In Ulm again, winding down

Hey loyal readers. We are back in Ulm, which seems like a second home to us now. We returned from Prague by way of Karlsbad, a beautiful little resort town in the Czech Republic, where we drank "healing water" from fountains on the street. I am healed. I don´t know what was wrong, but it certainly isn´t anymore. We drove along the "Romantische Straße" yesterday, ending in Ottobeuren, an amazing little town with an amazing not-so-little church. It is a special place to our family after we spent a magical night there a few years back. Then we came back to Ulm to meet Stefan for a final farewell. He took us to an "American" restaraunt, where Tim had a Schnitzel Burger and I had assorted finger foods. It was very good, and it was nice to have an evening together before I leave. I was not so brave saying goodbye this time. Oh well. Me and my blasted sensitive heart.

We are off to Bodensee, which you English speakers may know as Lake Constanz, on the Swiss border. Stefan says the German side is the beautiful one, and since he is all-knowing, we will believe him and start there, then drive around to the Swiss side later today or tomorrow-- any excuse to add another country to the list, right?

I am taking requests for German treats to bring home... Don´t ask for Wurst, my bag is already full of all the sausage I can carry. But anything else, I may consider. Jake, don´t worry. I bought every bag of Fred Ferkels in the country. You get at least one of them!! So off we go, back into the Alps, away from which I find it increasingly more difficult to pull myself. That may have been a half-German translation. I can´t really tell anymore. Not that my German has improved any... I am terribly embarassed at my post-mission decline from near-fluency. Oh well. And forgive any spelling errors as I have only German spell check, and believe me, everything is wrong!! Later, friends.

Finally Some Photos!!

This is only a few hours after the last post, but after going to see X-Men 3 in a Czech movie theatre, Tim and I returned to our fabulous Pension (which you can view online here), I decided to check if there was wireless. How could my dear Pension M fail me? So after great deciding, I have chosen about 100 photos of this little trip... not quite 100, but it sure seems like it. So skip about, view what you wish... or ignore them all. This I do know... I am here, but according to my pictures, thank goodness, not very often to be seen.

Front of the Bus Family: Woody, Stefan, Me, and Rob
Leland dancing Hoop at a street show in Hagen
Newly rebuilt Frauenkirche in Dresden. The dark bricks are all that were left after the war
Going on 16 with Stefanie at the Sound of Music Gazebo
On the Italian Border. You must realize that the mountains in the background are actually just the very tops, there is a huge drop-off on the other side of that lake...


The Salzburg Arean
Tim in Rothenburg o.d. Tauber
Tim and Stefan sharing a few (non alcoholic, dad) beers in Munich
With Maria Schmidt in Hagen
Sunset in the Austrian Alps
The Rialto on the Grand Canal in Venice
Salzburg
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
Salzburg 2
Bremen Town Musicians
Stefan at the Chinese place in Ulm, post-tour activity
Fountain at the Rathaus in Hamburg
Deutsche Bahn building in Berlin
Eating DIVINE wurst in Dresden
All the Siblings on the Rhein River cruise
Blurry full moon and Angel Moroni at the Freiberg Temple
Bach's Organ in Leipzig
At the Brandenberg gate with Leland, Stefan, Jen, and Tim
Attack Chickens of Death at San Marco, Venice

Prague

Well, here I sit in a dark alleyway internet cafe... in the amazing back streets of Prague. I have had rave reviews of this town from everyone who has ever been here. Didn't think it could live up to it, but after just a few hours here, I must say that it does. Amazing. I will fill in a little more later... but to catch you up:

Tim and I DID go back into Venice for the day before leaving. I am glad we did. I had my bearings this time and it was sunny, warm, and REALLY crowded. I have a greater appreciation for those before me who have braved the attack pigeons of death at San Marco. I appreciate those who have enough money to spend on a $60 gondola ride (only when there with the LOML...), and I really appreciate free parking. It set us back a mere $25 for the half day. So we left Venice and headed North, trying to get near the coast, but managed only a 20 minute toe dipping in the Adriatic, then headed for the Alps. In a moment of bravery, I headed off on a small, single lane back road that said "Austria" and we took an over-the-alps back entrance into Austria. It was breathtaking at every turn, and that is besides my driving. We stood at the top and took pictures on the border. It was lovely. We drove through backwoods Austria, took our lives into our hands and ate Schnitzel (that was for you, Stefan) in a tiny little restaraunt at the same table where the boar whose skin hung above us had actually lost said skin according to the pictures... We finally found and overpaid for a room in the middle of the night, then took off for the Czech border. We were stopped on the Austrian side long enough to request a passport stamp from dreamy Rolf, but they just waved us through the Czech side.
Rural Czech Republic is amazingly beautiful. We drove through miles and miles of rolling green hills and flax fields in bloom. We were the sole guests at a "motel" somewhere south of Prague, and finally paid under $50 each for a bed. Today we drove the rest of the way into Prague, and after great searching, ended up at a charming Pension. We have wandered extensively, have made it across the Charles Bridge, and after this short email update, will explore some more for the rest of the evening. I really like it here, but I can't wait to get back to Germany in a few days. Hmmm...

