Trying to catch up!

WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2011 – AUSTRIA

Craig and Christopher went to the airport to pick up our rental car.  The rental car location on base wouldn’t allow us to rent a car to take to Slovenia and the airport location made Craig sign a form saying that he would immediately pay 26,000E if the car were stolen while in Slovenia.  It made us wonder what kind of country we were going to visit. 

Craig, Christopher and I headed off to Austria to spend the night.  The Thompsons were going to meet us in Slovenia on Thursday.  The drive to Austria is only 4 hours or so but typical Burnett fashion it took us much longer.  About an hour out of Stuttgart the entire interstate was closed down for construction with no advance notice so we had to take small back roads.  It was a very beautiful drive along windy highways and through small, quaint towns.  Craig was still experiencing jet lag and kept having to stop at rest stops to take short naps.  Eventually we made it to the German side of the Salzburg area and found our hotel.  It was a very nice hotel with large, modern, clean rooms in a gasthous but it also had a leak in the ceiling so they had to move us.  I had paid a little bit more for the room based on the information that it had wireless internet.  We could get the internet but only if the door were propped open.  Needless to say the door was propped open for most of the evening.  We drove into Salzburg for dinner and again wandered around looking for a restaurant (we did that a lot on this trip).  I had looked at TripAdvisor to see what restaurants were recommended and we were looking for the top rated restaurant for a lower price.  We asked directions two-three times only to find that the place was packed.  We went to another restaurant which was in an upstairs location but it was hot outside and extremely hot in there so we left.  Tried another… same story different location.  Finally ended up at an outdoor restaurant which was a little iffy because of the smoke (Craig kept having to take walks to get away from the cigarette smoke) and because it had been raining off and on.  The meal was OK but not great.  Salzburg just didn’t leave a good impression with me.

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011 – ON TO SLOVENIA

We really wanted Craig to see Eagle’s Nest but it was cloudy and rainy so we hit _________ again.  Just walked around there and then took very narrow, windy, beautiful roads to the autobahn just south of Salzburg.  The drive from Salzburg to Slovenia was incredibly beautiful.  Mountains.  Villages.  Houses on the side of the mountains with no visible roads going to them.  It made me think of “Heidi”.  There were also a lot of tunnels ranging from very short to 8km long.  Oh and tolls several high priced tolls.  We were getting close to the Slovenia border and saw a very large, ugly checkpoint ahead… exactly how you would think Soviet Union checkpoints look.  Craig and I were already unsure of what to expect in Slovenia and this made us even more nervous.  We pulled up to the checkpoint and low and behold it had been turned into just another toll booth so we sailed on through.  (Sidenote:  Both Austria and Slovenia in addition to toll roads require vignettes which are permits to drive in the country that you purchase from gas stations and place on your windshield.)  Another long tunnel and we were in Slovenia.  Found our overnight lodging quite easily at about 3:00pm.  The lodging was owned by a family who had turned the upper two floors of their home which was located outside of Bled, surrounded by farm ground into apartments and rooms.  It was clean and fairly nice but again the promised wireless internet was non-existent except downstairs in the lobby.  We checked in and almost immediately the Thompsons arrived and checked into their apartment on the 3^rd floor.  Oh, also, the place smelled like old silage, horses… you know a farm but it was really a strong smell.  After we checked in we took two cars to the summer tobogganing sight.  For the kids’ birthdays and to thank T&B for their hospitality I purchased all of them two rides on the toboggans.  Craig took pictures and I watched at the bottom of hill.  (Sidenote:  Craig just told me the other day that he kind of wanted to go too… I had no idea and feel bad that he didn’t do it.)  All of them had a ball going down the mountain on “toboggans” and we enjoyed our part of watching.  We then went to dinner at a local restaurant.   I can’t remember what any of us had except Brady.  He saw a picture of a trout on the menu and decided that was what he wanted to eat.  It was a whole trout with eyes… the whole works and none of us thought that he would like it.  He ate the whole thing.  He and Craig bonded over dinner and they walked part way back to the cars hand in hand and even skipped part way.  Well the rest of us couldn’t miss out so we skipped too.  It was very sweet and fun.

FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2011 – SLOVENIA – ALL DAY EXCURSION

We were picked up by T’Osh  (I have no idea how to really spell his name) at 9:00am from our apartment.  It was rainy and chilly.  Our first stop was a lake about ½ hour away.  The water was extremely clear and trout could be seen swimming around.  After messing around there for a little bit, we hopped back into the van and into the mountains.  We drove for about another 45 minutes and arrived at a waterfall that was beautiful.  Travis and the kids kind of worried T’Osh because the rocks were slippery from the rain and they were crossing over the stream to get to a hill to climb but they all survived with no mishaps.  Next stop was a small chapel that was built during WWI by POW’s to honor prisoners who were killed by disease, starvation or avalanche while building the road over the mountain.  It was an extremely small chapel and we couldn’t go inside because they were doing repairs for an upcoming celebration.  In fact, when we pulled into the parking lot there was a car that had pulled in immediately before us that had brought officials (T’Osh thought that they were Russian) to inspect the work.  The women were dressed in clothing that would have been popular for our working females in the late 70’s/early 80’s… very tailored, uptight looking.  On the way up the mountain we saw to different herds of sheep who had taken refuge from the pouring rain under a __________ and under a bridge.  It looked so funny to see those sad looking creatures staring out at us from under the bridge…. Billy Goat Gruff.  Drove on to hike at the top of the mountain but when we got out of the car it began to pour.  We were all soaked by the time we got into the small coffee shop.  In fact, there were a lot of people in the coffee shop who were soaked.  We debated about stopping for the day but we knew there wouldn’t be another opportunity to have the Excursion Day and T’Osh was hoping the weather would break.  He said that quite frequently on one side of the mountain it can be bad weather but on the other clear.  Eventually it did clear up but never quite completely (except when we went river rafting).  So we took our hike and saw an abandoned, cement gondola shed at the very top of the mountain that was used (in addition to the road the prisoners built) to transport goods to the front line.  Saw a lot of sheep poop which Brady kept talking about.  I told Becky that the poop is probably what he will remember when he is grown up.  After our hike we got back into the car and drove on for lunch.  At a nice lunch in a small town and then the adults went river rafting.  The water was down quite a bit but we didn’t have to push like we do when the water is down in Iowa.  In fact, we still got some OK rapids.   There were about 10 rafts going down the river pretty much together.  At one point, all of the rafts stopped so that we could all scramble up on a big rock and either slide down one of the upside down rafts or jump into the water.  There were so many people on the rock that it reminded me of footage of walruses all crammed onto a rock… pushing, barking, laughing to each other.  I slid down the raft and the water was COLD!  While we rafted the kids hung out with T’Osh who took them to a park, bought them ice cream (with T&B’s money) and let them play in the icy cold river.  Taylor was heartbroken that she couldn’t go with us on the river rafting (she cried hard) but by the time we were done she was happy again.  Again we headed off and this time it was to a train.  T’Osh pulled the van onto the train which was open air.  He opened the back tailgate and we had snacks, beers and water.  We got to stay outside of the car while they changed the engine but then we all had to load into the car.  T’Osh let Brady “drive” and it was a hoot.  Craig got video of the ride.  There is little Brady sitting at the wheel while the outside world is whizzing by just like he is driving.  We had the music up loud (Slovenian folk music at first) and we were all laughing and talking.  We went through several tunnels.  If they were short enough and the ventilation was good we would leave the windows and side door open.  If it was long, T’Osh would close the windows while Christopher would slide shut the side door.  The last tunnel was very long, pitch black and stinky.  As we entered the tunnel T’Osh said he had saved a special song for the tunnel.  It was “Thriller” by Michael Jackson.  We all laughed and started dancing and singing.  When it ran out Christopher said something about Abba (can’t remember what) and up came “Take a Chance on Me” by Abba.  It was a fantastic ride.  After the train we stopped at one more lake and then headed back to Bled.  It turned out to be a great day!

