Monday, June 21st
Before I begin with today’s events, I would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Kelley Mann, my cousin and friend. Hope it was a great one Kell!!
Ok…so now down to business. The morning started off pretty early. Andrea and I were in Regensburg and had decided the night before what we wanted to do the next day. The first thing on our list was surprisingly enough, not breakfast. We decided to see the Cathedral first. It was exquisite! I have been in and out of several churches and cathedrals in Europe. Every time I go, I am still in awe of the masterpiece. What’s mind blowing is the massive structure with beautifully colored windows and carefully crafted carvings that was built hundreds of years ago. Many of these structures have survived wars, plagues, financial crisis, etc. but still stands as a refuge for all who enter. This particular cathedral is one that was unharmed by WWII. There are no words for the feeling one has when entering. Of course, the second thing on our list was to have some breakfast. Maria, from previous entries, recommended a café just across from the cathedral. We had looked over the menu last night only to find it would suit us just fine. I had scrambled eggs with ham, a baguette, and a café latte. As usual, it was delish! We then headed for the 3rd thing on our list; shopping. I had seen a couple of shops that could be promising for my future nephew. I don’t want to give everything away but I will say it was a successful souvenir trip for Davis. I CAN’T wait to give him his gifts. While he’ll only be a few weeks old, it will still be a joy. Some of them are educational, some are souvenirs, and some I just thought were cute. For the rest of my family though, don’t worry, I’m shopping for ya’ll too. After spending most of the day walking around the city, seeing more of the sites, and doing way to much shopping, we loaded the car for our next destination; Bergen. Regensburg is an amazing city and I could’ve stayed all week but there other lists that needed to be crossed out!
Tuesday, June 22nd
We got up early and headed down to breakfast at 8 am. There was coffee and bread which made me happy. The lady of the house made sure we had what we needed and chatted with us for a few minutes. Once we were caffeinated, we headed for the Chiemsee about 15 minutes away. The Chiemsee is a lovely lake in southern Germany. The lake possesses 2 islands, Herrenchiemsee (Herr = man) and Frauenchiemsee (Frau = woman).
On the Frauenchiemsee is a nunnery. On the Herrenchiemsee is one of the 3 castles built by Ludwig II. He was the king of Bavaria at one time. To me, he is the Michael Jackson of the time. He was quite extravagant and was entitled the “Fairy Tale King”. He wanted a childhood that he never had. Much of this can be seen not only in castles, but also his designs for developments. As for his castles, I have been in Neuschwanstein (what the Magic Kingdom castle is based off) and I have seen but not toured Linderhof. Since Andrea is a wonderfully accommodating friend, she agreed to go with and drive me around southern German to Vienna. One of my desired stops was this castle. We caught the first ferry to the island and went immediately for our tour. This particular castle was based on Paris’ Versailles. It’s situated wonderfully on the island with a view I could only dream of waking up to every morning. The inside is ornately decorated with gold, marble, candles, chandeliers, mirrors, and so much more. Picture in your head the most ornately decorated room you can think of…have it? Not even close. I am speechless as to how to describe the décor. While I know it’s touristy, I am really glad to have seen it and can’t wait to see Linderhof. Now after our tour and walk around the grounds, I’ll give you one guess what was on our minds….If you guessed food, you’re right. We stopped for lunch at a nicely located Biergarten on the island. I had lintel soup and Andrea had white sausages with bread. Now we were ready for the next island.
The Fraueninsel is not near as big as the Herren. The ferry took us to the island where we had several hours to explore. To walk around the entire island took about an hour. We were able to see the church and walk around the nunnery just a little. The people were friendly and the weather was nice. We came to the conclusion that we had earned a treat. We situated ourselves on one of the patios of a restaurant to have a piece of cake and a cup of coffee. It was a relaxing journey; one that I would love to take again with family ;) We leisurely enjoyed our dessert before catching the last ferry off the island. Once back in Bergen, we decided to play a little mini gold.
It was set up a little differently than what I’m used to but the concept was still the same. It was tons of fun but let’s just say I wasn’t in it to win =) Andrea slaughtered me. I took it like a pro though. After 18 holes of “golf”, it was time to eat. We both agreed on pizza so we tried out the Italian restaurant in town. This time though, we decided to save enough for a cold pizza lunch on Wednesday…always thinking about future meals. It was a great decision. The pizza was good and I had a scoop of ice cream for dessert. Nice end to a relaxing day!
