Our 2011 trip to Switzerland, Austria & Germany

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Switzerland, Austria & Germany, Oct 11 – Oct 22, 2011

Well, it looks like we have worn out are welcome in Europe. In 2007 we visited London, Paris, Prague & Rome. In 2009 we went on a Business Magazine promotion trip to Prague with a side trip to Budapest Hungary. 2010 we went to France and toured the Normandy area, now 2011 we are visiting Switzerland, Austria & Germany. We think it’s time to spend some money in our country where the exchange rate is at least one to one.
Anyway, the trip started out as usual when Lynn’s son Jake and his Partner Adam’s Travel Magazine had a pair of Airline business class seats we could have and fly anywhere in the world that they fly. We settled on the Swiss, German Austria area because everyone that has been there says how beautiful it is. Lynn did most the planning and found that we would have to fly into Zurich, Switzerland and rent the car and return there to make things work. She is a big fan of Rick Steve’s travel guides and has had great success following his advice about sights to see, place to stay and where to eat. Lynn made email reservations at 6 hotels and booked 2 tours, one was the BMW factory in Munich which can only be reserved by phone and is usually difficult to get and the other is Hitler’s “Eagle’s Nest”. We rented a car through Auto Europe and received our airline ticket conformations for 10/11 JFK to ZHR with a return of 10/22. The business class tickets were $15885, we only had to pay the tax of $128. The next problem was my GPS, to do this trip with maps, forget it. My 2 year old Garmin 650 has a bad keyboard, which I replaced but found out it didn’t have enough memory for the Europe Map SD card . I called Garmin to complain about the keyboard so they said they would give me a Garmin 1350 with lifetime map & traffic updates for $120. Next I bought the Europe map SD card for $100 (hope to sell it for maybe $75 when I’m done). Now it’s just packing and waiting for October eleven.
Day one, 10/11 Tuesday
Up at 6 am. Barbara Deebold drove us to the AC bus terminal to catch the 10 AM bus to the NYPA. From there we take the subway E train to Jamaica Center and the “Air Train “ to A Airlines at term 8, arriving about 2 PM for our 6:10 flight. We checked our bags, went through security and headed for the A Admiral’s lounge. While the lounge was clean and specious, unlike the other biz class lounges we have been in, you had to pay for everything. They did give the business class people 2 free drink chits each. Other then that just some trail mix, cut up celery with dip and apples. Our flight was supposed to start loading at 5:30 but they had to change planes so we didn’t load until 6:15. Late & inconvenient, but I’d rather change planes while still on the ground. They served Champaign or any drink you wanted while taxiing for takeoff. Finally we were in the air at 7:20 for the 8 hour flight. As soon as we reached cruising altitude they started serving dinner, which was quite good. First they gave you a small hot towel to wash with, then some warm mixed nuts & crudités with dip. Next the appetizer was smoked salmon & herb marinated shrimp followed by a fresh salad and rolls. The main course was 4 choices. I selected the Rosemary Garlic Shrimp and Lynn the Lemon Grass Chicken with Achiote Sauce. Both very good. Everything is served on a table cloth with china and silverware, no disposable plastic ware for us biz passengers.
Dessert was vanilla ice cream with a choice of toppings followed by a small dish of cheeses, dried fruit & crackers. All in all, we thought it was as good as any business class flights we have been on. The pod type seats are typical of the business class seats of most airlines. They extend nearly flat for sleeping and have their own TV’s and fold out tables. It’s now about 8:30pm and 2:30am in Zurich. I watched part of the latest “Pirates of the Caribbean“ but finally gave in and went to sleep, Lynn also. We asked them to wake us for the light breakfast of cereals, breads & fruit just before landing.
