Day 19 - Edinburgh to Dublin

We got up this morning with a plan.  We were going to find a small suitcase to bring on the plane with us, so we could make our suitcases lighter.  Well, we had to make a short detour to a convenience store, then, we walked to the suitcase place.  The lady at the first place we went to, didn’t know how to use an American credit card on her machine, so we went to this department store and bought a suitcase there.  Mom introduced me to the store Boots.  She says it is her favorite place in Europe.  I had to agree it’s pretty cool, a little like a cross between Ulta and Target. We weren’t ready to walk back to the hotel yet, so we kept walking further into town, me dragging the empty suitcase behind me.   We went into a few stores just browsing then I realized that I needed some books to read, so we found a bookstore.  They didn’t have the book I was looking for, so I decided to buy “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and the 2 sequels, because I heard that they were good. 

We went back to the hotel and packed up our stuff and headed to the airport.  We got one last glimpse of Fetter’s College as we left.  We can’t help but think that we just got the hang of this town and we have to leave.  This was by far my favorite place that we visited and I definitely would like to come back to Scotland very soon.  

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When we arrived to Dublin, our cab driver to the hotel pointed out places that the IRA bombed.  The cab driver who drove us to our dinner show told us that he drove Mel Gibson around for 3 months whilst they were filming braveheart here.  I think there might be a rivalry between scotland and ireland.  

Well we went to a dinner show and they called it an Irish House Party.  It consisted of a meal followed by performances by a musician, singer and dancer of authentic Irish folk music.  It was a lot of fun and they had sing a longs which made it that much better!!!  

We didnt really get a chance to take that many pictures and those that we did take were only at the Dinner we just came back from, so we decided that it wasnt all that important to post pictures tonight.  Plus the fact that we are exhausted.  We hope yall are doing well and we will post tomorrow with more exciting things....like kissing the Blarney Stone!!

Day 18 - Loch Ness (or all over Scotland)

We haven't had Internet for several days as the hotel has not acknowledged the problem until the morning we are to leave. I hope to be able to post this when we get to Dublin. 

We joined our tour guide Allie (a guy - I'm sure it's a nickname) and got on the van for our "small group" tour to Loch Ness in Northern Scotland.   

 

He pointed out various points of interest around the area as we were leaving town.  A castle that was built on top of an extinct volcano, which is around 400 million years old, dominates the view of the city. It was Interesting to learn that Scotland is made up of volcanic soil. There are lowlands and highlands divided by a fault line. There are actually two fault lines running through Scotland, but they haven't had an earthquake in millions of years. Also, it is home to a so-called super volcano (Yellowstone Park also).   Fun Fact: If both of these super volcanoes erupted at the same time, human life on earth would end because of the ash dispersed from the two volcanoes.

 

He stopped several times at scenic points to allow us to take pictures. Scotland is a beautiful place and there are miles of open spaces, mostly because of the moor, which is uninhabitable, and the mountains.  We also stopped in a couple of towns for breaks and we had a chance to do a little shopping.  

We had a long stop at Loch Ness. I was interested to learn that the Loch has a lock system to lower boats entering it to its level.   The locks are right in the middle of the little town so it quite interesting to see. We had a lot of fun taking pictures and walking around.  We even saw Nessie and we have the pictures to prove it!

On the return trip, we took a slightly different route and found other scenic places to take pictures. We even panned for gold in a river. 

Kate was very happy that our guide also pointed out places that were used as scenery in the Harry Potter movies.  One of which is Fetter’s College in Edinburgh. They use it as the outside and entrance of Hogwarts.  The guide made an extra stop on the way back so that we could all get pictures of it.  Along the way, he also pointed out an area that is used for external photography of where Hagrid lives. 

It was a long, but fun day. 

Once we found a fan to cool off our room, we got a good night's sleep and are ready to visit our last stop, Dublin.  Hope everyone is having as great a summer as we are!  Cheers!

Day 17 - Photos

Day 17 - London to Edinburgh

So this morning we got to sleep in a little bit, which was nice.  We had some time before our train to Edinburgh, so we decided to go on a walk around London a bit.  We found this beautiful pedestrian bridge, which we walked across and it had the most beautiful view of Parliament and Big Ben and the London Eye (the ferris wheel).  For those of you who saw the last Harry Potter movie, this bridge was depicted in the opening scenes as the death eaters were terrorizing London...they made it break and fall.

