God is AWESOME! We started this trip with a run of untimely happenstances. But God has shown us a little bit of heaven! God’s people must have prayed for us. After our motor home accident on Thursday, June 3, we rented a car and drove until I was too tired to drive any more, so we spent the night in the car at a rest stop in France. Then, Friday night, June 4, we stayed at the most wonderful alpine resort-type hotel. It was the Hotel Sonnerhof in the small village of Utting….Germany, close to Oberammergau. It was great! The room was wonderful, but the breakfast was unbelieveable.
We then went to see the Passion Play at Oberammergau on Saturday, June 5. Although it was in German, that didn’t matter. Once we left the play, we headed for Schwangau, the site of Neuschwanstien Castle. We couldn’t find a hotel, so we slept in a parking lot almost the same spot that I slept in my car 20 years ago.
On Sunday, June 6, we went to Neuschwanstein Castle and then on to Dachau Concentration Camp close to Munich. From there we headed to Austria. We stayed in a wonderful hotel in Soll, Austria called the Hotel Tyrol. Again, we had a wonderful breakfast at that hotel.
On Monday, June 7, we headed towards Venice, Italy by way of the Nationalpark Hohe Tauren in Austria. It was amazing. The scenery was magnificient. I’ll try to post pictures soon. We continued on through the Dolomites of north eastern Italy onto Venice. We stayed at the Camping Fusina campground on the outskirts of Venice. We rented a little caravan (mobile home) for the night and did laundry.
On Tuesday, June 8, we went into Venice by ferry from Fusina. We walked around the streets and finally got to San Marco’s Piazza. We went to the cathedral and was finally allowed to enter once we had attained their standards….meaning, I couldn’t take my laptop backpack into the cathedral, I had to check it at an secured location. So I did, but I took my laptop out and carried it with me. Then I get back to the front of the line and find out that Treila can’t go in because she has on shorts. Well, I had 3 large headscarves with me so I took 2 of them and knotted them together around her and made her a makeshift skirt. We were then allowed to enter the main part of the church, but not the treasury, crypt, behind the altar or where they were having a prayer service. Overall, the city is overrated and dirty with poor walkways and too many beggars. Anyway, after returning on the ferry back to Fusina, we left and went towards Pisa where we found a campground called Mugella Verde in Mugella, Italy, where we stayed in our car.
On Wednesday, June 9, we awake and went toward the Cinque Terre area of western Italy. We went to the village of Vernazza. It was a breathe of fresh air to see Italy from that vantage point. Then on to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower. Magnificent! Lastly, we are in a wonderful hotel, Best Western Guinigi in Lucca Italy.
I’ll write more later!
