We're off to Serfaus again!

Today is an exciting day for us. We are returning to the spot where we vacationed last summer. It was such a wonderful trip, we are doing something we have never done before - return to the same place two years in a row.

After Serfaus we will have a few days in Devon, England visiting family, followed by the Isle of Wight for more family visits and lastly 2 nights in London before flying home again.

When we return, I will be posting about our adventures which I hope will include riding an electric-assisted bike, hiking, Traditional Austria specialties and dancing, Zorbing, a West End Show, a BBC Studios tour and more.

Insider Secrets for visiting Washington DC

Yesterday was a beautiful day in the Washington DC area and I spent the afternoon indoors watching a play at the Warner Theater. Afterwards as I walked back to the Metro, I couldn't resist taking two quick photos in the bright sun.
The first is of the Post Office Pavillion - our insider secret for getting a birds eye view of Washington. So much better than the Washington Monument because it's free, never a long line, and at the top you have huge windows (instead of tiny, peepholes) and lots of fresh air.

The second is a rare picture of the curved archways leading to the Federal Triangle Metro stop with no people around. I thought it looks majestic and peaceful.

Next Stop: Philadelphia and Delaware

Now that the weather is improving and spring is not far off, I am finally making plans to do some short local trips. April 25th I will go to Philadelphia for the day to take photos and see some historic sights.

We are also planning a day trip to Wilmington, Deleware. The date isn't set yet, so it could happen before the Philadelphia trip.

I will update this blog with stories and photos as soon as I return from the trips.

Was the Muesli made of gold flakes?

This trip to Germany was an amazing trip with surprisingly few problems considering that I traveled on a holiday weekend (Sunday after Thanksgiving) and traveled in winter snow and rain. The first minor problem was a road accident on the Autobahn that made poor Silvia two hours late picking me up at the airport. I was fine with the wait, but she, poor thing, spent double the hours expected on the road.

The second problem, again happened in Frankfurt on my last morning. Although it wasn't serious or disruptive, it really bothers me because it feels so unfair and criminal - my breakfast at the Sheraton Hotel cost me - are you sitting down? - $50!

I have blogged about it on my other blog so I won't repeat all the details here, but no one should be allowed to charge that much for breakfast unless the muesli is made of gold flakes. And then, even if it is, the hotel should be required by law to post the cost in a prominent location for all customers to see BEFORE they chose to eat. Finally, they should offer an a-la-carte option for those who don't want to pay $50 for a quick and light breakfast.

I plan to write to the Sheraton to complain and I will post the response I get on my other blog.

For now, my trip to Germany to visit friends and experience the German Christmas Markets is over and although I am happy to be back home with my family, I am sad it is over. I improved my German over the week (I could FEEL my vocabulary growing daily) and wish I could visit more often.

Now, I just have to wait for my next wander. Wonder where it will be?

Bad weather made me early - really!

Today was my last day in Bremen. Most of it was spent buying some last minute items and visiting with Regina and her husband. The two main things I wanted to buy were Klaben (see photo above) for my parents and a new German/English dictionary for me. I was successful with both and managed to get my bags all packed and ready to go with plenty of time to spare.

Even though Bremen airport is small, I asked to be taken there two hours before my flight. This turned out to be fortunate for there had been fog delays all day in Frankfurt. This sounds like it would have made me late and not early, but because the earlier flight was so delayed, my flight was canceled and I was rebooked on the earlier but delayed flight. As a result of this complicated rescheduling, I not only had just a 20 minute wait in Bremen airport, but I arrived in Frankfurt 1 hour earlier than scheduled! Not a bad trick to arrive early in bad weather.

My hotel was connected via a bridge directly to the airport (selected for this very reason) and so within minutes I was in my room at the Sheraton. I immediately went back to the airport to buy a sandwich for dinner and returned with it to my room to watch "Wer wird Millionaire" - the German version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire.."

I stayed up rather late, knowing that I didn't want to wake up too early and have time on my hands. The room was comfortable and I made use of this last opportunity to immerse myself in the German language by watching German TV.

Immersion Bremen

Today we visited the Focke Museum in Bremen and I ate a traditional dish. It was a day for being immersed in all things Bremisch.

The museum has everything from the history of Bremen itself from its earliest days, to art, and collections of objects organized from A to Z. And I mean this literally. Part of the museum actually has a sections labeled with all 26 letters of the alphabet and each letter stands for a word such as "spiele" for S which means "games" in German. This section was filled with collections of toys and games through history.

The first part of the museum showed a 3D model of Bremen color-coded to show what parts existed at various points in time.

Some other favorites that I saw include scale models of typical Bremen houses like giant dollhouses, the thumb screw collection (ouch!) and the care package from America shown above.

I took many photos, but my camera was acting up and many didn't turn out. These are the best of the rest.



After our visit to the museum, I kept myself busy while Regina helped her daughter with her homework for awhile and later that evening she prepared us a typical Bremisch speciality for dinner. This dish called "Knipp" looks like this when you buy it in the butcher shop.....
.... and after it is cooked and served with boiled potatoes, it looks like this....

Even though I had no idea what it was made of, it tasted absolutely delicious and smelled delightful. I recommend it if you are ever offered it, unless you happen to be vegetarian. Although I don't know the ingredients, it is definitely not vegetarian.

