Schloss Neuschwanstein (schloss means castle)

Today's plan was all about castles. Our plan was to take the train to Fussen which is a small town about 4 km from two Bavarian castles. We had purchased tickets to tour Hohenschwangau Castle, Neuschwanstein Castle and the Museum of the Bavarian Kings. Joe wore his Disney shirt, because Neuschwanstein is the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland. All was going according to plan until it was time to change trains at Buchloe, but our train arrived 10 minutes late and by the time we got off and found the platform, we had missed our connecting train. So we had to wait an hour for the next train. The hour delay caused us to miss our first tour. That was a disappointment, but we were happy to have made it. We had a few hours before our next tour, so we walked the 200 meters uphill to wander around the exterior of Hohenschwangau Castle.

Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein are pretty close each other. Hohenschwangau was built many years before and then renovated by Maximilian II as a summer home. It has a lovely view of a lake with mountains towering over it. We walked down to the lake enjoying the view and Zach spent some time wading in the water.

Next we went to the museum and learned about Bavarian royalty. Maximilian died unexpectedly and his son Ludwig II became king at 18. He loved science, the arts and stories of medieval times. He was also heavily influenced by Louis XIV and the opulence of his palace in Versailles. Ludwig decided to build a castle that represented all that he valued and the work on Neuschwanstein began. Ludwig had some political troubles and ended up being declared insane which led to his removal from the throne at the age of 40.  A few days later, he was found dead in the lake and the cause of his death remains a mystery.

I was feeling lightheaded and needed to eat, so we had a quick lunch at a cafe and then it was time to catch a bus up to Neuschwanstein. Our reservation was for 3:30, and we we told to be at the castle 15 minutes early. The bus ride was less than 10 minutes and we got to the bus around 3:00 pm thinking we had plenty of time. Even though the bus was full, the driver waited 20 minutes before he left for the castle. I never saw a schedule posted, but I began to worry that we were going to miss our second tour! When we got off the bus, we had to walk another 600 meters to the castle. By this time I was certain we would miss the tour. The instructions were very clear - No Refunds or Exchanges. We got to the castle at 3:40 and the attendant told us to go to info center to see if we could change our times. The great news of the day was that our reservation was at 3:50 NOT 3:30. Hallelujah! We had made it in time.

Once inside the castle we were told not to take photos or touch anything. We then proceed to walk up a spiral staircase. I have to admit that I am a little tired of climbing stairs, but there were even more stairs after that. In fact, half of the 40 minute tour was spent climbing up or going down about 5 flights of stairs. The tour was interesting and we learned some more about Ludwig, but we still had to walk back to the bus stop and this time it was uphill. After huffing and puffing up the long hill, the ride down the mountain turned out to be much faster than the ride up.

We took the bus back into Fussen where we had about 75 minutes before our train back to Munich departed. We found another restaurant where Joe and I split a yummy strawberry ice cream dish. Zach bought some snacks to eat on the train and now we are riding the train back to Munich for two hours and should be back at our hotel around 9:30 pm.

I am glad that we came to Munich. It is our central hub so that we don't have to take our luggage everywhere, but we are definitely spending a lot of time on trains.

Gardens, Towers, and Trains

 It was a late night for me after such a busy day. I finished my blog post around 1:00 am, but I couldn't fall asleep so after uploading a bunch of photos to Facebook, taking some Nyquil, and downloading a white noise app, I think I fell asleep around 4:00 am for a few hours. Hopefully, I will sleep better tonight. I am writing this post on the train to Munich, so I will be able to crash once we arrive at our hotel.

This morning we walked to a Botanical Garden called PalmenGarten. It was about a 15 minute walk to the garden. We walked through several greenhouse type buildings with tropical plants and succulents. It was
already a warm day and it was even warmer in these glass buildings. They also had a building with butterflies, as well as many areas filled with flowers, trees, and assorted plants. It was lovely and peaceful. Zach commented that Germans consider gardening a treasured pastime and even those in the city often have gardens on their balconies.

After the PalmenGarten, we hopped on a train to visit the Dom Tower or Domturm in German. This is a very tall bell tower where from the top you  get a 360 degree view of the city. After climbing the spiraling staircase with 300+ steps, our hard work was rewarded with a spectacular view. We were able to point out many of the places we had visited yesterday from our bird's eye view. This tower is part of the cathedral that survived the bombing of World War II. I wonder who had to climb it to ring the bells each day. It was quite a grueling task to do it just once!

