We awoke to a drizzly Berlin morning. As our flight wasn’t scheduled to leave until around 6pm, we’d planned on exploring the city more. However, the weather necessitated that we try to do things indoors (which can be a bit suboptimal with the little one). To ease things more, we opted to check-out of the hotel and take the rental car with us, thereby enabling us (in theory) to park at our destination to avoid getting soaked.

We settled on the Kulturforum as a destination due to its variety of offerings. In particular, we wanted to get at least a taste of the Gemaldegalerie, arguably Germany’s finest collection of Old Masters. Once again, Emerson did pretty well in a museum spending an hour or more looking at paintings with us. Highlights included works by Botticelli, Caravaggio, Canaletto (awesome ‘souvenirs’ of the Grand Tour), Rembrandt (though I prefer Hals, who’s work I didn’t see), and Vermeer. Libby also liked Gainsborough’s and Reynolds’s, though neither generally do much for me.
After the museum, we ate lunch at the Sony Center (this time having a much better meal at a place called Josty). Following lunch, we returned to the car, drove out of the city center, stopped for gas, and then returned to the car to Hertz at the airport. Mission accomplished! I managed to drive successfully for 2931km (a little over 1800 miles) through eleven (11!) European countries.

We flew out of Tegel airport (for the first and likely last time, as it’s scheduled to close once the new Berlin Brandenburg opens in a few months). The Lufthansa airport lounge was very nice… they served (among other things) wurst, potato salad, and fresh pretzels!

We departed on time and arrived in London a little early. The flight was uneventful, aside from Libby forgetting her Kindle on the airplane. Trying to retrieve it quickly (if at all) seemed highly problematic. So, I just provided my contact details to Lufthansa/BMI, deregistered it from the hotel, and will call about it from home. If it’s found and they can ship it: great! If not, she can have my Kindle Touch for the time being (which I bought on a bit of a lark anyway for only $79) while we wait for the next generation of tablets and e-readers to come out.

We stayed at the Radisson Edwardian Heathrow, a short ride from the terminals via taxi. The hotel is sort of decorated in the “faux fancy” style… it’s not really great, but it’s fine for its purpose. We ate “Scottish food” for dinner (McDonald’s—right next door) to save time and money (which is always popular with our McNugget anyway), and we then quickly went to bed since our flight was fairly early in the morning.

Our hotel—a Marriott in the city center—is located in a residential area in the former East Berlin, a few blocks south of Unter Den Linden. As we arrived early, we had time to explore the city yesterday, walking a fairly large rectangular pattern north to Unter Den Linden (via Gendarmenmarkt), over to the Brandenburger Tor, followed by a slight detour to the magnificent Reichstag building, cutting across Tiergarten (which was fortified as a Euro 2012 Fan Zone), visiting Potsdam Platz (where we stopped for dinner), and back down Leipziger Strasse to our hotel.

The impressive Reichstag...

Our first impression of Berlin? Meh… it’s okay.

Not being one who’s ever overly impressed by the “big sights” (pyramids at Giza? meh, too), seeing something like the Brandenburg Gate in person is enjoyable, but it doesn’t make the experience. Instead, I find the overall vibe/feel of a place—its architecture and environment—to be more important. And, Berlin (at least what I’ve seen of it) isn’t wildly appealing. Indeed, it’s sort of what I expected Eastern Europe—big cities in former Communist countries—to look like before visiting Prague, Budapest, etc. years ago.

Now my vision is finally realized in Berlin. While some of the modern architecture is arresting, there are also a lot of unattractive (presumably GDR-era) apartment blocks, as well as more recent attempts at contemporary and/or minimalist aesthetics that have failed to deliver (as it’s a fine line between ‘elegant simplicity’ and ‘stark brutality’). Given the history of Berlin, my criticism probably isn’t fair. It’s just that the city seems to be neither as spectacularly modern as Dubai nor as charmingly reconstructed as Munich.

Let’s see if our impressions change tomorrow.

