Castle hill at night


Sophie and mom on the Charles bridge with castle hill in back


Inside St. Vitus on castle hill


A funky one-man-band playing on the Charles bridge.


Sophie asleep in the Jewish quarter in Prague


Sophie helping dad steady the umbrella during a sprinkle


Hanging with dad in Prague


Old town square in Prague


St. Nicolas church in Prague


The old town from castle hill


Tyn's church and historic buildings of Prague

We spent three awesome days in Prague. What an amazing place. From Prague we drove three hours south to a little hamlet called Cesky Krumlov. Krumlov was important at one time in the past but for many reasons it fell into sedation between the 1700 and 1945. It was mostly inhabited by Germans and was one of Hitler’s rationales for “re-taking” the Sudetenland at the start of WWII. Well, after the war the Czechs booted all Germans out and Krumlov basically became a ghost town. I’m sure its castle was never abandoned but the town itself fell into decay. Then in the 80’s tourists discovered the place and it’s been a hit ever since. So it really feels like you’re in a time warp there. In the historic part of town, filling a bend in the river, everything is 3 to 5 hundred years old.


Where's Sophie?


Family picture at Cesky Krumlov


The town of Cesky Krumlov


Sophie after mom and dad ate all the cotton candy - she gets the cardboard stick, and is perfectly happy


Anneka outside the Baroque theater of Krumlov castle and the view of the town

The castle is what you go to Krumlov for. It is a sprawling complex only slightly smaller than that of Prague. Considering Prague’s importance for centuries it is pretty impressive to be second largest and be so small a town. One of the castles most amazing features is its Baroque theater. It is the most well preserved Baroque theater in the world. Like I said earlier, the place essentially fell into disuse centuries ago so they packed up all the theater equipment, the costumes, the special effects stuff and turned the lights off and closed the doors. They started restoring the place in 1962 and finished, partially, in 1996. The theater only opened then.
Almost as amazing as the theater was our tour guide. She was a spritely older lady that tried through extensive use of make-up to look 30 years younger. I thought she looked like a spritely older lady with way too much make-up on. Anyways, her English was quite good but you could tell she learned of an exceptional way of expressing grandeur by using the word “wonderful” a lot - a whole lot. What made it so special is that she didn’t say wonderful she always said, in a booming voice, “Bunderful!” The theater is the most bunderful in the burld. You people are bunderful. Cesky Krumlov is bunderful. Bebberyting is bunderful! I don’t really know what she talked about on the brief tour. I just kept hearing sentences punctuated by loud and excited “Bunderfuls!” It was incredibly comic. She had eyed Sophie a lot during the tour and as we left guess what she said Sophie was?

“A bunderful little boy!”

The theater is very dimly lit for reasons of preservation and they also keep the lights low to mimic what it would actually have looked like in the 1700’s. So I guess that’s a good reason for Sophie’s gender to have been misinterpreted despite her blazingly pink outfit.

The town is a great little place to stroll around in and so stroll we did. After spending the night we hopped in the car again to make the trip to Innsbruck, Austria. It’s about a 4 hour drive and we stopped in the middle at Salzburg just for grins. We took some pictures of Sophie at the Mirabel gardens famed for their appearance in The Sound of Music. After a couple hours there we got back in the car to finish the drive. It was another two hours to Innsbruck. We got in a bit late and just went to bed.


Little Miss in Salzburg


Where's Sophie?


Salzburg in the early evening


Sophie having an after dinner snooze at Mozart's house in Salzburg


Curious George


The Cindrich's at Mirabel Gardens on our very mini Sound of Music tour

Next day was a bit overcast in the morning as I went out to find breakfast. Just walked into the tourist center of town turning neither left nor right and ran straight into the McDonalds. I got something to eat and to bring something back for the girls. Then we left to explore. It started to sprinkle a bit then sprinkling turned to rain. We dove into a pricey church to see the tomb of the Holy Roman emperor Maximilian. We’d actually never even heard of him but he’s got a nice tomb as tombs go. Sadly he bankrupted himself building it while still alive so when he died they didn’t bury him in it because I guess it wasn’t paid for. So now it’s just a pricey tourist stop. Innsbruck isn’t famous for its sites since it hasn’t got many so the rain didn’t preclude us from seeing virtually everything.


