The last day of Eurail

Made it to Paris fine on our last train covered by Eurail. Excited for what the next two days hold! 

Unexpected Delays

Well, we had planned to catch a train earlier this morning and be in Paris by noon. At the station, we found out that it wouldn't be possible. Instead, we will be arriving just before 11pm. Unfortunately, we lose a day in Paris, but we get another afternoon in Cologne. 

Kalkriese and Bremen

Today, we spent four hours in Kalkriese learning about how Herman and Germanic tribesmen defeated three Roman legions in 9 AD. We really enjoyed the exhibits and also were able to walk around the ancient battle site in the forest. 

The evening we spent in Bremen. Kari recently did some research and found that both Kalthoff and Bandemer graves were there. We visited Friedhof Riensberg first where there were eight Kalthoffs buried. Once we arrived, it was a little sad because the information building was closed and the cemetery was so huge that there was little hope in finding any Kalthoffs. However, on the bright side, the cemetery was gorgeous and we enjoyed a picnic there in the sun (which we haven't seen in awhile). Of course, we looked around a little but no luck. Next up, Friedhof Huckelriede to search for the four Bandemers. Same story. Too big but very beautiful. However, we did find a Brandenburg grave. Even though we were not able to locate any of the graves we came to see, we were very glad we tried and still embraced the nice weather. 

Last night, we skyped the family back home which was a great time. However, tonight, we are getting ready to leave for Paris in the morning. Tomorrow is our last day to use our month long Eurail pass. We have definitely made the most of it. 

Cologne

We had a great time exploring this city. Our ancestors came from this general area of Germany so it was neat to see where they may have lived or visited. Sometimes people came up to us speaking German. Even though we look it, we are sadly clueless when it comes to speaking German. The cathedral was very impressive and we walked around the old town.  We also toured a Roman German museum dedicated to displaying artifacts of the area both from German and Celtic background and those influenced by the Romans since the early AD centuries. We went out to eat at a traditional tavern before catching a train to go further north to Dortmund. Tomorrow, we are going just north of Osnabruck to go to a museum about Herman the German. 

Luxembourg

We had a day of scenic train rides from Frankfurt through Luxembourg to Liege, Belgium. Tomorrow, we go to Koln! 

Frankfurt

Got here about 5pm. Stayed in the train station at the Starbucks and got wifi to locate a hostel. We found a nice affordable hostel just 100m in front of the station. They serve free pasta suppers and free breakfast in the morning. Frankfurt in general I can't really say many positive things about. We have found it to have a fairly uncomfortable feel to it.

Tonight was very frustrating as we tried to plan out the remainder of the trip. We hit many roadblocks. After several hours, we have completed booking hostels for the rest of our nights. A decent accomplishment. Tomorrow: we are going to Luxembourg. Friday: we hope to spend in Cologne. Saturday: we are planning to visit a museum about the Varus Battle and Herman the German. Sunday: we travel to Paris and maybe tour Versailles. It's going to be a crazy four days. I hope we enjoy it. But right now, I am drained and ready for bed. 

Hrensko

Yesterday morning, we booked a hotel in the northern part of the Czech Republic, deep in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park. 

It took a half a day to get there. We got checked in and were impressed by our nice room. By 4:30, we were out on the trails. It was rainy and foggy which added to the mystical feel of the lush mountainous landscape. We hiked to the natural stone bridge, which was filmed for the opening scene of the Narnia movies. It was truly a majestic sight to take in. The way back to the hotel was less enjoyable as the wind and rain became more harsh. 

This morning, we got up at 5:00 to go hiking in the Kamenice river gorge. It was a long, cold, rainy walk to get there, but it was so worth leaving our warm beds. Between last night and this morning, we hiked 20 kilometers. Just a indicator about the beauty of this area and our determination to see it during our short stay. At 8:00, we enjoyed the hotel's breakfast and planned out our route. Now, we have just completed our long day of travel from Hrensko, Czech Republic to Frankfurt, Germany. We are both excited to explore the area where our ancestors are from over the next few days before going to Paris on Sunday.