Our initial days in France involved considerable walking and use of the Metro. It is a well-developed system that can get you anywhere you want to go quickly and cheaply. The cost of a taxi here is monstrous as we found out during our last trip from Gare de l'est to our last hotel.
But the ability to walk long distances carrying or wheeling luggage was also essential to this trip. While in Paris six or seven miles of walking was not out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, for Denise and I anyway, that kind of walking was hard on feet and knees! What made up for all that walking, however, were the sites and sounds of a city steeped in history and culture--something we only touched upon during our short stay there.
My greatest initial impression was formed by the Eiffel Tower. It is a different color than I imagined--sort of a military grey. As I have commented before, for a temporary structure, this monument of steel looks much more permanent. Perhaps Parisians felt it to be too starkly mechanical and industrial for the City of LIght when it was first erected, but you can easily fall in love with the Eiffel Tower as you get close to it.
The Louvre was also remarkable, but it is so vast that, again, you only achieve a whiff of what is on the menu when your tour occupies only part of the day. We spent much of our time in the Egyptian section, mostly because I had asked that we go there first. One simply cannot process how ancient are the artifacts, the sarcophagi (multiple), the painted walls filled with hieroglyphics (spelling?) and one dimensional figures depicting everyday life. I guess you can say that a museum is where humans can communicate with one another over vast stretches of time.
Again, the Normandy tour was wonderful, but all too brief. Our tour guide was well versed in facts and history and never used notes. Pont du Hoc was a place where one can get some sense of the destructive power of naval shells and Air Force bombs.
The craters here are overgrown with weeds and grass but still impressively wide and deep.
The Germans were still building concrete fortifications here when construction was halted by the invasion. One can still see stacks of concrete bags never used but turned into stone by time and weather.
The restaurants are so casual here. We did not have a bad experience during our time here--except perhaps at the Marriott the night before we flew out, but I won't count the crassly Americanized hotels occupying the territory nearest the Charles DeGaulle Airport. While none of us were brave enough to eat truly French cuisine on a daily basis, the food was almost always well prepared and the service was excellent. The French make good burgers and "pomme frites" (French fries), but you might want to specify how well you want your burger cooked because it can arrive essentially "tartar" (pretty much warm but raw in the middle).
The Arc de Triomphe is a monument to the fallen heroes of France. It is also a place where you can see an eternal flame burning in their honor.
The view from the Arc is unparallelled.
Austria is a breathtaking country. I have experienced nothing like it in my entire life. The Tyrol region is a hilly and mountainous area that in the U.S. would be sparsely populated. Here, the Austrians (eight million strong) have over the centuries mastered the art of vertical living. Houses, barns and grazing fields all occupy any usable buildable space, but there is no sense of overcrowding. There is a particular kind of mower here that is used to mow steep hillsides. Big wheels in the back and moving engine operated shears in the front. It's a heavy duty machine, but I still think it takes a considerable amount of skill to use one without tumbling down the steep inclines here.
Imagine taking your average American neighborhood, stretched and pulled hundreds if not thousands of feet vertically, such that your neighbors are both above and below you. Imagine narrow roads that access these neighborhoods with winding curves and few fences or barriers. If two cars meet each other, one has to either back up or use the occasional wide spots in the road to let the other car by. Of course, the cars are on average smaller. Still careless driving here can quickly turn fatal.
While in Austria, we stayed at the Klammsteinhof. A wonderful little place to stay with dream-like scenery.
This is Klammsteinhof, where we stayed in the Alps. The home has been in Hannes' family since the 17th century! A few years ago, Hannes and Vroni built a new home right next door--beautiful, efficient, with windows in all the right places. Hannes' parents and uncle still live on the main floor of Klammsteinhof-- they have quarters separate from the guests.
