More Vacation Photos

I finally was able to go through my vacation pix and reformat some of them. Hubby actually took TONS -- over 4GB worth! My camera battery ran a little low, but even it it hadn't I don't think I would have taken 4GB of pictures!

We went to Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Belgium. I really wish I also had time to go to Austria and Switzerland, but I guess I need to leave some unexplored so that I have an exuse to go again, right? Originally, for this much needed vacation, I had wanted to go to Southeast Asia, but hubby's friend was able to get lots of Soccer World Cup tickets through his job at Yahoo. So, we changed our plans and went to Europe instead. In terms of vacation travel, I don't really care where I end up, so long as it's somewhere with lots of culture and somewhere I have not been.

I'm not a huge sports fan, but I did go to one game - went to the Brasil v. Ghana quarterfinal. How can you not go to one game? I gave my other tickets to my bro-in-law, who is a die-hard soccer fan. So while the boys went to their games, I was able to go off on my own and see all the sights I could squeeze in and soak in the local culture in the various German cities.

All in all, it was a really nice vacation, especially since I haven't been on vacation for several years. The 2 downsides include the extreme heat towards the second half of the trip (no AC in many places!) and the cost of a European vacation. In one hotel, which was over $100 a night, they concierge almost laughed when we complained that our room had no AC (we thought the hotel had AC), because apparently, the rate we paid for didn't cover AC rooms.

Anyway, here are some Germany and Luxembourg photos. I'll have to add the Netherlands and Belgium photos later. For Fiber Lovers: I did stumble across 3 yarn shops in Hanover, Germany. Also, I visited several places where they had antique linen presses, looms, etc. I'll have to find and post those later.


GERMANY -- (1) At a widow's commune in Hamburg. The commune was actually progressive for it's time because women would otherwise have to go to a nunnery or something. This allowed women some freedom without being totally harrassed an looked down upon by society. (2) "cooking" in the kitchen at the Goethe Haus in Frankfurt. (3) Hubby and me at the Brasil v. Ghana quarterfinal game. (4) I can't believe they let this guy through security with this giant prop! (5) Hubby joining allo the other crazy fans. (6) In front of the Hamburg rathaus (town hall). (7) At the altstadt plaza in Hamburg.

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LUXEMBOURG -- (1) View of the valley in Luxembourg city from the casement wall. (2) Castle in Vianden. (3) Hubby got sent to the gallows in the castle. (4) At the entrance of the Vianden castle. (5) Castle window framing the city view.

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