Jan 19 - 2007
Yah I know its been a while, but man it's been a great time thus far!
Has it really been 2+ weeks since we last updated you on our travels? Ooops, sorry about that one but we've been pretty busy since then and having one hell of a great time! Yah I know, this will be yet another long one because we have some catching up to do but don't worry, it will be worth your time reading everything.
So where do I start?? Well, we'll have to go back a couple weeks to our final departure from our home away from home, Brno. So, the night bus from Brno to Munich was pretty painless and uneventful. We go tot the bus station, caught a cab to our hostel, stored our bags, convinced the guy behind the counter to let us crash in a room for a bit seeing it was 0530. So we slept for a bit, got up, walked to a small cafe to get breakfast and the internet and then got sick! I think I had mild food poisoning or something but by the end of the day I was all better. We spent the rest of that day and Sunday in Munich before getting up Monday morning and heading south in to the Alps to Garmisch, Germany to spend a few nights at the amazing Edelwiess Hotel and Lodge. Thank you Uncle Sam! The hotel was absolutely amazing and it was nice having full access to English (American) speaking people, American food and being able to pay in US dollars. So we spent the first two days relaxing and sitting in the amazing hot tub outside gazing at the nearby Alps. Altough it was way to warm to ski, that was ok because we enjoyed every minute of it. So Wednesday morning came around and our visitors were arriving any minute. Yeap, they flew down the Autobahn to Garmisch and arrived a little earlier then expected. It was GREAT seeing my dad, cousin Tyson and Grandpa Hall for the first time in over 4 months. We spent a few hours catching up and laughing before Grandpa took a short nap, then Ty took a nap and the remaining three of us drove around town for a bit. The weather was great. Mid 50's and sunny. We had a good buffett dinner and then all of us except Grandpa went downstairs and spent a few hours having some great German beer and playing 12 games of BINGO. Of course none of us won but what's new! We awoke early Thursday morning and after a short discussion we decide it was better if we packed up and checked out a day ahead of time and start our journey south and get a good jump on the trip. So off we were!
After a very long and very eventful and laughing filled car ride through the beautiful Alps of southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy we arrived at our destination in St. Caterina. Our hotel of choice was one called the Hotel S. Matteo run and owned by soem distant relatives of my Grandma Hall. The hotel was amazing and the setting was breathtaking. The relatives were some of the nicest people I have meet in my time over here in Europe. We were up way to late talking about anything and everything and of course eating WAY to much good food and drinking a few bottles of wine as well. Lynsey, Ty and I borrowed some schnazzy ski outfits from the relatives and hit the slopes. We skied the entire afternoon and swore I was high enough up in the Alps to reach up and touch the big guy. I did my fair share of falling but never got hurt and always got back up. The views were amazing and the skiing was the best in my life. It was a great time. All I can say about the relatives is thank you for an amazing time and your generous hospitality and open hearts. It was another late evening and an early morning for our journey in to the south of Italy and the real start of our journey.
I never would have thought leaving northern Italy at 0830 and driving to the Naples area (actually it is a town northeast of Naples called Cassino) would take us nearly 9 hours to get there going anywhere between 120 and 180 KPH (75-100+ MPH). Yah, my dad was flying and surprisingly still getting passed by crazy Italian drivers. Once we were in Cassino, we drove around a bit and finally found a nice hotel in the heart of town and called it a night. Lynsey got really sick at 0500 the next morning so sleep was extremely limited for the two of us. After breakfast we loaded up the car and set off to start the real journey of our trip. In 1944 my Grandfather landed in Naples, Italy and pushed inland to Cassino where they met heavily fortified German troops. This would be the bloodiest and deadliest battle site in all of WWII. We saw several sites in the surrounding country side and visited the war memorial cemetry and museum. It was an extremely once in a lifetime experience. From there we headed west to the coast to a small town of Anzio where American troops landed and headed north to drive the Germans out of Rome. After driving around for several hours trying to find the city and finally finding the beach, we drove around Rome and headed towards Pisa. Once in Pisa, somewhere around 2130, finding a hotel room that wasn't ungodly expensive was a chore but when we finally found our hotel we were only 3 blocks from the tower and it was one of nicest hotels I've ever stayed in. We spent two full nights in Pisa to refuel our bodies and actually relax and not always be on the go. It was a good thing because both Lynsey and I and my dad were all under the weather with some 24 hour bug. We toured the city a bit and saw all the city had to offer (basically just the tower) and then enjoyed our amazing hotel. But come Tuesday morning we were up bright and early and on the road towards the French Riveria where we would spend a few days!
