Europe – Destination NOW

Jewels of Bohemia

As usual, I was so busy having fun that my blogging got WAY behind my travels. I’m home now, getting ready to hit the road again, and I realized that if I don’t do a post about this trip, I will probably forget where I was and what I did. I have lost count of the number of times I’ve had to look up something on my blog to jog my memory. Oh, a mind is a terrible thing to lose.

As I mentioned in earlier posts, the pre-trip to Berlin was fantastic. We had one more stop, in Dresden, before we joined the rest of the group in Prague for the main trip.

It was hard to believe that so much of Dresden was destroyed by Allied bombs during WWII.

As usual, Barb and I found a high point in the castle that afforded us an excellent panoramic view of this delightful city.

In addition to climbing the Castle tower, we also toured the Castle Museum. All I could think about when I saw the exhibits, was how many people must have died, either from starvation or in battle, for royalty to collect all these gold do-dads and fancy clothes.

During the two evenings that we spent in Dresden, we enjoyed people watching in the main square, where there was live music and dancing.

On our way to Prague, we stopped at Terazin, which was a Gestapo prison during WWII. It was sobering to see how widespread cruelty to other humans is.

Prague
I visited Prague for the first time in 2014 with Vermont Bike Trips. Although I did see some of the same sights again, like the Charles Bridge, the astronomical clock and the castle,

This soldier didn’t move at all, which led us to question whether he was real, or a mannequin. Turns out, he was VERY real, but capable of complete stillness.

there were many new experiences, such as the delightful concert in the Mirror Chapel.

I love the blend of scheduled and unscheduled time on OAT trips.The free time allowed us to attend the concert and have dinner at the Blue Duckling, which was recommended by our dear friend Elena.

I recalled visiting the “Fred and Ginger” building on my VBT trip, and I enjoyed it enough to return. It has since been renamed The Dancing House. (Fred and Ginger was deemed “too American” a title).

When I visited in 2014, There was no elevator–but the walk up the stairs had lots of “interesting” art on the walls, such as this magazine cover.

Now, an elevator whisks you to the bar on the top floor, and if you want to go into the “hat” to enjoy the view, you now have to pay for that privilege.

The hotel that OAT chose, the K+K Hotel, was centrally located and was quite beautifully decorated, with a quirky elevator that motivated me to take the stairs.

If Art Deco is your “thing” be sure to tour the Municipal House, which is LOADED with art deco treasures.

We were lucky enough to be there to catch a fashion show rehearsal, but I found the hairdos of the three little girls on the tour equally fascinating. I can’t imagine how long it took their mom to create those designs on her little girls’ heads!

After three days in Prague, it was time to move on to Cesky Krumlov, but on the way, we had another grim stop, this time to a Soviet prison camp in Vojna. It was originally build by German POWs as a labor camp near the uranium mines, but then transitioned into a Communist labor camp for political prisoners. The poor Czech people were getting hammered from extremes on the left and the right!

I visited Cesky Krumlov with VBT, but the emphasis was clearly on biking. It was nice to have time to explore the city on foot. Because I have discovered I have a strong preference for the OAT itinerary, I’ve decided that my biking days are over.

The hotel that OAT chose, the Ebersbach was perfectly located, so that we could walk everywhere. The included breakfast sucked, but the location was perfect and my room was lovely.

OAT gave us a voucher for entry into 5 area museums and enough free time for us to enjoy them on our own. Barb and I visited four of them, skipping the monastery.

Of course, after we had visited the Castle Museum, we had to climb to the top of the tower for a panoramic view.

Let me tell ya, it was NOT an easy climb up those narrow, uneven stairs. Barb stopped to explore the dungeon and I caught my breath while I was taking her photo.

Bratislava
The next country we visited after our adventure in Slavonice, was Slovakia. I absolutely LOVED Bratislava. Where else can you have tea in a bomb shelter that has themed rooms? Can you tell that Barb and I were in the “Africa” room?

Whimsical art was EVERYWHERE in Bratislava. Check out their postal box. Now THAT’S creative.

I LOVED the Slovakian sense of humor!

As usual, our drive to Budapest was broken up by an interesting stop. This time, we visited Roman ruins at Carnuntum. Mike would have been in his glory here, but since I didn’t have him to explain the historical impact of this site, I had to rely on our guide and the signage.

Budapest
It is almost time for me to leave for the airport for the next trip, so Budapest will not get the attention it deserves. What a wonderful city! Not only was the Hotel President Budapest well located, but the delightful rooftop bar was the perfect gathering spot from which to watch the sun set.

Speaking of sunset, we also experienced the Danube by night. The photo atop this post was taken on our evening cruise.

As was the case with the other countries we visited, Hungarians don’t shy away from the hard lessons of the past. This shoe monument memorializes the Jews that were forced to line up along the Danube, strip naked (during the winter) and hold hands. The Hungarian Nazis wanted to conserve bullets, so they only shot the second or third person, and because they were holding hands the others were pulled into the water by the ones that had been shot.

We were able to walk just about everywhere, which is probably why I didn’t gain my usual 5 “trip” pounds.

