Author: Bill

From Cusco we took a ride to a small resort where we spent the night before being taking an early train that would take us to Agua Caliente at the base of Manchu Picchu. The train had a viewing deck so we enjoyed that. We arrived in Agua Caliente early, had a coffee, and hopped a thrilling bus ride to Manchu Picchu. There we met a guide and spent the day touring the mountain. That night we spent in an interesting hotel in Agua Caliente. The next morning we went back up to Manchu Picchu and explored for much of the day. We came back down and caught a train back to Cusco.

You can hike into Manchu Picchu from where the train starts but it is a four day hike, you need porters and you cross 12,000 and 13,000 foot mountains. We opted not to do that. We didn’t know it until the train stopped where you get off but there is a one day hike you take from that train stop. It takes nearly a full day but you don’t need porters and lots of camping gear. Both trails end at a point above and looking down at Manchu Picchu called The Sun Gate. It is on the east side so that’s where the sun appears each day. We also had a pass to climb a steep mountain in the middle of Manchu Picchu but it was raining the day were had the permit for and we didn’t want to risk slipping and getting injured. I know that sounds whoosy but we had a lot of stuff planned and doing it on crutches was not an option.

That was Mancu Picchu. Pictures just don’t do it justice. It is one of the most impressive works of man that I have seen anywhere. The story of it’s discovery by an English Explorer in the late 1800’s and the work to restore it is an amazing story. Check it out.

That was our two days and three nights in Paracas. We were then picked up the next morning and rode the bus back to Lima to the airport. There we were to fly to Cusco. Cusco is a large city in the mountains of Peru. It is considered a stepping stone to Manchu Picchu because it gives you a chance to get accustomed to the altitude. Cusco is at 11, 150 feet MSL. We were taken to our hotel and told to rest for the rest of the day to get used to the environment. We were accustomed to this altitude because our Cabin in Colorado is at 11,500 feet so instead of resting we walked about Cusco.

We were in Cusco a couple times during this trip. Once on the way to Manchu Picchu and once on the way back. Each time we did walk abouts and tours. I will label the highlights.

That was Cusco and the surrounding area. Again, we were here two different days but enjoyed both visits. We had a full day to walk around and explore Cusco. A delightful old city. We found the highest Irish Pub in the world at Cusco … at least that’s what they claimed.

That was our first couple days in Peru. On the third day we were taken to the Bus depot and put on a bus (In First Class) to Paracas. Paracas is a coastal town a ways south of Lima. It had been damaged quite badly by an earthquake several years ago but was in the recovery mode. Paracas is famous for two things. The Balistas which is a series of rock islands just off the coast that are inhabited by millions of birds and thousands of seals. There is a company in Japan that comes to the Balistas about every five years and harvests all the bird poop (Guana) that accumulates on the islands. The seals are there just for kicks. The other attraction is Paracas is the closest city to the Nasca lines. The Nasca lines are huge carvings in the desert that resemble creatures in flight or just standing around. By huge I mean miles long and wide. The desert between Lima and Paracas is one of the oldest in the world and has a thick crust (about 6 – 12 inches thick) covering it. The Nasca lines are carved through this crust exposing the white desert sand below the crust. No one really knows who made them or how they got there. My theory is that someone from space came and put them there and they mean something to someone. Anyhow. Here’s Paracas, the Balistas. and the Nasca lines.

The last few pictures of the Nasca lines, the figures, I downloaded from the internet. The ones I took from the airplane were of the same figures but much poorer quality because of the windows, movement, and my camera. They really do look just like this and are huge. Look’em up!

Welcome to Peru. Manchu Picchu was high on Nancy’s Bucket List and I always was curious about the Nasca Lines so one day we decided to see if we could get to Peru and see some of these wonders we had heard so much about. We went on line and found a site called Peru Tourism, told a young lady there what we were looking to do and see. She said she would email us a proposed itinerary and some associated costs. We went back an forth a few times and settled on the trip we took. I have broke this trip up because of the number of pictures. The website gets weird when there are too many pictures. This first one is the lead in and covers an over view and our time in Lima. There is also a post for Cusco, a post for Paracas, a post for Manchu Picchu, and a post for Iquitos and our time on the Amazon.

Peru was one of our more enjoyable trips. Each thing we saw was with a different company that was contracted by Peru Tours. Our groups, when we had them were small, we met some interesting people, and saw a bunch of interesting things. (If we look young it is because we did this trip eight years ago).

We flew from Miami and arrived in Lima, Peru late in the afternoon. We were met by some helpful gentlemen who took us to our hotel, made sure we were checked in, and told us a lady would meet us in the hotel lobby the next morning.

The next morning there was indeed a young lady waiting for us in the lobby, we sat down and she went over our itinerary, gave us the tickets would would need during our trips, and described how our tour would work. When she finished she told us we had the rest of the day to rest and become accustomed to the higher altitudes (although Lima was not that high).

Here is a map of Peru with the places we went circled:

Not wanting to rest but to see what we came to see we decided to walk down towards the Pacific ocean and see what Lima had to offer. It was very foggy for much of the morning but we did see some interesting things.

That was out time in Lima. We returned three times to Lima. Twice just to the airport to go to another city. Lima is an impressive city. Much culture, many warm and welcoming people.

Merry Christmas Everyone. Our Christmas Holiday season is being spent relatively local this year. Travel restrictions still keep us from visiting our family in Australia so we are just enjoying what we can where we are. We officially opened our Christmas Holiday Season by sending out our annual Christmas letter.

We have received many cards and emails again this year. It is always fun and interesting to read, and see in many cases, how people have changed or spent the year since we last heard from them. Always good to hear from friends and family.

On the 10th of December Nancy and I went downtown Tampa to enjoy the Tampa Symphony perform their Annual Christmas Concert Special at the Straz. A lovely evening. We spent the evening in town, had dinner at an excellent Moroccan Restaurant, enjoyed the symphony, had a night cap at an Irish Pub, and spent the night at a hotel downtown. We returned home Saturday morning.