Loving my nifty plastic cover - keeps me dry and prevents me from tossing Teddy Lion out


The church where Maximilian is buried, sort of

We could have gone to Max’s palace but the guidebook said not to if you been to a couple others in the area. We’d been to those others so we opted out. Instead we hopped in the car for the drive through the Alps to Bolzano, Italy. It was overcast, gray and rainy as we left and about 68 degrees. In about the hour and a half it took to get to Bolzano it turned to sunny and about 92 degrees. The only complaint is that on the Austrian side of the mountains it was hard to see the mountains themselves, or at least the dramatic peaks. But the scenery was breathtaking otherwise. I totally lolly-gagged my way to Bolzano just soaking it up. We got to Bolzano in the early afternoon and checked into a really modern Sheraton property in the business district. It has a rooftop pool and nice views of the surrounding mountains. We went into town to walk around and see one of the city’s main attractions – the Iceman. The Iceman is a 5,500 year old dude that was discovered at like 10,000 feet in elevation by some German hikers back in 1991 or 1992 I think. Anyways, they find this guys head and torso partially sticking out of the snow so they snap a picture then go tell the authorities. They come up in a helicopter and with pick axes and hack what they think is a dead hiker out and put him in a body bag and take him down. Only later do they realize that they’ve found the most well preserved human ever. The scientists were pissed at the way the whole thing was handled because as the local sheriff type guy hacked him out of the ice they damaged parts of him extensively. This guy is so well preserved that they know in what area he was born, where he spent time as an adult, what he had for dinner the day he died and where the water came from that was in him from 12 hours before death. As forensic experts analyzed him over the years they shot video and it was part of the display and you could see that the guys flesh was still moist and pliable. It was morbid in one sense but I was thoroughly amazed by the whole display. They have the guys clothes and hunting equipment. Even the grass mat he slept on was totally preserved. They built an entire museum around this guy and then loaded it with other mummified remains that have been discovered all over the world. There were peat bog people and animals there, Peruvian mummies, Egyptian mummies, the mayor of some Hungarian town from 1830 was there still in his burial outfit. Like I said it was a bit macabre on one hand but really, really amazing on the other. It was also interesting to note how possessive the Italians are of him. They make reference over and over to the hotly contested fact that he was found in Italy. It was a big dispute since Austrian authorities got him first and their scientist were first to examine him but had to give him over to the Italians when the Italians were able to prove he was found like 10 meters on the Italian side of the border. And, unlike other museums we’ve been to this one had a play area for children. Anneka was done in a fraction of the time I was in terms of seeing the museum so she took Sophie down to play there. From what I hear Sophie was in 7th heaven. She pushed boxes around the room like there was no tomorrow. In fact I left the top floor of the museum as it was closing and could hear blood curdling screams from four floors below and I knew that voice. I thought Anneka would be miffed at me for taking so long. But it was that Sophie had to leave the play room and so she totally wigged out. I think we’re in for a rude awakening as Sophie begins to find herself as the months progress and she turns two. As for this trip, by and large she was astoundingly good. Case in point was today. I got up early and went for a swim. All of us went to breakfast in the hotel and then we loaded up the car again and headed out to explore. This time it was in the Alps. We drove about an hour north up the side of the mountain on these really narrow super winding roads to the base of a tram that would take us up several thousand more feet to a high alpine meadow.



My first Gondola ride


Sophie was diggin' just looking out. Daddy is afraid of heights so he was wiggin' out



When we got there we were a little confused at exactly what to do with ourselves. I mean, it’s a sprawling area with ski lifts going off in all directions. There are extensive paved and unpaved roads and trails. Our guide book laid out a couple recommended hikes but the minimum was four hours long. I didn’t think I could carry Sophie on my back for four hours and hike up and down on a trail. In the end there was a bike shop up there and we had an idea to rent some bikes. So we found out they have mountain bikes and one had a little baby seat in the back. So we strapped Soph in and went off riding.


Note the omni-present Teddy Lion, I should do a where's Teddy Lion series of pictures

It was really a groovy experience. It was sunny and beautiful and despite being really hot at lower elevations was not too bad at the altitude we were at. We biked around for about two hours and decided to quit when Sophie started falling asleep in the seat back there but had nothing to rest her head on but my butt. This is I guess a long explanation of why I think Sophie was so good this trip. She just went with the flow. Never getting too picky or too needy. We tried our best to anticipate what she’d want in terms of eating but she was so good. Anyways, apart from the fact that Soph was falling asleep in back our butts were KILLING us! Tour de France riders must have butts of steel or something. We were on the bikes for two hours and we both thought we’d need surgery after we got off. But it was super fun and rewarding.


