And home is Carolyn from her travels

Home is the sailor, home from the sea, and the hunter home from the hill (Robert Stevenson). And Carolyn, home from her travels. The return trip is 17 hours, putting me home at 2AM German time on July 4th.  Because of the terrible fires we had in Colorado Springs, there were no fireworks for my return, which meant, for the first time ever, it was quiet on the night of July 4th, and my much needed sleep was uninterupted, surrounded by three happy dogs and two happy cats.  Even my phantom cat, Butter, that no one ever sees, came out and slept with us on the bed.  Yes, a bit crowded, but one bunch of happy critters. 

A bit about the flight.  I have always flown United. But, boy, have they changed.  My main complaint is that if you don"t care where you sit, great.  The planes were a 2/5/2/ configuration and they assign seats in economy and in the middle of the five seats.  So if that works for you for a 9 hour flight, all is well, those seats are included in your already high airfare.  BUT, if you want an aisle or window seat, there is an additional fee. The window seats are $59 and the aisle seats are $109.  I wanted aisle seats, and those are consided an "upgrade".  So my return flight cost $250 to change the ticket date and $168 for aisle seats.  that part aside, the trip was easy, sort of.  It takes an hour at Washington Dulles to go through customs, and I had a 2 hour layover, and the flight boards 30 minutes prior to takeoff, so that left me 30 minutes to find my new gate and get something to eat. I did it with a few minutes to spare. I saw two movies over the Atlantic: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and Flynn.  Both good.  I didn's sleep on any of the flights home, so I was pretty exhausted getting here.

There's no smell of smoke in Colorado Springs, 347 houses burnt to the ground all in one subdivision.   Most of the smoke has cleared so the mountains are visible.  Very hot but it will cool down into the 70s over the weekend.  I've unpacked, put away, rearragned, taken naps, gone to bed early and watered the lawns. Life is good.  I had an incredible time in Europe, going to Prague, Paris, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, and of course, all around Germany.  They have a simpler life style there than we do here, I'm going to try to bring that home.  More photos to follow. 

Photos of Alps and Fairy Castle

Lunch someplace

Castle Newschwanstein, Bavaria, Germany

Going into the Austrian Alps

Part of the Castle

Our beds in the Youth Hostel in Füssen.  Steffi slept on top. 

Outside at Youth Hostel in Füssen.

Alps and Steffi

Austrian Alps

Alps

Carolyn and the Alps

Swiss Flag, yes we were there. 

Fairy Tale Castle and the Alps

Walt Disney used the castle called Neuschwanstien near Füssen, Germany by the Alps as the model for the Castle in Disneyland.  We went there Saturday, and stayed in the hostel in Füssen.  The castle is the most beautiful we've seen, with construction started in 1869, and still unfinished when King Ludwig died 17 years later from a tragic drowning.  It contains many paintings of legends and myths used by Richard Wagner in his operas, such as Isolde & Tristian, Sigfried, Parsifal, Lohengrin. The king that built the castle, Ludwig, and Wagner were friends and the Castle was dedicated to Wagner's Operas.  The paintings are beautiful, as are the wall decorations, ceilings, banisters, and carvings. The castle sits on top of a craggy ledge and was a serious climb after the bus left us off a ways below.  there are 300 steps all total.  The next morning, we drove through the Bavarian Alps into the Austrian Alps, and then dropped down into Switzerland.  We headed home in pouring rain and weekend traffic. That day we spent 12 hours traveling.  But it was worth every minute of it.

The Alps are spectacular.  The air was cool, and clear. There was still unmelted snow on the north-facing sides of many mountains, wide Alpine meadows sprinkled with flowers, and everything green, green, green. The roads through the Alps are narrow, with motorcycles racing past at breakneck speeds.

Now we're home, more rain today, in the 60s and overcast.  I am packing to return to the States.  I leave here Wed. at 12:30 PM, getting into Colorado Springs at 6:30PM, but don't be misled, it is a 17+ hour trip through Washington Dulles.

Photos in next blog.

What good are plans if not to be changed?

Eight days since my last blog, and oh my, what changes have occurred.  What good are plans if not to be changed.  God laughing and all of that.  My original plan was to return to the states on August 6th, three whole months in Europe.  However, now I'm coming home July 4th.  There will be fireworks for me, parades, parties in all the neighborhoods...but wait, you say those events aren't for my return.  Silly you.  Of course they are.  It is a 17 hour trip, through several significant time zones, from Frankfurt to Washington Dulles, then from there to Colorado Springs.  I get in at 6:30 PM, but that will be 2AM in the time I'm used to living in.  They have not perfected time-travel, it is still quite hard on the mind and body.  It will take me a couple of days of sleeping weird hours, stumbling around the house, going back to bed.  Fuzzy brain and all.  

