Closing Out Our European Adventure, Summer 2019...

• 30 Days
• 6 Countries
• 8 Airports
• 5 Planes
• 23 Cities/Towns
• 9 Places of Accommodations
• 27 Train Stations
• 26 Train Rides
• 13 Trams
• 10 Taxis
• 7 Cars
• 7 Buses
• 6 Shuttle Buses
• 6 Subways
• 6 Highway Tolls
• 4 Gondolas (Cable Cars)
• 2 Boat Rides

• 7 Castles
• 7 Palaces
• 12 Churches/Cathedrals
• 16 Museums 

• 41 Souvenir Magnets - we bought magnets everywhere we visited. 
• 2500+ Photos Taken! YES - 2500+ !

• Seeing 3 families of wonderful friends - 2 in England and 1 in Germany: THANK YOU Meachams, Wests, and Reads so very much for your hospitality, fun, care, and love!! It was fabulous. Your turn to visit us, now!!

• We took a boat ride on the Thames, dipped our feet in the English Channel, played in the North Sea in Scotland, enjoyed the incredible beach of the Mediterranean Sea at Cassis in the South of France, toured Geneva via boat on Lake Geneva, and swam in the Danube River in Vienna.

• Our thanks go to many, many people for helping to make this trip possible. With your generosity and support, we were able to have an adventure that has changed our lives. Seeing the incredible wonder of our world is priceless and a real treasure for us all! Thank you to DD and PopPop (my parents), Don Bradway (traveler extraordinaire - who shared his expertise for planning this trip with me), Deb Meacham (who helped me in buying tickets for flights, trains, etc!), Hilton Presbyterian Church - whose generosity absolutely astounded us and made so much possible!, Sara and David Coxe - who kept our car, picked us up, and let us stay when we returned, and all those cheering us on and supporting us throughout the planning and actual adventure!

Berlin—artistic, eclectic, historic, and modern

Our last stop brought us to Berlin. A city of art, history, memorials, modernity and building like crazy...it was great to experience! And the best of all, to connect with Clark’s college roommate, Mike, 30 years later and meet his wonderful family. We started in England with my childhood friend and ended here with Clark’s college pal—pretty cool!!

We loved how the city is big and open, sprawling really, and while lots of people, the roads are wide with room for all the bicyclists (unlike London and Paris). Clark drove in the city center and managed fine.

We found the Memorial to the murdered Jews stunning. The Brandenburg Gate impressive, especially learning its history and that of the country’s desire for independence from royal governance. The German History Museum is unbelievable—its scope goes on and on. Josiah especially was enthralled! I loved the Reformation stuff and Luther documents. We went on to Museum Island and went to the Pergamum, where the Gate to Babylon installation stands. OMDL! So incredible! We even indulged the kids and hit Legoland, where the city of Berlin in Legos is nothing short of amazing, too. Our last day, we went with Mike and the girls to the German spy museum, which had some of the coolest exhibits ever...so much “cloak-and-dagger” stuff, 007 stuff, interesting Cold War history, spy swap details, gadgets, etc. Really fascinating and Berlin very much at the heart of it all!

You’d think that was all enough, but upon arrival, we got to enjoy Mike’s delicious cooking, too—yummy vegetarian lasagna with zucchini that we all devoured, and they made me a birthday cake to celebrate. So thoughtful and kind!! It was terrific! And another night we had burgers and traditional German brats—so good—and fantastic potato salad. For our last night, we went out to this fabulous Thai place; we decided we will have to do Thai back home more regularly 😀. It was a superb last stop, and we are so grateful for having chosen it to end our adventure!

Pictures on FB to go with post...and I’ll do one last post as a conclusion soon!!

A Solemn Stop ...

On our way to Berlin Sunday —a long driving day (longest of the trip)—we stopped. At Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. It seemed like the right thing to go there, and it was really something. Moving and serious, but also a place for reflection and provoking thoughtful conversation. We walked through the site, struck by the gateway (replica now of original), and how awful Hitler’s “plans” truly were. The place has created clear and explicit exhibits of what he intended, what occurred there, and what happened with those who resisted. Dachau was a prison labor camp, not extermination site, but many still died there. And it was open a dozen years—the first place he opened, until Allied forces liberated it. To illustrate the scale of how awful—it was meant for 6000 “workers” (prisoners made slaves!!) and when liberated, there were 32,000 there.
Going there was hard but important and significant—we cannot forget what genocide and racism and prejudice and xenophobia breed. We cannot. And having this site as a place to remember and learn and reflect helps the world not to forget and to work to ensure that the respect and dignity of all human beings happens across the globe. We are all responsible for that! May we work on it together.

