Travel Journal

After a short walk from the train station, we made it to our hotel, just behind the Bryggen houses. We walked around the salty fish market, which was closing down, and checked out some of the souvenir shops. For dinner we grabbed food at the grocery store in the lower level of the downtown mall ? cool little setup! Also in the mall we meandered through a bookstore and found a coffee shop (in the middle of the mall's courtyard) that had an internet café, so we surfed for a little bit.

Bergen was Norway's capital back in the 12th and 13th centuries. A maritime town, Bergen has a rugged charm. With a population around 230,000 it's not as small at it may seem ? and with 60 days of sunshine per year, we were blessed to experience two of those days during our brief stay.

The next day I took the walking tour of Bryggen alone as Stacie wasn't feeling up to it. I learned how the neighborhood burned down several times and was rebuilt exactly the same (wood houses that are built extremely close together explains why they burned so often). The tour included the Hanseatic Museum (atmospheric old merchant house with traditional furnishings), the medieval Hanseatic Assembly Rooms, and the Bryggens Museum (modern museum on the archaeological site of the earliest Bergen, 1050-1500). The tour covered a lot of Bergen's rich seafaring history.

After the tour, I met up with Stacie and we headed up the Floibanen, Bergen's popular furnicular that climbs 1,000 feet to the top of "Mount" Floyen for the best view of the town. We ate our sandwiches on the grassy hillside while overlooking the city and sea below. It was a beautiful sunny day with a nice ocean breeze. We browsed the gift shops, bought a few postcards, and enjoyed a walk around the vista points. We then headed back down the furnicular, browsed the fish market and various gift stands (Stacie more than me), and then headed towards the downtown mall. There was an outdoor concert going on and lot of people gathered ? I wasn't sure who it was, but they were playing the #1 popular song in Europe at the time and many kids were screaming like crazy, so it had to be a popular band (maybe the band that plays Dragoste din tei?). We perused the area and then headed back towards our hotel, making a detour through Bryggen again (gave Stacie my version of the tour), and then stopping to enjoy some pizza for dinner. The next morning would be a long travel day as we take a 7-hour train back to Oslo, fly to Rotterdam, Netherlands (Holland) and then catch a train up to Amsterdam for our final stop before returning to the US.

We caught the 8:11 train from Oslo to start our adventure across the country. According to Rick Steves, this series of trains, boat, and bus around Norway's Fjord country is supposed to be one of the most scenic parts of our trip, and he was right. We sat next to a nice gal from Australia (Nicole), who currently lives and works in London, and her mom who was up visiting her son (a pro soccer player in Norway).

As we headed out of Oslo, we were in mountainous, treed landscape with lots of lakes. The train ride is billed to the most spectacular in northern Europe ? after the deep woods and lakes you're into barren, windswept heaths and glaciers. The train line was started in 1894 to link Stockholm and Bergen, but Norway won its independence in 1905, so the line served to link the two main cities in Norway. The entire railway, an amazing engineering feat that was completed in 1909, is over 300 miles long; peaks at nearly 4,300 feet (which at Alaskan latitude is way above the tree line); goes under 18 miles of snow sheds; traverses some 300+ bridges; and travels through 200 tunnels in less than 7 hours. Whew!

As we got closer to Myrdal we climbed above the tree line into a barren, rugged landscape that must be really harsh in the winter (yikes!). The sparse homes up here are log-type cabins, single story, and sturdily built. As we approached Myrdal, we had a brief opening in the snow shed tunnel that allowed us to see the Flam valley some 3,000 feet below ? quite a sight!

We changed trains to the Flamsbana mountain train in Myrdal, a barren little town who's population increases a hundred-fold each time a train stops to unload tourists ? it does have a bed & breakfast! The mountain train has a serious engine ? it reeks of power! From Myrdal, the train winds down nearly 3,000 feet in elevation to Flam (which is at sea level) in just about 1 hour. The trip is so steep the train has 5 separate braking systems! (see www.flaamsbana.no for more info) We journeyed down the steep train tracks passing grand views, through 20 tunnels, and one up-close grand waterfall, where the train stopped to let us out for a few minutes (according to a Norwegian legend, a temptress lives behind these falls and tries to lure men to the rocks with her singing ? she was there, too!). Then we continued our winding journey down the mountains.

We arrived in Flam (bigger than Myrdal), which is on the end of the Aurlandfjord, and caught the sightseeing boat to the first stop, Aurland, where we would spend the night. Aurland has a nice climate and a pleasant 24 inches of annual rainfall (compared to over 80 inches in our next destination of Bergen). We had a room with a beautiful view overlooking the fjord. After walking through the town (5 minutes) we went grocery shopping for our dinner (mostly snack food). That night we had a beautiful sunset just after 23:00 and it finally got dark around 1:00 (but only for a few hours!). I spent a lot of time at our balcony window letting my thoughts get lost in the beauty of the majestic countryside ? it really is a sight to see, especially at sunset.

The fjord is seawater filling in a glacier and river carved out valley from 3 million years ago. The big mountains rising high above the water give it a walled-in feeling ? very cool! The average fjord is 4,000 feet deep far inland and only 600 feet deep where it reaches the open sea. The ice was thicher inland and relatively thin at the coast, so the gouging was deeper inland. The Sognefjord is Norway's longest (120 miles) and deepest (1 mile) ? it's connected to the smaller Aurlandfjord, which is where our boat tour focused (although we touched the Sognefjord briefly).

The next day we did the usual breakfast routine and caught the 11:15 boat to Gudvangen. The fjord was absolutely beautiful! We saw mountain goats, seals, and a ton of huge cascading waterfalls ? the boat made stops to enjoy these sights along the way. Also of note, our boat met up with another tour boat to receive a delivery of what the captain called "very good pancakes." Boy was he right! These pancakes were folded with creamy butter and sugar inside ? yum! Needless to say, I went back for seconds ? they were really, really good (a true Norwegian delicacy!). Okay, back to the trip? it was simply gorgeous? and definitely something that needs to be seen in person to truly appreciate it.

