Right. So here’s what happened. We intended to stay just 3 nights in Strasbourg before boarding our boat for the Rhine Cruise. But we got word the cruise is cancelled because of the Rhine’s low water situation. Plan B set into motion, but not without complications. We’re staying 2 extra nights in Strasbourg and 3 extra nights in Barcelona before we board our boat for the Mediterranean cruise. As we spend our weekend here in Strasbourg, we are thinking of another day trip somewhere or maybe just stay put here to check out the weekend food market or maybe even ride a small boat around Petite France. There’s also many Alsatian dishes to try here near the border with Germany. 😋
Notre Dame StrasbourgInside Notre Dame
Being “stranded” in Strasbourg isn’t a bad idea. This charming corner of France with a very rich and vibrant Franco-German heritage offers many picturesque spots like scenic river walks, centuries-old half-timbered houses, a majestic cathedral, pretty bridges, cozy cafes and brasseries. Petite France looks straight out of a fairy tale, sitting pretty along the Ill River. The Grand Rue that runs along the water is kept busy with pedestrians checking out the cheese stores, boutiques, bistros and cafes. It’s been a good week now in France and after Paris, it is nice to just relax and take leisurely walks with hardly a plan except to eat well and snap a few lovely photos as souvenirs of the Alsace Region.
Petite FrancePetite FrancePetite France
I should be updating this blog as we go along. For the moment, we’re cooling our heels around here. The morning showers aren’t exactly welcome but perfect days aren’t the norm. So there. And yes, we’ve been eating well. Food is French-German and we’re loving it. Watch this page.
Outside of Paris lies Colmar in the beautiful Alsace Region. Been in my bucket list for years, especially after looking at those lovely Alsatian Christmas markets . But what floored me more than its scenic landscape and pretty village is its true treasure, the Musee Unterlinden housed in a 13th century convent and what used to be a public baths building. The entire building keeps a massive collection but given our limited time, we concentrated on the breathtaking Isenheim Altarpiece. If only for these masterpieces by the German Renaissance painter Grunewald & carver Haguenauer, no one wonders why and how this Musee receives as many as 200,000 visitors yearly.
Collected from some churches, abbeys, convents and monasteries, the religious artworks were recently restored (2018-2022) and now on display in all its vivid colors. Impressive paintings and sculptures of the Nativity, Annunciation, Crucifixion and Resurrection were commissioned for a monastery hospital in Isenheim back in 1512-1516, and later moved to Colmar some 20 kms away in 1792 during the French Revolution.
It’s almost sinful to spend just an hour in Musee Unterlinden. Viewing the altarpieces and retablo alone can easily take 3 hours. The massive polyptych adorned the high altar of the monastery hospital’s Antonite chapel until the French Revolution. It is claimed that these masterpieces provided spiritual comfort to the sick and dying in the hospital. I haven’t heard about Grünewald and a quick search tells me he has not acquired as much fame as many Renaissance masters. Sad to think that he was not that popular then and even now but his works speak for themselves.
Lastly, the 13th century convent hosting this Musee Unterlinden is one impressive structure complete with cloisters and a basement where the public baths once were. I certainly need to brush up on this museum and its Isenheim collection as my knowledge prior to this visit is zilch. Watch this page for updates.
This wasn’t planned. On this trip, my travel mates booked an evening Seine cruise which I decided not to join. Took off on my own instead and checked in for a night of adoration at the Hôtellerie de la Basilique du Sacre Coeur de Montmartre. I never missed a visit to this lovely basilica up on a hill with every trip to Paris. No matter how tight the travel schedule is. I also try not to miss every First Friday Mass (and if possible, every Friday Mass) and novena to the sacred heart. When I learned the basilica allows vigils (from 11pm to 6am) and provides accommodation to volunteers at this guest house attached to the basilica, I readily signed up. Weekend vigils are almost always full but Mondays are relatively “lacking” in numbers. I booked a room — very spartan — and dinner prior to confession, mass, adoration and prepped myself for a night under the dome. At dinner, I met the staff and some volunteers. We were 15. So I assumed we can easily assign the adoration hours amongst us. It turned out more than half of the people around the table made up the staff. For a good hour, I think I was all alone inside the basilica. I could almost feel the echo of my laboured breathing and coughing. I stared at the lighted candles and mindlessly watched if the lights seemed to sway right or left. Wondered how the light flickered when there didn’t seem to be any wind blowing within the vast space. I didn’t trust myself to wander around under the big dome. I only managed to look behind me and panned the camera, hoping I won’t find any moving shadows. It was so eerily quiet. And very dark. Only the altar was lighted. Plus the candles. For a while, I wasn’t so sure about the passageway that connected the basilica to the hotellerie. Yay.
When I checked in at 4pm, I had time to rest in my room one level below ground. Very spartan. There was a window looking out to an empty space hemmed in by trees and a white statue of the sacred heart. Dinner was served one level lower. The bridgeway that connects to the basilica is one level above ground. So from my room, I needed to climb 2 flights of stairs. Around 8pm, the confessionals were kept busy. A priest must be taking his break, walking around the church. I approached him and asked if I can make a confession and he led me to his confessional box. Then the 10pm mass where this same father-confessor was the presiding priest. I stayed long after the mass. I initially counted 4 of us, maybe 5 as I detected a shadow behind me. Before long, all’s quiet and I felt alone. What a lovely time to pray. From the many church doors, I was trying to figure out which led to the bridgeway and prayed I won’t get lost. Oh, I admit I found a staircase beside the altar leading down and curious me took it. I climbed back up promptly when i sensed it was leading to a crypt. 😳
Every so often, I would travel with my family or friends and somehow manage to exclude myself from the group for some “me time”. This was my “me time” and I’m glad I was able to do this. It was kind of difficult to sleep as my senses were full on but it was a wonderful time to pray. Looking back, I wasn’t sure what I prayed about. I think I just sat there quietly and “listened”. And many happy thoughts wafted through my mind. The gratitude in my heart floated through, leaving me aware of how I actually ended up here. Nothing happens by accident. It appeared unplanned, but somewhere deep in the recesses of my mind, I felt “chosen”. I couldn’t ask for more. I am grateful to feel the way I do now.
The following morning, I skipped the breakfast provided for the volunteers and instead walked around Montmartre. I love this bohemian neighborhood with all its quirky cafes, tiny museums, creperies and brasseries. I just don’t enjoy the sloping streets especially when going uphill. And that Rue Lepic which snaked down to Pigalle which threw off all my sense of direction. I’ve never seen a street corner of the same street! Like Rue Lepic lying perpendicular to another Rue Lepic. Oh well. I’m only too glad with the discovery even if it made me lose track of where to go. So, heading back to our Paris crib now . But not before breakfast. Will I do this again? Why ever not? 🙏🙏🙏
Touchdown, Paris. It’s a Sunday so we decided we’d be off to hear mass after dropping our bags in the hotel. Meant to hear the 1130 mass in Notre Dame but the wait from landing to going through passport control and arriving in our hotel ruined our plans. The streets around the hotel near Champ Elysees were so crowded with dog walkers and our hotel transfer wasted precious hours snaking around detours. By the time we were ready to leave the hotel, we couldn’t even hail a cab. Taxi ranks overtaken by “The Sausage Walk 2026”. Yay, this is Paris indeed. Dog walkers all over the place. So we decided to instead take the metro to Hotel de Ville across Notre Dame. From there we walked towards our chosen restaurant for our Sunday late lunch across the Seine. Au Bourguignon du Marais did not disappoint. Walking along Rue de Rivoli to reach this bourguignon place meant passing by (and dropping in) some shops along Rue de Rivoli, a very trendy street in Le Marais. Tempting to stop for some retail therapy, but after a long flight and muscles begging for a stretch, lunch is the 1st order of the day. And make that a traditional French lunch. A very French lunch.
