I am unable to download any pictures (frustrating) so will continue with the narrative.
We enjoyed our tour of Strasbourg. It started with the amazing sight of young storks standing on their nests. Huge but not yet flying. Strasbourg is a very charming medieval town. I mentioned the canal cruise earlier.
We then moved on to the town of Speyer -- very small and very charming as well. It has quite a Jewish history. The name Shapiro comes from this area. Our guide had an interesting story. She was in the US one time and met a couple dressed in their traditional sect garb. She asked them if they were in a theatre group and it turns out they were the religious sect from her home area of Speyer. When the husband and wife spoke to each other in their language she understood it better than their English as thatGerman dialect is still spoken today in Speyer.
Then it was on to Heidleberg. We visited an old castle which has the largest wine barrel in the world -- it holds 49,000 gallons! It was built inthe 1800's and took many years to make eg. the staves had to be dried for three years, then bent, then put together then filled with water to expand the joints.
We continued cruising down the Rhine to places like Worms and Rudsheim. The latter had a very interesting museum of mechanical musical instruments. Wow! They are from the early 1900's and went from small to very large. One of the really interesting ones had six violins going round and round being played plus a piano. Another had banjo's. We didn't hear that one. Another was the width of the room and was meant to bring people to a local fair -- full of characters moving plus very loud. Fascinating place.
Yesterday we had sunshine for the most important part of the cruise -- through the Rhine Gorge with all its castles and little villages plus acres and acres of vinyards on the steepest of hillsides. Must be very difficult to work in them. We were supposed to have a tour of one of them but it poured rain and they felt it would be too "dangerous and slippery". So we wandered the little town instead -- lovely and different from the others. So after our Rhine Gorge we got to Koblenz.
Today some people stayed with the ship while it cruised to Cologne. We went by bus to a garden show then drove to Cologne to get back on the ship. The garden show was well worth seeing. It is the 2011 Federal Horticultural Show and is held every two years in a different city. It was established to help these cities recover financially after the war. We were driven to the top of a hill (on which there is an ancient plus WW11 fortress -- no time to tour that as it takes 4 hours). We walked through a variety of gardens plus a greenhouse full of cut flowers arranged by color. They were sitting in trays of water so would have to be changed regularly as the show goes on until Oct. They also had vegetables artfully arranged. At the end of each day, they are taken down and given to the poor. The next day fresh are added. At the end of our tour, we went down to the twon (crossing the Rhine) on a gondola put up specifically to get people between the lower and upper displays. The gondola is built by Dopplemyer and will be taken down after a total of 3 years. If left there, the town will lose their UNESCO status. Dopp people don't mind as they will just put it up again on some alpine place. The sun shone for our garden tour then has poured off and on since. We elected to not bother with the town walking tour this afternoon. We've seen enough cathedrals and old towns. The saying here is: ABC -- |Another Bloody Castle (or Cathedral).
No pictures as my computer won't download them today -- despite rebooting. Will try again tomorrow.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
pictures -- one repeat
City of Basel which is on the Rhine in a corner of Europe where Germany, France and Switzerland meet. Basel used to be Catholic and when the reformation came, became Protestant. All Catholics had to leave. They allow them in now. There was one Catholic who was so prominent that he was the only one buried in the Protestant Church (Erasmus von Rotterdam who printed books). He was buried under the altar but a later Protestant priest wouldn`t preach with him there so he was moved off to the side!Sorry about the extra three pictures of Basel. I have no idea how to delete them!
Laying new paving stones in Basel. I had no idea they were so thick. They are tearing up the pavement and going back to the old style roads.
Cuckoo clocks from the Black Forest.
pictures #2
Berne
Small town of Gruyere
An old chocolate ad.
Interesting facts about chocolate: It first came from South America and was used in drinks. The British Canterbury) first emulsified it so it was solid, not a powder. Then the Europeans added sugar, fat and milk. The Swiss added hazlenuts. Toblerone`s shape is inspired by the Matterhorn. They are owned by Kraft foods.
Sunday, Father's Day
I finally have internet access via my computer! We've been on the river cruise for several days with no access. And we have a computer in our room which doesn't connect either. We haven't yet been able to access Telus to get our mail but the blog site finally got through.
So here goes: On the 15th we retraced our steps and returned to Taesch by train then on the bus back down the Rhone Valley. This time we could see it as it was sunny. We travelled to the city of Berne where we had a rather bad city tour. The next day was interesting as we visited a Gruyere factory and then a chocolate factory. The latter had nice samples and then inexpensive chocolates to buy. The name is Cailler which is now owned by Nestle. On the 17th we travelled to Basel where we left the bus and our wonderful Checkoslovakian guide "Charlie". He was superb.
