Apr 6, 2005 - Rothenburg (The Romantic Road)

From Munich, I boarded a "Romantic Road" tour bus which connects Fussen to Frankfurt. This route provides some of the best scenery that Bavaria has to offer, with several scheduled photo op stops along the way. Upon boarding, I quickly realized I was the only passenger on the bus (I'm quick like that). My Turkish driver (who looks a little like Emeril Lagasse) introduced himself as Kirksel and asked if it would be ok if he strayed a bit from the typical tour speak, given I was the only passenger. (So, there we were, Captain Kirksel and I,...

Apr 4, 2005 - Munich

Munich is a huge city with just over 1.3 million people. It was pretty much bombed flat during World war II, and then rebuilt into what it is today. The city center, Marienplaz, is a pedestrian area consisting of outdoor cafes, a marketplace, shopping zones, and the New Town Hall's Glockenspiel, a clock tower which, at certain times of the day, recreates a royal wedding from the 16th century. Other attractions in Munich include the Deutshes Museum (Germany's Smithsonian), Nymphenburg Palace, The Olympic Grounds, The BMW Museum, and the...

Apr 4, 2005 - Wurzburg

Throughout our many travels, Cliff and I have always said that it is meeting people from the places we visit that makes our trips so meaningful. In Wurzburg, we were lucky enough to experience this twice. We stayed with a family that lives in a small town near Wurzburg. There we had a marvelous and relaxing time learning about life in Wurzburg and eating spectacular home-cooked food, especially the kaiserschmarn. Hannah enjoyed being around people other than her dull, boring parents and even learned a new German card game. On Shabbat, we...

Mar 30, 2005 - Day 4 - Screwed up day turns good!

Hello Everyone! Catch up from Day 3: We took a night watchman tour and learned a TON of history of Rothenburg. We headed out before breakfast this morning to take a few more pictures and videos of the things we missed yesterday. Well, today was quite the adventure. We left Rothenburg this morning with the intent of heading to Fussen, but then on the train, we decided to go to Munich instead...ok, so we were kinda forced into hitting up Munich instead of Fussen, but all turned out well. So ya, a few train mishaps due to both our own...

Mar 29, 2005 - Rothenburg ob der Tauber

We arrived in Rothenburg not knowing where we were going to stay, what we were going to do or anything about the small German town. All I knew was that there was really yummy looking gelato just waiting for me across the square. Tourist Information was closed so that didn't help. There was a map outside that showed all the hotels, at least fifty. So many choices! My parents went to look while Auntie Wendy and I ate ice cream. They came back soon after saying that the hotel was right across the street. We got settled quickly and went out to...

Mar 29, 2005 - Day 3 - Mainz to Rothenberg ob der Tauber

Our last message was rushed, so we forgot to mention one story. The night we were in Bacharach, we headed to the bar for a taste of the local wine and beer. We also ate pretzels, which were good, but not as good as Eric's Easter pretzels. We agreed the Bacharachan wine and beer was really good, but when we were on our way back to the room, we realized that we weren#t in the bar, but the restaurant. Chad was very upset! Today we left Bacharach and headed to Mainz. We had a quick tour to see the Dom, which was surrounded by the market. We...

Mar 27, 2005 - Fussen, The Romantische Strasse

After several train connections and eight hours of travel we were in Fussen, Germany from Venice but it was well worth it. Fussen sits just north of the Austrian border in Western Bavaria. It is the southernmost town of the Romantische Strasse (Romantic Road) which is a road that links a series of picturesque Bavarian towns. We arrived in Fussen in the middle of a torrential downpour in the pitch black of night. During the past three months we've only seen three and half days of showers so we are caught by surprise. Luckily for us, our...

Mar 25, 2005 - Not so sunny Salzburg

Depart: Munich, Germany Arrive: Salzburg, Austria Overnight: Yoho Youth Hostel -Spending the night in the truck wasn't so bad aside from a few aches and pains. After a quick breakfast we set off in earnest to Salzburg. Which was only about 150km away. -The Austrian border was another passed without incident, although I guess this is unsurprising given that we are still in the EU. I'm expecting them to be a lot more harrowing going forward! ;o) -We were getting a little lost in Salzburg trying to find our Youth Hostel. So in an act of...

Mar 24, 2005 - Munich, Germany

Depart: Reims, France Arrive: Munich, Germany Overnight: The truck! - A reasonably uneventful day consisting of a very long drive. We crossed the border into Germany without incident. Just West of Munich we were caught in a huge traffic jam which lasted a couple of hours. Only later we realised that it was due to a serious accident having seen several police cars near a burnt out truck on the side of the road. - We had considered driving through to Salzburg but with Mak tired, and no guarantee of finding a truck parking space late at night,...

Mar 16, 2005 - Guten Tag From Munchen

Hey Everybody!!! Here is an update about my trip to Munich. It was a really good trip and I saw some great things. I'm still traveling with Rob and Lee and probably will for a little while longer. 3/13 - This morning I decided to go to Munich with Rob and Lee and a Jeremiah(from Colorado). So we got all packed up and headed out for the train station. On the way to the station a man in his late fifties came up to us and started asking us questions about Balmers(The Hostel we stayed at) We told him that it was a great hostel and we would...

Mar 2, 2005 - Te Hanekoko's Second Report

hello peoples well about time ive got on here to do another report aye well get over it if use were waiting nah just jokin. Well since the last time i wrote my other report we have been to Velden which is where we stayed in a flash hotel with a Swimming pool,Sauna,tennis courts but it was snowing so we didnt go on them,a gym,and a dance-bar place at the bottom of our appartment and i cant forget the magnificent scenery man the big huge river in the front of the hotel was the shit man and it made it look better with the mountains and the...

Feb 13, 2005 - Mom and I go on Sound of Music tour, leave for Rome

Mom and I wanted to go on the Sound of Music tour for Dad's sake. (Here's to you, Dad!) We had a pleasant breakfast provided by the hotel and took our time getting our things packed up and ready to leave for Rome. Then we went to Mozart's apartment. That was kind of cool, as you could imagine what it was like to live in that time. On to the Sound of Music tour! The woman who led the tour was a little irritating, but fairly pleasant. She was just a little too hyperactive for her own good. And she acted very excited about everything she...