Thursday/Friday
Nov. 30, 2017/ Dec. 1, 2017
We left Seattle at about 2:00 pm heading to Amsterdam. We arrived in Amsterdam at 8 the next morning and took an hour 1/2 flight to Munich, Germany. We checked into our hotel then drove down a few blocks and ate lunch at "II Casale" an Italian seafood restaurant. It was pretty good. We went to the spa in Erding for about 5 hours and relaxed. It feels great after a long trip. I think we finally went to bed about 9:30.

Dec. 2, 2017
Saturday
We got a great nights sleep. So we got an early start on our drive to Prague. We decided to stop in Regensburg, Germany. We've stopped there before and really liked it so we had time and decided to stop again. We walked around shopped and visited the Christmas Markets. We were there for a couple hours and then headed back on the road to Prague. We are staying at the Boscolo they are so beautiful. We stayed at the one in Budapest when we were there.

Our rental car for 14 days.

Regensburg Cathedral

The 'Goliath House' (Goliathhaus), built in 1260, is considered one of the most well-known landmarks of Regensburg with its painting of David and Goliath done in 1573. The name is likely not derived from the biblical epic, but rather from the name 'Goliards'. Theology students were called Goliards as their guardian angel was called Golias. It is believed that the present Goliath house was built on the location of the quarters in which these traveling theology students often stayed during the 12th century. We were there for a couple hours and then headed back on the road to Prague. 

We got to Prague. It took about 3 1/2 hours. We checked into the Boscolo hotel it's so pretty. We walked over to the Christmas markets. It must have been the opening of the Christmas market in Prague because the Christmas tree wasn't lit yet and I think people were waiting for that. It was packed. Good thing we have been here before so we knew how beautiful it really is. It was still pretty but it was so hard to see it was a pickpocketers dream as Mike called it. We went to a restaurant called Kingscourt it was really good! We walked back to the hotel on the way we stopped and went into the Municipal House,. Today the building is used as concert hall, ballroom, and location of cafes and restaurants. We noticed they had a Christmas concert there tomorrow night. I'm so excited we decided to go. We have to get tickets in the morning when the box office opens. We went back to the hotel and went swimming and sat in a few saunas. Had a good night sleep. It's so beautiful in Prague especially at Christmas.

Dec. 3, 2017
Sunday
We ate breakfast in the hotel them walked over to get Christmas concert tickets for tomorrow night. We walked around the Christmas markets and walked over to the Lennon wall. It is pretty cold out but it's beautiful in Prague. We walked over to St. Charles Bridge. We ate dinner at Kings court. We ate there last night, we went back because it was pretty good. 

Breakfast at the hotel.

St. Charles Bridge

The Lennon Wall or John Lennon Wall is a wall in Prague, Czech Republic. Once a normal wall, since the 1980s it has been filled with John Lennon-inspired graffiti and pieces of lyrics from Beatles songs.

In 1988, the wall was a source of irritation for the communist regime. Young Czechs would write grievances on the wall and in a report of the time this led to a clash between hundreds of students and security police on the nearby Charles Bridge. The movement these students followed was described ironically as "Lennonism" and Czech authorities described these people variously as alcoholics, mentally deranged, sociopathic, and agents of Western capitalism.

The wall continuously undergoes change and the original portrait of Lennon is long lost under layers of new paint. Even when the wall was repainted by some authorities, on the second day it was again full of poems and flowers. Today, the wall represents a symbol of global ideals such as love and peace.

The wall is owned by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, which allowed the graffiti to continue on the wall. I wrote on it the first time we visited so of course I looked for it but knew it wouldn’t really be there after a few years. 

Pictures below are from 2013 when I wrote on the wall. 

It's still weird to see the bill in Crowns, the currency in the Czech Republic. Makes your total bill look pretty pricey from what we are used to looking at. 

We went to the Christmas concert in the Municipal Building they also have a French cafe there. It was super fun. Loved listening to the carols especially Good King Wenceslas it was pretty cool to be listening to that song here in Prague. He was the bohemian King here. If you listen to the lyrics it tells the legend of the good king. 

On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about deep and crisp and even
brightly shone the moon that night though the frost was cruel.
When a poor man came in sight gath'ring winter fuel
"Hither, page, and stand by me
If thou know'st it, telling
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he lives a good league hence underneath the mountain right against the forest fence by Saint Agnes' fountain."
"Bring me flesh and bring me wine bring me pine logs hither
Thou and I will see him dine
When we bear him thither."
Page and monarch forth they went. Forth they went together
Through the rude wind's wild lament
And the bitter weather
"Sire, the night is darker now
and the wind blows stronger
fails my heart, I know not how,
I can go no longer."
"Mark my footsteps, my good page tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter's rage freeze thy blood less coldly."
In his master's steps he trod
Where the snow lay dinted
heat was in the very sod
which the Saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure wealth or rank possessing.
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing.

