Stratford Upon Avon

A brief history of William Shakespeare: William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born at Stratford Upon Avon in a house on Henley Street. His mother, Mary Arden, was one of the daughters of Robert Arden, a yeoman farmer of Wilmcote: his father, John Shakespeare, was a glover and wool dealer of good standing.


From the age of 7 to about 14, he attended Stratford Grammar School receiving an excellent well rounded education. At the age of 18 he married Anne Hathaway, who was seven years his senior and three months pregnant. She was of "yeoman" stock - her family owned a farm one mile west of Stratford in Shottery. He endured her until he could stand it no longer and fled to London to become an actor (not a very nice description of their marriage, but there you are). He then became actor-manager and part-owner in the Blackfriars and afterwards the Globe Theaters. He was a first-rate actor, but it is as a writer of plays that he has achieved lasting world-wide fame. His plays are thought to be the finest ever written in any language.

His 37 plays vary in type: historical romances, light, comedies, tragedies. He was a shrewd business man, amassing quite a fortune in his time. He returned to Stratford for his latter years where he died at the age of 52 and now lies at rest in his special grave at Holy Trinity Church.


[This is Mary Arden's Farm: a real working tudor farm, as is evident from the pig sty. D was particularly taken with this lot. The aromatic offering was a but much for me. That may be part of what is making D smile so much...]


Mary Arden's House: Three and a half miles outside Stratford and still retaining its country setting in Wilmcote, this timbered Tudor farmhouse is the house that Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden, grew up in before marrying John Shakespeare and moving to Henley Street. [The gardens here are really exceptional. It was difficult to capture them on film - well planned, laid out, maintained, all of it.]


Our favorite attraction at this house was the falconry display. It was a very informative but relaxed event that talked about the bird and his place in English falconry history. What made it different than anything that we have even heard of stateside was that the handler gave everyone an opportunity to feed the bird that was interested. That consisted of putting on the heavily fortified leather glove, turning your back to the bird, accepting the bit of raw chicken from the trainer (a bit gross, especially when he gave the woman before me the chicken's head) and then the bird just magically came and ate. We have some cool video of it. The owl is remarkably light and we considered ourselves privileged for having gotten the chance to "hold" him.


Anne Hathaway's cottage is the most picturesque of all the Shakespeare cottages (there are 5 included in the trust - his mother's house (Mary Arden), Anne's house (his wife), his birthplace, Hall's Croft (where his eldest daughter Susanna lived) and New Place-Nash House). Before marrying Shakespeare in 1582, Anne Hathaway lived in what is justifiably described as one of England's most famous buildings. The cottage was known as Newlands Farm in Shakespeare's day and had more than 90 acres of land attached to it. As in many houses of the period, it has multiple chimneys to spread the heat evenly throughout the house during winter. The largest chimney was used for cooking. It also has visible timber framing, a trademark of vernacular Tudor style architecture. Again, the gardens are amazing and we were there at the perfect time to see them in bloom. This was my favorite house. I could just look at it for hours.


This half-timbered house is where William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and is Stratford's most cherished historical place, and it has been a place of pilgrimage for over 250 years. Interestingly, descendants of the dramatist lived here until the 19th century. The house was divided in two parts, so that part could act as a store front for Will's dad in his glove making and wool trade. They had period dressed craftsmen in the home making gloves with tools from the era. We enjoyed talking with them and learning about commerce in the period as well as the greater Shakespeare family.


New Place, Shakespeare's home from 1597 until his death in 1616, was pulled down in the 18th century. Only the foundations remain and it is really just a sad story in which the new owner basically got tired of visitors the house attracted and finally tore it down over a disagreement with the tax man (no house, no taxes. Drastic solution if I do say...) There isn't much to see there, so I left the pictures out. This picture is of Hall's Croft. Apparently, Will's eldest daughter married a medical genius and lived here with him. The interior is dedicated to the medicine of his time. The exterior also reflects this theme in that the herb garden contains the plants that Dr. Hall would have used to cure his patients.