Day two, 10/12 Wednesday
We landed in Zurich, Switzerland about 8:30 am, went through emigration and customs, picked up our luggage and went to the Hertz car rental counter to get the keys to a Toyota Verso. A nice compact and comfortable stick shift car. Lynn was planning on doing all the driving with me navigating. It would cost an additional $125 if I was listed as a driver, plus Lynn is an excellent driver, hard keeping her under 100mph on the Autobahns. Well now we are off, or so we thought. We had not driven very far when my new Garmin GPS froze. Our whole trip depends on a working GPS. We found our way back to the airport and decide we better rent a GPS from Hertz for about $250. Off we go again and of course my GPS starts working, but we decide to keep the rental as a backup. Our first stop is to visit a church in the tiny village of Salez, Switzerland where Lynn’s G,G,G,G.G,G,G,Grandfather was a pastor and emigrated to America. The baptismal font that he used for baptizing is still there. However a small scandal rocked the church, he impregnated the cleaning woman. This encouraged him to take advantage of an offer from America to pastor a church in Philadelphia. So were it not for the scandal, Lynn and all her family would not be here today, such is fate. No one at the church, but it was open so we took a look around and a few pictures, back on the road towards our first stop, Hotel Maximilian in Reutte Austria. The scenery is breathtaking with the snow capped Swiss Alps all around us and lush green farm land everywhere, crisscrossed with rivers and streams. We arrived at the Hotel Maximillian about 4pm after a long ride through the countryside and a couple detours that the GPS got us around. We sat on our balcony overlooking the Alps and had happy hour, (actually more like a half hour). We went to dinner at the hotel’s restaurant and I had the boiled sausage on a bed of rice with sauerkraut & fried potatoes, very good, Lynn the boiled pork, desert ice cream. Fun place, everyone friendly and happy, maybe to much beer?? A man had brought a hand cranked music machine, which used a paper tape like a player piano. Well off to bed, exhausted.
Day three, 10/13 Thursday
Woke at 8, light rain. Free breakfast is good, lunch meats, bread, rolls, jams, fruit, coffee and boil your own eggs. You put your egg in a color-coded holder then put it in the boiling water and take a minute glass timer to the table. The timer is 3 minutes, so if you want it harder, time it longer. Leaving for Mad King Ludwig’s castle about 10:15, it’s about 14 miles away. Neuschwanstein castle is the one Disney’s Cinderella Castle is modeled after. When Ludwig became king upon his father’s death he was only 18 and had no desire to do much ruling, but he liked to build castles and had quite a collection. This one was started in 1869 and still not finished in 1886 when King Ludwig at age 40 died under mysterious circumstances. He had been declared mentally unfit to rule Bavaria and was evicted from the castle, two days later he was found drown in a lake. He had only spent 172 days there. The castle was open to the public 6 weeks after his death and is completely original. The interiors many gold gilded carvings could only be described as extravagant and lavish. Oh, by the way, this was only a summer castle, as he wintered in his opulent really extravagant Linderhof palace, which we will tour tomorrow.
On the way back to our hotel we went to see the “Church in the Meadow”. Wieskirche is another of those gigantic ornate churches built in the middle of nowhere because of a miracle. As the story goes, a much-venerated statue of a scourged (whipped) Christ, was the focus of worship in a peasant’s barn, when in 1738 it supposedly wept. Well, word spread and pilgrims came from all around and the money started pouring in until they built the church you see today. And the money and pilgrims still keeps coming. Interesting and free, but donations gladly accepted. Back to the hotel at 6 PM in time for a late Happy Hour before dinner. We have driven 270 miles so far. Went to the hotel restaurant, me the wienerschnitzel, Lynn the spaetzle, both good. I asked for a small cup of vanilla ice cream, she said what topping? I said none, she seemed surprised, well I was surprised when I got it, a tiny tablespoon of ice cream in a large ice cream cup. Guess it’s the topping that makes it.
Day four, 10/14, Friday
Up 6:30, breakfast and heading to visit King Ludwig’s palace. This is where he spent most of his time. He was a loner. Tall and considered very good looking, he was engaged once but broke it off and showed no further interest in women. He maintained a private fantasy world, which included a underground fake grotto with a lake, swan shaped boat, electric lighting (first in Bavarian) and even a stage where he could watch operas from his balcony box alone. His dining room table would lower into the floor to the kitchen below so it could be completely set and raised without the bother of servants scurrying about. The 15-mile drive to the castle followed along a river and lake with the Alps in the background, fantastic scenery. The interior décor is maybe the most elaborate we have seen in Europe, including the palace of Versailles from where he got many of his ideas, however on a smaller scale. The grounds are resplendent with the usual fountains, gardens and walkways that are the trademark of many European palaces. Castles were built for defense, usually on a high mountain, while Palaces were built for luxury and show. Building a palace or castle like this is measured in years not months, with some taking 10 to 18 years. The castle only had a third of it’s interior finished at his death.


