Christine in Lech, Austria

It's that time of year again.  When we all go skiing and hang outdoors and enjoy the fresh air.  And fly down mountains.  My second trip of this ski season had me visiting Lech, Austria.  I went with the Patch ski club.  The group skews a bit older.  Which means less partying and better accommodations.  Life is all about the trade-offs.  It snowed each morning we were there.  This meant not so great visibility in the mornings.  But the afternoons had lovely, sunny weather.  I'll take fresh snow and sun when I can.

This is an expensive town.  I know that because I heard royals vacation there.  I didn't hear which royals vacation there.  But to be fair, I could walk by the Queen of England and probably not recognize her.  Or her grandsons.  So there is that.  Maybe if they had signs.

The mountains:

I skied Der Weisse Ring (The White Ring).  It is a route that connects Lech, Zurs, Zug, and Oberlech.  It is 22km (13.6 miles) of skiing.   It took a couple of hours to do.  But led me to one of my favorite restaurants (and it was not the food that made it my favorite--hard, very hard, to believe).

We stopped and ate goulash on the mountain.  It was tasty, but not the best thing at the restaurant.  Most trees have trains under them.  On the mountain, you get a ski lift, complete with cut out people under the tree.  Best. Decoration. Ever.

The pretty little church:

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Christine in Tubingen, Germany

Once again I visited the Schokolade (Chocolate) fest in Tubingen, Germany.  Best. Fest. Ever.  Really, of all of the fests to include Volksfest or Fruhlingfest (see previous posts), I love this one best.  I think they, being the Germans, should have this every week.  But no one asked for my expert opinion.

Please see last year's post about this spectacular event.  This time I took pictures of the town.  Yes, it was freezing cold this visit.  Even the chocolate liquor, from the chocolate shot glasses did not help keep me warm.  That cold.

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Christine at the Stuttgart Weihnachtsmarkt

Christmas is kinda a big deal around here.  And by around here, I mean Europe.  Most towns have a Christmas market.  They can be over a weekend or for the month leading up to Christmas.  The booths are set up and open after the American Thanksgiving.  I don't think either has anything to do with the other.  The German markets run through December 23rd.  (The French towns have theirs past Christmas.  They are smart people.  Gives us Americans something to do over the holidays when we are all off and gets us to spend more money.)

The booths are elaborately decorated and designed.  But they sell strange items.  In addition to Christmasy stuff, they sell cooking utensils, cleaning detergents, wooden toys, socks, sweaters, dirdles, doll house accessories and toys, candles, and food.  Random stuff.  They all sell the same strange stuff.  And huge crowds are always there.  At least the times I visit.  So many people.  That move at the pace of a snail.  It's actually hard to believe I go.  Since I hate slow walkers and such Christmas commercialism.  But you are just drawn to it like chocolate.  You try to resist but can't.

They also have a winter garden with a skating ring.  Very popular.  Very crowed.  I am not good enough to skate with the kids.  I would fall on them and crush them.  The little ones get these big wooden bears and penguins to hold on to and learn to skate.

Probably the coolest part of the market is the trains.  I would have loved this as a child.  I'm jealous as an adult.

The Germans do have a sense of humor:

I did grab something to eat.  The Germans and their potatoes.  It never ends well.  The apple sauce was good, eaten separately.  I liked the potatoes in the yogurt sauce.

Finally, the department store window again has Star Wars in Legos.  So cool.  Maybe I like it cause it has nothing to do with Christmas.  I kinda want to buy Legos and build stuff with them.  I may just yet.  That's probably the real reason.  

Frohe Weihnachten!  (Merry Christmas!)
Christine

Christine at Hintertux, Austria Take II.

Once again I spent Thanksgiving on the glaciers of Austria.  It's wonderful to ski before your turkey dinner.  The Austrian's like fireworks.

The skiing was as good as could be expected.  For the end of November.  One of the Germans asked me why I was skiing in Austria.  I said because there's snow.  And laughed.  He said he couldn't wait for January and his trip to the Rockies.  I agreed.  Some of the best skiing is in the Rockies.  However, the best skiing is where there is snow and you can make the trip.

And the mountains were beautiful as well.  The sun setting over the mountains.

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Christine in Cappadocia, Turkey

In addition to visiting Istanbul, I also traveled to Cappadocia, Turkey.  Cappadocia means beautiful horse.  This area, located in the middle of the country, is known for it's caves and history.  There are over 600 churches around here.

I stayed at a cave hotel room:

Outside the hotel

The guide took me to see fairy chimneys.  Apparently centuries of wind and water sculpted the landscape and fairy chimney is what the locals call them.  We actually visited a couple locations with them.  Some are quite high up.  (They are neat to see in person; but maybe don't photograph so well?)