Olomouc's Socialist Realist astronomical clock

The onward drive to Poland was slowed down by road work and at one point a sudden and inexplicable closing of the highway near Ostrava just before reaching Poland. This caused much confusion to the GPS unit, which wanted to keep routing me back to the aforementioned closed section of highway. For a while, I tried just ‘driving toward Poland’ hoping this would cause the recalculation to ‘catch on.’ No such luck. So, I eventually just stopped the car and added a waypoint inside of Poland and away from the non-existent highway. All told, I think the detour added 30 or so minutes to our travel time. This was only the second time that the GPS (briefly) failed us on the trip, and it’s really made the journey virtually stress free (especially as I’d pre-programmed all of the key destinations in the “favorites” list before our departure from home).

We’re staying at another Radisson Blu in the heart of Krakow. It’s a fine hotel choice in a great city. While we didn’t have a chance to explore too much of the town yet, what we’ve seen we really like! And, we don’t regret for a single moment the decision to come here (though it involves two fairly lengthy driving days for us). It’s full of character and very beautiful. We did manage to make it to the swoon-worthy Main Market Square.

Libby and Emerson in Krakow...

We also had what might just be the single best meal I’ve ever eaten in Europe… and for an amazingly low price. We happened upon a place called Miod Malina (“Honey Raspberry”) that’s seemingly recommended in all of the guidebooks and generally requires reservations. We lucked out and grabbed a table for four (the advantages of eating early on toddler time) before the crush of patrons really started. The restaurant does both Polish and Italian dishes (sometimes as a fusion) remarkably well. I won’t belabor with details but highlights included: gorgonzola, pear, and cranberry crostini, tomato soup w/ dumplings (out of this world good—Emerson shared this with me), potato pancakes with meat stew, meat stuffed dumplings with caramelized onions, and a warm Krakow-style cheesecake (somewhat akin to New York-style with a more assertive/tangy cheese flavor). Amazingly, we had all of this food (plus the stuff I didn’t mention)… basically starters, mains, and desserts for everyone plus drinks for about $55 (with tip). That’s $55 total, not per person… for one of the best and more expensive restaurants in town. Clearly, Scandinavia this is not…

Raspberry Panna Cotta at Miod Malina... excellent food and service!

We’re looking forward to tomorrow!

Today’s box score: +1 country (Poland); +2 for Emerson!

What a worthwhile place to visit! While the historic city center of Bratislava is diminutive in scale and lacks ‘major’ sights per se, we all found it utterly charming. It’s smartly restored, slightly arty, utterly accessible, not overly crowded, and full of friendly locals. We especially enjoyed the numerous statues that dotted the town, which added a note of whimsy to the classic facades. In short: Bratislava is a winner. I’d highly recommend it as a day trip from Wien or as a stop between Budapest and Vienna. We followed Rick Steves’s self-guided walking tour of Bratislava and added a few shopping stops to pick up souvenirs. Libby was especially taken by a silver and garnet ring, which she now owns.

Main Square -- Bratislava

Statues dot Bratislava's historic center...

For my part, I was struck by some images that I happened to notice inside of a little café near the town’s main square. It turns out that the café was run by a non-profit service organization that helps the intellectually challenged. The art work (made out of woven strips of construction paper to form multi-colored geometric patterns) was created by members of the organization as well and was for sale in the shop (at 5 euros, including frame and handmade gift bag). I found the people delightful in the café and the entire project to be very touching. The staff was clearly pleased to have sold their work, and I’ve probably never been happier spending ~$6.50 in my life.

My 'art' purchase in Bratislava...

After our successful morning, we returned to Vienna by 1:00. We grabbed lunch and took a nap. In the late afternoon, we headed to the Prater (a large public park near our hotel that’s very popular with the locals), which includes a Tivoli-style amusement park. We took a ride on a miniature train throughout the park, enjoyed a number of other amusements (including a traditional horse-drawn carousel), and wandered around the grounds enjoying the atmosphere. We then found a promising looking (and packed with locals) biergarten at which we enjoyed a tremendously awesome and insanely cheap (for Europe) dinner of bratwursts (with the most heavenly senf), frankfurters (for Emerson), potato salad, tomato salad, fresh bread, and drinks.

Fun at the Prater...

Pilot Emerson... ready for take-off!

We had ice cream—a sweet ending for a sweet day—as we walked through the park back to our hotel.

Tomorrow we depart Austria for Poland via the Czech Republic.

Today’s box score: +1 country (Slovakia)… +2 for Emerson!

