Salzburg was a town that always seemed to elude me. I finally got there in 2004 to meet up with VTer Sandy Smith but the weather was dismal so it was great taking my Dad and sister there on a very sunny (if a bit hot) day when they were recently here.
Another place Müncheners don't get to often is Neuschwanstein. VT fave Ingrid once abhorred the place but now loves it. I mostly like what's around it aside from every other tourist in Germany but with my Dad and sister in town there was no way to not go there. So, a little page is coming.
It’s been such a long time since I’ve built a page here on VT. Those who know me probably have wondered and quit wondering how I could possibly have written so many pages and then just stopped. Well, I only stopped writing. I’ve still been traveling and taking heaps of photos. In fact, I think I’m a better photographer now than I ever was but for me, no words meant no pages. Perhaps I lost my motivation or more likely, inspiration. Last summer, my Dad and sister visited Doreen and I in our new home in Munich. It was my sister’s first ever trip to Europe and my Dad’s first in over 20 years. He was 86 at the time and anyone who had the pleasure to meet him on that trip could only shake their heads at how youthful and alive he was (and still is!). Though I have bits and pieces (and tons of photos) of pages for Portugal and Barcelona that would predate this chronologically, I’m going to return with some memories of the things I did with my Dad last summer. It was an emotional time that I couldn’t not put into words what the photos readily show: just now close we are. It’s time to put the two together and for me there’s no better place to document it than back here at home, back here on VT. Hope you enjoy.
First up will be a page about the day he arrived. Despite his first transatlantic flight in over 20 years, his age of 86 and not having slept one wink on the flight, he was game to head to Andechs monastery for some beer and Bavarian specialties.
With my Dad in Europe for the first time in decades, there was no time to rest. Being of Italian heritage he had someone never been to Italy. Since we wanted to show him a lot of our new hometown of Munich and its immediate surroundings, there wasn’t enough time to bring him to the area of his ancestry in the far south, so we figured going over the Alps would have to suffice. If found one of the time ten scenic train trips in Europe going from Munich to Bolzano and our first port of call was Mittenwald so a revamped version of this page is now in place.
Doreen gets a special nod for making my Dad and sister's trip even more special. She went out of her way to welcome and show them her home country. It's no wonder my Dad is returning again this summer.
Next stop en route to Bolzano was Innsbruck. To be honest, I had no real desire to go there but it was a convenient stopover, included in the train price and would be my Dad’s first taste of Austria too. What we found was a charming small city with a nice mix of architecture, good food and about the best gelato I’ve ever had.
Bolzano was an emotional stop for us all. Though not the most Italian of Italian cities, it was still Italy and though initially a bit disappointing to my father, who had been more enamored with the squeaky clean towns of Mittenwald and Innsbruck, it great on us all and stays with me to this day.
One place I had to take my Dad and sister while here was my favorite of all German towns, Bamberg so a Franconia trip was devised and on our way we stopped in Nürnberg.
Though the Zugspitze is expensive and not generally my Dad's cup of tea, it was one of the true highlights of his visit to Germany. He had never truly been IN the mountains before and we picked an absolute gorgeous day to do it.
Very useful information from you. Thanks for sharing !
http://vietnamvisavip.com/
https://www.facebook.com/vietnamvisavip
Congratulations on your 16th VT birthday.
Thanks, Angela.
Congratulations Richie, on your 16th VT Birthday! Haven't seen you around for along time. Hope all is well with you and yours!
Thanks, Linda. Haven't been on VT much. Have had some busy days with work, health issues and people visiting. Have still been traveling a lot and have a potential backlog of 50 some pages that I hope to get to one of these days! Hope you are well too.
I know, "Life keeps getting in the way." LOL! Nice to hear from you again!
Congratulations with your sweet 16 VT membership. PJ
Thanks, PJ. Time has really flown by on VT!
Not only here; I just became a granddad a month ago. PJ
A very happy new year!
Congrats on being a Spotlight member! :-) Kathy
thanks for accepting the friend request!
Congratulations for being spotlight member :-)) You have so much deserved it!!!!
:-)) I hope so!! I still have to (want to) read Salzburg and Bolzano :-))
Hopefully, I'll have a bit more time soon but with my Dad coming it won't be easy. Thanks for checking out my sizzling Salzburg page. ;)
Thanks! Honestly I thought we were friends from years ago!
Hello Richie, Congratulations on becoming the spotlight member for July, keep up the good work. Greetings from Sri Lanka!!!