vacation – Page 11 – Destination NOW

Follow The Yellow Brick Road, Part One

I’ve been traveling all my life. I can’t remember whether my first trip was to Neverland or to Oz, but I DO know that I returned to both places countless times.

For many, many years all my travel took place solely between my ears. Although school did its best to smother any interest in geography by forcing us to memorize products, capitals, and other bone crushingly boring trivia, I never lost my enthusiasm for the exotic places I discovered through our local library. Books were my magic carpet, whisking me to wondrous places a small town girl like me never dreamed she’d ever be able to actually visit.

Maybe that’s why today, before I set foot in another country, I try to read as much as I can about its culture, religion, politics, history and yes, even geography. I want to experience in it my head first. It sounds crazy, even to me, but a place seems more REAL if I have read about it.

Our next trip will be to the Himalayan countries of Bhutan, Nepal and Tibet. Here’s a map courtesy of Overseas Adventure Travel, roughly showing where we will be easin’ on down the road. Notice the red line stops at the Seti River? That’s where the rafting starts, because there ain’t no road to get where we are going, yellow brick or otherwise.

So about those books I’ve been reading– lets start with Bhutan.

My interest in that country began several years ago when I stumbled across The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner. It introduced me to Bhutan’s concept of Gross National Happiness. Also around that time, we’d had the good fortune to meet and travel with Dr. Peter Steele. In 1967, at a time when it was closed to most of the western world, he and his wife were invited to visit Bhutan by the royal family. After reading his account of the trip, Two and Two Halves in Bhutan, I became even more interested in visiting that fascinating country.

OAT provides a list of “additional resources” for each country on the tour. That list was my starting point, supplemented by what I could find on Overdrive, an online resource available through our library and of course, by random internet searches.

What follows is nothing even close to a book report, mainly I am somewhat lazy, but also because you will get better summaries by clicking on the blue words in this post. The Amazon and Good Reads reviewers will do a much better job filling you in than I would have done.

I had no idea that in addition to Peter Steele, Shirley Maclaine also visited Bhutan in the ’60s. In her 1970 autobiography, Don’t Fall Off the Mountain, she explains that she had gone to India to learn to meditate, and while there met the new Prime Minister, Lhendup Dorji. He had assumed that position after the prior Prime Minister (his brother) was assassinated by a member of the military. She accepted Dorji’s invitation to visit Bhutan, but unfortunately there was still political unrest in the country, so her visit was cut short. Still, she was there long enough to give me a feel for what Bhutan was like during that period. Plus, she DID make it to the famous Tiger’s Nest Monastery in Paro. And so will I.

Jamie Zeppa’s book, Beyond the Sky and Earth is a wonderful description of life in Bhutan during the late ’80s. She spent two years as a teacher, first with elementary students in a remote village, then teaching college students at Sherubtse College near Trashigang. Yeah, I’d never heard of those places either.

Jamie married one of her students,Tshewang Dendup. Why did I feel compelled to tell you his name? Well there is a reason. In 2003, he had a starring role in the lovely Bhutanese movie, Travellers and Magicians. I got the DVD from my library; it’s a great way to sneak a peek at the beautiful Bhutanese scenery (and to check out Jamie’s ex- husband, if you are so inclined.)

Lisa Napoli”s book, Radio Shangri-La is about her volunteer work at Kuzoo FM, Bhutan’s “youth based” radio station. Established in 2006 as one of the king’s projects, Kuzoo broadcasts in both Dzongkha and English. Lisa’s several years with NPR made her a valuable resource for this young radio station.

Those 4 books gave me glimpses of Bhutan’s evolution from a closed Himalayan kingdom of the ’60s up to around 2009. What did I learn from my reading?

