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Sevillan Elegance
October 4-8, 2022
We have not been back to Seville for nine years. It is the same, and it is different… different in that it is much busier, and much has been renewed…same in that it is as elegant as ever. Our VRBO is perfectly located—right on a street within view of the cathedral and filled with beautiful restaurants with outdoor seating.
We are enjoying our meals at tapas restaurants. Most restaurants have around 25 selections of the little plates. One doesn’t need more than three plates, each one with different food. I ordered one medium plate of fried fish and two small plates—one a potato dish and the other an aubergine (eggplant) dish. The waiter looked at me and said, “Too much food!” so I cancelled the potato dish. I was glad I did as I could barely finish eating the wonderful food I did receive.
The majestic Seville Cathedral with its soaring Giralda Tower is a sight to behold. The largest gothic building in the world, dwarfing most other cathedrals in Europe, sits surrounded with large fountain-filled plazas and beautiful buildings. Its massive front entry with tiers of sculpted Biblical figures is only opened for the Spanish King and the Roman Catholic Pope. First, a church, and then a mosque during the Moorish conquest, and once again a church after the Reconquista—although greatly enlarged—one can spend hours in awe inside the building. Its immense altar of wood and gold with a solid silver altar table in front is considered the most beautiful in the world. We were fortunate to arrive to hear the pipe organ and attend mass. While we did not understand the words, it was beautiful, and the huge iron gates in front of the altar were opened affording us an unobstructed view. Christopher Columbus’s grave with a casket carried by four larger-than-life bronze soldiers—representing the four regions of ancient Spain—sat to our right. Later, we spent much time in the cathedral visiting the 80 side altars, themselves richly ornamented. The pipe organ is contained in two large towers in the center of the cathedral, each tower with huge pipes on each side and the choir with beautifully carved wood stalls in between the towers.
Our five days in Seville were delightful. We so enjoyed the city—the Spanish Exposition; the hop on hop off tour; the food; the people dressed in finery; Santa Cruz (the old Jewish Quarter with its narrow cobbled stone streets to catch the breezes and not allow sun to touch the lanes below) and mostly white buildings with interior courtyards; the Alcazar (beautiful Moorish design with ornate gardens and home to Spanish royalty); the international festival; the “Mushrooms” (the largest wooden structure in the world); shopping and spending hours people-watching in outdoor cafes.
One last note: we went shopping at El Cortes de Ingles, the huge store that is part Nordstroms, part Walmart and part Kroger. Basically, it has everything. The goal was to buy La Taza chocolate bars to make the amazing Spanish hot chocolate when we return home. This particular chocolate is formulated specially so the chocolate will melt very smoothly in heavy cream for a sensational, thick, not too sweet, dipping sauce. Muey Bien!
TRAINS, PLANES, BUSES, AND TAXIS
October 4, 2002
It was a long travel day as we left Cochem, Germany, for Sevilla (Seville), Spain—13 hours to be exact. There was no direct line from there to here. We knew going in that in order to move half way across Europe from some inconvenient places, we would have a long travel day and we would just have to bite the bullet. We ordered a taxi from our hotel in Cochem at 7:15 AM to take us to the train station where we would board a train to Frankfurt for our flight to Madrid from where we caught a train to Seville. (I left out the busses we took on occasion.) We left 50F weather for 90F weather. We left the verdant greens behind for semiarid landscapes—and the cypress forests turned into mile after mile of olive trees. Every geography has its beauty!
Our trains have been wonderful. The seats plush, the bathrooms spacious and clean, the food cars available (even some waiters to come by your seat to take orders) and basically on time. Thankfully, almost all stations have elevators or escalators and they have food vendors. The larger stations have stores and shops, a mall-like atmosphere. We love train travel in Europe.
We will arrive at our VRBO in Sevilla around 8:30 PM, and the owners will be there to meet us. We look forward to our Spain adventure.