Beauty in Bavaria—

We traveled by train from Vienna to Munich, rented a car (navigating major construction in the city), and made our way South to Schwangau. Land of King Ludwig II’s castles. WOW! The beauty of Bavaria astounds. Gorgeous hills, the mountains soaring beyond, the farms and flowers ...all of it. And we arrived ready for our days here, as we got our first views from afar of the castles. Neuschwanstein is the one he built and died before it’s completion. The Disneyland castle is modeled after this; guessing Walt had been here (I haven’t looked it up). And Hohenschwangau was Ludwig’s childhood home, especially during summer. We visited them both our second day. Just incredible!! The views, setting, the scale and workmanship inside...pretty incredible! Ludwig seemed rather unstable; it’s a sad story really, but he created beauty within the beauty around him remarkably even still. It was really neat to see it all. His childhood home is gorgeous, too, and we had a tour guide who was fantastic. Just a wondrous day!

Then, we headed over to the Tegelberg toboggan run—a metal sled you control that’s on a 700 meter curvy course...too FUN! We all made runs. And commented about how in the states, the rules would be far more strict...they simply had a sign with a few rules about not sticking out your feet, holding onto the gear thing, and you ride at your risk. No helmets, no waivers...just fun. And it was!

The other big adventure was the next day to travel to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and go up the Zugspitze—highest mountain Alp in Germany. At just under 10,000 ft, the air was thinner and cooler up there! We rode the train partway, then Josiah, India, and I took the gondola—cable car to the top. Eli and Clark continued on train, which included nearly 5 km (3+ miles) in a tunnel. We all met at the glacier and enjoyed the amazing views. Then, we headed back to the top to walk on up to the summit view. We went to the Austrian border side, too, up there. Eli and Clark rode the train back. And we met up for the last part of the ride to G-P to get the car. The mountains are breathtaking, reminding me of the Rockies some. It was a great day’s journey!

Our time included good restaurants for Bavarian food (hearty!) and even Italian one night, also. We

loved all that we experienced and then turned our thoughts to our last big stop—Berlin. I’ll post some pics, too. See FB 😀.

Music Giants, the Hapsburgs, Gustav Klimt, and special Coffee

Talking about Vienna — of course!

We arrived on Sunday afternoon, found our way to our apartment, an older place, but roomy and comfortable, and got a recommendation for a restaurant with traditional Austrian fare. We got settled and off we were for dinner. Salm Braü. What an intro to Austrian food!! They know beer and food. Yum! The meal even was finished with shots of apple liquor—I think what we’d call an aperitif, or after-dinner shot. And it was for all of us. A tradition there we gathered for all at their guests when the meal ends. Delicious!
So, our Viennese adventure had begun. We made preparations for our next day’s plans and got to bed.

Monday: We experienced Vienna’s amazing public transpo system quickly—having already taken the train from airport to our apartment...now, we bought tix for the tram system. Basically like a train/subway but above ground. Go everywhere!! And tix just cost for Clark and me—3 day tix that’s good for tram, train, subway, and bus anywhere in city/area, less than $40. Kids ride free! Boy, do we in the U.S. need to learn!
We went to the city center, had a lovely breakfast—apricot juice is quite good—then went to the Hapsburg Winter Palace. Heldenplatz area...the Hofburg Palace it is—where they lived...Sisi married Franz Joseph, I think I’ve got that right, and it’s a sad tale for her really. She was lonely and reclusive, in her Royal, obligatory life. But she wanted for nothing. Holy cow, the silver collection! And plates and gold candelabra ...oh my! Following that, we walked through all the beauty and splendor of the area outside, through the pedestrian walking streets—posh shopping here—and down by the river to take the Yellow Tram Ringstrasse Tour. This tram is a 25 minute tram tour around the city, to orient you to Vienna and all its sites...it follows the famous street that goes around city center, I.e.—Ringstrasse. It was great! Clark had found this tour option, and we were so glad he did. Then, we headed home for lunch there (stop at grocery, too), and hanging out before the later afternoon/evening plans.
Our Monday continued with getting ready for more...we headed again to city center—Josiah commented at some point that Vienna is built like a “target”—bullseye center with things in circles moving out, our, further out, etc from it. If you see a map, he’s kind of right. So, we found our way to the Haus der Musick. That is, House of Music—a museum dedicated to music. And it was fabulous! It covered the history of the Vienna Philharmonic, the Opera, then the way we hear sound and music, the technology and science of it, anatomy even, then the music giants of Vienna—Strauss, Beethoven, Mozart, Mahler, Haydn...WOW! It was interactive and informative and fun and educational and inspiring. So cool! Definitely a highlight. After, we went for dinner, including dessert—a leisurely meal—then walked to the Musickverein, the site where composers directed, including Mozart!, and we saw the Mozart Orchestra. Fantastic concert to a full house. In period costume, they played and included opera numbers, too. From “Don Giovanni” and “The Magic Flute.” It was sensational. What a day!
Vienna began well indeed.

