Friday, May 3, 2013
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Das Autobahn
DATELINE:
From the passenger seat between Frankfurt & Muchen
The best part of traveling through Europe not on a giant tour bus is how open the road really is.
Das Autobahn is home to no speed limits. Sure, there are suggestions. But we're use to getting passed at 120 mph by other cars or finding some motorists going 45 mph.
"People are either speeding or standing still," Adam remarked. "Why can't we just go the same speed?"
We started Thursday practicing the EuroCoaster'13 manta: "Top Down, Hands Up!" The top on the Volvo EuroSled came down for the first time away from the Volvo factory as we let the sunshine in.
"Dude, he passed you at 120 miles per hour!" Scott exclaimed as the C70 was passed, complete with whizzing sound effects.
On our hood, a suction cup mounted GoPro camera capturing all the action. Adam engineered the small video camera on the bow of the car. Using his phone, he can send a signal to remotely turn the camera on and begin recording video.
"Oh my God, is this a hearse? We're getting passed by a Mercedes-Benz hearse," Adam says as a sleek funeral carriage glides past us.
If the new car isn't turning heads, the camera strapped to the front is. Germans have no idea what to make of our hood ornament.
After we passed quintessential small village after village tucked away on the German hillside, we made a detour.
"Do you want to stop at any of these small wine-making towns?" Scott asked. "I want to find the small German village Epcot's train runs through... and maybe a Schwabinchen."
Next: Castell, Germany & the woman in a red dress returns.
From the passenger seat between Frankfurt & Muchen
The best part of traveling through Europe not on a giant tour bus is how open the road really is.
Das Autobahn is home to no speed limits. Sure, there are suggestions. But we're use to getting passed at 120 mph by other cars or finding some motorists going 45 mph.
"People are either speeding or standing still," Adam remarked. "Why can't we just go the same speed?"
We started Thursday practicing the EuroCoaster'13 manta: "Top Down, Hands Up!" The top on the Volvo EuroSled came down for the first time away from the Volvo factory as we let the sunshine in.
"Dude, he passed you at 120 miles per hour!" Scott exclaimed as the C70 was passed, complete with whizzing sound effects.
On our hood, a suction cup mounted GoPro camera capturing all the action. Adam engineered the small video camera on the bow of the car. Using his phone, he can send a signal to remotely turn the camera on and begin recording video.
"Oh my God, is this a hearse? We're getting passed by a Mercedes-Benz hearse," Adam says as a sleek funeral carriage glides past us.
If the new car isn't turning heads, the camera strapped to the front is. Germans have no idea what to make of our hood ornament.
After we passed quintessential small village after village tucked away on the German hillside, we made a detour.
"Do you want to stop at any of these small wine-making towns?" Scott asked. "I want to find the small German village Epcot's train runs through... and maybe a Schwabinchen."
Next: Castell, Germany & the woman in a red dress returns.
Heide Park Delights
DATELINE:
Soltau, Germany
Each Theme Park has its own sense of charm and unique attractions that add character. Enter Heide Park.
Our first rides were big in nature:
The Train. The Antique Cars. The Tom Sawyer river rafts. The Splash Battle water ride. The Observation Tower, all in that order.
Only after the slow monorail, children's coaster and round garden boat ride, did we do the log flume and big roller coasters.
"Wow, I thought Heide Park was like Valleyfair! on crack," Adam recalled.
And crack was seen.
The boat ride resembling the watercraft used in Wilky Wonka's Chocolate Factory had an indoor wonder.
The tunnel led to an indoor section where the boats passed animated figures of cave men. All hairy. All Nude. Some breast feeding. No kidding.
We rode a second time to make sure our eyes were not playing tricks on us (somewhat appropriate since we're on the road now as I write this bound for Munich and passing signs for a revealing town depicted below).
The culture here is more open than America. We watched in horror as a father helped his son tinkle in the bushes near the children's area instead of using the "Toilets." (Oh wait, didn't my family encourage the same act in line for a haunted house line off Lake Erie years ago?).
