My Travels in Europe, Munich, Part 2

 

My previous post focused on the Englische Garten and Old Town in Munich. We also visited the Schloss Nymphenberg, shown at sunset in the header image.

We traveled by tram across the city to the Nymphenberg Palace. A long canal leads to the front entrance. The canal is home to carp and other fish, swans, ducks, and coots. Below is a picture of a coot on a nest in the canal.

 

 On a later day, we walked around the gardens at Nymphenberg. Entry to the gardens is free, and there are extensive paths and water features. 

This video shows carp swimming in an ornamental pond. They were an impressive size. One (near the end of the video) was 4 feet long. - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mcmGEn2ybkQ

 

My Travels in Europe, Part 1

 

In May 2024, my husband and I visited our son who is a graduate student in Hagen, Germany.

We spent 6 days in Munich, visited Innsbruck, Austria, and then, Dusseldorf and Hagen in Germany.

Part 1 shows some highlights of our visit to Munich. You can easily travel around the city via bus, tram, or subway train.

We spent part of two days walking around the Englische Garten.  The top image shows the lawns with people and buildings in the background. This large park has a lake and other artificial water features with waterfowl, beer gardens for refreshments, and a variety of attractions. It is a popular place to visit, especially at weekends and holidays.

 

Selfie in one of the beer gardens.

Swan and duck on lake by a beer garden. We fed fries to the swan and ducks.

 

One special and unique feature of the Englische Garten is the artificial cascade with surfers. Watch my video at https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PCUHX80k40s

We also spent time in Old Town, which is famous for its Glockenspiel.

See the Glockenspiel in action at https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0bIlu01HVgU

 Old Town has many historical buildings.

The building shown in my video has some older architectural elements - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BNCITzag0mA

My next post, Part 2, has views of the Nymphenberg Palace in Munich.

Our Trip to Britain in August 2023: Part 2 Land’s End, Cornwall

 

After our niece’s wedding, we spent a week in Cornwall. We stayed in a converted barn on a small farm near the tiny village of Kerris. On our first trip, we went to see Land’s End, the southernmost tip of England. The top photo shows a cove by the promontory of Lands End.

We parked at Sennen village and hiked along the coastal footpath to Land’s End (it’s less crowded and parking is cheaper!).

View of Sennen Beach

The coastal paths have wonderful views of the cliffs and sea. The hills are covered in purple heather and yellow gorse flowers.

Here’s a closeup of pretty heather flowers.

 Land’s End has several cafes, restaurants, and tourist shops. It also houses a noteworthy relic, the First and Last Post Box.

 

The rocky seashore includes fascinating natural phenomena like this rock arch in the cliff adjacent to Land’s End.

 If you missed Part 1, look here - https://auroraspringer.blogspot.com/2023/08/our-trip-to-britain-in-august-2023-part.html

Our Holiday in Hawaii, Part 3 Volcanoes National Park

 

During our stay on the Big Island of Hawaii, we visited several different sections of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. In the main park, we walked part way around the rim of Kilauea Caldera. The top picture shows a view overlooking the smoking crater.

The trail goes past a series of steam vents and Sulphur Banks. The steam vents are best seen in my video on YouTube - https://youtube.com/shorts/8K51WMfvSqg .

 The unusual yellow color of the Sulphur Banks is due to deposits of the element Sulphur from volcanic emissions. You can smell the sulfur when you walk past the bank.

 

We drove to Puuloa and hiked for about a mile across the old lava field to see the petroglyphs. It’s a desolate landscape, although some plants grow in the rocks. The picture below shows a petroglyph with a figure of a man. Many petroglyphs are circles, dots or simple depressions in the rock. 

 On our final day near the Volcanoes National Park, we walked up the first part of the trail to Mauna Loa. The terrain is rocks with scrubby plants. Some have edible berries, which Nene and other animals eat. 

We stopped by the fence to the rest of the trail. It’s a three to four day hike to the volcano and requires proper back-country gear. Maybe we’ll do it another time. Hawaii is certainly a place we’d love to see again. 

My Visit to Hawaii - Part 1, Waikiki Beach

 

We spent three weeks visiting the Hawaiian islands. Since we flew into Honolulu airport on Oahu, we stayed in Waikiki for our first three days.

The top picture shows the view from one end of Waikiki Beach over the bay to the distinctive peak of Diamond Head.

During our stay, we walked along the beaches, discovered the ABC stores, and several good places to eat within a short distance of our room.

You can see more pictures and videos of Hawaii on Instagram and YouTube.

Here's a tropical view of palm trees and blue sky. 

We saw one or two glorious sunsets from the beach. This photo shows the boats in the harbor silhouetted in sunset colors and their reflections in the water.  

There are pleasant parks beside the beaches with many colorful birds and plants. This photo shows a Java Sparrow and a Saffron Sparrow. The videos on Instagram and YouTube give a better impression of the birds.

We also found a family of cats living in a tree by the beach. They were not friendly, although someone had left bowls of water under the tree for them. 

After Waikiki we flew to the Big Island of Hawaii. 

Lake Neely Henry in North Alabama

 

This week, we spent a couple of days at Greensport campground on Lake Neely Henry in North Alabama. The place was quiet since it is winter and rain is forecast. It must be bustling with people and boats in summer.

     The lake had herons, a flight of cormorants, and seagulls.

 

You can walk through the pine woods along the lake shore.

 

The campsite is family and pet-friendly. Our dog enjoyed playing frisbee in the dog park.

Cheapskate’s Guide to Lyon, France #Travel #Budget

View of Lyon from Roman ruins

My husband and I recently had an opportunity to spend a weekend sightseeing in Lyon, France. Lyon is situated near the confluence of the Saone and Rhone rivers. Like most European cities, Lyon has an excellent public transport system. Armed with a map of the subway lines and a two-day ticket, we ventured throughout the city. All the sites we visited were free. These descriptions may give you ideas of what to see in Lyon. 

 

Streets in Fourviere

The travel pass gave us access from the subway to the funicular train to the hill at Fourviere. On our first day, we descended from the hill through the extensive Roman ruins with two amphitheaters. Many people were visiting the ruins and climbing over the low walls.

Roman ruins

The weather was hot and muggy and few buildings had air conditioning. Cathedrals, in addition to the stained glass windows, ornate ceilings and carved pillars, had the great advantage of being cool.

Notre Dame de Fourviere is lighted at night. 

The Cathédrale Saint-Jean houses a famous astronomical clock that has kept time and tracked the paths of the sun, moon and stars since the 14^th century. 

Next day, we visited the Parc de la Tete D’Or. This park was popular with local families with its free access to a botanical garden and a small zoo. The tree-lined avenues offered welcome shade and people boated in small lakes.  

Avenue leading to Parc de la Tete D'Or

In the evenings, we visited the old town, Vieux Lyon, where narrow, cobbled streets are crowded with people and restaurants. Most restaurants have tables outside. We ate local dishes by preference, including Andouillette, a tripe sausage, and potatoes Dauphine. Strangely, a large bowl of marinated mussels comes with a side plate of French fries. Croissants with pieces of chocolate are especially good for breakfast.