greondastravels

After 2 years of Covid lockdown , we are finally heading back to Europe!

So for those who are interested, we are planning to continue our blog each week.

So buckle up and enjoy the alcohol fuelled ride! Bags are packed, vaccination certificates

on hand, cash on the credit card and the taste buds salivating for real Italian pasta!

Its that time again, time to go to bed and head to the airport in the morning!

Ciao

Greg and Rhonda

The bags are packed , and the euros are spent, so we guess it’s time to come home! Just time for one last small post before we leave.

Because we had paid our respects to the Aussies here in Flanders and The Somme, and also to the French and the British, we thought we would do the same to the others.

We visited a German World War 1 Cemetery , the largest in France. It has 44,833 burials of which 8040 were never identified. The German Cemeteries are a stark contrast to the Commonwealth War Graves. Each of the crosses bear 4 names as they were buried 4 to a grave. Scattered between the crosses every so often you see a curved headstone which indicates a Jewish German soldier. How different it was in World War 2.

Close by was the La Targette French National Cemetery with the graves of 11,443 soldiers.

We were close to the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, so we visited that one as well. It bears the names 11,285 Canadians who lost their lives and have no known graves.

It has been extremely humbling to walk through these Military Cemeteries and to think about all those who lost their lives on both sides., We are so glad we have paid our respects.

On our last weekend in Arras, it was “The Fete De L’Andouillette”! You remember those sausages that contain “all sorts of things”. The main square was buzzing with loads of people eating their delicacies! Not for us though, but we did find other things to eat and had fun people watching and had a few beers!

The Town “Giants” “Colas” , his wife “Jacqueline , and baby “Dede” , and one other one (?) who normally live in the Town Hall were allowed outside for the Festival! They celebrate the end of the Spanish Occupation in Arras at the end of the 17th Century.

Some highlights of our trip!

Our favourite day was the hike to Tre Chime di Lavaredo in The Dolomites! It was spectacular!

Best night out was Esther and Jean Pierre’s “Surprise Wedding Party”.

Best Aperitif place …Hero’s Square in Arras surrounded by those beautiful buildings!

Greg’s favourite meal …”costata”in refrontolo (the 1kg rib eye steak. )

Rhonda’s favourite meal….the pasta at Vicenza with the white asparagus!

Other stats!!!!!

We have paid 340 euros on tolls on roads over the 3 months.

Luigi has travelled 10, 859 kms!

Next years trip is currently a Plan in action!

It’s that time again…..no, not for a drink but to get on the plane!

Looking forward to seeing everyone again

Love Greg and Rhonda.

We have still been touring even though we haven’t got much time left.

We spent a rather drizzly Sunday having a look around the town of Cambrai , about one hours drive from home. We had read about the lovely main square , and imagine our horror when we saw the “whole town” was one great bug fairground!

Greg did however manage to get a photo of the lovely Town Hall, above.

The Porte de Paris was erected toward the end of the 14th Century and was pretty impressive! The Cathedral dates back to the 18th Century and was spared in both wars. We would have liked to have peeked inside but it was Sunday morning…enough said!

We were very adventurous at lunchtime in Cambrai and we ordered 2 different dishes that we decided to share. One was a pork confit that was delicious and melted and melted in your mouth, the other was an andouillette  which is a sausage , usually made with pork or veal, intestines, wine , onions and seasonings. It is a speciality of the region so we decided we should try it. Well, after one bite of the andouillette , we both decided we wanted the pork….enough said!

We also did a day trip to Montreuil which is a lovely walled town with beautiful old houses, 3 kms of ramparts to walk around and lovely cobbled streets.

Montreuil’s “claim to fame” is that Victor Hugo spent half a day in the town on September 4th 1837 whilst on a holiday with his mistress. The town was immortalised by him , when he decided to use it as the setting for “Les Miserables”. Rhonda is so so happy that he visited! It is her favourite!

Because of that, we decided to have lunch at The Victor Hugo Bar. It was really cute!

The Portal of  the Abbey of Sante-Saulve , built in the 12th Century was quite stunning as was the Chapel Sainte Nicholas built in the 15th Century.

Wandering around ,we stumbled on some gorgeous old houses like these 16th Century workman’s cottages , and some very narrow alleyways that connect the larger streets.

It was a great place to wander around, regardless of the inclement weather.

We have been spending our Sunday nights in the Heroes Square in Arras listening to some great live music and having a beer or 2 and frites for dinner! Yes we know, not healthy but God it’s good!

We were very excited for Tuesday to come as we were having our French family, Francoise and Jean , coming to stay with us for 2 nights. All we did for the whole time was laugh. It was great and Rhonda’s French got a good workout!

We decided to take them out for a day trip to the Coast to check out Cap Blanche Nez (translation…white nose cape) and Cap Gris Nez (translation…grey nose cape). Luckily it was a sunny day. Our first stop at “white Nose” gave us a great view of the White Cliffs of Dover on the other side of the Channel, 33kms away! It is France’s most Northerly cliff.

Due to their locations , they played an important strategic role during both World Wars. We stopped on the b each between the Capes. Jean and Greg decided to paddle and Rhonda and Francoise had lots of laughs trying to take selfies in the wind on the beach!