I will always think of being here in Prague when I hear that Christmas Carol.
We walked back over to the main square to the Christmas Market for a while. It is absolutely so beautiful!

  

Dec 4, 2017
Monday
We ate breakfast in the hotel again then took the tram over to Wenceslas Square. When we went outside it started to snow. It was pretty but it soon became wet snow that turned into rain. We walked around a bit then headed back to the hotel, checked out and we are now heading to Dresden, Germany about 1 1/2-hour drive.

We checked into our hotel then walked over to the Christmas Markets. We found a lot more than last time. What an awesome city. We saw 8 missionaries together and stopped and talked to them for a while. One was from Chicago and in the same stake as we were in when we lived there. Very cool. I wish I would have got a picture with all of them darn! We went inside the Frauenkirche. That is the warmest cathedral ever, most are so cold. We ate dinner at the same restaurant we ate at the last time we were here. Freiberger.

Train Station

Dresden is the capital of the state of Saxony. It was once one of the most important and gorgeous cities in Germany. Sadly, in February of 1945, it was bombed, and 90% of the historic city center was destroyed. For years the town remained in ruins. It took over 50 years for the city to begin rebuilding; now, it is an amazing and gorgeous city.

Our hotel.

Michael really enjoyed listening to this little group. I think he loved listening to the tuba since he played it in high school and the Rose Parade.

 Frauenkirche  before and after WWII

Why is there always something on his head??

Germany's oldest continuous  Christmas Market "Striezelmarkt" dates back to 1434 and is also famous for having the world's biggest nutcracker, a massive Christmas pyramid and the largest Stollen (traditional German fruitcake)

Walking back to the hotel we crossed the plaza through a huge group of people. I don't know what they were talking about or even protesting about but there were a ton of police everywhere! 

Dec 5, 2017
Tuesday
It is sooo nice sleeping in and not being rushed to see all the sights so we don't miss them. We've been here before so we can just enjoy what we want and still see most if it! We have the whole day again in Dresden to eat shop and visit the wonderful Christmas Markets! This is what vacation is all about. The icing on the cake is we are in Europe at Christmas.

We stopped and got hot chocolate and pastries sat and people watched for awhile plus it was warm inside. We walked around a lot of the Christmas markets and other shopping. We ate then walked back to the hotel. It was really fun outside all day walking the city of Dresden.

The Furstenzug (English: Procession of Princes) in  Dresden, Germany, is a large mural of a mounted procession of the rulers of Saxony. It was originally painted between 1871 and 1876 to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Wettin Dynasty, Saxony's ruling family. In order to make the work weatherproof, it was replaced with approximately 23,000 Meissen Porcelain tiles between 1904 and 1907. With a length of 102 metres (335 ft), it is known as the largest porcelain artwork in the world. The mural displays the ancestral portraits of the 35 margraves, electors, dukes and kings of the House of Wettin between 1127 and 1904.

The Fürstenzug is located on the outer wall of the Stallhof (Stables Courtyard) of Dresden Castle.

Looks like they were doing some sort of construction but came across ruins and had to stop?

Stollen is a bread-like fruitcake whose shape is meant to symbolise the baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes.   It is made with yeast, water and flour, with candied orange peel and candied citrus peel, raisins, almonds and spices such as cardamom and cinnamon added to the dough.
Stollen was originally created, over 500 years ago. That original recipe first documented in 1474 in Dresden.

Booth where I bought Steph and I the white and silver heart ornament the one pictured in the middle.

Dec. 6, 2017
Wednesday
I've got a nasty cold and being outside all day in the cold doesn’t help. It's not going to ruin my vacation  though!  We walked over to the Zwinger Palace before we head to Berlin. We had hot chocolate and Stollen in the Palace Cafe'.  We headed to Berlin. On the way we stopped at the Moritzburg Castle about 8 miles outside Dresden then back on the road to Berlin. I love having our own car to be able to stop where we want and take our time.

The Zwinger is a palace in the eastern German city of Dresden, built in Baroque style. It served as the orangery, exhibition gallery and festival arena of the Dresden Court.

