Londinium!!

Family and friends,

Several people have asked for our ideas of things to do in and around London. This is my attempt to give you good ideas and you will need to edit this extensive list for your particular interests.  I have been to the city three times and have done most of these.  This may be your only trip so choose what matters to you.

If you are visiting in June or July you should make your hotel reservations immediately after making flight reservations. If you are going around the time of US spring breaks it is good to have hotel reservations pretty quick, too. Also, if arriving in February you need to note if it is Half-term (England’s Spring Break) in the UK.  If it is, the museums and sites will be overcrowded. If you have a US military ID, I know of two hotels where you can make reasonably priced reservations.  One is in a prime location near Hyde Park www.vsc.co.uk .  The other is in Southwark and not so convenient www.ujclub.co.ok .  Look at both.  You have to join to make reservations, so go ahead and join then inquire about reservations.  It is free to join if you are an active duty US serviceman.  An important note, for these two hotels, en suite means there is a bathroom in your room; if it does not say en suite you will be going down the hall to use the facilities. 

One great website with amazing prices for booking flights and hotels as a package from the US is called www.europeandestinations.com .  If you are in the planning stages check out this website. Depending on your comfort level with tiny not American style hotels, you may want to choose a four star in London.  Please remember that this rating will still get you a tiny room where you will trip over suitcases.  It will have a bar and a breakfast offered on the premises although these days the breakfast is not usually included in the price.  Cost for breakfast included is around 20 pounds per person.  You can probably find a local place to grab breakfast or head to Sainsbury’s or Tesco (both grocery stores) and have fruit and take away breads in your room for a lot less than 20 pounds each.

Speaking of money.  Have a plan for how you will obtain local currency.  Some are veterans on this, and some are not.  I’ll tell you that when we moved to Germany, our primary plan to obtain currency crashed and we had to jump through some hoops.  Cambios are abundant, however the exchange rate is not in your favor.  My recommendation (Steve) is to have a US credit card that doesn’t charge International transaction fees.  Prior to your departure, call your card issuer and let them know where you are travelling to.  Getting money out of an ATM is easy with a credit card and you get a great exchange rate.  You will need to pay it off as soon as it hits your bill though, as they generally count as cash advances and accrue interest charges on a daily basis.  Enough on that, bottom line is have a plan.  Another benefit of having a credit card with zero foreign transaction fees is that you can use it in the local stores and not get a surprise on your bill.  When you do this, you will have the option of having the charge occur in US Dollars or GB Pounds.  Have them make the charge in GB Pounds and then your bank will process using their exchange rate.  If you have them do it in US Dollars, you will subject yourself to the merchant’s exchange rate.

If you are comfortable using public transportation, it is relatively inexpensive to get a ticket for the trains to and from Heathrow.  It is really nothing you have to purchase in advance and can purchase from ticket counters in the airports.  Just a reminder that if you use the trains, you need to keep your tickets on your person until you complete your journey and exit the station.  In London and on the National Rail both, you cannot exit the station without your ticket. 

You will pass a lot of souvenir shops as you travel to your hotel.  Wait to purchase your souvenirs …….  you will visit many sites with great souvenirs available in their shops.  Just visit a generic shop on one of your last days in town to get whatever you did not find while touring. You can pop in to grab some post cards to mail home, but I promise you will love the souvenirs you see at the various sites much more than the generic shops on the street.

Depending on your desire to spend time doing other things you may want to buy the tour bus tickets for the city.  The tour operators sell tickets in several locations and there is one company that offers a two day pass that includes hop on hop off for four different routes through the city and the ticket is good for 48 hours from the time of purchase.   The underground will cost less if you buy an Oyster card (Google it, it’s a subway prepaid card basically), but it is under the city and you won’t see the city as you travel around to the sites.  If it is your first time you may want to use the tour bus but then you may not. Many of the tour companies include a Thames tour in glass covered boat.  If you are interested in going to Greenwich, I would highly recommend purchasing this. More on Greenwich later.

While there are several castles or fortresses either in London or nearby, I will only talk about three.  One is in the city and two are short train rides to nearby towns.