Biking in the Dolomites


Ah, the fresh air and the views


Soph just wanted to crawl around in the grass. She freaked when we picked her up to put her back on the bike after we tried to feed her some lunch





I wanted to continue driving around in the mountains afterward but it was getting late. We were on the 15 minute tram ride down and realized we couldn’t find Sophie’s noonie on a string. I remembered having it at the bike rental place but not after that. So I talked the lift attendant into letting me ride back up to see if I could find it while Anneka fed and changed Sohp and let her sleep. I was walking along the road back to the shop and a cement truck drove by on his way to a new hotel being built up there. Moments later I saw the noonie on the ground. The cement truck had driven over it seconds before. So the little clippy thing was crushed. Back at the bottom I went to a ski rental shop and borrowed some pliers and straightened it out enough to clip. We’d go through a dozen noonies a day without that clippy thing as Soph spits those things out like watermelon seeds when she’s done with them and that could happen anywhere. So I was determined to find hers and despite its mangled state we’ll be glad we have it. Anyways after we got back to Bolzano we went to dinner then to grab a gelato then back to the hotel for a swim. Anneka brought Sophie some swim diapers, which I don’t understand the concept behind them, and we swam once in Prague and once here. She loves being in the pool.

Its getting late now and I want to post this and go to bed. I think this will be my last post for this trip. Tomorrow we go to Garmisch in Germany then to Munich only to catch a plane back to Paris then spend the night at a Paris airport hotel before flying home to Salt Lake. As always the trip has left me with many great memories, about 1,200 pictures, and a sore butt. I always find amazing things when I come and truly enjoy seeing new sites and hearing foreign languages. But I also am grateful for where I come from and look forward to going home. We’re blessed to travel away from home and blessed to be able to return home.

If any of you have actually read this next time you see me ask me what Sophie did in the shower back in Reims.

See you all in a couple of days. Alf Weederzehen!




Chris, Anneka and Sophie

I’m not exactly sure where we left off. Suffice it to say it has been a while since we posted and we’ve seen and done a lot. I resolved after my first and only post thus far to write less and just post pictures. I’m sure most people don’t read my long posts anyways and would probably like seeing some pictures as much as anything.

So, I’ll try to just get caught up and post a bunch of pictures.

While in Strasbourg we took a day trip a little further south to Colmar. Colmar is a town with a great historic district full of churches and lots of half timbered houses. I found out while there that half timbered houses were considered more like furniture than permanent dwellings. If one had a job transfer in the 1500’s one simply knocked the plaster out of timbered areas of the house, took it apart, packed it, moved and built it back again. Interestingly you can see numbers and letters and other markings made on the ends of the timbers of some houses insinuating that perhaps that house had been moved.











We spent the day in Colmar and then returned to Strasbourg. It rained on us a bit but all in all the weather was quite nice. The next day we got up and hopped on the freeway heading east in Germany to an amazing little place called Rothenburg.

I love the Autobahn.

I think my right foot is German and felt very at home depressing the accelerator with nary a speed limit sign in sight. We didn’t drive at any excessive speed by any means but it was oddly comforting knowing there aren’t any troopers with radar guns pointed at you or any photo-cops lurking around a bend. We got to Rothenburg in the early afternoon around 2pm. It was an easy trip except for the 45 minutes we spent crawling at a snail’s pace due to construction. Our hotel was a groovy place that was several hundred years old attached to another place that was several hundred years older. The rooms are totally comfortable with all the amenities but still shows its age. One corner of the room was about 6 inches above the opposite corner owing to settling over the centuries. I put my chapstick on the floor at the high end and it rolled quickly down to the other.













Rothenburg is likely one of the best examples of walled medieval town anywhere in Europe. Its walls are completely intact and you can climb to the top and walk the mile and a half perimeter in about 30 minutes. So, we did that and just dinked around for the most part then had dinner in a quaint restaurant in the mayor’s house from around 1450. Sophie made some friends while she was there and generated some laughs as well. Sadly they were because she farted really loud while we were eating.