We had a great lunch of …..no not sea bass , but a roasted dourade which was sensational.

We had a great time with the Frenchies and we were so happy they drove for 6 hours just to see us!

We decided to do one last day trip to the Coast and because it was a lovely 25 degree day we think lots of others had the same idea. The traffic on the way was horrendous. However our first stop at Mer les Bains took all the stress away. It was absolutely gorgeous!

It is a lovely seaside resort that has retained it’s 19th Century style with lovely buildings lining the Esplanade.

The nearly 900 metre long beach (sand in the water but rocks elsewhere) sits between two large white cliffs. We were amused by the hundreds of sea side “cabins” which you hire.

We enjoyed a rather decadent lunch of baguette and Roquefort cheese sitting on the rocks. It was great!

We sadly continued onto St Valery which was supposed to have a “Medieval character” about it! Well, we saw a Porte that Jean d’Arc passed through in 1430 on the way to her trial and that was about all! Maybe we didn’t walk in the correct area…who knows!

Next stop was Le Crotoy , a former fishing village and now a beach holiday resort. The tide must have been well out, lots of sand but not much water! Noosa it was not!

Last stop was Rue, a very small pretty historical village. The Belfry , although not the tallest we have seen was the prettiest and UNESCO listed. The façade of the Chapel of the Holy Spirit built between 1440 to 1514 was rather ornate but at 6 euros per person entry , we decided to “view ” not “visit”.

We thought new would take a “green and yellow” route back home, which is supposed to be a “tourist route”. We came across a lovely Chateau , obviously privately owned but we still stopped to take a photo.

We continued to drive through some really pretty little villages and then……..voila…..we came across this magnificent Chateau, Domaine de Regniere-Ecluse. below. There was no cost to wander around the outside grounds which is quite unusual in France! Again privately owned and the land has been in the same family for 10 centuries! Not bad!

The chateau was occupied by the English Army in WW1 and it was a German Hospital in WW2. It was lovely. We had a great day breathing in all the sea air and we slept well that night!

We noticed at the market that figs must be in season as there were heaps of them. We decided to buy some and at 1.20 euros per fig, we hoped they were going to be good! We were not disappointed.

On our trip down to Villers Bretonneux the other week , we passed a “pub” in Bullecourt called “Le Canberra” so we decided to return to have one last drink for the Diggers! It was a very cute pub and the lovely owner even gave us a little souvenir!

Only a few days to go now before we fly home. Still have a couple of places to go , so probably one more post! Lucky the weather has been very kind to us these past 5 days, with temperatures in the high 20’s.

So it’s that time AGAIN!

Cheers

Greg and Rhonda.

We have farewelled Wayne and Kaye onto their further travels , however we kept them busy for the remainder of their time with us.

We spent a day touring around The Somme. Our first stop was The Australian National Memorial at Villers Bretonneux which of course all Australians are familiar with.  The Sir John Monash Centre has been built since we were there last and we spent a very interesting few hours watching the interactive displays.

We then wandered through the village and stopped for lunch.

Nearby was the French Military Monument which holds a French Service on Anzac Day every year.

We then drove through Pozieres and stopped to have a beer to commemorate the Diggers. The Australians captured Pozieres on July 29th 1916 and lost more than one third of their men doing so. Over 7 weeks more than 6700 Australian soldiers died.

We then continued onto Bullecourt and went through the Bullecourt 1917 Museum. A French farming couple have assembled a quite impressive display of objects, from mainly Australian soldiers who fought in the Battle of Bullecourt in 1917.  10,771 Australians were killed or wounded in the assaults.

There were lots of photographs and stories from diaries from the diggers, with a scrolling “roll call” with the names of every Australian who died in the battle. It was very moving. In the village there is also The Diggers Monument commemorating the 10771 Australians killed over the First and Second Battles of Bullecourt. It was a day to remember the sacrifice made by so many young Australians.

We also did a day trip to Belgium to the city of Mons to “do lunch”. The Grand Place was home to the rather lovely Town Hall built between 1458 and 1477. The Belfry is UNESCO listed and it was such a shame that it was closed so we couldn’t climb the 365 steps to go to the top!!!!!!!!!! Such a pity…….not!

Of course , superstition reared it’s head again, so we all had to find the monkey on the Town Hall steps, rub it’s head with our  left hand, make a wish , and of course our wishes will come true!

Well, fingers crossed!

We also “visited” the St Waltrudes Collegiate Church, and it was quite lovely. It was started in 1450 and finished in 1506. It has 29 Chapels around the main nave. The Golden Coach was quite impressive and is used each year for the annual religious procession.

The next day we did a “day trip” to the Champagne region so Wayne and Kaye could do a tour of Moet and Chandon. We had been there before so while they did their tour, we wandered through the Moet Shop and had a glass or 2 of champers at one of the many Champagne bars in Epernay…….well , Rhonda had the champagne and because Greg had to drive he sipped on an expresso! Good boy Gregory!

Of course Greg kissed the ground around his hero Dom Perignon!

On Wayne and Kaye’s last day we found a couple more villages to visit. The town of Bethune, below,  had a lovely Flemish style main square.

Then we continued onto Cassel which was awarded the title of Favourite Village of the French in 2018, so it was not too touristy!

