Our trip to Venice

(Once again, this post is very late. It was started the day after Mom and Dad left and I'm just now to the point of posting it. I think this one should catch me up to date though. With going back to work this week I haven't had the time I need to get them finished.)

Sadly, Mom and Dad left yesterday morning. Since they were scheduled to fly out of Frankfurt, we left the house at 6:00 to give us enough time for the drive, getting checked in and finding the gate. I hate saying goodbye to my family. Someday I hope to live close to them again. Visits are not enough for me because it's never enough. It's just a visit. Not everyday life, but everyone on top of each other for a few weeks and no matter how much we enjoy being together it's never as comfortable as when we can interact on a more regular basis and not try to force everything into a few weeks. I always feel like I need to soak it all up while they're here to hold me over to the next visit, but it just doesn't work that way.

The house felt very empty when we got home from Frankfurt. It was strangely quiet with just the two of us in the house...not counting the two bickering cats. Mom often leaves me a little note when they've been here visiting. It's always nice to hear from her one more time. She didn't disappoint and I found the note in the guest room. Thanks Mom :o)

I'm coming down with some bug. Dad was pretty sick a couple of days they were here, then Sam came down with it a few days ago. Yesterday morning I started feeling a sore throat. Hopefully I can get over it by Monday. I'm sure a call to my boss on Monday morning would not be very welcome. Especially since it's my last week with NAF. I know my plate will be quite full with finishing things up with that job in time to move to the other one the following Monday.

During my previous blogs about Mom and Dad being here I somehow skipped over several days and also failed to post our trip to Venice, which was awesome! So, even though it's late and out of order I'm still going to post it.

First though, just a couple of days after they got here we went to Berg Hohen Zollern which is a castle that is very close to us and is still owned by the royal family which once occupied it. They were the rulers of Prussia and the sole heir owns it now and has private quarters in the castle where he lives when in the area.

Some of us (not me) were feeling energetic, so we decided to climb the hill to and from the castle. Keep in mind - castles by nature are at the very top of the hill. I wasn't incredibly excited about it, but figured I could use the exercise too, so off we went. At the end I was glad we walked it. We had a lot of fun.

Mom and Dad climbing the stairs to the castle

Sam on the way to the castle

Me and Sam at the castle entrance

Mom sitting in the castle wall

Mom looking out one of the guard towers

Sam and Dad standing on the castle gate covering the mote

One of the towers

Mom and Dad

This is where we entered for the tour of the castle -

unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside.

Now on to Venice. One week after Mom and Dad got here we headed to Venice, Italy. It was about a 6 to 8 hour drive and through the most beautiful country. Our trip took us from Germany, through the Alps of Austria and then into Italy. I can't even explain how beautiful it was. We were right in the mountains and gorgeous scenery surrounded us. There were small villages nestled into the mountainsides. There's no way a picture can do it justice.

On the way down we had breakfast in Germany, lunch in Austria and dinner in Italy. This is the view we had while having lunch in Austria.

Lunch in Austria

Somewhere in Austria taking a break from the car. (I have no idea why Sam's missing a shoe)

This is not the best picture because we were driving, but it gives an idea of the houses scattered on the mountainsides.

By the time we made it to Mestre (the newer part of Venice which is not part of the islands) we had been travelling all day and had been in heavy traffic the last hour or two. Once again, I was so thankful for Tom-Tom navigating us right to the hotel. It was about 8:00pm and as we made our way to the hotel I was wondering what my friend, Marika, had gotten us into. It looked like a very shady part of town, an industrial area, and lots of seedy characters hanging out on the street corners. I was not very comfortable with the situation and our hotel ended up being right in the middle of it all. I had reservations about staying there after seeing the area it was in, but we decided to check it out.

It was very basic to say the least. Just one double and two twin beds and one very small bathroom with the smallest shower I've ever seen. Seriously, I think it was about as wide as Sam's shoulders. I still don't know how he or Dad managed to take a shower in it. But we figured all we needed was a place to sleep while we were there, so it would work. We were all hungry and decided to walk to a restaurant close by. We had to give our car keys to the man at the front desk because the parking area was so small that they had to have the keys in case they needed to move the car.

