Category: Living Simply

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.

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).

Strasbourg

Strasbourg is in the Northeast part of France right near the German border. It is in the Alsace region of France. It is known for its Christmas market, beautiful buildings, and food that is a cross of French and German. Particularly tarte flambee which is a thin crust with cream, onions, and bacon and choucroute garne which is sauerkraut with meats.

I enjoyed walking around the River Ill and seeing the various buildings while searching for the Christmas markets. I love that a retired person ticket at the Palais Rohan was 8 euros and included 4 different museums there.

This is the area of La Petit France, a beautifully preserved old historic town.

This is Barrage Vaughan, a historic defensive structure in Strasbourg, located on the River Ill at the end of La Petite France. Built in the 1680s by the military engineer Vauban (under Louis XIV), it served as a flood defense: in case of attack, the gates could be closed to intentionally flood the southern entrance to the city, making it harder for enemies to advance. It has a rooftop panoramic terrace with stunning views of the Ponts Couverts (lookout towers with gun and archery slits).

The museum featured Roman and Gallic history of the area even how Neil this burial sites changed with respect to artifacts and even the positioning of the bodies. Early neolithic they are laying on the side in a fetal position. In late neolithic they are laying on the back with arms crossed in front. Interesting.

Palais Rohan or the Roman Palace that saw visitors such as Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette, and Emperor Napoleon.

Kings bedchamber.

Library. The double doors at the end are mirrored and when opened extend the chapel into the library and acting as a nave.

The chapel.

This is an astronomical clock at the back of the picture. It had an impressive amount of workings behind the face.

Bedchamber of Napoleon.

Napolean’s morning room.

Fine art museum. these paintings date back from the 1300’s to present and covered religious, normal daily activities and portraits, and nature.

I liked this portrait as it shows a scene including death following.

Other views along the Ill.

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).

Luxembourg

I found some incredible places to tour in Luxembourg from ancient fortress remains and city museums.

I first walked the Chemin de Corniche, the old walkway through the city among the old city walls and at one end to the remains of the fortress that used to exist. The underground portions and a few of it in the rocks above still remain. it is called the Bock Casemates.

Poor Luxembourg. In the middle of large powerful countries and with its rocky terrain, it was a perfect place for a fortress and was also under siege numerous times in its history.

The Bock Casemates is over 23 km (about 14 miles) of tunnels, galleries, and chambers that was used to shelter thousands of soldiers, horses, workshops, bakeries, and ammunition stores. It is known as the “Gibraltar of the North” since the fortress was nearly impossible to conquer. After it was dismantled, 17 km still remain as it was interesting grated into the rock below.

  • Founded in 963 by Count Siegfried with the purchase of the “Bock” rock and castle.
  • Expanded into a fortified city controlled at different times by Burgundians, Spanish, French, Austrians, and Prussians.
  • Gained full independence in 1867 and neutrality was guaranteed along with the dismantling of the fortress.
  • Joined the EU’s founding members and became a major financial and administrative center.

Letzebuerg City Musem

This museum was pretty cool. starting in the lower floors is the history of Luxembourg and information about the various wars and occupations here. The top floors showed many different ways that the city has been portrayed artistically throughout the centuries. There was one floor devoted entirely to a special issue which was Menstruation. It was really well thought out and covered history, biology, and of course social issues. The discussion of women in the work place (did you know that is was thought that milk curdled, food decayed, and seeds would not grow if a woman in menses was around?). It included interviews of women who have been discriminated and women fighting for more understanding of the reality and many problems that exist. A media room with many clips from shows looped as a video. I actually spent a lot of time here as there was so much to see.

A panorama painted by Antoine Fontaine.

While I was there, it started snowing!

Fort Thüngen and the Dräi Eechelen museum. This fortress was created by the Habsbergs during their occupation and after dismantling during the independence, only three towers remained which are called the three acorns. The museum has some great artifacts and history from the many conflicts the country has endured over the centuries.

Other views around Luxembourg.

Windsor Castle

I booked a tour to Windsor. It took 2 hours to get there by Metro and train. It was pretty cold and I was thankful for all the shops to get in and out of. The Castle was amazing with all of the art and gifts from foreign dignitaries. Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed to be taken inside. The different rooms for the King and Queen and all of the sitting and dining rooms were grand. Some of these rooms are still used for state events. As the castle was closing early today and chairs were being set up, something would be occuring in the next day.

St. George’s cathedral. I saw the quire where official functions occur. I also saw where Queen Elizabeth II was buried.