We stopped for a coffee (that’s code for toilet stop) at a quite quaint little pub , above. The toilets were “interesting”. The guys were outside facing the main street with a wall between them and everyone else. At least us girls had a door to close! But the coffee was good!

Because it stands on a small hill , and there aren’t too many hills in Flanders , it was where the French General Ferdinand Foch had his headquarters from October 1914 to May 1915. The old windmill atop the hill was rather nice too! (note the weather change!)

We ate out in the main square in Arras for our last meal together with Wayne and Kaye. It was fabulous (pictures to follow) Rhonda’s scallops in wine and cheese sauce was yum and Greg’s beef tartare was pretty good too. We had a “café gourmand ” for dessert which is an expresso and a selection of “petite” desserts served together. HOWEVER it looked so good we didn’t have time to take a photo. Maybe we will need to return and have another!

The square was beautifully lit when we were returning home. It was lovely to have Wayne and Kaye stay with us and we hope they enjoyed the little bit of France we were able to show them.

The following day was a rest day for us after all our touring with our visitors and it turned out to be a perfect day for “resting” as it was a Public Holiday in France and nothing was open!!!

The next day Greg was eager to go again so we went to check out another Belgium town called Tornai which is Belgium’s oldest town and it was lovely.

It’s main building is the stunning Notre Dame Cathedral which is UNESCO listed. It’s 5 towers stand out throughout the entire city. We were very keen to go inside to have a look , however a huge restoration works is going on so no photos of the inside! Thank God you are saying!!!

Another UNESCO landmark of the town is The Belfry built in 1188. It stands at 72 metres in height with a steep 256 step stairway! Yep you guessed it , no we did not climb it although the view would have been great!

The Grand Place had some beautiful buildings including The Cloth Hall , above, which was bombed during WW11 and finally restored again in 1998.

On our wanderings around the town we came across 2 Gothic Houses , above, said to be built between 1175 and 1200. We quite liked them!

That night we decided to indulge ourselves with another duck confit dinner. As you can tell we did not enjoy it at all!!!!! We had another café gourmand dessert and this time we took a photo! It was yum and all washed down with a nice bottle of rose!

We only have about 10 days left now but still have a few things to see. We are hoping our French family , Francoise and Jean will be able to come up and stay with us for a couple of nights next week.

The weather here is getting cooler, still not quite as bad as back home though!

So now it’s that time again!

Until next time

Greg and Rhonda

WARNING: This post contains images some people may find offensive! Continue to read at your peril!

Well, what a busy time we have had. We welcomed Wayne and Kaye to our “establishment” in Arras and haven’t stopped!

The day before they arrived however we spent a lovely day discovering the lovely city of Lille. It was a Sunday so although the shops were shut , it was fairly quiet and nice to wander around.

The Main Square , The Grand Place was massive but the most impressive building on it was the “Vielle Bourse” , the old Stock Exchange , built in 1652.

It consists of 24 Flemish Renaissance houses formed around a central Courtyard which becomes a book market on Sundays.

The Opera House was a lovely building and the Place aux Oignons  had no onions but some very pretty 17th and 18th Century buildings.

The North and South Gates of the old city were quite nice. The South Gate , the Porte de Paris (below) was built in the 17th century to commemorate the capture of the city by Louis XVI.

The North Gate, Porte de Grand was at the end of a lovely cobblestoned street where we found a fabulous restaurant for a great lunch!

We both had a delicious Duck Confit , and both the duck and the duck fat potatoes were great. The Crème Brulee however was sadly not up to Greg’s standards!

Our first full days outing with Wayne and Kaye was a fabulous day with Sacred Ground Tours doing a Fromelles – Ypres Battlefields Day Tour. Our first stop was at the Fromelles Pheasant Wood Commonwealth War Cemetery which has 225 Australians of which 59 are unidentified. (below)

Nearby is the moving Cobbers Statue , (above) a memorial to Australian Servicemen who got out of the trenches and retrieved their wounded and dead mates. The Battle of Fromelles was regarded as the worst 24 hours of Australian Military history. Of the 5500 causalities there were 500 Prisoners of War and almost 2000 dead.

We stopped at Hill 60. This hill (now a crater) changed hand many times during the war. Both sides dug tunnels including the Aussies and New Zealanders, and planted mines underneath . There are still today remains of many soldiers from both sides lying here.

The Lines on the ground show both the British and German Front Lines both within 10 feet of each other! Amazing!

We stopped for lunch at Ploegsteert in Belgium at a small café /pub which has a fantastic affiliation with us Aussies!

Johan , the owner of the café , is a Flemish farmer who was having work done on his farm and came across the remains of 5 Australian soldiers. One of them was Jack Hunter who had been buried by his younger brother Jim.  The story is amazing and too involved to tell here but if you wish to know more go to

http://www.brothersinarmsmemorial.org

The above photo is a statue of Jim and Jack Hunter which is being made and placed at Johan’s café. He was a lovely man , and when we said goodbye his words of “Lest we Forget” bought tears to our eyes. It was a very emotional visit.

We made a donation to The Brothers In Arms Memorial, and also had a couple of Brothers In Arms beers for the Diggers!

We then went to the Tyne Cot Cemetery , below ,with nearly 12,000 buried soldiers and the largest Commonwealth Cemetery in the world. It also has the names of 35,000 men , never found and presumed dead.

