Some delightful surprises along the way. I have mentioned previously about being delighted by the fireworks display in Heidelberg. The surprises continued. In Brissago on the Friday night, while relaxing after a very nice 'grill' (in Oz a BBQ), suddenly fireworks light up the sky. Some celebration was occurring with the cigar manufacturer on the water's edge, so they entertained the region. The big difference here was we were mainly looking DOWN on the display - an unusual experience!
Next surprise came while we were out for a walk at Triesenburg, where our hotel was near Vaduz, Liechtenstein. We could hear a marching band playing and sure enough they came marching up the road. When they had had enough of that, they then set up in the plaza outside our hotel and 'put on a concert'. Actually, it was practice evening for them as it was too hot for them to practice indoor, so they practiced outside, much to our enjoyment. What was also remarkable was the age range within the band. It covered the generations from probably 12 to 80?? Great to see them all enjoying themselves.
The next one was in Innsbruck. Wandering around the old town, again we heard the sound of a big band. In front of the 'Goldenes Dachle' (one of the features of this medieval town), the Police Band had set up and gave a concert to the assembled and growing crowd. Not bad for a Wednesday morning! Stefan - they sounded pretty good, even the trumpeters. Very polished performance.
Our time in Innsbruck was impacted by the extreme hot weather. When places like this exceed 35 degrees C, then you know it's hot. They just aren't set up for hot weather. Apparently only 2 weeks previously, they were still dealing with max temps of 5 degrees C. Quite a contrast - sounds like Melbourne!
We moved on to the Chiemsee and fortunately the weather has moderated, making it easier to get out and about. Naturally we visited Ludwig II 3rd castle at Herreninsel. He modelled it on Versailles because of his great regard for Louis XIV. The hall of mirrors, the state bedroom etc, all based on the castle outside Paris. We also visited nearby Fraueninsel. Both these islands housed Benedictine monasteries. Their names are derived from that because on Fraueninsel, was the nun's convent, and on Herreninsel was the monk's monastery. A couple of km of water to limit fraternisation?
Many permanent residents now live on Fraueninsel and the convent is still operating. The monasteries date back to around 908AD. The monastery on Herreninsel was taken over by the Augustinian order, but is now a museum. It was where in 1948, German political leaders gathered to write the constitution for the Democratic Republic of Germany (at that time West Germany).
Had a drive around the area today : Gstadt, Prien, Aschau - very enjoyable places to visit.
1 week to go - hard to believe, yet still much to enjoy.

Beautiful Brissago! Yep, what beautiful part of the world. Casa Laauser is perched some 280 metres above Lago Maggiore. Around the lake, the towns cling to the sides of the mountains with narrow winding roads, usually only 1 car width, with passing zones scattered infrequently! A challenge to drive, definitely. The main road along the edge of the lake linking the towns, carries a heap of traffic. At one stage, we were held up, by apparently buses heading in opposite directions, trying to pass each other at a difficult place. It took some careful steering and all was well. All in a day's experience here.
We visited some beautiful valleys with mountain rivers rushing down to the lake. At Lavertezzo, we had a picnic lunch by the river, next to a bridge built by the Romans and where the local lads delighted in jumping off boulders into the deep pools.
Of course we went into Italy, which was only about 2 km from Brissago. We hadn't been concerned about crossing the borders, after all, it's now all about the EU isn't? Well, not quite. The Swiss still watch their borders and we have to drive slowly through, hoping they don't stop you. We also started carrying our passports with us as we cross the borders, after some 'horror' stories about being detained for days for not doing so!
Connobio, just over the border is great. There is a lovely promenade along the water, with cafés and shops along the way. Then turn into some of the ridiculously narrow streets and you could imagine you are anywhere in Italy. And some drive these streets in their Fiat Punto's and Smart cars, streets which are designed more for Vespers and bicycles. Italian shoe shops galore, fashion shops, coffee shops and other interesting curiosity shops.
The weather has been so warm, Rose decided she needed to buy some bathers. So, off to Connobio and she found some, which she promptly tried out back at Casa Laauser in the pool. Not bad, need bathers? Go to Italy! We had not anticipated it being so warm so we hadn't packed anything like that.
Suse and Winfried were amazing. Fantastic meals, served in delightful settings. They are both 'foodies', so we enjoyed them displaying their talents. On Friday we were joined also by Heidi and Stefan (see prior post - Freiberg). A special time, in a special place, with some very special people.
