"I took the long way home"

Can't remember who wrote that song but today it will be my story. It is 6:30 am here (9:30 pm yesterday Victoria time) and I am just getting up. First there is the 40 minute drive to Offenburg, then the two hour train ride to Frankfurt airport. I'll have about a 3 hour wait for my flight to Calgary but the killer will be the 4 hour layover there before the flight to Victoria. So, I'll basically be up for the next 24 hours. Ugh!  The trip has been good and, of course today, the weather is perfect. Not so on much of the trip. Oh well, we can't control the weather, can we?  I loved getting to know Berlin better and exploring Budapest with Nawal. Sharing Alsace with Jo Ann and Jeff was so much fun and it is always a pleasure to spend time with my close friends in Rhinau. Now . . . where to next?  Hmmm. The south of France in September perhaps?  Stay tuned and thanks for reading my blog.

And now for something completely different!

Last Saturday, before Sue and Keith got back, I went out for dinner with friends of theirs who live in the village. Pascale and Klaus are vegetarians and very into organic products. They invited me to go with them to the big Bio (organic) fair being held in Colmar. I jumped at the opportunity to do something less touristy which would give me more insight into the culture here. So today, along with Sue, off we went to the 33rd Foire Eco Bio d'Alsace to check out the more than 400 stalls with organic or "green" products.  I will never figure out why there was a stall selling CDs there!  I skipped the examining the composting toilets and straw being used for insulation.  Instead, we gravitated to the stalls with cheeses, olive oils and wines interspersed with the occasional soap and confiture stand.  Most of the producers were French but some were also Italian. We spent 4 hours trying the various products and it was a lot of fun. Highlights were seeing the nun from the Momastere de Salan selling wine and candies, the wine tasting as various stalls and the Parmesan Reggiano which was fabulous. It was all a lot of fun but I kept thinking the "food safe" police in Victoria would have had conniptions if they had seen some of what was going on. However, it after all the French way and I'm good with it.

It's All in the Details

Yesterday, Sue and I headed over to the Alsace Wine Road for a visit to two of my favourite of the lesser known villages:  St.Hippolyte and Bergheim.  As we wandered around them, I wondered what makes these places just so charming. I know, I know!  There are the colourful half-timbered medieval buildings, the cobblestoned streets, the ubiquitous flowers, the little narrow alleyways and the storks nesting in the tops of many of the towers.  What isn't charming about all that?   But, it is something more; something I couldn't put my finger on. Then, as we looked at the houses more closely, I figured it out.  It is the whimsical little details everywhere you look that make everything so very special.  Whether it is little wooden shoes forming part of a balcony and the witch dolls hung from the eaves on houses on Bergheim, the brightly-coloured flowerpots on the stairs of a house in St. Hippolyte, or a flowerpot hat on a tree stump "head" peering over the fence of a garden in Rhinau, all these little details create a very unique personality which is quintessentially Alsace!

Just exactly where am I?

Since 1989 when my friends bought a house in Rhinau, I've visited this Alsatian village of about 2500 inhabitants often. I have showcased other villages in this area but never this one.  I thought it was time to share a little info.  Rhinau is situated on the Rhine (which here forms the border between France and Germany) and is directly across from the German village of Kappel. The two villages are linked by a free ferry service and the crossing takes only about 5 minutes.  Rhinau is about halfway between Strasbourg and Colmar; the former, 40+ km to the north and the latter, about the same distance south. Lahr, Germnay, is roughly 20 km east. In France, villages are awarded "flower" designations depending on how prettily a village is bedecked with flowers. When I first started coming here, Rhinau had been awarded none but it has steadily improved and is now a "3 flower" village. There is a small river - more like a stream by Canadian standards - called the Brunwasser running through.  Near the banks of the Rhine, there is a statue of the Virgin Mary meant to protect  the village from flooding.

While there is some industry here (e.g. a company that paints the "spoilers" on big truck rigs), it is primarily a farming village. What is somewhat unique is that, rather than the barns being in the fields, they are located with the houses. Sue and Keith have a big one behind their house as do most of the older houses in the village. This does mean there is lots of farm-related traffic lumbering up and down the village streets. There is a white aspargus farm which ships the product to many restaurants as well as sell to locals.  Because it is the season, we wnet there yesterday to load up for a big "feed" of it last night. There are fetes d'asperges - and in Germany, Spargelzeitfests everywhere.

