Category Archives: Europe October 2025

Today was a great day. It is Sunday and we just finished Mass at the church Bubba used to attend. Afterwards we went to our long lost cousin’s house, which was Bubba’s house  to have lunch. Some translation was needed … Continue reading →

Yesterday was a quiet day to contemplate mankind’s evil side. Today is our last scheduled tour thing and one place we looked forward to visiting We went deep underground walking down 800 steps. The whole tour lasted a couple of … Continue reading →

This is an important place to visit and it is apparent that the Europeans feel so also.  There were dozens of tour buses filled with students many of them wearing Israel flags on their backs. Auschwitz did not fall from … Continue reading →

Just a story today no pictures. Head cold is much worse but we had to drive 300 miles. Getting outside helps me feel better. The freeways are really nice and there are pullout restaurants and gas spots frequently. Looking back … Continue reading →

It was a short walk to our hotel in Prague.  Not much to report other than pictures.  The city is overflowing with tourists! Too many people!! On arrival we went to see the astronomical clock and then dinner.  We are … Continue reading →

If you read yesterday’s post you know that DB changed our train to a partial bus to a city named Pegnitz and then our normal train from there.  Apparently they are fixing the track around Nurmberg. At first we were … Continue reading →

Well today is starting soapy.  But it is only 9am and we will be back as tourists by 10:30. The whole grounds for the rallies is huge.  But the actual Zeppelin field was a lot smaller than it looks in … Continue reading →

Our morning started early and it is a bit chilly outside.  There are tons of tourists but surprisingly not too crowded. Guided tour comments Stay at the Hotel VICTORIA Nürnberg just a so-so hotel. Good location though. Historic Art Bunker … Continue reading →

Always leave early! Well what started out as a thought out plan to leave our Airbnb and get to the DB train at AMS Centraal on time turned into panic.  When we got to the Haarlem train station to go … Continue reading →

This morning we are taking the train to Amsterdam to visit the Anne Frank house.  Our tour starts at 11:30 so we left Haarlem at 9:30 thinking it would get us to AMS Centraal at 10:30. Well the trains are … Continue reading →

Sad part of the day We just finished the Corrie Ten Boom museum tour. For those that do not know the Ten Boom family were Christians who hid Jews from the Nazis. The nazis of course hunted Jews from all … Continue reading →

Haarlem – arrival day 20 hours after leaving our front door we arrived in Haarlem and our first our impressions – it’s what we hoped for.  Charming Dutch city without obvious tourist entrapments and of course bicycles everywhere! We have … Continue reading →

We always start laying out our stuff weeks in advance. I know, that’s crazy, but for us it helps simplify the items we will take and keeps our excitement level up. Travel Philosophy No checked luggage! One backpack per person … Continue reading →

We have some plans for Prague but not many. Beer, eat, see some sights. We will be staying here – Hotel Paris Prague, because we got a really good deal. next day – Must sees in Prague – Astronomical Clock … Continue reading →

It is about a 6 hour drive from Prague to Poland so we hope to be on the road at 10AM. We will stay one night in the town of Oświęcim, Poland at the Hotel Galicja . The hotel is … Continue reading →

Janice and I have visited several holocaust museums including – United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the exhibit at the Reagan library. We expect this to be an emotional day. We encourage everyone to visit the Auschwitz web site and … Continue reading →

We have just a short drive from Auschwitz to the Hotel Grand Sal where we will stay 2 nights. Tomorrow we visit the salt mine! Yes the salt mine that Rick Steves talks about. This is one of those places … Continue reading →

We are hoping that this will be the happiest part of our trip. Kolačkov is the small village where my grandmother, my mother’s mother, was born in 1901. This picture is from google. I will use our pictures once we … Continue reading →

We had numerous options to fly home and they were all about the same in cost but varied considerably in travel time. The option we selected was to drive from Slovakia back to Poland, drop off the car and then … Continue reading →