Once we returned to the ground it was back  to Zach's home so that he could walk Suki, his dog, and we could gather our food together for our train trip to Munich. To take the Express Train, it would have cost us 50 Euro each, but during the month of June, there is a special deal. For 9 Euro, you can purchase a pass to ride any of the regional trains in Germany. So we are riding three different trains to get to Munich. It is going to take about 75 minutes longer, but it isn't too bad so far. Each train ride has been one to two hours long. Occasionally, we have internet, but not very often. Usually, it is only when we are sitting at a main transfer station.

It has started to rain. Sadly, the next few days while we are in Munich are supposed to be rainy days with some thunderstorms. We have a lot planned so we will see how our sightseeing goes while getting wet.

Out and About in Frankfurt

Today we got to meet Marylyn, Zach's best friend. The first thing she said when she met us was that she wanted to make it clear that she and Zach are just friends. Apparently, they have a mutual friend who is a bit of a matchmaker and she has tried to put them together as a couple, but they have been very resistant. 

Marylyn was delightful and she was a great tour guide as she took us on a walking tour of downtown, through the financial district, inside some beautiful churches, and along and across the Rhine river. She kept us entertained with fun facts, historical stories, and glimpses of beautiful architecture. We even stopped in a Faber-Castell art store where we went into a secret room and tried out the different markers and pencils. We each drew a picture and explored our inner artist.

Marylyn only had a few hours and it was lunch time, so she took us to the rooftop of a building where during the summer they have an outside bar and restaurant called City Beach. It was decorated with boats, wading pools, and even a sandy area where you could take off your shoes and be served your drinks on lounge chairs. During the winter, the rooftop is transformed into an alpine chalet called City Alm. For lunch we had burgers and fries except Zach who had a salad with goat cheese. We said our goodbyes to Marylyn and started back to Zach's flat so I could rest my foot. Last night on the walk from the train station to Zach's place, I twisted my foot and my pain meds were wearing off. 

On the walk home, we took a quick restroom break at the North Gate which is one of the few original buildings. It is the oldest building in the city, constructed during the 1400s. It was, at the time, a part of the city gate. There is restaurant now on the bottom floor and we had to climb 42 spiraling steps up the tower to get to the restroom. Once home, I iced my foot and rested for an hour while the boys took Suki (Zach's dog) for a walk. We then headed back out into the city, rode the train and walked to see the house where Anne Frank was born. It is still a residence so we just read the plaque and then headed back to walk the Park Ring which is a series of parks that surround the city center.

Dinner was at a Thai restaurant and then it was another quick train ride back toward the river to watch the sunset. Zach lives in the city so he is close to several train stops which makes it pretty easy to get around. 

During one of our many walks through his and other neighborhoods today, Zach pointed out these metal markers in the cobblestone. Each one has the name of a Jewish person who had lived in that neighborhood before they were taken to a concentration camp during the Holocaust. The marker also has their date of birth, date of imprisonment and date of death. I love how the German people have memorialized those who were murdered during such a horrific time of their history. They do not want to forget or minimize the horrific acts of their country.

Welcome to Deutschland!

It is 6:00 am in California and although everyone in San Diego is waking up to start their Juneteenth holiday, I am sitting in the Munich airport waiting for our connecting flight to Frankfurt. The flight has been delayed and it is expected to leave at 3:55 pm. It is very strange to get on a plane at 5:30 pm and then disembark at 1:30 pm the next day!

The flight was about 30 minutes delayed, and the flight was overbooked. Joe and I were grateful that we decided to spend the extra money to choose our seats. The airline was offering $800 to those who would take a later flight on Tuesday. We would have considered it except that we already had plans and needed to get here earlier so that we will hopefully have some recovery time before we start our whirlwind visit to Germany.

On the plane, I watched two movies, listened to 30 minutes of a book, took some Nyquil tablets, but sleep evaded me. I should have had the glass of wine that was offered. The pilot and flight attendants were German, but also spoke English. However, when the pilot made an announcement in German, it was much longer than the English version. Joe thought he was telling jokes, because the German couple sitting next to him laughed a little at one point during the announcement.

We were fed a lot of food, but I wasn't very hungry. Dinner was tortellini with spaghetti sauce, salad, roll, a slice of cheese, two crackers, and some sort of berry crumble thing. Before we landed, we were also offered a vegetable wrap, small fruit cup, and granola bar. I didn't take it.

As we were walking to Immigration, Joe commented that his knees were stiff and sore. For me, it was my bottom that was numb and hurting. I was nervous about getting through Immigration and catching our connecting flight, but the line moved pretty quickly. When we arrived at the gate, we found out our flight was delayed anyway so there was no need to be anxious. I should have known. It is rare that I have an uneventful trip.

We should be boarding in the next 10 or 15 minutes for the short flight to Frankfurt. I am tired, but excited to see Zach!

