When we arrived in Hobart, Tasmania mid-day today (Oct 30th)m we new that the Tasmanian Devill was iconic Tasmania. However, we were a bit surprsed when we discovered a Tasmanian Devil sculpture in the baggage claim (luggage arrival) area. No real marsupials in sight however. Hobart is a city of about 260,000 on the southeast…
Read More Hello, TasmaniaAs we crossed back into Germany from Austria, we traveled through this region and visited the legendary Eagle’s Nest fortress. We arrived early and were on one of the first busses to the entrance. Access to the park area is limited – you arrive at the welcome center and park your car (or bus in…
Read More Munich RevisitedAlong the Autostrasse Sunday morning was clear and warm in Vienna, so we had our breakfast outside, along the Danube River. Then it was time to climb back into the bus and head for Salzburg. About an hour outside of Vienna we stopped and hopped on a boat for a cruise up the Danube. We’d…
Read More SalzburgVienna Having left Budapest first thing in the morning, we were heading west across the Pannonian plain for Austria. After just a few hours on the road we saw the Austrian Alps rising along the horizon, and then we were back alongside the Danube River, just outside Vienna. After we grabbed lunch we were on…
Read More ViennaOnward to Hungary It was still early June, warm and sunny as we rolled into Budapest. After leaving Prague we headed south, stopping on Bratislava for lunch and a quick look around. Leaving Bratislava we entered the Pannonian plain as we continued south in Hungary. The Pannonian plain was previously a prehistoric basin of lakes.…
Read More BudapestOnward to Eastern Europe – Prague Having been on self-directed travel for over two months, we started June with a welcome change. Today we’re headed to Prague with new friends as part of a Globus tour. I remember this part of Europe mostly for its isolation until the fall of communism in 1990. For me,…
Read More PragueGoodbye Spain On Thursday afternoon, last day of May, we headed out of Valencia for the last time. Our flight took us first, over the Mediterranean and then over the Alps to Munich, Germany. With a late arrival in Munich, we had a room in the airport hotel. That turned out to be a good…
Read More Welcome to MunichAmsterday – Great Dam City As I thought about the today’s blog on Amsterdam, I considered starting with “It was a dark and stormy night….” On reflection, it was still the afternoon. More on the weather later; let me tell you about Amsterdam first. Amsterdam is a wonderful city that’s got a great deal to…
Read More AmsterdamWe needed a few day get-away and Mallorca was the answer! Julie had just returned from a couple of days in Barcelona where she saw Sharon off to the airport. Unfortunately, Sharon was returning to Rochester and wouldn’t be sharing our remaining adventures. We had a week to kill before moving on to Munich and…
Read More MallorcaCastell de Xàtiva We headed south out of Valencia to Xàtiva (sha-tea-va) on a train this past week. Xàtiva is about 45 miles southwest of Valencia, about 45 minutes by train. This is a place that has a history. It’s mentioned in Roman poetry in the first century BC, so it’s been around for a…
Read More Xàtiva – Castles and hills