Regensburg 2022

 When I left Weimar, I used my 9euro card to travel to Regensburg.  I had been there once before, about 15 years ago.  I stayed at the Sorat-Insel Hotel. A great place with great service and a perfect location.  But NO AC.  It cooled down at night but with only one window and no ventilation, it didn't matter.

     Regensburg is very old, ie from Roman times.  There is not so much to see or do but it is the kind of place where you roam around and enjoy.  The city tour from the Tourist Office is good and the history museum is also good.   The best part, for me, was going out to a nice dinner and then roaming from place to place to have a beer and watching the people go by.  Alte Linde biergarten has good beer, good food, good service, a nice atmosphere and all for a good price.  Spitalgarten has a regular biergarten and also a cafe on the street.  That is where I was and it was nice to sit and watch.   I had a good time but do not need to return too soon.

Weimar 2022

      I was only in Weimar for 23 nights this year.  I began to feel apart of it again and it was time to leave.  Just wanted to post a few photos I took.

Dresden 2022

      After 10 nights in beliebted Weimar I took the train to Dresden for 4 nights. I used the 9euro card that Herr Cresse told me to buy.  I used it to take the bus to the Hauptbahnhof and then the RB to Leipzig and then the RE to Dresden. In all it took about 3 1/2 hours and was no different than it would have been otherwise.  I am at the Dresden HIlton which I booked using points.  For a King Executive, including Executive lounge and breakfast, I paid 100000 points and 217 euro.  Terrific!

      I have taken it slow and enjoyed my time here, again.  I went to the Alte Meister Gallerie and saw the special exhibit on Bellotto.  The nephew of Canaletto.  I used the new ipad to go through the collection.  On Saturday I went to the Rezidence and there are new parts open there.  There are a series of "Paradezimmer".  I used my audioguide in all these rooms.  They have a painting of the Saxon Elector meeting Louis XIV and in the middle of them both is  "Liselotte" von der Pflaz!  I was happy to see her again.  Today I went back to the Old Masters and went through on my own.  I was there over 2 hours again but I skipped the Bellotto and only saw the paintings.  I found the Vermeer!

     The eating has been good.  The first night I ate at Gansedieb.  I have been there before.  It is German food.  I had Bauerschnitzel.  It was very good.  I had a 1/2 l red to go with it.  The next night I ate at El Rodizio, a steak house.  I had PiriPiri gambas which were very good, and a lot of them too.  Then I had an Entrecote, rare, with broccoli.  All very good and a 1/2 l of sangria to go with it.  Saturday night I ate at Tex-Mex Sante Fe.  Also new.  I had salad and then ribs and wings.  Very good but the "hot" sauce was not very hot.  Tonight I ate at a Czech restaurant in Konigsstrasse over the bridge in Neustadt.  Also new and also very good.  I had garlic soup which was great and then Rinderroulade, which I have not had yet this year.  I drank two Czech beers - Staropramin Granat.  All my eating experiences have been great.  Good service, good food, good price.

     There has been a Kunst Fest on the Altemarkt for 3 days so I stopped there for a drink twice after dinner.  Last night a couple shared my table and we had a good time.  They are about my age and they live here in the Dresden area.  They have traveled a lot so we had plenty to talk about.  And it was all in German!  I am sitting outside at the Dampfschiff, which is part of the Hilton and I found the trains I am going to take home tomorrow.  I have my stuff together so packing will be nothing and the train is not until 10.

Weimar 2022

      I have already been in Germany for 9 nights!  I spent a week in Berlin and now I am in the apartment in Weimar.  The week in Berlin at the Berlin Hilton was great.  A beautiful hotel with great service.  It has been some years since I stayed there.  I was at the Eurostars Hotel for the last 5 times I was in Berlin.  But this time I got the room I wanted for a great price.  A King Executive for, in all, $200 a night! This included Breakfast and access to the Executive Lounge.  All good.

     I went to the Gemalde Gallerie , the Pergammon and the Egyptisches Museen.  The best was being able to go to the new(?) Berlin Stadt Schloss.  It is done and the Humbolt Museum is open.  I went on a tour of the outside of the building and the next day went to the 3 museums.  It is free.  There is a museum for Africa, Asia and Oceania.  The things they have are very interesting but they do not give a lot of information on them.  At the end of the tour I donated 50 euro and my name is now associated with one of the bricks in the building.  If you look up Milltown, NJ I am sure I am the only one.

