Germany, Benelux, France trip report #5 (the end)
Jun 16, 2001, 12:10 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 213
Germany, Benelux, France trip report #5 (the end)
Continuation from Germany, Benelux, France trip report #4
It was a dark and stormy night...
After a lovely time in Strasbourg we headed out to the train station, destination Colmar. Since planning this in the US we had been really hoping to spend one day hiking the hills of the Alsace region and maybe visiting a vineyard or two. For one brief moment, before boarding the train, I'd even entertained the thought of renting a car. But being blissfully ignorant about the whole region I built up some vastly unrealistic ideas in my head about transportation and proceeded as planned.
The train ride to Colmar was good, the area is really beautiful and would be much more so come late spring or summer (this was late April). We got off the train and right across the street is our hotel. We were really too early, probably 9 or 10 in the morning, so the lady told us to wait and she'd try to get us into another room since ours was still occupied. The room we got was small and unimpressive, with a huge furnace pipe running outside the window making all sorts of noise. Ah, well, it's only one night we thought. We should have just got back down and asked for another. Instead we unpacked and set out for our big adventure.
The hotel didn't know anything about buses to the foothills so we went to the train station. Nobody there knew anything despite the fact that the bus stops were right outside the door (none of the posted schedules matched what we needed). The Avis counter was closed so we couldn't rent a car from them, but somebody directed us to the tourist information center which was about six or seven blocks north. The tourist center had information on the bus, but since it was "school season" they only had one more run that afternoon, which meant if we went and missed the return bus that would be it for the day. Not feeling very comfortable we checked into bike rentals but there was nothing close by, so we decided to take the bus first thing the next morning. Back at the hotel I enquired at the desk if there was a Hertz. She looked it up and called for us, but they didn't have any cars to rent either. Sensing that this wasn't going very well at all we decided to sightsee in Colmar and save everything else for a fresh new day.
Colmar was nice, but I think that after all of the other lovely cities we were becoming a bit jaded. We bought some more finger food at a grocery store, sat in a park and had lunch. Around then we decided that we should just find a car to rent, but the tourist office was closed (most things are for a couple of hours in the afternoon) so with map in hand we set off to "search" for it on our own.
I love maps. I collect them when I travel and I've worked in the electronic mapping industry. This map had icons showing where things were and so far they had all pretty much lined up. Imagine our surprise when, after walking a couple of miles north, we finally figured out that the icons at the top of the map weren't representing businesses at that location, but somewhere far to the north and off of the map. It was a long trudge back and we headed to the room for a well deserved nap next to the roaring exhaust pipe. I mustn't forget the $6 my wife paid for a citrus soda in the hotel bar.
It's hard to recall the exact moment it happened, maybe over dinner that evening, maybe after another walk around town, but finally we just conceded defeat, with a half-hearted idea that we could go to Strasbourg in the morning and rent a car. We enjoyed a good meal at the hotel. The hotel has a couple of restaurants: one quite expensive and fancy, the other more relaxed and homey, which is what we chose. At one point a nicely dressed lady came in with a small dog. I think it's great when folks bring their dogs into a restaurant and the waiter brings them a dish of water. I've never seen one that misbehaved. My dog would love France, but I think he'd hate the long flight over.
Colmar wasn't a complete bust. We found some very nice walks and took ourselves on the little walking tour using the tourist map. We also stopped at an in-town vineyard cellar for a wine tasting. It was quite cool inside and the young lady who was working there was wearing a down jacket, we were in short pants. To be honest this was our first ever wine tasting and it wasn't until the fourth or sixth glass that she mentioned the sink where we can spit out the wine after tasting. With a little bit of a buzz coming on already my wife spies their collection of Eaux de Vie and asked to sample it. Powerful stuff! From what I understand it is a distilled brandy that has no color, so maybe 45 to 70 proof? It is supposedly flavored with fruit or fruit essence (strawberry, cherry, etc..) but if there was any flavor it was completely lost in the alcohol burn. My grandma makes a similar drink using everclear, anise, and caramelized sugar. I'm not sure on the quantities or if she adds water to diffuse it somewhat, but she has a shot in the evening and is still going strong at 100 years old. Sufficiently happy now we bought a three pack of wine to take back to the states with us.
