Still Rolling Along

With one month left of our European adventure,
our car still not fixed,
we headed north three hours to Wittenberg.
Last weekend driving Czech country roads with windows wide open,
80 degrees and sunny was fun.
Racing on the autobahn at 80 mph plus
(you have to or BMWs eat you up)
this weekend at 90 degrees had little luster.
It's not scenic and my hair blew into one big snarl.

Because of a past negative experience,
(Tom has nightmares about Formula l crew guys)
he declined to pull over at a way side rest.

Only once were we slowed in a STAU
(traffic jam).
Mr. Photography used this opportunity to snap a picture of us.
Since the back had more shade,
I had crawled over the seat for cover.
("Put the camera away honey!" I pleasantly said)
So I guess it's driving Miss Katie now!


Back to the action, we hit the jackpot.
Wittenbergers were celebrating Erlebnisnacht.
Seventeen musical groups performed from 7:00 p.m. to 12:00.
Townspeople and temporary residents (tourists, that's what they refer to us as) conversed, listened, drank and ate until midnight.


A WOW! light and fireworks show was staged from the castle, connected to the Church of the Reformation, amazing everyone watching.


Yes, local citizens were playing with fire on the building Luther nailed up his Theses to.

Maria's Hills

Many of the beautiful

mountains, lakes, hills,
churches and monasteries
that appear in

"The Sound of Music" are located
south and east of Salzberg.

Austria's beauty always impresses us each time we visit the country.
It's breathtaking to see such fantastic landscape from all directions and angles.












Maria marched down the Basilica of St. Michael's aisle in Mondese.
The church, with its baroque altars, was blessed in 1487.
We attended an organ and strings concert on Sunday evening.
Music composed by Bach and Handel was performed.

Castles, Monasteries, Towns and Czech Beer

Aristocratic, baroque styled palaces that are marvels of decadence and monasteries displaying simple beauty are well known landmarks in southern Bohemia.

Rose towns, built by two powerful, very wealthy families in the 13th century, are walled communities featuring beautiful squares. We visited Treborn, Tabor and "the jewel" as it is called Cesky Krumlov. Tourists seek these destinations because of architecture, which was strikingly different than that of most villages.













Pilzen with its famous brewery, Pilsner Urquell, resembled a typical European city. An old town section preserved past glory. Postwar high-rises, common in Eastern bloc reconstruction, surrounded the center.

The brewery was huge, modern and commercialized! (it resembled Disney Land) Czechs would like to enlighten you with two facts: 1. They were first to brew a pils beer, not Germans and 2. Budweiser was brewed by Czechs before it was brewed in St Louis.(Click on this photo )

Bohemian Road Trip

We haven't yet heard from German insurance about the Saab's fate. It still runs (quite well we found out) with a dented hood, no air conditioner, and strong tape supplied by a Formula I crew guy over the smashed headlight covers. (got new bulbs and the lights still work)

Windows rolled down, hair blowing and singing to the radio (YMCA) we ventured to rural areas of the Czech Republic. Tom thinks we got great mileage for two reasons; no air and with windows open we benefited from a drafting effect.
It was scary at times on roads, they are curvy and many Czechs dream of being race car drivers. They tail, don't use their brakes to slow down (a waste of gas) and love the thrill of passing trucks on two lane roads.
Small farm communities are graced with humble homes, gardens, few stores, churches and a fish pond. In the heart of Europe there are not many lakes, thanks to Catholic customs, ponds were dug out by villages to raise fish. Site cultivation began in the 16th century and is still maintained today. A crew "fishes out a pond" with nets once a year. Usually a town celebration follows!
Farm landscape showed signs of Communist ways. Large, empty barns and sheds are abandoned with many broken windows and crumbling walls. Little new construction can be seen. Field equipment from the 1960s and 1970s is still running. Men on tractors had a content look and hardworking peace about them.

Helping Out a Friend

In April we made a trip to Boleslawiec Poland for pottery shopping and a weekend of R & R. Over 40 ceramic factories compete to catch your eye and dollar. Good buys (1/3 of U.S. retail cost) can be found and really good deals on seconds.

