NOLA -

 We decided to walk down to the open air market and stroll through the many shops and stores. In true New Orleans fashion, we stumbled upon another crew parade. This parade ended up at Pat O’Brien‘s. We thought about going in to get a hurricane but it was just way too filled with people. Also walking along we saw a New Orleans legend, Doreen Ketchens. She has played all over the world but New Orleans is her home and she can often be found playing Her clarinet on Royal Street. It was a treat to hear her play.

NOLA

 Today we rode the street car. We got on at Canal Street and rode iut tobthe Garden District. Once there, we got off andcwaljed around the Audobon Garden. We took the street dar back and had a kate lunch at Fleur de Lis, a place that serves breakfast until 3. I had a delicious crab/shrimp omelette topped with some cream of spinach. It came with 2 pieces of thick wheat toast and hashbrown. I loved it! We walked down Bourbon Street to the Pride store. We went back to the condo to chill for awhile.

NOLA - Boo Parade

 We drove to——- , found a parking spot and watched the Zombie Run. It was fun to see the different costumes. I think it would be really fun to participate in one some day - walking, of course! We headed to RousesMarket where Miss Linda was selling her ‘street food phenomenon, Yaka Mein’. She wasnt there, but instead at Fauberg Brewery. So we headed to the brewey that was having a Zydeco festival with other street foods. We had beef Yakka Mein (include description). I had a wheat beer which tasted good on this beautiful day. We decided to gave sonething sweet and found frozen custard at one of the trucks. Val had Salty Vanilla, Marlene had Dark Chocolate Cold Brew and I had Butter Pecan Caramel Crunch. It was very strange as every one of our custards tasted salty! Was this supposed to be sn epicurian delight or did sonebody spill salt into all of the batches? In any case, we all agreed that we weren’t fans and zi always love ice cream!! We headed over to Marty Gras world and toward the warehouse. The tour starts with a short 15 minute movie and then a taste of king cake. The warehouse is really fun to tour as there are a lot of photo ops it’s just interesting to see the creative process into making these huge elaborate floats. It was a busy day as we next went back to the condo applied some face make up quickly. Fell for her Puddles clown costume and Marlene and I dressed in black. The three  of us made up our faces as well and fortunately brought along some face make up. We got down to Canal Street for the Boo parade. The parade started off mild with a few small floats throwing candy as if it was scared just for kids. It didn’t take long for the parade to pick up steam and soon they were Krewes marching by and many large floats. The three of us instantly turned into big kids as we were waving our arms to get some of the paraphernalia being thrown from the floats. Came home with filled backpacks, filled with Mardi Gras beads, plastic cups, moon pies and Candy. The streets were packed with spectators and although there were some rude people, for the most part everyone was there to have a good time. As we walked home we decided to stop for gelato and I’m happy to say the streets were much better than what we had in the afternoon and so our pallets were cleansed for the day.

NOLA - Beignets and Steamboat

 Today we headed down for a steamboat ride. Along the way we stopped to have beignets  and we’re eating them outside. In typical Centerville girl fashion, we decided we needed a photo op. We rubbed confectioner sugar all over her face and posed with our beignets. As nature was about to take a picture a passerby asked if she could take a picture. It gives us great comfort to know that we are now in somebody’s photo cash with one of our  typical silly photo poses. I’m not sure what the attraction was several passerby‘s laugh at these middle-aged women with powder all over their faces. The steamboat ride was nice and we were surprised at how crowded it was. The captain said it could hold 1000 people but on this day there were possibly 500 people. We found a bench on the second level and were able to sit and listen to the captains tour. We walked around the boat and saw that paddles at the back and the jazz band up on the third floor. It was an enjoyable ride and did give us a feel for some of New Orleans history. After we disembark we headed down to Jackson Square where we found a restaurant right off the Square. They were about to close but we were able to get in and we ordered two shrimp Poboy‘s  which were plenty big enough for the four of us.

NOLA - Arrival

 I left Ethan‘s house and made it down to New Orleans. I did have one mixup as I went to a small airport and immediately realized I was not at the Louis Armstrong International in Airport. I arrived to find the girls waiting and we loaded up the car Selling every available space with luggage and carry-ons. We got to her condo on Bienville Street and it’s a lovely little Airbnb. It’s inside a locked apartment building Just a block from Bourbon Street. It is a one bedroom, one bath, but the living room is raised up on three steps and there are two beds for sleeping there. We walked Over to Felix’s oyster house and had our first Nola meal. I had gumbo and the others had other New Orleans foods. It was very good. We walked around Bourbon Street and got acclimated to the wild and crazy atmosphere.