On Sunday, we headed to Liechtenstein. Why? Well, it is another oddity that I have always found curious. Why does it exist as a separate country? It has an open border with Switzerland, yet is a part of the EU. It uses Swiss money, Swiss power points and relies on the Swiss army for defence (they don't have an army). Everything feels Swiss here, in this very beautiful and picturesque country, yet it is a sovereign country. It is ruled by a monarchy which oversees the elected parliament.
Tomorrow, we head into Austria, to Innsbruck. We had a 'taste' of Austria today, venturing to Feldkirch. It is a very attractive town, with nice plazas and amazing paintings on the walls of some of the buildings. The Rathaus (town hall) displays some that appear quite medieval. I wonder how many times they have been 'touched up'?
2 weeks to go! It feels like a long time, while also feeling like it has gone so quickly.

Switzerland. Wow! The scenery is simply breathtaking. Unbelievably steep mountains, capped with snow, some of which is melting as summer finally takes some hold, forested slopes, villages in the valleys and perched on the sides of hills. The sheer 'verticality' of this place is amazing. If that's not a word, then I have now invented it! The heights of mountains and depths of the valleys is extraordinary. So outside the Australian experience.
We went to what they call the 'Top of Europe', or Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe. It took 3 trains, the last 2 being cog driven. Perched only about 600 mtrs from the summit of the Jungfrau, this was our introduction to true alpine experience. At 3400 mtrs, the air was noticeably thinner. We were fortunate, the day we went was a beautiful sunny day, so we had views that I attempted to capture on photos, but which will not do it justice. From that vantage point, we were up close and personal with the 3 peaks: Jungfrau, Monch and Eiger. Yep, something special!
Another day, we took a funicular railway up to Harder Kulm, which overlooks Interlaken. Again, a clear day and the views were stunning. The paragliders are doing a roaring trade, landing next to the main drag in Interlaken, having taken off quite a distance, and height, away. To answer the question: no, we didn't try it, but there are plenty giving it a go. We saw the prices and the paragliders would be doing very nicely!
We have also enjoyed wandering around Interlaken, which is very pleasant. Some serious high rollers here. There was a big function at the Victoria Jungfrau last night, with pre dinner drinks at the front of this imposing hotel in the centre of the town. Clearly by invitation only, the glitterati were in their element.
We had met a family from Perth, while at Schwangau, who also had moved on to Interlaken. A great family, whom we met up with again here and had dinner at a great Mexican Restaurant. They have now gone back.
Some trivia questions for you. Post your answers against the blog, or send me an email.
1. Name the region of Germany, or a town within that region, that is completely surrounded by Switzerland?
2. We all know the Sphinx is in Cairo, Egypt. Where is the other structure called: the Sphinx?
3. Name the James Bond movie that features the facility at Schilthorn.
Switzerland is also something of an enigma. It is not a part of the EU. It does not use the Euro. It is not a member of NATO, yet has a highly trained and equipped military. It is essentially a mix of German, French and Italian cultures, yet strives for its own identity.
Switzerland - a captivating enigma. 😊
Tomorrow, off to Brissago!

Back again! Access to the internet was difficult for the last few days, hence the delay in the next posting. We spent 5 nights at a little village called Mammern in Switzerland, which is approx. 24 km west of Konstanz along the Undersee arm of the Bodensee, which then becomes the Rhine river. The Bodensee, or Lake Constance, is the headwater for the Rhine.
Since leaving Schwangau, the weather was simply - lousy! It rained most days, for most of the day! We saw some weather reports and it looks like there has been a rain pattern across a large swathe of north western Europe. So much so, that flooding has become a problem in some areas. Seeing how full the Rhine was at its start, then I can understand how downstream there could be a problem. The Bodensee itself, was reaching the 'full' marker, which gives you an idea how much rain they have had recently.
Despite the weather, we got out each day, spending time in and around Konstanz and the areas around the western end of the Bodensee. Uberlingen does stand out as a highlight. It is a beautiful town on the lake with a very friendly atmosphere. There was a stand along a path which was full of books, but nobody in attendance. Then a couple ride up on their bikes, drop some books off, and pick some up. We had to investigate. It turns out it is a book exchange, managed by the locals on an honour system. All they request is to ensure the books are placed at the back of the shelves to minimise the chances of them being rain affected. I found a Wilbur Smith book - in English! So
 I gratefully found a home for it.
