Sunday May 22 We are off to Napoli. J helps navigate and does a wonderful job. We arrive at our hotel in no time (it does help that it is right next to the main train station). We find that our room is ready, so we unload the car and head off to the airport to return our trusty rental that has served us well over almost 4000 km of driving around southern Italy. We catch a cab back to the hotel, and learn from the driver that Napoli has 1 million residents, and another 1 million folks that live in the country and outlying towns but commute into Napoli to work.
Once back at the hotel we try to go for a walk around the old section of the city, but as Napoli has had a garbage strike going on for several weeks, we find that walking around is not very enjoyable (heaps of trash on some streets)– so we head back to the hotel. We stop at a restaurant just down the street from our hotel, we see lots of locals so we know it’s a good spot, and the menu is to J’s liking. We really notice the low prices and recognize that we have become used to prices in tourist spots. We have a wonderful lunch and determine that we will come back for dinner, the food is great, staff fun, and the prices are good too. J and M head back to the hotel room to watch some sports on English language TV (a real treat after 5 weeks of all TV in Italian), while T sees if there are any shops with clothes to her liking. We go back to the restaurant for dinner and while there chat with a family from Saskatoon.. We have a good chat and tell them a few things about getting around Amalfi. We all find it nice to have a good conversation in English.
Monday May 23 – Up at 6:00 so we can catch our train to Geneve at 7:30 AM. We have figured out the train system rather well by now, and have our routine of who carries which bags so we can get on and off in time, like when we need to switch trains. As its daytime for this entire train ride we get to see the countryside north of Napoli and Rome. As we travel north of Milano we get back into mountains that remind of western Canada, a nice feeling! We arrive in Geneve before 5 PM and aim to find lockers so we can store some stuff instead of carrying everything we have around all the time, only to find that the lockers are only good for a maximum 3 days. T goes and checks (now she has to use her French as that is the main language here in Geneve) and confirms that they will remove our stuff if we leave it there too long – oh well we will need to think of a plan B. At our hotel, we do some Internet stuff, and just hang for awhile before we join a friend of M’s (who works in Geneve) for a wonderful dinner at the lake front. We have a fun evening, learn lots about this area of Switzerland, and agree we should get together again after we come back from Germany. Its back to the hotel and M has a late night getting as much done as possible on the Wi-Fi as we know we will not have Internet access where we are going in Germany.
Tuesday May 24 – Not quite so early today as we decide to spend most of the morning just enjoying Geneve, before we catch our 12-hour train ride to Hamburg. We have learned more about train travel, so we buy some fruit and lunch snacks for the trip, and have our reading material and card games ready. Travelling by train is very enjoyable, not as quick as flying, but way quicker and more enjoyable than driving. So we have an easy day, although long as we travel about 1100 km, seeing a lot of the countryside in first Switzerland and then Germany (which we essentially cross from south to north). We do get an unexpected treat as the train travels along the Rhine, we see a number of old castles (most looking restored and in use) some that remind us of those we saw in storybooks, and one that reminded J of Hogwarts. One even looked similar to parts of the Banff Springs Hotel – maybe it was used as the model for the Rockies icon. We also notice that the churches here are different than in Italy and have really high and steep steeples. We arrive in Hamburg after 11 PM, find our hotel and drop immediately off to sleep, even though our room was way too close to a busy street.
Wednesday May 25 – We have Internet access at this hotel, so we get the last few things we need to do on the Net done, and head off to the train station to pick up our rental car. M learns that the volcanic eruption in Iceland has impacted the available cars from the rental agency, and they apologetically say that the BMW 3 series car we had booked will not be available for a few hours, or we could take an Audi 4 station wagon now. Surprising to the rental agency M says the A4 station wagon will be fine, as he knows he can certainly fit everything we have in that vehicle, and as we have an Audi Q5 at home we will enjoy the car anyway. T books our overnight sleeper car tickets for the return train trip from Hamburg to Paris, and then we see what kind of good German food we can find for brunch before the 2 hour car ride up to see our friends in Brarupholz. J finds an amazing bratwurst (well it is Germany) and fries, while T and M have great sandwiches. We also find some great pastries for the drive and off we go.
This car has a GPS, a life-saver, as M’s friend in Genève had reminded us of the exorbitant roaming charges if we use T’s Iphone. We thanked him for the tip. It’s the first time that M has driven with a built-in GPS and finds it works wonderfully and easy for the driver to watch the road AND know the correct route. Good stuff for as our leased car in France also has a GPS. The drive to Brarupholz is easy, and again we notice how much farmland is in Europe, we are in Germany now but have seen mostly farmland in every country we have been in so far.
We arrive in Brarupholz (a small community of 100 people) and find our friends rented cottage with only one wrong turn. The cottage has a thatched roof - really cool.
They are pleased, although surprised, to see us as T had said we would arrive on the 26th. Good thing we arrived when we did as they were just about to go out for the afternoon to visit a friend. We tell them to go see their friend as we will be very happy to just hang out and enjoy the time here, an area that reminds both M (and T) of the countryside where he grew up. It’s the first place where we have been that there is room for J to play baseball. So J and T have a walk on a path in the nearby woods while M unloads the car, and then we all spend an hour playing baseball in a hayfield across the road. J gets to hit while M pitches and T fields. He gets some good hits and as he likes the Blue Jays he tells us which batter he is each time. Then we enjoy sitting in the backyard, taking in the sun, while J checks out the largest hammock that any of us have ever seen.