Our last stop was in Ypres for dinner. The Belgium Flemish Stew was delicious and of course it was washed down with a few beers. Then it was off to the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate which occurs every evening at 8pm.

Between October 1914 and September 1918 hundreds of thousands of Servicemen marched through the Gate on the way to the Battlefields. The Gate bears the names of nearly 55,000 soldiers whose graves are unknown.

We had a great day , joined by another couple , Jim and Rose , also from Melbourne.

(Just checking to see if you are reading our blog guys , and we bet by now you much prefer Paris to London!!!!)

The next day we went through the Wellington Tunnels, the Memorial to the Battle of Arras. Throughout WW1 Arras was one of the few towns situated on the Front Line. There were many underground chalk quarries that had been dug in the Middle Ages.

In 1916, New Zealand Tunnellers linked the quarries together to get closer to the German Positions. Gathered underground in this secret place, over 24,000 soldiers emerged from the tunnel steps just a few metres from the German positions on April 9th 1917.

Signs are still there (Latrine) from both WW1 and WW2. It was really interesting. The only negative were the helmets we needed to wear for OHS reasons! Not a pretty sight!

We took an overnight trip to the Coast to one of our favourite spots , Honfleur. It was where we had a memorable “retirement lunch” for Greg 5 years ago. On the way down to Honfleur we called into the city of Amiens to check out the magnificent Cathedral. It was begun in 1220 and survived 2 world wars almost intact!

We stayed at a gorgeous B and B which had a huge room with an enormous bath!

Well we did warn you about offensive material !!!!!!!!!

We returned to the same restaurant for a fabulous dinner. Greg’s langoustine and Rhonda’s foie gras entrees were delicious. Our main course of Dourade with mushroom risotto was bloody good too. Rhonda’s mille feuille was sensational although Greg was a tad disappointed with his Tarte Tatin. Overall it was a great night and a great meal.

The next day on our way back home , we decided to go via the coast and into Normandy. Our first stop was the pretty coastal village of Etretat. We thought it was quite English and a bit like the Cornwall Coastline. It had some great rock formations and of course Greg had to put his feet into the English Channel.

Another good stop was Fecamp where we stumbled upon the magnificent Palace. In 1510 a Benedictine Monk and alchemist named Dom created a secret drink comprised of 27 plants and spices! Yep you have guessed it, it is the home of Dom Benedictine! He built the Palace in honour of his drink and it is still produced here today!

We have done lots more but enough is enough for now! Because it’s that time again!!!!

Hope you Melbournians have weathered the storms back home!

till next time

Greg and Rhonda………and ………..Wayne and Kaye!

We have arrived in France, in Arras , 185 kms north of Paris. It is the last stop of our “adventure”!

On our last night in Nordlingen , our hosts Walter and Tina took us to a Beer Garden for dinner. It was a lovely way to end our stay and say goodbye to Germany. Thank you Walter and Tina!

We had one over night stay at Sainte Menehould and the view of the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall) from our window was rather nice.

The next day we stopped for breakie at the cute little town of Chalons en Champagne. The Cathedral was rather large , with lots of gargoyles, and we would have liked to have gone in but it wasn’t open!

We drove through the Champagne region where we stayed a few years ago and visited a Champagne House and really enjoyed his champers so we returned and bought a 6 pack! Don’t know how long it will last but we will enjoy it!

We stopped for lunch at the foot of the impressive Pierrefonds Chateau. We “viewed” , didn’t visit! It was in ruins in the 17th Century and Napoleon 3rd decided to rebuild it to re create a chateau from the middle ages!

We also went to The Glades of Armistice Memorial. This is the authentic location that marked the end of World War 1. It was here in a train carriage that the signing of the Armistice took place on November 11th 1918.

The actual train carriage was destroyed by Hitler in 1940 but a replica stands in the museum. A granite monument has the words “Here on November 11 the criminal pride of the German Empire was vanquished by the free people it had sought to enslave”. It was quite a solemn and peaceful spot to reflect on the atrocities of war.

Arras is in the Somme area of France, so we are around a lot of Battlefields of the Aussies during World War 1. We did however visit the worlds largest French Military Cemetery at Notre Dame de Lorette. (above) The Basilica and the memorial Watchtower were beautiful and they stand guard over the remains of more than 42,000 soldiers and the ashes of many Concentration Camp victims who died in the North of France and Belgium’s Flanders Fields in WW1.

Nearby is the  very moving ” Ring of Remembrance ” (below) which bears the names of almost 580,000 soldiers who fell in Northern France between 1914 and 1918.

We “visited” the Chateau de Cleremont-Tonnere at Bertangles. This Chateau has a close affinity with Aussies! It was the Headquarters of General John Monash during WW1 and it was on the steps of the Chateau that he became SIR John Monash on August 12th 1918.

We did a tour of the Chateau and we had one “older gentleman” from the Netherlands who was very serious when he asked us….”was Australia involved in WW1?” We very nearly answered….”hey mate , the Aussies won the bloody war” but thought better of it! During the tour it was pointed out that although the Australians were exceptionally good fighters they were often drunk , and a prison had to built specifically for them to “sober up”. We found it quite amusing!