So, now we are preparing to spend Christmas itself. We have attended dinners and parties in our neighborhood. Visited and greeted friends and neighbors all around where we live. Tune in later to see what we did for Christmas and New Years.

CHRISTMAS DAY – Again, Merry Christmas Everyone. We are snuggled into a quaint cabin in a ridge above Pigeon Forge, TN. Below us you can see all of the Pigeon Force city area as well as DollyWood.

We arrived here on the evening of 22 December after a scenic drive up though Florida, Georgia, and through The Great Smokey Mountain National Park from Cherokee, NC to Pigeon Forge, TN. The last leg, through the park, was sixty six miles at thirty five miles per hour but very scenic. All the leaves are gone so it’s a bit drab but still very impressive We did see a herd of Elk grazing in some of the lower pastures the park provides. As I mentioned, we arrived here in the evening of 22 Dec. I carried our stuff in from the car and Nancy unpacked the coolers and whatever needed unpacking. It was late so we drove down to Pigeon Forge to find food … you know, Hunting! We lucked out and found a very nice Brewpub (we like brewpubs) that served good food.

After a fulfilling dinner and a couple IPA’s we proceeded back to the cabin, unpacked and went to bed.

The 23rd was set aside for setting up for Christmas in our cabin and doing whatever we wanted. There was a very nice tree already here (with bunches of bright flashing lights) but Nancy still put our little tree up. I may be prejudice but I like ours better. I get photosensitive epilepsy from the flashing lights. Consequently we leave the big tree unplugged. It looks quite nice without the flashing lights. We do keep our little tree lit and shining on us throughout our time in the cabin.

After getting everything squared away at the cabin we decided to go back downtown and see what they have to offer. Pigeon Forge is much larger than one would expect and has an endless variety of shows, rides, restaurants, souvenir shops, museums, and whatever you can imagine. We drove around a bit and then parked and walked through an area called the Island. Interesting place. Best part was a huge fountain that performed to music. Comfortable chairs set up all around it so you could sit and watch and listen as long as you liked. We strolled, shopped, watched, and had a pleasant afternoon.

That wrapped up the twenty third. Christmas Eve morning found us enjoying home made cinnamon roles and coffee as we worked our way into a day of relaxation and meditation. Here are a few pictures of the cabin where we are staying and the view from our back patio.

Last night we went to a Christmas Mass at a local Church. First packed service we have seen since the COVID stuff started. A long but nice service.

When we got home we called our family in Australia. Being way down under they were already well into Christmas day. We got to talk with all of them, joke about our presents, and had a very pleasant conversation. They are all doing well … Thanks for asking. We adjourned for the evening and turned in.

Christmas morning found Santa had come through and filled our stockings. Nancy cut some German Stolen, I made some coffee, and we set out to see what he had brought. A pleasant morning remembering Christmasses past, opening gifts, answering texts from all over, eating Stolen, and drinking coffee.

That was our Christmas Morning. This afternoon Nancy gave me some more pool lessons. Beat me at Cribbage and Gin several times, and we listened to bunches of Christmas music. Later Nancy will be serving one of my favorite dinners; Cornish Hen. After Dinner we will again call Australia to wish our son Andrew a Happy Birthday. More tomorrow.

Wow!! Who would believe it’s the 6th of January in a new year?? My only excuse is that my films got lost at the photo center and I had to wait for them to be found. I’m sticking to that one.

We did call Andrew on his Birthday. We had a nice chat. We also undecorated the cabin from what we had put up and went down to the Brew Pub we started at for dinner. We had a nice dinner, came back to the cabin, packed the car, and got ready for an early departure the next morning. Which we did.

The drive from Tennessee to Florida is kind of interesting and takes about ten hours to drive … if you don’t get stuck in a traffic jam. Which we did. About one hundred miles from home we encountered the transformation of I75 from an interstate highway to a parking lot. Traffic stopped or moved very slowly. We finally bailed off of the interstate and zig zagged across Florida to the west coast and came home that way. We got home only a couple hours later than we had planned. On the 28th we unpacked, Nancy washed, we repacked, did some errands, spent a few hours with some friends, and prepared for our New Year’s event which was meeting Nancy’s Brother Brian and his wife Deb in Miami and driving down to Key West to spend New years. We drove to Miami on the 29th and checked into a hotel near the airport. We were tired so we just walked to a nearby pizza place for dinner. It turned out to be quite interesting as it claimed to be an Italian Pizza Place, but was ran by a Cuban guy who had lived in Italy. He had some friends there from Venezuela. It was an interesting group, we had a pleasant dinner, had an interesting conversation, and went back to the hotel and turned in.

The next morning we picked up Brian and Deb at Miami International. Was an interesting event as there was no parking available so we would park at some curb until the police chased us off and we would move to a new spot. Thank goodness Brian and Deb we only about an hour late. We scooped them up and headed south to Key west. It was a ninety mile drive that took four hours! A bunch of people were joining us!

We checked into our hotel, which was on Duval Street, and walked towards downtown looking for dinner. We found some food at an upstairs place that over looked the street. Shared several appetizers.

We spent the rest of the evening exploring and turned in to rest up for the 31st.

The 31st we spent the day visiting local points of interest, local watering holes, and celebrating New Year’s Eve. Fun day, long, but fun.

We had a very good diner at a nice restaurant on Duval and continued the evening’s activities till about one or two. I think I crashed first.

New Year’s day was kinda mellow. The hotel provided a pleasant breakfast so we enjoyed a leisurely time having that. Then we walked about the pier watching the big Tarpon swim around. Stopped at an interesting place for a late lunch, then boarded a big Catamaran for a Sunset cruise. The cruise was great, the sunset spectacular.