After about 75 minutes we arrived at Gudvangen where we caught a bus to the Voss train station ? on the way we stopped at the Stalheim Hotel (my notes said Mannleim Hotel, but Rick Steves disagrees) with a great view over the valley towards Gudvangen. When we arrived in Voss we took the next train to Bergen and we arrived at approximately 16:00. The train ride into Bergen was also very pretty ? obviously this area gets a lot of rain (over 80 inches per year) as it was full of lush greenery and lakes everywhere.

We flew into Oslo from Stockholm and as we approached I could see the beautiful green countryside, forests, and blue lakes. We arrived a little after 19:00 on a Friday evening, took the T-bane (metro) two stops west to the National Theater stop, which was a few blocks from our hotel. After getting settled in and dealing with a less than pleasant hotel clerk, I went out to explore the town. I walked up the main drag, Karl Johans Gate, which was bustling with activity ? lots of evening strollers and street performers. One was a London guitarist who played and sang very well (I bought his CD) and another worth mentioning was a guy offering 200 Kr. for anyone who could ride his bike about 20 feet without falling or putting your foot down. Sounds simple, huh? The catch was his front steering of the bike was rigged to turn the opposite direction in which your instincts told you (example: you turn the handlebar to the right and the bike goes left). For 30 Kr. you could try 5 times ? no one ever could do it (but the guy could and he made it look so easy). After a 7-Eleven hot dog (7-Eleven is everywhere in Scandinavia), I went back to our hotel room and went to bed. Stacie was done for the night when we arrived, so she was already in bed.

The next morning we went through our usual routine ? breakfast and making a sandwich. Munich still wins my best breakfast award. We did the self-guided Oslo walk from the train station to the harbor front, stopping for a tour of City Hall. In Scandinavian countries, towns are built around their city halls, unlike Roman Catholic towns in Europe which center around their cathedrals. Only 5% of Scandinavians go to church ? and the religion here is heavily Presbyterian. One other note about Scandinavia is that it is VERY EXPENSIVE! Meals usually run $20+ each (hence we leverage hotel sandwiches from breakfast).

The tour of City Hall was very informative and interesting ? very decorated, frescoed walls. At Oslo's City Hall is where they award the Nobel Peace Prize. After a nearly private tour of the City Hall towers (great view!), we strolled the harbor front and enjoyed an ice cream and window-shopped.

Next we caught the T-bane out to Holmenkollen, the ski jump from the 1952 and 1994 Winter Olympics. After a 15-minute hike uphill from the T-bane stop, we toured the Ski Museum (covered 4,000 years of history, had a 1,500-year-old pair of skis, and a nice snowboard exhibit) and then headed up the tower for a grand view of Oslo, the Oslofjord, and the surrounding forests. We also got to look down the ski jump as an Olympic athlete would ? wow, what an exhilarating feeling! We then headed home as it was getting late (but still daylight!) and I grabbed a bite to eat, but then went back out to explore the Oslo nightlife.

Our next day in Oslo was a busy one. We took the ferry over to Bygdoy where we toured the Fram museum (and the ship itself). The Fram is a huge vessel that sailed the furthest north and south in the Artic and Antarctic regions during the 19th and 20th centuries. On some voyages, the men would live on the boat for some 3-5 years at a time while drifting with the ice in the Artic.

Next we went to the Kon-Tiki museum, which shows off a balsa wood raft of the same name that Thor Heyerdahl used to sail from South America to the Polynesian Islands in 1947, which proved that the first inhabitants of the Polynesians may have come from South America (side note: the documentary film on the Kon-Tiki is the only Norwegian film to win an Oscar back in 1951). There was also a big reed raft called Ra II which Thor used to sail the Nile in Egypt (ancient reconstruction). There was a Ra I, but it sank after some time due to poor construction (they haven't built these types of rafts in quite some time).

Next we walked to the Viking Ship museum where we saw a few grand ships those barbarians used to sail these northern waters, then a quick stop at the Norwegian Folk Museum (open air) where we learned about the Samis (native Norwegians who live in the north and herd reindeer ? very interesting as they are relatively new to history books, but have been around a long time).

We then bused back downtown, walked around the palace (the flag was flying, so the king was home) and then caught the train to Vigeland Park where Vigeland has hundreds of granite and bronze statues ? beautiful park and cool statues.

We then walked to the T-bane station where we found an Internet café to burn a couple CDs of photos and upload a few as well. Then we stopped at a deli where I got some dinner and then returned to our hotel to fill out postcards and pack up for our scenic train ride across Norway into the Fjord country.

We arrived in the afternoon to a rainy Stockholm, took the speedy Arlanda Express airport train (free with Eurail) to T-Centralen, the central train station, where we caught a T-bana (metro) to Gamla Stan where we easily found our hotel two blocks from the station. We settled in and then went out to stroll the main street through the old town and do a little window shopping. We ate dinner (I had an enchilada ? Swedish style), did a little shopping at the Co-op grocery store, and then returned to our room for a laundry marathon by Stacie (mine was the next night). The next day we watched the changing of the guard in the hot sun (some guest military from the UK were in front of us and a young man nearly passed out from the hot sun). The temperature wasn't extreme though, as it was only about 30 degrees (about mid-80s Farenheit). After the changing of the guard, Stacie and I had a spat about what to do next and she stormed off (must have been the hot sun getting to her). So I decided to start the walking tour in Rick Steves' book. About 15 minutes into it, I realized there were some things that Stacie would not want to miss, so I went back to the hotel (knowing Stacie would end up there not having a guide book) to get her. She showed up within a few minutes wondering how I knew I would find her there.

We went downtown to explore Kongsgarden (King's Garden) which is now like a central park with concerts, people watching, and more. We went to Stegels Tor, a shopping area with many mall-type arrangements, including an underground shopping center. We found a toy store that had a nice Europe map and world flag map, so we bought them and put them in our poster tubes.

