Another letter to Jilly

Jilly,

Thanks for continuing to read the blog. I bet you wonder where we are now. We are in Switzerland where they speak many, many languages (except doggese). Yesterday, me and daddy Steve took the train up to Wengen. When I say "up", I mean UP!!! Here is a view of Wengen as we went even farther up to the highest train station in Europe.



Guess what I saw? A pack of sled dogs! (Polarhunden.) They were not pulling sleds, though, they were just giving out sugars.



Jilly, I hate to hurt your feelings, but you could not rescue people in the snow here. It is too deep and too cool for your fragile constitution and small paws. I will say one thing, though. Even on your smelliest day, you smell better than the polarhunden!

Down here in Wengen, you would enjoy the verdant fields of grass and wildflowers to zoom in. There are lots of friendly cows and goats, and even a town cat. It sits atop one of the town restaurants and meows loudly.


Anyway, we miss you. Give mamaw and papaw sugars!
Mama

Jungfrau

Elise and I are in Wengen, as she posted. This morning we woke up and spent $110 each to go to the highest altitude train station in Europe: the Jungfraujoch, which translates so romantically to "Virgin's yoke". It was icy cold up there, at 35 degrees fahrenheit. But, it was magnificent! They have ice sculptures, a movie (the "Top-o-rama"), and a million Japanese tourists! They traveled in packs, so we were able to always choose to go where they weren't.

Most of all it had magnificent views.

Kiss the Sky!

Hopefully it will be clear tomorrow. Steve and I are pondering a trip up to Jungfraujoch--the highest train station in Europe. It is about 4200 m., I think. Will check visibility in the a.m.

We are in Wengen, about 1200 m. up from Interlaken. It is a panorama of loveliness. It is so lovely, in fact, that it almost looks surreal--like a movie backdrop. Steve will give you some pics tomorrow. The clouds descended on us for about 10 minutes of rain tonight, but otherwise the sunny has been following us since Vienna.

Pray for visibility. But then again, don't we always?

Water

Going to Baden-Baden was such a joy. After the spa rotation and my massage yesterday, I was so relaxed. I hadn't felt that good since my church choir funded a massage for me a couple of years ago. There's really something to massages and whirlpools. Americans don't put a premium on relaxing--just working. I just hope I can carry a little of this peace home with me into life in Atlanta. Steve does too (hope I will relax more).

Yesterday we visited the ruins from the Roman bath houses (1200 years old?). They are under the present-day Friedrichsbad. The foundation of the ruins are very well preserved. Fascinating the engineering they were able to accomplish.

I also visited the Caracalla Spa, which is more modern. It's pretty nice, but the restful, quiet, and slow-paced Friedrichsbad is really the way to go.

On the train today, we went through Interlaken, Switzerland. These lakes are a beautiful shade of blue-green. Up close, the water looks clear. As you ascend, streams become fast-moving rapids of gray...no doubt filled with dust slowly eroding the Alps. Here's my favorite water appearance of all: falls. Bursting forth randomly from the mountainsides. Gorgeous.



There is plenty of water here. Wish we could bring some of it back to Atlanta!

Leaving Baden-Baden

And as Elise says, it's a good thing, because if we stayed any longer, we'd end up staying a month. This place is heaven.

The Friedrichsbad

Man, Rick Steves had this one right.

Yesterday morning, Elise and I walked three doors down to a large stone building and plunked down €29 each. We walked up the stairs together, then split up -- she to the women's dressing room, me to the mens. I entered a small dressing compartment and stripped nude; then, through another door, there was a locker with a key and a towel. Put my stuff in the locker, take the key out and strap it on my wrist, then the towel and I go through another door to the attendant who helpfully describes the process in english. There're seventeen stages.

1: Shower. One minute under a very powerful shower (think one of those "amazon" showerheads with unlimited pressure) with some soap, like a short version of what we do every day.

2: Warm-air room. These two rooms form the "Irish" part of the "Roman-Irish Bath". About 130 degrees, you lay on a bench for fifteen minutes and start to sweat.

3: Hot-air room. At 156 degrees, the sweat comes pouring out of you. Five minutes is about all you can take of this. In these two stages (2 and 3), look around at the gorgeous tile-work.

