TravelBlog » Der Reisende

Der Reisende - Paul & Kate

I am Der Reisende, the voyager, on a voyage through life. Along this path I travel I am often amazed and in awe by all the beauty in this world. I find the people whose paths I cross in this journey are also unique. Everyone has a story and it is often written on their faces. For the next three years my wife, Kate, and I will be living in Ansbach, Germany, a small town in Bavaria. We hope to travel and see as much of Europe as we possibly can. With my camera and stories I hope to share with you some of beauty we have observe in our travels. Come; join us on this portion of our voyage. St. Augustine once said, "The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page". I hope to share my book with you.

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Joined on: July 6th 2005
Last Login: June 13th 2008

Blog Entries: 24
Photos: 509

TB Code: [blogger=4797]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by Der-Reisende, order by Date newest first.

By Der Reisende
May 24th 2008

Medugorje

Europe » Bosnia & Herzegovina

Leaving the airport
After arriving in Split, Croatia we begin the three hour bus ride to Medugorje.

We just returned from a week in Medjugorje. That is one very special place. Kate found a tour group from the U.S. who said that we could join them in Frankfurt. For a very reasonable price, we got a round trip flight to Split, Croatia, a three hour bus ride to Medjugorje in Bosnia & Herzegovina, a nice room and breakfast and dinner each day. The group was led by Steve Shawl of www.medjugorje.org, who has been conducting these tours to Medjugorje for the past 13 years. We were fortunate in that just as we were signing up to go, [View Full Entry]

By Der Reisende
April 15th 2008

Verdun, France

Europe » France » Lorraine » Verdun

A Hill in No-Man's Land
It is quiet here now. No more shelling, no more screams of the wounded and dying. There is just the rusting barb wire and bomb craters to remind us of what was and hopefully will never be again.

VERDUN “They had conquered a notorious hill. They had lived in trenches that had been alternately French and German. These trenches sometimes lay filled with bodies in different stages of decomposition. They were once men in the prime of their lives, but had fallen for the possession of this hill. This hill, that was partly built on dead bodies already. A battle after which they lay rotting, fraternally united in death….” (Georges Blond - Verdun) It was a cold, wet, and foggy day when I drove into Verdun. It is hard to imagine that in the 10 sq Km. (a [View Full Entry]

By Der Reisende
September 24th 2007

Warsaw, Poland

Europe » Poland » Masovia » Warsaw

The Royal Castle
Once the royal residence and later the the house of Polish-Lithuanian parliment, the palace is now the site for state ceremonies and national cultural events.

There is no way that either Kate or I would have ever imagined that we would be spending our 39th wedding anniversary in Warsaw, Poland but due to an airfare special from a German airlines that is exactly where we landed on our anniversary. Warsaw, being the capital of Poland, is a large city. According to Wikipedia, the city area is 516.9 square kilometers (199.6 sq mi). It is the eighth largest city in the European Union. Fortunately, most of what we wanted to see centered around Warsaw’s old town and relatively new downtown sections. There is so much to see [View Full Entry]

By Der Reisende
May 25th 2007

Česky Krumlov, Czech Republic

Europe » Czech Republic » South » Cesky Krumlov

Český Krumlov
The town is very picturesque. Everywhere you look it is almost a "Kodak Moment".

Česky Krumlov is definitely one of the most picturesque sites we have ever visited. Česky Krumlov is a charming medieval town located in southern Czech Republic near the Austrian border. Sitting amidst the Vltava River, this quaint town boasts an abundance of culture, history, and adventure, and good food and beer. You can wander aimlessly through the cobblestone, traffic free streets and enjoy the colorful houses that line them. Eating or just enjoying a drink at one of its many restaurants is truly a treat as many of them have outdoor patios, which overlook postcard views of the town and castle. [View Full Entry]

