TravelStream™ news feed for member dannyandkaren on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/dannyandkaren en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 19 Jun 2008 02:25:33 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1212992640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1212992640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1212992640/tpod.html Thu, 19 Jun 2008 02:25:33 -0400 Around Europe in 80 days.

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Leipzig, Saxony, Germany

Monday 9
The drive to Leipzig was good on the smooth three-lane autobahn. The only trouble is there are so many large trucks to negotiate. The scenery was essentially field after field of green wheat.

Our studio apartment about 10 kms from the centre of town was clean, new and fresh and the beds were comfortable. You could feel the building shudder as the trams went by but it wasn't enough to keep me awake after 8 hours on the road.

One of the most interesting things we did in Leipzig was go to the modern history museum to see the Division, Resistance, Dictatorship exhibition. It covered the period from the end of WWII to today. I had no idea that after the war the Russians used the German concentration camps to incarcerate Nazi members and anybody opposing them. Tens of thousands of more lives were lost in the same concentration camps. The exhibition showed what life was like under the communists and how the Stasi made life so difficult. It also chronicled the uprisings and demonstrations. We saw a section of the Berlin wall and watched some videos of the wall coming down and people pouring across the border.

There is a lot of construction work in the centre of town around the town hall so we weren't able to take any photos. As in any European town it has its town hall and town square. A lot of the buildings are new and alternate with the older ones that weren't destroyed during the war. While Leipzig is nothing to write home about (disregarding this blog) it is a very pleasant city that reminds us in some ways of Brisbane; or maybe we are just getting homesick.

Wednesday 11

Just over an hours drive had us in Quedlinburg; a pretty town with its half timbered buildings and its lovely leaf covered town hall. It is easy to walk around and very peaceful.

We went on the tourist tram and although we couldn't understand a word it was nice to see a lot of the houses. Some of them look quite rickety and are leaning in toward each other. The oldest we saw was 1400s.

We had lunch in a pub where the main dishes were very cheap and Danny decided that sausage and sauerkraut is his favourite German dish.

Thursday 12
Wittenburg is also a nice town with a market square and some nice pastel coloured buildings. There was a church spire with some big writing around the base but as the tourist office was closed we are none the wiser as to what it means. There is a small stream that flows through the town. The six inches of water is directed through the streets in open stone channels.

From there we went to Worlitz park. It is a huge park which is advertised as a garden but is actually just a large park with a huge lake, lots of walking paths and a lot of bridges over the lake tributaries. We enjoyed the walk and the fauna. We came across three downy cygnets and three cute red squirrels that were foraging for food on the path.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1212559020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1212559020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1212559020/tpod.html Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:06:21 -0400 Around Europe in 80 days.

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Lodz, Central Poland, Poland

Lodz is a city that is being transformed. There are building and road works everywhere and there are numerous vacant old red brick factory buildings. One of the large factory complexes in the centre of town has been converted into a modern shopping centre that looks like any other shopping centre around the world; lots of brand name shops and a cinema complex.

We walked the main street of Lodz which gave Danny a chance to catch up with his old musical mate Rubenstein who used to live there.

We did a little sightseeing with Paul and Elaine who had arrived from Dublin but our main reason for being in Lodz was the wedding of Danny's work friend Joanna. It was a beautiful and special wedding. While there were many similarities with an Australian wedding there were also big differences.

Joanna and Lukasz arrived together in a cream coloured car with roses attached to the paintwork. Two priests came out of the church to welcome them and then sang the mass. Most people had bouquets which they presented to the bride outside the church. Guests threw small coins on the ground which the bride and groom had to collect for good luck.

When the bride and groom arrived outside the reception they were presented with two vodka shot glasses tied together with a small piece of ribbon. They drank the vodka then threw the glasses over their heads. The glasses smashed on the pavers signifying good luck. They were also presented with bread and salt by their parents to represent prosperity and the difficulties that life may bring.

We all entered the reception room and had to take a glass of champagne. Some words were said and then everyone skulled their champagne. We just took a sip but the people standing next to us indicated that we should finish it off in one go.

There were lots of songs sung to encourage the bride and groom to kiss.

The tables were laden with food when we sat down. There were all sorts of salad (pickled cabbage), cold meats, lentils, bread, fruit, and chocolates. We had a version of chicken noodle soup for entrée followed by roast chicken and schnitzels for main.

As soon as the main course was over everyone was up and dancing. They basically danced all night long. Everyone was dancing for about half an hour and a couple of Conga lines snaked their way around the tables and then everyone sat down for dessert.

There were bottles of vodka on the table and some soft drinks. We all tried the vodka, Danny and Paul in particular. There was more dancing with everyone dancing in couples. They were very good and could have been contenders for a ballroom dancing competition. Two hours later I thought we had finished dinner and then they brought around a type of sausage roll and beetroot soup. More dancing, more vodka and two more hours later and they brought around serves of roast meat and rolled steak with small dumplings in gravy.

The MC had everyone playing games. The bridal party played a Simon Says type of game. If they didn't do as required they had to skull a shot of vodka. In another game Lukasz and Joanna took off one of their shoes, guests had to compete in a kind of game those who won had to run around the room, the girl kissing all the men and the guy kissing all the women in the room.

I thought we had finished eating and then they brought around kebabs and steaks with pineapple and cheese and bowls of chips.

Then there was more vodka and more dancing. Danny and Paul tried the home made vodka,70% proof which was available at the traditional food and sausage stand at the back of the room.

Joanna and Lukasz lit a candle together. Then the guests went up one by one and lit their candle from the wedding candle. All the lights were off and a romantic song played as the people danced holding their candles. It was very pretty.

We kept waiting for the speeches but they never came. The cake arrived with two huge sparklers to the theme of Star Wars.