I think the Tower of London is the must do.  The other two are amazing to see and for totally different reasons, but it seems you just can’t “do” London properly without seeing the Tower with the Beefeaters and The Ravens.  The guards are your actual tour guides here if you purchase your tickets onsite.  Do not do this as a part of another tour because you will get a Blue Button guide, a shorter tour and no one has the gift of gab and telling stories beautifully as much as the men and women who guard this wonderful old site.  The Crown Jewels are located here and you see them by getting on a moving conveyor belt.  If you are there at a busy time you may only get one pass, so find the jewels early.  They have great volunteers (I think) here who tell additional stories on the grounds besides the ones you will hear while on the tour.  If there is a schedule for these, be sure and try to see one or two presentations.  They are in period costume and they try very hard to do it in very proper old English.  Sometimes, if you are quick witted or tongued, you can trick them into using modern parlance.

Just an FYI, I think the saddest story on the tour comes near the end when you visit the tiny chapel where Anne Boleyn was buried.  It is unfortunate the King did not know how important his second daughter was to his beloved England and sad that her mother was killed simply because she gave birth to a girl. 

The other castles are Windsor and Hampton Court.  Both have great little towns nearby to take a break and have a pint and some fish and chips at a nearby pub.  Hampton Court has great old brickwork that can make you feel like it’s the 14^th C.  The pub to the left of the castle grounds as you face the building  from the train stop ( I think it’s called the kings arms or Henry viii, but I can’t remember) has old lead pipes in the basement that are 500 years old or more.  Quite often a local will offer to take you down and see them.  Windsor castle is still the weekend home for Her Majesty, the Queen.  Touring the State Apartments there was just as interesting to Steve and me as Hampton Court.  At both places we recommend the Audio guide.  Also remember that at both locations the guards and docents are happy to answer questions.  The guards seem to love where they work and have the knowledge of a tour guide.  I’d recommend taking a train and making a day out of either. 

Buckingham palace was not on my palace/castle tour list.  It is only open for tours certain times of the year and I have never been on one.   I cannot recommend or not recommend it. I know that most people go there to see the Changing of the Guard.  And I do recommend this.  You will need to check the schedule as it has been years since I have done this.  I believe it is everyday in the summer and only every other day for part of the year.  Go early and take your breakfast, snack or lunch along in a bag. I know we arrived at least an hour early for this. If you are into video you may want to take photos while your travel partner takes video or vice versa.  This is def the place to have video.  In addition, the very best (and not cheap) souvenir shop in London is nearby on Buckingham Palace Road.  The greatest collection of souvenirs will be in any shop fun by The Royal Household.  Really, great books, pieces of china, gifts and my favorite, a shot glass with the Queen’s ER logo in gold.  J

Attend the theater.  I recommend looking at one of the many websites for London Theater and decide which show you want to see and book tickets before you travel.  We managed to get tickets pretty close to our travel dates this last trip but we were there in Feb.  I cannot recommend which show as you need to see that which interests you.  Shakespeare’s Globe Theater has been reconstructed and while I have not been, I hear it is a must if you are a WS aficionado.  While I am, I have not been there in the right season for the theater to be open.  FYI-choose a couple of shows you are interested in and let your spouse choose from your short list.  They may not want to see Les Mis but will be interested in STOMP and you will have a much better time if you try to find something you are both interested in. 

IRT Museums, it is very hard to tell you which to see.  While I know without a doubt if you have seen one good Natural History Museum or one good Science Museum, then you probably do not want to waste your time on these while you only have one week or ten days or three in London.  Many many museums are free in London so choose what interests you most.  I loved the War Museum which had Churchill’s underground bunker during WW2; however this one is not free.  We ran through the British Museum once to see The Rosetta Stone and a small part of the Antiquities section.  I will be going back to do this more in depth as it is still on my list.  Many people say you have to see The British Museum.  The Victoria and Albert Museum houses the decorative arts.  Do not let this fool you.  Decorative Arts include Italian marble well heads from the 13^th C and recently a set of huge Raphael “cartoons” on loan from Her Majesty, The Queen.  There are household items and clothing from several different eras from England and the Continent. In addition they have great technical presentations of how many of the items are made.  There are several Art Galleries to choose from including The National Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery and The Tate (Modern).  

Churches.  With the exception of Westminster Abbey, most of the old larger churches date from just after the Great Fire in 1666.  While Wren’s vision of a city with wide boulevards much like Haussmann’s 19^th C Paris was not used, as the City and the Crown wanted to rebuild quickly, he was given the contract to rebuild St. Paul’s and 51 of the 88 churches that burned.  If you love architecture going to see a few of these churches might interest you.  The tour of St. Paul’s was one of the most interesting tours I have ever taken.  I loved the tour of Westminster Abbey.  Beware, the Abbey tour is quite expensive.  Check the schedule on the Abbey website for going.  If you love music you may want to attend an organ concert there or Evensong services on Wednesday Evening to hear the choir sing. 