Stephanie, a dental colleague, asked if I wanted to join her for a return trip. She twisted my arm, Tom was on call, so why not? I navigated and she drove her car. "Claudia", our Navigon, let us down, twice. First we were directed around a traffic jam onto a road that was closed 20 km later. And then entering Poland, at 10:00 p.m., the freeway was blocked with a big mound of sand. An arrow directed autos off, but no detour signs said to which road.

40 km from our destination and no directions or detailed map. Friendly, helpful Poles rescued us. Two gas station attendants understood the dilemma, came outside and pointed exactly where to proceed.

Kliczkow Castle provided gourmet food and lodging for us. A bountiful breakfast buffet of Polish foods was presented for guests. For those who stayed two nights, dinner could be had for an additional $5 each.

Saturday shopping was intense, Stephanie became overwhelmed and had to step outside. The store pictured above made her see too many polka dots. Artistic display and organization are not the priority, quantity of goods is. I managed to find several big bowls at 40% off! (don't worry I did a wellness check on Stephanie, besides she drove)

Roundabouts, pointing arrows, and a foreign language can confuse one, twice on Saturday somehow we got driving in the wrong direction. Attendants were once again great, drawing out detailed maps and marking businesses. I went in and asked for assistance while Stephanie guarded her auto and/or pretended she didn't know who that helpless American was.

One more bit of travel advice for you. If the car's gas gauge shows under 1/4 of tank , fill it before driving across eastern Germany. No stations are next to the autobahn for about 150 km. Pulling off into a small town, we found no station either. Hopping out again, disturbing Sunday dinner for local cafe diners, I was told gas could be gotten five km. west in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully the station was open for business. The attendant had skipped pork and dumplings going straight to beer for his lunch! Very chatty, a bit too chatty, after filling up we locked our doors and were off!

Picture This

Our Thursday evening Bamberg walk

I said we should get the camera.
Katie felt, on the other hand,

"we just need to remember"...

So picture this:

Venetian gondola drifting down our canal.

Polizei talking with bier-bikers on a five hundred year old bridge.

Sipping Greifenklau pils at a sidewalk cafe
sax, guitar and drum box
serenading
Our waitress knew - she brought ketchup with the fries.

And we will remember...

Nascar Guys Thought Our Car Was Ugly Too!

Life has its bumps and bruises no matter where you live, unfortunately.

On our drive back from France, 45 minutes left to go, ( a long, long German STAU (traffic jam) had delayed us for over an hour) a quick pit stop was necessary.

Lots were full and parking tight. Quickly we hopped out with our .5 euro in hand, headed for the water closet (restroom). As I returned, approaching our Saab, a Hungarian truck driver called out, "Lady your auto and pointed!"

A Toyota/Panasonic Formula One crew guy had put his truck in "R" and backed up into us. Three Nascar trucks had stopped with nine guys. They came over and inspected damage. Big, macho mechanics circling and rude gawking Germans thinking this was a photo opportunity was not fun. "Scotty, beam us home!"

One small scratch was all the truck suffered. The car was still OK to drive, but needs two new headlights, front grill, hood is dented, and air conditioner not usable. A sympathetic mechanic taped a broken headlight for us. (Tom made me take these photos, I wasn't sure if I was going to admit to knowing him.)

German law determines fault on accidents and then the insurer of that party pays out. Two policemen arrived about an hour or so later. Since our car was parked, Nascar guy won the prize! As officers departed Nascar guys gave them hats, none for us!

Dealing with insurance is such a pain in the butt! Did you ever consider that a truck cab and trailer might be owned and insured by different companies? At this point we are not sure what we will do with our smashed auto. We might fix it, sell it for parts (a guy wants the engine) and then rent until we fly home SEPTEMBER 17th!

As we've already told some of you, we would be thrilled to stay at your B & B for a night or two, until we know where we are going to live happily everafter. (Sorry about my shameless plug for lodging) I would clean, do errands, chat, play checkers with you, care for children, or/and make meals while Tom is on safari looking for a position. And I guess since it will be fall, I could rake leaves too!