The Polish seem to know how to deal with the vodka; the Australians, Irish and Spanish, not so well.

We didn't want to leave before the bride and groom, not realising that in Polish tradition the bride and groom only leave after the last guest has gone. We finally stumbled into bed at 5.30.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1212211740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1212211740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1212211740/tpod.html Fri, 13 Jun 2008 01:44:17 -0400 Around Europe in 80 days.

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Wroclaw, Western Poland, Poland

Saturday 31 May

Our first afternoon in Wrocklaw we headed into the town square. It was full of people milling around and looking at the travel show stands around the town hall. We listened to a rock band for a while and to a brass band that was doing a dance, music routine.

Walked around the cobble stone streets finding a place for dinner. Don't try eating Mexican in Poland; I guess most people wouldn't need to be told that. We ended up with some warm beers, some tasteless Mexican and two hot but not very milky cappuccinos and walked home in the lovely warm summer air along the banks of the river.

Sunday 1 June
We have renamed our Tumski Hotel the 'You-need-to-wear-your-ear-plugski' Hotel because it is so damn noisy. We did not have a good night's sleep. It was so hot we had to have the windows open and there were cars and trucks and trams and horns and people yelling and yahooing throughout the night.

We went into the town to see if we could get a guided walking tour but they don't do them and we had missed the bus city tour so we decided to follow the walking tour in the guide book. We were surprised to see books in the tourist office titled Breslau, the previous German name of the town. After the war the town was included within the Polish border and everything German was eliminated and replaced by something Polish and all Germans were repatriated back to Germany, but the name still sticks.

We walked a long way outside the square to find the start of our tour coming across some strange statues on the footpaths.

The walk started outside the train station which had its share of homeless and disabled people milling about. The walk took in the reconstructed Opera House. Most of the buildings in the city have been rebuilt because they were destroyed in the 80 day siege of Breslau. The Germans decided it was a perfect area to stand their ground against the Russians. They destroyed a lot of the buildings to form barriers. For 80 days there was intense fighting and the buildings suffered.

The Market Square (Reynek) is a popular place. The square contains the city hall and lots of buildings with different roof lines and colours. City hall really is a mish-mash of different styles as it was started in 1290 and building, additions and extensions were added over the centuries.

The Salt Square next door holds the flower market. The guide says there is all sorts of etiquette associated with giving flowers. Always give an odd number of blooms and give yellow to your mother-in-law. Also carnations are not popular as they are associated with the communist era; don't understand that.

The other corner of the Market is enclosed by two charming arched houses known by locals as little John and little Mary house. The arch has an inscription 'Death is the gate to life.'

There are gnomes throughout the city. They are a recently new invention but have been taken to heart by the city. .............


Monday 2 June
Finished off our self-guided walking tour and took in the fruit and veggie market where we saw lots of fruit and vegetables including baskets of strawberries and cucumbers. We also some lovely flower arrangements and masses of roses.

Saint Mary Church looks like a derelict building from the outside, all black and brown, but when you walk inside the vaulted ceiling is impressive. A lot of the decorations were destroyed by the fire in 1945. To the right there is a display for children where there is a collection of moving toys with a music soundtrack. There are bears on sea-saws, rabbits, chickens pecking at the ground and people dancing and scattered throughout these little toys are dolls of the Pope, Jesus and Mary. We have never seen anything like it.

Over the Most Tumski (Tumski Bridge) and we were at the church of the holy cross but we couldn't get in. A lot of the churches are closed to the public with black metal grates just inside the door.

St John the Baptist Cathedral is a gothic construction started in 1244. There was a film crew inside filming a scene involving a German praying in one of the side chapels.

We went up the lift to take in the view of the city. Wrocklaw is larger than you think.

From there were off to the Panorama which was painted by two painters and many assistants between 1893 and 94. The immense painting 120x5 metres is also a combination of real 3D items in the foreground (contemporary vehicles, wood, road equipments etc) and creates a 360 degree very realistic perspective of the battlefield at Raclawice. It places it was hard to identify the break between the painting and the foreground items. The painting was hidden away for 50 years during the communist regime and was only unveiled again in 1985.

Tuesday 3 June
We walked around the botanical gardens and saw some beautiful paeonia flowers. They are plants with the most enormous pink to red blooms. The gardens are a green oasis in the middle of town for which you pay 7 zlots (3.50AUD) for the privilege. There are water falls and ponds full of green frogs.

Scoured the antique stores in town for a bargain; but no success. The shop owners just scowl at you and follow you around the store with their arms crossed. Not the most customer friendly approach I have experienced!

We decided we go on the 'river cruise'. We couldn't get on the larger boat for reasons that were not clear to us and we ended up on the shorter gondola trip which was basically 40 minutes on a dark tea coloured river with a funny smell, going past old camping grounds, un-mown river banks, traveller camps and decrepit areas. What fun!

We headed into town for dinner and had Italian at a restaurant on the square. A young guy came up to me and offered me a small card with a picture of the pope on the front and what I assumed was a prayer on the back. I shook my head no. He then offered the card to Danny who took one. He then gave him another card with St Christopher's picture. He then offered the cards again to me and I took them. He then held out his hand for money. Of course!

There was another beggar trying all the tables nearest the square. The musicians who rove the square also have a guy wandering through the tables shaking a cup at the restaurant patrons. There are also beggars in McDonalds walking around the tables and women with babies wait for you outside the toilets.

It was another warm day and the sky is still light at 9.30; so it was a leisurely walk home to our hotel to listen to the traffic and the yahoos.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1211659560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1211659560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1211659560/tpod.html Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:39:14 -0400 Around Europe in 80 days.

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Krakow, Southern Poland, Poland

Saturday 24 May
We drove for most of the day through Slovakia. It was so green and pretty with little villages, mountains with a little bit of snow and green pine covered mountains. We saw lots of people tending their garden plots. There were a couple of women who looked like they were in national costume. They wore a coloured scarf around their head, a colourful flowered skirt with a big white apron.