Anyways, after our walk we got a cab to KING'S CROSS train station for our train to Edinburgh.  We had to go to the ticket counter to get our tickets, which we reserved online, however because dad made the reservations with his card and we didnt have it with us, they couldnt give us the tickets.  So we had to buy two more tickets, but they agreed to give us a refund for the first ones we purchased.

Most of you know King's Cross from Harry Potter, and yes, they have a platform 9 3/4!!  I asked the ticket guy where it was, and he said that everyone asks where it is.  It is SO cool!  It was down platform 8 and off to the side.  They have a sign and a luggage card that sticks out of the wall.  So we definitely took pictures by it!  I put my backpack on the cart and made it look like i was running through.  I know I am a nerd, but it was so cool!

So the train was really fancy.  we were in first class and they asked us if we wanted coffee or tea every 15 minutes.  The train also had wifi which was awesome.  most of the way I read, but when we started getting close I looked out the window and saw the beautiful scenery.  There were cliffs over the water and rolling hills.  I only wish I had my camera out so  I couldve taken pictures.  When we got to Edinburgh we got a taxi to our hotel, which is not close to any of the tourist sites, but it is very nice and quaint.

When we got there, we realized that we needed cash so we walked to an ATM, about 15 minutes away, and back.  We then went to dinner at this place called Maxies and it was so good!  All the locals go there because they use fresh veggies and ingredients grown locally.  After dinner we got a taxi back to the hotel and are just going to go to bed.  We hope everyone is well and we love you all.

I realize this is late and im sorry.  The pictures are not uploading, so I will post them asap!

Day 16 - London

We woke up early today to catch a flight to London Heathrow from Amsterdam.  We landed around 10 am local time (we went backwards an hour).  Customs was a breeze and we finally got stamps on our passports, since no other country did it.  We got on the Heathrow express to the center of London and arrived at our hotel, which is right on Trafalgar Square, but they didn't have our room ready yet.

So we went to get some fish n chips that the hotel recommended.  It was about a 30 minute walk ( even though the hotel said it was going to be 8 minutes).  It was good!  I don't really like fish 'n' chips, but I guess that I have never had real fish 'n' chips before (mom was so excited to get her "mushy peas").  After we ate there, we walked back to the hotel area and got on the big red double decker tour bus to tour around the city.  Since today was our only day, we figured that this was our best option for seeing the main sites.

The bus was supposed to only take around 2 hours, but it ended taking around 4 (the traffic here is intense, even on Sunday).  It was also the hottest day of the year so far in London and after being in 40-50 degree weather it was hot to us.  I got a little burned from sitting at the top of the bus (which is open-air).  The big bus took us around all of London.  We saw the tower of London, the Tower bridge, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and a TON of other stuff.  Most of our pictures were taken while on the bus, so it was sometimes difficult to get pictures around seats and other people.

When we finally got off the bus, we decided that it was time for a drink.  So we went to the hotel bar and ordered Gin and Tonic ( I got Hendricks, which was awesome - its cucumber based.)  while I uploaded and edited my pictures.  After that, we went to an amazing Indian restaurant, which I was skeptical about because they didn't have my favorite, but I tried something new and LOVED it!!  Then we shared a chocolate dessert that came with a shot of some special orange rum so we each had a shot.  It was good and added a lot to the dessert.

I hope everyone is doing well at home.  We love and miss y'all.

Day 15 - Amsterdam

Sorry we didnt post yesterday, we were having internet troubles and I (Kate) wanted to watch the soccer game.  So...We flew to Amsterdam yesterday morning and arrived around 1:15 or so, just in time to grab a quick bite to eat and meet our tour guide Bernie at 2:00.

Bernie drove us around the city which was quite crowded today because it was a Saturday.  He showed us some points of interest, the canals, and Ann Frank's house (middle building with the green door in the picture to the left).   The line for that was so long, we realized we should have made online reservations in advance.  We did get to take a picture of the front, however. Bernie explained to us that there aren't any really old buildings because there have been many fires that have destroyed most of the oldest parts of the city because the houses were all made of wood, most notably in the middle ages nearly the entire city burned to the ground.  We also saw a Catholic church that was hidden behind a facade because the Catholic church was banned here for 300 years.