The next day we went to the crime and punishment museum. I’ve been there three times now and the exhibit hasn’t changed a bit. But it’s equally interesting each time. I never ceased to be amazed at the cruelty and injustice that existed for centuries in Europe and wonder how our ancestors stayed alive. I mean, bakers would be punished if they made their bread too big or too small. If you drank too much you were physically punished. If you didn’t go to church you were physically punished. If you were a woman and you wore pants the penalty was death. Crazy stuff! And the things they did to you – crush your thumbs, make you sit on a spiked chair, stretch you till your arms and legs pop off! It’s gruesome, but amazing.


Rothenburg has a rather well known Christmas store and ’d always thought one of those little nativity scene/helicopter thingies would be cool to have. The ones where you light candles around the perimeter of the little scene and the rising heat spins a set of helicopter blades at the top of the scene and makes the whole gadget spin around. They were several hundred bucks though and I couldn’t justify the cost for something we’d have out for about two weeks a year. So we left with some pictures and fond memories instead. Rothenburg never ceases to amaze me.

From Rothenburg we drove about an hour east to Nurnburg. Got there in the afternoon. Checked in at an NH hotel. They’re a really nice chain of hotels from Spain. The rooms are really contemporary and the bed was uber comfortable. Sophie took a little nap, so did Anneka and dad went exploring. Eventually we all left and went to the German National Museum there. It’s a sprawling complex of buildings that includes an old church that has been converted to house antiquities. It had an amazing assortment of items from Bronze Age cultures up to royal pots and pans from the last century. They had a nifty collection of armor and guns and stuff. The armor always amazes me. I think I would have made a crappy knight. I’m not strong enough to wear one of those suits. Knock me over and I’d just lay there unable to get back up. No need to kill me. I’d be like a tinfoil dinner, just roasting inside. And the jousting suits are even more bulky. Put me in one of those and sit me on a horse and I’d just slide off on the heavy side.

The next day we went to whats called the Documentation Museum. It is housed in a building that was built to be Hitler’s Nazi party conference building. It was never fully completed. Inside is a mind-blowing museum documenting the rise of the Nazi party and its ties to the city of Nurnburg. In essence Nurnburg was sold as the most German of all German cities back in the day and was a natural gathering place for Hitler’s political party rallies each year. They were a gathering of soldiers, sympathizers and party officials. Hitler played masterfully off people’s emotions until he got a foot in the door politically. Then through further sensationalism and legal and illegal means he slowly took over every power. It was a fascinating explanation of his rise. It was also a fascinating look at the rallies themselves – gatherings of hundreds of thousands of people. He began building parade grounds and facilities for these huge rallies in the mid 30’s and most were not completed due to the outbreak of war in ’39. The conference center was partially complete and is the museum now. It is huge. The stadium was somewhat complete and was used for Hitler youth rallies. It has morphed and been built up and was host to World Cup soccer matches a decade ago. But the one that stands out is the “Zeppelin field” named that for the fact that a Zeppelin airship landed there and the locals started calling it that. It is the parade ground that all would recognize when they see the old footage of the large Nazi rallies with Hitler standing at elevated podium with thousands of officials flanking him and throngs of the populace spread before him.


The Zeppelin field

The field is ten times the size of a soccer field and then has the stands beyond that. I was completely in awe of seeing that. Like seeing Nazi concentration camps you never feel good afterwards but they are humbling to take in. The event, regardless of how tragic, feels like it is happening before you. You get the sense that you are in history rather than learning about it. Another thing that compounded the entire experience was to stroll through the historic section of Nurnburg and then see pictures in the museum that had been taken of Hitler in the same location. You can see fountains behind him and have been to the same fountain. I was struck by the fact that in one picture Hitler is reviewing the troops in a plaza in the center of the city and he’s facing what would today be the McDonalds I had lunch at.

It’s chilling.

And, Nurnburg was second only to Dresden in its level of destruction from Allied bombs. I mean that place was devastated. We went into one church that had a comprehensive display of pictures of the destruction of the church itself and the 15 to 20 year post war timeframe it took to rebuild it. Everything in central Nurnburg is a re-creation. Think about that. Everything is a re-creation.

All that we did that day was fascinating, humbling and moving all at the same time.
In the early evening we took off for Prague. It was a 3 hour drive to get there.

Did I mention I love the autobahn?

