Sept. 27, 2016 Trieste to Munich by train

Sept. 27, 2016

Trieste to Munich by Train

Daniela’s daughter agreed to serve us breakfast at 7:00 so we could catch our train at 8:15. She struggled with the espresso machine so had to use the little espresso pot on the stove. It was delicious.

We boarded the train but were told by the conductor that we did not have tickets for our bicycles. Our tickets showed a reservation but the bikes had not been paid for. We were happy to cough up the extra 10 euros each. We also learned after it was too late, that we had not “validated” our tickets before boarding. This is required in Italy but not in Germany. Chantal confessed immediately and the nice conductress did not charge us the extra 30 euros she could have for our mistake.

We almost got off at the wrong stop but realized just in time that we needed to go to the end of the line and not the stop before. Whew, another crisis averted.

Felix, Johanna’s nephew, greeted us at the station and we were off to his flat for dinner. It was a great pleasure to see Nadine and their baby Paula whom we kept up much too late. We dined on the traditional fare of prosciutto, mortadella, fine breads and exotic cheeses.

Felix led us to the apartment we were renting from his friend and we collapsed into the comforts of this borrowed home.

Shipping containers in the Port of Trieste

Recycling is a sophisticated, organized affair in Europe

Spritze in Muggia

Paj snapped a photo of these shoes and the woman was not happy with her

La Plaza d' Unita in Trieste

Our suite in Trieste at Daniela's

Miramare



Overlooking the Adriatic at Miramare

Miramare, the castle built by Maximillian for Charlotte, his Belgian Queen

One last fantastic Italian dinner of seafood and pasta

Johanna's great niece, Paula

Dinner with Johanna's nephew Felix and his wife Nadine

　

Sept. 25, 2016 Izola, Slovenia

Sept. 25, 2016

Izola, Slovenia

Hotel Keltika provided a lovely breakfast with a self service espresso machine. Chantal started off the day with a triple espresso and Paj learned quickly to skip the Cafe Americno and go straight to the espresso.

We grabbed some hotel towels and headed down to the coast. We explored the town, the church and found an abundant fruit and vegetable stand. The vendor immediately urged us to try the produce so we began sampling the local varieties of grapes, etc. and ended up with a great selection for lunch. The figs and prunes were delicious so Paj loaded up on those.

At the sea, we found a spot on the grass and began our day of leisure. There is no beach to speak of, just rocks down to the water and concrete steps in some places. Swimming was brief but it felt good to get in the salty water of the Adriatic. The place was packed with sun worshipers, families, kids and vacationers in general. We ate, read, swam and worked on the “blog” until the sun began to sink then headed back to the room.

We ate at Rebic, a lovely restaurant recommended by our host for the fresh fish caught daily. The appetizer, calamari sautéed in butter, garlic, white wine and herbs was one of the best dishes we had so far.

We rode back to the room along the coastal promenade and looked forward to the next day and a leisurely ride back to Muggia to catch the ferry to Trieste.

Izola sun worshipers

Swimming in the Adriatic

Blogging by the sea

Gelato break

　

Sept. 28, 2016 Munich and Oktoberfest

Sept. 28, 2016

Munich and the Oktoberfest

We found our way back to Felix and Nadine’s apartment and made our plans for the day. Nadine wanted to have lunch at the Augustiner Pavillion inside the Oktoberfest park so we agreed to meet there after a quick bicycle tour of the city. Our first stop was the Glockenspiel so we rushed over there so we would not miss the 11:00 “show.” The first scene is of the Medieval knights jousting in front of the king and queen followed by another enactment of a wedding dance and finally the rooster crowing. Imagine a gigantic music box coming to life inside a 30 story clock tower.

Our next destination was the Viktualien Markt, originally a farmers market, now popular for its gourmet food items and specialty gifts. Every vendor had samples to taste with pieces of crusty bread to dip with. We bought several gifts and Paj found the squid ink pasta that she had been searching for. Chantal stocked up on gourmet mixes for her river trips.

We viewed some other historical and architectural highlights of the city then found our way to the Oktoberfest. Here we witnessed a mass of humanity celebrating the finest locally made bier and traditional foods in 5 separate tents, each holding 5,000 to 10,000 people. The added attraction is everyone dressed in the traditional dirndles and lederhosen of their region. Oktober fest was first celebrated over 500 years ago at the wedding of a Bavarian king and queen who invited everyone from far and near to join in the feast. It continued every year thereafter on the anniversary of their wedding day.