The grounds of this property (Hall's Croft) were the biggest and most enjoyable. I knew that the English are known for loving their gardens and having beautiful yards, but this really brought home why they do. On a beautiful day, there is no more peaceful place to be than surrounded by these gorgeous trees and hedges and flowers. Again, the lilacs and roses and other flowers were in full bloom, so it smelled as beautiful as it looked.


This is Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried along with his immediate family. It is small and beautifully maintained and on the very edge of town (which means a 10-15 minute walk.) We walked all of these sites and it made for the most pleasant day. I have the increasing desire to read more Shakespeare's plays, now that I feel like I have stepped a small foot into his world.


The Avon river - it didn't seem right not to include a picture of this lovely waterway.

Medieval England: Londinium

We found this fantastic tour that does all the planning, booking and leg work and we just needed to show up - my kind of tour! We were interested in seeing more of England instead of just London (even though we both really enjoy visiting London), and this tour took us out into the countryside to enjoy some of the medieval historical sites. We started in London (Londinium is the name of this great city during Roman times).


Our tour was primarily all by bus, but instead of taking the Chunnel (the tunnel under the Channel from France to England), we took the ferry from Calais to Dover. I was really excited about this because I have always wanted to see the white cliffs of Dover but didn't think it was going to happen. It is fun and slightly surreal that you can see the English shores from France and visa versa. And I didn't realize this, but it make sense, that the French coast has cliffs that are white, just like Dover's. (They just didn't get the same good press that Dover must have recieved.) The pictures don't do them justice, the cliffs are stunning.


We had only a few hours in London, so we had to pick one, maybe two activities that we wanted to do in that time. One place I hadn't been to was the British Museum. It is a treasure trove of historical, cultural and archeological wonders. I had done a little homework leading up to the trip and thanks to a easy to negotiate webpage with all the information you could want on it, I was able to map out the sights (down the rooms and display numbers) of interesting artifacts. This helped us to utilize our time most efficiently. This picture is of The Black Obilesk of Shalmaneser III. It is Neo-Assyrian, dating in the range of 858-824 BC. It is from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu), northern Iraq. It depicts the military achievements of an Assyrian king.

The archaeologist Henry Layard discovered this black limestone obelisk in 1846 during his excavations of the site of Kalhu, the ancient Assyrian capital. It was erected as a public monument in 825 BC at a time of civil war. The relief sculptures glorify the achievements of King Shalmaneser III (reigned 858-824 BC) and his chief minister. It lists their military campaigns of thirty-one years and the tribute they exacted from their neighbours: including camels, monkeys, an elephant and a rhinoceros. Assyrian kings often collected exotic animals and plants as an expression of their power.

There are five scenes of tribute, each of which occupies four panels round the face of the obelisk and is identified by a line of cuneiform script above the panel. From top to bottom they are:

Sua of Gilzanu (in north-west Iran)
Jehu of Bit Omri (ancient northern Israel)
An unnamed ruler of Musri (probably Egypt)
Marduk-apil-usur of Suhi (middle Euphrates, Syria and Iraq)
Qalparunda of Patin (Antakya region of Turkey)

The second register from the top includes the earliest surviving picture of an Israelite: the Biblical Jehu, king of Israel, brought or sent his tribute in around 841 BC. Ahab, son of Omri, king of Israel, had lost his life in battle a few years previously, fighting against the king of Damascus at Ramoth-Gilead (I Kings xxii. 29-36). His second son (Joram) was succeeded by Jehu, a usurper, who broke the alliances with Phoenicia and Judah, and submitted to Assyria. The caption above the scene, written in Assyrian cuneiform, can be translated

The tribute of Jehu, son of Omri: I received from him silver, gold, a golden bowl, a golden vase with pointed bottom, golden tumblers, golden buckets, tin, a staff for a king [and] spears.

