Barcelona - end of the line

Our final week of another wonderful adventure was a relaxing one in Barcelona. We rented a small apartment near the Sants train station providing us with easy access and lots of time to explore this interesting city. We still did lots of walking but it was nice to have our own private space at the end of the day to cook our own meals and relax. Our daughter, Rachel, also joined us for our final 4 days so it was nice to spend more time with her and see some of the sights together. Prior to her arrival we did a day trip out to Montserrat, a one hour train ride away, where we took a rack railway ride up the steep mountain to the historic Monastery. The highlight was listening to the daily performance of the renowned boy's choir which sounded heavenly in the crowded basilica. From there we took a funicular higher up the mountain where there were fabulous view of the surrounding area below and several short and long (all the way to the bottom of the mountain) hiking trails.

In Barcelona, we split our days into checking out different parts of the city. On our first day we took a bus to the top of Montjuic, which overlooked the city and the Mediterranean, and then gradually walked back down. Along the way we spent time at the hilltop Castle and Fortress (a sad ending for the locals), then the Olympic Stadium (1992, open to visitors), walked through parks and gardens, and enjoyed the Magic Fountains and impressive cascading waterfalls in front of the National Art Museum. On another day we took in most of the Antoni Gaudi (1852 - 1926) exhibits which were scattered throughout the Gracia district of the city. La Sagrada Familia (his most famous piece of work and not yet complete) was fascinating to see and looks very modern compared to the many ornate Cathedrals we have previously visited in Europe. While the exterior has incredible stone work and some humorous features (standard Gaudi practice), the interior is very avant garde, especially for a building that was started in the late 1800's. The Nativity Tower provided nice views of the surrounding area and a long spiral staircase descent. We also saw Casa Milo, his curvy apartment complex where Gaudi allegedly told one of the original inhabitants who complained about not being able to get their piano inside, "to take up the violin instead". Parc Guell (his residential neighbourhood design, now a park) and Casa Batllo (redesigned personal residence) were his other highlights. In the evening we attended a jazz concert in the Palau de la Musica which was beautifully sculpted with a huge stained glass dome in the main concert hall and excellent acoustics as well.

On Saturday we spent our time in the Gothic Quarter (oldest part of the city with some remnants of the Roman wall still in place). There were many narrow, winding cobblestone streets and it was easy to get off track enjoying the architecture of the old buildings in the pedestrian friendly district (devoid of automobile traffic).  We walked along the famous Las Ramblas street, with it's tree-lined centre boulevard. City developers turned this 2 kms of the dry riverbed, which went through the centre of the city, into a lovely oasis for strolling, dining and people watching (we did all 3). The nearby Boqueria Market (13th century) was special in that many of the food stalls catered to the tourist traffic with lots of snack-sized portions that were difficult to resist (especially my cone of anchovies). On our final day we walked along the waterfront area. The harbour (with a swing bridge), waterfront promenade, the La Barceloneta area (old port) and Barcelona beach were our prime targets. After lunch we walked through the lovely Parc de la Ciutadella and finished off with a visit to the crowded Pablo Picasso Museum which was housed in five connected, medieval mansions. There were 19 well laid out rooms displaying art from different periods of his life (1881 - 1973) making it easy for the untrained eye to see how his work evolved over the years.

We are now back home, and yes, there is snow on the ground on the 25th of November. Time to start planning our next adventure!

View from the National Art Museum towards the city centre of Barcelona.

View of the Monastery at Montserrat. Yellow cable car and rack railway route visible if you look closely.

La Segrada Familia - Guadi's most famous piece of work.

Parc Guell - would have been a fun neighbourhood to live in.

Casa Batllo - nothing ordinary about this residence.

Palau de la Musica - amazing concert hall. Pre-show pictures only so we arrived early.

Mercat de la Boqueria - couldn't resist this anchovy treat (heads on).

Placa Reial in the Gothic district - while people watching in the harmoniously proportioned square (archway entrances only), Rachel and I ordered grande cervezas and received one litre steins.

Las Ramblas - the tree-lined boulevard was a popular place, day and night.

Barcelona Beach - a nice boardwalk to stroll along. The Mediterranean was a bit too cool for a swim this time of year (although some were taking the plunge).

