I've updated the blog a little to show the overall routes we took and to give an idea where Karlsruhe is.
www.genedodd.com/images/a/K/Europe_map_03.jpg
and I included a little more information on our trip to Normandy.
http://geneineurope.blogspot.com/2012/09/honfleur-and-d-day.html
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Getting home .. sweet home
I wasn't going to add anything to this blog but I got a couple of nice surprises on the way home.
Debbie and Erin took us to the train station and saw us off. It got pretty close to a boohoo for me.
We struggled a little bit at the Frankfurt airport but nothing too bad. We had PLENTY of time to make our flight so running around confused and frustrated for 45 minutes wasn't a biggie - in retrospect.
We flew Lufthansa, which you may recall cancelled our flight on the way over. We found the seating comfortable, the attendants pleasant and helpful, and the whole experience as good as it can be without being in first class.
The first surprise was opening the window cover and having a clear view of Greenland. It was pretty amazing.
Next surprise, when we finally got home we were welcomed by a very good friend's thoughtful gift.
It was a great trip.
Its great to be home.
Love you all.
Gene
Debbie and Erin took us to the train station and saw us off. It got pretty close to a boohoo for me.
We struggled a little bit at the Frankfurt airport but nothing too bad. We had PLENTY of time to make our flight so running around confused and frustrated for 45 minutes wasn't a biggie - in retrospect.
We flew Lufthansa, which you may recall cancelled our flight on the way over. We found the seating comfortable, the attendants pleasant and helpful, and the whole experience as good as it can be without being in first class.
The first surprise was opening the window cover and having a clear view of Greenland. It was pretty amazing.
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| Greenland is BIG |
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| Glacier calving |
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| More Ice and Sea |
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| Still a lot of ice |
Next surprise, when we finally got home we were welcomed by a very good friend's thoughtful gift.
It was a great trip.
Its great to be home.
Love you all.
Gene
Monday, October 1, 2012
Life in Karlsruhe
We rested up and settled into Hayhow family routine - I was ready for a little down time. Theirs is a comfortable apartment on the 4th floor in a mixed neighborhood, like Laporte Colorado but different. ;-)
Here is a a view from their kitchen window.
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Saturday, we walked to the palace and botanic garden. There were exotic plants in the first section. Exotic?? It looked like our ridge in Bellvue!! ;-) Lots of cactus and spiny succulents.
We walked through tended areas and less tended too. The girls enjoyed being outside. It was nice.
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The next day - off to Fleckenstein castle. That meant a tram to the Hbf, a train to Winden, switch trains to Wissembourg (see the German and French in this town's name?), then a bus to Château du Fleckenstein. Same thing in reverse later - just more crowds.
We had a gorgeous day and this was a great castle to visit. It was built on an enormous sandstone monolith and tunnels and stairs were dug in the rock for living and moving around. This is not Versailles but the vanity and sense of self is apparent here too. It was like an enormous, interesting play ground. Great fun but being comfortable on uneven surfaces helped.
After a little walk through trees, we had a nice picnic. There was a children's playground and it was fully utilized. Nearby was a tourist spot with a hotel and restaurant. Artisans were making cider and flammkuchen (a rich, savory, creamy pizza like snack - thanks Reid).
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The rest of our time here is on school days so our activities will be more domestic than tourist. That's okay! Even though I'm beginning to smell the barn, I realize a good part of the barn smell is here in Karlsruhe. :-(
This could be it for the blog. We'll see. Thanks for taking the time to read it.
Gene
Hbf - http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Hauptbahnhof
flammkuchen - http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCkQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FTarte_flamb%25C3%25A9e&ei=PVBpUK_mMYfFswbaz4GABg&usg=AFQjCNGQ021ZIlBTYZXf3D4Aw-9TZyKfHg&sig2=-9v-RJ73Dxpr-h2W-ZDvBw
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| Moon over Karlsruhe |
Here is a a view from their kitchen window.
=======================================
Saturday, we walked to the palace and botanic garden. There were exotic plants in the first section. Exotic?? It looked like our ridge in Bellvue!! ;-) Lots of cactus and spiny succulents.