The roads deteriorated as soon as we got to Poland. They were rutted and had large potholes and dirt patches. They were doing lots of road works that left the new work with an 8 inch drop down to the un-bitumened side. It was deadly and dangerous. It took us much longer than we thought to travel the last few kms.

We arrived at our house where the man didn't smile or speak a word of English. He just jabbered on, took our €250 security deposit, showed us the house and was off. The house is in the middle of the countryside, the equivalent of Pullenvale.

We went into Krakow town, dodging trams and watching maniac drivers to pick up Anne and Michelle who had come to join us for a few days. We then had the joy of showing them the house which came straight out of a 70s time warp. Dark brown was obviously a favourite colour. There was brown lino in the kitchen, brown carpet, brown cupboards, a mustard coloured bench seat and wood panelling everywhere.

The plus was that we welcomed by a very friendly black and white cat.

Sunday 25 May
Wieliczka Saltmine is the only place in the world where mining has been continuous from the Middle Ages. It is built on 9 levels and stretches for 300 kilometres. We did the tour which took in only 3 kilometres and saw the salt that oozes through the rock to form cauliflower shapes on the rock surface. We also saw chapels cut in the salt, one of which was lit by chandeliers made of salt, as well as underground lakes. There were lots of religious statues carved by miners. An express lift took 40 seconds to bring us the 135 metres to the surface and back into the sunlight.


Monday 26 May
Our trip to the southern town of Zakopane should have only taken 45 minutes but due to road works we arrived some one and a half hours later.

We walked around the town with its unique dark wooden architecture. It is the centre of sport and mountain tourism with lots of restaurants and souvenir shops. We also saw lots of stalls selling what we though were small breads but ended being logs of smoked cheese pressed into various shapes.

We then went up the funicular to get a view of the Tatry mountains. They are tall and impressive with their covering of snow.

Tuesday 27 May
Auschwitz - nothing can prepare you for the scale of the atrocities that were perpetrated here. We did the tour of Auschwitz 1 camp and saw how people were processed on arrival; how their possession were confiscated and sorted. We were also shown the death wall where 10 000 people were executed. We were told that for every escapee 10 other prisoners were taken and placed in the starvation cells or shot. We also went into one of the gas chambers and crematorium which was shocking and so immensely sad when you thought of all the innocent lives lost. But Auschwitz 1 is only one thirtieth the size of Auschwitz II Birkenau. It is three kilometres away and covers a huge area. This was where the selection of people took place on the train platform with most being directed down to the shower rooms and to death. The camp has been maintained and is considered a cemetery even though there are no grave stones as such. You can see the lakes into which the ashes were disposed.

We stopped in town for dinner at the town square. We watched the horses and carriages going past. The horses are decorated with ribbons and some even have large white feathers attached to the top of their bridle.

Wednesday 28, Thursday 29, Friday 30 May
Michelle and Anne went home to London on Wednesday.

We headed into town and worked out the public transport system. Quite amazing really when you look at the names on the route. Polish words are so hard to get your head around. How do you say drzwi or wyjscie or bezpieczenstwa or czesci? Words like zdzissliwa completely confound me!

In the end we were right and the number 8 tram did get us in to the City square where we were able to do our walking tour. We learnt that over the years Krakow has been invaded by the Mongols, Germans and Russians. Now the tourists are invading. There is a trumpeter who plays a tune from the steeple on St Mary's church on the hour and he gets cut off mid note. This is supposedly because the trumpeter was alerting the township of an attack and was shot by an arrow mid tune. We went into St Mary's with its beautiful carved, golden altar and several other churches that are supposed to be the sites of miraculous events. Wawel hill was included and we saw the castle with its fire-breathing dragon.

There is a lot of amber jewellery for sale and cheap souvenirs but my stroll through the Cloth Market (the oldest craft building in Krakow) didn't tempt me. It was nice and cool inside and as it was at least 30 degrees outside in the Square.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1211400360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1211400360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1211400360/tpod.html Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:50:12 -0400 Around Europe in 80 days.

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Budapest, Hungary

Wednesday 21 May

We were obediently following our Sat Nav directions out of Bled, across Slovenia to Budapest when we had to slow for a border patrol. Which border we thought; and why does the sign say we need to show our passports? We should still be in the EU. Where were we? We handed over our passports to immigration officials and realised that that for the first time ever we were entering a country and we had no idea which country it was. Our passports were stamped Republika Hrvatska. Neither of us had ever heard of it before. However, after consulting a map we realised we had gone into Croatia. It was a nice enough country to drive through and we spent about an hour and a half driving through its now very peaceful and fairly monotonous green countryside.

We arrived at our hotel on the Buda side of Budapest after negotiating some very poor local suburban roads. There are no gutters and deep potholes which look like they had been there since the communist era.

Seeing that we were in Hungary, we had goulash for dinner at a local restaurant which was flavoursome and cheap. We also tried a Hungarian white wine. Perfect.

Thursday 22 May

We bought our city tour tickets from a guy who took us into the foyer of a building to complete the transaction. I was asked to give our travel Budapest discount card to a man behind a desk. The man then gave us two guide books in English in return and directed us to some exhibits and it was then we realised we were in the National Lutheran museum. Now it certainly wasn't on the list of things to do but it ended up being quite interesting.

I had no notion of the foundations of the Lutheran religion or that its teaching goes back hundreds of years. There were exhibits of embroidered altar cloths, gold chalices and old bibles on display.