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011 - Eslingen (spelling?) Germany

Becky wasn't feeling well so Craig, Christopher and I walked up to the bakery for pretzels and then walked on to the local market that is held every Tuesday morning in Schonaich.  We purchased some olives and cheese.  Yummmm.  After lunch Christopher drove the three of us to Eslingen for a walk around.  The large town is surrounded by vineyards on very steep hills.  It looked like how I picture Italy.  Eslingen also has a very old wall on one hillside with many, many stairs to the top.  Christopher and I think that there were probably 1,000 stairs.  We climbed to the top and enjoyed a leisurely stroll through a park and then had a beer at a bier garten.  Walked back down to the charming, older part of the town and then headed home.  Becky had made another delicious dinner.  (Sidenote:  Taylor loves to cook and always wants to chop the vegetables.  Taylor's specialty is Bruchetta.)  We had an early night.

Monday - July 11th - Schonaich - Craig arrives

I'm blogging several days after the fact so I can't remember the weather.  I believe it was partly sunny and a good temperature.  Becky, Christopher and I went to the airport to pick up Craig around 11:00am.  He had arrived before we did (thanks to me thinking he got in later) and had wandered around looking for us.  I felt bad but I know that the British Air website had a later time posted for their arrival.  Oh well...  Craig napped in the afternoon while we hung out at the house.  I started working with Taylor on making butterflies for a mobile for her room.  That night we went to Travis' favorite German restaurant and had a delicious meal.  The decor was really neat.  All white walls, white curtains which we tied back with very simple brown, earthy ties, white napkins... all accented with brown, earthy tones.  (Sidenote:  they always have the silverware on the table along with napkins either on a plate or in a container.)  We went home and Christopher mixed us up some Cosmopolitans.  We sat on the balcony and laughed and had a great time.  We went to bed around 11:00pm.  It was a really fun evening.

Triberg, Germany - Friday, July 8th, 2011

Again we used Travis and Becky's car.  This time we headed to Triberg, Germany which is in the Black Forest.  Again, a beautiful sunny day with the windows down, music up and beautiful hilly, treed countryside around us.  We hiked to the top of the waterfall which was beautiful (looked like a movie set).  We then hiked down to the ropes course.  We so enjoyed it.  Christopher was wonderful with me.  He knew that I was nervous so he decided to go on the easy 2nd level course with me.  He led the way physically and emotionally by telling me how to negotiate each leg of the course plus telling me that I could do it.  He could definitely be a coach of some kind.  I went through the 2nd level course twice while he moved up to the highest level of 5.  On my 3rd time through he talked me into going on level 3.  I did it!  There was one portion that he thought was the hardest out of all that he did on that particular course.  

We then went into Triber and had some donors (kind of like a gyro) and then headed on small roads to Rottweil.  I'm starting to sound like a broken record but it was another quaint, 1400's town.  We walked around for a while and then headed back to pick up Travis.  We should have been 15 minutes early to get him but we got stuck in a stau (traffic jam) and we were half an hour late.


That night their small town had a festival so the family plus a friend and her kids walked down to the festival which was 2 blocks away.  We drank beer, ate German pizza, ate steak sandwiches and had a fun time.  There was a live band that was playing American music.  We had a good time and their friend, Terri, is a nice, fun person.

Sunday, July 3, 2011 - Prague

We woke up to cloudy skies and chilly weather (again).  We hiked across the city (lots and lots of walking on this trip) to the Hop On/Off city tour.  Hopped on to the huge castle on the hill... if I remember correctly it is the 2nd largest palace/castle in the world.  It was very windy, rainy and cold on the hill.  We didn't want to pay for a tour but we did want to see the changing of the guards at 12N so we hung around (we had to wait for the next bus anyway).  We crowded to the gates to watch the changing of the guards.  Becky put Brady on her shoulders and he kind of told us what was going on because Becky and I couldn't see much at all.  Taylor was standing on a pillar so she could see as well.  Jordan, Travis and CB had split off and were in a different section.  The changing took about 20 minutes or so.  Towards the end this woman pushed her way through the crowd to get to the very front... this was after we had all been standing there being very polite and patient.  As she pushed through Becky exclaimed "excuse me" in a sarcastic tone.  The woman just looked around and smiled brightly at us.  This same woman almost knocked an older gentleman down but she just smiled at him also and kept on pushing.  I guess to her credit, she made it clear to the front and had an unobstructed view.

