After our breakfast we all got in the car and went to yet another little town. Ribeauvillé is “one of the oldest medieval towns” in Alsace. It was pretty quiet there when we arrived, and we slowly ambled up (or was it down? Or across? I haven’t a clue!) the main street.
As you see in one of these photos, I did finally get a teddy bear photo. Still, I haven’t gotten one that shows a multitude of teddy bears for some reason. I haven’t a clue why they are a “thing” here in Alsace, but every town we drove through has them. They are hanging outside, they are inside in the windows, and sometimes they are piled up. It’s a big thing, for sure.
Our wandering finally took us to a winery Greg and Jan like. We sampled six wines. You don’t have to pay for tastings here. Go figure. We bought three bottles to share. Greg and Jan bought more — but they have a place to store them. We weren’t up for checking luggage in order to bring some home. I wish I’d taken photos inside, but all I have is the building exterior.
We ate lunch at a place on the main drag, and then Greg went to get to car so he could pick up the wine, and Jan, Dan, and I went to get some other things so we could have a dinner in our little home for one more night.
From there we took a long route home. It was lovely. Until I got restless legs. From then on I was pretty miserable and just had to hang on until we could get home. I’ve not had RLS for a while. But so it goes. I survived. Got back. Took a hot bath, and I was feeling better, albeit a bit queasy from the stress of it all. A short rest seemed to take care of that issue. I think I have to be careful not to eat too much if I have a long sit following a meal, especially if it’s rather rich. (This is one reason the lie flat seats are better for me: if I got this on the plane and was in a different section I’d be toast. If I get RLS on the plane the solution is simply to go to sleep.)
Next up … a simple dinner with the wine we purchased from Domaine Jean Sipp, bread from the same town, cheese from yesterday’s adventures, and sausages of various sorts. It’s our final evening here … and I do hope that we someday return to Alsace, but you just never know.
Tomorrow it’s time to pack up and head back to Heidelberg. Perhaps some adventures between the two places: time will tell. (But when do we not have adventures?!)
We woke at a fairly decent time today, and Greg had already walked to pick up some croissants. When he returned we sat down to a nice little breakfast.
A bit after that we all got into the car and went on a little drive, eventually getting to the town of Eguisheim. What a fascinating place, designed in circles. We wanted a good amount, enjoying lots of Christmas decorations. The Christmas markets aren’t open yet, but that doesn’t stop them from putting up tons of decorations. We sampled some sort of very heavy, probably fruit based bread with nuts. It was quite delicious. I’m not exactly sure what’s in it, but I am sure I paid an arm and a leg! Who knew? I need to ask before I buy.
I thought of my brother Timothy at one point …
Being as it is Sunday not as much was open, so finding lunch wasn’t as easy as it might have been, but we did eventually find something that worked. Because we have our very fancy, Michelin star reservation tonight (!) we knew we needed something but not too much. I merely had a simple bowl of soup. That was quite sufficient.
From Eguisheim we went to Kaysersberg. Another sweet town, and more decorations. We noticed at both Eguisheim and Kayserberg that bears seem to be a popular subject for decorations — they were sitting on windows sills above us, featured in store windows, and very rarely was there a place where we didn’t see any. I guess I might look that up and see if there’s a story behind the bears. And, typical me, I neglected to take photos of the bears. Oops!
As we continued walking we went past cheese, meat, and bread places and we enjoyed more samples. And of course we had to get a selfie.
We walked to the end of the cute part of town and when coming back purchased a few things. How can one resist excellent cheese and chocolates, after all? Both towns were just charming!
Then it was back to the house to rest, relax, say goodbye to the light, and eventually dress for dinner.
Now dinner … well … it was pretty darn amazing. We arrived at La Table du Gourmet at 7:15. We left at close to 11:00. And we were the only four in the entire place! We did the 9 course meal, which means more than 9 courses. And I did take photos. Photos and more will have to wait, though, as I do need to get to bed. Just know it was an incredible time and something one does maybe a once or twice in a lifetime. Or … okay … maybe more for some folks, since I think this was Greg and Jan’s third or fourth time. But for us? I suspect that’s the only time we will have the opportunity to go to this particular restaurant. (Good thing, since we really can’t afford to do more!)
