Rome, Italy

Rome, Italy: November 21-25, 2007

And so the travel continued...the weekend after Kevin left, we headed to Rome for Thanksgiving! We really missed being with our families for the holiday, but had a wonderful time. This blog entry is going to take some time to complete, so here is a sneak preview. Check back later for more pictures and details!

Colloseum (Colloseo)



Arch of Constantine (Arco di Costantino)


Palatine Hill (Palatino)




Santa Maria Maggiore:

City's highest bell tower


Basilica by day...

Basilica by night...

St. Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro):

By day...


By night...


View from the Cupola and Roof


St. Peter's Basilica (Basilica di San Pietro)


Michelangelo's Pieta


Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi):

By day...


By night...


Thanksgiving Dinner


Here is a link to all of our pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/adanderso/RomeItaly

Enjoy!

Triberg, Germany

Triberg, Germany: November 18, 2007

On our way back from Switzerland, we drove through the Schwarzwald, or Black Forest, also a beautiful drive. As you can see from the pictures below, some areas were snow covered while others seem to be shielded from snow by the surrounding mountains.







Once we were back in Germany, we stopped in Triberg, known as "cuckoo clock country."

This Wasserfalle (waterfall) supposedly drops 500 feet in seven steps. Because of the snow we could not climb any higher, but you can see about 4 of those steps in the first picture below.

Wasserfalle (Waterfall)




Stream




Hotel at the base of the waterfall


Kevin purchased a really great cuckoo clock in Triberg. This is actually a traditional style of clock, with carved leaves and three birds.



And for the grand finale...the largest cuckoo clock in the world! Or so they say. I looked on Wikipedia.com to see if I could find out a little more about the origin of these clocks, and a completely different clock was shown as the largetst in the world. Since this one was just the outside of a house, the second clock below was actually more impressive (click on the second picture below to see the detailed carving).

World's Largest Cuckoo Clock


Large Cuckoo Clock

Interlaken & Murren, Switzerland

Interlaken & Murren, Switzerland: November 17-18, 2007

On Saturday afternoon, we drove about 1 hour from Luzern to Interlaken, right into the heart of the Berner Oberland region. It was probably one of the most beautiful car trips we have ever taken and Kevin and I were snapping pictures non-stop for about 20 minutes in the car while Matt was driving. When Matt could finally catch a glimpse, his comment was, "Ok, the Swiss are never allowed to complain about anything again," referring to the beauty that surrounds them. See for yourself- Although the pictures do not even come close to the actual view...







You can't really tell from the pictures, but this water was the most beautiful shade of blue-green...









We stayed at hostel #2 in Interlaken, a place called "Balmer's" which is apparently a young, transient backpacker's paradise. To us, it felt a bit like summer camp, but we took it all in and chalked it up to an interesting life experience!

Balmer's






From Interlaken, we took the Schilthorn cable-car to the little ski resort town of Murren (you cannot reach this town by car). Schilthorn is a 10,000 foot peak across the Lauterbrunnen Valley and Murren is about 5,381 feet up.

On the way to the cable-car station...


This is a waterfall near the cable-car station. It looked frozen but we could here the water flowing underneath the ice...



Cable-car


Views on the way up...




When we reached Murren, nearly every shop, hotel, and restaurant seemed to be closed. It was a Saturday afternoon, which means these things should have been open, but we figured that perhaps people take a vacation for themselves before ski season begins and they are tied to the mountain for several months at a time.



So, we walked the small, quiet streets of Murren, marveling at homes adorned with cowbells, antlers, and gnomes (click on the next picture). We probably saw less than 20 different people in the area during the whole time were there. It was really amazing to see how people live tucked on the side of a mountain.





We are looking forward to returning to Switzerland again soon, hopefully for some skiing!

Luzern, Switzerland

Luzern, Switzerland: November 16-17, 2007

The weekend after our trip to Madrid, we decided to take our first trip to the Alps with Kevin! We drove to Luzern (or "Lucerne" in English), Switzerland, a charming, midsize city situated where the Reuss River and Lake Luzern meet. We arrived on Friday night and stayed at a nice little hostel...





On Saturday morning we were up bright and early, ate a breakfast of rolls, jam and cheese, and headed out to see the city.

Impressive Swiss homes...




Ornamental Window Nook


On our way to the city center, we came across this old church...


Most of the churches have these heavy curtains at every door...so as not to let in the draft? Not quite sure, but it made for a fun picture.





Next stop, Luzern's famous wooden bridges. There are two main bridges, the Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrucke) and the Mill Bridge (Spreuerbrucke). In the next picture, Matt and I are standing in front of the Chapel Bridge that was built at an angle in the 14th century to connect the town's medieval fortifications. In 1993, a boat parked under the bridge caught fire, causing damage to part of the bridge. It had to be repaired, and as a result, boats are no longer allowed to pass under the bridges, they are smoke free, and tiny security cameras are also in place. In the background of this picture, you can also the octagonal stone Watertower (Wasserturm) that predates the bridge by a century.

Chapel Bridge and Watertower


This is the Mill Bridge (an original)...




Both bridges contain 17th century paintings overhead, depicting scenes from the town's history and folklore (they can be seen more clearly by clicking on the picture below). As these bridges were at one time part of the city's defenses, the window openings facing the lake are apparently smaller than those facing inland in an effort to give defenders more cover.

Bridge Paintings


Bridge Window Openings


According to our guide book, locals say that these swans were a gift from a French king for the protection his "Swiss guards" gave him.

Bottoms up...




Lake Luzern's main source of water is snow melt from streams running of the surrounding mountains. The water drains from this lake to the Rhine River, and Luzern is responsible for controlling water flow and preventing flooding of lakeside villages with these water spikes.

Lake Luzern


Water Spikes


Also located along the water is the Jesuit Church (Jesuitenkirche), built from 1666-1677 in an effort to maintain a Catholic presence in Central Switzerland during the Protestant Reformation. This was the first Baroque church built in Switzerland.

Jesuit Church (Jesuitenkirche)- with the tops resembling green hershey kisses


Alter- Jesuit Church


Ceiling Decorations- Jesuit Church




This famous lion sculpture was carved into a cliff face as a monument to Swiss mercenaries who were killed defending the French king in the French Revolution. The inscription reads, "Helvetiorum fidei ac virtuti" - "To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss."

Lion Monument (Lowendenkmal)


The lion is 33 feet long by 20 feet tall, with his paws resting on a shield and tears running down his face. He is slowly being killed by a broken-off spear in his side.



This sign caught our eye: The red circle around this dog's head indicates that dogs are not allowed in the park where the lion monument is located. Not only is this a funny looking sign, but we were shocked to see that dogs were not allowed, as dogs are allowed EVERYWHERE in Germany!



And another pretty church...














Matt and Kevin waiting for me to descend from the church...


Next stop- Interlaken, Switzerland.