Walking in my Grandfather's footsteps

Today Regina's husband drove us north to Bremerhaven. This port on the North Sea was the starting point for many immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island at the end of their journey and my Grandfather was one of those immigrants in 1922. There is an excellent museum here called Das Auswanderer Haus which means the Emmigration House. Similar to Ellis Island you can (and I did) look up your ancestors to see which ship they sailed on and who they traveled with, but it is also more of an "experience."
As you walk through the museum there are two key elements. First, you carry a small card with you that assigns you a real emmigrant. Throughout the museum you can use this card to activate interactive stations and learn more about this person's personal history from their decision to emmigrate until their ultimate fate. I was assigned "Martha Hüner" and I learned that she came to America the year after my Grandfather and at the end of her life she returned to Bremen again and died in Germany.
The other key element is that as you walk through the museum you are actually walking through a replica of the emmigration experience from standing on the pier waiting with crowds of other immigrants and stacks of luggage, to boarding the ship via a gangway, to walking the halls of the ship and visiting the sleeping and eating rooms. The floors sway slightly as if you were at sea and through all the portholes you see moving ocean and nothing else. As you progress through the ship you see and learn how the living conditions improved over the years and the travel time went from 12 days down to 5. When I paid my entry fee, they were aware that my first language was English and my card activated everything in English which is good for those who want to visit, but don't speak German.
After our museum visit, we walked along the waterfront to get to a new shopping Mall called Mediteraneo. Inside it is made to look like you are wandering the shopping streets of Italy. It was pretty, but the shops were not that enticing. They were all very expensive. However, today was a special day in Germany - St. Nikolaustag. This is the day that St. Nikolaus brings gifts and fills stockings for Children. The Weihnachtsmann (equivilent of our Santa Claus) comes on December 24th. This day is also a bit like our Halloween. Children visit shops in the afternoon with a bag and sometimes wearing a costume. At the shop, they must recite a poem or give some sort of small performance and they are rewarded with free candy. I witnessed St. Nikolaus wandering the Mall and talking to children in Bremerhaven and later that day back in Vegesack's Hafen Hööv Mall I saw the children collecting their rewards.

Oh my aching feet!!

Today Regina and I devoted our entire day to exploring Bremen and its Christmas Markets. We started in the Viertel (The Quarter). This part of Bremen has a main shopping street with up market shops along with some seedier areas that haven't yet been revitalized. We stopped to see if one of her friends was home, but she wasn't ready for visitors, so we just explored the area looking in shops and buying a few cards and trinkets.

Eventually we reached the Schnoor area of Bremen which I had seen on my prior visit so we just passed through until we reached the central part of the Old Town where the hear of the market was. Again there were so many things to see, smell, try and examine. We took our time and I looked at many ornaments or decorations thinking I might buy them, but they were either pricey, too big or the stall too crowded so I didn't buy too much. I did find a Smoker that was reasonable and looked good. The one thing that I have already bought that catches my eye everywhere are the German "Sterne" or stars. This stall shows what the look like and I just LOVE them. I bought a red one and a white one.

Despite the lure of the chestnuts, Wurst, Steaks, roasted sugared almonds, chocolates and Flammkuchen, we decided to rest our feet and have a lesiurely lunch at the Spaghetti Haus. However, just a short while after lunch, Regina was anxious for me to try another new food - Flammkuchen - which I readily agreed to. It turned out to be a bit like a pizza. The crust is super-thin, almost crepe-like, and spread with creme frais, diced bacon and cheese. It is served already cut into small squares on a cutting board and boy is it delicious!


It gets dark earlier in Germany than in Virginia, but it was raining off and on today also which made it darker even earlier. As it got darker, the markets seemed to come more alive. The crowds grew, sparkling lights appeared and the entire atmosphere was jolly and festive.By wandering around we managed to find a Gluhwein stall without a crowd and I finally had my first authentic Gluhwein. Very delicious and warming.
Our last adventure was a stroll along the riverfront that is called the Schlachte. Here there were two markets, one medieval. My photos didn't come out well, but this is where we found the biggest crowds. Lots of work groups were out for a "happy hour", but again, the atmosphere was incredible.

At last we reached the end, walked on our poor, aching feet back to the Hauptbahnhof and caught the next train back to Vegesack. It was a fantastic day despite the weather and I had a blister to prove it!

A day packed with typical Bremen Activities

Thursday was my first full day in Bremen. I was staying with Regina in the northern part of the city in an area called Vegesack. This day was jam packed with typical Bremen activities. It started with a trip to the library with her friend Petra. It was quite interesting (and amazing) how many books they had in English. You'd be hard pressed to find many books written in German in my library!

After the library we had cappuccino at Petra's house before strolling through Vegesack's pedestrian zone and Farmers' Market. It was cold, but so interesting to see all the different foods and things for sale.

We returned home in time for Regina's daughter's return from school and we ate delicious baguette sandwiches from a shop just next door. After a brief Skype call with my husband back in the States, we had an enjoyable hour playing a driving game on the Wii! Boy was I bad at that! I think my German friends might be afraid to ride in my car after that performance.
Regina's husband returned from work a short while later and he drove us all to a new mall called "Waterfront." On the mall grounds was a small Christmas Market, but it was raining and cold so we didn't really stop to see it. We just ran through it to get to our real aim - an Ice Sculpture Exhibit. The exhibit was incredible and amazing but also incredibly cold. We later saw a piece on TV about how difficult it is to carve in ice because you can't see shadows on it like you can with wood, stone or metal.
Here is a sampling of some of the amazing pieces - the photos don't do them justice.
After this chilling experience we actually found it felt much warmer outside than it had before. The ice hall was kept at below zero and it felt bitterly cold in there.

Our last stop for the day was for a typical Bremen specialty - Kohl und Pinkel. This dish was prepared just for me by Regina's mother and it was a highlight of my trip so far. The table was covered with platters and bowls filled with smoked pork loin, sausages, boiled potatoes, Grünkohl (Kale) und a special stuffed sausage called Pinkel. You have to take some of each of the meats and cut them up on your plate along with the potato. You top it with a big ladle full of kale and then spoon out some of the Pinkel from the casing on top. It was a wonderful dining experience and boy was I full afterwards. Traditionally people take a long walk in the winter weather before eating this meal and this event is called a "Kohl and Pinkel Fahrt." I probably needed the walk to work off the calories, but after that cold ice hall, I was glad I didn't have to "walk for my dinner."

The PinkelThe pork loinMy filled plate!!! Yummy

Snow in Siegerland

Today I awoke with my alarm a little after 7am and when I looked out of the window of my hotel, I was surprised to see that it was snowing. The view was breathtaking. I am staying in a small village called Freudenburg that has narrow, quiet streets flanked with black and white, half-timbered houses. Businesses have quaint, curly iron signs and the streets are decorated with stars and greenery for Christmas. Add the snow that fell this morning and you have a winter wonderland that is quiet and mystical.