Tuesday:
We went to the city outskirts to the Hapsburg’s Summer residence—goodness! Schönbrunn Palace rivals Versailles. No lie!! The gardens and it’s Gloriette...and that’s just the outside. My word. It was resplendent. Truly! Took a couple trams to get there and again to get back, but this time we went into the city for lunch. Headed home after for a bit, and then, we took our adventure in a “locals” direction...we took the train out to a neighborhood on out, by the Danube, then a short bus ride, to go swimming! We found a little river-side park...pay to enter but fairly inexpensive, so we did, and found our shady spot to hang out and go swimming “an der Alten Donau.” On the Old Danube. They had floating docks/piers you could walk out on and jump off, swim to, etc. It was refreshing and relaxing. We were clearly among locals more than tourists, folks out to enjoy the afternoon and get cool on a relatively hot day. It was great fun! After a couple hours, we went home and declared day two a great time, as well.

Wednesday:
We chose another palace this morning, but this one—The Belvedere—was that of the Prince of Savoy of the 17th-18th c., and it’s been converted into a museum. Where the largest collection of Gustav Klimt’s work is displayed. Arguably Austria’s most significant painter, Klimt’s work is beautiful, especially in this setting. And there was so much more, too. Rodin’s “Eve” is here. A painter, Helene Funke, whose work I loved. Some more Monet, Renoir...it was terrific. Gorgeous place for it, art in itself, too, really. Following that, we went to city center to the Museumquartier, where we discovered the museum passageways that India read about; art installations that change, that are located in the vaulted, passageways—tunnel-like—between buildings in this complex. Funky, bright, fun, innovative...very cool! They were neat to see. Then, we headed to the historic Cafe Central—origins 1876—Trotsky and Freud had coffee here. It was an experience!! I had real Viennese coffee. Yum! And the food was grand. So proud of the kids —Josiah had a meal of roasted veal liver with an apple, bacon sauce, crispy fried onions, and potatoes that he absolutely loved. And then dessert. OMDL!
So—you’d think this was enough, but no, on we went to the Natural History Museum. Eli really wanted to go here, and we are all so happy we did! We’ve seen some mineral/gem collections before (think Smithsonian) but OMDL—nothing like this. Seriously!! It was unreal. And their exhibits of animals, bugs (yuck!), dinosaurs...it was fabulous. They have a statue of a woman that’s 32,000 years old!! So amazing this place.
And so, after all that, as we made our way to the tram to get home, we stopped at the famed Bösendorfer brand piano store. Those are some pretty pianos! Once home, we all agreed that Vienna had been simply wonderful...so many fabulous sites and things to experience! It’s a glorious city!!
I will post pics on FB to share our delight ~

Swiss Treats Abound...

