Travel to Salzburg--Day 11

David and I had been to Neuschwanstein Castle last year and didn't really wan to go back, so we departed from the tour itinerary and rode a train from Munich to Sazburg on Day 11. We slept in as much as the heat and city noise would allow and then went down for breakfast at the hotel. While eating breakfast we could look out into the back courtyard and parking lot of the hotel. We watched as an English speaking couple (we could read their lips, but didn't hear them so don't know accents) attempted to back out a Mercedes station wagon from a very tight parking spot. They only hit planters, the wall and a few other items before ripping off the passenger mirror and giving themselves enough space to finally get out. It was really riveting and quite entertaining.

We then walked to the train station, which was only a couple of blocks from our hotel, bought our tickets and ran to our train because we only had a few minutes to get there. Then we sat in European train comfort for 2 hours progressing towards Salzburg. There were no exciting events during this train ride. Arriving in Salzburg, we attempted to get a map from the information booth but didn't have much luck and finally figured out how to get to our hotel. It wasn't a very long walk, but it was miserably hot. We checked in and went for lunch at a restaurant around the corner from our hotel that was wonderful. I had a salad that had fried cheese, egg rolls and soemthing else, and David had a "farmer's pie" which reminded me of "shepherds pie" in Ireland. The dinner was wonderful, so we had dessert. I got a fried banana and David got a chocolate concoction.

After lunch we walked down to the river and sat and watched the water race by. It was so much cooler down by the river because the water was glacial melt and was very cold--natural air conditioning. We stayed down there for a bit and then walked back to the hotel for a nap before joining our group for dinner.

We all went to dinner just down the street from the hotel and had wienerschnitzel (fried veal) which was ok...not amazing, but not bad either.

After dinner we went to the Milk Festival which was in Mirabel Gardens. The purpose of this festival was to educate locals on the fact that the EU imposed prices on milk were causing serious problems for farmers being able to make any money. The farmers were protesting by pouring out fresh milk for 2 days and this festival was enacted to educate people on what products are made from milk. There were people dressed in white with lights shining on them performing to different components of milk--bacteria, proteins, etc. It was really neat.

Then we went to enjoy the Long Night of the Churches. This is a festival that happens once a year in Salzburg and we were lucky enough to be there for it. Most of the 44 different churches open late and put on a show of some kind. They are are lit up by candlelight. It was one of the best events of the trip. We went to three different churches before heading back to the hotel for sleep--it was close to midnight by this point. My favorite was the labyrinth in the cathedral. At one church, that I found stunningly beautiful, there was a well known men's choir performing and the place was so packed that I actually feared for my ability to get out so I left before hearing any of the performance.

Aunt BJ's Towels for Her New Kitchen

These towels are 100% cotton and woven in a twill pattern. With use, they'll get softer and more absorbant. I hope Aunt BJ loves these as much as I love mine.

Munich--Day 11

After a very hot night and terrible sleep, David and I skipped out on the group tour of old Munich. We figured we knew how to get there, could walk around and see the things we wanted to and then hit a couple of museums. So, after breakfast we set out on our long walk to the old town area and as we were in an underground street crossing (the area worked as a street crossing under a major intersection, a subway station and a mini-mall) we saw Woolworths and had the brilliant idea that maybe they'd have a fan. They did and life became so much easier for us. So, we walked the mile or so back to our hotel to put up the fan. (total walking ~2 miles).

Then we walked back to old town and looked around and visited three different churches: Frauen Kirk, St. Peters and St. Pauls, walked through an open air market and then headed to the Deutsches Museum (total walking ~2.5 miles).

The Deutsches Museum is actually made up of three different museums devoted to technology. We visited the general museum which has exhibits on mining (VERY interesting as you're walking around in a cave below the museum the entire time), aerospace (David loved it), rocketry, physics, chemisty, textiles (pitiful), marine navigation, ballooning, photography and moving film. Some of the exhibits were interactive, and overall it was an extremely well-done museum. It was HUGE and was paused in the middle for lunch. (total walking ~1 mile).