Inside Salzburg's Dom

We departed Salzburg around noon. Timing worked out ideally as Emerson fell asleep immediately, awoke an hour and a half later in time for lunch (more wursts!), and finished her lunch just as we arrived at our afternoon waypoint: Melk. For those that aren’t familiar, Melk is a smallish town located in the Danube Valley approximately two-thirds of the way from Salzburg to Vienna. It contains Austria’s most famous abbey and otherwise is just a pleasant city to stroll, which is precisely what we did.

View of Melk's abbey...

After leaving Melk, we quickly arrived in Vienna… on the opposite side of town from our hotel! Much to my chagrin, this meant that I had to navigate through Vienna’s traffic during “rush hour” (assuming they have such a thing). I must confess, I found this to be a bit stressful… a fair amount of traffic, seemingly all of the streets intersecting at odd angles, motorcyclists zipping between and in front of cars (they’re as much of a nuisance as bicyclists can be to pedestrians, who seemingly zip at and between people with little regard for anyone’s safety—which is somewhat ironic because the damn bicyclists are always complaining about aggressive automobile drivers and then act like douche bags to pedestrians… but, I digress…), and of course street signs that make little to no sense to me. Needless to say, I was glad to reach our Marriott in Messe (slightly outside of the center of town, close to the Prater, and very convenient for parking and getting toddler suppliers, such as a variety of fresh fruit).

We actually did something I almost never, ever do: we ate dinner in the hotel’s restaurant tonight. And, it was excellent! Most of the family had traditional Weiner schnitzel with fresh greens and potato salad (though Emerson had French fries). I went a little rouge and ordered the Viennese creamy potato soup (with leeks and bacon) and followed it with a bowl of barley risotto with summer vegetables and fresh “mountain” cheese (perhaps something lost in translation there?).

Tomorrow, we plan to leave the car safely ensconced in the hotel’s garage as we go out to explore Wien!

Schloss Vaduz

The route to Schloss Linderhoff (one of King Ludwig’s famed castles and the only completed one) was somewhat circuitous. From Liechtenstein, we re-entered Switzerland, crossed briefly into Austria, drove into Germany, re-entered Austria, and finally returned to Germany a few miles before reaching the castle! The route was generally attractive with an especially enthralling section between Routte and Linderhoff, where we found ourselves skirting along the banks of an alpine lake.
Schloss Linderhof—inspired by Louis XIV and the palace at Versailles—was built on a diminutive scale for this rather eccentric king. Both the castle and grounds were fabulous. Unfortunately, the steady rain limited our ability to fully explore the grounds and outer buildings. We were, however, able to take the guided group tour in English (which, thankfully, Emerson handled very well).

Schloss Linderhof

After the castle, we made a quick side-trip to Oberammergau, best known for its religious theatrical production and skilled woodcarvings. According to Rick Steves, Oberammergau represents a tourist trap that is best avoided. I don’t know. Is it touristy? Sure… if not for travel, the village would clearly be a fragment of what it is today. However, we found Oberammergau to be charming and would have enjoyed a longer visit. Indeed, even though this was our second trip to Bavaria, we think an extended third trip should happen in the future—it’s really that nice. We’re also hopeful that the 3rd time might be the charm: a trip to Bravaria without rain.

In the late afternoon, we drove a couple more hours to Salzburg and arrived at our hotel around 6pm. We would have actually made it 30 minutes sooner, but we hit our only significant traffic snag (thus far) a few kilometers before the Austrian border (for our third and final crossing of the day!). After checking into the Sheraton Salzburg, we walked across the river and then briefly along its banks before ascending a little hill to reach the city’s best beer hall / garden: the Augustiner Braustubl. Dinner consisted of various wursts (mit senf), schnitzels, and pretzels along with “radlers” (beer mixed with lemon-lime soda) for the adults. As the rain had long since stopped, we enjoyed our delightful repast under the shade of the beer garden’s chestnut trees — a perfect ending to a great day!

An evening in Salzburg...

Today’s box score: +1 country (Liechtenstein)… +2 for Emerson!

We headed out of Luxembourg bound for St. Gallen, Switzerland via Freiburg, Germany. During our morning drive, we crossed the Mosel and Rhine rivers entering Germany, than France (crossing Alsace), before reentering Germany at Strasbourg. All told, the drive to Freiburg took about 3.5 hours.