Well, I might have thought I was over jet lag, but my sleeplessness and then, when finally asleep, not waking until 8:00 and only then because Dan’s alarm went off say differently. Ah well! Jet lag is just something one deals with on these trips.
After getting up and showering, and then Dan doing the same, we walked to a small bakery spot and bought some pastries/breads and coffees. (Note to self: one pastry or bread option would be enough and don’t go for the sweet stuff!) We brought those back to the house and enjoyed them there, and then I started to feel the issue I get with too much sugar so I took a 20 minute snooze to recover.
Then it was time to head out … and up. We took the Philosphenweg to the old bridge. It’s a fairly substantial climb, and it’s just lovely.
By the time we got in to the Altstadt it was lunch time and while our intention was to have a smaller meal it didn’t quite work out that way. But it was tasty!
Then back to the house we went. I began this post, and then it was nap time.A SHORT nap, but it was definitely necessary
After a bit of time Dan and I went back to the Altstadt and met up with Melli — someone we had only met online. What a FUN time we had during our short visit. I’m so glad she thought to connect with Dan and set up the meeting! (But darn, I didn’t even get a photo … how crazy is that?!)
From there it was back “home” and dinner, conversation, and fun times with Greg and Jan.
Tomorrow we go to hear a favorite group of mine. Stay tuned!
After sleeping longer than I had planned I got up and enjoyed doing some puzzles (yes, Carolyn, I’ve so far not managed to skip them even though I said I might!). We had coffee and croissants, and Greg and Jan had things to do, so we got ready to walk back to the Altstadt just to wander.
We then went back to a place we’ve eaten at and enjoyed before. I had some tasty duck and Dan had a veggie dish. It was more food than I could handle, but that seems to be fairly typical for me. But both of our meals were delicious.
From there we went back to the house. We both napped a short time — I’m sort of the Queen of Naps, so I’m always happy to snooze for about 30 minutes, and I guess that might make Dan the King of Naps although he is less likely to do this when at home. So maybe he’s not quite as royal as I am. Hmm.
Dinner was a lovely pumpkin soup Greg made. We certainly needed no more than that after our large lunch. Then Greg and Jan headed off to Mannheim for a concert and we walked back to the Altstadt and just enjoyed a stroll in the 36° or so weather. And no, I wasn’t cold: it’s so nice to have appropriate warm clothes and finally be here when we don’t worry about being too warm! After so many summer trips being here this time of year is really delightful.
Now we are back at the house, and I’m hoping we manage to hit the hay at a normal time for where we are. I think we have had very little jet lag this trip, really. I’m happy with that!
Our flight to Frankfurt was pretty uneventful. There was the occasional turbulence but nothing awful. Well, the landing was rough but I believe that was due to the weather (we had to circle for 20 minutes before we were cleared to land).
We both managed to sleep on the plane. I sure think the expense of Polaris is worth it.
I am feeling pretty good at the moment. It’s currently 12:31 PM here and it feels like it’s around 4ish in the afternoon. Not bad.
Passport control was a breeze: I wasn’t even asked a single question. Dan was briefly quizzed, but it seemed like the guy wasn’t even paying attention to his answers! Then off to get luggage and when it was finally coming down the ramp our bags were nearly first. Easy peasy.
We headed out of the luggage area to find Greg and Jan waiting for us. So that was easy as well. We then headed from Frankfurt to their place in Heidelberg. (SO thankful that they picked us up … thanks, you two!)
Kind of boring, right? No catastrophes, no lost luggage, no long lines. But don’t worry, I know that on every trip there is something that will cause a bit of stress. I’m ready. Or as ready as one can be, anyway.
We are now settled in at Greg and Jan’s: and one of us is napping. I’ll probably do the same in a moment.
Waking very early at our hotel, we opted to give the “free breakfast” a go. Um. Maybe not. But the place was so inexpensive I won’t complain. Then it was free shuttle time and we arrived at the airport nice and early — an hour earlier than we had planned, in fact (and even that original plan would have gotten us here mega-early!). I’m always an early bird, but this was even odd for me. Not a problem for a person who always worries about time!