We did have to change cars in Nurnburg before leaving though as Hertz wont’ let a Mercedes into the Czech Republic. So we got an Opel Zafira. It’s a lot like out Toyota Rav4. It has a lot more room than the Mercedes but didn’t handle as well. It also is a 5 speed manual on the highway it revs to the point that you’re constantly wondering if you’re in the top gear. It took some time to get used to that. Anneka kept asking me if I was in 4th gear. I kept checking and sure enough we were in 5th the whole time. At times I thought the engine was going to give. I’d think I was going fast till someone would zip by at 130 and make me feel like I was in reverse.

We got into Prague around 10pm and spent an hour just trying to find our hotel. They checked us in and we get to the room and it was a very smoking room. Totally stinky. I said no way back at the front desk and they come back and say they have a non-smoking room but it’s noisy since it is right next to the HVAC system. I said give me a break. In the end they bumped someone without a baby to the noisy room so we could have a nice room.

The Sophie effect. Gotta love it.

Today we got up a bit later and I headed out with a suitcase full of dirty laundry. Neither Anneka nor I wanted to spend three hours in a Laundromat as we’ve done in the past so we dropped the stuff off and paid to have it done for us. It always feels weird knowing someone is laundering your underwear. Anyways I navigated Prague’s crazy streets in the car to drop the stuff off while Anneka got ready and got Sophie feed and watered. We think she’s off oatmeal. She must want more sophisticated stuff like Muesli or Eggs Benedict or something. We can’t coax her into eating oatmeal anymore. I got back at 11am and we took off to explore.
Prague does not disappoint. I can’t think of a more architecturally relevant European city. Since it escaped the bombs of WWII its architectural record is incredibly intact. It has everything from medieval castles to art nouveau buildings. Street after street of beautiful building façades. We wandered till Sophie got a little cranky and Anneka took her back to the hotel for a nap. She took one too. I went wandering as I’m known to do. The goal was to go back and pick up the laundry and bring it back to the hotel and we’d go out again. We met back up at 5pm and left. We wandered somewhat aimlessly through the maze of streets in the old town. Eventually we made it to Prague’s landmark Charles Bridge for a “where’s Sophie?” picture. We’re here for two more days and we’ll fill those up easily with Prague’s many sites.











The weather has been a bit iffy lately. It started in Colmar basically. Temperatures have been cooler than normal – like in the low 70’s and even upper 60’s which would normally seem great. But it has been accompanies by off and on rain. When I say off and on I mean very off and very on. It’s nice and sunny one minute then raining cats and dogs the next. One of the cats that landed next to me looked just like Harry. Kind of freaked me out. Today was no exception. It would be great one minute then we’d be whipping out the umbrella the next. We have a nifty difty plastic cover that we attach to Sophie’s stroller that keeps her totally dry. I’d use it all the time as it is a great shield to keep her from tossing teddy lion on the ground. That still grosses me out. She’ll toss it on the ground and I’ll shake it off the best I can and give it back to her and she’ll bear hug it with her mouth wide open. Yuck. I don’t know, they say it helps build their immune system up. I guess that means she’ll be immune to grimy gutter filth as an adult…
It’s now almost 1am and I need to go to bed. I’ll post this in the morning.
Adios for now.
Chris

OK, I meant to post that this morning but just didn't. I wanted to get out and explore. We toured around Prague castle today among a couple of other places. But the most significant thing was Sophie took her first steps tonight. She learned to walk at the Marriott hotel in Prague on Sunday the 11th of July.

Anneka and I are thrilled. We wish she'd learned to a bit ago because when let her crawl around in the grass she gets completely dirty. Today she crawled in some grass beneath what could best be described as a blueberry tree. The fallen berries turned her knees and the tops of her socks totally blue.

Anyways, its late again so I'll just post this and hope to add more later.

Chris

Well, we made it. I say that as if there was a chance we wouldn’t, but anyone that travels knows there’s always a chance of misdirected luggage or whatever. Having checked Sophie with the SkyCap in Salt Lake there was always the chance she could have ended up in Jakarta or Mumbai or Minnesota or something. But we all made it to Paris safe and sound.

Sophie was this year, as hoped and as last year, ideal. Sure she had a couple of moments of discomfort where her desire to crawl wildly had to be curtailed. But Anneka put together a masterful travel plan. She’d hid some of Sophie’s favorite toys weeks and weeks ago to be able to “re-introduce” them to her on the plane. Babies are remarkable in their ability to play with common objects of which we have many common kitchen items but it would appear strange to have ones baby on the floor in a crowded plane banging wooden spoons on metal measuring cups. Essentially we boarded at 4 and were airborne at 5pm filled with anticipation of the trip as a whole and certainly with how Sophie was doing down there in the luggage hold…

Just kidding.

