On December 6th we just happened to be walking back from supper, when we heard music coming from the "little market". It was the arrival of St. Nicolaus. Tonite is the night that he will slip a present under the pillows of the children. The square was jammed packed with families waiting the arrival of the saintly bishop. A popular childrens show was performing from one of the balconies overlooking the street. And when his carraige was spotted, I was caught up in the crush of people to be closer to him. The Christmas Angel led him through the crowd, he [View Full Entry]

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Her voice is calm and seductive, "Recalculating, recalculating, make a legal u-turn at the first available opportunity..." Even so, after awhile it does get annoying, to the point we turned off sound volume... We nick-named this marvel of technology "Inga". Since there were three of us on this trip, I thought it would be nice for you to read Kate's version of "Inga", the rental car's GPS... "Keith, being Keith, had done an exceptional job of planning the trip. Exceptional. From the places we would go, to where we would stay, and to how we would get there. Being ever practical, [View Full Entry]

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Neuschwanstein Castle. Near the town of Schwangau, in the Allgäu area of the Alps. We left the Christmas village of Rothenburg, and headed south. Next on our quick trip through Bavaria, was the castle of Neuschwanstein. With each mile, there was more and more snow on the ground. Soon, we were surrounded in a scene from a winter post card. And when we caught a glimpse of the castle through the trees, we could see that Disney probably did get his inspiration for Cinderella's castle, from Neuschwanstein. It's maybe a little too cold for Tinkerbell. Unlike most castles, this castle w [View Full Entry]

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"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..." [View Full Entry]

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Our Thanksgiving holidays were spent in Germany, totally immersed in the advent of Christmas! The three of us, Kate, (colleague, not daughter) Keith and myself, headed out of Poland to see what the Christkindlsmarkt was all about. Kate and I have been looking forward to shopping the traditional markets, tasting the "gluhwein", and eating hearty German food! And I think Keith was ready to get on the autobahn. I can hear some of you snickering! Yep, he was speeding down the highway! Well, speeding for him, we were getting passed left and right! The recommended speed limit is 130 km/h (81 [View Full Entry]

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This won't be an interesting blog entry. No adventure, no history. It's only a snippet of Paris, just in case any one is as enamored with this city as I have become. Actually, this entry is just for me. Once we return home, this blog will be a way for me to recall the things we have seen and done while living in Europe... From the town of Versailles, we catch a cab back into the city. We would be leaving bright and early the next morning, so we are off to see what we can in the district of Marais. [View Full Entry]

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I think the weather was probably the only thing France's king couldn't control in the late 1600's, even though his manicured gardens appear to be an attempt to control nature. The weather for our weekend visit was rainy and cold, but it didn't dampen our enthusiasm. The palace lived up to it's reputation for opulence! It is true expression of self-glorification and King Louis XIV set the standard of quality very high. During the French Revolution the palace was "emptied" of it's furnishings and abandoned. Standing in the Hall of Mirrors, I tried to imagine the drama and chaos of 1789, [View Full Entry]

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This dog laying on the steps didn't move, much less get replaced by a fresh dog. The Royal Guards are replaced each hour, during a little ceremony. But she slept through the all the marching, and picture taking. On our last day in Greece we hurried over to the House of Parliament, just in time to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The guards wear a type of kilt, woolen stockings with garters, and leather clogs with big pompoms on the toes. Their hats kind of remind me of daddy's "fez", with a very [View Full Entry]

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With our time in Greece quickly coming to an end, we are looking forward to spending a couple of days on the island of Hydra. The hydrofoil ride over from Pelopennese, was a first for us. It's a boat on skis, you "vibrate" across the water. Before we knew it we were docking at Hydra Town. If we had needed help with our luggage or getting to the Hotel Leto, we could have hired one of the many donkeys waiting at the landing! No need, we formed the luggage parade, and off we went up the narrow streets. You do not [View Full Entry]

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The ruins at Mycenae represents the stuff Greek tragedies are made of. As one version of the legend has king Agamemnon returning from the Trojan war, only to be killed in his bathtub by his wife and her lover. She was angry because he may have had their daughter sacrificed. Hows that for drama. These ruins are older than the acropolis in Athens, the original walls were built around 1300bc. If you have read the "Illiad" or "Odyssey" from the Greek poet Homer (or poets- there are interesting theories about this oldest example of western literature) this is thought to be [View Full Entry]

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