Ten Fun Facts About Bhutan (Not in order of importance, or any other kind of order, for that matter)

Bhutan is also known as Druk Yul, the Land of the Thunder Dragon
Marijuana grows wild in Bhutan, and is fed to the pigs because (surprise, surprise) it increases their appetite.
Ara is the local moonshine; its a clear wine made from rice. ( Now that we’ve gotten the local stimulants out of the way, let’s move on)
All doctors visits and health care is free
Drukpa Kinley, a Tibetan monk who lived in the late 1400’s, made his way to Bhutan. He was also known as the Divine Madman who used his “flaming thunderbolt” to bless women and to bestow “enlightenment”. He was so successful in his endeavors, he became the patron saint of fertility.
Thanks to the Divine Madman, many Bhutanese houses sport paintings and sculptures of phalluses. Who knows, photos of the artwork may be a coming attraction of this blog.
Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the 4th king of Bhutan, voluntarily gave up absolute power in 1998. (When does THAT ever happen??) He guided the nation from a hereditary monarchy (which had been established in 1907) to its current status as a parliamentary democracy.
Okay, so now the”People Magazine” type information: The 4th king had 4 wives, all of them sisters.
His son, the 5th king, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, was crowned in November of 2008. That king has only ONE wife, who he met at a picnic when he was 17 and she was 7. According to legend, he said ‘When you grow up, if I am not married and if you are not married, I would like you to be my wife, provided we still feel the same.’
Men wear the Gho, and women wear the Kira; these two articles comprise Bhutan’s national dress. Jamie’s book mentions that all Bhutanese were required to wear the national dress. This dress code was an issue for the Nepalese immigrants living in the southern part of the country. I don’t know whether the requirement still exists today, but it will be pretty apparent once we get there whether it does or not.

I actually learned a whole lot more, but I have to save SOMETHING for when we get there, right?

Next stop on our book tour – Nepal.

Four Visas, Three Countries

We will be visiting three countries–Bhutan, Nepal and Tibet. So why do we need FOUR visas? Fair warning–this post will likely only interest those that are taking a similar trip, or are planning to visit India.

For the three of you that are still reading, here goes.

We fly into and out of Delhi, so since we have at least one overnight stay in India, we need a visa. A visa that costs (depending on the service used) anywhere from $135 to $173, per person. A visa that requires you to complete an on-line application that is challenging to decipher. But there IS a positive aspect. The visa is good for 10 years. So, should we decide to spend more than an overnight in India, it will be best to do so before 2026.

If you are anything like me, you are probably wondering how to score the $135 charge. Well, Cox and Kings is India’s approved visa grantor, so you get the best price if you opt to go direct to them.

Our travel company, OAT, sent out a package with very helpful, clear instructions. Good thing, because there are lots of hoops you need to jump through for that India online application.

OAT recommends PVS, a visa processing company located in DC, probably because you can send your passport to one service and they take care of visas for both India and Nepal, which is not the case with Cox and Kings. PVS is convenient, yes, but as with everything, you pay for that convenience. If we had used PVS, we would have paid a total of $566 for both visas, including mailing charges.

Instead, our total cost was $362, a savings of $204. How did I pull that off? In addition to using Cox and Kings, I dealt directly with the Nepali Embassy.

I happened to be traveling to NYC to meet a friend for lunch and a show, so I figured, what the heck, I’ll just go in a little earlier and stop by the embassy. Located at 216 East 49th St, it is only open between 9:30 and 1:30 during the week. Right between these two restaurants,

you’ll find this sign on the side of the building:
You have to press the button on the side of the wall to get buzzed in. I walked up to their tiny office on the 4th floor, but there IS an elevator. The visas cost $40 per person versus $90 for PVS, so that represented half of our $200 in savings.

One thing that is important to know if you decide to go–they ONLY take money orders. No cash, no personal check, no credit or debit cards. Of course, I had everything that they didn’t take, but all was not lost because there is a place that sells money orders on the next block. I have no idea what a money order costs, because my bank had a branch on the same block, so my money order was free. If I had been smart, I would have found this website before I left home. It EXPLAINS the money order requirement and tells you what is needed to submit by express mail or courier–good news for those of you that have no intention of traveling to NYC.

It took 30 minutes for processing to be completed. Passports and visas clutched in one hand, my other raised to hail a taxi, I was off for the Cox and King office 23 blocks away.

