May 2019 - France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Greece

Yes, it was a bit whirlwind as the description sounds.  But not so bad.  A week with Patrick, Annie, Carole, Vincent et Mailis (our best French friends) in France.  Followed by a tour of eastern France (Strasbourg), then Germany (Lubeck), then Denmark (Copenhagen).  And finally Sweden (Stockholm and Linkoping - pronounced Lincherping).  And we flew to Greece for a week.  It does sound a little whirlwind.

And Patti got a new beret!

Our best friends in France!  Carole, Annie et Patrick.

Picnics on the beautiful coast of Brittany.

Et Mademoiselle Glace.  La glace ne fait que paraître plus grosse que sa tête. (try Google Translate)

Leaving Brittany in the north west of France, we took the high speed trains to Strasbourg in the east side of France.  Traveling at 300 to 350 kilometers per hour (or about 190 to 220 miles an hour).  So fast that we arrived before we left.

The trains were fast, but not fast enough.  To get from the west to the east we needed to get from the Montparnasse Gare (station) to the Gare de l'Est (East station).  We had 50 minutes, but arrived late and had about 30 minutes to take the Metro to the next station.  Just made it.

We arrived in Strasbourg in time to take a relaxing walk around town and enjoy an Alsatian Choucroute dinner.


Only one night in Strasbourg (two nights would have been better - the weather was great and it's a very nice town to walk around).  The next day we headed to Lubeck, Germany.

Lubeck was recommended by cousin John.  According to John, Lubeck is home to beer festivals and nude bath houses.  Sounds like our kind of place.  What's not to like?  Although we never did see the nude bath houses.  Destroyed in WWII in retaliation for bombing non-military sites in England, Lubeck has been re-built and is a beautiful canal surrounded town.  And the beer is cheap!



Next was Copenhagen.  Expensive, but a nice place to visit.  We took the mandatory mermaid picture (similar to our trip in 1978).  Apparently she has been decapitated three times.


Copenhagen is a large business city, but the beautiful canal streets still exist.


Christiania is a section that is a protected zone for hippy/marijuana culture.


After two days in Lubeck, we went on to Stockholm.


In Sweden we re-joined our best cousins Bibi and John. Then we were joined by John's brothers (and our cousins) Jim and Don.  We haven't seen Jim for maybe 50 years, and I don't think Patti has ever met him.  Despite this picture, they really are great guys!  From cousins to friends.
 

Finally, Greece.  Better than we expected.  Great weather, very friendly people, no security issues and clear seas.  We recommend it highly.



And finally, John and Bibi's new grandson - Charlie.

And we made it home again.  Thanks to Patrick, Annie; Carole and Vincent; John and Bibi; and Jim and Don.  We had a great time.
Now we need to prepare to go again (to the boat) in two weeks.


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