Tuesday July 24 - Lake Como area, Italy

After eating breakfast on the balcony overlooking charming Lake Como, we were off. Today, our itinerary was to explore the towns of Bellagio and Varena, both along the shores of Lake Como. We parked our car not far from the hotel and took a ferry across the lake to Bellagio. Bellagio turned out to be a smaller town than I expected, but quite interesting with many small shops and restaurants. What amazed me the most, was the number of tourists in the town that were speaking English. After browsing many of the shops in Bellagio for awhile, we took a boat up the lake a bit to the very small, quiet town of Varenna. We walked the streets and small alleys of Varenna for awhile and then hopped the ferry back to Bellagio for some dinner, coppucino and gellati. We caught the 9:20 PM ferry across the lake and back to our car. After a very hot and tiring day, we were happy to arrive back at our air conditioned hotel by 10 PM. We were off to bed for another long journey tomorrow.......to the city of Verona.

Monday July 23 - Thun, Switzerland to Lake Como, Italy

We left Thun, for a very long ride today to Italy. Our destination was the town of Tremezzo, on Lake Como. We knew it was going to be a very long day, but I looked at the map and still decided to take the route that would go through the mountain passes with the highest elevation. One of the first mountain passes we went through was the Grimsel Pass with an elevation of approximately 2800 meters. The scenery and views were astonishing, even though the sky was was overcast and hazy. Viewing the snow covered Swiss Alps in late July was something I was looking forward to for months.........and here we were. Cows with large bells meandered around the mountains sides as well. As each mile passed and we climbed higher and higher up the mountains, I could see the ambient temperature gauge in the car gradually go down......reaching a low point of 8 degrees Celsius (45 Fahrenheit), and the strong blowing winds made it feel even colder. We eventually began to descend down the mountains, which was somewhat disappointing, because we knew we were leaving Switzerland for the last time on this trip. Switzerland is actually one of our favorite countries and we hope to be back here very very soon. As we were getting closer to the Italian border, it became rather obvious......many of the street signs and advertisements began to appear in Italian and the architecture of the buildings began to change as well. As the late afternoon gradually ended, we reached Lugano, Switzerland, near the border, and finally crossed into Italy at 5:30 PM to get stuck in complete standstill traffic for approximately one hour. How depressing. We now had to continue our journey toward Lake Como. We finally arrived at our hotel in Tremezzo, across the lake from Bellagio, at about 7:30 PM. After eating a quick dinner at a local Pizzeria, it was off to bed for another exciting day again tomorrow.

Sunday July 22 - Thun, Switzerland

As routine, we woke up early, had breakfast and had to decide what to do. We had a full day in the Thun area and wanted to explore. Thank goodness the weather was a lot better than yesterday, so after we looked at a map of the area we decided to journey up to the closest, but highest mountains......and came up with the area around the town of Lenk, Switzerland. After approximately a one hour drive we arrived in Lenk, which on our map was basically a dead end before the impassible Alps. In Lenk we found the Betelberg Cable Car system. We took the cable car up to the very top, approximately 1900 meters (6000 feet). Once at the top we explored the area and decided to hike down, following the designated walking paths. The views were outstanding. Too much to even describe. At the halfway point, as the hike down was getting rather steep, we hopped on the cable car and rode the rest of the way down. We explored the town of Lenk a bit and were now on our way. As we drove back to Thun we stopped occasionally to take a few more photos. Once back in Thun, we walked around a bit, had dinner and went to bed.

No Internet Service Available

Sorry, we have not and will not have internet service until at least Tuesday July 31st. Please check back then.