MOSEL WINE RIVER
October 2-3, 2022
The Mosel River Valley with Riesling vineyards on steep hills snakes beautifully along a twisting path from Trier, Germany, to Cochem, Germany, and even beyond. Delightful is an understatement.
Trier is Germany’s oldest city with deep ancient Roman roots. As the northern capital of the Roman Empire, it is filled with ancient Roman artifacts. As we walked along, I thought, “The glory that was Rome!” The Emperor Constantine’s (3rd-4th Century) Throne Room is the largest single room remaining of ancient Rome. Today, it is an Evangelical/Lutheran Worship Center. Marty and Karen attended the Sunday worship service and said it was beautiful. The Imperial Baths are monstrous. The Standly’s and we walked in underground tunnels and were amazed at the length and complexity of the baths. We thought we might get lost, but didn’t. Intriguing! The Coliseum is largely a ruin today. However, we were able to walk in its underground beneath the coliseum floor where the wild animals and gladiators were kept. A stage system was able to be employed to raise surprises to the surface during the games. The seating capacity was 22,000 spectators. The coliseum had 4 vomitoriums—places where people who were sickened by the spectacles or who had drank or eaten too much could go to “throw-up.” Another stand out site is the well preserved Porta Nigra, or city gate. It is colossal in size. Besides all this, the Altstadt (old town) is beautiful in its own right. The wonderful Roman Catholic Cathedral is actually two churches. The Gothic side is superb with beautiful paintings and stained glass and the Romanesque side is daunting with intricate plaster work and numerous archways. It is one of the finest Romanesque architectural works anywhere. Unfortunately, the remnants of the Electoral Palace of Trier were closed and we did not get to see the famous Rococo staircase. The palace was at one time one of the most beautiful in Europe with a Baroque wing, a Rococo wing and a Renaissance wing. Wars over time, especially World War II, ravaged it and now very little remains. Amazingly, the Rococo staircase was largely unscathed, although the rooms around it were destroyed. We had to comfort ourselves with pictures and maybe, another time?
Oh, how we quickly fell in love with Cochem, Germany, on the banks of the Mosel. An amazing fairy tale castle looms over the medieval city. Narrow cobble stoned streets wind through the old town. Our bus trip up very narrow passageways to the castle above was fun. Our time in the castle was awesome! Begun in the year 1000 A.D., the castle was used for defensive purposes and has had several wealthy owners over time. Today, the city owns the castle. Antique furniture from the 13th century onward filled the rooms. The painted ceilings throughout were wondrous. However, what we thought was wallpaper in many of the rooms was intricate hand painted surfaces and not wall paper at all. The wood carvings on walls and hand rails were from the 14th century and were beautiful. Outside turrets and towers reached upward and vines crawled up many surfaces, now turning bright red. We all had a very satisfying adventure at the castle. We ended our day at a great restaurant along the river. Several of us ate the venison with cranberries (mixed with lingonberry) and spaetzel (the best spaetzel I have ever eaten)—our last German meal since we leave for Spain tomorrow.
Kathy Fell Hard for Trier
October 1, 2022
Smash—kerplunk! And the dreaded “Ohhh”! The train station escalator came to a dead stop. Looking backwards, both Marty and I saw Kathy laying on the bottom of the escalator on the ground. Kind German folks were quickly gathering around her. Loaded down with luggage, I asked Marty to stay, and I rushed back down the escalator to Kathy. She was bleeding rather badly and a big knot was already forming on her forehead. She said she was OK, but, I wasn’t sure. Yes, she had no broken bones, the cut was shallow and after a while the bleeding stopped. Melisa soon was cleaning her face, putting on antibacterial ointment and a bandage. Kathy said, “No pain.” We all kept an eye on her as the hours passed and this evening, all is well.
It was a hard fall down several escalator stairs. How? She had quickly purchased some coffee at the station before our train arrived and had no free hand because her luggage was in the other hand. That is a big “NO,” “NO!” Somehow, she became off balanced as she tried to maneuver her luggage onto the escalator with one hand, and down she went. She said she has learned her lesson the hard way!