4: Shower. Just a quick rinse-off to prep you for the next phase.

5: Soap massage. Lay on your back while an attendant asks if you want a "hard or soft brush" and then proceeds to soap-scrub you all over ('cept your nethers, of course) and give you a light massage. It lasts about three minutes, then you flip over, then another three minutes.

6: Shower. Rinse off all the soap. Feels pretty durn good, that!

7: Warm steam room. A very humid 114 degree room, you sit on a pad and sweat freely. Ten minutes.

8: Hot steam room. Five minutes at 120 degrees. Breathe deeply and notice that you are totally uncongested, and your lungs and throat just love all that steam.

9: Warm bath. This 97 degree water feels marvelous! Soak happily for about ten minutes.

10: Whirlpool bath. At 93 degrees, it feels a lot cooler than the previous pool. The three large grates release tons of air bubbles and give you a gentle massage as you soak for fifteen minutes. This pool is combined, meaning you might run into the opposite sex here. I was hoping to see Elise here, but we didn't get there at the same time.

11: The kinotherapeutic bath is the big central pool. At 82 degrees it feels quite cool and refreshing. I actually whistled when I first stepped in, and the pool's occupants smiled back at me. This pool is also communal, but after this you're back on your own. Spend 5 minutes here.

12: Shower. Three minutes of warm downpour. Oh, so lovely.

13: Cold pool. 64 degrees. I think I spent about six seconds here, just a dunk. After all the warm stuff this felt like a polar bear swim.

14: The attendant hands you a hot towel and you dry off and relax for a few minutes.

15: The creme room. You help yourself to lotions and while I'm not normally a lotion guy, I gotta admit it felt "sehr gut."

16: The relax room. This was my favorite part! Dimly lit with yellow lights, the attendant swaddles you in a towel and a blanket and you spend 30 minutes lying still. It feels positively pre-natal. There was some commotion outside that kept disturbing me, but even so, it was quite lovely.

17: The reading room. I didn't avail myself of this, but Elise did. She says "Magazines and music and gorgeous setting, this is mainly a room to wake you back up and prepare you to re-enter the world."

We also had longer, specialized massages. I opted for a full-body, while Elise got a back massage (all the women were booked for the longer sessions.) The guy grabbed my hands and said "Hmm. You store your stress in your shoulders and neck, and you work in computers." Elise said her masseuse zeroed right in on her stress spots, too. I suppose that's the sign of a good one!

Was it worth twenty years of dreaming? You betcha. Next time I end up on this side of the pond, I gotta figure out how to get back here.

My previous brush with Baden-Baden

I've been here before, but I'm always a bit reluctant to tell people about it, because it ain't much.

When I was stationed at Zweibrücken Air Base in 1988, my parents came over to spend Christmas. We had rail passes, and each day we'd take the train to somewhere and check it out: Trier, Köln, Heidelberg etc. It's undoubtedly my favorite set of memories from my service here, and I have a lot of great memories from then.

Well, one day we decided we were going to Baden-Baden, so we hopped on the train and rode it here. When we got off the train, I realized I'd left my camera on the train.

We taked to the ticket office people, then sat in the station as DeutscheBahn called ahead, found the camera, and put it on another train to come meet us at the station. This took a bit more than an hour, and essentially ate up all the time we had... so when we got the camera, we got on the next train and headed back to Zweibrücken.

So I've been to Baden-Baden.... barely. Coming here has been a twenty year project.

Our Three Course Dinner

After the Friedrichsbad (more on that tomorrow), we took a nap. Waking from the nap, we had the hunger. MMMMM, the hunger. What to do? We went to the store and bought some ravioli and "tomaten/mascarpone" sauce. And our landlady, having heard we were on our honeymoon, put a bottle of champagne at the door. Sounds like a good start to a great meal!

We wanted to have a salad, so we walked into town, picked a patio restaurant, and had two Karlsberg Urpils beers and a large garden salad. It was quite nice, and a guy across the street serenaded us with covers of "Tears in Heaven", "Sounds of Silence", and a few other nice tunes. I wish I'd had change to tip him, but the smallest I had was a 5 Euro bill, which is the cover to see a band at the Earl. Nice, not that nice.

