Our Eastern European October… part eight

On October 7th, we awoke to another stunning sunrise. We were going to be moving on to Krakow, Poland, a city I was very curious about and really looked forward to visiting. For years, some of my well traveled friends told me about the beautiful architecture in Krakow.

I had originally thought that maybe we could use the city as a base for visiting Auschwitz, but I soon found out that was impossible. I guess I wasn’t that wedded to the idea of going there, because I didn’t plan ahead. Now that I’ve been to Krakow, I’m glad we didn’t try to go to Auschwitz on this trip. There’s so much to see in the city, and we didn’t really have enough time to do it justice. We’ll have to try to do Auschwitz on a later trip.

Because Krakow isn’t that far from Vyoske Tatry, we took our time packing. Our host at the panoraMic Mountain Residence was really cool about our checkout time. I’m not sure he gets a lot of business at this time of year, although once winter hits, his property will surely be in demand. It will be ski season. He came over to give us a bottle of Slovakian wine and say goodbye, and he brought along his gorgeous dog, a Black Russian Terrier.

I had never seen a Black Russian Terrier before. If I had seen her on her own, I would have assumed she was a large black poodle. Our host explained that Black Russian Terriers, otherwise known as Chornyi Terriers, are dogs that were bred in the Soviet Union during the 1940s and 50s. They are descended from about 17 different breeds of dogs brought from countries where the Soviets were active during World War II. They are not true terriers, but were bred to protect, guard, and serve as companions.

I wish I’d had a chance to take a picture of the host’s dog, who was very well trained and extremely sweet and friendly. She was clearly very bonded to her master, but was also quite happy to accept pets from me. It’s hard to imagine such a loving dog could come from a breed that was known to guard Russian prisons! Obviously, she was okay with cats, too, as the host had several roaming his property.

Bill told the host that our destination was Krakow, but we thought maybe we’d go by way of Zakopane, Poland, since Krakow wasn’t that far from Vyoske Tatry. We needed to take our time getting to our destination, because our lodging would not be ready until 3:00 PM. Vyoske Tatry is maybe a 2 or 3 hour drive from Krakow.

I had read Zakopane was charming, and I wanted to have a look at it. Maybe, if it was charming enough, we might stop there for lunch. The host gave us some suggestions, and said that before we left the area, we should venture down a country road and have a look at the stunning fall colors.

*One last picture of our Slovakian lodging…*

We did as the host suggested, and it was a good idea, as I got some incredible pictures of fall foliage just before we left Slovakia. We drove back the same way we went to go to the Tree Walk, drove down the country road, and then got on our way to Poland. Below are a few shots before we got on the country road.

Just beyond Bachledka, we encountered the road, which the host had warned would be kind of primitive, but serviceable. I noticed there was a rickety looking arm barrier that was up. I guess when the weather gets bad and they have to close the road, the arm comes down. Or maybe it’s a relic from another era. Anyway, we started down the country road, I got lots of photos, some of which are pretty similar. I still find the colors stunning, and worth the trip! I think Slovakia might be my favorite of all our stops!

*I don’t know these people, but I think I know how they were feeling! What a beautiful place!*

I didn’t realize it when I was taking these photos, but we were extremely close to the Polish border. We came back down the country road and got back on our route… Very soon after, we encountered these signs, and everything changed.

Suddenly, the houses looked different. There were steep angled roofs, with wooden panels that looked like they were whittled from a tree. I wish I’d had a chance to take more and better pictures, because the change was very obvious in a short time. There were more billboards, more businesses, more construction areas, and and more traffic. It was obvious there was more money, too.

*Just over the Polish border, toward Zakopane…*

We stopped at a gas station to top off our tank and allow Bill the chance to pee. Bill was instantly delighted to see that in Poland, higher grade gas is available. It was not available in Czechia or Slovakia. I noticed the busier vibe and realized that as charming as the housing was, I was already missing Slovakia’s rugged charm, peace, and quiet.

We didn’t end up stopping in Zakopane. It just looked too touristy to me. At one point, I noticed several huge billboards set up, obviously meant to lure tourists. I wondered how it must feel to the locals who have to look at that shit. Still, it was interesting to see some of the more charming aspects of Poland, and realize how different it is from Czechia and Slovakia. Some things about it were genuinely great.

As time went on, Bill urgently needed to pee again. He grew ever more desperate as we crept toward Krakow on a busy road with no rest areas. He finally got desperate and pulled off at an exit for a small town. At first, he felt like he’d made a big mistake, as the town was very crowded with cars and no parking spots. But then we ended up near a town square that instantly reminded me of Freudenstadt, a city we used to live near when we lived in Jettingen, Baden-Württemberg. It had a charming square, a fountain, and a town hall.

Bill saw an open spot, so he parked the car. As he was getting ready to buy a parking ticket, a lady who was backing out of her spot rolled down her window and said something to me in rapid fire Polish. She smiled and handed me her ticket, which still had about an hour’s worth of time on it. She was gone before I could thank her.

We ended up visiting a patisserie called MonoDe, which, thankfully, had a toilet Bill could use. Over delicious pastries and coffee, which served as lunch, we took care of the urgent business, and enjoyed a rare treat. Welcome to Poland! I still don’t know where it was that we stopped. I’ll have to do some sleuthing later. Edited to add: The town is called Myślenice! It is about 30 kilometers south of Krakow.

We got back on the road to Krakow, and immediately hit more traffic. It turned out there was a McDonald’s very close to the exit where we’d gotten off, and that would have also solved Bill’s pressing problem. But I’m so glad we got off at this little suburban town, ate pastries, and saw a quaint Polish village square. We can go to McDonald’s pretty much anywhere. 😁

Traffic got heavier as we approached Krakow. Fortunately, we had already pre-booked and paid for a parking spot in a huge garage near our Krakow lodging, an apartment over a well-regarded restaurant. Nevertheless, I got pretty antsy as we inched toward the city…

*The Poles like their KFC. I spotted one on either side of the highway!*

We were getting closer as we approached what appeared to be a carnival on the side of the road, along with some pretty ugly communist era architecture…

And then, before we knew it, we were there in the garage. I had rented what was called Kanonicza 22, basically the street address of the apartment I found. When I was looking for lodging in Krakow, I was having a hard time deciding where we should go. I was very attracted to Kanonicza 22, but was a bit hesitant, because of the parking situation. This place is on one of the oldest streets in Krakow, and it doesn’t have parking. However, it is very close to the parking garage.

Kanonicza 22 has three apartments available over a small restaurant called Pod Nosem. The restaurant staff run the apartments, which are really more like suites, since they don’t have any cooking facilities. We were in what is known as the Prince Suite, which is on the second floor. Fortunately, there is an elevator.

When we arrived at the Prince Suite, I was blown away how beautiful it was. This huge suite had a living room and a very comfortable bedroom, along with an enormous bathroom. The suite included a large bowl of fresh fruit, a bottle each of red and white wine, still and sparkling water, and a couple of soft drinks. Breakfast was included, and could either be enjoyed in the restaurant, or in the apartment. The only thing I didn’t like about this suite was the mirror by the toilet. Otherwise, it was absolutely gorgeous! I think, for three nights, I paid just under $1,000 for this… I’m so glad I booked it!