Thankfully, she was not wearing her sun glasses, since she hit her cheek and forehead near the eye. Thankfully, she did not hit her mouth where she had dental work done a few days ago and had a temporary crown on a tooth. Thankfully, the escalator had a safety device that detected the hit and shut down the escalator movement immediately. Thankfully, there were very helpful people all around to give immediate aid. Thankfully, our friends had all the necessary items on hand to get her cleaned up. (She had coffee in her hair and clothes and blood all over her face.)
Our train journey from Heidelberg to Trier was a beautiful ride along the Rhine River and then Mosel River. Castle after castle on the hills above the rivers came into view. Steep vineyards reached upward from the river to the hill tops. Forests interspersed the vineyards and quaint villages dotted the landscape with tall steepled churches commanding attention. Once we arrived in Trier, Germany’s oldest city and the northern capital of the Roman Empire, we saw scaffolding everywhere, as if the city was in complete repair. It wasn’t a pretty sight! It seemed empty. Was coming here a mistake? Our hotel was nice and has a grand courtyard where we found several restaurants from which to choose. We chose Italian today, and it was a decent meal.
We then went out into the city, the rain having stopped, and walked through the courtyard into an arched walkway and wow! There, spread out before us was an old town with large pillared fountains and beautiful buildings and towers and bustling walkways filled with people. O, my! It was getting late and so we headed back to the hotel, hopeful for a wondrous day tomorrow searching out Roman ruins in this old, yet vibrant, city.
HEIDELBERG — Charming to the Core
September 30, 2022
The storybook Neckar Valley city of Heidelberg, Germany, is charming to the core. There it sits in haze and sometimes fog (later today was clear and sunny) with its old medieval city gate and bridge standing proudly along the river and the majestic schloss (castle) ruins positioned on its perch on the hills above. The pedestrian walkways through this ancient university city are bustling with fine shops and eateries inside picturesque buildings with an old German architecture. Towers of churches and conical shaped turrets are around every corner. It is a joy to the eyes and, thankfully, the cobblestones in the city are easy on the feet—not so in the castle ruins above. The Standly’s and Paluch’s enjoyed taking the funicular up to the ruins and seeing the sweeping sights of the river valley and city below. They also saw the world’s largest wine barrel which holds 58,124 gallons.
All of us got into the wonderful Lutheran/Evangelical Heiliggeistkirche (Holy Ghost) church and, fortunately, an organ student was practicing on its mighty pipe organ. Karen Paluch and Kathy visited with him and eventually, he played for us a marvelous Buxtehude piece with soaring sounds and intricate foot work on the bass pedal keyboard. It was a grand experience in a beautiful church.
We spent time walking the quaint streets and going into wonderful shops, eating ice cream (gelato) and enjoying good food. A very large Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas store is in the city with its large stock of wooden Christmas items; we were quickly put into a Christmas spirit. It was a relaxing, refreshing and beautiful day!
LAZY STUTTGART DAY
September 29, 2022
The Standly’s and we spent afternoon hours at the magnificent Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. Uber modern, the museum is designed to show the significant contributions the company has made to modern transportation and engineering. Mercedes and Benz independently invented the gas-powered engine and automobile in 1889 in cities not far apart. Later, they combined their efforts to form the company we know today. The museum showcases the very first cars to the most recent in beautiful fashion. Early on, the inventors recognized the multiple uses that the engines could power, like the first fire engines, the first emergency vehicles, etc. Historic examples of all the firsts are on display. For car buffs, this museum is a must. We enjoyed our time and believe we learned much from this time machine of history. Later, we visited the streets around the Palace Square and found the castle and premiere shoppings area near the beautiful Stiftskirche—a Lutheran Church—where the organist was practicing on the massive pipe organ in the church. Building of the church began in the 10th century. Heavily damaged in World War II, it was restored in a more modern style in the 1950s. Most all of the rulers of Württemberg are buried in the church.