Then we decided to walk along the river to the English Gardens. The river was beautiful and provided a cool breeze. We took it slow and easy and ended up resting a few times along the way. (total walking ~1 mile).

The English Gardens are wonderful...and huge. We only walked around a very small portion of it, but saw the surfers, a bunch of teenagers frolicking in the river, sunbathers, some baby swans and their parents. After the English Gardens we walked over to the Hofgartens where we rested until time to meet up with the group for our evening dinner at a beer garden--Hofbrauhaus. (total walking ~1.5 miles).

Dinner at the Hofbrauhaus was just ok, but it was fun, with an umpah band coming over to play for our group. We then walked back to our hotel for a much needed shower and some sleep. (total walking ~1.5 miles).

We estimated our walking for the day to be about 10 miles (adding up my numbers here gets you to 9.5). It was a wonderful day, even if it was miserably hot, and made me want to stay in Munich for 3 or 4 more days. Munich is a beautiful city with a lot to offer tourists. If we had stayed in a more centrally located hotel with air conditioning, I would have been perfectly content to end out my vacation going around Munich and the nearby towns. I definitely intend to go back one day.

Bamboo and Soy Silk Scarf--SOLD

This scarf is very soft and drapy and is made from ecologically friendly yarns--bamboo and soy silk. The soy silk is variegated and creates an almost handpainted effect. The pattern is a simple twill that shows off the beautiful yarns.

The scarf is 7.5x64 inches and sells for $50.

Travel to Munich--Day 10

Much to our sadness we got up on Day 10 to head into Munich. I was really sad to leave the Swiss Alps behind. The day was spent traveling by bus stopping for lunch in Lindau Germany. We stopped in Lindau last year, so David and I didn't take any pictures while we were there.

After Lindau we drove on to Munich (it really was a boring day) arriving in time to have a short walk through town before dinner. We were almost in culture shock from the heat, noise and crowds of people. We walked into the old town area, looked around and got oriented and then went to dinner with our group at a local beer hall. The food was uninspiring and the room was miserably hot.

Our first day in Munich was really not a lot of fun. As I said, we were in culture shock after having spent such cool, clean days in the country. Going into such a big city was overwhelming. Plus our hotel was in a crummy part of town. There was a casino across the street and strip clubs all around the area. It was sort of like staying in Bourbon Street. Plus it was hot. I hadn't been hot like that in years. And, for whatever reason, Europeans don't use air conditioning as much, so it was miserable everywhere. We thought to fix our plight by drinking cold water, but the wait staff didn't seem to understand that when we wanted a large glass of water, that would be one that would hold more than 4 ounces.

On a different note, I head out for my monthly trip to Jackson today and won't be back until Friday when I'll resume my trip story telling.

Interlaken, Trummelbach Falls, and Murren--Day 9

I love Switzerland. I could have stayed in Switzerland for the rest of my life--if I were rich, but that's a digression. Switzerland is beautiful, clean, and just about the most wonderful place on earth.

We left Murten early in the morning and headed to Interlaken where we spent about an hour walking around and shopping. Interlaken is the largest town in the Berner Oberland and is at the entrance point to the Lauterbrunen Valley. It's a pretty little town, but even before the season started it was overrun with tourist and touristy little shops. There was a pretty river here that David and I went and sat by while we waited on everyone else to get back to the bus.

Then we drove to Trumelbach Falls. Last year on the Best of Europe tour we went to Trummelback Falls and I absolutely loved it. It's so pretty and amazing. It was even more so this year. Trummelbach Falls is a waterfall that is inside a mountain. You begin the experience with a funicular ride up into the mountain and then walk up inside to the top where you can look through the hole at the top of the cave and see the sky while hearing the water pounding down inside this mountain. It's amazing. We were there earlier than last year and they had a lot more snow in Switzerland this year so the water pounding through the mountain was deafening and very very cold.

