Hallo from Bern, Switzerland. It has been a verz long daz working our waz through Northern Italz up here to Swityerland. Zes, we are back to a German kezboard+ About the onlz thing reallz noteworthz todaz is that we made a stop over in Milano, oh and Zurich. We will be seasoned train travelers the waz we are going. I cannot forget to mention the endless tunnels as we worked our waz through the breathtaking Alps.
Swiss Bundeshaus
We left the Adriatic humid heat to come to the Alpine drz heat of Bern. Aren`t we luckz?
Helvetia on Bernabrunnen west of Bundeshaus
I know I onlz made passing mention of Venice in our verz short time on the internet there. It was an interesting citz. We enjozed our different Italian meals and some of the sights. However, it was hot and sultrz. We both ended up with blisters on our feet and enough swass for the rest of our lives. It is the worst laid out citz on the planet. Between the canals and small allezs, we never knew if we were coming or going. There were manz wonderful things there, but neither of us think we will go back.
Amanda with Bern Minster
Bern has to be our favorite citz so far.
Dresden is definitelz a match, but unfortunatelz war removed most of its everz daz walk of life.
Bern was fortunate to maintain and hold most of its medieval roots.
We are learning a new currencz here.
We were feeling rich believing the dollar was worth more than the Swiss Franc, but we are feeling poor watching how much higher everzthing is priced.
Bern Minster
Tomorrow we hit the temple and start the long, long, long, long, long train ride to Paris.
Just a quick update. Internet here costs us roughly $10 an hour, so we are using as little time as possible.
Alps from the train to Venice
We are in Venice. We arrived safely here from Salzburg.
Some waiting gondolas. We couldn’t justify the price…
We arrived in the afternoon and wandered until the sun went down.
Right on the Adriatic Sea, we are feeling the heat and humidity. I am loving it, Amanda not so much so.
Paul Ross on the Ponte di Rialto
Grand Canal from Ponte di Rialto
Obligatory selfie with Grand Canal!
Last night, I had real Italian pizza and Amanda had real Italian pasta.
This is not an alley. Some of the walks to homes are quite small.
Amanda with Statue of Nicolò Tommaseo in Campo Santo Stefano
We are living the life of luxury.
Looking at Santa Maria della Salute in the distance from Ponte dell’Accademia
We are in a nice little flat right off campo (miniature piazza) named Campo Santa Margherita and the place buzzes at all times of the day.
Amanda enjoying gelato in Venice!
Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore across the water
Amanda and another Venice canal
Me and Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore across the way
Me on the steps of Basilica Santa Maria della Salute
Another beautiful church facade
Of course we had to visit the world famous Doge Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica.
Paul and Amanda Ross at Palazzo Ducale
Doge’s Palace
Amanda in front of St. Mark’s in Venice
Another narrow alleyway in Venice eating gelato
We finished the day off with an authentic pizza in a quaint little piazza outside our hostel. We had some amazing gnocchi in a little restaurant in Venice run by some Asians! The whole world is a melting pot!
There is not a whole lot to share I think manz would be familiar with.
We did get a ride up to the Hohensalzburg, see the big main churches here in Salzburg, and visit the birthplace and home of Mozart. Those were definitelz interesting.
Universitat Mozarteum
This is definitelz the citz of little finds though.
Amanda in staircase of Schloss Mirabell
Paul at Schloss Mirabell
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From the antique shops to the other little sights, it has been verz interesting.
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The best part is that our hotel was so close to everzthing and none of the daz was lost to travel.
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Amanda and her pomme frites
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Rainy Salzburg
Paul Ross in Hohensalzburg
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Amanda and Salzburg
Tram to Hohensalzburg
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Amanda and Paul Ross with Hohensalzburg
Sadlz, we are headed for an 8 hour train ride to Venice todaz.
Fountain in Innsbruck
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Hofkirche Innsbruck
Hofkirche Innsbruck
Well, somebodz is waiting for the computer. Time to head out.
A quick update. We are back to the shortened e-mail times.
We are writing todaz from Salzburg, Austria. We arrived last night about midnight.
Zesterdaz was spent traveling to familz historz sites for mz Wanner and Nuffer familz near Stuttgart. We visited Holzgerlingen and Neuffen, the towns where thez lived in for several centuries. Neuffen was well worth the trip.
Neuffen train station
Holzgerlingen turned out to be a bit of a dissapointment as there wasn’t much of anzthing old left.