Wednesday, June 23rd
This morning was not an extremely early one. We slept about a ½ hour longer than usual and had our breakfast at 9. We then loaded the car and headed off to Linz, Austria which was the European City of Culture for 2009. Now I don’t really know why, but I’ve always wanted to see Linz and Graz. Since Andrea was driving to Vienna, Linz was an on the way stop we could make so once again, she humored me with an overnight. We arrived at our hotel around 1 pm. Before heading out into the city, we had our cold pizza lunch…yummy! The reception had a city map so we picked one up to look it over. We walked around the city and visited quite a few churches and cathedrals. We found a rooftop café to have a cup of coffee while overlooking the city. While enjoying our coffee, we discussed the plans for the evening. Germany was playing Ghana at 8:30 and must when to continue in the World Cup. Since this was important, we decided to pick up some bread, meat, and cheese for a cold dinner in the room. It was a quiet evening watching Germany beat Ghana. It was a stressful game and it didn’t look like Germany was going to get a goal. Andrea decided to take a bathroom break which did the trick. She was in the bathroom when I yelled, “Tor!” (Goal). That was all they needed to pull out the win. Germany plays against England Sunday night and Ghana plays against the USA on Saturday. Since we had internet access, I decided to call mom and Nae to check in. Mom reported the cats well but that my washer had bit the dust. Luckily, I have such a mom to take care of things like that. She made sure everything was replaced so I would be able to wash clothes when I returned. I just love her! Nae had had an eventful day. She had a doctor’s appointment which proved all’s well. She then had a visit from my aunt, cousin, and her two boys. From what I understand, there was a lot going on. It was good to see her on the webcam. I even got to see Davis move a little. Sometimes technology gets on my nerves but I am extremely glad to have it this summer =)
Now you may be wondering what else I have to tell you about Linz. Well, nothing really. It was a nice city and I’m glad I can check it off my list but it was not so impressive that I feel the need to go back. It’s the type of city I would enjoy living or studying in. It’s beautiful and large enough to have something to do but not so large that it’s overwhelming. As a tourist, I didn’t feel it had enough to do and see. I’m glad we made a brief stop though and would recommend if you’re in the area to stop by for a brief walk around.
Thursday, June 24th
This morning we slept in a little longer. I got up at 8 to get a shower and pack. We didn’t have to check out until 12 so we decided to head into the city for breakfast and then pack the car. On our way to breakfast, I stopped to purchase a cell phone. I had seen it yesterday for 29 Euros. It was 1/3 the price of everything else I had seen so I slept on it before deciding to purchase. I then felt like I was in contact with the world. We then stopped by a café to get a roll and a latte for breakfast. We ate in a lovely little park. As we made our way back to the hotel, Andrea convinced me to stop by a shoe store. I finally gave in to the peer pressure ;) I found a pair of sandals for 8 Euro. I was glad she twisted my arm =) Back in the room, we fixed ourselves a sandwich with our leftover meat and cheese for lunch. We then packed the car for the last leg of our trip.
From Linz, we were headed for Leobersdorf. It’s a small town just outside of Vienna. Andrea has a friend, Wolfgang, who had offered to let us stay with him for a couple of nights. We were extremely grateful! Andrea is a wonderful driver! She chose a good piece of the trip along the Danube before hitting the interstate. We drove through several lovely towns. Along the way, we chose to stop in Melk for a picnic by the river. Melk is a small town with an amazingly beautiful Byzantine monastery situated at the top of the hill. (I’ll have to post a picture later cause Andrea has it.) We found a place to park and walked toward the river front. It was a nice 10 or 15 minute walk. We found a bench to enjoy our sandwiches and some chips. The weather was perfect; sunny with a breeze. I just love breezes when the sun is shining. Once we had finished eating, we walked back into town for a short walk through the streets. It was then time to load the car for the last little bit of our journey.