I have been lucky to find interesting companions on all my OAT trips. And this was no exception. For one of our nights in Budapest, Barb and I had dinner at a nearby restaurant with our new buddies, Linda, Marleen and Gail.

I had expected more reverence to be shown to Ronald Reagan because of his “Mr Gorbachev, tear down the wall”speech. FINALLY, as we were getting ready to head for home, we encountered a statue in his honor.

After he stole my hat, Ron got a little free with his hands, so I had to give him a karate chop.

I’ll end this saga with a group photo. Next trip— Canada. I hope you’ll come along!

Our group: front me and Tomas Back row:Bill, Gail, Brenda, Jan, Brian, Diane, Barb, Marleen, Linda, Amy, Darlene, Patty, Lynn and Greg

Slavonice, Czech Republic

What? You never hear of Slavonice? Neither had I, until this trip. Centuries ago, however, Slavonice was a “happening” place. On the road between Prague and Vienna, it was a popular overnight stopping point for travelers.

Check out the “graffiti” that still exists on the buildings in “old town”.

One of the reasons I keep choosing to travel with OAT is because of hidden gems like Slavonice, places I would NEVER have discovered on my own.

We were able to visit a beautiful restored building that was once used as a gathering place for the Lutherans. Supposedly this artwork illustrates that Jesus’ word is more powerful than the sword. Clearly this artwork was done well before both world wars.

Can you believe the ceiling in this building? How did they DO that?

We were the only guests in a lovely little hotel in old town, complete with a restaurant and wine cellar.

Here is Pavel, the owner, chef, wine merchant, cleaning crew, sommelier, ( he’s EVERYTHING!) greeting Tomas, our guide and welcoming us to his hotel.

Our first evening was memorable indeed. The town lost electricity during a hailstorm and with roads flooded, Pavel had to figure out how he was going to feed us. Fortunately, his wine cellar was very well stocked, so in addition to soup and bread we were offered unlimited beverages. SOME of us took FULL advantage of what life had thrown our way.

I took these photos of posters outside my room especially for my favorite sommelier (he knows who he is).

We were lucky that the 13th century wine cellar didn’t flood. The water from the storm that DID make it into the building had receded enough for us to enjoy a wine tasting on the second night of our stay.

The fact that the ceiling was dripping on us didn’t dampen our spirits one bit.

Yes, we are all bundled up— it was COLD in the centuries old basement.

But once again, I’m getting ahead of myself, talking about dinner before describing our “day in the life” experience at a farm about an hour’s drive from Slavonice. Olga, our host, runs a horse farm.

Like my wonderful cousin Kristy, she provides a home for horses that can no longer be ridden. Her oldest horse is 30, which is significantly more than the average life span of a horse.

In addition to breeding horses, Olga also works with horses that are thought to be “difficult”. She demonstrated how she communicates with them using only her eyes and fingers. When she asked for a volunteer to learn the technique, I thought I was going to have lots of competition. I thought wrong.

Could the amount of water and mud have been the reason for my companions reluctance?

Being the ONLY volunteer, I got to get up close and personal with this magnificent creature, who was once thought to be “difficult”.

Olga is demonstrating the proper shoulder technique to get the horse to follow you. Nailed it!

Yes, our day time activities were fantastic, but there was even more awaiting us.

That night, we had the PLANNED dinner at the hotel,

complete with local musicians who got us singing along to “Country Roads” and “Roll out the barrel”.

Of course, the wine flowed freely, but the show stopper was when our host used a sword as his bottle opener.

On to Bratislava. Yes, I know. Add Cesky Krumlov to the list of places I’ve skipped over.

Pisek, Czech Republic

What a delightful surprise our lunch stop in Pisek turned out to be!

This blog is not a chronological record of my OAT itinerary. It continues to be whatever I feel like writing about. And I feel like writing about this sweet little undiscovered town.

We’ve been to Dresden, which was our final stop on the pre-trip, then we spent the first three days of the main trip in Prague. Both of these fascinating cities deserve posts of their own, and I’ll get to them eventually. There have just been far too many distractions for me to give them the attention they deserve.

Pisek is quite beautiful. Its old stone bridge predates Prague’s Charles Bridge by at least a century. Somehow, the bridge managed to survive several centuries worth of floods. The statues on the bridge weren’t so lucky. The originals were damaged and have since been repaired or replaced.

Don’t be fooled. Pisak also has MODERN attractions, like this one. I’ve seen pedal bars in Nashville, but I never have seen a Prosecco van. What a great concept!

Despite this vehicle’s obvious appeal, I found the sand sculptures even more compelling.

The header on this post describes the theme for this year’s sand sculptures — Freedom and Liberty, intended to commemorate the town’s 80th anniversary of their liberation after World War 2.

Did you recognize Gulliver, struggling to break free?

Lady Liberty has packed her bags. I’m hoping she’s not leaving the USA.

To me, the most compelling sculpture was this one, especially after being in Berlin. What a powerful demonstration of how much JFK’s words meant to the people in this part of our planet. .

Then I took a good look at the front of the sculpture. It shows Putin driving a car manufactured in East Germany by the Soviets. The Trabant had an engine that was likened to a lawn mower—about as powerful and just as smelly. East Germans would use trabants to escape to the Czech Republic, and then abandon the car in the street.