Thankfully, this snow did not prevent Silvia from driving me us to Münster. Our plans included touring Münster before my train to Bremen and the second part of my trip. The Siegen area was covered in snow and traffic had to go slow because if it, but by the time we had reached Münster, the snow was non-existant and all was dry.

Münster's old town is very beautiful and you would never guess that most of the lovely buildings were destroyed by Americans during WWII. Unlike some other destroyed towns, this one was rebuilt in the same old style that had been there before instead of the ugly, cheap 50's style that many other cities in the world rebuilt with.

Münster is also a town of bikes. Both the abundance of bikes and the architecture reminded me of Amsterdam. There were hundreds of bicyclists going this way and that way all over the town and they were my kind of bike where you can sit up straight and see the view.

Christmas Markets and Köln

(Along the Rhein in Köln)

So far my trip is fabulous! Yesterday my arrival was smooth and I explored Siegen with my friend Silvia. The Siegen Christmas market was so nice, but today I saw two more in Köln and each is better than the last.!

Before we left by train for Köln today we first spent an hour in Silvia's English class where I answered questions about America for her fellow students. Next we made a brief visit to the Upper Castle in Siegen which is high up on one of the 7 hills that make up the town. The castle is very pretty even in the gray weather we were having, so it must be beautiful on a blue-sky day.

(The Upper Castle in Siegen)

The first thing we visited in Köln was the Dom (Cathedral) which was incredible. It is so unbelievably tall and because of this is was nearly as cold inside as outside, but incredibly pretty too.

(Floor mosaic in the Dom)

I also visited a chocolate museum today which I thoroughly enjoyed. This museum is really interesting and everything was in both English and German. I had planned to visit this place on a previous visit and never made it there. I am so glad my friend Silvia took me this time.

We had cake and coffee at the museum before exploring and I had my first Latte Machciato.
The museum was super. You learn everything about chocolate from where the beans are grown and how long it takes to grow them, how they are harvested, how they have to be fermented to make chocolate, how the people who grow these beans surprisingly don't eat chocolate much if at all, and how the Lindt company's invention of a special machine that improved the texture of chocolate is why it is so smooth and creamy in modern times.

(A chocolate fountain in the museum where we were given a taste.)

After the chocolate museum we visited two Christmas Markets. The first was a medieval one where were bought and ate some delicious roasted chestnuts and the second was a traditional market where we ate Reibekuchen mit Apfelmuss (Potato Pancakes with applesauce). Both were hot, delicious and added to the market atmosphere. It was dark already and all the stalls were lighted, jolly and amazing aromas filled the air.

(Reibekuchen mit Apfelmuss)(The Christmas Market in Köln)

(Köln Cathedral in background with Christmas market in foreground)

On my way!

My German christmas market adventure has officially begun. I am waiting to board my flight to Frankfurt. I hope to be able to do some short posts along the way from my phone. I'll write more and add photos next week.

--------------------------
Michele
From my phone

A day full of history: Friday August 8, 2008

After an excellent breakfast buffet this morning that included anything you could possibly imagine, we took the tube to Wimbledon. Here we bought train tickets and switched to a main line train for a twenty minute ride to Hampton Court. We arrived just as it opened and we already had tickets that we had purchased on-line before we left the USA.

I had expected crowds and lines, but the place was nearly deserted. We made a beeline to the Maze, but the operator was late for work and we had to wait about 5 or 10 minutes. The maze was fun, but smaller than I had envisioned and we made only 1 wrong turn and it was over within minutes.

In the palace we joined a costumed guide's tour of the tudor kitchens which was very interesting, but for the rest of the castle, we used individual audio guides which were also free (included with admission). We had to keep one eye on the clock because we have another tour booked at Wimbledon, so reluctantly around Noon, we went to the palace cafe and had lunch and then caught the train back to Wimbledon.

Wimbledon, the tennis club, is actually two stops back the way we had come on the tube at Southfields. From the tube stop we had a 1/2 mile walk until we found the tennis club. Along the way we passed our niece's apartment where we would be going to for dinner after our tour.
Our tour was scheduled for 2:30 and we arrived around 1:45. It took awhile to get the tour paid for because they were having computer problems and then we were able to tour the museum for 30 minutes before our tour. The tour was very interesting and the rain that was threatening only lasted about 5 minutes. The tour is long - 90 minutes - and afterwards we returned to the museum and stayed until it closed at 5pm.

Next we walked the 1/4 mile back down the road to Lisa's apartment. We spent a few hours with her and she served us a delicious dinner. The olympics began in China today so we saw parts of the opening ceremony on the news - very spectacular. The best I can remember seeing.

Finally we returned to our hotel in time to pack up our cases and watch a bit of television. I will be happy to see my kitties again and sleep in my own bed, but I already miss Austria and there are so many things to see in London, but all my time is up.

This has definitely been one of the best vacations we've had. Nothing went wrong, everything exceeded our expectations and the weather, for the most part, cooperated.

The only thing left to do, it decide where to go to next.....

London Calls: August 7, 2008

We left the Isle of Wight on the 11:15am ferry and traveled to London Waterloo. Here we caught the Tube to Paddington (15 minutes on the District line) and to our hotel (The Hilton) located above Paddington Rail station. The hotel was nice, but our welcome was lukewarm. We were not made to feel welcome by the front desk staff. Our package rate included breakfast both days and dinner on our first night, but the free dinner didn't start until 6:30pm. We had theater tickets for Billy Elliot at 7:30 in Victoria and there would not be enough time. The first desk clerk was not very helpful, so we returned to the desk later and asked if it would be possible to have an earlier dinner because of our timing issue. He didn't smile, but did call the restaurant and they agreed to allow us to start at 6pm.

Despite the earlier dinner, we didn't have time for 2 of our 3 courses. We both had the salmon and "crashed potatoes" and it was delicious. On the Tube there were further problems as the planned direct train was delayed. Thanks to the electronic signs, we realized our train would not come in time and were able to figure out another route via Oxford Circus and we arrived at the theater 15 minutes before curtain time.