When we walked back to our apartment, we found that we had the wrong key, and were locked out of the building. So we went to the restaurant across the street to use the phone; called our landlady, and arranged to be let in. They said it would be a few minutes until we could be let in, so we ordered a couple more beers and waited. Elise saw this awesome raspberry dessert (another happy accident) and we asked if we could take two plates back to our apartment. The owner agreed (said "it's good! it's from France!") and so we got two plates of raspberry pie.

When we finished our beers, we walked down the street with our dessert, and got buzzed into our building. We then cooked our ravioli, drank the champagne, and had our dessert.

Seriously, the most convoluted three-course meal I've ever enjoyed, but it was really good.

Can't wait to post about the Friedrichsbad. Elise is making me wait. It's worth it though, tune in tomorrow.

Dearest Jilly

My Dearest Jilly,

I really, really missed you this morning. Daddy started the bacon and eggs before I woke up. It would have been complete with the sound of you paddling down the hall and jumping onto the bed. But no such luck. You would be disappointed to know that there was baby chicken juice and bacon bits left on my plate that went to waste. Sorry...

The dogs here are too well behaved. They do not come to me when I call them. Oh, how I long for you and your free love of all people. But I don't think they are ready for you in Germany. Perhaps neither are you. You would have a full-scale freakout with all the sausage and pretzels so readily available.

Having an apartment makes me miss you more. It's like home, but not really since you're not here.

Liebe und küßen,
Momma

In Baden-Baden

And we have an AWESOME apartment! It has a washer, but we haven't found the dryer yet, so we have a clothesline making the place look like 1890s Brooklyn.

I went out this morning and found a fruit stand, a backerei, and a meat-market, and got all the fixins for breakfast. Well, except for coffee, but Elise had hoarded a few instant coffees from Prague, so voila, we had breakfast.

Looking forward to a good soak in the hot baths.

Elise's Favorites from Vienna and Salzburg

Since we haven't been able post pics for a few days, I'll play catch up on the photo highlights of Austria.

Vienna was a dream for me, a classical music lover. But look who else was lovin' Haydn's clavier...


In these composer museums, there are usually a few manuscripts. Here is a photo of part of Haydn's manuscript of the famous "Austrian Hymn" which most of us sing in hymnals today. It was also the fight song of the high school where I taught, so I am intimately familiar with it.


Brahms will also be an integral part of the Zombie Apocalypse. (He was my favorite composer resting at the Zentralfriedhof in Vienna). If you're only familiar with his Lullaby, you must listen to the 4th and 5th movements of his Requiem. Some of the most beautiful music EVER.


Ahhh...to be "16, going on 17..." This is the gazebo used in the Sound of Music, though at a different location than it was for filming in 1964.


Here is another spot you might remember from the movie...


Salzburg is, of course, named for the salt mining around there. This wall is brick of salt! Isn't it cool? I wanted one of the salt night lights on the top shelf to Steve's left, but they were very heavy and too big for my suitcase.


Still, the best things on this trip have been free feasts for the eyes. This, for instance, I almost missed. It was the check in desk at our Hotel An Dom in Salzburg. Obviously some relic from an old church, hundreds of years old just like everything else...


Steve and I stopped in Munich today for lunch. We walked by the Rathaus and it happened to be noon and the clock was putting on an elaborate puppet show. Marionettes are a part of this culture, but I think they are freaky and scary. We kept on walking to the Hofbrauhaus. This is a city block of biergartens complete with an oom-pa band. It was fun.

Here in Baden-Baden we will not be rushing around so much. We've seen quite a bit lately. I look forward to seeing more of the backs of my eyelids, as well as doing laundry in our apartment building's washing machine.

Video!

The walk from the central square to our hotel room (about two minutes incl. elevator and fiddling with the door lock.)

Sweet!

We're on an ICE train between München (Munich) and Mannheim. I told Elise when we get to Mannheim, that I would ask to see the Steamroller. She was, shall we say, un-amused. But hey! The ICE train has T-Mobile Wifi, so here I am posting @ 200kph!

And uploading videos and pictures.... First, the picture of Beethoven and Schubert's graves, with Mozart's monument, which is where the best concert of the Zombie Apocalypse will take place.