Take a close look at who is kissing up to Putin. Clearly he is not in the driver’s seat.

If you don’t recognize the iconic hair style, the sculptor has given us a hint. He has “king” written alongside his image. ( I would have added “wannabe” before the word “king”).

Why is it that Europeans can see so clearly what many Americans cannot? Perhaps because they have lived through Facism and Communism, they have a deep understanding of how fragile democracy can be and how important it is to preserve it, in every means possible, including the creation of sand sculptures.

Goodbye Berlin

My last post was about Berlin’s tragic past, and how frightening it is to recognize parallels to what is happening in the world now.

Today’s post is about Berlin’s glorious present and how it is making me optimistic about the future for our entire planet.

First, many thanks to my dear friend Chris and her wonderful sister Claudia for their very helpful suggestions on how to best use our time in Berlin. Thanks to them, we knew we needed to get tickets for the Reichstag tour at least a month in advance. For those of you not lucky enough to know Chris or Claudia, here’s the link for the free tour, in English: https://www.bundestag.de/en/visittheBundestag/dome/tours

The Bundestag building itself is architecturally gorgeous, filled with interesting artwork.

Our guide was a retired lawyer, who explained that although, prior to Hitler’s rise to power, Germany considered itself a democracy, it really wasn’t, because half of the population wasn’t allowed to vote. I wish I could remember her exact words because she said it far more elegantly than my paraphrase, but here’s the gist of her comments regarding women voters: They expected women to be grateful when they “gave” us the right we had been denied for so many years.

Here she is, explaining why the Russian soldiers’ graffiti in the Reichstag was preserved when the building was reconstructed after unification. (Once again, not a direct quote, just what I remembered her saying).

Imagine you are a young Russian soldier who spent the last few months being shot at and bombed. You have survived so far. You reach Berlin, but are still not safe. You want to leave your mark so that others recognize that you once existed.

The Germans left the graffiti so, to me, it has become a symbol of the compassion the Berliners felt for young Russian boys who were drafted and forced to kill young German boys.

She also gave us information about the way the German government currently operates, but because I wasn’t as interested, I promptly forgot everything she said.

I was, however, fascinated by the eagle on the wall behind her. That eagle hung in Bonn, when it was the capital of West Germany. It was installed at the reconstructed Reichstag after reunification.

I was also fascinated by the interior view of the dome from the parliamentary meeting room.

After the 90 minute guided tour, we were able to enter the dome and walk up the spiral ramp to the top.

The mirrors in the center reflect light into the building below.

I found it fascinating that the dome is completely open. What happens when it rains or snows? Inquiring minds want to know, so I asked one of the guards. He told me the top remains completely open, but rain only falls on the very top level, where drains capture it and carry it out of the building. Damn, those Germans are great at engineering!

From the Reichstag dome, we were able to see the TV tower. It was the proud creation of the Soviets in East Berlin, intended to demonstrate the superiority of Soviet construction. After reunification, however, the world had access to Stasi documents that showed most of the materials used to build the tower had to be imported from the west.

During our city tours both guides talked about the symbol of Christianity (a cross) appearing on this godless tower. We were completely mystified, because it was impossible for us to visualize anything that remotely resembled a cross. FINALLY, during our stroll around the dome, the sun was in the right position, so I hope my photo allows YOU to see it too.

If my personal astrophysicist had been by my side, he would have explained the scientific principles behind the phenomenon. Instead, I went with Barb’s explanation: it is magic.

Anyone who has read any of my prior posts knows that I cannot resist a tower, mountain, high point—anything that offers a panoramic view. Berlin has several, and we took advantage of every single one that we could find.

The view of the Brandenburg Gate from the dome

Our OAT trip leader suggested we visit the Humboldt Forum’s rooftop. In addition to the delightful cafe,

we were treated to another vantage point of the city.

Notice the roof of the Humboldt is planted with grasses and flowers.

The city was environmentally aware, which was so very encouraging to me.

None of the median strips were mowed. Instead, grasses and weeds were allowed to grow unhindered to protect and feed the bees.

From our vantage point on the roof, we could see the sustainability display. That’s the reddish tower in the photo below, in which reclaimed materials were used to fashion new structures.

We ended our night with a laser show at the Reichstag, which was created to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Christo’s art project.

With travel, sometimes you hit and sometimes you miss. The laser show was definitely a miss, but the sunset was lovely.

And the walk to the hotel gave us the opportunity to see Berlin buildings illuminated.

Lessons From Berlín

I’m so glad I was able to spend 5 days in this wonderful city. Those of you who have read my earlier posts may recall that initially I was not particularly enamored. Must have been because of jet lag, or the piss poor commentary on the City Circle / Gray Line HOHO. My recommendation—try a different HOHO in Berlin. There are four.

The Germans truly believe “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”

Unlike us, they do not spin, whitewash or deny their history. Instead, they build monuments to the victims, and record the monstrous deeds of the perpetrators of violence—the Nazis.

The Topography of the Terrors is a free outdoor exhibit, built on the site of the former Gestapo headquarters. One of the photos shows Adolph Hitler’s military parade on his birthday.