Landscape

Cappadocia has the Goreme Open air museum in the world.  It is on the World Heritage List of UNESCO with its soft stone cliffs and churches.  At one time, there were 400 churches.  Now you can visit 15.  The caves were sculpted by the winds and water as well.  And the people carved out the "buildings/rooms" from the soft volcanic stone.

The churches are know for their Frescos inside.  Some go back to the 8th century, though the Byzantine ones are from the 10th and 13th centuries.  You are not suppose to take pictures- they should tell you before you go in that pics are not allowed.  Notice the faces being scratched out.  Muslims did this because their religion does not allow faces of humans or animals to be displayed in religious settings.








Turkey is known for it's carpets.  This go round, I was strong and did not purchase any.  Who knows next time.  I visited a place that shows demonstrations of weaving and sell carpets.  The salesman will give you whatever drink you like (I had apple chi) and then show tons of carpets.  They just continue to roll them out.  And the salesman insisted that customers take off their shoes and walk on the carpets.  From experience, you can feel the difference between wool, cotton, and silk.  And boy is the silk carpet expensive.  He showed one that cost $153,000.

Turkey is also home to the Underground City, built in the late Hittite era and used as a monastery in Christian times.  The city went 8 stories down.  I only went 2 or 3 stories.  The passage ways were quite small.  Most times I had to bend over to walk through and I felt the sides brush off me, it was so close.  They built a vent system to allow fresh air in.  When I put my head in there, you could feel it.  Some rooms were kitchens, others wineries, and churches.

I attended a pottery demonstration and showcase.  Once again, I was strong and resisted the urge to purchase a piece.  I took a pottery class in college.  It was hard with an electric wheel.  This man moved the wheel with his feet.

They asked for a volunteer to try.  So I stepped up.  I still can't center clay.  Or, as it turns out, move the wheel with my feet.  I can, however, accept help.

One of my favorite meals included chicken and spinach.  I also liked the kabobs.

Christine

Christine in Istanbul, Turkey

It is said that Istanbul is where the west meets the east.  Approximately 3 percent of Turkey is in Europe and the rest is in the east.  Part of Istanbul is on the Europe side and part is on the Asia side, with approximately 15 million people calling Istanbul home.  I think 10 million of them have vehicles.  (Ok, maybe not 10 million, but a lot of cars driving around there.)  And they are skilled, crazy drivers.  Be prepared for traffic; that's all I'm sayin'.   Lots of sites to visit.  Also, the architecture around the (old) city is impressive.

Visiting Istanbul, I learned a lot.  It was the first time I visited mosques.  And the tour guide patiently answered all my questions.  Since this is the first time I really had the opportunity to discuss Islam and mosques, there were many.  In Turkey, you are free to practice which ever religion you like.  However, approximately 95 percent of the people in Turkey are Islamic.  Of those, 20 percent practice daily.  Muslims pray 5 times a day, facing Mecca.  It takes around 30 minutes if you are at a mosque.  If you are by yourself, you can pray in about 5 minutes.  If inside the mosque is full, the people will pray in the court yard.  This mostly occurs during holidays.  There are no pews, it is more a big, empty room.  Men and women do not pray together, with women in the back/not seen.  Women wear scarfs to cover their hair.  This scarf can be any color (I brought a deep purple one with me).  Everyone washes outside before going inside to pray.  And you have to take off your shoes before going inside.  The mosques I visited had plastic bags so you could carry your shoes.  People do not get married in the mosques.  The ceremonies are done by the state, not religion.  However, some do go to pray at the mosques after the ceremony.

Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque is the most famous one.  This mosque has blue tile all over inside, hence the name.  I also saw the Süleymaniye Mosque, 2nd  largest mosque in the city.  And the prettier one, in my opinion.  The minaret is the tall, slender, tower situated at the corners of the mosque.  The Blue Mosque is the only mosque with 6 minarets.  The number of minarets kinda tell you how large the mosque is.  Most mosques in Istanbul have the domes, however, this is not a requirement.

Tile inside the Blue Mosque

Inside Süleymaniye Mosque

Hagia Sophia 

The Hagia Sophia use to be an Orthodox Basilica.  Then a mosque.  Now it is a Museum.  If a church becomes a mosque, many times the faces of animals and people will be scratched out.  This is because in Islam, faces are not allowed in mosques.  The mosaic below survived because it is on the outer parts of the church, not where people who are praying can see it.  Also, it is considered the finest mosaic in the museum because of the soft features.  You can't tell well from the picture, but you can see the different skin colors.  It is beautiful.

Mosaic inside the Hagia Sophia

The Covered Bazaar was the first shopping mall in the world.  It has 4,000 shops.  Yes, you can easily get lost in the maze (though I managed just fine-I'm good like that).  You can buy just about anything there I think.  Especially jewelry, pottery, rugs, and junk.  The Spice Market is similar, but more Turkish people actually shop there.  And lots of spices.  I practiced willpower and didn't purchase anything at either place.