Having spent an enjoyable half an hour we then spent a little time cruising some antique shops (lots of fun) and then did our city tour. Budapest is a large, sprawling metropolis. A lot of the beautiful buildings of the city were destroyed in the war. The guide pointed out a number of sites relating to the revolutions that had occurred in Hungary. The fact that there was more than one revolution says a lot about the difficult times the city has endured.

They love large statues. Hero Square has a huge statue of the Archangel Gabriel holding the Hungarian holy crown and double cross. Quarter-circular colonnades extend to the left and right and between the pillars are figures of the 'greats' from Hungarian history. There are also impressive figures in armour, some astride rearing horses, on the butt of the tower. .

We got a panoramic view over the city when we visited the old castle quarter. Once again it was full of decorated and grand buildings. It reminds us a lot of Prague but Prague has more nice buildings in a smaller area.

We walked along the banks of the Danube which is disappointingly brown not blue. There were lots of nice restaurants belonging to large chain hotels along the esplanade. We walked across Szabadsag hid, a pretty stone bridge with lions guarding both entrances.

Dinner was at Sorhazpince-Gerbeaud Haz and was, I think, an authentic Hungarian experience. My meal ended up being sausage that was like uncooked black and white pudding accompanied by hot picked purple cabbage and a potato rosti. Not very tasty. I should have ordered Danny's meat loaf and potato.

There is a lot of graffiti in the city. There are also a number of drunks, homeless people and beggars. While you see the grand buildings with their decoration you get the feeling that there is an undercurrent of poverty and crime in the city; that it is still struggling to find a way to move forward and become prosperous.

Friday 23 May

After much confusion over which bus to catch and where we should get off we found our way to Momento Park. It was a long trip and it was hard to make any sense of the bus station names such as Zolyotut, Czqko and Erzsebet. If you can't say them in your head it is hard to recognise them.

Momento Park is a collection of statues and plaques from the communist era that were removed from the city and installed in this one area on the outskirts of town. Some of them are huge and are disproportionate in parts. Some have huge thighs and chests to reflect the strength of the communist worker.

We then went into the exhibition which was in a wooden hall. We read about the 1956 uprising by the students when tens of thousands of people were shot or injured. That uprising marks the start of the decline of the communist regime.

We then watched a real training film from the late 50s or early 60s for trainee Hungarian secret police. It gave instruction on how to organise meetings where the agent could pass on information to his or her controller, how to hand over reports in folded newspapers and how to leave messages in fake wooden logs left in public parks. All seems a bit amateurish now and was a bit of a giggle.

Having returned to town we got on our Legenda boat cruise. We had a glass of moselle as we slowly moved against the strong current of the Danube up to Margaret Island; named after the popular princess Margaret. We went past Parliament house which is one of the most impressive Parliament Houses I have ever seen. Its decoration is intricate and it has innumerable spires and towers. Set right on the banks of the Danube it is one of Budapest's most notable buildings.

The mid point of the cruise was Margaret Island which has a huge park, a rose garden and pond area so it was a pleasant hour stroll before we boarded the boat back to the city.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1208526180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1208526180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1208526180/tpod.html Wed, 04 Jun 2008 01:46:26 -0400 Around Europe in 80 days.

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Rocamadour, France

Hi everyone,

Here is the first blog. Hope you enjoy reading what we have been up to. Hope you are all well.

Friday 4 April - our last day in Dublin.

We had packed, sorted, cleaned, vacuumed, sorted and packed some more over the last few days. Today we finished the vacuuming, emptied the catcher, put the vacuum in the cupboard locked the door and left. Then I got nostalgic. But it didn't last long.

We got caught in traffic on the way to the estate agents. The estate agents office where we were supposed to drop off the keys was closed so I had to wait and go to the office next door. Then we got caught in even more traffic.

Despite reassurances that the way to the rental car place was known, we went the long way round all the time saying "there must be a service station around here somewhere." But there wasn't, not from the centre of the city to the airport. There is of course one right next door to the rental car place but knowing that would have taken all the stress out of the day.

We found the car rental office but by this time we should have been checking in. We then missed the shuttle bus and had to wait another 15 minutes for it to come back.

We entered the Aer Lingus check in area to an announcement of "would the last passengers with reservations on the Aer Lingus flight to Bordeaux proceed to the check in counter." Danny went up and said "arrhh, I think that might be us." The check in lady gave us a suffering look, made a call to check that she could still send bags through and proceeded with the paper work. My bag was 21 and Danny's was 27 kilograms. She asked what other bags we had and then scowled at us. She said that she should charge us but she was prepared to consider this a warning for us and next time we would be charged.

Danny was very pleased as he did not think it would be 27 kilograms. He had repeatedly told me that 'it would be fine. It won't be a problem. It'll fit. It will be under." So we got away with it and Danny was then able to claim that his well formulated master plan of getting there late and forcing the lady not to charge us was all coming together nicely. I was sceptical; although pleased that we hadn't been charged.

His plan unfortunately unravelled when we got to Bordeaux when we found that while we, the overweight passengers with the overweight cabin baggage were delivered, the overweight bags were not! Yikes! My dread of having to hold discussions about lost luggage without even a slim grasp of the French language disappeared when a nice English gent helped us with the paperwork and asked for an address where they could deliver the luggage.

While Danny had been working with the luggage man I went in search of our car lease representative. The paperwork said they would only wait 30 minutes after the plane's arrival and given the trouble with the luggage we were running short of time, yet again! I finally found him and he turned out to be a nice, elderly French man who spoke hardly a word of English, so it matched my French perfectly. So with one word of the other's language we managed to work out way through the lease contract, find the car, and figure out how it all worked. As he was patiently explaining how to work the indicators, air conditioning etc in French for the third time we got a call to say that our bags had been found. They were so fat they had been put on the oversized belt; how embarrassing. All's well that ends well. We obviously have some culling to do before we pack for the return flight. We do not think Qantas will be so kind. However, given that we had to bring sheets, towels etc it might not be too difficult.