Our seats were the last two seats in the very last balcony row. This proved to be a good thing because this old theater was built when people were shorter. Our knees were pressed into the seat in front of me the whole first half and it was very uncomfortable. At the intermission we stood up and realized that there was a wall behind us that was quite a bit taller than the seats. So for the first bit of the second half, we stood and leaned on the wall. This gave us some relief. However, the theater is also very steep, and so it was a bit scary looking down. Eventually we sat back down. The show itself was magnificent. I loved the music. Graham felt he couldn't hear the words very well, but I was more familiar with the music which probably helped me.

We retraced our steps back to the hotel on the direct route and prepared our things for a quick start in the morning. We will be doing a lot tomorrow and need to be on the train by 8:30am.

A Fishy Picnic: Wednesday August 6, 2008

We spent a fruitless morning attempting to get our train tickets for tomorrow up to London. In past years, it has always just involved a quick trip to the bus station in the center of Newport to buy a ticket that includes the ferry connection to Portsmouth as well.

We were warned that the bus station no longer sells the train and ferry tickets, but were told we could go to the tourist office. We had to wait an hour for them to open at the incredibly late hour of 10am and wait in a queue only to learn that you can't get them there either. The only option is on-line or in Ryde or Cowes.

We had already decided to change our plans and not leave as early as planned tomorrow so we will have time to buy the tickets just before we board the ferry, but it is really inconvenient with this new change.

The picnic did happen. It took coordination and 3 cars again. Graham and I rode with Jake in Gaye's car. Gaye and Graham were discussing which way to go and we ended up on a route that had a road closed and had to drive a bit out of our way. As a result, we were the last to arrive at the fish and chips shop which was extremely busy. It took awhile, but eventually we all had our orders and we drove up the hill and onto Boniface down with wonderful views in all directions. We spread ourselves out on chairs and blankets and dug into the most fantastic fish and chips. Because this is a treat we only get once a year, I really savored mine and made them last.

This time the crowd included:

• Mum and Dad
• Gaye and her kids Alice, Jake and Josh
• Brian and his kids Georgina and Brendan
• Sam (his family are still out of town)
• Graham and me

At one point after the food was gone, a challenge was issued for a foot race between Graham, his brother and most of the kids. There were two races in all and Graham was chuffed to be victorious in both.
After the picnic, Graham took his dad's car with me and Alice and Jake while Brian took his two in his car. These two cars when to Yaverland beach while Gaye drove her parents home. This beach was fantastic and I wished I had my swimsuit with me. It had nice big waves, a sandy beach (no stones) and the air was warm. I had to content myself with taking photos while wading in knee-deep and keeping an eye on Alice who was having a ball.

That evening Alice and Georgina slept out in the back garden in Alice's new tent. It was a big adventure for her.

Creative Endeavors: Tuesday August 5, 2008

Gaye had to work today and so Alice, Jake and Josh were spending the whole day with us at their Granny and granddad's. Alice brought her craft box and she and I spent all morning making a "room" on a sheet of paper that turned our quite nice. We also played "madlibs" and wrote stories and drew pictures. It was actually quite a lot of fun - Alice is really nice to play with.

After lunch, Graham, Alice, Jake and I all went for a circular walk from the house. Despite a brief shower and more cars on the lanes than we would have liked, we had a great walk. Jake is fun to talk to and as you can see from the photo, Alice and Graham had a "skipping" good time.

This evening, Graham and Jake caught a ferry to the Mainland to watch a Southampton Football pre-season "friendly." While they were gone, Graham's brother Brian and his children Brendan and Georgina arrived from the Mainland. They will be staying here at the house also for a few days.

Brian offered for me to join him and the kids to go somewhere in the evening. Somewhere turned out to be the beach. The sun was going down and it was windy and I thought it would be too cold for me to swim, but I went along and took photos and filmed them diving into the cold sea. Afterwards, we had a drink at a pub before returning home.

Tomorrow the plan is to try again for a picnic with the famous fish and chips we have been anxiously awaiting.

Newport my old friend: Monday August 4, 2008

I started a tradition many years ago. Each time I visit the Isle of Wight, I like to have a morning to explore the shops of Newport on my own. Today was the day on this trip. Graham, his dad and Sam dropped me off near the church on their way to play golf. The weather was great and I really enjoyed walking around the town and shopping. I had lunch, per tradition, a baguette from French Franks, while sitting on a bench in St. John's Square.

I walked back home around 1pm and ended up getting a lift from Graham and his dad for the last block as they happened to be returning at the same time.

Later Graham and I did a walk along the river Medina to a pub called "The Folly" where Graham's Dad joined us for a drink before driving us home again.

An indoor picnic: Sunday August 3, 2008

Graham's sister Sally had planned to come to the island today and had organized a big family picnic, but the weather didn't cooperate. It rained steadily all morning. Sally arrived with her husband Pat and daughter Lisa and it was still sopping wet, so we changed the plans to picnic indoors. We were a big crowd. Here is everyone that I can remember. I hope I didn't forget anyone:

• Sally, Pat and Lisa
• Graham's Mum and Dad
• Graham and me
• Gaye (Graham's other sister) and her children Josh, Jake and Alice
• Sam (another nephew)

The other island family members were away on holiday or working that day.

After the picnic, the rain finally stopped and we piled in to 3 cars and drove to Cowes to look at some the Cowes Week Regatta activities. Aside from the usual abundance of sailboats in the water and crowds in the streets, there were some unusual things to do including a bucking bronco ride. It was free before 6pm, so Graham gave it go. He did pretty well although no one seemed to be able to stay on for very long.

Aufwiedersehen Österreich, Hello England: Saturday August 2, 2008

We had one last Austrian breakfast before loading up the car and driving to Munich to catch our plane. We left a few minutes before 8:30am. All my sources said the trip to Munich would be 3 hours and our flight was at 3:28pm so we had plenty of time. We were aiming to be at the airport checking in by 12:30pm.