Beef bourguignon was the bistro’s signature dish and we certainly enjoyed that. Magret de Canard did not really stand out but the dishes that were served before the main entree were truly frenchy good. Love the escargot, the French onion soup and the ouef mayonnaise. More than enough for the four of us. Not bad for our first French meal soon after touchdown. I skipped my inflight meal having decided to sleep through my connecting flight but no luck on catching some winks on these flights. Sob.
The yummy starters before the real deal.
We passed on desserts since we planned to indulge in Carette after this heavy lunch but Carette had to wait. Our random plan to visit Musee Carnavalet ended so uncomfortably warm and humid. Don’t misunderstand — Carnavalet is certainly worth a visit (and it’s free) but temps hiked after our late lunch and it was unbearably warm and humid. We didn’t stay too long and upon exit, dragged ourselves to the nearby square, the oldest in Paris. Place des Vosges. Carette and Maison Victor Hugo are both just around the square but after a long sleepless flight, the rising humidity and the thick Sunday crowd, we lost energy and decided to call it a day.
The taxi that brought us home had to deal with closed-off streets and detours. Upon reaching our Paris crib, we were wasted. Ready to hit the sack. But not before a glass of vino rouge.
And just like that, we only have a couple of weeks before the year 2026 sets in. This early, we’ve mapped out some travel plans already for the coming year. Siargao in January. Kerala, India in February. Back to Sydney in March for quite a time, till June. And for the 2nd half of the year 2026, a river cruise along the Rhine. God knows where else we’d find ourselves in in between those planned trips. There’s Hokkaido and Medan, Indonesia in the drawing boards. And of course, that forever plan to watch Messi play — either with Inter Miami or with his national team Argentina for the coveted back to back win in the World Cup. Busy 2026? Perhaps busier than this year 2025. I’ve skipped many trips with my travel mates this year — choosing to spend more time and holidays with the family. All good. 👍
Hiroshima
Started 2025 with a trip to Fukuoka although we stayed in Hiroshima for the most part. Despite the grim reminders of the horrors of war, the white and pink Sakura blooms cheered us up all throughout that spring holiday. For the 3rd time, I visited Miyajima Island to enjoy once more the iconic Torii gate and the succulent oysters and eels the island is famous for. Back in Manila for the necessary preps for a bigger trip to Spain and France. This European holiday is my first trip with a grandnephew based in Sydney, plus a niece whom I wanted to introduce to the camino as well as take to Lourdes, France for some “spiritual experience”. From the Gaudi-inspired city of Barcelona, we took the train to Pamplona and met up with cousins to Saint Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles to Lourdes to Paris. It was time very well spent. The sightseeing, the pilgrimage walk, time with family, the art and culture aspects of a trip and most importantly, the bonding time while experiencing all these lovely adventures and creating happy memories.
Walking out of Saint Jean Pied de Port in France to cross the Pyrenees into Spain.
Soon after this European trip, I only had a few days to pack for another holiday. This time, in Bali, Indonesia where more kin from Sydney flew in to join me for 5 days of sun and sand. We made sure the trip is “senior friendly” as my 81 year old sister and brother-in-law are joining. That is not to say this newly-arrived (from a hectic trip) septuagenarian didn’t need a break. Quite honestly, I actually rested so well in Bali. It was truly a relaxing holiday after a fast-paced holiday with a younger set. Just what I needed!
With family in Bali.
Fukuoka in spring. Fukuoka in end of summer. Yes, I returned to this lovely city in September, this time with my “Apos” to attend my nieta’s art exhibit. But I hardly did anything outside of just being present. The twenty-somethings did all the planning, flight and tour bookings. Including all dining and shopping itineraries. Not bad. I can get used to this. We ate well, even if I thought we had too much coffee and ramen. I sat out the shopping part, but I enjoyed the new spots which the younger sets prefer. Besides, we are actually here for the Art Fair Asia Fukuoka !
Before the year ended, I joined my friends for yet another trip — to Kaohsiung in Taiwan. This is my first time here as I’ve only been to Taipei and nowhere else in Taiwan. Just a quick trip. Aside from shopping and eating, I only managed to visit Pier 2 Art Center. On 2 consecutive days, I visited the area which is just a short walk from the hotel we booked. Just as well. The pier is a massive place dotted with brick warehouses cum shopping and dining areas, and parks with very interesting art installations. I’m sure my young family members would love it here. But next visit, I’d be sure to time it during cooler temps. It’s hard to endure the sun in the open-air art spots. The afternoons by the river are more pleasant though.
Pier 2 Art Center. Kaoshiung, Taiwan.
And so, here ends 2025. How has it been? We look back with gratitude and look forward with hope. In a few, the year 2026 beckons. A third of the coming year is all planned out this early but the remainder is still there, leaving room for exploration. For adventure. For surprises. Oh, don’t we all love surprises? I am ready for the coming year. Are you? 💕🎉🙏🍾🚘💃✈️🚂🛳️⛱️🏕️⛰️🏝️
Woke up real early today for our 7:45 am flight for St. Petersburg. Good thing we got our suitcases in Lylah’s trunk the night before. Thank yous , hugs and kisses for our perfect hostess, Lylah Moonlight, and Emy and I were off to Russia via Paris.
From Paris, it was just another 3 hrs or so before we landed in St. Petersburg. Emy was held up in the airport immigration for a good half hour. By the time they released her and allowed entry to Russian soil, they have managed to tamper her passport presumably to check if her passport photo was not something surreptitiously slipped in!!! Gosh, you find a sea of unsmiling faces comprising your reception committee in this communist country and it’s enough to give you cold feet. Worse, there are no airport buses or shuttles to the city center. One has no choice but to negotiate with taxi drivers who seem to have all appointed a “Mafia Boss” for the taxi ride to town. For Emy and I, it was a whopping US $70 to get to Hotel Pribaltiskaja.
We were in the hotel way past 5 pm. Just enough time to get acquainted with the hotel facilities and enjoy a buffet dinner. From our Hotel window, we can look out to the Gulf of Finland. Over dinner, we met with a Filipino and Singaporean family who were on a tour which started in Helsinki, Finland. We all agreed dinner could be better. Actually, it was sloppy. These Russians have a lot to learn. And we are certainly not in a cheap hotel! Ours may not be in the city center but it’s one of the best they have in St. Petersburg. Good thing the 3rd world babes were too tired to complain.
St. Basil ‘s
September 8 Wednesday
Soon after our breakfast which we finished by almost 11 am, we were ready to take the hotel shuttle to town. From the drop off point near the grand colonnade of Kazan Cathedral, we entered the cathedral and witnessed a Russian wedding where the bridesgroom and bridesmaid each held a red crown over the heads of the bride and groom. I didn’t understand a word throughout the ceremony but I bet the groom is so very happy with his very beautiful bride. We then walked all along Nevskij Prospekt to the golden spire of Admiralty. Taking 360 degree turns, Emy and I took photos with the following in the background: Admiralty, Palace Square, and the Winter Palace which is home to the Hermitage Museum. For only 250 rubles equivalent to less than US$10, we joined a guided tour of the Museum with this English speaking museum guide. But let me explain the process: first you go to this office to say you want to join the tour, they give you a slip of paper to go to this window and pay, then you get back to the office for the tickets. Then you go through security and wait till your guide is ready with the touring party. I believe that is the communist way. Hmmmm.