After Trummelbach Falls we hiked as a group to Stechelburg where we got on a gondola and rode up to our homebase for the next two days: Murren. I can't even begin to describe how quaint and wonderful Murren is. It's a tiny little Swiss town with all the wonderful food and people that go with it and unbelievable views of the Jung Frau, Eiger and Monc mountains. Though our room was really small, we felt like we were on top of the world with views of the amazing scenery on two sides. We went into town for a very late lunch and were so happy that we were able to find a restaurant open to serve us (lunch very rarely is served after 2pm).

We went back up to our room to rest--I read, David napped. That night we had a group dinner and enjoyed alphorn music and a group of yodelers.

Two Baby Girl Pink Towels

I've made these towels for my friend who has a new grandbaby girl. I'll give them to her next week during my travels...

Lake Geneva and Murten, Day 8

Day 8 broke bright and chilly. We drove a couple of hours to Lake Geneva to tour Chateau Chillon. Chateau Chillon was made famous by Lord Byron who wrote a poem about the famous prisoner who stayed in the dungeons for several years. The chateau was an ok tour...there were furnishings in most of the rooms, and the original wall decore could be seen, but I think by this point I was tiring of castles and castle tours, so I was less entralled. The setting on the lake is really pretty, though and provided us with some interesting photo opportunities.

After the tour we met up with our group for a picnic lunch right beside the lake while we waited on our boat. We then took a boat cruise to a town called Vevey. In Vevey they were celebrating the maritime history of Lake Geneva and had five antique boats (each with several hundred people in them all carrying balloons) on parade. We stayed in Vevey to see the maritime parade. Each boat had different colored balloons (there was a red boat, yellow, blue, white, and green) and it paraded by the park area really slowly. Then they came by very fast and blowing their horns really loudly. Finally, they all lined up and blew their horns and let the balloons go. It was kind of interesting for the first 10 minutes and the last 10 minutes, but the 40 minutes inbetween the interesting parts was really boring for me. David loved it.

After we were finished at Lake Geneva, we drove back to Murten for a free afternoon. David and I walked around town (took about 5 minutes) and then climbed up on the city walls for a look around. We walked around on the ramparts and really enjoyed looking out over the rooftops.

Around 7pm we met up with our group for a dinner. We had fried fish with several side options, and this was probably the best group dinner on the trip. The fish were apparently swimming happily in the lake outside that very morning.

As I said yesterday, I really enjoyed our time in Murten. I know that the bathtub in my room helped out, but it was a sweet little town and being able to go to Lake Geneva was lots of fun. I think the opportunity to see an intact city wall with ramparts is cool. I'm disappointed that they've removed this town from the tour for next year.

Black Forest Museum, Arrival in Murten, Day 7

Day 7 of our trip was another long bus ride day. We traveled to Murten, Switzerland, via some very scenic routes. We left Baden-Baden and drove along the Black Forest to the Black Forest Museum. The museum is an open-air museum with houses that were brought in from all over the region, rebuilt and set up so that the historical and cultural folk-ways of the area are preserved. Most of the houses had thatch roofs which caused problems with my hay allergies, so I was really only able to enjoy this museum from the outside. They had goats, calves, chickens, etc., and while it was somewhat interesting (what I could stand to see) I could have lived without the stop.

We ate lunch in the stalls at the entrance to the museum, then as a group had black forest cake and cherry schnaaps. The schnaaps were horrible, but the cake was quite yummy. It's chocolate cake with cherries, cream and almond icing. I think there are some schnaaps in there as well.

It was back to the bus for a long drive into Murten. We arrived in the late afternoon and as we were getting our room assignments on the bus, Rolika, our tour guide, said "Aah, David and Leslie have the best room in the house." So, everyone in the tour group had to come look at our room. We had a huge room with a dinette and refrigerator, large bed and a real soaking bathtub. The tub was set up righ in the middle of the room. It was hilarious. Then Ernie, another of our tour guides, had the most "interesting" room so we all traipsed to Ernie's room to see his round bed.