Saturday July 21 - Lucerne to Thun, Switzerland

As usual, we woke up early and were on our way. Today we left Lucerne with a destination of Thun, a medieval city in central Switzerland, on Lake Thun, which is one of the largest lakes in Switzerland. Along the way, we made a stop in the town Interlaken, which is between the two lakes of Brienz and Thun. I had been to Interlaken in 1970 while camping throughout Europe and again in 1977 with Gail. As was the case with Lucerne, Interlaken was basically unchanged except for the increase in the nature of the tourist population. Many more tourist shops have also made their way into the town. As Gail and I did 30 years ago, we went into a supermarket, bought bread and Emmentaler cheese and ate it in the same park in the center of the town....... it was great to be back, but 30 years was much too long. After playing typical tourist, looking in the shops and buying postcards we continued on our way to Thun. We arrived in Thun an hour or so later to be greeted with major road construction and heavy rain. After a major ordeal to get the car parked, we finally checked into the hotel. Finding a place to eat dinner in the pouring rain was not quite what we had in mind. We finally found a very small, excellent Italian restaurant (http://www.trattoria-rimini.ch)quite close to our hotel. The food was all homemade and excellent, and after a very relaxing dinner and a few glasses of wine we went back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.

Friday July 20 - Gossau to Lucerne, Switzerland

This morning we woke up and had to leave Gossau for Lucerne. It was a rather difficult departure for us.......we had spent the past few days with the Giger family and had such a fun filled and rewarding time, that it was difficult for us to say goodbye. They did so much for us and made us feel so welcome, that we thought we were part of the family. After a sad departure, we were on our way to Lucerne by approximately 10:30 AM. The rest of the day was rather uneventful except for the magnificent scenery along the way. We arrived in Lucerne in the early afternoon, found our hotel, and set out to see the city. This was my 5th visit to Lucerne and Gail's 2nd. The city, for the most part was rather unchanged except for the makeup of the tourists. The tourist population was now much more diverse than we had seen in the past, with a much larger proportion of people from Asian nations. We visited the typical tourist stops, the medieval covered bridge across the Reuss River and the famous Lion Monument. We next visited all the typical shops in Lucerne........Bucherer and Gubelin for watches, among others. Prices were so high, that we purchased nothing substantial What makes everything so expensive for us is the depreciating U.S. dollar on world currency markets. It began to rain rather heavily in the early evening, so we had a quick dinner and headed back to the hotel earlier than expected.

Thursday - July 19 Appenzellerland, Switzerland

We woke up early again today, had another great breakfast (Eliane went out each morning to be sure we had fresh rolls and bread on the breakfast table) and then we were on our way for another eventful day. Today Seraina's grandparents joined us on our journey...... they did not speak English, but we all had a great time together as we were all able to smile, laugh and somehow exchange and share our thoughts. The first major event of the day was a journey to Schwagalp for a a short hike at the base of Mount Santis. Before our walk in the area we saw how cheese was made......an interesting process. Our walk was quite amusing, as we shared the paths with cows and had to be sure not to step in their “pies”. After taking many photos, we left and headed down the mountain, as several of the cows also shared the roadway. Our next stop was a short visit near the town of Jakobsbad to see a rather small but interesting amusement park. Again, a lot of smiles and laughts with the Giger family. Continuing on our journey, the next stop was the small quaint village of Appenzell, where we had lunch and walked around the picturesque village and browsed in many of the traditional tourist type shops. At this point in the day, everyone was rather tired so we headed back to Gossau for some relaxation. We had another fine dinner with the entire family and had to face the reality that we were leaving our new friends the next morning. Before that reality set in, we had some Turkish coffee, dessert and of course some more good conversation and laughs before going to bed for the night.