The Museum is a must see. The extravaganza alone will bowl one over. You can imagine the tsars and tsarinas waltzing away the night in all those huge halls. The Jordan Staircase looks better on photo though, but what the heck, Emy and I took snapshots of each other on the staircase!!! Never mind that a Japanese group was ogling us as we tried to walk down the stairs like a Tsarina would. Hmmmp! Gosh, these Japanese are really all over town. And these Japanese tourists are getting younger and younger…….Back to the collections, these prove what a great shopper Catherine the Great was. From the Italian masters, to the Dutch painters, to the Spanish famed artists, and on and on. The whole collection spells W O W. I particularly liked the sculpture Crouching Boy by Michelangelo. We also didn’t miss da Vinci’s Madonna and Madonna Litta, Rubens’ Descent from the Cross (there are many other versions by other artists on the same theme, all equally good) and Rembrandt’s Abraham’s Sacrifice of Isaac and Portrait of an Old Man. There were also the contemporary works of Cezanne, Matisse, Monet, Degas, Gaugauin, Renoir, Pissaro and Picasso. The 1812 Gallery is as impressive as the military men’s portraits tried to convey machismo, along with the lavishly decorated Malachite Hall, Pavillion Hall and White Dining Room. Wow, these tsars and tsarinas really lived it up!
Church of the Spilled Blood
We were all but exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel. Kind of late since we passed by St. Isaac’s Cathedral too and by the time we got to the drop off in Kazan, the 6pm shuttle was already full and we had to wait another 20 minutes – in the rain – for the next shuttle. Oh, did I mention that on the way back to the shuttle pick up point, Emy had this “slip” ? It sounded more like she dropped her bag but gosh, she DROPPED along with the bag. No wonder it sounded like a real heavy thud! We really must be walking a lot…… When we got back to the hotel, we tried looking for the Placinos but the front desk said there was no one who checked in by that name!!!! After about an hour, we got a call from Robbie. They were in the hotel lobby and we asked them to come up to our room. What a reunion!!!! Maryann said she thought we would never have a chance to see each other again. Well, it was our luck to meet up again , and in Russia at this time at that! After some aperitif consisting of caviar sold by this Russian waiter for only $10 spread over some wafers I got from Czech Republic, we trooped down to the dining hall for dinner. Nothing exciting about Russian meals, I must say, but the company is superb! Naturally, we laughed to our hearts’ content on the Emy slipping episode. Poor Emy!
Before calling it a night, we agreed to meet the following morning at the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, also known as the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood.
September 9 Thursday
This one is a St. Basil’s Cathedral look alike, but I wouldn’t know that since I haven’t seen St. Basil’s in Moscow. Just the same, the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood with all its multi-colored onion domes and frescoed paintings is a great sight! The story goes that Alexander II was assassinated on the very spot and that the church served like a memorial for him. The Placinos joined us touring the interiors of this great church. One has to look up much of the time, craning one’s neck to appreciate the beauty all around……..truly marvelous. After this tour, we decided to do a bit of shopping in Gostinny Dvor and to check in on Alexandrinsky Theater, the oldest theater in Russia, to buy ballet tickets.
We managed to get tickets for the 7 pm ballet (Swan Lake with Kolegova as lead) before splitting up. The Placinos had to get their bags packed to board their boat for the cruise, while Emy and I decided to stay in the city center to explore. First we had lunch in a simple café in front of Alexandrinsky Theater where a lunch of Beef Stroganoff and Chicken Kiev was good for its moderate price. Not bad, until I ordered a cup of cappuccino which costs just as much as lunch! Really, I will never understand the Russian pricing system — from food to taxi fares to souvenir items. The good news though is that there was this sweet young waitress in the café who gave us tips on where to go and how .
And so, before the 7pm ballet performance, Emy and I managed to take the metro to go to the Peter and Paul Fortress, took photos of the Cathedral of Peter and Paul with its graceful spire, and a splendid panorama of the Admiralty and Winter Palace from across the River Neva. Taking the same metro back to Gostinny Dvor, we shopped again
until it was almost performance time. No chance to visit the Russian Museum right beside the Church of Resurrection nor Michail’s Palace and the Summer Garden. Swan Lake was in 4 acts; though there was some debate after the 3rd act if there is a subsequent act. We thoroughly enjoyed the ballet but gosh, how ignorant can we get!
Another experience awaited us before we split up. Emy and I negotiated with this taxi driver to take us back to Hotel Pribaltiskaja. First the driver quoted 30 euros which of course was simply exhorbitant! Down to 20 euros, until we managed to settle on 250 rubles or about US $10. All this haggling is taking a toll on my nerves. By the time we got back to the hotel, we were completely exhausted.
September 10 Friday
We got to the airport by 9am only to be told that we should go up the stairs to check in our big suitcases. No lifts! Wow, these Russians talaga!!! We found 2 porters, promptly tipped US$2 which brought big smiles on their faces, and got our bags checked in . While waiting, one of the 2 porters never stopped smiling at us that Emy and I were almost tempted to hand him more tips. There was only one departure lounge so we had to wait outside until the lounge is “cleared” by the previous batch of departing passengers. The Aeroflot plane ride from St. Petersburg to Moscow only took an hour and a half. The stewards looked like air marshals, the stewardesses looked either like spies or prostitutes. By the time we got to the Shereme airport and picked up our bags, we were deluged by waiting taxi drivers ready to haggle over the taxi fare. One even got this English speaking woman who fits a hustler’s role to a T to convince Emy and I that taxi fare from the airport to city center is fixed at 2000 rubles, about US $70. I haggled, but not so successfully, down to 1500 rubles or about US$50. Another stressful episode.
Sheraton Palace Hotel in Moscow’s Tverskaya Road is a haven. Most of the staff speak good English and the doorman (Pappie) , a huge black man, looks like an adorable bear. We only took some time to drop our bags, put some order in the room, get some fruits (free) near the lifts, and Emy and I were ready to explore. Pappie said it is just a 15 minute walk to the Red Square. Pappie was off by a good half hour!!!! By the time we got to Red Square, we found just enough time to take photos of the Kremlin Wall and the famous St. Basil’s Cathedral. It looks almost the same as the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg except that St. Basil’s has a lot of free space around it. It is a perfect photo op. Lenin’s tomb was already closed so Emy and I decided to go back the next day without our cameras as they don’t allow it. We walked back the same way along Moscow’s Tverskaya Streetwhich is the main shopping area. Along the way, we passed a number of Mc Donald’s , Pizza Hut, Benetton, and the awesome Yeliseyevsky Store, an ornate and elegant food store complete with chandeliers!!!! We bought some croissants and salami for breakfast the following day.
September 11 Saturday
No cameras slung on our shoulders, but heavily wrapped in leather and wool jackets, we made our way back to Red Square. This time, we took the metro. We got off at the Teatralnaya, which literally means Theater Square. And so it was, since the Bolshoi Theater is just across the metro station. There was this stocky man who asked me “What do you want to watch?” in a tone that demands your full attention. A squeaky voice (mine) said “ballet”. Then on the ticket window while inquiring on the ticket prices at Bolshoi, this guard stands right behind you in a manner that you feel this imaginary cell which does not allow you to make any abrupt motions lest you get it in the head from this guard. The end of this episode is we finally bought our tickets for ballet for 850 rubles, about US $30 for the 7pm performance tonight. If they charged us US$100, I’d probably be too nervous to complain.
We went back to the Red Square and lined up for Lenin’s Tomb. We were too late. Instead, we lingered over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before finally deciding to buy tickets for a guided tour of the Kremlin’s Cathedral Square. This again is a must-see in Moscow. Too bad we didn’t have our cameras with us. Our local guide Luva (meaning love in Russian) felt so sorry for us. There was the Cathedral of Annunciation where the royals were baptized and married , the Cathedral of Assumption where the royal heirs were crowned, and the Cathedral of Archangel Michael where the tsars were buried. The Cathedral of Annunciation was also the private chapel of the tsars and tsarinas and the church has a private passageway linked to the palace. There was also Ivan the Great’s Bell Tower in the Square. Not far from the Cathedral Square is the Tsar’s Bell. The largest bell in the world, it cracked even before the bell was rung. A few steps away we found the Tsar’s Cannon. The guards across were ready to blow their whistles as soon as a tourist takes even a half step beyond the ropes. And some yards before the exit, we found the tsars’ entertainment center all dressed up in multicolored domes and bright yellow painted walls. Oh, so much to see and no cameras!!! I promised myself I’d go back the following day with my camera even if that means having to pay for another ticket to the Kremlin.