I honestly was very worried about our things being stolen. We couldn't leave anything in the car for safe keeping because they had the key, neither did I feel secure leaving anything in our room since they also, obviously, had a key to that. In the end, we decided things would probably be safer in the room, but we did our best to hide anything of value.

Mom standing in the world's smallest shower (notice the broken door)

We had many discussion on what we thought this extra little "toilet" was, but I'm pretty sure it was a bidet since I don't think it was intended for foot washing. Whatever it was - I steered clear of it.

We walked to a small cafe and had pizza. It was hot and we were all rather miserable. On our way back to the room we were approached by a man who may have just been friendly, but he made me want to hold on to my purse a little tighter. We were happy to drop into bed that night no matter how hard the mattresses were.

It's amazing how a night's sleep and sunlight can change your outlook in a situation. The next morning the sun was shining brightly and it looked so beautiful outside. After having a small continental breakfast at the hotel, we headed out to catch the bus to Venice. That was another interesting experience. We missed the first bus because we hesitated. People were crammed onto the bus and silly us - we thought we'd wait for the next bus because surely it wouldn't be so packed :) We finally caught on and decided when the next bus got there we would just cram on with everyone else. These Europeans know how to pack people on a bus. For the ride over to Venice we were all standing and I could barely even move my arms. We certainly felt like sardines.

Mom and Dad outside the Monte Piana hotel where we stayed

Me and Sam

Venice was truly amazing! Before our trip I really didn't understand that Venice is a cluster of small islands connected by bridges for the most part. There are water canals that run through the whole area and you walk everywhere because there's no room for roads. Boats ferries take you between all the islands. When we got off the bus we took a boat up through the Grand Canal. There were stops all along the way that we could get off at. Something interesting to see is everything being delivered by boat because there is no access for vehicles. Mail, laundry, furniture, groceries, trash pick up....everything. They even have emergency boats and police boats.

Furniture being delivered by boat.

Sam and I on the boat

The shoreline of San Marco Square

One of the many canals

Another canal with gondolas

We got off at San Marco Square and started our adventure. There was so much to see. So many little stores to shop in. It's definitely a tourist town. It was obvious that tourism is what their economy is based on.

Mom and Dad on the walkway from the boat

Me, Sam and Dad standing by a canal.

Feeding the pigeons in Piazza San Marco.

Mom absolutely loved this!

We took ferries to two other islands. Murano is known for their blown glass and Burano is known for their lace and doilies. At the end of the day we realized we had just touched the surface of Venice and needed about a week there to really take it all in. Once again, pictures just don't do it justice, but it's absolutely beautiful and unique.

Waiting for the next boat

Sam and I outside the glass blowing factory on Murano

Sam and I on a bridge in Murano

Canal in Murano

Sam and I on the boat after a long day in Venice

Well, that was our trip to Venice. It's a shame that pictures can't do it the justice it deserves. We'll definitly go back some day, but I think we'll stay for several days next time. There's so much more to see than what we had time for.

Garmisch, Eagle's Nest and the Gorge

(As you can see from the date on this blog, it was started some time ago and I just haven't had a chance to finish and post it. So, here it is....very late.)

One week from today Mom and Dad will be on their way back to Alaska and I miss them already. I hate goodbyes with my family. I wish there was a way to bring our two worlds together. It's more than having a couple of visits each year. It's the daily interaction that I miss.

We just got back home tonight from visiting Garmisch, Germany. We stayed at the Edelweiss Hotel which is an Armed Forces Recreation Center. It's an absolutely beautiful facility and the scenery in that area of Germany is amazing. Garmisch is surrounded on every side by the German Alps. The weather didn't totally cooperate with us, but we still had a wonderful time. On the way down Tuesday, we stopped by Dachau so Mom and Dad could visit the Concentration Camp Memorial Site. As before, it was a sobering experience. This time I had a chance to read more of the displays and found it very interesting and educational. It's frightening to me that humanity could sink to such levels and treat other humans in ways I could never even think of treating an animal. I'm sure it didn't start out that way, but slowly sank to lower and lower levels.