It was a little foggy on the way down the mountain, but not enough to slow us down and the police waved us to a stop as we exited the 6 mile tunnel to check that we had a valid vignette. We also had to stop twice at rest stops to use the facilities, but overall we were making good time and enjoying traffic free, well maintained autobahns in Austria. However, as soon as we crossed the border (the only indication of this was the change in road surface), the road changed, traffic increased and we began to fear delays. It was really terrible. Everytime we approached an junction with another autobahn (we had to pass 4) traffic slowed to a crawl several miles in advance. In the end, we didn't arrive at the airport until about 1:30pm. Thankfully, finding where to turn in the car and getting around inside the airport was very easy. The airport is relatively small and it was easy to recognize how to retrace our steps from our arrival a week before.

Aside from Alamo insisting they had to charge us for 1/4 tank of gas even though we had filled up just 30 miles before the airport, everything went smoothly and our flight was on time and not affected by the Lufthansa strike.

We arrived in Heathrow on time after circling 3 times and were really annoyed that our luggage took about 50 minutes from the time we landed until it arrived on the belt. This left us only 10 minutes to get through customs and find the central bus station to catch our pre-booked coach. By some miracle despite having to take an elevator and race down a long tunnel, we found the station and the correct bus AND the bus hadn't left yet. We were the last to board and were so grateful the bus had been running late.

90 minutes later we alighted in Southampton and walked a few blocks to catch the free ferry link bus. We ended up on a 7:30pm ferry and 20 minutes later we were picked up on the Isle of Wight by Graham's parents and our niece Alice.

The day had been long We were traveling over 12 hours by car, plane, coach, bus, ferry and car again, but we had arrived safe and sound with all our luggage. Our luck was holding out.

Last Hurrah: Friday August 1, 2008

We awoke to clear skies today, but by the time we'd mailed our postcards and checked on our flight (not affected by the strike!) on the internet at Tourist information and returned the bike, it had started to sprinkle. We forgot our our walking sticks, so Graham went back for them and by the time we were riding up Komperdellbahn, it was raining heavily.

From the top we found the Panorama Genußweg and did the hour walk to the top of Sunlinerbahn. Along the way, the rain vanished. From here we repeated the walk through the woods that I had done by myself yesterday ending at our hotel. We had eaten some of our lunch on a bench along the way. We didn't go into the hotel. We continued back to the Komperdellbahn again and rode all the way up to the top at Lazid like I had done on my first day alone. We finished our lunch up here and then ordered a drink and sat on the restaurant deck admiring the view. Graham had a Radler and I had my usual Diet Coke.

It was clouding up again, so we returned to town, rode the subway one last time and then we settled our bill at the hotel before borrowing robes from reception and went down to the basement to use the sauna. We showered and Graham went down for cake, but I wasn't hungry so I stayed in the room and packed. We had handed in our bahncards when we settled the bill, so there will be no more cable car rides. Instead I will have to admire the view of the alps from my window because they too will be just a memory after today.

Guess who's napping? I need to wake him up. It is sadly time for our last Serfaus dinner.

Solo me: Thursday July 31, 2008

Graham had signed up for a guided bike tour for today and it was scheduled to begin at 10am today. What they didn't tell us when we signed up, was that the bike rental had to be done somewhere else in town. So we squandered the morning, killing time, only to find out at 10am that we had to race to the other end of town to rent his bike. We were supposed to go to Patschneider to rent it, but we saw Bacher which was was closer and we rented it there. They seemed very nice and told us about tours that they have everyday. When we come back to Serfaus, I will definitely try a bike tour from this place. I stayed behind to pay for the bike (19 Euros for 24 hours) as Graham pedaled back to the Geiger Sport Hotel to join the tour that was waiting for him.

I was now on my own for several hours. I rode up Komperdell intending to do the Panorama Genußweg (I had found it on a map and now knew the correct way), but on the way up, I couldn't find my water and didn't think it was wise to hike on my own without some. So I rode back down, bought some in the grocery store and rode back up on the Sunlinerbahn and followed a route back down to Serfaus that traveled through the woods. It was a very nice walk with woods, meadows, lots of flowers and interesting wooden hay huts scattered about.

The route took me across the meadows behind our hotel and ended around the corner from the hotel. I waited in the room for Graham after sending him a text to tell him where I was. His bike ride ended up coming into town also just behind our hotel and he left the group at that point. It was a tough ride, but he was very proud of the fact that despite being the only participant without cycle clothes and gloves, he was one of the strongest riders. He really seemed to enjoy the ride.

After he showered we went out shopping. I was looking for some gifts from my parents to thank them for pet sitting Dexter and Delilah. After successfully finding something, we were need the cable cars, so we rode up the Sunliner again and relaxed on a bench at the top admiring the view. We couldn't stay too long because the bahns stop running at 5pm.

Back at the hotel we watched TV for an hour before going to dinner. I ate a really nice pork dish.

Tonight we are having a night in. No shows to watch, just resting our weary legs and watching a bit of Austrian TV. I also wrote my last postcards and organized my suitcase. The end of our week here is getting too close. I will miss this place.

May I have this dance?: Wednesday July 30, 2008

Today was that day we had planned to go back to Möseralm and ride the Rodelbahn. We drove to Fiss and parked in the parking lot right next to the cable cars. We rode one of them up to Möseralm and got our start tickets. There was no wait at all and within minutes we were hurtling down the mountain through alpen meadows at 30 - 40 km per hour. It was so much fun, we raced back up the mountain on the cable car and did a repeat performance.

Because there were no lines at this time of day, Graham rode the Flieger again while I tried to videotape him, but I messed up and we didn't get the footage. We were down to one ticket now, so I bought one more and we each rode the rodelbahn down the mountain again.

At the bottom in Fiss I noticed the one cable car we hadn't yet ridden. It didn't go high, but actually traveled over the meadows to the next village of Ladis. We took it and explored Ladis. we found the lake and the castle and took photos and we had our picnic lunch on a bench by the lake.

We returned to Fiss in time for our 2pm Segway lesson and practice. The lesson was actually about 3 minutes of instructions and then we were sent across the street to a very small parking lot cum obstacle course with about 10 orange cones. We had 20 minutes to maneuver and ride around the cones. We attracted attention and people stopped to ask us questions. It was fun, and I would like to try it again sometime.