The village church was bombed during the war and the ruins have been designated a historic site.  Also just outside the village are bunkers which are remnants of the Maginot Line - and we all know how that strategy worked out!  Some of these bunkers have been given a new life, one as the headquarters for the Rhinau fishing and hunting club and another as a summer "cottage" (at least it would be cool inside!). Other than that, it is a typical Fremch village - 3 boulangeries, a weekly market, the always present tabac and PMU outlet, four restaurants, and a clock tower whose bells toll every quarter hour 24x7.  Besides its charm, it has a very special in my heart because of all the fabulous memories I have of being here with very good friends.

"Deja vu" all over again

Last Friday, just before I dropped Jo Ann and Jeff at their train, we'd had a hurried lunch in what looked like a charming little town just southeast of Offenburg called Gengenbach. I had hoped to get back there this trip and, yesterday, after I dropped the rental car off, Sue and I went back. It felt slightly familiar (deja vu) as I knew where the parking and the restaurants were but there was so much more to discover. First off, the shopping was fun - classy gift shops and clothing stores plus a very nice Metzgerei (butcher); then there was the historic walk around the town, the small memorial to the 12 Jews taken from the town by the Nazis (right next to the restaurant where the Dubneys and I had eaten), the Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) commemorating victims removed from their homes by the Nazis, the charming Engelgasse (Angel Alley), the somewhat weird statue of spring Carnival characters, the many historic buildings, and the town's old towers and ramparts.

A short note about the Stolpersteine. I had read about them in a Rick Steves guidebook but never noticed them before. They are small brass cobblestone-shaped plaques embedded in the street or pavements outside homes from where victims of the Nazis (Jews, homosexuals, intellectuals) were removed. Their message is terse: name, date of birth and fate. Moving in their simplicity.

While we had two hours there this time, there is still a lot more in this town to explore. Then it will be déjà vue all over again!

A Walk in the Black Forest

Yesterday was the Dubneys last day in this area before heading up to Koln (Cologne) to visit family there. Because they were taking the train from Offenburg in the afternoon, we used the time to do a bit of a drive through the Schwartzwald (Black Forest).  Offenburg is on the edge of the Schwartzwald and about 1/2 hour north of Lahr. It was a lovely, sunny day - a big change from the rain and wind the night before. We headed through Ettenheim, just south of Lahr up into the hills going through Seelbach, Schuttertal, Prinzbach and Biberach. Along the way, Jo spotted a medieval castle on a hill so I took the rather challenging drive up to it praying there wouldn't be an oncoming car on the way up or down. There wasn't. We did the short, but steep, hike up to the castle which is called Hohengeroldseck and dates from 1260.  I don't recall ever seeing it before. We were rewarded with stunning views across the Rhine plain toward the Vosges Mountains in Alsace and Jeff got to see close-up the medieval castle ruins he was wanting and he even climbed up some of them.

From there, we headed to Gengenbach, a charming town southeast of Offenburg. It was my first time here as well and, unfortunately, we didn't have any time to explore it; it was just a rushed lunch (unheard of in this part of the world) and the quick trip to the train station where Jo and Jeff almost jumped from the car to get to their train with about 15 minutes to spare. It was a fun time with them. Gute Fahrt to them - I'm not being rude; it means have a safe trip!

Playing Tour Guide

Well, the tour of Alsace continued over Wednesday and Thursday.  Wednesday was a visit to Strasbourg which included a boat tour of the city and lunch outside in a pretty little; oh yes, and a visit to the Mephisto store for me. I had saved the best of Alsace (at least in my opinion) for last so Thursday we drove along my favourite part of the wine road - from Itterswiller to Eguisheim.  Our time was limited so we only did a "drive-through" of Bergheim and Ribeauville, stopped for a walk and lunch in Riquewihr, skipped Kaysersburg, and finally visited Eguisheim which is often used in travel posters, before driving to Colmar for a brief visit to that scenic town.  In Eguisheim, it was a must to visit another of those famous Alsation vineyards, Freudenreich.  A bottle of their award-winning Riesling is less than €6!  It was fun as we drove along with Jeff "scoring" the houses and villages for their cuteness, most of them receiving scores over 7 and many getting an almost perfect 9.5!  We kept remarking how these little medieval villages look more like movie sets than real places. Thankfully, none of them were too crowded which made wandering around a pleasure. The lucky part was that we managed to finish our tour just as the dark clouds rolled in and the rain started pelting down. We did capture a unique rainbow on the drive back. I never knew rainbows could be horizontal!