Discovering More Favourites

Valencia was wonderful and turned out to be a fabulous reward for our Camino trek. The weather changed dramatically, from cool and rain to heat (22-23C) and sunshine. The city itself is beautiful. The central downtown is filled with well maintained historical buildings, 2 huge food markets, a 100 metre wide park (the dry Turria riverbed) that winds its way through the entire city (urban planning brilliance) and the Mediterranean Sea on the east side of the city, with a large port and sandy beach that seems to go on forever. We spent two full days walking around the city which had a good vibe. On the first day we explored both of the busy food mercados and took self-guided tours of the National Ceramics Museum and the old Silk Exchange building (excellent architecture). On the second day we walked along the lovely city park to the sea (5 km), relaxed on the beach and got our feet wet in the cool Mediterranean.

The next day we rented a car and drove north up the coast. The province of Valencia was filled with orange groves, with a mix of olive trees as we got further north. The Deltebre Peninsula had lots of rice paddies which I suppose supported all of the paella meals that were prevalent along the coast. We made a short stop into Peniscola to visit the castle city where El Cid was filmed  before spending the night in Vandellos. We spent most of the next day in Tarragona, another great find. It has numerous Roman ruins throughout the city which was founded over 2000 years ago. The remains of the Roman Circus (chariot races), the amphitheatre (gladiator fights), the double-walled old city (original Roman walls reinforced with medieval walls in the 1300's) and the Cathedral were the highlights for us. It is also the home of the Castells championship for the province of Catelonia whereby teams attempt to build the tallest human tower possible, a challenge started in 1712. We missed this year's tournament by a month but saw a picture where the winning team made it to 8 levels which would have been amazing to watch.

We skipped by Barcleona and continued north to Girona for 2 nights. Girona's ancient city was fine but our main reason for stopping there was to visit the nearby city of Figueres, Salvadore Dali's hometown and his magnificent museum. It is the second most visited museum in Spain after the Prado in Madrid. We spent over 2 hours admiring the art of the incredibly talented and imaginative artist. He purchased the former theatre and redesigned it, including a crypt for himself which he permanently moved into in 1989. It was full of fun exhibits and others that made you wonder what hallucinatory drugs drove his mind at times. We gained a new appreciation for his vast array of work (including jewellery design) which we have always enjoyed. We did see a copy of an original piece that we have at home but I am now starting to think that we may be in possession of the copy.

Today we drove east to the coast again and headed south along the scenic Costa Brava. The winding road clung to the side of the mountains with the Mediterranean Sea below. We stopped for lunch in Tossa de Mar, a beautiful seaside town with a 12th century wall still protecting the old village and fortress, with a nice bay and beach beside it. It would be easy to spend more time there especially when it was warm enough to swim in the sea every day.

We have just arrived in Barcelona where we have rented a small apartment near the centre of the city, for our final week on this adventure. Our daughter Rachel will join us from Basel for the last 4 days before we return to the land of freezing temperatures and snow.

Valencia - City Hall

Valencia - downtown centre

Mercado Central - anchovies were considered a delicacy (and priced that way).

Walking through Turria Park on our way to the Mediterranean and coming across the City of Arts and Sciences (only two of 4 fascinatingly designed learning centres).

Relaxing beside the Mediterranean Sea

Tarragona - the Castells Monument. Honouring a tradition that started over 300 years ago.

Tarragona - Roman Amphitheatre

Figueres - Salvadore Dali Museum

Dali's Mae West Room. "Installation art" according to the missus.

Tossa de Mar - a beautiful little seaside town 90 km's north of Barcelona.

Buen Camino

I made it.........2 weeks without being attached to the internet! I did receive occasional RBC updates (Rhonda's Broadcasting Service) for news, weather and sports but I kept my hands off of her Kindle while my laptop was safely stored in Madrid along with some other non-essential items while we walked the Camino de Santiago. During our 7 days on the Camino (extra days before hand in Leon and Lugo, and more time in Santiago at the end) there was enough weight in my backpack......2 sleeping bags, a second set of clothes for each of us, toiletries, towels, and a few more items......that I didn't want it to become a burden since we walked almost 20 km's a day during 6 days (115 km's total). As it was, the weight was similar to my golf bag which I was used to carrying most days during the summer. We could have used a transfer service like many other pilgrims (as we were all referred to, or peregrinos in Spanish) on the trail, but in doing so you need to commit to a stopover point further ahead and we preferred the old-fashioned pilgrim journey and the flexibility to stop whenever we wanted which turned out to be a good decision. We had nice weather for our first two days on the trail but then the rain started and continued every day until we finally departed Santiago, 10 days later. We ended up walking 23 and 25 km's on our first two days, and then only 16-18 km's a day after that, starting later, finishing earlier, or taking longer breaks when the rain was persistent. At the albergues (hostels) where most people stayed overnight, we always seemed to be the driest of the bunch and didn't have to worry about putting on damp clothes in the morning.

