Quick Index:
Davos, Switzerland
Page 1
Davos & Monstein
Page 2
Page 3
Monstein, Guarda
& the Alps
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Through Austria into Bavaria
Page 7
Hohenschangau/ Neuschwanstein Castles, Tegel Berg, & Wieskirche
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Driving to Baden-Württemberg
Page 14
Page 15
Hochdorf & Schlierbach
Page 16
(Essay)
Page 17
Kirkheim ünter
Teck & our hotel
Page 18
Rothenburg
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Europe Trip, August 2007
Davos, Switzerland, Aug 5-11
Arrived in Zürich in the early morning. Didn't sleep much on the plane. We got our TomTom GPS locator set up with our target locations, rented our car, and took off for Davos, which was about a three-hour drive.
Pat had a week of syntactic conference meetings, so I spent a lot of time with Jan Tillinger, the wife of one of our work colleagues. She and I went up the Persennbahn funicular on the first day, the one beautiful day we had in Davos. I got sunburned -- it was so cool I forgot to use sunscreen!
Up on the mountain after going up the Persennbahn. We had to stop
halfway up and take a second cable car. There were an incredible number of
Hasidic Jews in Zúrich and in Davos. They all seemed to be on holiday, but
we've
never seen so many in one place at one time. They hiked, smoked, drank,
yelled
at each other, and covered their hats with little plastic shower caps when it rained.
The view of the Davos valley from above.
We had accidentally set our camera
at too blue of a
setting for the first few days of the trip. We tried to
color correct later, but it's just not the same... But Pat and I both decided
that the views we saw in Engelberg last year were much better anyway.
While we were up on the Persennbahn, Pat and Richard took another
funicular up to see the old Sanitorium, which was built at the turn of the
century. The wealthy came up here to recover from TB and other ailments.
Everything in Switzerland closes from 12:00 noon to 2:00 pm
for lunch. (Except restaurants.) You buy your groceries at the co-op, and
you need to bring your own bags or purchase them at the store. There
are two ways to flush the toilet -- one that involves very little water, and
one that sounds like it will suck the entire bathroom down into the toilet.
Offen = open, and geschlossen = closed. Brücke = bridge. Zug = train.
Later we took an excursion up into the Sertig valley. The bus had to manage
on a one-lane road, and it had to beep before it rounded any corners.
Although
it rained,
we got to see some Alpinehorns. These guys were
pretty
good, played in
harmony and everything. When some of the
visitors tried the horns, they
sounded like sick elephants. It must be an art.
Our friends Jan and Richard Tillinger, by the gnome pond in Sertig.
While staying at the Hotel Cresta Sun, we were amused by German TV.
They dub over many American sit-coms,
and even Burt and Ernie spoke
German on Sesame Street. The only channel
in English was CNN International.