By Der Reisende
May 19th 2007

The World's Largest Garden - Keukenhof Gardens

Europe » Netherlands » South Holland » Keukenhof

Windmill & Tulips

For a place that really is really only open for about 8 weeks a year and especially if you love spring flowers, and more especially tulips, there's no place better than De Keukenhof not far from the village of Lisse, The Netherlands, southwest of Amsterdam. This remarkable park is transformed every spring into a dazzling, ever-changing display of tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocuses, lilies, amaryllis, and many other flowers. There are also flowering shrubs, ancient trees and countless natural surprises, as well as themed gardens to explore and pavilions filled with displays, and of course, a windmill. A number of sculptures [View Full Entry]

By Der Reisende
December 9th 2006

Hexenagger - Weihnachtsmarkt

Europe » Germany » Bavaria » Schloss Hexenagger

Schloss Hexenagger
This place was hard to find but by far worth the effort. The best Christmas Market in Germany!

This past weekend we had the opportunity to visit the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) in Hexxenagger, a village about 80 miles SE of where we live and just north of Munich. This has to be the best Christmas Market we have ever been to, even in the rain. The various craftsmen working on their wares and just the ambiance of having the market on the castle grounds just made everything perfect. With the smells of the various foods the vendors were preparing wafting through the grounds and the sounds of music and children laughing made for a great day. We are [View Full Entry]

By Der Reisende
November 10th 2006

Strasbourg, France

Europe » France » Alsace » Strasbourg

Strasbourg - The Ponts Couverts
The Ponts Couverts, covered bridges, (which haven't been covered since about 1860),are part of the second fortified wall surrounding Strasbourg, which was built between 1200 and 1250. The 13th century... [more]

Kate and I had the opportunity to visit Strasbourg a few weeks ago. For a town that is over 2000 years old (the first mention of this city dates back to 12 B.C.), Strasbourg looked extremely well preserved. The old town is located on an island, which is surrounded by beautiful rivers and canals. Strasbourg sits at the confluence of the Bruche and Ill rivers and it sits across the Rhine River from Germany. It boasts one of the world’s most stunning cathedrals and its streets, including the Petite France neighborhood, are right out of a fairy tale. Situated on the [View Full Entry]

By Der Reisende
October 15th 2006

Auschwitz - Birkenau Concentration Camps

Europe » Poland » Lesser Poland » Auschwitz

Remember!

It was a warm and sunny day when we arrived. There were a lot of people who arrived about the same time we did, all talking quietly to each other, wondering what this place was really like, trying to imagine…. The only difference was that we were arriving by car, not jammed into a rail car like so many who arrived here over 60 years ago to the infamous concentration camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau. We were there as tourists, not like the million and half men, women, and children who were slaughtered, many within a short time after their arrival. [View Full Entry]

By Der Reisende
October 15th 2006

Trier, Germany

Europe » Germany » Rhineland-Palatinate » Trier

Porta Nigra (Black Gate)
Trier's most famous landmark. The gate was built in the last third of the 2nd century and was the northern gate of the city walls, which originally were 6.4 km (approx. 4 miles) long.

According to medieval legend, ‘Before Rome, Trier stood one thousand and three hundred years’. However, according to recorded history, Trier’s history begins around the middle of the first century B.C., when a guy by the name of Julius Caesar conquered Gaul (France, Belgium, Luxemburg and some portions of the Netherlands and Germany) in 51 B.C. and integrated the Moselle Region into the Roman Empire. Not only is Trier Germany’s oldest city, but also it was the “Rome of the North” and, in its heyday in the 4th century A.D., as important and splendid as Rome itself. Trier is still a [View Full Entry]

By Der Reisende
August 26th 2006

2006 World Equestrian Games - Aachen, Germany

Europe » Germany » North Rhine-Westphalia » Aachen

Equestrian Games Poster

The last weekend of August Kate and I spent the weekend in Aachen, Germany attending some of the World Equestrian Games. The two-weeklong games are held every four years in a different country. In 2010 the games will be held in Kentucky. I would advise anyone thinking of attending that they start seeing about tickets. We bought our tickets in late January, seven months before the games, and all the seating for the finals were sold out. The World Equestrian Games are the Olympics of the equestrian world. What was interesting is that the games consisted a good number of events [View Full Entry]

Statue at the Entrance to the Equestraian Games