Our Camino experience was a wonderful one despite the cool (10-16C), inclement weather. It was 'spiritual' in a way but I would describe it as 'peaceful' for us. There was lots of uninterrupted time walking through the lovely countryside to think about life in general, how fortunate we are, and what matters most to us. We met strangers from all over the world who became friends for several days since you would often meet them again further along the Camino, as everyone moved along at their own pace. There was no animosity to be found anywhere, everyone was very friendly and wishing each other a "buen camino" with every passing.  The Camino is a great way to become 'happy' if that is not the space you are in.

Some of the highlights along the way included:
- our first few days in Leon and Lugo before the trek. Both were beautiful medieval cities with ancient Roman walls surrounding the old town where we spent our time admiring the architecture and walking the cobble stone streets.
- Sarria, where we started our Camino walk (as many people do), and the first pilgrim we met (William, Netherlands) had actually walked with our good friend John Dowd earlier on the trail. Quite a coincidence.
- meeting up with John a few days later in Melide (as planned) and spending a day together. John actually started his journey in Le Puy, France at the beginning of September, and was walking a total of 1500 km's to Santiago, an amazing accomplishment. He had arrived in Sarria ahead of us but took a bus to Santiago to meet his son, Bryan, and friend Mitch, before taking the bus back to Sarria and restarting his trek. That allowed us to move ahead on the trail and they caught up to us a few days later, walking at a faster pace. We had a good chance to catch up with one another during our time together.....a fun and tasty meal (octopus specialty restaurant) and spending the night in the same albergue room that had 14 beds. We walked the first 5 km's together the next day before we let them continue on in the rain since they had a further destination in mind and we chose to dry off in a café.
- the albergues along the way were a pleasant surprise. We somehow managed to find places that were clean and quite acceptable for the 10 Euro p.p. fee ($15) and devoid of any loud snorers that were on the trail (the only complaint we heard from some pilgrims).
- the Pilgrim Menu, served throughout the Camino at most restaurants, and many albergues. For 8-10 Euros, you received a 3 course meal (appetizer, main, dessert, with 4-5 choices for each course) along with bread and a half bottle (or litre) of local wine. It was a very good deal.
- how well the Camino was marked. It would have been very difficult to lose track of the trail. Every turn was well marked with a either a blue and yellow scallop shell sign or a yellow arrow on a wall or the paved road. When passing through a city, a bronze scallop shell was displayed in the concrete sidewalk. I suppose with over 200,000 people walking the Camino each year, they have had time to perfect the markings since pilgrims started doing this trek back in the 9th century.
- arriving in Santiago de Compostela and seeing the magnificent Cathedral, meaning our journey was complete. We went to the Pilgrim's Office and received our Compostela (over 100 km's walked, town and village stamps in your Pilgrim Passport for proof), and then headed to our private room for a well deserved rest.

We spent 5 days in Santiago, enjoying the lovely, pedestrian-friendly old town, and bumping into other pilgrims that we had met along the way. We toured the Cathedral and knelt before the casket of St. James, one of the original apostles and the reason the pilgrimage to Santiago started 1200's years ago. We also attended the Pilgrim's Mass, where the botafumeria (large incense burner) is raised and lowered by 6 strong men while swinging back and forth and almost reaching the domed ceiling 25-30 metres overhead. It was amazing to watch in the packed Cathedral. On another day we rented a car and drove out to Cape Finisterre (End of the Earth, or so they once believed) where we walked to Kilometre Zero of the Camino at the Atlantic Ocean. Some pilgrim's leave their hiking boots behind when they arrive and some still burn their worn and dirty clothes at a special shrine. Our return drive took us along the Costa da Morte (Coast of Death) where the beautiful but rugged coastline has taken its toll on many sea vessels. We also stopped into the Igrexa de San Francisco another day to pick up our 2nd Compostela. It was the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi's pilgrimage to Santiago, and on every 100th year anniversary the church awards a special Compostela to the pilgrims reaching Santiago.