The missed breakfast came in the form of fresh waffles covered in Nutella. The chocolate Peanut Butter is heavenly. But instead of eating at a table like everyone else, Scott hauled chairs into a nearby teepee and we ate around the fire pit inside.
"We're in Germany. If I want to eat in a TeePee, we'll eat in a TeePee," he barked as the locals watched in disbelief as he took chairs off a quick service porch.
As for the big rides, we also challenged "Krake." This B&M coaster drops straight down at 90 degrees and into the mouth of a giant worm-like Sea Monster. Like her sister SheiKra at Busch Gardens Tampa, it is excellent.
Other items to note from Heide Park:
A) Bring your dog, they are welcome beyond the front gate, just not on the rides. When you're riding, most pooches lay in the shade. And each food stand has a water bowl set out.
B) Bring a blanket and have a picnic. Laying in the spring sunshine is encouraged.
C) Ketchup flows out of squeezable "utters."
D) There are no bathrooms, rather "Toilets" (see the photo below).
E) And here, beer flows like soft drinks.
"It's the most unique theme park I've ever been to," Adam says.
And he's right.
Next: Video on Das Autobahn.
Soltau, Germany
Each Theme Park has its own sense of charm and unique attractions that add character. Enter Heide Park.
Our first rides were big in nature:
The Train. The Antique Cars. The Tom Sawyer river rafts. The Splash Battle water ride. The Observation Tower, all in that order.
Only after the slow monorail, children's coaster and round garden boat ride, did we do the log flume and big roller coasters.
"Wow, I thought Heide Park was like Valleyfair! on crack," Adam recalled.
And crack was seen.
The boat ride resembling the watercraft used in Wilky Wonka's Chocolate Factory had an indoor wonder.
The tunnel led to an indoor section where the boats passed animated figures of cave men. All hairy. All Nude. Some breast feeding. No kidding.
We rode a second time to make sure our eyes were not playing tricks on us (somewhat appropriate since we're on the road now as I write this bound for Munich and passing signs for a revealing town depicted below).
The culture here is more open than America. We watched in horror as a father helped his son tinkle in the bushes near the children's area instead of using the "Toilets." (Oh wait, didn't my family encourage the same act in line for a haunted house line off Lake Erie years ago?).
The missed breakfast came in the form of fresh waffles covered in Nutella. The chocolate Peanut Butter is heavenly. But instead of eating at a table like everyone else, Scott hauled chairs into a nearby teepee and we ate around the fire pit inside.
"We're in Germany. If I want to eat in a TeePee, we'll eat in a TeePee," he barked as the locals watched in disbelief as he took chairs off a quick service porch.
As for the big rides, we also challenged "Krake." This B&M coaster drops straight down at 90 degrees and into the mouth of a giant worm-like Sea Monster. Like her sister SheiKra at Busch Gardens Tampa, it is excellent.
Other items to note from Heide Park:
A) Bring your dog, they are welcome beyond the front gate, just not on the rides. When you're riding, most pooches lay in the shade. And each food stand has a water bowl set out.
B) Bring a blanket and have a picnic. Laying in the spring sunshine is encouraged.
C) Ketchup flows out of squeezable "utters."
D) There are no bathrooms, rather "Toilets" (see the photo below).
E) And here, beer flows like soft drinks.
"It's the most unique theme park I've ever been to," Adam says.
And he's right.
Next: Video on Das Autobahn.
Heide Ho!
DATELINE:
Soltau, Germany
What's the opposite of luxury hotel accommodations? Camping!
In northern Germany, EuroCoaster'13 found overnight accommodations at a theme park campsite.
No tent? No problem!
Welcome to the wonderful world of
"Glamping." That's a term meaning half "Glamour" and half "Camping."
"It's like Caribean Beach meets Siberia," Adam said of the "luxury" accommodations.
Heide Park is quickly becoming one of Germany's biggest amusement parks. In the pack of the property awaits "Holiday Camp."
