Here we go. Leaving Germany.
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Finally In Frankfurt
The train came a bit late which always causes unnecessary stress. But I did manage to push my belongings across the terminals and even squeezed in a quick espresso too. All my language is checked in: 22.9 kg, 23.1kg and 12.5kg for the carry on – one less thing to deal with. It is almost […]
To Frankfurt
First part of this journey home is done, that is getting on the right train with 3 suitcases and 2 bags. Next milestone will be to get off the train and switch airport terminals in Frankfurt. For now I have two solid hours to relax and do nothing.
Farewell Nuremberg
Here we go, the last drive on a beautiful summer morning – off to the train station.
This is Monza
Monza is an integral part of F1. It is one of the first 7 tracks that hosted the F1 championship in 1950. Since then 64 F1 races were run in Italy and all but one were held at Monza. Monza together with Monaco, Silverstone in England, and Spa in Belgium are four of the original tracks still used today […]
Parking
As it turns out the easiest place to ding parking in Switzerland is on a highway. 11 km into Switzerland I am stuck in a highway to nowhere. In 45 min I moved almost 1km. This should be fun. You know when this is going to be bad when people abandon their cars and go […]
Home Alone
It is 10:30pm. The owner of the villa is staying in the private part of this complex behind a big iron gate, in a huge manicured private garden in a smaller private villa more suitable for a family. Alexandro the caretaker and Fiona the lady who makes breakfast sleeps next to the kitchen which is […]
Monza Walkabout
After last night it was slow going this morning but a race day awaits. Karen, Carlos and myself are going to carpool since they know where the good parking is but don’t feel like driving their little Lancia on the twisty Italian roads. We were informed that to have a chance of finding decent parking we […]
The Concert
After my day out at Monza, I got back to the Villa Medici for the piano concert which I was invited to by Maestro Kanno. Together with a number of other guests and the owner of this fabulous place we watched 4 young musicians show off their polished skills after a week of teaching and a […]
House Of Music
Villa Medici has a different look and feel to it in a daylight. Last night I just wanted to get to bed, today I had a chance to walk around this place, in its endless maze of hallways and rooms that lead to even more hallways and rooms. This place is truly huge and on […]
Qualifying
After some noisy Porsches trashing around the track it was time for F1 qualifying. The crowd cheers, for Ferrari of course, and to improve the odds and feel better, for any previous Ferrari driver, in which case Masa got a lot of cheers. On the way back to the car Red Bull is giving away […]
At Monza
I ended driving to Monza. Found FREE parking by the Ingresso Biassano, read 300 m from the main gate. F1 qualifying is starting in 50 min. This is the view then from where I am sitting! It is 29C and on metal bleachers it feels like a frying pan! Awesome.
Villa Medici
So after circling around the building for about 25 min I managed to find the big brown door to get to where I am staying, Villa Medici. This is a 4000 sq m musical villa. There are over 60 pianos here in this house. I have a piano in my room too, it is bigger […]
Finally Here
This is Villa Medici. I stood and drove around this place for 25 min and parked at least on 3 of the 4 available corners trying to figure out how to get into this place. Apparently there huge brown door had a large metal knocker that you bang, then the doors open and you are […]
Welcome to Switzerland
I do not think I had more than 10km of road in Switzerland that was not: 1. under construction 2. blocked by someone very important hogging the left lane going below the speed limit 3. passport control 4. traffic
Getting to Italy
I only made one quick stop in Switzerland to admire the sunset over Alps. It was also the only place when it was not working so it kind of worked out.
One More Road Trip
I am setting off to Monza for F1. The Temple of Speed awaits..
Almost ….
Well the wheels are on. Now for a test drive and a bill and hopefully I can get on with it.
Tire Hell
This is what happens to ZR rated tires on the Autobahn. I think our highest speed was around the 230km/h mark and in the last 16 months there was only one time when we did not go over warp speed which is 200. Before setting out for Monza I stopped to check tire pressure which […]
F1
After a lot of waiting, a lot of talking and a bit of planning this is finally happening. I am going to Monza to see F1 race this coming weekend. I am not sure what to expect, except for a lot of noise and testosterone around and a sea of red and yellow flags supporting […]
Homeless
Today, as of 11:34 am we are officially homeless in Nuremberg. The apartment keys have been returned, furniture moved out, cleaned and locked up. Goodbye Emilientstrasse 7 – we loved it there!
And Then
When it is all said and done, this is what nostalgia will look like. An evening out in Nuremberg on a beautiful summer’s day.
Imperial Invasion
At the Imperial Castle, in the lower gardens – I have no ideal what this is…. Red Bull is doing something in town this weekend, perhaps this Cos play has something to do with it.
Breakfast
I am officially on the threshold of packing vs clean up. This mining the last bit of shopping with a s quick stop for breakfast at our favourite cafe La Violetta.
