Last day in Europe and back home - July 30, 2010

We had a wonderful last four days in Europe - stayed with friends who had a home/chalet in Annecy (French Alps) after meeting them in Luzern and spending 2 days with them there. Joan had a memorable return to Mt. Pilatus where she and her sister had visited in 1970 -young girls galavanting around Europe no less. However ageing does something to the memory cells and she had difficulty recalling much of what had changed (I am sure there had been many changes - they are in the finishing stages of a hotel atop Mt. Pilatus - a mere 480 euros/night! The other highlight with Richard and Denise was getting to the top of Mont-Blanc - 3842 metres - highest peak in Europe located next to Chamonix (property prices??? - 1200 sq. ft. loft for a mere 1.5 million euros!!!). Of course we didn't want to show the locals up so we decided to take the tram up to the top. Good decision as it was raining and -2 at the top amid some swirling snow. Quite a view when the clouds cleared for brief periods of time - had a gorgeous view of the entire valley in and around Chamonix.
Had some fantastic regional food while in Annecy - raclette (about a 1/4-1/3 of one of the large wheel of raclette cheese which is then put under a heating element. You then scrape away the cheese as it melts and put it on your vegetables, potatoes and cold meats. Talk about Cholesterol highs!!! We really enjoyed our time at R. & D.'s chalet and hearing all of their "stories" about its construction, dealings with local contractors, and learning how to boost your knowledge of the French language through the entire process. While it is a work in progress, Joan and I see the most difficult part being behind them. We both suggested that now they both need to do some "nesting" to make it personal and even more cozy than it currently is. Many thanks, Richard and Densie for your most gracious hospitality and friendship.

Didn't encounter any problems during our flight (although were weren't as lucky as our return from our Mediterranean cruise 5 years ago where we were upgraded to first-class on the flight home from Frankfurt). Got a few interesting photos of bergs, snow and ice as we flew over Greenland and the clouds parted. Glad we didn't have to deal with that kind of cold weather on our holidays!

And so our European Adventures - 2010 edition comes to a close. There were many memorable events, people, food experiences and sights that we encountered. Additionally, Joan and I both agreed that this holiday pushed our boundaries considerably what with taking trams, having to find our way around train stations - under construction for the most part - in large European cities, and having to begin most conversations with "Parlez-vous Anglaise?" and then seeing where that would lead us. While we may return, I think that our purpose would be different, more focussed, and likely less tiring. Experience is a wonderful thing.

We welcome any comments, questions, conversations (either online or in person) and hope that those of our friends and relatives who have read our blog have found it informative and entertaining. Talk with all of you in the days and weeks to come.

Jim and Joan

Last Post from Annecy, France

This first pic is of the countryside between Luzern and Annecy (about a 3 hour car drive).
We stopped here for lunch and took some beautiful pics of the farmland.
The next pic is of the second most photographed place in France (2nd only to the Eiffel Tower). It is the old prison in Annecy, France. We arived about 2:00 pm and wandered around the old city before driving around the lake (very beautiful and quite crowded with tourists) and watching the paragliders and wind gliders.

Next pic show Joan blowing a flugelhorn high atop Mt. Pilatus (elevation over 8000 ft.). We tood a fast 25' ride up a funicular, spent some time on tope (restaurant and well established and safe trails, hotel under construction ((470 euros/night))) in the clouds with poor visibility) then the clouds cleared and we could see a lot of the valleys, paths (you can hike up if you want an adventure and challenge), and the other funicular cars coming up. Went down part way on a gondola (about 20 passengers), stopped then switched to a cable car (4 people) the rest of the way. Great day. One of the two highlights of the trip.

Last pic is of the rather heavy key to our hotel room in Luzern - easily weighed close to 14-16 oz. Made sure you didn't walk away with it - cost was 200 CHF if you lost it.

This will be our last post from Annecy France, as we will be flying out from Geneva on Friday (day after tomorrow). We will likely post a final blog on Saturday or Sunday from home and addressing some of the things about our adventures that we have found most interesting.

Looking forward to a great flight home on Friday. Talk with you all in the next week.

