Summer 2017

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May – Oct.  2017

To say the last six months have been interesting is a bit of an understatement.   The Summer started rather laid back in Illinois performing various upgrades on our rentals,  going to Dr appts & all the usual things we do when we arrive in IL.  However, events  got a bit more interesting when Collins fell off a ladder while polishing the RV.  Unlike prior times, he forgot to “tuck & roll” & severely injured his ankle with a Grade 3 sprain, requiring 6 wks completely off the ankle.  The Dr said it could take 6-8 months to totally heal & I still have some occasional swelling in it.  Thankfully our Europe trip was 16 wks away & even then, after a day of walking, I would sit with a big bag of peas on my swollen ankle.

Shortly after celebrating Karen’s birthday with the Illinois kids & grandkids, our RV was put to bed &

Waiting at the airport to board

On the plane

Snuggles curls up in her carrier

we, with Snuggles of course, were off to our RV caravan in Europe.  It is European Motorhome Tours  www.rvtoureurope.com

We arrived a few days early so we could adjust a little to the 7 hour time difference.  It also gave us a chance to check out some of Frankfurt, Germany.

A Wedding at the Romer City Hall

The first day we wandered around the city & checked out the plaza Romer.  We also wandered along the Main River.

Collins & Snuggles enjoy the Main River

The following day, there was a huge Auto Show in town & Collins wanted to go.  Some of them were amazing (so were the prices)

The crowds were so bad in some parts of it, you wondered why you came.

A delivery van with drones on top for delivering packages

some unusual & some so very small.

Collins called them "Clown Cars".  In reality, there are a lot of very small cars in Europe.  

There was also a concept airplane car.  It's supposed to be on the market in a couple of years for 1.5 million.












On Sunday, we met our fellow RV travelers & had a great "Welcome Dinner" that night. 

Monday we claimed our RVs & were off to our first stop -

the grocery store.  It was kind of an interesting experience, since most of the labels were in the language of the country.  Luckily our guide is German.  When we got to Greece, we played a few guessing games.










The following 30 days would take us thru Germany, Austria, Italy & Greece.  Our rented RV was just a little bigger than half the size of our rig, so there was some initial adjusting to be made.  Karen’s biggest complaint was having to trudge to the public showers (the one in the RV was really tiny).  In our 7+ years of full time rving, we had never once used the public showers.    But once you traveled thru some of the ancient, old, narrow streets, the smaller RV size was appreciated.  There were 4 couples besides the Wagon Master & the Tail Gunner.  We had met one of the couples a few years ago at an IL campground & they were actually the ones who told us about this caravan group.  It was pure coincidence we ended up on the same tour.  There were also 2 couples from Canada.  One of those couples was a lot of fun & we all got along great.  Shelagh & I really became great friends.  We're hoping to catch up again later in the year.  The other couple was a little odd & none of us really clicked with them, but we all got along.  Our tour leader, Thomas, is German but spent 15 yrs in the U.S., and is incredible.  While many could put together the hundreds of pieces required to make this trip, few would have the temperament, & Thomas has both.  Your first realization was, when he says we are leaving at 9 AM, he does not mean 9:01. Good German punctuality at work.   Thomas also employed a “tail gunner” Georg to ensure any unforeseen guest problems were resolved,  like one who placed water vs. diesel into their tank (not us).  Luckily for them, it did not turn out to be a major disaster & both Georg & Thomas were very calm about it.

Every evening, after we'd settled into our campground, we had Happy Hour & got our instructions for the next day.  It was a good way to unwind & talk about the things we'd seen that day.

Thomas is giving us instructions for the next day

Let’s start by saying that of the 28 countries we’ve seen, we haven’t experienced any country as lovely as Germany.

 Many sections of the cities are being reconstructed as they were prior to WWII with cobbled streets, storefront facades, flower gardens & window boxes everywhere.  Add to that the centuries old castles, churches & idyllic little towns & you have a country to treasure as you travel thru it.

Snuggles, of course, took the whole thing in stride & remained totally  unimpressed.  It should be noted here, that Europeans love dogs & they are welcomed in stores & restaurants alike.  However, while we enjoyed all of the different foods, wines, pastries & beers, she snubbed her nose at most of them.






I've decided to include a few photos from each of our stops.

Our first stop was a historic farm in Bad Feilnbach to give you a feeling of life in the 1700's.  We had a nice tour of the grounds.

On our drive to Salzburg, Austria we stopped for a tour of King Ludwig II's Herrenchiemsee Castle.  This one was modeled on Versailles.  It was started in 1878 & Ludwig died in 1886, with it incomplete.  We had to take a boat to the Island on which it was built

Collins, Diane & George (not the tail gunner)

The following are pictures of the castle.