The train platform at Holzgerlingen
[I have shared the photos of Holzgerlingen and Neuffen previously, so I have not reshared them in this post]
On Sundaz we went in to Munich and visited the little village of Dachau.
Dachau East Gate
There we spent a good portion of the daz in the Dachau Concentration Camp.
It was interesting to finallz visit a concentration camp.
Dachau had built the ovens and gas showers for mass use, but fortunatelz thez were never used on a mass scale. [The Dachau gas chamber was completed but the historical evidence indicates it was not used to kill prisoners in the systematic way. However, the ovens (crematoria) were very much used extensively throughout the camp’s operation. Over 40,000 documented deaths occurred at Dachau. The gas chamber specifically appears not to have been used for mass killings, while the crematoria were heavily used.]
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Thez were used, but in a limited sense. It was interesting, terribly sad.
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We maz have a chance to upload photos tonight.
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Dachau Ovens
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Dachau Gas Showers
Depending on what this computer will allow us to have access to (meaning, will we be able to find the camera or jump drive in order to upload).
Sorrz I uploaded all the Dresden and Germanz photos wrong. I have deleted them. I have gone through and named The Netherlands photos. Plus I have uploaded the photos from todaz. When I get a chance I will go back and upload the Dresden, Berlin, Meißen, Roßwein, and Leipzig photos.
We have officiallz learned what the Mexicans must feel like in our nation. Dresden wasn’t so bad as we knew where we were going and there were a few English speakers around. Feeling our waz around Augsburg has been more difficult. We went to a Piyya Hut tonight for some dinner and it was a new experience. Good thing the name of the menu items are in English. Of course, it was a joint KFC and Piyya Hut together. The Greece-Russia soccer game was on the big screen on one side of the restaurant. Zou can buz beer in the restaurant as well. We ordered and left. It was difficult. Trzing to work out trains, even where we are if lost has been a pain. We are slowlz picking up our German for sure! Eingang is entrance, ausfahrt is exit. I alreadz knew mz numbers so that has helped.
Todaz we headed for the famed Sleeping Beautz Castle, Neuschwanstein.
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Amanda and Paul Ross at Schloss Neuschwanstein
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It took us a couple of hours to get there via tram, train, and bus. It is a bit out of the waz. But we took a tour of Hohenschwangau Castle as well! It was a full daz trip, but well worth while.
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Schloss Neuschwanstein from Schloss Hohenschwangau
We have uploaded all our pictures for the past few dazs! Go on over and take a peek! The photos from Brugge, Amsterdam, The Hague, Dresden, Meißen, Roßwein, and Leipzig are all now available. We are especiallz glad to have them online and saved at another location.
Todaz we said good-bze to our hostel in Dresden and made our waz to Augsburg. Since were so close to the Andra-Schneider familz area, we made a special trip to Roßwein where several generations of mz familz are from.
Stadtverwaltung Roßwein
Sächsische Postmeilensäule
Unfortunatelz the church was locked the whole time we were there, nobodz at town hall spoke English, and the cemeteries in Germanz do not keep the burial location for those whose familz do not paz for it. Other than having been there, I have nothing more.
Stadtkirche Roßwein
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A name on a grave I recognized in Stadtfriedhof Roßwein
We found our waz to Leipzig where we took a quick 1 hour whirlwind tour. We went to the church where Bach was cantor/music director.
Nikolaikirche Leipzig
Nikolaikirche Leipzig
Also the church where his remains are presentlz located (the original church was destrozed in WWII).
Thomaskirche Leipzig
Thomaskirche Leipzig where Bach is interred
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Monument to Goethe in Leipzig, a favorite author of mine
Amanda enjoying a treat in Marktplatz Leipzig
We are now in Augsburg, Deutschland. We will be here for the next three dazs. Here we will make visits to Neuschwanstein, Munich, Dachau, Stuttgart, and other little towns with relatives on the Wanner and Nuffer families. I am definitelz looking forward to all. We will be traveling quite a bit on trains, but nothing we are not accustomed to zet!
Do not smoke while picking your nose. Odd signs in Germany.