Next stop was the monastery where we ate a tasty lunch of Czech food.  Again, no vegetables.  Again, beer.  Walked around there for a while and then hopped back onto the bus.  Walked around the city looking for a snowglobe for Taylor and just to see the sights.

Some facts about Prague (at least facts according to our tour guides).  Even though Prague has a large amount of beautiful cathedrals and churches the Czechs are 60-80% atheists (this percentage changed from tour guide to tour guide).  I wrote earlier about how much beer they drink.  The average Czech earns 900E per year and some of the villas we saw would cost 2 million Euros to purchase and another 2 million to renovate.  

That night we walked around looking for a 

France - Thursday, July 7th, 2011

What a fantastic day!  Becky and Travis were gracious enough to allow us to use Travis' car.  We dropped Travis off at work at 6:15am and headed to Strasbourg, France.  We arrived in Strasbourg as the city was waking up.  Parked downtown and started walking.  Strasbourg has a river running through the city and a huge cathedral as the focal point.  As we walked, everywhere we looked  people were riding their bicycles to work: older women in dresses, young women in dresses, men in suits... very charming... very foux da fa, fa, fa, fa.  We stopped at a small cafe for a pastry and coffee.  All of the locals knew each other and it felt like we were truly on holiday.  We walked to the cathedral and paid to walk the 66meter spiral staircase up the cathedral tower.  Well worth the money.  We then walked through the cathedral which was huge, beautiful and free.  I appreciate that they didn't charge and, in addition to no charge, they had encouraging words throughout the cathedral about God and Jesus.  The cathedral was started in the 1100's and wasn't completed until the 1400's.  Amazingly intricate detail on the pulpit and there was a beautiful, huge sculpture of the Mount of Olives scene.  After the cathedral we walked around Petite France and then decided to drive out into the country to small French towns.  We took back roads and it was magical.  It felt like we were in a movie.  The roads had gentle curves.  We could see for miles all around us.  The sun was shining.  The music was up loud.  The windows and skylight were all open and Christopher was driving at a fast clip.  The fields were golden and various shades of green with trees mixed in between all surrounded by mountains in the distance.  We first went to Saverne, France, walked the streets and had lunch at a streetside cafe.  I had pate meatballs and thoroughly enjoyed them.  We then got back into the car and headed to Bouxville, France.  As we drove we went through several small villages that were completely charming.  Very old.  Very French.  Bouxville was a sweet, small town.  We walked off of the main street and saw an old, French woman leaning out her first floor window that had flowers in a flower box and shutters on the side.  She was just observing the world as it passed by.  Loved the day!

Prague to Germany - July 5th, 2011

We stopped at a grocery store as we were driving out of Prague and purchased our lunch there.  It was very, very cheap and very delicious and we all wished that we had eaten all of our lunches there.  We said we would do that on the next trip.  Christopher drove most of the way home and we stopped at Rothenberg which is a walled city from the 1400's (?).  We ate dinner at a streetside restaurant and had a fun, friendly Italian waiter.  Wandered around and drove on home.

Prague - Monday, July 4th, 2011

A day enjoying the sights and sounds of Prague.  That evening Christopher and I went to a performance of Mozart and Dvorjak.  It was beautiful although Christopher thought that they were a little loose.  The theatre was beautiful.  Not incredibly elaborate but very elegant with great acoustics, a large pipe organ and a beautiful choir loft.  We really enjoyed the concert. 