*Yes, there is also a bidet, which might come in handy!*

Since it was late afternoon when we arrived, Bill and I decided to have dinner at Pod Nosem. That, too, was a great experience, although there were a number of Americans there. One couple sat near us and I overheard the male half say that he’d dined there several years before and loved it. He wanted to eat there again on his last visit, but it was fully booked, so he made sure to reserve a spot for his most current trip.

Bill and I tried to keep a low profile, but our waitress soon asked where we were from. I noticed that in Krakow, people generally pegged us for Americans. Or, maybe they just defaulted to English, because if you don’t look like a local, they assume you can speak English…

Below are some photos from dinner… This was our only fine dining experience on the trip.

Our waitress was impressed that we ordered Armenian brandy. She said she’d been to Georgia, but could not go to Armenia, because she didn’t have a passport. That led to a discussion about our American status, and how expensive it is to have an American passport. She said she didn’t want to go to America. I can’t blame her for that!

After dinner, we went back to the apartment for a much needed rest. And that we got, because the bed in the Prince Suite was–hands down– the best of all of our stops on this trip. I would definitely book this property again, in spite of the parking pain!

In the next post, I’ll write about our first glimpse of Krakow.

Czechia, Eastern Europe, Slovak Republic

Our Eastern European October… part five

Onward to Stary Smokovec, Vyoske Tatry…

On the morning of October 4th, we had breakfast in the hotel restaurant, and I heard a friendly British guy warning the waitress that some of his buddies would soon be descending on the hotel to play golf. That told me it was a good thing we were vacating the premises. Not that we have anything against Brits or golfers. It’s just that large groups in small venues tend to take over in an obnoxious way.

Chateau Cilheny does appear to be quite popular with Germans. Many of the people staying there were from Germany. In fact, a German couple saw us drive up in our car, with its plates from Wiesbaden, and proclaimed that we’re neighbors, as they were there from nearby Mainz.

I managed to finish reading my most recent book while we stayed at Chateau Cilheny, so I decided to write a review in the hour before we departed for Stary Smokovec, in Slovakia. Then, after we loaded the Volvo and checked out, we made our way east.

In retrospect, it was a good thing we decided to move eastward on Sunday. The Czech Republic has a lot of roads under construction, and on weekdays, they back up a lot due to more people on the roads and workers actually working. As it was, it took us over seven hours to reach our destination. I don’t actually have a lot to write about the drive, although I did see some magnificent scenery and vibrant autumn colors.

We got on a major highway toward Prague, and then drove onward to Brno. Bill had been in Brno the week prior for a business trip, and he had lamented about the terrible traffic and roadworks being done there. Fortunately, it wasn’t too bad on that Sunday.

We stopped for lunch at a very crowded and chaotic rest area that had a KFC and a McDonald’s. We opted for KFC, but Bill got himself a wrap that he said wasn’t very good. I was smart and stuck with original recipe, although KFC doesn’t taste like it did in the 70s and 80s. Especially not in Europe, where they don’t even give you biscuits!

I did get some nice pictures, though, as we drove through some very pretty country in Czechia and Slovakia.

Below are a few last images of Czechia…

And then we entered Slovakia…

The border took us through Trenčín, a city in the western part of Slovakia that I remembered from my 1997 visit. There is a large castle there, and you can see it from the road. I remembered seeing it as we passed it on the railway, too. I managed to get a few shots of the castle as we passed. If you happen to be in the area, you can visit the castle.

After awhile of driving on a pretty decent Slovakian freeway, the GPS directed us to a two lane road that was undergoing some construction. Bill got confused about a turn he was supposed to make, and continued going north. It was about twenty minutes before he realized his mistake, and the GPS put extra time on our estimated arrival.

I am not a big fan of using GPS, myself, so I got out my iPad and looked up a map of the area. I told Bill to take a different road going east, which I hope would get us back on track. Fortunately, my hunch turned out to be right. We drove through a few picturesque towns, as the sun began to set. I was astonished by how gorgeous the scenery was. The weather was beautiful, and the colors were absolutely brilliant.

The pretty views made it somewhat easier to take when we were stuck in a long queue of cars on a two lane road. It took about ten minutes to get through the jam, before we were able to make a left turn onto the road that we were originally supposed to be on, before our little detour. It was good that we hadn’t gone that way, because it was even more backed up, and from what I could tell, not nearly as beautiful as our unexpected detour had been. I kept thinking to myself that sometimes the deviations turn out to be welcome surprises for the senses.

We finally stopped for a pee break and some gas. Bill called our next host to let him know we’d be at panoraMic Mountain Residence within the hour. I chose this self catering accommodation because it got stellar reviews. I had considered booking at a hotel, and even thought maybe we’d like the nearby Kempinski, which overlooks a pristine lake. But the panoraMic Mountain Residence was a lot less expensive, and seemed to be right up our alley. It turned out to be a good choice, although we did have trouble finding it, once we got to Stary Smokovec. It was very dark on the roads, and we had no moon to help us with lighting.

Once we parked the car, feeling a bit punchy from the long drive, the host came out to show us our lodging. It was a very cozy apartment themed after the novella, “The Little Prince”, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I have never read that story, but if I’d wanted to on our trip, I could have. Our host had copies in many different languages.

Below are some photos from our lodging. It was the least expensive place we stayed on this trip. For three nights, I paid $545.

*The host had this awesome masonry heater lit up for us on our arrival. We didn’t need it, though, because the temperatures were very pleasant.*

Bill told our host that we were hoping to get something to eat, since we hadn’t had a chance to stop for dinner. He very kindly called up the folks at Stary Smakovic— a local restaurant– and they advised that we could come there, but we’d have to leave immediately. It was about 7:30 PM, and they closed at 9:00. The host was even kind enough to lead us to the parking area, which we’d already found as we were looking for his apartment.

Stary Smakovic offered a lot of meat dishes. They had steak, burgers, ribs, goulash, and chicken, as well as local delicacies. I suspect this restaurant is especially popular with men, given how the waitress was dressed. It did the trick for us. Bill decided to have a traditional Slovak dish made with sheep’s cheese. I went with a surprisingly tasty cheeseburger, although my chair reminded me that maybe I should have had a salad.

On our way back to the apartment, we encountered a magnificent buck with a full set of antlers. He was very close to our apartment. I hoped we’d see him again, so that I might get a photo of him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. He sure was majestic, though, and seeing him set the tone of the magical beauty in this part of Slovakia.

And now, I’ll close this post, so I can start the next one fresh, with plenty of photos of the rugged Slovakian Tatra Mountains…

adventure, Middle East, short breaks, Türkiye

Ten things I learned in Istanbul (this time)…

As my regular readers probably know, I like to sum up my travels with top ten lists of new things I learned. This was not my first trip to Istanbul, but it was my first trip there in 29 years. Times have changed a bit since my first visit to Istanbul in 1996, so I definitely learned new things on this brief jaunt back to the Middle East. So here goes with ten things I learned in Istanbul… this time!