I thought I might be able to drop off my package (to be mailed to my home when processing was completed) and still be on time for lunch. I was delusional. It was a total waste of time and cab fare. The smart thing would have been just to express mail the damn thing in the first place and be done with it. Which is what I ultimately did. Less than 2 weeks later, our passports arrived.

Two down, two to go.

Bhutan and Tibet both require that you send them a color copy of the first two pages of your passport in advance of trip. (OAT , bless them, is handling this part). The actual visas are provided when you arrive, but only if you have 2 color passport type photos (2 for each country, 4 in total), ANOTHER copy of our passport pages (for Tibet) and approximately $70 for Bhutan and $190 for Tibet, per person, in cash. Cash means pristine bills–no wrinkles, tears or marks. OAT recommends we bring more, because these fees are subject to change without notice. See why we use a travel company when we venture to more non-traditional locales? Knowing me, I would have missed one or more of the requirements.

So, what did I learn from this adventure? If you have enough time to submit directly to the embassy and Cox and Kings by express mail (or Fedex or UPS–whatever) you can save a bundle. You just need to send for one, wait for the passports to be returned, then send to the other. If, however, money is no object (that’s definitely not ME), and you prize convenience, or are short on time, then a service, like PVS is the way to go.

Next post will be about something other than this future trip. I promise!

Celebrating the Big Four Oh

No, not my 40th birthday. That happened a LONG time ago, and quite honestly, I have no recollection of how we marked that milestone.

THIS big event is our 40th wedding anniversary, and yes, that photo is indeed 40 years old. This year, our anniversary happens to be on Memorial Day, same as the day we eloped. Of course, true to form, our way of celebrating doesn’t coincide with the actual DATE, but that’s just the way we roll.

We have never been big party people, partly because so many of those near and dear to us are geographically scattered. Years ago, we stopped giving gifts, instead opting to collect memories rather than objects. Okay, so that’s the build-up. You ready for the “reveal”?

To mark our 4 decades together, we decided to travel to Bhutan, Nepal and Tibet with Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). Yes, I know Nepal had a devastating earthquake last May, with a full complement of aftershocks. For a country that depends on the tourist trade, we decided a way to support the Nepali was to visit their country, then share what we see and experience. We hope blog and Facebook posts might encourage others to do likewise. Or at least prepare those that come after us for what lies ahead.

I recognize that given the infrastructure of these three countries, I probably won’t be posting while traveling. That will have to wait till our return, but in the meantime, I’ll share what we have learned during the preparation stage, and believe me, there is a lot to learn.

I have been checking out air options, collecting visas, figuring out what to pack that will get us through a month away, with temperatures ranging from a high of over 100 in Chitwan National Park to lows of 19 in Lhasa, and everything in between, while also staying within the prescribed weight limits. I’ve also been busy reading everything I can get my hands on about the three countries.

So, fair warning. If you aren’t interested in that little corner of the world, subsequent posts are going to be bone crushingly boring to you.

For those that are considering traveling with OAT, this is my way to pay it forward. I have benefitted greatly from the kind people who have taken the time to post information on the OAT forum, and want to do likewise.

More to follow!

Fantastic Florence

Although this is a trip that focuses on hilltop Tuscan towns, no visit to Tuscany would be complete without a stop in the birthplace of the Renaissance, Florence.
My sister Sandy and I were lucky enough to spend two days in Florence in July, 2012, and Mike and I had done a day trip about 10 years ago, so we didn’t feel compelled to “do it all” this time around. Instead, we were satisfied with a leisurely and informative stroll with our wonderful local guide, Fernanda.
The evening before Fernanda had given us a fascinating overview of the Medici family, Renaissance art and the connections between the two. I’m sure I heard it all before in various history classes, but Fernanda really made it come to life during the lecture, and again, the next day during our stroll through Florence.

