Bacharach (May 24 - 26)

We arrived in Bacharach despite the road construction that blocked our planned exit from the autobahn, and after visiting the T1 (tourist information), we found a B&B for the next two nights. In the heart of the Rhine Valley, we started out our adventures with a light snack and wine tasting, before heading up the hill to the Jugendherberge Stahleck hostel (12^th century castle that has been a youth hostel since 1925) for some spectacular views of the Rhine River, Bacharach and surrounding areas.

We then hiked back down back into town, capturing some goods pictures of the vineyards and the Church of St. Peter.

Monday morning we arose early to catch a train to Bingen to take the KD Cruise line down to Koblenz (about a 3 ½ hour river cruise) to leisurely enjoy the sun, water, vineyards and castles. Today was my day to constantly move from side to side and take way too many pictures of castles. This river cruise is very easy to follow, as there are markers every km of the way, and using our guide book (Rick Steve’s) we could read a short blurb about each castle and learn the name. (This really helped doing a log of the zillion pictures I took).

Temperatures were probably in the low 30’s today, so we were glad to be on the boat and enjoy the breeze, and were very fortunate to have an air conditioned train for the ride back to Bacharach J J .

Each castle was unique, and some were un-restored, others occupied, and some open for tourists. I think both Scott and I were glad to view each of these from our comfy chairs and not have to hike up to each and every one of them. Anyways, here is a sampling of the pictures of the castles - Rheinstein Castle, Reichenstein Castle, Pflaz Castle, and Marksburg Castle.

The vineyards were on very steep inclines and would require manual labour to maintain and harvest - glad my wine comes in a bottle. As well, the towns along the Rhine were very quaint, and tomorrow we are going into visit St. Goar. At the end of our cruise we ended up in Koblenz which is where the Mosel and Rhine rivers meet.

Baden-Baden (May 22 - 24)

We left Staufen after another night of thunder showers and much late night partying (not us - we were trying to sleep) and drove through the scenic Black Forest, which reminded us a lot of Vancouver Island, and unfortunately the cloud cover was low enough that when we reached the much publicized scenic view of Kandel mountain, we saw only fog. Guess we have to trust the postcards. (By the way - you know you are on good windy roads when there are more crazy motorcyclists than cars).

We checked into our pension, and were disappointed that to find that it was ground level and by two major walkways and one road. Unfortunately, it was the only room left, so we hoped for the best. We couldn’t seem to get the internet to work either, so we decided to do what good tourists should do - seek out the local drinking establishments. Following our tour book, we really lucked out on the choice of restaurants and really enjoyed our first meal at Baden-Baden.

Saturday morning we made our way down to an internet café in hopes to book the last few days accommodations, and then head out along the beautiful river trails and rose gardens, before heading to the Caracalla Therme (thermal baths) to enjoy a wonderful day in the outdoor pools and spas. Ask us about the ‘German spanking’….

Staufen (May 20 - 22)

We drove to Staufen, Germany today, sticking primarily to the autobahn until about 40 km outside, where we took a scenic detour through the vineyards surrounding the Staufen area. We found our accommodations at the Hotel Hirschen easily (thanks to the GPS which directed us correctly around the one-way streets, and missed the pedestrian only streets). The weather was really hot today, as it was already 28 degrees when we arrived in the early afternoon, so we just walked around this quaint town, and enjoyed the shaded cafes for refreshments.

We have found it rather ironic that all town halls in Germany are called Rathaus - which is kinda of appropriate if you think about it J . During our wanderings around town we discovered a milestone monument which showed the distance to Quebec, as well as an antique wine press.

Tomorrow (Thursday) is a major holiday in Germany and we had thought we would just wander through the countryside, but were really happy to discover that tomorrow is a major wine festival here (Markgrafler Gutedel-Tag) and they close the roads to traffic and it is one big 14 km long wine tasting party - go figure!

We awoke Thursday AM to loud thunder and rain, but of course by the time we crawled out, the sun was starting to break through and the clouds dissipating. This is a great country - a whole day dedicated to drinking… After a hike up to the top of the ruins, we were treated by spectacular views of the vineyards and of course the road that would be closed for the day to allow for the pedestrians and cyclists to visit the many wineries. If you look close enough you will see a church steeple in the far background - yes, Scott and I managed to walk that far and taste many wines.

Road closures for parties here are very simple - just put a big red “X” through the road sign, and hire some trusted city employees to monitor the proceedings.