It was free time after that, and David and I headed out to dinner at an Italian place. It was excellent. We then decided there was enough light to head out to the ramparts and play around up there, but we had left our camera in the room, so we went back to get it, only to duck in the hotel door as the skies opened up. I decided that was a sign that I needed my nice long bath right then and there, so that's what we did for the rest of the evening.

Murten is a wonderfully cute little town. They have taken it off of the Germany, Austria, Switzerland tour to shorten the tour and save a little money. I am disappointed because, while the Berner Oberland is awesome, Murten and Lake Geneva (which I'll discuss in my next entry) were really wonderful and show a completely different part of Switzerland. The historical ramparts are amazing. I've not seen the likes anywhere in my travels in Europe. I'll have pics of them up on the next blog entry as well.

A set of 8 napkins

These napkins are made using cotolin. It's a mixture of cotton and linen and I think brings the best properties of each to a project. It's a little more expensive than 100% cotton, cheaper than 100% linen, but really nice to work with and makes some very nice, soft table linens and kitchen towels. These napkins are made using up the remaining yarns I had from previous projects...and funny enough look like little folded up gum packages. They are also nice and big measuring around 18" square.

Baden-Baden, Day 6

David and I were very excited about our full day in Baden-Baden. We planned to sleep in and skip the casino tour in the early morning, then we were going to go on a full day of shopping and sightseeing. So, we slept in, had breakfast, showered and got dressed only to see that it started pouring down rain just as we were getting ready to go out.

So, we relaxed in our room for a bit and then decided that shopping didn't really require one to get that wet, so out comes the umbrella and we headed down to the internet cafe first and then to the post office and then to the shopping mall. I bought a new purse because my old one was tearing up my clothes--the strap on it was so rough that it was leaving a "bumpy" stripe down the front and back of my shirts (I was wearing it over my shoulder) and David got a small back pack for times when we needed more than just a purse.

It had stopped raining, so we headed out to lunch where we had food that was both good and bad--the ribs were excellent, the potato dumplings awful. A little more shopping and then they skies opened up again, so we headed back to our room for a nap and more rest.

Around 4pm the skies cleared and we decided it was finally time to head up to the mountain. You can ride a funicular up to the top for some amazing views, so that we did. There is even a tower that you can climb for an even higher view--so that we did. We rode down, had dinner at a wonderful Italian place, and then wandered all around town and down the river afterwards. One of the things I really love about Europe is that it seems that the sun doesn't set in the summer until around 11pm so that gives you long afternoons to get things done. So, even though our morning was a wash, we were able to get everything we intended to get done in the afternoon.

There are hot springs in Baden-Baden and David and I did not do the spa experience. Most of the spas are clothing free, and I just wasn't comfortable with the fact that I was on tour with 24 other people who might also be using the spa...can't get the American out of me that much.

My opinion of Baden-Baden is mixed. It's a very pretty town and while we did have a very nice day relaxing and shopping, I would have rather spent it back on the Rhine or in the Alps. Perhaps that's because I did not do the spa experience, and had I, I would have seen why the town is on the tour. As it is, I don't have any strong inclinations to go back to Baden-Baden, but I have to say that my time there was fun, even in the rain.

Burg Eltz, Triere, and Baden-Baden--Day 5

The 5th day of our trip was a travel day. We left St. Goar to go see another castle nearby. This one was on the Mosel River--Burg Eltz. The Eltz's still inhabit a portion of the castle, so we were only able to tour part of it, but I found it to be really neat. It's built DOWN in a valley next to the side of the river and consists of three separate dwellings connected by an inner courtyard. The furnishings and paintings are all original to the castle and provide a good sense of how wealthy powerful people lived between the 14th-19th centuries.

After leaving Burg Eltz, we traveled a short distance to Triere where we had a picnic with the group. Then we walked into the old town and toured two separate churches (on our own). Triere is the oldest town in Germany and has a healthy sampling of Roman ruins, so was architecturally interesting.

