Wow, I'm pretty sucky at this stuff. Yeah, writing this a YEAR + after it happened, but need to wrap things up. So here it goes...with as much memory of it as I have left...
June 20, 2016:
Made our way to Normandy to visit D-Day locations. Rained all day, but we were able to visit a bunch of sites - most notably the Allied Cemetery. Back in 1987, I missed seeing this by only a few minutes. Also visited where the British landed and walked out to old mulberry harbors which are still in place today. Went through a museum as well. Lovely dinner and bed.
June 21th:
This day was with Jonathon, and he took us up to St. Malo, which is an old walled city on the English Channel. Wonderful spot - and had a drink at a bar name that is longer than the building it occupies. From there we rode to Dinard, which is an amazing city on a hillside. Sam and I walked up that hillside too - whew! Met up with one of Jon's friends, watched as they chatted together in French, and headed home.
June 22th:
Off to Paris, but no goodbye from Jon - he was out cold. Alison drove us to Rennes, where we caught the train out. Found out I left my back pillow in her car, which dampened my trip a bit since my back was aching. Rode into Paris, checked our luggage at the train station, and began a six-hour blitz of the city. Saw all the major sites, rode bikes down the main avenue, and made it back to the airport in time for takeoff. Landed in Copenhagen, and dragged our weary bodies to a VERY cozy chain hotel nearby. Did I say cozy? It had to be the smallest room I have ever slept in - and the bathroom was proportionally tiny too.
June 23rd:
Our day in Copenhagen. Took a train downtown, and walked and biked our butts off. An AMAZING city - saw a bunch of sites and was totally gobsmacked at the number of BIKES being used. UTOPIA! They were everywhere - and they would run you over if you weren't careful. Beautiful city, with Sam considering it the highlight of the trip. Back to the shoebox of a room afterwards.
June 24th:
We leave Copenhagen and train next door to Malmo, Sweden. Upon arrival we store our luggage, and take a walk around the city. Basically just so we can say we visited another country :) From there we headed to the airport, and flew into Poznan, Poland. At the airport we found an Uber driver who got us to our hotel, and reluctantly took a $10 bill from me as a souvenir (you don't tip them). The hotel was modern and nice, and we made our way to the old city center, and my spirit took off. This is a BEAUTIFUL city! Just thinking that my own ancestors walked these streets over a hundred years ago put a huge smile on my face. I was smitten. We also discovered that the money was REALLY in our favor and sat down for a fancy meal - all for under $20!
June 25th:
This day turned out to be epic on so many levels. I planned to have a guide meet us at the hotel to take us on an ancestry tour of the city and suburbs. His name as Lukaz, and we began our tour right around the corner from our hotel. There we saw the homes of our mom's family, who were Jewish. From there he drove us out to see sights where my dad's family came from, including a church where my great grandfather was baptized, and great great grandfather was married. We also visited two Jewish cemeteries that were destroyed during the Nazi occupation, which really drove the whole Holocaust episode even deeper. Lukaz then dropped us off at the train station, and swelling with amazing memories, we rode west into Berlin. Arriving there we caught some European soccer championship games in front of the Brandenburg gate. We arrived back to our hotel after a full day and properly passed out.
June 26th:
We started our day sightseeing in Berlin, and used a "Hop On, Hop Off" bus to get around the city. We also took the time to visit the Holocaust memorial near the Brandenburg Gate, and also visited nearby relics of the old Berlin Wall. When finished we made our way to the station, and began the loooong train ride (8 flippin hours!) to Munich. Not sure why I didn't book a flight, since the long train ride was pretty boring and made my back hurt worse. When we got to Munich, we made our way to the hotel, took a short walk around town, and off to bed.
June 27th:
I had planned for us to go to Hitler's Eagle's Nest in the Alps, but thought better of it since my back wasn't too well and changed our plans to visit the Dachau Concentration Camp. To say the least this was a powerful visit, and very emotional. Seeing the site where so many thousands died needlessly, and also painfully, brought home the terror on a personal level. I had hoped to visit one during our trip, and I am very pleased we were able to. From here we got back to the city center, and walked around and eventually ran into a huge beer garden showing the Iceland-England soccer game. Sam was really excited about this since Iceland was a massive underdog, and by winning they would to the semifinals. Being a son of an English woman, I rooted otherwise. At the beer garden, Sam ordered a huge stein of their local brew, and promptly downed it. He claimed he didn't like it, and wanted to be done with it right away. I informed him that's not what you do with alcohol, and sure enough, there was my son, drunk before my eyes. Thankfully he took it well, and as for the game, Iceland won - making him quite cheerful. After making sure he drank plenty of water, we got back to the hotel after another banner day.