Then, Demel, Vienna's most unreal confectionary. You MUST visit this place! The sugar and cocoa they must consume here...



Mozart's birth house. I don't think the people who own it are trying to cash in on it, do you?



The Stiftskeller St. Peter, the oldest operating restaurant in central Europe, which was first mentioned in literature when discussing a visit by Charlemagne, in 803 AD. That would be, um, 1205 years ago.



Elise took a glorious picture of a sunset over Salzburg from a rooftop bar.



Someone took a picture of us on the same rooftop.



On the Sound of Music tour, I took a picture of Elise taking a picture of the good Captain von Trapp's house, which happens to be owned by Harvard University.



On the hill overlooking Salzburg's old town is a huge fortress; Elise took this picture of me there, and to the left of my hand, you can make out the "von Trapp house".



This picture, Elise took, and called it "the world's largest pot pie." Hah. It happens to be the baptismal font in which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was baptized. I knew this; she did not. Who's the religious one here?



This was a shot of the string quintet last night. A movie of them singing "our song" will be forthcoming.



Internet access on the train. So civilized.

Wonderful Husband, part 2

Yes, now Steve has not only seen the Sound of Music, but he has been on the cheesy Sound of Music tour. He forbade me from leading the bus in a sing-a-long of Do-Re-Mi, which is my nature of course...

Salzburg is dreamy! What a lovely little place! We stayed in a great little hotel that was in a 750 year-old building. Very, very cute. On the train from Vienna, we watched Sound of Music while the little picturesque towns, hills, and churches passed by. After the tour (which was fun) Steve cursed me several times because he could not get the songs out of his head! ;)

We walked by the house in which Mozart was born, and I walked in the beautiful, beautiful huge Collegiate Church where he was baptised and was an organist for a couple of years. The church where the Mass in c minor was premiered is beautiful, too, and stands next to the old old restaurant where Steve and I dined last night. OK, more later... Got to catch a train to Munich!

Leaving Salzburg

We´ve got a lot to write about, but internet access is pretty weak so we're gonna try to put together a good post with pictures and all when we get to Baden-Baden. Suffice it to say our hotel has been magical, the town captivating, the music and food and beer wonderful. Elise had the time of her life with the Sound of Music tour and last night´s dinner with a string quintet. They performed the duet that Karen and Jeremy sang at our wedding, which was really awesome.

More soon!

We're in Salzburg

and it's wonderfully small.

Should have pictures later

Net access is a little difficult here in Vienna so no pictures on Elise's big post from yesterday, but we'll update it later so you can see some pictures.

FWIW, my joke was that with Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, and all the Strausses buried so close, that's the place to go for the Zombie Apocalypse -- with three pianos and a video camera. YouTube GOLD, I'm tellin ya!

My Wonderful Husband

God bless my wonderful husband! I have dragged him to countless churches (with more to go), homes, and grave sites of classical musicians than one should be allowed. He is very patient and even acts interested most of the time!

Here is a run down of our musical moments in Vienna.

Mozart: Although born in Salzburg (where we are headed next), party boy Mozart much preferred the big city life that Vienna offered. He lived most of his short life here in Vienna going from address to address, depending on how much money he had at the time. His most lavish apartment has been converted into a museum. Lavish at the end of 18th century Vienna is not very... It was drafty with babies stuck everywhere, servants sleeping in the kitchen, and no bathroom to speak of. How did he create masterpieces like the Requiem and the Magic Flute here? No idea. Too bad he did not live into his old age like Beethoven, Brahms or Haydn. Imagine the music we would have.

Haydn: I must admit I am not a huge Haydn fan. One of his big years is coming up next year, so I was trying to get psyched about having to sing the Creation twice. His quarters- even more luxury than those of Mozart- leave me quite confident that I was born in the appropriate century. I do enjoy modern conveniences. Haydn died in this house that we saw today. They have a piano that belonged to Haydn, as well as the manuscript of the beautiful Austrian hymn that Haydn wrote!

