June 3rd – We touched down in Frankfurt within a couple hours of each other; pretty good since we traveled from 3 different cities. Once we arrived in Frankfurt we set out trying to find a train to Trier. We found the the train terminal in the airport and an information booth and got additional direction from employees and other passengers, most of it conflicting so we just started out on one path.

On the train from Mainz to Koblenz, there were no seats available. The train from Koblenz to Trier was also super packed.

 

We found out later that in an effort to bring back the economy after COVID lockdowns, the German government created a special offer that for 9 euros, you could ride any train to anywhere in the country as often as you wanted for one month. And the offer was good all summer. So that made the trip ‘interesting’.

 

But we finally made it! This leg of the journey was supposed to be 2 train rides totaling 3 hours. After 4 train rides and 5.5 hours, it all worked out.

Our hotel was right on the town square. We strolled a little way into town but decided to hurry and eat dinner before everything closed. We had a choice of two Italian restaurants, a Greek one, and a restaurant called “Louisiana” serving “the fine food of New Orleans.” We chose  L’Osteria since it was less crowded and in our courtyard, plus it was recommended by our hotel staff.

We had a day on our own before the Rick Steves tour began. So we took the train from Trier to Luxembourg.
Click here to go to the Luxembourg page. Then return here for more on Germany!

June 4th – After spending the better part of a day in Luxembourg we returned to Trier and had our introductory meeting with our Rick Steves tour guide and tour mates.

 

We then all headed out for dinner and a quick tour of Trier.

Our tour included the City Center, Konstantin Basilica, the Liebfrauenkirche (German for Church of Our Lady), and the Trier Dom (Cathedral with very loud bells!).

 

Our gourmet dinner was at Zum Domstein.

June 5th – In the morning, we had a guided historical walking tour of Trier, the oldest city in Germany.

 

• Porta Nigra (a city gate built in 170CE during the Roman Empire)
• The High Cathedral of St. Peter (the cathedral column is a remnant from the original 4th century cathedral and a Trier landmark
• The marvels of Roman architecture that still stand
• The evolution of the landmarks over time based on religious and political influences

That afternoon, we took a scenic drive on the bus along the Mosel River. 89% of the world’s Reisling is produced here. We went to Weingut P. Stettler-Söhne in Leisler, founded in 1649 and in the family ever since. We started with a sparkling wine (Sekt) in the original cellar then moved to a tasting room to try five additional wines.

Our bus took the fast route back to Trier, on the Autobahn. We had dinner that night at Ratskeller Zur Steipe with our tour mate, Janet. Ratskeller is German for “cellar under the town hall” and that’s exactly where this restaurant was.

June 6th – We left Trier in the morning on board our bus — our luxurious home away from home when on the road.

Our first stop was Eltz Castle (German: Burg Eltz), a medieval castle nestled in the hills above the Moselle. It is still owned by a branch of the same family (the Eltz family) that lived there in the 12th century, thirty-three generations ago. It is one of only three castles in the Eifel region which have never been destroyed. They don’t let you take photos of the inside but the outside alone is incredibly photogenic, including the interior courtyard.

The rain held off while we had a delicious local lunch and dessert at an outdoor restaurant in Beilstein on the river’s edge, with time to explore shops and the quaint town. We got on the bus  to leave and within minutes, intense rain was falling. Good timing!

The rain ended by the time we arrived in Baden-Baden. We checked into our hotel then took an orientation tour of the city.

Then we had a good German dinner at Löwenbräu (translation: lion’s brew) restaurant, an outdoor beer garden with wait staff in traditional Bavarian attire.

 

After dinner we took a stroll through town and then enjoyed the local gelato.

 

June 7th – On our way to Mürren Switzerland, we stopped in the Black Forest for some fun on Alpine slides and a tour at Black Forest Open Air Museum which gives the feel of farm life in the region in the 1600’s. Andrea, our tour guide, arranged for a surprise at lunch: Black Forest cake and cherry schnapps.

