With Paul being sick and staying in the motel room, the boys and I headed into town to catch our tour bus. The boys had no idea where we were going, they just thought we were going for a tour in Bath. When Garry, the bus driver explained what our morning bus tour involved, the boys faces got so excited. We were heading for Stonehenge. The bus had only 23 people on board, which was just a nice number. There were a group of 8 Spanish speaking people on the bus that didnt speak English at all, which made the trip interesting. As Garry was telling us about different things we passed, the Spanish lot spoke spanish very loudly so we couldnt really hear Garry speaking. He wasnt too impressed but how do you tell someone to be quiet if they dont understand.
Anyway after a lovely drive through Salisbury Plains we spotted the unusual structure of Stonehenge. They still dont know today why this structure was built. Some say it was used as a sun worship temple,a healing centre,a huge calendar........Whatever it was used for, we were very impressed by it. Archaeologists have believed that the iconic stone monument was erected around 2500 BC. That is old!
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| Lacock |
Our next destination was to a town called Lacock. This a beautiful small village used in films such as Harry Potter, Pride and Prejudice, Wolf Man, The Other Boleyn Girl and many others. Lacock is also mentioned in the Domesday book. Every house in this town is owned by the National Trust and no one is allowed to purchase a house here. You have to rent but not anyone can rent. You have to have been related to someone who has lived in the town or are working close by. It truly is a beautiful town and you can understand why it is used in movies set in olden times. Some of the houses date back to the 14th Century.
Once we got back to Bath, we decided to have Subway. One thing the boys wanted to do was have Subway in every country. So we have done France and England now. Paul was much better when we got back to the motel. So we decided to go see the baths in Bath.
Bath was actually called Aquae Sulis. The name is Latin for "the waters of Sulis." Sulis was The Goddess of the hot springs. In AD 43 the Romans started the development of 'Aquae Sulis' as a sanctuary of rest and relaxation. You cant go swimming in these baths but you can go to Thermae Bath Spa, which is a posh spa treatment place. Obviously we didnt go there. Way too expensive at £25.00 for a 2-hour session, under 16's are not permitted. It was a great experience but pricey. When in Bath though you have to go see the baths! And thanks to those who cracked the bath and shower jokes.
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| Roman Baths |
Josh and Paul finished the evening off with a Comedy Walk called Bizarre Bath. It had absolutely nothing to do with the history or culture of Bath. It was full of magic tricks, audience insults and "Dad" jokes. The two boys loved it.
We walked through the Shopping mall and even saw the Central European Bank, where all the Euro currency is made. We even came across a park full of activites for children which were all for free. Daniel is very proud of the fact that he was able to stay aboard the Mechanical Bull longer than the other kids (34 seconds!)
Today we left our castle and drove up the Rhine towards Koblenz. Seeing one castle after another- a sight that we never got sick of seeing. Eventually we made our way to Marksburg, one of our favourite castles that we have visited many times before. (We still remember Mum puffing her way up the stairs when she visited us in Germany!) Marksburg is one of the best preserved medieval castles in Germany - It was never invaded and as such has not suffered much damage over the years. In fact the most damage that the castle has suffered is due to earthquakes. To visit the castle, you have to join a tour. The tour was only in German but we had a book to follow in English, which i think we had the better deal as we had more information than the tour guide gave the Germans.
After a reasonable sleep (with a light on all night cause Daniel was a bit scared sleeping in a castle), we headed downstairs for our free buffet breakfast. It was a typical German breakfast- cereal, bread rolls, slices of cheese and meats. Paul was in his element. He is dying to have some German sausages....he will get the chance!!!!!
Back to our room to prepare ourselves for the day and then off to park the car near the Rhine for our cruise. Our cruise with KD boats took us from Bacharach to St. Goar. This is a very spectacular part of the river. First we went passed Oberwesel which was a Celtic town in 400B.C, then a Roman military station. It has some of the best Roman-wall and medieval tower remains on the Rhine. It also is where Schonburg Castle is. Next we past the Loreley. It is a steep rock that is 450 feet high. Because of the reefs just up stream, many of the ships never made is to St. Goar. Sailors blamed their mistfortune on a wunderbares Fraulein whose long blonde hair covered most of her body. The sailors were so attracted to her, they forgot where they were going and alas they drowned. There is a statue of the Loreley on one of the small islands.
Next we passed Burg Katz. Burg Katz and Rheinfels Castle have a clear view up and down the Rhine, effectively controlling the traffic. Burg Katz got attacked by Napoleon in 1806 and was rebuilt in 1900. In St. Goar is Rheinfels Castle. It's a beautiful town apparently named after a 6th Century monk. The castle was once the biggest on the Rhine, built in 1245. It withstood a siege in 1692 of 28,000 french troops, but in 1797 during the french revolution, it was destroyed. It is now a ruin but has some awesome mine tunnels. Paul was very smart and brought a flashlight with him. Once up the mountain by a mini-train, we searched for some tunnels. Some of the tunnels were a bit dark and scary and even though Daniel was freaked out, he wanted to find more. It was a great place to explore and the boys really enjoyed themselves. Once we caught the train back down, we found a lovely restaurant and had pommes frits, coffee and apfelstrudel. The boat trip was very relaxing on the way and finally the sun came out.
After a short rest back in our room, we headed back down to the town to catch up with Gregor, one of Paul's friends from Opel, who he met when we were living over here. We had Dinner at a little German cafe, and afterwards had desert a little ice-cream shop. Josh was excited as he got to have "Spaghetti Ice" - Yum!
Today we left Belgium for Germany. We were all very excited that we will finally get there. So our first place once we got over the border was to go to Cologne Cathedral. What a spectacular church. Very majestic! So majestic, the boys all wanted to climb right up to the spire.....533 stairs later, and that was just to get up. The stair case was very narrow and a spiral one. We were very puffed when we got to the top. The view was magnificent. We even went into the part where the bells are and guess what the bell rang when we were in there which made Marilyn scream! It was very loud. Now for the 533 steps back down. Once down we walked through the fussganger zone (walking mall), checking out all the shops and cafes. Josh had his eye on a berliner and of course for old time sake i had to have a bretzel.