10. Americans no longer have to buy a visa at the border!
Keep in mind, it’s been a long time since I was last in Türkiye, but there used to be a rule that for Americans to enter the country, one had to buy a visa. In the 90s, it was a sticker they put in your passport, and it cost about $20. I remember this, because I had to buy that thing twice in 1996! Then it went to an online system, I think. Anyway, as of 2024, US citizens can stay up to 90 days without a visa, as long as they have at least six months left on their passports.

9. Turkish Airlines is kind of hit and miss…
There were some things I really liked about flying Turkish Airlines, both down to Istanbul, and back up to Frankfurt. I thought the business class experience on my most recent flights was pretty good, except for the jerk flight attendant I wrote about yesterday. Having read up on Reddit, it does seem like a lot of people are fine with Turkish Airlines until a customer service issue arises. I don’t know if or when I’ll fly with them again, but I did mostly enjoy my most recent business class flights.

8. Maslak is very far away from the historic area of Istanbul, but there is a metro stop there.
I would have preferred to stay closer to the historic part of Istanbul, so I could have walked around more and seen and done more things. But I’m not sorry we stayed in Maslak this time, because now I know what part of Istanbul I should avoid if I’m in Istanbul for touristic purposes. For business, that’s another story!

7. Manspreading is not allowed on the Istanbul Metro!

*Need I say more? I think this is very civilized!*

6. You won’t find pork on most menus…
Actually, this doesn’t surprise me. Türkiye is an Islamic country, after all. Even secular Muslims don’t usually eat pork. But I was reminded of the fact when I came from pork loving Germany to beef eating Türkiye.

5. You also won’t find alcohol on many menus…
Türkiye is an Islamic country, so drinking alcohol is forbidden for a people who follow the Muslim religion. There certainly are bars in Istanbul, and you can find alcohol if you want or need it. However, in a lot of restaurants, there’s no booze. Instead, you get delightful fruit juices, coffee drinks, teas, soft drinks, and water.

4. But you will find prayer rooms in many places…
I was surprised to find prayer rooms in so many places. I could understand there being a prayer room at the hotel where we stayed, but I was shocked to find one at a restaurant.

*You can have a salad and then go pray…*

3. If you want to swim, even in a hotel pool, you may need a swimming cap.
I’ve actually been researching what it takes to go swimming in Türkiye. I was surprised to find out that it isn’t easy to go swimming there if you aren’t a local. I read some things about needing a doctor’s exam first. But I was especially annoyed and surprised to discover that apparently, swimming caps are necessary, even at hotel pools. I can understand that requirement at a public pool, but it seems strange at hotels, which serve people from all over the world. Anyway, just letting you know. Bring a swimming cap if you want to swim. I think it might even be the law in Türkiye.

2. Traffic in Istanbul is positively INSANE!
When I was in Istanbul in 1996, I didn’t remember it to be quite as gridlocked as it was last week. I noticed traffic at all hours, but it was especially bad during the traditional rush hour. We took a cab from the cruise port to Maslak. It was maybe 13 kilometers. It took an hour and cost Bill over 50 euros! The metro is definitely your friend, but it gets pretty crowded.

And 1. Turkish music is beautiful.
I heard a busker playing a unique instrument in the Taksim metro station and decided I needed to have a recording of it here. Off I went to my favorite music source to find some instrumental qanun (kanun) music for my next mood. I was reminded then that Turkish music is very beautiful. When Elaine and I went to Istanbul in 1996, we discovered an amazing band called Kizilirmak. I still have the album we both bought copies of. It’s aged beautifully…

My favorite track from the album I bought in 1996…

Qanun music

Honorable mention: Istanbul is TEEMING with stray cats who mostly seem to be well taken care of. There are also stray dogs, but I saw far fewer of them than the cats.

*One of many cats I saw in Istanbul. I saw some eating cat food put out by locals.*

Well… it’s Thanksgiving, and we have lunch plans, so I’m going to wrap up this post and get on with the day. Unfortunately, I need to break out the vacuum cleaner, because it’s Thursday. I do hope you enjoyed my Turkish series. I also hope we can visit Turkey again… maybe stay in an area that is a little less chaotic than Istanbul is.

For now… Güle güle… (Pronounced “goo-lah goo-lah” Turkish for “bye-bye”, which I did learn back in 1996!)

C.G. Jung, short breaks

Four nights of “Sonne” in Switzerland… (part five)

We woke up early on Sunday morning. I think we were both eager to get on the road and head home. I was missing the dogs and running out of clean clothes. Unfortunately, on this trip, I ate a few things that dripped… some drippings ended up on my shirts! I was also feeling eager to write and play my guitar. Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of music videos, which I find helps me maintain some serenity.

We packed up our stuff and loaded most of it in the Volvo, then went down for our last breakfast at the Sonne Hotel. On Sunday morning, it was quieter and much less crowded in the breakfast room. I guess people were sleeping in a bit.

I noticed service was a little slipshod on the last morning. No one brought us little mini smoothies, as they had on the other three mornings. The chafing dish that normally had eggs and bacon was empty. That was okay with me, but a German woman complained about it to one of the young staffers. Maybe Sunday is the day when new people learn the ropes. I noticed the friendly seasoned waiter who had taken care of us on the other mornings was a bit later coming in on Sunday.

At one point, as I was enjoying a mini cinnamon roll that I hadn’t quite finished, a young man grabbed my plate from in front of me! I was a little shocked, since that’s the kind of thing I would expect in the United States. I don’t think I’ve ever had a plate cleared in Europe before everyone at the table had finished eating. I guess there’s a first time for everything. I didn’t protest, though, because I’d had enough, and really had only wanted to taste the roll, anyway. I’d been admiring them every morning, but only tried one on the last day.

We saw the dark haired lady again on that morning, as we were finishing breakfast. Like us, she was checking out that morning. She told us she’d gone back to the cafe at the Lindt Factory and noticed that they had a “help wanted” sign up. They were strictly looking for part time help. This lady– a US citizen from Los Angeles– went up to the manager and asked to apply for the job, even though she doesn’t speak German. And they actually offered to interview her! What a go-getter!

She said that since she works for her family’s business, she can do remote work. And she likes Switzerland so much that she’d like to move there. If she has a part time job, she can establish residency. Then she started talking about apartments, and how she’d had trouble finding something in her price range that wasn’t snapped up immediately. I’m not sure if she meant short term apartments or long term ones, but I did clue her in to the Apart-Hotel Hugenschmidt, where we stayed in the summer. It’s not meant for long term renting, but she could stay for a short time and have a kitchen. It wasn’t necessarily a cheap place, but it was less expensive than the Sonne Hotel. They also have regular rooms.

I also told her about the B2 Boutique Hotel, although that’s in another part of the city, and maybe not that convenient. It has a great spa and cool library, though. That’s where we went the first time we visited Zürich in 2021.