On Sunday afternoon, we went to Hillsong Germany church service. They were just starting a 4:00pm service for the 1st time, making it 4 services for the day. Not bad growth after starting out only 5 years ago. It turned out that Phil Dooley, whom we have heard speak at the Hillsong Conference over the years, and who now is Senior Pastor at Hillsong Capetown, was visiting Germany and was scheduled to speak that weekend. Good for me - I was actually able to understand what was being  said 😊 . Rose was also impressed by his message being translated on the go, by Freimut, the Senior Pastor at Konstanz. Apparently he did a very good job, keeping up with Phil, including all the gestures and mannersims! Quite entertaining, apart from being a very worthy and thought provoking message as well. Hillsong is Hillsong. They have a very distinct 'brand', exemplified especially by the attitude of all their volunteers that they have even at their regular services.
Today we left Mammern and headed to Interlaken. We have found the Switzerland that I had only seen in pictures and films. Snow capped mountains, forest covered steep slopes, cows with bells jangling as they move. The sun came out today and it is suddenly warm. This just causes the snow peaks to stand out even brighter against the blue sky. In the centre of Interlaken, we look up to the Jungfrau, although today she is still a little timid, hiding behind a veil of high cloud.
Tips for travellers: you need a freeway pass in both Austria and Switzerland. In Austria, you can get a 10 day pass (E8), but in Switzerland, they only sell yearly passes (CHF40).
Also, when buying a power adapter, make sure it covers the countries you plan to visit. I thought I had. Either I didn't or it lied! Switzerland has different power points to what we can see is the rest of mainland Europe. Fortunately at our guesthouses, we have been able to borrow Swiss/German adapters. The other tip: all those stories you have heard about how expensive it is in Switzerland - it's true! Ah well, its a holiday and we plan to enjoy it!
We are now over half way through our trip and those homesick bugs do bite at times. Love to hear from any of you if you get the chance. Hope all is well back on Oz.

The beauty of Bavaria. I just discovered I hadn't posted my previous entry, so sorry for the delay!
The weather in Rothenburg ob der Tauber didn't improve much, but we were still able to appreciate the beauty of this remarkably preserved old city.
Next day, we took the shortcut down the A7 to Fussen - around 250km. Ah, the joy of moving left to overtake a truck only to discover an Audi in your rear view mirror that wasn't there a moment ago! While I was cruising along at a gentle 120kph, we were left in the wake of some doing in excess of (est) 200kph, in those sections of unrestricted speed on the autobahns. No time for just cruising along - concentration all the way (which I guess is how it should be!)
As we were approaching Fussen, approx. 65km away we came around a sweeping right hander and suddenly there in front of us were the Bavarian alps. Still capped with snow and looking stunning. As we got closer, they simply grew taller! Our guest house is on one of the roads leading to Neuschwanstein, and we were fortunate enough to be given a room with a view looking up to both castles: N as well as the castle where Ludwig 11 grew up - Hohenschwangau. Yeah - not bad :-) H is lit up at night which is very nice indeed. I had always thought N was white. Not quite! It is built from what looks like limestone which gives it that very light colour, but not the rendered white that I had supposed. I can understand however, how Walt Disney was inspired by it to create his own Magic Kingdom castle.
We walked up to the castles, which meant we didn't have to battle the traffic and buses. Interesting tours, and controlled with military precision. Ludwig was a sad and tragic figure - as much mystery and conjecture around his death as JFK.
Today we went on a drive that took us through a part of Austria, on our way to another of Ludwig's castles: Linderhof. This was much more homely (!), yet extremely extravagant but on a smaller scale.
From there we went to Oberammeragau, which is where the village performs the Passion Play every 10 years. When the bubonic plague was sweeping Europe, the village gathered together and prayed to be spared, and if they were spared, they committed to performing the play every 10 years from then on. They were spared, so they also kept their promise. I haven't checked the dates, but since London was hit by the plague in 1665, it would have been in that era. On the front of the Passion Theatre, there is an inscription dating 1673, which may have been the 1st performance (?) That's not a bad run, even by Andrew Lloyd Webber standards! A beautiful little village, that we would have loved to spend more time exploring.
Next - off to the Bodensee (Lake Constance), where hopefully the weather will improve?

Traversing 1000 years in 2 days! After we arrived in Freiberg, we went for a drive into Ludwigsburg. Heidi and Stefan showed us around the old city including the very impressive square. We wandered over to the Schloss and walked around the beautiful gardens. Unfortunately it started to rain and we had to curtail the walk. It was enough however to give us and indication of the lovely gardens they have there.