Food in Russia must be so bad I can’t even remember where we had our dinner before the ballet. I think it’s in this fastfood in a department store called GUM. Again, I was confused with the Russian pricing system. You eat buffet dinner in a hotel for under 400 rubles, yet you pay as much as 900 rubles for a fastfood meal! I’m completely out of my wits……guess the Russians just price as they wish without real regard to value. Like a metro ride is just 8 rubles yet a taxi ride can rip you off at 3000 rubles.
Anyway, Giselle was only in 2 acts, and while we claim not to be experts, we are sure that the Bolshoi theater performance (Inna Petrova as Giselle, Dmitriy Gudanov as Count Albert) is better than the Kirov performance in St. Petersburg. The little pamphlet I got says the theater has been in existence since 1776. Nothing in the pamphlet offered any information about the theater siege in 2002 where Russian troops lobbed nerve gas into the theater and resulted in deaths of over a 100 including theater guests and tourists. While delighting in the ballet performance, we couldn’t help stealing glances at the Russian guards posted almost at every corner of the theater. They sure look oh so ready to pounce on anyone who makes a drastic move. That explains why we deliberately slowed our motions and tried not to make any abrupt movements. Going back to the hotel, we took the metro and happened to check in on some famous Moscow underground stations which are so lavishly decorated. Emy counted off some 17 lamp posts spread at 3 meter intervals as we plunged down an escalator to take the subway. Designed as bomb shelters, we were even more amazed to see chandeliers, stained glass, mosaics, and ceiling paintings in some train stations. Only in Russia, indeed!
September 12 Sunday
We found this huge Catholic Church some 15 minutes walk away from the Sheraton Hotel. Perhaps because they are a minority, it was so refreshing to see such devout Catholics gathered in prayer. After mass, Emy and I took off again to try our luck at Lenin’s Mausoleum. We got in line, but because we brought our cameras with us, Emy was held up in the gate and not allowed entry. I got lucky and passed the gate without a hitch even while I had 2 cameras in my bag! Bading adieu to Emy with a promise to be back soon so I can get her bag while she makes a dash for the tomb, I followed the line to pay my respects to Lenin. All around his tomb , they posted guards and trust me, each one is a Lenin look-alike, without the beard of course. But these guards could even pass off as wax figures, especially so since they hardly move, or even breathe!!!! Panting for breath, I managed to sprint back with a few breaths left to Emy despite one guard insisting that I get back on the line making out for the exit. I pretended not to understand, and when you’re panting for breath it’s easy to play dumb……Well, all’s well that ends well.
After this episode, we went back to see Luva to get on another tour of the Kremlin. Emy changed her mind even before Luva formed a group. She opted to do her shopping. I stayed, and met 3 Texan buddies with rounded bellies. With 2 cameras, I got real good fotos of Cathedral Square, the Tsar’s Bell and Tsar’s Cannon. The 3 Texans had no cameras so I took their pictures too and promised to email them the fotos. On the way back to the hotel, I bought some icons for pasalubongs(gifts).
September 13 Monday
Another rip off at US $100 for a 30 minute taxi ride that took us from the hotel to the airport. Again, Emy got held up exiting Russia….. this time , because her passport seems “tampered”. Of course it was, the Russians in St. Petersburg tampered it when we entered Russia!!!! Frankly, the first time we were hassled in St. Petersburg, I felt like it was really an ordeal. Got real worried then. This time around, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel if we were not allowed out of the country. For one, there were still a number of sights Emy and I missed. hmmmm………you like how I’m thinking? Well, Lady Luck either smiled at us or smirked at the thought, and we were finally out of Russia. As we settled in our seats on the plane, we reminisced over our Russian ordeal. Funny……….it’s hard to review this ordeal in our heads without remembering the wondrous adventure of stepping into the palaces haunted by Catherine the Great and the last Tsar Nicholas of Russia, or our funny misadventures watching the ballet performances in St. Petersburg and Moscow, the awesome and mind-boggling beauty of the Red Square and the Kremlin. Never mind that we didn’t really enjoy a decent meal in Russia, that we were hassled getting in and out of the country, or that we were ripped off by those taxis and limousine service. This is one adventure we truly enjoyed!
Emy and I feel almost sad to leave our Frauenfeld home, a home that is never locked at night, where neighbors’ voices are hardly heard, where the only noises you’d hear would be the washing machine spinning or the coffee beans grinding. Or our loud Filipino voices and laughter! Our dear Lylah, her hubby and 2 sons, have become our family in Switzerland for a few days.
Since we paid good money to join this Trafalgar tour, Lylah helped us stuff our bags in her car trunk once more, and dropped us off at our Zurich hotel (Hotel Renaissance). On the way to Zurich, Lylah showed us the sights in Wintherthur…..where Fredy was born and raised , where his father continues to live, where they also used to live and run a boutique, and where Fredy still runs a printing press. That same afternoon, we joined our bus for an orientation tour of Zurich’s old town which included Fraumunster and its lovely stained glass windows designed by Marc Chagall. Just across we found Grossmunster in its Romanesque splendor, which literally
means big (gross) cathedral (munster). Considered the “mother church” of Reformation in German-speaking Switzerland, the stained glass windows by Giacometti are just as lovely. The magnificent display of colors aptly complemented Giacometti’s Christmas story. Of course , we didn’t miss Bahnhofstrasse, considered Zurich’s elegant shopping street. Back in the hotel, we met Miranda our Tour Guide along with our fellow travelers on Trafalgar which included 9 USA-based Filipinos, 3 USA-based Koreans, 4 Australians, 2 Canadians, 3 Carribeans who found home in Florida, and Americans from Texas, Las Vegas, California. Miranda promised us a cheese fondue during the orientation meeting, but the fondue never made an appearance. We had chips and nuts.
August 28 Saturday
Early wake up call (gosh, the ordeal begins…..) for our motorcoach ride to Venice . Our Tour Director Miranda decided that we break our journey to do what we can do in Lucerne today while the sun is out. So, we took our lake cruise today . Then, some from the group joined the cable car ride to the mountaintop of Stanserhorn. Emy and I took the chance to instead explore the town where we found a small church, a market where we
Stanserhorn
bought bread, and a small grocery. We then took the Gotthard Route via Bellinzona, with a stopover in Lugano. Some snapshots again here and there in Lugano though the boys in the tour group were quite distracted by topless sunbathers in a nearby swimming pool by the lake. I like my picture with the Carribeans who call Miami, Florida their home now.
No stopover in Milan , which marks my first disappointment with Trafalgar! And there waiting in Mira near Venice was our 2nd disappointment. Hotel Il Burchiello should be spelled ILL Burchiello. This small hotel is so far away from Venice, has hardly any nearby tourist landmark, serves very bad dinners (both of the porkloin or dehydrated roast beef variety ) and even has this old waiter (he maybe the owner of the small hotel) who had the nerve to show his disgusto when Emy and I showed up late for dinner. How on earth Trafalgar rated this hotel among the “first class hotels” is utterly unfathomable. Two dinners in a row, and no seafood. And I thought we were in Venice!
August 29 Sunday
I won’t talk about dinner tonite in ILL Burchiello. It’s a bad ending for what is to be a very good day for Emy and I in Venice. This , despite the Tour Director’s not so subtle proddings for the 2 of us to join the rest on the gondola ride and lunch cruise to the island of Burano.