The Castle

Our trip to Salzburg brought us all kinds of interesting facts about the Sound Of Music.  First off, the majority of Germans haven't even seen the movie.  A German couple who had joined our group for a couple days didn't know what the big deal was all about.

This is the actual gazebo used in the movie.

Palace Leopold used as the exterior of the Von Trapp Home

The wedding was not actually filmed at the Abbey.  It was at this Colligiate Church of St Michael.

Interior of Wedding Church

The Gardens where they danced around & sang Do Re Me

It was fun roaming the areas where movie was made, but also where most of the actual story of Maria & the Von Trap Family took place

While in Salzburg, we also paid a visit to the Hohensalzburg Fortress high on a hill above the city.  The views were great.

One of the larges medieval castles in Europe

The Golden Chamber

There was also a street fair in Salzburg that day.  It was fun wandering and looking at the goodies & food for sale.  We couldn't resist the Giant Pretzels.  They had every flavor you could imagine.

Our trip to Hitler's Eagles Nest was breathtaking.  You are literally eye level with the Alps.  And it had snowed a few days earlier, making it even more beautiful.

The building itself is now a restaurant

The fire place is the focal point of the room

The Eagle's Nest was actually a gift to Adolph Hitler in the 1940's.  He used it to entertain foreign diplomats & a few chosen friends.  However, he only visited about 17 times.

Tunnel to the elevator

It can only be reached by an elevator shaft set deep in a mountain.

We arrived at a nice campground just across the Canal from Venice.

Our group waiting for the ferry to Venice

  We were able to take a 15 min Ferry ride there.

Venice

Church on the water

Venice, Italy was a let- down due to its heavy commercialization. It seemed like a town of nothing but people & high end stores. There are a lot of Cruise ships that stop there, so it was packed.

There was over a 3 hour wait to enter St. Marc's Basilica, so we didn't go.

It's nice to be able to say you went for a gondola ride, but I think once is plenty.

Georg explaining different beers

Since we were in Venice for 2 days, Georg, our tail gunner, a "true Bavarian" & definitely a beer drinker, decided we would have a beer tasting night.

Georg may have been serious, but the rest of us weren't!

Yes, we tasted all of these, but there were 10 of us.  We certainly had some laughs that night.










Bologna was a pretty town.  It's home of the University of Bologna, Europe's oldest university.  We had an interesting tour of the main squares & the quaint little side streets.

San Patronio Basilica

Original University Building

Beautiful frescos inside the arches

Quaint open markets on the streets

We celebrated our anniversary in Bologna

The leaning towers of Bologna

On our way to Ancona to catch the ferry, we stopped in Bellaria on the Adriatic Sea.  We were in a great campground right on the beach.

Unfortunately, the weather was too cool for swimming, so we enjoyed a walk on the beach instead.

Our friends got creative.  There had been a lot of rain & it was kind of muddy in front of the door.  Shelagh found some tree branches to use as a rug.

The following day we drove to Ancona, to catch the ferry to Greece.

Thomas, our wagon master shows off his dog, Snuggles II

Leaving Port

A Nice Dinner on the Ferry

It was a long trip & we had cabins on the ship.  They were rather small, but after our smaller RV's we were all ok with them.

Kastraki in the Meteora Mts

Greece was amazing, not because of the country’s  basic beauty, although there was some of that, but because of the 2,500 plus year history you were standing on & seeing. 

Our first stop was Kastraki in the Meteora Mts.  They are rock formations, hosting the largest & most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries.

There were no steps & the main access was by means of a net that was hitched over a hook & hoisted up by a rope.  Steps were carved into the rocks in the 1920s.

We arrived in Delphi after touring some of the monasteries.  Delphi was once regarded as the center of the world.  In 4th century BC, it was the site of the Temple of Apollo, the legendary Oracle.  Delphi was our first look at any of the ancient ruins

This extensive mountainside archaeological complex contains the remains of the sanctuaries of Apollo & Athena Pronaia, as well as an ancient stadium & theater.

The Delphi Archaelogical Museum displays artifacts found among the ruins.

Goddess of Victory - Nike

Downtown Delphi

Lunch in Delphi

We were really surprised when we ordered Gyros in Greece.  they are made with pork or chicken & The pitas are cut in quarters.

You see laundry hanging in almost every campground.  In fact, many of the campgrounds don't even have dryers.

Most of the campgrounds provide huge sinks for washing dishes.

The Black Tanks (I don't think these need any explanation)  are removable

Called Chemical Toilets

You see a lot of these attached tents on European Motorhomes

And dumped into things that look like toilets (yes, it was kind of gross)

Bridge over the Gulf of Corinth

Our drive to Corinth was a scenic trip along the Gulf Of Corinth.

