Up at 7 a.m. and out
the door before 8 a.m. Our first stop was at the local bakery. The one thing I
noticed was the box of strawberry milk (EDRBEER) is the name for strawberry. I
like the fact that it says beer.
From there we headed
off to Hamburg, Germany. We are heading this way as a Christmas gift to me. I ran across "Miniatur Wunderland youtube and shared a year ago. Neat place and both Sara and Aaron knew I had an
About half way we made our lunch stop
at Cologne, Germany. After paying to use the restroom.
As you can see this one cost .50 cents. Later at a quick shop we had to pay .70 cents. But that one gave you a receipt for .50 cents which could be used in the store.
We decided to tour the Cologne Cathedral. After purchasing our tickets for 8 EURO’s a person
we headed up a tower. After 154 steps Pam and I said “We Give” and headed
back down. Aaron and Sara finished the walk for a total of 436 steps. Too tired to take pictures but just close your eyes and visualize walking in a circle about 4 feet wide going around and around as you go up.
We then went inside and the photos that follow are from inside. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos of the treasures of the church. But WOW, the gold and artwork.
Legs still hurting a
bit so we were off to find a place to eat. After walking down a group of stairs and
walking across the court yard we discovered that the Bristol that we had seen from afar was only opened
during the A.M.
We found a small
German restaurant. When ordering I remembered to say distilled water but Pam
just said water. So I got one we would consider is normal water back home. Pam’s
water was sparkling. See photos below.
Schweineschnitgzel Lederer
mit Tomate, Schafskäse und Rostzwiebeln überbacken dazu Pommes Drittes
Breaded Pork escalope baked with tomato, sheep cheese and roasted onions and French fries
Pam actual stepped out and got German for lunch
Tiroler art
mit Schmorzwtebeln, gebe, Speck und Stiegelet
Dazu Pommes Frites
bread pork with braised onions, fired bacon, fried egg and French fries
Notice the water bottle says natural - I gave Pam my distilled water and I drank her sprinkling water.
After our meal we toured another Christmas festival but didn’t take the time for photos. After the festival we headed towards Hamburg. But we discovered that the drive was 4 hours even though we had already traveled 2 hours. Due to the time of day and traffic it was not a longer trip.
After arriving in Hamburg we found our hotel which took a bit since the parking garage was hidden in the back. Before heading off to bed we hit the hotel grill and bar for supper and my first beer.
Frankziskaner kristallaar dunkel
Black-Angus Burger
Focaccia bun, sweet peppers braised red onions and chili cream cheese
GOING TO CALL THIS SECTION FROM NOW ON - WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT GERMANY/ITALY
- · Stoplights – same three colors but what is different is how the yellow is used. Not only does it go green, yellow, red but it also goes red, yellow, green. It’s like saying get ready to go.
- I’ve learned there isn’t ice in the drinks here and you order distilled water if you want normal water (it still comes in a bottle).
- Gas sells for 1.27 Euro. But wait, that’s for a liter. I believe it takes 3.79 liters to make a gallon. So, gas is 4.81 Euros a gallon.
- Villages are everywhere. Often found at the bottom of a group of hills.
- Windmills are everywhere. Seems like every village has them on top of the hills.
- Farming, I noticed how they farmed their hills. Didn’t see a whole lot of flat land to farm so it was not surprising to see how the hills were being used. You should be able to see this in some of the pictures I post.
- Trash pickup is almost daily. However, each day a different type of trash is picked up and even then, some recyclables are hauled off by the home owner.
- Semi-trucks cannot go as fast as they want even if the speed limit is unlimited. Based on the weight of the truck is how fast they can go.
- Saving Energy - been in many hotels during my life but first time I had to use my door key to turn on lights. So when you leave and take your key the lights go out.
- One more item on paid toilets. The following photo take a hard look at. You should notice that the seat is not lined up correctly. After you stand up a bar comes out from the back and the seat starts to rotate. As it travels under the bar water comes out to clean it.
- To save water you have a choice on which button you push.
Try kinder beer and try curry ketchup and get German chocolate and gummy bears and go for spaghetti and enjoy!!!!!! Be sure to put your shoes out on Christmas Eve!!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh I should have told you guys to try Spaghetti Eis, really any ice cream in Germany is great, but we loved the Spaghetti Eis (looks like spaghetti).
ReplyDeleteI miss the toilets at the rest stops in Germany. I didn't mind paying, because I knew they'd be clean and we loved the self-cleaning toilets, because that was a guarantee of a clean seat and no wasting paper to sit on! :)