Next we headed for the boat docks for an evening tour around Stockholm's islands, where we saw Gamla Stan (our home base), Skansen, the Vasa, Tivoli, the Af Chapman (ship converted into a youth hostel), and much more. It was a nice cruise around Stockholm and even better since it was free (included in our Stockholm a la Carte card ? a travel package deal included with our hotel). Afterwards, we headed up to the University of Stockholm via the T-bana red line because Stacie wanted to visit the campus and get a sweatshirt for Leigha (her daughter), who has an interest in attending the school for her PhD. Being a university area, we figured we could grab a bite to eat somewhere nearby, but upon arrival we noticed everything was closed early due to summer hours. So we briefly walked around and then caught the T-bana back to T-Centralen where we looked around for a cheap place to eat. Restaurants in Scandinavia are extremely expensive ? a plate of spaghetti goes for $25-$30. Yikes! So after searching inside the train station, we headed outside of it and found a Greek fast food place that served up a good kebab meal for a very decent price ($9 each).

The next morning we headed out to Skansen after breakfast ? our hotel had yummy little Swedish-style pancakes. Skansen is the world's first open air folk museum and it shows visitors what traditional life was like in all parts of Sweden ? like glass blowing, blacksmithing, baking, pottery, and farming. The also have original homes from around Sweden (most are 17th-18th century) to give you a glimpse of their architecture and living quarters. I know Scott would have loved checking out these homes and their construction ? many never even used a nail. It was very interesting and a unique experience (and relief) from the traditional museums.

Next we went to tour the Vasa ? a great warship that sank 20 minutes into its maiden voyage in Stockholm's harbor in 1628 (breeze caught her sails and blew her over). This was an awesome ship and it was very well preserved ? a great museum to explore, which we did for 2 hours until they closed.

For dinner we grabbed some hot dogs at a vendor stand then went to Tivoli and walked around the amusement park (we found a Thai restaurant, so I had to order some food). One surprising thing worth mentioning is that the games at the booths where you normally would win the big stuffed animal gave food or candy as the prize instead ? weird! Stacie wanted out of the amusement park chaos, so we left and returned to our hotel for the night (by city bus using our Stockholm a la Carte card).

The next day we took a 2.5 hour boat tour of the Archipelago around Stockholm. There are 24,000 islands in Sweden's archipelago. It was a beautiful tour ? we turned our two seats on the boat deck towards the water and created our own private little balcony (there were only 2 two-seat arrangements ? all the others were 3-5). The homes on the islands were gorgeous ? the islands were gorgeous! This was only a brief tour of the archipelago ? next time it would be nice to take a longer trip and go further out.

After the boat tour we returned to the University of Stockholm to try and get a sweatshirt for Leigha, but were too late again (~16:00). We did find the professor's office, though. We walked around campus for a bit and then returned to our hotel where we went on the self-guided walking tour of the old town (Gamla Stan), which included a visit to the smallest statue in Stockholm and their upgraded sewer system (the next step up from the "throw it out the window days")? a spout about a foot off the cobbled lane, which would direct the water into the gutters to be washed away by the rain. After our walking tour we got take out from an Indian restaurant (of course, I got Curry Chicken) at a good price, then took it back to our room and called it a night.

The next morning I took a tour of the City Hall (where they hold the banquet dinner for Nobel Peace Prize winners) and climbed the tower for some great views while Stacie went back to the University of Stockholm. We met back at the hotel. I bought a few souvenirs, mailed a few packages, and then Stacie and I went to the Nobel Museum, just below the Swedish Academy, where they select the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Nobel Museum had a special exhibit on Science this year and one had to do with magnetic fields ? you had to secure any credit cards, cameras, etc. before entering or risk damaging them! After the Nobel I headed to the Royal Armory Museum (Stacie was still shopping at the Nobel) for a quick 20-minute walk-through of some of the best medieval armory and weapons in all of Europe (according to Rick Steves). It was a very cool and I even saw the outfit the king was wearing when he was shot in the temple (bullet hole in his hat and blood on his cape). You could handle some swords and also try your hand at fencing! (no time for that)

As I was leaving the Armory, looking for Stacie (who was supposed to meet me there a while ago), I decided to head back to the hotel? and that's when Stacie came waltzing up ? I told her she had 5 minutes to see the Armory and then we had to rush to the airport to catch our 18:30 flight (it was now 16:15 and we still had to return to the hotel, take the T-bana, and then a 20-minute ride on the airport train). It would be a tight connection. So we rushed through the Armory again and back to the hotel to get our bags and we were off to the airport to fly to Oslo ? we made it!

We arrived in Berlin after a quick one-hour flight (sickening for Stacie -- maybe a combination of writing postcards and turbulence) at approximately 18:00. We walked across the parking lot to the train station and caught the S-bahn to the Savignyplatz station, where we found Pension Peters and the ever-so-friendly, 22-year-old Jakob (son of the owners who were on holiday in Italy). He showed us to our small room (cheaper rate, that's why I chose it).

That evening we walked around the neighborhood and found a place to eat at a local pub -- potato soup and a bratwurst. Afterwards, we went to the Internet cafe and checked our email while enjoying a doughnut (courtesy of Dunkin's, which is in the huge Internet cafe) and then called it a night.