This picture illustrates the Israelites carrying the tribute to Shalmaneser.


This picture is of the Elgin Marbles, also known as the Parthenon Marbles, which are a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures, inscriptions and architectural members that originally belonged to the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens. Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1799–1803 and a looter according to some people in Britain, obtained an ambiguous permission from the Ottoman authorities to remove pieces from the Acropolis. From 1801 to 1812 Elgin's agents removed about half of the surviving sculptures of the Parthenon. The Marbles were transported by sea to Britain. In Britain, Elgin was criticized for his actions, labelled by some as vandalism. However, following a public debate in Parliament and subsequent exoneration of Elgin's actions, the marbles were purchased by the British Government in 1816 and placed on display in the British Museum, where they stand now on view in the purpose-built Duveen Gallery. However, the legality of the removal has been questioned and the debate continues as to whether the Marbles should remain in the British Museum or be returned to Athens.


The Elgin Marbles, removed in 1801 by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, include some 17 figures from the statuary from the east and west pediments (pediments are the triangular spaces formed by the pitch of the roof of a Greek temple, one at either end of the building), 15 (of an original 92) of the metope panels depicting battles between the Lapiths and the Centaurs, as well as 247 feet (of an original 524 feet) of the Parthenon Frieze which decorated the horizontal course set above the interior architrave of the temple. As such, they represent more than half of what now remains of the surviving sculptural decoration of the Parthenon.


These statues come from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, on of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is Greek in design, from around 350 BC but from Bodrum, modern Turkey. They stand at approximately 12 feet in height. Research suggests that there were once thirty-six such colossal portraits standing between the Ionic columns of the peristyle of the Mausoleum.

The mausoleum was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC at Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, Turkey) for Mausolus, a satrap in the Persian Empire, and Artemisia II of Caria, his wife and sister. The structure was designed by the Greek architects Satyros and Pythis. It stood approximately 135 ft in height, and each of the four sides was adorned with sculptural reliefs created by each one of four Greek sculptors — Leochares, Bryaxis, Scopas of Paros and Timotheus. The finished structure was considered to be such an aesthetic triumph that Antipater of Sidon identified it as one of his Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The word mausoleum has since come to be used generically for any grand tomb, though "Mausol – eion" originally meant "[building] dedicated to Mausolus".


This one may have been my favorite, although it is hard to choose between such great artifacts. This is The Flood Tablet, relating part of the Epic of Gilgamesh. It is the most famous cuneiform tablet from Mesopotamia. [Cuneiform script is one of the earliest known forms of written expression. Emerging in Sumer around the 30th century BC, with predecessors reaching into the late 4th millennium (the Uruk IV period), cuneiform writing began as a system of pictographs and later developed into alphabetic writing.) The Assyrian King Ashurbanipal (reigned 669-631 BC) collected a library of thousands of cuneiform tablets in his palace at Nineveh. They recorded myths, legends and scientific information. Among them was the story of the adventures of Gilgamesh, a legendary ruler of Uruk, and his search for immortality. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a huge work, the longest literary work in Akkadian (the language of Babylonia and Assyria and earliest attested Semitic language). It was widely known, with versions also found at Hattusas, capital of the Hittites, and Megiddo in the Levant.

This, the eleventh tablet of the epic, describes the meeting of Gilgamesh with Utnapishtim. Utnapishtim had been forewarned of a plan by the gods to send a great flood so he built a boat and loaded it with everything he could find. Utnapishtim survived the flood for six days while mankind was destroyed, before landing on a mountain called Nimush. He released a dove and a swallow but they did not find dry land to rest on, and returned. Finally a raven that he released did not return, showing that the waters must have receded. (Sound like a familiar story to anyone?)

This Assyrian version of the Old Testament flood story was identified in 1872 by George Smith, an assistant in The British Museum. On reading the text he, "... jumped up and rushed about the room in a great state of excitement, and, to the astonishment of those present, began to undress himself." Those wacky Brits.