We have a Peugeot 207 that had only 4 kms on the clock when we picked it up and is a delight with lots of room.

Thanks to my Sat Nav Christmas present we found our way without a glitch to Le Bourne. We walked around the little town with its pretty market square and ornate buildings had a simple dinner and collapsed.

Saturday 5 April
Went for an early morning walk around the town, down through the town square and to the river which had broken its banks and was slowly making its way around the seats and garbage bins on the banks. We past what looked like part of the walls of the city with a round tower and a pretty bridge with 8 arches.

We headed to Alvignac through pretty towns, vineyards with huge chateaus and through burgeoning springtime countryside that was sunny, peaceful and perfect as we listened to our CDs. It was a magical day and 21 degrees.

Our cottage is actually part of a farm house that was built in the 12 century. The walls are three feet thick and there are large, worn stones for the floor. It is furnished with huge pieces of dark antique furniture which are nice but add to the darkness inside. This is a huge fireplace and you can only try to imagine who must have stood in the same place several hundred years ago to cook dinner. Danny has earned his Boy Scout fire starting badge and has mastered the fireplace and we have had a couple of roaring fires, although the place is still a little cold. We are in the middle of the French countryside with only fields, sheep and an occasional chateau steeple to see from the front of our cottage.

Tonight we had dinner at a pizzeria in Alvignac. The restaurant was decorated with posters and tapestries of sitting bull. The connection between an Italian restaurant in France and American Indians eludes me. The bill was 26 euro for four beers and two main courses which is so cheap and a pleasant change to Dublin.




Sunday 6 April.
Our first view of the town of Rocamadour took our breath away. It is magically perched on the side of the 400 foot cliff and rises in three stages. Half way up the cliff there is a group of massive buildings. The chief of them is the church of Notre Dame (1479) containing a wooden Black Madonna and pilgrims have been coming for centuries to pray for cures. On the summit of the cliff stands the château built in the Middle Ages to defend the sanctuaries. Below the churches is a never ending line of shops and restaurants which have to be there to serve the 1 million summer visitors.
It is a stunning town in an amazing location.


Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 April

We have cruised around the Dordogne Valley taking in the picture postcard villages comprising tiny, charming cottages that look more like doll's houses than real dwellings. There are lots of raised concrete garden beds full of large tulips of every shade and daffodils. We have seen Chateaus perched on hilltops and fields full of dandelions and relaxed looking cows. It has been peaceful and beautiful. The photos say it all.

Wednesday 9 April
We spent a few hours today walking the cobbled streets of Sarlat around the chateau and through the narrow alleyways. Sarlat became a prosperous town at the end of the 8th century when the Benedictines established a monastery there. It is a lovely town of honey coloured buildings with shuttered windows and exposed wooden beams. We had it pretty much to ourselves and were able to pour over the local specialty of walnut liqueur, walnut cake and everything else walnut in the shops. We also drooled over the cakes and pastries in the patisserie; they are works of art.

We then went to the Grottes de Cougnac to view the prehistoric paintings inside the caves which were only discovered in 1952. They are not really paintings as such but outlines of deer and mammoths. It was amazing to consider that they were done 10 000 to 25 000 years ago.

Thursday 10 April
Well the Dublin weather has finally arrived in France. Today was wet, windy and cold. We went to a little town called Gramat where we stumbled across the market in the square selling clothes, handbags, sunglasses as well as fresh produce including local cheeses and meat. We then headed to Park Animalier which is a zoo dedicated to the breeding of endangered species including wolves and lynx. We had a nice couple of hours wandering around looking at the bears, bison and yak and saw some very pretty ducks and some chicken with very fluffy feet.

Friday 11 to Monday 14 April
The lousy weather has forced us to curtail our activities a bit. However we have expanded our French vocab to 50 works thanks to French television.

We headed back to Sarlat to catch the weekly markets which held a stunning array of local products, sausage, cheese and organic fruit and veg.

We went to Beynac which has to be one of the most stunning villages we have ever seen. There is a chateau situated on the very top of the cliff and the village flows down the hill to the banks of the Dordogne. A lot of the houses are covered in flowering wisteria and the air is heavy with the scent of climbing roses. Once again the photos say it all. There are a number of similar villages in the area that have a chateau perched on the top of highest rocky outcrop with houses at its feet. You can see their round turrets of the chateaus dotting the countryside.

We have followed a few of the recommended driving itineraries and have taken in the rolling green hills and what seems to be an idyllic rural French existence. It seems a very relaxed way of life and explains why so many English make the move.
On Monday we headed to Cahors where we got hailed on as we walked along the banks of the Lot River. We walked across the bridge with the three towers with is the landmark of Cahors. From there we went to the resistance museum which was full of photographs and information about the resistance movement in the Lot region and profiled the leaders, major activists and their unfortunate capture and torture by the Germans. It was interesting to see many of the towns we have visited had been a site of resistance action.

From there we went to Saint-Cirque-Lapopie, a village perched on a cliff about the Lot River. It is made up of a network of ancient streets and lovely old buildings that are home to artists and jewellers. The streets are so narrow even a donkey and cart would have difficulty getting through. We had a panoramic view of the Lot Valley from the top of the village.

Tuesday 15 April to Thursday 17 April
We have made a formal complaint about the weather and are awaiting a response. Today is another cloudy, cold, misty day. Hopefully it will improve in the afternoon as it often does.

Tuesday we went to Argentat which has a lovely stretch of buildings along the banks of the Dordogne and Wednesday we spent our time strolling the streets of Rocamadour taking some photographs and appreciating the wild flowers including white daises, tiny blue flowered groundcover and purple irises.