We weren't sure what to do next, so we rode up the Schönjochbahn (the one we took on our first guided tour) all the way to the tippy top. We tried to climb a rocky trail to a high lookout point, but a group of hikers had plopped themselves down for a rest and we couldn't get by, so we turned around, rode back down and drove the 2 minute trip back to Sefaus. Our parking spot was gone (we thought it was assigned), so Graham ran in to ask where to put the car. We were told the person parked across the front was leaving soon, but we could have the small spot next to him. This was very tight and it took me 10 minutes to get into the spot and just as I did, the man came out and moved his car. As it was a better spot, I had to maneuver myself out again to take the better spot.

You know what comes next! Cake and coffee again. Graham had two pieces and herbal tea which translates to sugar and no caffeine and you guessed it, he is napping as I write this.
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Dinner tonight was two kinds of dumplings served with sauerkraut and celery-straw. We both had this, but Graham only had one kind of dumpling because the other wasn't vegetarian. It began to rain hard as we ate. After dinner we attended a Tirolean Traditional Evening around the corner at the Saal via Claudia. This was one of the highlights of the week.

The venue was a nice big room with long tables and high stage. It wasn't crowded so we picked a spot right up front next to the stage. They were serving drinks, but I just had a diet coke.

The group performing is called Trachtengruppe Pfunds. There were two musicians playing at the back of the stage, but 5 men in Lederhosen and 4 women in Dirndls did the dancing. Some of the dances were the traditional slapping dances, but in between each of them would come down into the audience and select a partner to take back on stage to dance with. I was asked to dance by the man in the photo above. He was really nice. We spoke in English and he was surprised to discover we were from America. It is not that common for Americans or Brits to come to Serfaus. When the dance was over, he escorted me back to my chair (not sure how he remembered where we were sitting) and pulled out my chair for me. So gallant!! That was so much fun. A few songs later, Graham was pulled on stage by one of the lady dancers and he got to dance.

At the end of the show they did a song/dance where they used real axes to chop a log in time to the music. Chips of wood were flying everywhere. It was so amazing. Lastly, they got nearly everyone in the room to do a congo line to traditional music. We all snaked through the room and all ended up on stage. We had a hilarious time and if we get back to Serfaus, I hope to see this show again.

Say Cheese: Tuesday July 29, 2008

Today we took a chance and arrived 14 minutes early for breakfast hoping we would be allowed to grab a bite early. Our guided hike today starts at 8:30am at the Komperdellbahn on the other end of town. It was not a problem and we had time to eat, pack our lunch and walk to the cable car with time to spare.

I was a bit worried about this hike. The description said it was 4 to 4.5 hours and didn't mention anything about how difficult it was. It starts with a Senerei (Alpine Dairy) tour which I figured would eat up an hour of the time and I just hoped I could keep up. I was encouraged as our fellow tour members arrived at the meeting point as many were families with young teens and some had flimsy shoes. I thought "If they can do this walk, so can I" and I relaxed.

We rode up to the Komperdell station and walked downhill 1/4 mile to the dairy. The dairyman came out and explained what his daily schedule is like and what we would be seeing. Then each of us had to have the bottoms of our shoes hosed off and we had to put on disposable white coats and hats and slip on white shoe covers. The hall we walked through had sponges in the middle of the floor that you had to walk on. I think they put disinfectant on the shoe covers, but I am not sure.

We saw the milking equipment and then we saw several rooms where they make the cheese and where they monitor and care for the cheese while it is aging. It was really interesting. Each of these enormous wheels of cheese has to be rinsed off (by hand or by machine) every day. They make two kinds of cheeses, but I can only remember that one was called Bergkäse which is Mountain Cheese.

After we removed our protective clothing and shoe covers, we were led into a room where we watched video while sampling Bergkäse and bread. Fresh milk by the glass was also available to try, but we didn't have any.

Back outside, I saw most of the people with kids and flimsy shoes say goodbye and wander off. This concerned me. I listened as the guide explained that the remaining tour would be 4 to 4.5 hours (gasp) and we would be "going up over that mountain there..." (double gasp!!) I asked the guide if the hike was difficult. He shrugged and replied "What's difficult?" I quickly consulted with Graham and he agreed he didn't mind continuing without me. I then explained to the guide that I would not be continuing but that Graham would. I also explained that Graham didn't speak German. Luckily, the guide knew English and he kept Graham from feeling left out.

While Graham went off with the guide, I decided to walk down the mountain back to Serfaus. I started with the Murmli trail for kids which was nearby and eventually was on a steep trail/road used by trucks to bring supplies to the berg stations. The walk was peaceful with amazing glimpses of village of Serfaus nestled on the plateau below between the towering pines. It was also very steep. Eventually, I realized that fighting gravity was the hard part and I broke into a gentle jog. I surprised myself as I jogged down the mountain. At the switchbacks, the path was deeply rutted and I slowed to a walk to keep from hurting myself, but in between I continued to run until I was back in the town and exhausted. I returned to the hotel, changed my shirt, powdered my tired feet and went out again. This time I rode Komperdellbahn again and transferred to the Lazidbahn to go to the highest point. I knew there was a restaurant up at this high (2400m) peak, and I hoped there would be someplace to eat my picnic lunch.

Lazid was gorgeous and full of people. Some were enjoying food or drink at the outdoor deck of the restaurant, while others sat on chairs and benches in a playground watching children play. There was a fence with a gate to keep the Alpin ecows from riding the cable car or eating in the restaurant, but these placid cows, were unfazed as I squatted in front of one to take her portrait. She seemed to enjoy posing.

I found a bench and enjoyed the views as I ate and listened to my book on tape on my iTouch, but eventually I saw an ominous black cloud approaching. I decided, it was time to go and rode both cable cars back down to Serfaus. Serfaus was sunny with no clouds and checking my watch I saw that Graham's 4 hours were nearly up. He sent me a text saying he was at the Lazid restaurant having a drink with his "new German friends" so I waited for him on a shady bench by the bahn station.

We made it back to the hotel with plenty of time for our now traditional afternoon coffee and cake.

