Day 10- Sorry it has been such a long time since we posted anything on the blog, somtimes it is hard to find a computer or internet cafe. Our ride from Zurich, Switzerland to Salzburg, Vienna, was absolutely georgeous. Joe and I sat and marveled at the mountians for seven hours, while playing cards.(phase 10 to be excact, we have an ongoing competition and it is tied as of right now). The Alps are breath taking. It made us feel a little more at home, being in a more cozy atmosphere in the mountains. We arrived at our guest home that night around 8.30 and were met by our host, Gerlinde, and another Servas traveller Matthew from France. It was very nice. Gerlinde, remindes me of my Tia( for those of you who dont know my tia, she is my moms aunt, and tia is aunt in spanish, she is a fun, loving, person). We all had great conversation over toasted cheese sandwiches and pictures of Gerlindes time in the US. She took two helicopter rides, one over NY and one over the Grand Canyon, we thought this we kind of funny. She had traveled to alot of national parks too, oh and dont forget LA. She also had made homemade syrup-this is a drink that is made with lemons, mint leaves, citronela leaves, and sugar, which makes a syrup that you pour into water....very tasty, i am going to get the recipe!
Day 11- We all had breakfast together and then Joe, Matthew(who was our age and cool) and I went to the Eagles Nest, or the tea house that was built for Hitler in 13 months for his 50 birthday, it is high in the Alps just over the Austrian border to Germany. Although the view was amazing, the teahouse was quite disappointing, it had been turned into a resturaunt(why anyone would want to eat there, i dont know) and there was not even a museum in the place, so we left there a bit disappointed and broke, b-c it cost so much to get there....a bit frustrating.
We then went into town and had lunch along the river. It was a beautiful day, everyone keeps telling us that we are very lucky with the weather, praise God, I dont think this would be quite as fun if it was cold and rainy. We then ended our day at a beer garden (yes jag and jenn we found it). This was a fun experience, it is a monk run brewery, with chesnut trees in the garden where you go and drink and eat. You could wash your own mug and pour your own beer for a cheaper price than being waited on. Kind of fun....it said that this garden holds around 1000 people, there was a live band also, who were singing classic American songs. At one point, all of the local Austrians in the packed garden, were singing the song "take me home, to the place where I belong, West Virgina, Mountian Mama, take me home, country road"(gotta love it, right jess, I was thinking of you the whole time). Although, we did think that this would have been fun with a bunch of our friends(who we miss), it was also fun for joe and i.
We are now headed to Vienna for the night and then onto Budapest, Hungry.
i can picture your trip so vividly,so far. we went to france first, then into denmark-i am sure i told you about the story-we sent our laundry out and the bill was so high when it came back i am sure i could have bought several outfits with what i cost us (expensive ones too)we went on the train that they put in the ferry too, that was eiry!!!! then we went to sweden to find my relation. which was one of the most wonderful times of my life, because we saw where my dad grew up, his home as a child, where he played ball and went to church. it was so great because he never lived to tell us about his life. we also rode on the train at night to zurich thru the alps, as you said such beauty! god is so wonderful! we thought austria was very drab course there were still alot of ruins when we were there, after all those years after the war. we are going back to s.c. when they sell grandp's calves the last part of oct. amy will be home in a couple of weeks for that wedding but we won.t be there to see her, darn! well keep traveling safely, put all your travels in God's Hands. we love both of you, grandma & grandpa
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i can picture your trip so vividly,so far. we went to france first, then into denmark-i am sure i told you about the story-we sent our laundry out and the bill was so high when it came back i am sure i could have bought several outfits with what i cost us (expensive ones too)we went on the train that they put in the ferry too, that was eiry!!!! then we went to sweden to find my relation. which was one of the most wonderful times of my life, because we saw where my dad grew up, his home as a child, where he played ball and went to church. it was so great because he never lived to tell us about his life. we also rode on the train at night to zurich thru the alps, as you said such beauty! god is so wonderful! we thought austria was very drab course there were still alot of ruins when we were there, after all those years after the war. we are going back to s.c. when they sell grandp's calves the last part of oct. amy will be home in a couple of weeks for that wedding but we won.t be there to see her, darn! well keep traveling safely, put all your travels in God's Hands. we love both of you, grandma & grandpa
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hi ashley and joe, we are in texas, and is warm down here. we had a nice week in s.c. we went to church with your dad and to (perkins) to eat .i think your dad is looking forward to his calif. trip and of course to dallas to see that little grandbaby. i called aubrey to tell her we would come to dallas this coming weekend, if they didn't have anything planned. she called me back yesterday but i didn't get the call, so i asked her to call me back when she gets home from school today. now i have to let you in on another joke! weird grandma. i typed the first part of your letter and sent it. when i read my comments to you i wondered where all the letter was, guess it was lost. so read this first----still don't know what happened----i know-i just wanted to add a little humor--ya till my next letter, i love you
ReplyDeleteJoe and Ashley - your descriptions are just great to read. And having never heard of Servas...sounds like it is a better alternative than some hostels.
ReplyDeleteI basically thought of Sugar Knob except with heat, frat house carpet, and smokes of a different kind.
Ginger reminds you that just because everyone else is doing, you don't have to, too. (that's about the smokes, and the red light district)
Ginger and I are getting settled in, and things are wonderful for us. Our Mexican adventures were sweet. We did manage to visit about 120 miles dead center into the Yucatan.
That's more or less jungle, complete with monkeys, pumas, and other strange creatures. We saw Chichen Itza and some other sweet ruins. And instead of ganja - they used to rip out people's beating hearts. Not nearly as peace loving.
All the folks at our hotel - at the Excellence Riviera Maya were so nice. Food, presentation, the room, even the beach and the pools were cool. We should say they left very few details to chance. As you remember, we went there just a few days after Hurricane Dean rolled thru to the South. We're pretty sure it was the smoking gun on 2 damaged wood and concrete piers.
By the end of our Mexican trip, getting back to the US was good for us both. Some of our Mexican food and drink left our bellies worse for the wear. We think that Hurricane Dean could be responsible for some of those issues too. We've been told, after the fact, that hurricanes cause issues of various kinds, even if you don't drink the water.
To get more updates on us, You can check the blog:
http://slantedvproductions.blogspot.com
We're so glad the two of you made it down for our wedding, and were able to spend that time with us. Enjoy the travels and we'll keep on looking for the updates.
Blessings -
Ginger and Craig
hi ashley and joe, i am writing to thank you for grandpa. the flag and letter was such a wonderful gift from you kids, (such a thougtful gift also} i am getting excited for the weekend trip up to see aubrey, clint & adam (it's about time, we have been promising them for some time} i have really been enjoying your blog, even thou i have a couple repeat letters. i think i will e-mail you from now on o.k. our love & prayers, grandma & grandpa
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