The Piazza Della Signoria was the first home of an important Medici couple, Eleonora and Cosimo I. This arranged match was not off to a great start. Those in the know wondered why this Spanish old maid was not spoken for? (She was 17). The groom didn’t even make it to his own wedding, so they were married by proxy. Fortunately, things improved greatly after that: it turned out to be a love match that produced 11 children.

Well, Eleanora was not happy with her “starter home”. It was devoid of gardens for the children to play in, so Eleanora used her own money (how cool is that–a woman with $$$ of her own back in the 1400’s) to purchase from the Pitti family a little “cottage” across the river.

The interior of the "starter" house — The interior of the “starter” house

Sandy and I spent a day wandering through the Pitti Palace, a glorious edifice, which now houses 6 or 7 museums. The Pitti Palace does indeed have spectacular gardens, plus a breathtaking view of the river and the duomo. No photos of the Pitti from this trip, because there was no time to visit it. You’ll just have to take my word for it that it was grand.
But I digress. Back to the Piazza Della Signoria . In front of the “starter home” is a replica of Michelangelo’s David. The original was moved from there to the protection of the Academia, but it was not initially created for that plaza. Instead, it was supposed to be placed on the facade of the Duomo. Fernanda explained that was why the hands are so enormous. When viewed from below, the hands would be correctly proportioned.

Formulating his Goliath slaying strategy

There are lots of other wonderful sculptures, but my favorite is below–the rape of the Sabine women.

We had considered visiting a museum during our free time. Instead, we decided to take Anna’s advice not to succumb to “Stendhal Syndrome” and become over saturated with culture.
After a fantastic lunch at Boccadama, Mike and I stopped for gelato, then wandered up an alley near the church of Santa Croce to visit Italian Loves, a wonderful little shop.
The proprietor allows you to sample his wares. You can taste the olive oil, the balsamic vinegar and the wine. I was deeply regretting having a gelato BEFORE visiting Italian Loves. What to do? Why, buy a little of everything. Those near and dear to me know what THAT means. Yes, there just MAY be a gift in your future.

Yes, that wine was wonderful-and yes, we have already polished it off

Although my BLOG is only on our second day in Tuscany, WE are actually in Sorrento. The problem with posts lagging well behind the visits is one can get confused. Particularly when that “one” is me. If you are following my posts, true confession time. We didn’t stop at the American cemetery after our feast at Giuseppe’s Pianciorciano Cheese Factory. It was after this visit to Florence, which is only important if you want to find the cemetery. You’d have a hell of a time if you were looking in the Radicofani area, because it is located between Florence and Chianciano Terme. Ah well. Accuracy is a small price to pay for all the wine drinking and cafe sitting done instead of blogging, right?

Chianciano Terme–“The place to cure your liver”

That’s right. That’s the slogan for Chianciano Terme, our home for the next six days. Although my liver doesn’t need to be cured–at least not yet, if it ever ails me, I’m definitely coming back to this sweet Tuscan hill town. Twenty years ago, before socialized medicine stopped covering spa treatments, people came here for a week or two to drink and soak in the mineral waters. One hopes they were not drinking the water they were sitting in, but who knows? For some reason, once the treatments were no longer free, business dropped off dramatically, so now it is a much quieter place, which suits us just fine.

Our family owned and operated hotel is cute and comfortable. If you are wondering why I am including the following photo, it is because the shutter visible on the top of the door to the balcony rolls up and down with the press of a button, just like a garage door opener.

I don’t know why, but I find that enchanting.

This time, we didn’t win the room assignment sweepstakes. Our balcony overlooks the parking lot, while those on the other side view the rolling hills. But no matter. Our bus rides offer us views aplenty.

The first half of our trip focuses on hilltop towns of Tuscany. First up is the lovely hilltop town of Radicofani, a stopping place for pilgrims enroute to Rome.

Here’s Anna, our wonderful guide, pointing out the Pilgrim icon on the side of one of the buildings.

Ghino di Tacco, Radicofani’s most famous resident made his living robbing those pilgrims, but he did it with class. He made sure he left the poor ones enough to eat. But still, he was a robber. So how come he is immortalized with a statue on the outskirts of town?