We have been on the cruise boat for two days. It is very luxurious (small rooms but we aren't in there much). The meals are fabulous with many choices for hordoerves, soup, main course and dessert. We have the usual smorg for breakfast and, as usual, I can't face fish, salami, cheese at that time of day! Fortunately they love their yogurt, fruit and muesli. Also the breads are fabulous so I always have some of that with Nutella. (And, no, Eleanor, I won't need the cabbage soup diet as we have walked a lot and there is a gym on the boat.) Lunch could be a full meal but we stay upstairs and have soup, bread, cheese and fruit.
Yesterday we had a choice of two tours -- I hate choosing! Anyway, we went to the Black Forest which is just a forest and went to a lake which is just a lake. But we did get a tour of a cuckoo clock factory which was very interesting. Many are totally gorgeous with a similar price!!!
Today we had a tour of the city of Strasbourg France. What a beautiful city. We had a bus tour, walking tour and then a canal tour. The latter was especially intesting but I couldn't take any pictures as the boat was covered with plexiglass. The reflection just spoils pictures. I had the opportunity to go by bicycle but would have missed the canal tour. Again choices. I made the right one.
The river boat is very long and narrow. We were upgraded to the second floor so have a window the size of our room. There are 3 floors.Right now I am in a small sitting room "aft" 3rd floor where I can plug the computer into the electrical system to keep my battery powered and at the same time watch the scenery go by. There is a large sitting room on the 2nd floor then a dining room on the 1st. There is also a deck on top but with the varied weather, not the best place to sit these days.We have had showers alternating with sunshine.
The country we are going through is flat so don't see much. We have been through a number of locks so far. Some give us a huge drop down. There are lots and lots of swans around and some of them have little ones. I just looked out the window and am starting to see some hills.
If some pictures proceed this blog you will know that my internet connection remains good.
So here goes: On the 15th we retraced our steps and returned to Taesch by train then on the bus back down the Rhone Valley. This time we could see it as it was sunny. We travelled to the city of Berne where we had a rather bad city tour. The next day was interesting as we visited a Gruyere factory and then a chocolate factory. The latter had nice samples and then inexpensive chocolates to buy. The name is Cailler which is now owned by Nestle. On the 17th we travelled to Basel where we left the bus and our wonderful Checkoslovakian guide "Charlie". He was superb.
We have been on the cruise boat for two days. It is very luxurious (small rooms but we aren't in there much). The meals are fabulous with many choices for hordoerves, soup, main course and dessert. We have the usual smorg for breakfast and, as usual, I can't face fish, salami, cheese at that time of day! Fortunately they love their yogurt, fruit and muesli. Also the breads are fabulous so I always have some of that with Nutella. (And, no, Eleanor, I won't need the cabbage soup diet as we have walked a lot and there is a gym on the boat.) Lunch could be a full meal but we stay upstairs and have soup, bread, cheese and fruit.
Yesterday we had a choice of two tours -- I hate choosing! Anyway, we went to the Black Forest which is just a forest and went to a lake which is just a lake. But we did get a tour of a cuckoo clock factory which was very interesting. Many are totally gorgeous with a similar price!!!
Today we had a tour of the city of Strasbourg France. What a beautiful city. We had a bus tour, walking tour and then a canal tour. The latter was especially intesting but I couldn't take any pictures as the boat was covered with plexiglass. The reflection just spoils pictures. I had the opportunity to go by bicycle but would have missed the canal tour. Again choices. I made the right one.
The river boat is very long and narrow. We were upgraded to the second floor so have a window the size of our room. There are 3 floors.Right now I am in a small sitting room "aft" 3rd floor where I can plug the computer into the electrical system to keep my battery powered and at the same time watch the scenery go by. There is a large sitting room on the 2nd floor then a dining room on the 1st. There is also a deck on top but with the varied weather, not the best place to sit these days.We have had showers alternating with sunshine.
The country we are going through is flat so don't see much. We have been through a number of locks so far. Some give us a huge drop down. There are lots and lots of swans around and some of them have little ones. I just looked out the window and am starting to see some hills.
If some pictures proceed this blog you will know that my internet connection remains good.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
pictures
Cars on the train.
Bus driving onto the train.
Zermatt with the Matterhorn in the background.
The picture in the next blog should read Don and I in front of the Matterhorn.
