Departures and arrivals

 Wednesday, 20 April 2022, 9:25am. 

The Uber pickup and drop went off without a hitch. Susie and I woke up about 0300 before the alarm went off, got dressed and made a final inspection of the condo. Uber notified me that the driver was going to arrive early and so he did. (The Uber app is trés slick, very intuitive and doesn't rely on Google Maps, thank god!).

We were dropped off at the GR airport at 4:30, and checked in soon after. Although quite a few folks were traveling at such an early hour we were through security and at our gate in no time at all. 

The flight left on time and less than two hours later we found ourselves wandering around aimlessly at Charlotte Airport. (The place is HUGE, but well signed.) For reasons unclear to us the agent at GR could not check us in through to Munich -- although our luggage cleared that hurdle -- so we had to find an American Airlines customer service desk in Charlotte. That done and with boarding passes in hand we made our way to the Amex lounge to hang out for the next six hours or so. . . 

concourse E as seen from concourse D (Amex Lounge)

our Boeing 777 Dreamliner

We boarded on time, found our seats and settled in for the next 8 hours or so. Fortunately I had booked Premium Economy and out of 18 seats in that cabin only ten had been sold so we had plenty of room to stretch out (so to speak) and enjoy the flight. 

The onboard evening meal was mediocre but the service was pleasant and the onboard entertainment stellar: I watched the new Dune (part one apparently) and Susie and I both watched JLo and Owen Wilson in Marry Me. It was no Notting Hill to be sure but the music was good and Jennifer Lopez was terrific. 

Thursday, 21 April 2022,  0700 (Munich time)

After a relatively smooth flight with minimal turbulence we arrived in sunny Munich on time, slid through passport control with no problems (they didn't seem at all concerned about our vaccines cards), collected our bags and made our way to find the train that would take us into the city. I took the opportunity to let our landlord know we were in town and hoping to be at the apartment within the hour. A 45-minute train ride followed by an even shorter taxi ride and voilá! There we were standing in front of Prestalozzistrasse no. 18. 

Our hostess Agnes met us at the main door and took us through the courtyard to our apartment. (You can find the deets on our home for the next week right here: https://abnb.me/1lZJxRX3dpb.

We barely settled in before we laid down and took a much-needed nap - having the foresight to set an alarm giving us about 2.5 hours of the sleep we craved so much at that moment.

Once we were up, we unpacked, showered, changed clothes and headed out to buy some groceries for our home for the next week. We found a wonderful market just 3 minutes away, 

Edeka Market

After returning to the apartment and dropping everything off, back out we went to explore the neighborhood. Just two doors down from no 18 was the pleasantly funky Aroma KaffeeBar where we stopped to sit, relax, drink some spectacular coffee and eat freshly baked pastry.

Refreshed and refueled we pushed back out into the sunshine. 

After a ten minute stroll down our block (and the blocks hereabouts tend to meander every which way) we found ourselves at the Alter Südlicher Friedhof (friedhof is German for cemetery) literally just around the corner from our place. Naturally we wandered in. . . 

Two minutes after leaving the friedhof we were back home in time to catch up on various settling in tasks.

With early evening came a belated hunger and so we opted for one of the local eateries; in this case Junge Romer, a place known for its fresh pasta, tasty pizza and friendly and incredible service. 

We were lucky enough to score a free table inside the small cafe -- outside was too chilly for us although the outdoor seating would be full by the time we left. I had a ragu du carciofi (artichoke) and Susie had a delicious pistachio pasta, all washed down by an Aglianico red wine from Campania. 

After dinner we strolled for a just a few minutes through the cemetery next door before heading home.

So, all-in-all not too bad for our first day in Munich -- we had no idea there was so much to experience right in our neighborhood. 

It wasn't long before our bed called to us ever so persistently and of course we had no recourse but to oblige.

Tomorrow it's off to the Marienplatz, getting our transport passes, visiting the Alte Pinacoteke, strolling around the old town, spending time in the English Gardens and who knows what else?

Stay tuned!

Final preparations

This past Sunday, which happened to be Easter, we were enjoying an extended family dinner at at the Galloway home on Clear Lake. At one point Scott's dad Gordon asked me, "So is this the longest you've ever traveled abroad?" 