Brahms: In the Haydn house, they have a room dedicated to Brahms with things from the final apartment of Brahms. A piano (which once also belonged to Haydn), a composition desk (where possibly he composed his wonderful Requiem), and a cigar cabinet. Also, their is a photo of his apartment that shows a picture of our favorite composer hung prominently on the wall... Brahms and I both are hopelessly devoted to J. S. Bach.

Schubert: We also went to the childhood home of Schubert, Father of the German art song, or lied. He wrote the famous Ave Maria that everyone knows, hundreds of other voice-piano duets, as well as several masses and an Unfinished Symphony. All this and died at 32. Another case where him living to old age would have resulted in who knows what for the history of music. The church where he was baptized, was a choir boy, played the organ and violin for decades, and premiered most of his sacred works is lovely.

Beethoven: We did not visit any residences of Beethoven, but he did live and work here. Our hotel is just down the street from the church where his funeral was held. The apartment still stands where he wrote most of the 9th Symphony, although it is not a museum. (Sort of like the place where Schubert wrote most of his stuff is now a Garage.) We did visit the graves of Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, and Strauss Jr. Steve says that he wants to be standing in that very location during the next zombie apocalypse--with a video camera and three pianos! My silly (and most patient) husband...

Thank goodness for Steve, we did spot the brewery last night on the way back from the cemetery (the first time). We had a wonderful Austrian meal complete with Vienna sausages (nothing like the things in a can from childhood), herb schnitzel, and beer that I liked as much as Steve liked the brewery beer in Prague. Had to go back today to have it again (on the second and final cemetery run).

I will let Steve share with you about the fantastic confectionery experience this afternoon...

Happy Accidents

Elise had an idea in the evening to go visit the Zentralfriedhof (aka central cemetery) to go see Beethoven's grave, and the graves of numerous other famous musicians. So we took a few tram lines to find the cemetery, and arrived fifteen minutes after they closed. No luck!

However, on the ride out that way, we saw a brewery with a biergarten, so we decided to stop there on the way back. It was great! I had spareribs, and Elise had "cattle filet with ham mushroom cream sauce and herb spätzle with sour cream". She loved it. I asked the guy next to me to get a picture, so my sister can see what my facial hair looks like now.

I got sick of the beard

so I'm back to my lambchops.

Wunderbar!

I'll add that it's great to be back in the country of...

1) ...German speakers. (The Czech language is VERY foreign to me. German = OK.)

2) ...a currency that I can convert in my head. Making sense of "crowns" was nearly impossible for me: I am bad at math. In Prague, everything seemed really expensive because zeros were flying everywhere!!! $500 cK is roughly equally to $30. The zeros scared me; I'm a frugal shopper. The math confounded me. I didn't buy much, or at least I still don't know exactly what I paid for what I did buy. Here with the Euro you just tack on %50. Too bad the dollar isn't stronger.

Tomorrow we will trace footsteps of Haydn, Beethoven, and Schubert.

Wien

So last night we got to Vienna, and took the "Wiener Linien" public transportation bus straight to our hotel. After checking in, we walked around the corner to "Selina" and had a wonderful dinner. We had heard that the Austrian wines were excellent, so we got a Pinot Noir and were not disappointed. Then we came back to the hotel and slept.

Well, tried to sleep. There are four tram lines right outside our window. Check it out:



Elise found that they lull her to sleep; I had no such luck.

After fighting with the public computers (which have German-formatted keyboards in which the Z and Y are swapped), Elise and I walked through town to Mozart's house. Photography was prohibited and they were fairly strict on that point, so I got no photos. I understand Elise snuck one of the sheet for "Dies Irae" from the requiem, but I got a picture of the outside of the house:



After that, we walked to the Donaukanal, which is a sort of offshoot of the Donau (aka Danube), and then caugt a tram out to the Donau itself. The tram stopped at "Friedrich Engels Straße", which reminded me of my favorite Engels quote (marking me as a serious lefty):

"It must be a source of great pride to the patriotic German stocking-weaver that his starvation wages force his English brother to starve too."

On the lighter side, Elise found a swing and began giggling uncontrollably.



We then rode a couple trams left and right to find our way back to the hotel. We overshot by one stop, and while walking back, we came across a place in Vienna selling currywurst. Slightly different presentation, but way more curry powder!