We explained to the dark haired lady that we were in the city because Bill wants to study Jungian psychology and become an analyst. He said it was a totally new direction for him, which it is… I mean, it seems surprising that a career soldier would want to become a psychoanalyst. On the other hand, there is a real need for people like Bill to be able to relate to servicemembers who need mental health services… or even just someone to talk to who understands that life.

While we were talking, the dark haired lady spontaneously gushed about Bill and me being good people. As if she was compelled, she looked at Bill and said, “I can tell that she loves you very much.” I was taken aback, since we still didn’t even know her name. But she said she could tell there is a lot of genuine love between us. I have to say, she’s right. My mother-in-law told Bill the same thing about me. It was kind of surreal, but it’s not unusual at all for us to have surreal moments when we travel. If you’ve been reading this blog, you probably already know that!

I don’t know what to make of the dark haired lady blurting out that she can see that I love Bill. I know that I sometimes have a tendency to blurt things out– sometimes it’s things that other people are thinking, but don’t want to say out loud. Sometimes the message goes over well; sometimes it doesn’t. But it does my heart good to know that people can see that for all my faults, I do genuinely love my husband very much and want the best for him. He’s the best thing that has ever happened to me, and together, we have been so blessed to be able to enjoy many wonderful adventures. If not for Bill, I could not share these stories.

So, we said our goodbyes to the lady, and wished her luck on her plan to reside in Switzerland. I hope things turn out the right way for her. I have a strange feeling we will run into her again. This isn’t a crazy notion, either. I have a habit of running into people… sometimes I bump into folks I haven’t seen in decades. I also have a habit of meeting people who know people I know. There have even been times when I’ve met people from other continents who know people I know. So, if we run into the dark haired lady again, I won’t be surprised at all. Maybe we’ll visit the Lindt Factory again and see her in the cafe, perhaps even as an employee!

After we said goodbye to the friendly waiter who had taken care of us at breakfast every day, Bill got the rest of our stuff from the room, while I did one last check to make sure we had everything. After a quick visit the to WC, we checked out of the Sonne Hotel and mounted up. A man with a slightly Germanic accent asked if we were leaving our prime parking spot. Bill answered affirmatively, and he quickly got in his fancy gas powered SUV so he could vacate the spot he was in. It was a spot for electric vehicles. It’s just as well we were leaving, as the restaurant is going to be closed at the hotel for a couple of weeks while they renovate.

The weather was still pretty crappy as we made our way out of Zürich. I took a few shots from the car, wishing we’d ventured deeper into the city. But I have a feeling we’ll be back soon. Bill has one more interview. Last night, he had a session with his analyst, and the analyst said, “It sounds like you’re in.” I will be shocked if he doesn’t get accepted.

Sorry about the quality of these pictures…

It was relatively smooth sailing leaving Switzerland, but once we got to Germany, the weather got rainier. There was also a lot of traffic, as it was a holiday weekend in Germany (German reunification day), and lots of people were returning home. There were also transportation strikes at the airports, which probably also affected traffic. The GPS kept adding time to our estimated arrival. I think we were originally supposed to get home at about 1:30 PM (without any stops). But thanks to traffic and a rather long lunch stop, we were on the road until about 4:30!

Below are a few photos from the road trip. When the GPS alerted us to a Stau, we stopped at a place called the Schwarzwald Stube and had lunch. It was surprisingly good, although the service was pretty slow. I was glad we hadn’t gone to the very crowded McDonald’s across the street. And bonus– they had a vending machine that was selling sex aids in the ladies room!

Bill went to get Noyzi and Charlie. I wasn’t with him when he picked them up, but he said that Noyzi actually gave him a hug. He got on his hind legs and wrapped his forelegs around Bill’s waist. Charlie was running around all excited to see “dad” again. They were glad to go to the Birkenhof… and they were just as glad to come home.

So ends my commentary about our latest trip to Switzerland. Bill is going to go to Bavaria next week, and he’ll be gone for three weeks, so this blog may get a bit boring… or maybe not. It might be time for a few culture posts.

Anyway… I’ll try to wrap this up with my usual “ten things I learned” post, either today or tomorrow. Stay tuned!

laws, trip planning

Firenze, Italy sends Bill New Year’s greetings…

Some of my regular travel blog readers might recall that Bill and I took a trip to Italy last spring. I blogged about the trip in sixteen parts, which also included stops in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. We visited Parma, Modena, Florence, Pisa, Viareggio, and several adorable towns in Tuscany, as we visited several Chianti Classico wineries. That was the most recent of our more epic European trips, and I’ve found myself looking back on it wistfully. I am REALLY in need of a trip somewhere. But other events are in the way, to include our dog Arran’s chemotherapy, which is still going surprisingly well.

I’ve even been giving some thought to visiting Italy again in 2023. I follow the Meet the Wengers YouTube channel, which is a family vlog run by an American woman named Katie, who married a German man. They have three adorable and apparently well-behaved children. Recently, she posted some videos about the family’s fall trip to Verona, a city I haven’t yet visited in Italy. Her videos make me want to go there and explore.

One of a few videos the Wengers have done about Verona… Now I want to go, too.

Well, yesterday, Bill got a reminder of our most recent trip to Italy. It came in the form of a traffic ticket. We drove to Florence, mainly because we wanted to bring some food and wines back to Germany, and because I didn’t want to deal with flying, due to the pandemic. Having a car makes travel in Europe a little bit more liberated, as it means not being dictated by timetables or established routes. However, car travel comes with its own hazards, which include traffic cameras that take photos of those who break the rules.

In our case, the infraction occurred on April 27, 2022, when Bill mistakenly drove our Volvo through a restricted area. It seems that many towns in certain Italian cities don’t allow non-residents to drive on certain streets. We had a bunch of bags, since we were on a long trip. The hotel we stayed in was on the third floor of a building and kind of hard to find. Bill was disoriented as to where we were supposed to go, although it turned out there was a very large parking garage near the hotel.

Long story short, the cameras caught Bill driving where he wasn’t supposed to go. Naturally, we were both completely oblivious to the infraction. Some Italian cities that have these rules against non-residents driving on restricted streets, will allow travelers to register their vehicles before their arrival. I think the city of Bologna is one of those places. Bologna is another city I haven’t yet seen. Maybe we’ll go there next time and avoid Florence! 😉

Yesterday, Bill had to sign for a letter at the post office on our local military installation. It was in a window envelope, and came from the city of Firenze. Inside the envelope was the notification of the driving infraction, written in both Italian and English, and a complete rundown of the law that was broken. There was also a schedule of the fines to be paid. It’s 68 euros if Bill pays within six days. If he delays payment between 6 and 60 days, it goes up to about 95 euros. If he doesn’t pay within 60 days, it goes up to 176 euros.

At first, Bill thought the ticket read that he would have had to have paid within six days of the infraction, but obviously he hadn’t been notified at that time. Upon closer examination, he read that he can still pay the reduced fine, since he just got notice. It’s done via bank transfer, as most things here are.