Don’t forget you’ll probably want to see Big Ben, London Bridge, Tower Bridge (and maybe even walk across it), Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park, The Golden Gates at Kensington Palace if you just loved Diana, and Piccadilly Circus.  You can easily see Tower Bridge when you go to The Tower of London.  Many of these sites are covered on a hop on hop off tour.   You can easily take the Underground or Tube to Embankment and walk along The Embankment.  It’s a path along the River and at one end has a pedestrian bridge to The London Eye.  If you leave the station at Embankment and turn right it leads to the River and the Eye, if you turn left and veer right there is a great street, Villiers with a variety of Restaurants and bars.

Greenwich is nearby London.  There are Royal Museums in Greenwich and it’s a nice town to wander through and have a pub lunch.  There is an old sailor’s hospital and home here with some beautiful architecture.   The highlight is a tour of the Royal Observatory and the opportunity stand in two hemispheres.  There is a spot marked for The Prime Meridian and you straddle the line and find yourself in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres at the same time.  One of those once in a lifetime things that people either love or don’t.  I loved it.  This is a good day to take the Thames river cruise and cruise to or from Greenwich. 

Madame Tussaud’s is a London oldie. I have never been but for many it is a fun place to visit.  They are famous for how terrible their wax figures are…… Really!  Another quirky thing is a Jack the Ripper tour. London also has a dungeon museum in Southwark. (or it used to)

 Shopping.  Many of you will want to visit H&M and pick up a few things.  You can window shop Saville Row, actually afford something on Oxford street, and travel down fashion historic Carnaby street and almost see Twiggy there.  My favorite place to shop is Harrod’s.  My dad loved it and I inherited my enthusiasm from him.  If you know of Diva, our iconic travelling duck, she is from Harrod’s.  We skip most of the store and head straight to the Food Courts and the Harrod’s Gift Shop. Next time I am going to have a 24 pound caviar and champagne lunch there.

On our latest visit we walked to and actually took the tour of Kensington Palace.  Currently there is a lot of construction where they are remodeling for William and Kate to live.  There are three general areas you can actually tour.  There is an area of old state apartments, called The King’s Apartments which are historical and very interesting with a lot of great pieces of art.  There is an older area, called The Queens Apartments, exhibited that is more original and is all old wood work walls.  The exhibits here were weird and easily skipped, but seeing the wooden paneled rooms was worth it if you could ignore the strange displays.  The third area called Victoria Revealed was fascinating to me.  It covered the life of Victoria in personal writings, furniture and clothing.  If you go in each room there is a card which describes the items in the room and their significance.  It was a very interesting experience to me and evoked real emotions about her life. The room where she was told of the death of the King and discovered she was Queen is here. “The King is dead. Long live the Queen!”  Just haunting to me.   Look for the two drawings that Victoria and Albert did of each other, or the painting she once had done for his birthday (a very personal painting much like today’s boudoir portraits, but only of her face ). If you visit here, take the time to look out of windows and enjoy the view.  It was a good museum, but may not make your top 10 on your list until a later visit.

While Hampton Court and Windsor are technically not in the City, they are easy to get to on your own.  There are three other places you may or may not want to see and I will give you my insight into them. 

Stonehenge.  One of those places some people have on their Bucket List.  It was on mine.  It is not simple to get to and requires you rent a car or take a coach tour.  They are in the process of building a new visitor’s center about a mile away from the site with trams or paths to walk to the site.  I am not sure when that change occurs.  If you choose to take the tour here, only take the one for Stonehenge by itself or the one for Stonehenge and Bath OR Stonehenge and Oxford.  Do not do any three site combinations. They are too ambitious and you will end up disappointed.  The visit to Stonehenge itself is very quick and should take no more than an hour.

Bath.  This was a wonderful little city in the Avon Valley.  It is the site of Roman and Georgian Bath houses and the Museum at the Roman Baths is well done.  Our tour was too short and we did not have the time we needed because we did a three site tour that day.  Use the audio guide and take your time.  It is very interesting.  In addition if you have the time, go next door to the Bath Cathedral. Walk the streets. A beautiful city.