In Amsterdam, everyone rides bicycles.  And I mean EVERYONE.  Right by our hotel there was this parking garage just for bicycles that was 4 stories tall.  It was completely full of bikes.  In a way it is really nice because it is environmentally conscious, but it is really annoying for the drivers in the city.  Then Bernie drove us out into the country where the Windmill farms used to be.  There are still some working windmills there, but not nearly as many as there used to be.  We visited one that makes paints, using the windmill to turn the stones that grind up the base into a powder.  There is a little village that depicts what life was like in the 18th century there.

We also visited a wooden shoe (or clog) maker and watched a demonstration showing how they make the shoes today, which is mostly by machine, with the finish out being by hand.  There was a display of some really elaborate clogs, some for "Sunday best" wear and even a pair of wedding clogs.  Driving back, we saw more historic sites and canals.  Some canals having people living in barges on them.

We found a sidewalk cafe to have some dinner and then went to a bar to watch the USA soccer match.  At half-time we returned to the hotel to watch the rest here.  Unfortunately, we lost, but it was a fun and exciting match to watch with some fellow american fans.

Day 14 - City Tour of Prague

Today was an incredibly full day.   We felt like we saw all of Prague, although I know it was only part of the city.

We started out walking across the Charles Bridge (built in the 14th century) to the other side.  In the middle of the bridge our tour guide, Jana, showed us where St. John of Nepomuk was tossed off the bridge by King Wenceslas IV for not revealing the confession of the queen (according to legend).  Touching the statue and the place where he was tossed over the side are supposed to bring luck.  (There are many tales of people being tossed out of windows, etc. in Czech history.)  His reliquary is found in one of the churches inside Prague Castle, which we visited later in the day.

We walked on Kampas Island, which is before you get to the "Little City".  We saw the "Lennon Wall", which is where people began writing after Lennon's death in 1980.  They wrote words from his lyrics and then also their own messages of Peace and sometimes their own Philosophy.  We then walked to the Church of the Infant Jesus (or something like that.)  There is a wax figure of the baby Jesus displayed.  They dress him up in different elaborate outfits sent from all over the world.  People make pilgrimages to this church to pray to the infant Jesus.  I bought myself a small one to put in our house.  Kate won't let me post a picture.

We then got on our van to drive back across the river to the "New City" (still circa 14th century).  This city was built by King Charles IV.  He is much revered in the Czech republic because he was very progressive and did a lot to improve the city of Prague.  As in other parts of the city, the facades represent various styles of architecture as the buildings were renovated during the years.

(One of the interesting tidbits we learned was that "Budvar" (Budweiser) is a type of beer here.  It is  considered "sweeter" than Pilsner, which is the most prevalent type of beer here, it is called Pilsner Urquell. ) 

Then we drove to the "Old City" which we visited yesterday.  Kate wanted to try a Gyro so we found a stand that sold them.   I had a Falafel and David and Kate had a Gyro.  We continued walking through the Old city looking at the various types of architecture.  The basements of these homes date from the 12th century, but they have facades of various types of architectural styles, dependent upon when they were updated.  We saw a church that represented 6 or 7 different types of architecture.  We also saw the astronomical clock, which is fascinating because it was put in place in the 1400's.  It requires constant upkeep.  David's Garmin watch (which is set by satellite to the world clock) was only a few seconds faster than the astronomical clock.

Then we met the van again to back across the river to visit the Castle and the cathedral which date from the 10th century (but have been rebuilt and repaired many times since).  After a couple of hours touring the castle and the churches, we returned to our hotel.

We watched the end of the Soccer game between Brazil and Portugal.  Ordered a bottle of Czech wine (a Chardonnay Pinot, which is very good).   Right now we are watching "The Rocker" which I wish I could pay more attention to, because it seems pretty funny.

So we went to dinner at the restaurant here in the hotel.  The restaurant is a very nice one complete with amuse bouche and post dessert dessert.  Our appetizer consisted of several tastings of different things such as raw oysters, a small portion of eggplant parmesan, tuna tartar, and octopus, among other things.  Kate and I decided that although there is a saying that bacon or chocolate can make anything better, there is one item that doesn't fit...Octopus.  The texture is such that after trying to chew it for just a few seconds, we both had to do the unthinkable and expel it from our mouths back into the little container it came in.  We decided Octopus is only good in very thin slices.  

We hope everything back home is well.  Love to all....

Day 13 - Travel to Prague

Ah!  As I typed the "day 13" just now, I began to realize just what was going on today.