Prague - Sunday, July 3, 2011

It was nice most of the day.  We went back to the palace area to look at the cathedral and it was beautiful.  The rest of the day, we basically just wandered around.  The kids, Travis and Christopher did paddle boat on the river while Becky and I relaxed on the dock with a beer.  They were only out for about 40 minutes but they seemed to have fun.  Finding a restaurant for dinner was our usual wandering of the streets and discussing all of the potential places for a meal.  We decided on a restaurant that none of us really thought looked spectacular but we were hungry and tired of wandering.  We sat down and there were two little bowls of potato chips on the table with 5Krone as the price.  We didn't eat them.  I pointed out that the menu didn't have prices so Travis asked for a menu.  The prices were a little bit high but not completely outrageous.  There was a young boy at the back of the restaurant who was on a laptop computer and was obviously the child of the owner or one of the waitresses.  While we were waiting for our food the kid picked up his computer and started toward the front of the restaurant.  Directly behind the table that was beside us, the kid dropped the computer and there was some commotion as he picked it up.  Also at that table, when they received the check I noticed that they were displeased and puzzled about the amount but the father went ahead and paid.  I mentioned that we should really look our check over.  We received our food and Becky's meat wasn't meat at all but pure fat.  The rest of the food was below average but not completely horrible.  We received our check and there was a 15Krone surcharge plus an additional charge that I can't remember.  We asked the waitress and she pointed it out in small print on the menu that we had to request.  We were all thoroughly disgusted.  After we left, I thought about the kid dropping the computer incident and it made me wonder if it was actually a pickpocket issue.  I forgot to mention that the big biker type, tattooed dad of the kid yelled at him and called him into the back room.  They were back there for a short minute and no raised voices came out of the back room.  The kid and dad then came back out and the dad was smiling and patting the kid on the shoulder.  That is what made me wonder if there had been a pickpocketing situation.

Saturday, July 2, 2011 - Czech Repulib, Prague (Praha)

We got up fairly early and left on a 4.5 hour drive to Prague.  Becky's family dressed for summer but it felt like very early spring.  We bought bread and meat at the local bakery for lunch and stopped at a rest stop to eat.  Lunch was good but everyone was freezing.  Actually the road trip went fairly fast and we all enjoyed each other's company a great deal.  We arrived in Prague in the early afternoon and met our "landlord" who let us in to our apartment. 

Prague is beautiful.  When you drive into town it looks ghetto like... run down, graffiti and you get a little bit worried.  Once you arrive at the city center it is beautiful.  Last night was a magical night.  I had a traditional Czech dinner of dumplings, roast beef with cranberries and sauce but no vegetables and, of course, beer (Czechs drink an average of 160 liters of beer per year and that includes every man, woman and child).  I taught Brady the Austrian Yodeling song and then we started to walk around again.  We ended up at a plaza with incredible buildings surrounding it and a street festival.  The band was really great and they played salsa, Brazilian, etc.  Really fun.  Becky, Travis, the kids and I went on a carriage ride that was very cheap and really fun.  At one point Brady excitedly exclaimed "this is beautiful!" and then later he said " I love you mom" which had everyone following up with a love fest.  We hung around and danced for awhile and then walked home.  The kids and I watched a movie while the other 3 went out to have fun.  While we were watching the movie we heard some loud booms.  We are in a strange building (I'll explain later) so Taylor and I were a little nervous.  The booming kept going on and we realized it was fireworks so we ran upstairs to peek out the window at the fireworks.  We could see them out of one of the bedroom windows if we stood on the bed.  So there all 4 of us were, standing on the bed, peeking out the window at the fireworks which were exploding over the terra cotta rooftops.  After the fireworks were over they collapsed on the bed and I just let all 3 of them fall asleep there.  

To explain the building we are in...it is very, very old and looks very, very abandoned.  We have to unlock a worn, brown wooden door and then walk through a nasty hallway with side doors that open to empty barnlike rooms.  This hallway opens into a nastier courtyard with a board laying on the ground, lots of weeds and a couple of terra cotta planters with sorry look plants in them.   Then it is up a unfinished wooden spiral staircase to a door (I don't think anyone else lives in the buildings).  When we open the door though it is beautiful... very modern, very clean and uncluttered lines with 2 bedrooms upstairs and a living room, kitchen, and bed area on the main floor.  When the "landlord" first took us in she said, "Do not be scared by the first part.  The apartment is very nice.  We do not own the other."  I'm glad that she warned us!