In the morning we got up and had breakfast, greeted by a cheery Daisy, the sister-in-law. I then walked around the Zoo train station area to see what was there. I had a currywurst -- hot dog with spices and ketchup. It was not too bad. There were a lot of shops around the station, including a few sex shops and an erotic museum. I didn't go in to those shops (why when you have the Castle? Right Penny?). I met Stacie at the steps of the train station where we went on a walking tour of Berlin -- highly recommended by Rick Steves -- and it did not disappoint. We covered a lot of ground, starting in the former East Berlin, near the TV tower (which was erected by the communists to show off their "great" technology to the West, and known for it?s cross reflection in sunlight ? the Pope?s Revenge), and continuing on past the site of the Nazi's famous book burning (Bebelplatz), Humboldt University (where Einstein taught until the year before the Wall went up), the Unter den Linden S-bahn station (a former ?ghost? station ? one that West Berlin trains sped through without stopping since it lied in East Berlin; the station was sealed closed during the days of the Wall, but after reunification, it was reopened and has been kept in its original state with the mint green tiles), Hotel Adlon (where, in recent controversy, Michael Jackson dangled his baby from a window), Brandenburg Gate, Riechstag, the new memorial (under construction) to the murdered Jews of Europe, the Berlin Wall itself (a couple of good escape stories, too), and Check Point Charlie. Standing at Check Point Charlie, I could really feel the tension that must have existed there since August 13, 1961 when the wall went up. The walking tour was great! It was jammed packed with interesting information and lasted a little over 4 hours.

Afterwards, we went back to Check Point Charlie and the Wall to get some better photos and spend a little more time in the area. We noticed sections of the torn-down Wall were surrounded by a barbed-wire fence, but still accessible by arm's reach. Stacie and I reached in with a metal railing (after watching some other kids do the same) and chipped off a tiny piece of the Wall to take home with us (instead of buying an "authentic" piece in a store). We then walked to the Reichstag building (in the rain) and climbed the dome (not in the rain). The Reichstag is the German House of Parliament (lower house, I believe). It was about 21:00 when we got there and the line to enter was pretty short, especially when a guard directed us to an empty side entrance! The building is pretty darn cool and is full of history. It was the (supposedly) intentional burning of Reichstag that Hitler used as the excuse to declare a police state in Germany, which began the rounding up of politicians opposed to him, which then expanded into anyone who opposed him or his beliefs. The Reichstag was heavily bombed in WWII by the Allied Forces. After touring through the dome, peaking into the chambers from above ("the eye of the public") and studying all the historical information therein, we headed home by S-bahn (after a long walk to the main train station), grabbed some Chinese food, and went to bed.

The next day we enjoyed a nice breakfast (except we were deprived of tea and butter ? just teasing you, Jakob!), I visited with Jakob for a while. He told me about a friend of his who came to the US and lived in White Fish, Montana where some ignorant people teased him with ?Heil Hitler? comments and asked if they had cars in Germany? (Hello?! Have they not heard of BMW & Mercedes?) But his friend did comment to Jakob on how beautiful it was in Montana and that he did enjoy his time there, but I think it may have tainted Jakob?s perception and his motivation to come visit America. However, after sharing some of my photos with Jakob, I think he is more receptive to visiting the US. (Jakob, I?m waiting to hear when you?ll be coming to visit me.)

Stacie and I headed out to go to the Check Point Charlie Museum, which is a must for anyone visiting Berlin. On our way there, we stopped at the Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz (the Times Square of Berlin) and bought tickets for the Spiderman 2 showing at 20:15. We also stopped at the memorial behind the last remaining standing section of the wall. The Check Point Charlie Museum was great ? we could have spent more time there (allow four hours next time). The escape stories, rigged-up vehicles, and other contraptions used to smuggle people across the border to West Berlin are simply amazing.

Afterwards, we headed back to Potsdamer Platz to see Spiderman 2. We arrived in time for the 20:15 showing (assigned seating) and found ourselves next to an American couple who were wrapping up 2 years living in Madrid while opening a new office for MBNA Bank. They were taking their last holiday before returning to the States. They explained how their kids now speak fluent Spanish after attending school in Madrid for those two years. What a great opportunity to live and work in a foreign country!

One surprising element about our movie-going experience was the amount of advertisements and previews before our feature presentation began ? 45 minutes of ads and previews! The amount of cigarette advertising is atrocious compared to American standards. And the use of sex in advertising is much more liberal in Europe, as I expected. The movie was great, though ? it had been a long time since I had seen a movie, so it was a little taste of home. It is amazing how much America influences the culture in Europe ? especially in the entertainment arena.

After the movie, we headed back to our hotel ? but I grabbed dinner first, while Stacie went and checked her email.

The next day we had a flight to Copenhagen in the early evening, so we packed up and then went back downtown to purchase a few souvenirs. We enjoyed a Mexican lunch across the street from the Check Point Charlie Museum, then headed to Potsdamer Platz to continue shopping for some souvenirs. It was obvious that we both really enjoyed Berlin.

We returned to Pension Peters to gather our belongings (I mailed a package home first) and then caught the S-bahn to Schonefeld Airport ? we were off to Copenhagen!

We departed Rothenburg (after a nice breakfast) at about 11:00 by train. We went through Frankfurt, the Manhattan of Germany with all its skyscrapers, and after a few train changes, we arrived in Bingen where we caught the Köln-Dusseldorfer boat named "Goethe" -- a real steam-powered paddle boat -- to take us up the castle-trimmed Rhine River. After a short wait between the train dropping us off and the boat picking us up (we shopped for postcards while waiting), we were set off on our voyage north (but downstream).

There are so many castles on the Rhine River that you actually start to take them for granted -- oh, another castle... so what's new? It really is interesting to see all the castles, but there are so many! You pass by one (or its ruins) every couple minutes. According to our history lesson, everyone wanted a piece of the toll-collector's pie... so what did you do? You built a castle along the river and charged the merchant ships a toll for passing by. The castle also served to protect you from attacks by angry bands of merchants and other greedy castle owners downstream. It really was a magnificient sight to see and it was fun to hear the stories of the sailors and the mysterious Lorely, the Siren that lured many sailors of the Rhine to their deaths near the giant slab of granite in the river.

We arrived in St. Goar at approximately 18:00 and our hotel was literally a stone's throw from the boat dock (very convenient). We checked-in and then walked up the main street to see what restaurants were open and browse any shops. We came across the world's largest hanging cuckoo clock along that street. We decided upon dinner at our hotel restaurant as it was recommended by Rick Steves. Afterwards, Stacie made some phone calls while I went and got an ice cream (not gelato, unfortunately). That was pretty much our night.