Well enough castles, palaces and fairytales for now, it’s time to visit the top of the world. Heading for Zugspitze and the highest mountain in Germany. However we decided to do it the easy way. Instead of scaling it, we will be taking the lift from the Austrian side which is cheaper, both meet at the top where there are several restaurants with stunning views, plus outside seating areas. The cable cars are large with a capacity of 100, but off-season there were only a few people in it. The ride up is amazing, you are suspended hundreds of feet above the ground on what looks like a couple strings, then every once in awhile you bump over a cable support tower and at the midpoint you pass the other car descending. Stunning sights, views and scenery. Even though the temperature at the top was around zero, there was no wind and it felt comfortable. It is a beautiful bright sunshine day and you can see forever. Quite a sight looking down at the clouds, valleys and villages from almost 10,000 feet. A fantastic panorama, pictures don’t do it justice, we spent about an hour up there then took the car back to earth.
Heading back to the hotel, Lynn said we should visit the nearby ruins of Ehrenberg Castle. A Rick Steves guidebook recommendation, he described as a 30-minute walk. Well, let me tell you it may have been 30 minutes, but it was 30 minutes of Hell climbing a rock shrewd, rutted, winding steep trail. Did I mention muddy? Not a tourist friendly walking shoe path. I suspect Rick never walked it. Anyway we made it and it was interesting. The castle built in 1296 was one of many used to extort money from merchants of the salt trade as they passed through the valley. It’s now after 5PM and the rock shrewd, rutted, winding, muddy, steep trail is a little easier going down, about 20 minutes. Well, back at the hotel around 6:15 for a hard days happy ½ hour. Dinner at 7. Off to bed.
Day five, 10/15 Saturday
We had to get on the road early for our “Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest “ tour at 1:30. We spent 3 nights at the Maximilian Hotel and enjoyed it. 3 nights with breakfast costing about $460 USD. The drive to the Nest is 146-miles driving along some more beautiful lakes and rivers. Now in the early light the cool air has steam rising off the waters and with the sun starting to shine over the mountains it lends a golden glow to the scene. However with a non-refundable reservation if you miss the tour, we have to make time. The cost is $133 USD and involves a 4-hour tour on 2 different buses. We met the tour and boarded a bus for the Nazi documentation center in the area known as Berchtesgaden, where about 1930 Hitler and the upper 3rd Riche echelon had their homes and headquarters. They first cleared the whole valley of people, bought or stole their homes and businesses. They tore down what they didn’t want and secured the area with fencing and squads of SS troops. Then they started building a vast underground bunker system, which stretched about 4 miles through solid rock and could also serve as a command post for Hitler. We toured a few sections of the massive complex, which at one time contained diesel generators, fuel bunkers, kitchens, dining halls and many rooms for the elite and SS guards. Also a massive elevator to Hitler’s home above was being constructed but never finished. The bunker project started in the 30’s was halted when they were winning the war and thought to be unnecessary, however when the tide started turning about 42 or 43 the project was put on high priority, employing as many as 3000 slave laborers. It became so large that allied surveillance planes took notice, and fearing it was a underground project for a new secret weapon, made a massive bomb raid on the area, wiping out many of the buildings but leaving much of the bunkers intact. Next we boarded a special 4 wheel steering bus that could negotiate the sharp winding turns to the upper area of the Eagles Nest, the final ride up is in a special Ottis elevator. The Eagle’s Nest was built as a 50th Birthday gift to the Fuhrer. It was promoted by Martin Borman and funded by the Nazi party and other contributions. Who wouldn’t donate to make Hitler happy, don’t think it would be wise to be on the no donor list. While a fortune was spent to build the perch, Hitler who had a fear of heights only visited it 14 times. The total cost in today’s dollars would be over 2 billion. It was not setup for overnight visits and only had 3 rooms and a large kitchen, which was never used. Instead they cooked down the mountain and brought it up. The interior is exactly as it was in Hitler’s day, but contains a restaurant today. The Americans intended to blow up the complex when they were exiting Germany in 1952 in order to prevent the neo Nazis from rallying there. However the town’s mayor convinced them to leave it so it could be a tourist attraction for the area. Interesting and worth seeing but a little pricey mainly due to the 2 bus rides.
