Probably no one's actually reading this anymore, but I thought I'd do at least one more post (who knows, maybe I'll get inspired to put up more pics -- or maybe one of those funky online photo albums...but I doubt it).
Anyway, we got home safe & sound Tuesday evening around 7:30pm -- with the exact number of bags we left Munich with. Woohoo! My beloved parents picked us up. They've been staying at our place visiting family and friends, and they've been around this week as well. It's been good to just chill out with them and share stories from our trip in person.
It seems we're mostly over the jetlag. Both of us have managed to sleep well, and it's nice to not have to be back at work right away.
Oh, another by the way. Our tenth anniversary was actually Thursday. Last night my folks took us and my brother and sister in law out for dinner to the Old Spaghetti Factory. Love that place.
Some might still be wondering about whether our bags have actually arrived. Well, funny you should ask. This week our travel agent advised Terri and I to consider our bags LOST, not DELAYED. That means that we should proceed with replacing everything we had packed in them for the trip. So, following her advice, we have been continuing to shop for those items we hadn't yet replaced. It feels a bit weird spending all that money that isn't ours, but on the other hand it's kinda fun :).
So this morning we head off to Vancouver to shop for a few more things, since we are wanting to put our claim into BA right after the long weekend. We get home about 7:30 this eve and there's a message saying that a bag has been delivered "to our back patio behind the barbeque" since we weren't home earlier. I go back there, and, sure enough, my (Nelson's) backpack is sitting there like a gift under the tree on Christmas morning.
Maybe there's hope that Terri's bag, also, isn't really "lost" forever. That would be a bonus.
Some of you are probably thinking, "Must be nice to get all that new stuff, and then your bag actually shows up, too." You'd be right, but boy oh boy, given the choice to have our bags lost for 4 weeks & buy new stuff OR just enjoy our trip with the stuff we packed in the first place, we'd definitely go for the latter. So now you can pray that BA will indeed reimburse us for all this extra money we've spent! We're quite assured about that, actually.
So...unless I/we get inspired to post more stuff, this is probably it for the Euro Expedition blog. If you have any more comments, we'd love to read them. We'll probably even respond to them, now that it's much easier to get online and not pay so much to do so.
Thanks for reading, thanks for praying, and for laughing and crying along with us!
Ciao...
Kings, Knights, Castles and...Swans
Only time for a quick one tonight, since most of our internet time is being spent putting up NEW PICTURES. WOOHOO!!!!!
Yesterday we visited two of King Ludwig II´s castles: Neuschwanstein (the big white one that Disney modeled his after) and Hohenschwangau (meaning "swans of the highlands", the yellowy-tinged one). Then we rode luges. Both great fun.
Today we saw a third King Ludwig spot: Linderhof. Pretty ostentatious, but very beautiful. We also saw this thing there called Venus´Grotto, or cave. See, Ludwig was a pretty big Richard Wagner fan (the composer), so a lot of his decor was inspired by his symphonies and operas. Our cave pics kind of sucked, so Google it if you want to see some good ones :). Then we paid a short visit to the town of Oberammergau, which is like the world capital of woodcarving.
Off to Munich tomorrow morning, where we´ll spend one last night before flying home on Tuesday--hopefully first class :). See you all soon!
Bonus Vienna Story
SO, after we had our nice picnic in the park the other night in Vienna, we had our books out and were doing some reading when all of a sudden this really loud punk music starts making it a bit harder to read. It was coming from a park nearby -- not the same one we were in, but real close.
Terri: Really?That kind of music?
Nelson: It doesn´t sound live. It sounds recorded to me. (Trying to be all knowledgeable.)
Terri continues to read, apparently successfully tuning out the rather loud music that continued. Nelson tries to read, but can´t, so he puts his book down, picks up his half-finished can of Radler (beer with lemonade...it´s actually really good) and says, "I gotta go see what´s going on."
Nelson walks toward the music, Radler in hand, and realizes that no, it is definitely NOT recorded music. It is very much live, and the punk/ska band playing (who were actually quite good...great horn section and eveything) is attached to a bunch of trucks and tents that have the words, THINK BEFORE YOU DRINK plastered all over them in big orange letters. Nelson realizes his can of Radler just took on new meaning in this context, so he inches away from the music, finishes his drink and puts it into a recycling container before returning to check out the scene.
Subtle, eh?