All was forgiven after he kidnapped an Abbott, who had digestive problems (perhaps on his way to Chianciano Terme to get a liver tune up?). Instead, after living on bread, water and dried beans, the Abbott was miraculously cured of whatever ailed him, was released, made his way to Rome, and convinced the pope to make Ghino a knight of the Order of St. John. Who says crime doesn’t pay?

Here are a few more images of this hidden gem of a town.

One of the many reasons I’m loving this tour with Grand Circle is because of the experiences I never would have had if we were on our own. Silvana is one of those experiences. We stopped for a snack at her shop. Silvana not only fed us, she kept us entertained with a monologue (translated by Anna) that Jerry Seinfeld would have envied.

Anna, our fantastic tour guide, and Radicofani's delightful shopkeeper. — Anna with Silvana, Radicofani’s stand up comic. Check out those pastries!

Silvana is the youngest resident of Radicofani. Her 78 year old mama is still working, taking care of 5 of her “elderly” neighbors.

Mama, saying hello from the window over the shop.

Our trip to the sheep farm will have to wait till tomorrow, or I’ll never get this post finished!

Top Ten Reasons for Biking with VBT

There is something about a list with a number alongside that is SO compelling–100 top colleges, 25 top attractions, 15 fool proof ways to excite a man. They just shout “READ ME”, don’t they? So, I figured why not?
Drum roll, please.
The Ten Top Reasons for biking with VBT, not necessarily in order of importance–just in the order that my somewhat addled brain extracts them.

1. Fantastic guides!
I’ve taken three VBT trips; each one has had delightful local guides, who do everything in their power to make sure we have an amazing experience. They are entertaining, knowledgeable and SKILLED!

Flat tire? No problem…one of them will fix it for you. Andi DID demonstrate how to change a tire so that we would know what to do back home. I was quite happy that should the need arise, all I had to do was wait until whichever one was “sweeping” (riding at the back of the group to make sure we were all okay) to catch up and rescue me. But thanks anyway, Andi. I hope I never have to put my new knowledge to the test

Here's Andi, ready for ANY emergency! — Here’s Andi, ready for ANY emergency!

I’m posting this photo of Hana, seriously studying for her law exam (no, not during our trip…she emailed it to us later) because it shows her dog, Candy, helping her concentrate. Candy is a Maltese, just like Lilly, my sister Sue’s dog.

2. Wonderful New Friends
On every trip, we have managed to meet interesting, fun people. Some, like Victoria from our Slovenia trip, continue the friendship even after the biking trip is a distant memory.

We hope that will be true for this trip also. Mike would have really enjoyed talking with Peter because they have so much in common: an interest in meteorites, ancient coins, research, writing, photography. Mike is not a biker–but maybe there will be other opportunities for them to meet in the future.

The Midwestern Ladies have already appeared in previous posts, but I have to mention them again. They were beyond fantastic biking companions! We made them “honorary biker chicks” a title that is definitely not easy to come by.

The Connecticut Contingent: Peter and Joan in the lead, followed by Julia and Tom

3. Van stops, exactly when you need them
How great is it not to have to worry about getting your belongings from town to town? It also helps to know that riding the van is always an option if you get too tired, or too wet.

Beth, enthusiastically making her way to the van. Those curls were really bobbing up and down! — Beth is enthusiastically making her way to the van. Those curls were really bobbing up and down!

4. Breath-taking scenery
It is true that the scenery in this area is amazing regardless of how you travel across it, but there is something special about being able to stop whenever you want, to savor the beauty and to take a photo or two.

I found this old tree fascinating. Probably it was alive when Napoleon was running wild, conquering surrounding countries!

This shot was taken from the center of a dam that we rode across on our way to Austria. The dam isn't all that visually compelling, so I'll spare you. — This shot was taken from the center of the dam that we rode across on our way to Austria. The dam isn’t all that visually compelling, so I’ll spare you.