Update: Our flight was just delayed again another hour. The Sheryl McKay jinx is still in effect!

This Good Thing Must Come to an End

Our final day of the road trip was spent doing a few things we hadn't had a chance to do earlier. Our chosen breakfast establishment was Brekkies by Chomp. On the way, Matt and Joe stopped and ordered some Aebleskiver one of the things still on our to-do list. These warm round pancake balls are bigger than a donut hole but smaller than a muffin. They are denser than a typical American pancake and covered in powdered sugar and raspberry sauce. The five of us shared three while we waited in line at Brekkies. Breakfast was good, but because we were seated outside, we fought with a bee who kept buzzing around our table. Eventually, it landed in my syrup cup and I promptly covered it with my receipt so that it couldn't escape. Our friend's death was tragically sweet.

After breakfast, we drove to Solvang Bakery where I purchased some bread and pastries. I saw a flour sack towel that made me laugh out loud and on impulse I purchased it. It still makes me smile as I think of the imprinted saying.

     "I hate it when I mean to buy seedless grapes but instead I accidentally get...         well you know...oreos."

It was time to say goodbye to Little Denmark and head back to Santa Barbara. We decided to walk down Stearn's Wharf since we only had about 90 minutes before it was time to hit the road again. I would have liked to have visited the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center, but sadly, there wasn't enough time. We did get to look at the local artists selling their masterpieces along the sidewalk. There were a lot of interesting and not-so-interesting works of art.

Before we left Santa Barbara, we made a quick trip to the very first Motel 6. In 1962, two contractors opened the very first one in Santa Barbara and it is still there. Our Trolley guide told us about it and we knew we had to go by and take a photo. After all, Motel 6 was always Matt's motel of choice in our early years of marriage. The original cost of a night's stay was you guessed it, $6.00 a night. Our guide told us that over the July 4th weekend, there was a two-night minimum stay and people paid over $800 for those two nights. That's incredible. At that rate, they better leave more than just the light on for me!

Our last stop was back to Newbury Park. We arrived a little before 2:00 p.m. and the plan was to go to a late lunch with Marc and family. Marc arrived home right after us from an ocean swim. He is training for an Ironman Triathalon in October. We tried several restaurants but either the restaurant was almost closing (The Waffle Experience), the wait was too long (Lazy Dog and Bandits) or it was just closed (Red Robin). So we ended up at Little Calf Creamery for some salads and sandwiches. The nice thing about this place was that it also sells ice cream, shakes, and malts!

Back at the house, we played a few games. Jackie convinced even Matt to play who is notoriously NOT a game person. It was a fun time relaxing and laughing together. Around 6:00 pm, we were back in the car for the final leg of the journey home.

Matt drove home which gave me time to rest a little, peruse my newly purchased Subpar Parks book and catch up on some podcasts. One of the podcasts we listened to was Alpha-Bytes. Zach and his friend Raysan started this podcast a few years ago.

We listened to "P is for Phineas" about their adopted dog. It was nice to hear Zach's voice while we drove. He might not have been able to be with us in person, but listening to his voice on the podcast, made me happy. It felt like he joined us on the trip in a small way.

We arrived back in San Diego and dropped off Joe around 9:15 pm. Both Joe and I had to get up for work the next morning, so I was glad to get home before the crack of dawn. Although it was a short little trip, I am happy with what we were able to see and do. There were some educational parts to it, some goofy things, a good amount of relaxing, and a few more stories and private jokes were born. All in all a nice time. 

To view more photos from our trip: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10157808878566300&type=3

Waffles, Birds and Rembrandt

 In true road trip fashion, Saturday was a busy day of unique and educational activities. We started the day with breakfast at The Belgian Cafe. I had french toast, Matt had chicken fried steak and eggs and the boys each had waffles. We also tried the cafe's Danish sausage. The food was good, the service was quick, and music from the 70s and 80s played in the background. Matt was a happy camper.

After breakfast, we visited the Hans Christian Andersen Museum which was on the second floor of a bookstore. The little museum was interesting, and the bookstore was a place you could easily spend the day. I purchased a Han Christian Andersen Fairy Tales book and also a book on the National Parks called Subpar Parks. The second book is a funny book about the worst reviews the parks have received on social media. It will be an enjoyable read and it has interesting facts and tips about each park.

The forecast was 87 degrees, so after some time perusing many books, we decided to get the outdoors activity taken care of before it was too hot outside. Joe had found the perfect place for us to visit just two miles outside of town. It was OstrichLand USA. We purchased food and fed ostriches and emus. There were many to look at and feed, but you could tell that they were getting full from all of the people feeding them. There were warnings of ostriches grabbing the bowls out of visitors' hands and I watched one aggressive bird try very hard to do just that to a lady. You could purchase an ostrich egg for $50 which was about the same as 18-24 chicken eggs. That would be some big omelet!