I was viewing this exhibit on the very day something similar was happening in the USA. Fortunately, our wannabe dictator’s celebration was not as well attended. And even more fortunate—the “no kings” protests throughout the USA had far more participants.

Once the OAT pretrip started, we enjoyed a city tour where we learned the significance of some areas we had visited when Barb and I were on our own.

Following is a photo of Anne, our guide, showing us the location where over 20,000 banned books were burned. She also shared this prescient quote from 1820:

“those who start by burning books will also burn men”

After the war, Berlin was divided into 4 sections. Russia got East Berlin; West Berlin was shared by the Americans, the French and the British. West Berlin was completely surrounded by East Germany, which was held by the Russians.

1961 was the first time a wall was built to keep people IN. That’s because 3 million people (out of 18 million) had left East Berlin after the Soviet occupation. These were “essential” workers, so something had to be done to stop the brain drain.

Sections of the wall are exhibited in Potsdamer Platz

Throughout the city, we saw reminders of where the wall once stood. This is how the marker looks if you are on the West side of the wall.

There were actually two walls, with a strip of land in between, known as “ the death strip” and “no man’s land”. Both walls were painted white, to make it easier to spot people trying to escape.

Some statistics: Along the walls’ 100 miles, were 280 guard towers. No man’s land was patrolled by 1100 armed guards and 1000 dogs.

The stories of the 140 people who died while trying to escape are memorialized in the Terror exhibit.

After the wall came down, artists painted murals on the remaining sections.

Remember how Barb and I were mystified by the holocaust monument? Well, thanks to Anne, we now understand.

The architect wanted visitors to feel something as they walked through the exhibit. He succeeded. As the stones got taller and the ground became uneven, I felt uneasy and claustrophobic.

We learned that the memorial is composed of 2711 stones, to represent the number of pages in the Talmud. Viewed from above, it looks very much like an arial view of death camps’ barracks and a Jewish cemetery in Israel.

Next, we visited the “Disney” version of Checkpoint Charlie.

Knowing it is a tourist trap didn’t stop us from posing behind the sand bags.

We almost didn’t take the optional tour “Allies in Berlin” tour on our last full day in Berlin, because we mistakenly thought it would be a repeat of what we had already seen. Tomas, our trip leader, encouraged us to take the tour and I’m so glad he did.

It was extremely emotional for me. It harkened back to the time when we understood how important it was to win “hearts and minds”, back when we had leaders with integrity, foresight and wisdom.

The Soviets were trying to starve the West Berliners into submission, but the US, France and Great Britain began airlifting tons of food, coal, medicines and essential supplies to the people of West Berlin. The west Berliners were surprised that the people they were shooting at, just a few years earlier were now protecting them. That was the start of the strong friendship between Germany and the USA.

One American pilot decided to make small parachutes for rations, starting the “candy bombing” runs represented by the artwork on this bear.

Because France and Great Britain had been badly damaged by WWII , most of the aid came from the USA.

Years later, when the Berliners were feeling isolated and fearful, JFK visited. Although he only spent 8 hours in Berlin, his speech meant the world to the people of West Berlin:

“Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was civis romanus sum [“I am a Roman citizen”]. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is “Ich bin ein Berliner!”… All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words “Ich bin ein Berliner!”

I was surprised that Ronald Reagan was not as revered, so I asked Alex, our local guide about it. He told me that there is a plaque at the Brandenburg Gate for Reagan, but at the time he gave the “tear down the wall” speech, most Berliners thought it was an impossibility and that Reagan was just a “crazy old actor”.

At the American Museum, we saw the REAL checkpoint Charlie building, moved to this site when the wall came down. (It was one of three checkpoints: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie). These days, what was once barracks for American troops, have been transformed into condos.

To end this sobering post, here is a photo from the Sinti and Roma (Gypsy) memorial.

This child was separated from his parents, who had been employed, and had never been in trouble with the law. Their only “crime” —being born to the wrong parents.

Berlin, Day 2

What a difference a good night’s sleep makes! Barb and I managed to fight off jet lag and stay awake until after 8 PM on our arrival day, so when we awoke on day 2, we were energized.

We left our hotel at 10 AM, completely prepared for whatever the day would throw at us. Sun, rain, high winds, pestilence…we were ready!

Here are some highlights of our next 12 hours.

Believe it or not, these blocks of varying heights are the Holocaust Memorial. Don’t ask me what they symbolize. Our diligent search for an explanation didn’t turn up a single plaque anywhere.

Yesterday while riding the HOHO, we saw many important buildings. Did either of us remember anything about them? Well, we DID remember seeing them, but that’s about it.

The Berliners are very fond of domes…and columns…and bears.

We thoroughly enjoyed Museum Island, even though we only visited one —the Neues Museum. Let’s face it: we have pretty fantastic museums in New York, Boston and DC. Still, the Neues Museum had some artifacts that were really spectacular. Click on the image if you want to see more.

Did you see the little Lego figure in the boat? It’s good to know museum staff members have a sense of humor.

One advantage to traveling on foot is you can stop to enjoy your surroundings. And we did. Frequently. But we still managed to walk almost 10 miles, according to my Apple Watch.