Wednesday July 18 - Gossau, Switzerand & Surrounding Area

We knew today was going to be another exciting day. After a very filling and relaxing breakfast we were off to see the city of St. Gallen. On our way into the city we stopped off at some very scenic overlooks where we could see almost every corner of St. Gallen, quite an old and beautiful place. After parking the car downtown we walked a bit to get a flavor of the city. The highlight of our visit in the city was an extremely well preserved Baroque Cathedral from the 18th century, that houses many manuscripts from the early Middle Ages. The interior of the church and the organ were quite impressive. After leaving the city we headed to a local zoo where we had a picnic lunch of delicious St. Gallen bratwursts. Continuing on our fun packed day, we were off to visit the Maestrani Swiss Chocolate factory in Flawil (http://www.maestrani.ch). The tour was quite interesting, but what was more special was that we were constantly being given samples of many of their very tasty products.......too good to resist! We now headed back to our host's home for a bit of relaxation and joyful conversation. After another excellent dinner, we were now headed out again........ to Lake Constance. Hard to believe, but at 9:30 PM I was actually swimming in Lake Constance, a large lake on the Rhine between Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. After a lot of fun, laughs and good friendship, we headed back to Gossau for a good nights sleep. Again, another wonderful, fulfilling and great day.

Tuesday July 17 - Freiburg, Germany to Gossau, Switzerland

We woke up early today for our trip to Switzerland. After breakfast we headed for Gossau, Switzerland to visit Seraina Giger and her family (Seraina was a foreign exchange student I had in school this past year). On our way to we stopped at Rhine Falls near the town of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland and close to the German border. The falls are a spectacular sight to see and are the largest waterfalls in Europe. After a short visit to the falls, we were off to Gossau. As most people are well aware, Switzerland is one of the most scenic nations in the world, and this was reinforced as we headed south toward Gossau. Gossau is a small city in the eastern part of Switzerland, near the larger city of St. Gallen. We arrived at the Giger's home at about 2 PM to a wonderful welcome. We unpacked the car, settled in and had a great afternoon ........ taking a walk in the Gossau area and chatting and getting to know our hosts. Gail and I immediately knew that we were going to have an exciting and fun few days with our new friends. Seraina's mom, Eliane prepared a very tasty traditional Swiss dinner, Raclette. We all thoroughly enjoyed the dinner as we talked, had some wine and all enjoyed each other's company. Another great day on our trip.

Monday July 16 - Freiburg, Germany & Black Forest area

This morning we headed out early for what was to be a busy day. By 9:45 AM we had already eaten breakfast and were at a small local winery west of Freiburg, and about 5 miles east of the French border. The winery was not giving tours, but we had a little taste, bought a bottle and were on our way.....not too sure yet where we were headed. We looked at the map and quickly decided to take a short detour to France, drive up the French side of the Rhine River to Strasbourg and then cross the Rhine back into Germany. So, here we were driving through some very small but pretty French towns and villages. The style and architecture of the homes was very similar to what we had seen across the river in Germany. On our drive to Strasbourg, we stopped in a supermarket picked up a French baguette and some cheese and had lunch along the way. Once we arrived in the Strasbourg area, it was so congested with automobiles, we just decided to cross back into Germany and continue our day by driving south through the Black Forest again, and on to the city of Freiburg. We arrived in Freiburg late in the afternoon, to be greeted by record heat and humidity. We took a brief walk through the Alstadt (old city), took some photos, browsed in a few stores and headed back to Glottertal for a relaxing dinner. We sat at an outside table at a restaurant across from a grape vineyard. The food was excellent, but I must say that the scenery was even better......... sitting outside, eating an excellent dinner, drinking local beer and wine in the Black Forest of Germany, during sunset........what more can I say?