Tonight Steffi and I are going to Aqua Fitness, aerobics in a pool, I love it.  And today I will go on another walk of about 4 miles I think.  I know the secret ways through the middle of Old Frankfurt, and love to walk there. I cross the Bridge with Locks, go into the Romer Platz, a few more blocks to Hauptwache, then along a street to the Tor, or Tower, where there's a Subway.  They have wraps there, tortillas in Germany.  I usually rest halfway through where the Purvian Pan Pipe players are, sometimes get a frapachino from Starbucks (yes, they are everywhere and that's a good thing, ordering a coffee, even a latte, sometimes turns out to be an expresso, so dark and bitter one can not even drink it).  Steffi is much braver than I am when it comes to drinking coffee.  Last weekend we went to a gigantic flea market along the river, where I bought a new suitcase from a man from the Middle East who got is masters from the University of Nebraska. He spoke great English. The wheels on my old one broke, so we've been hunting for a new one.  I also bought a colorful necklace which I'm thinking of wearing home.  To go with the fireworks.

There's a lot of building going on here, high rises everywhere.  There are tall featherless birds disguised as building cranes all across the horizon.  They all have a light on top so planes don't fly into them at night, I think of it as an eye that never closes.  bye for now. 

Newgrange Ireland photos

Newgrange in background with white quarty stone facade.

Threshhold stone with spirals and chevrons, at the entrance to the Passage.  Note transom window above doorway.

Spirals and chevrons on threshhold stone.

Entrance to the passage with tramson window often called the 'roof box' where the Winter Solstice light enters and shines down the passage into the chamber.

Exterior of Newgrange, white quarty  and river rock.  

Interior of passage with spiral carvings on the walls.  Photos are not allowed inside, Steffi used the brochure.  Very clever.

Me and Steffi outside Newgrange entrance. About 12 folks are allowed in a one time, only with a guide. 

Winter Solstice light entering the passage toward the interior chamber.  Actually a photo from the brochure.  No pictures allowed inside(except for making the brochures).  It is considered a sacred site.

Train to Dublin and to see Newgrange

We left Galway at 6:30AM on the train to Dublin.  Very nice train ride, arrived in Dublin 9:00 and left on the Newgrange tour with Mary Gibbons (her tour is in the Lonely Planet guide although we found it online) for Newgrange.  Through more very rocky terrain with low stone fences but fewer than we had been seeing.  We drove through the Boyne River Valley, site of famous battles and lush landscape.  Newgrange is a passage tomb built around 3200 BC, older than Stonehenge or the Pyramids.  It is aligned so that the rising sun on the Winter Solstice shines through a tramsom window over the entrance and shines deep into the passage way and onto the far back wall.  Over the passage and chamber is a dirt and stone mound 250 feet across and 40 feet high, with grass growing on the top area. The entrance can be sealed by a stone door and after it's initial use, it was closed up and the entrance overgrown hiding it from intruders for thousands of years.  There is a huge threshold stone carved with spirals and triangles, quite an acomplishment for the supposed stone-age people who made it. When it was built, there were no metal tools, so all of the carvings and shaping of stones had to be done with stones, wood, antlers, etc. The entrance passage is about 60 feet long, narrow and low.  We had to carryy our backpacks at floor level so as not to damage the wall carvings, shoulder our way along, turning sideways sometimes. Once inside the chamber, there are three side alcoves with carvings, usually spirals.  The chamber is probably six feet by 8 feet.  They shut off the lights and illiminated the passage to show how the Winter Solstice sunlight would appear.  Pretty dramatic.  Of course, Dec 21 has to be a sunny day, but I think the light enters from Dec 19 to Dec 23, so more days possible of dawn light.  I am sure that eventually they won't let people enter to passage and chamber, but at this time, it is possible, and it is incredible.  I thought I had to pick between Galway and Dublin, so I picked Galway. It's quieter and cleaner than Dublin, and I wanted to see the Cliffs.  But I got to go to Dublin anyway and see Newgrange.  I think it is a more important site than the cliffs.  Stfffi said it was so close (only 1.5 hours away by train) and not too expensive, so we went.  Fabulous!!! In this area there are over 40 passage tombs, two close by, and as large.  Others scattered and smaller.

The Burren and Cliffs of Moher. Second tour in Ireland.

The Burren, slabs of limestone with cracks.  goes on for miles.

I actually these are the cliffs on Inis Mor, not the Cliffs of Moher. 

Castle ruins.  

The Portal Tomb called The Doman.  Built over 5000 years ago.

The Burren from another view.

The Cliffs of Moher. Takes your breath away.  Stunning.