We headed back to Solvang and completed the self-guided tour of the Santa Ines Mission. There was a small museum with paintings, tools, and assorted religious artifacts. We were able to see some of the original arches of the building and some flooring from the first seminary in California.

Next, we visited the Elverhoj Museum of History & Art. It was located in a residential part of the town and had been handcrafted in the 1950s by a local artist and his wife. It was built in the style of an 18th-century Danish farmhouse and later turned into a museum when the heirs wanted a more modern home. The museum has lots of interesting information about the history of Solvang and Danish culture. It also has a really nice exhibit of 21 small etchings made by Rembrandt and an exhibit documenting the work of the people of Denmark to rescue 95% of their Jewish population during WWII when the country was invaded.

Elverhoj Museum

The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering through shops and looking for an unusual gift for David's friend, DeRon. Poor guy. This has become an unsolicited tradition for DeRon. I also found a Christmas ornament to mark our time in Solvang and of course, there were occasional stops for ice cream, fudge, and beef jerky.

Dinner was at Tower Pizza which was on the ground floor of a cool round castle-looking tower and then we played some board games in the boys' hotel room. One was an "Apples to Apples" type game that David bought at the bookstore called "Prepare to Die" based on the movie Princess Bride. The day came to an end with Matt and David trying out the pool and jacuzzi and me falling fast asleep.

It's a South Facing Beach

 It has been a long hard year and I needed a road trip to rejuvenate. Zach is in Frankfurt and COVID restrictions didn't allow me to plan a trip to Germany yet. Joe is working and saving his vacation time for other upcoming trips, and I am busy moving into a new school building and hiring staff, so this trip would need to be another mini-trip. Since Zach isn't able to join us, we gained a new passenger in Matt.

We left San Diego around 6:00 p.m. with a quick stop at Chick-Fil-A for dinner. Our destination was Marc and Jackie's house. Marc is Matt's youngest brother and he and Jackie live in Newbury Park just north of Thousand Oaks. We made good time and arrived around 9:30 p.m, greeted with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Joe and David played games with their cousin Alex and his wife Cata while the rest of us visited for a while. It was late for me, so after joining in a few rounds of a new game, I was off to bed.

On Friday morning, Marc treated us to his special Lemon Ricotta Zucchini pancakes which were very yummy. We had fresh strawberries and blueberries and Jackie's homemade zucchini muffins as well. We were on the road to Santa Barbara by 10:00 am but will return to Newbury Park on our journey home.

The drive to Santa Barbara was uneventful. Matt drove so that I could join a work meeting from the backseat of the car. The reception wasn't great as we drove along the coast, and eventually, my phone dropped me from the meeting. That was okay though because we had arrived. We took a tour on the Santa Barbara Trolley and for the next 90 minutes saw the sites and learned about Santa Barbara and Montecito the neighboring community. We learned that there are a number of celebrities including Carol Burnett, Oprah Winfrey, Jeff Bridges, and dozens more that have homes and spend at least part of their time in Montecito. Our goal was to decide what places to return to after the tour was over. Our tour guide was full of interesting facts and had even lived in San Diego. He let us know that Santa Barbara is a south-facing beach which can be confusing to those of us who always think that the ocean is what you see when you look west.

We had a list of things to do, so when the tour was over, we headed to State Street to find a place to eat. We settled on Joe's Cafe,

established in 1928. The food was decent and our waitress was nice. The service was a little slow, but it gave us time to relax and enjoy each other's company. My stomach did not agree with my meal and our time in Santa Barbara was cut short. It was less than an hour to Solvang where we would be staying the next two nights.

After checking into our hotel, Hotel Corque, my stomach had started to feel a bit better. We walked around the town trying to get acclimated to the layout. As is common in most small towns, nearly all of the shops were closed by 5:00 p.m. The guys picked up dinner at Don Nachos and brought it back to our hotel rooms. They ate their dinner on the patio outside our room. My friend, Wendy had recommended the Danish waffle, so I purchased one and shared it with the boys. It is a sweet flakey pastry filled with creme and a raspberry jam. Very rich and delicious. I also bought a creme puff and saved it for the morning.

Our hotel room is lovely. The hotel is newly remodeled and modernized. Joe informed Matt, "We don't normally stay at such nice hotels on our road trips." We will spend the day exploring Solvang and its tasty food. Tomorrow we will return to Santa Barbara before heading back to Marc and Jackie's. Time to get some breakfast!