Where do I begin? First, we started the day with mass at St. Mark’s Basilica. The 9am mass in Italian in this Byzantine church on this sunny Sunday sets the theme for the rest of our journey throughout Europe. Today, I asked our good Lord to send us angels to guide us all throughout our trip and bring us back home safe and sound with happy memories. Which is exactly what we got, plus more. Emy and I walked around the Piazza San Marco and nearby alleys and found another church (St. Pancratius?) . Then we got ourselves a ticket to ride the ferry to Burano ….all for just 10 euros!!!! Wow, isn’t this a better deal than the 50 euros Trafalgar charged our fellow travelers for the lunch cruise to Burano? Wait till Miranda hears this!!!
With that in mind, Emy and I planned on a superb lunch in the island which we reached after some 45 minutes on the ferry and after 2 stops in Lido and Pta de Sabiano. Burano is truly a quaint little Italian island town…….with its small two storied buildings and shops in bright orange, sunny yellow, pastel pink , royal blue and even magenta shades! They even have the equivalent of the leaning tower of Pisa in the island. But the highlight of this side trip lies in the seafood lunch its well managed little bistros and osterias have to offer. Emy and I feasted on seafood pasta and fried fish so fresh, served by the very hospitable bistro owner cum waiter. Of course, my half liter of prosecco went well with the seafood lunch.
After a good lunch, Emy and I had good reasons to digest our superb lunch by shopping around. On full stomachs, we bought our venetian glass pendants, wristwatches in bright yellow, green and the more conservative choco brown leather straps. We also got some shawls, but not the lacy types Burano takes pride in . On our ferry back to San Marco, we decided to cancel plans to get off Lido and instead went straight back to join our group in San Marco. While sitting it out on the ferry , we saw our group’s private launch and thought we probably didn’t miss much fun. Nothing beats being with the locals, as we did on this ferry ride. The ride itself has many stories to tell….. from the patient father attending to his 2 little girls whose mother is in a real terrible mood she wouldn’t stop reprimanding the little ones, to the local teens who can do with some cologne, to the other tourists on board like us who wouldn’t stop spreading out and folding back their Venice maps.
At least, Emy and I didn’t feel so deprived when we faced off with our 2nd dinner at ILL Burchiello. We simply thought back of the superb lunch of fish and pasta we enjoyed in the island of Burano and the memory served us well. Besides, there’s all the watches and pendants we bought “to review” before calling it a night.
August 30 Monday
Another early wake up call. Breathing a sigh of relief that we are finally leaving ILL Burchiello and its stern looking hotel owner, we joined our motorcoach for the ride to Imperial Vienna, Austria. Our Tour Director really hyped about how grand our hotel lodgings are in Vienna, reminding all of us that the hotel used to be a Royal Guesthouse right beside Schonbrunn Palace. Having said that , I knew the hotel must be in the city suburbs rather than the desired city center. I still remember having made that metro ride from the city center just to visit Schonbrunn Schloss sometime in 2000. Well, the hotel is ok though the courtyard “described by Tour Director Miranda” is really simply that, a courtyard. Nothing fancy about it. But the breakfast area is really one for the books. Adorned with a stage intended for performances complete with heavy burgundy curtains, the breakfast room is the best part of the hotel. Our rooms are not air conditioned though, and we had to pray that it will get cooler at night so we need not sweat in our rooms.
A lucky break is our decision to go to Schloss Schonbrunn as soon as we got our bags in our rooms. Truly grand, the palace is a sight to behold. I got Emy to climb the stairs and do an “Evita” in one of the balconies. While our fellow travelers rested their limbs and soulfully unpacked their clothes or took their showers, Emy and I were in the Palace grounds happily snapping away! Good thing Emy finally got satisfied with her shots of this squirrel who just kept hopping away, we found time to visit the nearby St. Michael’s Church near our hotel. We heard mass in Austrian-German and repeated our prayers for a safe and fun journey.
On our way back to the hotel, we found this small café where we tried their “dumplings” to go with some pasta dinner, an experience that need not be repeated. Well, you can’t win them all. At least the café owner was very gracious.
August 31 Tuesday
Our first whole day in Vienna. Emy joined the optional tour of Schonbrunn Palace to see the interiors while I snored the morning away. By the time they were done, I was ready to join the ride to the city where a local guide showed us Hofburg Palace and nearby monuments and buildings. Snap , snap , snap for more photo shots. Too bad the Spanish Riding School is closed. That would have earned a visit from us.
I heard mass at St. Stephen’s Cathedral and texted Emy to find her way to the church where I am seated exactly on the left side of the nave, 13th pew. After mass, we shopped around before queuing up at the Hotel Sacher for the world famous sachertorte and sacherkoffee. What can I say? The coffee with the chocolate liquor is very very good. But I won’t miss the sachertorte. Never mind that the hotel keeps in its vault the “secret recipe” for the chocolate cake. Our local bakers can whip up a better chocolate cake. Besides, their staff are so unfriendly. I asked for water only to be told that I have been served 2 glasses already and that if I like, I should order mineral water instead. The nerve. The waitress even tried to seat Emy and I in the bar, which we flatly refused as we insisted on a table of our own. Ayayay……….these 3rd world babes won’t keep quiet.
Emy will be watching a concert tonight without me. I saw one the last time I was here. While waiting for the bus to pick us up to bring some to the concert hall and the non-joiners back to the hotel, we did a few more rounds in the city center. I wasn’t as lucky as the other time I was in Vienna in terms of shopping. I loitered around with fish and chips on hand, viewed the shop windows and found none interesting enough.
September 1 Wednesday
Today, we leave Vienna and cross over to capital of Bohemia…. Prague. Before reaching this Czech capital, we found time to stroll the gardens of Lednice Palace. The Italianate gardens are real pretty . I took the chance to have photos taken with my new friends from the tour group, the Korean couple Harry and Grace with Harry’s sister Jung. And also Roger who was traveling with his mom and stepfather.
In Prague, we stayed in this big but cold edifice called a hotel. The colossal hotel is very Communist in its coldness, but they have better meals and its buffet! Enough to warm our hearts and deprived stomachs. After a good dinner, we joined the optional illuminations tour with a local guide. Caspar is one exacting, but thoroughly efficient tour guide. He measures his words, never more , never less. And all in a “what you need to know” basis. If I were to write a novel about some Czech spy, Caspar with an almost subtle limp will be that character. He showed us Hradcanny Castle grounds, took us on this small train ride that brought us to the old town square (Stare Mestro) where the Tyn Church, very Bohemian Gothic in architecture, dominates the entire Old Town Square.
On our way back to the hotel in the fringes of the city (where Tram No. 8 ends) , we couldn’t help but notice how lively and vibrant nightlife is in Prague. The many students going to university in this capital probably explains it. But I will likely place my bets on the fact that this Bohemian capital boasts of many good jazz clubs and reasonably priced beers! The small alleys and bends are littered with tiny pubs and jazz joints. Wish Emy and I braved going out and trying out these pubs! Perhaps, another time.
Still in Prague, enjoying a hearty breakfast. Soon after, Caspar gave us a city tour starting with the Hradcanny Castle. In full daylight, we saw the palace grounds dominated by the towering St. Vitus Cathedral and St. George’s Basilica. Caspar explained that the uniforms of the Palace guards were designed by the same celebrity costume designer for the movie “Amadeus”. Hmmm, it pays to have an artistic and talented playwright as the president of the country. Such dramatic flair can only be President Vaclav Havel’s. Caspar didn’t fail to tell us also that much of the film was actually shot in Prague, rather than in Salzburg where Mozart was born or in Vienna, where he stayed . Oh, one last thing: Mozart conducted the premiere of his “Don Giovanni” in Prague no less in 1787!!! Richard Wagner also gave guest performances in this Bohemian capital.