Wednesday we returned to Rocamadour to look at the old buildings and walk the streets one more time. It rained all day Thursday so our trip to Gourdon was a bit of a wipe out. It is probably a pretty enough town in the sunshine but we got caught in the rain and caught in its ring road so we headed home to end a quite day.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1209917340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1209917340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1209917340/tpod.html Wed, 04 Jun 2008 01:42:34 -0400 Around Europe in 80 days.

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Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Goodbye Dublin
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1211002500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1211002500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1211002500/tpod.html Sat, 24 May 2008 01:39:34 -0400 Around Europe in 80 days.

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Bled, Slovenia

Saturday 17 May - Tuesday 20 May

It was a long drive to Bled in the rain but the road was good particularly through Austria.

Bled is a quiet town and has a peaceful charm. Its focal point is the lake. It is much smaller than we thought but is so pretty with the islet in the middle of the lake with a church that takes up most of the land. There is also a castle atop a rocky outcrop on the western side of the lake. It is fairytale like. The backdrop to the lake is steep, forested, snow capped mountains.

All the gardens in town are tidy and everything is clean. There are lots of ducks and swans around the lake and we could see some large fish swimming under the shallow wooden boats which are used to go out to the islet.

The weather did not cooperate for our time in Bled. We had one afternoon where it eased to just raining on and off so we walked around the lake. We saw a mother swan with three cygnets; one was sitting on her back. They were so small and cute covered in soft grey down.

We visited the castle museum. The castle, lake and peasants were given to the Bishop of Blixen by Frederick II of Germany. The church then sold everything and everyone onto another buyer and this continued until the peasants revolted. Don't blame them.

We walked home through the suburbs noting how Swiss the buildings looked and how they have very steep roofs for the snow but also little verandas taking advantage of whatever weather conditions prevail.

Slovenia, or the small part of it that we saw, was one of the most peaceful, friendly and green parts of Europe we have seen.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1210414440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1210414440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1210414440/tpod.html Tue, 20 May 2008 06:26:11 -0400 Around Europe in 80 days.

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Lake Como, Italy

Saturday 10 May
The road to Lake Como was fine and the countryside was pretty up until Milan. The roads here are narrow so once again it is a case of jagged rock faces, steep descents and maniac drivers.

There are so many cyclists on the roads. They are dressed in their black lycra with fluorescent stripes and patches. They look like they take their sport very serious. They cycle as singles, in twos and in groups of 20 which makes it difficult to overtake them at times.

There are also hundreds of motorbikes that are all speeding. We saw at least two almost disasters where bikes were trying to overtake just as someone was going to turn across them. Danny said driving is like playing a computer game where things jump out at you from the sides of the screen and you have to dodge and weave your way through them.

Up and up, round and round and we found the village of Veleso and the house. There was an Italian woman waiting for us outside the front door. She showed us in; babbled the entire time in Italian and then left. All we found out was that there is no washing machine and she doesn't know where there is one. Oh dear.

We have the top floor of the house with a fantastic view down to the lake with the villages on the banks. We can also see down the valley through to parts of the lake and Switzerland way in the distance. The house is in 1930's style with huge rooms and chandeliers in the lounge and bedroom.

Sunday 11 May
Bellagio is a stunning town right on the lake's edge. It has large grand buildings and lovely restaurants with classy customers bedecked in white linen with large sunglasses and lots of gold and men attired in snappy leisure jackets taking in the sunset and views of the other villages on the opposite side of the lake. We walked along the tree lined boulevard along the lake edge and past the garden beds full of mini pansies and other pretty coloured annuals.

Monday 12 May
Today we drove down to Como and then up the western side of the lake until we reached Tremazzo village and Villa Carlotta. It is a grand, three storey, square house with manicured gardens, a fountain and a double staircase to the entrance way. The villa contains some large marble sculptures and some noteworthy paintings.

We went for a walk through the gardens, famous for its azaleas and rhododendrons. They would have been in their prime about three weeks ago but you could still tell how pretty they must have been. They were in all shades of orange, red and mauve.

Monday 13 May
We headed down to Bellagio to go for a cruise on the lake. We opted for a return ticket to Colico which gave us a four hour boat trip right up to the top of the lake. It was a wonderful day. The sun was shining, the boat had a bar on board and we were able to get a glass of white wine for €1.50. We sat outside on the slat bench seat on the back deck and watched the terracotta villages on the lake shore as we floated by. The water of the lake is clean and green and looks like sea water. There are pencil pines and church towers punctuating the scenery. All the towns are pretty and clean. They are all peppered with restaurants and souvenir shops but there is nothing cheap looking about the area. The setting is made complete by the snow capped mountains. It isn't a complete cap but a dusting of snow with some more solid patches in the valleys.

Wednesday 14 May
Today we went to Lago Del Segrino which is a smaller lake south of Lake Como. We took an hour to walk all the way around it. It was a good walking path so it was pram city with all the mothers out strolling with their babies. There were also lots of people lying sun baking on the waters edge.

Thursday 15 May
The drive was much more enjoyable once we reached the larger carriage way to travel north to St Mortiz, but we had to contend with the tunnels some of which even have merging lanes from other tunnels. I swear the country has been invaded by an army of moles there are so many tunnels.

When we reached the Swiss border we had to show our passport to the uniformed guard. The guard went away with our passport and returned with two other guards. We were then asked us to get out of the car and stand in front of it. The guards then took 15 minutes to do a thorough search of the car. They looked in the boot, took the back seat out, checked out the door panels and even looked with torches along the engine firewall. We must have proven very boring for them with only one bag containing camera, video and map. In contrast we breezed through the Italian check point on the way home; the guards barely raising their eyes as we drove through.

