I would just like to add a couple more thoughts about the Passion Play, and then I will stop. I was asked what my favorite part was, and I mentioned 2 of them. First was the Last Supper. Very humbling to see Jesus washing the feet of the apostles. Next was the soliloquy that Judas gave. The anguish in the voice and the pain on his face when he realized what he had done and who he betrayed. Those 2 pieces will stay with me.

On Sunday we met up with my good friend Kathy’s son Matt and his wife Erin. I have known him since he was 13 years old. He is stationed at Stuttgart, so I knew he was a couple of hours away. We took a cable car straight up the mountain to Zugspitze. 10,000 feet up to be exact. Germany’s highest peak. And it was snowing. Couldn’t see the view, but it was cool to see anyway. We went down by a cogwheel train.

We started our road trip through Switzerland. First stop was Giessbach. Overlooked Lake Geneva, with a waterfall coming down the hill. Next we went to Vevey. That sure was a peaceful place. Of course getting there was driving through small villages on small winding roads. We spent one day wine tasting. There were vineyards everywhere. The fall colors are beginning to show on the trees. We sure did see some pretty scenery. We spent a day and a half in Geneva, so we got to spend a little bit of time in the big city. Last stop is London.

We went to this beautiful Bavarian village to attend the Passion Play. This event is put on every 10 years, but in 2020 it was put on hold for 2 years, and rescheduled. This play is put on because of a vow, and all having to do with being spared from the plague. The first performance was in 1634. Besides 2020, the only other 2 times the play didn’t happen was in 1920 because of the Spanish Flu, that was rescheduled for 1922, and 1940 because of WW2. They begin performing in May and it will end the beginning of October.

1 village, 1800 participants, 5 hours of theater and a 400 year tradition. The Passion Play takes place the last week of Jesus Christs life. The various acting parts are announced about a year out. The men have to sign a contract stating that they will grow their hair and their beards out, even the boys grow their hair. The players are people that were born in Oberammergau or have lived there for very 20 years. It use to be that only Catholics could be in the play, but that rule was changed years ago. This year they had the first Muslim to have a major speaking part, and that was of Judas. There were at one time 500 people on the stage and that also included animals; goats, horses a donkey and a camel.

The villagers are totally committed to this play, even making arrangements with their employers. It is performed in German, but I had a booklet in English to follow along. The acting was extraordinary, you felt like you were truly witnessing the life of Christ. I was mesmerized and in tears the last hour of the play. I can’t believe I actually got to see this performance. Easter week will never be the same for me ever again.

Austria is a beautiful country full of green landscapes, small villages, and lots of cows. Interesting thing about this country, everything is closed on Sunday. Including grocery stores. I found out from a cab driver they can only be opened 72 hours a week. Not sure why, but that’s what he told me. If you need anything you are out of luck. The only places I did see opened were gas stations and the convenience stores attached to them.

We spent some time in 2 villages while driving towards Salzburg. St. Wolfgang was the first one. A small village in central Austria. Lots of biking, walking and hiking and also a very popular ski resort in the winter. One of the shop owners told me that after a 2 year break they finally able to have their Christmas Marts this year. She said,it was to be bigger and better. We drove to Halstaat after a couple of days. Because of their beautiful lake there are lots of water sports and camping. It is also a World Heritage Site.

We only had 2 days in Salzburg. We had been there before so we had already done some touristy things. This time we chose to go to the Eagles Nest. I have always been hesitant about going there, just because of the evil presence that had been inside that place. He never liked it. Only went there 14 times. Didn’t like heights, hated the cold, and was claustrophobic. The fireplace, the elevator which has brass walls to make it seem bigger are the original pieces. The small tea room and conference room are now restaurants. Because of the rainy weather, I never saw the actual building, nor the towns down below. I was hoping to see more of the inside. Now we are off to Germany.

We had been to Vienna before in December of 2013, so this time we decided to go wine tasting in their wine region. Our tour guide was a lovely gentleman named Tom who drove us about an hour out of Vienna in the Wachau Valley. The winery’s are family owned and consist of 50-60 families. They use a Viennese blend and 80% of the wines stay local. They produce almost all white wines of a dry Riesling blend. Because of the temperatures it’s hard to grow the red and purple grapes to produce any reds. There are vines growing up the side of a hill known as The Hill of a 1000 Buckets. During picking season workers go up and down and fill their buckets with grapes.