Jim and Joan

Salyburg - Sunday, July 25, 2010

Arrived by train after a 3 hour ride, climbing gradually the better part of the last 1 1/2 hours. We had a clear day to travel although there were clouds scattered throughout, rain clouds as well. After settling in to our hotel room, we made a beeline for the Salyburg Castle high up on the hill getting there by funicular r.r. Quite a view of the surrounding hills and countryside on every side and took a number of interesting pictures. The explanations were not very good as there were very few English translations. As well there was a large section that seemed to deal with the local regiment(s) of soldiers during W.W. I.
Made our way back down and had dinner in front of Mozart´s (sans music) Geburtshaus (house, for those of you who don´t speak Austrian/German), then walked back to our Hotel (about a 15 minute walk). We do have plans to get back down tomorrow to do a bit of quick shopping before we pick up our train ride to Zurich - will have to see what time we leave as there are only a few connections that take us on to Luzern. Scheduled to meet up with Richard and Densie Blum at the Hotel De La Paix there.
If you are wondering about the spelling (I think mom and I got all the mistakes), the keyboard here is a bit different. Most notable is that ´z´and ý´are interchanged as well as a lot of the other symbols. Mr. Qwerty would not be impressed. Now we will try for some pics however, my documents does not seem to be coming up as an option on this computer.
Sorry everyone, unable to upload pics - maybe from Luzern.

Love and kisses to all who are taking the time to read about our journeys in Europe.
Jim and Joan

Vienna by tram - the grasshopper has taught us well!

Well, after getting some fairly simple directions from the hotel clerk today, we headed off by Vienna tram to the Hoffburg Palace. This Palace was the main palace of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. We went through the Sisi Museum (Sisi was the nickname for Princess Elizabeth who after marrying Emporer Franz Joseph, became the Empress). The museum houses items from the kitchen, dining area and so on. Sounds like its boring but the amount, type and nature of the items on display was again indicative of the opulence and decadence of the Empire of the 1800s. Place settings numbering in the hundreds, gold place settings, etc. We then were able to tour the different rooms where the royalty lived, especially Sisi. Her story is very much like the Princess Diana story - rather sad in that she gradually shunned the requirements of her office as Empress and began to isolate herself more and more, not only from the people of her Court, but also of her family. She was assassinated in 1898. Having the ear wands to hear the concise and relevant explanations helped considerably and also took away from the seemingly boring nature of the visit we made there. Took about 5 hours, including lunch (wonderful decadent dessert - but lo-cal, I'm sure)!
Rest of the time we spent cooling our feet in Starbucks, then headed off to one of the main shopping streets. Lots to see, some of it similar to Edmonton, Some of it rather unique. We still haven't found anything major/big/expensive to purchase and bring back home.
We will be off for dinner soon, then off to Salzburg some time tomorrow. It's only a 3 hour ride so I'm not sure what time we will leave. After staying overnight in Salzburg, and still having the Castle there to see, we will likely leave for Zurich and then Luzern on Monday, late morning - the train ride is about 8 hours but apparently it is a very spectacular ride once you get into the Swiss Alps so we have decided that we will do it during the daytime rather than as an overnighter.

More later and hopefully more pics. The download process is different here and as well we are paying 5 euros for 15' of computer time, so no time to fool around.

Weather here has taken a turn and temp today was in the low 20s, with some drops of moisture - it did rain more heavily during the night. First time we have headed out for sight-seeing with our jackets.

Ta-ta for now,
Jim and Joan

Tales from the Vienna Woods - a.k.a. Hotel Prince Eugen, Vienna

Following a leisurely b'fast in Prague, we left via train (in the pouring rain) for a 4.5 hour ride to Wein (aka Vienna). Eight years ago, Kendra's directions got us through these crowded European rail stations. Today we managed it on our own. Had a leisurely bowl of soup on the dining car - Baba's special Potatoe Soup and some Goulash Soup, then enjoyed the scenery. Almost went too far on the train through - good thing there are porters!
Arrived at the Hotel by 5. After settling in, we walked to the Belevedere Palace, Prince Eugene's summer home (very similar to Schronbrunn Palace, but not as elaborate). Then went to Sperl, a small outdoor restaurant and had wiener schnitzel and a very decadant dessert - apricot sorbet, apricot yogurt in a pint sealer, apricot kutchen (pastry), and marinated apricot.
We are planning for tomorrow - what we will see.
No pictures today.
Jim and Joan

Last Day in Prague - Boo-Hoo!