Elise has a book called "Vienna for the music lover" so no doubt tomorrow will be filled with good stuff.

Priceless

We're getting ready to leave Prague. Sort of sad, since it's been music for the eyes. (And ears...)



Yesterday we happened onto the Czech National Ballet sort of by accident. They were performing in the Estates Theater, where Mozart conducted the world premiere of his opera Don Giovanni in 1787. (It's the last theater still standing where Mozart conducted.) It's Baroque and beautiful, and Steve and I had our very own little box to cuddle up and watch the ballet. It was fantastic. Just completed a few years ago by a Czech composer. Costumes, staging, etc. were just as creative (though on a much smaller scale) as Julie Taymor's Magic Flute or Lion King. Tickets to the Czech Ballet: $35. Seeing Steve love his first ballet: priceless!

A traditional Bohemian dinner in the Old Town after the Ballet: about $40. Walking along the streets of the Old Town at night and seeing the Prague Castle lit up from the Charles Bridge: priceless.

Two nights ago, we went on a pub crawl. First to the Monastery Brewery, of course. Second to a little pub as we walked down the hill to the Old Town. It had silly medieval murals on all the walls, a couple of little house pups that found their place on the lid of the upright piano in the corner, and a table of Czech people singing along with a guy playing the guitar. The beers we had there: about $2. The experience: priceless. I know now why they say pub "crawl", because it was rainy out and I fell on my rear walking to the third place. A fresh Pilsner Urquell is good for all that ails you. For my family and friends who don't know, this was the original pilsner type of beer, created by mistake in the nearby town of Pilsen by a man with the last name Urquell.

Sorry we're not able to capture the beauty of this place in pictures. If you ever had the opportunity, see this place for yourself. These days in Prague have truly been priceless, even in the cold and rain.

A leisurely day

Wednesday, we decided to have a day that was far less busy -- and it was wonderful. We started off by sleeping in and having pastries in the room, and then around 11AM or so we set off for the Prague TV Tower, which stands out across Prague as a very "new" spire amongst the old. They had these rather funny sculptures of babies crawling on the tower!



The food was reasonable, there were very few people there, and the view was tremendous.



We then went back to the hotel (after stopping at the monastery brewery again, naturally) and picked up our tickets to the National Ballet, where they were performing "Zlatovláska", or "Goldilocks". This was not the story of the three bears. This was a Czech-written ballet about a cook who went on a quest and won the girl. The theater was absolutely gorgeous!



The ballet was very entertaining, the music was perfect. A fine end to the Prague chapter of our story, we then walked out into the Prague night and got one last look at this gorgeous city all lit up:




So today, our only job is to get to the train station, and board a train for Vienna.

Prague, Day 2

We got up this morning and took the tram to the other side of the river Vltava, where the Old Town is. We started at the Mucha museum. Mucha is the guy who created those simplified paintings that were popular in turn-of-the-century Paris (and, indeed, are some of the most common art seen from the period.) Mucha was a serious Czech nationalist, and many of his most powerful works are centered on Czech nationalism. It was a great way to start the day.

From there, we walked through Old Town, to the Municipal House. This has numerous examples of Mucha's artwork, as he was called upon to decorate the place when they built it. We had coffee and a pastry and beer there, though truth be told it was a little early for beer but I was taken in by an advertisement for the amber beer "Master". It was nowhere near as good as the amber from the monastery brewery!

After this, we went to the Cathedral of St. James, because we heard this tale:

Visitors should also notice a mumified forearm more than 400 years old hanging on the right of the entrance. It belonged to a thief who tried to steel some jewels from the Madonna on the high altar one night. But the Madonna grapped his hand and didn’t want to let it go. The thief had to wait there until the next morning. The next day, when the Minorites came to the Church, they tried to separate the thief from the Madonna, but in vain. They had to cut his arm. Then the Madonna let the hand go. The monks hung the arm to remember this event and as a warning for other thieves.

Wow! A mummified arm! Well, the church was closed. They close for lunch, from 12:00 to 14:00. Argh!

We went around the corner to an Irish pub and had potato soup and shepherd's pie. It was a bit cold, but these dishes helped warm us up while we waited for the Church of the Mummified Arm to re-open. At 14:00 we walked back over to the church and checked (czeched?) it out. The arm itself was kind of disappointing, but the church was really gorgeous, with a tremendous show of gold and jewels.