Dinner that night was excellent as usual. I enjoyed chicken in a pepper ragout with corn cakes. Graham had a potato pancake with fried egg and pureed spinach. Dinner was slow tonight and we didn't finish until 7:30. We had only a few minutes before we had to change and dash around the corner to the center of town in time for the start of Bergsommernacht (Mountain Summer Night). We had to pay 5 Euros each for pass for this event, but it was well worth it. It started with a Musikappel group (like a marching band) playing a few songs in the center of town and then like the pied piper, leading everyone to the Komperdellbahn to travel up to the Komperdell station for the show.

At the top, the band played some more on a stage until the rest of the show started. We were all "confined" to the sun terrace area and they were selling food and drinks everywhere. We saw local children dancing modern dance, a professional singer singing a song from the play Elizabeth while in a Cinderella carriage suspended on wires, unicycle acrobats that were amazing, a colorful laser show set to music and finally a fireworks display. Everything was fantastic and we throughly enjoyed it. There was a bit of crush to get back down on the cablecar as everyone was leaving at once, but it was interesting coming down in the dark. From above we could see a tour group going down the mountain with lanterns and that looked like fun.

We were back in our room by 10:30 and we stayed up reading and writing this log for a bit longer.

The Wrong Path: Monday July 28, 2008

Today we decided to do our own walk. From the information Christian gave us yesterday, we thought it would be nice to ride the Komperdellbahn up to Komperdell and walk the hour-long Panorama Genußweg as to the Sunlinerbahn. But first we visted the Post Office to mail the postcards we wrote yesterday and Tourist Information to sign up for a guided hike tomorrow. This one costs 6 Euros each for the Dairy tour.

When we got to to top at Komperdell, the sign posting didn't seem that good. Would couldn't see any sign telling us which trail was the flat (easy) Panorama Genußweg. We started out on a path that looked like it went in the right direction, going toward a yellow bahn in the distance. This path was not steep, but it was consistently uphill and exposed (no shade). We walked uphill until we reached a set of benches where we posed for photos. However, a few feet later the trail hairpin-turned and became an overgrown tract going in the wrong direction. I insisted we turn around because there was no way I could manage this path and I couldn't see how it could only be an hour to our destination.

We rode the cablecar back down to where we started and took the other one right next door up to where we had planned to get to on the trail. From here it was 15 minute FLAT walk to Möseralm in Fiss. We stood in line here to buy a 3-attraction card each for the rides. I rode the Sky Swing first because there was no wait, but after that we had to queue again to get a start number for the Fisser Flieger. The Flieger is like a hang glider except the glider is attached to a long cable. Once you are strapped in, they pull the glider backwards up the mountain before releasing you to "Fly" back to where you started. There are big electronic signs by each attraction displaying the current number. When you see your number, you can to to the ride and not have to wait in a queue. We had to wait an hour for the Flieger so we decided to have lunch. Our packed lunch was in the hotel because we hadn't planned on the wait or the detour this morning. So we bought a lunch in the Alm restaurant near the rides. I had currywurst and Graham had another salad from the salad bar. I also had a brilliantly icy diet coke.

We finally had our go on the Flieger and it was fun. It wasn't as scary as I had thought it would be. Rather tame really. We ran down the hill afterwards to get a number for the Fisser Flitzer - the 2.2km Rodelbahn. We were told the wait for this was 2 hours and it might be best to come back one morning when there are no lines. Sadly we agreed.

We bought some water to drink, but had to drink it there because it came in glass bottles and now refreshed, we retraced our steps and walked back to the Sunlinerbahn and rode down to Serfaus and went back to the hotel. We relaxed a bit before heading downstairs for cake and coffee.

We had time to kill before dinner and we had the idea to take the car and drive to the 3rd village, Ladis, that we hadn't seen yet. The drive was only about 10 minutes and I did the driving, but the roads were very twisty. Just as we arrived and were parking the car, we heard loud thunder in the distance and saw lightning. We only managed to walk halfway down the main street, before deciding to turn around. I didn't want to be driving those twisty roads in a thunderstorm. Just minutes after we were safely back in our our hotel, the skies opened up and it poured.

At 6pm we went down for dinner. Penne Arabika for me and Tilapia for Graham. We tried to walk after dinner, but it was still raining a bit to heavily for our flimsy travel umbrellas.

As we sat in our room pondering the options for Wednesday, I looked up and was shocked to see that our view had completely disappeared. We were enveloped in dense fog and couldn't even see the house across the street.

Schönjoch Tour: Sunday July 27, 2008

Last night was difficult. The music continued playing unto 10:30pm at full volume and and until 11:00pm at a lower volume. I just could not get to sleep. The more I worried about not sleeping, knowing how many hours I had been awake, the more I started to worry until I felt panicky. I even started worrying about getting back to the airport at the end of the week. I hated to do it, but I woke Graham up and within minutes he had calmed me down and I was able to get to sleep at last. Not for long though because at 6am, the church bells around the corner began pealing. At first I wasn't bothered, after all what is a measely 6 gongs, right? Wrong. These bells rang 75 times. I counted! I never really got back to a deep sleep before the alarm went off at 7am.

We needed to get up at 7, because we wanted to do our first free guided hike and it was scheduled to start in the next village, Fiss, at 9:30. Breakfast is served at 8am. It was a 2 minute drive to Fiss, but we had to find the tourist information office and then we had to find somewhere to park. We managed to do both and be just in time for the tour. Our guide, Christian, spoke some English, but I was able to understand nearly all of his descriptions and translate the condensed version for Graham.

The description of this tour said the ascent would be 180m and it would last 2 to 2.5 hours. We rode the cablecar up to 2440m (Schönjochbahn) and walked from there. Outstanding views in every direction and only the very beginning and very end were steep, but not enough to bother me.

Next, Christian took us back down to the middle station of the mountain on the cablecar and from there we walked downhill across an mountain meadow to Möseralm (Alm means meadow). Möseralm is where the rides are located that we plan to ride later this week. It is also where all the children play areas are, including pony rides, a snow area, a sand playground and more. At this point most of the rest of our group left us, but Christian still wanted to keep on leading us. He suggested a third trail that looked difficult to my tired feet. I decided to wait on a bench at Möseralm while Graham, Christian and one other man did this last 1 hour trail.