After going to a couple of wineries, we went to the medieval town of Durnstein. Little tasting rooms, restaurants and beer gardens dotted the cobblestone streets. In the middle of town was a Catholic Church with a blue steeple. It was explained to me that the color of blue cannot be used for that purpose because it is used for the Greek Orthodox churches as well as Mosques. The only other one is in Bratislava which I also saw, but didn’t think anything of it at the time. For some reason they were allowed to keep it that way. And that was something I never knew.

Then we left there and went down to the Malat Hotel and Winery. We were smack dab in the middle of the vineyard. Anna and Alexis were our gracious hosts who would do anything for you. Wilma was the wonderful lady who made breakfast. She has quite an extensive album collection. She told me I could pick out one and she would play it during breakfast. Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd was the music selection that morning. Over looking the vineyard is the Stift Gottweig Benedictine Monastary. 45 monks live there and it was established in 1072. One of the buildings is used as a B&B, but you must obey their rules. Will be on the road again soon.

Going to Vienna we realized we were just less than an hours drive to the country of Slovakia. Why not spend a couple of days there and add another county to the list. We stayed in the capital of Bratislava. This county has seen a lot of changes in who has the control over them. Hungary, Germany, and the Communist. Of course the last control ended in 1989 when that party fell, and they joined the EU in 2004. 3 major car manufacturers are there, and they produce more cars per capita than anyone in the world. We found a place right outside of old town, where we could walk every day we were there. It was a cute, little village with an Austrian influence. I spent some time talking to the locals who love sharing about there country. And then of course they ask about America. Always asking where they should visit if they ever come to our country. It boils down to what they want to see.

Now it’s back to Vienna for a couple of days. We were here in 2014 for the Christmas Marts, so now it will be nice to see the other sites of the city.

Another beautiful place in Croatia. After visiting Dubrovnik twice, we waited until the big guys knee was replaced before venturing into this city. We knew that we would be doing a lot of walking. Yesterday we did just that by taking a walking tour of the city and taking a cooking class.

Split is the 2nd largest city in Croatia. It was founded in either the 2nd or 3rd centuries as a Greek colony. The Romans took over in the 300’s. It was lead by the Emperor Diocletian who reformed the government and established the Tetarchy. He had an elaborate palace built in his honor to be used after his retirement. Some of those structures are still visible today.

There are 4 existing gates you can use to enter the Roman Old Town. These were built in honor of the 4 Caesars: Golden, Iron, Silver and Brass.

The people of Split rely heavily on tourism. Various cruise ships and yachts can be seen in their port every day. Lots of restaurants and bars line the promenade and side streets. It sure was nice to see the places full of people laughing, eating, drinking and having a good time. After we walked around the city, we went and took a cooking class. I learned to make a traditional stew using squid and homemade pasta, grilled a sea bream and for dessert Fritule a Croatian pastry. They taught me to make that the way their grandmothers did. I love doing that sort of thing. Taking the recipes home with me.

Traveling with the SilverFox Wine tasting in Porto

I think I have mentioned before that we like to go wine tasting in the different countries and regions we visit. And Porto was no exception.

Porto wines known as port goes as far back as when the Romans inhabited this land. The vineyards must suffer to produce good wines: hot, cold, hot. Water for the grapes comes from the rain stored on the mountains, and the olive trees are used as boundaries between the lands. There are 118 different types of grapes and the winery’s are a family business. Port wines may be white or red and aged in barrels or in bottles. The most popular are Ruby, a fruity young red with a Ruby color; Tawny, aged a minimum of 3 years in barrels; and Late Bottle Vintage, dark in color made from the finest grapes and aged 10-15 years.

The first winery we visited was D’Origem where we not only sampled red and white wines, port, but also the olive oil they also produced on their estate.

The 2nd one was Quinta do Beijo…estate of the kiss. A 100+ year old winery where our tour guide Joao was a 5th generation wine maker. Lunch was the local cuisine of the region. The wines from both places were exceptional.