We’re just glad this didn’t happen in Switzerland, as the fines are probably a lot higher there… but they probably also come within a couple of weeks, rather than several months, routed through The Netherlands. I don’t know why the ticket went through The Netherlands. Maybe it’s because the ticketing agency is outsourced.

I just took down all the Christmas decorations. I’m glad to have that yearly chore done. It’s a lot easier to take the decorations down than put them up; and for that, I’m grateful. However, I always find it a little sad to see my living room in its normal state. I like the homey look created by the Christmas lights. On the other hand, it’s less to have to deal with, and I also look forward to more daylight and better weather. I’m definitely ready to have some fun! So now, on with making some travel plans for 2023! We’ll be more careful about where we drive and park, next time!

Edited to add: The day after I posted this, Bill got a second ticket from Firenze for the same offense. He drove through that historic area twice! I’m glad he moved to a different area after dropping me off. Both tickets, paid at the lowest rate, were about 60 euros each– so, 120 euros for driving in the wrong places in Italy. Expensive lesson learned.

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Good intentions waylaid by a Stau…

We have nice weather today, and several fests are going on. I was thinking I might like to go to one in a town near us, since I knew there would be wine, food, and live music. But just after we got on A 66, we hit a Stau… that is, a traffic jam. We must have gotten to it pretty soon after a wreck, as a couple of ambulances passed us while we sat behind an endless processional of cars.

It was just after one o’clock when we hit the Stau, and about 1:45pm when we were finally moving again. We were both so irritated and hangry that we decided to just go to AAFES on post and pick up a few necessary items. I hadn’t been to the PX in many months… it’s probably been over a year. I needed to get some new makeup, because the stuff I’ve been using is probably from the pre-pandemic days. Bill also wanted to get shit bags for the dogs, and an Internet extender for the house.

By the time we were done shopping, we had spent well over $200, mostly on my cosmetics, because I don’t use cheap stuff. I usually buy Lancome, but there wasn’t any way to tell which shades things were, so I switched to Estee Lauder. Then we went to the Pizza Hut Express and got a pizza, which was pretty crappy. Pizza Hut used to be pretty good, back when you could go there and sit in the restaurant for dinner. Now, it’s kind of yucky. But it was handy to get it, since it was after 2pm, and we were both grouchy.

When we got home, the dogs were ecstatic. Noyzi goosed us both in the ass. Then I noticed a funny Carolyn Hax column in the Washington Post, about a woman who was pregnant and having to deal with her mother-in-law treating her like her grandchild’s vessel. For example, they’d go out for Thai food, and Grandma would say, “If that’s what Baby wants…”

My response was, “I’d tell her Baby would rather have a double gin martini.” For some reason, people thought that was a really funny quip. In honor of it, Bill made us gin martinis. See the featured photo for that. 😉

Below are a few photos from the highly annoying Stau. We were used to those in Stuttgart. They aren’t so common up here in Wiesbaden. Good thing we didn’t have our hearts set on doing anything special or having lunch anywhere good.

And no, I did not commit Beleidigung today, although the impulse was there. The martini was made from gin we bought from Vom Fass in Wels, Austria. We finally finished the bottle.

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Welcome back to Stuttgart… part 4– “Eine wirklich schwäbisch Küche”, Elton John, and STAUgart HELL!!!

Saturday was the day we’d been waiting for. Ever since I bought the tickets to see Elton John in February 2018, I anticipated finally getting to see him for the first… and likely the last… time ever. We spent Saturday morning relaxing and recovering from the Fest. Then we had lunch at the nearby Vereinsgaststätte TSV 07 Stuttgart, which I had wanted to try because I noticed on other visits that it always smelled good near the restaurant. The signage around the club also indicated that it was “eine wirklich schwäbisch Küche” (a really Schwabish kitchen). Although I can’t say I’m a devout fan of Schwabish cuisine, I wanted to see if there was truth in advertising.

See? It even says on the sign that it’s a really Schwabish kitchen.

Corona? Really?

The Gasthaus was fairly busy when we got there, which I always take as a good sign. Curiously, I noticed a large beer fridge full of Coronas– Mexican beer that goes well with lime slices. Although Corona is prevalent enough in the United States, it’s not that often that I see it in German Gasthauses. We took a seat in the dining room and the English speaking waitress brought us a Weizen for me, and an Apple Schorle for Bill. For lunch, Bill had a small turkey schnitzel with pommes. I decided to have asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce.

I don’t know why this trip was so heavy on asparagus. I do like it, but I prefer the green asparagus to the white. To me, it’s got more flavor. I don’t usually want to center a whole meal around asparagus, either, although once May is over, so is asparagus season. Nevertheless, here’s the photographic evidence of the source of my stinky pee.

Gosh, he’s cute.

Bill’s salad was the traditional kind, with potato salad on the bottom. I’m sure they serve it like that up here in Hesse, although to be honest, we haven’t been frequenting Gasthauses lately.

A little turkey schnitzel with fries. I liked that it came with ketchup or mayo and that you could choose pork, veal, or turkey. I also liked that you could order a small. I can never finish schnitzels, which is why I rarely order them. Bill liked his. I probably should have gotten one, too.

My asparagus with Hollandaise and a “Fladl” (crepe). It’s a very “beige” dish. I couldn’t eat all of the asparagus, but I gave it a good try.

When we got back to the hotel, there was a saxophone player named Sebastian Lilienthal playing. Waldhotel was having an open house and I guess his music was part of the festivities. I thought his playing was technically good, although it lacked a certain sense of soul. He seemed to prefer hits of the 1980s. Having looked him up, I can see why. He’s just a few years older than I am, so that music was no doubt part of his personal soundtrack. I did get a kick out of his rendition of “Boogie Wonderland” by The Emotions and Earth, Wind, & Fire. It’s not a song I would have expected to hear played solo on the saxophone.

Sebastian was playing to no one at this point, since no one was sitting outside. It was chilly and rainy outside. He was later driven inside by a sudden hailstorm. At one point, he reminded me a little of Squidward.

Sorry… but he really did.

The hotel staff set out some very tempting looking treats.

I’m really glad we had a piece of Black Forest Cake, especially given what happened on our way to the concert. This is one of my favorite German desserts!

The concert tickets I bought came with a parking pass and vouchers for a buffet with an open bar for two hours before the show started. Although we don’t usually drive to concerts due to the hell of getting in and out of the parking lots, we decided to drive this time, since we had the parking pass. It’s a mistake I won’t be repeating.

We left the hotel at about 4:45pm, figuring that would give us plenty of time to get to the venue and get something to eat. One thing that usually happens to us at concerts is that we miss dinner. It’s not that I can’t afford to miss a meal… it’s just that I get really “hangry” when I’m hungry. So we thought we’d be safe. We were about 900 meters from the concert venue when the Stuttgart police suddenly decided to close the road leading to the Hans Schleyer Arena. I mean, it happened literally a car ahead of us. He put traffic cones up and people were having to make U turns into oncoming traffic, which seemed really dangerous to me. And the cop was very rude when Bill asked how he was supposed to get to the parking area. I was tempted to use bad language, but remembered that insulting the cops can lead to huge fines. So I zipped it… and so did Bill, who also felt like cussing.

