The hills are alive-

So we finally went over to Austria (intentionally). If you know to watch for the border and pay $10 for a 10 day pass, it is not so bad. Salzburg is just past Munich, and we managed to get there by 10 AM on Sunday.

We started out in the old part of town, parking in some big bomb shelter / fortress under the mountain. We walked through a few churches and saw some gardens from the Sound of Music. The kids fell asleep so we drove a bit further into Austria to see the the Sound of Music wedding church and some lakes. After dinner on a nice little nearby lake we found our hotel on a hill overlooking Salzburg.

Of course, we could only see the new part of town. The Altstadt was hidden by a big mountain. And we could not go swimming, the pool was the worst looking thing I have ever seen. But in general the view was great.

This morning started off well. Andi freaked out as we were leaving the room, "where is the camera!" and she had it strapped right around her neck. I figured that out when I was 10 playing T-ball and could not find my baseball cap one inning. We finally got out and did the castle, one of the biggest in Europe. Very nice view of downtown. Then we did the theater (three theaters in all) to see the one from Sound of Music. After that, we went to Heilbronn to see the trick fountains (that spray people on surprise). The best part there, Andi was trying to get Drew sprayed, so she encouraged him to go get up in the front row for a organ / moving toy display, then the water came from behind us all! It got here right in her rear, all over.

Some stuff looked familiar from when we were there 20 years ago in high school with the band, but it is amazing how faded that trip is now. Oh well.

After the water fountains, the kids played on the playground. We got in the car and hit the McDonalds. Only later did I realize that I never looked that the gazebo they had on display for the sound of music (I am 16, going on 17). Andi played all the songs from the movie for the kids on the way home and then they slept the rest of the way without a nap at all on Sunday.

Great trip overall. Amazing what you can pack into two days!

Forgot to write up last Sunday. We had a beautiful day in Stuttgart and went to a local castle on top a mountan near Neuffen. I realized that in South Carolina we really don't have enough 800 year old partially ruined castles overlooking cities with a nice beer garden and medieval themed falcon shows. Something to work on, I guess.

Recently, we saw a funny Gutman clip where he mentions a German news story saying it came vrom "DER SPIEGEL" in a funny strong Germanic voice. We have taken to this one, as it seemed funny at the time. Drew will run around saying angrily "DER SPIEGEL". Well, the Salzburg beer is Stiegel...

Der Stiegel - Not that good, but ok after you get half of it down.

We also stopped in an Irish pub and had a pint of Guinness. Andi has me ask about Murphy's in every pub we see. Those Irish are prolific, they have a pub in every city.

Guinness

Stiegel

Italy, second half-

Wednesday of our Italy trip we drove to Florence. Along the way we stopped at a little town outside of Rome to see an outdoor sculpture garden. Apparently, this is where the guy that finished the Vatican practiced his sculpture art. A lot of crazy animals and monsters.

Thursday was Florence. This was probably the hardest day. Except for maybe Venice. We walked around a lot and saw a lot of art. The Uffizi museum, the Academia (home of David), plus various churches. One had a lot of tombs, one had a lot of frescoes. The worst part was Ellie falling on some steps and busting her lip. Even though we said not to, they called an ambulance. Just blood and a bump. Soon after, they went to sleep and we carried them forever. A very long day with little fun for the kids save the carousel ride at the end.

Friday we drove through Pisa on our way to Pavia for my conference. Not much in Pisa but that tower.

Pavia is a small little town with tiny streets and real cobblestones. The conference ran three days for about 12-14 hours a day. Andi did some shopping. The only beers I had were both Guinness. They must like the Irish here. We did tour a winery and distillery, home of grappa. That stuff is awful. They let the leftowver wine stalks and hsks rot in a pile then distill it to this awful stuff.

Tuesday we got up, went to Milan to see the Last Supper and drove through Zurich to get home. Busy week.

Wednesday, my group had an outing to wander around the local area. We hiked a good bit, enough to make me sore for a couple of days. We stopped for a brewery tour. This guy went on for about 2 hours in German that I could not follow. But ultimately, the beer was good. The Schwanen in Esslingen. I think they only brew for the restaurant, but the wheat beer was tasty.

Our big excitement came from finding a lady that would take us onto the base. We stocked up on American things finally. Pam. Pop-tarts. Maple syrup. Baked beans. Mac and cheese. Dr. Pepper. Cookie dough. Molasses. Popcorn. Cool-whip. Some of this you can get here but it may cost 5x as much. We also got a Taco Bell delivery, since the only Taco Bell for hours and hours is on base. Tasty!

Guinness-

We made it to Dublin. Andi planned a surprise visit to the Guinness plant. The facility was very nice with a lot of great displays. You finish the tour at the top of the old plant with a very modern glass-walled bar looking out over Dublin. Too bad there is not much to look at, Dublin was a little plain. We saw the Dublin castle, but tours were sold out. Other than that, we did not find much here of interest.

Driving into Ireland we were on one of their new interstate type motorways, two lane each way with a nice shoulder. Surprisingly, the speed limit was the same as we had driving to the Cliffs of Moher, a twisty up-and-down road with barely enough room to overtake oncoming traffic with a hard rock wall on one side and a cliff to the ocean on another. 100 kph or a little over 60 MPH! Getting back to the Autobahn will be nice wrt speed limits at least. It has been great being in a country where the culture is similar to the US. It accentuates the differences in Germany. Ice. Air-conditioning. Talking to strangers. Beer in cans.

However, the old man vest with pockets was not a fashion item in the UK and Ireland.

Looking back at the last week, some of the highlights:

• Thomas land in Birmingham
  
• Coventry Cathedral ruins
  
• Stonehenge
  
• Westminster Abbey
  
• Cliffs of Moher
  
• Driving through remote mountains to Tully Cross
  
• Daughter's second birthday
  
• Guinness tour
  

Guinness was very good, but my wife likes Murphy s better. The best was in the tasting room where they pull straight from the plant.

Ireland-

We made it to Ireland. I am getting better at this driving on the wrong side of the road stuff. We drove out of Dublin north into some mountains. We had dinner in Londonkerry and stayed in Leterkiney. The second day was very long, driving down to the Cliffs of Moher then back up to a remote hotel in Tully Cross. The Cliffs of Moher were amazing to see. The area near Tully Cross was really inspiring, with mountains and lakes and sheep wandering around. Being at the 58th parallel, it was light until 10:30 so we had light on the way. My daughter had her second birthday, so we opened presents in the Cliffs of Moher parking lot and had her cake in a pub in Tully Cross. Guinness in a real Irish pub was quite a treat. Today we drove down to Cork to kiss the Blarney stone and tour the Blarney castle. I had a Murphey's at dinner since Cork is where they make it. Tomorrow is back to Dublin.

Guinness- Always good, but somehow better in Ireland.

Murpheys- Maybe even tastier than Guinness?

Beamish- Good too. I have not seen a stout in Germany.

Quiz at Irish Pub?

Monday was spent getting my students settled in. They have dorm and desks and money now. Andi and I took them downtown for a quick tour and some dinner doner. Another Malteser Weiss for me. Tonight I was invited out to an Irish pub for quiz night... So I assume it will be Guinness or black and tans, my favorite! Today was actually my first real day of work, and we accomplished a lot. It is amazing what you can do without tons of email and people and meetings and more and more and more. Update: Guinness, Black-and-tank, Nukie Brown. No Boddingtons.