The next day we headed into Stuttgart to visit the Mercedes Museum, which you find on Mercedes Str - where else! Interestingly the Porsche Museum, which we didn't have time to visit, is located on Porsche Platz! The Mercedes Museum was brilliant! Anyone visiting Stuttgart, should include this in their itinerary. It is not just a history of the Daimler-Benz company, but a record of the social and historical impact of their products over their history. It is very well done, informative and set in a stunning building. The cars were awesome also! I particularly enjoyed the early days, with the developments in parallel by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz. I had heard the name Maybach previously, but didn't know its significance. He was a key engineer in the formative stages of DB who developed remarkable improvements to the original designs. We also learned the origin of the 3 pointed star, the recognisable Mercedes brand. The 3 refer to the 3 fields of transport to be developed - land, water and air. Which they did! We could have spent much longer there, but ran out of time.
As it was, when we headed back to Freiberg, we were already caught in Stuttgart traffic, not helped by an accident along one of the roads which constricted the heavy traffic.
Heidi and Stefan looked after us very well. We were very fortunate to have been asked to stay with them. Stefan works for Porsche in their R&D division and was really interesting to talk to. One of their children was in Croatia on holiday which meant we used her room. The other 2 children, Jule and Justus were delightful.
On Saturday we headed to Rothenberg ob der Tauber. It was a bright sunny day, which made the journey even more enjoyable. We are staying in a guesthouse in nearby Detwang, which is apparently the oldest part of R, dating back to 970AD. It is a lovely old village, very small - we walked around every street in less than an hour! Today we went to R, which is a medieval town, very well preserved. Unfortunately it hasn't stopped raining today, so our walk around the old city has been cut short. Hopefully it will ease up and we can head back this afternoon.
Last night was the big football (soccer) match for Germany. Dortmund were playing Bayern Munich in the final of the UEFA champions league, in London. So there was a lot of talk about it before hand. The favourites BM won 2-1, but it was a good game. Very skilful teams and a great spectacle which we watched on the tv with German commentary. Interesting how the different codes do their prematch entertainment and their post match awards etc. Some things I think the AFL do better, some they could learn from their European colleagues.

Relaxing in Bammental. The last few days have been quite relaxing as we have been cared for and spoiled by Suse and Winfried. Last Sunday, they took us to a lovely village not too far away: Michel Stadt, which had a number of very old buildings and features. A highlight was afternoon 'kaffe und kuchen', or as we would say 'afternoon tea', at "the worlds greatest baker" - self proclaimed! No lack of self confidence here. The cake was OK, but the worlds' greatest? Not so sure!
Monday ( a public holiday) was quiet until we went into Heidelberg where it was very busy. The national gymnastics championships were being held in the area 'Turnfest 2013', so there were lots of people everywhere. S & W took us to a brewery that not only makes beer, but also features traditional German food in their restaurant. Rose had maultaschen which she enjoyed, while I took the plunge and had some sauerkraut with roast pork. Long time since I had some, and yes, enjoyed it. They had some nice beer there as well, although I kept away from their signature brew which they claim was at one time the strongest beer in the world at 13% alcohol. Afterwards, we visited some of their friends who live in a flat near the old bridge to have a look at the fireworks display which was scheduled for that night due to the gymnastics. It was quite spectacular! The first part in particular featured the castle, where it appeared to be on fire - very well done. This was followed by the usual colourful and loud displays. Nice of them to put it on just for us!
Tuesday, we wandered around Heidelberg enjoying the environment. It is a lovely town, with fine buildings. We had lunch in the square in front of the Rathaus or town hall (yes, many Aussies would think it appropriately named). A couple of weddings happened one after the other. The second couple and their family and friends, were lead from the Rathaus down the street, presumably to their reception, by a jazz trumpeter. We sat back and enjoyed the show!
Yesterday, we headed to Worms, which we know from the life of Martin Luther, where he was called before the Emperor Karl V. This is where he is quoted as saying "Here I stand. I can do no more. God help me. Amen" He was expelled from the empire, but protected by his mentor Frederick. This lit the fire of the Reformation. A substantial memorial in Worms is dedicated to Luther as well as others who lead the way during the Reformation in Germany.
It is also a lovely town, with sections of the medieval town wall still in use. The museum was interesting with artefacts dating back to roman times.
Today we head off to Suse's sister in Freiberg before heading into Bavaria. Lots more to come!