The Standly’s, Krahn’s and Paluch’s had an eventful morning finding and using a laundromat. It took a cab to finally get them to the destination where friendly locals helped them wash and dry their travel clothes. They now look and smell fresh and clean—not that they didn’t before :-).
We slept late, were in no rush and enjoyed a leisurely evening eating out. We will sleep well tonight.
TATTLE TALE ON RANDY AND KAREN
September 28, 2022
Randy had an adventure—He left his phone in the maxi-cab we took to the Hauptbahnhof (central train station) in Munich. Melisa has constantly asked him if he had his phone, but today she did not! “So it is really her fault,” according to Randy. We were all on the train heading to Stuttgart, Germany, when it was discovered the phone was missing. Because the phone contained too much valuable information, Randy jumped off the train in Augsburg and hailed a taxi for the 45 minute ride back into Munich. His taxi driver contacted the taxi driver who had the phone—thankfully, we had his number on the receipt he gave me when I paid the bill—and they agreed on a pick up spot. Randy was delivered to the Munich Hauptbahnhof where he caught a new train to Stuttgart. The ordeal was about four hours long and $$$, but Randy has his phone back.
Because our hotel was right outside the Hauptbahnhof in Stuttgart, we walked, and walked, and walked due to heavy construction in the station area. Germany is greatly upgrading its already wonderful rail service, and we have noticed that stations and rail are in upgrade everywhere. Finally at our hotel, we soon discovered that we had no rooms…because…we.were.at.the.wrong.hotel! Since our hotel (same name—sister hotel) was only a severn minute walk, we walked again, only to discover something we really already knew—triple the number of minutes they tell you. Texans don’t walk as fast as Germans. On the way, I tired of waiting for the lights to turn green. Germans patiently wait, even with absolutely no cars in sight—they follow the rules to the letter. I told Karen, “No cars; I’m going.” Karen dutifully followed me; but, I didn’t see the very tiny bit of a car coming our way. Scoot we did! Once safely on the other side, Karen grabbed me and pushed me towards the oncoming traffic and screamed, “You said there were no cars!” I said, “It looked like a bug.” She replied, “I’ll squash you like a bug” or something similar.
Safely in our correct hotel (a very nice one) we sat in the bar for drinks and snacks while waiting for Randy’s return. Interestingly, the hotel is right by the Hauptbahnhof—we simply took the very very long way around to get there. We were all happy to have him safely return! We walked to the Palace Platz of Stuttgart in a pedestrian zone and enjoyed the pleasant weather and comfortable ambiance. We also enjoyed the Volksfest (People’s Festival) that was in full swing around the huge platz (square). Finding a wonderful German restaurant (huge beer barrels served as intimate dining outside), we sat in cozy inside seating. The food was marvelous. Several ordered Swabish (the old designation for the Stuttgart region) delicacies, such as pork and spinach pasta rolls. I ordered what I called “monster” pork knuckle with bread dumpling and white cabbage slaw. I could not ever eat 1/3 of it because it was so huge. Since Allen had stayed in for the evening, I asked for a “to go” box so he could have something to eat if he wanted—yes, they have “to go” and, yes, they charge.
It turned out to be a fun and enjoyable day with lots of laughs. We travel well together.