Rothenberg to Freiburg - Sunday July 15

Today was probably the longest day in terms of time and total miles to be driven. We had an extremely long ride from Rothenberg all the way through south central Germany, through the Black Forest with our final destination, Glottertal, a small town in the Black Forest, outside the city of Freiburg in southwest Germany. Our journey today began by taking the “Romantic Road” which passed along other small medieval walled towns. Our first stop along the way was the medieval city of Dinklesbuhl. Our timing could not have been better since once a year in mid July, Dinklesbuhl holds a special children's festival, parade and re-creation of events from hundreds of years ago, known as the "Kinderzeche". The costumes, sights, parade, etc. were a special unplanned treat for us. After enjoying all of the festivities, from Dinkelsbuhl, we now headed south to the next medieval city along the “Romantiche Strasse”, Nordlingen. We walked around Nordlingen, enjoyed the 16th and 17 th century structures, had a bratwurst and beer and to on the road again for the long journey that lies ahead. We now jumped on the autobahn for a bit, to cut some time off our day. I tried to drive at a steady 90 mph, but the Mercedes, BMWs, Audis and occasional Ferraris, just flew by and made "chop liver" from me and my Passat. We finally had a chance to get off of the autobahn and back onto the smaller roads, which took us through the rolling hills and valleys of the Black Forest. I can't even attempt to describe the beauty of the villages, homes, hills, valleys, etc. that we viewed along our drive south toward Freiburg. The journey took a lot longer than expected, because I was constantly stopping and getting out of the car to take photographs. We finally arrived in Glottertal about 7:30 PM. We were beat.......we had a very nice leisurely dinner at our hotel and off to bed we went. An absolutely outstanding day........sites and experiences that will live in our minds forever. The only thing I can say is "Wow".

Heidelberg to Rothenberg ob der Tauber - Saturday July 14

Sorry for being away for a few days, but unfortunately, I did not have Internet access at every stop. So now I will try and catch up a bit.

We spent a few wonderful days in Heidelberg and left today for Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the famous walled Medieval city. The ride was absolutely beautiful as usual. I really have no desire to drive the autobahn unless it is totally necessary, so we took every possible back road through the smallest towns, villages and farms to reach Rothenberg. The small German towns and villages that we passed though along the way were extremely quaint and peaceful. Again, the scenery was breathtaking. I wish we could have stopped more along the way, but we wanted to get to Rothenberg early enough to explore the town today. We arrived at our hotel (which was built in and part of the wall) by 3:30 and then set out to see the town. Gail and I had been here in 1977 and it hasn't changed much since then. except the prices! After walking along the top of the wall for a good part of the city, we finally found a place to have dinner. Finding places to eat can be somewhat difficult since in many cases, we cannot read thte menu. After dinner, and of course a few beers, and a glass of wine for Gail, we took a leisurely stroll through the small street and alleys of Rothenberg, and then back to hotel for a good nights sleep.

Heidelberg - Friday July 13

We woke up this morning and knew we had a long day of walking and exploring. Before that we headed to the breakfast room in the hotel, and were amazed at the selection. Fried eggs, scrambled, boiled, smoked salmon, smoked trout, at least 5 different cheeses, ham, salami, prosciutto, yogurt, strawberries and at least 6 other fruits & melons and rolls and bread. Wow..... a lot more than we expected. No doubt we did justice. After eating a wholesome breakfast we headed for the famous Heidelberg Castle, walking along the Hauptstrasse, Germany's longest pedestrian street that leads through the Old Town. We finally reached the base of the hill, upon which the castle lies. We took the funicular to the top, walked around and took many pictures of the Neckar Valley below. After checking out the Castle, which was built in the 17th century, we walked all the way to the bottom. We walked a bit more around the Old Town, checked out many of the unique shops, and I sucked down a bratwurst while Gail thoroughly enjoyed a banana/chocolate crepe. After taking a break back at the hotel, we headed out to the Old Town again, for a few rounds of wonderful beer, including a weissbier mit schuss and some dinner. After a very tiring day of walking and exploring were retired to the hotel rather early.........10 PM.The whole day, in perspective was quite amazing......riding a funicular up a steep mountain, viewing Heidelberg from 1430 feet above sea level, exploring a 400 year old castle, and of course enjoying some of the finest beer that Germany has to offer.

