Gambling and Education

Still walking through Europe - Germany mainly. Looking for pictures that show where I have trodden, I find that it's not natural to take photos looking down at your feet! Bad composition.

On a cool morning in late October, we were driven by bus from our overnight landing place at Gambsheim, through light fog and mist, to Baden Baden, famous casino and spa town. The grass was a little damp for walking and fortunately there were many paths.

Here in the Casino, I walked on the thick carpet, reflecting on the many the "rich and famous" who would have had lost money here. With no active patrons, it was a quiet experience of grace and opulence.

The streets of Baden Baden are also graceful, with many expensive shops. So presumably not everyone loses everything at the Casino!

Heidelberg, a City of Education

A much clearer morning the next day, saw us in Mannheim and travelling in yet another bus to Heidelberg, known for its university, the oldest in Germany (founded in 1386).



Heidelberg is situated on the beautiful River Neckar.




Heidelberg Castle towers above the town



We were fortunate in that we didn't need to walk all the way up to the castle, but there was plenty of walking around the castle area, rewarded by spectacular views.



We had a hearty lunch at the Hotel Ritter in the Old Town, which gave plenty of energy and time to to wander around the shops and stalls in the Market Place.

A Taste of France

Still along the Rhine - well it's a long river, flowing from the Swiss Alps to the North Sea, for a distance of over 1,200 kms.

We woke up at our landing place in Kehl, Germany. A lovely sunny day, and in front of us was the Europa Bridge which links Germany and France at that place. Our tour bus crossed the bridge and took us into Strasbourg. From the drop-off point, we were walking in France.





            We crossed the beautiful little River Ill, then reached the busy Place de la Cathedrale in front of Strasbourg's Notre-Dame.



Many pedestrian walkways in Strasbourg



Busy Cathedral Square

Souvenir shops line the square facing the Cathedral

River Ill at Strasbourg











A Walk in the Black Forest

And so along the Rhine (cruising, not walking - except for the long walk to and from my cabin), heading generally in a northerly direction. In this area, north of Basel, the river forms the border between Germany and France. We woke at our landing place in Breisach on the German side of the river. Time to put on the shoes for a 9 hour coach tour into the Black Forest area of Germany. The catchy tune of the Horst Jankowski hit of 1965 runs through my head!

The first stop of the day was at the Vogtsbauernhof Open Air Museum of country life in the Black Forest "in the days of yesteryear". An interesting walk through a display of  farm houses and other farm buildings from the area during the 16-18th centuries. Plenty of walking here.

 But before we started our walk, there was a most appropriate Black Forest Cake demonstration. Lovely and fresh for our morning coffee break!

This is the Vogtsbauernhof farm house of 1612 on its original site in the Gutach Valley.
The small building is the Gutach valley storehouse.

We were taken to lunch at Restaurant zur Lilie in Triberg. Those steps in front of the door were just a short introduction to the walk starting beside the building, to view Germany's highest waterfalls.

I walked up part of the way - enough to view the falls through the trees. An enjoyable way to walk off an excellent lunch.

Then there was the walk up the road back to where the coaches had to park. 



Path towards the Wasserfalle



  



Street in Triberg



Walking on through Europe

SWITZERLAND

21-24 October 2011

I arrived in Zurich by plane, but almost the first steps away from my hotel brought me right beside the railway station - the platform almost merging with the roadway of Zollstrasse.

So I walked inside the busy Hauptbahnof precinct several times - an excellent place to pick up a quick snack or meal and a short-cut through to the main city area.

I took a cruise tour to Rapperswil at the far end of Lake Zurich, tested the beautifully laid out cobblestones there, then rested on the perfect afternoon 2 hour ferry trip back to Zurich.

It was a lovely sunny Saturday afternoon and it seemed that everyone was out enjoying the fresh air. I enjoyed the walk back along Limmatquai to the Hauptbahnof. There were many around carrying Turkish flags - guess there was a Soccer match, but I never found out the result.

On the Monday I was in the Marketplace at Basel, getting ready to board another ship. I think my preferred mode of travel is by boat or ship, where you can just sit, relax and watch the scenery glide by, as is the case with the current popularity of River Cruising.