One of the advantages of taking a driving trip is to enjoy the beauty along the way.

This canal was cut through the Isthmus of Corinth to save small ships a journey of of 430 miles between the Saronic Gulf & the Agean Sea.  It was started during the time of Nero but not finished until 1893.

Corinth was one of two major gateways to the Peloponnese.

It was splendid & Lively & in a strategic location overlooking the sea.

We visited the ruins of Corinth.














Our next stop was Athens, the Greek capital.

The magnificent Acropolis, crowned by the iconic Parthenon temple, rises above the city.












The Parthenon, built in the mid 5th century bc, was dedicated to the Godess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron.

An archeological committe was established in the 1980's & restoration began on the Parthenon & other Acropolis structures.

Temple  Erechtheion dedicated to Athena & Poseiden 

They are painstakingly sifting thru the objects to make sure every artifact is documented & to determine their original locations.  This will be a very long process.

Temple  Erechtheion dedicated to Athena & Poseiden 

After leaving the Parthenon we toured the city of Athens.  

We stopped at the Panathenaic Stadium which was built on the site of an ancient stadium that hosted Olympic type games for many centuries.  This particular stadium hosted part of the Olympics in 2004.  After the Olympic Torch is lit at the Temple of Hera at the site of the ancient Olypmics, it is brought to the Panathenaic Stadium for a ceremony before it begins it's jouney to the site of that year's Olympic Games.

Lunch in Athens

We saw the changing of the guards at the Parliament House in Athens.

Those young guards stand perfectly still for an hour in the heat & cold,

then change places in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

We wondered around downtown Athens with our new friends & travel mates Ron & Shelagh.

Old church in downtown Athens

Shelagh is sampling a tradional Greek Breakfast Pasty -Koulouri

Leaving the port in Arthens

The next morning, bright & early, we all boarded a Ferry for a 4 hour trip to Mykonos.

We made 2 stops along the way at quaint little Greek Islands













We stayed in a small hotel right on the water & toured some of the island that afternoon & the next morning.  It was a very pretty little island.

View from our hotel

Snuggles claimed her spot right away

Collins decided to soak up some sunshine before sightseeing

Checking out the windmills

Our ferry ride back to Athens was uneventful & we set off the next day for a sighseeing tour of Epidaurus & on to Drepano.  It was a scenic drive along the water.

Epidaurus, mostly famous for it's Ancient Theater. constructed in the late 4th century BC for religious ceremonies.  It is also know for it's exceptional accoustics, which permits unamplified speaking to be heard in all 14,000 seats.

Epidaurus was the most celebrated healing center in the classical world.

Our campground in Drepano was right across from the beach on the Sea of Crete.  Thomas & Georg made us a great BBQ dinner that night

Sea of Crete

The archaeological sites of Mycenae and Tiryns are the imposing ruins of the two greatest cities of the Mycenaean civilization, which dominated the eastern Mediterranean world from the 15th to the 12th century B.C. and played a vital role in the development of classical Greek culture. These two cities are indissolubly linked to the Homeric epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey , which have influenced European art and literature for more than three millennia.

Treasury of Atreus

Artifacts found in Mycenae

Lyons Gate

Palamidi Fortress in Nafplion: The fortress of Palamidi is a true architectural masterpiece. This fort was built during the Venetian occupation in the early 19th century and consists of eight bastions, each was self contained, ensuring that if one bastion was breached the others could still be separately defended. The bastions were built one on top of the other and they all connected with one wall. 

We had a scenic drive to Olympia, then toured the Olympic grounds & museum.  It's a kind of weird feeling to know you're walking where the original Olympics began in the 8th century BC.

The torch for all the current Olympic games is lite right here.

Collins at the entrance to the stadium

In the original Olympics, only men were allowed in the stadium & they competed in the nude.

Karen at the original starting block

Statues found in Olympia

Artifacts found in Olympia

GoddessNiki

While in Greece, in addition to good food & Sambuca, Thomas, our guide, felt Greek dancers were a must.

Then, they seemed to think it was a good idea for us to dance.  They didn't realize we all had 2 left feet.

The following morning, because we had a late start to head for the Ferry, Thomas & Georg made us a delicious pancake breakfast by the pool.

Leaving Greece

Later in the afternoon, we boarded the Ferry, leaving Greece for Italy.

A nice dinner on the Ferry with Shelagh & Ron

Our cabins were pretty small

Before we knew it, we were back in Italy & on our way to Verona.  Verona is a very pretty town & known for it's story of Romeo & Juliet.

Entrance to Verona

Juliet's Balcony

After leaving our campground the next day we went to Lazise.  Lazise is a quaint town located on Lake Garda.  Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy & a very popular vacation spot.