The beers that are allowed at the fest must be brewed in Munich only. The only brewery that can boast of still brewing in oak kegs is the Augustiner Brewery where we had lunch. Chantal ordered the traditional fare of blood sausage, pork belly and liver sausage with sauerkraut and potatoes along with Felix, Nadine and Johanna. Paj chickened out and had the roasted chicken. The beers came in 40 ounce mugs so one was all that was needed. Of course, they scowled at Chantal and I when we requested white wine and NA Beer which they, naturally, did not serve.

Oktoberfest is like Disneyland on steroids due to the fact that everyone is drinking vast quantities of beer and enjoying immensely the largest festival in Europe. The rides are rivaled by none and a favorite vision is of the high rise swing circling next to the city cathedral in the distance.

After more shopping, we departed to continue our bicycle tour of Munich. We went straight to the Isar River to watch the continuous wave and the skilled surfers who methodically jump into the wave to take their turn at surfing back and forth across the river until they lose their balance and are swept downstream.

Our next stop was the English Gardens built by another aristocrat who felt that the city deserved its own version of a vast center of greenery, gardens, walkways and beer gardens for all to enjoy. The throng of humanity relaxing and recreating was an esthetic joy to behold. We met Johanna;s other nephew and Felix’s brother Cristof and had more bier while they visited. Johanna had a continuous stream of Euros for her great niece, Francesca for gelato and the merry-go-round.

The Glockenspiel in Munich

The devil's footprint in the Cathedral in Munich

Viktualien Markt

Dessert for later

The oldest brewery in Munich

Umtata brand getting ready to perform at the Oktoberfest

A man and his horse at Oktoberfest

40 ounce bier at the Augustiner Pavillion

The Bavarian Heaven Pavillion

Chantal could not get enough Nutella and she was so happy to see this booth

The high flying swing ride and Cathedral in the distance

The animated medieval man

Laderhosen

The continuous wave on the Isar River in Munich

The English Gardens in Munich

Windmills from the train on the trip back to Bad Kissingen

Sept. 26, 2016 Izola to Muggia by bike, Muggia to trieste by ferry

Sept. 26, 2016

Izola to Muggia by bike

Muggia to Trieste by Ferry

After breakfast, we made our way back to the old part of town and did a little more gift shopping. We checked in at the tourist center to get more directions for the bike route. Our ride into Muggia had put on some busy streets so we wanted to be sure of our way. With map in hand we departed for the route that hugged the coast.

The ride was delightful and we paused to enjoy a little park along the way. Here we met a Canadian traveler who had started his trip in Rome and would end up in Sicily. He regaled us with tales of his past biking adventures on the continent. The conversation quickly veered to the political. His perspective of the American election system was honest and intelligent, as was his view (not so positive) of young and handsome Justin Trudeau. We parted with ciao, ciao, ciao, ciaos and we resumed our ride to Muggia.

We had an hour to kill before hopping on the ferry. Johanna quickly went searching for gelato, and ate not one, but two cones and threatened to have a third one. Chantal joined in and went for pistachio, her dad’s favorite, to honor him. So, karmically the calories don’t count. Paj, once again, demonstrated superior restraint and strength of character by eating two prunes.

Back in Trieste, we returned to the B&B we stayed at previously. Our request to reserve a room on our return had got lost in the translation and our hostess was gone on a vacation in Croatia. To our good fortune, her daughters were able to contact her and get the approval for us to stay. They had to carry an extra bed into the only vacant room but they were very gracious and accommodating.

We dropped off our bags and we were off to the Miramar, the extravagant castle built by Maximilian, of the Habsbourg dynasty, for his wife, the beautiful Charlotte of Belgium. Exquisite architectural details through and through, magnificent sea vistas, manicured gardens...While impressed with the loveliness of it all, Chantal, forever the Marxist proletaire, couldn’t but feel the abyss between the haves and the have nots.

 

Maximilian and Charlotte’s happiness was short lived, unfortunately, as she went mad and he went off to far away Mexico to become king of the land, only to find himself, before long, in front of a firing squad.

The way to and from Miramar follows the sea, along a paved promenade. Bronzed, barely clad bodies of all ages sprawled on the concrete “beach" provided good, innocent entertainment, puritans that we Americans are. Paj & Chantal zipped along the promenade at a good clip, only to be reminded, once again, by miss J that we are not in a race, and that there is a “decent” speed we ought to pedal by. Yes, mam!

Our last dinner in Trieste was extravagantly rich and delicious, pastas, seafood and pizza. Too full for dessert, imagine that! Ciao Italia and la dolce vita!

Bike trail to Muggia

Seaside Pools

Cargo ship and containers, Trieste

Seaside promenade on the way to Miramare

Statue at Miramare

Miramare

Miramare garden to the sea

Yacht harbor, Trieste

Insalata mista

Mussels and calamari

Munich

Sept. 24, 2016

Trieste to Muggia by boat

Muggia to Izola, Slovenia

We kept our hostess, Daniela very busy at breakfast at the espresso machine. She was very gracious and breakfast was the usual fare of Pannatonne, prosciutto, rolls, yogurt, fruit, juice and fresh berries.