OKTOBERFEST
SEPTEMBER 26 & 27, 2022
We left the German Alpine area behind and trained through verdant woods of various pines and cedars and green farm land. Some of the corn is yet to be harvested. We arrived in Munich, checked into our hotel, cleaned up and headed into the Altstadt (Old Town) of the city. Dee and Sheila had not been to Munich prior and when we walked up from the U Bahn (underground subway) right in the middle of the Altstadt, they were awe struck. The Rathaus (Town Hall) is impressive, both in size and gothic architectural style. Its famous Glockenspiel with moving figurines is a main tourist draw. The entire Marienplatz area is filled with baroque towered churches and buildings. It is bustling, especially with the Oktoberfest going full swing at the nearby Theresienwiese fair grounds. We went into two beautiful churches—St. Peter’s (baroque) and St. Michael’s (renaissance)—both Roman Catholic. We lollygagged in the market place filled with vendors of almost every kind. Hungry, we ate at the well loved der Augustiner for a very German meal—I had boiled white sausages and white cabbage salad and potato salad. Randy and Melisa had a German fried meatloaf. Of course, the Augustiner beer was great. Later, we stopped at a pastry shop and ordered too many to take back to the hotel—pretzels filled with cheese or cream cheese and jelly rolls and…
Early the next morning, we hit the mother of all Oktoberfests. Drawing millions of visitors this huge venue is filled with massive tents sponsored by the major German brewers. We found ample space in the Hofbrau tent which holds 10,000 guests with large decorations made from dried hops. Once the band started, it began to fill up, even though it was a cold day with rain on and off. We had a joyous time. The food was good! They discourage folks from standing on tables and drinking, but that did not stop some from doing so to boisterous cheers from the crowd and then loud “boos” when security stepped in and escorted the drinkers out. We all learned the popular bier hall song, “Ein Prosit”—loosely translated—“Drink up, you’re in good, warm fellowship—1, 2, 3 drink.” You then lift your litre stein in the air, pound it down on the table and then drink. Fun, fun!
“1 in a 1,000,000” chance you run into someone from home, but Kathy and I did. We were walking the massive grounds and walked into the Lowenbrau tent because, although this was our fifth time to the Oktoberfest in Munich, we had never visited that tent. Lo and behold, the Krakosky’s and Schlaffer’s from Tomball saw us, and we had a marvelous visit. We ended our day with a delightful meal time at our Marriott hotel for the ten of us from our travel group. The Steele’s have returned home and Dee and Sheila leave tomorrow, so from here on out, there will be eight of us on this continuing adventure.
REST, RELAX, REFRESH
September 24 & 25, 2022
Exhausted from our amazing, but long, yesterday at the Oberammergau Passion Play, we were delighted to have a couple of days to reflect and refresh. A leisurely day in Garmisch-Partenkirchen was provided, a wonderful mountain city with the Zugspitze, Germany’s tallest mountain, in clear view. Kathy and I have ascended twice to this mountain vista, with clear views of the snow-capped Alps. We could not convince anyone to go up–I think I scared them over the glass gondola that takes a long ascent from a short mountain top to the top of the Zugspitze on one wire, no supports, with a drop of a mile and a half below. The gondola swings in the air, stops, and then makes a vertical ascent to the top station, which is a metal walkway bolted to the side of the mountain until you reach solid ground. It was built for the 1938 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Olympics. I said I would never ride it again, and I kept my word! Eating amazing pastries and drinking hot tea and walking the charming streets while gazing on mountain vistas was just fine this time around, thank you. The Standly’s and Dee and Sheila took a tour of the magical Neuschwanstein Castle, built by King Ludwig in the mountains. This is the castle Walt Disney copied for his scaled down castles in the Disney parks. Randy & Melisa, Dee, and Sheila stood on the Marianbrukke, the swinging bridge over a valley from which the iconic photos of the castle are taken for their photo op.
Later in the day, the Steele’s and we took a cab to Fussen, Germany. It was a sight-filled drive through the mountains. The trees are turning into fall colors. We crisscrossed back and forth between Austria and Germany as we sped along. The Standly’s, Dee, & Sheila joined us later at our comfortable hotel in the heart of quaint Fussen. This cobblestoned village/city set in the mountains with winding streets and passageways is a picture postcard, pure and simple! Melisa sent me a note and said she wished we could stay a week. Our room looked out on an absolutely charming street with painted buildings and red tiled roofs as far as the eye could see. We all slept very well that night.