June 28th:
The final leg of our trip began with another long train ride to Italy. This time I was very happy about the trip since we weaved our way through the Alps and were met with a myriad of stunning vistas. When our train arrived in Innsbruck, Austria, we jumped out and made sure we "visited" yet another country. Thing is, the train had a problem and we ended up stuck there for about an hour. Eventually we made our way to Bologna, Italy, and (barely) caught a bullet train to Florence. Barely since we waited on track 4 for our train - but there was ANOTHER track 4! Lucky Sam caught that. We did manage to jump on the train, but had no idea where to sit, so we just sat in what turned out to be first class :) No one said anything to us, so we rode in style for the 45 minute trip. Upon arrival in Florence, we were met by my long-time friend Oliver, and were driven to his home on the outskirts of the city. Upon entering his second-floor flat, we met his wife Alejandra, and settled into our room. From there we met up with Oliver's mother, and rode back into the city center, meeting up with Oliver's friends, including an old one I met back in 1992. As the wine poured, we all drank, and so did Sam. This made him utter the best line from the trip - "Dad, why did you let me get drunk again?" Ah, proud papa! We got back to Ollie's flat, had some good laughs, and passed out.
June 29th:
This day Oliver took us downtown for a visit to Florence. First we had some coffee and pastries at the local cafe on the corner just two doors down from his flat. We met the owner, who welcomed us in his best broken English. From there off to the city, and you could tell it was his tenth-jillion visit, but he nonetheless made sure we saw all the sites we needed to. Visited lots of great, famous locations. Did not see the sculpture David, but did see a replica outside the museum. Good enough for us. It was also pretty hot, so we tried our best to stay indoors. We arrived back at his flat, had some dinner out, treated to the famous Italian ice cream, and back for another night of laughs.
June 30th:
Sam and I left on our own for Venice this day, which meant catching a bullet train and arriving in about 2 hours. Glad we were able to see this historic city before it sinks :P. As advertised canals meandered throughout the entire city, and where there were no canals, there were pedestrian-only roads. It was crowded, but because the city is maze-like, you could break away on your own quite easily. Caught all the typical tourist traps, and saw people hawking selfie sticks and water just about everywhere. Again indulged in ice cream treats - helped that the day was a scorcher without a cloud in the sky. Having enough of the place, we boarded the train back, and relaxed at the flat.
July 1st:
Oliver and Alejandra drove us through Tuscany, and eventually to Pisa on the west coast. Before that, they drove up to a high point above Florence where we were treated to a breathtaking view of the city and surrounding area. From there we motored off through the romantic Tuscan countryside, passing small towns and wineries along the way. The rolling hills were picture-postcard beautiful, enhanced by radiant sunshine. We first arrived at a village high in the hills, where they are located a bunch of old Roman ruins - including an amphitheater. First time we encountered such history. Next was our journey to Pisa, to see the famous leaning tower. As Oliver mentioned, that's all there really is out there - nothing else of interest. He was right, but the tower is enough. When we arrived we gazed upon countless tourists trying to "hold up" the tower. I was more impressed with them actually. The tower itself is a marvel in gravity-defying engineering. We didn't bother going up - far too costly - and who knows if this would be the day it final lets gravity win! We drove back to Florence afterwards, caught a Euro game, and back to the flat.
July 2nd:
After talking to Oliver, it was best to get a hotel room in Rome before our flight out - so we booked one, and took fast train out there for a visit for our last day on our trip. Great idea...NOT. Rome isn't exactly the kind of city you want to try and visit in a day. Traffic is terrible, and people outnumber ants. We did it anyway, but first the hotel. It took us a bit of time to find it since it was only a few rooms on a floor in an apartment building. We were met by the host, and it turned out to be a great place. So once settled we first hit the Vatican after paying too much money for a tour. We put on special headphones so we could hear our guide, and made our way in. From there we became human cattle, struggling to hear our thick-accented guide while weaving through countless other tourists. We did see everything though, and we left awestruck at the immense St. Peter's Basilica. After this it became a bit chaotic as we rushed from historic site to another, pausing briefly as each. This included the Pantheon, Trivoli Fountain, the Roman Colosseum, and nearby Forum ruins. We tried our best to use that Hop On Hop Off bus, but it didn't run very well, and we ended up walking a bunch of it. UGH! After the sun finally set, we settled in at a local bar to watch Italy play in the Euro - and lose. At least it was close and those in the bar were passionate - great atmosphere! From there we got to our "hotel", and packed up for the trip home.
July 3rd:
This day was bittersweet. Bitter in getting to the airport, and trying to find our gate. What a mess! I though O'Hare was busy - the Rome airport beats it hands down - at least this day. Sweet when we finally got on our plane, arrived in Stockholm for the transfer, and were notified we were switched to business class - SCORE! We enjoyed extra-wide seats all the way home, and rested well with the fantastic memories of a trip like no other.
FIN
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