After a very quick and painless drive up the coast of Italy, we crossed over in to France for the first time during this trip. Our destination was a town on the riveria called Cannes. We drove right in to the town, found a tourist office, called the hotel we had looked at the night before and found the hotel and checked in like we knew what we were doing. The room was right on the ocean and extremely reasonable for the location. We got situated, ate some lunch and then toured the city for a bit. We made a simple dinner in our kitchen in our room and then had a few cocktails and played some euchre for the first time in months until well after midnight. Wednesday morning saw us up with the sun (somewhere around 830-845) and taking a short day trip down the riveria to where Grandpa made his invasion in to southern France. We just happened to stumble upon the exact beach and a large memorial dedicated to his division and their landing and aid in liberation of the French people. It was pretty cool to say the lesst. From there we headed inland towards another small town and an American Military cemetry for those who lost there lives coming ashore during the war. The cemetry was beautifully maintained and very touching. It is always cool to listen to my Grandfather talk about his first hand military experiences as well as him teaching us even more about the war from his deep knowledge on the subject. Once done there we headed back to Cannes where the four of us, Grandpa excluded, headed across the street and down to the Mediterrean. It was probably 50 outside but that didn't stop us from diving head first in to the Mediterrean. It was COLD but hey, I can now say I went swimming in the sea! Hell yah! We walked around the city some more that afternoon, made some dinner and finished a few more bottles of booze before trying to go to the casino before realizing the hotel basically locks you in after 2000. It sucked so we just went to bed. It was going to be another early morning anyways.
Thursday morning we were up bright and early again and heading north in to the heart of France for some more exploration. Our first stop was a small town by the name of Allex, France. This is where my Grandfather recieved the Distinguished Service Cross (the second highest award behind the Medal of Honor) for his actions in battle in clearing a German roadblock. The city was on no map we had so it was a shot in the dark finding the city but we found it with no trouble at all. Once in the city we stumbled upon a rather large church and just happened to get hooked up with the local priest (80 years old or so) who spoke amazing English and was a fountain of information. We spent nearly 30 minutes talking with him about various topics before getting back on the road. It was one of the highlights of the trip for sure. Hopefully we can keep in touch with him and get more information from him. From there we continued north to a town by the name of Vesoul. This was one of the last stops for my Grandfather before he was wounded and taken off of the front lines. We got to Vesoul early in the evening and after some driving around, found a hotel, checked in, dropped our bags and got some dinner to eat. Not much to do around town and it was raining pretty good so an early bed was well needed for another early morning.
Friday morning we were up and on the road by 0900 headed north to a town by the name of Remiremont. This is the closest town to where my Grandpa thinks he was wounded in 1944. He showed us what the terrain looked like and explained to us how he was wounded and then we headed east/southeast towards Switzerland and ultimately our final destination. What we couldn't get over was how much standing water there was in the area. What we didn't realize was a HUGE storm had passed through the area just hours before we arrived in Vesoul and smaller storms that night that dumped a ton of rain in a short period of time. The rivers had swollen their banks and water flooded everywhere. We were able to drive through it and in to Switzerland and to a town on the German/Swiss border by the name of Konstanz. This is where I sit writting this to you now. The town in located right on the border and is nestled along the shores of a huge lake. The city is very clean and beautiful and managed to stay unbombed during the war so a lot of old buildings still remain. We found a 4 star hotel right in the heart of downtown and checked in. They even had a sauna in the basement where the 4 of us spent a bit relaxing. Tomorrow we'll head in to Munich to find a hotel for my dad and grandpa's last night in Europe before heading home.
The trip has been an extremely memorable one thats for sure. A lot of stories have been shared and a lot of laughs have been had. It is truly a once in a lifetime experience for all of us. It is extremely late and I have to get up extremely early to head to Munich so I'm gonna get some sleep. Less then a week and we'll be back in the states (atleast for awhile). We look forward to seeing and hearing from you all once we get back. Miss ya and we'll talk to you soon! Until next time, ciao!
