These are pictures that I promised from Paris. I've not had internet connection for the last week and a half--definitely had withdrawl. I'm, now, sitting on my screen porch in Michigan using someone's connection---Monday we will be hooked up with internet and cable tv. We spent 5 days in Lake Wales after arriving in Tampa and seeing John for a night. It was great seeing our good friends from church at group on Monday evening--we sure missed that on our trip. We left Florida on Tuesday morning at 6:00 AM. Stopped in Corbin, KY for the night and were on the road at 6:30 on Wednesday. It is so good to be home. Jen and the kids came for dinner last night. Wonderful being with them again--they all have changed so much. Jim has not relaxed yet. He worked on the sprinkling system yesterday and today---it seems to be fixed, now. Tomorrow is the family reunion at Ken and Linda' s house. Maybe Sunday we will relax after church!!!

I guess this means the end of our European Adventure---but, who knows? Maybe another will pop-up in the future???????

New York City

Back to America!! Had a very long day yesterday. Got to bed about 4:00 AM Paris time. We have 4 pieces of luggage and 4 carry-ons, so maneuvering around the airports was a challenge. Especially, when we didn't know where to go. JFK airport is the worst! Thank God for the little carts to push luggage around. So, today we are killing time until we leave at 3:00 for Tampa. We're staying at the Ramada and have to be out by 11:00 and then we'll take the shuttle to the airport. Jim bought a USA Today---he's in heaven with a real English newspaper. The International Herald was available in some spots in Europe, but it cost 2.50 Euros. Much too expensive. I tried pictures from Paris, again. No luck. Will try again when I get hooked up at home. Might be Michigan before that happens. We won't have TV or Internet in Lake Wales---not for the short time we will be there. Anyway, on to Tampa!!!

Auf Wiedersehen, AuRevoir, Adios, Ciao Europe AND Hello AMERICA!!!!

We're packing up and are on our way!! We've spent the last two days in a cramped motel room just waiting to get out of here!!! Thank goodness I had Internet and Jim had Suduko. Florida here we come. Michigan, too!!! There is no place like home.

Over 3,000 pictures, 12,000 Kilometers on the car, and Two Very Tired Stuenkels

I tried posting pictures, again, from Saturday and today---blogger just won't do it!!! Maybe tomorrow when we don't have a whole lot to do, I'll try pics again. Today, we drove into Paris and parked under the Louvre. Fifi did a great job again. We spent about 3 hours wandering the museum. Mostly, looking for the Mona Lisa. What an amazing place! So much antiquity in one spot. Had a sandwich and then thought we'd walk to Notre Dame Cathedral. Got part way and decided we both were beat. Picked up the car and drove past Notre Dame---I took pictures outside the window. Not very touristy of us, huh? We came back to the hotel and crashed for two hours. Our touring days are over. Hard to believe. I'll try pics tomorrow.

Fifi reigns.

Jim decided he did not want to spend $50 round-trip to ride the train and shuttle into Paris, today. So, we fired up Fifi and she was amazing!! I had said we wouldn't use her in the city, but we would have been totaly lost without her. We found an underground car park about 5 blocks from the Champs Elysees. Arrived about 10:00 and left at 4:00 with no major getting lost. Had a great day walking around Paris!! We visited the Arc De Triomphe first. And then walked to the Eifel Tower. That was a long haul. Jim's leg has been hurting him--he pulled a muscle the day before we left Switzerland--so walking was slow. But it was most enjoyable. We visited an open air market and bought nectarines that were to die for!! We went back after the Eifel Tower and bought more. The city was just packed with people--one of the pictures shows that, I believe. On the way back to the car we had a late lunch at a sidewalk cafe on the Champs Elysees--delicious--and the people watching was terrific. Tomorrow, we are driving back into the city and will go to the Louvre and to Notre Dame. Probably eat around there, too. Monday, it's packing our "stuff" and pitching what we don't need anymore, then, Tuesday we head home!!!! This has truly been a trip of a lifetime. There were moments when we wanted to come home, but that would have been silly. We have seen and done so much and have met many amazing people. Awesome trip Sorry pictures wouldn't load--will try again tomorrow.

