Day 62, (July 4) Tallinn, Estonia to Home

Today was going to be a really long day, but in actuality it would be 24 hours like all the previous ones. The difference was that we would be awake for all those 24 hours.

Our alarms went off at 3am local time or 5 pm the previous day in Seattle time.  We stumbled out of bed half groggy, dressed and finished the light packing we needed to do.  Checking out was fast, and we acquired our sack breakfast and waited for our coach to arrive.  It arrived and we boarded it for the short drive to the airport in a heavy downpour.  Inside the terminal, most of the group sat in chairs waiting for the check in counter to open.  I wandered off and found that one checked in at a kiosk and then just dropped one's luggage at the counter.  So I checked in Angela and found to my delight that we were assigned seats.  We dropped off our luggage and proceeded through security where for the third straight time I got the pat down and opening and the explosive testing of my CPAP carry on. 

The flight departed on time with an all female cockpit crew and 2 1/2 hours later we landed in Frankfurt.  We redeemed our 3rd suitcase containing our motorcycle gear from baggage storage, I listed us for the Frankfurt to Detroit Lufthansa flight as it had seats available, dropped off our luggage and we went through security again (yup, pat down and explosives check), cleared passport control, and walked out to the gate just 1/2 hour before the scheduled 10am departure. I also listed us on the 4:30pm Detroit to Seattle Alaska Airlines flight.  After most of the passengers were boarded, we were finally assigned seats in an exit row which worked out great for the increased legroom and close location to the restroom.  

The 8 hour flight to Detroit left about 1/2 hour late, but arrived on time at 1pm local Detroit time.  It was a smooth flight and I finished up my 3rd Marc Cameron novel and watched a few videos on the A320.  Once on the ground, we went through Global Entry passport control, collected our luggage, and went through the customs Global Entry line (very fast at under a minute waiting time and a welcome back greeting from the agent), and made our way to the Alaska Airlines luggage drop off area.  It was then back through TSA PreCheck security in 30 seconds (this time with no pat down or explosives check!).

We waited 3 hours for our on time departure at 4:30pm and enjoyed a McDonald's meal while doing so.  The flight was smooth and we touched down 1/2 hour early at 6pm Seattle time.  After gathering our luggage, we were picked up by our daughter and 2 grandkids who were thrilled to see us as were we to see them.

Our great adventure to Europe was finally over.  It was a varied and great experience with the combination of cruising, motorcycling, and singing/bus touring.  Thanks for coming along vicariously.   

We're looking forward to our next adventure in the fall.  The blog can be found at 

www.timmer2016downunder.blogspot.com.  

Until then, I wish you safe travels.  And remember, while the destination is important, savor the journey.

Day 61, (July 3) Tallinn, Estonia

Sadly, this was our final full day in Tallin.  We rose at the normal time, ate breakfast, and boarded the bus to St. John's church where the choir would be singing during the service and in a short concert afterwards.  

The service was about 1 1/2 hours long and included communion.  It was conducted entirely in Estonian, and about 80% were women.  The choir's singing was a lovely addition.  Most of the congregation left after the service but there were still some 100 left.  After the service there was a light snack downstairs before we were shuttled back to our hotel.  

At the hotel I investigated options for flying home and booked standby tickets to Frankfurt. Once we arrive there, we'll consider our options.

We headed back to Old Town and tried a Thai Restaurant which we found the food to be very bland.  We then walked up the hill to the Domed   Church where we paid 5€ each for a ticket that allowed us to climb the tower as well as tour he church. This church is noted for its epitaphs (essentially they are carved coats of arms identifying significant church members).  The tower was a long climb up a spiral staircase.  But the views were spectacular.  We then wandered our way back down the hill through old town with Angela shopping her way along.  I found the people watching to be good in this busy little city.  We then used the free WIFI at McDonald's and tasted a Hessburger cheeseburger (think Dick's if you are a Seatte resident).  We then went back to our hotel and chatted a bit with other choir tour members for an hour or so before retiring early (11pm) for our 3am wake up call.

