Last Stop – Rhine River Valley

admin March 29, 2019 0 Comments

Our last stop before leaving for Frankfurt and the flight home was the Rhine River.  We did something really unique, and spent the night in a 12th-century medieval castle!

This was a really cool experience.  The Schonburg castle was built in the sits up on the hill overlooking the town of Oberwesel on the Rhine.  As a guest, you have free run of the castle and the castle gardens.  The views were incredible, and our room was OVER THE TOP.  It was in the very top of the castle turret, with a tiny balcony just big enough for two to step out and look down into the river valley.  I’ve posted way to many pictures of this, but it was really something special.

Finding amazing little experiences like this is what I love so much about traveling!

Next Stop Rothenburg!

admin March 28, 2019 0 Comments

Our next stop as Rothenburg ob der Tauber.  It was a couple of hours by train from Munich, and not far out of our way as we headed to the Rhine River Valley.

This place was so cool!  It’s in the heart of the German “Romantic Road” which includes lots of medieval castles and history.  Rothenburg is a very well preserved classic medieval old town, all secured within the city wall and just a few guarded gates to enter the city.  The castle was built in 1070 a.d., and then the town grew from there.  The city streets were exactly what you picture when you think of old Germany.

Today there are lots of little shops, restaurants, and bed and breakfasts, but they’re all in original buildings.  We stayed at a small family owned hotel that was built in the 1400s and had just a couple of rooms.  One of the highlights was the town wall that had a walkway that’s open to the public and was a neat way to see the city.  You are walking 3 stories above the town, looking out at the city on one side and through small slits in the stone used to shoot arrows at attackers on the other.

Munich, Germany

admin March 27, 2019 0 Comments

By evening we were back in Munich and wandered around the city a bit checking out the markets. We also stopped at one of the beer halls that Munich was famous for and it didn’t disappoint. Live music, huge beer steins, lederhosen, and lots of dancing!

Prague, Czechia

admin March 26, 2019 0 Comments

From Poland, we had to make our way to Frankfurt, Germany for our flight out the next week.  So to get around Europe, we decided to just do backpacks and get a Eurorail pass.  The first leg of our journey was an overnight sleeper train to Prague in the Czech Republic.  Prague it’s a beautiful place and one of the cities in Europe that were relatively untouched by the bombing in World War Two.  So it’s mostly original and not newly rebuilt like many other cities.

Auschwitz

admin March 25, 2019 0 Comments

First Stop, Krakow Poland

admin March 24, 2019 0 Comments

Our starting point was Krakow, Poland.  We planned a day here to see the sights and adjust to the time zone, and I’m so glad that we did.  This was a great city with a beautiful historic old town area awesome food.  We did a Segway tour to get the layout of things and then wandered around the old town square and side streets.

Krakow was also an interesting start to some World War Two history that we were interested in seeing.  It was occupied by the Nazis and was the location of Oskar Schindler’s factory (“Schindlers List”).  We visited the factory which is now a very well done museum telling the story of Nazi occupation and the lives of the Jews who worked for Schindler and were eventually saved by him.  We also walked through the Jewish ghetto (if you ever saw Schindlers List, this was the neighborhood where the Jews were taken from their homes and sent to concentration camps).  And many were killed here in these streets before they ever made it to a camp.

Spring Break Europe

admin March 23, 2019 0 Comments

Flight #118 to OC

admin March 21, 2019 0 Comments

Kenzie’s first swim meet

admin March 9, 2019 0 Comments

http://www.jbranchblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/img_0439.mov