Cambridge.  What a great City.  The Universities have 18000 students and you can feel the “bohemian” air.  It also feels like you stepped into the pages of Harry Potter.  If you are a seamstress, there is a great little shop called Cally Co where you can get English and French print fabrics for little girl’s dresses for about 9 pounds a meter.  If you sew, get a couple yards.  The price is actually reasonable for fine print European fabrics. 

“Punting” on the Cam is a must.  You can tour as a group or hire a private tour.  You sit in a flat bottomed boat and are poled or punted along the “backs” of the universities while a guide tells you what you are seeing along with some real and TALL tales.  It was an architectural wonder.  If you are concerned about light in your photos take this tour midday.  There are three great or interesting pubs here, The Eagle, The Radegund and the Anchor.  You can see here where patrons used candles to burn messages on the ceiling at the first two.  If you go to the Eagle, a watering hole for the RAF in WW2, look for your squadron’s zappers somewhere in the building.  The Radegund is smaller, and less commercial.  Be prepared to take a taxi here.  The Anchor is where Pink Floyd played their first gig, and has a mural of the band on the wall on the bottom floor (get it, on The Wall??). It is a pretty long distance from the train station to where the sites you will visit are located in Cambridge.  Not a huge problem unless you find yourself exhausted and having to walk all that way at the end of the day in a hurry to make your train. 

A note about Pubs and many bars in England.  You must go to the bar to order.  If you order food they will bring it to your table.  Also wait staff in England are paid a real wage.  DO not tip here unless the service is EXCEPTIONAL.

If you are going to use public transport in London, plan ahead and know which stops you will need to use and what line it is on.  The Tube (“chube” if you want to say it properly) is easy to negotiate.  One day passes where about 7pounds 30 per person and one way trips (or singles) were 4 pounds 40.  If you get an Oyster card and prepay, singles were half price, but I am not sure about the cost of all day passes using this.  It is probably a good idea to pick up several copies of The Underground Map in the first station you enter.

That sums up my ideas regarding London and some nearby areas.  As you do your research remember this is reminiscing from 3 different trips.  You cannot and should not try to do it all in one trip.  Really.  In addition, if I have left something off, I have just forgotten, am not interested or don’t know of its existence.  This is not an all inclusive list at all, in any way shape or form.  Just sitting here I realized I have left off a stroll through Covent Garden, probably my favorite place in London; and Portobello Road, made famous most recently in the movie Notting Hill.  See, I could go on forever.

If you are reading this I assume you either know me from FB or have mine or Steve’s email address.  Please feel free to write either of us with questions.  I will post pictures on this Website in a few days.  Pictures from my most recent trip are currently on FB.

Steves note:  Lee is spot on with don’t try to do this all in one trip.  Lee and I have made 2 1-week trips to London and she also went with Taylor on a high school trip.  The more research you do on the front end will offer you the greatest experience during your trip.  It’s waaaaaaaayyy too easy to overschedule yourself, simply because there is sooooo much to see.  On our first trip I made Lee plan a 2 hour pub lunch into every day.  Our next trip will likely only involve a short stay in London in addition to a couple days in Bath and Cambridge.  Once you get out of the big town, the smaller towns (IMHO) are MUCH better.  Remember, there is a small German city not far away with very attractive room rates as well!!

Diva the Duck

I am sure many of you already know that Steve and I are grandparents.  We tend to be a little silly over our granddaughter, Hadley. But then again, maybe we just use the granddaughter excuse as a cover for our silliness?

Once again, a little background.

In December of 2011, my dad died just before Christmas.  We had a memorial service in Texas and then drove to Kentucky for burial on the 26th.  The next day was our son, Taylor's, birthday.  We decided to leave that afternoon to head back to Texas, and stopped in Memphis for a couple of nights to relax and celebrate Taylor's birthday.  This was our last real trip together as a family, just the four of us. 

While in Memphis, Andie and I (and Hadley, in utero) headed over to the Peabody Hotel, so we could see the World Famous Peabody Ducks make their walk back to the elevator from the fountain!  Andie was cute, shoving little girls out of her way and plopping herself down on the floor on the front row of the walkway (it is a once in a lifetime event as you only need to see it once or less while you breathe).  While waiting interminably for the event to start (it was the holiday season so you had to arrive early, and this was my second and extraneous viewing), I found the Peabody Duck gift shop in the hotel.  I managed to find a Dr. Seuss book about Ducks and get it autographed by the Duckmaster (really, that is his title, and he is proud to have it).  I also bought Hadley and I little matching Peabody replica rubber duckies, stamped with the Peabody logo. 