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| Tree girl |
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| Typical Karlsruhe couple |
We walked through tended areas and less tended too. The girls enjoyed being outside. It was nice.
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| Claire & Erin play at Botanic garden |
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| Sprites deep in water sculpture forest |
==============================================
The next day - off to Fleckenstein castle. That meant a tram to the Hbf, a train to Winden, switch trains to Wissembourg (see the German and French in this town's name?), then a bus to Château du Fleckenstein. Same thing in reverse later - just more crowds.
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| Image from side of our bus illustrates the place better than mine |
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| Hayhows on top of Fleckkenstein castle |
We had a gorgeous day and this was a great castle to visit. It was built on an enormous sandstone monolith and tunnels and stairs were dug in the rock for living and moving around. This is not Versailles but the vanity and sense of self is apparent here too. It was like an enormous, interesting play ground. Great fun but being comfortable on uneven surfaces helped.
 |
| Castle viewed on walk back from picnic and playground |
 |
| Into the forest on our way home |
=========================================
The rest of our time here is on school days so our activities will be more domestic than tourist. That's okay! Even though I'm beginning to smell the barn, I realize a good part of the barn smell is here in Karlsruhe. :-(
This could be it for the blog. We'll see. Thanks for taking the time to read it.
Gene
Hbf - http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Hauptbahnhof
flammkuchen - http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCkQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FTarte_flamb%25C3%25A9e&ei=PVBpUK_mMYfFswbaz4GABg&usg=AFQjCNGQ021ZIlBTYZXf3D4Aw-9TZyKfHg&sig2=-9v-RJ73Dxpr-h2W-ZDvBw
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Honfleur and D-Day
Here is a map of our route from Paris to Honfleur and on to the D-Day beaches.
www.genedodd.com/images/a/K/Europe_map_01.jpg
On to Le Havre and then to Honfleur. Now we are really in Normandy. Honfleur is a small, old town across the Seine from big, industrial Le Havre. Here are some pictures that show the area around our B&B.
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We walked toward and along the Seine and looked out into the English channel. We visited some museums. Did you know that Eric Satie was born here? There is a museum honoring him Here is a piece of his that I like and I hope you like it a little.
====================================================
Monday was a cold, wet, windy day. We scheduled a guided tour of the Normandy coast where the allied forces landed in their assault of Nazi controlled Europe. It was very interesting, very technical and the weather added to our sense of what the conditions were like on June 6, 1944. I don't mean what the conditions faced by the soldiers. Just a feel for that area.
Our guide took us to Pointe du Hoc. It held a critical position between Omaha and Utah beaches and could bring heavy artillery fire on either landing. It also was near critical roads that could allow German counter attacks on Allied forces. Here is a little image of Pointe du Hoc with comments.
www.genedodd.com/images/a/K/Europe_map_02.jpg
It is now American soil and a memorial. BTW, one of the commanders here went on to be a legendary President of Texas A&M University, James Earl Rudder.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Earl_Rudder
We spent time at the military cemetery and learned about how the US manages all these sites.
====================================================
www.genedodd.com/images/a/K/Europe_map_01.jpg
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| The street in front of our place |
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| Entrance to our place |
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| The tourist harbor of Honfleur |
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There is a cathedral here that was built without a real architect. I've never seen one like this. I got a little artsy here.
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| artsy far |
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| A wooden cathedral |
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| A wall of the cathedral |
====================================================
We walked toward and along the Seine and looked out into the English channel. We visited some museums. Did you know that Eric Satie was born here? There is a museum honoring him Here is a piece of his that I like and I hope you like it a little.
====================================================
Monday was a cold, wet, windy day. We scheduled a guided tour of the Normandy coast where the allied forces landed in their assault of Nazi controlled Europe. It was very interesting, very technical and the weather added to our sense of what the conditions were like on June 6, 1944. I don't mean what the conditions faced by the soldiers. Just a feel for that area.