I enjoyed people watching on Möseralm and ate my packed lunch. We are allowed to pack a picnic lunch each day from the breakfast buffet. They provide the bags, fruit and chocolate to take along with the meat, bread and cheese from the buffet.

When Graham returned, Christian told us how to get back to Serfaus on foot via the Panorama Genußweg. We filed this information for use on another day since we had the car with us.

Back in Serfaus we sat on our flower-bedecked balcony, admiring the blue skies and mountains while writing postcards before going down for our afternoon cake and coffee. Then we walked to the end of our village to ride the Sunliner cablecar just to check it out. All the cable cars shut down at 5pm and it was 4pm, so at the top we sat on a bench admiring the view for just a short while. Graham sent a text to his sisters from his cell phone - again just because he could and we wanted to share how wonderful Serfaus is. We rode back down and decided to try out the 4 station, one track subway that runs through the town. In Winter cars are banished to the town car park at the entrance and everyone has to walk or take the subway. We rode two stops to "our" stop - Kirche, the church that likes to wake people up at 6am.

Graham is now taking a short nap waiting for dinner and I am writing this log. This morning at breakfast, the menu for tonight was on the table. It always has two choices for the entree and we have to select which we want at breakfast. This morning we told them we are skipping the appetizer (it was veal again) but my entree will be "Tornaden of pork" and potatoes. Graham will have a vegetable strudel and potatoes.

I have just noticed clouds coming in. They are very low. The church steeple is above the clouds. I hope if it rains, it is just overnight.

Austrian Arrival - July 26, 2008

We are lying in our very comfortable bed, with a fluffy duvet each, listening to a band around the corner playing Achy Breaky Heart. My view through the window is a pine covered alp and thinning clouds. I feel so good and so far not very tired despite the fact that I have been up for 30 hours.

Our journey to this magical place went surprisingly smoothly. We were overdue for a smooth trip after the lost luggage, delayed flights and medical problems of our trips in recent years. Checking our bags at Dulles took mere minutes and the 3 hour wait for take off went unbelievably fast. We landed 30 minutes late at the quiet and serene Munich airport and our luggage popped onto the conveyor minutes after we arrived. After picking up our rental car, we were out on the Autobahn navigating our way towards Austria. The signs were excellent and matched my Google Map directions exactly.

Two hours later, just shy of our first desitination, Graham ran out of steam. Extremely sleepy, he needed to pull over on the side of the road for a 20 minute nap. I couldn't take over the driving, because I needed to navigate, so all I could do was sit in the car and watch him snore and hope he woke refreshed.

A few minutes after we were back on our way, we arrived in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Here we stopped at a gas station to buy our Austrian Vignette before crossing the border into Austria. This vignette is a tax sticker that is required to drive on toll roads and the autobahn in Austria. The woman in the station who sold me the sticker also sold me the required orange safety-vest for 2 Euros. The sticker was about 10 Euros.

Moments later we crossed the border, a non-event, and soon we reached Ehrwald our first destination. The plan was to ride a 10 minute cable-car up to the top of the Zugspitze - the highest alp in Germany - from the Austrian side. We carried on with the plan despite the fact that the peak (Spitze) was hidden in the clouds. The ride up was breathtaking and took only 7 minutes and the last 3 were completely and eerily in the clouds.

At the top it was much colder, but not bad. Refreshing really. We toured the history of the mountain museum, but I was ravenous. It was 1pm and breakfast on the plane had been mediocre - just a cookie, granola bar and sun chips (which I gave to Graham). The cafeteria wasn't busy and had some nice choices. I ended up with a bowl of minestrone and Graham made a salad from the salad bar.

We went outside briefly just because we could. We couldn't see much except the cloud enshrouding the entire peak and a bit of snow, but we can say "we were there!"

A bit later we were back on the road again heading toward our final destination - Serfaus. We drove through the twisty, bendy Fernpaß and then Graham was hit with a bout of sleepiness again. This time the spot we stopped for his "mini nap" was more interesting for me. It was a restaurant rest stop. While Graham napped, I bought a few postcards and a diet coke. I had Graham drink some of the coke for the benefit of the caffeine and we set out again as it started to drizzle.

The last 30 kilometers were hard on Graham. It rained, we had hairpin bends and a 4 mile (endless!) tunnel. Finally we arrived in Serfaus at 4:00pm - 2 hours later than the original plan. We found the hotel easily and checked in quickly. The woman at the desk didn't speak English, but I understood 90% of her words as she gave us a tour of the facilities and I could ask my questions and was understood.

After settling into the room, we went back downstairs to partake of the free coffee, tea and cake offered every afternoon. Next we went outside and wandered around the village getting oriented. By now the drizzle had stopped and the clouds were moving quickly.

When we attempted to return to our room, something very funny happened. The introduction tour had included the basement boot room, involved many twists and turns, and ended with a ride up the elevator. We knew our room was #14 and remembered it was on the 2nd floor, but in Europe, the floors are numbered differently. We were aware of this so we were being careful as we climbed the stairs and we went to what we thought was the correct floor. We looked at every door on this floor, but #14 was not there. Assuming we had got it wrong we went down a floor, but it wasn't there either. We repeated this twice and #14 was nowhere to be found. Finally, we called the elevator so we could see what floor it said we were currently on and it confirmed we were on floor 2. There was an unmarked door next to the stairs and I tried the key. It worked! We had been standing next to our door from the start. We never did learn why it was not labeled with a room number.

We returned downstairs at 6pm for dinner (also included in our room price). The food was fantastic: soup, salad from the salad buffet, Wienerschnitzel for me and trout for Graham. We were too full to eat the Apple compote dessert. Instead we went walking again to hear the band that we can still hear as I write this. Graham is now sound asleep and I think it is time for me to sleep too. I hope the music won't keep me awake. It is also still quite bright outside as it is only 9pm, but we don't want to shut the drapes because we want to wake up at 7am.

I have good feelings about tomorrow. Hope the rain stays away.