The location was formerly part of the Dresden fortress of which the outer wall is conserved. The name derives from the German word Zwinger (an enclosed killing ground in front of a castle or city gate); it was for the cannons that were placed between the outer wall and the major wall. The Zwinger was not enclosed until the Neoclassical building was built on its northern side.

In Moritzburg we stopped at a little pharmacy and got ibuprofen, decongestant and cough stuff. The girl was so nice she even gave us some chocolate! Hopefully we'll be good for now and Michael doesn't get it. I've got a week to get over this before we have to fly. We stopped at "Lidl" a little grocery store to get some water and tangerines! I think we're set for our road trip now to Berlin!
The drive was a couple hours. We checked into our hotel and took the subway to the Christmas Market at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. The Wilhelm Memorial church was bombed during WWII. The church was left as is as a memorial of what happened during the war. The rose window was blown out. We ate dinner downtown at the Hard Rock Cafe. 

Michael wanted to stop at Tropical Islands. It’s a huge water park and resort. It’s located in an old blimp hanger from WWII that they don’t use anymore. He mostly wanted to see the huge blimp hanger!

Dec. 7, 2017
Thursday 
We walked over to the Brandenburg Gate then to get tickets to go through the government building tomorrow. We ate at the restaurant next to the government building. We took the city bus around town. Visited some Christmas Markets. Went over to Alexander Platz to the Market there and watched the ice skating. Walked down Unter der linden went to the Microsoft building.

Reichstag (Berlin government building) 

Bellevue Palace has been the official residence of the President of Germany since 1994.

The Fernsehturm (English: television tower) in central Berlin. The tower was constructed between 1965 and 1969 by the government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was intended as both a symbol of communist power and of Berlin. It remains the latter today, as it is easily visible throughout the central and some suburban districts of Berlin.

Celebrities from a local T.V. show were filming at the market.

Berlin Cathedral 

Microsoft in Berlin

Dec. 8, 2017

Friday 

Walked over to the Reichstag (Berlin government building) past the Brandenburg Gate went through it. Went to Starbucks  after and got hot chocolate and pastries. We walked over to Potsdamer Platz walked through the mall for awhile. We went back to the hotel to rest. Since I've been sick I feel better but a nap sounded really good right now!

Plaques like this are all over Berlin showing where the Berlin Wall once ran through the city.

We went to the Weihnachts Zauber Gerndarmenmarkt (Berlin Christmas Market) One of the most beautiful Markets!

Dec. 9, 2017
Saturday
We woke up to light snow flurries. A great time to get cozy and sleep in. We got breakfast on our way heading back to the Czech Republic to a town that we haven't been to before, Karlovy Vary, about a four hour drive. It looks like a very cool city. 
007 Casino Royale was partly filmed in the town of Karlovy Vary. The famous Czech spa, in Karlovy Vary was used as the exterior of the Casino Royale, with the Grandhotel Pupp serving as "Hotel Splendide". We are staying in the Grandhotel Pupp. 
The GPS took us along some backroad way and it started to snow pretty good. Michael decided to turn around and get back on the main Hwy. 

It took us about 6 hours instead of 4. We were even talking about heading to Nuremburg or going straight into Munich. Once we got back on the main auto Bahn we were ok. Our hotel is beautiful. We have three balconies looking out over the river, shops and the hotel entrance are so pretty. We walked around just to get dinner. It was already dark out.

Necessities for a road trip!

Dec. 10, 2017
Sunday
It's supposed to snow later today. It's sure cold enough to do that. We ate in the Hotel Pupp Cafe' then we decided to take the "Diana" funicular up to the top to see the city from above. 
Karlovy Vary is named after Emperor Charles IV.

The story goes that he had the town built at the end of the 14th century after the discovery of a hot spring of which the healing water had cured his injured leg. It's s spas boomed in the 17th century when it was mainly visited by rich aristocrats from Russia, Poland and Saxony. The most prestigious visitor to Karlovy Vary was Peter The Great. Many famous people have visited. There is an international film festival here every year. Some of their names are in gold on the brick driveway entry of the hotel.

Kaovy Vary is a huge thermal city. The main attractions are without doubt the various mineral springs. The healing water of the thermal springs is accessible to the public via 15 hot springs all around the city. What is so special about this mineral water is that it has healing effects when drinking from it. The water contains many elements and minerals and should have a positive effect on the entire digestive body system when drinking it. Furthermore, the various hot springs range in temperatures from 30º up to 72º C and have different gas levels to which they therefore also have different curative effects.
You can buy a traditionally shaped ceramic cup made especially for drinking the hot thermal water, since it preserves the temperature and CO2 levels. It has a little pipe which works like a straw. They sell them everywhere.

