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| 2013 Germany |
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| Ireland |
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2014 Yosemite
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| 2015 Paris |
2013 Germany
In late May, 2013, we left on a seven week round-the-world
trip. We had a free week in Europe after Naperville schools closed, so we invited the
Gilberts to join us – they could choose the destination. In the summer of 1987,
Andrea had spent a month as an exchange student in Freelassen, a German town
just across the river from Saltzburg. She recommended we stay in Berchtesgaden
a beautiful resort city in the Bavarian mountains south of Saltzburg.
The Gilberts decided to stop in London for a few days before
meeting us in Munich. Brian could only travel for a week, so he would fly home
early while the rest of us would stay in Berchtesgaden for a week. We planned to spend a day in Saltzburg, meet a friend who would take Karen rock climbing,
drive to nearby sights, and of course, take the Königssee boat tour.
Saltzburg
The first day we drove to Saltzburg to see the city and the iconic Hohensalzburg Fortress towering above. This is one of the oldest and best preserved castles in Europe.
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2013 Karen, Becca, and Mary cross the Mozartsteg bridge,
Hohensalzburg Fortress in the background, Salzburg, Austria. |
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| 2013 "Sphaera" sculpture by Stephan Balkenhol, part of the Wall of Modern Art, Salzburg, Austria |
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| FestungsBahn funicular ascending to the Hohensalzburg Fortress. Salzburg, Austria |
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2013 Top of the Lookout Tower (Reckturm) in the Hohensalzburg Fortress. Salzburg, Austria
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2013 Blacksmith shop in the Hohensalzburg Fortress. Salzburg, Austria
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| 2013 Cannon defending the Inner Bastion, Hohensalzburg Fortress. Salzburg, Austria |
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| 2013 Karen, Andrea, and Becca at a pile of cannons Hohensalzburg Fortress. Salzburg, Austria |
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| 2013 Street musicians are common in Europe. Saltzburg, Austria. |
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| 2013 Horses waiting for passengers in the rain, Salzburg, Austria |
The Flood
After visiting Saltzburg on a rainy day the storm stalled, the
rain kept falling. Water ran down the mountains to fill rivers, lakes and fields. We didn't realize it at first, but we were caught in the middle of an epic storm.
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| Caught in the middle of a 500 year flood. (the yellow dot is Berchtesgaden) |
It took time for us to realize the scope of the flooding, so we didn’t know that the train to Munich had been canceled when we dropped Brian at the train station Saturday morning – we thought he had plenty of time to catch his plane. But Brian had to take a bus that slowly made its way north to Frielassing where he could catch a train to Munich. But the next train would not get him there in time, so a fellow traveler helped him head backward to Saltsburg, then catch a high-speed train to Munich. (By the next day the train track between Saltzburg and Munich was closed due to flooding.)
Once in Munich, Brian transferred to the airport train and made it to the SAS counter just before the it closed check-in for his flight home. He raced to the plane and boarded just as the door was closing. So it was that Brian arrived home just in time to take a call informing him he was the winner of an auto show sweepstakes. He was skeptical, but indeed, he had won a new Honda Accord – for real!
Berchtesgaden and the Königssee
Back in Berchtesgaden, there was nothing much to do except enjoy walking around the city in the rain. The surrounding roads were closed, rock climbing was deemed too dangerous, and boat trips on the Königssee were canceled.
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| 2013 It rained in Berchtesgaden for most of the week. |
Finally, the weather cleared and boat tours resumed the day before we left. The boat took us the length of the Königssee where we took a hike around the Obersee, but much of the beautiful scenery was 'hypothetical' due to low clouds.
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| 2013 View from the east end of the Obersee, Austria. |
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| 2013 Mary and Karen rest at the west end of the Obersee, Austria |
On the way back we explored the iconic St. Bartholomew's Church and its surroundings.
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| 2013 St. Bartholomew's Church on the Königssee, Austria. |
When it was time to leave, the main highways to Munich were still closed by flood waters, so what was normally a two-hour drive became a 5½ hour crawl. After a couple of nights in Munich Andrea, Karen and Becca flew home and we headed to Australia to continue our round-the-world trip.