Last night we arrived in Valencia, via Madrid to pick up our extra backpack which had been stored at the train station. Our first impression has been very positive and we look forward to a few more days here, especially with a sunny, 22-23C forecast in our future. I will provide more details in my next report.

Buenas noches..........Miguel

Leon - Cathedral de Santa Maria. Over 1800 square metres of stained glass windows.

The first day on the Camino de Santiago trail. The sun was shining!

Our Melide aubergue. Ready to head out into the light rain with John, Bryan (left) and Mitch (Australia), and a peregrino photo bomber.

Our posse on the trail. The boys hiking boots were still a little damp when we left that morning.

A common countryside view when walking along the Camino Frances.

A trail marker left and maintained by a local villager.

Reaching our final destination. We wore good raincoats but our often worn ponchos from the Dollar Store provided even more protection, especially for the backpacks.

A view of the huge Cathedral from our 3rd floor room in Santiago, a 10 minute walk away. Unfortunately for our picture gallery, the two main towers were undergoing renovations, so the external view did not match the wonderful framed photograph pictures we had been teased with along the way.

The botafumeria swinging back and forth at the end of the Pilgrim's Mass. We have a good video of the action which we can share later.

Tunnel Vision

We have spent a lot of time in tunnels while we have been in Europe. It has become a regular occurrence on our travels over here, whether it be in a car, a train or even walking. I'm still not sure if it is the confined spaces they need to work with (less geography, more people), easier rock to drill through (limestone vs. granite), or just better technology and desire than we have.......perhaps a combination of all three. These are not always short tunnels either, many exceed a kilometre in length. Some of the more surprising ones so far have been a car parking garage built into a hill and a 300 metre pedestrian tunnel on the way to the ice caves (as a shortcut) when there was already a visually appealing path around the side of a mountain. Today in Lyon, France, we found a new kind of tunnel called a traboule, which is an underground passageway to get from one street to another rather than walking around the block. We went through several of these which are hidden by a normal looking door (we knew about these in advance of our Lyon visit so we searched out a map which provided us with the street addresses, allowing us to know which doors to enter as we walked about the city).

Lyon had more to offer though. We took a funicular up to the ancient Roman ruins and the Notre Dame Basilica, and then walked back down the switchback path to the old city and the Saone and Rhone Rivers which wind through the city. There are good river paths and today (Sunday) there were several markets that we passed through (food, art, books). We also took a river cruise, walked around the Croix Rousse area (parks, views) and had a nice dinner near the huge Opera House.

Prior to coming to Lyon we spent our final day in Basel with Rachel. In the morning we cleaned up some of her apartment (moving next week to a larger apartment) and spent the afternoon visiting the surprisingly good Kunst Museum. We expected to see some nice art but to see so many pieces from artists like Picasso, Renoir, Van Gogh, Chegall, Matisse, Rodin and many more artists we were familiar with was a treat.

The next day we left Switzerland for Lyon, France.......a 4  hour trip on the rails that involved 2 seamless train transfers (Bern, Geneva) where 7 minute intervals were still plenty of time to move on to another platform and train. You have to be impressed with the public transport systems over here - easy (well signed), fast (trains up to 200 km / hr) and efficient (on time). The Geneva - Lyon segment of this trip was particularly scenic, travelling through a river valley with mountains on both sides.

Tomorrow we will fly to Spain where we will spend the remainder of our time before returning home. The first thing on our schedule is to walk along the Camino de Santiago. We are going to stop in Madrid (flight from Lyon) to drop off our spare clothes and anything else we won't need to carry during our 115 km Camino walk. That also means giving up my beloved netbook computer for 2 weeks (since internet access will be infrequent in many of the small towns and villages that we will pass through). In my own mind I am entering another tunnel that I can only hope that I make it out of........2 weeks without using a computer. Wish me well.

Lyon, France - taken from the bank of the Saone River looking towards the St. Jean Cathedral and the Notre Dame Basilica at the top of the hill (Fourviere).

The Roman ruins and amphitheatre dating back to 15 BC

Sculpture in Place de la Comedie - beside the Opera House and in front of our dinner restaurant.