That was it for New Year’s day. It was up and at them the next morning. Brian and Deb had an 8 PM flight out of Miami and there were rumors of bad traffic all the way there. Consequently we left early and encountered a little traffic but not bad. Because we got back to Miami early we decided to show Brian & Deb The Everglades National Park. It is Winter so there was not much activity. It was a nice drive and we did see a lot of birds.

We got them back to the airport in time for their flight and they were off. I did find an interesting advertisement.

This is the real thing. If you want to be treated for a hangover they inject fluids and vitamins and you are supposed to feel great immediately. None of us tried it but we did run into one guy who had and he said it worked great.

So that was out holiday season from Pre-Christmas to New Years. It is different each year and a chance to try and enjoy different things. Wish you all could’ve been along.

We decided we did not want to spend Thanksgiving or Christmas at home and we still can’t go to Australia so we decided to “Get Away” by renting a cabin for each of the holidays. For Thanksgiving we rented, through Airbnb a two bedroom cabin in Hayesville, North Carolina. We have never spent much time in the Smokies so we decided to give it a try.

It turned out really nice and while it was a long drive it was not really a trip. It was just getting there and back. Hayesville is about six hundred miles from where we live so we decided to drive it in one day. The drive was uneventful even though it went through Atlanta. The heaviest traffic was in the suburbs to the Northeast of Atlanta. Fortunately we made it with no problems and just a few colorful words by Bill regarding other “drivers”.

The cabin turned out to be really nice, quite remote and private … and nice and quiet. It had plenty of room for the two of us. Was very nicely furnished and provisioned. Nancy brought everything she would need to prepare one of her wonderful Thanksgiving dinners so we were all set. Interestingly enough the cabin did not have a TV and only a slow Satellite Internet link. We don’t really watch all that much TV and usually only use the internet for our email so that was no problem. The owners had left a number of board games, we brought a deck of cards and a cribbage board, and I brought an old laptop I had that still had a DVD player so we each picked out a couple movies from our library that we could watch in the evenings. We were never bored, enjoyed several old movies we had not seen in a long time, Nancy abused me at Yatzee, and I squeaked out a victory or two on the cribbage board.

Here are some pictures of the cabin.

On Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, we decided to drive up and see Great Smokey Mountain National park. We originally had a couple ways to get there but found that one way had been blocked by a landslide. We took a route that was west of where we were and it turned out to be quite a day. Part of the drive included a famous piece of road call “Tail of the Dragon” which features 380 curves in eleven miles. It is a favorite Summertime drive for Bikers and sports cars. We did it in our Subaru and it was still a ot of fun. I saw my tail lights a couple times. Great Smokey Mountain National Park is great but it was packed. The holiday weekend was clear and sunny so everyone took one last drive to the park. The park is just south of Gatlinburg and Knoxville so all the tourists from there came by. Sorry but no pictures. On the way home we stopped in Hayesville and had dinner at the Nocturnal Brew Pub. It was a great day. Saturday we just veged out. Played some cards, relaxed, packed a bit, and had leftover turkey for dinner. Sunday we drove home. Great trip.

For Christmas we have rented a Cabin in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee which is a little father north from where we spent Thanksgiving. My Christmas Holiday post will include things we do at home, ouir time at Pigeon Forge, and our trip to Key West for New Years.

South Island is not like North island in some ways, the people are pretty much the same but the geography is different and it is farther to the south (or north as we would look at it). The southern tip of South Island has seals and is much like the Patagonian areas of South America, although not as close, it not that far away either.

The ferry we were on sailed across the Cook Straight and picked its way through the Islands on the north side of South Island to a small town called Picton. We disembarked and walked across the harbor to the car rental place and picked up our rental, drove to our hotel, checked in, and walked about enjoying a festival they were having near our hotel.

The next morning we went to church in a small chapel and headed west for the west coast of South Island. We passed a couple cellar Doors where local vineyards were selling wine but we didn’t stop. We made it to the west coast and drove out to Cape Foulwind (what a name!). Very rocky, nice light house, seals.

We drove back to the main road and proceeded south. The shore was rocky and the sea turbulent. Great views. A little farther down we came to “The Pancakes”. Thousands of thin layers of rock eroded by the sea forming interesting shapes, dramatic coves, and mysterious formations.

We walked around the gift shop a bit to kinda get our breath back, then got in the car, turned on the heater to dry out, and pressed on. First was a reindeer farm, then a glacier. We hiked out to the glacier but the fog was inso it was difficult to see it. If you wanted to walk out to it you had to hire a guide, wait till he had enough people to make a group and walk out with the guide. We chose to walk around the river and along it to where the glacier was.

We left the glacier, drove across the river, and headed up into the mountains to a ski resort town named Queenstown. We lucked out and got this really nice two bedroom unit up on the hillside over looking the lake. The scenery was incredible, the room was terrific, but we only stayed one night. We did go down town and walk around, had some dinner, talked to some locals. Great day and evening.

We left Queenstown and visited an old gold mining village near by. No pictures, just stores and stuff. We then proceeded out to Milford Sound. Milford Sound is a huge fyord that comes in from the ocean. We went on a half day long boat trip that took us all the way out to the sea and back. Incredible scenery. Water running off of the high sides, seals, boaters. I’m not going to label each one as most are self explanatory. Just flip through them and enjoy. We were not even sure we were going to go as the weather was forecasted to be rainy and foggy. We stayed in a small town about 20 miles inland and figured we would decide in the morning. the morning was marginal but promising so we took a chance. It turned out perfect. A wonderful day.

That was Milford sound. Took an entire day to see it but well worth the time and effort. Hope you didn’t get tired of the falls. They are all kinda the same but each unique in their own way.

From Milford Sound we decideed not to go all the way to the souther tip. Many miles and all it offered was seals and turbulent ocean .. we had seen that so we deided to head over to the east coast. So we did. Went through two interesting towns, Gore and Clinton, then got to Dunedin on the east coast. Most notable thing on the east coast was a beach covered with huge, round boulders. Some had split and were filled with an agate type material. Looked like dinasour eggs to me, or maybe Martian eggs … who knows? There’s a photo that explains them. We saw similar boulders in the British Virgin Islands (see post) so they do get around.