So, sure enough, this was an Austrian government-sponsored anti-alcoholism campaign, and this massive thing was on tour throughout the country. I think Gwen Stefani is even playing one of the shows somewhere along the way. Check it out here.
Before returning to where Terri was reading, I made my way over to the tent to pick up a brochure, armband and free mango fruit drink, nodded my touristy approval, and headed back, smiling to myself.
Terri: Really?That kind of music?
Nelson: It doesn´t sound live. It sounds recorded to me. (Trying to be all knowledgeable.)
Terri continues to read, apparently successfully tuning out the rather loud music that continued. Nelson tries to read, but can´t, so he puts his book down, picks up his half-finished can of Radler (beer with lemonade...it´s actually really good) and says, "I gotta go see what´s going on."
Nelson walks toward the music, Radler in hand, and realizes that no, it is definitely NOT recorded music. It is very much live, and the punk/ska band playing (who were actually quite good...great horn section and eveything) is attached to a bunch of trucks and tents that have the words, THINK BEFORE YOU DRINK plastered all over them in big orange letters. Nelson realizes his can of Radler just took on new meaning in this context, so he inches away from the music, finishes his drink and puts it into a recycling container before returning to check out the scene.
Subtle, eh?
So, sure enough, this was an Austrian government-sponsored anti-alcoholism campaign, and this massive thing was on tour throughout the country. I think Gwen Stefani is even playing one of the shows somewhere along the way. Check it out here.
Before returning to where Terri was reading, I made my way over to the tent to pick up a brochure, armband and free mango fruit drink, nodded my touristy approval, and headed back, smiling to myself.
EuroFood
OK (drum roll, please), here it is. We know you´ve been waiting for it. Our favorite foods/meals/dining experiences (since they´ll vary some from place to place) of the trip thus far...which is almost over (boohoo). Enjoy...
LONDON - At our hosts´, we all enjoyed Martyn´s homemade spaghetti bolognese (LOADS of garlic...mmm...). In town, we found a great little Indian restaurant near Leicester Square, where we had butter chicken and other curry-ish things.
PARIS - Terri - tiramisu at Cafe du Marche. Nelson - fried duck/potatoes (with dijon mustard...I officially like dijon mustard now)/salad/wine/tiramisu and cafe au lait at Cafe du Marche. Pam & Chad´s presence made all of the above extra special.
CINQUE TERRE - Terri - roast chicken with broccoli and carrots at the Porto Rocco hotel with Graham & Ros & family. Also, pesto foccacia was a snack highlight for her (the Cinque Terre are, after all, the birthplace of pesto). Nelson - swordfish (!) at the Porto Rocco, along with good wine and good friends. Amazing how much the people you eat with mean just as much as what you´re eating!
MELE/GENOVA - I wrote about this already in a previous post, but it´s worth mentioning again. Our Italian host Andrea (the sweetest guy you´ll ever meet...and he is single, ladies ;) took us to an incredible pizzeria atop the hill overlooking the town of Arenzano. Followed by gelato and a walk along the Mediterranean, of course. It doesn´t get any better.
ROMA - We both agreed that the "cat alley cafe" (see a previous post regarding this) was our favorite dining experience in Rome. Terri wanted to add her LEAST favorite: after we saw the Colossuem, we were all starved, so we looked around for whatever was nearby. Big mistake. Terri got a chicken burger from a street vendor that was mostly cold. She confesses she should have known something was up when the vendor guys both laughed when she ordered this, but alas. Terri swears it was actually made of pigeon meat (from one of the many pigeons gracing Italy in general and Rome in particular).
VENICE - With Pam & Chad, we were fortunate to stumble on this little cafe in a little out-of-the-way square in Venice that met our budget and also tasted good! Terri had a great pasta dish and Nelson had veal cutlets with spaghetti. Mmm.
AUGSBURG - Well, it first needs to be said that our hosts Colin and Marlene fed us VERY well the whole time we were with them. Our favorite meal at their place was what Terri calls Olly Olly Oxenfree. Its real name is Alio et Olio con pollo et pepperonchino. In a moment we´ll explain what it actually is, but first try to guess without looking. Done trying? OK. It´s an olive oil garlic pasta with chicken and spices. A-freaking-MA-zing. In Munich, Nelson says it´s a toss-up between Haxe (pig knuckle) and currywurst. (And of course the beer.)