We were fortunate that despite a full flight we were able to secure a three seats across row to ourselves and that gave us the luxury of bringing Sophie’s car seat aboard for her to sit/sleep in. Sophie was most active during those first 5 hours of the flight but that’s were Anneka’s “new” toy reveal worked so well. She’d grab a toy out of the bag of toys and Sophie would be captivated for quite some time. Having the car seat allowed us to eat our meal fairly normal as well. I think we got the most mileage out of a cellophane wrapped roll that came with the food. She played with that for an hour. Who’d a thunk cellophane wrapped rolls had so much appeal. Yet, they’re imminently graspable by small hands, have the allure of food that can’t quite be accessed and the cellophane makes a wonderfully intriguing plastic crinkly sound.
We lured Sophie to sleep after about what would have been ten at night her time by playing a Baby Einstein movie on the computer. She was amazingly enthralled in it. I was amazingly enthralled that she withstood having “earmuff style” headphones placed on her head without wanting to rip them off. They were a titch too big but she looked so cute in those things. I was holding the computer and Anneka was holding Soph and I just looked at her the whole time as her eyes darted back and forth and up and down and flashes of color reflected off her face in the darkened cabin. It was cut. Sophie slept for about the final five hours of the flight and that made it so we could enjoy the onslaught of crappy movies they played.
When we landed the Sophie effect took over in the customs line. Though it took forever to get our stroller off the plane when we landed, even the pilots had left the plane before we got the stroller at the gate, we made up for it as we were shuffled over to the “people with babies” customs line. We essentially got all our time back and then some. I swear a lifelike, blow-up Sophie doll would make a fortune for the savvy business traveler wanting to save time by expediting the customs clearance process. Just blow it up on the way from the plane to the customs area and you’ll be deflating it in minutes from the other side.


We got a rental car from Hertz and that process took too long too. We waited a decent amount of time in that line (no Sophie effect) and they gave us the type of car we anticipated and paid for except that after hauling our junk out to it we found it to be a two-door. There was no way in Hades I was going to be loading and unloading Soph in a two-door. So we went back to the counter and to their delight we took a little Mercedes Benz A180 that Hertz needed to get back to Germany. Now, don’t get all thinking, “Oooooo, they got a Mercedes!” It’s the size of a Ford Focus or something. So, what it makes up for in doors it gives up in luggage space. But we crammed everything in and finally left the airport. I say finally since we waited on a curb outside for them to “bring” the car to us not knowing that in reality the car was about 50 feet away from us and they weren’t bringing us jack… Once on the road my hidden delight at having a Mercedes was quickly dispelled when I stepped on it and it yawned, stretched and then finally decided to accelerate.


There will be no Mario Andretti fantasies on the Autobahn this year…
Just as well, I guess. I have a wife and a child and above all we want to be safe and have a nice trip. I’ll save the Mario stuff for my Cobra back home. I mean my “Marvin” type driving I do on the highways and byways in that thing. Never broke the speedlimit in it, huh AJ?
We drove about an hour and a half east to Rheims. You’d think it is pronounced like “Reems” the store instead it is pronounced “Rance” as in France. Where do they come up with that? Anyways we got here, checked into the hotel and Sophie perked up. Actually she’d been absolutely idea the whole time after landing. I would have thought she’d drift off in the car but she didn’t until we pulled in here. We get to the room and she’s all revived by the freedom to roam. And roam she did. She probably crawled a half mile in the confines of our rather cramped quarters. We all showered and went to bed. Despite crying at first for being put into her crib her dad wasn’t going to tolerate any fussing so he dumped a couple of toys in the crib to distract her momentarily but she was out cold in 5 minutes.
We got up at 8 and headed to the center of town to stroll. Rheims has one of Europe’s great cathedrals – home to many a French coronation. It was closed by the time we got there but we walked around and soaked it up. Headed from there to the lively pedestrian zone to find dinner and after our routine of looking at many menus (Anneka) we settled on a sort of Pasta-to-go place. It was decent. My Coke was AWESOME! They have an aviation museum in town and had cleverly placed several reproductions of very early airplanes on display. They were fascinating entanglements of thin wire holding up fabric wrapped wooden wings and wimpy bicycle tire landing gear. Aviation has come light years since then. Those were truly daring, or stupid, dudes that strapped themselves in those flying wicker baskets.
Anyways the weather was great, a light breeze, no humidity. It was a pleasant evening and as the sun set we went back to the hotel. Sophie perked up again when we got there and motored all over the place. I’m already amazed at how well she’s doing and I’m stunned at how meticulously Anneka has planned for her. Anneka is a truly amazing travel partner. I am one lucking man to have them both.
More later, we’re off to Verdun’s WW1 battlefields about two to three hours east of here. Well, truth be told, I’m off to McDonald’s for breakfast. They’re still asleep.
Bon Jour! Or whatever they say when you’re leaving. Bon hasta la vista?
Chris