As You Wish

“As you wish”……is a great line from my all-time favourite movie, The Princess Bride, and I find I am repeating this line more and more often in my retirement years where I spend a full 365 days with my lovely princess bride…...but I digress.

When we last left you, we were deep in the Black Forest. On our final day there I still didn’t spot a fire swamp or any rous (rodents of unnatural size) but we did see more beautiful churches (St. Blasien marble work) and continued our lovely countryside drive. In Bad Sackingen there was a 400 year old, 200 metre wooden pedestrian bridge across the Rhine to Switzerland. When we walked across the bridge we observed many Swiss residents returning from Germany after doing their daily shopping in the less expensive country. There was a bit of confusion (on our part), returning our rental car when we arrived back at the Basel Airport, since we entered the Swiss side rather than the French side (cheaper car rentals in France). Fortunately, there are no ‘manned’ border crossings in this part of Europe, so it was not a lengthy passport-induced return to France and the other side of the airport.

Last week-end we spent Saturday travelling to Freiburg, Germany with Rachel, a one hour train ride. Freiburg is a nice laid-back medieval town along the Rhine, surrounded by vineyards. We spent most of our time in the Old Town, enjoying the Munsterplatz market, well preserved buildings and walking along the river. On Sunday we walked around the Old Town of Basel since we really hadn’t spent much time doing that even though it had been our base for almost 3 weeks. It really is a beautiful place to live and we can now better appreciate our daughter’s desire to remain here (and nearby Europe in general). While walking along the Rhine, I also found my first geocache on this trip. It was a rather unique one, with the GPS coordinates pointing to the middle of the river, but we soon saw an engineless boat (using the river current and a metal line, 10 metres above the fast moving river) bringing passengers from one side to the other, and correctly ascertained it was our target.

On Monday morning we took a $50, 1.5 hour flight to Berlin for this week’s adventure (Note – update from my previous blog…….I couldn’t seem to get any traction from the locals on re-building the wall, so I have moved on). While there we stayed in an apartment owned by a friendly French woman who had previously been to Quebec and loved our country. We spent our first day walking around the core of the city to get our bearings. Alexanderplatz, with its World Clock (with Edmonton listed on it for some strange reason), the 1200 foot high version of our CN Tower (1800 feet) and the Rathaus (Red Town Hall) attracted most of the crowds (more tourists than we had anticipated in this ‘off’ season). Then it was on to the Berlin Cathedral (Protestant actually) which provided a good 360 degree city view from the Dome walkway once we had climbed the many, many steps to get there. The Brandenburg Gates and Reichstag (Parliament building) were also highlights. The next day we focussed on the historical East-West split. We visited the Berlin Wall Memorial and the DDR Museum where we saw what life was like for the East Berliners in their controlled society. After that we went to Checkpoint Charlie where we were reminded once again about the years between 1961 (wall built) and 1990 (wall torn down). It was an excellent refresher for a major event that occurred during our lifetime, and ended happily for most, especially the East Germans who no longer had to risk their lives to escape their country. We capped off the day with a more light-hearted Salvadore Dali exhibition (over 450 exhibits) where we had the chance to live inside the head of this weird and wonderful artist. On our last full day in Berlin, we took a 30 minute train ride to nearby Potsdam, summer home of the Prussian kings and German Kaiser until 1918 (the completion of WW1 and their loss of power).  Our main focus there was to visit the many preserved palaces that started with Frederick the Great in the mid-1700’s. The Sanssouci (‘without concern’) Palace was his summer retreat, and while it was magnificent inside, his adjacent Art Gallery was even more spectacular in our minds. The Orangerie and Neues Palais (New Palace, 1769), built for receiving and entertaining important guests were also wonderful to wander through. It rained on and off for the day……we have had really good weather so far….. but the timing worked out well for us, spending much of our time that day wandering through the palaces that were all situated in the large Sanssouci Park.

We are now back in Basel, spending our final few days with Rachel until she joins us in Barcelona next month. We have done plenty of walking while we have been here, so our legs are still in good shape as we move on to Lyon, France for a quick stop before entering Spain and our upcoming Camino de Santiago trek. Gute nacht.

Freiburg - Historical Treasury building

Basel - Old Town home

Shoe scraper, built into the bottom step of the old homes. Not there to remove ice or slush, rather to remove horse manure (from the cobble stone road days).

Father and daughter enjoying a cold beverage during our walkabout.