Since it was a hot day we slept with the window open that night and thus had to put up with the roar of the exhaust pipe and sleep was restless. We decided to skip the morning breakfast and just get the h*** out of Colmar. By the time we reached Strasbourg we'd even decided against renting a car and trying to go back for the day.
On to Mainz and the final leg of our journey.
After the wonderful stay in the Frankfurt Hilton I decided that we should try the Hilton in Mainz. Besides, the next day was my birthday and one more reason to spend a little extra on a nice room. We didn't realize there were two Hiltons in Mainz and ended up checking into the one nearest the Train Station after a little confusion with the street it is on. The other Hilton is on the river, but we didn't check it out.
The front desk folks were very pleasant and checked us into a room with a king sized bed. My wife "let slip" that it was my birthday, but I don't think hotels do anything special for birthdays or anniversaries. I was on the Gold VIP challenge, but didn't know enough to ask for an upgrade and there were no extra amenities given. Even so we were completely happy with the room. The size of the room was great with couch, loveseat, work desk, and a well appointed bathroom. Best of all was a large window overlooking a bunch of terrace gardens.
We walked around Mainz and took in some of the attractions. It was cloudy and intermittent sprinkles so we ran from shop to shop. My back was killing me and I headed back early for a long soak in the tub. That evening we dined in the room on food we'd bought earlier. We also picked up some German red wine, just to see how it was. One was an organic red and it was a little too "bubbly" and low on flavor. The lady at the wine shop said that it was hard to make a good red wine in Germany because they had strict laws which prohibited the mixing of wines.
The next day was my birthday and our plan was to rent bikes and view Mainz in style. Unfortunately it was Sunday and they don't rent bikes on that day. Still nursing a sore back and pretty much walked out we decided to hop the train and see what happens. This is the beauty of the rail pass. First we went to Worms, of course just for the name, but the wine country scenery was also nice. Then on south and that's when we decided to spend the day on the train. We went a ways south and then got on a high speed train to Munich, first swinging through Stuttgart. It was a great way to see the scenery. We sat in the dining car and had lunch, watched the towns go by and just relaxed for the day. At a few points the train went over 150mph. On arrival in Munich we bought a couple bottles of water and a snack, then boarded the next train heading back to Mainz. Kind of like a mileage run without the FF miles.
That night we ate at the Hilton hotel restaurant and there were only two other couples the whole time we were there. The food was good, but not great. Let me say that their breakfast buffet, both that morning and the next morning, was wonderful! It's like dying and going to breakfast heaven.
A quick Hilton complaint: why do they play background music in the restaurants? They had some sappy dance favorites from the 80's in Mainz which was loud enough that you couldn't ignore it and some equally obnoxious music in the Lake Placid restaurant.
FRA-PHL-MHT
A330
The next day we depart early, after breakfast buffet of course, for FRA. No SWU's left to upgrade our flight back and they didn't volunteer a birthday upgrade either.
Check-in is based on the flight you are taking, so they have PHL, PIT, and CLT lines along with the First/Business class lines. No special lines for DM preferred. From the train station you have a long walk into one terminal and then another long walk to an inter-terminal train to the other terminal for US check-in. While trying to find the train in the first terminal I passed the Admiral's club and thought to myself "I hope that's not the only club we can use." After check-in there's more walking and stamping and checking of security. When you get to the gate there's more security and they put you into a security area of sorts, to get out you have to surrender your boarding pass.
Near the gate I found a couple of clubs. One (Cathay?) had the "normal" US Airways sign out front (gray background) and the other had what I've come to associate as the First Class sign (blue background like the FC boarding card holders). I went into the first one and showed my Club card and tickets (coach) and she said that the PHL passengers must use the other lounge. At that lounge they informed me that it was for Business and FC only and that I would have to use the Admiral's club way back in the first terminal (go to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200). I tried to explain to my wife how spending money on the club card didn't mean you got access to co-shared clubs. I don't think she bought it.
We had 11g/h (coach) and it was very comfortable, I sure do like the A330. Neither of us felt like sleeping so we ate and then watched movies the whole way, I watched almost three of them...missing the last few minutes of Billy Elliot. Service was good, I don't recall what the meal was but I remember that my wife's gluten free meal actually didn't include gluten for the first time.