Chamount, France

Well, we're on our way to Paris. We dropped Ken and Linda off in Basel, Switzerland about 10:30 this morning and then drove back to Bad Sackingen, Germany to pick-up the rest of our luggage and now we are in a small town in France at a McDonald's! We had a delicious meal and are now using the free Internet connection. We had a wonderful week with Ken and Linda. Saw amazing sites, had great food, enjoyed many laughs, and had an overall great time. The pictures I've posted are in reverse order. Sorry about that. The one at the top is of the field of sunflowers--I posted a field of yellow flowers at the beginning of the trip and am doing so at the end. So many sunflowers--beautiful. The second pic is off the back of the boat we took yesterday to tour Lake Neuchatal in Neuchatal, Switzerland. We went on a 3 hour ride--lake was calm, had a great breeze. Awesome. Next pic is of Jim, Linda and Ken on the boat. The third picture is of Linda and I at the Shuh chocolate factory in Interlaken, Switzerland. We did an hour tour of the factory and got to sample their wares. Best chocolate I've ever had. We're holding chocolate statues. I wanted to bring some home, but we just don't have anymore room in our suitcases!!! Last picture is of Linda and I in Thun, Switzerland. We walked the town some and did some shopping. Switzerland was the best, but extremely expensive. Tomorrow, we head to Paris to find a place to stay -- outside the city. No more driving in big cities. Even though Fifi was named in Paris, she can't go back! She gets too confused. We will take a train into the city to explore and then Tuesday we fly from Charles DeGaulle airport to JFK in New York City. We have to overnight and then leave Wednesday afternoon for Tampa. More later from Paris!!!

Unbelievable Switzerland

No pictures today. Sorry. I am in an internet cafe, again. Smoky and smelly. We are in Neuchatel. It is on a huge lake--28 miles long, 5 miles wide. Beautiful. Going to a musem--this afternoon--watch making is big in this area and the museum is about watches and time. Thursday we drop Ken and Linda in Basel, drive back to Bad Sackingen, Germanz to pick up our luggage and then head to Paris. We leave a week from today--Tuesday--from Paris to New york and then Wednesdaz to Tampa. Not long now. More later from Paris+++

Cave Day

Today was cave day. The first picture is actually the last cave we saw. Way up(by funnicular) and inside the mountain was a huge cave with waterfalls everywhere. I'm going to try and post some more pictures after this. The second picture is outside the cave we went into this morning. We took and hour and a half walk inside the mountain through all kinds of tunnels and caves--beautiful. Then we walked down the outside and could see the waterfall from the caves. The third picture was outside the entrance to the caves--just liked the flowers and the view. We are more than tired tonight. It's 7:30 and we are in for the night and close to bedtime. Lots of walking and climbing today.

Tomorrow we pack up and head North about 2 hours to find another place to stay--hopefully, for 3 nights.

Hello from Switzerland!!!

Sorry it's been so long, again, since the last posting. We haven't had Internet connection. At least, I thought I didn't. I tried tonight and found myself connected to someones network in the neighborhood. The neighborhood being a small village, up the mountain overlooking the Thunersee in Switzerland. We are staying near the Interlaken area of the Alp foothills or mountains. We picked Ken and Linda up on Wednesday and drove about an hour and a half to our first two nights stay. We took the cable car up Brienz Rothorn on Thursday and from there we hiked to the summit. The last two pictures show us hiking and the view from the summit. The third pic, Jim took of one of the mountain goats or Ibix that live on this mountain. There were about 25 of them grazing near the path. The picture of me bending over is actually me trying to climb up the mountain---a very narrow path with no guard rail. The first picture is of Jim and Linda on our hike today. Another cable car and another hike--absolutely, breathtaking scenery. Best, by far, so far on the trip. The second picture is from our bedroom at the B&B where we are staying for 3 nights. Ken and Linda are in another B&B down the mountain. This is a very popular tourist spot and there were just no other rooms available. Tomorrow is a trip and hike to a waterfall--will try and post more pics tomorrow night. Just got off of Skype with Jen and John. Jeff and family are away for the weekend, so we can't talk to them today. We all are bushed from all this exercise and fresh air--but what a nice tired. Can't believe we are here.

Last Two Days in Germany

We are spending the last two days in Germany packing our `stuff´. And believe me we have accumulated a lot of it. You know, presents for the kids and grandkids. And souvenirs for us. Kind of sad to think Germany will be behind us. We are looking forward to our travels with Ken and Linda in Switzerland starting on Wednesday.
We were up in the mountains again on Saturday.We thought we were going to take a gentle hike--but there wasn't one to be found--it was all straight up!! I can't show pictures--I'm using an Internet Cafe again instead of wireless with my computer. Yesterday, we went to the community pool for a swim. Beautiful facility. They have 4 big pools and a small one for the little guys. They were not heated, but were refreshing. We had fun just people watching. This morning we drove over the bridge to Switzerland to buy a travel sticker for the car. We do not want another ticket!! The sticker was about $40--ticket would be about $120. Everyone must have one to drive on Swiss roads.
Two weeks from tomorrow we head back to the good 'ole U S of A. Hard to believe. It has been an awesome experience. And Wednesday the adventure continues!!!

Fife was at it again!!