On the way north we saw several reindeer farms. The ones with the horns were the cash crop that went to the market … or that Santa bought.

Then we got to Christchurch. A lovely old city. The first books I read about New Zealand had the settlers landing in Christchurch and heading north to stake their ranches (Stations) for sheep. Christchurch was heavily damaged by a severe earthquake in 2011. 185 people were killed in the 6.2 Richter scale quake was so damaging because it struck in the same area a 7.1 quake struck in 2010. The city was struggling to recover and doing well. Impressive perseverance.

That’s New Zealand. A most interesting, diverse country. Highly recommend you go there if you ever have the chance. Great people. As I mentioned earlier. This was one of several trips we took during this time in Australia. Watch for future posts of the other trips. A peak? Okay … Melbourne down to the Great Ocean Hiway, up towards Adelaide, then up the Newell Highway to Toowoomba and on to Brisbane. or, Brisbane south to New castle, Sydney, and Melbourne. Lastly, Gold Coast North to Toowoomba, south along the granite belt then down to Tamborine Mountain. Stay tuned .. they are coming soon.

Our first trip to the east side of of Australia was to visit our Son and his family who had just moved to Coomera (Just south of Brisbane) in late 2015. They had originally planned to move to Tasmania but had changed their minds at the last minute. Consequently, we had already made plans and bought airplane tickets to and from Melbourne with plans to take a Ferry to Tasmania, rent a car, and drive to where ever they had settled. Because they were in Coomera and we were already flying into Melbourne (which we could not change) we decided to see a little of eastern Australia before, during, and after our visit with our family. We were going there for the holidays (Christmas, Andy’s birthday, New Years. and my birthday) and had made arrangements to spend at least a couple months there. We flew in to Melbourne in early December, spent a few days there, then traveled in the area and eventually up to Coomera arriving just before Christmas.

After the holidays we decided to drive down the east coast of Australia to Sydney and on to Melbourne, leave our luggage there and take a two week trip to New Zealand, back to Melbourne and home. Eventually I will post each major segment of our time in Oz (Australia) but for now, and to keep the posts from getting way to long, I will post each segment separately. This post is our time in New Zealand. There will be two sub posts with this one. North Island and South Island.

A bit about New Zealand. I was never personally interested in going to NZ. I thought of it as stodgy old Brits, goats, sheep, and aboriginal people. I was very wrong. NZ is an amazing place with a tremendously diverse population, geography, and history. The indigenous people there are Maori (pronounced Mow ray) and are proud, hard working people who can tell you what boat their ancestors came to NZ on from Tahiti, Hawaii, Samoa, or other South Pacific Island. They have reclaimed much of their land from early poachers through the courts and hard work. They are active in all levels of government and proud of their country. There may be some Aboriginals in NZ but very few. Most live in Australia.

The early settlers, or poachers, were Europeans who came to NZ and claimed large tracts of land and used the locals to farm it for them. They have seen the writing on the wall and are working with the government to reinstate original owners and pay local workers a fair wage. While they did bring progress, they are not entitled to colonization.

The geography of NZ is the most amazing. In two little islands you can find mountains, deserts, fertile farmland, forests, glaciers, thermal activity, swamps, and seacoasts. Their history is just as diverse.

We only had a couple weeks to spend in NZ so we moved quickly to cover both Islands. I have included maps depicting where we drove. I took pictures of things Nancy and I found interesting. Follow along and I encourage you to goggle or research anything or place I mention because my photos and commentary do not do the country justice.

We had no real itinerary. We stopped at the end of each day and started at the next morning. We had made no reservations so as we got to mid afternoon we would decide how much farther we were going, find a McDonalds that has WiFi, logged on to booking.com and found a place to stay a couple hours down the road. We would go out for dinner, talk about our next day and get some sleep. Breakfast was normally included, and we pressed on. Life is good!

Come on along!

We had a very late flight leaving Melbourne so it was oh dawn thirty when we arrived in Wellington, North Island, New Zealand. We were lucky and the car rental place was open so we got our car and ventured forth onto North Island. Of the two Islands that make up New Zealand, North Island is the most populated and, for those of you who haven’t memorized all the capitols of the world, Wellington is the Federal Capitol of New Zealand.

Because it was so early nearly everything was closed, but because it was in the middle of their Summer, it was already daylight. We saw this big hill in the center of the city and we decided to drive up and see what we could see from it.

It was very windy, and as it was so early, quite cool. The days were all very pleasant and warm. We took a few pictures from the hill and then went down into the city and toured around a bit, spent the night there and left the next morning.

We left Wellington the next day and drove up though the center of North Island to Napier. We stopped several times along the way at points of interest.

This stop is at a vey large geothermal area much like Yellowstone National Park. There were a number of trails that wound around whatever was featured and we did most of them.

We diverted to the Kiwi capitol of the world. Most people think all the people from NZ are called “Kiwi’s” but that is not true. The indigenous people are call Maori’s and they actually come from the south pacific Islands like Tahiti, Samoa, and even Hawaii. Kiwi’s are the English settlers who came to New Zealand and took the land for themselves. Here are some pictures of real Kiwi’s.

We left the Kiwi Capitol of the world and headed west to the ocean coast. We elected not to go all the way north to Auckland. It is a big city and we were not into big cities and it was so far out of the way we decided to skip it for now. You just have to choose what you are going to make an effort or spend time to see and everythng else will need to wait for the next trip.

So, we drove west to a town name Katikati. It is known as New Zealand’s Mural town and lives up to that name. There are over 70 buildings in town with murals on the side of them. The amazing thing is the quality of the art and history the murals depict. Here are some of them.

Okay … enough murals. We spent several hours walking the streets admiring the artwork and historical aspects of the murals. We even had a Latte in a nice little coffee house.