Back to Germany! We decided to catch a taxi from our hotel, to where we picked up the car, which was at Porte de St Cloud. The taxi driver was great. Not only in getting us through morning Parisian traffic, but when we got to the address, he jumped out and checked in the shop front that we were at the correct address and where we had to go. We appreciated his efforts, otherwise we would have wandered around trying to find our way. Picked up our Citroën C4 diesel -very nice! Cruises very well at European freeway speeds (well not at the speed of so many Audis, Mercs etc). It will be interesting to see its economy after a few tank fulls. We have done over 700 kms so far, and the system is telling me I have over 500 left before refill required. We'll see how accurate it is.
Out of Paris we stayed at a tiny village called Oger in the Champagne region. It seemed every second
 building in town related in some way to the production of champagne. We went to Epernay, the primary town for the region and walked along Avenue de Champagne - what else! It is the home of Pol Roger, Moet & Chandon, including a statue of the monk Dom Perignon. Oger was quaint, only 1 shop/café/bar etc. The B&B was quite nice, and at breakfast we met the other guests, a wine importer from Vancouver Canada with his French guide. Also a couple from Ypres Belgium, who were having a long weekend in the region. A very enjoyable time swapping stories and information.
Then it was time to head off to Bammental. I made the mistake of telling the GPS to avoid tolls. It did so, and took us on a loop through Belgium and Luxembourg before entering Germany. It worked, but I think a false economy! But a very nice tour through the country side, seeing much more of the country than would have otherwise.
One interesting feature along the way was where we stopped for lunch. It was at a freeway stop - petrol station, café etc. However this one had fuel on both sides and the café was built over the  freeway with access from both sides. Quite brilliant, I thought!
We got to Bammental just after 4pm and had a great evening with Suse, Winfried, Yannick, Julian and his girlfriend Eva. The weather was balmy and we had a BBQ and ate outside. A very pleasant way to end the day.

Last night in Paris and here I am writing a blog! Yesterday was a quiet day, going for a walk to Parc des Buttes Chaumont, a lovely park not too far from our hotel. Lots of people running, walking and enjoying the spring sunshine. Groups of school children, some orienteering(?) or at least following maps to particular locations. Groups of pre-schoolers being taken for a walk - always interesting to observe the different personalities. Lunch at a café on the side walk in true Parisian style, although we were the one's not smoking!
Today, we took the metro to the Louvre Museum. The metro is brilliant, much like the London underground and easy to navigate, if you have a map. By the time we caught the train, it was probably 10:30am and the train was still quite crowded. However, it got us to our destination (and back) with the minimum of fuss, at a cost of 1.70Euro for each journey. You don't get to see the city travelling by the metro, but you do get to the destinations quickly and easily. I'm glad we have done both metro and walking.
The Louvre! You could spend a week there and still not take it all in. It took us about an hour to enter, firstly queuing for security check then for a ticket. Lesson: get your ticket in advance! I recall someone telling me that before we left, but I failed to take heed. Another lesson learnt!
Not only are the exhibits stunning and extensive, but the building itself is magnificent. Frescos and sculptures adorn the ceilings and the halls are filled with amazing treasures. Yes, we saw the Mona Lisa. It is in a heavily protected viewing area and it was hard to look too closely at it, but from where we were, it still is quite captivating. Nearby there was a painting by Bossano (I think that as his name) of an architect of the same era as da Vinci's painting. I loved it, in particular the expression in the eyes - tired, world weary etc.
Of course there were many other items of note, including the Venus de Milo, which was larger than I had supposed. She's not looking bad for someone dating back to 120BC!
We had dinner for the third night in a row at a little café nearby. Our waiter each time has been a young man, we guess around 15, who looked after us very well and who takes his work very seriously. Actually he was the reason we went back there, which says something about the power of good customer service.
Overall impression of Paris? The good is very, very good and there is plenty of it. Like any large city, there is also the down side, which is quite prevalent. The drivers are amazing, especially with their ability to park with millimetres to spare, to manoeuvre around and through traffic. How the emergency services get through is amazing, and they do and we hear them quite frequently. It seems if 1 person sounds their horn, the others join in to make a discordant melody. The people we have spoken with have been delightful and helpful. Glad we came!

2nd full day in Paris. OK, starting to warm to this place!  Today we went on quite a long walk from our hotel near Gare du Nord, to the Arc de Triomphe via l'Opera, and then to the Eiffel Tower. The walk along the Champs Elysees was a highlight. A beautiful boulevard lined with trees in spring growth. This is Paris. Beautiful buildings, enormous monuments, wide avenues, traffic going in every direction possible. How does anyone drive around the Arc de Triomphe and find their correct exit, is beyond me. I counted 13 roads leading into the roundabout - there may be more! At least 6 lanes of traffic, sort of going in the same direction, yet I didn't hear a bingle while we were there.