It feels like home to me

For some unknown reason, I had heard of Alsace long before I went to Europe the fist time in 1979.  So, it was on my list of places to visit back then. Immediately I fell in love with the charming, colourful villages with their inique houses, the undulating Vosges Mountains and, of course, those fabulous vineyards - and wines!  Now, it is 35 years later and I keep coming back, again and again. Of course it helps when two of your closest friends live there.  No wonder it feels like home to me!

Yesterday, I left CH and took the train to Offenburg in the Black Forest where I met up with neighbours from Victoria and picked up a rental car. Jo Ann and Jeff will be staying with me until Friday while I house sit until Sue and Keith get back Sunday. Lucky me, I get to play tour guide and share some of my favourite places with friends who are new to it all.  We started it in French syle with a morning visit to the boulangerie for pain au chocolat (Jeff) and croissants amandes (Jo and me).

After the boulangerie and breakfast, Day 1 of their visit started with seeing the beautiful church in Ebermunster followed by a stop in the very pretty village called Itterswiller where we dropped in to taste wine at Domaine J. L. Schwartz.  I've been there enough that M. Schwartz now recognizes me. Not sure if that is a good or bad thing!  Some of his Reislings are now getting high praise in Guide Hachette. Also, his wines are organic although that can't be put on the label until they've been produced that way for, I think he said, 8 years.  Needless to say, we bought some wine. Next we drove slowly north on the Wine Road through more villages until we got to Obernai to meet up with Marilyn and Sheila, friends of the Dubneys, who will meet up with them again later on their trip. After a lovely lunch, with three of us having the tarte a l'oignon which Alsace is famous for, we walked around the town and the ramparts, a first for me. We ended the day with a visit to the Maginot Line Memorial in Markolsheim. Now, back "home", it is time for some Cremant d'Alsace. I'm so happy to be back here and I'm sure the weather has something, but not everything, to do with it!

Left to their own devices (well, actually, mine) . . .

Yesterday, Nawal and I left Budapest - she heading to Amsterdam for a brief visit with her daughter before going home and me heading to Switzerland to visit friends. It was a short flight to Zurich and a 35 minute train ride directly from the airport to Herrliberg-Feldmeilen where Roger, Kathrin and their two children live. Thankfully, the weather in Europe is becoming warmer and sunnier so we actually got to sit outside in the garden for most of the afternoon, so nice after those cold Budapest days!  It was when we went inside that things got "interesting". Tim is 6 and Alina is 3. Naturally, they don't speak English and, while I can get by in German, I certainly don't understand much of the Swiss dialect, particularly when it is spoken by young kids. However, I am very popular with them both. Why?  Well, because I have gadgets, specifically an iPhone and an iPad!  Last September when I was here, they discovered the toddler apps I have installed. So, they excitedly gathered around me saying things like "Was machst du, Maureen?", "Kann ich mit die iPad spielen?" and "Wo ist ihre iPhone?"  Clearly, they weren't interested in me. They just wanted to play with my devices!  So, I handed them over and suddenly there was no more clammering and it was quiet. They were sitting on the kitchen table totally engrossed in Doodle Jump and Tapping Zoo.

Today, it is sunny and warm. Midday we went for a walk in their 'hood, so to speak. Once you walk up the hill from their place, you get amazing views of Lake Zurich and the Alps surrounding it. This is such a special place and a nice break from the two cities where I've been. Of course, the better weather sure helps!

When the going gets tough, the tough get outta town!

We have been in Europe now for nearly two weeks and the majority of our days have been wet and cold, particularly the last couple in Budapest which have been quite nasty. I don't ever remember having such dreadful weather in May - and I've been in Europe lots of times during this month. Needless to say, I didn't anticipate this when I packed!  So yesterday, facing the prospect of yet again huddling in doorways to avoid the downpour, getting soaked as we slid on wet cobblestones and lept over puddles, or simply sitting in front of the TV in the apartment, we phoned "our driver", Peter, and asked him to get us out of here.  This morning was predictably cold (3' in mid-May is just wrong!) and pouring so the idea of spending time in a warm Mercedes seeing some new sights was very appealing. The plan was to go to four places outside of Budapest. Our first stop was Szoborpark (Memento Park) where statues from the Communist era have sort of been "put out to pasture".  To quote Rick Steves, "under Communism, creativity was discouraged and the purpose of art was to further the goals of the state".  No beautiful or delicate monuments here!  Somehow, the bitter cold, windy day seemed a perfect backdrop to these bleak reminders of the Soviet era.  Unfortunately, the weather didn't make for a long visit but I did manage to get some photos.