On our way back we stopped in Amarante to visit the cathedral of San Goncaio de Amarante. Both the convent and Cathedral are named after him. The women of this area with fertility issues have a great devotion to him.

This was such a special day learning something new in a beautiful place. What another great experience.

Traveling with the SilverFox in Porto

I am back! Been a long 2 years since I have written my blog, and I am so happy to be able to do this again. This trip to Porto Portugal was suppose to happen in March of 2020, but things happen, don’t they? We finally made it to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

Porto is the 2nd most important city this country, where the Douro River meets the Atlantic. History of this city spans thousands of years, back to the 7th century BC. In the 13th-15th centuries Porto started their seafaring and commercial activities. In the 18th century saw the benefits of the wine culture from the making of barrels and baskets for the grape harvest, to the making of port wine.

Traditional blue and white glaze tiles are also typical of this region. Churches are almost on every corner, Chapel of Corpus Christi and the Chapel of St. Claire are some of the older ones. Schools are located in one place and known as the Area of Knowledge. The beaches are quite beautiful and reminded me of Santa Monica, and also San Diego. Cork trees are quite common in the area and used for a lot of products besides wine bottles. Purses, pens, wallets, etc. Their bark is stripped from the trunks and then the tree is marked with the date. It takes 10 years for the cork to grow back. Cork trees also never lose their leaves. Tomorrow wine tasting!

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Spending my birthday week in the pretty country. We are taking in as much of the sights as we can. It’s a very short plane ride from the UK, so getting here was very easy.

We took the train to the town of Bruges, just an hours journey. First of all, I love going by train. It is so relaxing. I read most of the way there, and wrote in my journal on the ride back. And in between I looked out the window at the country side….farms, cows, corn stalks, and the leaves on the trees were starting their change of color.

Bruges is a medieval city that was developed between the 7th-9th centuries. In the 14th century the tradition of tapestry weaving and embroidery began and has made this place world famous since the Middle Ages. There are over 600 statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary around the city. During the month of May, they are all adorned with flowers.

I went inside the Church of Our Lady that was built in the 9th century, and almost entirely out of brick. There is a statue of Our Lady and Child inside that was done by Michaelangelo – one of few works outside the country of Italy.

Many canals, with swans swimming in the waters, and bridges are throughout the town. When you travel by boat, you see a different perspective of the city, a very picturesque point of view. And the best way to get around this place was by bicycles. It’s true, you don’t forget how to ride one. Oh, and the candy! Thank goodness I walked around a lot. Lace and candy-that is what they are known for.

I loved this place. The people were friendly, very helpful, and just wanted to tell their story.

The Pearl of the Adriatic…..Croatia’s picturesque medieval city, that is Dubrovnik.

On Sunday we went within the walls of the city. Stone is the primary material….streets, the town squares, houses, churches, etc. The walls are 1,940 meters long, 4-6 meters thick towards the land, 1-3 towards the sea and up to 25 meters high at some points. A city of stone, on stone, built for eternity.

I began my Sunday attending Mass at The Church of St. Blaise. The service began at 12:00 and it was over with at 12:40. Shortest Sunday Mass I have ever been to. It probably had a lot to do with the fact it was really hot in there, just a little small inconvenience in a beautiful church. It was built in 1715, in honor of St. Blaise the patron saint of the city since the 10th century. In the sanctuary is a statue of him holding the model of the city before the earthquake of 1667. In fact there are statues of him throughout the city. A festival is held every year in his honor on February 3rd.

The Dubrovnik Cathedral is a beautiful Baroque and Byzantine style building. It was founded by Richard the Lionhearted in gratitude for his life being saved during a violent storm. When I inquired about Mass times at both churches, I was told that a church around the corner had an English speaking one. I explained that I love attending services in the local language because I always feel something special. That made the young man smile.

We ended the day going up by cable car to the Panorama Restaurant where you get the best view of the city and to see the sunset. It is located on the top of the hill of Srd overlooking the old city and the Adriatic Riviera. The evening was clear, the sun drifted downward colorfully and the lights of the city came on slowly. Oh, and the food and atmosphere was great, also.

“Those who seek paradise on Earth, should come and see Dubrovnik.” (Bernard Shaw). I did, and we will be back. As always #twobrokekids