Bali Bound

Wow, did I end up with a lot of pictures.  Most of them are random shots from the bus windows that now all look very similar...  But here are some more real shots.  I do also have plans to continue with the rest of the locations, it's just time consuming so I'm going slowly. Interior of the cathedral in Cologne Exterior of cathedral, they were doing some work and the bottom left corner is what the church would look like if they cleaned the stone all the time.  But then they would be perpetually cleaning it... Farmland of Germany, I'm so used to big plots and these are all so small! Vineyards along the Rhine river, they grow vertically because the sun hits it better, yes, it is really steep Castle along the Rhine river Here I am enjoying a river cruise on the Rhine Castle in Heidelberg that the Japanese are enamored of The wonderful store signs in Rothenburg Sneeballs in Rothenburg, weren't brave enough to try as they are b...

It has been both a laid back day and a busy day. Today we hit three countries in less than eight hours. Crazy times. We started out in Germany where we were woken up to a crazy rainstorm. We did have good timing and it was finished by the time we were off. We then made our way south through Austria. What a beautiful area it is. They call it the Tyrol and it is lush and mountainous. We had a mid-morning stop in Innsbruck. We had a bit of time to spend in the old town area. Sadly, the golden roof was covered for cleaning. I'll admit this is always the risk of traveling in the off times. Many areas have been nice and quiet but it does mean that this is the time of year that maintenance is done. But there was plenty other things to see and it was a nice spot for the morning. After our morning stop we made it through brenner pass into Italy on the way to Venice!! It was quite the drive. I understand why my travel agent thought I was a little bit nuts to do London-Pari...

I must say I didn't really know what to expect with the bus tour experience but it has been pretty good so far. People tend to mostly keep to their pairs but we don't really have any objectionable members. The driving is also nice because the bus lulls you to sleep so you never really feel that tired during the day. It is really fast paced but we are still seeing a nice highlight of the places. Today we decided not to go on the extra dinner but are the only ones who didn't. So it's pretty quiet around the hotel tonight. I think that the biggest issue is keeping organized. Having to pack up the suitcase every day or so takes a lot of preparation. Especially when we need to have them outside while we are having breakfast, no time in the morning for organizing. But we are almost half way through and it's not too bad. And because our group was too cool for name tags I barely know half of the names, but get the impression that it isn't just me! The weat...

Welcome to beautiful Bavaria! Today we had a full but entertaining day. We started out our morning in Heidelberg, not too much was happening there. We have discovered that it is far less of a 24/7 world here. Stores open around ten and close by six. So it does curtail the shopping a bit. But the weather was fantastic today. We hit high 20's by the time we were in Munich, it was pretty warm. Glad I prepared with capris, and tomorrow is supposed to be the same. I think that I got a lot of color today. After Heidelberg we had another day of travel through Germany. Our first stop was medieval rothenburg. It was so cute. Maybe that isn't the best word to use but nothing within the walls has changed since the 14th century I want to say. It is all filled with cute cobblestone roads and beautiful churches, I even found the stairs and walked along the top of the wall. We also saw their display, I would best describe it as a giant cuckoo clock. It depicts an old stor...

I can't believe that we are already in Germany.  Also, this keyboard is strange.  I am going to assume it is a German language thing.  We had a crazy day today.  We really spent most of the day traveling but it did not feel like that at all.  We departed rainy Amsterdam and headed south.  The highways here are all very nice and well planned.  Good deal for us. We spent a few hours driving to Köln, or Cologne as we have changed it to.  We did not have much time there but we did get to tour the cathedral.  It is crazy big.  It is a huge gothic cathedral covered with stained glass.  I was impressed.  Also, it was free.  Then we had a bit to wander at will and find some snacks.  Of course I found a few bakeries.  I feel like it is my responsiblity as a baker to check things out and see something new.  Of course I have no idea on the names but I found some very delicious stuff.  And it rained on the way ...

It was our last full day in Amsterdam today.  A little sad but now I''m getting excited for the next leg of the journey.  Today we had our first city tour.  We got to take the giant tour bus around Amsterdam and saw some more of the city.  I'll be honest, most of the sights are all together so there wasn't too much to see.  We also took a canal cruise which was interesting.  The water looks icky but apparently that is because of the layer of muck and bikes.  I guess people enjoy tossing bikes in the canals.  They end up with quite a few when they clean out the canals.  Crazy world.  We also went to a diamond factory.  It was pretty lame.  Because yes, I"d like to purchase a ring for 5000 euros and carry it around with me for the next 2 weeks.  Pass.  Afterwards we skipped out on the evenings optional exursion.  We could have gone out to Volendam, it's a touristy village outside of the city.  However, it ...