Well…we have been finishing up this ultimate adventure in Munich, Germany. I love this city because it feels like a town. Everything is a reasonable walking distance from the Istar…the area by the river where we stayed. The people, the shopping, the street market, the churches the great places to eat….Yum the Thai we found was amazing…Munich is wonderful and a joy to spend time in. We took a day and rented bikes…one of our favorite things to do and covered the city outskirts including the amazing English Gardens and the path along the Istar River. You can really get some sightseeing in on the bikes…and we love the spontaneous mobility to turn here….and check out this. We took a day trip from Munich and jumped on the train and went to Landsberg am Lech. What a nice town…it is surrounded by a moat and has many historic and medieval buildings. Only a 45 minute ride from Munich….and somehow we missed the fact that we were supposed to transfer to another train…just so happened the train conductor was right there checking our ticket and asked…”where are you going? In German of course and we said Landsberg am Lech…at the moment we were stopped at a station…and she looked at us and said “you get off here and transfer” we were up and jumped out of the train and a moment later the doors slid shut and it was on it’s way…we took a breathe…and there was a train with the destination we wanted setting at the station….Hum…guess we get on this one and we did and arrived at our destination. Kinda funny….figuring it all out….keeps life interesting for sure. And so…..we have learned a lot….had many an adventure and kept the trails and rails movin on this saga story. We are schnitzel led out and beered out for sure….a large beer in Bavaria is like a gallon mug….so be careful what you ask for…..because you will get BIG beer…..tomorrow we rail to Berlin for the night and then head to the good ole USA via Toronto. This movie took us to Germany, CZ, Hungry, Austria, Slovakia, Romania…from the advantaged society of Germany to the struggling Gypsies of Romania….from the Alps to the crumbling medieval town of Sighnasora…there is a common bond as humans on this planet. All living their lives the best they know how… we saw laughter, effort, sharing, working, hardship, beauty and rebuilding from decay…there are so many different places to explore on this planet and everything is evolving in it’s own way. Happy trails….
Marcie and Jim
Well….as the journey continues we did arrive in Signasoare Romania after a very long train ride. The quality of the trains in Romania is very poor. The stations are run down and very dilapidated. We arrived in Sighasoare…an ancient medieval town located in the center of the country that the people of Romania are trying to restore. The government in this country is very corrupt and therefore the monies being funneled into Romania from the EU seldom make it to the communities that need the development so desperately. We did explore the small town, with it’s citadel and arches…torn up cobbled streets…and the visual had a story you could see. We left Sighasoare after 2 days on the morning train deciding to return to Budapest. As we stood on the landing….two of the few foreigners there... we watched as a beat up….rusted train arrived. In the rear of the train was an area where people with large amounts of luggage and cargo would go and we watched in awe as a large group gypsies detrained. The visual of the group was beyond description. They all were jabbering and looked so disheveled. Few had shoes, hair was matted and they literally looked like a band of gypsies that had not had a bath in months. It was like a movie right before my eyes. I could not even grab my camera for a photo as it whisked by me so fast…and all I could do was watch as this moment unfolded before me. I had entered a place in the world where I wondered if these people had ever seen a cell phone or had enjoyed a clean glass of pure water. It humbled me….we take so much for granted…and yet then laughed….frolicked across the railroad tracks on their way to their place on this planet…..somewhere….someplace. Words cannot describe this experience….but I will always have this movie in my brain….part of my archive of world experiences…that just happen to occur as I was there.It was slow motion...happening right in front of me....a moment.....
We arrived back in ….after the 11 hour train back from Romania to our lovely hotel on the River Danube….enjoyed a nice dinner and from here we are off to Salzburg, Germany on a IC super fast train…..the complete and total opposite from the train in rural Romania. Two different worlds…connected by rail……worlds apart
4 days in Salzburg….then off to Garmish….more to come…..
May your days be filled with wonder….may you walk along your path…may you be grateful for your blessings…..and rejoice in gratitude
Happy trailsThe Great Lodges were built in the National Park system during the 20th century. Many were built in the 1920-1930 era. We started this trip in Yosemite Valley at the Awyannee lodge. This is one of the most spectacular lodges from the era. It has the grandness of the wilderness throughout. The dining room is incredible. Lodge No2 was Zion National Park. This lodge is a one store building. It was distroyed by fire and was rebuilt. It is a conservative lodge that is set in the valley of the Zion. It has a touch of the rustic feel. Lodge #3 was at Bryce Canyon. This is a lodge that is not as popular, yet it has an old used rustic feel. It is smaller in size. There are 2 lodges at the Grand Canyon. The South Rim and the North rim. On this trip we visited the North Rim Lodge. This is another spectacular National Lodge. The view from the over-see room is like being is a painting over looking the canyon. It is quite large and rustic. Another must see lodge. From here we headed to Yellowstone. This was the oldest and most burly of the lodges we saw. It is quite large. There is a crowsnest overview at the top of the lodge that can be viewed from below, but can no longer be accesses. This lodge is freeform construction. The "y"'s of trees were used as lumber supports. The craftmanship and structure were incredible. We stayed at this lodge for the night and had the pleasure of a window in our room that was on the 3rd floor and the old many paine window overlooked Old Faithful erupting many times during the day. You had to walk down the hall to the restroom area and shower room. There was a really cool private bath room in the hall that you would have to yourself, with a private door, large clawfoot tub and old fashioned wash basin. The park system was getting ready to start a large revovation on this lodge. We was thankful we got to see it as it was in it's orginal form. I am sure we will revisit it to see it's new facelift.
There is a classic lodge at Crater Lake that we have visited many times. It has the rustic feel and the old world feel. It is another beauty.
Still on the list:
The lodge at the Oregon Caves and the lodge at Glacier National Park. Enjoy!
QueensTown to Glenorchy...on Route to the great walk the Routeburn. 4 days of backpacking across the Southern Alps of New Zealand from hut to hut. This journey took us from moss filled forest...hobbitville...to snow covered Alps. It was spectacular! After imerging from the tramp we hitched a ride to Milford Sound and headed by boat out to the Tazman Sea. The mist was think...the moment was in a movie we were directing...and the freedom sourrounded all of us. From there we headed to the Northern part of the Southern NZ island to Nelson...and sea kayaking and discovering the holiday parks. Ask us about these!
Ferried to the North Island...and drove all the way to the Bay of Islands ...the Northern most part of NZ. It was a great time....