From there, we walked to the Spanish Synagogue, but decided against going in. Truth be told I was getting kind of tired of sightseeing, so Elise and I split up -- me to head back to the hotel, and she to head over to the Daliborka. The Daliborka is part of Prague Castle that we didn't see last time; it was a prison whose name comes from its most famous prisoner, Dalibor, who learned to play violin while he awaited his death. I'm sure she will give a review when she comes home.

Before going back to the hotel, I picked up some sandwiches for dinner tonight, and some pastries for breakfast tomorrow. This was a Rick Steves hint-- hit a pastry shop and get some nice cheap pastries, and then have coffee and pastry in your room for a cheap breakfast. No kidding -- hotel breakfast is $25 or so, but the pastries were around $1 each and the coffee is complimentary in the room.

Praha

So as Elise posted, yesterday afternoon we got into Prague. I immediately went next door to the monastery brewery ("Klášterní Pivovar") and had an amber lager so amazingly good, it was as if I'd never had beer before. It was truly perfect. Malty, with a caramel note, but also bitter, a hint of hop flavor and the most amazing mouthfeel. It was truly tremendous. I couldn't believe how good it was.



We had a nice dinner at the hotel, and then walked up the hill to Petrín, which is a sort of mini-Eiffel Tower, where Elise took the picture above. Then, this morning, we walked down to Prague Castle and took the big tour: St. Vitus Cathedral, the old palace, the national gallery, etc. After about four hours of castle tours, we headed to a restaurant and got an "Old Bohemian Meal" which consisted of garlic soup, roasted pork, smoked pork, potato dumplings, roll dumplings, sauerkraut, red cabbage, grilled sausage, and coffee and dessert. It was awesome! I asked for a large pivo and was promptly rewarded with a liter of Krušovice. Yeah! Beer by the liter!



After we ate, we walked back to the hotel and dropped off our ponchos (it had rained all morning) and walked down through town to the St. Nicholas Church, and then across the Charles Bridge to meet up with friends of Elise's parents. Roger and Janice Capps have been living in Prague for several months, teaching at a Baptist institute outside of town. They took us to their place and then we went to a pub and had a grand dinner.



In our travels today, we rode the Metro, a bus, and the tram. I heard that public transport in Prague is rife with pickpockets, so I was quite on guard. I didn't see anybody who looked terribly sketchy, but I was hoping they'd pick my back pocket and make off with my dirty handkerchief.

Who knows what adventure is in store for us tomorrow?

Late for Church

Yesterday was Trinity Sunday. (I still haven't relaxed enough to forget what day it is.) I begged Steve to stop in Dresden, which is on the way to Prague. We made it to the lovely Frauenkirche around 11:00, but I was late for church. They wouldn't let me in...


OK, that was staged. I really didn't want to go to church. I just wanted to see the church. As everyone but me probably knows, we bombed the heck out of Dresden. I know Hilter needed to be stopped, but when you look around this lovely place, it breaks your heart to imagine this city leveled by fire. In 2006, they finished rebuilding the Frauenkirche ("church of our lady"). Notice the black blocks--they are original from war remains. They create a cool "salt and pepper" design. The ugly block in the lower half of the picture was a big "chunck of church" (as Steve called it) from the original--its a memorial of sorts out front now.


They let tourists in after their regular service. What a breathtakingly beautiful structure! Someone was practicing the organ, too! (Bach once went to Dresden to inspect the Frauenkirche organ.)


Ceiling was beautiful, too.


Then it was on to Prague. The train trip to Prague along the Elbe River was lovely, too. Saw a couple of castles. A man in our train car chatted with Steve about trains, regional rock deposits, beer, biodiesel, etc.

We just happen to be staying next to a Monastery with a brewery in it. Can you guess Steve's first destination after checking in? (I guess he has the right to exercise "freedom of religion" here, too.)

We viewed the city last night from Prague's version of the Eiffel Tower. What a beautiful city. I'll try to come up with new descriptors, but I can't emphasize how fabulous the sights are that we are seeing. Truly the trip of a lifetime!

