Author: Jose

A Short Walk in Tuscany

I walked from Pienza to the nearby hill town of Monticchiello and back. It was a little less than 8 miles but it is truly uphill both ways 🙂 The pictures are a poor...

Beautiful Tuscany Hill Towns

We were in Tuscany in October 2011 but we’ve really enjoyed it so much more this time. Being hobbits at heart, we love rolling farmland with comforting hills that welcome rather than forbid. Above...

Venice So different but in a nice way

We thought we wouldn’t like Venice but we both really enjoy just being here. It is so different with no cars, mopeds, or bikes on the roads and dozens of alleys and bridges to...

Austria Part 2 The Sound of Music

We are both fans of the movie but Karen is a much bigger fan. The following is pure tourist kitsch. You’ve been warned. It’s amazing how complicated the filming is. They used one house...

Austria Part 1 Salzburg and Hallstatt

We spent a few days in Salzburg Austria. Salzburg is know for Mozart and the Sound of Music (next post) but it has a lot more to offer. Founded in 696, it was not...

Munich. It’s Good but it’s Weird

How Weird? This Weird! Surfing in the oddly named Englischer Garten (English Garden) in downtown Munich. From old-but-rebuilt stuff, an everchanging coat of arms, weird church relics, to a spontaneous Michael Jackson tribute

Mad Kings and Alpine Coasters

Today we visited Neuschwanstein castle built by the allegedly mad King Ludwig II and visited one of the longest alpine coasters in the world. In between Karen had a burger the size of her...

Dachau. Never Again.

I felt like a trespasser being in Dachau. I guess it’s important to see our failures. Dachau wasn’t the worst camp but it was the first. It was the blueprint for the more horrific...

Rothenburg ODT and other less pretty places

We stopped by Wurzburg to see the Residenz a Baroque palace and then continued to Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber (Red Castle above the Tauber). Rothenburg is the prettiest place we have been in Germany...

Father Rhine and Deutsches Eck

Our next river to explore was the mighty Rhine. We visited Koblenz (which means confluence) where the Mosel and the Rhine join. We then spent a couple of nights in Sankt Goarshausen (right across...