Day 60, (July 2) Tallinn, Estonia

Our first full day in Tallinn started like the other previous day's this week.  Following breakfast we boarded our coach for a 4 hour sightseeing tour of the city.  The first stop was at the singing festival performance ampitheatre where we first observed their memorial wall to the prior festivals.  These singing festivals which attract 10's of thousands of participants every 5 years are a national treasure of the Baltic states.  The choir climbed up there and sang a few songs to the appreciative other groups who were also visiting the festival grounds.  With the terrific acoustics, the choir could easily be heard in the back rows some several thousand feet away.  We concluded the tour with a guided walk through the Old City.  Highlights of that walk included a visit to a Russian Ortodox Cathedral whose interior and religious articles were covered in gold.  Unfortunately no pictures were permitted.  There was a nice viewpoint, and all of the streets are cobblestone.  The group posed for a group photo on one of the stairways and soon we were left to wander on our own.  

We grabbed a quick lunch as we planned to meet an Indian friend who happened to be in town on vacation.  We found Chanderjeet at the Indian restaurant and enjoyed a few minutes with him before Angela had to leave for choir practice and I headed off to visit the Occupation Museum.

I spent much of the rest of my afternoon at the museum getting steeped in the occupation history of Estonia while Angela had an unscheduled practice.  The group enjoyed a nice buffet dinner at a local brew house after which we walked back to the hotel and over to the Radisson Blu to enjoy a rooftop view of the sunset which was well after 10pm.  While we were enjoying the views, a sudden rainstorm came up and chased us all inside.  To get back to our hotel it appeared that we would get drenched.  But I spotted a pedicab, and off we went; and arrived dry back at our hotel ready to retire for the evening.

Day 59, (July 1) Riga, Latvia to Tallinn, Estonia

Fortunately this morning we did not have to get up early as we couldn't leave before 9:15am because the bus driver was required to have a 9 hour rest break.  With the bus loaded we headed off north towards Tallinn.  The countryside was filled with lots of farms and agriculture.  At the border we took a rest break in a former border checkpoint station.  Continuing on for a short distance we took another break at the ocean.  There was a large swan there, and several members took the opportunity to wade in the water.

Continuing on, there was suddenly a swerve and a thump, thump.  Looking out the back window, we had hit a very large bird and its lifeless remains were now splattered on the highway.  But we motored on and subsequent inspection revealed no damage to the bus.

After arriving in Tallinn, we had the opportunity to check in to our hotel, the Nordic Hotel Forum, which is located within easy walking distance from the old city before quickly heading off to the first church (Kaarli Kirka)  for the choir practice.  After the practice we went as a group to a restaurant in the Freedom Square.  Initially there was not enough food there. And many of us had to wait a long time for the buffet table to be replenished.  After dinner we walked back to our hotel for a welcomed night's rest.

Day 58, (June 30) Riga, Latvia

We started this morning with breakfast with a couple of choir members who are planning to visit Heidelberg for a few days.  We were able share our 'local knowledge' with them to aid them in their planning.  After that we spent time with Raul, our guide, talking politics and gaining a further understanding of the Baltic mindset.

We used the bus to get us back down to the Old City where we went up in the bell tower of St. Peter's Church to enjoy some scenic views of the area.  We met some Asian tourists that were speaking Spanish and learned that they were Spanish residents.  After that we walked to the Central market where we spent the remainder of the day before walking back to the hotel in time to shower and change into performance clothing.  

The bus left the hotel shortly after 4 for the Old Town and the practice session at the church.  The performance went well, and we walked to a nearby  restaurant for a very nice but time consuming meal.  Once again it was a late night arrival at 12:15am back at the hotel.  This had the consequence of a later start in the morning as the driver has to take a nine hour break per EU rules.

Day 57, (June 29) Riga, Latvia

We started this day in the usual way with the continental breakfast at the hotel.  Our local guide met us at the bus and we were transported out to the Mezapark where we walked a few kilometers to the ampitheatre.  Many of the choir assembled on the top steps of the ampitheatre and sang a few songs.  We walked back to the bus and were transported to the Old City where we did a walking tour.  Once on our own, we wandered the city on our own including a visit to the Occupation Museum (not as brutal to the emotions of an exhibit as the Vilnius one was) which is housed in the former American embassy and a walk back to our hotel.  

Our bus then took us to the Technical University  where the choir practiced with the local men's chorus, Gaudeamus.  It sounded very nice to have the strong male voices behind the predominantly female voices.

