Tag Archives: #travel

Luxembourg 2017

Posted by mishafesto on

After our late arrival in Stuttgart, we pretty much went straight to sleep, and were up even bright and earlier Sunday to continue our #EuroHoman vacation road trip! We took the Autobahn, yes there are stretches with no speed limit, but around 170 kph (kilometers) and with luxury cars and Smart cars FLYING by still, Paul turned off and took some amazing side roads. Germany is leading in the renewables department, with fields of solar panels. Nearly every roof, including cow shacks and abandoned barn ruins, has solar. There are also wind turbines everywhere.

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We had to have a family picture, as well as caffeine (this is the first anything-not-Coke Classic I’ve seen in all of Europe) (yes, really).

Luxembourg, although small, was very modern. At least in its buildings. We drove through Luxembourg City, and the entire main road was modern architecture or construction of.

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We walked around the city center, which included the Royal Palace,viewed several ancient bridges, some war memorials, had lunch, bought Diesel Bear a pin, and continued on.

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We drove through a bit of Belgium as we continued north. Saw several signs with familiar names, some of the worst battles of WWII having been fought in the forests.

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After clipping The Netherlands and getting to our nightly destination of Aachen, Germany (the western-most city in Germany), we ventured about 10 miles out of town to the Three Countries Point. Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany all meet there (like our Four Corners), complete with viewing tower and restaurant. There was a marathon going on, so we didn’t explore much, having already driven through all three countries today.

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Venice, Italy 2017

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Bright and early on a Sunday morning, we walked about half a mile to the train station, paid €12 each, roundtrip, and took the high-speed train to Venice! It was about an hour ride, nobody was onboard at 7am, and it was awesome!

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This is what you see when you walk out of the central train station on the island.

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We arrived on the island well before the tourist crush, and were able to get a lot of sights in easily. It was sooo nice to take our selfies without five hundred sticks in the way, and no kids underfoot running rampant.

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So much marble, and sculpture, and architecture 😍

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Venice may be a tourist trap now, but its neighboring islands, Murano and Burano, are still famous for their artisans. Wrought iron design is everywhere, securing doors, windows, gates, and as purely decorative wall hangings. There were, of course, Venetian masks everywhere. Beyond the typical Mardi Gras eye masks, these were full on, ceramic and glass animal heads! Every single store seemed to have a wall covered in them. And of course Murano glass is world famous. I’m still trying to figure out how they made these platters without destroying the plants inside! Bialetti, the little silver coffee pots, are from Italy and are a staple in most every store. There was even an official Bialleti store on the island that did engraving of your coffee pot.

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By about 2pm, we had seen our fill of Venice and the tourist crush was in full swing. We headed back to the train station and were back in our apartment by 3:30pm! No parking lots, no taking your shoes off for security, it was great!

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Bassano del Grappa 2017

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Since he is here longterm, and hotels don’t have kitchenettes/microwaves/mini fridges here, Paul is in an Air BnB! It’s pretty sweet! Big bedroom, small bedroom, full bath, balcony, WiFi, super secure entryway and locks. Bassano del Grappo, about an hour north of Venice!

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Old City Center of Bassano Del Grappa was about a 1.5 mile walk from our apartment. The centerpiece is the Alpini Bridge, which you can read all about by clicking on the link! Of course it had to be under restoration while I was there, but I did the best I could with my pictures!

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And yes, that IS a self-serve wine filling station! Available in as big a size as your tiny euro-shopping-basket can carry! It was actually oil and vinegar, I think. But still!

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The Avenue of Martyrs is amazing. Following a battle here, the Nazis promised any surrendering townspeople would be spared. Many parents actually walked their sons to the city center to surrender. But the Nazis had lied and either shot or hanged 30 some young soldiers. They are known as the Martyrs and there are memorials for each along the river bank. Each ‘gum drop tree’ has a plaque and a flower planter strapped to its trunk, with a picture of a martyr. Viale de Martiri…Avenue of Martyrs.

name of the street of the martyrs killed during the Second World War in Bsasano del Grappa a small town near Vicenza in Northern Italy

Along with the river, Bassano sits at the base of Mount Grappa. It’s famous for it’s winding roads, bicyclists come from all over the world to practice on it, especially in the lead up to the Tour de France. It is also famous for it’s paragliding and hang gliding crowd. Paul loves to drive up the road, as much for the paragliding watching as for the winding roads with his manual rental car.