We drove around a large part of the lake before crossing back to Germany.  It was such a pretty area, Collins & I said we might like to go back & stay a few weeks sometime.





As we returned to Germany, we stopped to tour another of King Ludwig II's castles.  this was the smallest of the 3, but the only one he lived to see completed.

Hall of Mirrors

Blue Bedroom

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With only 2 days left of travel, we stopped in Oberammergau in the Bavarian Alps.  It was a quaint town to look at & home of the famous once a decade Passion Play.







It was first performed in 1634 & it was the result of a vow made by the inhabitants of the village that if God spared them from the effects of the bubonic plague then sweeping the region they would perform a passion play every ten years. A man travelling back to the town for Christmas had accidentally brought the plague with him. The man died from the plague and it began spreading throughout Oberammergau. After the vow was made, not another inhabitant of the town died from the bubonic plague and all of the town members that were still suffering from the plague recovered. The Passion Play involves over 2000 actors, singers, instrumentalists and technicians, all residents of the village.  This is about half the inhabitants of the village, many of whom have been involved most of their lives.  Thomas had arranged for us to have a wonderful, informative guide who walked us thru an interesting tour of the history, the theater, props etc.  Unfortunately, I managed to NOT download my pictures from there.  You'll have to take my word that it is a huge undertaking for this small town that offers this 5 days a week from mid May until the beginning of Oct every 10 years.  Not only that, but it is 5 hours & broken into 2 parts each day.

Our Final Stop

Our final stop was Wurzbug.  We had driven there after our Tour of Oberammergau & arrived late in the afternoon.  

Collins & I needed to empty our gray water (dish washing, hand washing water, etc) so we decided to do that before we parked the RV.  All was good, we emptied the tank & backed out of the space.  All of a sudden we heard a clank & that was it for our RV.  It wouldn't move.  We'd had a few odd things happen while driving on the trip, but nothing major.  Apparently, the transmission decided it was done. And this RV was new in April.  Luckily for us, it was the last stop before we returned them.  So, one of the campground owners hooked up a tow chain & pulled us into a spot for the remainder.  

Collins & I had been to Wurzburg on our River Cruise, but I still went on the walking tour of the town & the Residence Palace.  This was part of the pictures I didn't download, but to say this palace was opulant would be an understatement.

Swans are a common sight on the rivers in Europe

This campground was along the Main River & we had actually passed it on our River cruise a few years ago.

I will share a couple of interesting pictures we took along the way.

Some type of water treatment plant

A couple of unusual signs

On the door to the ladies' restroom

The men's restroom

Most European Toilets have two choices for flushing.













This trip is better taken while still in good health for one reason:  you walk everywhere.  Unlike in the USA, which shuttles you from the parking lot to the visitor’s center & site.  In Europe you walk, three to five miles minimum every day.  I suspect that walking & biking, done by all ages, is the reason that, in spite of the beer gardens & bakeries everywhere, there are so few fat people.  And in Greece, there are no down hills, only up.  Which reminds me, I was surprised to learn that Greece is an island of mountains, not hills.  And for those of you that saw the My Big Fat Greek wedding movie, it’s true.  Ask any Greek the origin of any word & they can bring it back to Greece.  It became a standing joke while we were there.

Our last night in Germany, after we'd turned in our RV's (we had to leave ours at the campground & get a ride back with someone else), we had our farewell dinner.  It was sad to say goodbye, but hopefully, we'll meet some of the people again.

Collins trying a last German Beer

This meal was shared by 3 people & there was still a ton of left overs

Yes, I did share this with Collins

We had a wonderful time on this trip, seeing sights we'd never see traveling any other way.  We made wonderful friends we hope to see many more times.  We loved it so much, in 2019 we're planning to take 2 more.  One to Sweden, Norway & Denmark.  The other to France, Spain & Switzerland.  Since they're only offered every 2 years, we've decided to do both in the same year.  We've already decided we'll just stay in Europe, possibly Brussels, for the 5 week period between them.  At our age, you never know what 2 more years will bring.

Upon returning to the US, we did end up staying in IL until the middle of Nov for various reasons.  We were freezing by the time we left but couldn't go too far because we had to be back in IL by mid Dec.  One of our tenants had decided she was going to move mid Dec. (not allowed, but we couldn't chain her to the house).

5 of our 7 grandkids

We ended up working every day but Christmas Eve & Christmas Day to get that place back in renting condition.  We worked right up to the day we left for the Dominican Republic Jan 3rd.  And luckily for us, we did get a new tenant before we left.

Now we're in our Happy Place, Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic.  A place we call our second home.

View from our balcony