After the practice session which ended at 10pm, many of us went over to a local jazz club, Trumpet, for a late dinner of ribs (18€ for a bucket (2 plus pounds) and a couple of beers (I gave one away).  The jazz guitarist and saxaphonist were quite good although for my taste it was a bit loud.  We left the club around 11:30 and a group of us walked back 45 minutes to the hotel for a late night bedtime.

Day 56, (June 28) Vilnius to Riga, Latvia

Today, Tuesday, we transitioned by bus from Vilnius, Lithuania to Riga, Latvia.  After departing the hotel at 8:30am we drove to the Gates of Dawn in the Old Town of Vilnius.  The picture of the Madonna is there and a number of the group hadn't seen it yet.  

We then motored on through the countryside with a planned lunch stop before visiting the hill of crosses.  Unfortunately, the restaurant was full, so we visited the Hill of Crosses first and then found a truck stop with some pretty decent sandwiches.  It was just hard for them to handle the mass influx of 40 plus bus passengers.

The Hill of Crosses started back in the 1800's when a few crosses were anonymously erected during a Soviet occupation.  They were removed and the next day twice as many were erected.  This cycle continued for many years until eventually the crosses were permitted to stay.  Today the site is protected and there are literally 10's of thousands of crosses there and it is a major pilgrimage site in this predominantly Catholic country.

As we motored through the countryside, I was struck by how rundown many of the farmhouses were.  In general, the condition of the homes was comparable to those found in Central America.    Soon we crossed the border into Latvia, and about 1 1/2 hours later we arrived at our hotel Albert (themed after Albert Einstein).  In fact our WIFI password is his famous equation E=MC2!  Cute!

We were bussed to dinner in the old town and afterwards we walked back to the hotel and enjoyed seeing the various architectural highlights.  Tomorrow the plan is to take a bus tour in the morning and do a self guided walking tour.

Day 55, (June 27) Vilnius

It was sort of a hot night and the dawn came early (actually at close to the same time as the day before).  We went down via the elevator to the main floor restaurant where there was a buffet as large as a cruise ship and it featured local delicacies such as herring and mackerel.  After breakfast we loaded onto our bus for a 3 hour tour of the city.  The first stop was at a pavilion constructed just for singing.  The choir massed and sang a few numbers and it sounded heavenly from out in the field.  We then headed on through the city to St. Peter and St. Paul's church.  We left the church and drove to cathedral square where the choir formed a line facing north and south and  symbolic of the line formed by the Baltic people following independence.  In that case the line stretched from Vilnius to Tallin. Inside the choir sang a quick impromptu song that was heavily. We then walked  to what Angela and I thought was the prettiest exterior of all the churches: St. Anne's and Bernadette's churches.  They are constructed of a gorgeous red brick exteriormmched them some more until the practice concluded.  It's really interesting to experience the acoustics of performing in the large cathedral type church.

Just after we left the church a police car stopped the bus and accused the driver of hitting a vehicle during a turn.  So while he sorted that out, we unloaded from the bus and continued our tour walking.  I looked at the damage and it appeared to all be old damage.  I also was seated above the right rear corner and did not feel any contact.  I learned later that it was in fact a way of extorting money as the officer probably spotted the damaged area and used it to his advantage.

We walked to the church the choir would be performing in and then we had about an hour and a half for a lunch break.  While the practice occurred I found a hair dresser for a haircut.  After the practice we bussed back to the hotel for a buffet dinner.  We were then bussed back to St. Casimir's and we arrived there a scant 10 minutes before the scheduled 7pm performance time.  

When we walked in the church, it was packed!  What a thrill!  The concert was well received to a standing ovation.  After the concert part of he group stayed downtown while most of us went back to the hotel where we went up to the Skyview bar for a bit.

After an attempt to purchase some snacks for the upcoming trip, we returned to the room to do some last minute packing and soon it was dreamland.

 

Day 54, (June 26) Vilnius

It was nice to not have to get up early and pack on this Sunday morning.  So we didn't.  We did have to make the 11am cutoff for the continental breakfast which we did.  We checked out just before noon and caught the 12:30 shuttle to the airport to wait for the other incoming choir tour members who were due at 1:30pm.  We found our guide (Rauel) and around 2:00pm we started seeing people come through  the frosted glass doors of the 1950's Soviet style airport.  Since there were several flights arriving around the same time from various airports, it took awhile to for the group to assemble.  Finally, however, it did and we loaded onto our bus for the 25 minute ride to the Radison Blue Lativja.  We quickly got checked in and I headed on foot to the Genocide Museum which was only open until 5pm and not on Monday or Tuesday.  