Thursday - July12

We said goodbye to Peter, but really hope we don't wait another 24 years to see him again. The 4 days we spent with Peter were great. We laughed, smiled, and had a absolute good time. He was a wonderful host and showed us some areas of Germany that I am sure we would have never found on our own. Thank you Peter!! We left Peter's in the morning, stopped one more time in Rheinbach and then headed south. We started on the autobahn where the suggested speed limit was approximately 83 mph....... and I kept up with the best of them in my VW Passat. We left the autobahn in Koblenz and then followed the Rhine River south for most of the remaining part of the day. Driving along the Rhine and viewing the hills, valleys and small towns was again quite breathtaking. I had to stop every few miles to take picture after picture. Sorting these will be a task. We drove past the famous Lorely rock along the way and when we reached Rudesheim, we were "forced" back onto the autobahn to continue toward our final destination of the day...... Heidelberg. We arrived in Heidelberg at about 5:30 PM, checked into our hotel and headed out on the town. We found a great brewery/restaurant, ate typical German food and washed it all down with some great dark beer from the brewery (why can't they make beer like this in the U.S.????) After a great dinner and relaxing evening on the town we returned to our hotel by 10:30 for a solid night sleep.

Wednesday - July 11 Cologne, Germany

Wednesday was another interesting day......a visit to the city of Cologne. Headed out early in the day and stopped for a quick visit to one of Peter's friends who is an artist. We visited the art studio, which was quite interesting, and saw much of her art. Peter's son Bastian met us at the art studio and joined us on our visit to downtown Cologne. Here we visited the famous Dom Church with its two spiring towers. The architectural feat of this building is amazing considering it was built beginning approximately 800 years ago. The stained glass was additionally fascinating. We also saw many of the "treasures" of the church, which are in the basement. Then on to the best part of the day...... a visit to one of the local breweries, the Fruh Kolsch Brauerei. I had been waiting years for this......Bratwurst, roast potatoes, German mustard and a few cold fresh Kolsch beers. It doesn't get much better than that. We took a quick walk along the Rhine River in the old section of the city (Alstadt) and then picked up our VW Passat rental car in south Cologne before heading back "home" in Holzem. We went out for a very nice dinner in a local establishment and then back to Peter's for a solid night sleep. Tomorrow we are off to Heidelberg with a winding drive along the Rhine River passing through Koblenz and Mainz along the way.

Tuesday - July 10 Eifel vicinity, Germany

Wow....another great day on our trip. After having a typical German breakfast (eggs, cheese, bread, ham, coffee, etc) we were off for a major hike through the grape (wine) vineyards of the Eifel area of Germany. Totally incredible...I cannot even describe the beauty of the scenery, and pictures do not even do justice to what we saw. These views we saw can only be memories that Gail and I will carry in our minds for years to come. Grape Vineyards, after vineyards just winding through and around the hills. We hiked through the vineyards for over 5 miles. Just an amazing walk and site to see with the small towns and villages down below the winding hills that we hiked. I took well over 100 pictures, but I cannot imagine that they captured even a fraction of what we saw. I had to stop often and just say "wow". We had parked the car in Altenahr and took a train to Rech. From Rech we hiked back to Altenahr to the car..... but before we got in the car to head "home" we had to stop in a Weinstube for a few carafes of the local blend.... a red wine that was quite smooth and tasty....a semi-dry type that even Gail enjoyed. Absolutely an outrageous day. We then headed back to Peter's place for a bit or relaxation and beer. We are just sitting around now getting ready for a fondue dinner which Peter is currently preparing. Tonight we will most likely relax and indulge on more of the local libations.......beer, wine and schnaps.

Monday July 9 - Rheinbach area, Germany

Today, after another good breakfast, we headed into the town of Rheinbach, to visit some of the places I had stayed and visited when I was here in 1978 and 1983. We walked around the town of Rheinbach a bit and then went on visit some other older & quaint towns in the area. The highlight of our day was a visit to Bad Münstereifel , a very old historical walled city in the area. We all had lunch and a few beers at an outside cafe and enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere of the town. This evening we went back to Rheinbach for a bit where we saw some of the Rhinebeck High School exchange students perform some music. Most of the students and chaperones were totally amazed to see Gail and I. It was a very interesting evening. Now, as I write, I am just winding down from a long day, with a smooth glass of nice red German wine and then heading off to bed. Tomorrow should be another exciting day.