europe

We were up very early – around 4:30 or so – and caught the first morning shuttle back to the airport.  From there, it was the usual long process of checking in to an international flight. The flight...

Today was our last day in Paris.  Our train to London did not leave until late afternoon, so we spent the morning walking around the Montmarte neighborhood some more.  We first walked to the...

After breakfast, we took the Metro to the bank of the Seine for the tour of Paris’s sewers – something I’ve always wanted to do.  It turned out to be less of a “tour” and more like a museum located...

We returned to Paris Disney today, this time without Judy.  Unlike the first time, the sky was blue and sunny and the weather was warm.  The crowds were a little bigger, but still not too bad. ...

We woke, had breakfast, and headed to the Louvre (Judy stayed behind).  We took the advice we had heard from our tour guide and entered the museum through the subway entrance, thereby avoiding the...

We slept in a bit after the late night. We got breakfast at the room and then headed to the Arc de Triumph. After seeing the streeet level, we climbed the stairs to the viewing platform at the top. It...

Paris Disney does not open until 10, but we had to take a train to get there so we were up by 8. A short trip by Metro and a longer trip by RER got us to the park right at 10. It was overcast and chilly,...

We had originally planned to go to Paris Disney today, but the weather threatened rain, so we postponed it for a day. Instead, we headed to Place St. Michel for a free walking tour of the city. We ate...

We awoke, packed, checked out and took the slow train to Paris. When we arrived, we wasted some time trying to figure out the public transport, as usual, and then made our way to our hotel. The metro stop...

We slept in a bit, as our plan for the day was to see the castle at Chenonceaux and the first train did not leave until the afternoon. We explored Tours a bit more in the morning, including checking out...

Woke up and headed to the train station to go to Tours. At the station, however, we were told that there were no more places available for the train to Tours. Instead, we had to take a slow train all the...

We awoke and walked to the train station, stopping for breakfast at a bakery along the way, and then trained to Strasbourg. We had little trouble figuring out how to take the street car to our hotel, but...

We awoke and had breakfast again in the hostel bar. It was raining even harder outside than ever. We loaded up and took the train back to Interlaken, and from there on to Zug, a smaller city located on...

Hard to rank days, but this one has to rank right at the top. We awoke and had breakfast at the hotel, mostly bread and butter and yogurt. Judy wanted a day of rest and so stayed behind and spent the day...

We left Aix Les Bains before 8. Before leaving, I left two boxes with the hotel desk for them to mail for us. I’m not sure if they’ll make it, though. We took the train to Geneva, then changed...

We we’re up by 9 to catch the train for a day trip to Chaminix, at the foot of Mont Blanc. This was a last minute addition to our itinerary based on a pamphlet we found at the hotel, and we weren’t...

It rained almost the entire day. I was sick and so slept in until noon, and we mostly spent the day inside. It eventually cleared up sone in the late afternoon, and Phyllis and I went to the post office...

We took the morning train for a day trip to Geneva, just an hour away by train. After leaving the station, we stopped for breakfast at a Starbucks. Despite barely getting anything, we were stunned to discover...

It was drizzling in the morning when we walked back to the train station. The train to Aix Les Bains was delayed for about an hour, but the station was at least a large one where we could wait inside....

We awoke around 8:00 and headed with Tina’s family as a group to the train station. They caught a train west into Barcelona, and a few minutes later we caught one east toward the border of France....

We slept in late, while Tina’s family left very early to head back to the US. I had to go into Barcelona to make train reservations to leave the next day, and we were trying to decide whether I would go...

Slow day.  We spent most of the day at the beach.  At one point I stopped at a small beachside diner for a “hamburger,” but it was disgusting.  Otherwise, we watched the kids swim.  They had inner tubes...

Travel day.  We left the apartment and walked with our bags to the train station, where we caught a train along the coast to a small Spanish beach town called Calella.  There, we found our rooms and checked...

We did not sleep in, but with so many people and little kids, we weren’t actually ready to leave the room until late morning.  Then we were further delayed because I left the key in the door...

We took the morning train into Barcelona, and met up with Tina and her family at a metro stop and then proceeded together to our rooms, which consisted of a large apartment not far from the Arc de Triumph....

