Christmas in Schaffhausen

Back to Switzerland...so beautiful. Schaffhausen is a nurturing place, especially at Christmas. The lights, the snow, the decor, the people...We got back just as the Christmas market was closing down, but just in time to get the Gluhwein (heated wine) and raclette.

The snow picture is from the next weekend with our friends. The Swiss people are sporty and very in-shape. We were going to a "country" restaurant for lunch, when i was informed that there was a small walk involved. I'm usually game to a little walk...so I was agreeable. We walked and walked for 2+ hours, uphill, in the snow, with my fabulous new boots on, before reaching the restaurant. Wow...remind me of this next time a walk is mention, I should get details first. A beautiful day...but 4 hours of walking is excessive for an American with new boots. I do have to say...I love the boots (one of my best purchases yet).

A little more Venice...

We also visited "The history of textiles and costumes museum" in Venice. Small museum, but a few very impressive exhibits. Unfortunately, no pictures of the museum...so just enjoy Venice.

Venice...the food

If you know me, you know I love to eat. The food is always a memorable event when we visit Italy. We visited a local favorite...a small restaurant just off the fish market. They get fresh fish every morning and prepare what available. We had Couscous, arugula salad with caramel, and sea bass seasoned with a light sauce and local vegetable...amazingly yummy. The other photos are from a fancier restaurant...veal scallopini al'

lemon and freshly-made pasta.

To market, to market...

Being on the sea, Venice harvests a multitude of fish. The fish and vegetable markets were just down the canal from our residence. I love to explore the local land, so to market we go. Very cool...so fresh and unusual. Some seafood still alive. I'm intrigued by the man smoking while filleting the fish:).

Just a regular day in Venice...

It's always fun to explore new lands, and Venice was quite interesting. We stayed in the Bed and Breakfast Rialto...so super nice. We got the suite (very affordable with the off-season). It was a beautiful apartment in the heart of Venice, overlooking the Grand Canal. Wow, what a location; and the room was superior. It was on the top floor and had ~3 rooms + a bathroom. We felt like we were living in Venice. Apparently there is a high tide in the morning on certain seasons. The water rises and overtakes the walkways. Secondary to this fact, everyone wears rubber-boots. Not knowing this factoid, we didn't bring rubber-boots. No worries...our host at the bed and breakfast provided boots with the room. Cool...huh? Here's a few shots of the room and from the room... (look closely at the one of the sidewalk and see the water to the door).

Weekend in Venice

One of the things I love about Bruno is his sense of adventure. A couple of weeks ago...we had frequent flyer miles that were burning a hole in our pockets. Bruno spontaneously booked us a trip to Venice, Italy for the weekend. Luckily, it was the off-season, so the the crowds were low and we got to experience the city in all it's beauty. Getting there was an amazing journey as well. A train to the airport so we didn't have to park the car. We flew from Zurich...just a short 1 hour flight over the alps. (The scenery was like a painting.) After landing, we had to take a water-bus to Venice. Venice is build on wood arising from the sea...not sure what keeps it so stable, but sure there's some physical chemistry involved. Simply amazing....

Thanksgiving

On the day of Thanks, giving thanks is what we did. The weather was unbelievable...a mere 78 degrees-not bad for the end of November. Our family gathered at my parents' cabin and "sister" cooked. The newly built cabin is ~400 square feet, so we opted to eat outside on the picnic tables. Good food, good fellowship, and we thank God for all he's given us and allowed us to experience in life.

Innsbruck, Austria

We stopped by Innsbruck on the way home. It is a wonderous city in the Alps where the Winter Olympics took place several years ago. Very Cool...Here we had 2 shrimp dishes and gelato galore...when you order a scoop, they will combine 5 flavors per scoop. So here we go...tiramasu, caremel, strawberry, lemon, chocolate...YUM!!!!

Dinner anyone??

Interesting dinner I had...An Italian dish that Bruno ordered for me...I was feeling adventurous. Veal with a Tuna sauce. The curled apparatus in the middle is mango.