SALZBURG - Again found a great cafe we both enjoyed. Nelson had a great Indian chicken curry dish, and Terri especially enjoyed the apple strudel, a local specialty.
VIENNA - We wrote about this one already, too, but Nelson and Terri both really enjoyed the evening when they went to the supermarket to get food and had a picnic in the Volksgarten. Special mention also to the Eiscafe we found one night. Terri had an After Eight sundae and Nelson had a thing involving chocolate and bananas.
REUTTE - On our hotelier´s recommendation, we found a small restaurant specializing in local traditional fare. Nelson had trout cutlets with almond butter sauce and a fabulous local red wine. Terri had wienerschnitzel, but especially enjoyed the little potato/broccoli appetizers that came beforehand.
Thanks again for reading. Stay tuned for more on our Reutte/Bavaria/Tirolean experience. It´s been great!
LONDON - At our hosts´, we all enjoyed Martyn´s homemade spaghetti bolognese (LOADS of garlic...mmm...). In town, we found a great little Indian restaurant near Leicester Square, where we had butter chicken and other curry-ish things.
PARIS - Terri - tiramisu at Cafe du Marche. Nelson - fried duck/potatoes (with dijon mustard...I officially like dijon mustard now)/salad/wine/tiramisu and cafe au lait at Cafe du Marche. Pam & Chad´s presence made all of the above extra special.
CINQUE TERRE - Terri - roast chicken with broccoli and carrots at the Porto Rocco hotel with Graham & Ros & family. Also, pesto foccacia was a snack highlight for her (the Cinque Terre are, after all, the birthplace of pesto). Nelson - swordfish (!) at the Porto Rocco, along with good wine and good friends. Amazing how much the people you eat with mean just as much as what you´re eating!
MELE/GENOVA - I wrote about this already in a previous post, but it´s worth mentioning again. Our Italian host Andrea (the sweetest guy you´ll ever meet...and he is single, ladies ;) took us to an incredible pizzeria atop the hill overlooking the town of Arenzano. Followed by gelato and a walk along the Mediterranean, of course. It doesn´t get any better.
ROMA - We both agreed that the "cat alley cafe" (see a previous post regarding this) was our favorite dining experience in Rome. Terri wanted to add her LEAST favorite: after we saw the Colossuem, we were all starved, so we looked around for whatever was nearby. Big mistake. Terri got a chicken burger from a street vendor that was mostly cold. She confesses she should have known something was up when the vendor guys both laughed when she ordered this, but alas. Terri swears it was actually made of pigeon meat (from one of the many pigeons gracing Italy in general and Rome in particular).
VENICE - With Pam & Chad, we were fortunate to stumble on this little cafe in a little out-of-the-way square in Venice that met our budget and also tasted good! Terri had a great pasta dish and Nelson had veal cutlets with spaghetti. Mmm.
AUGSBURG - Well, it first needs to be said that our hosts Colin and Marlene fed us VERY well the whole time we were with them. Our favorite meal at their place was what Terri calls Olly Olly Oxenfree. Its real name is Alio et Olio con pollo et pepperonchino. In a moment we´ll explain what it actually is, but first try to guess without looking. Done trying? OK. It´s an olive oil garlic pasta with chicken and spices. A-freaking-MA-zing. In Munich, Nelson says it´s a toss-up between Haxe (pig knuckle) and currywurst. (And of course the beer.)
SALZBURG - Again found a great cafe we both enjoyed. Nelson had a great Indian chicken curry dish, and Terri especially enjoyed the apple strudel, a local specialty.
VIENNA - We wrote about this one already, too, but Nelson and Terri both really enjoyed the evening when they went to the supermarket to get food and had a picnic in the Volksgarten. Special mention also to the Eiscafe we found one night. Terri had an After Eight sundae and Nelson had a thing involving chocolate and bananas.
REUTTE - On our hotelier´s recommendation, we found a small restaurant specializing in local traditional fare. Nelson had trout cutlets with almond butter sauce and a fabulous local red wine. Terri had wienerschnitzel, but especially enjoyed the little potato/broccoli appetizers that came beforehand.
Thanks again for reading. Stay tuned for more on our Reutte/Bavaria/Tirolean experience. It´s been great!
The Vienna Experience...continued
Our next two days in Vienna were fabulous. Here´s some of the stuff we saw & did...