Tuesday, June 14,2011
We have had the most amazing two days!!! The weather is variable but yesterday, our travel day, it was rainy with low clouds. Today when it mattered, we had sunshine!!! In fact, today was the first day in three weeks that the Matterhorn has been clear. I think we have horseshoes!!!
Back to yesterday. It had numerous stages of travel so quite fascinating. First we drove in the bus for about an hour past many lakes which were turquoise in color. Picture doesn't look too great here -- taken through the bus window.
We stopped at an attractive small town to visit a wood carver's shop where we finally chose our cuckoo clock. Next stage was about 45 minutes to a town called Interlaken (between two lakes). We wandered around there for awhile then had lunch (more of a dinner type menu). Then it was on to a train station where the bus went on the train!!! Boy what a tight fit and the drivers had no mirrors (folded in) to see where they were. No scrapes. I could see about 4 or 5 inches on my side. They had to drive about 1000 feet this way. So we then went via train, sitting on the bus, for 40 minutes -- through a tunnel under the mountain. This saved 2 hours. When we got to the town of Taesch -- about 30 minutes later -- we transferred to a real train. Rode for about 30 minutes, through more tunnels to Zermatt. This town doesn't allow busses or cars so everything gets left at Taesch. The taxis that run around town are like glorified electric golf carts. Cute, quiet and non polluting.Zermatt is an awesome town tucked into the bottom of a narrow mountain valley. We could barely see the Matterhorn because of the clouds.
Today, Tuesday, we woke up to shinshine!! We took another cog railway -- longest in the world, I think, to the top of a ski mountain -- 10, 132 feet. The Matterhorn was awesome. I must have taken a dozen pictures of it on the way up and then at the top. No pictures for you to see right now as the computer has stopped allowing me to download them onto the blog. Keeps giving me a security alert. It was cool up there but no wind so quite comfortable. We had a group picture taken with two Saint Bernards then just us with one of the dogs. We didn't walk around on any trails as running shoes weren't suitable for the snow. After coming down we spent a number of hours around town. So pretty and so nice not to have a bunch of cars whizzing by. Just had to keep an ear out for the electric ones.
Here the houses have slate roofs -- large pieces of slate about 3/8" thick and about 2 feet wide. Not a lot of flowers on balconies. That is predominately an Austrian or German custom.
Gas is about 1.70 to 1.79 Swiss Franks per liter.Add 20% for Can $.
We have noticed how very clean this country is. No garbage on the streets, houses painted, rivers clear except for the glacial ones. In Zermatt we are in evergreen forest, mostly larch. The roads and railways go some incredible places. Many switchbacks and no thought of 4 laning! There is never broken pavement. Don't know how they keep the frost heaves out.
All for today. Hope to try the pictures again.
We stopped at an attractive small town to visit a wood carver's shop where we finally chose our cuckoo clock. Next stage was about 45 minutes to a town called Interlaken (between two lakes). We wandered around there for awhile then had lunch (more of a dinner type menu). Then it was on to a train station where the bus went on the train!!! Boy what a tight fit and the drivers had no mirrors (folded in) to see where they were. No scrapes. I could see about 4 or 5 inches on my side. They had to drive about 1000 feet this way. So we then went via train, sitting on the bus, for 40 minutes -- through a tunnel under the mountain. This saved 2 hours. When we got to the town of Taesch -- about 30 minutes later -- we transferred to a real train. Rode for about 30 minutes, through more tunnels to Zermatt. This town doesn't allow busses or cars so everything gets left at Taesch. The taxis that run around town are like glorified electric golf carts. Cute, quiet and non polluting.Zermatt is an awesome town tucked into the bottom of a narrow mountain valley. We could barely see the Matterhorn because of the clouds.
Today, Tuesday, we woke up to shinshine!! We took another cog railway -- longest in the world, I think, to the top of a ski mountain -- 10, 132 feet. The Matterhorn was awesome. I must have taken a dozen pictures of it on the way up and then at the top. No pictures for you to see right now as the computer has stopped allowing me to download them onto the blog. Keeps giving me a security alert. It was cool up there but no wind so quite comfortable. We had a group picture taken with two Saint Bernards then just us with one of the dogs. We didn't walk around on any trails as running shoes weren't suitable for the snow. After coming down we spent a number of hours around town. So pretty and so nice not to have a bunch of cars whizzing by. Just had to keep an ear out for the electric ones.
Here the houses have slate roofs -- large pieces of slate about 3/8" thick and about 2 feet wide. Not a lot of flowers on balconies. That is predominately an Austrian or German custom.
Gas is about 1.70 to 1.79 Swiss Franks per liter.Add 20% for Can $.