The Arc is so much larger than I had imagined, thinking it was of the same scale as Marble Arch in London. Wrong! A very impressive monument to their fallen troops over the many years of French involvement in wars in the region.
On to the 'meccano set' on steroids! Again, the Eiffel Tower was larger than I anticipated. The 4 'feet' of the tower were I guess, approx. 100 metres apart. We decided to not go up the tower since the wind was quite cold and would have been freezing at level 2. The top was closed. There was also quite a queue, so we moved on. L'Opera, Grand Palais, Place de la Concorde, Place du Madeleine, Cite de L'Architecture; so many grand buildings and monuments. Even the bridge Pont Alexandre 111 was extraordinarily ornate.
This was also the consular district, indicated as much as anything by the presence of the police. Haven't worked out all the different police agencies, and hopefully I don't need to!
As we were walking back 'home', we stopped for a cuppa at a café  near Madeleine. Rose was feeling a bit sore in one of her feet, so she impressed the staff by taking off her shoe in the café. Whatever they thought, we don't know, however the break helped her feet and she made it back without any further problems. We might go a bit easier tomorrow.
Would have loved to spend lots of time at each venue, but simply not possible. We experienced enough to want to know more about these places.
As we were having dinner at a café near our hotel, we pondered how anyone could drive around this city. How do the buses work their way through the traffic that doesn't seem to let up? Next time I see Jonnie, I will check to see if he drove his bus through Paris when he was doing his stints of driving around Europe. If he did, my congratulations to him! There are scooters (2 & 3 wheels), motor bikes, bicycles, and cars, cars and more cars. Most of the cars are small, to make manoeuvring easier. They seem to park wherever suits and obey the pedestrian signals only if they really have to!
A fascinating city that is starting to grow on us.

Paris - so much has been written about it, spoken about it, filmed about it; will it meet the expectation? After a day, the jury is still out. Our trip to Paris was brilliant on the Thalys train, arriving at Gare du Nord at midday. Made our way to our hotel with the benefit of Google maps showing the streets in detail. Having become so accustomed to living in Melbourne with its grid pattern of streets (thank you Mr Hoddle) it is quite a change to find your way around a city with roads running in every direction possible - some one way, so you don't know which way to look for traffic in order to cross. Usually best to wait for our friend - the "little green man". Although that is not always a guarantee of safety as we nearly found out tonight. Caution is always necessary.
Yesterday afternoon we went for a walk to Sacre Coeur at Montmartre. It was our first introduction to the dark side of life in Paris. Many beggars, many groups of African/eastern european men lounging around. One group tried to do some sort of trick with a piece of string with Rose without asking permission, and seemingly got offended when we brushed him off and kept walking. After that, we tend to keep heads down and keep walking as we approach these groups.
Why is there always water running down the gutters? We have only had a few extremely light showers, so the source must be something else. Not just in one place, but nearly everywhere we walked. Curious!
Today we went to Notre Dame, which was really quite beautiful. This year it is celebrating 850 years since it was built. I think it is great that it has continued as a functioning church over such a long time. While we were there, a mass started, yet the tourists continued to file in and around the church - while the service was in progress! Apparently this occurs multiple times per day, every day. We sat down, which was a nice rest anyway, and respected the service until it finished in just over 30 mins. Then we continued the wander around this lovely church. Moving outside, we found our way across a bridge to the south bank. Curiously, along the railings of the bridge were thousands of padlocks! Why? We then found an area set aside for the victims of the deportation at the hand of Hitler during WW11. 3% survived. Quite a poignant place.
I remember from my Form 1-3 French studies about the Ile de la Cite, however I didn't know much about the Ile de St Louis next to it. The architecture around this area is pure French - around 5 stories, all sandstone, balconies - very nice. This is essentially the outlook from our hotel.
After this we wandered down the north bank to the Louvre to find out times/costs etc. A good thing we did since it is closed on Tuesday. So tomorrow we might try to get to the Eiffel Tower.

Lesson Learnt! Whenever hiring a car, always know exactly where it is to be delivered, and also where the nearest petrol station is prior to returning the vehicle. These 2 factors cost us at least an hour going in circles in central Koln, even after getting directions from the office, where it was to be returned. Roadworks, road closures, traffic chaos, GPS telling me streets that had no names - grrrr! In the end I gave up and found a car park somewhere near where it was supposed to be parked, without filling the tank (about 2/3 full). So I will take the hit with it.