So where do I start?? Well, we'll have to go back a couple weeks to our final departure from our home away from home, Brno. So, the night bus from Brno to Munich was pretty painless and uneventful. We go tot the bus station, caught a cab to our hostel, stored our bags, convinced the guy behind the counter to let us crash in a room for a bit seeing it was 0530. So we slept for a bit, got up, walked to a small cafe to get breakfast and the internet and then got sick! I think I had mild food poisoning or something but by the end of the day I was all better. We spent the rest of that day and Sunday in Munich before getting up Monday morning and heading south in to the Alps to Garmisch, Germany to spend a few nights at the amazing Edelwiess Hotel and Lodge. Thank you Uncle Sam! The hotel was absolutely amazing and it was nice having full access to English (American) speaking people, American food and being able to pay in US dollars. So we spent the first two days relaxing and sitting in the amazing hot tub outside gazing at the nearby Alps. Altough it was way to warm to ski, that was ok because we enjoyed every minute of it. So Wednesday morning came around and our visitors were arriving any minute. Yeap, they flew down the Autobahn to Garmisch and arrived a little earlier then expected. It was GREAT seeing my dad, cousin Tyson and Grandpa Hall for the first time in over 4 months. We spent a few hours catching up and laughing before Grandpa took a short nap, then Ty took a nap and the remaining three of us drove around town for a bit. The weather was great. Mid 50's and sunny. We had a good buffett dinner and then all of us except Grandpa went downstairs and spent a few hours having some great German beer and playing 12 games of BINGO. Of course none of us won but what's new! We awoke early Thursday morning and after a short discussion we decide it was better if we packed up and checked out a day ahead of time and start our journey south and get a good jump on the trip. So off we were!
After a very long and very eventful and laughing filled car ride through the beautiful Alps of southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy we arrived at our destination in St. Caterina. Our hotel of choice was one called the Hotel S. Matteo run and owned by soem distant relatives of my Grandma Hall. The hotel was amazing and the setting was breathtaking. The relatives were some of the nicest people I have meet in my time over here in Europe. We were up way to late talking about anything and everything and of course eating WAY to much good food and drinking a few bottles of wine as well. Lynsey, Ty and I borrowed some schnazzy ski outfits from the relatives and hit the slopes. We skied the entire afternoon and swore I was high enough up in the Alps to reach up and touch the big guy. I did my fair share of falling but never got hurt and always got back up. The views were amazing and the skiing was the best in my life. It was a great time. All I can say about the relatives is thank you for an amazing time and your generous hospitality and open hearts. It was another late evening and an early morning for our journey in to the south of Italy and the real start of our journey.
I never would have thought leaving northern Italy at 0830 and driving to the Naples area (actually it is a town northeast of Naples called Cassino) would take us nearly 9 hours to get there going anywhere between 120 and 180 KPH (75-100+ MPH). Yah, my dad was flying and surprisingly still getting passed by crazy Italian drivers. Once we were in Cassino, we drove around a bit and finally found a nice hotel in the heart of town and called it a night. Lynsey got really sick at 0500 the next morning so sleep was extremely limited for the two of us. After breakfast we loaded up the car and set off to start the real journey of our trip. In 1944 my Grandfather landed in Naples, Italy and pushed inland to Cassino where they met heavily fortified German troops. This would be the bloodiest and deadliest battle site in all of WWII. We saw several sites in the surrounding country side and visited the war memorial cemetry and museum. It was an extremely once in a lifetime experience. From there we headed west to the coast to a small town of Anzio where American troops landed and headed north to drive the Germans out of Rome. After driving around for several hours trying to find the city and finally finding the beach, we drove around Rome and headed towards Pisa. Once in Pisa, somewhere around 2130, finding a hotel room that wasn't ungodly expensive was a chore but when we finally found our hotel we were only 3 blocks from the tower and it was one of nicest hotels I've ever stayed in. We spent two full nights in Pisa to refuel our bodies and actually relax and not always be on the go. It was a good thing because both Lynsey and I and my dad were all under the weather with some 24 hour bug. We toured the city a bit and saw all the city had to offer (basically just the tower) and then enjoyed our amazing hotel. But come Tuesday morning we were up bright and early and on the road towards the French Riveria where we would spend a few days!
