Jessica Writes

I have a lot of ground to cover because we have been so busy, and because we have not had very easy access to internet. I also killed our adapter so we were without a charge on Chris’ computer for a few days. So here goes a summary from the last time I posted:

Munich

We went to the Oktoberfest tents on Tuesday and Wednesday. It rained and was very cold both days, but we still had a great time. It was a very interesting experience, tons of people – everyone friendly as heck. At the festival outside of the tents is a fair with crazy rides, fair food and cheesy games like “pop the balloon with a dart” and maybe win a cheap toy. Veronica and Maarten spent quite a lot winning me a stuffed dog that looked like Simone, which I named “Ocki.”

Our tent was the Hippodrum, one of the smaller tents but still very large in reality. We were only allowed inside from 4-6:30 pm and during that time we were assigned a table where we would eat and drink the house beer and listen to the lively band play upbeat, sing-a-long type songs. It was packed with people having a good time – a VERY good time. The beer came in 1 liter glass steins, and was so heavy to hold, that we all got bruises on the knuckles of our pointer fingers the next day. Four days later and mine still smarts!

We met some nice people and somehow each night, ended up with a random German wanting to join in on the fun – perhaps they wanted to hang out with Carrie who as she says, was the “fifth wheel.” At any rate we had a great time. On Wednesday night, we went to another tent afterwards although we didn’t have reservations and Maarten managed to a charm a beer maid into letting us sit at a table where some people had just left. We were able to stay there until 11 pm, when the festival ends for the night. I can see why it ended when it did, because people were enjoying themselves so much, it would get way out of hand if the party went on all night.

Dachau

On Thursday, Carrie headed home and Maarten, Veronica, Chris and I hopped in Maarten’s parent’s Audi station wagon and headed to the Dachau concentration camp memorial site, about 20 minutes from Munich. This was something I said I had to do when Chris and I were planning this trip. My grandfather, at the young age of 19 or 20, was a solider in WW II. While he was serving, he was part of the liberation of Dachau. On April 29, 1945 he and other soldiers came to one of the first and one of the harshest concentration camps, and were met with a sight so horrific – barely alive skeletons and dead bodies piled up like firewood, the stench of death everywhere with no relief from it – it literally scarred my grandfather for the rest of his life. There is not much left of the camp now, but we were able to tour where the people were processed, and where they slept (sleep really never came for them), crammed in like sardines. They had an exhibit that gave spotty details about what these people so undeservedly had to endure. It was horrifying, to say the least. It made me feel guilty that I had just had so much fun so close to so much suffering. I am glad I went, but it was terrible, and I feel like I did something to honor my grandfather in a small way.

Lermoos, Austria

After Dachau, we were in a hurry to get to a more peaceful place. We headed an hour to Austria, and the scenery changed very quickly. Soon we were surrounded by snow capped mountains, fluffy sheep, cows with huge horns and goats chomping lush green carpet-like grass. Lermoos is a town where Maarten’s family has a family vacation home. It’s a little ski resort town, very very small but quaint and everywhere you look, the views are breathtaking. The town sits in a wide valley surrounded by mountains, one of which is Zugsptize, Germany’s tallest.

When we got there, the fog and rain shielded these mountains for the most part, so we didn’t really realize the kind of view our hotel had until we left on Saturday. It was stunning – we were at the foot of all these beautiful mountains, and I couldn’t believe they already have snow on them.

When walking to dinner on Thursday night, I finally learned what the smell of Alpine air was like. It filled my lungs and was so fresh, so wonderful – the smell of the trees, the crisp air, it was like nothing I have ever experienced. We ate at Hotel Post, a resort that recently had been renovated. It was very posh in a cozy, ski lodge kind of way.

On Friday, we went to see two castles about 40 minutes away. The drive was so scenic, I don’t think you can round any turn without seeing something more spectacular than what you saw just a few minutes before. The water in the rivers was a pale, pale almost clear blue. It was so pretty, so clean looking, you wanted to go and dip a cup in it and have a long drink. We got to the castles – one at the bottom of the mountain was the family home of King Ludwig. It was yellow and had a storybook appeal to it, it was nice but it paled in comparison to what you would see if you looked from the castle up to the mountain and saw the castle built by the King’s eccentric young son, Ludwig II.

The castle, Neuschwenstein (I think that is how it is spelled – everything here is so long and hard to spell and pronounce) was the inspiration of Disney’s Cinderella castle at the Magic Kingdom. Ludwig’s quintessential Europen castle had all the turrets and spires you would imagine a castle having and was simply enchanting. It definitely is the stuff fairy tales are made of. Inside, every window had a view of stunning countryside, a large lake and on the other sides held even more beautiful views of a massive waterfall that crashes down a huge mountain. Ludwig even built a bridge in the mountain so he could see the waterfall closer, and he could gaze at his perfect castle the seemed to be perched in the sky

Inside, the castle was grand, and included a man made cave and modern furnishings for the mid-1800s like running water and a telephone. It was dedicated to the famous composer and a friend of Ludwig’s Wagner. Poor Ludwig never lived to see the completion of his castle – he died at age 40 in a tragic, mysterious drowning.