Yesterday, we drove to Bad Sackingen, Germany to find an apartment that would be near Basel, Switzerland. We are dropping Ken and Linda in Basel to meet Ken's son, Bill on the 17th of July. We are leaving most of our luggage in Bad Sackingen next week, so that we'll have room in our tiny car for the four of us to travel together and then we'll pick the luggage up after we drop off Ken and Linda. Confused? Me too. Anyway, to find an apartment we stopped at the tourist information office and got a printout of available places. We used Fifi to find these places. As you can see by the last picture above, she led us on a merry chase. We did a lot of back tracking!! We did find a very nice place and will move there tomorrow. It is right in the city and close to lots of things to do. The main thing is that Bad Sackingen is right on the Rhein River. We're hoping to find some trails along the river for some good walks. Today, we're Skyping family---my brother Scott and sister-in-law, Vicki, John, and hopefully, Jeff. Talked to Jen yesterday. Sure great having these family connections.

The rest of the pictures are from our drive back to Titisee yesterday afternoon. It probably was the prettiest part of the Black Forest that we have seen--very mountainous, lots of huge rocks. Gorgeous.

Not sure when I can post again---probably on Monday the 6th.

It is raining again--every afternoon since we arrived in Titisee. It's ok, though. We do what we want in the morning. It rained all the way back on the train from Freiberg. Another big, congested city. We did a lot of walking. I found a used book store that had English books!! Have enough,now, to ge me home. This morning, we took a walk in the Black Forest. You can tell by the pictures! Went to a waterfall and then had lunch in a cute little Gasthaus at the bottom of the falls. Then it started pouring. Tomorrow we may go check out places to stay near the border of Germany and Switzerland. Tonight, we watch tv---well, we watch CNN International. The only English speaking channel. Same news day after day. Be glad to get back to Judge Judy.

More pics from Zeeland, Holland with Henk and Corry Boomstra

Pictures from the North Sea and towns in Zeeland--sorry Corry I can't remembe their names!! Beautiful country.

Freiberg, Titisee, and 10,000 kilometers

Sorry it's been so long since I have posted to the blog. Today, is the first day the Internet Cafe has been open. We arrived in Titisee on Saturday morning and found another apartment for a week. We are about 60 km from everything we want to see. Titisee is a crater lake in the Black Forsest of Germany. The first picture and the third picture are of the Black Forsest. Just beautiful here. Weather has been a little iffy. Rain everyday. On Sunday, we drove to Brubenbach where they were having a old car/tractor/motorcycle show. A local community thing. We had something to eat and listened to the oompa band (last picture)--kind of fun. Yesterday, it rained all day so we did nothing. We just got back to Titisee after riding the train to Freiberg. Another, large, busy city. Did a lot of walking and had lunch. This town was pretty much demolished during WWII, so there were not many old buildings.

We had such a good time at Corry and Henk's house. They took us on a tour of two local towns that are very old and quaint. We shopped and ate lunch--walked the beach of the North Sea. On Thursday night we took them out to dinner and had a great meal of the local fish. They have a lovely home and we really appreciated their hospitality.

Saturday we move on to somewhere near the border of Germany and Switzerland. Ken and Linda arrive on the 8th and we tour Switzerland with them for a week. Hard to believe that in 3 weeks from today we head back home. Yea!! We're ready!!!

Pictures

First picture is of a canal in Brugge. Second is dinner with Henk and Corry at their home in Holland. Third and Fourth are of me on the beach of the North Sea--awesome place. Huge, long beach with lots of shells!! More later.

Heinkenszand, Netherlands

Sorry for the no posting for several days. We have had no Internet connection since we left Germany. We drove from Germany to DeHaan, Belgium, which is on the Belgian coastline of the North Sea. We stayed in a private home with a room to rent--a shared bathroom with 3 other people(interesting). DeHaan is a quaint, lovely city with an awesome beach. It stretches for miles and has perfect sand. We spent one day at the beach and the other we drove to Brugge. Wow. Awesome city with very old buildings and canals everywhere. We did a lot of walking and took a boat road ride through the canals. After we left Brugge we drove up the coast to Knokke-Hoist, another lovely town--very expensive living. We are now in Heinkenszand, Holland visiting our new friends, Henk and Corry. We just told Henk we were here for two weeks and he had a rather startled expression on his face. Just kidding. We're here for two days and then move back to Belgium. Heinkenszland in a small, quiet, very clean village with lovely homes. We're looking forward to our stay. I'm using Corry's computer, so I won't be posting any pictures this time. I will, however, try tomorrow and show you the North Sea!!
The owner of the home we stayed in in DeHaan and I were talking about sea shells--I told her how I collected them and that I had found a few on the beach. Well, she said her father had been a great collector, too. She showed me a 500 page book and said that she has two collections,one for her and one for her father, of every shell in the book---hundreds of shells. She went to her father's house and brought back part of his collection and gave it to me!! So, now, I have shells from the North Sea and the Mediterrainen to bring home.
We took a walk earlier. We passed a real Dutch windmill and a wooden shoe factory--took a little tour and saw how the shoes are made. Jim loved the wood smell.
Enough for today.