This did not even start the trend.  For years, since Andie was about 12 years old, we have both found and purchased unusual rubber duckies.  We both have a medium sized collection of cute ducks.  Thank goodness, Bath and Body Works learned of our passion and began selling adorable adaptations of rubber ducks to suit our needs!  Now if we could just get Lloyds of London to insure the entire collection. . .

So, the next Fedex trip that Steve had that took him to Europe, he purchased a cute tiara and bathing suit clad duck at Harrods, named her Diva, and then proceeded to take pictures of her inspecting the load, riding in Business Class, checking out Fedex catering, etc. . . and a fun tradition was born.  We have photos of Diva in many locations around the globe.  I think the furthest from Miss Hadley is a pic of Diva in Sydney.  Diva loves Toblerone, Kolsch, and unique bridges.  She has been spotted in MN with her Roepke relatives and on a ferry in Hong Kong, among many other destinations.

 

 

 

Sadly, when the weather warmed up and Steve could no longer secretly carry her in his coat pocket, Diva disappeared for a while.  Recently one of Steve's friends (a manly guy, I might add) actually suggested Diva needed to reappear.  And we agree.  It will be fun to make a scrapbook just for Hadley of places we have seen and she needs to visit.  Just to remind us that we need to take her there. 

A couple of nights ago, while visiting friends, Diva was hanging out in my purse when a ballpoint pen burst.  She has a few "battle scars" and no longer looks as perfect as she used too.  We will try to always take pictures on her "good side" in the future.

Diva's recent reappearance occurred on January 26th in Beethoven Park in Sulz in Cologne.  She saw one of the most beautiful snowfalls ever, rode down a hill on the "death sled" belonging to our friends, the Swensons, and had a fun time at Sean's birthday party. 

She will see you all very soon from London. 

For those of you who think we are crazy, well we just might be.  And that is fine with us. :)

Yes deer. . .

Today was another day of rare snow in Cologne.  Steve had been on a trip and returned last night.  I was not out much this week and got a little stir crazy.  So about 1500, I drug him out to walk.  At the last minute I had decided to take along my good camera and take a few snaps if the opportunity presented itself.

I bundled up well with a warm knit cap, my wool coat and a knit scarf.  I also finally wore my pepto bismol pink PVC boots lined with some old thick socks probably originally issued by the USMC. 

We have this really large wooded park with trails near our house.  We generally refer to this park as the Stadt Wald.  Its cool here because from late Friday night until late Sunday night, they actually close the road at the end of our street that bisects the park to make it more user friendly. In addition, the park has a small nature preserve kind of area fenced inside of it.  It has these adorable wolly cattle, goats, sheep, and deer roaming throughout.  The deer were my best buddies today and provided a wonderful opportunity to take some pictures.

I love this park.  Really great place to take a break from your day or walk to get healthier.

Oh you can hold hands with your sweetie too, but I don't know anyone who likes to do that. 

Getting a Driver's License in Germany. . . (Or not getting one).
Two very different stories of customer service in Cologne.

A little background first. Actually two background stories.

1. The Germans here in Cologne are not as rigid as I thought they would be. Really, they have been friendly. They revert to English before you even speak to them. I finally figured out they know you are American no matter how you dress or act before you speak because of our wedding rings. For the most part they are helpful and glad to assist you with whatever you need. Seriously this extends to their bureaucratic officials we have encountered from Passport Control to the City of Cologne offices.

They do however have a history first under Roman rule here and then under the Holy Roman Empire and even Napoleon for having complex laws and rules. They mostly like rules and follow them. And they prefer you do too when visiting. But they really are 99% understanding of your ignorance as a visitor. We recently asked someone for help with our use of German articles and whether to use die vs. der for a particular noun and the response was, "It really doesn't matter I know what you mean." Most of our encounters are like that. (Ask me sometime about a similar encounter in a Parisian pharmacie when I asked for something for my mal de tete.)

2. I don't know how many of you know this, but I have a scar on my retina in my left eye. Born with it and complete hearing loss in my right ear. No pity needed, I have never heard anything in stereo and have never really used my left eye for more than peripheral vision, so since I was Born This Way, I don't really have anything to miss.