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The mountains around Bassano del Grappa were the scene of many battles, in both WWI and WWII. There are a LOT of remaining trenches and tunnels in the area. All hand dug out of the hard stone. At the very top of the mountain, there is Cima Grappa, one of seventeen Military Cemeteries in Italy. The following pictures are from the website in the link above. Every time I’ve been up there, it’s been foggy, or snowy. Paul has been there several times, you can still walk through the tunnels into the mountain stronghold. You can also read my blog about the Asiago Cemetery here.

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Pisa, Italy 2017

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We arrived in Pisa, Italy late on a Thursday evening. Our Hostel (a kind of cheap, backpacker’s dorm) was quite literally across the street from the Tower. Our room faced the opposite way, but you could see the Tower from our parking spot!

The Tower complex, inside a large medieval wall, consists of the Tower, a Church, A Baptistery, and some other buildings. The site is open all night and so at nearly midnight, we walked across the street, down a few hundred yards to the archway entry, and into the site. Between the whiteness of the Tower and the floodlights, pictures were great! There were a lot of tourists there, even at midnight, and well-armed soldiers patrolled the area. We took some pics, walked around a bit, and then returned to the Hostel via a side road.

Pisa has a 20,000+ college student population and all the area Squares (courtyards/intersections) were packed with pubs, clubs, and people out on the streets drinking and socializing. The Hostel was really nice (all IKEA stuff ) and at $18/per person, was a great place to crash on a bunk bed and have a hot shower the next morning. Friday morning, we walked around the Tower site a bit more, already packed at 8 am, and then drove off towards the Mediterranean coast to go south to Rome.

Some postcards and history about why the Tower of Pisa leans. You can actually see the curvature of the Tower, as they tried to straighten it in later layers by making one side a little taller. So each layer isn’t quite a perfect disc.

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Giorno de Vacanza 43

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Tuesday was pretty uneventful. We began to gather our stuff together, as we’re leaving first thing Thursday, and tried to eat everything we still had in the fridge. 😫 I worked on laundry, dishes, and general cleaning, and once Paul got home from work, we cooked pasta for dinner. #HowCliche

We also had a discussion about Paul’s future travel schedule. 😕 Originally, we were going to fly back to California (this Thursday), and spend two weeks relaxing before driving home to Kansas. 🌻 He planned to be back at his home base office on Monday, July 16th. And we already knew he had to go to Brazil on August 5th, for two weeks. But we learned last weekend that he has to return to Italy right away. So. 🛫 We are still leaving for California this Thursday, where we will stay for a few weeks, relaxing and visiting my mother #oxymoron, then Paul will fly out of San Diego and right back to Italy. 🇮🇹 He (for now, at least), will then fly back to Kansas in August sometime, just in time to turn around and go to Brazil. 🇧🇷

Confusing, huh? I’ll drop him at the San Diego airport, and then make my way back to Kansas in our trusty little blue Veloster. We had debated leaving California earlier and still driving home to Kansas together, but this way he gets the most use of his vacation until the last minute. 😌 He has been in our house a grand total of two weeks this year, and those weren’t even consecutive. One week in January and one week in March. #Burnout 😤

Giorno de Vacanza 42

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After spending a month here, you start to run out of things. No matter how much I over pack, I inevitably need things. So here is more ‘vita quotidiana’ (everyday living).

