Friday, March 7, 2014

Strasbourg & Paris France, Baden Baden & Frankfurt Germany, December 2013

Frankfurt

 








On Thanksgiving day, 2013 we headed off for Strasbourg France with a planned side trip to Baden Baden Germany. We began by taking an 11am flight to ATL. Flight full, one open seat in 1st class, Joni forced me to take it. Flight to Frankfurt is wide open, 25 in Biz and 50 in coach. We got in business and the 8 hr flight to FRA was mostly uneventful. Took an easy train ride to the main Haupbahnhof and a four minute walk to our hotel. It was a pretty nice place with a pool, steam room and sauna. We checked out the Christmas markets, got a Frankfurt magnet, a cup of gluewien, had dinner at an Australian restaurant (Don't ask) and hit the sack. We had a few hours the next day so we just walked around Frankfurt. Frankfurt is a very big, brassy city. Very New York-ish. Kind of a sleeper. The last time we were in Frankfurt it seemed quite drab and boring. No, it's a very vibrant town. After a short walk we got our stuff together and headed to the train station for a two hour ride to Strasbourg, France on the TGV, the fast train. And it is a fast muther. I heard it gets upwards of 200mph. Doesn't seem like one is traveling that fast when you're on it.

Laser Light Show
Got to Strasbourg at around 4 pm. Very short walk to our hotel. It didn't get great reviews, but it was cheap. First room smelled like a chimney. Got a different room. Better. Walked into the old part of town known as "La Petite France" Watched a cool laser light show that was projected onto an ancient edifice. Ate street food, champignons, maybe the best ever and then a champignon and spinach crepe for dinner. Bought beer and wine at the Monoprix and went back to the hotel.

Strasbourg
The next day we walked around the markets and checked out Strasbourg. We strolled around the old part of town, ate a lot of street food, got lost and just had a good time. It was a rather cold and blustery day. We were used to that. Despite living in Florida for the last 27 years our memories of our 30+ years of Chicago winters kicked in as did our cold weather survival skills. No sweat. We returned to the hotel to find that we had no hot water. No problem. They switched us to another room, our third.

La Petite France
We went out for dinner and found a really nice, romantic Italian joint. Here we had another memorable travel moment. The bus boy fell down a short flight of stairs while carrying a stack of dishes. A waiter and the chef laughed so hard that the waiter actually had to leave the restaurant. He returned about 10 minutes later, apologized to us and bought us an after dinner drink. I said there was no need for an apology as we were laughing our asses off as well. BTW, the busboy was ok and the drink the waiter bought us was AWFUL. I drank mine cause I didn't want to hurt his feelings, Joni poured hers into her water glass when no one was looking. OK, I'm a social worker and she deals with the public. Y'know?
Tomorrow, off to Baden Baden, Germany.


Entrance to Caracalla Therme
 Got an early train and arrived in Bade Baden around 10:30 am. I was in Baden in 2001 and the highlight of my trip was a visit to the Caracalla Therme. An array of pools, waterfalls, water jets, indoors and out. A very relaxing afternoon.  Last time I visited alone, this time Joni accompanied me. We entered the main pool. It is very large with many moving water features. There are also several steam rooms and a cold plunge pool, not for me thanks. We ventured through the hanging plastic blinds (Like going into a walk-in cooler, like the one at Total Wine where I get my cases of Schlitz, yeah Schlitz, The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous) Anyway, WHAT A FEELING! The air temp was around 35 F and the water was probably around 100F. We got out and walked from pool to pool (They're really like big Jacuzzis) It was Exhilarating, Really.
Baden Baden
I alternated between the pool area and the saunas upstairs. a cool winding staircase leads up to the "Sauna World". Joni didn't accompany me there. She is not real comfortable being naked with strangers. I personally don't care and have done this many times. I find it to be a liberating feeling and I have no hang-ups about my body, nor do the Germans. Most Americans think it's a sexual thing. Nowhere near. I had a friend of mine ask very seriously in a low voice, "Did ya like, ya' know, get excited ??" YOW! Like, that just doesn't happen. It's a totally a-sexual experience. Just regular people enjoying the sauna and being very comfortable with their bodies. That's the beauty of it, there's young and old, saggy and firm, teeny and hung, hairy and shaved.....and nobody seems to judge or even care.

Strasbourg
 
There are several different sauna and steam rooms. There are rooms with different aromas and temperatures. The eucalyptus steam room was fabulous! After about three hours we left the Caracalla and returned to the city to check out the Markets. They are quite different from the ones in the big cities. Much more subdued, actually, they had a kind of rural feel to them. Oh my god!  I had a spicy sausage sandwich. The best ever....in the universe. Washed it down with a nice strong German lager. I was a pig in shit! Now, if I could only figure out how to have that sammich and beer, naked in the sauna with my guitar in a Lazy Boy watching a Blackhawks game....hmmmmm  sweet!

Baden Baden
Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Got the 5:30 train back to Strasbourg, about a 25 minute ride. We were quite burned out so we got some street food and headed back to the hotel. Baden is worth a side trip if one is in the area. The spas are unique and the town of Baden Baden is cool to just stroll around. There is also the Roman Baths housed in a magnificent old structure. And it is structured as well. You go through different "stations" of water features, saunas, steam rooms, cold plunges etc. It is segregated until the end where there are several large pools, mixed gender on certain days of the week. If you go, try the nude saunas, get over it! within 15 minutes you will forget that you, and everyone else, are nude and I'll bet you'll love it, I DO!