5. Alternate Modes of Transportation
Much as I enjoy biking, it is nice to give your hindquarters a little break. On this trip, we traveled by train and by boat. The ride down the Danube offered a different view of the little town of Passau, where the waters of the Inn, the Ilz and the Danube converge, each one a different color.

A view of Passau from the river. You can NEVER have too many churches–or to many clock towers!

6. Exploration Options
We always had sufficient free time to explore the little towns and villages; to pursue whatever interests we might have, whether it be using the zip line at a playground, listening to a concert in the local church, shopping, trying out the local delicacies, or doing all of the above.

Sorry sisters and cousins...I didn't buy any of these. It was too early in the trip. They would have either melted, or been eaten before I got home. (Probably eaten) — Sorry sisters and cousins…I didn’t buy any of these. It was too early in the trip. They would have either melted, or been eaten before I got home. (Probably eaten)

7. Mind Expansion!
You always absorb interesting facts about the countries you visit, and you might even REMEMBER some of what you learned!

Unfortunately, my camera didn’t have a wide enough angle to capture the three different colors of the water coming from the three different rivers that converge at Passau. That image only resides in the space between my ears. Instead, I offer this description.

The waters really WERE different colors!

8. Dining in Unusual Places
We probably wouldn’t have found this restaurant in a cellar in Cesky Krumlov. (Or was it a cave?). Getting there was part of the experience. The taller members of the group had to stay scrunched over as we descended the winding, steep steps. There wasn’t a lot of headroom! But the dinner was SO worth it!

Katie, the youngest biker, with Karla from the Midwest and Kim, Katies mother — Katie, the youngest biker, with Karla from the Midwest and Kim, Katie’s mother

9. Pre and Post Trip Extensions
The trips always start and end in great locations, so if you have the time (and many of us did), you can opt for the pre and/or post trips. I’ve already posted about Prague, and if I get the energy, will also share Vienna highlights—but here is one photo from each place.

Prague, viewed from the top of the Charles Bridge Tower. (141 steps to the top, and through a little narrow door). I just can’t resist a tower!

Sally (Biker Chick who had other travel plans this year) had perfect timing. She emailed us the night before our last day in Vienna, suggesting that we visit the Hundertwasser Museum. It is always wise to take Sally’s (and Marilyn’s) recommendations.

Not only did we spend a morning in the museum, but we also found Hundertwasser’s village.

Vienna -- This will give you an idea of what Hundertwasser's art is like. — Vienna — This will give you an idea of what Hundertwasser’s art is like.

I particularly enjoyed Hundertwasser’s philosophical statements. Two of my favorites:
“If we do not honor our past, we lose our future. If we destroy our roots, we cannot grow”.

“A dead person is entitled to reincarnation in the form of, for example, a tree that grows on top of him and through him. The result would be a sacred forest of living dead. A garden of the happy dead.”
He asked to be buried without a coffin, to encourage decomposition.

10. Renewing Old Friendships
I know, I already talked about NEW friendships–but being with the other Biker Chicks deserves its very own reason number. Wouldn’t you agree?
For this trip, what was especially special was spending time with the “other” Karen, a college friend that I hadn’t seen in more than 4 decades!

Our Biking Group: The Connecticut Contingent, the Coloradians, the midwest Ladies, the Biker Chicks, and the “Katie” family, plus our super duper guides

We are all home now, doing laundry, readjusting to time zones, and having to cook our own meals.

Maybe there will be a quiz over the coming days? You never know…

Memorable VBT Moments

Vermont Bike Trips does an amazing job hiring personable, charming and helpful guides, organizing interesting routes, and making sure that there are options for all skill levels.

I’ve been asked how far someone rides on a typical day, and the short answer is as far as you want. For me, the total mileage was 120 miles over 6 days or an average of 20 miles per day. But some days were longer, others were shorter. For example, the first day is always short, because you are getting used to the bike and warming up. That first day,we all rode less than 10 miles. My longest ride was 29 miles, through Sumava, the Czech Republic’s largest national park.

It was uphill a fair part of the morning, because we were crossing the continental divide.

Beth and Denise put the pedal to the metal and powered up the hill.