A very slow day. Everything was closed for Sunday, and the town, though pleasant, did not have that much to offer. There was a Salvadore Dali museum, but none of us were interested. We did look inside...

We awoke early to catch the only bus to the train station. There, we paused first at the McDonalds to access the internet to check hotel info, and then boarded the train for the short trip to Figueres,...

We woke and went straight into the old town for breakfast at a shop. We then took the tour through the actual castle, which sits inside the walls of the city. We had an audio guide, which the girls liked....

Travel day. We awoke fairly early, walked to the tram stop, and then rode the tram to the train station. I watched the bags while the others grabbed some food for the train, and then we took the train...

We awoke, walked to the tram station, and rode into town, back to Place de la Comedie. There, we had lunch at a pasta place, and then wandered the old town for a couple of hours. We saw St. Peters, with...

We awoke, packed up, and caught the bus to the train station.  I watched the bags while the others collected some food for the trip, and then we boarded the train to Montpellier. This was sort of...

We returned to Cannes by bus again, this time taking it all the way to the train station. There, we waited in line for a while and then made train reservations to Montpelier and Carcasonne. We then walked...

A lazy day – the first in a while. We woke late and took the bus into Cannes. There, we took a short circuit around the harbor riding in the top of an open double decker bus. We then got lunch and...

We woke and spent the morning at the hotel swimming pool. It was a nice, large outdoor pool, and we swam for perhaps an hour or two. We then packed some things together and took the bus, which stopped...

We awoke and had a very meager breakfast in the courtyard that is in back of our building. It was a sort of garden, with pieces of modern art displayed here and there. We then made our way to the train...

Mostly travel day today. We left our rooms and took the bus to the train station and from there took the train to Venice. There, we walked out of the front of the station and, instead of cars on a road,...

We awoke and headed to the supermarket near our room to get food. Went well, except that we were not allowed to buy the bananas we had selected for some reason that we were never able to understand. We...

We awoke, checked out, and made the long walk to the Termini station. We slowly realized after several false starts that we were required to purchase reservations to ride any of the fast trains to Florence,...

It was another difficult night for sleep. I had hoped Sunday night would be quiet, but the activity in the street below our window kept up into the early morning, and we had to keep the window open because...

We slept in pretty late because of the noise the night before, and were out around 10:30.  Headed to the Vatican. After leaving the metro, we stopped at a pizza place to pick up some slices to take...

Another hot day. We slept in after the poor night of sleep, and then took the same bus back to the Coliseum. There, we had pizza and panini from a truck and then paid for a tour of the Coliseum and Forum....

We arrived in Rome after a decent night of sleep on the train. Not great, exactly, but at least there were no train changes and it wasn’t an early morning. We had to walk to our hotel, the hotel...

We awoke, walked down to the town, and took the streetcar to the other side of town, stopping to mail some postcards on the way and to put our bags in locks at the train station.  We walked up to...

We awoke and walked down the hill, across the footbridge, and to the start terminal for the funicular train/cable car up the mountain behind our hotel. The train was great – it seemed just like a...

We awoke, packed and walked to the subway station, and from there to the train station. The train to Innsbruck was a “Railjet” train, which was the nicest train that we’ve been on yet....

We awoke and went straight into the pedestrian area I was in the night before. We first searched for food, finding a pasta and pizza place. We then walked over to the area of the palace and went inside...

We awoke and had a fast breakfast before making the long trip to the rail station. We usually build in some extra time, but I took us three stops in the wrong direction on the metro before discovering...

Today we awoke and had breakfast at the hotel before heading into the city. Instead of the subway we rode a street car through town and along the river, and then transferred to a funicular train that took...

We woke in Regensburg in our giant room – I slept with the girls up in the loft – and then had a leisurely morning before walking back to the train station to catch the train to Prague. The...

We woke, ate, and left our luggage at the hotel while we headed over to the Olympic park to swim. The entire Olympic swimming stadium was open to us, and there were maybe 25 others also swimming. We changed...

I went to bed unsure whether we would be spending the day swimming at the Olympic park or seeing the castles at Neuschwantein, but we headed to the castles. We caught a regional train in the morning, and...