After we left the castle, we went home for a cozy meal. Finally on Saturday, the sun was shining and we could see the view from our hotel room. I could not believe we could open the windows and see such a beautiful sight. That was what was so nice about Lermoos, it didn’t matter where you looked, you only saw postcard worthy sights. Also in view from our room was a flock of goats, each one with a little bell around their neck that made such a lovely sound as the ran around the hills in a pack. They were really cute.

Zurich

On Saturday, we left for Zurich for one night with one goal in mind – finding Swiss watches. We had a gorgeous train ride with spectacular views of the countryside and the Alps. My grandmother would have gone crazy over the views, and would have probably been content riding the train back an forth for a few days!

When we arrived at our hotel after being on the train for 3 hours, and found out that all the shops closed around 5 pm, and it was 4:40 pm. So we literally dumped our bags in the room and sprinted down the hill, determined to get our Swiss watches. After passing dozens of stores, we finally found a department store that was open til 6 pm. We found their large selection of watches and were each able to find a nice watch that we “gifted” each other as a 2nd anniversary present.

We ended the evening with dinner cheese and meat fondue! Yummm!!!

We loaded up the car on Monday and the five of us went from Amsterdam to Munich for Oktoberfest.

Almost the entire 500 mile drive was on the autobahn, where there is very high — or no — speed limits. You have to go fast or you are not going to go at all. We got up to 210 km, which is about 130 mph. It was pretty wild. Mom and dad, I promise we were driving safely (Maarten was driving and he does this drive several times a year) and it was just how you do it.

We made it in to Munich and hopped on the metro and went down to the central square for dinner and windowshopping. Oktoberfest ends each night at 11 pm, and when we were heading home from dinner the partygoers were starting to head home too.

Most all the girls were wearing the traditional dirndles and the boys were in lederhosen and caps with feathers in them. It was super cute and us girls are hoping to find something similar to wear this evening when we go to the festival.

We will have a tent for 2 1/2 hours where we will eat and partake in the specially brewed beer. Its a very complex, organized event and it was booked months in advance. If we luck out, we might be able to buy tickets for the evening on the spot. We’ll see.

Its raining today and we hope it will stop soon. Its also going to be colder, the first bad weather we’ve really had on the trip. Hope to have some pictures tonight!

Yesterday, we hopped on a 3 hour train to Paris and it went under the English Channel - now that is a major engineering feat! We got to the hotel and Carrie was already there! She flew in from Orlando on Wednesday night. We went down to the city, to an area called Pont De L’alma. We sat in a cafe and had a really good meal while we waited til it got closer to sunset so we could take cruise on the Seine River. The weather was perfect, sunny and warm, and we got on the cruise in time to see the half moon shining with the sunset over the city. We went by many sights including Notre Dame, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. The tower was lit up in the 2007 rugby cup colors of green and white. Later, after it got dark, the lights began to sparke - its really indescribable. It literally looks like a sparkling gem lighting up the night. It was breathtaking, and obvious when you see it, why its so famous. Afterwards we saw the Arch D’Triumphe, and had a bite to eat before we passed out in our beds.
This morning, we headed out to Versailles. The day was perfect- blue skies and mild temperatures. A beautifuld day and a lovely experience. I had no idea how massive the grounds were, how regal the palaces would be and how immaculate the gardens were. I just knew that Marie Antoinette spent time there! There was so much more too it, it was just so grand and outrageous. She had a small home, called petit trianon, which was quiant, but when you stepped beyond the house and walked through her gardens you got the whole picture. She had her own chapel and her own theatre, where she performed for her friends - it had a fancy stage and sets, as well as seating for up to 200. We then walked out across the grounds and found “the rock” with a waterfall that made a rainbow. We kept going and saw the grotto, which made me wonder how Marie spent her time there. We kept walking and saw Marie’s great vision — she had her little town from her childhood in Austria recreated. Then we saw the Temple of Love. I forgot to mention we went through the grounds on the golf carts — there was no way to see all that we saw if we would have just walked. It was like a huge town yet in the countrside. Then there were the gardens and the grand canal — it just went on and on and on. After four hours of nonstop touring, we had yet to see the main palace — made of pink and white marble. It was grandiose to say the least — it was like pure indulgence. Everything was so big, so golden, so rare and expensive. And to imagine people ate and slept and went about their daily lives in such rich elegance. It was hard to imagine. We went inside there and saw the king and queen’s beds, and the hall of mirrors. There was so much more to see, but we had spent three hours there, and Chris was ready to drop dead.

Update: Pictures from Versailles

A little area with a pond, sculptures and grotto.

The theatre outside the Petite Trianon, where Marie Antoinette put on sophisticated performances

The hamlet is in the background, it was where Marie Antoinette recreated the town of her childhood.

The Temple of Love, which can be seen from Marie Antoinette’s residence.

