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The Final Stretch!
Well, here I am with only two weeks left of my four and half month trip through Europe and yet it feels like coming home is still forever away! There's still so much to do! But I'm getting ahead of myself...After my relaxing stay in Hagedorn with Heike I said goodbye and headed to some more relatives in central Germany that I had not yet had time to see. I stayed with my mom's cousin Otto and his wife Svetlana and also had a chance to spend some time with their daughters (my second cousins) and their cute kids! They also took me out to see my Opa's sisters which was very cool because their family story is a really interesting and heartbreaking one and it was 
really nice to be able to talk with my great aunt Hilda and great aunt Agnes. During WWII my Opa and his family were seperated and he and two of his siblings eventually made it to Canada but his mother and younger sisters ended up in Siberia and only about 15 years ago were they able to finally come back to Germany. It was really intersting to chat with them both (Hilda moreso because Agnes is a little a quieter but she looks just like my Opa!). Otto and Svetlana took me sightseeing on my last day with them. We went to Bad Kissingen, a resort town centred around some water springs in the area and has basically turned into a retirement centre and tourist spot. They had some really cool therapeutic activities in the park we went through, my favourite was the 'Klang Garten', a section of the park that had Solitudes type music playing from speakers set up on the trees and is meant for relaxation. I nice place to take an afternoon mederschlop. I had a nice time with the family, but after three nights it was time to meet up with some different family, my sister! On June 16th her Bible School program in Austria finished so we planned to meet in Munich that day and prepare for part three of our trip through Europe. We met in our favourite waiting room at the 
Munich train station (we've been through that train station more than any other so it's become our favourite waiting room!) and proceeded to the nearest Starbucks to get a long overdue Mocha Frappacino! We then headed to our hostel, dumped our stuff and headed out to actually see Munich. Munich has been a central place that we've always travelled through but we've never had time to see the city itself so we thought it would be a good time to change that. We walked down to Karlsplatz and Marienplatz but didn't spend too much time out there that evening because we will be back there at the end of June and we also had to get up at 4am the next morning to catch our flight to Dubrovnik so we figured we'd have an early night. So much for that idea, I guess I was nervous about oversleeping because I didn't get any sleep that night at all and just stayed awake until 4am and then woke Christine up and headed to the airport. What a different feeling it is to see a city so early in the morning. We watched the sunrise on our 40 min S-Bahn ride to the airport and for the few moments that we were awake it was beautiful, as they usually are! 
The beauty didn't stop there though! We made our 7am flight to Dubrovnik, Croatia and were treated to an incredible aerial view of the city from our plane. It circled right overtop the old town and the amazing blue colored Adriatic sea surrounding it, what a sight! When we arrived I definately noticed the change in scenery, vegetation, culture and temperature!! We were in a different world! I think of all the places I've been to on this trip, Croatia is the only one that has made such a unique impression on me. Of all the places we visited, it's the one I knew the least about so it's been a different experience to travel into this country with a fresh perspective unclouded by any previous experiences or traveller's stories. The landscape also has that 'wow' factor and when we arrived at our guesthouse and I looked out our window at the view I really couldn't believe I was actually there.
About 15 years ago this place would not have been a place for tourists, what with the Balkan War going on, so I feel really lucky that I am now able to see this gorgeous country. 
We stayed at a guesthouse overlooking the Gruz harbour and caught an amazing sunset from there our first night. So far so good! We spent our two and half days in Dubrovnik exploring the old town, taking a scenic boat ride around Dubrovnik (and a neighboring island with it's nude beach), swimming from the bathing rocks just outside the old town walls, seeing the town from above on a walk atop the town walls and just taking in the atmosphere of Dubrovnik. We also spent an afternoon at another beach in Lapad, suburb of Croatia, but I much preferred the bathing rocks at the old town. So cool to go swimming with this huge old fortress looming in the background! Anway, our time in Dubrovnik was really nice, and I'm glad it worked out that we were able to spend some time there! 