Moving right along, we next came to an area that featured Glow worms. Yep … just like it says … worms that glow. They live deep in caves and attract food by glowing … kinda like lightning bugs but these guys hang from the ceiling of a cave and don’t fly around. Here are some pictures of our tour of the Glow Worm Caves. Please keep in mind I have a little pocket camera and it does not do real well in the dark.

Okay then. From here we traveled west all the way to the South Ocean. (In Australia and New Zealand there is another ocean. They call it the South Ocean. It is actually the waters around the islands of Australia and New Zealand. Guess they can have their own ocean if they want to. They area is actually The Coral Sea and the Tasman Sea with the Coral Sea just reaching the northern part of NZ. When we got to the ocean we saw a sign for “The Three Sisters” so we headed over that way to have a look. Here is our journey all the way to Plymouth on the western coast of North Island where we spent the night.

When we left Plymouth the next morning it was quite foggy. We decided we wanted to see the tallest mountain in NZ so we cut inland to go past the east side of it. We actually drove up to the top of it (pictures later). From there we took the Forgotten Highway to the center of NZ, then cut south to catch the coast again. Check the map.

Here’s the story on the Forgotten Hghway:

Forgotten World Highway is one of the most scenic drives in New Zealand. This highly memorable driving journey is remote and mysterious to the extreme. This scenic route winds alongside the spectacular Tangarakau Gorge and passes through the 180-metre-long, single lane, Moki tunnel. It’s one of the most scenic drives in the world.

The route winds its way across some seriously crinkly landscape, through gorges, tunnels and dense forest. Built on colonial bridle paths formed in the late 19th century. The highway goes through some rugged, beautiful countryside. It climbs three saddles, including the Strathmore Saddle, the Whangamomona Saddle and the Tahora Saddle. If you’re up for a challenge, the Forgotten World Highway is a drive to remember. It’s a leisurely drive through numerous different types of environment.

The journey is so called due to the fact that it’s New Zealand’s oldest heritage trail. It includes some narrow sections. State Highway 43 has been ranked as one of the 10 worst roads in New Zealand by the Police. This bad record is because of the slippery gravel surface in the Tangarakau Gorge, however this is not scheduled to be sealed because of the low traffic volume.

From Lake Taupo we went south, higher into the mountains, where there was a large ski resort. Being the middle of summer there was no snow but we took the lifts up to the top and walked around a bit.

From here we drove South until we reached the ocean again and continued south back to Wellington. We spent another evening in Wellington enjoying the sites and town. We were not permitted to take our rental across to South Island so the morning that we left Wellington and North Island we turned it in and a guy gave us a ride to our ferry that was going to take us to South Island. Here are pictures of our trip along the coast to Wellington and some of the places we visited in Wellington. Very nice city. Clean, well kept, friendly people.

This completes the North Island. Hope you liked it. The South Island had much to offer as well. All different, all interesting. If you are interested, go to the South Island post. Bye now.

With the EU announcing an easing of the entry restrictions due to COVID, Nancy and I decided to take a trip to Germany and Switzerland to enjoy the late Summer weather there, attend the WurstFest in Bad Durkheim, and do some hiking in the Swiss Alps.  Along the way, while we were there, we would stop and see friends from our past.  In early July we made airplane reservations and a number of hotel reservations based on where we thought we would be during our time there.  The timing centered on the WurstFest which covered the weekends of 10 and 17 September.  Our schedule was based on us attending the Wurst Fest the weekend of the 10th.  With all that in mind we scheduled as much as we wanted to in advance leaving some wiggle room should our plans change while we were in Europe.  Lastly, we alerted our friends in Germany, warning them of our impending arrival and desires to see them and perhaps share a dinner or something. Having done all that, the only thing left was to wait until the 7th of September and fly out.

As our departure drew near we were made aware of, by our airline, several COVID related issues we needed to take care of before we left.  First, The Airline we were flying on wanted proof that we had our COVID-19 vaccinations.  We were required to show we had once had COVID and were now naturally resistant or that we had the vaccination regimen required for resistance.  We provided all that on line and soon we were ok’ed by the airline to fly.  Then, three days before we departed we had to go to a German website and provide proof of our vaccinations or previous recovery as well as listing where we would be during our time in Germany.  We did all that, again on line, and soon received a form approving our visit.  A two week quarantine in Germany, upon our arrival, would be required if we did not have the approval forms. As we were going to be there for only three weeks, we did not want to spend the first two weeks locked in a hotel room.  We were pleased we were able to complete everything in advance.  

On Labor Day, 6 Sept, we checked out a rental car to get us to the airport, packed our bags, and did our last minute preparations to leave.  On the 7th we drove to the airport, turned in our rental car, and boarded our flight to Newark, NJ and on to Frankfurt, Germany.  The flights, connections and arrival processes all went fine with no delays or difficulties.  We arrived in Frankfurt at 10 in the morning of the 8th of September, processed through Immigration and Customs, checked out a German Rental Car and our European Vacation was under way.  We checked into our hotel, a Gasthauase in Enkenbach called the Kolb where we were to spend three nights.  It is pleasant place with several rooms and great breakfasts and meals for lunch and dinner.  We seldom or never stay at people’s homes.  We just find the inconvenience we cause for both our hosts and ourselves to be not worth it.  We find it better just to spend time with friends and stay in a hotel.

Our first stop was to see our neighbors from when we lived in Germany the last time we lived there.  Manfred and Waltraud Helf lived next door to us for six years while I worked as a DoD consultant.  They kind of adopted us and we were included in many of their community and family events.  Many, many fond memories.  Because we had not slept for 36 hours, were tired and in need of a shower and sleep, we just had cake and coffee with them and went to our hotel in the next village over.  We checked in and walk to a nearby Turkish Restaurant we have enjoyed for years, had a light dinner and returned to our room.  It was our intent to stay up until at least nine or ten but only made it to Seven before we crashed.  Next thing I knew, Nancy was telling me it was Nine in the morning and we needed to go down for breakfast or miss out.