Berliner Dom - a beautiful Protestant Church with a walkway around the dome (and no elevator to the top)

Remains of the wall at the Berlin Wall Memorial where locals chiseled off pieces to keep back in 1990.

From the Salvadore Dali exhibition - over 450 pieces of his art were assembled.

Schloss Sanssouci - summer palace for King Frederick and his successors. This was the Music Room.

The Art Gallery that Frederic the Great built. Some items purchased and others, the fruits of war.

Neues Palais (New Palace) - built in 1769 to receive more important people than us. The separate service quarters across the parade grounds were also very large and eloquent.

 

Let Them Eat Cake

We have been driving through the southern Black Forest area of Germany for the past few days. Although we have done several short hikes while we have been here, we have still been unable to find the Black Forest cake........where are they hiding it?
Nonetheless, our drive has been a good one. Rhonda has been doing a masterful job at the wheel. I am a wuss (pronounced 'vuss' here in Germany) when it comes to driving a stick shift vehicle, especially when there is more than one of them on the road at the same time. The panoramic views have been wonderful.....lots of mountains, valleys and rivers along the way, including the Schwarzwalder Panoramastrusse (Black Forest Panoramic Road) with it's narrow serpentine roads up into the clouds on the first rainy day of our trip. Along the way we have passed many lovely villages that probably look the same as they did 100 years ago (with some fresh paint added). They all seem to have a well stocked supply of firewood (easily replenishable) indicating their winters must be cold. They seem to use their available resources better than we do.......many rooftop solar panels (on older homes), wind turbines (individual use rather than wind farms) and houses on hillsides, preserving the flatter land for agriculture (and still good use of their hillsides for farming). The fall colours have been nice but they would have been outstanding, especially in Todtsau (surrounded by mountains) if the sun had been shining. The other advantage to having a car for the first time is that we have been able to stay at some great B&B's in countryside homes, with hosts that only speak German but cook tasty meals. We will spend another half day in the area tomorrow (Friday) before re-joining Rachel in Basel.....Caity had to return home to earn more money to spend travelling.

Prior to coming here, we spent last week-end with both daughters in Bern (medieval, cobbled streets, neat underground shops) and Lucerne, where we took a boat across the lake to Alpnachstad. From there we took the world's steepest cogwheel railway (48% grade) up to Mount Pilatus (where Pontius Pilate was sent to grieve). There were fabulous views all the way (up and down), and at the top we hiked to the peak at 7000 feet for some incredible views including a long distance view of Lucerne. Back in Lucerne we walked across the Chapel Bridge to the Old Town, stopped into the Hof Cathedral and went to the Lion Monument (Lowendenkmal) which Mark Twain referred to as "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world".

At the beginning of this week we picked up our car and drove to Strasbourg, France where we spent a full day and a bit. Perhaps we should have taken a train since we parked the rental car for 36 hours in a pay parking lot and then walked around the city. Their Cathedral is a magnificent one, as I suppose it should be when it took over 250 years to build it. With the top steeple reaching 466 feet it was the world's tallest building for 227 years (1647 - 1874). The boat tour along the canal circling the Old Town, the Barrage Vauban area (controlling the water levels and preventing hostile navy forces from entering the city), the tiny winding streets of Petite France, the Museum of Modern Art (Kandinsky, Monet, Picasso) and the relaxing walk through the Parc de l'Orangerie were other highlights. Strasbourg is also the government seat of the European Union, and the recently built buildings (appropriately outside of the Old Town) looked impressive.

Stay tuned for more developments as we make our way to Berlin next week and I try to convince the locals to build a wall to keep out non-desirables.

Vienna Opera House - taken from our $4 standing room only seats since we only had 1 hour to watch the performance of Salome before our overnight train to Zurich (and didn't want to pay $100+ for a regular seat)

Lucerne harbour view....showcasing Rachel's future home up the hill.

Mount Pilatus on our hike to the peak. Note the rail car on it's way up the mountain.

Strasbourg, France looking back from the protective Barrage Vauban with the Cathedral in the background

View of homes from the old city on the Ile canal boat tour

The countryside guesthouse that we stayed in near Triberg in the southern Black Forest.

A rural home on our Black Forest drive (near St. Peter). Obviously a retired couple with way too much time on their hands (and not golfers).