Next leg was PHL-MHT and no chance for an upgrade but again we had good seats in coach, 6d/e. As usual this is the part of the trip when we start getting anxious to get home to our two cats and one dog.
Thanks for reading.
It was a dark and stormy night...
After a lovely time in Strasbourg we headed out to the train station, destination Colmar. Since planning this in the US we had been really hoping to spend one day hiking the hills of the Alsace region and maybe visiting a vineyard or two. For one brief moment, before boarding the train, I'd even entertained the thought of renting a car. But being blissfully ignorant about the whole region I built up some vastly unrealistic ideas in my head about transportation and proceeded as planned.
The train ride to Colmar was good, the area is really beautiful and would be much more so come late spring or summer (this was late April). We got off the train and right across the street is our hotel. We were really too early, probably 9 or 10 in the morning, so the lady told us to wait and she'd try to get us into another room since ours was still occupied. The room we got was small and unimpressive, with a huge furnace pipe running outside the window making all sorts of noise. Ah, well, it's only one night we thought. We should have just got back down and asked for another. Instead we unpacked and set out for our big adventure.
The hotel didn't know anything about buses to the foothills so we went to the train station. Nobody there knew anything despite the fact that the bus stops were right outside the door (none of the posted schedules matched what we needed). The Avis counter was closed so we couldn't rent a car from them, but somebody directed us to the tourist information center which was about six or seven blocks north. The tourist center had information on the bus, but since it was "school season" they only had one more run that afternoon, which meant if we went and missed the return bus that would be it for the day. Not feeling very comfortable we checked into bike rentals but there was nothing close by, so we decided to take the bus first thing the next morning. Back at the hotel I enquired at the desk if there was a Hertz. She looked it up and called for us, but they didn't have any cars to rent either. Sensing that this wasn't going very well at all we decided to sightsee in Colmar and save everything else for a fresh new day.
Colmar was nice, but I think that after all of the other lovely cities we were becoming a bit jaded. We bought some more finger food at a grocery store, sat in a park and had lunch. Around then we decided that we should just find a car to rent, but the tourist office was closed (most things are for a couple of hours in the afternoon) so with map in hand we set off to "search" for it on our own.
I love maps. I collect them when I travel and I've worked in the electronic mapping industry. This map had icons showing where things were and so far they had all pretty much lined up. Imagine our surprise when, after walking a couple of miles north, we finally figured out that the icons at the top of the map weren't representing businesses at that location, but somewhere far to the north and off of the map. It was a long trudge back and we headed to the room for a well deserved nap next to the roaring exhaust pipe. I mustn't forget the $6 my wife paid for a citrus soda in the hotel bar.
It's hard to recall the exact moment it happened, maybe over dinner that evening, maybe after another walk around town, but finally we just conceded defeat, with a half-hearted idea that we could go to Strasbourg in the morning and rent a car. We enjoyed a good meal at the hotel. The hotel has a couple of restaurants: one quite expensive and fancy, the other more relaxed and homey, which is what we chose. At one point a nicely dressed lady came in with a small dog. I think it's great when folks bring their dogs into a restaurant and the waiter brings them a dish of water. I've never seen one that misbehaved. My dog would love France, but I think he'd hate the long flight over.
Colmar wasn't a complete bust. We found some very nice walks and took ourselves on the little walking tour using the tourist map. We also stopped at an in-town vineyard cellar for a wine tasting. It was quite cool inside and the young lady who was working there was wearing a down jacket, we were in short pants. To be honest this was our first ever wine tasting and it wasn't until the fourth or sixth glass that she mentioned the sink where we can spit out the wine after tasting. With a little bit of a buzz coming on already my wife spies their collection of Eaux de Vie and asked to sample it. Powerful stuff! From what I understand it is a distilled brandy that has no color, so maybe 45 to 70 proof? It is supposedly flavored with fruit or fruit essence (strawberry, cherry, etc..) but if there was any flavor it was completely lost in the alcohol burn. My grandma makes a similar drink using everclear, anise, and caramelized sugar. I'm not sure on the quantities or if she adds water to diffuse it somewhat, but she has a shot in the evening and is still going strong at 100 years old. Sufficiently happy now we bought a three pack of wine to take back to the states with us.