As a total contrast, next on the itinerary was the Basilica in Esztergom where, of course, my first thought was to get a picture of the organ for my sister. The Basilica is one of the largest buildings in Hungary. We didn't linger, however, but did walk to the viewpoint where the Danube here forms the border between Hungary and Slovakia.

Next was a visit to the castle at Visegrad but first, a stop for lunch at the Renaissance Restaurant where, if we'd wanted to, we could have donned medieval robes and crowns to get in that "castle' mood. We didn't and, after a delicious lunch, Peter drove up to the castle so we could climb 100m of stairs to see it. I've seen lots of castles and Nawal had been here before so, although I'm sure he wasn't impressed, we skipped getting out of the car. After all, it was still pelting rain and it was very cold. On the way down, he did point out one of Hungary's few ski hills. Suffice it to say there is a reason why Hungarians don't excel at the downhill and slalom. I think I learned to ski on a similar hill!

Finally, we visited Szentendre where I've stayed twice and Nawal has also visited. I thought going to the marzipan museum there might be interesting but, again, the rain put a real damper (pun intended!) on that and, after a quick walk around, we went back to the car for the 40 minute ride back to the city. It sure was nice to see the green hills, small villages and fields of wheat even in less than ideal conditions.  It was a perfect escape!  Of course, tomorrow, our final day here, more rain is forecast. Give me a break!

Shoes Along the Danube Bank

It wasn't until after I left Budapest last year that I found out about the memorial to the Budapest Jews who were murdered by Arrow Cross militiamen between 1944 and 1945. This trip I definitely wanted to see it. Appropriately today was cool and damp so we walked along the Pest side of the Danube toward the Parliament Buildings until we came upon this simple but very poignant installation.

The Arrow Cross militiamen were the pro-German, anti-Semitic national socialist party members of Hungary in 1944-45.  During their reign of terror, their victims were taken down to the edge of the Danube, told to remove their shoes and clothing then they were shot and their bodies fell into the river to be carried away with the current.  Shoes on the Danube Bank gives remembrance to those people.  Created by Gayula Pauer, a Hungarian sculptor, and his friend, Can Togay, in 2005, the memorial is comprised of sixty pairs of period-appropriate shoes made out of iron and attached to the stone embankment.  The different sizes and styles of shoes depict how no one was spared - men, women, children; businessmen, sportsmen, etc.  Behind the memorial, at three points, are cast iron signs with the following text in Hungarian, English, and Hebrew:  “To the memory of the victims shot into the Danube by Arrow Cross militiamen in 1944-45. Erected 16 April 2005″.  It is so very moving. 

I am currently reading a book called Gratitude by Joseph Kertes which fictionally depicts the plight of the Jews in Budapest in 1944-45 and the efforts of Raol Wallenberg to save as many as he could. Because Hungary was an ally of the Nazis, apparently its Jews were not persecuted until later in the war starting in 1944.  Two nights ago at dinner, we started chatting to an English couple sitting beside us and suddenly this all became more real. During the conversation, the man told us his grandparents, from here, had perished in Auschwitz but his father, 21 years old at the time, was warned one night by a policeman friend to leave immediately or he would perish. Thankfully he did and somehow managed to survive.  Stories like this, from his son, really bring this almost incomprehensible horrible part of the past to life.

Same Time Last Year

One of my favourite memories from my trip with Mena and Trevor last May was sitting on the bar terrace at Fisherman's Bastion sipping wine and listening to a gypsy band.  So, when I found out I was going to be back in Budapest almost the same time this year, I naturally wanted to go back. This time, along with Nawal, I was joined by Sandy and Don Taylor and some of their tour group.  Situated on Castle Hill on the Buda side of the Danube, the terrace provides stunning views of the Hungarian Parliament Buildings and Pest. So, I couldn't wait to go back. The first hint that the experience wasn't going to be quite that same was when I received an email from the restaurant saying our table reservations were being moved inside because of predicted poor weather conditions. Well, who knew how bad they would be!  Below are two photos from the terrace:  the first, taken last year; the second, taken through a window during a thunder and lightning storm and seriously pouring rain!  Certainly not what I'd hoped for!

Unlike last year when I had only a one day visit here, however, this time I have 6 days to explore this city. So, we've shopped along Vaci utca, walked around the impressive Hosok Tere (Heroe's Square), and perused the stalls in the market hall. We still have an awful lot more to explore during the four remaining days here.