We had a great day and meet some great people, but could only make it about the third of the way, managing to walk the wine road (over 10 km round trip) and visited only 10 wineries - many before most of you guys back home showed up at work (ha ha!). Light rain shower hit us around 4 pm, and there is now the odd lightening/thunder as the late evening approaches. All in all - one could not ask for a better way to spend a holiday.

Munich (May 3 - 5)

We arrived by train by noon, and found the apartment we booked very comfortable and convenient - Scott was impressed we were only 2 blocks from the main beer Hofbrauhaus beer hall, and of course walking distant to all other sites. After lunch and a beer we joined the Munich Walk - City Tour and enjoyed the history and sites. The highlight of this trip included the Theatiner Church (incredibly ornate cherubs and immaculately white inside), the surfers at the English Gardens - no joking they surf right in the city, and of course hearing and seeing the Glockenspiel.

We spent our evening on a second walking tour - the brewery tour.  Here we learned about the history of Bavarian beer making (started by the monks) and had the opportunity to visit and taste beer at three of the six 'official' breweries of Munich.  This was enjoyable, and we ended up the night at the most famous beer hall, the Hofbrauhaus, where the all beer is served in 1 litre mugs - almost needed two hands to lift.  Guess I would need to shape up if this was to become my full time job.  Our tour group stayed until they shut down the place and got kicked out ...

Today (Monday) we woke up to our first day of cloudy, cooler and rainy weather - guess we were due. So we took it easy and spent our time touring the local market (Viktualien Markt) and climbing the 300 some steps up the St. Peter's Church to get pictures of the Frauen Church and New Town Hall, and the Marienplatz (main city square). Of course we also captured a picture of the Munich Maypole - apparently there is a Maypole in each German city.

Dresden (April 7 - 8)

We arrived by train from Berlin early afternoon, and checked in to the Hilton - one of our two hotel stays.  We are right in the middle of the Old Town which has been totally rebuilt since virtually being leveled during World War II.  On the first day, we mainly walked the site-seeing circuit, catching sites such as the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), The Zwinger (picture is of the Glockenspeilpavillion with 40 bells of Meissen porcelain), and the Parade of Nobles (individually handpainted tiles stretching the length of a football field). 

Being that it was Tuesday, April 7th - the annual Tuesday Night Hockey League Pizza nite, we celebrated Dresden style.  Okay, so there was no hockey, and Scott spent it with his wife... but it was the thought that counts.  We did check out the Ontario Steakhouse (no joking - that was the name of the restaurant), but they had no hockey games showing.

The second day,  after viewing the Historic Green Vault (viewing of the Baroque treasury collection), we climbed the stairs of the Church of Our Lady and got some spectacular views of the city skyline.  The walk along the Elbe River, was very scenic, and of course spring is in full bloom here.

We encountered our first rain shower of the trip, as you can see by the dark clouds in the back of this view of the Old Town from across the river.  There were many large tour boats here as well. 

The rain shower was brief as we still were able to enjoy a late night stroll.

Berlin (April 2 - 6)

We caught the train from Frankfurt to Berlin  (picture taken at Frankfurt terminal).  Travel this way went really well. 

Found the apartment easily and look forward to catching a few zz's before heading out tomorrow.

Taking a walking tour of Berlin, we caught many of the popular sites including the Berlin Dome (live Bach concert), the Brandenburg Gate and the Memorial to Murdered Jews of Europe.  Of course we also visited the local outdoor cafes for lunch - where beer is cheaper than water.  Note the daffodils blooming behind us.

 Getting up early, we beat the rush at the Reichstag to visit the dome and get a bird's eye view of the city. 

We then retraced our steps from the walking tour to view the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and the Berlin Wall (not much left anymore).

After lunch, we stopped and read the outdoor museum for the Topography of Terrors and Checkpoint Charlie.  We found these billboard type of displays very informative and more enjoyable than being inside a museum.  Checkpoint Charlie has become quite a tour attraction, and now has paid actors manning the gate.

Thanks to a half-marathon race going on that day, we were able to take pictures easily, including Scott standing in the middle of the Unter den Linden (main drag) with the TV tower (left) and City Hall (right).

Monday was bright and sunny and after climbing the steep stairs up the Berliner Dome, we got some spectacular shots of the city skyline, including the Spree River and the German History Museum.  

Tonight we pack in preparation of catching the train from the station below to our next destination - Dresden.