After all this wonderful history and culture, we decided to spend our remaining time enjoying afternoon tea. [We had been mistakenly calling it "High tea" but apparently it is only High tea if you drink Champagne with it, which we didn't. Therefore, we had afternoon tea, or cream team as it is also called. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet...] We tried to go to the Savoy, which is probably the most grand hotel in all of London, but discovered that it is undergoing renovation. Although it was supposed to have been opened by April of 2009 (after being closed 18 months and spending in the area of 25 million pounds on the renovation), it still wasn't finished and was likely to closed until the end of the year. Wow. This was information provided to us by a wonderfully friendly doorman at an adjacent building. He gave us the recommendation of the Waldorf Hilton to enjoy our tea (just down the road), which we did.


I took this picture right before we got back on the bus to head northwest to our hotel in Banbury, which was centrally located between castles for the weekend. I liked the picture because it gave a feel for how great the sky was, and remained for our weekend in Medieval England. Next up, a visit to William Shakespeare's birthplace and home at Stratford Upon Avon.

Third Time is a Charm

We arrived back in Europe the week of May 9th for the last leg of our European adventure. I jokingly tell D that I studied abroad in College and he has done his study abroad through work. Anyway, we are excited that the weather is MUCH improved and so is the daylight. As would make sense, when we were here in the winter, it was dark and a bit dreary - the sun rose around 9:30am and set at 4-4:30pm. Now, the sun is rising before 5am and setting after 10pm. What a difference a few months will make!


So for our first weekend back, we decided to visit our friends up in Utrecht, The Netherlands, in what turned out to be one of their last weekends in Europe. We trained it up this time, which was so much more relaxing (and predictable) than driving. [Last time our Garmin failed to keep up with all the construction and extended our travel time substantially.] We got there in time to enjoy a lovely dinner party at Josh and Liz's and meet many of their friends. It was a fun group from all over - Americans, Canadians, Germans, Swiss and Dutch. It was a fun evening of stories and games and a great way to shake off the jet lag.


After a wonderfully relaxed morning, including a fantastic breakfast of crepes, we meandered our way into Amsterdam to check out the Rijksmuseum. It is, unfortunately, under renovation until sometime in 2010, but it has kept one wing open in order to keep available Dutch masterpieces for view. We came to see one of the most well known Dutch masters, Rembrandt (whose full name is Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn), and his most famous work commonly called The Night Watch.


The official name of the painting is The Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch. It is renowned for three elements: its colossal size (11ft 10in x 14ft 4in), the effective use of light and shadow, and the perception of motion in what would have been, traditionally, a static military portrait. This painting was completed in 1642, at the peak of the Netherlands' golden age. It depicts the eponymous company moving out, led by Captain Frans Banning Cocq (dressed in black, with a red sash) and his lieutenant, Willem van Ruytenburch. With effective use of sunlight and shade, Rembrandt leads the eye to the three most important characters among the crowd, the two gentlemen in the center (from whom the painting gets its original title), and the small girl in the center left background. Behind them the company's colors are carried by the ensign, Jan Visscher Cornelissen. For much of its existence, the painting was coated with a dark varnish which gave the incorrect impression that it depicted a night scene, leading to the name by which it is now commonly known. It is a remarkable work of art and worth the effort to see.


This is just another favorite picture of mine. After walking around the Rijksmuseum, D and I were a bit tired and thirsty, so we stopped at this outdoor cafe for a drink (Heineken for D in honor of being in the city of its birth in 1873). I was just sitting there and was struck by the combination of color and contrast. There is the natural beauty of the sky and gnarled tree limbs right next to the modern shapes, clean lines and colors of the chairs and street lamps.


Again, we had a gorgeous weekend. Amsterdam is normally a very rainy, overcast place (and generally quite chilly) but we have had stunning weather which helps so much in just enjoying the look and feel of the city. We loved our walk through the canal intermingled streets.