Freiburg is an attractive “college town” located in/near the Black Forrest. While it lacks “major” sights and most of the town’s shops and venues were closed (it being Sunday), we passed a few pleasant hours strolling the streets and having a seafood lunch at NORDSEE (a kind of European, upscale “fast casual” concept — think: “if Panera Bread were a seafood place” and you’d be close…). Freiburg is also famous for its miniature canals (“bachle”), which were originally installed in the 1400s to minimize the likelihood of fires spreading.

Views of Freiburg -- the size of the Bachle is distorted for 'artistic' effect using a wide angle setting close to the subject. It's really little more than 18-24\

After Freiberg, we headed into the Black Forrest en route to Switzerland driving along the scenic B31 thru Titisee (which, might I add, is an awesome name for a town). Along the way, we stopped at a roadside stand to purchase some fresh cherries and strawberries, which were utterly delectable. Such experiences remind me that it’s sometimes the simple pleasures that most delight us. As with the rest of our drive, the journey through the Black Forrest and across northern Switzerland was rather scenic, often charming and occasionally sublime.

We arrived at the Radisson Blu in St. Gallen a little before 6pm. As usual with Radisson Blu properties, the hotel is fairly swank with a distinctly European feel. After getting settled, we walked a few blocks (through a mostly vacant downtown—still Sunday!) and selected an Italian place for dinner. Like the rest of dining in Switzerland, it was a little pricey (more than London; less than Stockholm), but the quality of our pizzas and pastas was on the mark. I also have to say that the local brew (we literally passed the brewery between our hotel and the restaurant), called Schutzengarten, was darn good: light yet flavorful and highly quaffable.

One final, happy note: Emerson was neither motion (nor otherwise) sick today. We think changing her seating position, along with me trying to consciously reduce body roll on the Chevy (it does not corner like it’s on rails), seems to have fixed the issue. So, we’re fairly certain that we’ll be able to finish the journey via automobile.

All in all, a good day!

Today’s box score: +1 country (Switzerland)… +2 for Emerson!

The car rental process at Hertz was also fairly painless… though we struggled a bit to find the #1 Club Gold garage and then also fumbled around trying to install Emerson’s car seat. The “good” news is that we ended up with a Chevy Captiva (a quasi-SUV/crossover), which has adequate storage space for us. The “bad” news is that it’s still a Chevy… in Germany… for an American who drives a Porsche at home. How’s that for life’s little ironies?

We departed Dusseldorf heading for the Netherlands. Reaching Holland, we drove down through Maastricht and on into Belgium. We stopped off in Malmedy to take a quick look at the resort town (charming) and picked up some frites (hey, it’s Belgium, right?). After this, we headed for Vianden in Luxembourg, which somehow brought us back into Germany and then onto a series of crazy, winding back roads through Germany and (somewhere along the way) into Luxembourg.

Amidst this bucolic splendor some trouble began. Emerson became increasingly cranky (unusual for her) and then suddenly vomited… uh oh. Fortunately, I found a place to turn off the road, and we managed to get her cleaned up. Based on her “rapid recovery” and lack of obvious other symptoms, we were forced to conclude she became motion sick (heretofore unheard of with her). And, based on the fact that she seemed to get unsettled again during the drive following our visit to Vianden, we’re at least a little concerned that this might be an ongoing issue this trip. So, I’m coming up with Plan B (taking trains) now in case Plan A (driving a car) doesn’t work out over the next day or two. In any case, there’s nothing to do about it now: we’ll just have to wait and see.

If vomit was the lowlight of the day, Vianden was the highlight. The town itself is nestled deep in folds of terrain that make up part of the Our River valley. Above the town looms the imposing structure of Chateau Vianden, which we toured this afternoon. Clearly, the ability to visit this sort of small village is the reason for traveling by car—it provides an efficient means for getting off of the “beaten path” to gems like Vianden.

Chateau de Vianden

We left Vianden and drove about 45 minutes to our hotel in Luxembourg City. However, by the time we parked, checked-in, got a bit settled, and grabbed a quick dinner – it was getting late, and we all were fairly tired. So, with that, I’ll close for the day and go to bed…

Today’s box score: +1 country for us (Luxembourg)… +4 countries for Emerson.