Now we are heading to our next hotel, The Golden Krown in Salzburg Austria. The GPS took us as close as it could because the street the hotel is on is a pedestrian walk and nobody mentioned that, anyway with the help of a local we finally figured it out. Then parking was a few blocks away and I got lost finding our way back, my fault. In our room about 7 pm. Had our relaxing HH then out for dinner at the nearby “Kundebeleg” restaurant. I went for the sausage combo and Lynn the pork. Each a glass of good German beer. To bed.
Day six, 10/16 Sunday
Up at 7, had the free breakfast and then walked the old city. Like many of the old European city’s, it has the narrow winding cobble stone streets but the shops are all about tourist junk. We had lunch in a Norwegian fast food place and it was very good. We shared a lox and hardboiled egg on a small sub roll with some fried potatoes. Next we visited another richly ornate church and the interesting graveyard where you rent the space for 10 years at a time, then you (the living) receive a bill for the next ten years, no pay, no stay. They didn’t say what they did with the no pay customer. Stopped back at the hotel to get ready for our trip to the salt mine.
Salt was big business in this area for maybe a 1000 years or more and still is. Now we are off to the Salzzeitreise salt mines. First they have you put on miner’s coveralls and wait for your tour. While waiting Lynn struck up a conversation with a couple from Saudi Arabia. Searching for conversation of a mutual interest she said she saw on TV where the price of crude is dropping. He nodded, smiled politely and disappeared, suspect he didn’t want to hear that. When our tour is called they load you aboard a small mine train that takes you deep into the mountain. Next you mount a wooden slide two at a time and drop about 100 feet to the next level where there are exhibits and displays of the mining process. We walk through some tunnels and mount another slide that drops you another 100 feet or so, where there is a huge underground lake. You board a barge and are drawn across the lake to music and a light show. The lake is really a settling pool to leach the salt out of the rock. This process take several years, then the salty brine is pumped to drying vats until it finally becomes table salt. We viewed some interactive displays and exhibits before boarding an elevator to the surface level, then back on the train to exit. It was better then my description and worth doing. More at www.salzzeitreise.de. We arrived back to the hotel around 5:15 and went to a Rick Steves recommended restaurant where we met 4 other USA Rick Steves book carriers. To be recommended in his book is a big boost to anyone listed. Now we decided to take the “funicular” (a sort of elevator) up to see Hohensalzburg Fortress and the city lights at night. The fortress built on a rock 400 feet above the Salzach river was so foreboding that no one attacked the town for thousands of years and the city was never taken by force. But when Napoleon stopped by the city they surrendered without a shot. Back to bed.
Day seven, 10/17 Monday
We had breakfast and checked out. On the road by 8;30 for the 90 mile drive to the BMW factory tour. We should arrive at 10 to pick up our reservations, which are difficult to get and can only be made by phone from the US. While waiting for our tour to be called we wandered around their huge showroom with all the different models, cutaway engines, interactive displays, etc. They put on a motorcycle stunt rider show right on the main floor with spins, wheelies and stair climbs. You can ask to take cars out for a demo on their test track. The tour begins with a movie then on to the plant across the street. We start in the stamping room where the car parts are formed from rolls of sheet steel. Then on to the robotic area where the panels are put together and spot-welded, all with out human intervention. Amazing watching these robots work. Moving on we watch as the assembled car bodies are tumbled in to a primer dip tank and completely submerged. Moving on to a spray paint area where the robotic ballet continues. Fast running water carries off the spray dust as robots open the doors hood and trunk and the high speed spinning spray guns move all around and in the car. They go through 4 spray processes like this including the final color and clear coat. We follow along and watch as robots pick up, check alignment, then fasten the front and back windshields. Now it moves to the assembly area where more human intervention is required, such as installing wiring, lights, dash, etc. So basically we saw a car being built from a roll of sheet metal to a drive out the door finished car. I think they said they build 900 per day. Heading to our next hotel, Munchner Kindl in Munich, Germany. Arriving about 4. Went out to explore the old Munich City area. We stopped at the famous HofBrauhaus for dinner and of course a beer. This is the famous beer hall where Hitler would give some of his long-winded speeches. It was destroyed during WW11 but quickly rebuilt. It is still a rowdy fun place with oompah bands playing during lunch and dinner. This is where you see the big boobed Barvarian dressed bar girls carrying 6 or 8 mugs of beer to the tables. We had the sausage and sauerkraut and each the smallest beer you could order which would be a large mug here. Walked back to the hotel, bed.