Then we were back on the bus for the several hour haul into Baden-Baden. Baden-Baden is a spa town with a casino. Apparently this is where Germans go for paid health treatments. There is a lovely littel river right in the middle of town and mountains nearby. We arrived just in time to change clothes and meet our group for dinner. The Butlers shop was right next to our hotel and was too tempting to not take our picture under.

One of the things I really like about a Rick Steves tour is that the days we have to travel by bus are always broken up by visits to small towns or other interesting sights along the way. It helps break up an otherwise long and boring day and you get to see into the lives of ordinary people. You certainly wouldn't do this on another tour company.

Tencel Shawl--SOLD

Tencel is a fiber made from tree pulp. It is very soft and feels like silk. It has a lustrous quality as well that makes it very nice for drapy fabrics like shawls or scarves.

This shawl is woven using a shadow weave pattern in cream and green with a medium orange highlight. See the close up for the pattern. It is lightweight and silky and would be perfect for a fall evening. The fringe is twisted for a formal feel.

It measures 13x83 and sells for $60.

An Elegant Alpaca Scarf--SOLD

This alpaca scarf was made using the remaining variegated from the previous scarf mixed in the warp with a complementary grey. Because the variegated has the grey color in it, it blends in very well and sometimes disappears, creating an almost handpainted texture.

The pattern is a complex twill that forms two different directions of diamonds, so that the pattern (see the close up picture) almost looks like a cross.

The alpaca scarf is very soft to the touch and wonderfully cuddly warm. Its dark colors lend a more formal air, so this scarf would be perfect for wearing to work or on a night out.

It measures 7.5x78 inches, exclusive of fringe and sells for $55.

St. Goar and Bacharach--Day4

Day 4 of our vacation was a very physically demanding day. We started with a hike up to Burg Rheinfels which overlooks the Rhine River and sits atop the town of St. Goar. I don't remember how many hundreds of feet we climbed, but it was pretty steep and quite a long hike...but man the views were amazing. The castle ruins were ok. We toured as a group with a castle tour guide, but the magic and awe of a castle ruin just don't do much for me.

After the tour we were free until after lunch so we hiked down through a vinyard, went into town and bought some necessities (toothpaste, advil, etc.) and ate a picnic lunch on a bench beside the river. We had ham and cheese sandwiches (they had boiled eggs on them, which I thought was weird until I ate it), strawberries and apple and rhubarb kuchen. The rhubarb kuchen was so sour that you couldn't eat it but the two bites that David took were so funny that I wanted him to keep trying to see if it got better.

After lunch we rode the train to a few towns over, Bacharach. There we took a tour with Herr Jung. He used to be the head schoolmaster for Bacharach and, while he's in his 70s, is still very agile both physically and mentally. We walked all over town from beside the river to the train tracks, through the city walls, on top of the city walls, inside the old town, down some really tight alleys and finally up, up, up into the vinyards (where I had an asthma attack becuase of all the hay lying around everywhere). Then we walked UP into the vinyards we it felt like we were on top of the world.

When the tour was over we had a little over an hour to do whatever we wanted to. David and I went down to the river to watch the boats go by. There were a flock of black birds eating bread from our bench neighbor. A few minutes into this interesting event, David said, "Look, that bird is carrying an egg." And just a I turned my head, the egg dropped on the ground and proved to be hard boiled. This caused such excitement among the birds that they were squawking and going crazy over eating that boiled egg. It was really funny.

We then met up with our group for our Rhine River cruise. It was really cold and windy outside, but there weren't any available seats inside, so we just had to tough it out. Once back in St. Goar we ate dinner with Marie and Carolyn and then headed back to our room for an early night and to ease our sore muscles.

I really enjoyed the Rhine River. I thought it was such a beautiful place and wish I'd had at least 2 or 3 more days to go explore more town. It would be so easy by train or bicycle to go from town to town and see castles and beautiful scenery everywhere. It will definitely be on my future travel itineraries.