Italy

After our cable car adventure, we continued south, picking up a permit sticker to drive through Austria. And that's about all we did in Austria, was pass through. It didn't take long to reach Italy, and we started thinking about our destination for the night.

Marc had a conference call he was required to be on, so we wanted to be settling in around 6, for him to make his 7:00 call. We could have covered more distance had he not let me navigate. To my defense, he did ask me to look for a non-toll road that was a bit off of the beaten track. We ended up driving up and down a mountain, a slow and winding journey that reminded us of a mountain drive we took in Maui with Pier, Nathan, Manon and Nathan a few Christmases ago. Many of us ended up with upset stomaches. We were pretty close to that again this time. But again, it was beautiful. And we got to see some local livestock.

I can see how cowbells are necessary up in the mountains.

Our first gelato in Italy.

The Elefant Hotel, in Auer, where we spent Tuesday night.

We don't see these on the highways back home.

We arrived in Firenze late Wednesday afternoon. Despite the drizzle, the kids, and Marc, couldn't wait to try out the new soccer ball at the park around the corner.

I'm amazed at how, in so many places in Europe, there's little fanfare when it comes to statues, monuments and landmarks. You just round the corner and come across something fabulous.

Our first pizza in Italy.

Desserts were yummy too.

Check out the ceiling in our Arizona Hotel room.

The next morning we took another stroll.

Motorcycles seem to outnumber cars.

This bridge had buildings on it that housed a variety of shops.

Fabulous new art too. How could you not be inspired here?

Another statue busker.

An Unexpected Trip Up a Mountain

We left Munich heading south, with no final destination other than Italy in mind. Before long, we were in the mountains. When you grow up in the prairies of Manitoba and live in the relatively flat, though nicely rolling hills of Pennsylvania, mountains take your breath away. At least they do mine. I go snap happy, not caring about the dirty windshield I'm shooting through. These images, these memories, are for me.

Gorgeous, isn't it? We saw many of these shacks in one area, with big woodpiles nearby. Not sure what they're for.

Paraglider, hanglider, whatever you call it.

Our decision to stop for lunch was cuz we saw a cable car heading up a mountain and wanted to check it out. One of those spontaneous decisions that paid off. It was the Karwendal cable car that took us up 2244 metres. All for the family rate of 44 euro. Not bad!

 

Another photo for Nick to share with Flyers fans.

Check it out. There's even an oom pa pa band at the top.

My handsome mountain man.

Nick had to prove it wasn't cold at the top. But it was cold at the top! We certainly weren't dressed for it. The downside of spontenaity.

We hiked along this trail, a bit treacherous for the 3 of 4 of us in flip flops!

It was worth it for the view.

While achtung means respect, that's the only translation I could get.

Our chilly toes. This is why people were smiling and staring. Obviously they had all planned this trip, in their long pants, hiking footwear, and some of them even had walking sticks. To them, we looked ridiculous!

A quick ride back down the mountain and our toes quickly thawed.

Now that was fun!

Germany

 We left Paris the evening of Sunday, July 24th, still on a high from the Tour de France. Our destination was Karlsruhe, Germany, a town just inside the border. We chose it for the distance that we felt we could cover that evening, and because it had a Marriott/Renaissance hotel with available rooms. With Marc traveling so much for work, he tries to stay with the same hotel chain whenever possible. Just like air miles programs, hotels have programs for loyal customers. Discounts, upgrades, free internet, and free breakfast are just a few of the benefits he receives, and with the cost of everything here being more than what we're used to, it's worth it to stick with Marriott whenever possible. This played a big part in the planning of our two weeks on the road.

We arrived in Karlsruhe after 11, so our only thought was sleep. We found the hotel fairly easily and settled into our two rooms. Yes, another hotel requiring us to take two rooms. But these were just down the hall from each other, and this hotel, unlike the last one in Paris, provided breakfast also. And free drinks in the mini bar. Gotta love that!

These pretty flowers were in our room.

After breakfast we packed up and were back on the road. There are stretches of highway in Germany with no posted speed limits. We were just keeping up with everyone else!

When you don't speak the language, signs like these are amusing.

A few more hours on the road and we were in Munich. One of those situations where we could see our hotel but couldn't reach our hotel. One wrong turn and you're 15 minutes away again. But we eventually found our way and were settled in to a lovely room, one this time, in a fabulous hotel.

This photo doesn't really do the room justice. We loved the decor, and there was a large sitting area off to the side, from where the photo was taken. Plenty of room for the 4 of us.

Had to share this photo. The hotel had a fabulous pool, spa and workout area, and Arnold photos and murals were everywhere. Apparently they still like him over here.

After a light lunch of yummy cheeses and bread, we drove to the edge of the Englischer Garten, a large public park in Munich. Its actually the largest city park in Europe. After just a few minutes walking, this is what we came upon:

Surfers. In the middle of Munich! How cool is that?

We watched for awhile as 5 or 6 surfers took turns riding the waves. Still unseasonably cold for summer, they all wore wetsuits.

I love all of the bicycles, motorbikes and scooters.

The first of several statue buskers, for lack of a better term. This guy was good!

Without maps handy, I can't recall the name of this area where we walked. It was crowded and spectacular. Besides enjoying the sights, we found a sporting goods stores where the kids picked up soccer balls. Gaby got a mini FC Barcelona ball and Nick picked up a UEFA Champions ball, replica of course.

We found a restaurant called The Hackerhaus for some authentic German fare. Nick and I had wienerschnitzel, which was fabulous, Marc had sauerbraten and Gaby, spaetzle. It was the best meal!

Some planking in Munich.

Every morning we got an earlier start than the last.  We enjoyed another fabulous breakfast, and really good coffee, at our hotel. There's also a breakfast dish that Marc says he's had at German hotels, that was on the buffet Monday and Tuesday mornings. It's like a yogurt, but not as tangy, with grainy cereals and fruits mixed in. It's really really good, but I forgot to ask what it's called. And since this was our last night in Germany, this was the last time I had it.

As we were leaving Tuesday morning, we saw the signs for the Olympic Park, and remembered we had wanted to check it out. So we did.

Besides the easily recognizable structures, there was an amusement park of sorts, a swimming pool, and this:

It was 7 euro for Gaby and 10 for Nick and so worth it. They had a blast and it was just as much fun to watch!

I snapped this photo for Nick to share on the Flyers website, where fans share photos of themselves, in their Flyer wear, in locations all over the world.