Anyway the scar leaves a hole in the middle of my field of vision right on my focal point in my left eye only. While I cannot look directly at something like a menu and read it, it is adequate vision for driving since my right eye does the bulk of the work. It did, however take the intervention of doctors for me to get my original permit from The State of Texas in 1981. Yes, that long ago. Please don't post a comment about how you were not even alive then. I just don't think my fragile self esteem could handle it! I have managed to retain that license for my entire driving career, renewing it in TX and never trying to get another any place else.

Fast forward an entire lifetime to last year.

Before coming to Germany we knew that our ability drive as tourists lasts about 6 months. By then you are required to have a German Driver’s License. Apparently this is necessary because it can take forever to get a license here for expats. Depending on the state you are licensed in, you may have to take a bazillion question test that can take a large chunk of that time to study for and pass. There are several requirements you may have to meet, but Texans only have to pass the vision test. . .(however I highly recommend you study the driving stuff anyway and know it since the rules are different here).

The process for us starts by getting transcripts from the State of Texas that show we have had our licenses for more than 2 years. Germans get their license when they are 18 or later, and they are provisional for two years with restrictions at least on driving at night and possibly others. We promptly provided the lady from the agency who helped us with much of our ppw. She stated or ppw was flawless and was pleased we were able to provide answers so quickly and paperwork so clear it will easily please German officials. A real compliment coming from a German (see above)!!

The process requires you go to the local ADAC (the German version of AAA) and get your license and supporting ppw translated. In Koln at the ADAC, there is one person who does this. She can't be there every day of the 6 day work week and was not in the day we went with our guide to work on this.

The way it should go is you arrive and take a number. Yes, there is a wait. When your number is called the person (apparently just a clerk and not some official) takes your information, copies your ppw and gives you the copies, then submits the originals to this lady for translation. You return a week later and pay for and pick up your translation and your originals. Then you take the translation, your originals, some money and a copy of your vision test to the Stadt (City of Cologne) where they make it all official and you pick up your German DL about 6 weeks later. Simple, right?

I knew the possibility existed I would have some trouble with the vision part but was unprepared for the trouble that ensued with getting a translation.

So we arrive, take a number and wait. There's a little shop filled with travel guides you can peruse then purchase. . all in German. It has been stressful looking for a place and we had a rotten disagreement that day about something that turned out to be unimportant. Grumpy, not speaking to Steve and trying not to cry in front of our guide and I HAVE TO PEE. About 45 minutes later we are called. (For the next couple paragraphs, remember this is not the place where we deal with my vision issue, it is simply where we get an official translation).

We arrive at the desk with our flawless paperwork :). The lady we have decided to call HELGA takes our ppw and an instant dislike to me. She looks at the flawless report from TEXAS (on State letterhead with a State seal I might add) and our licenses and determines there is some sort of problem. Add to that my driver's license has an issue date and Steve's does not. Apparently good 'ole Texas joined the 21st C and added issue dates in the two years between when we both renewed and mine having one makes his suspect. No kidding, there is obviously a problem. Our really kind quiet patient assistant and this giant 7 foot tall blonde with messy hair and a no sex life are shouting at each other and turning red in the face. In addition, the mean German lady is pointing and gesturing at ME and MY ppw.  Little ol' ME???

She then starts stapling our stuff together, gives Steve his copies, folds up mine to keep, looks at me and states loudly and firmly while pointing at me, "You, don't drive!!" Another shouting match ensues with the evil empress clerk involving her colleagues in her adamant statements and pointing. Steve and I, for the most part, stay silent answering few questions when the real issue finally comes to light. She doubts the veracity of our entire driving existence/history because of an interesting quirk. My form, because I kept my license up to date and in the same state, says I have been driving since 1981. Do the math. That form says I have been driving for 31 years. 31 years. Apparently this lady thought I was too young to have been driving that long and my ppw was somehow false.

ROTFLMAOLOLZ. Just too darn amusing. I hope Helga met a man that night. Sincerely she needed it. I just am glad it was something so dumb.

That is the great story. Read on for a far less interesting one but also important to highlight the differences in how one can be treated anywhere.

Our new friend, Helga finally gave in to the demands of our assistant and gave us both our copies and we returned a week later to pay for and pick up our translation and our originals with no further drama.

