Category: holidays

Bonn

Traveling from Sinzheim to Bonn was interesting. I planned the route in the DB app as I purchased the Deutschland ticket that gives me unlimited regional trains, buses, and trams. Unfortunately, the first train was so delayed (which happens a lot) that I could not make any other connections. I didn’t take the time to look at the different times that the 4 trains would be coming which could take some time in planning. Instead I took one regional train and paid to take two high speed trains instead. Long layovers for those trains but less hassle. Lesson learned. Now I look up each train separately and bookmark in the app two possible choices just in case.

I planned to stay 6 nights here as it is easy to go from some of the cities I wanted to see from Bonn. I also wanted to be able to buy groceries and cook to balance the Christmas market food I have been eating. I am also in search of affordable new footwear, preferably hikers or boots, but they need to be okay to walk distances in.

Also the layovers at the train stations in some cities are pretty interesting. There are so many shops that have every day things people need at normal prices. So many people picking up the things they need while they are waiting. And at this point I need to buy things like face moisturizer, dental floss, and hair styling products. Of course an advent tea box of different teas for each day of December was a good purchase.

I found a Haribo store. I do love gummy candy and wanted to buy all of it. I had to try the waffle variety. When I opened the bag it did smell like waffles like when you walk into the kitchen for breakfast. It tasted more like vanilla, especially the little cream gummy.

I loved walking around the Bonn alstadt which is the old town in the center.

Beethoven’s house.

I stopped into the church where a service was being conducted. I stayed for some time to listen to the amazing choir. Bonn minster is one of the oldest church in Germany dating back to the 11th century.

I also took a Rhine river cruise. We sailed down to Köningswinter where we could see the castle at the top of the hill.

I also booked a ticket to see the opera Hansel and Gretel at the Opera house. More pictures to follow.

Baden Baden

I arrived in Baden Baden after a 40 minute bus ride from Sinzheim. I purchased a Deutschland ticket for 58 euro that allows unlimited bus, train, and tram rides for the month. Makes it so easy!

I first walked around the old city center and found a place to unload some clothes that would make my pack lighter (I had purchased some other clothes, and purposefully took some clothes with me I would possibly want to get rid of.)

While walking through town, I noticed some brass markers in the sidewalk in front of houses. These are called Stolperstein (stumbling stone). They are a decentralized memorial of those killed in the Nazi Holocaust that are embedded in the daily life and mark the last t known chosen residence of the victims.

And the residence they lived in….


Of course I also found the Christmas market and noticed a castle far to the distance.

First things first. Finding something to eat and drink. I had some delicious potato noodles with sauerkraut and speck, called Schupfnudeln mit Sauerkraut.

I did try some sweets but resisted buying anything, instead buying some sausage made from water buffalo.

I also tried some Feuerzangen bowle. It is a hot drink made from spiced red wine over which a sugarloaf, sugar cube (Zuckerhut), soaked in rum is placed on a grate (“Zange”).The rum-soaked sugar is set on fire, melts, and drips caramelized sweetness into the wine. Here they use a mug with a separate area for the cube to melt into the wine. You then push the cube into the wine to melt.

Some pictures of the Christmas market.

I decided to tackle the hour walk uphill to get to the castle.

The castle ruins in Baden-Baden is called Hohenbaden Castle or Altes Schloss (“Old Castle”). It was built around 1100 by the Margraves of Baden, the ruling noble family and was the castle for the family until the late 1400’s. As a regional power, the castle was expanded into a fortress during that time.

In 1479, the Margraves moved their residence to the town below. That structure was called Neues Schloss (new castle) and the old castle still remained occupied without political power. In 1599, a power destroyed the structure but the ruins are a very popular site today or romantic era castles.

On the way back, I noticed the spring that many would stop and fill their jugs.

The new castle was at the bottom of the mountain. It was closed, but it would be wonderful to tour as well if possible.

After all that walking I decided to go to the bus stop directly instead of returning to the Christmas market (and the possibility of sweets!)

It was a beautiful day in Baden-Baden.

Baden Württemberg

I decided to take a break and stay in a small town outside Baden Baden. Sinzheim is only a 40 minute bus ride away from Baden Baden. I decided to just walk around this area for two days and relax at the Hotel Haus am See (house by the lake). There is not much around here but I enjoyed the breakfast (and made a sandwich to take with me for lunch later). The restaurant was pretty good as well.