Passing by the Toy Museum, we went through the old castle steps and found our way back in the Old Town Square to view the Stare Mestro in full daylight. This time while waiting for the Astronomical Clock of the Old Town Hall strike the hour and do its parade of the 12 apostles. This main attraction in the Old Town Square is worth the neck-breaking wait for the clock to strike the hour. After this, we were given time on our own for lunch and some shopping. Emy and I found ourselves buying corn on the cob which managed to drip on Emy’s jacket, blouse and shoes. Too tired to notice? Obviously not, as we still went shopping for Infant Jesus of Prague ceramics, old black and white Prague photos lovingly framed, and other souvenir items. Lunch was in a small Chinese restaurant we found near a supermarket . Rice, glorious rice!! After lunch , we tried looking for marionette theaters only to learn that most marionette plays are in the evenings. We stopped ourselves short of going to Wenceslaw Square and lost our chance to pass by the lovely Franciscan Gardens and the majestic National Museum. Our feet won’t carry us any further.
As Caspar instructed, we went through the only street shaded with plane trees, straight up to the hotel with many flags just before a bridge with a metronome (our 2nd meeting place) . Very precise. Very exact. We waited by a bronze statue of a woman with her right hand reaching out as if asking for alms. Naturally, we couldn’t resist posing exactly like the statue. There were other tourists there but only we posed that way. It must be a Pinoy thing.
Next we went to Karmelitska Street where we found the Infant Jesus of Prague, a Spanish Renaissance gift given to the Church of Our Lady Victorious. This was the first Baroque church in Prague. While intended for use by German Lutherans back in 1611, the Church fell to the Catholic Carmelite Order. It has since been a destination for pilgrims from all over the world. It also soon became a favorite hangout for pickpockets . Someone in our tour group had a bad experience of having her bag picked. Good thing she sensed it and the Filipina beside her pushed the thief who dropped her wallet. Gosh, they are everywhere in Paris, Rome, Madrid, and now in Prague.
Then , Caspar brought us to the Opera House where an old humorous man insecure with his limited English showed us around . The performance hall was impressive, but the highlight of the tour should really be the way this funny septuagenarian gave a history of the place accompanied by his piano “recitals” for us all. He was just too funny in his eagerness to please us with his own renditions of Mozart’s great classics.
Finally, we found ourselves in Mala Strana , the Little Town or Small Quarter which is a good anteroom to the magnificent Charles Bridge. Awesome. Just awesome. We could have enjoyed staying longer on the bridge but the fear of pickpockets along with many artists vying for tourists’ attention somehow stains our respect and awe for these marvelous monuments and historic bridges. It was difficult to digest the beauty of the place while holding dearly to one’s pockets.
After this, we were again on our own, strolling around and accidentally finding the Rudolfinum which houses the Dvorak concert hall along the Vlatva River . This neo-Renaissance building honors the 2nd Czech musical genius. Heading for the only bridge with the metronome, we found ourselves too early for the rendezvous. So we strolled along the banks of the Vlatva River, had a cold soda which Emy thinks is too expensive, and enjoyed the breeze.
Before calling it a night, there was also time to drink a few but heavy mugfuls of beer in this pubhouse where this Czech accordionist played music and entertained us. If you ask me, I would have appreciated instead a saxophonist jazzing up some music for us. Incidentally, Tour Director Miranda promised us a Folklore Dinner Show which never came. We overheard her asking the hotel staff if there is a group performing tonight and the hotel staff said no. When someone in the tour group reminded her about the promised folklore show, Miranda lied through her teeth and said it’s no good anyway. At this point, her credibility with Emy and myself plummeted down to zero.
September 3 Friday
A not so early morning wake up call. It’s not too far from Czech to Munich , I guess. We passed by Pilsen as if to remind us that we are moving from the Bohemian beer capital to the German beer capital.
While on the motorcoach, we saw some of Munich’s monuments as well as the Olympic area. We were dropped off in this square with another astronomical clock to wait for the appointed hour for some “parade of statues” much like what we found in Prague. Before then, I took the time to go to the St. Joseph’s Church and yet another church whose name I can’t recall. It’s a bigger church and I found an Adoration Chapel inside with some devout Catholics singing hymns . I felt like there were angels singing a sweet melody. Then it was time to head back for the square to watch the clock strike the hour and this time the “parade” included a joust ….. some medieval story to tell and it spanned some 8 minutes I think. No wonder, the Australian Noreen, lost her battery while trying to film the whole episode. She claims her camera’s battery went dead just seconds before the highlight of the parade. I craned my neck to the very last minute and worried I couldn’t put my head back in its normal place . After the clock spectacle, the tour group is supposed to assemble in the middle of the square for a walk down to the Hofbrauhaus. I took time to get inside the Town Hall and take some shots , only to find the whole group waiting for moi. Oops…….
We found Hofbrauhaus with the oom pah pah band as just another hall with people downing mugs and mugs of beer. What is so awfully wrong here is that we were in such a great place with what seems to be a good band with some really good beer to drink , but at the wrong time! We could have done better going to the Hofbrauhaus after , and not before our German dinner of beef with red cabbage or pork accompanied by that very German sauerkraut. And speaking of dinner, we had a real lousy and salty German dinner. It must be the place…..I mean, I am sure we could have found a better place serving better German food. Urghh….and we all looked forward and paid good dollars for this optional dinner!
September 4 Saturday
From Munich to Lucerne, we had a late start which is a welcome relief! On the way to Lucerne, we made a stopover at Liechstentein. Many from the group paid for stamps on their passports. Emy skipped that and instead explored the very small principality. Emy shopped for some items while I strolled around and found this Liechsteinstein National Museum. The principality didn’t have much to offer though.
This and only this time, Trafalgar billeted us in a hotel within the city center. Can’t go wrong with a hotel just a few meters away from the famous Chapel Bridge of Lucerne. Emy and I took the chance to have our snapshots with the bridge in the background as well as walk through the bridge to cross the river and hear mass in this Catholic Church in Lucerne. It was a lovely mass with lots of singing. The Swiss couple beside me were so nice they kept pointing out to me the pages so I can sing along with them. But everything was in Swiss German, so how? Well, I tried. They hardly noticed.
After the mass, we took the same route to get back to Hotel Flora. We were lucky to have a group comprising some Philharmonic orchestra billeted in the same hotel. It’s a small hotel and it’s pleasing to listen to some of these orchestra members “rehearse” in their rooms.
September 5 Sunday
Many in the group have left early morning for the bus ride to the Zurich airport. Only about 6 of us stayed behind to enjoy a late breakfast. The Canadian couple are excited over their holiday extension in Engelberg, while the Australians Noreen and Jacky had an early start for Interlaken. Emy and I eagerly waited for Moonlight Lylah to pick us up for our trip down south to Saas Fee to view the oldest glaciers.
And so it went that our breakfast served as an early lunch. Brunch , if you like. By the time Lylah fetched us, we were bursting at the seams. The vistas from Lucerne to Interlaken are fabulous. Very blue waters (even more blue than Austria’s Blue Danube) with sailboats dotting the lakes. Then some 3 hours of driving towards Goppenstein…. On land, across the mountain on the Kandersteg (auto on rails!), on land again. It was some experience to ride the Kandersteg, and it only cost SwF25 each way. But alas, we missed the ice grotto in Saas Fee by just 10 minutes. All because we made the mistake of circling the small town to get to the cable car terminal. We could have just taken the lift in the parking lot and headed straight for the cable cars, but no luck. Oh well, at least we saw the small Swiss chalets, the old wooden stilts, the bobsleigh rides, and this noveau ride where one hangs from a rope much like you’d pin your laundry on a clothesline and slide real fast from end to end. So much for adventure…….When I told Fredy we missed him on the ride down to Saas Fee, he said “Then I would have missed the ice grotto as well…” Ho hum, swiss humor.
