Antje. Being a rather small place, there are only two supermarkets in Weikersheim and, like the rest of Germany, they close from midday on Christmas Eve until the 27 December....

Dec 23, 2012 - Return to Weikersheim

We met for breakfast at 8.30am, and were packed and ready to leave by 9.00am. We trudged back to the car park with our bags, glad that it wasn’t raining, and loaded the car. Having studied Google maps earlier we were well prepared for our departure from Munich, although the GPS decided to play ball today and was quickly on-line. The streets were largely empty, which made the drive out of the city very easy. We had planned alternate side trips on our way back to Weikersheim: The girls would visit the Bavarian palace in Oberschlessheim, while...

Dec 16, 2012 - Rottenburg

The day started with our now usual routine – wake before the alarm, shower and dress, breakfast at 9.00am, draft the previous day’s trip journal entry and then drive up to our friends house. We arrived just as they prepared to leave for a Xmas nativity service in which their son had a part. Zoë went with them while we made use of their wifi to check emails and complete the trip journal entry. We drove back to town at 10.30am, picked Zoë up outside the church and then drove a short distance to Röttingen, where we parked at a previously...

Dec 15, 2012 - Out and About

Both of us were awake by 6.30am this morning and after writing the Trip Journal and knocking back a coffee we got ourselves sorted for breakfast at 9.00am. Once again it was another good breakfast. The hotelier made Barb scrambled eggs with bits of ham in it. It was delicious (das war köstlich, danke). We had some time before seeing Zoë so we went for a wander around the streets and took some photos of the old buildings. Today is a lot warmer being around 9˚ and all the snow had melted overnight. By the time we got back, the lady was...

Dec 14, 2012 - Settling in Weikersheim

After a surprisingly good sleep, we enjoyed our first breakfast at Hotel Garni. A very nice selection of breads, cold cuts, cheese and fruit kept Ron happy, while Barb tucked into a bowl of muesli. The hotelier is very nice but unfortunately does not speak English so our conversation is one of hand gestures and hoping like anything that she understands us. We left the hotel at 10.00am and drove to our friend’s house, where Zoë was looking after their daughter, Johanna. The three of us, with Johanna in her buggy, then went for a leisurely...

Dec 13, 2012 - Arrival in Germany

Having flown to Europe several times, there was nothing surprising about the journey to Frankfurt – it was long and not particularly comfortable, but it could have been a lot worse. Our passage through customs and immigration at Frankfurt airport was incredibly quick and painless, our bags all arrived, and the Peugeot folks were expecting us to pick up a car (Eurolease). After catching a courtesy bus to the hotel where the Eurolease agent was based, we accepted the vehicle (a Peugeot Partner Teepee), filled up at a nearby gas station, and...

Sep 25, 2012 - Berlin - Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

Another short report folks.  My Berlin Education today is something you dont really look forward on doing. You do because you want to see, feel, and understand. Going to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. Tour starts at 11am and ends around 6pm.  Meeting point is at the same Starbucks. Pay my 15euros and at  1130am, we hop on the S-Bahn for an hour train ride and then a 20min walk to the Gates. Tour guide today is Rob and he's Australian as well. Groups are normally around 20-25. Today, Rob has 50 people. But, he handles it very well. Good...

Sep 16, 2012 - der Countdown läuft...

Liebe Freunde, dies ist der letzter Gruß aus der schönen Heimat. Da ich zur Reise selbst noch nicht viel zu berichten weiß, ein paar kurze Infos zum Ablauf: 18.09 22.20 Uhr Abflug Frankfurt (Ortszeit) 20.09 14.40 Uhr Ankunft Auckland/Neuseeland (Ortszeit) Stopover: Singapore und Sidney Fluggesellschaft: Qantas 22.09 Beginn der 23 tägigen "All of New Zealand"-Tour.... Fortsetzung folgt..(-: Liebe Grüße Sou

Sep 9, 2012 - Lyon - Hinterzarten (Black Forest)

Woke up this morning feeling, very, very ordinary. I don't know what this cold is going to do, but it's take its time to build up and do anything. I feel like I've been hit by a truck, tired and my head is disorientated. Having said all that though, we've slept in a bit and it's time to get moving. I went to go get the car, as Ali's foot was still swollen, and bring it back to the hotel. I took my bags to the car, and realised when I got there, I no longer had the parking pass, that I must have lost on the way to the car. When I got to the...