Fifi Lives!!!

We went for another ride yesterday after I had my hair cut. Fifi is in good shape again--the house charger works fine. It's the car charger that died--have to find a new one. Anyway, the ride. We drove to a small, very old village called Monreal. As you can see from the cemetery marker, it is very old--`1640 on the marker. Jim thinks maybe the building I'm standing next to may not have plum(level) floors. I think he's right--again. We just strolled the streets and walked along the little river. Went into the local church--very pretty for a small village. To end the day, we had dinner with Jens and Barbara again. The traditional German meal was awesome. Sauerkraut(which I love), mashed potatoes with fried onions and pork similar to our ham only better. Jens gave us a doggy bag--a 9x13 glass dish!!! Some doggy bag. Yum, yum again. We're going back tonight for our last meal at Gasthaus

Berenz. We have thoroughly enjoyed staying here in Greimersburg and meeting the local people. Tomorrow, we head toward Brugge, Belgium. We hope to find another apartment along the Northern coast. On Wednesday, we are going to stay a night or two(no longer Corry and Henke!!) with the Boomstras in Holland. Hope to have Internet on Sunday night, but for sure on Monday. Until then---onward Fifi.

You just can't go back.

Twenty five years ago Jim and I spent one night and part of a day in Idar-Obarstein, Germany. It was a quaint town, with curving streets, flowered window boxes and great memories. Yesterday, we drove there again. The first picture is of Jim in front of the hotel where we stayed years ago. The second picture is of the same streets, today. So much for the memories. It is now a very large, commerical area. We ate lunch at a cafe and walked around some. We were very disappointed--just can't go back and expect things to be the same. We used Fifi to get us back to Greimersburg. But who knew that their are two towns called Morbach about 40 km from Idar-Oberstein? We used Morbach as a reference point for Fifi. Well, one Morbach goes SE and one goes NW. We didn't realize there were two until we had gone 80 km out of our way. Took us twice as long to get back. And then the charger for Fifi died and so did she! We kind of winged from where we were. That Fifi. The bonus of the day is shown in the third picture. We went to the local pub again for dinner--Jens had prepared a special meal for us and it was fantastic. Filet Mignion, fried potatoes and a whole head of fresh cauliflower. We had ordered it a couple nights before. Yum, yum. He's preparing the meal for us on Friday--a surprise dinner--all German food. Can't wait!!

Today is a lazy day. We took a 4 km walk to Landkern. They have a lovely catholic church--we sat inside and said our prayers. Peaceful. We walked around town, Jim looking at new houses being built. I found the hairdresser and have an appointment for tomorrow for a cut. It hasn't been cut since Mary Sue did it in April--I'm a wee bit shaggy. On the way back from the walk, we passed a farm with 3 horses. I started talking to them and they came right over to the fence. Very sweet horses. One in particular, gave me lots of attention. The picture is for my grandaughter, Erika, who loves horses and is quite an equestrian. The horse gummed my hand and arm for quite some time. Great!!Obviously, that is the second to last pic and the last one is just of some wild flowers along the way.

Tonight, I'm going to look for apartments around Brugge, Belgium on the internet. We really like this apartment thing. It's cheaper than hotels and we can spread out!!

Ernst day

ERNST DAY!!!!! Today was the big day that I set off in search of my roots-----I dug out my Ernst reunion T shirt and off we went to the town of Ernst located on the Mosel river----and I found it!!! I planted my feet in the Mosel to water those roots---and looked around to see if I could trace the heritage of my grandfather Dr John L Ernst-----must be another Ernst town because in this one the wineries out numbered the churches 5 to1----stopped at a few and most of the locals wanted to know if they missed a reunion party---I said ya ya ya -a gut un --but you can come to the next one--hope Jeff gets the garage set up for the Ernst town people--they said they will bring the wine--As you can see Jerry spent the day in the grapes--next weekend the town is having a winefest---every town along the Mosel has a fest--and also make sure that they are not at the same time--interesting summer--finishing off the day with a glass of wine in the official Ernst wine glass --hope they make it home so the "girls" can use them to toast the reunion event.

Other big news of the day----Jerry and I got some new shirts---so we can have a refreshed image ----mine has a little sail boat that is in the German colors---black-red-yellow----look for that in our next thousand pictures

Got a lot to do in the next few weeks---thought time was dragging for a while--but now it doesn't look like we can get it all in --looking forward to Ken and Linda meeting us in Switzerland--onward---Jim