This was just the beginning. If we had left about five minutes earlier, we would have avoided this mess. At one point, I was wondering if we were going to make it, since traffic was at a standstill. We were about 600 meters from the parking lot, but it still took an hour.

Traffic was a nightmare, of course, as we and everyone behind us was forced to change directions. The GPS rerouted us to the road that ran past the Wasen grounds. It took about an hour to work our way down the street congested with festgoers. It was absolutely infuriating, although even if we’d taken a cab or the U-bahn, it would have been an ordeal to get to the venue. By the time we parked the car, it was already 6:30pm and the concert was due to start at 7:00. So we decided to just find our seats.

The view from where I was sitting.

The concert was, of course, completely sold out. I didn’t see a single open seat in the arena. Elton put on a great show and played for about two and a half hours, straight. I really enjoyed the concert, especially since John Jorgenson was in the band. About ten years ago, I used to review albums for a public relations firm out of Nashville. They sent me a couple of Jorgenson’s albums to review. He was filling in for Elton John’s regular guitar player, Davey Johnstone, who is taking a break due to back problems.

The band was stellar and we had pretty good seats in Block Twelve. The songs were each paired with an audio/visual presentation, which I guess is the trend with some artists. I remember Diana Krall did something similar with her concert in Stuttgart a few years ago. The videos were kind of interesting, but they were also a bit distracting. I found myself watching the videos instead of Elton, whose piano was on some kind of track that moved him around the stage. I remember being surprised when I turned my attention back to him on the stage and seeing him in a different place than where he was at the beginning of the song.

After a particularly exciting song, the house lights would go up so we could all see each other. There were several exciting songs, so we got to see each other a lot. It was a huge, appreciative crowd. I was sitting next to a German guy who was really into the show. He was dancing in his seat.

Toward the end of the show, Elton said that in 1990, he decided that he didn’t like how he was living his life and decided to make a change. He got off drugs and alcohol and, two years later, decided to start a foundation to fight AIDS. Maybe a lot of younger people don’t realize what a scourge AIDS was for people in the 80s and 90s, but I plainly remember how many people– truly amazing, gifted people like Ryan White, Freddie Mercury, and Rock Hudson– died of the disease when I was coming of age. I appreciated Elton’s comments about how now, no one has to die of AIDS.

Speaking as someone who remembers thinking of HIV infection as an automatic death sentence, I was really impressed by Elton’s speech, as well as his explanation as to why he’s retiring from the road. He got everyone excited when he said we all need to come together– especially England and the rest of Europe. He said, and I quote, “We don’t need fucking BREXIT!” The Germans all roared their approval. I was kind of relieved that he didn’t bring up Donald Trump, although that was probably another thought people were having. Personally, I don’t think we need fucking Donald Trump, either.

Ray Cooper… he’s a madman on the drums! I also enjoyed watching Nigel Olsson, another one of Elton’s longtime band members. He kept mugging for the camera. It was adorable!

Goodbye, Elton…

It looked almost like he was ascending into Heaven. I hope that’s not on the horizon…

Taking a bow.

Before we knew it, the show was over. But, because we were tightly packed into our seats, neither Bill nor I had the chance to pee before the end. Of course, because the arena was packed with people, most of whom also needed to pee, we didn’t get a chance to go before we exited the building. We were kind of swept out of the venue into the rain. Then, once we got in the car, stomachs rumbling because we didn’t have time to eat, the real fun started. It legitimately took over an hour just to get out of the parking lot. There was no sense of queueing and plenty of people were acting like totally inconsiderate assholes behind the wheel. I did a lot of swearing… I won’t lie.

This was hell. However, I did see a few amusing scenes of young people staggering after spending too much time at the Fest. One person even left a full cup of beer tucked into someone’s windshield wiper.

The hotel’s parking lot was full when we arrived at about 11:00pm. The show had let out at about 9:30pm, but it took us 90 minutes to get back. The kitchen was closed, of course. We hadn’t expected it to be open, although we could see others who had gone to the show and got back before us were eating. I guess they had the same problem we did. The bartender was sympathetic, though, and loaded us up on red wine and peanuts.

When we got back to the room, we found it completely set up for bedtime. The housekeeper left us more tea and cookies, closed all the blinds, and turned down the bed. That was very nice and left us with a good impression.

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Wiesbaden, take two… the dog friendly housing quest continues. Part one

A couple of weeks ago, Bill and I made our first ever trip to Wiesbaden to check out the area and look for a new place to live. On that trip, we visited two houses. One was too small. The other wasn’t too small, but was in a neighborhood that I had a feeling would drive me nuts. Also, the layout of the house was a bit odd. The “odd” house was quickly snatched by someone else, while the too small house is still up for grabs.

The week after we took our trip, a few more ads showed up on Bookoo. Two of the three that interested me had no pictures associated with them, but they sounded like they might be a good fit for Bill and me. We also found a house on AHRN that looked somewhat promising and was priced fairly reasonably. We decided to go up to Wiesbaden again for more house hunting. Originally, we were going to do it last weekend, but decided not to, because I was having trouble finding pet friendly lodging. I managed to book three nights at GL Suites for these past Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. I definitely need to write about GL Suites, especially for those who need self catering accommodations. More on that in a forthcoming post.

We arrived home a couple of hours ago. I think we might have found our place, but I won’t know for certain until the potential new landlords agree. Bill has been pacing and deliberating for the past couple of hours because the new place is going to be a whole lot more expensive than what we’re paying now. Whether or not we take the house we saw today, our rent is about to skyrocket. I thought Stuttgart and its environs was expensive. Wiesbaden has Stuttgart beat. Fortunately, Bill does get a slight bump in his housing allowance, I’ve paid off my credit cards, and my student loans are a thing of the past.

So… with that established, here’s my trip report starting with Thursday.

Bill had requested to work a half day so we could get up to Wiesbaden. We had three appointments scheduled before we left and a fourth was scheduled as we sat in a traffic jam near Heidelberg. We set our fifth appointment yesterday, after I looked at yet another new ad on Bookoo.

Bill was late getting getting home, thanks to a massive accident that occurred in the Schönbuchtunnel on Thursday morning involving an overturned asphalt truck. It actually happened in the wee hours of the day and was backing up traffic even when Bill was on his way to work at about 6:00am. By 11:30am, when Bill left Kelley Barracks, it still hadn’t been completely cleaned up. Consequently, it took him three hours to get home. I started to worry when he still hadn’t arrived by 1:00pm, because I wasn’t sure how we were going to access our apartment at GL Suites. Also, I somehow didn’t get their welcome email, so I had to email them twice. The lady who responded sent it in the Booking.com messenger app, which helped.

I’m going to miss this view near our current home sooooo much. We will have nothing like it where we’re going. There are a lot more houses near Wiesbaden.