My dearest Jilly,

Words cannot express how much your Daddy Steve and I miss you. Whenever I see another hund around here, I say "Jillyyyyyy!!!" Their owners usually look very confused. It helps me be less sad to see Deutsch hunden embodying the spirit of Jilly--whether begging for brats, dragging their owners on walks, excitedly sniffing dem strassen, zooming through grassy parks, or just generally looking cute and furry.

Jilly, you would love it in Berlin. Hunds can go everywhere, and you wouldn't even have to be on a leash. Well, actually...YOU would have to be on a leash since there are wurst stands everywhere and you are a walking stomach. I imagine that after a few days here, you would look even more sausage-like than now.

Jilly, tell Mamaw that I miss talking with her daily on the phone. Daddy and I decided to not purchase a "handy" (cellphone) since it would be another distraction to full relaxation. However, I can still hear your barks and squealies very clearly inside my head. We are trying to follow your example of living these days in your happy simplicity--eating, sitting in the sun, sleeping, going on walks (repeat cycle). If only you were here to enjoy it with us!

Side note: I know Ramon is in the Yucatan, but do you know of any half-brothers in Deutschland? I ran into "Rolf" in Wittenburg, and couldn't help noticing the family resemblance...



Please give sugars daily to Papaw, but save plenty for me and Daddy Steve. Can't wait to endure the fervent kussen und scratchen of your joyful homecoming.

Last Day in Berlin

Yesterday we decided to get a day-pass and ride the U-bahn around. We first went to Nollendorfplatz and caught the U2 over to Eberswaldstraße station, to go to Konnopke's Imbiß for a currywurst. Konnopke's is one of the great landmarks of currywurst culture. I've been told it was one of the few businesses allowed to operate as a family business in communist East Germany.



Since it was Saturday, Konnopke's was closed when we arrived, opening at noon. So we found a coffee shop and had a cup. Elise made friends with a man who had two pugs, Maximus and Felicitas, and I made friends with my coffee cup. When Konnopke's opened, we went and ate. It was good, but not legendary.

We then took the U2 back to Wittenbergplatz and went to Kaufhaus de Westens, aka KaDeWe. This was a MASSIVE department store covering eight floors, the top two of which were for foods and drinks of the world. I had my first Budweiser Budvar and it was pretty good. As I've said before, I'm not a big fan of pilseners, but these are consistently excellent pilseners.



Oh, I got a new watch, too. A swatch.

After KaDeWe, we took the U2 and U7 way down Kurfurstendamm to another highly regarded wurst stand, "Ku'damm 195", at Kurfurstendamm 195. This was far and away the best currywurst we had in the entire Berlin stay. Crunchy, spicy, sweet, this one had it all. We also had Schulteiss pilsener, which was cool for Elise because she has friends back in NC whose last name is Schulteiss.



While Elise had her final performance, I packed my bags and cleaned up the room. Elise packed when she returned, and this morning we woke, checked out, had some breakfast, and went to the train station. We caught the 8:46am train to Dresden.

Auf Wiedersehen, Berlin!

@ The Philharmonie

I wasn't allowed to take a picture, so this is what I got. The red arrow points to Elise's head.

ICE

A 12 second video of the ICE train at speed between Leipzig and Wittenberg.

Road Trip!

Hey Dad! We rode on an ICE train!



We got up this morning and caught the 7:52 ICE from Berlin to Leipzig. I tried to get a picture, but it didn't come out, of the readout showing 200km/hr. We were really going fast!! Made it to Leipzig in 1:13. We went to Leipzig so Elise could see



but I was glad to get a chance to see some punk rock dudes!



Elise had realized that the Wittenberg stop between Berlin and Leipzig was *THE* Wittenberg, the place where Martin Luther had nailed the "95 Theses" to the church door (this was the kickoff of the Reformation; he came out publicly against the selling of indulgences.) So on the way back, we stopped at Wittenberg (now called Lutherstadt-Wittenberg) and took a look around. This is the door that replaced the famous one (burned in a 1790 fire). The new door has the 95 theses engraved in it:



Wittenberg is not a particularly large town...



... but it does have a special school for Sneezing Sciences.