It was a bit of "culture shock "when I arrived at Heidelberg. Baden-Baden was elegant and clean. Heidelberg was chaotic, not so elegant and not so clean. Nevertheless, it definitely has its charm and beauty that attract so many visitors yearly. Heidelberg Schloss, landmark of Heidelberg, sits on a hill overlooking the Neckar river. I was fascinated by this majestic ruin and its eventful history. I will just let mark Twain describe its beauty. A ruin must be rightly situated, to be effective. This one could not have been better placed. It stands upon a commanding elevation, it is [View Full Entry]

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We spend an afternoon visiting Schloss Schwetzingen, the summer residence of Elector Carl Theodor (1724-1799). (I would love to have a summer residence with beautiful garden like this, too!) The garden design uniquely reflected both the French formal style and English natural style. Several weddings were going on in this afternoon. We watched hundreds of red balloons released into the blue sky to celebrate love. It was beautiful and romantic................. but probably not so green for the planet. [View Full Entry]

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I have train narcolepsy. Mysteriously, I have always managed to wake up right before my destinations. When I opened my sleepy eyes today, I have arrived the capital of cuckoo clock, Triberg. Triberg is also the capital of tourism in Black Forest region. We were fortunate enough to escape bus loads of people. (The advantages of traveling during off peak season.) The waterfall was beautiful but not spectacular. Most visitors returned to the town after seeing the waterfall. But, we just kept walking and walking into the forest until we had the entire trail to ourselves. The walk was quit [View Full Entry]

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If there were a place that I can be stranded for few days during this trip, I wold pick Baden-Baden with no second thoughts. I love its elegant streets with unique boutique shops (perfect for window shopping). It has a very classy building, Kurhaus, that housed its famous casino. The building was inspired by Palace of Versailles. Its interior decor is also very elegant, quite different from those neon lights in Vegas. Trinkhalle has a long entrance hall decorated with nymphs and romantic legends about the Black Forest. This is where we sampled Baden-Baden's rich mineral water. Oh, boy [View Full Entry]

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It was a perfect fall weather for hiking although the hike to Neuschwanstein was steep, not easy. After climbing the hills, the ultimate fairy-tale castle stood there welcoming our arrival. "Wow" was the word I used when I saw the castle. This is where a fantasy did come true. The romantic castle was build by King Ludwig II from 1869-1886. The construction stopped with the king's death, and it was never completed furnished. We hiked further to Marienbruke to marvel at King Ludwig's castle, just as he did hundreds of years ago. Looking at this beautiful landscape, I quickly forgot that [View Full Entry]

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It is kind of hard to completely recall my Munich experience since I was under the alcohol influence quite a lot. Here is a list of things we did: *Oktoberfest *Self-guided Munich historic walking tour with a lot detour to cafes *Visited Hofbrauhas at 10:00 am *Experience "The Best of Life is Wurst" ( I think this is a catchy line from an Australian commercial according to this guy we met in Munich). I definitely had more than enough sausages during my stay in Munich than previous 2 years combined. *Drink some more beer?! [View Full Entry]

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As the train took us towards Frankfurt Main Hbf from the airport, E and I were so puzzled. How can we be the only 2 people riding the train? Looking out the window, there were only 3 people walking very slowly on the plate form. It was 8:00 Friday morning. Where is everyone? Where is the rush hour and traffic jam? We finally realized it was a public holiday. I don't like public holidays in Europe when all the shops and lots of restaurants are closed. Oh well, we were jet-lagged anyway. [View Full Entry]

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Arcola, Illinois is located in the East Central part of the state, celebrated its heritage as "broom corn capital of the world" with the renowned Broom Corn Festival this weekend. Attending this festival was quite an eye opening experience for me. In the "Broom Tent", I watched the demonstration on how a broom was made in the old fashion way. Also, there was the "Kiddie Tractor Pull" contest. I was actually really curious about this event and wanted to participate. Unfortunately, my age does not qualify me for the contest. Of course, beer and food are must for a festival. The [View Full Entry]

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I hardly had any chance to run in solitude and never had a chance to run through country roads. It was amazingly refreshing. All I could see was different shades of green. All I could smell was the freshest air mixed with the earthy fragrance from soil and grass. All I could hear was the music orchestrated by birds, insects, my breathing and my feet pounding the trail. One is a lonely number, but I felt so connected to the nature and so connected to myself. [View Full Entry]

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"Change" seems to be the buzz word recently. "Change" is the theme of the current stage of my life. During this period, travel has became a life style, not a luxury. It is a necessity. Counting down to another adventure in Europe with E. Our route: Home-- Frankfurt-- Munich--Black Forest--Heidelberg--Luxembourg--Belgium--Netherlands--Home In between traveling to those "exotic" destinations, I've learned to enjoy and appreciate things in my own "backyard". Luckily, I have a pretty big "backyard" to play. So, while counting down the days to the next "disappearance", I wa [View Full Entry]

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