We checked our bags (and the woman at the desk was really sweet and quite funny) — pretty much no line — and then headed to security. Again, barely a line. Nice!
Next up was the Polaris lounge.
And their sweet little restaurant area. Even at the early hour I was hoping for lunch, as I want to move my brain to the time we will encounter after the flight, but nope, only breakfast served. Such is life. I did, though, have champagne to celebrate our trip and my “big day” tomorrow. (Yes, another birthday poem will be posted … I’ve already set it up for my other site, the pattyo.)
And more sitting. And relaxing.
And getting locked out of Venmo. ACK!
Yes. Locked out. Turns out I did too much too quickly and they deemed it suspicious and decided to suspend my account until I share my photo ID and change my password. Then it takes up to seven days to get me back in. How annoying is that?
But still, that’s not a huge issue, since I won’t use it in Europe anyway. But I had one more payment to make and now I am unable to do it. Rats!
Soon we’ll head out to fill our water bottles (I’m determined to not use the plastic water bottles in the airplane — or elsewhere for that matter) and search out a few things (if available at a reasonable price).
Stay tuned for more … but I can’t be sure it will be today. Only time will tell.
I realized I’ve not written here for a time. But that doesn’t mean I’ve not been making plans for an upcoming trip! I have, in fact, gotten all our planes and trains set, and hotel reservations are also complete.
Today I pulled out the clothes I thought would work, and I do believe I have what I will need for a trip during winter.
Yes, in fact, THIS winter!
Let’s see … what will I bring? Down jacket. Rain jacket. Cashmere sweaters. Several merino wool turtlenecks. And merino wool pants as well. Merino wool leggings to wear under pants. Tights. Warm socks. Warm hat.
The big word for winter travel is layers. I will have those. And yes, I plan on carryon only (except for one bit I’ll fill you in on later). Easy-peasy!
I also conversed today with our houseguest. Thus I’m feeling comfortable blogging about the trip. I will share our destinations as we go, though. Gotta keep some surprises, after all!
The last thing I had to find were shoes. I wanted some low boots (otherwise called booties) for walking that would be comfortable and, with my nice Darn Tough socks, warm. I also need a pair of shoes I could wear with my dress, because we are going to four concerts while we are out and about! Yesterday those shoes were purchased.
I hope.
I always buy shoes, get home, and wear them for a time to be absolutely certain they will work. I’ve gotten a wee bit smarter, too, and I now have shoe covers I can put on to protect said shoes until I know they are a done deal.
But let’s start from the beginning of the day, yes?
We started with packing (although I’d done my suitcase packing last night: Dan gets some of what I can’t fit in the smaller case, and we add the final stuff after changing into our walking clothes and brushing teeth and all). I have decided (and feel the need to be helpful for others planning trips) that suitcases “grow” things … as we go along it gets harder and harder to fit things into them!
Then we had yet another lovely breakfast at Woodlands. (I need to go back and make sure I link to the other places we stayed, but maybe not tonight.) We said our goodbyes, and got in the van. It turned out to be full van, but with only two that we had met before.
Some people were dropped off where we were dropped off yesterday. This included one of “our” people … she wanted to walk on the road up to where the trail began to get to Inverness. This meant two miles of tarmac. No thank you! We’ve added enough to our walk already due to various things (and stay tuned: we’ll add more!) and didn’t feel the need to do those two extra miles.
I thought today would be about 7.5 miles. Not bad. And I’d read it was all easy.
So we got out at our starting spot (Blackfold) and headed out on the trail. It was just fine. Cloudy and cold, but okay. Better cloudy than too much sun!
We walked up on the moor (or is it moors) for a bit, and then reached some trees. Going through a gate there were smaller trees … maybe reforesting? I’m not sure.
Some spots were a bit muddy, but we are used to that, of course. Another walker, from a few years back, wrote about the stone wall that went on for some time, and we did reach that. What a chore to build those walls. (Or should I call it a fence? Hm.)
We again ran into the sisters we’ve chatted with a few times. They had stopped at a perfect spot for coffee (yes, they had a thermos with them). They said it seemed a good place to stop since it wasn’t yet raining. Smart people! They were already dressed in rain gear.