 

Back on the bus, heading to Mürren, we got an explanation of our options for hiking, gondola rides and views. Then we stopped at a rest area which had a lot of snacks, souvenirs and bakery items. We had to stay there 45 minutes to follow rules for bus drivers required to take breaks. Back on the bus Andrea offered everyone a Lindt dark chocolate truffle and proceeded to tell us all about Switzerland. We’ll be in Lauterbrunnen Valley and will take a gondola up to our hotel in clifftop Mürren, then have a traditional meal of cheese fondue at our hotel.

June 8th and 9th - Onward to Switzerland!
Then return to this page for more of Germany and our travels.

June 10th – Farewell to Switzerland as we head to Munich. But along the way we headed through windy roads then stopped for the driver to get his required rest time and for us to get snacks and a bathroom break. Then we headed out again for lunch at a truck stop type place in Austria, then on to Munich.

After getting settled in our hotel in Munich we headed out to the Market down the street and wandered around to see the old and new town halls and other sites surrounding them.  Later an informal tour with our guide who took us through town explaining where to eat and things to see and know.

The tour ended at the City Hall basement for dinner at Ratskeller Munchen with our wonderful tour mates.

Then we took a fun walk through the Hofbräuhaus, the famous beer hall, and its outside courtyard.

June 11th – Our Munich tour guide, Birgitte, walked us through the Historic City Center of Marienplatz, in and out of churches and public buildings, and explained which town hall was older than the other in spite of what they look like.

 

We watched the famous glockenspiel then split up for lunch. Some of us went to the outdoor beer garden in Hirschgarten. It seats 8,000 but somehow feels cozy. Others went to the English Gardens and still others went for gelato. 
Then a group of us found a great pizza place for dinner.

 

June 12th –  The morning started with a drive to Neuschwanstein Castle. We had picnic lunch on the castle grounds and then either rode a bus or took a 1.5K  climb up the mountain to get to the castle and tour entrance. (No photos were allowed inside.)

 

The palace was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and in honour of Richard Wagner. Hohenschwangau Castle, the yellow castle on the next hill, was King Ludwig’s childhood home.

 

June 12th continues with arrival in Salzburg, Austria!
Click to go to the Austria page which leads to the Netherlands page. Then return here to finish our our journey.

June 19th –  To begin the trip home we traveled from Almere to Amsterdam to Hanover to Frankfurt, followed by flights home on June 20th.

 

From the first train ride we had first class seats on two trains…first from Amsterdam to Hanover and then on a high speed train from Hanover to Frankfurt. Flying would’ve been a little quicker but who can resist an opportunity to ride in a high speed train? There we were on the first of our trains, trying to spend up the last of our Euros in the lounge car.

 

Things were going fairly smoothly until our first train was delayed twice and we knew we were going to miss our connection. (One delay was due to another train having an accident with a pedestrian and closing of tracks. Our engineer was surprised we got through in just 20 minutes.) We finally got to Hanover. Oh wow! Soooo many people, delayed trains, poor signage, mixed messages. We knew we’d have to fight for seats in spite of our first class tickets. We ended up letting one train go without us and got on the next train to Frankfurt.

 

A very nice fellow passenger explained to us how reserved first class seats worked (we didn’t have reservations anymore) and the non-reserved seats. We learned we could stay in the dining car the whole way – – and so we did!

June 20th –  We gave ourselves a ton of extra time to get to the airport, check in, get through security, etc. We picked up some breakfast at a cute airport pastry shop and ended up sharing our table with two men on their way to Slovenia to film a commercial. The director came in from Amsterdam and the producer from Berlin. They were supposed to fly out yesterday but the director was stuck in a line for 3.5 hours at Amsterdam’s airport. He showed us a photo of the line stretching waaaay outside into the parking lot–just to get inside the airport! Oh, we were so lucky we decided to take the train from Amsterdam and not fly from there!

Our three separate flights were conveniently scheduled within an hour of each other as we each headed back to our respective homes in TX, CO, and ME.

Epilogue – We have a tradition to meet in a major US city that all of us can easily get to in order to make a photo book of our recent trip. This year, we chose San Antonio in October. The weekend included a boat ride on San Antonio’s famous River Walk, BBQ and Tex Mex meals, and an evening at the Tejas Rodeo.

 

And so another chapter in the life of the Travelin’ Trio is over. But there will be more in the near future so stay tuned!

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