We drove up the Julie Pass to St Mortiz. We had seen the mountains speckled with snow but the closer we got the more of the snow we could see. At some points it was on the edge of the road. Once on the plateau we saw a lake that was frozen in parts. Fishermen were trying their luck on the edge where the ice stopped. Another lake had big sections of crushed ice where two sheets of ice had been pushed together and had snow right down to the waters edge. It was hard to imagine just how much snow it must get in winter.

St Moritz has a higher and lower section to the town and both parts were dead. It is a ski town and nothing happens in the summer. There were hardly any people and most of the shops including the designer stores were closed. The only shop open was a chocolate shop. We did find some restaurants but they wanted $25 for a burger so we went hungry.

Friday 16 may
We can't see the lake or the valley as we are actually above some clouds and in the middle of others. We had thought of walking today but it is just too wet. You can see the water dripping off the veranda railings. So it was a nice day to stay inside and enjoy our villa.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1209621780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1209621780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dannyandkaren/1/1209621780/tpod.html Mon, 19 May 2008 02:46:27 -0400 Around Europe in 80 days.

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Riomaggiore, Italy

Thursday 1 May

Headed off from our village following path number 4 to get to Colle del Telegrafo. We didn't end up at Telegrapho, we ended up at Valico di Sant' Antonio. How that happened we are not quite sure. You follow the numbers and end up somewhere you weren't planning to be. Despite all that it was a nice walk through conifer forests and it only added another couple of kilometres to the total days walking.

Our destination was Rio Maggiorie. We followed the turn off and took number 3 track. We passed through a gate which is part of the fence to keep the wild boar out and walked up and up and up. We crossed a rock slide and then saw some steps that seemed to be leading straight up to the sky. Hmmm. Perhaps another false destination? Yes, we had taken the wrong turn somewhere and ended up in wild boar territory yet again. However, the sun was shining and we did get a stunning view down to the village. Danny was all for continuing our walk up the stairs as he was convinced that the path swung around and came back down the other side of the village. I was not quite sure and opted for the cautious approach which meant back tracking about 3 kilometres.

We came across a church on the top of one of the headlands. It used to be a site of religious pilgrimage with people walking up from the village. Now it is a place of pilgrimage for the hundreds of tourists that crawl all over it. We followed the rocky path down a deep descent into the village to find that it had gone mad. The outside information booth was staffed, there were officials directing people onto buses and people were everywhere. It seems that 1 May is official tourist madness day.

There were 45 people waiting to get on our last bus service for the day to Biasa. Trouble was the bus only takes 25. However, that did not stop anyone. They just all piled on, including us and like a tin of sardines we chugged, slowly back up the hill. About 20 of us got off at Biasa. We had been two of four the previous day. We later found out that this is a long weekend with a Labour Day holiday as was last weekend which explains the number of cars on the road. .

We went to the local Tratorria for dinner. The best thing about the night was watching the cook make little bread type wafers. He heated a number of concave pottery dishes above a roaring fire. He then took them to the bench were he filled one with a batter then placed another dish on top. He then filled this one with batter and so on until he had about 10 plates piled on top of each other. He then pressed down hard on them, flipped them over, pressed again and then flipped the first dish off to reveal a cooked thin, round, wafer type bread which he placed in a woven basket. When he had half a dozen or so he took them to a table where the people ate them with a selection of cold meats.

Friday 2 May

There were 40 people waiting for our 20 seat bus to Riomaggiorie this morning. We are an old hand at this now and know that you scramble through the back door for a seat. Danny was not sure the brakes would hold as we descended into the village, but they did. I am not too sure about my ear drums. The bus had a number of squealing young Italian girls on it who seemed to scream every time the bus went over a bump. The rest of the time they just yelled to each other in normal conversation. I swear I will never get used to that.

We caught the train to Levanto which isn't officially part of the Cinque Terra but is a lovely town in its own right. The beach is black sand but the water is clear and clean and there are huge villas up the headland.

Full of lunch we set off on our walk to Monterosso. We didn't get lost today or end up at a surprising location. We did climb a long way up from sea level right across the mountain range and were able to look at the layered mountain range to the north with Levanto in the foreground.

On the other side of the range lies Monterosso. It was a long way down on a path that needed some serious attention as the rain had washed all the stones away and we were just walking down a gulley. You have to pay to walk the paths and some funds need to be diverted to path reconstruction before the tourists end up destroying what they have come to see.

We saw a number of lovely flowers on the walk; roses, jasmine, honeysuckle, dandelions, iris, sweet pea, bottlebrush and according to Danny 'white things that look like sun jewel flowers but they are on a bush'.

Monterosso looks lovely from afar with its harbour and coloured houses. Down in the midst of it, it is another matter. We are now convinced more than ever that May is madness. Walking the main street of Monterosso was like walking Cavell Avenue on a Saturday night in the height of the tourist season. I know it is hypocritical to complain about tourists when we are obviously contributing to the problem by two, but we didn't come here to see tourists, we came to see the countryside and experience Italy. Which brings me to an interesting observation; the majority of the tourists are Italians. There are some Americans, some Australians, Germans and a few others that you greet on the paths but most are 'locals'. They are loving the place to death.

We caught the train back to Riomaggiorie. What a trip! We were pushed onto the train, caught up in the stream of tourism with every part of my body being touched by another foreign body. We found ourselves in a first class carriage when we are only supposed to be in a second class carriage according to our Cinque Terra pass, but who is going to care, and what conductor would have a hope in hell of checking tickets. We got pushed further and further into the train.

At the next station there were so many people they couldn't get on until everyone pushed in tighter and tighter down the central aisle of the carriage. There were arguments with men screaming at Cinque Terra Park Officials and the officials screaming back and there was a woman with a baby who was yelling at just about everyone. What fun! We pushed our way off at our station and had to walk quickly up the steep hill to get to our last bus which was filling with people as we arrived at the stop. Luckily we got some seats and we arrived back in the village safe and sound to have a cold beer on the patio and review the day's madness.

