Category Archives: Travel

72 hours in the sun-Day 1

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The fabulous view of Dolomite Mtns from our hotel room in Aviano

The fabulous view of Dolomite Mtns from our hotel room in Aviano

We had a fabulous summer in Bavaria. Unlike last year when the cold grey skies kept temps in the low 60s for most of the summer, we have enjoyed a season featuring bright blue skies and strong rays that kept us going back for a dip in the Parsberg pool. But, oh how quickly we forget the good times had. For most of September it’s been consistently cloudy and seems as if fall is here to stay. So, on a recent long weekend, we packed up and headed south to our favorite sun destination: Italy and this time around, we selected the coast of the Adriatic Sea for some relaxation. We took off from Lupburg around 1:30pm, long enough to give the kids a “full day” of school but allowing us to drive the entire distance in daylight. We arrived in Vicenza just 7 hours later and made a beeline for our favorite Italian restaurant: Al Portego. Of course, I ordered the pear faggotini..mmm, those little pasta purses stuffed with sweat pear and prosciutto that make my mouth water. Tim had a most excellent carbonara pizza, featuring a fried egg right on top. And Lilly couldn’t quite get the German out of her…she ordered the wiener schnitzel with fries and was quite satisfied. We always use booking.com to find cheap but decent hotels on our weekend trips and this time we stayed at the modest Hotel Europa in Vicenza; not much to look at but the price was a bargain–73 euro with breakfast included.

Definitely love this bag--but it's not on sale, yet.

Definitely love this bag–but it’s not on sale, yet.

After a filling breakfast the following morning I couldn’t resist being so close to Nove and Dueville and not stopping in at VBC Ceramica in Nove and Nicoli Italia. At both shops I was able to find a few irresistable items–additional seafood platters and a Vietri pitcher at VBC and 4 purses at rock-bottom prices at Nicoli. I have to say, if you’re interested in leather purses, check out Nicoli on Facebook or sign up for their e-newsletter. I stopped specifically because they advertised an end-of-season sale but we came on day 4 of the sale and many of their items were gone. I found great deals but I can only imagine what they had available on the first day of the sale.

Plenty of sapce for friends to Join us for a drink under the umbrella

Plenty of sapce for friends to Join us for a drink under the umbrella

Lilly loved collecting the small spiral shells that she named "unicorn horns"

Lilly loved collecting the small spiral shells that she named “unicorn horns”


there's something about kites that just makes me smile

there’s something about kites that just makes me smile

We finished up shopping around 11am and made our way to Jesolo Beach, just north of Venice on the Adriatic Sea. The day couldn’t have been better: soft wispy clouds gently sailed across the sky. The sun was warm and the water temp cool. Lilly was the smart one and simply donned her suit first thing in the morning; Tim and I took turns changing into our suits quickly in the car and then packed up towels and books for the beach. I can’t quite describe how good it feels to show up at the beach and not have to fight for parking or a place to sit on the sand; the beach was practically deserted so we have our choice of locations. We spread out our towels near the water’s edge and spent the next several hours lazily gazing at the sky, watching random kites sail overhead and collecting seashells. We did have to endure the various independent salesmen hawking their wares on the beach: sunglasses, scarves and personal umbrellas were popular items being offered but I was intrigued by the lady yelling: “Massage-ee, Massage-ee”. She was able to service the woman in front of me but 30 minutes of a sand massage and oil doesn’t look as good as it sounds. We wrapped up our day at the beach by driving over to Aviano Air Base and checking into our resort-like accommodations featured in their TLF (temporary lodging facility). The view of the Dolomite Mountains from our hotel room was stunning and watching the F-16s fly overhead was just the icing on the cake. We enjoyed a simple dinner from the grocery store and tucked into bed nice and early.

Look out Edelweiss Lodge and Resort--Aviano just might have you beat for spectacular views

Look out Edelweiss Lodge and Resort–Aviano just might have you beat for spectacular views

Passau’s contribution to culture

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Bright blue skies greeted us in Passau

Bright blue skies greeted us in Passau

Living in an empty home for the past 3 weeks has made us desperate for getting out—simply anywhere, we haven’t been terribly choosy. This past week, we drove out to Passau for the afternoon. We had briefly entertained visiting Passau last summer when we were in the beginning planning stages of a Danube River bike ride from Passau (a common starting point for bikers) to Vienna. Since we never got past the internet research stage, Passau disappeared along with the vacation plans. That is, until the monumental floods that Germany experienced this past spring featured Passau prominently as it became completely submerged and traffic was diverted away from the town as crews worked to repair bridges and roadways.

passau flood

passau flood

 

The buildings in Passau often include these plaques marking high water for different floods

The buildings in Passau often include these plaques marking high water for different floods

Located on the banks of the Danube River, this jewel of a town is one of the stopping points for the riverboats that ferry passengers up and down Germany’s famous river. The town is actually at the meeting point of three rivers: the Danube, Inn and Ilz rivers, which probably makes this a prime place for flooding. As we walked the streets, we noticed high water marks from past floods. For residents, the flood of 1954 was the last major one recorded; this past spring, the waters managed to climb above that water mark making it the most severe flood since 1501, more than 500 years ago. Repairs are still being made and most of the city’s parking garages were still boarded up. Ground floor apartments and shops had powerful floor fans working to dry the walls and many crews were sawing, hammering and painting damaged walls.
The big draw of Passau, besides the awesome shopping found on the main market street, is St Stephen’s Cathedral and its massive organ, which is the largest church pipe organ outside the US. It used to be the largest in the world, but knowing excess in America, the First Congregational Church in Los Angeles happens to beat the 17,774 pipes ad 233 registers found here. And, wouldn’t you know it? There was a 30 minute organ concert scheduled for noon at the church. We paid 4 euro for a grand tour of the cathedral and then sat mesmerized as we listened to the organ. The concert started out with Bach (the master of organ music) and featured other selections from different musical periods. It concluded with one of the loudest sounds I’ve ever heard from an organ. So loud, that I could feel the vibrations in the marble floor tiles of the church. Now, that’s a concert that gets deep into your bones.

The fabulously decadent organ of St Stephen's Cathedral. Immensely baroque

The fabulously decadent organ of St Stephen’s Cathedral. Immensely baroque

 

The ornate ceiling of St Stephen's

The ornate ceiling of St Stephen’s

 

The gold-leaf pulpit with lots of saints and cherubs to cheer you up

The gold-leaf pulpit with lots of saints and cherubs to cheer you up

 

Saint perched precariously on the edge of the pulpit

Saint perched precariously on the edge of the pulpit

We concluded our mini tour of Passau by walking slowly along the Danube River and looking across to Austria. Tim and I love to imagine what life was like for residents 400 years ago. There is something very alluring about living on a river and watching boats carry people and goods to far away places.

View of Austrian castle complex from Passau

View of Austrian castle complex from Passau

 

Bustling market street in Passau..great, high end stores

Bustling market street in Passau..great, high end stores

 

the new town hall of Passau

the new town hall of Passau