We left Melk, hit the interstate, and arrived in Leobersdorf before Wolgang got off work. We drove by his apartment to make sure we knew where to go. Then we went to the train station to investigate tickets to Vienna. After that, we drove into the city center to find, what else, a café for a cup of coffee. The market square was quite comfortable. There was a nice open area with places for kids to play and places where water would come up out of the ground much like a sprinkler. This was surrounded by shops, cafes, and the town hall. It was nice to watch the children play while drinking a latte. Wolfgang met us there after he got off work. We followed him to his apartment and he took us on a tour. Of course, it was time to eat again. He recommended we walk to a local Heurigen for dinner. Vienna is famous for lots of things; one of them being their Heurigens. A Heurigen is a family owned restaurant which serves food and wine during certain times during the year. Sounds like a normal family owned restaurant. Well, there’s a little difference. The wine served is from their vineyard from the previous year. It’s nice to share the fruits of your labor with others. This particular one was great. The food and wine was great, the service was friendly, and the company was enjoyable.
Friday, June 25th
Today was a day in Vienna. Wolfgang had to work and Andrea and I had some things to take care of in the city. We took the train into the city and headed straight to the institute. The students wouldn’t be arriving until Saturday but I wanted to stop by to say hello. Markus was there to greet us warmly. I made sure there was nothing they needed from me. After chatting briefly and checking email, we headed to the Austrian Red Cross. Andrea works for the German Red Cross in the blood donor lab. She met a technician, Andrea, from the Austrian branch last year and made contact with her since we were coming to Vienna. Andrea was excited to have us stop by for a hello and a tour of the lab. Now, everyone who knows me knows I don’t do well around needles and blood…I normally pass out. Not knowing what to expect, I was extremely nervous but agreed to go. The lab was actually really cool to see but really confusing. There were machines everywhere doing all sorts of things with viles of blood. I sort of listened while watching the machines but the vocabulary wasn’t in my dictionary. I waited until we left to ask my Andrea a couple of questions. While I didn’t understand it all, it was neat. It reminded me that I’m due to donate again. It’s on my list of things to do when I get back in August.
We left the Red Cross for the city center. I had made plans to meet Traci for lunch and had we had a couple of hours to kill. We leisurely walked around the center. Andrea has planned a trip to Japan in September so we stopped by a bookstore for a “learn Japanese” book. I got a text from Traci saying she would be late so Andrea and I went ahead to the restaurant. We ordered and ate before Traci even got there. It was nice though. We took our time eating and enjoyed the nice weather. When Traci got there, we were ready for a cup of coffee. If you haven’t noticed, coffee and food is an important part of travel =) Traci and I discussed a few “business” things as well as enjoyed a leisurely conversation with Andrea. We cleared up a few topics and then dispersed. Andrea and I headed to one of the parks. She wanted to study her Japanese and I wanted to finish a book I had been reading for what seems like forever. I laid in the grass under the rose bushes while Andrea chose a bench. I read several pages before deciding to take advantage of the free time for a nap. It was great!! Wolfgang called when he got off work and we made plans to meet at 6 at the Stephan’s Cathedral.
We all met around 6. Now I’m sure you think we went to eat but surprisingly, we decided on something else…before eating =) We took a 2 hour walking tour. Vienna has some wonderful walking tours on all sorts of topics. You can take a highlights tour, Vienna in film, food, the Viennese underground, etc. You name it, they probably have it. It was really interesting but after 2 hours of walking, it was time to eat. We went to the Bermuda Triangle for dinner. The triangle is an area packed with restaurants, bars, and clubs. We chose a table outside and enjoyed our meal. I ordered a chicken and cheese baked potato. Wise choice! After dinner, we stopped by one more bar for a drink and just to enjoy the company. You know, it’s surprising. I used to be a night person but not anymore. I’ve never been one to like being out to bars and clubs but I’ve always stayed up late. When I travel, I’m exhausted by 10 or 10:30. It has taken all I had these past couple of days to keep my eyes open while sitting at the table. Man…I definitely can tell I am too old to be staying up late. On the ride home, I slept so hard that when I got back to the apartment, I crawled straight into bed. It was 1 am.
Thanks for the updates....they were quite entertaining and loved hearing where all you have been. Along with the wonderful food you have enjoyed....Enjoy yourself and remember I love you, sis!! :) Keep the updates coming.
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