In the morning we got up, had breakfast at the hotel, and then headed up to see the Rheinfelts Castle there in St. Goar. It was a monstrous castle and we covered most of it on our self-guided tour. The best part was when we got to crawl through 600-feet of pitch black, damp, booby-trapped tunnels using candles (okay, the traps don't exist anymore)... not many people do this part of the castle tour. And when I saw crawl, I mean the tunnel was never more than 3 feet in height. It was definitely scary because a candle doesn't do much for your vision and the tunnel splits off into many directions, so it is easy to make a wrong turn, wind up at a dead end, and then disorient yourself. Luckily we did pretty well and made it out alive. These tunnels were used as decoys for attackers and were designed to be confusing (and booby-trapped).

After the castle at St. Goar, we grabbed our luggage at our hotel and hopped on a train to Koblenz, where we threw our bags into lockers and caught another train to Moselkern, just up the Mosel River. We were headed to Burg Eltz, Rick Steves' favorite castle in all of Europe. To get there, we had to hike from the train station there in Moselkern, through the little town, and up into the forrest where the castle is nestled amongst the beautiful green hills. The hike took over 75 minutes each way, so by the time we got there it was almost 17:00 -- just in time for one of the last tours. Talk about a cool castle -- this one had it all! It is one of the few castles in Europe that is 100% intact. It is the same structure that was built nearly 800 years ago and is still owned by the same family, the Eltz family, and has been for 33 generations now. From the armor room (lots of cool armor suits and weapons) to the conference room (where the original three families would meet to discuss issues and work out differences) to the bathrooms (all 21 of them with rain-flushing systems built-in -- very creative!), the castle is a perfect picture into life from the middle ages on. It was definitely worth the hike!

Afterwards, we hiked back after a visit to the gift shop for some postcards, and caught a train back to Koblenz, where our locker's time had expired (it was about 20:20 now) and we had to pay with exact change to get it open -- that required running to the McDonald's nearby and back in order to catch our train to Cologne that was leaving in six minutes! It took so long to get change that we practically missed our train -- the conductor had already blown her whistle and closed the train doors when we came running up. Luckily she saw us and reopened the doors so that we could board. Whew! What a stressful situation. The next train would have put us into Cologne very late, so I'm glad we made this one.

We arrived in Cologne a little after 22:00, walked to our hotel (a fancy business-class hotel that gives cheap rates for tourists in the summer) and collapsed. I was very hungry though, so I went out searching for food. I found a pizza place and brought back a large Hawaiian pizza to our room. The hotel receptionist saw me and got us some plates and napkins. I scarfed down most of the pizza -- Stacie had a few slices -- and then it was off to bed.

In the morning we got up, had a great big breakfast (best breakfast thus far has been in Munich), and then set out to see Cologne in the few hours we had before our flight to Berlin. We walked around the town, checked our email, purchased and scribbled out some postcards, and then toured the cathedral (Dom) -- one of the few buildings that survived the bombings of WWII (95% of Cologne was destroyed by bombs in WWII). One interesting thing about the cathedral is that they have some of the bones of the three kings (three magi that visited Jesus as a baby) in a shrine inside the church.

One other interesting note is that in the nearby Bonn, Germany is where the original Gummi Bears come from.

The weather over the last couple of days (in Rothenburg and St. Goar) has been mostly cloudy and not too warm -- approximately 70 degrees. In Cologne we had a bit of rain and the temperature stayed in the 60s. Now we are off to Berlin!

We awoke early yesterday to catch our Romantic Road bus from Munich to Rothenburg. The Romantic Road refers to Bavaria's medieval heartland between Füssen and Frankfurt -- a route strewn with picturesque villages, farmhouses, onion-domed churches, Baroque palaces, and walled cities. Rothenburg (pronounced ROE-ten-burg) is Germany's best-preserved walled town and is supposed to be the prettiest. Rothenburg did not disappoint.

We took the metro to Munich's Hauptbahnhauf (main train station), where we caught our bus outside the terminal. We had a funny bus driver named Pete, who drove us to Augsburg, where we transferred to a nicer bus that drove us through the towns on the tour. Nothing very exciting as far as the tour (tape recorded audio program the driver played), but I did meet a couple of guys on the bus from Post Falls, Idaho! I thought for sure that I'd meet someone from Spokane before someone from Post Falls -- let alone two people from Post Falls. Jason and Mike were their names. Jason is a medievalist (will be going for his masters) and is loving all the medieval history. Both were in Las Vegas working to earn money for this trip. Mike is returning to Vegas and his job at 24-Hour Fitness, but Jason is returning to Post Falls in order to prepare for grad school (he wants to learn Latin -- probably at GU -- to help with his medieval studies, and eventually wants to teach at the college level). We chatted on the bus and at the stops on the way to Rothenburg, then hiked to the TI (Tourist Information office) and got our city maps and tour information. We took a photo together since they are probably the closest people to home that I'll probably meet on my trip. We said goodbye, but planned to meet up again for the Night Watchman's tour at 20:00.

The weather over the last few days has been mostly cloudy and cool with intermittent rain -- perfect travel day weather, but not the best for sightseeing. It didn't bother me, though -- it's nice to have rain once in a while. Stacie isn't too fond of the rain since she doesn't have a waterproof coat, but she's enjoying the cool weather. This reminds me of one motto... "Be prepared."

Stacie and I walked to our hotel from the TI -- our hotel was just outside the city wall. It was a big 100-year old mansion that had been converted into a hotel/B&B (Hotel Hornburg). We walked up and were greeted by a nice lady who showed us to our room. Wow!! Stacie couldn't believe that we were only staying here one night because she loved this room so much. It was large and had a really nice sun-room extending out from the room -- we ate our lunch there. The plants in the room were real! The shower curtain in the bathroom was quite unique -- best explained by a photo (pending). Outside our room was a large sitting area with a fridge full of drinks (honor system), a grand staircase, and at the bottom of the stairs, a beautiful reception area (living room?) where the owners' two dogs would lounge (I think they were a golden lab/retriever mix). It definitely was a very cool setup and I would stay here again in a heartbeat.