Fortunately what goes UP must come down, so our ride after lunch was quite delightful. I felt like I was sitting on a motor scooter, zipping through the woods. No pedaling required for a couple of miles–I just held on and coasted.
But then we had a few anxious moments when the path we were following was roped off. Did we make a wrong turn? Were we going to have to retrace our wheels (they definitely weren’t steps), except going UPHILL for those “motor scooter” miles?
As we pondered our dilemma, it soon became clear. We heard the thunder of hooves, and realized that the ropes functioned as a type of traffic light. By the time I got my camera out, I was only able to capture this last guy.

The bike path is also the path for an earlier mode of transportation.

If I had been quicker retrieving my camera, you would have seen these guys in action. They were quite beautiful, galloping from one field to the other.

We enjoyed two days in Passau, Germany, a gorgeous little town on the Danube. During. Walk through town, I noticed the playground had a little zip line. You’d walk up a slight incline, hop onto a rope with a little seat type contraption, get a little momentum going and zip across to the others side, where you would smash into a big tire that would then fling you back at least halfway. Maybe the kids could get further…MY best distance was halfway. Sorry, no photos. I waited till it was dark, when the kids had all gone home.
I DO have photos of our ride along the River Inn, to the little town of Scharding. This was the morning that stopped raining just as we headed out. From the look of my legs, you can probably surmise that the trail was just a tiny bit muddy.

The bridge between Germany and Austria. I have a foot in each country.

This statue symbolizes the warm, loving feelings Germany and Austria have for each other.

The kissing statue. As you can see, I am very much in favor of loving kindness between nations.

It was a BEAUTIFUL ride, not too hot, not too cold, with the mist rising from the river making it very scenic.

I hope you really like this photo. While taking it, I managed to knock my bike off the path, into the mud. Good thing I had dismounted!

One last photo of Passau before I call it quits for the night. I don’t want to run out of my Internet allotment!

Passau's ancient tower at sunset — Passau’s ancient tower at sunset

Sometimes your luck just runs out…

Although the weather reports had been predicting rain, rain and more rain, for the first five biking days we had been really fortunate. The rain DID come, but it was either at night, or in the early morning, ending before we started riding, until our last biking day. But we were READY. We all donned our foul weather gear, and Diane improvised–using the hotel shower cap to cover her helmet.

My poncho was flapping wildly in the wind. As they whipped past, my co-bikers shouted that I looked like: the Red Baron, ET, the flying nun, Batman, –but the most popular was the witch from the Wizard of Oz. That got a couple of votes. I admired their creativity, but wondered why Karen didn’t get similar comments on HER poncho. Her theory? She didn’t look quite so ridiculous. Unfortunately, with the rain coming down, we weren’t able to get action shots, so you could see for yourself, and offer YOUR opinion.

Our wonderful guides, Hana and Andy, gave us several options that weren’t part of the day’s original plan. Several of us chose the newest option, a SHORT ride –9 miles. Our mother/ daughter team (Beth and Susan) are real troopers (or masochists), riding the full 16 miles to Melk.

One of the bonuses of our VBT trips is the people we meet. We all loved the Midwestern ladies. Beth was especially grateful for Jessie, who made the return trip from Melk with Susan. Marcia, Jessie’s sister, was equally grateful for Susan. Otherwise, Beth and Marcia would have felt compelled to ride back, in the RAIN, with their crazed biker relative.

Our new Midwestern friends: Jessie, Marcia, Karla, and Mary

We’ve declared the Midwestern ladies honorary “Biker Chicks” and hope that they will join us for our ride in 2016. Here’s Jessie, atop St. Michael’s church tower.

Back in the day, churches were multipurpose, serving as fortresses AND places of worship. Why not use good time management and fit in a few prayers while you are shooting your arrows?

The tower has been modernized, with lovely art work, so you have something to gaze upon as you climb to the top.