Happy 4th of July! We put Sophie in a cute red, white and blue top today to celebrate.


We were all up bright and early owing to the jet-lag. I went across the street for some McDonald’s for breakfast while Anneka got Sophie fed and dressed. We went to the center of Rheims first thing in the morning to go to the cathedral which was open early. It was closed the night before so we saw the outside but not the inside. It was typical medieval cathedral – mondo columns, mostly 20th century stained glass with a few original 13 and 14th century panes that survived the ages. It was neat to see. We didn’t hang out too long though as we needed to hit the road to Verdun.


Verdun is a small French village essentially synonymous with WW1. It’s in the region bordering France and Germany and has passed ownership back and forth between the two countries for a long time. After the Franco-Prussian war of the late 1800’s the hills surrounding Verdun were fortified with lots of forts intended to keep the Germans out. The Germans, looking to be decisive in victory against the French decided to attack with a massive bombardment which commenced in February of 1916. I don’t recall over how brief a time period it was but basically the Germans hurled 2 million shells at the French defenses in order to break them. What they didn’t expect was the French to hunker down and shoot back after the barrage was done. So, the Germans dug in. Then the French dug in. What followed was 300 days of a new style of warfare called trench warfare.
One struggles to appreciate the significance of some historical events from the passage of time, unless there are some tangible reminders. Despite 90 years of time the landscape in that area not only has visible reminders, but very strong and obvious ones at that. Though the surface of the land is now covered in trees the underlying ground still undulates like rolling ten foot seas from the explosive shells that landed literally everywhere. You drive down the small one lane roads and can see under the canopy of trees the turbulent landscape. You drive another mile and it’s still there. Another mile and it’s still there. Period images show the land as if it was the lunar surface. No trees left standing. In fact, apart from the soldiers themselves there was nothing living there, nothing of form or substance. Whole villages were completely destroyed -bombed to the point that even the ruble was seemingly tilled into the ground. A movie in the museum quotes a soldier lamenting taking 100 meters of territory and losing 30 men in the process only to lose 100 meters the next day and lose another 30 men.



It was a staggering and humbling thing to see and understand. Nearly an entire generation of French men and boys were lost on battlefields like Verdun. We saw one trench were an entire platoon was buried alive and evidence of their bayonets are still visible above the dirt today. To see the trenches still there, not as deep but nevertheless still highly visible made you think of those that lived in the mud, the carnage and the death of them. It was one of those intangible moments where you think, “How could this have happened?” and what am I doing to make sure it never happens again. Even more amazing was to think that many viewed WW1 as the war to end all wars as how could anything be worse? It’s truly sad to see that war continues to ravage decade in and decade out, to this day. A memorial on site contains the bones of 150,000 French and German soldiers in piles visible through small windows. Skulls, Femurs, Ribs, you name it. All there in a mass grave. The names and identities of most are long lost. The bodies were gathered over the years from the battlefield and interred there, oddly, in 1932; about the time the German war machine was firing up for the war after the war to end all wars.
In all it was a stunning and humbling place to experience. Like concentration camps, they are not fun to see but are memorable and we feel they help temper our view of modern society.
After Verdun we took one of our longer drives further east on our trip to Strasbourg.