The drive from Bad Bentheim was great - smooth sailing along these brilliant freeways. We stayed at a hotel just next to the Koln Cathedral. It is huge, I believe the largest gothic style cathedral in the world. Almost destroyed in WW11, it has been rebuilt and is truly impressive.
Nearby there are another couple of large churches, not sure of denominations, but they all seemed to compete with their bells. A wedding was occurring at one and so the bells rang long in celebration. This morning the bells from the Cathedral rang out - a lovely sound.
Today is mothers day, both here and back home. Happy Mothers Day to any mothers who read this!
What can I do for Rose - let's go to Paris! We caught the Thalys train to Paris this morning, in Comfort 1 - which looks like must be 1st class! It will take just over 3 hrs to Paris via Brussels. This will take us out of our comfort zones, with Rose speaking no French, and mine is very rusty from Form3 in 1970! See how we go.

Stage 2 of the 'Odyssey' just about completed! We have had a great time in Bad Bentheim. Rose has in particular enjoyed meeting with Janna and Helmuth and swapping stories about Kurt. They took us on a tour around the town yesterday, which helped to give us a good overview of life in this town. It is a very pleasant town, of course filled with history and the Schloss dominating the landscape. However it also has a nice 'feel' about the town. This has been accentuated by the fantastic guesthouse where we are staying.
For example - we enquired about doing some washing, and were told "no problem". Just put our clothes in a basket and they will look after it. Sure enough, this morning we were presented with our clean clothes, carefully folded and ironed. The cost?  ~ 5 - 10 Euro, which by our reasoning is money well spent!
We couldn't understand why so many shops were closed yesterday Thursday 9th  May. Apparently it was Fathers Day, which explained why there were lots of family groups out, with the mums seemingly doing everything and the dad's drinking beer! Sounds like a typical aussie day, I hear some of you say? Sunday is also Mothers Day here.
After we got back to our hotel yesterday, we were relaxing and Rose started reading some of the books on a shelf. She had a book titled "Unser Land" - Our Land, covering some of the region around here. It described some towns, including the township of "Holt und Haar". This of course raised her interest and she started delving further. The owner & Chef must have realised what was happening and he came and showed us another book with family names in the region going back over the centuries. We asked about the township of "Haar" and was told it doesn't exist as a town anymore, but is still an identifiable location, about 5 kms from here. So, this morning, we drove to Haar! After dodging some cars and trucks and at one stage parking in a driveway, we took some photos to record Rose's unexpected link to this area. (If anyone is unaware, Rose's maiden name is Haar.)
This afternoon, we met with Janna and Helmuth for kaffee und kuchen. They have been great to us and I am sure Rose will maintain a closer relationship with them into the future. They enjoy travelling around in their campervan and  showed us (a sample of ) pictures from their journeys to Norway, Finland, incl. Lapland, England, Ireland, Hungary etc. They don't speak English, so Rose was working hard translating both ways. Her German is developing every day, and able to express herself very well. Me? A lot of charades and interpretation based on a recognisable word here and there.
Tomorrow - off to Koln to drop off the car before catching the train to Paris on Sunday.

What a transition. Things do move quickly in Norway! We left Bergen, in drizzle. Apparently it is somewhat like Seattle in the US. It rains there at least 275 days per year. It kept up its average during our stay, although to be fair, it was only a light drizzle. Still, a beautiful place in a remarkable country.
Train trip back to Oslo took us back over and through the mountains. Heavy snow still at places like Finse which is at 1222 metres above sea level. As we descended toward Oslo, the snow was thinning and we even saw green grass and buds on the trees. All this in the space of 3 days! When we got to Oslo, it was approx. 20 deg C - nearly summer temperatures, which seemed to bring everyone out side.
Final catch-up dinner with Viola, Gauge and Odin. He is growing very well and appears to be in very good health. Viola's biggest concern is when he will be taller than her. He seems to have inherited Gaute's stature, so will be 'looking down' on mum in not too many years.
Early start today, handed the keys to the flat back to Gaute, and headed off to the airport. The train is brilliant and cost effective. The trams and buses around Oslo, also run on time and regularly. Is it really too much to expect that we could have something similar in Melbourne?