Inside St. michael's church tower — Inside St. michael’s church tower

Also on the ride from our hotel in Weissenkirchen to Melk was a 25,000 year old statue of Venus. But she was high on the hill, it was raining, so I figured I’d just google her. When I did, I learned the one atop the hill is a replica and the real one is here in Vienna! Wise decision on my part, wouldn’t you say?

Melk was yet another over the top example of the wealth of the Catholic Church. Our guide explained that God had to be greater than the emperor, so the churches, and his chosen ones had to have the proper wardrobe. There were capes that Elvis could have worn, Michael Jackson gloves, and Liberace shoes.

Here are a few more shots of Melk which will likely use up my Internet allotment for the day.

Our Last Day in the Czech Republic

My friends and sisters would be shocked. I’m on my SECOND beer! No, not my second beer today–my second beer in three days–but still. Plus, I’m drinking alone, although in my mind, I am with YOU, my blogging buddies. That counts, right?

What’s next? Smoking cigarettes?

Our group is meeting our guide in an hour for a tour of the Cesky Krumlov castle, so I decided this is the perfect time to hang in an outdoor cafe. It’s relatively near our meeting spot and equipped with wifi. Who could ask for anything more?

Unlike the good ol USA, in the Czech Republic, cafés don’t rush you and the servers don’t circle around,trying to get you to spend more money. I’m the only one here who is not speaking Czech, so I suspect I had the good fortune to stumble into a place that only the locals patronize. Sometimes having a lousy sense of direction turns out to be a good thing.

But I am indeed on a bike trip, and ride we did this morning. Here’s proof. The two Karens and Susan are doing their Czech imitation, while I am flashing my “American smile”. That actually is a term here in the Czech Republic. Hana, our guide, explains that the Czech don’t smile much, so to them, we Americans appear always to be grinning broadly. And why not? When THEY see us, we are on vacation, enjoying their beautiful country.

The Czech countryside is lovely, with lots of rolling hills, farmland and woods. One of those rolling hills today was a KILLER. I made it halfway and walked the rest of the way to the top, as did many in our group. But at least we tried.

This cow was just BEGGING to have her photo taken.

We had a wonderful lunch at a home in the little town of Plav.

Tom, one of the four men in our group (out of twenty participants) took a little spin on the tractor, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to back it into the “garage”. A wise decision on his part.

About half of us decided to get back to Cesky Krumlov via 4 wheels instead of 2, so we’d have time to explore (or blog and drink beer).

I don’t know anything yet about the castle that dominates the skyline, other than that a bear lives in what I imagine was once the moat.

Bet you thought I was kidding about the bear.

Tomorrow morning, we will take a train to Passau, Germany and will spend the rest of the day riding there. At some point there WILL be a quiz and the usual historical stuff, but for now, I’m just experiencing the culture of the country, where Pilsner was invented, and Budweiser got its start.

Three Days in Prague

Three days in Prague were not nearly enough. Such a beautiful, interesting city deserves a return trip, but next time it will be with Mike. That’s why I intentionally didn’t do the historical things that I know he’d enjoy. For example, although we did visit the castle complex, we didn’t take a tour. Instead, we did a quick circuit around the exterior, content to enjoy the panoramic view.

Although we received tram passes as part of our Vermont Bike Trip package, we used leg power to get to the castle. ALL the way up…ALL those stairs, just like his majesty’s subjects must have done, in the days of old.

And what a warm welcome they received! Check out the entrance to the palace.

This fine fellow is on the left of the entrance.

And it his guy is on the right. — And this guy is on the right.

Do you think Charles IV was a bit ambivalent about guests? Perhaps he wanted to make sure they didn’t wear out their welcome?

We skipped the art and the churches, only stopping to see the throne room.

Only kidding…

that’s actually my bathroom at our hotel in Cesky Krumlov. Hotel Ruze was once a Jesuit school, which doesn’t explain the choice of plumbing fixtures, it just explains some of the guests.

So, we now have left Prague, had our first bike ride (which started out on narrow, winding, cobblestone streets and included more than one big hill), enjoyed meeting our biking companions during a champagne reception and finished a magnificent dinner in a little cavern. Time to call it a night!

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