I occupied the extra time waiting by getting everything together and cleaning the nasty carpeting in our house. I recently discovered a wonder drug for cleaning, mixing Dawn dish detergent with hydrogen peroxide. I don’t know how, but it cleans the hell out of carpet stains. Also, I managed to descale the lime off of the taps in the bathrooms. I never claimed to be a great housekeeper, but when I get in the mood to clean, I tend to be pretty thorough. This is a good thing, especially since our search for a deep PCS cleaner continues.

Bill finally got home at a little after two o’clock. He took a raging piss that lasted several minutes, thanks to his high blood pressure meds. Then, while he changed out of his work clothes, I loaded up the trusty RAV 4 and got the dogs situated. We were soon on our way and were making good progress until we reached Heidelberg. Just a few cars ahead of us, there was a pretty bad accident. I think a car was trying to merge onto the Autobahn and a truck didn’t want to yield. The car got clipped and spun out, shutting down traffic for about a half an hour. I amused myself by taking the following photos.

We were sitting in traffic and I noticed the familiar helicopter…

Then I saw this guy peeking out of the top of his parents’ SUV… They had plates from the Netherlands.

He remained standing like this as the car coasted forward. I wish Bill would let me do that.

I looked to my right and noticed a comically irate German guy getting out of his car. He had brown hair that curled under gently, giving him kind of a 70s look. He was cussing loudly enough to be heard, despite the 80s era adult contemporary music blaring in our car. I heard him say “Sheisse” at least twice, watched him stamp his feet angrily, then he apparently decided to use his time wisely by removing the floor mat from the driver’s side of his car and shaking it out on the pavement. Other guys decided to take the opportunity to relieve themselves. Yes… there’s never a dull moment on the Autobahn, even in a Stau.

The helicopter approaches with the doctor, dropped him off, then they speedily got the accident victims out of the way. I’d say we were delayed about 30 minutes, during which time an American property manager called us. We used our time wisely, too.

I had been planning to arrive at GL Suites between four and five o’clock, but the traffic jams conspired to fuck up our plans. Fortunately, to enter GL Suites, all you have to do is use the electronic codes. There’s no staff, so you can come and go as you please. The building is also monitored by cameras, which I’m sure helps the staff to know whether or not people leave when they’re supposed to. More on GL Suites in the next post.

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Labor Day weekend in lovely Lesa, Italy on Lake Maggiore… Part one

Bill and I usually go somewhere for the long Labor Day weekend, although last year we didn’t do anything because we had a cruise planned for Scotland and Northern Ireland. This year, we hadn’t really talked too much about it, since Bill had a big business trip to Morocco the week prior. We also just found out that we might have to move and the need to secure a job and potentially new housing has kind of dominated our thoughts.

I got to thinking about it, though, and decided I did need a short break from Germany. So, a few weeks ago, I casually asked Bill what he wanted to do for Labor Day. He said he wouldn’t mind a quick trip, despite having to travel to Africa the week prior. I had been looking at going to Ticino in southern Switzerland, which is near Lake Lugano, but I knew we’d need to bring our dogs with us and I wasn’t finding any appropriate self-catering properties.

Then I looked at all the places I had saved on Booking.com and most of them were already booked. Suddenly, I remember that my German friend, Susanne, had recommended Lake Maggiore. This lake is close to Lake Como, which we’ve visited a couple of times, but was rumored to have a quieter vibe. Also, although I had been looking at Ticino, Switzerland, when it comes down to it, Italy is much cheaper. And if you’re going to be that close to Italy, you might as well just go there. So I searched Lake Maggiore on Booking.com and found the Rose Apartment in Lesa. Bill flipped a coin; it was between the Czech Republic and Lesa. Lesa won.

The word “apartment” is kind of a misnomer for this property. When I think of apartments, I think of small rented quarters sharing walls with other people. The Rose Apartment is, in fact, a good sized house, complete with a huge fenced in yard. I noted that it was very close to the lake and the price was right, so I booked it for three nights. In retrospect, I should have booked it for at least four nights. Our break in Italy wasn’t long enough. However, we were in Lesa long enough to get a feel for the low-key town. I now know that I don’t have much of a reason to go back to Lake Como. Lake Maggiore is definitely more my style. It’s less flashy and more homey.

First thing’s first. How do you pronounce Lesa?

No, it’s not like “Lisa”. It’s more like lay-zuh.

Bill got home from Morocco late Thursday night. Friday morning, we considered waiting to pick up the mail before starting our journey south. Fortunately, I realized that waiting for the post office to open would really put us behind. We set off from Germany at about 9:30am or so, expecting to arrive in Lesa by 4:00… maybe 5:00 at the latest.

The drive to Italy through Switzerland is very beautiful. You pass through stunning mountains and lakes that will take your breath away. I probably should have been enjoying more of the scenery, but I also got to try out the cellular capability on my new iPad. I signed up for a month of data from GigSky for 50 euros (5 GB). It worked very well and I only used one gig to and from Italy. Sometimes I’m surprised I was born in the 70s. You’d think I never had to live without Internet access. But for a small country, Switzerland takes a long time to get through and since it’s not in the EU, roaming charges are a bitch. Gig Sky worked well enough that I’d use it again.

This lake is so beautiful. We need to stop sometime so I can take proper photos. We had sun on the way back today and the lake was even more gorgeous.

Sadly, because we had our hoodlum dogs with us, we ended up eating lunch at a Burger King, where we both had sandwiches that were sodden with mayonnaise. I don’t know why, but fast food restaurants in Germany and Switzerland really overdo the condiments, especially mayo. Next time, maybe we should pack our own sandwiches.

Way too much mayo!!!

Then… fate conspired to keep us on the road much longer than we originally planned. First, we hit a ton of traffic in Switzerland near the Gotthard Tunnel. It took awhile to get through the 16.9 kilometer passage. Once we were through that, we hit more traffic in Italy. We got there just as rush hour was starting.

Just over the Italian border. It was like this the whole way.

And then, we hit a section of the autostrada, really not that far from Lesa, and ended up sitting for in traffic that was pretty much at a standstill. We were stuck there for well over an hour and, when Bill honked at a young woman who was apparently asleep at the wheel, she flipped him off. In Italy, it’s not illegal to flip people off like it is here in Germany. I wouldn’t ordinarily do something like that, even though we were really tired and our tempers were very short. When you’re sitting in traffic that has come to a standstill after you’ve been driving for hours, you tend to have less patience. Bill was amused and surprised by her vehement response.

We paid just under three euros in tolls to drive on the autostrada. Bill remarked that it was very cheap. I turned to him and said, “You would have wanted to pay more for that experience?” He had a good laugh at that. While we were stuck in the Stau, we managed to stop into an Autogrill (Italy’s rest stop chain) and the gas station attendant pointed out that the back wiper on our RAV 4 was slightly cracked. The attendant offered to replace it for us. Bill got the sense he might have cracked the wiper himself, looking for extra euros. We’ve been to Italy enough times that we’re seasoned when it comes to small time scams. Unfortunately, this was not the only calling card our car brought back from Italy. More on that in the next post.