It was only a 12 minute walk from the hotel and I found it easily.  I just had an hour to see the museum so I started in the prison area in the basement of what was the KGB building.  It was very sobering to see and read about what went on down here for so many years.  People were imprisoned, tortured, and executed here. Their graves for the most part have never been discovered and the tally of those killed is in the 10's of thousands for this prison alone.  The upper two floors contain exhibits about the struggle for freedom and the Soviet and Nazi attempts to quench that.  Alas, the hour finished all too quickly and I was back out in the heat and humidity of the day for my walk back to the hotel.

Angela was off doing a choir event and I didn't know where.  So I read and waited until 6:30 before I headed to the mall across the street to find some dinner.  I found some sushii and it was good.  She returned around 8:00pm and we took a short walk before returning to the room to watch more of the European Cup soccer playoffs before retiring for the evening.

Day 53 (June 25) Heidelberg to Vilnius

About 3am I was awakened by the Flash and Crack of a full bore electrical storm.  It took a bit to fall back asleep, but the alarm at 6am came way too early.  We finalized our packing, said goodbye to Steven (another rider from Oregon) who was already up, and enjoyed the cool of a light rain. The TLS shuttle was 15 minutes early (and the same driver as we saw at the restaurant yesterday).  

About an hour later we were at the terminal where we checked our motorcycle gear into storage so we wouldn't need to pack it to the Baltic.  We checked our other luggage and made our way to the Gate A26.  At security, I must have triggered something as I received the pat down, full inspection of my backpack, and test of all bags and clothing for explosive material.  I think it must have been all of the electronics that triggered the inspections.  But I passed!

At the gate we purchased some food to eat and waited for our flight.  There was a lady from Las Vegas sitting next to us who was going to Lithuania on a museum tour and she was intrigued by our adventure.  I also posted a picture on Facebook and shortly received a reply from a church friend that her husband was  in the same airport waiting for his flight back to Seattle.  It's a small world!

I went up to the gate agent and inquired about seat availability, and the agent said the flight was oversold, but she put us on the list for jump seats (available only at the pilot's discretion).  Fortunately a couple seats became available and we were able to make the flight.  We already had a room reserved at the IBIS in Vilnius, so it was really good to make this flight which arrived around 2pm. We collected our luggage and made our way out of the terminal but didn't find any telephone kiosk with which to contact the hotel.  So I asked at the information desk, "How do we get the IBIS shuttle?"  She phoned the hotel for us and soon the van picked us up and whisked us to the IBIS Styles hotel.  We learned there that the shuttle would also drop us off and pick us up downtown.  So we signed up, quickly freshened up, and took the shuttle downtown to the main gate in the old city wall where we began our walk down the winding cobblestone street.  It took a bit to get our bearings using the tourist maps we were provided. But once we got that down, navigating the old city became easy.

We found a street side cafe to enjoy a light  Lithuanian appetizer and a cold drink (it was in the 80's and high humidity) before continuing our stroll down the promenade.  

The literal high point was to take a fernicular ride up to the tower remains of the ancient castle.  We then hiked up the circular stairway of the tower to take some pictures of the scenery and admire the views.  While we had a ticket to ride down the fernicular, we decided to walk it back down the rocky driveway.  We then wound our way back to the meeting point to relax for an hour before the shuttle picked us up.  I used that time to update my blog.

Our first impressions were that this is an easily walkable city with a lot of history.  It seems to be a cross roads of the Catholic, Greek and Russian Orthodox churches. It, of course, suffered under the Soviet occupation. I hope to learn more about that on Monday when I tour the KGB museum while Angela practices.  It's also clean and neat in the old town without a lot of little convenience stores. There is, however, a lot of ice cream for sale!

Day 52 (June 24) Heidelberg

After a very warm overnight sleep, we ate a relaxing continental breakfast at Knopf Tours.  This would be a laid back sort of day as the principal tasks were to wash the bike, repack our travelling luggage and put away the items that we leave behind in Heidelberg.  We also had the chance to chat with several other couples who are just starting their European adventures on their motorcycles.  One of the couples we met last year.  It's truly fun and enriching to compare travelling notes.  Also we saw off a couple of solo riders who were starting their adventure (Michael was heading to Zermatt and the rider from Texas was heading for Spain to escape the rain that was on his originally planned Northern route).