And, then there is the problem (no, actually, MY problem) with zeroes!  The Hungarian currency is reminiscent of the old Italian lira.  It has lots of zeroes.  20,000 Ft (forints) are worth about $100 CAD.  However, I keep miscounting the zeroes and think the conversion is $20. So, over the last couple of days, when I've been taking money out of ATMs, my request is sometimes rejected saying I've already reached my daily limit. It turns out that I've been taking out ten times the $25 I thought I was getting!!!  I now have more Fts than I know what to do with. Stupid me!

From 'B' to 'B'

Yesterday we left Berlin and flew to Budapest so the blog title could have been "From A to B" referencing changing locations or even using the B's because both cities start with that letter. But, no, the 'B's stand for big to bigger (much!) in terms of our apartment. More about that in a bit.

Our last days in Berlin were spent trying to squeeze in some of the things still on our "to do" list. We went  to Fassbender & Rausch, the famous chocolate store, for a drink (in my case, dark hot chocolate infused with orange essence) and a very decadent pastry. In stark contrast to that, we went to the now permanent exhibit at the Typography of Terror which chronicles the Nazi rise to power and how they controlled the population using terror.  Chilling!  We also met up with Sandy and Don Taylor, friends from Victoria, and help orient them to the city for their brief visit. I confess there was also some food and wine involved. Then, early (very) yesterday, we all took the short flight to Budapest.

Our driver dropped us on a pretty, narrow street lined on both sides with every sort of restaurant you could imagine. Clearly, we won't starve here!  We met up with the apartment manager who opened an old wooden door, led us through a garbage bin-lined courtyard which had seen better days - the courtyard not the bins, took us up 4 floors in a creaky elevator, then led us along the hallway overlooking the courtyard below to a pretty white, plant-lined doorway. Things were looking up. Then, he opened the door. WOW!  The flat is massive (2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms) and an enormous living room and dining area plus two small balconies, at least 14 foot ceilings, and palatial. The owner is Italian which probably explains the amazing and very modern plumbing fixtures. It will take our entire time here to figure out all the lighting fixture options, especially the multi-colour changing ones over the shower and bath!  All this and a housekeeper for €130 a night!  We did well again!  Here are some photos to give you an idea.  The first one is the kitchen area. In the next blog, I'll focus on Budapest and share some reasons why I find this such a fabulous city. Although, I might not like it as much today as, unlike yesterday which was warm and sunny, it is pouring rain. Now, I have to go and find Nawal and see what she'd like to do today. I know she is around here somewhere!

Another day, another Prosecco!

One truth about travelling is, despite how much planning you do, plans will always get turned upside down. It's how adept you are at recovering that's the test. After standing in line for well over an hour Monday to book a time slot to visit the Reichstag (the German equivalent to the Canadian Parliament), yesterday we dutifully showed up precisely on time only to be informed there were no tours that day because the government was in session.  Ironically, the glass dome on the Reichstag is meant to symbolize government transparency. I guess that doesn't apply when actual "governing" is going on. I'd waited a year for this opportunity and now it was gone. What is a reasonable girl to do?  Go shopping, of course. So, we hopped on the S-Bahn (or maybe it was the U-Bahn - I'll never get the two straight) over to the former West Berlin to do some serious shopping, at least of the window variety, on Ku'damm, that famous street. Unfortunately for the German economy, Nawal bought nothing and I only bought sandals. The most important thing, however, was that we felt better. Then, for the second time this trip, we chose a French restaurant for a meal. This time it was a funky little place called Paris Bar. While the portions continued to be Germanic in size, the flavours were more subtle and simply delicious. My lunch special for €12.50 was watercress soup and chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce accompanied by slices of crusty baguette and a glass of rosé. It was a bit surreal speaking French to the waiter, not to mention unexpected. Now, you may wonder when that glass of Prosecco, which now seems a daily occurrence, comes in. Well, later in the day I did manage to check one thing off my Berlin 'to do' list when we took the 40 second elevator ride up to the bar at the Fernsehturm (TV Tower).  Sipping a glass of Prosecco, which in this case was a bit over-priced but still cheaper than at home), we could enjoy all of Berlin spread out before us. In one of the pictures below, our apartment can be seen clearly as close to the train tracks as they sound from our bedrooms!  We are staying on the 10th floor of the tall building on the left.

Later, we headed to a very casual pizza restaurant near the apartment where a cute young waiter more than made up for the German bureaucracy screw-up earlier in the day - like why did they assign us to a time when the Reichstag was closed?  Instead, Carlos was funny and charming; our meal with wine for me was only €17; AND he brought us complimentary shots!  What a contrast to the way the day
had begun!