Good morning, evening, or afternoon. All can be appropriate right now. For me, it is 9 am Tuesday morning Western European time. If you are on Texas time, it is 2 am for you. Amanda and I have about and hour layover in Amsterdam before flying to Houston.

Most likely by the time I am able to post this, we will be in Houston and at the end of our journey. That is the journey ends but the trip has a couple of more days. We will stay a night in Houston and collect one dog and then a night in College Station to collect the other.

Finally, on or by Friday, we will be home. That will complete just over 30 days of traveling. We are so blessed that we where able to have this time together in Spain and Germany. We have many memories and of course a few photos to remember it by.

As much fun as we had, Amanda and I are ready to be home. We miss our friends and family here at home and of course, we miss our pets.

I will work on sorting and posting some of my favorite photos from our trip over the next couple of weeks. This first week is going to consist of a wedding and trying to catch up on emails and sort through a pile of mail that I am sure weighs several pounds.

Now we are off to our gate for our flight to Houston.

See you in Texas.
Church in Wiesbaden

View from the Rhein River

M M Winery in Eltsville (millions of gallons of wine)

God Bless.

The River Rhein

Good evening from Eltville Germany. Eltville is about 20 miles from Frankfurt and it sits on the Rhein River. I have heard many things about the Rhein River but in all of my travels to Germany I have not seen it.

We have been in the Frankfurt area for 4 days now. We have had a great time with a little exception. Our train ride from Göttegin to Frankfurt gave me a good case of vertigo off and on for a couple of days. The train moves around 80-90 miles per hour and everytime it went through one of the many tunnels the air pressure in the train changed quickly and dramatically. I finally took enough medication yesterday to reset my equilibrium (it sure did make me sleepy though). Today was much better. We took boat tour of the Rhein which lasted almost 3 hours. The boat had 3 decks and seated around 500 people. During our trip up river there were about 50 people on the boat. On the trip back, there were 4...my friend Reinhard and Petra, Amanda and me. The banks of the Rhein have many different villages, super green mountains and several castles. The scenery itself was pretty cool but being the only people on such a big boat made it even better. I think I will tell folks from now on that I arranged for a private cruise (if they haven't read the blog that is). To complete the boat tour...no motion sickness or equilibrium problems for me!

After we went into Wiesbanden and had some french pizza. It was really good.

Now we are done for the night and have a full day tomorrow. We will start relatively early and go back into Wiesbaden to go to a big church and then head into Frankfurt to tour the city.

We start our flight home on Tuesday, 12:10 am Texas time. I hope to post once more before we start our journey home.

Until next time.

God Bless.

Late Blog from Germany

Hallo from Germany. It has been a while since my last post. We made it from Madrid and to Hamburg, Germany with no troubles. Our flight was on time and our friend was waiting for us at the airport in Hamburg.

We spent 4 nights and 5 days outside of Hamburg in a small town called Maschen. We did not keep a busy schedule at all. It was a great vacation from the busy schedule we had during our time in Spain.

We were able to spend each day with friends and their families. Since our last visit to Germany, our friend Malte has had 2 children (2 1/2 and 4 months). We were so blessed to have the time to get to know them. It was fun trying to learn German from the oldest child too. I hope that my bad German did not confuse her too much.

We were also able spend an afternoon and evening in downtown Hamburg with our friend Kerstin. We walked around and and then had some really good dinner with pizza and interesting calamari. We thought that it would be fried calamari but, it was grilled instead. We all had a strange look on our face when the waiter sat it down but, we all tried it and it was really good.

On Monday afternoon it was time to leave Maschen and head to the booming metropolis of Lauenberg (population around 300). We rode a train to Göttingen where we were met with our friends Torsten and Petra. We went back to their home and had some coffee and cake on their deck. T'was a great day for that. The town of Lauenberg sits between two big hills (I stop short of calling it a mountain) and from the deck you have a fantastic view of the countryside. A nice dinner followed and a lot of visiting and storytelling.

Today we had a nice breakfast again on the deck during a nice cool morning and then went into the town of Einbeck which is about 8 kilometers from here. Einbeck is a very old town with many of the original wooden buildings from the 1500's still standing and being used. Some have been damaged by fire a few times and rebuilt but many of the originals remain. One of the strangest buildings has a problem and it leans several degrees to the left. Really strange to look at.

After walking around we went to the supermarket. It was not a walmart but it had some great stuff. The bakery has fresh bread straight from the oven. Not a place to go if you are hungry. We picked up some super stuff and had bbq last evening. Dinner was painfully good.

Today we went to an animal park 20 minutes from Lauenberg. The weather was perfect for walking around. Deer, elk, goats, rams, and a really funny chicken like bird that I forget the name of. It makes some crazy noises.

This evening it is off to Frankfurt and then to explore the Rhein area for a few days.

Sorry for the delay in the posting.

Alles gut and we I hope to write again soon.

God Bless.