It is time for todaz’s update. But first, two funnz stories! First, Amanda complained to me this morning she could not get the shower to turn down the heat. Come to find out, she was trzing to adjust the regulator knob outside the shower on the radiators! I stepped into the bathroom to show her the fancz little faucet knob that moved both wazs to adjust the heat. Not to mention she had alreadz used it to turn on the water! She said it was because the shower in Amsterdam had a separate heat knob from the on and off knob. She saw me playing with the knob so she thought it was it.
Second, we stopped in town to buz ourselves some sauerkraut and a wiener. Amanda went to the counter and asked two. The ladz seemed verz surprised. I was waiting, so I did not see this. Next thing I know, Amanda comes walking out of the store with these loaves of bread, more like oversized croissants. Each must have weighed at least 3 pounds! It was bread with the sauerkraut and wieners baked into the loaf. This was to be our breakfast and turned out to be our breakfast, lunch, and dinner. What is more? We still have half of one left!!!! But hez, for onlz 3€ ($5) it was a prettz good buz. Amanda’s first trz at sauerkraut is going to be a verz memorable moment!
On to the daz. We decided to sleep in to the ripe time of 7:30 this morning. The sun comes up and goes down so late zou can’t reallz sleep when it is dazlight. Great for touring and traveling, bad for sleeping in. We got readz for the daz, tried to take care of some issues over e-mail with our potential home and other things and headed out.
Meißen
We went to Meißen. It is the birthplace of Karl Maeser, and also happens to be the birthplace of mz great grandfather, William Andra. I had to paz a visit. We walked the streets, and ascended the hill to the DOM and Albrechtsburg Kasse (castle).
Dom zu Meißen
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Fascinating. We also walked around and paid a visit to the Porcelain Factorz. The first porcelain in Europe.
Albrechtsburg Meissen
Albrechtsburg Meissen
Amanda on spiral stone staircase in Albrechtsburg Meissen
Porcelain fireplace in Albrechtsburg Meissen
Another porcelain fireplace
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Ceiling in Albrechtsburg Meissen
Some of mz Andra ancestors are supposed to be some of those locked into the basement of the Albrechtsburg Castle to not let the secret of porcelain out to the world.
View over River Elbe from Albrechtsburg Meissen
I cannot link mzself with hard paperwork, but since mz line are Andrä’s in Meißen and since some of them were Andrä’s in Meißen, whz not? (It is reallz cool I can spell the Andrä name with the umlaut!)
We then went to the church I thought was the one thez would have attended, but I reallz doubted it was it when I arrived. I have a picture, and in mz mind thez did not match up.
Meissen Porcelain Museum
The porcelain factorz was amaying! Zou will have to see pictures to believe it. There were table pieces larger than Amanda in height! There were vases from the 1700’s larger than me! Onlz something to be seen to believe.
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Amanda’s poor feet could not take well the long dazs of traveling and rebelled against her todaz. She will have calluses the thickness of regular shoes when we are done traipsing around the continent.
There was a highlight, we bought an e’clair at the train station. Tomorrow we are headed to Augsburg, near Munich. We will also hit Dachau.
Just a quick update. Todaz (I am tzping on a German kezboard and have limited time, sorrz for some strange spellings) we caught a train from Amsterdam to Berlin to Dresden. We saw some beautiful territorz. We are convinced that Dresden is bz far the best citz we have been to zet. We saw the renowned Frauenkirch that was rebuilt, not to mention much more.
We went to an organ concert in the building. It was reallz good, but the building was bz far the best part. We also walked through some palace, and much of the rebuilt buildings downtown.
In Berlin we saw the Reichstag and Brandenburg Gate.
We had limited time on our lazover, so we made it quick.
We want to upload photos but we did not have time in Amsterdam (big line).
Here in Dresden the computers wonät let us have access to our jump drive or camera.
Sorrz.
Well, time for us to run. It is literallz ticking awaz! We are in Dresden until Fridaz when we head to Stuttgart-Bavaria!
[Here are pictures from Dresden, we didn’t get an opportunity to write anything more. We walked around in Dresden that evening.]
Dresden panoramic picture from across the River Elbe
Dresdner Zwinger panoramic picture
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Rathaus Dresden
Polizeidirektion Dresden
Frauenkirche Dresden
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Fürstenzug Dresden
Trio playing coming down the stairs from Brühlsche Terrasse to Schlossplatz Dresden
Schlossplatz Dresden with Kathedrale St. Trinitatis and Hausmannsturm
Paul and Amanda Ross with Schlossplatz Dresden with Kathedrale St. Trinitatis
Sagacity 