We plodded on. I knew they’d catch up with us, and of course they did. Dan and I aren’t speedy walkers. Especially now. He still has hip and back issues, and my left hip and my toes are a bit pesky. So it goes. Eventually you don’t notice the hurt so much.
And then … well … drip drip drip … little sprinkles began. Dan was behind me at that point, having stopped to do some photography, and he texted that he might be packing things up if the rain continued.
And it did.
So he packed up, as did I.
The rain, though, started to get a bit heavier. We were then walking together when we decided that we needed to add our rain pants to the mix (we wore rain jackets from the start). Reaching a spot that had tree cover we got the pants on (they have side zippers both at the top and bottom so you don’t have to deal with taking off shoes) … I first put mine on backwards. Argh! It’s hard enough to stand and get the darn things on, but then I had to take them off and start over. But I managed and on we went.
And then glimpses of Inverness!
The rain was quite persistent. It rained as we descended into Inverness. The first place we left the nice trail we were in an area with a lot of buildings — maybe apartments or something. I couldn’t really tell. We walked a sidewalk, we walked past a playground. We managed to lose the GGW signs, but found them again, and on we went.
We reached a tunnel and went through (yes the GGW sign said to do that).
After that things got weird. Somewhere we missed a sign. We ended up walking and walking and not finding signs. I finally put our destination (Inverness Castle) in to Google and in a roundabout way we were taken there, but we definitely went at least a mile further than we should and perhaps longer.
This bridge, before reaching the castle (crossing the River Ness) is one strange and very bouncy bridge!
The castle itself is disappointing, but I’d read about it already so I expected that. It’s being fixed up, and it’s surrounded by scaffolding and the like. There IS a big monument or whatever it’s called for the walkers, so we did the obligatory photo. First we did one for the two runners who did the GGW in two days! That’s 40 miles a day. Yikes!
And then it was to the Castle Tavern for our beers and lunch. I’d been told we could get certificates there, but I didn’t ask and they didn’t offer (although I thought it was pretty clear we looked like drenched GGW walkers!).
After our late lunch we headed to our B&B.
We showered, changed into to normal clothes, and went to dinner at a nice place. Crossing another bouncy bridge.
And now it’s over. Mission accomplished.
Tomorrow we go back to normal travel mode: a train to the next village we are visiting (stay tuned), and I hope less eating, since we won’t be burning nearly as many calories.
I’m so glad we did the walk. Yes, it could be challenging, but I think challenging one’s self is a good thing, and at our age maybe even better than good. We met some lovely people.
This is a quick post, and will be updated when I have more time and energy.
UPDATE: Updated on June 14, with a ton of photos since it’s now so much easier to post them.
Today was the day I was most worried about. We were told the walk was 14.5 miles and that there were some steep climbs. In addition, my right big toe took a beating and currently looks rather bad: I can see it’s been bleeding underneath the toenail and, having experienced this before, I know I’ll eventually lose that toenail. (Darn! No sandals this summer.)
UPDATE: The nail has NOT fallen off. It’s still looking crummy, but I guess I’m keeping it!
We started off with a nice breakfast at our B&B in Invermoriston. Then we packed up and headed out.
The wrong way.
THIS time it wasn’t my error, but that other guy walking with me. Hah!
Once we turned around we headed to the GGW post and went up – up – up. It really wasn’t bad, going up a road and all. Early in the day a road isn’t as hard on the feet as it is later.
We finally saw the sign for the high route, which is what we opted to take to the next destination.
There were easy bits, there were steep bits. But nothing really was tough when we reached what is called the View Catcher. I was actually rather surprised, as I’d read another walker’s post about how hard it was to get there.
From there we headed up and down and through a dark forest. Every so often we heard a cuckoo. When I pulled out my camera to record it the darn thing stopped! This happened several times, in fact.
Well, we then hit a much harder climb. I think that might have been the one the writer had really been referring to and just got the timing off. (It’s easy to do on a long walk.) It was a tough one, but, to be honest, not nearly as bad as I had anticipated.
When we reached a stone structure (after the one pictured above) with a bench we stopped for lunch.