When you get your cup you can start your tour of the city to find all 15 springs and have a taste of this healing water. It does have a very specific sumptuous flavor and it feels weird drinking hot water out of a straw. All in all, drinking the healing water with a traditional cup is supposed to be a  great thing to do in Karlovy Vary.
The architecture is stunning here everywhere you look. We got a cup to taste the waters. It was fun looking for them throughout the city. They are everywhere. 
We both got a hazelnut flavored spa wafer.
Karlovy Vary spa wafers are a traditional and pretty popular snack. The first ones differed greatly from today’s wafers, around before 1800; cooks would prepare wafers sprinkled with sugar for spa guests of the day.

Later the wafers were layered on top of one other and spices were added; these, in combination with the Karlovy Vary spring water and salt, give the wafers a distinctive flavor. The first bakery to specialize in spa wafers opened in 1867, and since that time they have enjoyed huge popularity, becoming a favorite snack for those strolling the spa promenades, in Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary wafers are often flavored with chocolate and a vanilla and hazelnut mix.

   

Thermal Colonnades:
According to legend, Emperor Charles IV himself healed is ailing limbs with it's waters. The oldest baths in Karlovy Vary once stood on this site.

The famed legend of the foundation of Karlovy Vary is depicted on the bronze relief hanging directly over the spring bowel. The relief is entitled "The Discovery of the Hot Springs by Charles IV" Since its discovery in 1838, the spring has repeatedly vanished and reappeared. The spring was named after the marketplace that had been on the site in the Middle Ages.

We walked through the Christmas Market. It was fun but not to impressive. 

We started back to the hotel and stopped to eat dinner at the same place we ate last might since it was pretty good. This time Michael had the schnitzel and I had Hungarian goulash. It was pretty good. It started to snow while we walked back it's so pretty with all the snow. It's cold out so we went to the spa for a few hours it felt so awesome...now I'm totally ready for bed! Tomorrow we head to Munich. 

Monday
Dec. 11, 2017
We checked out of our hotel Michael thought he was pretty cool using his credit card with the last three digits of 007! It snowed a bit last night and it's beautiful but it warmed up so now it's raining. We are back on the road again towards our last destination Munich 3 hour drive. We stopped and got lunch on the road. Just so happens the Germany Microsoft group Michael works with is having their Christmas party tonight in Munich and they invited us. We stayed until about 6pm then visited a local Christmas Market that was packed. We took the subway to Marienplatz and ate dinner at A mandarin Chinese restaurant. Took the subway back to where we parked for the Market then drove back to Erding to our hotel. Tomorrow we decided to go to Neuschwanstein it's been a couple years and it's so beautiful!

Tuesday 
Dec.12, 2017
We grabbed breakfast at McDonald's and headed to Neuschwanstein Castle. We've been there a couple times but it's so beautiful we decided to visit again. It's about a two-hour drive from Munich besides we love road trips through Europe the scenery is beautiful. We took the horse driven buggy up and down the hill to the castle. We ate lunch at a cafe near Neuschwanstein. We spent the evening at the spa and ate dinner there.

We went through a box of these they are so good!

Such a beautiful drive. We love Bavaria. 

Neuschwanstein Castle was the inspiration for Disney's Cinderella castle.

Hochschwangau Castle is a 19th-century palace in southern Germany. It was the childhood residence of King Ludwig II of Bavaria and was built by his father, King Maximilian II of Bavaria. It was their summer hunting lodge. We didn't go there. We had seen it before. 

Wednesday
Dec. 13, 2017
Slept in because we have a 7am flight home tomorrow! It's been so wonderful spending 24/7 with Michael in our favorite places. Still it's always good to get home. We are heading into Munich all day today. We ate lunch at Zum Durnbrau. Spent the rest of the day shopping and walking through the beautiful Christmas markets. It's sunny out with the beautiful Bavarian blue skies. Spent the evening in the spa.

Chocolate covered strawberries are so good!

Dec. 14, 2017
Thursday 
We got up around 3:30 am to catch a 7am. flight home. The passport lines and waiting for the bus at the airport in Paris was a nightmare. We ended up missing our flight so Air France put us up in a hotel gave us lunch dinner and breakfast vouchers. We spent the day in Paris most of it in the airport and then we fly out tomorrow the same flight that leaves at 10:10 am and arrives in Seattle at noon it will be very good to get home.