climbergirl blog

The first day of our tour was a rainy day! We went out for some coffee and pastries early in the morning, then went back to the room to enjoy breakfast. We had a meet & greet with the tour at 2pm, so we had a lot of time to explore Old Istanbul prior to the tour. The Turkish doorman of our hotel was quite impressed with our raingear and our desire to sightsee in the weather.

At the meeting time, we went up to the 4th floor and met the group. The tour was split between Gen X/Yers and Baby Boomers, quite a bit different demographically than the Japan tour (all GenXers except one). Most everybody was Australian, although there was one Brit, one Frenchie, one Canook, and the two US bums (Dennis & I). (more…)

Our flight to Istanbul was at 11:45am, so we got to the airport 4 hours early. I’m not sure exactly why we got there *that* early, but we did. We stored our souvenier bag in the locker at the airport, and then went in search of breakfast.

Turkish Airlines occupies a large section of the Frankfurt Airport, and once you’re inside it’s a little tricky finding out which gate is the right one. Of course, being so early doesn’t help-because they simply don’t know where the bird will be more than 2 hours before the flight! (more…)

Amazingly, all the train connections went fine. From Bacharach to Mainz to Frankfurt, arriving in Frankfurt at lunchtime. The hotel was a little nicer than a Holiday Inn, well appointed room with nice ceiling windows so we could see the stars. The room felt like a mansion compared to the shoebox in Bacharach!

We had some serious cravings for some spicy food, so the hostess made reservations for us at her favorite Indian Restaurant,Indigo. We were very happy and excited to try the Indian food in Germany. (more…)

The railpass can be used for a cruise on the Rhine. We went to the tourist center in Bacharach, and they showed us the map with the cruise schedule. It worked out best to take a train up to Boppard, and then take the cruise back to Bacharach.

Boppard is about 5 times the size of Bacharach, there are many more shops and much more to do. We took a short walking tour around the town, starting in the Mainz Platz at the church and town hall. During the tour, we found out about a chairlift which takes people up to a ridgeline of mountains on the edge of town. From there, you can see how the Rhine makes a horseshoe loop, and also get a great view of the town. (more…)

We were sad to be leaving our friends, but a little excited about venturing off on our own. So far, George had been holding our hands along the way-which is exceedingly nice when you’re visiting a new culture! We had grown accustomed to George taking care of transactions and we were about to find out how ready we were to do it alone. Dennis had tried to pick up some beginning German, and we had a dictionary, so off we went into the bavarian wine country. (more…)