Since it was a hot day we slept with the window open that night and thus had to put up with the roar of the exhaust pipe and sleep was restless. We decided to skip the morning breakfast and just get the h*** out of Colmar. By the time we reached Strasbourg we'd even decided against renting a car and trying to go back for the day.
On to Mainz and the final leg of our journey.
After the wonderful stay in the Frankfurt Hilton I decided that we should try the Hilton in Mainz. Besides, the next day was my birthday and one more reason to spend a little extra on a nice room. We didn't realize there were two Hiltons in Mainz and ended up checking into the one nearest the Train Station after a little confusion with the street it is on. The other Hilton is on the river, but we didn't check it out.
The front desk folks were very pleasant and checked us into a room with a king sized bed. My wife "let slip" that it was my birthday, but I don't think hotels do anything special for birthdays or anniversaries. I was on the Gold VIP challenge, but didn't know enough to ask for an upgrade and there were no extra amenities given. Even so we were completely happy with the room. The size of the room was great with couch, loveseat, work desk, and a well appointed bathroom. Best of all was a large window overlooking a bunch of terrace gardens.
We walked around Mainz and took in some of the attractions. It was cloudy and intermittent sprinkles so we ran from shop to shop. My back was killing me and I headed back early for a long soak in the tub. That evening we dined in the room on food we'd bought earlier. We also picked up some German red wine, just to see how it was. One was an organic red and it was a little too "bubbly" and low on flavor. The lady at the wine shop said that it was hard to make a good red wine in Germany because they had strict laws which prohibited the mixing of wines.
The next day was my birthday and our plan was to rent bikes and view Mainz in style. Unfortunately it was Sunday and they don't rent bikes on that day. Still nursing a sore back and pretty much walked out we decided to hop the train and see what happens. This is the beauty of the rail pass. First we went to Worms, of course just for the name, but the wine country scenery was also nice. Then on south and that's when we decided to spend the day on the train. We went a ways south and then got on a high speed train to Munich, first swinging through Stuttgart. It was a great way to see the scenery. We sat in the dining car and had lunch, watched the towns go by and just relaxed for the day. At a few points the train went over 150mph. On arrival in Munich we bought a couple bottles of water and a snack, then boarded the next train heading back to Mainz. Kind of like a mileage run without the FF miles.
That night we ate at the Hilton hotel restaurant and there were only two other couples the whole time we were there. The food was good, but not great. Let me say that their breakfast buffet, both that morning and the next morning, was wonderful! It's like dying and going to breakfast heaven.
A quick Hilton complaint: why do they play background music in the restaurants? They had some sappy dance favorites from the 80's in Mainz which was loud enough that you couldn't ignore it and some equally obnoxious music in the Lake Placid restaurant.
FRA-PHL-MHT
A330
The next day we depart early, after breakfast buffet of course, for FRA. No SWU's left to upgrade our flight back and they didn't volunteer a birthday upgrade either.
Check-in is based on the flight you are taking, so they have PHL, PIT, and CLT lines along with the First/Business class lines. No special lines for DM preferred. From the train station you have a long walk into one terminal and then another long walk to an inter-terminal train to the other terminal for US check-in. While trying to find the train in the first terminal I passed the Admiral's club and thought to myself "I hope that's not the only club we can use." After check-in there's more walking and stamping and checking of security. When you get to the gate there's more security and they put you into a security area of sorts, to get out you have to surrender your boarding pass.Near the gate I found a couple of clubs. One (Cathay?) had the "normal" US Airways sign out front (gray background) and the other had what I've come to associate as the First Class sign (blue background like the FC boarding card holders). I went into the first one and showed my Club card and tickets (coach) and she said that the PHL passengers must use the other lounge. At that lounge they informed me that it was for Business and FC only and that I would have to use the Admiral's club way back in the first terminal (go to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200). I tried to explain to my wife how spending money on the club card didn't mean you got access to co-shared clubs. I don't think she bought it.
We had 11g/h (coach) and it was very comfortable, I sure do like the A330. Neither of us felt like sleeping so we ate and then watched movies the whole way, I watched almost three of them...missing the last few minutes of Billy Elliot. Service was good, I don't recall what the meal was but I remember that my wife's gluten free meal actually didn't include gluten for the first time.