It was also time to purchase our flight tickets for tomorrow's flight to Vilnius.  I had a bit of a challenge getting that done as the WIFI router kept losing its signal.  But eventually, I succeeded.  Lunch was the leftover pizza from the night before.  We settled our lodging bill, arranged for a 7am shuttle pick up, and I  put fuel stabilizer in the gas tank, rode the bike to the local gas station to fill it up.  I came back and disconnected the battery.  The bike was now ready for storage.  I didn't change the oil as it only had 2,500 miles on it.

I took inventory of what we were leaving behind, packed the panniers, locked them, and we transported them downstairs to the long term storage area.  Next it was time to pack our motorcycle gear in its travelling duffel and pack the remainder of our clothes.

We walked into the village to get some more euros and check out the LIDL and ALDI grocery stores for the last time this trip.  We enjoy seeing what they offer in the way of general merchandise.  On the way back to Knopf Tours, we stopped at the same little Döner shop for a salad dinner which was quite good.  Our evening was spent hanging out with the other couples and sharing more stories and tips.  It was a fun time.  Clouds started rolling in and the temperature dropped, but it was still in excess of 80f.  Darkness led to trying to sleep, but it was so warm.  Fatigue eventually trumped the heat until . . .

Day 51 (June 23) Back to Heidelberg

We packed up our campsite, purchased some bread from the bakery truck, ate a light bread and cheese breakfast, and headed on off to Heidelberg via many terrific secondary roads.  Near the end of our ride there was a major detour that cost us 45 minutes for the detour.  And it was well in excess of 90 degrees for most of the day, so we made stops to cool off and wet ourselves down so the evaporation would do its magic.

We rolled into Knopf Tours around 6pm to a ready room.  I stripped off my riding clothes to get more comfortable and proceeded to install the replacement combination switch that I had picked up an hour earlier from a dealer (I pre-ordered the part 10 days earlier) along our route.

We then walked to a local restaurant and had a salad and pizza for dinner before retiring with no covers as the heat was oppressive.

Day 50 (June 22) Fichtelberg

Once again we packed up and said our goodbyes to Gaila and made our way southwest on backroads (and more detours) towards Bayreuth where we hoped we would be able to camp for the first time this trip.  Finally it was getting warm!  We were pretty close to the Czech border at Hof where we stopped for a McRib lunch and WIFI.  

Motoring on, we reached the end of our GPS route outside Bayreuth where I put in a search for a campground and we found one I had previously researched.  So off we headed for another 20 miles or so to Fichtelberg to check it out.  We found the site up in the forest near done ski areas and it had electrical hookups, a lake, and nearby restaurants, yet it's really in the middle of nowhere.  

So we pitched our tent, did a load of laundry, and walked into the village for a very nice dinner.  We also got an order of cheese to go so we could have  some for breakfast when the bread truck comes by in the morning.  After dinner, we walked down to the very pretty lake before retiring for the night.

Day 49 (June 21) Grimma & Dresden

Today we were off the motorcycle for the day the first time in 2.5 weeks.  Gaila, our friend from Seattle who is helping start a castle motorcycle destination in Mutzchen took us on a tour of Grimma and a magnificant nearby castle at Wermsdorf before showing us the Motostay castle in Mutzchen.  The castle is really cool, but there is a lot of work needed to get it ready for guests.  

We then decided to drive to Dresden to tour the old city.  Most of Dresden was bombed extensively during WWII as it was a major defensive position against the Soviets.  One characteristic of the aged sandstone buildings is that they turn black.  So one can readily see the newer construction and reconstruction by the building colors.  The main Lutheran cathedral was totally flattened, but was recently in the past 20 years completely rebuilt and is quite pretty inside.  There's a mixture of the old and new stones in its rebuilding.  There were lots of tourists walking around the old city, but it wasn't crowded.