We did a “little tour” of some of the villages close by.

The tiny village of Mont Saint Eloi had the remains of what would have been a rather large Abby, The building was demolished after the French Revolution except for it’s 2 towers which were used by French troops to observe German positions in WW1.

We came across a tiny little Chapel called the “Chapel of Notre Dame de Pitie”.( below). It was built in 1624 by 3 nuns from a nearby Abby. The story goes that they were in their carriage when the horses bolted so they prayed to “our lady of pity” vowing to build a chapel to her honour, if she would stop the horses and save their lives. The horses stopped so they built their chapel. Graves have been found in the nearby fields which they think may be the graves of the 3 nuns! A nice story!

Along our route we came across some Chateaux. Only “viewed” , didn’t visit. The Chateau Barly, now a Hotel (left) was ok , as was the Chateau Pas -en -Artois which is owned by a Count and Countess.

Our favourite however was the Chateau -de-grand- Rullecourt (below) where we stopped for lunch! Well we actually had a picnic sitting on the grass outside the gate ,but the view was good!

We have done quite a bit of walking around the centre of Arras. The Hotel de Ville and the Belfry is the central focus of the gorgeous Hero’s Square. The Town Hall was destroyed during WW1 as was much of the city but it was identically re constructed after the war.

The Belfry is 75 metres high and has 37 bells. You Can climb it apparently for great views but we will never know…too many steps for us!

We love the Flemish architecture of Hero’s Square. This was also destroyed after WW1 and rebuilt as it was in the 17th and 18th Century. It used to be called the Petite March (Small Market) but since 1945 it is known as Place des Heroes.

In a tribute to the Resistance fighters of Arras who were shot in WW2 close by in the Grand Place,  again totally reconstructed to it’s former glory after the bombing. There are 155 facades of buildings overlooking the 2 squares.

Just out of the centre of Arras is the large British Military Cemetery and Arras Memorial. It records the names of 34,942 men of the British Empire who lost their lives in the Battle of Arras and have no known graves , and also the gravesites of 2652 Commonwealth soldiers.

We visited the Vauban Citadel (below) built between 1668 and 1672 . It was designed and built to protect the Northern border of Arras however it has never been under siege!

Recently opened in Arras , is the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Experience. We were very impressed. It is a “look behind the scenes” at the work that is needed to commemorate the 1.7 million casualties from the first and second world wars. It tells you how even today they still, with great dignity, recover and bury the dead and the work that goes into maintaining the Headstones and gardens of the memorials. Apparently , there are , on average, 40 new discoveries of WW1 remains each year.  We spent a very interesting hour here!

It hasn’t been all touring and sightseeing though! It is time for some food photos!

Yes , you guessed it, foie gras , sea bass and crème brulee! Yummo!

There will be more foie gras, crème brulee, duck confit and loads of cheese to come!

Tomorrow we have Wayne and Kaye arriving to spend a week with us. We have plenty planned to keep them busy!

But now it’s that time again!

A bientot!

Sante

Greg and Rhonda.

We have been in Germany now for almost one week , and it’s been bloody hot! It is another unusual “heat wave” that has swept across Europe and all throughout Germany. Temperatures have been 40 degrees plus and records have been broken!

However, our “home” in Nordlingen is  great. We are on the ground floor and it has kept quite cool throughout the heat. It is a fantastic apartment , probably the best we have stayed in.

Our first day we spent exploring the town and doing “The Historical Walking Tour” throughout the medieval Old Town.

Nordlingen is one of only 3 towns in Germany that still has a complete City Wall and there is no charge to walk the  2.7 kms circuit! It has been our “early morning walk”.

The main square , Marketplatz, is the home to St Georgs Kirche ( 1427-1501) with it’s 90 metre tower called “Daniel”. A piece of useless info for you…..It was an important Watch tower back in the old days and 2 guards stood watch, day and night. To make sure all guards stood at their posts during darkness , the watchmen in “Daniel” had to call out “So G’sell So” (All’s well fellows , all’s well ).

So even today, every evening from 10pm till midnight (on every half hour) the tower watchman shouts the same traditional call. Lucky it has not kept us awake!

There are 5 gates around the wall. The Lopsinger Tower (1593) is one of them and now houses a museum.

The walk took us all thorough  the back streets and we came across some gorgeous houses. The Moser Haus (below)  was in the old tanners district and built in 1570.

We then came to the Weinmarkt (or the wine market district) and the old guest houses (1484) (below) were beautiful. The Krone (right) was one of the most prestigious in it’s day. It had 25 large heated guestrooms and stalls for 60 horses.

The Brot-und-Tanzhaus ( Bread and Dance House!)  (below) built in 1442-1444) was rather stunning. Greg loved the fact that it had a stork nest on the roof with mum and dad and 2 babies in it! It was a reception hall for visiting VIP’s and a dancing and celebration venue for leading families! At one time the ground floor shops were made available to bakers to sell their wares , hence Bread and Dance House.

Another pretty square was the Hafenmarkt or the Pottery market. They say these buildings date back to 1362! (below)

We did a short drive to a few places close by, too hot to go too far! Dinkelsbuhl was very pretty with some lovely houses , but a lot busier and more touristy than our lovely Nordlingen.