After a very quick and painless drive up the coast of Italy, we crossed over in to France for the first time during this trip. Our destination was a town on the riveria called Cannes. We drove right in to the town, found a tourist office, called the hotel we had looked at the night before and found the hotel and checked in like we knew what we were doing. The room was right on the ocean and extremely reasonable for the location. We got situated, ate some lunch and then toured the city for a bit. We made a simple dinner in our kitchen in our room and then had a few cocktails and played some euchre for the first time in months until well after midnight. Wednesday morning saw us up with the sun (somewhere around 830-845) and taking a short day trip down the riveria to where Grandpa made his invasion in to southern France. We just happened to stumble upon the exact beach and a large memorial dedicated to his division and their landing and aid in liberation of the French people. It was pretty cool to say the lesst. From there we headed inland towards another small town and an American Military cemetry for those who lost there lives coming ashore during the war. The cemetry was beautifully maintained and very touching. It is always cool to listen to my Grandfather talk about his first hand military experiences as well as him teaching us even more about the war from his deep knowledge on the subject. Once done there we headed back to Cannes where the four of us, Grandpa excluded, headed across the street and down to the Mediterrean. It was probably 50 outside but that didn't stop us from diving head first in to the Mediterrean. It was COLD but hey, I can now say I went swimming in the sea! Hell yah! We walked around the city some more that afternoon, made some dinner and finished a few more bottles of booze before trying to go to the casino before realizing the hotel basically locks you in after 2000. It sucked so we just went to bed. It was going to be another early morning anyways.
Thursday morning we were up bright and early again and heading north in to the heart of France for some more exploration. Our first stop was a small town by the name of Allex, France. This is where my Grandfather recieved the Distinguished Service Cross (the second highest award behind the Medal of Honor) for his actions in battle in clearing a German roadblock. The city was on no map we had so it was a shot in the dark finding the city but we found it with no trouble at all. Once in the city we stumbled upon a rather large church and just happened to get hooked up with the local priest (80 years old or so) who spoke amazing English and was a fountain of information. We spent nearly 30 minutes talking with him about various topics before getting back on the road. It was one of the highlights of the trip for sure. Hopefully we can keep in touch with him and get more information from him. From there we continued north to a town by the name of Vesoul. This was one of the last stops for my Grandfather before he was wounded and taken off of the front lines. We got to Vesoul early in the evening and after some driving around, found a hotel, checked in, dropped our bags and got some dinner to eat. Not much to do around town and it was raining pretty good so an early bed was well needed for another early morning.
Friday morning we were up and on the road by 0900 headed north to a town by the name of Remiremont. This is the closest town to where my Grandpa thinks he was wounded in 1944. He showed us what the terrain looked like and explained to us how he was wounded and then we headed east/southeast towards Switzerland and ultimately our final destination. What we couldn't get over was how much standing water there was in the area. What we didn't realize was a HUGE storm had passed through the area just hours before we arrived in Vesoul and smaller storms that night that dumped a ton of rain in a short period of time. The rivers had swollen their banks and water flooded everywhere. We were able to drive through it and in to Switzerland and to a town on the German/Swiss border by the name of Konstanz. This is where I sit writting this to you now. The town in located right on the border and is nestled along the shores of a huge lake. The city is very clean and beautiful and managed to stay unbombed during the war so a lot of old buildings still remain. We found a 4 star hotel right in the heart of downtown and checked in. They even had a sauna in the basement where the 4 of us spent a bit relaxing. Tomorrow we'll head in to Munich to find a hotel for my dad and grandpa's last night in Europe before heading home.
The trip has been an extremely memorable one thats for sure. A lot of stories have been shared and a lot of laughs have been had. It is truly a once in a lifetime experience for all of us. It is extremely late and I have to get up extremely early to head to Munich so I'm gonna get some sleep. Less then a week and we'll be back in the states (atleast for awhile). We look forward to seeing and hearing from you all once we get back. Miss ya and we'll talk to you soon! Until next time, ciao!
Jan 04 - 2007
Happy New Years!!
