Our Grand Tour of Europe

Photos from our week in Oberammergau and the Bavarian Alps are posted here.

Friday, April 15

I was out of bed by 5:00 am, up early before the alarm. I woke up for some reason… then couldn’t get back to sleep—too many thoughts. The day was actually here… the day we were leaving La Bastide Vieille, the day we were leaving Provence.

I stayed up till after 1:00 am last night—this morning—posting our final blog from Provence. Charley and Kelly both wrote pieces—Kelly’s was a poem. I had planned to write too, but couldn’t seem to write anything new. Just a few hours later—up before the sun—I was back on the computer, checking messages and our financial accounts... making some plans for a trip with a friend when we get home. Several people had already read yesterday’s blog update and left thoughtful and caring comments. So many people have shared this experience with us. I checked in on the Slow Travel message board and even posted a comment about types of food we enjoyed in England. It seemed strangely normal to be doing this—as if it were just any other morning in Provence.

Other photos for Munich and Lucerne are posted here.

Our trip was nearing its end as we left St. Gilgen, Austria for two shorter stays in Munich, Germany and Lucerne, Switzerland. We were building our energy for the grand finale of our grand tour-- a 100 mile walk in the Swiss Alps.

Saturday, July 23 - St. Gilgen to Munich

We were up early to finish our final packing in our St. Gilgen apartment. Charley had spoken to Theo the caretaker, and we left behind food and some clothes that he will get to a needy family. We also doubled the size of the apartment library with a great supply of books and left behind the Rummikub game that we’ve enjoyed since Provence. Our luggage continues to shrink as we get closer to our Swiss walk.

We left the keys in the apartment and drove down to the village for breakfast. We’ve really enjoyed staying in St. Gilgen and definitely will come back here again. We picked a café for breakfast (juice, coffee, rolls, meat and cheese), had a leisurely meal and then one last look at the village. Charley and Kelly stopped in a drugstore looking for shampoo. While I waited outside the shop, a woman walked by with her little dog. The dog was trotting along carrying a rolled up newspaper in its mouth. The paper was about the size of the dog!

We took a different route to the autobahn (by Fuschl) and then headed toward Munich. This was the last journey of our 14-month trip that we made by car.

About an hour from Salzburg we exited the autobahn for a brief detour at Bad Aibling. My parents lived in this village when I was born, and I lived here for a few months when I was a baby. (I was actually born at a military hospital in Munich.) My dad was in the army, stationed in Bad Aibling, and my parents lived in the village—not on the base. I think they actually rented a room in a woman’s house—they were just 22 and 20 when I was born, so very young and having their first of many European experiences. We returned to the USA before I was a year old, but I grew up knowing about Bad Aibling and Bavaria and perhaps that is one reason I feel such a strong connection there.