Nurnberg

 Today was a low-key city day as we have seen Nürnberg in the past. We wanted to ride the train so we drove to Neustadt and got a round-trip ticket from there. Once a nice chat I found a bakery as I wanted to get a bieninstich before we left Germany. Scotty got a black forest cheesecake and said he liked it better than black forest cake. We walked around the Square and saw a couple of churches and watched the clock figures come out. We found a small door and walked up onto the wall which we had never done in November before. It wasn’t long before we decided to have lunch and we went to Truher Bratwursthaus. We got the small link rehearsed with sauerkraut and hefeweissens. Yum Yum Yum. we also saw the fountains, the ship of fools and the marriage fountain. We then made it back to the main Bahnhof And headed to Rudy’s house.

Oct 11 - Freiland Museum

 

Rudy once again had a wonderful German breakfast for us with meat, cheese, and rolls. We drove up to blank concern and Scotty wanted to see if there was still a Usareur Boy Scout store there, but no luck. We drove around a few of the outlying villages around Bad Windsheim. What great memories this little drive sparked. For lunch, Rudy made rouladen, spaetzle and a green salad.We then walked over to Sepp and Traudle’s house. We had such an absolutely great visit catching up with them. What always tickles me is when we have conversations here in Germany. Our German is definitely lacking after all these years and Sepp and Traudl said they don’t speak English as much anymore either. But we talked and talked as friendship overcame the language barriers. In true German fashion, Traudle brought out a plate of cake and offered us drinks. We walked again to the middle of Bad Windsheim as we felt like we had had a lot to eat today and we did.

Bad Windsheim

 Today we walked over to Sepp and Traudl’s house and surprised Sepp. We talked for a while and then said we’d be back tomorrow to meet with the both of them. Krista came over to Rudy’s house and we had a delicious midday meal of cordon bleu, green salad and potato salad. As usual it was delicious. After lunch we walked over to the Freiland museum and walked around for several hours. This is an outdoor museum and there were lots and lots of new exhibits, probably five times more than what was here when we were here. That evening we just had a small snack of bread and meat.

Rothenburg/Ipsheim

 We love this hotel even more, not just because of the location to comfort but also the fabulous breakfast bar. It was one of the best European breakfast we’ve had on this trip and it had a lovely view of the valley and the city covered in fog. In fact I had gotten up earlier to walk around the city and take photos and was pleasantly surprised by the fog surrounding the wall. After breakfast we decided to walk some more and we had a magical walk as a beautiful white and black cat followed us for quite a while along the wall path. We drove To Belvin sign and when we got there we remarked on the many changes we saw, but it didn’t negate our excitement at being there. we have course walked up to the Towne Square and saw St. Joe hunts church where we got married 33 years ago. The inside looked as if it had been freshened up and it was beautiful. They were practicing the organ so we even Heard a bit of music. We then drove over to Ipsheim and met with our previous landlady Gerda, her daughter Simone, and her husband Klaus. Of the three class speaks the most English and our German is definitely rusty, but it was a wonderful reunion. We saw that the renovations they had made to the apartment. The most noticeable was that Houses and apartments were being built directly behind Gerda’s house partially blocking the view of the castle. Simone now lives upstairs in the apartment where are used to live and her two boys have the attic apartment. It is not uncommon for a German family to build a big house and have different generations live on the different floors. I’m Not sure if this is still as common as the new houses being built are quite expensive and hard for families to buy. Within walked up the hill to the castle which again is another steep climb. We walked around the castle which is being renovated and in my opinion was harder to see because so much of the brush and the trees had grown up. We sit down at a table outside among the many other people up on the hill. We had federweisser wine which is the new wine made from the newly harvested grapes and is only available in September or October. It also tends to have a higher alcoholic content and because of the sweetness you have to be careful drinking it. To me it almost taste like a sweet grapefruit juice, it’s very good. Scotty had a black forest cake and I had a cherry almond torte, both were delicious. The five of us then walked down a different path which passed by the vineyards in the little chapel on the hill and gave us a really good view of Ipsheim and the surrounding villages.

Rothenburg

 We drove to Rothenburg and had a difficult time finding a parking spot because as expected it was full of tourists. We called our hotel and we were able to park in their private lot but couldn’t check in till later, which was fine. We walked around Rosenberg and thoroughly enjoyed reminiscing prior visits. We did notice a few changes, such as the McDonald’s was gone and KathevWolfart’s has many stores around town. when we lived here I often made it a habit to buy an ornament in the store. This time rather than an ornament I bought a small cow smoker as cows seem to have been prominent in this year‘s trip. We bought a bratwurst with sauerkraut from a metzgerei and we both agreed it was an absolutely delicious wurst. We were able to relax in our room before we went out for a light meal and then met the night watchmen for a tour. It was a fabulous tour as he was a very good storyteller and we learned many things about the medieval ages. for example we learned that there is a small door within the door of the gates into the city. The night watchmen patrolled the city from dusk until dawn and was considered one of the lowest people in the city, After the executioner in the undertaker. These he called manholes and they were used for the people that came in late into the city – they were big enough just for one man to get through and not for more Who may be invading. Rittenberg started as a rich town as it was located between two highly travel cross traveled trade routes. Neighboring cities such as Nuremberg and Würzburg often tried to invade Rothenberg and they were mini wars as well as the plague throughout the centuries Which eventually turned Rothenberg into a poor town. The wall turned out to be to the cities advantage as it was never knocked down because the people were too poor to do that. So once again the city became rich when tourism came to the city. We are glad to do our part.