Grand Bazaar

Spice Market

I also visited the Basilica Cistern.  The cistern, with 336 marble columns, held water, having 4 meter, waterproof thick walls.  For some reason, there are 2 Medusa face statues at the bottom of 2 columns.  One face is upside down and one is sideways.  The scientist decided this was deliberately done.  Not sure how they determined that exactly.  If you think you have seen this cistern before, it is because part of one of the 007 movies, From Russia With Love, was filmed here.

I walked around the Dolmabahçe Palace.  This palace is located on the Bosphorus strait.  It is stunning. They don't let you take pictures inside though.  Maybe google it?  Regardless, it has a crystal staircase.  Really, we all should have this feature in our houses.  Stunning.  Multiple sultans live here.  Well, they lived in the Harem, which connected to the palace.  Harem means prohibited.  The multiple wives had multiple rooms.  The Queen Mother kept them apart (with good reason).  The Ceremonial Hall's dome was huge, and the room is breathtaking.

I also visited Topkapi Palace.  It includes 3 gates just to get to the buildings where the sultans lived.  When a sultan died, his sons would fight to the death to take his place.  Eventually, the oldest son became sultan (the fighting thing weakened the empire).  This is the largest palace in the world, according to the guide.  The Treasury has the most famous dagger in the world.  It has 3 large emeralds on it.  The dagger was suppose to be a gift for the Shiek of Iran, but he died before it was delivered, so the sultan kept it.  I don't blame him.  It is impressive.  I believe the dagger was featured in movie Topkapi.  I haven't seen either of the movies, so I will take the guide's word on this.

And finally, for some food.  Turkish pizza (pretty good):

Christine

Christine in Stuttgart

Perfect fall weather for a hike around Stuttgart.  Really, above Stuttgart.

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Christine in Athens, Greece

Greece is a mythical place you should visit at some point in your life.  Colleen and Marcie, my sisters, visited Europe for a couple weeks and Colleen wanted to see Greece.  So we traveled to Athens.  I figured I should get the city out of the way so that one day I can go back and hang out on the beaches.  Marcie and Colleen asked to guest blog about this trip.  I have patiently waited for their post.  Since it must be lost in the mail, I will write up the trip.

We took the early morning train from Stuttgart to Munchen (Munich) and then the S Bahn to the Munchen airport.  There I tried to get my sister's into the international lounge with me.  (Traveling a million times to the US, well 4 times last year, will get you gold status--a great luxury when you travel internationally.)  They would only let me and a guest in.  Even after I told them that sisters were interchangable.  I asked if one of them wanted to come in with me.  They said no.  Finally, the good rule following German attendant asked another lady whether they could go in the lounge instead of me.  They agreed that Colleen and Marcie could go in without me.  And my sisters ran, easily leaving me behind.  You can tell who they thinks important.  But back to Greece.

The Acropolis is said to be the most important ancient site in the Western World.  It sits above the city and can be viewed nearly from anywhere.  The structures were built around 400 BC, well a little before then.  Within the Acropolis, the Parthenon is the most famous structure.

The Acropolis Museum is in the foothills of the Acropolis.  The museums top floor, Parthenon Gallery, is built in alignment with the temple, and a virtual replica of the cella of the Parthenon.  This is part of the Parthenon the Greeks moved to the museum to keep it safe (the head was lost at some point so that's an addition).  It was not yet moved up on the wall, so you cold really see it and get a great picture.  And no, I did not touch it for the record, even if I was very tempted.

The Temple of Athena Nike, built between 427 and 424 BC, is next to the Parthenon.  It has imitation statutes as the real ones are located at the museum, done the hill from the Acropolis.  This is to keep them from deteriorating.  (Really?  Cause you know they stood for thousands years.)

The Greeks began building the Temple of Olympian Zeus in 6 BC and took more than 700 years to build.  Most of the columns are gone now, but it had 104 at one time.  This is not located at the Acropolis.

Some facts on the columns.  They are actually pieces, you can kinda see each piece if you look closely.  So each column is not a single structures.  This Corinthian column, at the Temple of Olympian Zeus, was blown down in a gale in 1852.  

The National Archaeology Museum is another must see.  The bronze statue of Artemission Poseidon, from 5 BC is a perfectly balanced body of an athlete about to launch his trident.  Or it is Zeus about to throw a thunderbolt.  Apparently there is some disagreement on what the statue is.  For the record, the museum is not sure either.  The statue was found in the sea.  Looking back, I could have probably took a better picture from a different angle.

I enjoyed the Greek food.  Probably my favorite was a little place that sold, for 2 Euro, these:

And yes, the Greeks like to protest lately:

Don't let anyone tell you it's not hot in Greece.  We went early September.  It was so hot, easily 90s each day, I had to take breaks from walking around the sites.  I never take breaks.  My advise:  go in December or January.  You may not melt then.

Christine