We took a five hour bus ride north along the coast of Croatia and drove through the small portion of coastline that belongs to Bosnia and Herzegovina as well. We are now in Split where we will be staying for the night and tomorrow we head out to the island of Brac. I am really looking forward our time in the resort town of Bol where we will be for the next 5 nights and can't wait to work on my tan and have a few more adventures during this final stretch of our trip! 
really nice to be able to talk with my great aunt Hilda and great aunt Agnes. During WWII my Opa and his family were seperated and he and two of his siblings eventually made it to Canada but his mother and younger sisters ended up in Siberia and only about 15 years ago were they able to finally come back to Germany. It was really intersting to chat with them both (Hilda moreso because Agnes is a little a quieter but she looks just like my Opa!). Otto and Svetlana took me sightseeing on my last day with them. We went to Bad Kissingen, a resort town centred around some water springs in the area and has basically turned into a retirement centre and tourist spot. They had some really cool therapeutic activities in the park we went through, my favourite was the 'Klang Garten', a section of the park that had Solitudes type music playing from speakers set up on the trees and is meant for relaxation. I nice place to take an afternoon mederschlop. I had a nice time with the family, but after three nights it was time to meet up with some different family, my sister! On June 16th her Bible School program in Austria finished so we planned to meet in Munich that day and prepare for part three of our trip through Europe. We met in our favourite waiting room at the 
Munich train station (we've been through that train station more than any other so it's become our favourite waiting room!) and proceeded to the nearest Starbucks to get a long overdue Mocha Frappacino! We then headed to our hostel, dumped our stuff and headed out to actually see Munich. Munich has been a central place that we've always travelled through but we've never had time to see the city itself so we thought it would be a good time to change that. We walked down to Karlsplatz and Marienplatz but didn't spend too much time out there that evening because we will be back there at the end of June and we also had to get up at 4am the next morning to catch our flight to Dubrovnik so we figured we'd have an early night. So much for that idea, I guess I was nervous about oversleeping because I didn't get any sleep that night at all and just stayed awake until 4am and then woke Christine up and headed to the airport. What a different feeling it is to see a city so early in the morning. We watched the sunrise on our 40 min S-Bahn ride to the airport and for the few moments that we were awake it was beautiful, as they usually are! 
The beauty didn't stop there though! We made our 7am flight to Dubrovnik, Croatia and were treated to an incredible aerial view of the city from our plane. It circled right overtop the old town and the amazing blue colored Adriatic sea surrounding it, what a sight! When we arrived I definately noticed the change in scenery, vegetation, culture and temperature!! We were in a different world! I think of all the places I've been to on this trip, Croatia is the only one that has made such a unique impression on me. Of all the places we visited, it's the one I knew the least about so it's been a different experience to travel into this country with a fresh perspective unclouded by any previous experiences or traveller's stories. The landscape also has that 'wow' factor and when we arrived at our guesthouse and I looked out our window at the view I really couldn't believe I was actually there.
About 15 years ago this place would not have been a place for tourists, what with the Balkan War going on, so I feel really lucky that I am now able to see this gorgeous country. 
We stayed at a guesthouse overlooking the Gruz harbour and caught an amazing sunset from there our first night. So far so good! We spent our two and half days in Dubrovnik exploring the old town, taking a scenic boat ride around Dubrovnik (and a neighboring island with it's nude beach), swimming from the bathing rocks just outside the old town walls, seeing the town from above on a walk atop the town walls and just taking in the atmosphere of Dubrovnik. We also spent an afternoon at another beach in Lapad, suburb of Croatia, but I much preferred the bathing rocks at the old town. So cool to go swimming with this huge old fortress looming in the background! Anway, our time in Dubrovnik was really nice, and I'm glad it worked out that we were able to spend some time there! 
We took a five hour bus ride north along the coast of Croatia and drove through the small portion of coastline that belongs to Bosnia and Herzegovina as well. We are now in Split where we will be staying for the night and tomorrow we head out to the island of Brac. I am really looking forward our time in the resort town of Bol where we will be for the next 5 nights and can't wait to work on my tan and have a few more adventures during this final stretch of our trip! 
2 comments:
Dad and I are just wondering what a medershlop is. Is that like a mennonite borscht that your meder made? goofs. have a fun trip. see you soon.
How was your "mederschlop"? I think you made an excellent effort at spelling "medachschlop", and I know what you meant. But really, how was your "mederschlop"?
Make sure to stop in the Hoffbrauhaus in Muenchen, because in .. breaking into song now... In Muennnchen iiiist ein Hoffffbrau Haus. Eeeeinz, zweeeei, suffauuuu!
Greet all the Hildegard's selling beer there. They put four one liter beer mugs in each hand and just swing them under an open tap on a barrel of beer, and when full, proceed to deliver them. Fabulous image from 1972. Also in 1972, that's where the Canadian and other Olympic athletes relaxed.
Check out the Olympic Stadium from the ajacent tower as well.
See you in 14 days.
Love,
Dad, (not Caroline)
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