Summer 2012 European Travel Interim Report

It has been a month since I posted last, in the midst of our wonderful week in Paris with Tawana and Wes. I owe three or four more posts from Paris, and then much, much more. In my defense, I can say we have been busy. Very busy.

From Paris we flew to Amsterdam to pick up the Grey Wanderer, which had been in storage there nearly 11 months. Thanks to Gerard and Caravanstalling van der Zwaan, our camper was in perfect working order. We took a day to unpack and move back in, camping in Aalsmeer, and to make a few repairs and improvements. Then we spent a day in Amsterdam, mostly at the Rijksmuseum, revisiting a variety of other spots in town and enjoying more servings of the great Amsterdam pommes frites; and Heineken.

Next day we were off to Berlin for two days' sightseeing—mostly the Pergamon and the Gemaldegalerie—prior to the arrival of Rebecca, Jeremy, and Penelope. For the next two weeks, while Rebecca and Jeremy enjoyed a vacation, our principal task was to care for 14 month-old grand-daughter Penelope. P stayed with us in the camper at Wohnmobil Berlin while Rebecca and Jeremy toured, and then we all drove to Dresden, where we continued that arrangement, P with us at our favorite stellplatz, Pension Werner Knopf, and Rebecca and Jeremy touring from a hotel downtown. We got together for various meals and museum tours, etc. P took to all this, including jet-lag and a minor cold, with her usual equanimity and good humor. She is a happy baby, now a happy and inquisitive toddler, and a joy.

Next we drove to Prague where Rebecca and Jeremy had rented a three bedroom apartment in New Town (1358), in which we all stayed for several days, relaxing, seeing the great city and its sights, enjoying meals and more together. We stored the camper at our previous stay-place, Camping Drusus, outside of Prague. Prague has become one of our favorite places, all the art and architecture, and we were happy to share it with R and J.

Next we drove to Vienna, the terminus of Rebecca and Jeremy's vacation. They again had rented an apartment, somewhat smaller, and P stayed with us at old friend Camping Vienna West, but again we got together on a number of occasions, biergartens, heurigens, the Naschmarkt, and more. The weather was very warm that week in Vienna, but we all had a good time and got R, J,and P off, at length, Monday a week ago. They are safely back in Menlo Park now, joined for a few days' visit by daughter Rachel.

Vicki and I stayed another few days in Vienna, seeing old favorites like the Kunsthistorischemuseum, acquiring some new favorites, like the Hundertwassers architecture, and having a great time despite the heat. Thursday, we pulled up stakes finally and turned back west, following the Danube past Melk and then wending our way back into the Czech Republic to see Cesky Krumlov. We spent a crazy night and day there—it is a crazy place this time of year—and then drove on west. We spent three nights in Erding, outside Munich, at Therme Erding, reputedly Europe's largest “thermal world”, a massive water/sauna/water slide/spa complex that permits free wohnmobil stays for its clients. We took the cure Saturday—it requires its own post. Sunday we trained into Munich to revisit the Alte Pinakothek, one of our favorite art museums. Durer's 1500 Self Portrait remains my favorite painting. Well, apart from several Botticellis, Breugels, Cranachs, Boschs and Turners...and don't forget the Courbets and Renoirs and of course Dali...and some others, maybe even a Watteau or two. And then we we did a day in Augsburg and are now doing a couple in Ulm, where this morning I climbed the Munster's 700 foot steeple.

So, yes, we have been busy, internet has not always been available, especially in wifi-challenged Germany, but now, after perhaps a dozen world-class museums and some 3300 pix taken, I am back into posting. More tomorrow.

Penelope does jet-lag; with Grandma at Wohnmobil Berlin