Greetings from Switzerland

We've stopped at a pizzeria with WiFi, so I thought I'd quickly check in! Yesterday we left Italy after lots of shopping and exploring through beautiful Venice. We stayed at a campground on the beach that had absolutely everything you could ask for right on property. It reminded us of an all-inclusive resort in Mexico. After three nights (€211,70 for the three nights), we moved on heading for Switzerland. On the Italian border we met a wonderful family with a small garden and supplied our RV with tons of fruit. We picked guava off the tree (at least I think it's guava), blackberries, cherries, strawberries, figs, raspberries and two pears. They also grew avacados, Chinese mandarin oranges (which we fed to the horse they had), lettuce and cabbage. They were very-very generous and really friendly. It was a highlight for sure! Last night we parked at a 24 hour parking spot in southern Switzerland and woke up to beautiful Alps views and three spectacular castles. Dennis went for a morning hike and was greeted by a hillside with goats begging for attention and a mid evil castle to poke around in from the 13th century. The kids and I made pancakes in the RV and then explored another castle from the 13th century as well. I've come full circle, back to the pizzeria with WiFi. We're in a small Alps town called San Bernardino. If you get a chance to google it, please do! The journey has been hairpin turns on a back road where I swear we've met our bumper a few times! We've gone from sea level to 5500 feet and it's glorious! We're truly on top of the world! We're now going to hunt down a campground and spend the night in Switzerland again... Next stop Lichtenstein, then off to Paris!

Tonight we are bedding down at a beautiful campground on the Austria-Germany border and somewhere near us lies the Neuschwanstein Castle, the one Disney used for inspiration for their castle.  We pulled up to the campground in a light rain that’s been following us for the past day and a half.  It’s a great relief from the 90-something degree weather we had just yesterday as we toured Rothenburg, o.d.T.  We chose our campsite tonight because of the proximity to the playground and we were facing a farmer’s field with cows in it.  As the clouds clear, there are two perhaps three, castles in the distance just on the other side of a wonderfully gray-blue lake.  Dennis is capturing the moment with the camera and a glass of wine.  My companions are my laptop and coffee.   The kids are using the break in the weather to hit the playground.  We’ve reserved our spot for two nights so we have all day tomorrow to check out the castles and nearby communities.

It’s been wonderful wandering about with no real agenda.  We spent an amazing four nights with our old Army friend Michael and his beautiful family.  It was a welcome break after spending so much time in the eastern part of the country to see the rolling hills and thriving communities.  Michael lives near Giebelstadt, Germany, where all three of us were stationed.  It was great sharing and reliving our old memories as we explored our old post and the surrounding area.  Gieb is now just a sad shell.  They did a great job cleaning it out before turning it back over to Germany.  Where once manicured grounds were, the trees are now reclaiming it all.  The blacktop has trees growing through it and the buildings sit like skeletons.  Patience kept asking me if I was sad to see it like it is and gave me permission to cry; not that I needed it.  I kept assuring her that MY Gieb wasn’t just the PLACE but the PEOPLE who helped shape MY memories.  It was great having the three of us together while we explored all we could legally.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I think it pretty much met my expectations.

Berrlin & Potsdam

 We spent two days exploring Potsdam and Berlin.  When we were there in 1991 and again in 1993, there was such a sharp contrast between East and West, that doesn’t quite exist anymore.  It’s hard to even see where the Berlin Wall once was unless it was an area that was marked.  We have to keep reminding ourselves, that was 20 years ago and of course things change.

In Potsdam we took a train to the hoptbahnhof Potsdam (train station) and then took a recommended guided tour of the city.  We stopped at Schloss (castle) San Souci and learned about King Fredrick II and his time on the throne in 18^th Century.  We also saw the Russian prison where many famous and infamous people were held.  The most impressive thing about Potsdam is that it’s still in construction-mode.  According to our tour guide, most of the homes and large buildings that are being remodeled and brought back to their glory are being funded by private funds.

Berlin is a tourist destination town.  Check Point Charlie is manned by German actors wearing US Army uniforms holding US Flags.  For two Euros you can have your picture taken with them with Check Point Charlie in the background.   We learned that they are actually two Brandenburg Gates, one in Potsdam and its famous twin in Berlin.  There are huge soccer tournaments happening right now, so there’s a jumbo-tron set up in front of the Berlin Brandenburg Gate and lots of people wearing all sorts of German Flags and German Football gear.  When we were returning from Berlin back to our campground, we had flashbacks of returning to our hotel in Boston after a Sox game.  Loud, drunk, happy fans crowding the subway and trains; fans and a love for sports teams seem to be universal.

In Berlin we walked amongst The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe which is the Holocaust memorial for Germany.  The memorial consists of a Field of Stelae and is made up of 2711 concrete blocks of varying heights.  One thing we heard over and over is that the coating on the concrete blocks to prevent graffiti (which is prevalent in Berlin) to stick was being applied by a sister company to a company that provided the gas, Zyklon B  for the concentration camps gas chambers.  After long conversations, they decided to allow the company to complete their contract and the company took no payment for their work. 

At the information center there is a long piece of the Berlin Wall that they have left intact.  Running parallel to the wall are story boards with the history of the Natzi Party and they tell about impact it had on the people and lands in Berlin.  It told story after story of Gypsies, Jews, people who were mentally and physically disabled from within the city that were transported to concentration camps, never to be seen again.  There was a picture of a six year old little girl who had epilepsy and parents sent her to a hospital to see what they could do to help her get better.  Alongside the picture is a letter from her father to the hospital asking when the visiting hours are for the new place she was at and when they could go and see her.  She was transported just days before to a camp and just disappeared.  Story after story of heartbreak and cruelty lined the wall.