Heidleburg

 We Got to our hotel the hotel crocodile, but our room wasn’t ready. That’s OK, we put on our hiking shoes and ventured out into the city. We walked down through the old town and passed the University of Heidelberg. At the City Hall we saw too brides/grooms outside that had just gotten married. Another touching moment was when I saw a young lady holding a sign that said hug me if you’re for Ukraine. I crossed over the street and gave her a hug and she started to tear up. I told her I was praying for her country and as I walked away that’s when I began to tear up. I hope I never forget how blessed I am compared to this young woman who has been displaced due to war. We continued on our walk towards the castle. We bought tickets to ride the two funiculars up to the very top of the mountain. The first funicular took us to the castle and then we transferred to another older funicular that took us up to the top of the mountain. It was just amazing how high we were going as the city of Heidelberg kept getting smaller and smaller and smaller. At the top we looked out at the city which just looks like a miniature village and then we started our hike down the mountain. It was easy as we were going downhill, but difficult because the paths were very rocky. We passed a few mountain bikers As there are paths dedicated to mountain bikers and I saw some that were labeled for only expert riders. After a few kilometers we got to the castle courtyard. The Heidelberg castle is in ruins and I think it may have never even been completely finished being built. It is absolutely massive and we enjoyed walking around. When it was built there were supposed to be many gardens in the courtyard. We also saw the brick ruins where baths used to be. In the cellar was a large wine cask, but little did we know as we turned the corner there was an absolutely huge wine cask. We continued on our hike from the castle down to the village and this went much quicker except that the cobblestone road leading up to the castle was quite steep and we had to go slow. As it was now near dinner time we saw many people sitting outside cafés either eating or drinking. Europeans definitely know how to enjoy themselves. We got to our hotel and decided to eat at the restaurant adjoining, restaurant crocodile. I got small pork pieces in a mushroom gravy with Spitzley. The meat was so tender, it was absolutely delicious. Scotty had cordon bleu with chips which was just as good. The salad was great and I especially liked the salad dressing which tasted like oil and vinegar, but possibly with some paprika spices or meat spices in it. The waiter told me it was a restaurant recipe. And of course we had to have hefe weissens and celebrated another successful travel day.

Straussbourg

 We had a relaxed morning and went down to have breakfast as were staying at a Holiday Inn express. We didn’t have the typical cinnamon rolls, but it was a delicious European breakfast to get us started. It was a 15 minute walk to reach the old town after crossing over the river. We headed straight to the Cathedral as we could see it’s spire rising above the city like a huge exclammation mark. We were blown away by its massive size and its beauty. It is 466 feet high only most beautiful examples of Gothic architecture in the world. Even before you enter the church, you notice the intricate details on the outside of the many carved figures. As you enter the church you go in a circular path and see many more beautiful features. Scotty noticed people rubbing a little dog carving and so we did also, hoping it meant something good. After researching, it turns out that a preacher from the past would often preach long sermons and his trusty dog that accompanied him would fall asleep. It’s now a custom to rub his nose and it should bring you good luck and fortune. We’re already feeling fortunate on this trip, but one could never have enough good luck. Inside the church is an incredibly long nave flanked by large stained glass windows. Apparently during World War II, Hitler was eyeing these windows and they were taken down and hidden in the salt mines. Another fantastic feature of the cathedral is the large astrological clock. Apparently it goes off at 12 o’clock and mini figures come out, but we did not see this as we were too early. Our path took us outside into the courtyard of the cathedral and from this angle we could see many gargoyles on the outside. I do believe this is the most amazing church/cathedral I have ever seen. We continued on our tour and walked past the Gutenberg building and a statue of Gutenberg who is most famous invention was the printing press and he was also responsible for the Gutenberg Bible. We visited a smaller church, Saint Thomas‘s church which holds the mausoleum of Marshall M. Of Saxony. This monument to me appeared creepy. The subject, Marshall had 1 foot in the tomb as DEF looked on while holding an hourglass and keeping the coffin lid open. There is also a distressed woman looking as if she were reaching out to death. The animals were laying in agony. It felt like a very strange monument to be in a church.The church had  a poor choice of translation, the church description outside said there were A number of monuments of dead people, rather than saying they were many memorials. Monuments of dead people may be accurate as the church was filled with 80 ‘headstones’ outside in the cloister. Within the church there were also memorials to dead people. We walked around a little France and decided should be named really little France. There are several bridge leading over to the area and apparently in the past this is where tradesmen and loud workers were placed and in the poor people. There is also a large bridge ray can walk across the top and there are beautiful views looking into little France and over into the old town. we visited another church which I felt had a much happier appearance. I’d rather sit in this church and look at the monuments and paintings of angels, a serene Mary and a wise Jesus. The last church we visited, the blank but blank was extremely worn down and the frescoes were all peeling. It was sad to see compared to the other churches in the city. Strasbourg is known for its sauerkraut and I decided that’s what I wanted to eat. It was quite funny but at every restaurant we went to with struck out . One was no longer there, one twice after we sat down that they only had desserts, the third also told us they were serving hot dishes, and at the fourth restaurant we had success. We ordered Alsace beers which were like a mild pils. I got a sauerkraut dish with five different meats and Scotty got a chicken schnitzel with fries and a salad. We enjoyed a long leisurely dinner and probably could’ve sat there longer as a waitress did not seem concerned, in the typical European style. We were happy to get back to our hotel room and take off her shoes after walking 8 1/2 miles.