Best Views
Today, I think is the last shopping trip I will be making. Just a few small things we still need to bring home. I say small because there simply aren’t too many things we need and there is no room in the suitcases. I am already starting to miss this town. It is had to […]
Arb’Aventure Videos
The two young ladies are taking the zip line at the end of the challenging obstacle course adventure, or as they see it, Hunger Games obstacle course.
More Rouen Videos
Here are two more videos from the Sound and Light Show at the Rouen Cathedral. Simply amazing.
Rouen Cathedral Organs
While visiting some of these splendid structures, on a number of occasions, we were treated to the sound of roaring organs. Rouen Cathedral was also a nice treat. Someone was taking the organs for a spin and they sounded mighty.
First Time
Wow that has not happened on the blog before – we exceeded the bandwidth usage. The blog went through 10GB of bandwidth in 25 days – nice work people, keep it up.
Landing
According to the flight tracker, the eagle has landed. Welcome to Edmonton?!
Flight
According to flight tracker ICE693 is half way over to Edmonton currently somewhere over the Great White North.
Check in
Boarding passes in hand, family is off through security scan. That is a lot of electronic fruit they need to pull out.
Coming Home
I think these smiles say it all, or they are just posing for the camera. In Frankfurt at the airport just waiting to get bows all wrapped up and set off.
Touchdown
The lag gauge has arrived – all of these 12 suitcases came with me in a car with room for maybe two or there more. Now they are waiting for the family to help me push them to departures.
The Art of Packing
This is how you get 12 suitcases and 2 bows into a car with room to spare. That is one very loaded car!! The drive should be fun..
11th Hour
We are at T – 15 hours before we pack the car and the family takes the train for the trip to Frankfurt. Family from Poland stops by for a quick visit to say hello! We send the kids off to town in the early afternoon to visit at least one museum, and to have as much […]
Sound and Light – Video
The Rouen Cathedral Sound and Light show was great in pictures. Here are a couple of videos and a couple of more coming in next week since Vimeo account limits what can be uploaded. It looked far more spectacular in the video – enjoy it.
Insanity Continues
This again will be filled under “Christ what were we thinking” category which is the predominant theme of ours when we go out to eat. After a wonderful dinner at the Golden Horn we rolled out of the restaurant, and rolled down the hill from the castle side, across the main square and to 4D our favourite […]
Farewell Dinner
Tonight we are seeing Volker and Kasia for the last time on this trip. It is largely because of them that we are here, it is because of them that this trip has been such an amazing journey and it if was not for their help with everything we would most likely speak a bit […]
La Violetta
This is our favourite go to coffee shop. Always busy always good and always relaxing.
Around Nuremberg
It is Saturday today which means it is our last chance to go to the shops and buy anything we still might need. Our goal for today was to get some suitcases and a poster tube. We did not find a suitcase we liked, we forgot about the poster tube but we bought a few […]
Travel Update
We are slowly coming to the end of this great adventure and while we are not quite thinking about home yet, here is an updated map of places we have visited. Hopefully tomorrow, I will get a chance to catch up on the blog – so stay tuned! The map in detail
Home at Last
After a busy and eventful day we are finally home, a bit later than we thought and tired but home at last!
St. Bavo’s Cathedral
The building is based upon the Chapel of St. John the Baptist, a primarily wooden construction; it was consecrated in 942 by Transmarus, Bishop of Tournai and Noyon. Traces of this original structure are evident in the cathedral’s crypt. The chapel was subsequently expanded in the Romanesque style in 1038. Some traces of this phase […]
Ghent
Ghent started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Leie and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of northern Europe with some 60,000 people in 1300 AD, 70,000 in 1400 growing to 175,000 Shortly after 1500 AD. Today it is a busy city with a port […]
Van Landschoot
After the visit at the museum, we spent almost an hour chatting with the grand-daughter of Maurice Van Landschoot and his son Gilbert who not only own but run the museum. Van Landschoot Family tree traces back over 1000 years. They were predominantly masons and timber traders. They were employed to provide their expertise […]
Canadian Polish WWII Museum
We stumbled upon this place literally by accident. While staying in Bruges at the B&B on one of the maps I saw a little logo of this place. It seemed very odd and rather surprising that there would be a museum dedicated specifically to both Canadian and Polish Soldiers for WWII efforts. This is a […]
One More Road Trip
Today we are setting off from Bruges to Nuremberg. On the way home there are a couple of stops we want to make to see some interesting things. We are going to be getting home late but with nothing to do tomorrow, no one really cares.
Off To Ghent
Our stay at the B&B has ended, we are going to be stopping in two cities for a quick visit on the way to Nuremberg. After packing the car which took about 25 min we settled in and off we went to see a WWII museum and then to Ghent.
Jumping for Joy
While we were tying to get the car packed the kids were enjoying themselves on the trampoline – I think they are happy that we are finally going home. Except we are not, as we still have some stops planned on the way home.
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