In formulating my answer ("yes"), I realized that not since 2005 when we went to Siena to study Italian have Susie and I "traveled" overseas for this long: two months!  (For the record, we studied in Siena for two months and then traveled for a third month afterwards. Of course, this also excludes our move to Italy and then France in 2005-2007.)

All our detailed planning and meticulous preparing for the 2022 trip began to make perfect sense. 

Aside from the typical travel stuff most of us take on trips (clothes, toiletries, camera, computer), we realized the need for such novelties as a first aid kit, home supply kit (sewing stuff, etc.), office supplies and the like. If we were going to be in one or two places the duration we could undoubtedly manage to find such necessaries locally. But we'll be changing locations nearly every 4-6 days until we reach Paris where we spend our final two weeks, so having things like rubber bands and paper clips will save us unnecessary hassle while scooting around Europe.

One of our neighbors, Sandy, will  get our mail (the Post Office will hold for only 30 days), another neighbor Carla will be looking on Susie's mom (we've stocked her up with those things we occasionally get for her), arrangements have been made for emergency contacts (hopefully to remain unused), Uber is scheduled to pick us up at 04:15 Wednesday morning, the CC companies informed of our planning to be overseas for some time, reefer cleaned out, house cleaned, laundry done, non-flannel sheets on the bed, and a dozen other little things to ready the condo for our absence.

We're getting there. . . piano piano as they say in Italy.

Carla and Bern

Visitors from Louisiana

 [Ed and I were hospital corpsmen and roommates in Bethesda, MD in 1973]

Ed (with hat) and me at Great Falls, VA, c. 1973

We hadn’t seen Ed and Chris since our Spring 2019 road trip (4,000 miles in 16 days) when we visited them at their home in Natchitoches, LA. They talked about coming to Michigan and after two years of Covid so they did. Breaking free of southern humidity in search of the northern wilds of snowy Michigan, last Friday they pulled into our driveway on Eagle Ridge Court.

After getting unpacked followed by a late lunch we drove over to Meijer Gardens and embraced the new crop of butterflies (a 20-minute wait to get in but well worth it). 

in line waiting for the butterflies

cousin Itt?

monarch caterpillar

Since it was Chris’s birthday we prepared a special meal finished off with a Breton blueberry tart topped by homemade vanilla ice cream. The evening was spent catching up and playing Mexican Train dominoes (fun and oddly satisfying).

Saturday.

The four of us piled into our car and we took the back roads out to Lake Michigan to show our guests the Big Lake and drop in to see Patty at her shop (Patricia’s Chocolates) in Grand Haven.

Once back in Grand Rapids we drove to the Public Museum and joined the Great Horde of Families determined to make their kids appreciate the finer points of local culture.

That evening was dinner out at Long Road Distillery where three of us had the fish’n chips (delicious); Chris had a farro mushroom dish which was also a big hit. No wine and no beer so it was cocktail night only! I had a wonderful combination of LR gin with hibiscus and lime juice. Noisy but a good time all around.

Ed and Chris at Grand Haven State Beach

visiting with Patty at Patricia's Chocolates in Grand Haven

Grand Rapids Public Museum

Long Road for dinner

Sunday.

We packed our bags, grabbed whatever electronic devises we thought necessary and headed out for the next phase of the Evans’ Northern Adventure, a trip to the Wisconsin Dells. They had reserved a time-share for the four of us at a Wyndham property near the Dells and so off we went. It was snowy/blowy for the first hour or so of the trip but then the sky opened blue and sunny once we passed around Lake Michigan and drove into Indiana. Our little convoy made it as far as the interchange from I-290 to I-90 west of Chicago when we got split up but eventually met up at the lobby of the resort by early afternoon. 

After check-in and settle-in we returned to our car and went off exploring. First we drove into Baraboo (old-style town square marred by a grotesque neo-Stalinist city hall in the center) then off to the town of Wisconsin Dells proper. A lovely main street (Broadway) of quaint shops reached only by passing through a strip of road dominated by one hotel/resort complex after another and broken only by attractions promising the adventure of a lifetime climbing ropes, escaping rooms or some other experience to empty your wallet.

Returning to our apartment — and a spacious place it was indeed — we tucked in for the night. For dinner we served up chili I had made earlier in the month while Ed started prepping his gumbo for Monday night’s meal. The plan for Tuesday, our final night in the Dells, was to find a place to eat — easy since there are probably 100 restaurants within a five-mile radius (but the quality??).

settling in, the apartment in the Dells

Monday.