Bumper to bumper traffic. Turned out the holdup was a very bad accident. My mouth dropped open as we passed what appeared to be an overturned truck. I’d be surprised if the driver walked away from that with his or her life.

First view of the lake. I was so glad to see it!

By the time we got to Lesa, it was about 7:30pm. Since he and his wife had dinner plans, the host sent his two very beautiful and charming teenaged daughters to give us the keys to the house. They got to try out their English skills and our dogs, Zane and Arran, got lots of welcoming pats. I don’t think I could have picked a more dog friendly rental!

Below are some pictures of the inside of the Rose Apartment.

Huge chestnut tree in the yard. There are swings.

Sliding board next to a pavilion where you can grill.

Crib in the master bedroom.

Master bed. Fairly comfortable mattress.

Laundry room in the basement. There’s a washer and an ironing board.

Hall bathroom.

Kids’ bedroom has four beds. There’s also a twin bed in the living room and in the basement.

Basement bed.

Basement half bathroom.

Couches in the living room and another twin bed.

Nice sized kitchen. Opens to a lovely terrace with an awning.

We were too tired to go out to eat, so Bill found a local pizzeria and got a margherita pizza and tortellini with sage.

Then he tried on the hat that was left behind. I’m not sure the Italian look is for him.

This is a post office we passed in a big town on the way to Lesa. I thought it was an interesting mix of dramatic art and 60s kitsch.

We didn’t stay up long after we had dinner. The drive down was very exhausting. I was kind of bummed, since we might have found a nice restaurant if we’d had a little more time on Friday. Food, wine. and a change of scenery were pretty much what this trip was all about, anyway.

I should mention that the Rose Apartment has old style Italian three pronged L outlets, which means that our regular electronics didn’t fit. However, the owners did provide a power strip in the kitchen that gave us enough outlets that we could charge up our phones and such. Also, WiFi worked great, which is more than I can say about our experience in the last Italian rental we stayed in last year.

I will continue this series tomorrow, after I’ve had a good sleep. The drive back to Germany today wasn’t quite as exhausting or obnoxious, but I could use a drink.

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Trieste and joyriding in Croatia!

Tuesday morning, we got up and had a light breakfast. Then Bill drove us to Trieste, which turned out to be another white knuckle experience. First there was the prospect of getting out of the hotel’s crazy parking lot and negotiating the super narrow streets and blind corners. Then, we had to deal with Italian drivers, who seem to have no qualms about forcing their way into traffic, speeding around corners, and basically scaring the shit out of people who aren’t Italian.

A little fuel before a scary drive into Trieste.

Traffic going in to Trieste was pretty heavy and Bill and I both wondered aloud why we do this to ourselves… driving in Italy when we could drive in perfectly sane Germany, France or Austria. The answer to that question is that Italy is just awesome. The food is wonderful. The people are interesting and fun to watch, as well as very warm and hospitable. The terrain is beautiful. Once we managed to find metered parking near the waterfront, we were able to walk around and enjoy the city.

The pier overlooking the Bay of Trieste.

The big main square in Trieste. You can get free WiFi here. 😉

Near the marina.

Some youngsters were learning about an old amphitheater. Some looked interested in what the guide was saying and some didn’t.

This was embedded in a wall. I love finding little shrines and artistic impressions. Graffiti fascinates me, even if I sometimes wish the artists would be choosier about what buildings they deface.

To be honest, I didn’t find Trieste to be long on things to do. We mostly just people watched and enjoyed the free WiFi in the center. At one point, we walked past a sex shop. I chuckled at the sight of bright red men’s underwear on a mannequin. They were trimmed in lace and had stringy suspenders attached to them. The suspenders seemed more decorative than functional.

When it came time for lunch, we walked around toward the Grand Canal and found a cute little restaurant with checkered tablecloths. I was having one of my famous hangry/sugar crashes and was about over it when we sat down.

Bill ponders over lunch. Our waiter raised an eyebrow when we ordered a whole liter of wine. Yes, we’re lushes. I’m more of a lush than Bill is.

Bill ordered a liter of house white wine and pasta with truffles and ham. I had a scallop starter and fried fish, which turned out to be calamari, sardines, and squid. Fortunately, I love fish very much and the cook did a good job!

My scallops… Yum! They were breaded and served still attached to the shell.

Bill’s pasta with truffles and ham. I complained when he ate a lot of garlic a couple of days prior. Truffles are even more aromatic to me and not in a good way. But he loves them and really enjoyed this dish.

I had lots of fried jewels from the sea. No, I didn’t finish this. It was a lot of protein!

As we were finishing up, I paid a visit to the restaurant’s unisex bathroom, which consisted of a squat hole. I hadn’t seen one of those in awhile! After Bill checked out a James Joyce statue on a nearby bridge, we decided to walk around a little more… basically back to the main square where we took a seat at a big cafe with great desserts. They had normal tables there, but they also had comfortable chairs and couches with cocktail tables that faced the square. We were able to sit there and watch the world go by. Bill had a coffee and I had Irish coffee…

A squat toilet!

The cafe. I probably ought to zoom in to see what it was called. I felt much better when we left there.

The Grand Canal.

James Joyce is honored on the bridge!

And with a James Joyce bar across the way… I might have been tempted to pay a visit, but decided not to.

If you’re really patient and have no watch or cellphone, you can tell the time with this…

Bill picks out drinks while I people and dog watch.

I had an Irish coffee. I guess he wanted me relaxed for our next activity.

Our meter was due to run out at 3:45pm, so we decided to move on from Trieste. I came up with the brilliant idea of heading into Slovenia, which we did. But then, as we got closer to the Croatian border, I talked Bill into driving into our next virgin territory. Good thing we had our passports because Slovenian border guards were checking at the Croatian border.

We made it through… and soon learned that Croatia is not on the Euro.

An example of apartments in Pula, which is where we ended up stopping after a lovely drive on a very well-maintained and mostly empty toll road. We got some Croatian currency at a gas station, but we needn’t have bothered. You can pay the tolls in euros and they are quite cheap!

An ancient arena in Pula.

Had we set off earlier, we probably would have spent some quality time in Pula. It was getting late, though, and we were tired. So we stopped at a supermarket, used the WC (for free!) and bought several bottles of Croatian wine. I don’t know if we’ll like what we bought since I don’t speak Croatian. I’m eager to try, though, when we get home. And our sneak peek was very satisfying. We will have to go back soon and see more of beautiful Croatia.

Great highway with cheap tolls and beautiful scenery.

We stopped in Slovenia for dinner. The restaurant had a Slovenian name, but our waiter made sure to tell us it was called The Three Hunters. He mistook us for German… the first of several Slovenians who have.

I had delicious roasted pork with vegetables and local wine…

Bill had rabbit gnocchi. Had we wanted to, we could have also had dishes made with bear. Bear meat is apparently a delicacy in Slovenia.

I had beer for dessert.

This was when the waiter reminded me of the name of the restaurant. I think he was hoping I’d review it. The food was very good and he was a good server, though the ladies room reeked of old urine. Too bad for that, since it was otherwise a fabulous meal and very reasonably priced.

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: traffic

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