Next leg was PHL-MHT and no chance for an upgrade but again we had good seats in coach, 6d/e. As usual this is the part of the trip when we start getting anxious to get home to our two cats and one dog.
Thanks for reading.
Jun 19, 2001, 3:13 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Reality, Freedom • Fly Tarom •
Programs: AF FB Platinum For Life (F+ Rouge VintageŽ) / Hertz President's Circle / SNCF Grand Voyageur Le Club
Posts: 10,077
LEB,
Thanks very much for your last three trip reports. I found them informative, witty and nicely paced - a very enjoyable read. I like how you integrate the URL links into your reports - it's a nice touch.
You had me laughing out loud with the image of your "cobblestone luggage concert" in Brugge on your way to the train. Did your wife enjoy it as much as you did
? The train platform story was also very funny and quite typical.
Eau de vie is 40° - the "Poire" is my favorite, but they consider it a "digestif" and I find it sometimes hard to swallow after a big meal.
You mentioned you like maps - I'm map crazy myself. The French are quite good cartographers. The French National Institute of Geography (IGN) has a great web site that includes a boutique of all of their maps, guides and aerial surveillance photos (these make nice gifts). It's all in French, but:
http://www.ign.fr/
(Do you know of the author Edward Tufte? You might like his work "The Visual Display of Quantitative Information" which somehow appeals to the map lover in me.)
Back on subject. The "Route des Vins" is a wonderful way to visit the Alsace region, especially in early Fall during the harvests. I've biked (part!) of this wine tasting journey. I've included a web site that provides some good information AND is in English:
http://www.vinsalsace.com/sommaire_uk.html
It sounds like you had a great trip, despite the plumbing and rental car mishaps. Thanks for the report.
Thanks very much for your last three trip reports. I found them informative, witty and nicely paced - a very enjoyable read. I like how you integrate the URL links into your reports - it's a nice touch.
You had me laughing out loud with the image of your "cobblestone luggage concert" in Brugge on your way to the train. Did your wife enjoy it as much as you did
? The train platform story was also very funny and quite typical.Eau de vie is 40° - the "Poire" is my favorite, but they consider it a "digestif" and I find it sometimes hard to swallow after a big meal.
You mentioned you like maps - I'm map crazy myself. The French are quite good cartographers. The French National Institute of Geography (IGN) has a great web site that includes a boutique of all of their maps, guides and aerial surveillance photos (these make nice gifts). It's all in French, but:
http://www.ign.fr/
(Do you know of the author Edward Tufte? You might like his work "The Visual Display of Quantitative Information" which somehow appeals to the map lover in me.)
Back on subject. The "Route des Vins" is a wonderful way to visit the Alsace region, especially in early Fall during the harvests. I've biked (part!) of this wine tasting journey. I've included a web site that provides some good information AND is in English:
http://www.vinsalsace.com/sommaire_uk.html
It sounds like you had a great trip, despite the plumbing and rental car mishaps. Thanks for the report.
Jun 19, 2001, 3:39 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 213
Blairvanhorn,
Glad you liked it and thanks for the tips and links. I expect that we will be heading back again soon and this time we'll hit the vineyards for sure.
Have enjoyed the Tufte books as well. Also found the book The Mapmakers by John Noble Wilford (a revised edition comes out in December) to be quite good. Unfortunately I left it in a Arles, FR hotel room on our previous France trip.
[This message has been edited by LEB (edited 06-20-2001).]
Glad you liked it and thanks for the tips and links. I expect that we will be heading back again soon and this time we'll hit the vineyards for sure.
Have enjoyed the Tufte books as well. Also found the book The Mapmakers by John Noble Wilford (a revised edition comes out in December) to be quite good. Unfortunately I left it in a Arles, FR hotel room on our previous France trip.
[This message has been edited by LEB (edited 06-20-2001).]
Jun 20, 2001, 4:47 am
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Reality, Freedom • Fly Tarom •
Programs: AF FB Platinum For Life (F+ Rouge VintageŽ) / Hertz President's Circle / SNCF Grand Voyageur Le Club
Posts: 10,077
Thanks for reminding me about Wilford's book - I had read about it some time back and I like his articles in the NYT.