We arrived at the hotel at around 6 and checked in. We took a convenient tram into the historic district to wander around. The sites and shops were closed but the incredible mix of buildings made for a pleasant evening - except for dinner. Anneka got hungry and we struggled to find an acceptable place to eat. She almost got put on the clock but managed to pull off finding something. We ordered, they took forever to bring the food. I made the mistake of trying to go healthy and order a salad. It ended up being a scoop of coleslaw, corn, beets, carrot strings and a garnish of a radish.
I went to McDonalds afterwards.
Sophie zonked out on the way back to the hotel and was even half asleep through her bath. Then she got put in her crib and we inadvertently flipped the “I-aint-tired-and-I’m-not-going-to-sleep" button. We played with her as long as we could tolerate but by then my ambien was kicking in and Anneka was exhausted. So, we threw in the towel and put her between us and both fell asleep. She awoke whining at 4am for some milk and we were both surprised she was still there. After a quick bottle she nuzzled under a pillow and was out again, as were we.
And that was day 2.
Chris

Day 3.



Usually the day after we land we get up unusually early, like around 5 or 6am. But the day after that we get up unusually late. Like 11 or even noon. Sophie made sure we didn’t get to noon but we were still up later than the day before. I got up at around 9 and took the tram into town to get some McDonalds for breakfast. The routine is I leave and Anneka sleeps in. In this case it was I left and Anneka showered and got Sophie ready. I ate and brought back some breakfast for Anneka. There was a little car show that had convened across the street from the hotel that I stopped at briefly. That was kind of strange because when I think of a car show I think of American metal. Big boats like 10 yard long Cadillac’s and muscle cars and stuff. This was a car show of little Euro cars. MG’s, Fiat’s, other stuff. It was just kind of funny to see people gathering around to admire what by comparison looked like oversized riding mowers compared to what I’m used to seeing.
Anways, we went back into the historic district and dinked around all day. Everything was closed except the cathedral. But the town itself is the site. So, no need to cross any thresholds to “see” stuff. There are several canals running through the area with pleasant parks here and there. We strolled and strolled. The tower of the cathedral was free today for being the first Sunday of the month so I went up. Anneka found a shady quiet place and waited. Soph was asleep in her stroller so it worked out great. The trek to the top was breezy and refreshing since it was really toasty today. Normally the spiral staircases in these cathedrals are all enclosed in stone with just tiny slits for windows. This was the same for part of the way up but every couple of meters up the outer part of the wall would be large open gothic style windows. I don’t do heights so I would get a bit weak in the knees as I rounded each one of those sections. But the view from the top was worth it.



Anneka and I reunited after and got some lunch. We dinked around even more after that and then took a little one hour boat ride around the island that is the historic center of town. Sophie slept the whole time. It was relaxing, almost too relaxing. We were both dozing off a bit.
Anyways it’s about 9:30 and Sophie’s got a sit-down job in her britches that Daddy needs to take care of, then give her a shower. Hopefully when we put her down we flip her switch the other way and she goes to sleep.
Anneka just gave both Sophie’s teddy lions baths since she keeps tossing them around. She tosses them on the floor in restaurants. She tossed them in the dirt and on the street. Of course she’d do that after giving them one of those crazy Sophie muggings where all her spit gets all over it. Then she drops it. So the spit is like glue and picks up all the crud off the floor. Needless to say if I thought they were groadie before they’re really groadie now. We couldn’t take it anymore so they got baths tonight. We have a clip-on leash for her noonie to prevent that from happening with the noon. I need one for the teddy’s lion, or teddy lions, which ever, top keep her from hucking those things. She nearly tossed small teddy into the river today.
OK, gotta go. Can’t put off cleaning up that number 2. The room is starting to smell.
More later.
Chris

Sophie Says Bon Voyage!

We're off this week on another adventure that includes France, Germany, Czech Republic, a drive through Austria, and 2 days in the Italian Alps. We'll do our best to post our daily happenings and some pictures. We depart Thursday night on the new direct flight from SLC to Paris where we will pick up a rental car and head East to the city of Reims for 1 night before continuing East. See you in France where we will post next! For now I gotta start packing...

Here is a map of where we are headed this year, as I said we land in Paris, drive to Reims, stay 1 night then continue on to Verdun Battlefields (only remaining WWI battlefields and trenches) From there spend 3 nights in Strasbourg touring there and Colmar. Continuing into Germany staying 1 night in Rothenberg and 1 night in Nuremberg. Then on to Prague for 4 nights, south to Cesky Krumlov for 1 night then south some more for a stop over in Innsbruck for 1 night before going into the Italian alps for 2 nights, then head north to Munich where we will fly back to Paris before coming home on a direct flight back to SLC.

Should be an adventure, I hope Sophie doesn't mind all the bouncing around, but she's usually happy to go along for the ride.

Bon Voyage!