Stairway to Heaven

We have spent the past 5 days in beautiful Austria. I am quite convinced that the stairway to heaven must be here, I just haven't found it yet. But it is not because I haven't climbed enough stairs in my search to find eternal bliss.

The week started in Salzburg, near the German border, which we reached by train after spending time in the lovely Lake Constance area. On our first day there, Caity and I wanted to visit the Ice Caves and do a gorge hike outside of the city while Rhonda did a tour of the Mirabell Palace and Gardens, the Domquartier (offices and residences of the 17th century ruling class, built next to the Cathedral since the spiritual rulers were also the political rulers) and then a cable car ride to Untersberg which had a very scenic view of Salzburg and the surrounding area. Both trips were wonderful, although ours had a bit more adventure. The Ice Cave trip involved a half hour train trip to Werfen followed by a cable car ride and a steep hike to the cave entrance. Once we were in the cave we walked up another 700 steps to the top of the cave, through large caverns and massive amounts of ice. We only covered one kilometre of the chilly 42 km cave. After that we took another short train ride to Liechtensteinklamm where we wanted to explore the narrow gorge which led to a 50 metre waterfall at the end. With no directional signs in view at the station we asked two different locals at two different times to point out the way and when they separately were in agreement we set out on our way. About one kilometre later with still no signs in sight we asked a young schoolgirl if she knew the way. She immediately pointed in the opposite direction to which we had walked, so with our time running short, I flagged down a taxi and he drove us back the way we came and another 4 km's to the start of the gorge. It was worth the effort though. The hike went through a very narrow gorge, carved out by a fast flowing river, and up many more stairs to the beautiful roaring waterfall. It must be an incredible experience in the spring once the snow melt is underway.

The next two days we all walked around the Old City of Salzburg. The highlights were the Hohensalzburg Fortress (1100 - 1600 archbishop's homes and protection from political rivals), both of Mozart's homes (incredible artist and similar portrayal that was described in the award winning movie, Amadeus), a Salzach River cruise, several Museum visits (the Modern Art Museum was 1960's strange), and the impressive Cathedral (and 200 more steps to the tower for a great view of the city). Our final stop was a short trip outside the city to Hellbrunn Palace, a summer playground for a 16th century archbishop where he designed trick fountains to surprise and soak his guests (and the tourists who now venture out there).

We then moved on to Vienna, using our handy Eurail pass once again. The train system is a very convenient way to travel in Europe with trains going in every direction and frequently.  Five minute transfer times are easily made (electronic signs guide you to the correct platform) with a ticket honour system in place (checked on board 50% of the time) and the trains travel at speeds of up to 200 km / hr.

Vienna has also been a treat to walk around. The Old City has many pedestrian-only streets and like most cities we have been in, they do a wonderful job of preserving and maintaining their historical buildings, so there are great views with every step. Yesterday we visited the lively Naschmarkt where the ladies purchased scarves and we all enjoyed some market stall food. Then it was on to St. Stephen's Cathedral where we went down into the Catacombs (11.000 people buried there) and climbed the 343 steps of the South Tower for a good view of the city. A short tram ride around the Old City was followed by a walk through Volksgarten and more impressive buildings including the Imperial Palace, and finally, a visit to the Sacher Café for drinks and a taste of their famous Sachertorten which was delicious. In the evening we took the Metro out to Schonbrunn Palace for a concert in a beautifully decorated hall where we listened to music by Mozart and Strauss, accompanied by two opera singers.

Today, Caity is renting a bicycle to explore some sights outside the city, while we are going back into the Old City to visit the highly acclaimed Art Museum (Kunsthistorisches) and the Rathaus, a seemingly odd name (but perhaps appropriate) for the home of their city politicians. In the evening we will re-group with Caity and go to a performance at the Vienna Opera House before departing on an overnight train back to Switzerland where we will meet up with Rachel in Bern.

Train travel to Salzburg - in style

Mirabell Palace and Gardens

Hike up to the Ice Cave

Gorge hike at Liechtensteinklamm

Old Town in Salzburg

Inside the main Cathedral which had 7 pipe organs

View of Salzburg and the Salzach River from the Hohensalzburg Fortress

Vienna - Stephensplatz in the centre of Old Town

St. Stephen's Cathedral - good timing with an orchestra practicing near the main alter.

Schonbrunn Palace - on our way to the concert

The Hall audience applauding an excellent performance.