St Georg’s Minster stood impressively in the main square but at 2 euros to enter , we decided to have a drink instead!

We continued on to check out the Schloss Kaphenburg. It is now a convention centre and 5 star Hotel, and no….we didn’t stay there!

The last stop was the Benedictine Abby (below) at Neresheim 1687-1752. This is a National Monument of Germany. Most Cathedrals in Germany charge 2 to 3 euros per person to enter however this one was FREE and the frescoes on the ceiling were magnificent!

Yesterday , even though the temperature was going to be 38 degrees , we decided to brace ourselves and caught the train into Nuremberg for the day. The main purpose was to visit the Memorium to the Nuremberg Trials.

Greg was disappointed as we could not enter “Court Room 600” where the trial actually took place as it is still a working Courtroom and was “in session” at the time. However a couple of small windows enabled us to see it and take a photo. Even though it was “information overload” we spent a couple of hours in the Museum.

The Allied bombs destroyed 87 percent of Nuremberg in the final days of WW11 and the 13th Century St Lawrence Church (left) was not spared! In the years after it was re built and restored.

The “Church of Our Lady” (right) made a good backdrop while we had a coffee. Well it was a little early for a beer!

The Henkersteg or “Hangman’s Bridge” (above) was quite cute. It was over this bridge that the executioner would walk from his isolated house on the island in the river into the city because he was not allowed to live “amongst honourable citizens”!

The Maxbrucke is the oldest stone bridge in Nuremberg , and of course Greg was loving the reflections for his photos!

Our day in Nuremberg was great and another box ticked for Greg.

We have enjoyed our stay in Nordlingen, even though it has been so hot! Tomorrow we head across to France for our last month! We are taking a slight detour via the Champagne region to buy just a few bottles to see us through our last 4 weeks!

So , yep it’s that time again!

A bientot!

Greg and Rhonda.

We had a pleasant 2 1/2 hour train trip from Warsaw to Krakow. Our hotel in Krakow was quite modern compared to the one in Warsaw. Everything was programmed by an iPad , the lights , tv, even the cleaning lady! It was interesting to say the least!

It was a great location, only a short 10 to 15 minute walk to the Old Town.

Our first impression , when we arrived at the main square, Rynet Glowny, was OMG , this place is full of young 20-30 year old “pommy” blokes all drinking and absolutely pissed! It was Friday afternoon and we worked out that they were all there for “bucks parties”. It was  Party Central, and very touristy compared to Warsaw.

On our first night, we went on a Food and Drinking Walking Tour. We had 3 different types of beers, with some fried cheese to start, then onto the next stop for some soup, either sour rye or cabbage, then next stop was perogis (dumplings) , potato pancakes, golabki (cabbage leaves filled with mince meat, rice and in a tomato sauce) , and krokelty (pancakes filled with mince meat and fried) followed by strawberry and blueberry perogis. Last but not least was Polish walnut cake with a vodka shot! It was a great 3 hours wandering/stumbling around Krakow.

However we did manage to take a few night photos on our way back home!

Florians Gate(above left) is the only remaining gate of the Medieval town and was erected in 1307.

The next day we did a “self guided” walk throughout the Kazierz District which was the centre of Jewish life in Krakow for over 500 years before it was destroyed in WW11.

There are many synagogues still in the area today but the Old Synagogue (above) is the oldest surviving example of Jewish architecture in Poland. We crossed the river to go into the Podgorze District which in 1941 became the Krakow Ghetto. Two years later the Jews imprisoned here were either murdered , starved to death or sent to the gas chambers in Auschwitz.

A part of the Ghetto Wall still exists today with a plaque reading :”Here they lived , suffered and died at the hands of the German torturers.From here they began their final journey to the Death Camps”.

The wall was built by the Nazis to resemble Jewish Tombstones!

The Ghetto Heroes Square was interesting. It was a public toilet and car park until 2005. The 70 well spaced oversized chairs are meant to symbolize “departure and subsequent absence” . We actually quite liked it!

We also spent about 2 hours in “Schindlers Factory” (of the movie Schindlers List Fame!) It is part of the “Krakow during Nazi Occupation 1939-1945” Museum, and although it was information overload , it was extremely interesting!

Our last day we spent wandering the Royal Route from The Barbican (above) to the Royal Castle., The Barbican was the original drawbridge to the city ( 15th century) and is today one of the only surviving structures of its kind in Europe.

St Marys Basilica stands impressively in the main square. Surprise ,surprise , we did not go inside, however, its novelty is the “bugle call” that is played every hour from the top window of the tower. Of course we had to be there for the call with every other tourist. He plays a short bugle call from each cardinal, point of the window , then waves to the crowd below! Touristy however when in Krakow……..!

The Cloth Hall (above) is the “:show piece” at the centre of the square. Beautiful from the outside but inside its full of “tourist crap”.

The Town hall tower is the only part left of the 14th Century Town Hall. It is known as “Krakow’s Leaning Tower” as it leans 55cm apparently due to a forceful wind back in 1703????????

We had a coffee at a little bar at the main square and Greg sat with his little mate and we discovered later he was a “regular” at the bar who disregarded opening and closing times! Sounds like Greg doesn’t it???

We wandered down a very street near the Castle and the house at the bottom was the former “Royal Bath house”.