Home again, home again

And before we knew it, our time was up (again) and it was time to head back home. Now, since D and I had preferred status at United Airlines, we had been allowed to bring more suitcases and at a heavier weight. Since we had had to pack for winter (meaning more and heavier items) that was a nice thing on the front end.


On the back end, however, packing and preparing to go home was a challenge. We actually had to do a packing dry-run because we were unsure if we were going to be able to get all our luggage into our car. If we couldn't, we had the plan of D taking me to the train with a couple of bags and then he would drive up, drop the car off and I would meet him at the airport. Needless to say, this was not an option we were excited to exercise. Thankfully, D channeled our good friend Ryan, who is an absolute genius at packing and using all available space, was able to get it all in - just BARELY. Needless to say, we prayed for God's protection as we drove to the airport, since we had little ability to see out the windows.


Even the front seat was packed with luggage. If you can tell, I have carry-on luggage on my lap, between my feet and a lunch bag in between us. Whew. Next time we come back, in May, we have GOT to pack lighter in weight and amount.

Salzburg and the Hof

Although all of the folks working in Europe with D and on the weekend get away were free to do whatever they wanted to, it was fun seeing things together as a group. Therefore, we wound up doing most activities together. We broke up in little groups (sometimes couples) but always came back together at least for dinner. It is a great group of people and it was fun to get to know them, and many of their spouses/significant others as well.

After the great castle tour, a trip to Salzburg sounded great, so we decided to jump on a train and head just south of the German border to this beautiful Austrian town.


Salzburg has many famous citizens, but the best known world-wide is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). He was born in this house (the helpful sign on the building announces it for anyone to see, incase they didn't know.) Mozart was a prolific and influential composer during the Classical era. He composed over six hundred works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers.


Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood in Salzburg. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty; at seventeen he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position, always composing abundantly. His birth place has been turned into a museum celebrating his life and achievement.


Salzburg is an ancient city. The first settlements at Salzburg were apparently begun by the Celts. Around 15 BC the separate settlements were merged into one city by the Romans. At this time the city was called Juvavum and was awarded the status of a Roman municipium in 45 AD. Juvavum developed into an important town of the Roman province of Noricum. Juvavum declined sharply after the collapse of the Norican frontier, such that by the late 7th century it had become a "near ruin."


The name Salzburg literally means "Salt Castle", and derives its name from the barges carrying salt on the Salzach river, which were subject to a toll in the 8th century, as was customary for many communities and cities on European rivers. The Festung Hohensalzburg, the city's fortress, was built in 1077 and expanded during the following centuries. It presides beautifully over the city and is well worth the energetic 20 minute hike up the mountainside to take in the view. Our view was blocked a bit by the blizzard conditions, but it created other lovely sites that we tried to capture on film (somewhat successfully.)


Once we made it down again, D decided that the Austrian/Bavarian style boiled wool hat was a great idea. (It was downright cold, and the idea of a nice warm, and stylish, hat sounded good.) His coworker had encouraged the idea when he purchased one, so I thought I would document their efforts to blend in with the locals.


Our last meal in Munich was enjoyed at the Hofbraeuhaus, and we enjoyed the experience as well as the food. The Hofbraeuhaus is actually a brewery (although now has a substantial restaurant as well), owned by the state government. The Hof (court) comes from the brewery's history as the royal brewery to the Prince of Bavaria. It is because of this royal connection that you will see the crown as a part of their crest. If you look carefully on the glasses in the above picture, you will see it. [One interesting aside about these mugs: if they look big to you, that is because they are. A glass like this is called a Mass and it is a full liter of liquid. If you go into the Hofbraeuhaus and order a beer, this is what you will get. You have to ask specifically for a small glass in order to get less. Also, this brewery has wheat beer, dark beer and pilsner, but they are all and only from this brewery. No options here.]


