On the way to Rothenburg we stopped in a little village called Harburg. It’s a classic medieval village with a castle on the hill and narrow streets, barely wide enough to drive through. Probably those medieval city planners weren’t up to speed on the size of our 21st century cars when they layed out the city. Continue reading →
We stayed in Baden-Baden for only a couple of nights while we were visiting the Schloss Lichtenstein and the Black Forest. There really isn’t much we can report about this town, other than we were within walking distance to their old town, which is where we went each night to find some dinner. Continue reading →
Hohen schwan gau – in german means high (hohen) schwan (swan) gau (country, district). The community of Schwangau was originally nothing more than a couple of farm houses until King Maximilian II of Bavaria discovered the ruins of an old castle in the early 19th century. The castle, called fortress Schwangau was thought to have been originally built in the 12th century, and was the fortress of a group of knights. Continue reading →
Heidelberg goes down as one of those places that warrants a return trip at some point. While we weren’t totally blown away with the adventure, it was nevertheless a decent town to visit. We spent a couple of nights at a downtown Holiday Inn Express that was within easy walking distance to Old Town and the Heidelberg Castle. We spent one even strolling Old Town, and one day at the Castle and again at Old Town. Continue reading →
When we arrived in Cochem, there were probably 1,000 bikers in town, plus a compliment of other tourists from tour companies, boat excursions, and folks like us, who just drove in for the day or weekend. It apparently was a German holiday, and the Germans were out in full force, in full party mode. And did we mention, the Germans know how to party.
There were bikes, boats, old cars, new cars, just about every kind of recreational vehicle you would expect to see in the US, but in German style. Bikes, for example, are overwhelmingly Harley Davidson at a typical US motorcycle rally. In Cochem, there were a few Harleys, but the bikes were a mixture of other brands. Many European brands including BMW and Triumph, but many Japanese bikes too. Continue reading →
We’re a Holiday Inn Express kinda folk. We like to know what to expect when we book a hotel, and we like to have a good feeling for the value we’re about to get for our money. It makes sense, then, that we were a little on the skeptical side when we booked our recent two night stay at the Hotel Continental in Barcelona, Spain.
We were flying in from Florida, planning to catch a ship in Barcelona for an Atlantic crossing voyage back to Florida and wanted to spend a day in Barcelona first, just looking the city over. We wanted to stay downtown somewhere and all the reviews suggested that the Hotel Continental might be a good choice.
When we landed at the airport in Barcelona, we were greeted by a driver that was previously booked and paid for. Our previous experience with folks in Barcelona was that not everyone spoke English, and we wanted to have an easy trip to the hotel after traveling all night. We were tired and severely jet lagged. The driver was a good call. He spoke absolutely no English, but already knew where he was taking us, so there was no problem getting to the hotel.
Our arrival on Las Rambles Street was at about 8:00 PM on a Friday night. The lights were just starting to come on and people were definitely out and about starting to enjoy their evening; a true lively and vibrant part of the city. Continue reading →
Not long ago, we had the fortunate occasion to spend the day in Barcelona, Spain. We were traveling from Orlando, Florida and catching a cruise ship in Barcelona back to Florida. We’ve grown fond of Atlantic crossings in the last couple of years and found a great price on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship, the Epic.
The last time we were in Barcelona for just a day we were seeing it from the comfort of a cruise ship shore excursion and decided that if we ever returned, we’d make some time to explore it on our own. Continue reading →
It’s really unfair to judge a place by one day’s worth of sightseeing, especially from a controlled tour bus from a cruise ship. But Stockholm and its surrounding areas left us with the impression that we weren’t finished visiting this place. Not being particularly keen on hanging out in big cities, we were impressed with how clean and safe this city seemed to be. There were many places that appeared to be favorite hangouts of the locals and tourists alike, and the people, like most folks we met in and around the Baltic Sea, seemed to be generally friendly. Continue reading →