After we ate our lunch, we got directions and advice from the friendly lady at our hotel, then left our mansion and walked into town (about a 10-minute walk). Rothenburg brings out the shopper in you, that's for sure. Stacie and I both did our shopping frantically as we only had a few hours before stores closed for the day. I did make one large purchase here, but I'll wait to tell people in person what it is. (I know this will make Penny go cuckoo not knowing what it is!)

After shopping, we quickly toured the best medieval museum on criminal torture and punishment. We saw all kinds of weird stuff -- finger crushers (to get confessions out of people), to table stretchers (that slowly stretch your body), to thorn chairs (very comfy). ;-) The masks that people had to wear in public for various crimes were pretty humorous. I snapped a bunch of photos so that we can use some of the mask ideas at work -- maybe a team building activity?! Okay, maybe not. But the museum was pretty cool and I wish we had had a little more time to go through it all.

After the museum, it was back to window shopping for Stacie. I decided to take Rick Steves' self-guided walking tour of Rothenburg. Rothenburg in the Middle Ages (when Frankfurt and Munich were wide open spots on the road) was Germany's second-largest free imperial city, with a whopping population of 6,000. During Rothenburg's heyday (from 1150 to 1400) it was the crossing point of two major trade routes: Tashkent-to-Paris and Hamburg-to-Venice.

My walk took me through Market Square, around the Town Hall and the St. George's fountain, by St. Jakob's Church (Lutheran), and the castle garden (where Rothenburg's castle used to be before it was destroyed in the 14th century).

I met up with Stacie back in Market Square, where we sat on the steps awaiting the Night Watchman's tour (a highly recommended tour). We chatted briefly with an older couple from Dallas -- it didn't take me long to identify that Texas accent once they started talking. Jason and Mike met up with us before the tour started. The night watchman was pretty darn funny and provided a lot of interesting information along the way. He showed us how the city of Rothenburg was distinguished and allowed to freely run its empire back in the day. We learned how citizens of the town that got locked out after curfew would beg/bribe the night watchman to let them back in through the "man hole" door built into the bigger castle door. We learned how one of the town's own men accidentally blew up a hole in the castle wall, allowing the Catholic enemies right into the city to ravage and ransack the town. And we learned how one of the U.S. commanders in WWII spared Rothenburg from being destroyed by bombs because he grew up with a picture of Rothenburg in his house (his mother had visited it and loved it so much), so he intervened on behalf of preserving the town and worked out a deal with the German commander while the German general was not in town. Together, they saved the city from complete destruction. We also learned about the pub in Rothenburg named "Hell" and that brought out many "go to Hell" wise-cracks. It was a joy of a tour and I'd highly recommend it to others.

Afterwards, we said goodbye to Jason and Mike, then took a quick stroll along the top of the city wall. There are names engraved every meter or so, when the town offered its past visitors a way to help rebuild the city by purchasing these spots along the wall. After a few photos, we went to a German restaurant that specializes in potatos. Both Stacie and I ordered potato pizzas, which were decent, although not worth writing about. After our meal, we headed back to our mansion to retire for the evening.

We got up in the morning to a wonderful breakfast downstairs. We met the husband of the family today, as he served up the breakfast (well, it was a buffet, but he did bring us our hot drinks and soft-boiled eggs). It's just a cheery place to stay! We then packed up and headed out to catch our train to our next stop: St. Goar on the Rhine River.

Yesterday we had a long train ride from Switzerland to Munich, Germany. We left at about 07:30 and arrived in Munich (via Mannheim, Germany) at about 17:00. At the stop in Mannheim, I looked in the stores to find any Mannheim Steamroller memorabelia, but none was to be found -- maybe it is not as popular here? Oh well, I tried.

Once we got into Munich, we booked our bus ride/tour to Rothenberg (the Romantic Road) for Saturday morning. Then we took the metro one stop to our hotel, checked in, and the went out to find dinner. (side note: hotel had free Internet -- bonus!) We found a little, quaint restaurant named der Tannenbaum (as in the Christmas tree) and enjoyed a nice meal there before strolling around on the streets of Munich, window shopping and enjoying the local scene. I noticed that most things close relatively early here (18:00) compared to the other places in Europe I have been. We retired early after a long day of travel.

This morning we got up and enjoyed the largest breakfast we have had since coming to Europe. It was quite good. We made sandwiches for lunch, and then checked e-mail. I also booked our scenic train in Norway that is coming up in a few weeks... turns out it will be nearly free of charge since we have first class railpasses (we thought it was going to cost us 300 dollars each).

Then we headed out to Dachau by train (about 30 minutes outside Munich) -- boy, were we in for a humbling experience. Dachau was the Nazi regime's first concentration camp. It was setup in March of 1933, shortly after Hitler had been appointed Reich Chancellor, and it operated until April 29, 1945, when US Army soldiers liberated the survivors. Dachau was considered the model of all Nazi concentration camps and it was the location where all of Hitler's SS troops were trained on running concentration camps. Given the strict top-down Nazi management style, it's safe to assume that most of the demonic innovations for Hitler's mass killing originated here.

The experience of visiting a concentration camp brings many emotions to surface -- awe, sadness, disgust, and reverence. Much of the experience is indescribable in words. It is definitely a solemn experience. We took a 2-hour guided tour of the camp, which included two restored barracks, the huge camp with foundations showing where the 34 barracks once stood, the crematorium (truthfully, an incinerary), the showers (which were actually gas chambers, but prisoners were told they were receiving a much needed shower), and the Jourhaus -- the only way in and out of the camp, and probably the most famous for the inscription on the metal gate, "Arbeit Macht Frei" -- Work Makes You Free.