Our guide took us to Pointe du Hoc. It held a critical position between Omaha and Utah beaches and could bring heavy artillery fire on either landing. It also was near critical roads that could allow German counter attacks on Allied forces. Here is a little image of Pointe du Hoc with comments.
www.genedodd.com/images/a/K/Europe_map_02.jpg
It is now American soil and a memorial. BTW, one of the commanders here went on to be a legendary President of Texas A&M University, James Earl Rudder.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Earl_Rudder
 |
| Just inland from Omaha beach |
We spent time at the military cemetery and learned about how the US manages all these sites.
====================================================
Our next leg is back to Paris for a night at the Charles de Gaulle airport hotel to see the east Texas contingent off. After that, 1st class to Karlsruhe on the TGV fast train. I don't expect to have much to report until we are back with the Hayhows.
Monet is hot!
From the previous posting, I expressed concern about navigating the French train system. Things worked smoothly.
We took the train to Vernon and followed the hordes onto a bus that took us to the village of Giverny. Claude Monet bought a place there with the money he made from his art. He landscaped it to his likes and lived and painted there for 40 years.
I had some hint that Monet was a big deal but the tourist industry that has built up around him is pretty astounding. Kind of the Elvis of the Impressionists and I was in the middle of Graceland.
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| ML at our hotel |
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| After the crowds left |
We had a nice meal at the hotel and our room was nice if a little cramped. Our room was in a garret and the walls sloped inward many places. I had to bend over a lot and be careful standing up. In the shower, I had to stand with my head in the skylight well!
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| In Monet's garden |
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| Lila & Milton Moorer in Monet's garden |
And here are those east Texans that stormed Paris. Here they are laying waste to Monet's garden.
And I got some pictures. Here are a few.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
East Texas storms Paris
Milton and Lila (the Moorers from east Texas) had a long, challenging flight. We walked in the Luxembourg gardens before heading out to a night on the Eiffel Tower.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG4iKLJdOHg&feature=g-upl
Next morning, we followed the same walk we took with Deb and Claire.
I stuck around this time and had coffee at a sidewalk cafe in the Marais district where Mary Lea and I stayed in 2007. Some of us needed a toilet in the middle of Paris and found a free one. Notice the satisfied customer. ;-)
Already familiar with the process, I had it well planned out. We had a beautiful evening that turned out a little windy and cool on the 'Sommet'. While at the tippy top, there were these really annoying strobe lights overhead that I interpreted as a way to get us moving and off the top. It worked!
On the ground, we strolled out and enjoyed the view of the lit up tower. Very cool. We turned to walk to the metro when people gasped. We turned and I saw that the French weren't trying to run us off the top. See for yourself.
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| Walters sisters at the Place du Concord |
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| Exploring Paris |
Finally, another trip to the Musée D'Orsay. I've been there five times now and this was my best trip because Milton wanted one of those audio guides which tell a story about selected exhibits. It added a lot for me.
Next day we leave Paris for Giverny and Normandy. I don't really know how to buy train tickets, get on the right train, switch trains when required and god only knows what else but it can't be that hard. Well maybe it can. Stay tuned.
Out with the young, in with the not so young.
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| Please play with me |
Sunday, all four of us got off early to return to the Musée d'Orsay. Claire was anxious to show Debbie all the cool stuff she liked - which was quite a lot.
After that, we crossed the Seine and picnicked in the Tuillaries gardens. Then a walk to the Musée de Louvre and places beyond tired me so I left the girls at Notre Dame and went 'home'. They went shopping in one of the biggest crush of people I've seen.
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| Three gals in the new Paris. Notice the Arc de Triomphe in the background |
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| This is the Grand Arch. It is actually an office building on both sides. |
The next day, Monday, we went to the 'new' section of Paris and saw the Grand Arch. This is a section of Paris dedicated to modern sky scrapers and big business. The buildings and landscaping were done in interesting and aesthetically delightful ways.
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| Cool reflecting pond with Arc de Triomphe in distance |
Next morning, Debbie and Claire were off to Karlsruhe early and Mary Lea and I had about 30 minutes before her sister and her guy (Lila and Milton) arrived.
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