On our way back to Frauenfeld, we stopped by this hotel-restaurant called Brunig-Kulm Gasthaus for our much coveted Cheese Fondue. Wow. White wine, a variety of cheeses mixed with wine and kirsch, bread lumps, and voila! Hmm, what joy! And we ate dinner with this whole vista of mountains ! Of course we left room for very Swiss dessert called Vermicelle Rahm or something made of chestnut paste looking like pasta strips topped with merengue! Oh wow……never mind that we missed the ice grotto. Gives us a good reason to be back in Switzerland.
September 6 Monday
After a late night, we slept through most of the morning. Then we did the laundry. Emy and I took turns hanging our clothes to dry. Good thing the sun’s out. We need clean clothes for our Russian tour!!!!
By this time, our minds are set on the trip to St. Petersburg and Moscow. After the ordeal of getting our Russian visa, we thought we just go ahead as planned despite the disturbing news on Russia. It wasn’t enough that 2 Russian domestic planes crashed minutes apart, there was the more unsettling Beslan school siege where more than a thousand , mostly children, were held hostage by Chechen rebels. We can only pray again that God will keep us safe and healthy, and surround us with His angels to protect us from harm.
Tonight’s farewell dinner with our Swiss family consisted of baked veal smothered with herbs and that famous Rosti which is really the Swiss equivalent of hash brown. Except that it tastes much better. We also had more cheese varieties to complement our meal: Emmi Apero Brinz (very expensive), appenzeller extra, Thurgauer Rohmkose, and Bonaparte. Impressed? I got all these cheese titles from Lylah’s grocery receipt!!!! And then there’s the Sprungli chocolates for dessert. More wows for our gracious hosts. She really made sure we got our Swiss holiday.
After missing out on the Cosmos’ Russian River Cruise to join the Placinos (which got fully booked one year prior to departure) , change in Trafalgar bookings for lack of time to secure all the visas, and the ordeal relating to the issuance of the Russian visas, Emy and I are finally ready for our holiday. Emy was running late but arrived at the airport with time to spare for a heavy snack of gyoza and chicken sotanghon. Our first wise decision……we were served dinner at 9pm yet on our Air France 161 flight for Paris. All of 16 hours with hardly a wink, plus another 1 ½ hr flight from Paris to Zurich. Wide awake on the plane, we hardly resisted all the meals served. We arrived in Zurich with a bloated stomach or distended intestines or both, and facial skin so dehydrated it is crying out for moisturizer.
August 23 Monday
Only my good friend Lylah looked good among us 3 girls on this morning’s 8:50 am arrival in Zurich. What a relief that Lylah found a parking slot very near the arrival gate! We may just have one big suitcase each, but Emy and I hardly have the energy to load our luggage into Lylah’s trunk. It took a real full breakfast of croissants and cold cuts in Lylah and Fredy’s Fraunfeld house some half hour away to raise our energy levels back to normal.
Today being a sunny day and a cloudy forecast for the next 3 days, Lylah decided to drive Emy and I straight up to the mountains . We somehow got lost on our way, what with all the chatting while driving in between munching Lindt chocolates, but we finally managed to get to Schwagalps to catch our cable car ride from there to the mountaintop of Santis. (Fredy said he cannot manage to get lost even if he planned to…..some Swiss brand of humour here) We’re glad Lylah insisted on doing this trip today as our “introduction to Switzerland”….. the views from the mountaintop plus the cable car ride, was simply amazing. Before our eyes spread a whole panorama of snowcapped mountains with Lake Constance in the background. It was just so postcard-pretty. Of course, Emy can’t join Lylah and I up to the very top….. the altitude plus the howling wind didn’t help to calm her nerves……but we managed to take good photo shots with Emy literally hanging by my sleeve. From the top, we can scan some mountain climbers with unbelievable stamina and courage. And not all of them are young. Emy, Lylah and I can only look at each other with an exasperated “shame on us” look. At the foot of the hill, we took pictures in front of Berghotel Schwagalp and dropped in on this little cheese shop.
On the way back to Frauenfeld, Lylah brought us to this quaint little town called Appenzel. It’s a very charming town with old wooden houses decorated with bright paintings just like what one would see on postcards. Lylah pointed out that this town of local farmers-artists are known for their naïve paintings, samples of which we found in many souvenir shops. We were even so lucky to find a band playing in one of the small country hotels there. The bandmembers wore traditional red jumpers (for lack of a better term), hats trimmed with flowers (Lylah claims they’re edelweiss) and dangling earrings (just on one side) with this cute little spoons. Oh yes, these men wore dangling earrings! We also found this really old wooden house (built in the 16th century) near a small square from where we strolled to cross the town center. There were window shops with cow bells, embroidery, naïve paintings, etc alongside a bank ATM machine which I naturally didn’t ignore. Oh, the wonders of techno-banking!
Home in Frauenfeld in time for dinner with the boys. We also met the house pet “Odin” whose meows get louder when he sees the mistress of the house. The ‘Welcome to Switzerland’ dinner of bratwurst, schublig, cervelat and many other sausages and cheeses I can’t name was just superb! Take that with generous helpings of artichoke salad littered with plump olives. With this kind of dinner, Emy and I knew it’s impossible to grow hungry in Frauenfeld.
August 24 Tuesday
In true Lylah’s tradition, there is no wake up call. Without planning to, I woke up too early and took the chance to stroll around the Abendweg area. Ms. Moonlight wakes up just before noon…..and happily whips up a hearty omellette with parsley that go so well with the croissants earlier baked by Fredy. Emy and I have by this time learned where the sausages, tete des moines and nostrano salamis are stored, and shamelessly picked what we like .
Today’s excursion included a trip to Schaffhausen just northwest of Fraunfeld. Here we saw the largest waterfall in Europe. They are impressive as they are noisy. Climbing up and down the stairs to get different views of the “Chutes du Rhin” (Rheinfall) again reminded us girls how physically unfit we were. Just a short car ride from Schaffhausen is the medieval town of Stein am Rhein. Here we found the frescoed, half-timbered centuries-old houses we have often read about in many travel books. We strolled around this quaint charming town that is simply so “European”. The old world charm just wows you. And while being wowed, Emy gets her first “lecture” on how to operate her borrowed digital camera.
A waterfall and a medieval town…..the adventure doesn’t stop there. We crossed over to Germany over Lake Constance with our car joining us on that short ferry ride towards Meersburg/Bodensee. SwF15 one way and you get your car to cross the lake. By this time, Lylah thought we are now ready for a German seafood dinner and Meersburg is just the right place. A Filipina waited on us in Restaurant Zum Anker and helped us order a sumptuous dinner of egli (perch) and felchen (fera), both presumably fished out of Lake Constance. We each had a piece of the delicious egli smothered with almond slivers and shared the felchen cooked in a savoury sauce as well as the ramschnitzel served with spatzli, which are boiled pasta dumplings that don’t look like dumplings at all. More like pasta in broken sizes! We stuffed ourselves real good…..excellent dinner.
August 25 Wednesday
Today we head for Germany again via several detours, passing St. Gallen, Lindau, Isny, towards Fussen to visit Hohenschwangau and Neuchsweinstein Castle built by Mad King Ludwig II of Bavaria. This fairy tale castle is always featured in travel books as the prototype of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in Disneyland. Many times, I have planned to go to this castle in the middle of a forest (or so it looked in the pictures) but always missed out on the chance for this sidetrip. Finally, I’m doing this side trip! After 3 hours on the road
and after a good snack of apple and white cheese struddle at Schlosshotel Lisl, we took this 15 minute uphill bus ride. We got off the bus on this fork which leads to Mary’s Bridge or the Castle. We took the road downhill towards the castle, joined the guided tour and sympathized with Mad King Ludwig II whose love and life story is simply heartbreaking. Story aside, this trip once again physically challenged us . We thought we’d drop from sheer exhaustion. The only break I got was when I asked this fellow to take my picture with Hohenschwangau Castle in the background. He did just that; except that my entire face dominated half of the picture frame. My nose is as big as the castle in the background 🤣
All that walking up and down made us decide to reward ourselves with yet another good dinner. Breakfast in Switzerland, lunch in Germany and dinner in Austria …. That’s how we planned it. It took sometime though to find a good eating place in Bregenz, Austria which borders Switzerland. Finally, we found Wienerwald where we were served goulash, wiener schnitzel and another dish (T…..rosti?) I can’t recall.