After our return to Grimma, we decided to walk downtown for dinner.  We were told that it was just a 15-20 minute walk.  No problem.  So off we headed.  50 minutes and 2.2 miles later we were in town ready to eat!  It was a lovely paved path through the fields, by a former textile factory dating to the turn of the 20th century, and over a very cool pedestrian bridge. Nothing much was open except for the restaurants.  We ended up eating in a Döner shop (our second favorite restaurant after McRibs at the golden arches, and it was very good. I paid for the meal with a 100€ note, but only received 30€ in change instead of 80€. I walked out of the restaurant and then realized what had happened.  So I went back and the clerk immediately realized what was wrong and the correct change was given.  A 100€ note isn't that common, but the 50€ is.  

So we then walked back the 2.2 miles to our lodging and spent time with Gaila.  Angela showed her tips on playing her ukulele and we chatted about traveling.  And all too soon, bedtime called, and another day was done.

Day 48 (June 20) Castles & Grimma

We checked out of the Panorama Hotel after another fine breakfast and headed for our first castle of the day Schloss Callenberg just outside of Coburg.  Since it was Monday, the museum at the castle was closed so we just hiked up to the castle from the parking lot. We took a few pictures and noted that we could easily see the Veste Coburg, the defensive castle we visited a few days ago.  After returning to our motorcycle, we motored on to the next castle: Veste Heldberg.    It, too, was closed so all we could do was hike up to it and take some exterior pictures. 

It was now time to point the bike towards Grimma, Germany which is a suburb of Leipzig some 260km (150 miles) away.  We have a friend there that we wanted to visit. For the entire day we wandered east and north through some terrific German backroads and more little villages.  One thing that was challenging especially when riding in the former East Germany was that we would come upon road construction that blocked the highway with no apparent sign of a detour route.  I got pretty good at finding detour routes even if they took us down little paved farm roads.  The crowning touch was encountering a blocked road less than a mile from our destination.  We rode through the blockage, miscrits that we are.

We enjoyed a nice dinner with our hostess, and then walked next door to visit the castle Döben which is pretty much in ruins.  Tomorrow we have a special castle visit and tour planned.  

Day 47 (June 19) Bayreuth

For this Sunday castle trip, we chose to ride an hour to Bayreuth via the secondary roads and visit 3 castles in the home of all things Richard Wagner.  The ride down was wonderful through little villages and twisty forest covered roads.  At the primo castle in Bayreuth, Eremitage (Hermitage), we didn't quite know what to expect.  From the parking lot all we could see were hedges, but some of the signage gave us a clue to the treat we were about to experience.  

First here's a little history.  The Margrave Georg Wilhelm began construction of a pleasure pavilion in 1715 which became known as the Old Palace.  His son, Friederich, inherited the property and gifted the entire estate to his Prussian born wife, Wilhelmine.  She then constructed the magnificent New Palace and other items on the grounds.  She was only able to enjoy the New Palace for 9 years before she died.  He lived for a few years more.  For more information about the Eremitage, practice your Google  Foo.

We purchased tour tickets for the Old Palace, as it was the only way to see the inside.  While the tour was in German, I used a printed English guide that provided me some helpful information during the tour.  The entry into the Old Castle was deliberately designed to be the antithesis of a grand entrance.  One walks down a ramp and into a chamber where there is a very cool water fountain.  In fact for me, the coolest part was a candelabra suspended only by a jet of water!

The rest of the rooms are wonderfully restored, but once again I'll not bore the reader with a room by room description.

After the tour we walked the grounds and especially enjoyed the water fountain performances.  

For all of the castles that are compact, this one is notable for its sheer size and variety of features.

We rode back into town to get some lunch and to find the New and Old castles located there.  We parked the motorcycle near where we thought the Old Castle was located and went to find some lunch/dinner.  We settled on eating at a Döner shop, and it was good.  We then set out to find the Old Castle, but it's location eluded us until we realized from some signage that it had been destroyed in a fire near the end of WWII.  There is a statute of Maximillium that marks where the courtyard used to be.  We then walked to the New Castle and it was easy to find.  The Historic Opera House was nearby and we took a 45 minute little train ride around the city that was interesting.  Following an ice cream treat, it was time to gear up and head back to our hotel which was an hour away.  We wanted to see another castle (Plassenburg) but there simply was not enough time especially since it's one of the larger castles with at least 4 museums in it and we would be arriving there near closing time. 