We have noticed how very clean this country is. No garbage on the streets, houses painted, rivers clear except for the glacial ones. In Zermatt we are in evergreen forest, mostly larch. The roads and railways go some incredible places. Many switchbacks and no thought of 4 laning! There is never broken pavement. Don't know how they keep the frost heaves out.
All for today. Hope to try the pictures again.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
ThSunday, June 12, 2011
Today was awesome! We had sunshine for our extended day trip. In the morning we were bussed to the base of Mount Pilatus where we got on gondolas. At the top of this long ride we got on a cable car much like the one we were on in South Africa (Table Mountain). The views were awesome on the way up but a bit disappointing at the top. It was shrouded in clouds on one side.
This gives you some idea of the terrain we went up. There are trails all the way which I was looking at with envy. I did get a chance to walk around up top and follow some of the trails which hung on the edge of the cliffs or went in through tunnels.
We went down the other side by cog wheel railway which is very old and very steep in places. Several times we were going down at from 43 to 48 % grade. As usual there are the "Nervous Nellies" but not me. I wish I could have spent some time on that mountain as they had a luge run as well.
This is the cog railway part way down the mountain where the grade was gentler. The whole trip took about 40 minutes.
A view partway down of Lake Lucerne. Upon reaching the valley, we took a tour by boat of he lake. Here is a typical scene of the lakeshore.
We went down the other side by cog wheel railway which is very old and very steep in places. Several times we were going down at from 43 to 48 % grade. As usual there are the "Nervous Nellies" but not me. I wish I could have spent some time on that mountain as they had a luge run as well.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Last night we had an interesting meal. It was called "Reclette". We got a large flat soup bowl sized dish with melted mild white cheese on the bottom - lots of it. On it we put small cooked spuds and pickles (gerkins and onions). The idea is to scrape up the melted cheese and eat it with the pickles and potatoes. It was good but a few had a terrible time with it so went hungry. Tonite was a smorg so better for the fussy eaters. We have been avoiding salads but hear that it was definitely the bean sprouts that caused the Ecoli outbreak. The waiter assured us tonite that there is no problem with the Swiss veggies.
Today we left Zurich in the pouring rain. It continued off and on all day. My new coat was perfect! We arrived in Lucerne around 10 am and had a two hour walking tour of the old part of town. Very interesting. Some of the buildings are Rennaisance style with Swiss country style roofs as they had to consider the snow loads.
We walked across a very old wooden bridge which was one of the ways of protecting the city during the old wars. It is a foot bridge so not wide and could be used as a defence. It burned some years ago so was rebuilt in the old way with no nails. The sides have flower baskets along the whole length.
Lucerne Lake is called something else in German: means "Lake of the Four Cities in the Forest". Quite a handful. We were told to do any shopping this afternoon as it is Pentecostal weekend so the stores are all closed on Sunday and Monday. So we did! Mostly in the same store. I got a very pretty Swatch plus Ethan's birthday present.
On the way here we went through many tunnels, some very long. They have other uses. Their defence is set up in them somewhere and they can be used for shelters in case of an attack. They are building a new train tunnel that goes under the Alps which will be 50 Km long. It will save on fuel as the trains won't have to do all the climbing they do now.
We went through areas of mixed farming today. Lots of silos.
Lucerne has a population of about 80,000 and is the 10th most visited city in Europe. It's a very walkable city so I went out again on my own for a vigorous walk.
We walked across a very old wooden bridge which was one of the ways of protecting the city during the old wars. It is a foot bridge so not wide and could be used as a defence. It burned some years ago so was rebuilt in the old way with no nails. The sides have flower baskets along the whole length.
On the way here we went through many tunnels, some very long. They have other uses. Their defence is set up in them somewhere and they can be used for shelters in case of an attack. They are building a new train tunnel that goes under the Alps which will be 50 Km long. It will save on fuel as the trains won't have to do all the climbing they do now.
We went through areas of mixed farming today. Lots of silos.
Lucerne has a population of about 80,000 and is the 10th most visited city in Europe. It's a very walkable city so I went out again on my own for a vigorous walk.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Friday #2
I'm doing a second blog. Have had a lot of trouble today so wanted to get the first one off for sure. The directions keep coming up in German and I've also hit the mysterious key which erases everything.