Day eight, 10/18 Tuesday
Just one night here so we had the free breakfast and checked out about 8:30. They play a lot of American 60’s & 70”s music over here, not just for the tourists, they seem to like the oldies. Weather has been mostly great. Some early morning fog or light rain but ok by noon. Heading to tour the Dachau concentration camp. The infamous camp was built in 1933, shortly after Hitler gained power. It was to be a model camp for political prisoners and to train the guards for more camps to come. Compared to Auschwitz, where more then a million died only 32000 died here. This however doesn’t exactly make it a resort as it became as brutal and crowded as the others. It had ovens and gas chambers but on a smaller scale. After the war the fences were taken down but many former prisoners had no place to go so they stayed. It also housed former camp officials who were convicted in the Dachau trials and later refugees from Eastern Europe. It was closed in the 60’s. The picture to the right is from the main gate with the concentration camps favorite slogan, “WORK WILL SET YOU FREE”.
Now heading to Hotel Klosterstueele in Rothenburg, Germany. We hoped to drive part of the way on what is called the “Romantic Road” but we had so much trouble trying to follow it we gave up. While we were on it for awhile we missed a turn somewhere along the twisting 2 lane backcountry roads. We arrived at our hotel about 5 with parking just outside. The hotel is very nice, Lynn said romantic, hmm we’ll see. Another quaint Old City. It reminds us of Prague. It has the usual winding narrow street, etc but not the big name clothing and other outlet type shops. We had dinner at the nearby restaurant.
Day nine, 10/19 Wednesday
Forgot the alarm so up at 8, free breakfast at 9. Good breakfast, with eggs cooked to order and all the other goodies. Looks like an all day rain so we will drive to Nuremberg to visit the Nazi documentation center, about 55 miles. This museum tries to answer the inevitable question that anyone who has visited Holocaust sites wants answered, “HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN”. The well-laid out museum, which you tour with an audio guide does it’s best to provide an answer. It traces the National Socialist movement (Nazi), focusing on how it both energized and terrified the German people. This is the site of the rally grounds where you have seen Hitler giving one of his speeches before 100’s of thousands parading troops and spectators all swearing allegiance to the Fuhrer. The huge complex while used for the propaganda films seen by millions was never completed, including the Congress Hall, which stands today looking like a Roman amphitheater without the seats and the planned for roof. Back to our hotel about 4, overcast but no rain, walked around the old streets and along a section of the cities old defensive wall. Then we visited the huge Christmas shop in town. About 6 now and going to dinner at the same place as last night. Hmm, Lynn mentioned again how romantic everything is. Nof said.
Day ten, 10/20 Thursday
Up at 6:30, breakfast and room excellent. On the road about nine, heading to the Rhine area and hotel Kranenturm in Bacharach, Germany. Arrived at the Hotel around noon. It was locked so I rang the bell. A Philippine woman stuck her head out a window and asked what I wanted, I said we had reservations. She scurried down and let me in, showed us a choice of rooms, one next to the railroad tracks with a view of the Rhine or one with no tracks and no view. The travel guide warned about the noisy trains so we picked the no view. The hotel is ancient but the room is ok and the bathroom is clean and modern, except the sink is in the bedroom. However this worked ok, since one could do their business while the other washed or shaved. We got settled then walked the town wall to visit some old church ruins, then further up to visit an old castle which had a café, where we bought coffee and a snack. We went back to the room and are going to catch the 3:00 Rhine river cruise. The cruise line dock is a short walk from our hotel. The cruise goes down stream to St Goar then returns. It’s about a 2 hour trip along the Rhine with mountains and castles on both sides, some in ruins, some restored and used today. Many freight boats plying the river, most are family owned and are their house. They also carry their car or cars on board along with everything they own. Enjoyable ride.
Back about 5 and time for HH before dinner. We ate in the Hotel’s restaurant, only a few people there as it is off season and they will be closing soon. Our very, very talkative Philippine hostess greeted us and we met her very, very quiet husband Kirk who is the chef and all around handy man. Dinner was good although I forget what we had. To bed.