We got up at 4:30 a.m. and made it to the train station in Salzburg and got on the train to Linz with no problems.  The train from Salzburg to Linz was another one of those great Railjet trains, so it was super-fancy.  The one we got on in Linz was a little iffy.  Then we noticed that on the windows of the car we got on, were "reserved" signs.  David said we should just sit there and see if someone came.  A train agent came on the train and told us we had to move because the car was reserved for 55 people in a group.  Ok, so we moved to unreserved seats.  The train left the station...and our car was completely empty except for the three of us and one other person, and the "group of 55" never got on.

So we go to Ceske, get off the train and go looking for what track our next train is on.  The sign says "bus".  David goes to talk to a ticket person, who of course doesn't speak English - and we know absolutely no Czech.  He goes and stands under the sign again as if the word "bus" will disappear.  We are standing there like that and some guy with one of those orange vests comes up to me saying something in Czech.  I say "no", and he keeps insisting, saying something.  Then I realize I'm hearing the word "Praha" (Prague).  So I finally say yes, and he motions us all outside where there are about 7 buses lined up at the curb crammed full of people.  They led us all the way down the line to one that had open seats and an underneath baggage compartment.  At this point we aren't completely sure what is going on, but Kate thinks she heard them say they are taking us to another train.  Even longer story short, they took us to another town (including a detour that took 45 min.) to get on a train.  And this train was like something out of a bad movie.  I was afraid to get on the thing.  But we made it to Prague about 2 hours late.

Our taxi driver gave us a running commentary about Prague, its' beer, its' wine and places of interest.  Our hotel is near a landmark called the Charles Bridge.  Our taxi driver described it as "only 600 years old".  He dropped us off, not in front of the hotel, but across the street.  He said "there is the hotel", took our luggage out of his trunk and left.

Once we got into the hotel, though, all was well.  This hotel is one of our favorite hotel companies that we always stay in.  The people are so helpful and do everything to make us feel at home.  The terrace where we ate lunch looks across the river to the old St. Nicholas church, (also "only" 600 years old) and the palace.  This is a beautiful city.  The buildings are all old.  Prague was not bombed during WWII so the "old city" where our hotel is located, was not damaged and everything is original architecture.  We walked by a square where a large screen showed the televised world cup matches and had a party atmosphere, where we had a beer and relaxed.

95% of restaurants in Prague are Italian.  so we went to this great little italian place near the jewish district.  When the meal was over, David says to the waitress, "I think we are finished, could we get our check?"  Kate and I started cracking up and David was clueless as to why.  Well, for the slower crowd, the people here are called Czech, pronounced the same.  So we were joking that the waitress was going to bring us a Czech person to take home with us.  haha.  Tomorrow we will have a private tour of the city and will be able to take more pictures and actually know what we are looking at.

I'm getting homesick for my own bed and stuff, and getting tired of wearing the same thing all the time.  But at least we get to do laundry here!  Love to everyone.

Day 12 - Salzburg/ Eagle's Nest

Today was an early day after a late night last night. 

Our tour to Berchdesgaden/Eagles Nest began at 8:45.  We were driven back over the border to Germany, up to the mountain called Kehlstein to a parking lot and from there we walked down the same tunnel and took the same elevator that Hitler took to his Office which one of his closest confidants had built for him.  Hitler called it Kehlsteinhaus but others referred to it as The Eagles Nest due to it's altitude (6,017 feet).

(This part of the Alps is called the low Alps. The mountains are from about 6,000 to 9,000 feet.)  

Interestingly, Hitler only visited here about 10 times during the 5 or so years after it's completion. His mistress Eva Braun spent more time there entertaining her friends.

When the allies came to liberate Germany, they bombed most of the town of Berchdesgaden because many of Hitler's closest officers had headquarters there. The mayor talked the Americans into keeping Eagles Nest for it's historical significance. At present a restaurant leases the building. 

The view from this spot is beautiful if you can get some pictures before the clouds roll in. We had great visibility on one side, but the other was solid clouds. As usual, Kate is the photographer today. My pictures will go up on Facebook when we get home. Kate's are better though.

We stopped in the town of Berchdesgaden and David and Kate had a Bavarian lunch. I just can't get into that much sausage and sauerkraut.

We are going down to the bar now to watch the USA play Algeria in the World Cup. 

Tomorrow is a super early day. We want to catch the 6 am train to Linz, then the train to Ceske and then to Prague so we can explore a little before our tour the next day. 

Hope all is well with everyone back home. We love you.       