-Ryan

Capital of Spain

From Madrid....
Our train ride to Madrid was nice and smooth. It was a holiday in Spain so the train was packed with people but, it was still a good trip. In coach class we got to watch a movie (and it was in English subtitled in Spanish), had access to the cafeteria car, and there was even a plug in for my laptap.

After a short cab ride we found ourselve at our hostal...yes, hostal..not a typo.

We got settled in our room and then went out. We walked to the Prado Museum just to see where it was at and then around the area our hotel was at. We had a very good dinner at a place called ¨Miau,¨ yes, that is Spanish for meow. They had a digitized photo of a cat on the doors. We thought it was funny. They food was really good though. After all this time I think we finally figured out the secret to getting good service in a restaurant...sit at the bar.

After dinner we walked around to a one of the many different plaza´s where people hang out. Our first clue should have been the amount of police presence there. Amanda found a clothing store that had some inexpensive clothing. I just wandered about outside the store waiting for her. It only took about 3 minutes until someone who we´ll call, an independant relationship consultant of the night wanted to make my aquaintance for 20 Euro. And in the spirit of the Howie Mandell game show.....¨NO DEAL!¨ So, after this there were 2 plain clothes police officers near that I saw making contact with different people so I thought I would visit with them. I told the officer that the lady had said to me and he said, yeah, she´s a prostitute. I asked if that was normal and legal here and he said yes. Interesting. Í did not know that. I let them get back to work and I again was just hanging out.

I video taped the area just to show the shady side of Madrid. There were another group of police officers that had come through and were making different contacts. They were 40 or so yards away from me with their backs turned my way. I had some other lady whom I highly suspect of being a coworker of the first tell me in spanish that I could not video tape here and I could not video tape the police. My response was ¨ok¨ however I think it was obvious there was a big hint of ¨go away¨ in it. She told me that she was going to run and tell the police...which she did. The police officers raised one a hand and told her to go away in the same manner you would try to get rid of a cat off of your front porch. After that, she just paced near me giving me the evil Spanish eye. I am not sure why this lady had problem with me but, she did.

As soon as Amanda was done in the store, we left that place. I the first 10 minutes were an indication of what was to come there...I didn´t want it.

We walked around some more and then made it back to the hostal without any other experiences with police or prostitutes...strange how that can actually be an accomplishment.

After a restful sleep for me at least (Amanda said she didn´t sleep very well) I write you this update and wait to see what the day holds here.

Tonight is our last night in Spain so maybe I will write again tomorrow before we leave. Tomorrow it is off to Hamburg Germany. For the most part, our crazy hectic days I believe will come to an end. Our goal in Germany is not to run all over the place (although we will be in 3 different cities) but to take time to visit with our good friends there. Hopefully there will still be time for updates and photos.

From Madrid...

(oh, and in case some of you are wandering...and I know probably a few of you are, no, I did not get a photo with the prostitute).


God Bless.

The Great Wall of Spain

Greetings from Sevilla.

Our train ride to Sevilla was a short 40 or so minutes. We were in a club car which had a little cafeteria in it. Big seats, not many people and an expresso make for a nice trip. Our stay here after a day and a half has been great. Amanda did a super job on our hotel, which is actually a 1 bedroom apartment. Living room, tv, kitchen, coffee, dishes, sink, and separate bedroom. It even has laminate flooring throughout.

We did not do too much on our day of arrival. We took showers after our morning of exploring the Alcazar in Cordoba and rested. We had a light dinner and then we were off to a flamenco show. This by far was one of the most fun things we have done...pricey, but, worth it. 30 euros each or about 45 dollars each. It was 2 hours of phenomenal dancing. I have never seen a flamenco show before. It was such an awesome display of music, singing and dancing. True flamenco is apparently an extremely expressive dance. The performers' faces had just as much to do with the dance as their hands and feet. As far as photos go, I was able to get some very interesting ones. The venue did allow photography but certainly was not set up to make that easy. The stage was dimly lit in shades of red and blue and the performers of course were often moving very quickly. Regardless of the conditions for photography, again, it was a great performance and one that I highly recommend at Los Gallos in Sevilla.

Today we had a nice and economical breakfast in the hotel part of our apartments (they manage both) and then it was off exploring. We hit the Alcazar and then the Cathedral. The Alcazar was HUGE. Once again, Amanda and I were separated at the beginning (which does work out well for both of us on occasions) and it was 2 hours later that we found each other. The Alcazar here had 4 or 5 different large gardens and 2 palaces with in its walls. It also had an abundant supply of doves, ducks, little blackbirds, and peacocks. The photo below is of the old bathhouse/suana. It is all natural lighting and it is pretty cool how the water reflects everything.

After 2 hours of walking there we went to the Cathedral. It is a massive building. It isn't near as colorful as the one was in Granada. This was done more in the gothic style. A lot of stone and not much light. It does however claim to be the final resting place of Christopher Columbus. There is quite the large tomb to let you know so.