Luggage Detail

I keep having flashbacks of a Top Gear (British edition) where the guys go caravanning; if you haven’t seen it, it’s a must see to truly get an idea of what camping is like over here.  We’ve fit into a rhythm of going, stopping for two nights at a campground, dumping all waste water and moving on.  That’s where the fun truly is…

This morning as we were divvying up our duties, Patience got dishes, Dennis had electric cord and clean water duty, and Matthew and I (once again) got potty luggage duty.  Matthew was excited to give it a “roll”.  So we pulled the little luggage box out of the cubby and proceeded to join the luggage march to the dumping station.

 It was our lucky day!  No one was at the sink, so we could just pull up and take care of business (so to say).  Our luck ended quite quickly when I opened the spout to dump over the sink and a wheel fell off onto the floor.  The smell was horrid at ground level!  After Matthew and I ran out of the room gagging, we went back in to accomplish our goal.  While gagging with our noses inside our shirts, I watched the handle dip into the sink. Then the little door to the flusher fell off!  Between laughing, running out of the little sink room gagging and begging for fresh air, our faces glued inside our shirts AND our potty falling apart; we got everything back into shape and casually rolled our luggage past the stern faced old man with his own baggage waiting in line.

Our RV

Home for the next month

The kids on the road

Sky light window with the table to the right and the kid's bunks to the back.  Between the two spaces is the bathroom and the kitchen area is opposite the table.

As I mentioned before, we have a Fiat motorhome that, quite honestly, we love.  The head space is great and it makes it feel bigger than it really is. There's a skylight that opens up with a window crank above the table area, so it doesn't feel too dark.  The hot water heater is awesome and you can actually take a shower in it quite easily.  The whole water system is super quiet as well. The bathroom floor is one big shower stall and there's a curtain that you pull in a circle that blocks out the toilet and sink to create a shower area.

There is one downside to it though.  It turns out that the toilet system isn't like what we're used to.  Every morning there's a procession of men (plus me) headed to the bathroom facilities dragging a piece of "luggage" with them.  After our first night camping, I learned that the "luggage" is actually the septic tank and Dennis' stomach doesn't tolerate a "dump" too well.  Now it's me dragging the luggage with the boys.


 


The other strange things about our RV is it only has a three burner stove top, no oven or microwave.  Not the end of the world, but it does limit the cooking options.  We haven't hit any campgrounds that offer fire pits, but they DO have restaurants.

JAC to ORD to LHR to DUS to DOR to RV

From Jackson Hole to our RV was about a 36 hour (give or take a few) journey full of planes, trains and automobiles!  Our longest layover was in Chicago for almost five hours, which gave us enough time to get something to eat, kick back, people watch and make a few last calls before heading out.
Matthew at Chicago airport 

One of the more colorful characters we saw was a gentleman with a yellow backpack, tons of tattoos and enough piercings to set the airport security into alert.  Sure enough, when it was time to board the plane, the man with the yellow backpack was seated next to Patience!  She was uncomfortable at first, but when he fell asleep and started to lean on her SHE WAS FREAKED!  As it turns out, he was very nice and headed back home to Vienna after visiting his girlfriend in Seattle.

Matthew and I sat by a girl who was headed to her first permanent duty station with the Air Force.  We chatted about her training and how she felt about coming over here for the first time.  It doesn't seem that long ago that I made that first journey too... then I started thinking about it and we could be her parents!  It HAS been too long since we've been back!

Anyhow, we landed in London.  Jumped on a smaller plane.  Made it to Dusseldorf and then had to figure out the trains.  This gave us one more opportunity to realize it has been a long time since we've been back.  Luckily, Dennis pulled out his rusty German (and charm) and we bought four tickets to Dortmund.  By then we were all a bit jet-lagged and the hour train ride was a nice break.  My first thought was, this is nice.  I wondered if we make a mistake by not just getting Euro-Rail passes...

Dennis and Patience on the train

 

After our hour train ride and a taxi driver who knew about Yellowstone from documentaries, we arrived at our RV rental.  We were thrilled to get a look at our rig we were to call home for the next month!  It's spacious, the layout is ideal and everyone has their own place.  We've decided if Fiat sold motorhomes in the States, this one would be ours.

A few thoughts from the road (by Matthew)... (at 1 A.M. because he and Den couldn't sleep)

Flights:  were tiring and beautiful sights with lots of clouds.

Packed and ready to roll!

Our backpacks are packed and sitting in the living room ready to roll!  We practice packed them on Wednesday and then checked and repacked them this morning.

We purchased an App called Packing Pro on the iPad, and after some SERIOUS shaving off the stuff we didn't need, we came up with a working list.

3 pair of shorts (or skirts)
5 shirts
1 long sleeve light
1 long sleeve fleece
5 undies
5 socks
1 pair of flip flops
1 pair of tennis shoes
1 pair of pants
and a swimsuit

Throw in some travel pillows (World's Greatest Adjustable Travel Pillow by Grand Trunk... we'll be sleeping on it for a month, so I'll let you know), bathroom supplies, granola bars, a dice game from my parents, cameras and electronics; and we're ready to roll!  We limited our list to what our carry-on backpacks  (and shoulders) could handle.  We could've gone even lighter, but wanted the chance to get settled into the RV before laundry day hit us.

We fly out tomorrow at 7:22 am and arrive the next day in lovely Germany at 10:22 am.  Grab a train, find the RV and we're off.

We've got 12 countries on the agenda (a very loose agenda at that)... Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Poland, Lichtenstein, Belgium, Holland, France, England,  and Luxembourg.  This is by no means in any order, and WILL change at any time.  I'm just excited about being there after 20+ years and plan on being in the moment.  

I'll check in later... next stop EUROPE!