When Annegret and Jochen get home from visiting their friend, we head over to Gelting on the Baltic Sea for a wonderful dinner that included white asparagus as it’s in season.
Thursday, May 26 - Today we drove up to Tonders, Denmark to visit a Maria and Carl Christian Sorenson who are cousins of Annegret. We drive along roads which are bordered with beautiful green fields planted with various crops, pass through small villages with houses (many are brick) with meticulously kept yards abloom with flowers and shrubs. The villages tend to align the road. We notice that a number of the country roads in this area are bordered on one side by bike paths. We notice a number of cyclists, many of them have baskets to carry their groceries etc from town. It takes us a little over an hour to reach the town. We are warmly welcomed into their home. Annegret tells us that we will be having a hot meal. She are also tells us that Danes like to eat. Well, this becomes evident by the end of the day. We have a wonderful ham, sausage, boiled potatoes, accompanied with a jug of melted butter, pickled beets, caramelized sugared potatoes, and a creamed kale dish followed by ice cream. All of us had a couple of servings it was so delicious!! We also had beers and the customary schnapps shot to toast the meal! (with the exception of J of course!)
Maria offers to take us for a tour of Tonders around since about 1245. The town centre is pedestrian only where we walk on cobbled stone streets and notice the architecture is different from other places we have been to.
This town is known for the art of lacing which is pretty much a lost art today. Only a few artisans continue this today. While in a museum the curator brought out her current project we marveled at the intricate process in order to complete a small patch of lace – way too finicky. J and T went into a gift shop with a lower floor catering to Christmas décor. They went room to room to choose something to remind them of Denmark. J had a hard time deciding, but did finally concede that he couldn’t bring home all he wanted. We also went to Mogeltonder where we drove by Schackenborg – the palace of Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark – a wonderful landholding. The village next to it was a wonderful step back in time wandering through cobbled streets with thatched roof homes. There was a wonderful Lutheran church with primarily made of wood, wonderful painted ceilings and reserved seating for families.
Once back at the house by 3:30, it was time for coffee and cake. A beautiful layered cake with whipped cream and strawberries, as well as freshly made buns and cheese. This is a tradition for Germans and Danes. We continued the visit and about 6 pm the cold cuts, cheese, pates, rolls, bread, sauces, and more drinks followed – another tradition. Oh my, we were absolutely topped up – we ate food for about 2 days worth on a normal day!! We had a wonderful time meeting them and listening to stories. After goodbye handshakes and hugs, we left for home at 8:00. What a wonderful day spent making new friends.
Friday, May 27 – After working out today, we were off to visit Jochen’s hometown of Kappeln - an old city built along a river, which leads out into the Baltic Sea. Today it is rainy and windy, so not such a great day for walking around but we go just the same. We stop at a windmill which reminded us of the stereotypical Holland – it was an originally a grain mill and later a sawmill.
We parked and then walked in the pedestrian-only town centre, again cobblestoned roads. It was wonderful walking with Jochen who led us through the streets of his childhood accompanied with stories.
We entered a church – St. Nikolas dating back to 1180 where Jochen and Annagret married 47 years ago. Here the ceiling was beautifully hand painted with arched ceilings, two tiers of balconies, an enormous pipe organ.
We wonder through the streets and enjoy looking around, then drive back to the cottage for a quiet evening.
Saturday, May 28 – Today we organized a box to be sent home which holds our plate we bought in Erice, which now has some broken pieces. We were quite disappointed, but with Jochen’s encouragement that it will still generate wonderful memories for us, we decide to send it home. Today we drive through towns and countryside near Jochen and Annagret’s childhood homes.
Jochen shared stories with us of his father being a prisoner of war in the World War II as well as Annegret’s father fighting in the war and what it was like to not seeing their fathers for years. A fascinating trip which included a stop for afternoon coffee and cake at a café – that German weekend tradition! We go to Annegret’s cousin’s dairy farm and J and T get to see cows being milked with the automatic milkers (which they find quite cool), J gets to see some two-week old calves, and also pet two wonderful horses. Then back to the cottage where M and Jochen BBQ in the rain while T makes the veggies and dumplings.
Sunday, May 29 Today is the day Jochen’s family is coming for a visit. The daily routine starts the same, Jochen goes over to the local store to pick up fresh buns delivered by the baker every day. Then we all sit around the table enjoying conversation while having coffee and breakfast. Next Annegret prepares a big pot of chile for the afternoon, with M and T chipping in to help, and then Annegret and T prepare the cottage for visitors. Jochen’s brother Peter, his wife Anja, and her mother Eike, join us. We also met nieces Liesbeth and Inger, with her two daughters Zoe and Phoebe (aged 13 and 10, so J had some friends to visit with too), and nephew Hans. They all spoke English, which made the visit even more fun for us, although there was also lots of German spoken. They were all interested in our trip and invited us to visit when we come back to Germany in 2014. M even has a date to drive Anja’s mother (who is over 80) around in his Porsche when we come back. She said everyone in the nursing home would be envious when he drives up in the Porsche to pick her up! Another wonderful day meeting family of friends.
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