The crematorium was never really that -- it was an incinerary to dispose of the evidence of Hitler's dastardly acts of killing. The area around the crematorium is a memorial because the ashes of those burned here, were simply dumped outside the building.

Duchau was originally setup as a "work" camp where political prisoners would be put to work, but it soon became much more than that. Jews, Gypsies, Clergymen, and anyone else who opposed Hitler were rounded up and placed into these concentration camps. Dachau, being close to the Bavarian capitol of Munich, did not have the number of killings that other camps had (since it had a higher public profile -- although the public did not know what went on inside its walls). Companies were allowed to outsource their labor to these concentration "work" camps -- companies such as BMW (which I learned stands for Bavarian Motor Works) was one of those that used this cheap source of labor, but did not know of the atrocities that occurred inside the walls. Prisoners would be given a small breakfast -- not nearly enough calories for the heavy manual labor required of them. Hunger was rampant, but prisoners could not show their weakness, or else they would be sent to "special camps" (where they would be exterminated).

The main square is where the prisoners would line up for roll call, feet together, heads down. They would stand there until everyone was accounted for -- sometimes this would last for hours. There is a sign near the east side of the big square to memorialize this place, and it simply reads "Never again."

Over 43,000 deaths can be attributed to Dachau and its surrounding subcamps. That's a large number, but no where near the 1,000,000+ killed at Auschwitz in Poland. Still, it does not change the experience, nor the meaning of what happened here. A life is a life, and seeing the 22-minute film, really makes the experience more real -- seeing the video of some of the happenings here and the liberation brought feelings of sickness and joy, but I left with much more. It's one thing to read about this in a history book, but it is a completely different (and much more impactful) experience to visit in person. What happened here is an ugly part of our history, but it is still that, history. We must never forget what those prisoners who never made it out alive died for.

The museum is a great way to learn more about Duchau. We could have spent another day in the museum alone as there was so much to see and learn about. It's amazing how much your thirst for knowledge increases in a place like this. There is so much to learn and so much respect to pay for those who suffered and died here. It's an amazing, yet very humble, experience.

Click here to learn more about the Duchau Concentration Camp.

After Duchau, we returned to Munich -- our moods were very somber. We went to Marienplatz and enjoyed a nice dinner before returning to our room. Tomorrow we are off to Rothenburg!

Last night we returned to our room at Olle's house in Gimmelwald and cooked up a spaghetti dinner -- saves money cooking for ourselves, but groceries are still very expensive in Switzerland (anything is really). We enjoyed a bag of sugar almonds (made by Olle's son, Sven) -- boy, those things are addicting!

The next morning we got up early and caught the gondolas (all 3 of them) up to the top of Schilthorn, where in 1968 they filmed the 007 movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." They were in the middle of constructing the restaurant at the top of the mountain when they were approached with the James Bond movie idea, so they filmed in 1968, and then opened the restaurant in the summer of 1969. Wow, the ride up to the top was awesome! A gain of 5,000 feet in about 15 minutes -- the second gondola between Mürren and Birg was crazy as the distance between the cable towers was so far! The height gain on that span of the trip was pretty cool -- they have an altimeter in the gondola so you can watch the needle turn as you climb to 9,000 feet. The last gondola takes you up the next 1,000 feet to the peak and just an awesome, breathtaking view of the Alps -- Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau were easily recognizable.

Before heading out on the terrace to view the mountains and the somewhat cloudy view (it wasn't a clear morning as we had wished), we had the "James Bond" breakfast in the rotating restaurant there at the peak (Piz Gloria). The views were just awesome! It was a great way to start the morning. We then ventured outside (after a quick visit to the gift shop -- okay, not so quick for Stacie)... talk about feeling like you are on top of the world?! Well, click here and have a look for yourself. We walked down off the platform onto the ridge and took some great photos!

After spending the morning up on the Schilthorn, we headed back down to Mürren to walk around and check out the little town (but bigger than Gimmelwald). We took the funicular up to Allmendhubel and took a stroll around the hilltop with great views of the facing mountains of Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. Then it was back into town for a little shopping and a visit to the Co-op (the grocery store -- in Interlaken, it is also a department store; a Walmart of sorts). We picked up a few things for dinner and breakfast and then headed home to Gimmelwald via gondola. We would be back in Mürren later that evening for a cultural show that the locals put on every Wednesday evening (including yodeling!).

When we got back to our room, we ran into Olle. I explained to him that we didn't go to Ballenberg yesterday (the open-air museum of Swiss life), but instead I went canyoning. His eyes got big and he said I must have enjoyed that. He proceeded to tell me that a few years ago, about 26 people drowned going canyoning due to a flash flood. Yikes!

By this time the weather was clearing up and it was sunny, so we told Olle we were thinking of going back up to the Schilthorn for one more look -- he said we should definitely go, so we did. On the ride up we met a family from Pennsylvania (Phillie) who were a little nervous being in the gondola... the mom was really nervous. They were asking questions of the Schilthorn and whether they should get off at Birg (stop before the peak)... I popped into their conversation (being the experienced Swiss traveler) and told them that we were on the last gondola to the top, so if they wanted to get to the top, they needed to change gondolas in Birg and not dilly-dally around. They asked if they could just follow me since I knew what I was doing, and I said "Sure!" It's funny how people will cling to you because of your exhibited confidence level -- this isn't the first time this happened. Anyway, knowing that the mom was nervouse (which made the kids nervous), I made the comment that the gondola we were riding was the one that had fallen last year. The mom instantly let out a gasp (more of a yelp!), and then I told them I was joking -- the rest of the family laughed, but the mom was still nervous, although somewhat relieved to hear I was joking.