What is it about men and cars? if a hood is open, they simply HAVE to gaze inside.

I had no idea there were so many bridges in Berlin. Yesterday’s HOHO audio guide claimed that Berlin has more bridges than Venice!

I’m sure this tower commemorates some victory, but I can’t recall which one. Not a problem, because I’ll bet you really don’t care either.

The museum on the ground floor contains tiny reproductions of famous buildings from around the world, like the Roman colosseum, the Statue of Liberty and the Brandenburg Gate.

The first viewing platform has gorgeous mosaics, depicting humans attacking each other. I’m gonna take a wild guess and speculate that the artist wasn’t a woman.

The BEST part is you can climb to the tower’s top for a panoramic view of Berlin. Was it worth climbing 282 steps (I counted) up a spiral staircase?

We had a few hours till we were due to board our boat for our sunset river cruise, so we ambled along the Tiergarten, a beautiful oasis in the midst of all the concrete and high rises.

How was the boat ride? Well, it was a beautiful evening, the wine was unlimited, the 4 course meal was delicious, and we got to see Berlin from a different vantage point.

As usual, my posts are done on the fly, and lag a bit behind my activity.

Barb and I are completing our final “on our own” activity and will be joining the group tour later this PM.

Jewels of Bohemia Trip – Berlin

Self knowledge is a wonderful thing. Being aware of one’s weaknesses allows one to build in the necessary safeguards. But when the “one” in that sentence happens to be me? Did I build in safeguards? I’ll let YOU be the judge.

On my last trip, my luggage was left in Munich, when I changed planes, so THIS time I decided to do carry on only, even though we had a direct flight. I still managed to “lose” my luggage. How is that even possible, you might ask?I remembered to check the overhead compartment, so my carry on and backpack DID make it safely OFF the plane.

Fortunately, I had the foresight to take a photo of my bags. Yes, that piece of paper on the floor is indeed a checklist of my luggage’s contents. ( Self knowledge in action— I KNOW I have a tendency to forget stuff, so maybe I DID build in a couple of safeguards).

Perhaps I shouldn’t have drunk so much Prosecco?

Barb, my travel companion, checked her bag, so we agreed to meet at baggage claim. That way I could use the bathroom and brush my teeth while she was waiting for her bag to fly down the chute.

Well, at Berlin’s airport, to get to baggage claim, you walk through 3 doors with little gates that open and close automatically. As soon as the last door closed behind me, I realized that both my hands were free. I had left my pink carry on in the stall in the bathroom. Not a problem. I’d do what I have done in other airports—wait for someone to come thru, and quickly jump in, heading in the opposite direction. Except with multiple doors, that doesn’t work so well.

Plan B. Approach a random airport worker and admit to colossal stupidly. He very kindly walked me to the information desk, where they promptly and emphatically told me there was no way I could go back through those doors to retrieve my bag. No alternative was offered.

Plan C. Approach someone else with my tale of woe. His solution: when someone reports the bag to security, it will be sent to lost and found, and I could get it then. But who knows how long that would take? Hours? Days?

Plan D. Hunt down a group of friendly looking police officers standing around, doing nothing. Repeat yet again, my sad story and confession of a mental lapse. Although initially reluctant, ultimately, a female police officer came to my rescue— walked out of the airport, around to the other side and emerged through those dreaded doors with my luggage in tow. Good thing I had taken that photo!

But that’s not the only memorable part of this journey. At passport control, the officer searched through the pages of my new passport, then proceeded to ask me NUMEROUS questions. The only stamp he could find was from that famous stop in Munich, where my luggage stayed longer than I did. It seems I was missing an EXIT stamp, so according to him, I could have spent the last few months wandering thru Germany, wreaking havoc. Good thing I’m old and look harmless. After enduring his lecture, my full bladder and I were FINALLY allowed to be on our way. So maybe it was HIS fault? His questioning got me so upset that I left my luggage in the bathroom? Hey, it was worth a try.

When we got to the Marriott, we discovered the lobby is being renovated, but at least the ONE available room was far from the atrium and noise.

We stowed our stuff in that room, then we headed for the HOHO (Hop on hop off bus) to see if we could stay awake long enough to get a feel for the city. Believe it or not, Berlin has 4, HOHOs, so we chose the one the hotel concierge recommended.

We were far too tired to do much hopping off today, so we spent our morning riding around. We did stop to grab some lunch at 11 AM, which was a bit of a challenge because most eateries weren’t open yet.

So what do we think of Berlin? Initially, not much. Like our hotel lobby, lots of Berlin appears to be under construction.

Graffiti is spray painted everywhere—but it sure isn’t like the street art I saw in Columbia and Ecuador! It’s random, ugly squiggles.

Then, as we headed west, things started looking up.

We had a nice mix of old and new architecture. Sorry, I don’t as too tired to remember what was said about these two buildings.

I DO recall the Reichstag, Germany’s parliament building. We have tickets for a tour next Tuesday night.

This is the 30th anniversary of the building being “wrapped” by Christo and Jean Claude. To commemorate the anniversary, every evening until June 20th there will be a light show from 9:30PM until 1 AM.