A tale for you…one future queen was concerned by rumours that Lithuanians had “gigantic genitals” , so she sent one of her servants to spy on the manhood of her Lithuanian husband to be! Her fears were allayed and the couple were married!

We spent some time wandering around the Wawel Castle and grounds.

The Castle’s Cathedral is considered to be the most singular important building in Poland. we didn’t go inside but just looking at the outside was impressive enough!

For our last night in Poland we decided to have a nice dinner so we went to a Michelin restaurant. The other reason was that it looked like it was going to pour with rain, so we wanted to stay close to “home”! We only had one course but it was delicious. The Polish old style duck with apple was yummy as were the veal rolls!

We flew back to Zurich to pick up Luigi and we were supposed to head to Dresden for one week, however, our accommodation there was cancelled due to water damage in the apartment, so Plan B was implemented , and instead we drove to Gland in Switzerland on Lake Geneva between Lausanne and Geneva, and it turned out to be a great Plan B!

We realised how close we were to Mont Blanc so decided to go and check it out. The cute little village of Chamonix sits at the very base of the mountain and it was a good spot for a drink!

It is the highest mountain in the French Alps at 4810 metres. We ticked off another box for Greg!

We caught the train to Geneva for the day. We had a great time wandering around the Old Town. Our first stop was in the main market square , Place de Bourg-de-Four where we sat for a coffee ( an expensive one at that but hello we are in Switzerland!)

St Peters Cathedral is over 850 years old and was more impressive from the outside than inside!

We enjoyed a fabulous lunch at a restaurant at Place Molard with its lovely tower built in 1591. Greg’s perch with spinach and fries was delicious and Rhonda’s (yes you guessed it) sea bass with mushrooms and potatoes was just as good! Of course this was washed down with a glass of wine or 2!

After looking at the “carte du dessert” , we decided we should re start the search for the perfect crème brulee (after all we are heading toward France) and the ONE we shared here will be hard to beat. It was bloody good!

One of Geneva’s top landmarks , so the guide book says , is the Jet d’eau (water jet) rising 140 metres from the lake. Once we took the “selfie” , as it seemed to be the touristy thing to do, we actually enjoyed it more sitting lakeside and sipping a drink or 2!

As we said earlier , Plan B turned out to be fantastic! Because we were back in Switzerland and only 3 hours from Zurich, Esther and JP had asked us to come back to Zurich for a night as they were hosting a “Summer Party” with a surprise. The surprise was that on Friday morning Esther and JP were married and the party was their wedding Party!

It was a fabulous night and we are very happy for them. Nadine and her son Arlo were also there from Townsville , as of course was Claudie , so it was fantastic to be with the whole family again and at such a happy occasion!

So thank you Dresden for the torrential rain that flooded our apartment!

It is our last day here in Switzerland so we decided to go and “do lunch”. We drove about 5 kilometres to the lovely little village of Nyon on the shore of Lake Geneva.

Our lunch of “perche de le lac” was fantastic and it was washed down with a very pleasurable bottle of white wine! It was a lovely way to say “au revoir” to the French part of Switzerland.

Tomorrow we head back to Germany for more beer , bretzels, sauerkraut and sausages!

Weather still lovely and warm!

It’s that time again, and also time to pack!

Cheers

Greg and Rhonda

On the way to staying with our Swiss Family , we had an overnight stop at Uberlingen on Lake Constance. It was a  pretty spot and we had to celebrate the 5th anniversary of Greg’s retirement with a few beers and a great dinner of “lake fish” at our very cute hotel.

We left Uberlingen, and took Luigi for a ride on the ferry to cross the lake , and we travelled through 4 countries in a couple of hours! Germany, Austria , Lichtenstein and Switzerland.

We stopped at Lindau, a touristy town on the Lake with it’s Bavarian Lion statue and stone lighthouse. The Rathaus or “Town Hall” was rather ornately decorated!

We arrived at Esther and JP’s and it was great to see them! The next day we went to Burgenstock, a mountain (1128 m) along the shore of Lake Lucerne. We caught a catamaran from Lucerne across the lake and took a cable car up the mountain and enjoyed a fabulous lunch (thank you Claudie!!!!)

We had good intentions of taking a nice 45 minute stroll around the top of Burgenstock , however a huge storm came across the lake, wild winds and hail, so our walk did not happen, but it was still a great day!

The next day was a very relaxing day “at home” which we enjoyed a lot!

The following day we had another Gondola ride up to Alpgschwand, another mountain on Lake Lucerne for another great lunch (thank you Sparta!). The meatloaf was sensational!

The next day, we said goodbye to Esther and JP and drove to Zurich Airport where we left Luigi, and took a flight to Warsaw, Poland.

The weather had certainly changed when we arrived in Warsaw! It was raining and only 14 degrees! We checked into our Hotel and walked up to the Old Town.

Warsaw’s Old Town was completely destroyed by German troops in 1944 and was re built and paid for by the people of Poland in the exact same style , using photographs . It was quite incredible sitting in the Market Square, looking at the buildings and realising that the re building continued until the mid 1960’s.

We did a great walking tour and discovered a lot of the history of Warsaw.

