When we arrived in Oberammergau it was just after dark. We drove into the center of town and happened to find a large message board with accommodation listings in town. As we were standing there perusing our options, a car pulled up beside us. A man got out and asked if we were looking for a place to stay. When we nodded yes, he explained that his mother-in-law ran a guesthouse and offered to have us follow him there in our car to check it out. He took us to Gastehaus Richter which offered a very nice hostess, great room and [View Full Entry]

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We made it to the Neuschwanstein castle in time to catch the last English tour of the day. It is a 45 minute walk straight uphill to the castle through the forest from the ticket booth. The place was swarming with tourists which is a detractor for us but we made the best of it. The Cinderella Castle at Disneyland is modeled after this castle and it is truly beautiful from the outside. On the tour I was startled to learn the castle was just built in the 1860s by Ludwig II who was obsessed with Wagner operas. He actually built [View Full Entry]

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Today we embarked on a 10 day road trip around Europe. We have a vague idea of where we want to go, but will also let the road take us where it will. Our target area for today was Fussen, Germany and the famous Neuschwanstein Castle. After a confusing drive from the city center to the freeway (GREEN signs mean freeway, blue is side roads, white is tiny streets), we decided to detour off to Appenzel for lunch. Appenzel is famous for its cheeses. We had a nice warm bowl of pumpkin soup (it was a foggy, chilly day) followed by [View Full Entry]

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We have now been on 10 different boats on this trip. 1) ferry from St. Thomas to St. John 2) ferry from Westin St. John back to St. Thomas 3) ferry from St. Thomas to Tortola 4) ferry from Tortola to Virgin Gorda 5) Boston whaler from the marina in Spanishtown to Little Dix Bay 6) the skiff of our Isreali friend back to the marina 7) the dive boat 8) ferry from Virgin Gorda to Beef Island 9) boat out to the middle of Rhine Falls 10) boat from Zurich to Rapperswil [View Full Entry]

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Rapperswil, Switzerland Our excursion today was on a boat down Lake Zurich to Rapperswil. It was pretty foggy when we left but the fog cleared as we moved along and it turned into a beautiful sunny Sunday. Despite the fog it was warm enough to sit out on the deck. The ferry makes many stops along both sides of the lake along the way. There is also a tiny ferry to take cars across (it's quite a long drive around). Rapperswil is a lovely little town with the requisite "very old church." Apparently, it was once strong enough to have attached [View Full Entry]

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Today we set out with BK and CK for Rhine Falls - the largest waterfall in Europe. Approximately an hour away from Zurich by train, Rhine Falls is at the edge of the Zurich canton (or county). J and I each purchased a 24 hour train ticket for all of Zurich canton. We stopped to change trains in the lovely town of Winterthur. These tidbits become important to the story as you shall soon see. The falls are amazing, and this is the time of year when they are near their LOWest levels. Note the small island in the middle with [View Full Entry]

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The home office of CM's company is in Basel, an hour from Zurich by train. I took this opportunity to swing by to meet everyone there for the first time. I have two observations about doing business in Switzerland: 1) It is mandated by law that each workspace have a window - no cubicleland here! Each office may hold 2-3 people, but each has a window. The conference rooms and filerooms are on the interior of the building. 2) The average employee has 23 days vacation, throw in some holidays, and then some compensation for overtime during busy times and you [View Full Entry]

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Today we took the opportunity to sleep in and have a leisurely brunch at home. Then we walked downtown to take in the scenery, grab some snacks, and do a little shopping. Just like last October in Zurich, it is beautiful out with temperatures in the 60s and sunny skies. Lovely. J has been asking me "How many Luxembergerlis are you going to eat when we get to Zurich?" for weeks now. Luxembergerlis are divine little treats - stay tuned for photos of the little delights. They come in many flavors including lemon, chocolate, raspberry, champagne, hazelnut, coffee, cinnamon, vanilla, mandar [View Full Entry]

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Madrid, Spain - Zurich, Switzerland We decided to spend the 25 Euros for a cab to the airport as it had started raining, it was 3 blocks to the Metro station, and required 2 transfers with bags to get there. Security at the airport in Madrid was more lax than security at the train station or even the museums of Madrid! We could not believe it. At the Reigna Sofia, we went through metal detectors and J was forced to check his backpack at the door (although we saw multiple people with cameras inside the museum). At the Prado, not only [View Full Entry]

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Madrid, Spain - Toledo, Spain - Madrid, Spain Multiple people we met in Madrid, locals and tourists alike, told us we had to do the day trip to Toledo. "It's incredible" they said. Well, we were unsuccessful in getting cheap tickets to Barcelona for a couple of days* and found ourselves with an extra day in Madrid so decided to follow their advice. This was the worst weather day so far with lots of clouds and general haziness in the sky. The train to Toledo is a quick 30 minute ride from central Madrid. At the train station in Toledo, there [View Full Entry]

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