- toured the Staatsoper (state opera house)
- St. Stephens cathedral, where we toured the catacombs and saw piles and piles of human remains...this was Terri´s favorite part of Vienna, actually. I´m not joking. I know, she´s weird.
- the Schönbrunn Palace (where the Hapsburgs spent their summers...sometime we´ll get some pictures up from those gardens...oh my goodness...)
- toured the most important parts of the Hofburg (Imperial Palace), from whence the Hapsburgs ruled for over 6 centuries: the Imperial Apartments (all their lavish rooms), the Silver Collection (OK, I thought my MOM´s china collection was something...room upon room of silver, porcelain and other precious dinner settings from all over the world), the Sisi Musuem (named after Emperor Franz Joseph´s beloved wife, the Empress Elisabeth), which was a bit over-the-top, but I guess she was a pretty mysterious, melancholic individual.
- got a picnic dinner of sesame melba toast, ham and gouda, and yogurt and went to the Volksgarten to read books on a park bench
The weather was absolutely perfect, and Vienna is a gorgeous city. Would love to go back there again sometime.
This morning we rode the train for four hours to Munich, where we picked up a rental car and drove into the Alps. We are now based in the beautiful Tyrolean town of Reutte. This evening we walked to a lovely restaurant called the Goldene Rose. Terri had wienerschnitzel and I had trout cutlets with almond butter sauce. Probably in my top 3 meals of the trip.
(HINT: keep reading for MORE about our favorite meals of the Euro Expedition.) Nelson´s thoughts: "Oh my. Do people really care about what our favorite meals were?" Terri´s thought-reply: "Mm. probably not, but we´ll do it anyway. No one´s forcing anyone to read this blog."
So there.
Of Waltzes and Wizards
So, when we left Salzburg on Tuesday morning it was POURing rain. Perfect day for a train ride to Vienna, we thought. The previous two days in Salzburg we had beautiful weather, so we´re grateful for that.
It was still raining in Vienna upon arrival, but not too heavily. So we were able to walk to the city center, to one of the places we wanted to visit: the Haus Der Musik (House of Music). It´s an extremely cool (and diverse) museum on four floors, with lots of high-tech hands-on stuff for the ever-so-slightly museum-fatigued. (Wanted to see how many hyphens I could use in one sentence there.) (And brackets.)
One floor had a little history of the Vienna Philharmonic. The second floor was when things got really fun. There was a room which simulated soundwaves as experienced by a human embryo! (Wow.) (Not done with the brackets yet.) In another room, they had a "virtual conductor" feature, where you held a digital baton and conducted the Philharmonic on a huge screen and they played Eine Kleine Nachtmusik acoording to how fast or slow you waved the thing. (Actually, with most people the orchestra stopped abruptly after a few bars and the bassoonist got up and complained about the conductor in German, with huge exaggerated hand motions, and everyone watching laughed.)
The third floor featured a bunch of great composers for whom Vienna was part of their personal or work history: Haydn, Mozart, Strauss, Schubert, Beethoven, Mahler, and all the weird 12-tone guys from the "second" Viennese school: Schönberg, Webern, etc. (Not that many of you would care too much about this kind of stuff, but we found it interesting. OK, Nelson found it interesting. Terri, not so much.) (But she liked the fun hands-on stuff.) (I LOVE brackets! They´re the best.)
When we got out of the music museum, the rain had stopped, and the sky had even begun to open up. What a gift. So, we thought, "We´re in a big city. I´ll bet they´d have movies in English." Sure enough, we found such a place. Five minute walk from our hotel. We went to a late evening Harry Potter show! For the record, we both enjoyed it tremendously. It is very interesting to see how the different directors treat the stories. But this isn´t a film blog, so I´ll reserve further comment for now :).
On the luggage front...a couple of days ago we followed our travel agent´s advice and decided not to forward any more of our Europe ´temporary´addresses to British Airways. So, our home address is now the only one that appears on our file. We think there is probably a good chance they´ll arrive home before we do. In retrospect, we maybe should have done this awhile ago. That way, we wouldn´t have been so burdened (that may even be too strong a word -- we are really enjoying ourselves) with the whole "maybe today, maybe tomorrow" question. But hope is difficult to abandon, and that´s probably a good thing.
It was still raining in Vienna upon arrival, but not too heavily. So we were able to walk to the city center, to one of the places we wanted to visit: the Haus Der Musik (House of Music). It´s an extremely cool (and diverse) museum on four floors, with lots of high-tech hands-on stuff for the ever-so-slightly museum-fatigued. (Wanted to see how many hyphens I could use in one sentence there.) (And brackets.)