The morning dawned gorgeous with a blue sky and cold temps. That didn’t stop Susie and Chris from bundling up and heading out for a brisk walk. Ed and I wisely chose to remain inside. After a leisurely morning we donned our bathing costumes and headed off for one of the four indoor water parks attached to the resort. (Wisconsin Dells touts itself as “Waterpark capitol of the world.” Who knew?)

After a walk down endless hallways and over a skybridge we found ourselves inside the curiously named “Klondike Kavern” waterpark. At 10 am the park officially opened and after grabbing towels we found a table to hang them while we made our way to the Lazy River tubing adventure. Within the hour the place was packed with people of all shapes and sizes packing the tubes and the water. 

Still it was plenty of fun. 

Ed and Chris opted to try the more daring waterslides while Susie and I watched — for it dawned on me that I could very well lose my glasses and thus place myself into an awkward state of double vision for the foreseeable future. I hadn’t really thought about that before. . . But I did find it fascinating that here were some hundreds of strangers in various states of undress packed together running around acting goofy. A fun time was had by all I’m sure.

Returning to the room, we showered/dressed and enjoyed a late lunch in the apartment. Although we had packed sandwich fixins’, wine and dinner grub for two nights of our stay, a quick trip to the local grocery was necessary for a few ingredients.

In the afternoon we headed back out — the sun beckoned. First off we headed south out of town stopping at a cheese shop (it is Wisconsin after all) and continued south just a few miles to Mirror Lake where we caught a glimpse of at least two people ice fishing.  From there we headed back north and tried to find Stand Rock overlooking the Wisconsin River, which runs right through the Dells. Being barred by a signed and gated dirt road warning of prosecution, we made our way back into town. We parked just off of the main street and found our way to the quarter-mile long Riverwalk, a lovely path with historical markers along the bluffs overlooking the (yep) Wisconsin River. We even caught a glimpse of one of the river tour boats coming back into town.

Back to the Wyndham and we settled in for the evening —refusing an apron, Ed slaved over the stove making supper while the three of us lounged around and did little but read and relax until it was Gumbo time! Poured over white rice it was worth the wait. As Andy would say, “Ummmmm good, Aunt Bea!” Seconds all ‘round!

After food was put away (mostly) it was 13 rounds of Mexican Train and then off to bed.

one of four indoor waterparks attached to the resort

iced over Mirror Lake

note the two ice fisherman in the far distance

in Wisconsin Dells (the town)

Wizard Quest on the main street (Broadway) next to the beginning of the Riverwalk (just to the left)

boat cruise on the Wisconsin River

the Wisconsin River

Tuesday.

Cloudy morning and cold. Again Chris and Susan, this time joined by Ed, suited up and left the apartment for a walk. I bravely remained home to protect our valuables. . . 

We had hoped to take one of the boat tours on the Wisconsin River in order to get off and stroll through Witches’ Gulch and see Stand Rock close up but no landings yet for the season due to ice. So we opted for an indoor attraction: Cave of the Mounds. 

Located about an hour’s drive south of the Dells, the Cave was opened in 1940. Discovered purely by chance, this underground treasure boasts an average temperature of 50 F year-round and some truly dramatic rock formations. We all thought this to be one of the best attractions so far.

From the cave we returned to the apartment for a late lunch and to relax until suppertime.

That evening we chose to eat out at Hu Hot (the name sounded cool). Touted as a Mongolian grill (corporate HQ Missoula, MT), this place certainly had an interesting approach to dining: One takes a bowl and proceeds to a long help-yourself bar of ingredients followed by a stop at the sauce bar. Then it's queueing to hand your bowl to one of several cooks working at an enormous circular grill and in just a few minutes, voila! 

It was back to the apartment for four rounds of Kings in the Corner (thanks to D & D for the inspiration) and off to bed.

beginning of the Cave of the Mounds tour

river running through the cave system

dinner at Hu Hot

Wednesday.

The idea was to leave the Dells and head back south spending a night near Elgin, IL, where we would rendezvous with my brother Greg and his wife Joyce. But then you know the old adage, the best laid plans. . . Well, I woke up with a serious sore throat and nasty cough so we decided to head home instead. Ed and Chris got off to an early start for LA (they were home by 10 pm that evening) while for us a trip that should’ve taken just barely 5-and-a-half hours turned into nearly seven-and-a-half thanks to a continual downpour that lasted from when we first entered Illinois until we got home. That and maneuvering around the I-80-90-94 nexus of wall-to-wall trucks was nerve-wracking to say the least.

