Steigenberger Kurhaus Hotel Bad Kissingen

... for cuckoo clocks and Christmas shops. Everywhere there were beautiful shops and quaint cafes. I would return to this town in a minute.

We had local german beer on the return bus trip, you wouldn't see that in the US.

After dinner we went to the lounge to participate in a trivia game. We lost. No surprises there. The big surprise was a woman who is 77 said she would pole dance and she DID! Hysterical. Who knew this crowd could get so rowdy.

At Bamberg we left the Danube-Main Canal. The canal was completed in 1992 and allows ships to travel from the North Sea to the Black Sea. This connection had been dreamed of since Charlemagne tried digging one in the 8th century. Another attempt was made in the 1800s but the advent of the railroad doomed it. It took 20th century technology to make it possible. The canal itself has 34 locks out of the total of ...

The fourth biggest city in Germany, with over one million inhabitants, Cologne (Köln in German) began life as a Roman colony or colonia (hence its name). Its location on the Rhine, at the heart of Germania, was key to its status as capital of the province. The city became a centre for worship, famous for the legend and cult of Santa Ursula, and built several splendid Romanesque churches, which survive today.

By the Middle Ages, Cologne was one of ...

... removed from the castle was removed and hidden to preserve it. Most items were returned to the castle and the things not returned have been bought over the years at private sales.

It was very impressive with beautiful tapestries, furniture, fire place screens and woodwork on the doors and floors. Everything has been redone using original techniques as the residence was completely destroyed inside in 1945. Quite an ...

... down. I wish we'd had more time in each city to explore, but at the same time I'm of course looking forward to Italy, and then coming home to see my family again. Thank goodness I'm here with people that make me feel more at home. I still wish Paige were here, though. Traveling isn't the same without her.

So, back in Munich. Finished reservations, ate too much food. Theme of the trip so far. Then we walked back to Marienplatz, where we spent much of our time in ...

... nearly straight away for a guided tour up to the Bishops palace.  We are all saying, another ABC (another beautiful church or another bloody church) I can’t believe how much money these people must have spent on their castles and palaces when there were starving people in the street.  Everything is paved with gold.  The gardens were just awesome and we spent quite sometime outside before ...

... of the fortified castle (which also housed the parking for the buses!) Once Chris was able to peel me off every cool stone in the towering wall, we enjoyed the great city views. Wow. What an incredibly fortified castle this still is! Most of the castles we have had the opportunity to visit have been in some state of ruin, but the Wurzburg castle is intact. Marveling at the feat of building such a structure with its two sets ...

Us again Well we decided to leave Holland and head for Wurzburg in Germany this is the start of the romantic road ( note janet there is not any it must be a con or the special chuppa chup headache!) We loaded the bike and headed south in great weather warm and sunny in fact since leaving the UK it has been great. Well Wurzburg is 586km from Amsterdam so it was hold tight and here we go, I must admit that driving on the ...

... the ceiling, painted by the Venetian, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, in 1752. The painting features the prince-bishop at the front and female representations of Africa, Asia, and America paying homage to him (he had quite the ego). Individual rooms have Baroque and Rococo styles (from what I gather, Rococo is a mixture of Italian Baroque and French rocaille that focuses on shell-like curves whatever ...

Drove to Lohr am Main.The town lies on the Main in the Spessart (range) about halfway between Würzburg and Aschaffenburgin Lower Franconia. Lohr lies on the eastern slope of the Spessart at abend in the river Main, which swings here towards the south, formingthe beginning of the Mainviereck ("Main Square" - the southernpart of the ...