There is much more to say, but exhaustion has taken hold.

Helpful Hints-Northern Spain and Portugal

This post is for all the wonderful OAT travelers who took the time to post on Friends of Overseas Adventure’s Facebook page. I benefited greatly from your advice and hints, so this is my way of giving back. My apologies to regular subscribers who might not find this post very interesting. BUT if others traveling to the Northern Iberian Peninsula in the spring find these hints helpful, well that’s a bonus.

I took the “Northern Spain and Portugal: Pilgrimage into the Past” trip in April of 2025. My departure didn’t offer pre or post trips so this information only applies to the main trip.

I wore a mask on flights to Bilbao, but didn’t on the return trip. Big mistake. I’m quarantining now, which is why I have plenty of time to write this post.
The OAT trip started in Bilbao, which is an absolutely fantastic city. If you are able to do so, I highly recommend arriving a day or two early.
If you are changing planes, and you are checking luggage, be sure to carefully examine your luggage receipt. I didn’t and I wasted almost a half a day tracking down my bag, which was left in Munich. I’m so very glad I used an AirTag!
Although Bilbao is a very walkable city, the bus system is excellent. Best of all, busses are frequent and easy to use. No special card is required. You simply get on the bus and pay with your credit card. Easy, and CHEAP!
The Guggenheim is closed on Mondays, however, the OAT itinerary has sufficient free time built in. If your trip has the museum scheduled on a Monday, you still can visit at another time. Even if you are not a museum aficionado, the architecture of the building is pretty spectacular. It’s also worth walking around outside the museum to view the sculptures.
All of the hotels OAT chose were centrally located, which made it very easy for anyone who wanted to explore on their own.
Here is the list of the hotels we used:
**Hotel Abando, Bilbao
**Hotel Tres Reyes, Pamplona
**Alfonso V, Leon
**Hotel Compostela, Santiago
**Lamego Hotel, Lamego
**Turim Oporto Hotel, Porto
If you don’t want to wash your hair and body with the same soap, or you don’t like to use the bottles attached to the wall, bring your own.
Most of the hotels’ hair dryers were attached to the wall, and you needed to keep your finger on the button to get the dryer to operate. That can be uncomfortable if you have arthritis in your hands. Someone suggested bringing duct tape to keep the button down. Of course, I didn’t recall that hint until I was on the trip, staring at the button!
The hair dryer in the Lemigo Hotel died after a couple of minutes use. After resting for a few minutes, it could be used again. (Others had a similar experience). Fortunately that didn’t happen in Santiago, where I used the hair dryer on my sodden shoes.
Apparently, Northern Spain normally gets a lot of rain. During our visit, we mainly experienced intermittent showers. Keep in mind the unevenness of cobblestones results in lots of puddles, and sometimes those puddles are DEEP. Oh and by the way, those cobblestones are very slippery when wet.
We all got drenched on our walk into Santiago. Fortunately, our hotel had a heated towel bar. After being convinced that I was a complete idiot for being unable to get the heat turned on, I swallowed my pride, asked for help at the front desk and learned that the heat is centrally controlled and doesn’t turn on till 7:30 PM.
The only option our team leader gave us to do laundry was at the hotels, but it was rather expensive, especially with the terrible exchange rate. We were there when the tariffs went into effect, so what was once a strong dollar had plummeted.
The heated towel bar was perfect for drying laundry. Santiago was the only hotel with that option, and it was roughly midway through the trip, so keep that in mind if you are rinsing out clothes.
The optional excursion offered during our time in Santiago was okay. If you didn’t grow up by the ocean (I did), it might be great because you got to watch locals digging up clams and mussels, something my family did on a regular basis. The lunch was fantastic and although I was glad I went, if you can only choose one optional, I would recommend the one in Portugal if you are a walker and love nature.
After the optional trip, we returned to Santiago in time to visit the Pilgrim Museum, which had been closed the day before. Unfortunately it was closed again, for unspecified “technical” reasons. Too bad, because the members of our group who didn’t take the optional, visited the Pilgrim’s Museum that morning and said it was worthwhile.
It was way too cold to use an outdoor pool, and although the Lemigo hotel had an indoor pool, you had to pay 20 Euros per person, per day to use it (and the gym). None of us thought it was worth it. The outdoor pool is free and lovely, so if you go when the weather is warm, it might be worth packing a bathing suit.
Be sure to get your Pilgrim’s Passport stamped! Mine is the header of this post.
Portugal was fantastic! Because Porto has been discovered, you may want to make dinner reservations while you are still in Spain. Check with your TL to make sure you have the correct schedule, because sometimes the TLs have plans that are not part of the official itinerary.
My post about Porto provides the name of a wonderful restaurant close to our hotel. Rather than repeat what I wrote elsewhere, just click on the link to get the name of the restaurant and other sights that you can do in your free time. It also includes a description of the optional trip.
I wasn’t able to visit the Porto Library because it requires tickets for the timed entry, and no tickets were available while we were in Porto. Two of our traveling companions stayed an extra day in Porto and were able to visit the library. Based on their photos, it was quite wonderful!
I thoroughly enjoyed the WOW Museum complex. I bought a day pass for 40 Euros because I wanted to visit three museums and separate entries were each 20 Euros.
I have done posts for each place we visited, so if you want more info, check out the post that interests you. Those posts include photos.