2014 Ireland
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2014 Becca photographing
county Clare, Ireland |
In May, 2014 Tom and Mary set off on a 5 week business trip to Europe. After a brief stay in London, we had a short gap in our schedule. It was the beginning of summer break in Naperville and Becca was free and eager to see Ireland. We invited her to to join us in Dublin and explore the Burren region of County Clare, a beautiful part of Ireland that we had biked through some years earlier. Aer Lingus let 16 year old's fly alone and Becca's parents approved. After all, Becca's mobile phone - and ours - worked as well in Dublin as they did in Chicago.
Everything went well; we flew to Dublin from Heathrow and checked into a room at the airport hotel about the same time Becca took off from Chicago. We woke up early and waited outside of customs as Becca's flight landed at 5 in the morning. After a while we got a call from her: "Where ARE you?" she asked. Becca had rolled her carryon past the baggage claim and wasn't sure where to go next. We explained that she still had to go through customs and assured her we were immediately on the other side. Soon we were united and headed back to the hotel so Becca could rest for a couple of hours.
We rented a car and drove to a Bed and Breakfast in the heart of the Burren. On the way we visited the Cathermore Stone Fort, a fortified farmstead of a wealthy Burren landowner in the14th century. And we saw the most famous archaeological monument in the Burren, the Poulnabrone Dolmen. This Neolithic portal tomb dates back to about 3000 or 4000 BC.
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| 2014. Becca at the Cahermore Stone Fort, County Clare, Ireland |
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| 2014 Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Ireland |
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2014 Kilfenora Cathedral, 12th Century, County Clare, Ireland
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| 2014 Kilmacduagh Monastery, a 7th-century monastic site, County Clare, Ireland |
After a couple nights in the Buren, we drove to Dublin and explored Howth, a fishing village on the east side of the city. Staying near Howth put us close to the airport, where we had flights the next morning - Becca flew back to Chicago and we went on to Budapest.
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| 2014 Old Howth Harbor Lighthouse, Dublin, Ireland. |
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2014 Becca and Tom enjoy fish & chips at Beshoffs of Howth, an award-winning seafood restaurant
on the east coast of Dublin, Ireland. |
2014 Yosemite
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2014 Kiera, Karen, & Becca;
Yosemite National Park |
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2014 Tuolumne Meadows,
Yosemite National Park
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In July, 2014, our family got together at Yosemite National Park. We were all eager to meet the new addition to the family, 5 month old Kiera Poppendieck. Tom & Mary drove in the west entrance and hiked in Tuolumne Meadows.
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| 2014 Mariposa Grove, Yosemite NP |
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| 2014 Mariposa Grove, Yosemite NP |
We all met at our rental house on the west side of the park. For the next week we explored the many varied sights that Yosemite National Park has to offer.
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| 2014 Half Dome sunset from Glacier point. Yosemite National Park |
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| 2014 Karen, Annie carrying Kiera, Becca, Vernal Falls, Yosemite NP |
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| 2014 Becca, Hiking to Sentinel Dome, Yosemite National Park |
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| 2014 Andrea and Becca, Sentinel Dome, Yosemite National Park |
2014 Splashing in the South Fork Merced River, Yosemite, NP
2014 Summing near the Swinging Bridge, South Fork Merced River, Yosemite NP
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| 2014 Annie and Dustin (with Kiera), Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park |
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| 2014 Mary, Becca, Karen, Dustin, Kiera, Annie, Tenaya Lake, Yosemite National Park, Yosemite |
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2014 El Capitan Beach, Yosemite National Park
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2014 Andrea, Brian, and Becca, Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park
2015 ParisIn March, 2015, Mary and Tom had a conference in Budapest, followed a week later by a conference in Paris. We invited Andrea, Brian, and Becca to join us in Paris while we were free.  | | 2015 Brian, Becca, Andrea, & Tom, Eifel Tower, Paris |
The weather was cloudy and rainy while we were there, so for much of the time the view from the top of the Eifel Tower was obscured. But we did get some pictures. And we took a tour of the old machinery which droves the elevator to the top of the tower. |
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| 2014 View from Eifel Tower, Paris, France |
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| 2014 View from Eifel Tower, Paris, France |
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| 2014 Gears for Eifel Tower Elevator, Paris |
We were able to take some beautiful pictures of Notre Dame Cathedral (which burned and collapsed four years later).
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| 2014 Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France |
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| 2014 Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France |
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The bridge over the Seine River near the Cathedral was covered on both sides with "love locks" padlocks which symbolized a couple's eternal love. In June of that year the city removed the locks, which weighed over 45 tons and were threatening the integrity of the bridge.
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2014 "Love Locks" on the River Seine, near Notre Dame Cathedral.
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