Riquewihr & Ribeauville

 Riquewihr it’s truly a fairytale town. It is filled with half timbered houses, cobblestone roads, windows with flower boxes, vineyards that reach right down to the city streets, and lots of cute little shops. It’s a medieval town and still retains The original rampart walls that once protected the city. We had fun walking up and down the many picturesque alleys and we even treated ourselves to coconut macaroons.

By the time we got to our fourth Alsatian village, they were all blending together. But this one is unique because it really just follows one long road through the village. We walked up the long road and at the end we were able to see three castle ruins up on the hills Above the village. We walked partway up into the vineyards and then came back down to the village. Once again, we took probably way too many photos, but it’s hard when every corner picture perfect.

Chateau du Haut Koenigsburg & Eguisheim

 oday we toured château du Haut Köenigsbourg. It was originally built in blank blank blank 106 and the renovation project began around 1900. They are still renovating to this day and they have done a remarkable job. They’re committed to restoring it to its original look. I even talked to a couple of workmen that were there and remarked how beautiful it was a more detailed than Neuschwanstein. He replied that new Schwan Stein was make-believe just to look pretty whereas here they are committed to a true representation. we drove to egg was home which was a true challenge as there’s a detour getting into the village and we ended up in driving on back roads, rocky, through fields, small and confusing. Equis time is an absolutely charming little town. A great advantage over Komar is that it is less crowded. There are two circular rows in the town and we just followed them around. We toured inside the two churches. The one is known for the wooden statue of an opening version of Mary. She is a wooden statue, but nobody knows the true meaning behind her opening. This town is full of picture possibilities and we did our part by taking lots of photos. On exiting the town we went into the wolf burger winery and we each sampled three different wines and came out with four bottles. It was a really good afternoon. The day was still young so we drove to get another village on the wind route, Kaysersburg.

Colmar

 Sadly we had to leave Kandersteg and headed towards Colmar. We arrived at our new AirBnB. It’s extremely clean and it’s roomy, a good walking distance to the city and even has covered parking. The cons are that it’s up for flights of stairs, there’s no Wi-Fi, and the couch is horrible, the couch from hell. after unloading everything we walked into the city and it truly is a fairytale town. One of the first things we noticed were how the windows were decorated so whimsically. We had a great time walking around, taking lots of pictures as usual and enjoying the quaint village. We walked for several hours doing a self guided walking tour before stopping into a pub that looked very old. There were still beams across the ceiling and lots of wood around the restaurant. We each ordered a rosti dish. Scotty‘s came with mushroom, ham and cream in mine came with cheese, bacon and sausage. They were absolutely delicious and quite filling especially when paired with a hefe Weissen beer. although I did order salad as I’ve been missing fruits and vegetables on this trip.

Hiking - Oeschinensee

 We have finally had a break in the weather and the sun was supposed to pop out today so we popped over to reception and bought two gondola tickets up to Oeschinensee. The gondola ride was maybe 10 minutes and once they’re there’s about a 30 minute walk over to the lake. The lake was low and so I was prepared for another blue lake that wasn’t blue. Until we started hiking up over the lake and Scotty said it blew us away. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

When we returned to the lodge, we had a meal in the dining hall. We had salad, spaghetti with cheese, broccoli and vanilla mousse. A dinner at condor stag lodge cost Fr.13 or about $13. The best thing about the meal was sitting with some work crew members who filled us in on a lot of Kandersteg life. What was impressive was the number of times the people had returned here, anywhere from seven times up to 13 times.