After a pleasant breakfast we decided to go to Kaiserslautern, the largest nearby city, and get German Telephone SIM cards for our phones which will give us phone service as well as texting and internet while we are here.  There is a large electronics chain store (like Best Buy) called Saturn in Germany so we decided to try that.  They had the cards but we needed our passports to register them.  After driving back to the hotel and securing our passports we returned to Saturn, got the cards, and pressed on.

As we had spent many years living in this area we spent much of the day just driving around seeing what had changed, what was new, and how so many things had not changed. Between trips back and forth getting passports, stops at bakeries for coffee and a sweetie, and an afternoon beer, we managed to use up the day.  

That evening we met the Helf’s and four of their friends at a sports bar for pizza, beer, wine, and schnapps … a fine evening it was.  They have a group that meets there every Thursday for Pizza and we were fortunate enough to be invited.  Over the years we have done many social things with the Helf’s so we already knew most of the people they were having dinner with.  It was during this dinner that we found one of the events we came to Germany to enjoy was again cancelled this year.  The Wurstfest in Bad Durkheim, a tradition in Germany for at least the last 600 years.  (I put some pictures of one several years ago in this blog.  The title is Germany Revisited.).   Oh well, more time to practice relaxing!

A better night’s sleep and we were ready for our German breakfast which is usually a whole grain Brotchen ( Like a dinner role but fresh and a little bigger) with sliced cold cuts and fresh cheese.  Nancy usually has the Muesli with yogurt followed by a small regular brotchen with a slice of cheese.  Always with coffee.  Our objective for this trip was to see friends and relax a little.  We usually travel at a fast pace so this time we are practicing slowing down.  That said, we spent the day cruising around again and part of the afternoon resting.  We also took a long walk around the village we were staying in … very refreshing.  The evening found us walking to a nearby Gasthaus for a dinner of Wiener Schnitzel, French Fries, and a salad.  A ultimate traditional German Dinner.

Saturday morning found us traveling to the Deutches Wine Strasse (German Wine Street).  We stopped in St Martins which is a beautiful little village that hosts a large number of Vintners selling their wines, restaurants, and lovely streets.  We walked around for a while, stopped in at our favorite Vintner (Alte Schloss meaning Old Castle) and bought a couple bottles of our favorite wine to have later or take home.  We also drove around the area a bit enjoying all the fields of grapes nearing maturity.  The grapes were impressive as they hang in huge clusters along the bottom of the vines.  Many of the fields are harvested by machines that “vacuum” the grapes from the vines causing no damage to the grapes or the vines.  In hillier places like along the Mosel or Rhine Rivers the grapes are still hand picked. 

We did stop in Bad Durkheim at the largest wine barrel in the world which normally anchors the Wurst Fest Event.  There were many people there and we enjoyed a glass of wine next to the big barrel … which is actually a restaurant inside.  After the stop there we traveled to a nearby small village where we spent the evening in a Bohemian type hotel, Hotel Vivo Vino (you can check it out on the internet if you don’t believe me).A very clean and nicely decorated room off of a center courtyard where they served dinner.   We did have dinner there and enjoyed a delicious, well presented, meal which was followed by a good nights sleep.

The next day we headed cross country to get to Bernkastel Kues which is a good starting point if you want to enjoy some of the Mosel River.  We had not had breakfast when we arrived so we proceeded to the nearest bakery and had a Latte and a sweet role (they still bake them fresh right on the premises here).  As we always have done in the past we parked and walked through the scenic part of the town enjoying the people, shops, restaurants, and wine bars.  We did stop at a wine shop that had an outside seat available and enjoyed a great glass of wine while watching the tourists.  Realizing that our parking time was soon expiring and we still had some ways to go to our hotel, we finished up and drove on. 

Driving along the Mosel is exceptionally scenic with endless things to see.  There are fewer castles along the Mosel as there are along the Rhine but the Mosel is smaller, more quaint, and much more scenic.  Nancy and I often came to the Mosel to ride our bikes along the river.  We would park someplace and go either upriver (South) or downriver, eventually cross to the opposite side and ride back. Because the Mosel is smaller, there are frequent bridges you can use to cross.  The Rhine however has a bridge in Koblenz, where the Rhine and Mosel converge and most other crossings must be made by ferry.  Once the Mosel and Rhine converge, it is called the Rhine as it runs Northwest into the Netherlands, where is becomes the Wall River and continues to the Atlantic near Rotterdam.  There is always a great deal of barge traffic on both the Mosel and the Rhine that is enabled by a very efficient lock system to keeps the waters deep enough to support the barges.  There are also a number of tourist barges that provide either day tours or weeks on end of cruising the rivers while living on the boat in grand style.  Today though we are just driving our rental down the Mosel enjoying the pleasant scenery.

Late afternoon found us arriving in Senheim where the Gasthaus Halfenstube is nestled up to the Mosel.  Twenty plus years ago Nancy and I were stationed at Rhine Main Air Base in Frankfurt.  While we were there Nancy booked a River Cruise on the Nile River in Egypt.  While on the cruise we met and became friends with Erich and Ushe Klingon, who owned and operated a Gasthaus called the Halfenstube on the Mosel.  We enjoyed our time with them on the cruise and when we parted, they extended an invitation for us to stop at their Gasthaus someday and enjoy some Mosel Hospitality.  We did that and have going back to visit them ever since.  A few years ago, their daughter Sylvia took over the business and has raised it to a higher level providing relaxation, sauna, massage, more rooms, wellness, and a heated swimming pool.  We had a lively dinner with Erich and Ushe that first evening and had a lot of fun catching up.  

The next day, after breakfast, Nancy and I drove down to Beilstein where a large Castle once dominated the Mosel.  The town is picturesque and hosts many restaurants and hotels.  It is also a stop for many of the tour boats that take thousands of people up and down these two rivers every year.  We had just finished breakfast so we decided to make the climb to the castle.  The reward for making it to the top is an awesome view of the villages, vineyards, and the Mosel.  I’m pleased to report that the trip down from the castle is still easier than the trip up.  We made it back to the car and proceeded to Cochem.  