I did walk up the hill near the hotel to get to the Fremersberg Tower overlooking the Black Forest, which is so named due to the dark evergreen forests. Did you know cuckoo clocks originated here and are the background for the stories of the Brother Grimm. As I walked through the woods I noticed the large amount of holly, fir, and pine here. It was a beautiful but exhausting walk up and back down (still working on retaining my fitness after the knee replacement.)

The tower is currently used for telecommunications and tourism, having been rebuilt in the 1960’s to replace the original one from the 19th century that was made of stone.

The view from the top of the tower was amazing.

I still wonder where in this area my ancestors came from. I never thought to ask my grandmother if she knew more specifics of my ancestors.

Strasbourg Christmas Markets

The food was great including the Choucroute garne (sauerkraut with meat) and the gluhwien (spiced hot wine).

And I needed to get a crepe frommage (cheese crepe) while in France. Delicious!

Of course, I always love to see all the Christmas lights and decorations.

The best part was meeting a new friend when I arrived at the hostel. Recy Ann is from the Philippines and living in Spain. She was so fun to tour the markets together! She also has a better sense of direction than I do and did research before arriving!

Statue to Gutenberg.

Now off to Baden Baden, the place where my family came from (learned from DNA testing several years back).

Luxembourg Christmas markets

It is so hard to not eat everything. In my walking around Luxembourg city, I perused every Christmas market to determine what I wanted to eat over the next few days. Since Christmas is my favorite holiday, I was even more excited about the Christmas music playing throughout the city, the twinkling lights, and the different activities for families in each market.

Ice skating!

A giant advent calendar. I would love to see what it shows everyday of December.

What I ate: Castañas marrons (roasted chestnuts), gluhwien (hot mulled wine), feuerwurst (spicier bratwurst), spatzle (homemade noodles),and grompere kichelchere (potato pancakes).

Santiago, Chile

We arrived in Santiago, Chile on my birthday. In Peru before I boarded they allowed people over 60 to board first. That is a great present in itself! I handed out chocolates to people on the plane and was rewarded with a glass of wine and some standard plane snacks…

At the hotel, I gave gifts of chocolate and I had a plate of truffles and chocolate covered strawberries.

Always fun when you run into people from school unexpectedly in your second country of your trip….

It was great to see Lorelei on the street

Not much was open on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day which gave us time to enjoy the sights without many crowds. We are glad to be in a bigger hotel (with a pool).

Fuente neptuna

Cerro Santa Lucía
Plaza Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna
Jardín japonés
Dedicated to Darwin

Sculpture park

Museo de arte bello

Forest Park

Funicular to the summit of San Cristobal Hill.

Bonus, discount for those over 60…

City library

Some sights around Santiago

Bellavista neighborhood

Parroquia de la Veracruz in Lastarria

For dinner on Christmas Day I had the Chilean version of crab cake in a bowl with lots of melted cheese. Pretty tasty…

Chupe de Jaiba

Tomorrow I leave for Easter island (Isla de Pascua or Rapa Nui).

Lima

I arrived late at night in Lima and had almost two full days to investigate. I stayed in the hotel Continental Lima in the central historic district. Beautiful area. The traffic on some streets is horrible but similar in other cities.

The next morning I walked to Miraflores which is along the Pacific. Along the way I snapped pictures and visited shops. The Spanish architecture always is amazing.

Real Plaza Centro Civico

Finally I made it to Miraflores and walked along the malecón along the ocean. The whole trip was a nice walk through neighborhoods. I love to people watch and look at architecture.

Parque de Chino

I then walked along the malecón towards love park.

There was an Incan archaeological sure nearby called Sitio Huaca Pucllana.

Earlier in the day I decided to join a night tour. Even though Lima is much safer than Quito, I would not go to some places myself late at night. Darwin was a Spanish guide (I decided to do the tour in Spanish to up my language skills. He was a great tour guide, letting me stop for a pisco sour which was invented here and listen to some Christmas music.

https://youtube.com/shorts/XrjyKTMFroQ?si=GxTMhEBIrWeYd4ZF

Iglesia de la Merced

We also viewed a local artist show depicting the birth of Jesus

The plaza mayor de Lima

During Independence Day this fountain spouts Pisco sour instead of water. People can bring a cup!