Breakfast was good. Again, college kids were everywhere. We headed back to Marianplatz to catch a walking tour of the city. Our guide this time was an Irish guy named Keith. He showed us the Marianplatz...

We awoke, checked out, and walked across to the station for breakfast and food for the train. We took a late morning train to Munich, with stops in Fulda and Augsburg along the way. It was another ICE...

We rose this morning to a sunny day and a view from our window of Hercules. We are staying in two rooms – which is nice – but breakfast is not included. So we crossed over to the bahnhoff next...

Up this morning, breakfast was nice in the common area. We intended to catch the number 11 bus to the station, but it turns out it does not run on Saturday morning, so we had to walk into the station....

We arrived in Copenhagen in the morning. It was still cool out, and we were pretty worn out from three night trains in a row, so we walked to the national history museum. They had a little child’s...

We arrived in Stockholm very early in the morning – before 7 am. I had assumed that they would let people stay in the cars and sleep in, but they did not. We again had breakfast in the station, changed...

We arrived in Copenhagen mid morning. After getting breakfast at the station and changing money, we left most of our luggage in a locker for the next few days, keeping only a change of clothes and things...

We woke, packed our stuff and went downstairs for breakfast. We then hauled our bags over the cobblestone streets, past the bicycles leaning against the canal bridges, up to the central train station,...

Had some trouble sleeping last night. A mosquito was bothering me all night and keeping me awake. Breakfast was just ok – egg and orange juice were ok, but the toast wasn’t very good. The girls...

We awoke, had breakfast, and headed to the Hauptbahnhoff to catch the train to Amsterdam. There was a huge crowd on the platform, but I noticed a guide on the sign telling you where to stand to board first...

Today after breakfast we went to Schloss Charlottenburg. After standing in a long line in the hot sun, we finally got inside. There was an audio tour with headphones, which was great. Gave you some of...

We awoke and went over to breakfast at the hotel. It was not quite as good as in Bruges but still was very nice – brotchen and eggs and cereal and orange juice. We headed by public transit first...

Breakfast was great again.  We then took the bus to the train station and caught the train to Berlin. I played cards with Amber and Judy, and worried the whole way about whether we would be too late to...

Breakfast at the hotel was wonderful.  The proprietor seemed to put a great deal of care into tastefully decorating the room and cooking a real breakfast.  She can be a bit cranky, but she runs...

We got up, left our bags at the hotel, and headed into town. We walked for a stretch, then stopped for breakfast at a cafe where the girls enjoyed crepes. Phyllis kept a blue bottle for a souvenir. We...

We had afternoon tickets to Brussels and a day to kill in London. Unfortunately, we also had our bags to drag around. After breakfast, we headed straight to the station, and then I left Phyllis and Judy...

We were up very early, had breakfast, and then were driven to the train station, where we took the train back to Dublin. From there we caught a cab to the ferry port. The cab driver was carrying on a conversation...

We awoke and ate breakfast of cereal and bananas, and then were driven out to Killarney national park. This turned out to be a very large area of lawns, gardens, old stone mansions, lakes, hills and woods. ...

Today was another travel day, by train to Killarney. We we up early and took a taxi to Heuston train station.  There we validated our Eurail pass and caught the train out to Killarney, with one quick...

Today was travel day.  We were up very early and went straight to the tube station, skipping breakfast, and headed over to Euston Station to catch our train.  We had some bananas and a free sample...

The night was better, but still not great. I was wide awake at 3:30 am, then went bak to sleep at around 6 and almost couldnt get up at 9. Everyone else seemed to be doing better than me, though. I think...

Rough night. We basically slept straight through from 12:30 pm until the next morning. Except we didn’t really sleep too well once it got dark. Because of jet lag, it felt like time to wake up all...

Sunday turned to Monday somewhere over the Atlantic as we flew east across eight time zones. Dinner was pretty disgusting and sleeping was almost impossible for me sitting on the plane, but Amber was able...

We’re on our way!  Sitting on the airplane now on the first leg to Atlanta. The girls are watching a movie on the laptop and I’m sitting next to Phyllis right behind them, with Judy behind...

Tuesday, April 26 Our departure day is less than a month away. It has been up in the air for several months whether we will actually be able to make the trip.  It is still not quite certain, but at...