So far, the Swiss and German dinners are better. We got home past midnight.
August 26 Thursday
We didn’t wake up Lylah and let her sleep through the whole morning. After all, she was driving the whole day yesterday! After brunch, she took us shopping. No crazy adventures today, no long drives, just a simple shopping day for us.
But not that simple. Dinner tonight is the best we’ve had in this whole trip. Though served only during winter, we had our raclette tonight!!!! The variety of cheese along with a bottle of good white wine, plus the assortment of pickles …….. wow, what a dinner. Melting cheese over boiled potatoes accompanied by pickled young corn, onions, gherkins, olives etc. is truly a Swiss adventure all its own. Marvelous dinner! Emy and I worried we won’t get up the following morning.
August 27 Friday
Emy and I feel almost sad to leave our Frauenfeld home, a home that is never locked at night, where neighbors’ voices are hardly heard, where the only noises you’d hear would be the washing machine spinning or the coffee beans grinding. Or our loud
Filipino voices and laughter! Lylah and Fredy , plus the 2 boys, have become our family in Switzerland.
Fredy and Lylah Rutschmann have been such fine hosts and Emy and I truly appreciate their kindness and hospitality. More than that, these two made sure we truly gained a very Swiss experience from the places we visited, to the friends we met, and finally to the food we ate! God bless the Rutschmanns!
Look at these pictures. It’s not some Ku Klux clan rally or some costume party or some parade. This is a Good Friday procession in the heart of Seville, Spain. We stayed in Hotel Don Paco, and right in front of our hotel, some 4 to 5 processions must have passed. Carried on the shoulders of locals called “costaleros” , the pasos(religious statues) weaved through the narrow streets from almost all corners! Behind and in front of the pasos walked locals called “nazarenos” wearing capes as you’d see in these photos. Some are in white capes, others in purple, some in blue, and many others in black and green . From our hotel , we watched as all these processions emerged from all streets………..and seemed to merge in the plaza near the shopping center (Serpies). Not too far away, we found a St. Joseph’s chapel where we heard Good Friday mass . It was ironic that the streets outside were fully packed with crowds of all ages, and then find many vacant seats inside the church. Among the churchgoers were senior folks, young children obviously towed by their grandparents, and us. The other adults and young teens were all out in the streets watching the religious processions and then disappeared into the many tapas bars all around Sevilla. A bit sad about this, but then times have changed. Walking back to our hotel, we got stuck with more processions.
City Tour of Seville
The following morning, our local guide Carmen toured us around Seville, starting with Casa Pilatos which sadly pales in comparison with Alhambra. But of course. Yet it is not bad at all. Then there is the cathedral with the Giralda Tower which only happens to be the 3rd largest Gothic Cathedral and the biggest altar in the world after St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican , and St. Paul’s in London. The Cathedral also happens to be the resting place of Christopher Columbus. And then there is the Alcazar, the royal palace where Muslim taifa rulers and Christian monarchs including Pedro I (Peter the Cruel) lived. Before calling it a night, we went to watch a Flamenco Show in this place crowded by tourists of almost all nationalities. The ticket to the Patio Sevillano show already included a glass of diluted wine or some diluted juice. The show started with 4 female flamenco dancers, each one good. It was wonderful to watch the dancers’ agility with the fans, castanets or even their shawls! But the best was the solo performance of this male flamenco dancer who sweated through his routine. He stomped the floor like there was no tomorrow, he flipped his hands better than the women dancers, his back arched more than any other. That performance alone, makes it worth it. Such intensity!
A famous landmark in Seville is the Plaza Espana in Maria Luisa Park where they had the 1929 American – Iberian Exhibition marking 500 years since the time Christopher Columbus discovered America. Truly a panorama of tiled ballustrades, fountains, towers, etc. Most of the lovely buildings were converted into embassies. We took many of the photos on this spread in this park.
Lunch meant more tapas and a good paella. But we were finding it difficult to appreciate the paella here as we were not used to a very wet paella. Perhaps that is really how the Spaniards cook their paellas? Mind you, we have tried many while touring around Spain.
Here in Sevilla, it was not different. It was just as wet as the other paellas we have tried. But then, there were the many tapas to try. Jamon Iberico, quezo manchego, and those baby eels. Hmmm. Yummy.
Remember the opera “Carmen”? Our guide reminded us of this young maiden working in a tobacco factory where 6,000 other women worked, and which magnificent building now houses a college in Seville. This is very near the Sevilla Pavillion which by the way, now houses a casino. And here’s some trivia from our local guide: Lope de Vega, Cervantes and Shakespeare all died in the same year. Hmmm. Okay.
The next day, we left Sevilla soon after breakfast on our way to Lisbon, Portugal. Two hours into the ride, we reached the border. Before crossing, we stopped by this village where they make my favorite ham : Jamon Iberico de Jabugo. What makes it so special? Hogs used to make this ham are fed acorns! After this, you can forget Jamon Serrano.
Spain is one country certainly worth visiting. But if there is one area where we would choose to stay longer, that would be Sevilla. Tapas, flamenco, jamon jabugo. If you get lucky, you may even watch a bullfight.
Who wants to go through all the trouble of securing a UK visa for a day trip to the Rock of Gibraltar? In my home country, a UK visa is as rare as a visa for the US, and costs quite a lot. A day in the Rock of Gibraltar does not do justice to the nearly US$100 we paid for the visa to enter this UK colony.
The Rock
The Rock is a crown property of United Kingdom in the southern coast of Spain. This limestone promontory juts out into the Strait of Gibraltar and on a clear day, one can enjoy a glimpse of Northern Africa across the Strait . History claims that the area was named after a former slave Tariq who led an army guarding the Rock. Natives thus called the rock Jabal Tariq, which meant Tariq’s mount. Through the years, Jabal Tariq assumed the name Gibraltar. It is interesting to mention that before Columbus discovered America, Gibraltar was thought to be the end of the earth. In fact, the Spanish town Tarifa actually means end of something in Arabic. It was thought then that if one were to go beyond Tarifa, one would fall over the edge of the earth!
With its extended tunnel system or underground passages, the site proved to be a keystone in defending the area against the Germans during World War II. Such military significance inspired the saying “solid as the rock of Gibraltar” . In fact, Prudential Financial uses the Rock as its logo to signify how solid the company is!
Hell Lady Driver from Gibraltar
With 40%!o(MISSING)f the land area classified as nature preserve, there was very little area and very little to do within the Rock. We took a taxi driven by a 67 year old hell of a driver grandmother cum tourist guide. Cost us 20 euros to zigzag our way up to the highest point . Right on this site, we found the “Two Pillars of Hercules” . The myth went that one of the pillars rests on the Rock , while the second pillar rests on the African side.
We visited one of the hundred caves that can be found in this peninsula . The most famous are St. Michael’s Cave and Gorham’s cave. The stalactites are really no different from the usual, and we found ourselves out of the cave soon enough , only to find that the place at the mouth of the cave is littered with monkeys. My apologies, but I was never a big fan of monkeys. Especially the unruly kind. One even got comfortable sitting on the head of one of the elderly ladies. There were so many we felt crowded out. So we decided to take the cab down and simply check out the shops. Just an hour and a half strolling around, and that was it for our adventure on this rock fortress. If we had a chance to stay a couple more days here, I am almost sure we’d run out of things to do. So there. Been there, done that.