The Hofbraeuhaus is a perennial tourist favorite - it is almost synonymous with Munich, and no more so than in September-October time when they host the largest Volksfest (People's Festival) in the World. The original Theresienwiese festival grounds). Although there were other activities at the original Oktoberfest, it is predominantly drinking now in huge temporary "beer gardens" in the form of tents. I have heard that the line for the bathroom is not pretty.


All year round, this famous brewery has a great traditional Bavarian band play on the ground floor bar (that serves limited food - bar snacks really). After we finished our fabulous German fare upstairs, we ventured down to embrace the true tourist experience. The band was great, the hall was CROWDED, and the most enthusiastic singing was done (when the band was on break and they had a CD playing) to The Beatles "Yellow Submarine." Good stuff.

After Christmas Christmas Party

D works for a fabulous company. Not only does he get to work with good people and they treat him well but they also provide many "perks" that are uncommon, especially in this somewhat troubled market. One such perk is a wonderful Christmas party. We have done such fun things as go on a river dinner cruise, go to a musical, and have a casino night. Since there are a lot of commitments in December, the last few years the company has made the party after Christmas, in January. We were going to miss it, obviously, because we knew that we were going to be in Europe. We discovered, however, that since there are enough employees in Europe, this great company decided that we could plan our own post-Christmas party/event. Hurray!


We were fortunate to have an extremely well traveled senior statesman here who steered us toward spending our kitty on a trip instead of a big dinner or something in Belgium. We weighed our options, voted and decided on a trip to Munich. Several of us had been there before, but it is such a fun city that we agreed that it would be a great host to our party. Upon arrival, we headed down to the center of town to catch the Glockenspiel show. At 11:10am every day the clock by city hall has wooden figures that come to life and put on a show for the tourists. We were able to get into town just in time for the show.


We proceeded to walk around town and catch the sites. Naturally, we had to go by and check out the Hofbraeuhaus, a perennial tourist must. We had plans to eat dinner there later in the weekend, so we just proceeded to walk around, do a little shopping, and enjoy Bavaria in the winter. [The crisp air and the snow added fabulous atmosphere, just what you would want in February in Bavaria.]


I loved this fountain and wanted to capture the humor of it. The head "spitting" is Bacchus, (the Roman god of wine, fertility and growth) and what I loved about it was that even though it was COLD outside, the fountain was still running. I loved the ice formation around the boy's legs. The marble bust, the boy in bronze with the ice all around just captured my imagination. What a fun sculpture.


The next day, we all boarded a bus to head out castle hopping. Viator is a online tour company that has all kinds of trips all over the world. It contracts with local providers and makes it easy for the internet tourist to book their activities with confidence. I had used them 2 years ago when I went to Munich with my mom to see Neuschwanstein. We all decided to take this tour, again for me, to view what is possibly the most stunning castle in Europe. This picture is of a small church on the grounds of Linderhof, the first stop on the castle tour.


Linderhof Palace is the smallest of King Ludwig II's castles and he used it primarily as a hunting lodge. It was built in the style of the famous Versailles palace partially because of Ludwig's admiration for Louis XIV, the Sun King. The symbol of the sun that can be found everywhere in the decoration of the rooms represents the French notion of absolutism that, for Ludwig, was the perfect incorporation of his ideal of a God-given monarchy with total royal power. Such a monarchy could no longer be realized in Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century, a fact that was difficult for Ludwig to accept. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but as the outside shows, it is a lovely home with several innovations and comforts for the time. My favorite invention was the table in the king's bedroom that could be lowered down into the kitchen to be loaded up with food, raised for him to eat and then lowered again to clear it off.


Next, we continued on to Castle Neuschwanstein. Since I had been there recently, I had a plan that detoured from the regular activities. I had noticed, when I was there with mom, that there is a path on the mountainside that leads to a bridge behind the castle called Marienbruecke (which translates to Mary's Bridge). The most fabulous pictures of the castle I have seen have come from this bridge, and I was determined to go there and get them for myself. D was a terrific sport and agreed with the scheme. What this meant, however, was that we had to skip eating lunch at the scheduled restaurant and instead head straight up the mountain. Since I knew this ahead of time, I bought provisions so that we wouldn't go hungry.