After an hour in the Cathedral, I hit the Great Wall of Spain. All I wanted was to take off my shoes, put my feet up and do nothing. The pace and weight of carrying around my gear finally caught up with me. My feet, legs, back, neck, and head all seem to hurt at once...oh, yeah, and I was hungry. Amanda was feeling very similar so, we left. We went right across the street and had some good ol' fish and chips at this Irish Pub. The fish and the seats were very well received.

Next was a little more walking to a grocery store and then, finally, back to our apartment. A shower and a sofa felt really good. It is there that we stayed the rest of the evening with only one small exception. We left the room and walked 50 yards back to the lobby of the hotel to get the internet access. Soon, it is off to bed and in the morning 2 hour train ride to Madrid which will be our last stop in Spain.

So, it is that time again...buenas noches from Sevilla and I look forward to writing you in Madrid.

God Bless.

Cordoba

Hi All. Here is a short update. We just finished breakfast in Cordoba and will be heading out to the Alcazar shortly. The Alcazar used to be home to Christian Kings in the region. It is said that several historical decisions were made from the one in Cordoba, including the decision to head to what we now know as our America.

We hit Cordoba at a fantastic time. We all know Cinco de Mayo, but here they have Cruz de Mayo (Cross of May) on May 1st. It comes with equestrian events, crosses made out of roses, ironically a lot of drinking, and flamenco dancing.

Our first day here we watched some of the equestrian events that were being held. The horses were basically being paraded around in a rodeo type setting for judging on the horse itself and its behavior in the ring (no riders, just being led around by a rope). The horses were such magnificent creatures to watch.

Yesterday we went to the Mezquita. The Mezquita is a Catholic Cathedral that changed hands a few times between Catholicisim and Islam being both a church and a mosque. Its last turn over left it as a Catholic Cathedral. The place seems to take up 3 or 4 city blocks. It is a grand place in deed. Amanda and I were seperated for a while because she walked on while I was taking photos and then I got caught up in a group of Japanese tourists. Let me tell you this...that is like trying to get out of a bad rip tide. Not easily done and usually requires assistance. Them folks were serious about their tour and woe be to anyone who accidentally gets caught in the middle.

Finally, last night we went to an Arabic spa. It is laid out like bath houses from several hundred years ago. You enter along with sevearl other people all in bathing suits. There is a very cold pool, a warm pool, a hot spa, and a suana. They theory is by alternating several times between those, circulation and thus overall health is improved. A 15 minute massage was also included with that. Nice but, my massage didn't even have enough pressure to tickle me. Oh well, neat, but, would pay for it again experience.

After the spa we had dinner and a belly dancing show. Dinner was good but should be billed as "dinner and a belly dancer will come running by your table 3 or 4 times."

Oh well. At any rate, Cordoba has been a lot of fun. Experiencing the culture of today (flamenco and equestrian) has been more interesting to me than some of the historical archetechture.

So, a few photos and then off to the Alcazar and then a train to Seville.

God Bless.

Jaen..should be pronounced: High End

Today May 1st, I write from the bus station in Jaen. We arrived a little over 24 hours ago and are already headed out of town. This was just a short side trip to stay in what we thought was going to be a castle of some sort. The Spanish government has built hotels (Paradores) in and around different historical sights. The hotel we were in was only a 1 minute walk to an old Castle that had an estimated start of a few hundred years B.C. Because of different wars a lot of the castle had been destroyed which made of a less spectacular sight than we anticipated. The staff of the hotel was very nice though. We were told that the hotel has a ghost or (fantasmo) that is a women. When we were having a snack in the bar area the bartender also told us about the ghost. He said se only comes out at night though.

How convenient I thought.  The bartender although nice seemed just a little shady. I think I was able to figure out the fantasmo situation. I think, late at night the bartender puts on a mask and goes in search of guests and staff to scare off. I think this is all part of his plan to become the owner of the Parador and have it all to himself. Had Amanda and I stayed another night, I think I could have caught him. I know what he would have said too "my plan was going just fine until you kids and your little dog showed up and got in the way." SCOOBY SCOOBY DOOOO!!!

The Parador was a decent hotel however Amanda and I are both in agreement in saying the room, dinner (60 Euro or about 90 U.S. dollars total) and the breakfast (15 Euro or about 20 U.S. for each of us) was not worth it. We also had to take cab to and from the hotel which was about $20 euro total. This is part of the trip we could have bypassed. The itinerary wasn't that great but, Amanda and I enjoyed our time together anyway.

There was one bit of relative excitement during our 2 hour plus wait here at the bus station. Only a block from the bus station there was a march/parade/demonstration for workers to get better wages. I was able to get out and take a few pictures.

But. Now, we have another hour before we leave for Cordoba and I know this will make up for the last 24 hours. There was one bit of relative excitement during our 2 hour plus wait here at the bus station. Only a block from the bus station there was a march/parade/demonstration for workers to get better wages. I was able to get out and take a few pictures.

Alright then. If you are reading this that means I have found a way to post it from Cordoba.

Until next time...God Bless.
-Ryan