Our journey in Switzerland only included Geneva, so we planned to make the most of it. And as already mentioned, getting there was tense with the rental car return. We had to return on the Grench side of the airport, and with no signage, it was a feat. But the adventure didn’t end there! Turns out, as the airport/security guy told us, without a boarding pass, we’re not to go through the airport into the Swiss side to the train station and on into the city. A fact the rental company neglected to share. They said it’d be fine. He explained that this is actually a big “war between airport and rental car people usually but not today”... to which I said, “because you’re being kind and letting us through?!” And he said, “Yes!”
Grace. Indeed. In the city of Calvin, no less.
I did ask what we would’ve had to do—go back out, get a taxi, pay like $50 and be driven over. Instead, we found the train (with the help of another airport employee further on the way), and paid $0...yes, zero!, to go the city center train station and then walk the remaining five or so minutes to our hotel. Big shout out of Thanks to Doug Baker for the hotel rec — close to everything, easy, and relatively-speaking, reasonable (in Geneva, all things are costly!!). They gave us public transportation cards for our time in the city—free on all trains, trams, water taxi, buses—because it’s free for everyone!!, yet we didn’t even need it because we walked everywhere; the hotel was located conveniently enough to do so!
We got settled, then set out for early dinner. Found the tributaries to the Lake and ate at a small little cafe next to the water. Nice guy who shared good info about getting to the sites to see, suggesting the boat tour. Definitely some sticker shock about prices, though we’d been warned. Goodness, people must make lots of money here! Of course, we noticed, too, the city is quite clean, transportation is free, education is pretty great—kids learning 3-4 languages, family leave for mom’s and dad’s, healthcare for all, and in our short visit, we didn’t see a single homeless person. That’s not to say there are none. But we did not see one. After our meal, we walked to the water, finding Lake Geneva simply beautiful! India and Eli rode the Ferris Wheel, and we all enjoyed their “urban nature” swings by the water. We were struck by the Eau d’Jet—the huge water spout and the many swans. I’ve not seen so many at once.
Our second day had us up early to visit all the Reformed treasures plus: we walked to the old town area first and St. Pierre’s Cathedral, where Calvin preached. What a glorious church! And we were greeted with the organist practicing for an evening concert. We toured around, then climbed the South and North towers...many, many windy, small steps, seeing the bells and the panorama views of the entire city. Gorgeous! After, we explored the archeological exhibit/excavation site that is beneath the Cathedral, that chronicles the excavation done from 1976...wow! It shows how a church/Cathedral existed since 6th c. Quite remarkable work done. The kids really enjoyed this! And then, headed over to the Museum of the Reformation. Well-done, as well...I was surprised that is a private collection. Very impressive morning! Josiah called St. Pierre’s our tradition’s “mother” church and St. Gile’s in Edinburgh, the “daughter” 😀!
Following all that, we were hungry. And went to the Hotel Amures restaurant outside, around the corner. Fancy, treat for a meal, and what a meal!! We had traditional cheese fondue, veal, steak, fish, and even escargots! Dipping bread and potatoes in Swiss-style cheese fondue...OMDL! This restaurant has its origins in the 18th c., too, which is incredible.
So...you’d think we were ready for a nap, but off we went, browsing through old town, wandering our way down to the Lake again. And there we took the boat loop tour on the Lake. It was about an hour, seeing Geneva and the area around from the water. We traveled up close to the water jet—gets the spray!—and it was another lovely way to see the city. We had fabulous weather the entire time.
Our way home included a stop at the famous Favarger chocolate store. Since 1826, making chocolate that is nothing short of divine! French macarons, Swiss chocolate...my goodness, we are lucky indeed!
For such a short stop, Geneva proved full of gifts for us! To those who down-play it as a worthwhile place on a journey, I’d say re-consider. It’s vibrant, international, has an ease and peace, with history worth exploring. Certainly there are many other stops in Switzerland, but this one served us well as the singular place we could see, especially with our Reformed interest,  in this month-long journey. Here’s to Swiss treats!!
Pics to go along on FB ~

P.S.  — I know Clark is ahead in posting stuff, but thought I’d keep blogging nonetheless.

Provence ~ I’ll take this provincial life...

The South of France met us with bright sun that lasted our whole time there, and it was everything and more than I certainly anticipated. In some ways, like the SW of the US...red rocks of a town named Roussillon have it dubbed the “Colorado” of Provence. But I’d say more Utah-esque. It’s dry and breezy. Old towns with tiny roads, few - very few! - guardrails, like Eastern KY! And parking garages with spaces created of so little sq feet, it’s astonishing. Engineering marvels that Clark handled well, as we enjoyed travel by rental car all over the region, from Aix-en-Provence all the way to Geneva. The driving on major highways was fine; the tolls are crazy—$30 for one of them!! There’s a way to pay for healthcare and education. We named our very nice vehicle Remy, and it really served us well!
We traveled by TGV high speed train from Paris to Aix. That train is incredibly nice and fast. Then we got the car and explored the town of Aix. How charming!! Beautiful, old world style and feeling. Toured the Cathedral and then headed to our rental villa about 25 miles out of town in a small village.  So lovely. A three bedroom cottage (house!), full kitchen, swimming pool, outside garden and porch/deck...I will take this provincial life indeed!
We spent our days soaking up the region, including going South to the Mediterranean Sea one day...Plage de la Grand Mer at Cassis. Wow! The blue-green turquoise Sea, clear as clear can be, pebbly/sand beach, formed as a bay-like area with cliffs rising up high on either side. Such fun!! We took our second day at Aix afterward, exploring the historic streets, eating, and browsing the shops.
A day North took us to the Abbaye Notre Dame de Sénanque, where the lavender fields are beyond gorgeous and happens to be a working monastery, just some 7-800 years old. The travel there was beautiful, twisty roads, through little towns and endless vineyard fields. We toured the Abbey, then stopped in Gordes, Lourmarin, toured the Chateau Lourmarin, and made our way home. Glorious day in the heart of Provence.
Our travel to Geneva was fine until entering the city. More precisely, the airport. We had to return on the French side, per the rental company directions, and so after already crossing the Swiss border —which cost 40 euros we were unaware of ($50, give or take! there’s an immigration process for ya) — you have to navigate to the rental return. Well, there are no signs. I mean, NONE. That was our most difficult traveling stuff to deal with (so far—hopefully, at all!), but we managed. We learned another guy took like an hour to figure it out. For us, it was about 15 minutes. So, not too awful. I owe much to the children for reading the GPS map more nimbly and quickly than I to tell Clark the right twist and turns!
But that begins our Geneva adventure...the South of France was truly marvelous, and we all found it a place of much natural beauty and wonder, a place to enjoy the Sea, hills, and vale! We are grateful for those days!