This is only a small part of the palace …

The view from the palace. The large canal in the background used to have ships cruising on it

One of the many rooms full of massive paintings in the palace.

The infamous hall of mirrors in the palace.

I haven’t posted since Sunday because I picked up a nasty cold, and it has really affected what we have gotten to do.

After leaving Dublin yesterday, we caught a short flight to London. The city is awesome — the combo of old and new, similar to New York city but not quite. We took a walk through the theater district and purchased some discount tickets to see We Will Rock You, the Queen musical. Chris really wanted to see it, I would have preferred seeing Kelly Osbourne in Chicago but I have been a drag the last few days so I let him choose.

We ate dinner at a great little cozy restaurant and checked out a pub. It was a great night.

Today, we got up will all the intentions to see the major sights of London. First we went to the Tower of London, which was fascinating, and we got a great historical tour from a Beefeater (a Yeomen Warder) — guards of the Tower of London.

My favorite highlight was seeing the crown jewels. The royals definitely had some bling going on. We saw what is the second world’s largest diamond, 530 carats!! It was unreal.

We also saw the axe that beheaded Anne Boleyn, and I just finished reading a historial fiction about her — so that was cool in a grisly sort of way.

After the Tower of London we went to Westminster to take a look at Big Ben.

Then that was about all the excitement I could handle. We’re heading to the theatre soon (hopefully with a quick stop at Harrods first for some shopping), and will grab a late bite to eat before coming back to the hotel to pack.

We will definitley need to come back to London sometime time, we only got to scratch the tiniest of surfaces here and there is much more I would like to see.

Tomorrow, we head to Paris!

Today Chris went home to the motherland. No, I don’t mean Ireland, I mean he went home to the land of the perfect pint. He went to the Guinness Storehouse to see how his favorite beverage is made.

See the giddy excitement as Chris arrives on the premises.

Chris gets schooled on the health benefits of Guinness.

At the gravity bar, we each got a perfectly poured pint. Note the shamrock froth, and Chris’ greedy little hands impatiently reaching for his long-awaited Guinness.

I personally preferred the view of Dublin over the Guinness. You could see the city at 360° - an amazing view.

We took in the Police concert last night –it was hilarious to see our fellow concert goers in the crowd of 50,000. Men in suits arm-in-arm swaying to the music and singing at the top of their lungs and a family of four, a son around 12 rocking out with his beer drinking older brother, probably 15, and two hip parents. It was an interesting sight.

After the concert, we hit a few pubs and ended the night with a taste of what was to come as we stopped in an Irish pub and listened to Johnny Cash and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Today we landed in Dublin, and it was warm and sunny — very unusual for this part of the world. We took a long walk around the city center, through Trinity College and then lingering at the picturesque Saint Stephens Green park. We watched the ducks and little children rolling around gorgeous, bright flowers and the greenest grass I have ever seen. Now its about 10:30 pm and we are off to a corner pub for some dinner. Tomorrow, we’ll travel to Ennis and I learn more about my married namesake!

An amazing sight — Blue skies!!!

Hello all! We made it safe and sound. We had a great flight — we had enough points on our Amex card to fly first class. That was a first for both of us. Wow, I could SO get used to that! It was very nice. They constantly fed us, and we were able to stretch out, recline and get a little bit of rest before landing. Our flight arrived an hour early, and it was still dark we we got to the airport.

Veronica and Maarten were there to pick us up. It was great to see them! We just got up from a short nap and are about to head into the city. Its about 60 degrees and overcast here. Tonight, we’ll see the Police play a concert. Tomorrow, we will head off to Dublin for three days.

If you know me, you know I love shoes. I have been called the shoe queen of the office or the shoe diva more times than I care to admit.

It’s kind of funny because I really don’t have that many pairs of shoes — maybe 30 — and they aren’t anything too spectacular… until now!

Now, I think I have officially earned my title. In preparation for our “2007 euro tour,” I recently ordered a pair of black leather boots with 4 inch heels. I needed some boots that I could comfortably walk in all day long as we sightsee for our 24 day vacation.

You might think that 4 inch heels sound anything but comfortable, but you probably haven’t tried what I think may be the best kept secret in shoe fashion: Cole Haan shoes with Nike Air technology.

Nike as in running shoes.

When I slipped on my gorgeous boots made of supple black leather, I let out a contented sigh. The are fierce looking and they feel so cushiony and soft. I always lived by the mantra, “Fashion before comfort,” but I can have my hawt shoes and wear them too!! It’s a modern day miracle!

My husband was skeptical until we went to the Cole Haan store and he tried on a pair of men’s black dress shoes with the Nike Air technology.

“I could sprint down the street in these!” he exclaimed incredulously.

He thought about those shoes for a full week and went back to the store and bought them.

The only downside to the Cole Haan Nike Air shoes are they are definitely at a higher price point that we are used to paying for nicer shoes. But, to me, they are worth every penny!

Check these babies out:

and Chris’:

Hawtness!