Day 11 - Salzburg

Whew!  This has been a long day. Got up at 6:30 to shower & breakfast before catching our train to Salzburg.   This was the nicest train yet.  A guy came around offering snacks (yes free) and later asked if we would like some coffee or something else to drink.   

We arrived at 11 am and hit the ground running. After dropping our bags at our hotel (Hotel Stein) across the river from the old city, we walked across the bridge to the old city and walked through the main shopping street for about 1-1/2 hours. During our walk we saw the home in which Mozart was born.  After a quick lunch break, we recrossed the river to our hotel to meet our "Sound of Music" tour.  

Our tour guide took us to many sites where the movie was filmed, and some that were actual sites important to the Von Trapp family.  We saw the building that appeared in the film as the back of the house. It is now owned by the Austrian campus of Harvard University. We also saw the glass house/gazebo that appeared in the movie. He also showed the rooftop of the actual convent Maria was in before she became governess to the children.  (It is still a convent and not open to the public.)   

We then drove into the countryside so he could to show us several lakes that appeared in aerial shots at the beginning of the movie. The last thing we saw was the actual home the Von Trapps lived in.  We arrived back at the hotel in time to get ready for our dinner at Stiftskeller St. Peter. This is he oldest restaurant in Europe.  They do a three course dinner interspersed with performances from various Mozart operas and other works. It was wonderful but dinner didn't end until 11 pm. Now I am trying to get this posted to make it to bed because tomorrow is another early day with a tour to Berchdesgarden. Expect more beautiful pictures from there. Love to all...

Day 10 - Neuschwanstein

So today we woke up early for a day tour to Neuschwanstein castle, the castle that the Disney Castle is designed after.  We took Mike's Bike Tours. So we got to the tour place and mom decided that she had to go to the bathroom so we went to the Hofbrauhaus, which was right around the corner.  It was super awkward because we were the only people in there (at 8:45 in the morning).

We took the bus to a restaurant near Neuschwanstein castle and were each allocated bikes.  They were the old fashioned looking bikes with the wide handles that are tall and the low seats.  They were so comfy too! Our tour guide was from South Africa and was super cute too.  We rode our bikes (yes...mom did too) down these side roads and got to see great views of the castle.  We went all the way to this lake nearby, called Swan Lake (not the real swan lake that inspired the ballet).  Some crazy people got in the water, but it was 40-something degrees and rainy, so it was a no-go for me.

We rode around the lake and headed back to the restaurant for lunch.  After lunch and an awesome magic show by our handsome guide, we took the bus to the town at the bottom of the mountain where Neuschwanstein castle is.  When we got to the town, we got out and proceeded to hike up the mountain to the castle.  It was steep and muddy and tiring, but it was awesome!  Unfortunately, I didn't know that there was going to be a hike, so I wore these cute little flats that are just fine for walking around, but not so good for hiking in.  They got a little muddy (mainly wet), but nothing a little wet washcloth cant fix.

During the hike, we walked alongside a waterfall, which was so beautiful.  We climbed a ton of stairs and I felt like my legs were going to fall off.  When we finally made it to a flat point, we had the choice of visiting Mary's Bridge to get a better view of the castle or just going up to the castle directly.  Of course we went the scenic route.  The bridge was probably 100 feet or more above the waterfall and had an amazing view of the castle.  Unfortunately, it was kind of cloudy, but not too bad.  After we took some pictures, we went to the Castle for a short tour.  (and when I say short, I mean short).

The tour of the castle was cool.  Only about 1/3 was finished and only 8 rooms out of 60 rooms that were meant to be built were finished.  This is because the king at the time ("Mad" King Ludwig II)  "mysteriously" died.  The most likely scenario is that he was murdered.  He only lived in the castle for 183 days before he died.  His bedroom took 14 men 4 years to finish as well.  It was so intricately carved, it was ridiculous.  There was also a grotto inside the castle that the king had built for him.  We don't really know why but it was cool!  The tour lasted around 30 minutes.  When we were done, we had to hike back down the mountain, although it didn't take nearly as long as on the way up because our guide had a shortcut.

On the way home, we watched "Eurotrip" on the bus, which is a funny (although predictable and kind of stupid) movie! I had never seen it before.  When we got back we came back to the hotel and ate dinner at the hotel restaurant, which is a great Italian place.  Now we are watching world cup and relaxing.  Tomorrow we are heading to Salzburg.  Love and miss y'all.