   I are at the usual places but "Entrecote"  was new.  It is a couple of blocks from the Hilton and it is like eating in a French brasserie in Paris or Brussels.  The service was great and the food was great and the price was great.  I will definitely eat there again.

     To come to Weimar I had to take the train to Erfurt, as expected, but then take a bus to Weimar.  It seems the train tracks are having work.  But it was easy and I got here no problem.  Everything is the same.Herr Mueller-Lang was quickly out of here as he was leaving for a week in the mountains.  Best of all, my neighbor upstairs, Herr Kresse, is still here!  He must be 90 by now.  I was afraid after 3 years he might be gone.

Chinese Throne

Totems from Oceania

Departure Day

  Today is the big day!  After 3 years I am back at the airport waiting for my flight to Berlin.  Getting here was easy, my nephew picked me up and we were here in 20 minutes.  Check in was a breeze.  Next to no wait at all.  Now I am in the premirer access lounge enjoying a sandwich and a nice Pinot.  It has been so long and this is so nice. 

    Next day:   My flight to Berlin could not have gone better.  We boarded on time and although we left about 20 minutes late, we arrived about 20 minutes early.  When I got off and walked to baggage claim, a new set-up, my suitcase came out first so I was gone in about 15 minute.  I got a cab and came to the Hilton.  53 euro.  My room was ready and I was checked-in immediately.  I landed about 7:30 am local time and was in my hotel room at 9:30 am.  Great!  

     I slept for a few hours and about 4:30 pm walked up Friedrich Strasse to Block House.  I had a rib-eye and salad.  I had a large wasser mit gas and a Hefeweisse .  I walked back past Dolcini's which is closed for vacation while I am here.  Now I am in the hotel bar enjoying an Italian red before going to bed.

      For the first time in several trips I am back at the Berlin Hilton.  I got a King Executive room for @200 euro a night.   Which is good no matter what but even better now with the current exchange rate.  When asked,  always have the charge to your credit card put on in the local currency!

Summer 2022

      As I wrote earlier,  my time in Weimar is booked.   I will be spending a week in Berlin before heading down to Weimar for the bulk of August.  My plans for after Weimar are now complete!  I will be going to Regensburg for 3 nights, Munchen for 7 nights, Salzburg for 4 nights, Trieste for 4 nights and then Venice for 5 nights before I get on the boat to cruise around Italy.

     I have picked really nice hotels and all the bookings are confirmed.  I have been to Berlin and Munchen many times, so nothing new there.  So it will be nice to be in familiar places and go back to the things I love, ie the art museums, once again.  I was in Regensburg once about 15 years ago so it will basically be "new".  I have never been to Salzburg or Trieste so they will both be new and fun.  I was in Venice once, in 1989, so it is like I was never there.

     I don't want to go on too much.  I would much rather write about these places when I am there.  So as time goes on, that is what I will do.

Weimar/Travel 2022

      Well, after over 2 years I am heading back to Weimar!  I wrote to my landlord the other day and got the confirmation today.  I left in September of 2019 and have not been back since so I am very excited.  With this news I purchased my ticket to Berlin and made a reservation at the Berlin Hilton for the week before I go to Weimar.

     I did something I never did before with the plane ticket.  I used points.  I had a little more than half of what I needed to buy the ticket I wanted but they gave me the option of buying enough points.  To do that was $700 cheaper than just buying the ticket, so I did it.  I also got a terrific rate for the room I wanted at the HIlton.  The last, maybe, 5 times I have been in Berlin I have stayed at the Eurostars Hotel which is a great hotel in a great location but I decided to go back to the Hilton because of the room selection.  The Eurostars only has 2 types of rooms - a standard king and a suite.  I have had both.  The king is just like any other king room in a nice hotel.  The suite was unnecessary for me.

     So here I go.  I have basically planned the rest of the time I will be there already.  I have to be in Venice to meet my brother and his wife on 16 September so there is plenty of time to travel on the way there.  Nothing definite yet but I will record the plans as they come about.