The next night after this encounter we took our copies and the form from ADAC showing we'd requested a translation and went to a local optic place. They are very similar to the small glasses stores in America. They have someone qualified to give vision test but no opthamalogist on the premises. We arrive in a store with maybe three employees and a few customers. It is late enough in the day that people are off work and they are not dead but busy enough. You take a vision test that takes no time at all and pay 8 Euros, get a form and you are out the door. I was fairly certain if it was a test where you just read the letters, I would pass. I pass vision tests with my glasses all the time at home.

I don’t know if it is the constant darkness, a need for a new prescription, or just the strain of all the decisions we were making, but I failed the simple vision test on the little machine and started bawling. Ok, it was quiet sobbing with tears rolling down my face and no scene but I was pretty sad. The lady was amazing and sympathetic. Despite having customers who were going to buy glasses for money, she called a colleague with better English over to help me while she continued to assist Steve while there were waiting paying customers in the store.

Her colleague took me to a chair in the back and gave me the more traditional eye chart with mirrors vision test I can pass, and we discussed the issues with my left eye. He stated clearly this was a problem but could easily be taken care of by going to a good English speaking German opthamalogist and getting them to write a letter stating I could drive. . .These two people took time despite being in a retail business to assist us. It was such a far cry from the mean lady from the day before.

I found myself choked up yet again when the lady walked us to the door, holding it open for us and calling, "Tschuss!!" to us as we walked away.

Reminiscing on my recent trip to Paris.

My third trip to the City of Love.  I have to admit Paris itself is not my favorite city.  I judge my love of a city by how at home I feel there.  Paris just never feels right.  A city ripped down and made falsely homogeneous in the 19th C, just feels off. I feel most at home where I can find what I consider a more real Paris. 

That being said, I must still share my favorites from this trip for anyone looking to do something a little different while there. 

Grab a cup of coffee or tea (yes, even from Starbucks, which somehow fits in this fashionable town) and run down to Shakespeare and Company to spend time perusing the greatest used bookstore ever.  Once you step inside this gem and wander around, you will understand how this store fits in my feeling of real places.  There are books for you in English, and it feels as homey as wandering along the bookstalls on the Seine. I doubted until I asked the gentleman just inside the door for a good book on the history of Paris.  His four suggestions and the comparative explanations he gave led me to buy two volumes that have turned out to be exactly what I was looking for.  What a wonderful souvenir from Paris!

We found an older version of Paris wandering along the Rue Mouffetard.  Little store fronts, narrow road, food stalls. . .What a wonderful place to roam.  We bought some overpriced fruit at the first place we stopped.  Probabaly best to check around or to walk here on market days. There is a crepe stand around 150 Rue Mouffetard that gave me me such much Nutella I could not finish my crepe!! (Don't forget to have at least one crepe in Paris!)  The walk was great and we stopped at this wonderful out of the way cafe whose view is pictured above.  This square was quiet but was filling with locals as we left later that day.

Find a Pattisserie.  Find a less expensive not so fancy one.  Ask the french person working there what they love and try it.  On my first visit, I discovered a heavy cake chocolate filled stacked beast of a dessert called La Religieuse.  I will share a picture of the one I had this trip here. It was heaven.  So much so that I failed to even offer Steve a bite.  The name refers to a nun wearing her habit. . .

La Religiuse

The Christmas market is different here than in Germany. It was still open on Sunday, January 6, and was a lot more gimmicky than the wonderful crafts and candies you find in the markets in Cologne. And the cheese was way overpriced.  It runs along the Champs Elyssee from the Place de la Concorde toward the shops and the Arc. We started at the giant ferris wheel in the Place and were ok paying the 10 euros each to take the two revolutions ride just for the view. 

We have found a touristy restaurant with a decent view of the Louvre.  It is on the left bank of the river at an intersection just across the bridge from the Louvre where the Tulleries used to be.  Tons of traffic and car fumes, too many people and very touristy part of town.  It is called La Fregate.  We go there and have Onion Soup.  The big deal for us with this restaurant is the story.  You see the real D'Artangan (and Dumas' inspiration for writing The Three Musketeers was a "companion" to the King during his imprisonment during the Revolution.  He lived at this location.  His given name is Charles.  We never refer to eating at La Fregate, we just go Charlie's Place for soup!!  (By the way, yes that Onion Soup on the menu in Paris, it IS referred to as FRENCH Onion Soup in the US.)