One floor had a little history of the Vienna Philharmonic. The second floor was when things got really fun. There was a room which simulated soundwaves as experienced by a human embryo! (Wow.) (Not done with the brackets yet.) In another room, they had a "virtual conductor" feature, where you held a digital baton and conducted the Philharmonic on a huge screen and they played Eine Kleine Nachtmusik acoording to how fast or slow you waved the thing. (Actually, with most people the orchestra stopped abruptly after a few bars and the bassoonist got up and complained about the conductor in German, with huge exaggerated hand motions, and everyone watching laughed.)
The third floor featured a bunch of great composers for whom Vienna was part of their personal or work history: Haydn, Mozart, Strauss, Schubert, Beethoven, Mahler, and all the weird 12-tone guys from the "second" Viennese school: Schönberg, Webern, etc. (Not that many of you would care too much about this kind of stuff, but we found it interesting. OK, Nelson found it interesting. Terri, not so much.) (But she liked the fun hands-on stuff.) (I LOVE brackets! They´re the best.)
When we got out of the music museum, the rain had stopped, and the sky had even begun to open up. What a gift. So, we thought, "We´re in a big city. I´ll bet they´d have movies in English." Sure enough, we found such a place. Five minute walk from our hotel. We went to a late evening Harry Potter show! For the record, we both enjoyed it tremendously. It is very interesting to see how the different directors treat the stories. But this isn´t a film blog, so I´ll reserve further comment for now :).
On the luggage front...a couple of days ago we followed our travel agent´s advice and decided not to forward any more of our Europe ´temporary´addresses to British Airways. So, our home address is now the only one that appears on our file. We think there is probably a good chance they´ll arrive home before we do. In retrospect, we maybe should have done this awhile ago. That way, we wouldn´t have been so burdened (that may even be too strong a word -- we are really enjoying ourselves) with the whole "maybe today, maybe tomorrow" question. But hope is difficult to abandon, and that´s probably a good thing.
Human Bingo -- Euro Style
Hey avid blog readers! Welcome to a special edition of our blog, straight from one of the most gorgeous places we´ve ever seen -- Salzburg, Austria! What´s so special about this blog post, you ask? Well, read on...
The following is a list of "firsts" that one or both of us have experienced during this trip (besides listing the obvious firsts like being in Italy for the first time. Nothing too blog-worthy about that...at least in itself). We´re talking about stuff you might find in a game of Human Bingo--that annoying mixer game where you have to get peoples´signatures beside crazy or unexpected stuff they´ve done. Here goes...
Nelson & Terri´s FIRST Experiences On This Trip (In Chronological Order!)
- being in London for gay pride day
- being evacuated from a terminal at Heathrow in London due to a suspected terrorist threat
- staying the night at Heathrow
- shooting an interview for a BBC field reporter while on evacuation from a Heathrow terminal
- being helped by an Italian man off a ferry boat
- swimming in the Mediterranean Sea without bathing suits (we didn´t have any with us, so...when in Rome...OK, actually we wore capri pants)
- intentionally ordering anchovies on a pizza (Nelson)
- buying a pair of yellow shoes (Terri)
- getting shaved by a barber (Nelson again)
- getting shaved by a barber in the Cinque Terre, Italy (ditto)
- shaving my own face with a straight razor (N of course)
- eating a pig´s knuckle
BONUS! Movies We Want To See Again Because Of Our Trip
- The Italian Job
- Gladiator
- The Merchant of Venice
- Run Lola Run
- The Sound of Music (duh, we´re in Salzburg)
- Children of the Corn (actually we don´t really want to see this one, but there was a lot of corn being grown in both Italy and Germany)
- Casablanca ("we´ll always have Paris...")
- Enemy at the Gates (and various other war films...Nelson only)
- Amadeus (see comment beside The Sound of Music above)
There, that was fun, wasn´t it?
In other news, we are really enjoying Salzburg. It is one of the most beautiful places we have ever been. This morning we went to the fortress and saw the sights there, took some amazing panoramic pictures from high above the city (which you will have to wait to see, unfortunately). We are missing Alexander´s smiles and laughs (Colin & Marlene´s 7-month-old son), but still having a great time! Tomorrow it´s off to Vienna. Looking forward to that as well.