Feb 7, 2012 - And the beat goes on...

Crazy last couple days. Travel is a great way to evaluate one's sanity, that's for sure. And mine is on life support. Took a 5 AM train Monday morning from Munich to Crailsheim, Germany. This town of 1400 or so is home to the Voith corporation, a worldwide produce of fluid couplings. They allowed me to tour their plant because I helped install a prototype unit in Wyoming, then had me share knowledge about natural gas operations. Even fed me lunch! Stefan with Voith recommended I go to Rothenburg next...he didn't mention there's two of them,...

Oct 23, 2011 - Dresden

@@@@@@@ BACKGROUND Dresden was once known as the ‘Venice of the North’ because of its fame as an artistic centre during the 18th century. The worldly Augustus the Strong and his son Augustus III were the driving force behind the creation of the most striking buildings lining this bend on the Elbe River. Despite the fact that the entire world admired the artistry of these fine buildings, the Allies unleashed a devastating series of bombing raids between February 13th and 15th that laid waste to much of the city. It’s a miracle that any of...

Sep 28, 2011 - Goodbye Austria...hello Germany

Vienna...the city of music, the seat of the once powerful Hofburg ruling powers, is a bustling, modern city. We walked through a busy street market, with colorful fruit and vegetable stands, bread and pastry shops, meat and fish markets, stalls with jams and jellies, cheese shops, clothing and scarf shops, and touristy trinkets. Gene bought some unusual cheese and I bought an apple cinnamon roll iced pastry for our lunch picnic later. Then on to the old city area. First, to the Albertina Art Museum where I saw three more Monets and a number...

Jul 1, 2011 - Rothenburg

Rothenburg germany is a lovely little town that Eric and I went to after our long 15 hour journey to get there. We believe that if we had a car, it probably would have taken us perhaps 3 or less hours to get there. But that is the life of a backpacker, you must depend on the resources given to you wherever you are. But the little placed that we stayed in, as stated before, was adorable. Exactly what you would imagine a German hotel or b&b to look like. With frilly curtains, hand painted watercolor paintings of the town, light colored wood,...

Jul 1, 2011 - Back in more familiar territory

From Wroclaw I attempted an early start for the border only to discover I had a broken spoke before I'd even left the hotel. Must have been the cobbles on the way in. I replaced it, but once on the road found I had gear problems. I knew the chain would need replacing eventually but it had gone from slipping once every couple of days to being virtually unusable in a few miles. I had no option but to stop at Legnica, I guessed the last major city in Poland with bikeshops. It was Sunday so I couldn't get a replacement immediately, and so I had...

Jun 30, 2011 - 15 hours

15 hours of traveling...13 hours on a train...15 hours of frustration and bad luck. that could sum up this blog. We started off our day out of cesky krumlov early so that we could catch the train to get to Rothenburg, Germany. We ate breakfast quickly, if at all, so that we could make the train at 830 but breakfast started at 8am and it was a 40 minute walk. we decided though that we had kronor that we needed to spend and get rid of because to convert it into euros, well we would lose money. so we got a cab and got to the train station with...

Jun 8, 2011 - Rothenberg

yes this is long overdue! We hit the ground running and have not slowed down long enough to write. This morning we are in Rosenberg which is a walled city that is very unique. last night we toured the city with a night watchman which looked very much like Gene Wilder! We laughed at all his medieval jokes and joined him after the tour at a place called Zur Holl. Google this and you will be surprised to learn what it means! Rosenberg has cobbled streets and lots and lots of shopping which Pam and I pounced upon. Our hotel is over 750 years...

May 17, 2011 - Dresden and Berlin

Dresden Okay so a little bit about Dresden. I dont know much as I will only be here for about a day and a half. The town was virtually flattened during a two day bombing offensive during WWII. Much of the old town has been rebuilt to look old, even though nothing is more than 65 years old. About 20,000 people were killed during the bombings. It seems a cool place, my hostel is really cheap and is on a street where there are a lot of Turkish restaurants, and African shop that also does braids and dreads and a place called Soul Sisters. Not...

May 16, 2011 - Dresden

Arrived in Dresden today safely. I had a bit of drama this morning as I could not find the bus pickup point and missed the scheduled Busabout bus. I had to go to the bus station and pay again to get a bus to Dresden. I was very mad at myself. I am staying at Louise 20 hostel for 2 nights. In other news, my mom is okay and doing well. Thanks everybody.

Jul 13, 2010 - Dresden, Germany

Our second day in Dresden was slightly overcast so it wasn't quite so hot. We started the day with "kaffe & kuchen" then walked down to the Zwinger Museum. I wanted to visit the Old Masters Gallery to see Boticelli's Sistine Madona. One of the bored little angels is tattooed on my shoulder so I feel an affinity for that painting. Since the weather was till OK we decided to go on a double decker bus tour. It took us to the Grosse Garten where we saw the German Hygine Museum and VW factory. We also drove along the Elbe to see some beautiful...

Jul 12, 2010 - Dresden, Germany

It was another hot night on the orient express. Fortunately we pullded into Dresden around 11:30 and were able to check right into our hotel. After cold showers we headed out to check out the area. We had lunch then window shopped on Prager Strasse. Eventually the road led into the Old Town. A lot of the buildings there had to be rebuilt after we bombed it in 1943 but it is still magnificent. We saw the Semper Opera, Fraunkirche and strolled along the Elbe.

Jul 5, 2010 - Dresden

Today we drove to Dresden. Along the way from Berlin, it started to rain a little. I can tell you now that it was a pleasant change, as the previous days were quite warm and yuk. Dresden is a part of the Federal State of Saxony. Along the way there, our tour guide, Uli explain the baroque style of architecture, and a bit about Dresden’s history. Dresden was founded by Slavic tribes around the 12th century, however Dietrich, Margrave of Meissen chose Dresden as his residence in 1206 . It was a place where several kings had lived. It’s also...