Last day in Prague and here are some pics from yesterday that we had difficulty uploading. The first pic is looking down on Wenceslas Square from high atop the Astronomical Clock Tower. We had a 360 degree view of Prague. Today we went back and watched the apostles/knights go through the two openings at 2 pm followed by the trumpeter even higher up. I tried to take a video of it but it didn't come out too well because of distance.

Next pic is for you, Kendra. Her Majesty's fingers stretch far and wide throughout the world. We bought some fresh fruit and a coke there last night and thought of your time in Cheltenham. (Guess what - Coke in Czech is still Coke!!!) This store was probably 5-6 times larger than the one we visited in Cheltenham. They even had TUCS!!!!!! (they're made by Kraft and come in different flavors - salt & pepper, paprika, original). We will see if we can bring some back for you through Customs.
We'll probably have to smuggle them back in our shorts so as not to upset Safeway!!!

Next two pics are of the stained glass windows on two naves in St. Vitus's Cathedral, high atop the hill at the Prague Castle complex. Beautiful beyond description in their grandeur and majesty.

The first pic is from the Prague version of the Eiffel Tower high atop the Prague Castle complex. We are looking down on St. Vitus Cathedral. The white building in the front running horizontally is the Palace proper. We didn't go into it - temperature was just getting too hot.

Today we walked over to the Jewish Quarters. Went through the Spanish Synagogue (quite beautiful) and the Maisel Synagogue. We also went through the old Jewish cemetary with 12000 graves/tombs - the oldest dating back to the late 1430s. They bury one on top of the other (only 55 cm of vertical separation req'd) and the gravestones are scattered hither and yon because of tree roots upheaval, different depths of burials, etc. Some of the grave markers had tree roots and tree stumps actually growing around the stone. Didn't post any pics as all of the gravestones are in Hebrew - I don't think any of our friends/family are fluent in that language!
Finally broke down and went to Starbucks for a Frappuchino! Sure tasted good on this hot day (35).

Tomorrow, it's off to the train station and on to Vienna. Unsure of internet access at the Prince Eugen Hotel in Vienna.

Love to all,

Jim and Joan

Day 3 from Prague

Since our last addition to our blog we have spent a fair bit of time walking to the main tourist arrea of Old Prague - Wenceslas Square, seeing the Astronomical Clock (I won't try to describe its workings - Mom's comment was that you needed an engineering and astronomy degree to understand the brochure I picked up that describes what it is all about), walking down the long,long street to get to the National Museum (paleoentology, geology, fossils, etc.) at the end, then walked over to the train station so that we would know where to go on Friday when we head off to Vienna. Made our way back to the room where we had a bit of rest then went back to the Charles bridge and ended up haveing dinner on the river just under the Bridge (have included a picture of the beautiful couple on their vacation!!), then walked against the backdrop of the early evening and the lights on the Prague Castle complex - Mom's description of it was "medieval fairy-tale" and it was all that.

Today we took the funicular r.r. up to the Castle complex, did a lot more walking, just saw the church (St. Vitus Church) that is part of the complex (have included a pic of one of the huge stained glass windows in it - quite amazing.

It has been getting hotter and hotter, 35 today scheduled to go up to 38 tomorrow. It gets to be rather incapacitating after a while. For lunch today, we went to a restaurant, next to the Crown Plaza-Prague Castle Hotel that was built inside one of the old catacombs - really neat atmosphere, the real McCoy and about 20 degrees cooler.

Here are some more pics with brief descriptions of what we are seeing.

Sorry gang - tried to upload 6 pics and only 3 came through - the computer was swearing at us in Czech or something so you will have to settle for these three. Will try to send more tomorrow.

Jim & Joan