On arrival in Frankfurt, picked up a hire car (Opel Corsa -manual). Managed to find reverse gear ok (Paul & Matt understand this significance). After a few wrong turns found our way onto the correct freeway. Keeping as much as possible in the right lane to allow the Audis, Mercs and BMWs scream past on the left, we headed to Bad Bentheim.
Traffic! Particularly as we approach the Ruhr region around Dortmund. The freeway repeatedly came to a standstill usually for no accountable reason, then picked up again! Our 3.5 hr anticipated trip took 4.5-5.0 hrs! Still we got here with only a couple of scary 'wrong side' moments 😌
This is where Rose's dad, Kurt, was stationed at the start of WWII. It was here he met his first wife Christine who sadly died at the end of the war while Kurt was still in internment camp. He had made contact with some people he knew from those days, and still live in the area. After he died, Rose has kept in contact, and we plan to meet up with them tomorrow.
Staying at a lovely country inn just west of BB - Landgasthaus Neimann. See what tomorrow brings...
I'll try to get some photos also published here in the near future.

Here we are at the end of our first week in Europe - Monday evening in Bergen, Norway. It has been a jam packed week with highlights every day.
Starting with the flight. Qantas were excellent - great service, smooth flight, on time. What more can you ask of an airline. Their new partnership with Emirates seems to be well settled already. Dubai airport is extraordinary in every way - huge, well set out and busy! In the middle of the night, it was full of people. We saw a crowd at a fish restaurant and thought they must have good food. On closer inspection, a soccer game (UEFA champions league) was on a big tv there, which drew the crowd.
Flew with Emirates to Frankfurt and found our way to our hotel. Met up with Suse and Winfried and had a lovely afternoon with them in Hocheim, followed by dinner in Florsheim. It was great to see Suse after nearly 20 years. She has gone through some really tough times, but hasn't lost her smile or sense of fun. We are looking forward to spending a week with them at Brissago in a few weeks.
Off to Oslo, via Amsterdam airport where Rose had a curious mug of peppermint tea. It was a large glass filled with peppermint leaves, then hot water poured over it all. Apparently quite nice, but different - perhaps the Dutch way!
Following instructions from Viola, we met her, Gaute and Odin at Nationaltheatret Station, having caught the Flytoget train from the airport. Just shows yet again how crazy it is that Melbourne doesn't have a train or light rail to the airport. It's about time some of our pollies experienced the real world and realised how far behind we are in Melbourne.
We are so grateful to Gaute's parents who have given us access to their flat in central Oslo. It is about a 25 min walk to Viola & Gaute's flat which we have now done a few times. Oslo seems to be a peaceful city, in fact the whole country seems to be at peace about itself. It isn't a part of the EU, it is a part of NATO, and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2012 to the EU (somewhat controversially!)
Highlight, especially for Rose, was seeing pre-school children being pushed around in carts by their carers, in temperatures between 0-5! Apparently, the older the child, the lower the temperature they can be exposed to (eg 6 yrs exposed to -10 degrees). It was great to see them out in the fresh air (and it was fresh!), often in family groups.
Norway is still waiting for spring to take hold. We are glad we packed in our warm clothes, including beanies, scarves and gloves. They have been put to good use.
The train trip to Flam was fascinating. The higher we got, the deeper the snow got. It was an interesting experience to change trains at Myrdal, stepping onto a platform covered in snow. Not something we experience in Oz. The train trip Myrdal to Flam, while only an hour was extraordinary - moving from the plateau down to the fjord, with breathtaking scenery, stunning engineering in an unforgiving environment. The railway museum at Flam paid tribute to the skill and dedication of those who built the railway.
Our time in Flam was highlighted by the stunning views all round. We can only imagine in summer, when it will be green how beautiful it will look. Even now, although it is just coming out of winter, and plenty of snow visible, it is a stunning landscape.
We went by boat from Flam to Gudvangen along the fjord. I tried taking photos, however I know they won't do the scenery justice. Still, they will be reminders of the extraordinary beauty of this part of the world.
From there we made our way, first by bus to Voss, then picked up the train to Bergen. It is a much larger city than I had anticipated, perched on the sides of fjords and is a major sea port. Taking the funicular railway to a lookout, we were rewarded with views across the city, even though it was a bit cloudy. It is also a stepping off point for tours of the fjords up north, beyond the arctic circle. We met a couple today from Perth, who are doing just that.
So, at the end of week 1, we feel we have packed a bunch in already. If ever anyone has an opportunity to go to Norway, do so! It is a beautiful country, with a very good feel about it. Yes, it is expensive, but well worth a visit.