Below, lipstick for scale, is ibuprofen. Advil. Basic little brown pills, you can get about 1000 of them for $5 at WalMart. After last week’s week-long headache, I was out. You have to get pretty much any kind of pain pill AT a Pharmacy. They are still over the counter, it just has to be a pharmacist’s counter. And you get a 12-pack. Yes, 12 little pills. For 5 euros. That’s nearly $6 for 12 generic ibuprofen. And they’re big, white tablets. 💊

Also, the pharmacies here are open Monday-Saturday, from 8am-12:45pm, and 3pm-7:45pm. Usually. They sort of decide at the last minute. So, catching them when they are open is tricky. #FunTimesWhenYouveHadAWeekLongHeadache

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And below, again lipstick for scale, are both mosquito itch lotion and makeup remover face wipe things. Italy seems to have this thing about medication. They don’t like it. Stores sell shampoo, lotion, deodorant, and that’s about it. You have to go to the Pharmacy for vitamins, sunscreen, ANY sort of medication, face cream, etc. And they aren’t big on prescriptions. They push herbal remedies and stuff, which is annoying when you just want some freaking calamine lotion. The pen below is #2, post-mosquito. There is a bottle labelled #1, to put on before getting stung. And even so, this stuff is a mix of flower oils and herbal things. No actual chemicals. #Sigh As for the face wipes, they are a backup mainly, since I brought my stupid-expensive skin care line with me. But sometimes, I don’t feel like doing the 6-step, grown-up thing. Also, they smell horrible. #MoreSigh

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And of course, we have to do laundry. This (our second) apartment has a dryer, so that’s nice. I believe these are Tide Pods, essentially. Or it’s dishwasher soap and our clothes are going to be sparkling clear. 🤔🥂 Either way, it seems to be working. I haven’t tasted them yet 😉 but they smell nice. Maybe I should break one open to wash my face.

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Red Alert!!! 🚨 They have tortilla Pringles here!!! 😍 And they are good!!! #ElSaltedDelicious

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Giorno de Vacanza 41

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Sunday morning, we slept in and were generally lazy. We had dinner plans with some coworkers that evening, but what to do in the meantime? Not far from here (Vicenza), is Lake Garda. The biggest lake in Italy. You can read all about it here. As usual, we took the mountain roads there, but it is only about 45 minutes away by highway. So this is mostly pictures of the drive there, then the drive around (one side of) the lake. Paul has been before, and you can easily spend hours driving around the entire lake. Not only because of its size, but because of its popularity. Anyone that has driven down the PCH in California, will know what I’m talking about. Miles of cars, going really slowly, either to gawk or to look for a parking spot. Surfers and swimmers changing and loading up on the side of the road. A million scooters squeezed in anywhere they can park, legal or not. Basically a never-ending row of tourist shops, rental places, and pizza restaurants. On a giant scale. Very much reminded me of Highway 1 in California, which Paul and I have driven many times.

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The rock walls, complete with built-in steps to who knows where, easily date back to WWI times. All hand hewn, hand laid.

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But anyway, the drive up was very switchback-y, and filled with tiny towns where you *literally* step out your front door and onto the road. 😮

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Pretty sure I found Jabba’s Palace, transported from Tattooine! 🤔🤔

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I’ve decided the ever-present dashboard sticker reflection is my new photographic watermark. 📸

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And finally, the lake. ⛵

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We managed to find a parking spot. Notice there are no guard rails or anything. Unlike Americans (I’m looking at you, idiots that drown at Yosemite), Italians seem to know not to act stupid and fall into an obviously open waterway. They don’t see the need to block out natural beauty with a million signs and an electric fence. #Darwinism

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We had to get back for dinner, so after a quick walk around (a small area), we headed down the side of the lake. The traffic would soon come, though. 🚗🚙🛵

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Once we got away from the end of the lake, the water wasn’t quite so choppy (it was a pretty windy day for here) and all of the kite boarders were out in the middle. 🏄‍♂️

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There isn’t a sandy beach in site. Everything is basically aquarium gravel! Tiny rocks, and tiny slivers of land, no real deep beachy areas. But that didn’t stop people from shoe-horning into every available space.

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And of course, what’s a drive through Italy without a Castle on every hill??

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Giorno de Vacnza 40

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Paul had to work Saturday morning, so once he got home we didn’t venture far. We went and wandered around an electronics store, another home store, and then had dinner at an “American” grill.