Well, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a very drunk and Happy New Years!! Lynsey and I have been enjoying ourselves to the fullest these past 2 weeks or so. Christmas in Paris was absolutely perfect and New Years in Belgium was a blast. Since the last update ya'll recieved was while we were in Cologne, I'll give you another update of the past week or so. So after I wrote you all the last time, we made some dinner and ran in to a couple from the states. She actually was born and raised in Marshfield so we all got along great. Needless to say after dinner we made our way down to a local Pub where we consumed way to much beer in way to short a time and then stumbled home to pass out. I guess during the night one of the guys in our room got up sleep walking and was looking to get to the bathroom but only managed to make it to the other 2 people in the room and stood over them in the peeing position. Both woke up and were quite startled. It was funny. So we slept in the next morning and then poked around the city all day before getting to bed early for an early morning and day of traveling. We got up the morning of the 30th and headed to Luxembourg for the day because we both wanted to see the city before we left. Of course as soon as we got there and stored our bags and started walking, it started raining! So we walked around for a couple hours and then jumped back on the train and headed to Antwerp, Belgium to meet up with some friends. We arrived in to Antwerp around 1830 and they picked us up and we headed to their house. Filip was my old roommate at Brno and Caroline is his girlfriend he meet in Brno. We headed to Caroline's house where her mom had prepared an authentic Belgium 5 course meal for the 5 of us. It was amazing! We visited for awhile and then headed back to Filips house to meet his parents and get some sleep. We woke on New Years Eve Day rather late, got ready, ate breakfast and headed for the city. Another friend of ours, Kristof (Filip's roomie the last part of the semester) met up with us in the city so now we were 5. We wandered the city, saw the sights, had Belgium fries that Lynsey was craving and then headed back to his house for another typical Belgium New Years feast. His parents are so much and we are so grateful for their hospitality the 4 days we stayed. The meal was another good one and after relaxing a bit after dinner we got ready and headed to a party at one of Filip's friends house nearby. We drank some more Belgium beer and rang in the New Years in fashion complete with champaign and fireworks. From there we caught a cab in to Antwerp and partied at a very busy bar until 0430 or so before catching the bus back to his house. After seeing 0600 on the clock and having to wake up by 1100 we were tired. We took a drive out to the coast and spent a few hours walking around and enjoying the beautiful weather and fresh ocean breeze. Great way to wake yourself up after a long evening. We had Belgium hot chocolate and waffles and then headed to another city to see some sights and have dinner. It was another late evening but a great day indeed. Tuesday morning we got to sleep in a bit before getting up and catching the bus in to town to catch the train to the neighboring city of St. Niklaas where we met Caroline and headed to a big outdoor biking event. Biking is the number one sport in Belgium so we were glad we got to see such an event. Since it rains so much in Belgium, the outdoor course around the entire lake was complete mud as well as the bikers. It was fun to watch and even a few Americans where competing. Caroline dropped us off at the train station and we said our final goodbyes to hear and we caught a train back to Antwerp. We got back to Filip's house after a long delay in the train station and had another wonderful meal. We spent some time with Filip and his parents before heading to bed for an early morning.
We were orginally going to go to Amsterdam on Tuesday (the 2nd) but decide to go to the cycyling event instead and just make a day trip to Amsterdam on Wednesday. So we were up bright and early, said our goodbyes to our wonderful Belgium friends again and headed to Amsterdam. We spent a good portion of the day wandering the streets, visiting the Anne Frank House, seeing all the hard working women in the "Red Light District" and smelling weed and other various drugs all day. The city definetly has a completely different vibe then the rest of Europe and we couldn't get over how many people were there! Having to be back in Brussels last night, we boarded another train and got back in to Brussels at 2030 after yet another short delay and checked in to our hostel and relaxed.
So today we will tour Brussels before boarding the Student Agency bus around 1800 for yet another 15+ hour bus ride back to Brno. Then we will spend 12 hours or so in Brno saying goodbye to friends, grabbing our bags and checking out before getting on another bus for 9 hours and heading to Munich. But I can fill ya'll in on that another time. Right now we have some sights to see. We miss you all back home and can't wait to see you in less than 3 weeks. Take care and until next time, CIAO!!
We were orginally going to go to Amsterdam on Tuesday (the 2nd) but decide to go to the cycyling event instead and just make a day trip to Amsterdam on Wednesday. So we were up bright and early, said our goodbyes to our wonderful Belgium friends again and headed to Amsterdam. We spent a good portion of the day wandering the streets, visiting the Anne Frank House, seeing all the hard working women in the "Red Light District" and smelling weed and other various drugs all day. The city definetly has a completely different vibe then the rest of Europe and we couldn't get over how many people were there! Having to be back in Brussels last night, we boarded another train and got back in to Brussels at 2030 after yet another short delay and checked in to our hostel and relaxed.
So today we will tour Brussels before boarding the Student Agency bus around 1800 for yet another 15+ hour bus ride back to Brno. Then we will spend 12 hours or so in Brno saying goodbye to friends, grabbing our bags and checking out before getting on another bus for 9 hours and heading to Munich. But I can fill ya'll in on that another time. Right now we have some sights to see. We miss you all back home and can't wait to see you in less than 3 weeks. Take care and until next time, CIAO!!
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