Saturday 3 May
What a walk. An altitude of 700 metres in 2 kms! Doesn't sound much when you put it like that, but it is. Particularly when you are walking in the hot sun. I chose the walk because it was a circuit from Manarola and more importantly, it would avoid us having to catch the train in the afternoon. It was just up and up along the mountain ridge to the summit, then along, walking in an out of the valleys and then down. It wasn't just me complaining which you would expect; even Danny said it was tough. We left at noon and got in at 4.50pm and most of that was just walking. There are no cafes to stop at in the mountains. We stumbled into Manarola and had cold, sweet, creamy gelatos. Figured I had walked off the calories earlier in the day. The legs were very sore. My calf muscles wanted to cramp and I was covered in scratches from the thorny bushes on the path. Yes, we do this for fun!?!

When we were at the highest point of the walk I could have sworn I heard a wild boar grunting. That scared the %&^* out of me. I really, really, don't want to see one of them. We were going to continue on our way away from the noise but then the path markers disappeared yet again so we had to retrace our steps. Yikes - but no boar. In the end we had to trust instinct and we did eventually find the path, no thanks to the Park management. I would complain, but to whom and how?

We had lost the path earlier in the day because the paint is so worn away we missed the mark on a rock. It was only after we had walked and climbed our way through undergrowth and up steep terraces that we decided we must have lost our way and retraced our way. Then we finally saw the faint marker.

There wasn't a lot of scenery to view from the path because it was all dense forest, some pine some just bush. We knew we were going higher and higher and we could catch glimpses of the villages below but it wasn't like the other walks where we had been able to get fantastic views. I am now officially banned from choosing the walks.


Sunday 4 May

Today we went to Levanto on the train where we sat on the black, gravely beach and soaked up some sun. We then strolled around the streets looking in the windows of boutiques that had some lovely items but Italian style does not come cheap.


Monday 5 May

We were up early for our trip to PortoFino. The first leg was to Santa Margheurita which is a busy, big town with a huge harbour full of expensive looking yachts. The shops all stock high quality merchandise and you can smell the money in the air. There are some massive homes on the hillsides with ornate decoration.

We walked along the boardwalk for a little way taking in the shops and the colour of the ocean and we saw some really big fish feeding off the rocks very close to shore. We walked past a few ritzy hotels and were amazed at the jade green colour of the water.

Porto Fino is the place for the rich and famous with Gucci, next to Pucci and shoe stores that sell men's shoes for €1100. It used to be a favourite haunt of Clarke Gable, Orson Wells and Kim Novak. There were a couple of grand yachts in the harbour. The restaurants border the harbour and there is a church tower as a focal point. It may be over-rated and over priced but it is still pretty as all the tourists will attest. There was a cruise ship further out in the bay and there were tenders ferrying the passengers to and from the village.

We walked up the headland for a good view of the village and walked around to the other side where the water was a stronger blue colour and you could still see massive fish swimming around.

We drove to Porto Venere for dinner. It has a lovely view of the lights of La Spezia. We ordered pasta in a crab sauce for prima course and then I ordered mixed grilled fish and Danny ordered grilled scampi. The first course was huge and was very rich as the twirly pasta was covered in a rich, buttery crab sauce. It was very nice but a little went a long way. We washed it down with a bottle of locally produced Cinque Terra DOC white wine which was a rich yellow colour and quite fruity; almost like a moselle.

Tuesday 6 May

We spent a quiet morning on our patio looking out over the village and at the green trees, so green, so lime in colour that if you tried to recreate the colour in a painting it would look fake. We also spent some time watching the antics of the tortoise in the neighbour's garden as he walked around the handkerchief sized lawn and long the concrete ledges. One of the other neighbours came in and gave him some lettuce and some fresh water.

We went to Vernazza which is a village right on the waters edge and then caught the train for a last look at Monterosso with its green shutters, cafes and souvenir shops before heading home.


Wednesday 7 May

Drove to a number of southern towns and spent some time in Lerici, once again a harbour town with colourful buildings but not as busy as the Cinque Terra villages. The drive was nerve wracking. We went around narrow bends and I cannot help but get a fright every time a car seems to magically and suddenly appear before your eyes.

We drove on to Monte Marcello risking life and limb along the narrow roads with maniac drivers. It continually amazes me that there are not more accidents. The roads are narrow, there is no verge and there are guard rails that are just waiting to eat the paint off your car. If there isn't a guard rail there is a rock face or a sheer drop. You have to be careful if you do see a verge because the drop from the bitumen to the gravel can be high so you can't take it at any speed.

I have noticed that every town has an ambulance station which has at least 1 to 6 ambulances sitting in their bays. I do not find that reassuring.

We stopped at a lookout to take in the mountains which we can see behind La Spezia. They are majestic with snow still in the valleys.

Thursday 8 May

We had a brilliant blue sky to start the day so we decided on a walk to Schiara village. The walk to the village was easy enough; getting back was the hard part. It was a very steep descent and climb up.

The village was deserted. We may have seen 50 houses but only 2 people and 6 stray cats.

Someone must live there sometimes because we walked past a pink rose bush in full bloom with the strongest perfume. We also found a tiny white stone church that must only be able to hold 10 people.

The walk back was just a matter of up,up,up in the hot sun. Once again when we reached a kiosk it was time for ice cream and we then headed down a path into our village.

Friday 9 May

We spent our final day in Levanto walking around the town and enjoying the beach.

We went to dinner at Del Golfo, a restaurant in a lovely setting overlooking La Spezia. Danny ordered something with potato thinking it was be safe but it ended up being octopus! Not one of his favourites. The translator we have with us has limited capacity. When we were in France I was trying to work out what one of the main courses could be. I typed the dish name into the translator and it came back with chattering speedboat!!
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