Unfortunately, the night before, Johanna told Chantal to be helpful for a change and Chantal then very quickly reserved a room with miss J’s credit card (thank you Mac). To Chantal’s credit, the hotel was very rustic and inviting, only 500 meters from the sea, and with an astonishing view. The price was so right, Paj exclaimed, “Book it” without any hesitation. And so, Chantal, ever the obedient one, did just that.

 

We made a reservation for our return to Trieste with Daniela when we have to return to catch the train from Trieste to Verona, then Verona to Venice and Venice to Munchen.

At the harbor, we witnessed the deboarding of a huge cruise ship that had docked for the day.

This thwarted our attempts to find our ferry boat to Muggia. We asked directions of the locals and Chantal became enamored with a handsome Norwegian philosopher. She went as far as suggesting another cup of coffee to help with the heavy manuscript, but he promptly directed her away to the ferry. A missed romance if Chantal ever needed another one. Our ferry soon arrived and she could now focus on the handsome young Italian who was in charge of boarding passengers and bikes.

The ride through the port illustrated the importance of this area as a center for commerce as the docks were piled high with containers for cargo and huge cranes to lift them on the ships. The bay was also riddled with sailboats and all manner of tug boats and vessels.

In Muggia, we found ourselves in the square where several weddings were taking place. We observed for a while and then began our ride to Izola, another popular tourist attraction known for its “beaches.”

We stopped to get directions to our penzione only to be told that it was 4-5kms out of town up a steep hill. We should have recognized the looks of disbelief when given the directions but did not, and headed up there. It was hot, the mountain road was very steep, curvy, narrow and loaded with cars. After 1 km, we began to have doubts. After 2 kms, we decided to just go on and cancel the reservation in person. After 2.5 kms, we said the hell with it and headed down to the town center to find the Info Point. In town,  Lara, at the tourist office, found us a room immediately and finally we were able to cancel our other reservation, minus the cancellation fee of 39 Euros (thank you Mac). We learned our lesson!

We took Lara's recommendation and ate dinner at Manjada. The food was divine - calamari, Manjada Pasta with Adriatic Shrimp and Arugula Pesto. Johanna raved about the Cream Schnitte which is the Slovenian version of heavy whipped cream layered with cream and topped with cream.

Cruise ship docking in Trieste

Bikes loaded on the ferry

On board the ferry to Muggia

Our handsome ferry man

The harbor in Muggia









Sept. 23, 2016 Grado to Monfalcone by bike, Trieste by train

Sept. 23, 2016

Grado to Monfalcone by bike and Trieste by Train

Our route out of Grado allowed us to circumnavigate the entire peninsula traveling along the nature preserve for many kms. We finally stopped to rest and enjoy the sea at the beautiful Marina Julia where we were greeted by sun bronzed bodies of every aspect. We had some beer and food and then moved on to make our way to the train stazione in Monfalcone, asking directions of every innocent passerby we met.

We got our tickets and immediately broke the law by walking our bikes across the tracks. After we reached the other side, we saw several signs prohibiting this very action. We were wondering why everyone was giving us such strange looks.

The train was wonderful and we caught sight of the Castle Duono and the castle Miramare built by Maximillian for his wife, the Belgian Princess, Charlotte. Maximilian became the king of Mexico and got himself assassinated. His beautiful wife had a mental breakdown trying to gain support for him from European royalty.

Trieste is another major port on the Adriatic Sea. We easily found our way to the Plaza Unita d’Italia. The plaza is a masterpiece of architecture and splendor, unfortunately marred at the time by a book fair with its collection of unsightly tents. “Scheisse” said Johanna, “not again”, “why can’t these people leave beautiful plazas alone?” We found our way to a beautiful B&B, classic Venetian style, 6th floor of an old building. Paj and Chantal carefully introduced the shared bathroom fact to Miss J, already a little miffed about the stairs. But our Fraulein is a good sport and a couple of vino biancos later all was well in paradise.

As per our usual routine, we showered and dressed in our finest ware and hit the streets in search of gourmet food and drink. It was not hard and we dined on pasta with scampi, spaghetti with seafood and gnocchi with scallops and arugula pesto. As if that wasn’t enough, we ordered a plati secundo of pesce fritte, delicious grilled sardines and calamari.

We rode 39 kms from Grado to Monfalcone. It was another 30km to Trieste by train.

Lagoon in the Reserva on the way to Monfalcone from Grado

Sun bronzed locals at Marina Julia

Plaza Unita d’Italia

Trieste