Friday, July 1st, 2011 - Stuttgart

I'm posting this a few days late so it will be brief.

We puttered the morning away and then Becky took us to the train station so that we could go to Stuttgart.  CB tried to get us a "group" ticket because they are cheaper but he couldn't figure out the system so we just purchased single tickets.  As he was messing around trying to get the tickets our train arrived and left so we had to wait an additional 1/2 hour.  It was rainy, chilly and he was hungry so he was a bit grumpy.  While we were waiting, I puttered around with the ticket machine and figured out how to purchase the cheaper tickets.  The train itself is clean, quiet and fairly quick.  We had around 10 stops before we hit downtown Stuttgart.  Downtown Stuttgart reminded me of Denver's 16th Street Mall, only larger by quite a bit.  If you can believe it, Chinese sounded good to us so we ate fast food Chinese which was OK.  We looked around for 2-3 hours and then trained back to the station where Becky picked us up.  

The adults went out to dinner at a local Italian restaurant.  We walked there and back and had a nice, relaxing time.

June 30, 2011 - Hohenzollern Castle & Tubbingen

We puttered around in the morning and left late morning for the castle.  Becky was a sweetheart and loaded the kids up, yet again, to take us on an adventure.  CB drove so that he could get used to the signs and such with Becky in the car and he did a great job.  He said it felt good to be driving again.  Got to the castle and everyone hiked us up the hill to the castle.  It was a very steep incline at first.  We looked back and there was Brady with a little smile on his face, huffing and puffing, picking his feet up high and hiking up the hill.  It made us all laugh.  They left us at the gate and went back down to watch a movie in the van while they waited for us... I told you that she was sweet.  The tour of the castle was in German but we had English guidebooks plus there was a man touring with his American friends and he was translating.  His sister said that we could tag along and listen.  I didn't listen too intently because I didn't want to be rude but I caught some of it.  We only toured about 1/4 of the castle because the rest is administration and the prince's private quarters.  He stays at that castle 5-6 times per year for 2-3 days at a time.  Everyone knows when he is in residence because his flag is flown on the days he is there.  He was just there last weekend.  We ate lunch in the castle and then hiked down.  I have only been in one castle but I think I might like them all more from a distance.  We enjoyed the tour and I'm glad that I got to do it but they are so very impressive from a distance... so high on a hill with all of the turrets.  

CB drove back while Becky finished watching her movie in the back with the kids.  We stopped at Tubbingen which is a large college town.  The German instructor where I worked suggested that town.  Probably 20-30 years ago it was a fantastic town with a quaint shopping district but now it is kind of dirty with graffiti and some trash around.  We just bought the kids and Becky an ice cream there and left. 


Taylor and Becky cooked tortellini for dinner.  We had to go to the small local bakery for bread and then to the local grocery store for the tortellini ingredients.  CB and I walked with Taylor to the stores.  She looked so European with her beautiful red hair and her shopping basket swinging from her hand.  Very sweet.  Again we had a fantastic family meal which CB and I thoroughly enjoyed.  Then the chaos began.  Somehow (Becky?:) Brady got on a website that had Star Wars toys for sale.  He and Jordan are huge Star Wars fans.  They watch the movies over and over and over.  Play with Star Wars action figures and have Star Wars fights.  George Lucas should be proud that 32 years after the first movie kids are still into his Empires.  Anyway, Brady was a maniac!  He kept loudly running into the room telling us what toys he had found.  This lasted for at least 1/2 an hour.  At first it was really cute but it did wear thin after a while.  At one point, he came up to me and asked me if I had $50.  He actually only wanted $15 but it was pretty funny.  Becky had one heck of a time settling the kids down for bed since they were so hyped up from online shopping.  I think that is the last time that Becky will ever let them online shop.