After riding back to the hotel, we watched a bit of the European Dancing with the Stars TV program called 'Let's Dance'.  The routines were not as complicated as the American version but the judges were far more critical in their scoring.  Then it was time to watch the European soccor playoffs where France and Switzerland played to a 0-0 tie.

Tomorrow we visit two more castles while on our way to visit a friend from the States living up near Leipzig (about 4 hours away).  We'll spend the night there before turning back southwest towards Heidelberg where we need to be on Thursday.  I'm sure we'll find a castle or to on that ride as well.

Day 46 (June 18) Rödenthal & Kronach

Today (Saturday) our focus was on seeing Rödenthal and its famous Hummel figurine factory plus a couple of castles in the area.

It was a short 1/2 hour ride there and we easily found the Hummel factory where we toured both the factory outlet store and the factory store. There were definitely lots of figurines to see! Angela has been enthralled with these figurines for years so this was a special stop for her.

The next castle on our list, Schloss Rosenau was nearby and we paid it a visit. It was a summer home for nobility and quite plain in presentation. We skipped the museum tour here, and ventured on to Kronach where we had one of the more grand castles to visit: Festung Rosenberg. This grand old defensive castle is poised high on a hill above the city and is reached by riding up a series of twisty and steep cobblestone streets. Then one hikes up the hill and through the second of three defensive walls. This wall is about 30 feet thick. 

We purchased castle tour and museum tour tickets for 8€ each. One cannot view the castle without doing the tour. We did a quick first visit to the museum before joining the 2 pm tour. The tour was conducted totally in German and Angela would give me highlights of the guide's comments. For me, there were two highlights to the tour. First was walking down into the inside of the 30 foot thick wall. Exiting that, we had a terrific view of the castle, and that was the second highlight. We then had a terrific late lunch/early dinner out on the patio at the castle restaurant. We followed that up with a return visit to the museum where the focus was on altar pieces, sculptures, and paintings. After our visit concluded just after 5 pm, we rode back to our hotel in just under an hour.

Tomorrow the plan is to ride southeast to Bayreuth for 4-5 castles in the area plus things Richard Wagner.  

Day 45 (June 17) Surprised by Joy in Coburg

Using the title from a CS Lewis book about his new found faith, we found ourselves surprised by joy in visiting Coburg.  First, our gas shortage was solved by finding a gas station there.  It had been surprising the previous day to not see any public gas stations in so many little villages.  We were down to 15 miles of range or about a 1/2 gallon of fuel.

Coburg is a scant 3 miles from our hotel, but never having been there, it took us a while to find a motorcycle parking spot, but persistence paid off when we found one right in the center of what we were looking to visit.  We then easily found the tourist information office and received a helpful city map with a self guided walking tour route and descriptions all done in English.  So we headed off on the tour.  The first stop at the old city hall was among the most stunning we have seen in our travels.  Schloss Ehrenburg was on the tour and it was also one of the castles we needed for our castle tour.  St. Moritz church (with its ornate alabaster carved altarpiece but otherwise plain in decor) was another worthy stop.  At the conclusion of the tour, we found the city's famous bratwurst sandwich in the town square and some gingerbread type cookies and a panini at another restaurant to round out lunch.

                                      Old City Hall

We caught the little train (cutely nicknamed the Gecko-Bahn) up to the fortress castle, Veste Coburg.  This is one huge defensive castle and highlights of our visit included a huge knife collection, a huge antique hunting rifle  exhibition, 2 rooms in which Martin Luther lived after he was excommunicated by the pope, lots of paintings and sculptures, a cool movie down in a dungeon room about Martin Luther, and a carriage collection. The audio guide was a bit frustrating to use, but in the end it helped to have it for the castle tour.  We spent most of the afternoon there and just before 5pm caught the next to last train back down the hill.  We found a little Döner shop near our motorcycle for a light dinner.  As I was gearing up to ride back to the hotel, Angela wandered across the street to see what was playing at the Landestheatre.  It was Barry Manilow's Cococabana musical.  Tickets were only 18€ each, so we decided to gafe a night out at the theatre.  Surprised by joy once again!

The performance was wonderful with most of the speaking parts in German, but most of the songs were in English.  We thoroughly enjoyed the show and rode back to the Panorama Hotel in the dark.