Once we got to the top we walked around and admired the views in the clear weather -- breathtaking! We went inside the restaurant and ordered hot chocolates and proceeded to fill out our postcards so that we could mail them from the Schilthorn (yes, there was a postbox at 10,000 feet!). We went back down, all the way to Gimmelwald to get ready for the evening -- plus, Stacie wanted to see the little store at Olle & Maria's place (named Lillyput). When we got back to the house, Olle was on his balcony reading and preparing for the next school year -- he's going on vacation in a few weeks and wants to get his work done now. He heard us come back and invited us up onto his balcony for some afternoon tea and a friendly chat. So we grabbed our photos and went upstairs to join him. I showed him pictures of Glacier because they remind me so much of the Alps -- Olle was interested in the red rock in some of my photos, plus he was really intrigued to hear about my bear stories (when I have run into bears -- both Grizzly & Black Bear -- in Glacier). Stacie shared her family photos and talked with Olle about the World Trade Center as he loves New York and was at the WTC about one year before 9/11. And just like every other European we have talked with, he expressed his concern about the current American politics. But it was a nice way to spend an hour and get to know Olle a little better. Maria came home during our conversation and joined us briefly to tell us how she took Sven (their son) to get glasses today and how it was such a big ordeal -- he took forever picking out the frames, she said. It was fun getting to know a Swiss family, especially a friendly, jovial character like Olle.

After tea, we rushed off to the Swiss cultural ceremony in Mürren where we heard the local brass band play, the women yodelers yodel, the Swiss dancers danced, and the Alphorn blower & flag bearer perform. It was pretty neat! Then we hurried back to our room to eat dinner and pack up since we leave early in the morning for Munich. But first we had to check out the Lillyput store at Olle & Maria's place.

Our time in Gimmelwald was great! I will always have fond memories of Switzerland and Olle -- and hopefully I will be back soon.

Swiss Alps

The trains from Füssen to Interlaken Ost (East) took many hours... we departed early at 07:00 and changed trains 3 times, the last one being a private railroad from Interlaken Ost to Lauterbrunnen, which is on the way to Gimmelwald, but first had to take a bus to Stechelberg, where we caught the gondola up the mountainside to our homebase at 5,000 ft. elevation at approximately 17:00. We will take the gondola up to the Schilthorn peak (10,000 ft.) tomorrow -- this rugged mountain was used in a James Bond 007 movie. Instead of naming the movie, I'll let Brian try and figure out which 007 movie it was (this will be a test of his knowledge... or research capabilities).

We walked through tiny Gimmelwald, past the schoolhouse, the sleep-in-the-hay barn, the town water trough, and to Olle and Maria's chalet. Olle was standing on the town's only road, right in front of us. He was juggling a goat, trying to put it in the barn, while talking to Hans, who was manning the little shack across from Olle's place (6-feet-wide road) that sells fresh sausage and cheese (Alp Cheese). Hans saw me with my Rick Steves book and pointed it out to me "Rick Steves?" I said yes, and then looked at Olle and said "Olle?" He looked up at me, a bit surprised, and I introduced myself. He smiled, greeted us, asked about our journey, then took us to the studio apartment below his home.

The views here cannot be described in words... the Alps are beautiful and pictures cannot do them any justice. Olle showed us the deck off his back door, that looks dead-on at the Alps. He has a telescope out there that he uses to locate the wildlife. After getting settled, Stacie and I went up on the deck and he came out and showed me these type of cattle that are half black and half white -- literally down the middle half (front/back). Then he pointed out some mountain goats and a herd of sheep (privately owned -- even on these steep cliffs!). Obviously, Olle is a very friendly and congeniable guy. He job shares the only teaching job in town with his wife Maria and they are now on summer break and very happy to be done for the year. They had relatives in town from Sweden that were up visiting for the day.

We had dinner at the only restaurant in Gimmelwald -- Pension Gimmelwald. Then we went back and retired for the evening, but not before gawking at the stars, which were out in numbers here in the Swiss Alps. Laying in bed, I could look out the window towards a wonderful view of the Alps. I awoke in the middle of the night to a bright light shining on my face -- it was the moon! It was so, so bright... it illuminated the mountains like nothing I had ever seen before. Simply gorgeous.

Yesterday morning we got up and had breakfast in our room. It was a little rainy, so our plans to go up to the Schilthorn were scrapped and we decided to take a hike down to the south of Gimmelwald, through a gorge, and then through the Lauterbrunnen valley to Trumellbach Falls, where there are ten glacier waterfalls inside the mountain. On the hike down, we ran into a few Swiss cows (bells and all) who joined us on the trail... literally next to us.. I have some great photos and video of them (Stacie got a little scared, but tried not to show it). It began to rain on us and Stacie discoved that her jacket was not waterproof -- so she was soaked. But she was a trooper and made it all the way down (shaky knees and all)... an elevation drop of about 2,500 ft.

We walked through the beautiful valley and saw the falls inside the mountain -- very cool indeed! By the time we got back (via bus and gondola) it was nearly 21:00 (we tried to stop in Mürren to get groceries, but everything closes up shop around here at about 18:00). Stacie was still very wet and very cold. She was disappointed to find no hot water when we got back (they only get one supply of hot water per day -- once it is gone, it is gone), but Olle gave us a rain coat, umbrella, and a warm fleece for Stacie.

Today, we awoke to a foggy and sometimes rainy Gimmelwald, so we headed out to Interlaken intending to catch a train to an outdoor museum of traditional Swiss buildings and way-of-life. Instead we headed into Interlaken and I decided to put my adventure hat on... I went canyoning (where you hike up a mountain and come back down via the river -- walking, rappelling, jumping and sliding). It was very dangerous and very awesome! A few years ago, a guy broke his back on a jump (my highest jump into the narrow stream was about 12 meters). They don't typically do canyoning in the U.S. because there is too much liability and risk of someone getting hurt. I loved it. I made a couple of friends from Seattle -- Jimmy and Monica who were here on a Rick Steves tour. Both just graduated from high school and are headed to Seattle U. and Wazzu, respectively.

Well, got to go catch the gondola down to Gimmelwald from Mürren...