The Wide-Eyed Tourists

All over the countryside did we go on our very touristy tour. We stopped at Leopoldskron Palace, where the water sceens were filmed. Then onto the Gazebo where Lisel danced with Roff. Varous other sights and then to the village of Mondsee, Austria, where the wedding sceens were filmed. Also we discoved a fabulous grilled chicken sandwich in Mondsee. After 4 hours, we were ready to say...So long, Farewell, Aufwiedersehen, Goodbye. Sidenote: Mozart was born in Salzburg...not quite as interesting as the sound of music...

Do-Re-Mi

The movie was filmed all over Salzburg. Of course, we had to be American tourist and take "The Sound of Music Tour". Yes...4 hours of our lives, visiting sights where the movie was filmed. see the Mirabell Gardens, where much of Do-Re-Mi was filmed.

The Hills are Alive...Villa Trapp

On to Salzburg, Austria... So you proabaly know that I love "The Sound of Music" movie. My sweet Bruno booked us to stay at The Villa Trapp...The REAL home of the Von Trapp Family. We stayed in Maria and Georg's suite. So neat...the history was fabulous. It's now a bed and breakfast. Austria was owned by Italy when Hitler requested Captain von Trapp to command his Navy. The captain refused. The family would have been killed, except for they were considered Italian. The family dressed as they were going hiking and secretly took the train to Italy. (The train station is right behind the house.) Two days later, Italy turned over Austria to Hitler. They got several singing gigs in the USA. When they arrived in the US, they had $4 between the 12 of them. Amazing, huh?

Road trip!!!

Okay...so another road trip for Kris and Bruno. We took a long weekend to travel to Austria. First stop...Schwanngau, Germany, where a extravagant Bavarian King built an excessively expensive castle. The royal family originally lived in a beautifully modist castle. (photo 1.)

But then the king died and his son took the Throne. (There were 2 sons and 1 was declaired mentally insane.) So Ludwig was the new king. He didn't like the small castle and began building a new castle, Neuschwanstein. This castle is huge, it took 14 carpenters 4 years to complete his bedroom...excessive. Here's a small part of it... picture 2.

So the country was going into debt over this castle. (I think King Ludwig probably had a personality disorder and didn't play well with others.) The powers that be informed the King that he was unfit to be king and declaired him insane. A few hours later, they found the King and his Doctor dead in a lake under mysterious circumstances. The Castle was unfinished and Six weeks later was opened as a museum...Conspiracy???

We had a fun time and ate Bavarian Foods for dinner.

Tarred and feathered

So Saturday morning we heard a commotion and looked out the window. A guy was being feathered by the fountain. In Switzerland when a guy gets engaged, his friend make him do odd things. For this poor guy, his friend poured syrup on him and then dumped feathers atop. He then proceeded to put on swimming flippers and peruse the town...very funny country.

Back in Switzerland

Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, France

Giddy Up....whoa Nellie

Okay...so I was feeling adventurous and decided to ride a horse. In south France they have amazing wildlife and the best way to see it is on horseback. I was so nervous, but at the same time feeling brave. The ranch staff outfitted me with a helmet and we started moving. The horses are found wild in France, but ours were trained to follow each other. My horse was named "Pom Pom".

As we started out, the horse and I had a conversation...I explained to my French pony that I was a Southern girl, and Southern girls like to keep it slow. Unfortunately Pom Pom only spoke French. Just kidding...God bless him for being the slowest pony on the ranch. Pom Pom kept lagging behind the group, liked to stop to eat, and was very "slow go". Once the group leader yelled across the plain for Pom Pom to speed up. He started galloping and I let out a loud yell that would make Tarzan proud. But it was so much fun!

The terrain reminded me of the everglades. We stopped numerous times to see the wildlife. I've never seen so many flamingos...the excursion was well worth the effort. I would have taken photos, but I refused to let go of my horse...maybe next time:)

The Bull Fight

One of most exciting things we saw was a real bull fight. There were clowns, actual audience members playing games with the bull, and more entertainment than I had expected. We were close to Spain so some of the culture and food spilled out onto our ocean front village.

The first picture above is Sadie running with bulls....just kidding! They let the kids come into the arena to play soccer at intermission. She had a blast!

There were also several...actually tons....of Spanish restaurants. One night I ordered a local fish...much to my surprise, it came with all it's parts. I wasn't sure how to eat him with his eyes watching me. Bruno helped and it was an amazing meal once I got the hang of it. And paella....yum!