As you can see from the pictures, it was a snowy day. It was pouring snow, if that expression translates from rain to snow. The reason why this is relevant is that the path to the bridge is very steep and not well traveled. That means that there was a lot of snow to slip on. It was a brisk 30+ minute hike and we didn't stop all that frequently. (We did have the occasional pause to catch our breath and admire the gorgeous view. It is fabulous in Bavaria in the winter - a real winter wonderland.) Finally, as we closed in on the end of our quest, we noticed a closed sign over the last bit of the path. There was a German couple there, who had clearly done the same thing as us, discussing options. I asked them if the closed sign meant the bridge was off-limits. They said they were unsure, but since they had come all this way, they didn't want to turn back without finishing the journey, so they jumped the fence and continued on. At this point, I turned pleading eyes to D and said that although I am very much a rule-follower, I really REALLY wanted to follow their example and jump the fence too. Gracious husband that he is, he agreed to the idea and off we went.


As you can see, the journey was worth it. There was a whole crowd of people at the bridge, which did make me feel a little better about the decision (families with little kids). This was good in that it gave us people to take our picture with the castle in the background. Isn't it wonderful? I was over the moon happy about getting this picture. After enjoying the view, we had to make our way down the mountain in order to climb it again, only this time in the direction of the entrance for the castle, so that we could make our timed tour of the interior. (We did notice that there is a path, a short-cut, from the bridge to the castle, but that was also closed and I had done enough rule-breaking for one day.)


This is a picture of the bridge from the castle. Impressive, don't you think? The original bridge was made of wood, but later replaced by a more sturdy metal version. The first time I visited this castle (in 1995), tourists were allowed to take pictures inside, but they have now forbidden it, which is a shame. King Ludwig was a huge Richard Wagner fan (the renown German composer) and he themed the castle's decor on the operas' of Wagner. The name even, which translates to the "New Swan's Stone Palace," is the name of the home of the swan Knight Lohengrin, of Wagner's opera of the same name. The many of the rooms walls are painted with scenes from the operas and there is even a grotto built in to a small passageway between 2 rooms. [For those that don't know, a grotto is "an artificial recess or structure made to resemble a natural cave." Yes, he had an artificial cave built into the interior. It is a bit weird entering the cave and then exiting it again. Sooooo unusual.]

The story of the castle is also a bit like a Wagner opera, with intrigue, mystery and even death. The conception of the palace was outlined by Ludwig II in a letter to Richard Wagner, dated May 13, 1868; “It is my intention to rebuild the old castle ruin at Hohenschwangau near the Pollat Gorge in the authentic style of the old German knights' castles... the location is the most beautiful one could find, holy and unapproachable, a worthy temple for the divine friend who has brought salvation and true blessing to the world.” The foundation stone of the building was laid September 5, 1869 but it was unfortunately never completed.


Neuschwanstein was near completion when, in 1886, the King was declared insane by a State Commission under Dr. von Gudden and arrested at the palace. The King could hardly control himself as he asked von Gudden, "How can you declare me insane? You have not yet examined me!" Taken to Castle Berg, he was found on June 13, 1886, in shallow water in Lake Starnberg, drowned, along with von Gudden. The exact circumstances of his and von Gudden's deaths remain unexplained. It is generally believed that Ludwig's deposition was brought about by the Wittelsbachs (princes of Germany, in other words, his family members) in response to his extravagance with the dynasty's private funds on projects such as Neuschwanstein.

Ludwig did not allow visitors to his castles, but after his death in 1886 the castle was opened to the public (really, in just a matter of weeks, and in part due to the need to pay off the debts Ludwig incurred financing its construction). Since that time over 50 million people have visited the Castle. About 1.3 million people visit annually, with up to 6,000 per day in the summer. The palace has appeared in several movies, and was the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty Castle at both Disneyland Park and Hong Kong Disneyland.