Waking refreshed after a lengthy sleep, we arrived at the hotel breakfast before it closed. Everyone went on their own walking tours of Fussen for the day. We went to Catholic mass at St. Magnus, a beautiful baroque church. Most of us visited the historic castle above the city and also the Bavarian State Museum. It was awesome! A former monastery, room after room held beautiful surprises. The architecture was wonderful with painted ceilings and domes and decorative moldings in abundance. Dating from the 800s, it was a work of art, filled with art and displays of area crafts. The “Dance of Death” is a famous work of art depicting death visiting the rich and poor, some resisting and some welcoming its embrace. The inscription of the huge art piece says: “Whether we say ‘no’ or ‘yes’, each and everyone of us must dance.” How true! The tiered library is a beauty. Decoratively painted and sculpted from top to bottom, it was a delight to discover. Fussen was the master stringed instrument craft center back in the day–its lutes were particularly valued. We enjoyed seeing the craftsmanship of the old lutes on display with their beautiful painted cases. We loved this day!
SUPERLATIVE TO THE MAX
September 23, 2022
The purpose of our European adventure was to attend the once every 10 years Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany. It was enthralling, powerful, beautiful—bottom line, over the top.
Performed entirely in German, we were able to follow along with an English translation. My impressions:
The centuries old script was artfully written to incorporate the Old Testament of the Bible into the New Testament account of Jesus’ ministry and life from the Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem until Jesus’s resurrection from the dead. For instance, the OT story of Abraham going to sacrifice his son Isaac—who was spared because God provided a ram (an illustration of Christ Jesus) in his place was incorporated into God the Father sacrificing His Son Jesus on the cross.
The script did rearrange some of the timeline of Jesus’s ministry prior to Passion Week into the Passion Week events. For instance, while Jesus had taught His disciples to pray (our Lord’s Prayer) prior to Passion Week, they prayed the Lord’s Prayer at the Passover Meal (the Institution of the Lord’s Supper/Holy Communion).
The acting by local villagers—the cast, choir, crew are are all local villagers—was dramatic, powerful and professional in every degree! Riveting, really. The crucifixion scenes were difficult to watch, so real was the acting. Jesus heaving his last breaths was…”Oh, sorrow dread-God’s Son is dead.”
The staging was magnificent. The huge stage was always in motion from every angle. The sound projected magnificently. The rear center stage was used to illustrate the Old Testament portions of the play. When the curtain opened it was still life with opulent colors and costuming from that time period. The scenes changed regularly throughout the performance. To see children and adults in those beautiful settings in difficult body positions not moving as if mannequins was awesome. Meanwhile, the New Testament portions continued to be acted out in the front portions of the stage. One’s mind was totally engaged.
The music was sensational! I was spiritually enriched, moved and captivated by the 64 voice choir and huge orchestra (all local). The script used the music to enrich the story. What totally took me by surprise was the beauty of the music and the premier quality of the singers and players. Honestly, I cannot adequately describe the beauty of the sound and the quality of the words! Because the singers sometimes spread across the slightly curved stage before us the music was stereophonic. It was haunting, eloquent, soul enriching and uplifting— masterful! These sounds will reverberate in my soul my lifetime.
The total “Oberammergau Experience” was wonderful. Four years ago I had awakened at 2am to call to the German National Tourist Bureau to be early in line to buy tickets to the 2020 performance. I was calling for a group of friends who also wanted to attend. I was able to secure best in the house seats and wonderful accommodations on what the German government called a package. Covid came, and the once every ten year play was cancelled and eventually rescheduled for 2022. We were appreciative of the absolute security of the arrangements. Everything was in order! The hotel had our information in hand. Our bus was prompt and we arrived on time to lunch in Oberammergau before the production began. When we arrived at our appointed restaurant, our table was ready for us and the meal amazing. Our center stage seats a few rows back were perfect. No head swiveling for the massive stage in front of us.
While six hours long, we were captivated, although the seats were a little hard on the rear several hours in. The stage is covered but open air. We were dressed adequately to stave off the 46*F cool in the evening hours. The play is the result of the villagers’ pledge over 400 years ago that if they were spared from the plague they would honor God with something special. They were spared, and the play is the result. Oberammergau is a lovely painted village and carving wood into figurines is a local craft. What an inspiring adventure we (Standly’s, Steele’s, Nichols/Hunt, and Graumann’s) had!
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