Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Lake Eibsee, Wank Mountain, Zugspitze, Linderhof Palace, and back to Strasbourg

 Our friends Jon and Cherolyn came for a visit.  After their evening arrival we left first thing the next morning for Bavaria.  It was a long rainy drive but worth it once we arrived.  We returned to the Hotel Das Graseck in Garmish-Partenkirchen because we enjoyed it so much last year.

View from our balcony

Every morning we checked out our view.  We were never disappointed.

We spent some time walking around Lake Eibsee.

Knowing we wouldn’t have clear views we still took a cog train up to the highest mountain in Germany. 

It was snowing!

Jon, Cherolyn and I walked the Partnach Gorge.  A must see with its steep rock walls and fast flowing water.

A tram took us to the top of Wank Mountain where we did some hiking, admired the views and had a typical German lunch.

Linderhof Palace was a treat.  The grounds were beautiful and the palace itself has a magnificent interior.  It was a nice place to visit without being overly large.  It was built by King Ludwig II.

Front of the Linderhof Palace

Leaving Bulgaria our drive back to Rabelo and Strasbourg was uneventful, meaning no rain.  We then spent a day exploring Strasbourg.

We returned to the Parc de l’Orangerie to check on the storks and their babies.  This visit included a stroll around the beautiful grounds of the park.

The storks take good care of their babies.

In Kaysersberg we had another great wine tasting with Philippe Blanck at Domaine Paul Blanck.

Chasing Dandelions in Strasbourg

The birthday boy

 We’ve returned to Rabelo.  It’s spring in France.  You might ask how I know?  The temperatures are fluctuating from the mid 80’s down to sweatshirt weather.  There are spectacular cloudless blue skies and then rain showers.  The storks have returned and are busy building their nests. We see swans sitting on their nests while the early birds are already parading with their cygnets.  And speaking of parades…the tourists have flooded Strasbourg.  Streets are packed with tourists from the river barges with guides waving their little flags and their armies dutifully following behind.  Unbeknownst to us, annually on a Sunday in May Strasbourg has a multitude of races throughout the city.  There are the walkers with the walking sticks, racers running different distances, and even wheelchair racers.  Various corners have brass bands. The city was alive and vibrant with good cheer.  I must mention the dandelions which dance, swirl, twist, turn, and fill our boat daily with reminders that it is spring.

We had front row seats in the kitchen at Le Restaurant 1741 to celebrate Tom’s birthday. 

The presentation was always beautiful.

I can’t begin to describe what we ate.

I can only say that each course was delicious

Having a front row seat for the evening was interesting.  The duck looked delicious as it was trimmed for the perfect presentation.

Our first dessert

Meringue lollipops for our second dessert

I wonder if they would come cook for us?

Her nest was next to the road with cars, bicycles and pedestrians.  

This family came by our boat for a visit.  She was showing off her cygnets.

Check out all the nesting storks.  If you look closely you’ll see them on top of every branch. 

The storks even nested on the park building.

There were people race walking with walking sticks.  We saw all ages.

These runners came through the center of Strasbourg

More racers coming through the old town of Strasbourg.

We had a great evening reconnecting with our barging friends Mark and Debra.

Cruising the canals of Europe on our 1929 barge called Rabelo. Please join me.

 Dear friends,

It seems that something has happened to my blog and it is no longer being delivered by email.  I’ve received numerous questions asking why I stopped blogging. I haven’t stopped. I’m hoping you can help me out.  I’d like to create a new list of recipients.  With this list I think I can get my blogs to you again by email.  Please email or message me that you’re interested in receiving my blog  and I will add you to my new list. Hopefully it will work and you won’t need to check Facebook to follow our travels,  I look forward to hearing from you. 

Sarreguemines, France (catching up)

Remaining Roman arch.  Sarrguemines began as a Roman settlement. 

View of the Saar river and the Casino.  The town was famous for the beautiful pottery and ceramics they

Distinctive old architecture. 

We walked to Remelfing where we saw the Marie which is the City Town Hall. 

Bridge repair work

A friend we made on our walk

Part of our walk

Our daily walk and place for locals to swim. 

Remains of the old factory 

 

Distinctive old remaining architecture. 

One of the original streets of Sarreguemines

One of the oldest streets in Sarreguemines.  Most of the houses were reconstructed during the 18th and 19th centuries. The “help” lived in the upper floor where you see the top windows. Hot in the summer and cold in the winter. 

Someone came up with the idea of building a miniature cruise ship and giving tours. Apparently it wasn’t successful and the boat is now parked along the canal. 

Bridge art

Used on the corners of streets to protect the buildings from carriage wheels is a bollard known as a wheel guard.

Last remaining pottery firing building. The town originally was filled with these buildings all spewing out smoke.