Happy travels! Next trip is in June.

Porto, Portugal

On our way to Porto, we were convinced our luck had REALLY run out. According to the weather reports, we weren’t merely encountering rain, we were headed into a huge storm! We were all glad the forecast was wrong yet again.

Although it rained during our bus ride from Lemigo, by the time we reached Porto and had finished our city bus tour, the rain had briefly stopped. The sun even came out during our walk along the river.

Before I left home, I had loaded photos from Mike’s and my 2003 day trip to Porto onto my iPhone. I was surprised to see how much the city had changed, and how much remained the same.

The tower that Mike and I climbed for free in 2003 was restored and updated in 2014. Tickets are required to visit what is now the Clérigos architectural complex .

Because Mike and I climbed to the very top of the tower, I thought it was the perfect spot to leave some of his ashes.

When we were there in 2003, there weren’t any “love locks”. I didn’t have a lock today, but leaving his ashes was MY way of saying “I love you”.

But I digress. Back to day 1 and our lunch stop at an interesting restaurant. Check out the large wooden object dangling over our table.

I’m pretty certain “the world’s most beautiful McDonalds” wasn’t here when we visited in 2003! Quite different from what we have in the USA, wouldn’t you say?

No, none of us ATE there, although the place was PACKED!

Instead, three of us had dinner at Almada 331, a tiny restaurant close to our hotel, the Turim. The food was incredible, yes. The menu was in English, yes. The cork walls made conversation enjoyable. But what REALLY made the experience off the charts was Fernando, the owner.

Both “Shelly” and Fernando had lived in Pittsburgh, so we all became instant friends. But so did the Belgians, Ukrainians, Indians and the woman from Singapore (Singaporean?) who were also dining at the restaurant. It is that kind of place. When you enter, Fernando asks where you are from, and then points out all the different countries represented in his tiny restaurant. It was truly a magical night.

In case you’re wondering, yes, it was confusing to have a male Shelly on the trip, especially because his wife Loren was one of my very favorite fellow travelers, so we spent a lot of time together.

We had the option of exploring the city on our own during one of our three days in Porto, or paying $145 to visit Arouca, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bet you already know which option I chose.

First, we visited the monastery. In the USA, monasteries are where the monks live; convents are for nuns. In Portugal, however, it isn’t gender that defines the naming convention, it’s location. Monasteries are built in remote areas, outside of cities; convents are built inside the city walls. So, although initially the Arouca Monastery was inhabited by men, by the 14th century the nuns had taken it over.

But not just ANY nuns. No, these were noble ladies from families of wealth and power, for whom a suitable match had not been found. What to do with your 18 year old unmarried daughter? Why, you pack the old maid (and one or two servants) off to the nearest convent, along with a very generous donation.

She will never be allowed to leave the convent. But don’t feel too badly for her, because rather than being her husband’s servant, she gets to meditate, walk around the garden, read, and boss her servants around. Best of all, she won’t die in childbirth, unless she uses one of the legendary tunnels to meet up with a friendly monk.

You can’t see them in the above photo, but the courtyard is lined with banners describing the persecution of Christians, like this one:

Surprisingly, no mention was made of the Inquisition, probably because it happened in Spain?

Although this “lazy Susan” was normally used for food and other contributions, occasionally a baby was placed on the shelf. Our guide told us that maybe the turnstile was occasionally spun 360 degrees. That way, it would appear the baby had been brought by a townsperson, even if it had originated inside the monastery. That’s the upside of wearing those bulky robes.

One noble lady, Queen Mafalda, was briefly married to 10 year old Henry I of Castille. When the Vatican annulled the marriage, she voluntarily entered the Arouca Monastery, where she is currently on display in the chapel.

My favorite part of the day was our visit to the suspension bridge. To get there, we drove along beautiful, winding mountain roads for about 45 minutes. It was a visual feast! By the time we arrived, we were all eager to walk through the woods, over the bridge and back.

Okay, so it rained off and on, which added to the adventure. It also made us really appreciate the intermittent sunshine.

Ines, our local guide, thoughtfully supplied us with white rain ponchos to put over our jackets. The bridge was wet and slippery initially, but our spirits were as high as that bridge!

It case you’re wondering, the bridge is almost 1700 feet, or about a third of a mile each way. It opened in 2021, and only cost 2.3 million Euros to build. According to Ines, it is the highest and most beautiful suspension bridge in the world. It used to be the longest, until the Czech Republic one-upped them.

If you’re afraid of heights, it’s probably better if you don’t look down.

I’m not afraid of heights, so I did. Was it thrilling? Hell, yes!

The walk to the bridge was down a very steep slope.

As you know, what goes down, must come up, but those who had had enough fun for the day were able to ride a jeep to the top. Four of us opted to walk back—the equivalent of 15 flights of stairs —according to my Apple Watch. Not bad for four people over 70!

We had worked up quite an appetite, so we were ready for our wonderful lunch by the river, where we could watch the rafts heading toward white waters.

