2008 - Washington DC
2010 - Cuba
2011 - DR, Bermuda, & Cruise
2012 - DR & Costa Rica
2013 - Cruise, CR, & USA
2014 - SE Asia
The Year Off 2015 - 2016
- Preamble
- Thailand & Malaysia
- Italy
- Germany, Belgium, & Lux
- Czech, Poland, & Germany
- Austria, Slovakia, & Hungary
- Slovenia, Croatia, Austria & Germany
- England & Scotland
- Turkey
- Colombia
- Peru: Lima & Amazon
- Peru: Cusco & Inca Trail
- Peru: Cusco to Lima
- Mexico, Guatemala, & Belize
- New Zealand
- Australia & Thailand
2017 - The Balkans
2017 - Hungary, Romania, & Switzerland
2018 - New York
2018 - Amsterdam, Poland, & The Baltics
2019 - Costa Rica
2019 - France
2020 - Thailand
2023 - Mexico
2023 - Iceland & Cruise
2024 - Philippines
2025 - Japan
2025 - Iceland
Short Trips
Lists
Links
| May 21, 2015 - Thursday | Baden Baden | Germany |
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Traveling from Milan to Baden Baden in Germany took most of the day, with a
train change in Switzerland. I had originally planned to spend a week in
Switzerland in between Italy and Germany but the weather was horrible so I
decided to skip it and go directly to Germany. Baden Baden is a small town in the Black Forest, in south western Germany. It is known for its baths (Baden is German for bath). I spent two nights here so I had one full day. |
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| May 22, 2015 - Friday | Baden Baden | Germany |
I took the tram up Mount Merkur and then walked down thought the forest. In
the afternoon I went to the Friedrichsbad baths. It is a series of mineral
pools, some heated, some not, and you follow a set order of doing them. All
while completely nude. It was an interesting experience.
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| May 23, 2015 - Saturday | Frankfurt | Germany |
| Leaving Baden Baden I next went to Frankfurt. My hostel (private room though) was in the red light district and there were lots of druggies around. I felt safe, but a small woman might not. Today I saw the Dom (cathedral) and natural history museum, which was decent. | ||
| May 24, 2015 - Sunday | Frankfurt | Germany |
Went to the Staedel Museum and Liebieghaus to see paintings and sculptures
respectively. They were okay but nothing too special, although I was
probably jaded from recently being in Italy.
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| May 25, 2015 - Monday | Trier | Germany |
Trier was my next stop. This was once an old Roman town, so there are
several ancient things here. Today I saw the cathedral, Porta Nigra gate,
amphitheater, and Constantine Basilica.
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| May 26, 2015 - Tuesday | Trier | Germany |
I liked Trier but unfortunately today was a German holiday, so everything
was closed. I ended up taking the train into nearby Luxembourg. I went to
the World War II American Military Cemetery which is where General Patton is
buried. After that I went into Luxembourg City. Not much to do here and I
found the people very rude. Luxembourg is one of my least favorite
countries. Returning to Trier I ended up eating Subway for dinner since
everything else was closed.
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| May 27, 2015 - Wednesday | Mainz | Germany |
The first of several days in the Rhine River area. Today I stopped at St.
Goar and slept in Mainz. Found out today my credit card was compromised.
Thankfully I had a 2nd one that I could use.
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| May 28, 2015 - Thursday | Koblenz | Germany |
Stopped at Bacarach and Boppard, slept in Koblenz.
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| May 29, 2015 - Friday | Bonn | Germany |
| Ended up in Bonn, where I did some planning for Belgium. | ||
| May 30, 2015 - Saturday | Antwerp | Belgium |
After stopping in Cologne to change trains and see their cathedral which had
some of the best stained glass I have seen, Antwerp Belgium was my home base
for the next four nights. My hotel was close to the main train station which
would make it easy to do day trips.
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| May 31, 2015 - Sunday | Antwerp | Belgium |
| I took the train to Bruges and Ghent. Both are well spoken of in guidebooks, but I found them only to be okay. Not a ton of stuff to do here, and the weather wasn’t great, so glad I didn’t stay overnight at either town. Ghent had a famous altarpiece called the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb in St. Bravo’s Cathedral that I enjoyed seeing. | ||
| June 1, 2015 - Monday | Antwerp | Belgium |
Spent the day in Antwerp. Walked around and did some trip planning.
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| June 2, 2015 - Tuesday | Antwerp | Belgium |
I went to Brussels and did the Military Museum and Autoworld (old cars),
both of which were really good. I also found the two famous statues of the
little boy and girl peeing. I tried an authentic Belgian waffle which was
delicious. Saw Saint Michael and Saint Gudula Cathedral.
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| June 3, 2015 - Wednesday | Berlin | Germany |
| Taking the train from Antwerp to Berlin took a full morning and afternoon. After checking into my hotel I walked around the neighborhood. | ||
| June 4, 2015 - Thursday | Berlin | Germany |
Today I did a walking tour that my parents recommended that they did a
couple of years ago. I had great guide and really enjoyed this walking tour.
We saw Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, The Wall, the Holocaust
Memorial, and lots of other local sites. I also did the German History
Museum. I enjoyed Berlin. There is a lot to do here and it is a very livable
city. Since I only had one full day here I made a point to return, which I
did in a couple of weeks. 
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