Tomorrow's plan is to visit Rödenthal with a special visit to the Hummel figurine factory as well as a castle or two.

Day 44 (June 16)Transition to Coburg

After another terrific breakfast it was time to pack up and leave our home for the past 3 nights.  We paid our bill and said our goodbyes to our hosts at Wohnen mit Hertz.  This was one of the best B&B's we've stayed at.  While our night's destination was only 45 minutes away, there were a few castles to see along the way.

Schloss Rentweinsdorf was right in the town of Rentweinsdorf and still occupied as was Schloss Eryichshof in Ebern.  Just up the hill from Schloss Erichshof were the ruins of Burgruine Rotenham. When this hand carved castle which is built into the sandstone was destroyed, a decree would not allow it to be rebuilt.  So the owners built the sumptuous castle down the hill that we just visited.

Burg Lichtenstein was at the end of a little country road outside of Pfarrweisach and is still occupied so we couldn't visit.

Burgruine Altenstein was hidden at

Maroldsweisach, and we took a few pictures there, but it was raining and that dampened our enthusiasm for hiking down the hill to see more.

The gem of the day was at Seßlach (Sesslach):  Schloss Geyersberg.  It's perched up on a tree filled hill above town and there is a little path to walk up to it or it can be reached by vehicle. It's still occupied and rentable for special events, so we couldn't go in.  We parked the bike next to the Rathaus and walked through the fully walled town with its cobblestone streets and half timbered houses, enjoyed some lunch to get out of the rain, and found a most helpful tourist information person.  Here we also found the official printed map of the castle route which would have been helpful earlier in the trip.  We also climbed one of the 3 remaining city towers and Angela did her best Rapunzel impersonation.  

While it was still raining, we plodded on to our hotel for the next 4 days, Hotel Panorama in Niederfüllbach which is about 3 miles outside of Coburg.  It was good to check in relatively early and begin to dry off after being in the rain most of the day.

We walked into town and found the local grocery store, Edeka, which is like a Fred Meyer along with some great chile at a local Cafe.  Did I mention we had been running low on fuel? The odometer now indicated less than 15 miles of range and we hadn't seen fuel in any of the little villages we had visited.  Would there be fuel in Coburg the next day?  Time would tell.

Day 43 (June 15) Castle Searching near Bamburg

We awoke to enjoy another nice breakfast and headed out to find a number of castles in the area that are on the castle route that we are using.  The first was the Altenburg castle which is perched on a hill above Bamburg.  If the weather hadn't deteriorated so severely yesterday, we could have visited this castle in the afternoon.  In any event, the castle was free and we roamed the grounds.  They even had a 'falcon cam' showing a live feed of a falcon nest with two chicks.  There was a set of towers, so we climbed them for an even better view.  We also discovered the tribute to the castle bear.  As we were getting ready to leave, we noticed a tourist bus that would take us around the city of Bamberg and back to the castle in 45 minutes for 8.50€ each.  So we took it to get a different perspective on the city.  The driver was an American expat who married a German lady and stayed in Germany.  He wouldn't narrate the tour in English, but he had a marvelous German voice.

We then visited 8 more castles on the route, but I'll not bore the reader with the details except for two.

In the middle of the ride, we rode down this really twisty road into a geologically beautiful area with the little village of Pottenstein with its little castle perched high on the rock cliffs above it.  The village was so quaint and we walked the length of it to savor the sights.  We even found a small diversion dam that once served a mill.  We noted that the International Volksmarching convention would be held here in early July.  If for not other commitments we might be persuaded to stay for that event.  We even enjoyed a pizza and salad dinner at an Italian restaurant and ate the meal under an umbrella watching the traffic go by. And of course, the road out was also twisty.

The second castle was the  Castle Seehof in Memmelsdorf which is just outside Bamberg.  It was built by the prince-bishops of Bamberg and used as their retreat and hunting lodge and a way to get away from their subjects in Bamberg.  It's now owned by the government (previous owners were unable to maintain it) and the castle and grounds are simply elegant and it is open daily to the public for guided tours.

All of the above castles are located in an area called Franconian Switzerland for its resemblance to Switzerland.  Although we were gone the entire day, we traveled less than 100 miles!  And the weather pretty much held out for us all day.  If you want to read much more about these and other castles on the tour we are doing, go to http://www.castleroad.de.