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.
 |
| Greenland is BIG |
 |
| Glacier calving |
 |
| More Ice and Sea |
 |
| 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.
=======================================
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.
==============================================
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).
=========================================
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
 |
| 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.
 |
| Tree girl |
 |
| Typical Karlsruhe couple |
We walked through tended areas and less tended too. The girls enjoyed being outside. It was nice.
 |
| Claire & Erin play at Botanic garden |
 |
| 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.
 |
| Image from side of our bus illustrates the place better than mine |
 |
| 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
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