Cochem is a larger town with a complete castle that towers over the city, both have which have been here since the 1400’s.  We found a parking space (Whew!) and strolled through Cochem.  We had been here a number of times so it was just remembering all the good times we have had here.  As a matter of fact, some 10 to 15 years ago we were guests at Sylvia (Ushi and Erich’s Daughter) and her Husband Volker’s wedding reception held in the beautiful castle.  We did stop and have a refreshment, then finished our walk. 

Returning to the Halfenstube in mid afternoon we relaxed with a very good piece of German Pastry and a glass of wine on their Mosel Terrace which sits right on the Mosel and you can sit there and watch the boat traffic and swans on the river and the bikers riding along it.  We again had dinner with Erich and Ushe that evening , after which we went to their house where Erich shared some of the “Special “ wines he had saved over the years.  Erich also grows grapes and we are featured picking the grapes for him one year in my “A Revisit To Germany” post at adventurzwithnancy.com

The next morning, after checking out of the Halfenstube and saying goodbye to everyone, we were off to Koblenz to see that city and start our tour of the Rhine.  It was not too far to Koblenz so we arrived around noon and were able to check in to our hotel.  It was downtown so we hauled our stuff in and walked through the old city to the “Deutch’s Eck” or, where the Mosel and the Rhine flow together.  It turned out to be quite the walk and used up most of our afternoon.  We had stopped for a coffee and a strudel late in the afternoon so we decided to skip dinner, had an early lights out and got a good night’s sleep.

The next morning was foggy and a bit of drizzle.  We did not have a real long way to go so after a leisurely breakfast we packed up the car and headed out for Boppard, a whole 30 kilometers down the road.  We stopped several times to look at and photograph castles and boats and we made it to the hotel around noon.  Because it was a dreary day and the hotel (Park Hotel, Boppard) upgraded us to a room with a covered balcony, we elected to spend the day there, in the room, on the balcony, enjoying the scenery and playing cards.  The afternoon went by quickly and we had a pleasant dinner in the hotel restaurant that evening.  In the morning we just had coffee, packed up the car, and were off.

Our hotel for the next evening was on the North side of the Rhine and we were on the south side.  Consequently, when we left our hotel we crossed on the first ferry we encountered.  That was not a smart move because a few kilometers down the road was a huge construction site that had the road on that side of the river closed.  Because of the closure, we had to take a ferry back to the side we were on when we started the day.  No worries though … we had ample time and crossing on the ferry was both inexpensive and kind of fun.  We continued to Bingen on the South side of the Rhine, then took a big ferry over to Rudesheim.  Rudesheim is a very quaint big town famous being the home of Asbach brandy, restaurants, and tourists.  We used to go there frequently just to enjoy the ambiance.  So, we were going there today.  Our hotel was just a couple kilometers up the road so we drove up to make sure the roadwas open, checked in, and drove back to Rudesheim.  We wandered around looking in shops, had a glass of wine and a Rudesheimer Coffee, and drove back to the hotel later in the afternoon.  We strolled around the little village our hotel,was in, spend some time sitting out front watching the river traffic, and eventually had dinner.  Then off to bed.

The next day, Friday, 17 Sept, we had arranged to meet some friends for dinner in the city of Frankfurt.  We left our hotel near Rudesheim and proceeded to Frankfurt and our hotel, a Marriott Residence, that was a new hotel in the old part of town.  We were going to meet Uwe & Jutta Thoms for dinner.  Jutta had worked at the Frankfurt Airport when we were stationed at Rhein Main AB in Frankfurt.  The Airbase was actually located on the airport so we had a great deal of interaction with the Airport (Called Fraport).  Jutta was an interpreter for the Fraport executives and would attend meetings to ensure everyone understood what was being discussed.  Not so much the actual language but the nuances of intent that often are misunderstood.  Anyhow, Nancy and I got to know Uwe (Jutta’s husband) and Jutta over the years we were there and always make a point of having dinner with them when we pass through Frankfurt.  Uwe had a successful Legal Practice in Frankfurt.  They are both retired now but Uwe still does some legal work in the village where they live. 

We checked in to the hotel, wandered around the old part of Frankfort a while, had a bratwurst and a glass of wine and returned to the hotel.  We met Uwe & Jutta and they took us to the oldest restaurant in Frankfurt.  It has been operating since somewhere in the 1400’s.  We had a delightful dinner and walked around the Romer Platz and down the Zeil talking about the city and life in general.  A very pleasant evening.

Saturday morning Nancy and I did one of our favorite things.  We walked the Zeil (A big pedestrian walkway through the retail center of Frankfurt).  There are two markets in Frankfurt on Saturdays.  One is underground and sells some of the best international foods you will find.  Fresh fruit, vegetables, spices, seasonings, meats, mushrooms, you name it and they have it.  An incredibly interesting market to walk through.  The other market is in a .large lot and is more traditional with fruit, veggies, bakery, meats, and wines.  We always finish up there for a bratwurst and a glass of wine.  The wine place has just high tops set around outside with no chairs.  You get your wine, find a table and stand there enjoying the weather, people and hustle.  Germans typically share spaces at a table so it is not uncommon to be offered one side of the table or offer aside at yours.  You meet the most interesting people doing that.  Today we met Adam and Lee, two Americans actually, that lived and worked in Frankfurt.  Nice couple.

We drove back to Mehlingen that afternoon and took Manfred and Waltraud out for dinner.  We went to a local Gastehaus for snitzel and fries, then went to the Helf’s garden Hutte for some evening socializing.  Many Germans have small rooms beside their gardens where they spend time during the Summer when the houses are hot.Just the four of us.  Another pleasant evening.