But splitting the driving worked well and we were home just into time to unpack, prepare dinner and then for me a shower and to bed.

An interesting trip to be sure — but a good preparation for THE BIG ONE coming up next month.

Stay tuned!

Oh and by way of a postscript: Thursday morning I used one of our USPS-delivered free COVID rapid-test kits and it was negative. So far so good.

Some countries never change

 

from The Guardian 27 February 2022

Back to Europe in 2022

In 1994 Susie and I took our first trip abroad as a couple. Our travel plan was pretty simple and, as it turned out, would define how we have travelled ever since: find a place to visit, rent an apartment and just be in that place, getting to know the neighborhood, the town. As a result we spent three weeks in June split between two home rentals in Italy. Bear in mind we didn't know Italian, had never been to Italy and didn't know anyone who had ever done such a thing -- so why we decided on such a way to see the country is beyond me. 

But we did. And a good thing we did.

Anyway, our first rental (pictured below) was for a week in Umbria. We then met up with Dick and Dorothy for two weeks in a small village just north of Siena.

While we have certainly stayed in our share of hotels during our various travels since, we have tended toward apartment rentals of a week or longer, often significantly longer. And, to repeat, we've almost always tended to stay in one place, using it as a home-away-from-home as it were.

Not this time. In the spring of 2022 our return to Europe will find us traveling in new and unique ways. Two months seeing parts of Europe we have never visited before, and pretty much all by train. 

If you're keen on knowing the details check out the itinerary below. . . 

a week in early June 1994, close to Niccone in Umbria, north of Umbertide

Susie and me, Fonte Gaia, Siena

with Dick and Dorothy in Siena

One of the very first things we did to prepare for the trip was renew our passports (due to expire in 2023) since we were going to be gone for some two months. We also applied for and received the Global Pass (part of the Trusted Traveler Program).

That done we could then begin to layout the specifics of our itinerary.

In broad terms we wanted to visit Scandinavia, we wanted to see the MacDs in Germany and we thought it would be nice to see Prague. That much we knew. 

As for getting around we ruled out renting/leasing a car (we did that back in 2005). Why? Well, for one thing our trip would entail visiting/spending our time in major cities where parking could be a major hassle. Plus, why have a car in a large city when public transport would do just fine? And taking the trains from city to city would be stress-free!

So we opted for a Eurail pass: we each have a two-month pass that allows us 15 days of unlimited train travel. One thing we learned early on was the necessity in some countries of having to make reservations, which I've already done for several of our longer travel legs.

Next was to lock down where we wanted to spend our time and how much of it in each location. This is how things ended up:

We leave Michigan 20 April and arrive in Munich the following day. 

After spending a week in Munich (with a side trip to Salzburg) we take the train to eastern Bavaria and spend a few days with the MacDs. We hope to do a couple of day trips, one to Regensburg and another to Nuremberg. 

From Germany its on to Prague for four nights followed by an overnight in Hamburg, on to Copenhagen for four nights and then train to Stockholm where we'll meet up with Richard and Pauline. 

After four nights in Sweden it's on to Oslo for five nights (end enjoy Norway's national Independence Day celebrations on May 17). Then Flåm (a popular part of the Norway in a Nutshell Tour) for two nights followed by four nights in Bergen.  

From Bergen we fly to Amsterdam and then train to Gouda for five nights. While in the Netherlands we hope to pop over to Delft and The Hague as well as Rotterdam. 

From Gouda we train to Paris for our final two weeks.

As for accommodations we have reserved apartments (through Air BnB) in Munich, Prague, Copenhagen, Oslo, Bergen and Paris where we return to the same apartment we rented in 2018. We'll be staying in hotels in Hamburg, Stockholm, Flåm and Gouda.

We fly out of Paris on 14 June.

I'll post a final itinerary update before we go and hope to post daily or nearly so while we're traveling. Note that because of the restrictions imposed by Mailchimp (my email program) notifications will probably be sent out infrequently. You can plan to bookmark the blog and visit at your convenience, of course.

Until next time, be well, be safe and happy travels wherever you'r going!