Day eleven, 10/21 Friday
Up at 6:30 for the included breakfast, which was very good. We left about nine and plan on visiting Rheinfels castle in St Goar. The castle was built in 1245 and withstood a French assault in 1692 but in 1797 the French revolutionary army destroyed it. While still a huge complex it is only a fraction of it’s former self and has been used as a source of building material over the years. Now we started driving the 265 miles to the airport hotel.
Lead foot Lynn doing 100mph on the Autoban. Well, after nearly 6 hours of driving we made it to the “Welcome Inn” near Zurich Airport around 5:30, had a HH and walked to a nearby Chinese restaurant. Picture below is Lynn near the finish line after 6 hours of driving. Obviously not of the sturdy Nordic type women that used to pull the plows, but guess I’ll keep her. The Welcome Inn Hotel near the Zurich Airport was very nice, more like a better class USA hotel. Well, to bed.

Day twelve, 10/22 Saturday
Up at 6 am to return our rental car and be ready for our 10:10 am departure. The rental GPS had a bad keyboard so we ended up using mine the whole way, hope to get a refund. Now my GPS won’t obtain a satellite signal, but we are close enough to get there without it. We returned the car to the Hertz garage, no one there so you just deposit the key in a mail slot. We stopped at the Hertz rental counter in the airport and asked for a refund for the GPS, which she processed. We made our way through check in, as Biz Class passengers we have priority lines, which are shorter and faster. The AA ticket agent said to Lynn “you have been randomly selected”, visions of free flights and sugarplums danced through our heads for a brief instance, until she continued, “an additional security check and body scan”. Well with luggage checked in, on to security, we went through with ease and figured they forgot the extra security check. They called us for boarding at 9:30 and as priority passengers we board first. They didn’t forget the additional security check after all, this is where they took Lynn aside, went through her carry on with a fine tooth comb, did a body search and x-rayed some of her carry on items. We were the last to board. As soon as you’re seated they offer a flute of champagne or OJ. It’s a bit early for us but the stewardess assured me that the captain wouldn’t need my help steering so we selected the bubbly. Take off was at 10:25am,
4:25 NY time for the 8 or 9 hour 4192 mile flight. They started serving lunch as soon as we reached cruising altitude. It was actually a full dinner, starting with a dish of warm nuts & Crudités and dip. The appetizer was grilled shrimp, sesame smoked tuna & seaweed wrapped halibut and salmon followed by a fresh salad. And gourmet breads. The main course was 4 choices, I selected the Shrimp & Scallops Sambal and Lynn the Chateaubriand (grilled fillet of beef). Desert was a dish of vanilla ice cream with a choice of toppings followed by fruit & cheeses. Once again, like the flight over very good. Now to relax and finish the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Then I watched one more, tried to get some sleep and before you knew it we were approaching the U.S. and they were passing out a “Light Meal”. We had a choice of a deep-dish pizza or a grilled chicken cold plate followed by fresh fruit and cookies, coffee, tea.
We landed about 1:00pm went through emigration, got our luggage and now customs then the Airtrain & sky train to Jamaica Station where we catch the E subway train to the NYPA bus terminal. The subway E train is a local and takes about 45 minutes to get to the Port Authority bus terminal. And is quite a show in it self. With roving musicians or group singers to just plan nuts looking for a handout. Most people we met on our trip whether in Europe or on the subway E train were nice and went out of their way to be helpful. We just missed the 3pm bus but boarded the 3:30 and had the same nutty but nice bus driver who talks to us (sitting in the front seat) all the way down. We usually catch the 3:30 when we come up to visit NY for a couple days. He handed us his wallet to look at pictures of his farm in Bulgaria, his wife, etc. All while driving and beneath a big sign saying don’t talk to the bus driver. Makes the time go. We arrived in AC at 7 pm and were surprised that there was no brass band and news reporters waiting to interview us. So we bought two senior bus tickets for Brigantine, $1.90 and were home about 8:30 exhausted. Frig was empty but Lynn made a couple grilled cheese sandwiches, we sorted through a mountain of mail and to bed.
Lynn drove 1371 miles
We used 41 gals of gas, filling up 5 times for a TL cost of $337.74 at about $8.23 per gallon
The 6-speed stick shift car averaged 33.4 mpg which is good considering all the stop and go driving.
The almost $16000 air fair was free
The round trip flight in a Boeing 767 was almost 8000 miles
We spent about $3600 TL for the 12 days

Another great adventure.
Bob & Lynn Gale

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