From the 16th to the 19th centuries, a distinctive tradition emerged among women known as the “tapadas limeñas.” These women wore a unique ensemble that allowed them to move through the city with a degree of anonymity and freedom uncommon for women of that era. They could interact in public spaces without being easily recognized which gave independence and social mobility.

Despite attempts by authorities and the Catholic Church to prohibit this practice—viewing it as morally and socially disruptive—the tradition

Today, the legacy of the tapadas limeñas is remembered as a unique aspect of Lima’s cultural history, symbolizing a period when women cleverly navigated societal constraints to assert their presence and autonomy in public life.

The oldest bar in Lima and they make a great Pisco sour!

And now on to the catacombs below the Basilica and Convent. Unfortunately pictures are not allowed.

Next on the tour we went to the Magic Water Show. More than just lights with water, they superimposed moving pictures. Pretty stunning.

The next morning I walked around to do a little shopping.

Park to honor naval heroes.

Bonus little Christmas parade to enjoy before checking out of the hotel:

https://youtube.com/shorts/Ad2G8d_dSoY?si=0z5J3Wjk49GJ57TU

Next stop Cusco and Machu Picchu!

Road trip to Baños de Agua Santa

This weekend of the celebration of the battle of Pichincha that happened on May 24, 1822. It is the Latin American War of Independence. This battle, led by Antonio José de Sucre, allowed the South American rebels to defeat the Spanish royalists. They were able to take control of Quito the following day. The battle occurred on one of the slopes of the Pichincha volcano.

For the 3 day weekend, Susan and I drove to Baños which is about 3 hours south of Quito. On the way is a city called Ambato. We stopped to stretch our legs and look at the city from a high point. We visited the Parque Provincial de la Familia. It is a beautiful park with community sports areas, a farm, lagoons, and spaces to relax.

View of Ambato

From there we headed to the Airbnb and found that the owner knew a guide for the waterfalls. We were also able to practice our Spanish. Ed

Agotan Waterfall

This waterfall (cascadas) is formed from the Pastaza river.

Rio Blanca Mega Adventure Park

Of course there are commercial enterprises including zip lining even in the superman position. They also have a glass suspension bridge to walk to the other side over the Pastaza river below. Since I have done this in China, I wanted to do it again here. They have a few glass panels that stimulate cracking of the glass with the actual sound effects. Much different from China where the sound came from above.

Cascada Manto de la Novia

The mantle of the bride waterfall is named for the whiteness of the water which resembles a wedding veil and dress. It flows into the Pastaza river. At this waterfall we took the Tarabita ride over the river and by the falls.

Cascada el Pailón del Diablo

This waterfall is named for the stair of the rocks under the waterfall. If you look closely, the rocks look like the devil’s face. There are two sides to see. One side has a small amount of hiking with a rickety wood bridge.

The other side of the devil’s waterfall is much more scenic and a longer walk. Getting to the waterfall is a long slope downwards with some steps as well and then a climb along the side of the waterfall. You can also duck into the caves and emerge right beside the waterfall.

Much of this longer walk is through the first which is a beautiful walk. This squirrel seemed unperturbed.
There are two sections of caves to get through. This is the entrance to the second cave. My knees did not like having to squat down so far to get through but the views were obviously worth it in the end.

Dinner at Mozafiato was very good. Pricey but a really nice meal with a corner on the third floor overlooking the nightlife below.

I love watching the dogs that have free roam of the rooftops. This one was watching dogs on the street.
View of the mountain from the restaurant.
El Gusanita train here in Baños

Mother’s day

For mother’s day, I ride my bike on the ciclo paseo. As I was ready to enter the Centro histórico, I heard the sound of Elvis music. An Ecuadorian Elvis street musician (in the past I have seen the Asian Elvis in Hong Kong).

It was a beautiful day.

Later I went with my friend Monica to the Botanical garden and the Vivarium (snakes and frogs). Through WhatsApp, I talked for a little bit with Becca and Ryan and Ryan

The botanical garden was peaceful.

Cactus garden.

And the orchid garden.

The vegetable garden

We visited the carnivorous plants section where they have many varieties of pitcher plants and Venus fly traps.

No pictures can be taken at the vivarium which is a pity as they had so many different frogs, boas, pit vipers, and especially an axolotl. Afterwards we walked to the Gusanita which is a kiddie train that circles the park on the roads. It was pretty fun and especially to have a friend to spend the day with.