In the town there is a maze you can play starting at the beginning (pawn) and only going forward in the maze to get to the center (queen).

Brief history:

Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world, with a history stretching back nearly 1,000 years. It was founded by William the Conqueror around 1070–1086 as part of a defensive ring of fortifications around London. Over the centuries, it evolved from a Norman motte-and-bailey fortress into a grand royal residence.

Successive monarchs expanded and transformed it — Edward III rebuilt much of it in the 14th century, Charles II turned it into a lavish Baroque palace after the Civil War (and made sure that his father Charles I was reburied there as he was beheaded at the end of the civil war when the monarchy was dissolved), and George IV added the iconic Victorian Gothic style seen today.

Windsor has been home to 40 monarchs, served as a royal refuge during wartime (Elizabeth and Margaret stayed here during WWII), and remains an important ceremonial and residential site for the British Royal Family. It’s also home to St George’s Chapel, the spiritual center of the Order of the Garter and the site of many royal weddings and burials.

Concert, theater, and musical

While in London I watched a few shows . The first was ABBA Voyager. ABBA Voyage is a revolutionary concert experience. ABBA perform as unbelievably realistic digital avatars (called ABBAtars), They used motion-capture technology to create avatars from their 1974 selves. The show is in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. A live band and singers played along, giving a real concert feel. The use of cinema and theatrical lighting made it a great experience. Images and videos were not allowed throughout the performance. London Bridge on the way to the concert.

Waiting for the concert to start in the dance floor section.

I went to the Arcola Theater in the East side of London. The production was Crocodile Fever about 2 Irish sisters in the 80’s in a dysfunctional family. It was pretty good and funny. It was exciting to be in a small theater where you are seated on the sides and close to the actors.

After the play, we ate at an Ethiopian restaurant . Yummy!

The last production was the musical. The Devil Wears Prada in Central London. It was much like the movie with many of the same dialogue but with some different twists. The music and dancing was phenomenal.

Before the musical, we ate at Din Tai Fung. This is a restaurant I went to in Guangzhou. I especially wanted the Dan Dan noodles which have a sesame sauce on them. They also had a chocolate bao with a cream sauce. Delicious.

In a nearby building was a display that changes often throughout the year.

Brighton

Brighton is a vibrant seaside city on England’s south coast and known for its pebbled beach, lively pier, and creative atmosphere. The Lanes have a variety of independent shops that I had fun browsing. There are great second hand shops which came in handy since I needed a sweater now that the weather is much colder.

The pier attractions were mostly closed but I drank a pint while I waited for sunset to unfold and see the murmurations of the Starlings. After, I stopped to buy hot donuts. They are not like the big sugary donuts or the US, but smaller and with a little bit of frosted sugar on top. They were delicious and warm. I also ate at Flint House which has amazing food!

The Royal Pavilion is designed in an Oriental theme inside and out. I was happy to see the influence from Guangzhou (Canton) as that was the area that designed textiles for export to London. Queen Victoria stayed here several times over a few years. Unfortunately, even though disguised,some youths heckled her and she was very put out. She ordered the Pavilion to be torn down but instead, the townspeople begged to buy the structure. She removed many of the interior decorations though. Later, she agreed to return some of them and the rest were given on loan.

Coffee at Pelícano.

This shop has antiques and so much more. Worth the time perusing.

The Royal Pavilion.

From the Pavilion, I walked through the Lanes to get to the pebble beach and the pier. I also had the hot donuts before finding Flint House to eat small bites before leaving.

At the Flint House, their specialty is corn fritters. They were delicious!

Imperial War Museum

My visit to the Imperial War Museum was like a peek into the stories behind conflict. It is a collection of artifacts, but shows also how war shapes people and the world we know today. From the beginning you can see aircraft suspended overhead and then journey through the WWI and WWII galleries to see personal letters, photographs, and testimony. I found it very emotional but with clear history of countries and their peoples. From the video, audio, personal accounts, and history it was an amazing museum.

Outside the museum is a section of the Berlin wall.

They even had a simulated bunker to walk through.

Jewel tower

This is across from the Palace of Westminster, and is one of London’s quietest medieval structures. It was built in 1365 to safeguard the treasures of Edward III. It was also used to hold royal documents. It has great information that complements all the other sites. It did have a lot of stairs!

Westminster Abbey

I have seen a coronation and weddings as well as the Queen’s funeral and it was amazing to be able to tour it. I also like looking at gravestones so those that are inside are even better!

I found it fascinating that Queen Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots are buried near each other despite the intense rivalry.

St. Edward the Confessor shrine

The coronation chair