So, some facts about Switzerland:
It is 41,000 square Km (which is less than double the area of the private game reserve we were on in South Africa!) Their main industries are chocolate, watches, cheese, pharmaceuticals (#2), and finance
(#1). They have a reputation of always being on time and get very, very upset if the trains, etc. are late. They have been neutral for 500 years. We heard today that they were bombed by the Americans twice in WW11 . (Accidently but everyone wonders). The speed limit is 120 Kmh for cars and 100 for busses. You get into trouble at 3 over the speed limit. There are speed cameras everywhere. There are 1200 dairies here. Most of the dairy industry is in the mountains as they save the little flat land for agriculture. Their power is supplied by Hydro, nuclear or coal. The water is good and safe to drink and they swim in the Rhine as it is clean. Zurich is on a big lake so lots of boats. The city is clean. There are 26 Cantons (provinces) here and they are all independent in taxes, police, schools and legislation. Common to the coutry are army, medical and postal. The citizens vote about every 6 weeks on anything and everything.
So, some facts about Switzerland:
It is 41,000 square Km (which is less than double the area of the private game reserve we were on in South Africa!) Their main industries are chocolate, watches, cheese, pharmaceuticals (#2), and finance
(#1). They have a reputation of always being on time and get very, very upset if the trains, etc. are late. They have been neutral for 500 years. We heard today that they were bombed by the Americans twice in WW11 . (Accidently but everyone wonders). The speed limit is 120 Kmh for cars and 100 for busses. You get into trouble at 3 over the speed limit. There are speed cameras everywhere. There are 1200 dairies here. Most of the dairy industry is in the mountains as they save the little flat land for agriculture. Their power is supplied by Hydro, nuclear or coal. The water is good and safe to drink and they swim in the Rhine as it is clean. Zurich is on a big lake so lots of boats. The city is clean. There are 26 Cantons (provinces) here and they are all independent in taxes, police, schools and legislation. Common to the coutry are army, medical and postal. The citizens vote about every 6 weeks on anything and everything.
Friday, June 10, 2011
We have been in Zurich for 2 days now. It is a city of about 360,000 people and seems to be under constant road construction. We found out the reason for that: They have lots of money so like to keep the people employed. Unemployment here is 3%. In addition to all the construction, there are tram tracks everywhere. Many people don't own cars. It isn't necessary as you can get anywhere in Switzerland by bus, rail, tram, boat or plane.
We had a city tour yesterday which ended in "Old Town". Most of us elected to stay there another 2 hours in order to shop, wander around, etc. As I was going to enter a church to see the stained glass windows (awesome) my friend from Salmon Arm was coming out!! I knew she was in Switzerland somewhere. What a coincidence.
I wanted to buy a 3/4 length lightweight coat. The prices were very interesting. They started at 200 SKr and went up to 2000 SKr!!! Add another 20% for Canadian dollars. I found one at 79 and 30% off. Perfect for my needs and made in China (go figure!) The others were probably European made.
Today our tour was to the Rhine Falls. They were very prettty but small by Canadian standards. After that we went to a lovely old city where every building was a picture waiting to be taken. We had two hours there. The sun was shining today so very welcome after yesterday's showers.
Meals are good and the portions reasonable. For dinners we are given a plate of food which is about the same size of what we'd eat at home. Breakfasts are the usual awesome European ones with a million choices. I enjoy their muesli (mixture of yogurt, oat flakes, grated apple and ground hazlenuts), fruit and then a few slices of their wonderful bread (covered with Nutella!) Lunch is something small, not a sitdown meal in a restaurant as that's waaaaay too expensive.
We had a city tour yesterday which ended in "Old Town". Most of us elected to stay there another 2 hours in order to shop, wander around, etc. As I was going to enter a church to see the stained glass windows (awesome) my friend from Salmon Arm was coming out!! I knew she was in Switzerland somewhere. What a coincidence.
I wanted to buy a 3/4 length lightweight coat. The prices were very interesting. They started at 200 SKr and went up to 2000 SKr!!! Add another 20% for Canadian dollars. I found one at 79 and 30% off. Perfect for my needs and made in China (go figure!) The others were probably European made.
Today our tour was to the Rhine Falls. They were very prettty but small by Canadian standards. After that we went to a lovely old city where every building was a picture waiting to be taken. We had two hours there. The sun was shining today so very welcome after yesterday's showers.
Meals are good and the portions reasonable. For dinners we are given a plate of food which is about the same size of what we'd eat at home. Breakfasts are the usual awesome European ones with a million choices. I enjoy their muesli (mixture of yogurt, oat flakes, grated apple and ground hazlenuts), fruit and then a few slices of their wonderful bread (covered with Nutella!) Lunch is something small, not a sitdown meal in a restaurant as that's waaaaay too expensive.
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