When I went for my bathroom break, I thought I had inadvertently walked into the men’s locker room, but no. The half naked guy in the skimpy towel was very friendly and wasn’t at all surprised to see me. I guess the area right in front of the bathrooms is the where the “rafters” suit up. Sorry, no photos.

Another thing I love about OAT is the ability to customize the trip. For our second night in Porto, I decided it was too windy and rainy for me to venture out, so I enjoyed a solo dinner in the hotel. Unlike most USA hotel restaurants, the food was great and reasonably priced.

I guess at this stage in my life, I’ve completely conquered FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Instead, I only do things that I want to do.

Look at the size of that glass of sangria!

Because it was important for me to retrace the steps Mike and I took in 2003, I decided to skip the planned activities for our last day in Porto. Instead, I visited the previously described restored Clérigos complex, where I was reminded of the splendid life members of the clergy led, back in the “dark ages”.

I still had enough time to walk across the Douro River to visit three of the seven magnificent WOW Museums. And they were indeed a wow!

Even the museum’s floors are visually appealing. This floor is perfectly flat. Optical illusions in the pavement are a Portuguese “thing”. Lisbon and Rio de Janeiro have similar beautiful walkways.

I have visited many wineries, so the history of wine making wasn’t as interesting as the interactive exhibits. Where else can you stick your nose over a tube to try to identify a wine smell? I was only able to correctly “smokey” and “chocolate” scents. If I ever had any doubts that my palate was unsophisticated, that exercise dispelled them!

A corridor was lined with fun information about the different varietals. This is the artist’s vision for Argentina’s Malbec.

The wine museum’s admission price included a tasting of three different wines, with an explanation of what you are drinking, plus a coupon for a free port tonic in one of the museum’s many restaurants.

Of the cork and chocolate museums, can you guess which was my favorite? Which one had the best free samples?

I found the chocolate museum’s South American creation myth video so delightful, I stood there and recorded it for those of you who will never visit Porto. (You’re welcome)

The museum was across the river from our hotel, so I walked across both levels of the bridge…the top, with its panoramic view.

On the way back, I took the “low road” so I could deposit the remainder of Mike’s ashes in the Douro River, because we had also stopped there in 2003. Back then, we had the bridge all to ourselves, and cameras didn’t have “selfie” options.

Barb, Pam and I are being picked up at 9 AM for our 12:30 direct flight to Newark. Because breakfast is at 7 and the market opens at 8, I figured I’d have enough time to do a quick swing through. Despite the rain, I made the 7 minute walk to Bolhão. Although the posted hours indicated the market was open, it appears no one bothered to tell the vendors.

Not a problem. I know where I can find dry clothes, and I still have enough time to change into them!

Although there is much more to say about this wonderful city, our fantastic tour and my amazing travel companions, this post is already quite long and we are on our way to the airport.

Lemigo and the Douro River

I absolutely LOVE Portugal! There is SO much to see and do. Although we made the most of our transit day, by crossing the border into Portugal at 10:15 Spain time, 9:15 Portugal time, it still feels like five days in this fabulous country is not nearly enough.

We started our transit day by walking the Portuguese El Camino, alongside the river leading into the town of Ponte de Lima.

I’m so happy the weatherman was wrong about the 100% probability of rain. Might it have been smarter for him to hedge his bets a teeny bit with a 90% probability?

The cloud cover made photos more interesting and more importantly, made our walk very pleasant.

This river’s legend dates back to Roman times.

Roman soldiers on a campaign to conquer the world mistook the Lima River for the River Lethe, the mythological River of forgetfulness. Because there was no bridge, they had to enter the river to get across. Believing that doing so would erase all their memories, they refused. I can’t blame them. Who wants what is known today as a “senior moment” ( except it would be more like a senior decade)?

The general (that’s him on the horse by the river bank) crossed first, then commanded each of his soldiers, by name, to come across, thereby shattering the “memory loss” legend.

After we crossed the bridge, we easily located where we could add stamps to our Pilgrim Passport.

Yes, we have become obsessed with collecting stamps wherever we stop. I’ll talk about that in a future post. But right now it’s time to share photos of Guimarães, a beautiful village that has some historical significance —but what that significance is currently escapes me. Hey, I have the perfect excuse. I crossed over the River of Forgetfulness.

We finished our transit day by walking down the 608 steps (that was MY count; Wikipedia claims there are 686 steps) to dinner at a restaurant in Lamego. And what a beautiful walk it was!

Beautiful wall tiles decorated every landing

Okay, there are many, many more photos from this fantastic walk, but I will end with the view from the bottom, because we still have some fantastic sights from our Douro River cruise.

We had the boat all to ourselves,

and there weren’t many other vessels on the river. We only saw one river cruise ship.

Just when you thought the day couldn’t possibly get any better, it did.

The Quinta da Portela de Baixo is not just a museum; it is also a vineyard carved into the side of a hill overlooking the Douro River,

where we had lunch and sampled port wine. I had no idea that so many different kinds of port existed! Did you?

Our final stop will be Porto, which Mike and I visited in September of 2003. I wonder if women will still be carrying live chickens on their heads, the way they did back then?

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