Venice, Day 2

Yes, 2 whole days in a row! Venice is an internet Mecca for crying out loud. Not that it doesn't cost me $5 an hour... but at least it's here. So Tim and I ventured of on the city bus to Venice last night, in the pouring rain. But as we drove out across the Adriatic, there was a huge rainbow arched all the way from one side of Venice to the other. The rain cleared and it was a lovely, crisp evening. Venice looks just like the pictures. Imagine that. due to rough, high water, there were no gondolas last night. We quickly got lost in the twisting alleyways, but made our way to San Marco and took pictures in the evening light. We greatly overpaid for moderate to poor food, but starvation ruled. The best part of the day was the water bus back to the bus station, the full length of the Grand Canal. Would I come back? Maybe. In the summer. With the LOML (love of my life). Not that Tim isn't a great companion. Some cities just call for romance. So it is a leisurely, late morning, we are contemplating going back to give Venice one more chance by daylight, or perhaps the road will lead us elsewhere. I will update you again as soon as I can! Buongiorno!

Buona Sera!

So over (nonalcoholic) beers in Munich last night, Tim and I decided to head south. So we took off after saying a sad farewell to dear Stefan and stopped at the foot of the alps and stayed in a little chalet surrounded by bell-laden cows and hills that were alive... It was oh so picturesque. Then we took off this morning for Sued Tirol (Tyrol in English?), the Italian Alps. But then, after driving above the clouds and through torrential rain, we decided to come to Venice. It was only a hundred kilometers more... we took our lives into our hands on the Autostrada, and followed the guy on the moped who accosted us at a gas station to the hotel where he works. It is actually not bad, there's internet, and we are going to go catch the bus to Venice proper. What fun. So off in the pouring rain to lovely Venice for some real Italian food, at least.

Winding Down

I have waited in line for the computer here in the hotel lobby in Frankfurt. Tour is quickly coming to an end. We had our final show last night, our final fireside tomorrow. I just said goodbye to John who is on his way to join the YAs. I hate the end of tour, because I will never be in one room with this group of people ever again. It breaks my little heart some days. Okay, all days. Stefan has arrived and is pressuring me to let him have some internet time, but I shall write what I came here to say!!

We went on a rainy, cold Rhein River cruise today and saw 8 million castles. It was lovely, though, and somewhat poignant. Tim and I still have no definitive plans for our time after the group leaves. I should get on that. Anyway, I haven't kissed a dog face in WEEKS and it is killing me, though I did get a good horse kiss across an electric fence the other day. Much, much love.

Berlin

Hey all. I am here in the lobby of our hotel in Berlin and I am sitting with Stefan the bus driver who is amazed that I have a blog... apparently not a big thing in Germany. My power cable to my computer died, so I am relying on free internet at the moment, which is inconvenient. I will post pictures soon if I can use a private computer. We are in Berlin, which is a really amazing city. We went to Sachsenhausen concentration camp and Potsdam (find pictures somewhere) yesterday. Anyway, I am missing breakfast, which is a shame, so I will post and run. But we are alive, doing well, having fun. Loves to all.

Hello from Hagen

A really quick Guten Tag from Hagen, near Dortmund. It has been a crazy week or so, and this is the first email access I have had since the last posting. Just wanted to say that it is beautiful, we are eating bread and cheese and schnitzel until we are sick, and I can't wait to be on my own itinerary. The shows are great, so well received, and everyone has been very good and has welcomed us with open arms. We are off to Berlin tomorrow for 4 days, so hopefully there will be time to get some posts caught up.

A special hello to my wives at work. I miss you more than I can say. And the doggies, too. XOXO

Return to Germany!

May 2, 2006
We arrived in Frankfurt this morning after a rather nice flight, as trans-Atlantic flights go. I took a few Tylenol PM and slept the whole way. That was nice. We had a good tail wind so we arrived an hour early, only to sit in the airport for 3 hours waiting for one member of the group to get through immigration, which she never did (visa issue), so she was sent back to the U.S. to get that straightened out. Hopefully she will be rejoining us in a day or two, although I can think of few things worse that 3 back-to-back flights like that.

After getting everything loaded into the bus with Stefan our dreamy bus driver, we went to the chapel in Heidelberg for lunch. Unfortunately, Tim didn’t get to join us for today’s activities since he was with John collecting all the equipment from the freight area. It is nice to be back in Germany, and fun to go back to Heidelberg which I visited first about 20 years ago, my first time in Germany. It is a beautiful city, in the Neckar River Valley, with a ruined castle on the hill overlooking the Old Town. After our lunch we went on the German version of a “little walk,” which consisted of a high-speed hike up over 400 large stairs from the riverbank to the castle. It was miserable, considering the lack of sleep, stiffness of post-plane sitting, and general exhausted-ness. But it was beautiful once we finally got there. Then I split off with Becky and we shopped a little bit, ate “spaghetti Eis” and bought postcards. We then went to drop people off with host families, I ended up at a hotel since they didn’t have a family for me, which is fine. Tim and I get to share a bed, but it’s a bed, so I am content. Those of us who are at the hotel went to a German restaurant for dinner, and enjoyed sitting outside in the warm evening and eating good food. Now I am trying to stay awake just a little longer so I can sleep through the night and get on a normal schedule. Fun, fun.


May 3
Woke up, went to ALDI, my favorite cheap store and bought shaving cream for Tim and joghurt for me... yum. Then a delicious breakfast at the hotel... WHY, oh WHY can we not make bread like this at home???? Now off for our first load-in and show.

Departure

Okay. It is almost 3:00 in the morning, and I haven't slept in 2 days. I am getting set to leave for Germany in a few hours. A month is a long time to be gone. I haven't packed yet, but the intended items are about a foot deep in my room. I have added countless new playlists to my iPod, as well as a tour-specific photo album, every episode of The Office, and a few movies. I know I was afraid of not being able to live without the iPod, and I think it's happening already. I am taking my computer, so hopefully I will have a chance to post a bit while I'm gone... we'll see. So... wish me a bon voyage. Bis spater, Freunde!