Back to Strasbourg for another day then off to Paris.


Got a flight to Paris, Orly, bussed it to Gare Montparnasse (sp) and then the metro to the hotel. Nice little boutique hotel in the Montmartre area in the shadow of Sacre Coeur. Close, but far enough away from the heavy tourist area. It was a great little neighborhood. Lots of restaurants and boulangeries. Very lively with a lot of nightlife. Street was very noisy. We didn't mind, we loved it. That first night in Paris I caught a nasty cold. Went to the pharmacy and got some French cold remedy. It worked pretty good, but this was a bad boy. Had to suck it up and just do it. Didn't let it bring me down.
We metro'd around town the next two days. We've been to Paris 4 or 5 times so we didn't have to do most of the "touristy" things. We did, of course, go to the Eiffel Tower and also La Grand Arch at La Defence. Very interesting place. Very modern buildings and a decent Christmas Market. But the really nice markets were along the Champs Elysees. As darkness fell the Christmas lights began to take over. A very impressive display. Lots of great street food and Vin Chaud. (French Gluwein). The markets stretched from the Arch de Triompe to that obilesk who's name I can't remember. Oh well. Stopped at a little coffee shop where there were two guitarists playing in the style of Django Rheinhardt. They were fantastic. I feel like going home and throwing my guitars in the trash after listening to them....but I wont.

My lovely spouse :{)
We said good bye to Paris the next day. Got business class to ATL. No matter what happens in our lives, we'll always have Paris. Enjoy the pix!!
La Grand Arch
Markets, Champs Elysees
Champs Elysees



Not happy with a cold














Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland Ohio

 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

We made a short trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year. The hall should not be missed. This is Bucket List Shit. It's housed in a beautiful building on the lake front. It is a totally
CLASS ACT. Cleveland has been called "The mistake by the lake"
Cleveland....You have redeemed yourself.

Enjoy the pix!
Huddie Ledbetter'sguitar










Too Funny!! Gotta love him!















London / Liverpool - September 2013

Bench dedicated to Kirsty MacColl
Yes, that's THE crosswalk

 London


A pub in Belsize Park


Cavern Club
The last time we were in London was 1995. Not a whole lot has changed. London is still a massive metropolitan area with a lot of noise, action, people, taxis and more people. The food seemed quite a bit better though. The Indian food was fabulous! We stayed at a small flat in Belsize Park for most of our time there. Bed, small fridge and cooking area. Twas a real dump but it served our purpose, and it was clean. We walked around and took buses and the tube everywhere. We went to several museums, The British Museum I believe. Was ok. I was able to find a bench in Soho Square that was dedicated to singer Kirsty MacColl. Left us too early, pity. One day we were burned out walking and stopped for a coffee. While sitting in the coffee shop sipping our joe and trying to stay awake, Joni noticed occasional busses going by with Abbey Road on the marquee. She said let's hop on one of those and see where it takes us. (Love her sense of adventure as much as I love her!). So we got on, upper deck, of course and off we went. Sure enough after about 20 minutes I noticed a crowd of people hanging about and there it was, Abbey Road Studios. Jumped off at the next stop and walked back. There it was. The famous zebra crosswalk that's on the cover of the Beatles Abbey Road album. There were people walking across, 4,2,3 whatever. Friends snapping pix and there was even a photographer offering instant prints for 15 pounds, About $23. Gotta love it. They stopped traffic to get the shots. I'm sure the locals cursed the bastards every day. We thought it was rather cool.

Off to Liverpool

This was the real reason we came to England. I am a huge Beatles freak. They molded my life as a youngster. This was going to be a trip to Mecca. We hopped a bus called the Magical Mystery Tour. It was great. I'm not normally one for organized bus tours, but this is the only way to do it. We were taken to all the childhood homes of the Beatles, Aunt Mimi's house, John's art academy, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, the roundabout where the pretty lass was selling poppies and it ended at the Cavern Club where it all started. It's actually a reproduction of the original in the same spot.

Lime St. Station Liverpool
After the Cavern Club we went over to the Beatles Museum on the water front. For a Beatles devotee it had everything one could ask for...including an expensive gift shop. One of the most wonderful sights that day was seeing a school group on a field trip to the museum. They appeared to be 8 or 9 year olds. They all had something Beatle about them, long-haired wigs, Beatle t-shirts, painted on moustasches, even the teachers! Liverpool truly embraces their native sons. It was quite a sight. We got into Liverpool at around 8 am. We left London on a 5:55 am train. So we were quite burned out. That includes recovery from an early morning McDonald's greasy breakfast sandwich. We almost got the ragin' shits, but managed to blow them off. We walked into the beautiful Lime Street train station and nodded off on the 2+ hour trip back to London. Had a second wind, got some Indian food and finished the night in a classic British pub in Belsize Park. Carried each other back to the flat, spent a couple more days in London and then went home. Heathrow to ATL non-stop, Business class.......yeah, yeah, yeah.









Beatles Museum