Valentine's Day Weekend

D surprised me one day by coming home and asking if I would like to spend Valentine's Day in Paris. Well, does a girl have to be asked twice?! What a great invitation! I was thrilled, and it got better in that D had been sold by a friend that taking the train 1st class was a must. Since D made these plans at least a month in advance (such a good husband!), we were able to make reservations without having to mortgage the house. D had been looking forward to taking the high speed train, which takes you to Paris in just under 2 hours. D had done his homework and navigated the Paris underground exceptionally well and we were at our hotel in no time.

Since D was doing such a great job of taking care of travel, my job was to plan activities. Although we had been to Paris before, we are firm believers that there is so much to do in this wonderful city that there wouldn't be a problem of finding new adventures.

I was thrilled to discover that the Louvre is open late on Friday nights, and since the time is more restrictive, the price is reflective of that and is about half of the normal entrance fee. Once we dropped off our bags at the hotel and walked to the Louvre, we had about 1-2 hours to walk around and enjoy the sites. I had a short list of pieces that I wanted to see (and that I thought D would too) so we started with those. Winged Victory, pictured here, is just a beautiful welcome to the museum. I have great memories of being awed by it when I first saw it and wanted D to have that same experience.

[The statues proper name is The Winged Victory of Samothrace or Nike of Samothrace and was carved in marble in the 3rd century to represent the Greek goddess Nike (Victory). The statue is rendered in white Parian marble. The figure originally formed part of the Samothrace temple complex. It stood on a pedestal of gray marble representing the prow of a ship, and symbolized the goddess as she descends from the skies to the triumphant fleet.]

Other highlights included the Venus de Milo, the Mona Lisa, winged Babylonian Bull sculptures, the Coronation of Napoleon and Liberty Following the People paintings. Good stuff. The Louvre has so much it is good to have parameters to prevent death by museum.


Off to bed we went so that bright and early the next morning we could head to the Eiffel Tower and make the trek up it. We got there at 9:30am, right after it opened, and were happy to see that the lines weren't bad yet. We decided to climb as high as we could not only so that we could avoid crowds, but we felt we could appreciate it more if we worked for it.


The views are fantastic and we took our time and lots of pictures on the way up. We were blessed with a sunny day, and liked the climb. Everyone is required to take the elevator up the last third of the way, and we were able to purchase the tickets for it on the first and second floors, which saved us waiting in line on the ground (and money). We decided to take the stairs on the way down as well since by the time we were done with the climb and views it was close to lunch, and the crowds were out. Thankfully, the stairs were still empty.


Next we moved on to the Rodin Museum. Since D had appreciated The Thinker in the sculpture gardens at Stanford University, it was a real pleasure to enjoy the original. Thanks to my sister and the education she gave me on Rodin, I have come to really like his work. I remember visiting this museum with Susie and Chris a long time ago and Susie educating us on the person and work of Rodin and his students. I love the size and variety of work, both in medium as well as subject. I would have loved to have purchased a replica, but even the small ones were way too expensive.

I fell in love with this piece by Camille Claudel, one of Rodin's students. It is entitled, "The Waltz" which makes sense. There aren't that many pieces of her work here, but from what I have seen, I really like her work (I may even prefer it to Rodin's work). There is something really elegant and romantic about them that appeals to me. Also, she used some beautiful stone to augment the pieces, jade and onyx and the like, that gave them a flare and uniqueness that is hard to put into words.

We finished up with a late Valentine's Day dinner that started with Champagne, of course, and had its fair share of fois gras (fat geese liver, really, literally that is what it means) because this IS France. I had a lovely veal and D had an enjoyable duck. Overall, a wonderfully memorable weekend in which D gets huge husband credit forever for planning and executing. I feel like a pampered wife and a special valentine.