The Palace of Culture and Science (above) until recently was the tallest building in Warsaw , and was a “gift from  the Soviet people for the Poles” from Joseph Stalin in 1955. According to our guide, very few Polish people like it , (because it is a memory of Soviet times) and the “nick name” of the building  is “Stalin’s dick”.

Of course Warsaw has a history of the Jewish Ghetto and Uprising. We did another very interesting walking tour through the Jewish Ghetto and heard the horrific stories of the Jewish Polish people throughout WW11.

Although the walls of the ghetto no longer exist , there is a marker on the ground showing where it was and monuments with a brief history throughout the area. There is no evidence any more of the ghetto as it was completely destroyed.

The “pylon” in the above photo is a memorial of the bridge between the 2 parts of the ghetto (for anyone who saw the movie “The Pianist” ,  this may bring back a memory)

The Ghetto Heroes Monument (left) commemorates the Ghetto Uprising in 1945 and is located at the spot where the first armed clash of the Uprising took place.

Another monument of the Uprising (right) which incidentally only lasted 4 weeks is the Monument to the Heroes of the Warsaw Uprising.

There were over 400,000 Jews imprisoned in the Ghetto and at the end of the war , the death toll was estimated to be 300,000 killed by bullet or gas chamber , combined with 92,000 from hunger and disease! It was a very moving walking tour and we learnt a lot!

We have wandered through Lazienki Park to see the “Palace on the Island” built in the 17th Century which was rather nice.

It has been a while since you have seen a photo of food, so here is a selection of the Polish food that we have been enjoying! It’s bloody good!

We also found the Old Town Wishing Bell , and the story goes, if you walk around it 3 times , and make a wish it will come true! Well, after walking around Warsaw for 2 days , and about 15 kms each day, Greg wished for new knees!!!!!!

We have enjoyed our time in Warsaw and tomorrow we catch the train down to Krakow for 3 nights. According to our guide , Krakow is a lot prettier than Warsaw, and he told us not to enjoy it too much!!! We will wait and see!

So its that time again, by the way Polish beer is really good!

Cheers!

Greg and Rhonda.

We said arrivederci to Italy, then a quick hello to Austria , before arriving in Germany. Our home for the past 6 nights has been in Fussen in Bavaria.

Our apartment has been wonderful , a few streets away from the cobblestoned main street. The town , although touristy , is picture postcard pretty!

On top of the hill in the Old Town is the aptly named “Hohes Schloss” or High Castle , and was the summer castle of the Prince-Bishops of Augsburg.

The inner courtyard was rather spectacular.

The “Red Church” as it is known , was not only very pretty on the outside , but the frescoes on the inside and in particular on the ceiling were amazing!

The streets of Fussen were lovely to wander around (especially at night when the day trippers had gone). We had a great dinner the first night and enjoyed some typical Bavarian food, Sausages , potatoes and sauerkraut , and spätzle which is cheese noodles with fried on ions on the top. Both were delicious and of course the beer flowed , and we had to have an apple strudel!

We arrived on Friday and the annual Historical Festival of the Renaissance was happening on the weekend. There were people everywhere dressed in their period costume, dancing, flag waving, and doing all sorts of other things.

There was a rathe large parade as well which was a bit of fun to watch!

We forgot our “note to self” and decided to drive along the German Alpine Road on Sunday! It was around 37 degrees so EVERYONE had decided to go to the Alpine Lakes and swim! Traffic everywhere!

We stopped first at the small town of Oberammergau and the frescoed facades of nearly all the buildings were beautiful. See if you can find Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel?????

The aim of our drive was to “do lunch” at one of the oldest breweries in Germany at Tergensee and it was worth all the heartache of the traffic chaos!

Spotto Rhonda in the crowd!!!! The beer , pork schnitzel and potato salad was delicious!

We also stopped at Linderhof to check out “mad” Ludwig 11 Palace and it’s gardens. We “viewed” but not “visited” the palace ( we didn’t go inside) It was the only Castle that Ludwig actually completed and lived in!

The next day we “visited” another of his Palaces, the Hohenschwangau Castle , the childhood home of Ludwig 11. We did a tour of the inside ….sorry no photos allowed!

A brief history of our “mate” Ludwig. He ascended to the throne of Bavaria at the age of 18 after his father died. He was known to be extremely eccentric, not particularly interested in governing , just wanted to build castles!!! He was declared insane and died in a “mysterious drowning” at the age of 40.

His legacy is the magnificent castles throughout Bavaria.

Of course the most renown is Neuschwanstein (Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle)which we also visited. Unfortunately the palace was still not finished when Ludwig died! Again no photos inside …sorry!

It was particularly ornate , including an imitation grotto , and a ‘Singers Room” where no one sang , instead Ludwig would light his 600 candle chandeliers and sit ?????????

This castle has been on Rhonda’s bucket list for a long time…..tick…….however it was waaaaaaaaaay too touristy for Greg!

Before leaving Fussen we took short drive to  Hopfen-see for lunch which was curry wurst and beer! Yum!

It has been a great stay , and we are thankful that the weather is now cooler , a pleasant 25 degrees!

So now it’s off to Switzerland to spend a few days with our Swiss family. We are looking forward to catching up with them.

So it’s that time again!

One last bretzel , and time to pack…..then a beer!!!

Prost

Greg and Rhonda