Oh … one thing I’ve not written about are midges. Those are tiny flies that you can barely see that bite! We were prepared and had put in insect repellent. But we saw things in the air that we assumed might be the critters. They are worse later in the month and for June and July. I’m glad we are here when they aren’t out in abundance. I’ve seen photos of people with bites and it looks quite frightening.
UPDATE: We never did get any bites at all!
Okay … back to the walk: we continued on. There was really nothing terribly strenuous, but it was relentless. When we reached a forest service road it was so muddy and mucky and not fun at all. Plod, plod, plod.
From there we headed out on a road for a bit and then another trail through a bunch of meadows. A long way. And then we finally ended up on a road. It seemed to go on an awfully long way, at one point veering on to the narrowest trail (I guess to avoid the car problem since it was a one lane road).
FINALLY, a cuckoo!
We were then directly to go through a gate and take a trail again. Ah … we felt like the end was in sight.
It wasn’t.
We went on for at least two more miles.
But we DID make it to our B&B (with a beautiful yard!), and we DID get showers.
Sadly no naps though because it turned out yours truly made reservations for a restaurant that was almost a mile away. Argh! More walking?
But walk we did. And eat … well YES we certainly did eat. And had dessert as well, thank you very much.
Now we are back in our room and we are exhausted. Tomorrow we get driven to a place about 11 miles away and walk back to this B&B. The nice thing about that is we don’t have to pack! (The next day we get driven back to the place 11 miles away and walk the other direction, reaching our final goal of Inverness.)
I was terribly worried, as I wrote above, about this day. We survived. We LOVED the views, and we are glad we don’t have another long day like this! Some of our fellow walkers (yes, we meet and get to know other people) are walking all the way to Inverness tomorrow. I’m thankful that we aren’t!
This was what we saw on our walk back to our lodging:
Sleeping went well from midnight until about 4:00. Then, for me, sleep was fitful. Dan seemed to fare better. I don’t fret over crazy sleep patterns when I begin a trip: it’s rather expected.
We ate breakfast at the hotel. We don’t normally do that (hotel food isn’t usually the best), but there isn’t much around here, and convenience does count!
Then it was a bus ride in to Glasgow …
and a search for an ATM which was more difficult that we thought it would be. When we found one it wouldn’t accept our Schwab card. Argh! It’s the card we use because they don’t charge a fee. But oh well. What’s a fee when one is spending what we are on this trip?
Following that bit of annoyance it was on to the train station, buying sandwiches for the train ride, and waiting a bit in the station. There was a piano there and a man was playing pretty much the same thing over and over. I was wondering, as a musician, if he was playing for himself or for the crowds. I know if I were playing I would be very aware of the people around me, but I wonder if some just play because they just love playing. Did he care that everyone could hear him? Hm. Just pondering .
When our track was announced we headed to our car. Sure enough, it was the furthest away. And our seats were also toward the end of the car. But hey, unlike all my seat errors in Europe I did this one correctly and we were sitting together. Yes, miracles to happen!
This one here is from Dan …
IPhone Photo by G Dan Mitchell
The ride was somewhat long for the distance, with tons of stops. We were sitting backwards, and I think that gives me a bit of a headache, but mostly I dozed off anyway … not because of the time change issue, but because traveling tends to make me sleepy!
Arriving in Oban, I was wowed by the beauty. We lugged our luggage to the inn, which wasn’t that far away, but doing roller bags is NOT fun and I told Dan I much prefer our backpacks. The room is just fine and we have a lovely view! (We are on the first floor, center of the house.)
Photo by G Dan Mitchell
The weather is also amazing (our innkeeper suggested this is not the norm). After checking in, enjoying the view from our room, and having a “wee dram” (well, okay, I had port instead), we headed out.
We were feeling rather lazy, so after walking a bit we saw a sign for a beer garden. Dan had beer, I had cyder (yes, it was spelled that way), and we shared some chips (aka fries).
I don’t know that we ever didn’t hear bagpipes! I’m thinking this group was a group of kids learning the instrument.
We just enjoyed the sit for a good long time and the it was time to head to the recommended restaurant (by the inn keeper). It was fine, but I’ve decided I really should be careful to read more about places before going by one person’s recommendation!
Walking back to our lodging we marveled at how light it still was. And oh so beautiful!