Mom, Dad and Sam at the entrance to Dachau

Sam, Me and Dad

Sam waiting patiently. Mom and Dad were taking the time to read the displays as we went through the museum part of Dachau. Sam had already seen Dachau and was hungry, so he wanted them to hurry up.

Mom and Dad with the foundations of the bunker houses behind them. The actual buildings were demolished, but they left markers where each building stood.

Me, Sam and Dad on the bridge leading to the crematorium

Mom and Dad with the gas chambers/crematorium in the background

From Dachau, we drove on down to Garmisch and checked into the Edelweiss. It always amazes me that I feel so exhausted from just travelling, but we arrived pretty tired. We were settled in our rooms by 8:00 and didn't do much else that evening besides eat dinner in one of the restaurants on site. I really enjoyed having a good American meal there. They even gave us ice in our drinks :)

Sam and I on the balcony at the Edelweiss

Wednesday we headed to Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgaden, Germany. It was so interesting because I learned a lot that I hadn't known. Prior to this trip, I didn't exactly know what it was, but had an idea that it was one of Hitler's homes and where he eventually committed suicide. What I found out though, was that it wasn't a home at all, but rather just a opulent tea room to impress dignitaries. It was given to Hitler as a 50th birthday present and he only went there about 14 times, due to his fear of heights.

Please excuse the poor quality of this picture. I took a picture of a picture. Due to the heavy fog the day we were there, this was the best I could do at getting a good view of Eagle's Nest.

The location of the Eagle's Nest is amazing. We drove up a steep mountain for quite awhile just to reach a parking lot where we got on a bus that took us further up the mountain to the Eagle's Nest. We were at about 6000 feet and it was so beautiful. We were hoping the fog would clear off so we could see the mountains surrounding us. It didn't, but was gorgeous just the same. We paid a small fee to have an English tour guide. It was money well spent. She did a great job of explaining the history and telling us some interesting tid bits.

Mom and Dad in the bus taking us to the Eagle's Nest

Me and Sam in the bus

All of us at the entrance to the tunnel which leads to the elevator that goes up through the mountain to the Eagle's Nest

Mom and Dad taking a break up the hill from the tea room

Having lunch in the dining hall of the Eagle's Nest

For those of you who know my parents - this is not what it appears to be. They were drinking Apfelsaftschorle, which is a mix of mineral water and apple juice, but it looked surprisingly like beer.

Sam and I sitting at the fireplace in the dining hall

On our way out, leaving through the tunnel

Waiting for the bus to take us back down the mountain

Whether at the concentration camp or Hitler's tea room it's always hard to wrap my mind around the fact that I'm standing in the same place history took place in. We ate lunch at the Eagle's Nest in the same room Hitler ate. Had food cooked in the original kitchen. It just doesn't really sink in.

Thursday instead of just heading the 3 hours back to Stuttgart we stayed around Garmisch for a little while. It's such a beautiful town. We walked through downtown and had breakfast at a little outside cafe.

Sam had heard about an Olympic ski jump that was used in the 1936 Olympics which were held in Garmisch. We went to see that then walked out to a beautiful gorge a mile or so behind the ski jump. There were cable cars available to take us all the way to the top. It was gorgeous from up there, but really scary to be so far above ground suspended by only a cable. It was pouring down the rain when we started to walk back to the car, but we had a fun walk regardless.

Mom and Dad took the first cable car up, so Sam and I were waiting for our ride

Mom and Dad waiting at the top for us

The view from the cable car

All ready for the wet walk back to the car

Somehow I skipped an entire week of activities, so I'll have to go backward and play catch up with future blogs. We've been so busy that I haven't kept up with blogging. We've taken lots of pictures so I had a hard time deciding on which ones to post.

This post is very late, but better late than never....right? Until next time...