 

A short gangway, but still quite steep!

For the rest of that cruise, I wondered how I made the mistake of booking a cabin as far from the public areas as possible - a very long walk every time for dinner, or when returning from a shore tour.

Sailing on the Rhine out of Basel.

The length of these river cruise ships is amazing! One of the few times that I went up on the top (sun) deck - no elevators like on large cruise ships! But worth it so see the start of the journey and the first  of the many bridges along the mighty Rhine River.

Cobblestones - wet and dry

PRAGUE
Some beautiful weather, then a rather wet day when I decided to walk along the famous Charles Bridge. Starting with the good weather - of course!

Plenty of walking to be done in Prague.

This is the area of Republic Square - made modern by having several modern shopping malls.





But the weekly markets bring it all back into perspective.

Crossing Old Town Square on a very wet morning.
Sure keeps the tourist numbers down, but many (like me) have only limited time available, so cannot be too choosy about rain, hail or shine!


On a sunny day, you can hardly see the cobblestones for tourists!

Also busy at Prague Castle in the sunshine

Walking on Charles Bridge on a very damp day But nothing could spoil the awe of being there!

Other coblestones I trod in the Czech Republic - at Český Krumlov (medieval town in southern Bohemia).

Travel map - I just can't resist - watch out for updates!

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I'm cheating a little of course - my excursions on this map cover more than 40 years of travel - not just where I'm currently walking in these shoes!

Perhaps the completed blue area covering North America is the biggest exaggeration (for me) - I've travelled well in the United States (though cannot notch up even half the 50 states); Alaska is a rather large area where I haven't yet set foot; crossing the southern border of California into Tijuana for an afternoon's shopping does Mexico an injustice; visiting Vancouver and Vancouver island on the west Canadian coast, hardly counts fully for that great country either. Then there's that other large country, China - just an amazing cruise visit to Sanya Island off the south coast!

Is this another case of lies, more lies and damned statistics?

This quotation is often attributed to Benjamin Disraeli, the 19th century British Prime Minister. The source for this view is the autobiography of Mark Twain, where he makes that attribution. Nevertheless, no version of this quotation has been found in any of Disraeli's published works or letters. The earliest reference yet found anywhere is to a speech made by Leonard H. Courtney, (1832-1918), later Lord Courtney, in New York in 1895:
 'After all, facts are facts, and although we may quote one to another with a chuckle the words of the Wise Statesman, "Lies - damn lies - and statistics," still there are some easy figures the simplest must understand, and the astutest cannot wriggle out of.’
 There's no indication that by 'Wise Statesman' Courtney was referring to any specific person, although it may be that Twain thought that he meant Disraeli.

Quoted from The Phrase Finder: www.phrases.org.uk/

Those shoes again

Very, very occasional! Now. . . this should have been written two months ago, but my shoes covered quite a long distance between October and the start of 2012. I've been enjoying the spoils of my travel - wonderful photos and memories.

  

Two river cruises in Europe (to make the 24 hours travel in each direction count for more), another trip to beautiful west coast Tasmania and a 4-day trip to Sydney over Christmas.

The beautiful Danube River - starting in Budapest, Hungary and travelling in a southerly direction through the Balkan countries of Serbia, Bulgaria (love those roses!) and Romania, to walk beside the Black Sea on a very windy day.

 

Early morning walk on the
Chain Bridge, Budapest



While in Budapest, I took a bus tour to visit Szentendre, a small historic town with local artists' community.
This is the first of many cobblestone town squares where I walked.

    

Szentendre Main Square

View over Avalon "Tranquility" on the Danube River at Mohacs. We are about to leave Hungary. Note the very steep gangway - the water levels in the Danube were quite low (October) and I was glad of the good tread on my new shoes.

Now we are in Serbia .



I walked along Zmaj Jovina Street in Novi Sad.

  

Shopping street in Belgrade



Bulgaria:

a small street in historic town near Veliko Tarnovo-Arbanasi

Another steep gangway. Looking across the Danube from our docking place at Nikopol, Bulgaria towards Turnu Magurele in Romania.

 A bucket-list goal achieved - the Black Sea at Constanta in Romania, on a very windy day. The building is the old casino (1909).