Here, the ‘electronics’ stores sell everything from appliances and phones, to fine crystal and candles. I don’t know 🤔 Below, you’ll see the world’s shallowest washing machine! I mean, look at that thing! It is literally one foot deep. I’ve already told you that the washers here will do a max load of about 3 pair of pants. Seriously. So this thing…what the heck is the point? Washboards are cheaper! 😂

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And then, we went to the home store, Brico. A different one from the one we went to last week! I was walking and saw this end cap and was like, “Oh, emoji magnets” or something…nope. They have emoji sink pugs here. WTF?

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And finally, it was dinner time! We kept driving past a sign pointing towards this Roadhouse place. An American Grill, Google called it, so we said what the heck. I’m starting to long for familiar meat and potatoes after a month here. This was in a giant modern building, shared by…a McDonald’s. Yep. So we go in, and there are cowhide chairs and horse shoes and stuff decorating the place. But it smelled a heck of a lot better than a stock yard! 😂 The menu (an English version they had!) was full of onion rings, quesadillas, cheeseburgers, steaks, ribs, all these unheard of things here! We settled on a mixed platter for two ( a common serving style here), that had a ribeye, a NY strip, a Veal fillet, and some little brats. We got sides of onion rings and green beans. It. Was. Amazing. 😋 #OMG The table had a little carrier, you know the kind with salt and pepper and ketchup, etc. This one had honey mustard, BBQ sauce, and mayo, though. The BBQ was the *exact* same stuff that comes with McDonald’s chicken McNuggets. #IKnowThatSauce Which led us to wonder if they weren’t owned by McD’s or something, sharing a building and all. They seem to be paired up in other towns too, we’ve noticed. So, anyway, that was Saturday night’s dinner. It was amazing. Would totally go back again (the cheeseburgers looked wonderful), but with just a few nights left here before we fly back to California on Thursday, I’m not sure we’ll make it.

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Giorno de Vacanza 39

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Friday, Paul was able to get out of work at the extra early time of 4:30pm! We had some grocery shopping to do, and a few other things to look for, and ended up trying out a new-to-us store. Auchan, who’s symbol is a red bird, is the WalMart of Italy! It took I don’t know how many years of looking, but Paul found one! They exist! This place was huge, and had a little bit of everything. Pharmacy, car tires, clothes, food, home repair! FYI…these are all Google pictures I found. It’s easier to explain the shopping carts with close ups!

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So. Not only are reusable grocery bags the absolute must here (you can buy plastic bags at the register for like, a quarter each), but most people also use the little baskets to shop. They have wheels and handles that telescope up, but they are still tiny baskets. You *can* get a shopping cart, but you have to rent it. Below, you can see all the carts chained up together. That is the norm everywhere here. And most European countries, I found during my research.

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So, you put a coin (usually a 1 or 2 euro coin) into the slot at the front. The coin pushes the chain key out the back, releasing the cart. The coin is trapped inside the cart until you push it back into the next cart and push the chain key back in. That pushes the coin back out for you to grab.

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It’s pretty basic, some spring mechanism inside the little box on the handle. A coin and a key pushing back and forth. But this way, nobody steals the carts, runs off with them, leaves them out to roll into your car, etc. They actually have key fobs here, that are shaped like a round coin on the end, to sort of trick the lock box. They resemble those lottery scratcher key fobs you see at grandma’s house. Plus, your keys are then locked to the cart, so you can’t run off without replacing the cart #BecauseKeys. So, that was our Friday adventure. We actually got a cart, for the first time ever, and it was a good thing, because remember…this store had everything!

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Giorno de Vacanza 38

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So, after having Italian food with a bunch of German guys on Wednesday, we went to the German place for dinner on Thursday! And it was just as tasty the second time around. We both tried something different, and were stuffed by the end of the meal.

I went with the filet, which came with a side of rocket and carrots. I think it was really just a garnish, as everything in Italy is a la carte, and you’re supposed to order a side separately. But with a little oil and vinegar from the table, it was a tasty salad!

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Paul went with a more traditional German dish. Again. I’m definitely not the adventurous eater of us. He had sauerkraut, an amazingly crispy pretzel, some wurztel sausage things. The last time (first time?) we went, the bread basket they served had the most amazing sourdough-type bread. This time, it had more of a rye, crusty, salty bread. Still delicious. And hard not to stuff yourself on bread before the amazing main course!

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