Sunday we were up and on our way to Switzerland.  Our favorite place in Switzerland is Grindelwald.  A medium sized community that is a haven for skiers in the winter and hikers in the Summer.  We had reservations at our favorite hotel, the Hotel Gletschergarten.  It has been in the Michel family for five generations and is ran by two very nice people (Greg and Gaby Michel).  We have stayed there several times and always enjoy it.

We didn’t drive the entire way to Switzerland the first day.  We stopped overnight in Freiburg on the edge of the Black Forest.  The day was rainy so driving was no fun.  We checked in to our hotel, got out our umbrellas, and walked downtown for a Latte and a slice of Black Forest Tort.  That brightened up the day a bit and we returned to the hotel and vegged out until dinner.  It was still raining at dinner time so we decided to eat at the hotel.  The hotel did not serve full dinners but did have a short menu in their bar area.  We each ordered a beer and a Flamkugen.  Flamkugen is like a pizza but the dough is very thin and crispy, there is no tomato sauce, and usually has only one or two sparsely spread out toppings.  There is some sort of white sauce on it (Cheese I think) but I’m not sure what that is.  They are about the size of a small pizza so we each had one.  We met a pair of gentlemen from Denmark.  A father and his adult son.  The son was a commercial airplane pilot and the Father worked with the Danish defense ministry.  Interesting conversation and evening.

So Monday we drove on to Grindelwald, checked in to the Gletschergarten, and walked downtown to see what had changed.  Like so many small European cities, not much change.  Mostly the same shops, restaurants, and equipment rental places.  After strolling, looking, strolling, we decided it was late enough for dinner so we stopped at this place called “Oncle Tom’s Pizza” … and yes, we had eaten there before and yes, it is spelled with an “O”.  We had a great pizza and a couple beers and called it an evening.  The next morning we decided to ride the lift to what they call First.  The lift is the ski lift in the winter so it goes all the way to the top of the mountain. There is a lake, a cliff walk, and a restaurant at the top. We did the cliff walk while it was exhilarating, it was foggy so you could not see very far.  We did not walk out to the lake because it was fogged in and a two hour walk in cold weather.  We enjoyed the cliff walk and had a latte at the restaurant to celebrate our joy.  We then took the lift back down to the lowest stop and boarded our Trotti bikes for an exciting ride to the bottom!  The Trotti bike is like a coaster with bigger tires. No pedals, no seat, just brakes and a platform to stand on. We had a beer to celebrate.  Later we had dinner at the hotel.  Dinners are difficult in Grindelwald in that you eat mostly at pizza places or hotels.  The hotels all serve about the same thing for about the same price.  So, we ate at our hotel, had a great dinner and turned in.

The next morning produced a great breakfast and a bus ride to the train station.  We took the train from Grindelwald to Kliena Sheidegg at the top of the mountain.  From there you could take another train to the Jungfrau and “The Top of Europe” or back down the other side of the mountain to Wengen.  Wengen is a special town in that it does not allow automobiles or trucks.  They have electric taxis and a few utility vehicles that they operate to support the city.  We took the train to Wengen as we have been to the Eiger on previous trips.  Once in Wengen we walked through the town, stopped for a beer, bought some souvenirs, and later, took a lift to the top of the mountain.  Some years ago we took a lift from Grendelwald to the top of this mountain and hiked across the top to Kliena Sheidegg.

Following is a number of mountain pictures … I will caption only those that are unique.

From Grindelwald we had three days to get to our flight. We had to get a COVID test to get back into the US so that was our first priority. We had bought test kits that you performed yourself while being observed on the internet. The result showed up like a pregnancy test and if you were negative, they would send you the test result document you needed to get on an airplane going to the US.

We left Grindelwald and drove back to Freiburg in the Black Forest. There we again stayed at the Marriott and did our COVID tests from our room.

That got us cleared to fly back so all we had to do was make it to Frankfurt by Sunday morning. We left Freiburg the next morning and stopped for the night in Enkenbach because the Helf’s had asked us to stop by one lat time. That we did and Waltraud made a a superb homemade meal. That was followed by some wine, beer, and schnapps with some other friends that stopped by after dinner.

Saturday morning we got up and drove to Frankfurt and checked into the Steigenburger hotel at the airport. As soon as we were checked in we returned our trusted rental car.

We then wandered around the airport for a while. There are many things to do at the Frankfurt airport. Many restaurants, shopping, whatever. We wandered around for a while, had a pretzel and a beer, and took the shuttle back to the hotel. Next morning we got up, took the shuttle back to the airport and boarded our flight back to the US.

All in all a very pleasant trip. It was wonderful seeing friends from our time there again, and we always enjoy traveling and seeing and experiencing new things. Hope you enjoyed the pictures and blab … thanks for coming along.

P.S. I apologies for reasserting you to my blog but I must add two comments that I had intended but neglected to include.

1. Our original itinerary had included going to Spain for a couple days to visit Phil and Sarah Gardner. However, as we were planning our itinerary, Spain put a lock down on anyone entering the country. That, unfortunately resulted in us dropping any plans of going to Spain. Phil and Sarah are friends of ours who we met in Australia. They had retired and bought a home there and, through our affiliation with St Mary’s Catholic Church we came to know each other and kept in contact. Phil & Sarah eventually sold their house in Australia (A very difficult place to live if you are not Australian) and moved to Spain. Because Ryan Air flies to Spain from Germany we had intended to drop in on them and have dinner. We scratched all that with Spains lockdown not knowing it would last only a short time. The unfortunate result was that we did not go to Spain, we did not get to see Phil and Sarah. Sorry.
2. The second comment is more personal and involves only Nancy and I. We have been back home now for nearly three days. As we were enjoying a home dinner that Nancy planned and prepared, and I cooked on the grill, we commented to each other how it is almost surreal that we had been to Germany and Switzerland, saw all the friends we had, and now we were back home, having dinner, just as were were doing on the 5th of September. It feels like we never left home, yet we have all these new memories. Strange but pleasant.

Okay, I won’t add any more. Thanks for bearing with me.