We went to two less well known museums in Paris this trip.  One is under the Ile de la Cite across the square from Notre Dame Cathedral and has some of the Roman and Middle Ages masonry under the city exposed for you to see. It is called the Crypte Archeologique.  Pay for the audio guide with your tour. 

The other was the Catacombs.  If you have not heard of them, do a little research first.  There are underground tunnels throughout the footprint of Paris.  All the lovely stone you see in the city was quarried from mostly under the city. Added to that, earlier in time when the city's cemeteries were spewing disease, someone thought a great way to respectfully dispose of the bodies in the cemetaries would be to move all the bones underground to the tunnels.  For years they did this emptying many cemetaries.  The Catacombs is a tour through a small section of these underground tunnels and ossuaries.  Also, we did not know we could get an audio guide here, but there are signs in the tunnels for them, Be sure and ask if there is an audio guide.  Go once, take your camera, and go first thing in the morning as they only allow 200 people underground ata time.  So there is always a line once it opens.  Both of these museums were short trips 2-4 hours.  Easy to do and still sit in a cafe in the evening. 

We found a castle within the city to visit.  Closer than Versailles.  Less well known, but interesting to see.  Chateeau de Vincennes.  You will need to buy a special metro ticket for this one since it is just outside of zone 1.  We made it through about half of the audio guide stations in half the day.  We had to stop to eat and meet our train home.  If you decide to go here, dedicate an entire day, have planned meeting points and times throughout the day and just wander.  There is a great donjon built around 1300 that just screams "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"  The audio guide is very informative and covers a lot of the history of the Chateau. 

 

The other secret to enjoying Paris is to always see the Tower for me.  There is just somehting about it that screams Paris ( :) ) .  I enjoy an evening view and always look forward to the first five minutes of the hour when it sparkles.  Also take the time to read menus and talk to restaurant owners as you travel here.  We found two very amazing restaurants near our hotel near the Asemblee Nationale.  Neither was in a travel brochure, or on a busy street or square. 

 

Bon Voyage!!!!

On Friday, we visited a nearby town called Brühl.  It was really cute with twisted streets and half timbered houses.  It is kind of a suburb of Köln and only took about 30 minutes to get to by train from a train stop very near our house.  I had originally thought we would have to take the DB (Deutsch Bahn) train and the trip for both of us would have been about 60€ round trip.  A little steep in my book.  I managed to actually look up the regional train and find a way to get there for 15€ !! Proud of myself.  (I promise at some point to go back in time and revisit our experiences learning to ride the train or at least to explain the trains to you). 

We had just gotten up and were thinking out loud about what we should do for the day.  We spend a lot of time walking and that leads to either shopping or eating for us and we have decided to try and be tourists as much as possible.  I typed in castles near Köln in my search engine and a palace in nearby Brühl popped up. We decided to go and see it. 

The building we were headed out to see is called the Schloss Augustusburg.  It is a Rococo style palace of one of the Prince Electors of Germany.  It was still in use for receiving visiting heads of state until the early 90's by the government of the former West Germany.  Today it is a quiet tourist attraction very near to Köln but completely overshadowed by nearby Phantasieland, Germany's largest amusement park. 

We took the train down and were pleasantly surprised by the town of Brühl.  We wandered along the main street that actaully leads from the train station to the Schloss.  Cute shops, including a great shop for buying Köln souvenirs, old buildings and a large amount of pedestrian streets make this a very easy town to visit.  As you exit the KVB train area there is a bucherie or bookstore with displays in the windows of historical photographs of Brühlers.  About two thirds of the way to the Schloss is a town tourist bureau with very helpful employees. 

It turns out Brühl  has several attractions.  Schloss Augustusburg and its nearby hunting lodge called Falkenlust, Phantasieland, the Max Ernst museum, a Ceramic Museum, and a Muesum for Everyday things.  In addition, the visitors shop has more brochures on Köln cultural events than I have managed to find in Köln. . .

It turns out much of the town's attractions are not really open in January.  The Schloss will open in February.  Phatasieland on 1 April, and the little museums are only open on certain days of the week.  Luckily for us it is a great town to just wander through.  We enjoyed the local shops, and wandering through the gardens at the Schloss.  The town also has several churches that appear to be worth seeing.  If you ever visit we will have to stop in at the Eis Cafe for one of thier great sundaes, crepes or waffles. 

We can't wait to see Brühl again in warmer weather.