The yellow, blue and pink huts look fashionable on the outside. Inside, find the bare essentials; "bare" being the key word.
Open the door after midnight and discover plywood walls, beds with no sheets and a cement floor. Fortunately, we had a small heater, after temps. dropped under 40 degrees.
Since accommodations don't come with sheets or linens, we rented them from the front desk. Actually, the sheets are more like a sleep sack (crawl in like a bug in a rug. See Scott's photo below). The reception area was close to the bathroom... the same bathroom we wound use since our hut had no restroom facility. The walk for John Adam to "the john" was just 3 minutes.
What we did not have in way of a bathroom, we found in conversation. But not between ourselves, rather the men in the hut with us.
That's right, your two happy campers shared a hut with two strangers. They were tucked away in their rented sheets, us in ours. Now, there was a plywood wall separating our "rooms," but you could hear every word, cough, grunt and snore from the other side.
In the morning, we woke in a sweat. That little space heater worked overtime when the stars were out.
"If I had to guess, it was 85 in there," Adam speculated.
Deciding he had not sweated enough, Scott crawled out if his bed sack and went for a run around the campground and theme park. While he jogged, the rides were put through their morning paces & testing.
"Why is everyone looking at me?" he thought. "Oh, yeah. I am the only one wearing shorts in this country, since it's 40 degrees."
By the time Scott finished and showered in the locker room, we missed the free breakfast, but the full day at Heide Park made up for it.
"We didn't even get a campfire," Adam recalls.
That's Glamping for you!
Next: Lunch in our own TeePee.
Soltau, Germany
What's the opposite of luxury hotel accommodations? Camping!
In northern Germany, EuroCoaster'13 found overnight accommodations at a theme park campsite.
No tent? No problem!
Welcome to the wonderful world of
"Glamping." That's a term meaning half "Glamour" and half "Camping."
"It's like Caribean Beach meets Siberia," Adam said of the "luxury" accommodations.
Heide Park is quickly becoming one of Germany's biggest amusement parks. In the pack of the property awaits "Holiday Camp."
The yellow, blue and pink huts look fashionable on the outside. Inside, find the bare essentials; "bare" being the key word.
Open the door after midnight and discover plywood walls, beds with no sheets and a cement floor. Fortunately, we had a small heater, after temps. dropped under 40 degrees.
Since accommodations don't come with sheets or linens, we rented them from the front desk. Actually, the sheets are more like a sleep sack (crawl in like a bug in a rug. See Scott's photo below). The reception area was close to the bathroom... the same bathroom we wound use since our hut had no restroom facility. The walk for John Adam to "the john" was just 3 minutes.
What we did not have in way of a bathroom, we found in conversation. But not between ourselves, rather the men in the hut with us.
That's right, your two happy campers shared a hut with two strangers. They were tucked away in their rented sheets, us in ours. Now, there was a plywood wall separating our "rooms," but you could hear every word, cough, grunt and snore from the other side.
In the morning, we woke in a sweat. That little space heater worked overtime when the stars were out.
"If I had to guess, it was 85 in there," Adam speculated.
Deciding he had not sweated enough, Scott crawled out if his bed sack and went for a run around the campground and theme park. While he jogged, the rides were put through their morning paces & testing.
"Why is everyone looking at me?" he thought. "Oh, yeah. I am the only one wearing shorts in this country, since it's 40 degrees."
By the time Scott finished and showered in the locker room, we missed the free breakfast, but the full day at Heide Park made up for it.
"We didn't even get a campfire," Adam recalls.
That's Glamping for you!
Next: Lunch in our own TeePee.
Breaking for Breakfast
DATELINE:
Frankfurt, Germany
"That's what you need, a big 'ole tea bag," Adam suggests at breakfast.
Tea bags, orange juice and cereal is where recognizable breakfast in Europe stops.
Here, baked beans, tomatoes and cold cuts rule. We've seen fish "paste" rolled up in a tube in Sweden and bologna with olives in Germany. The one constant: awesome Croissants.
One thing we have not digested: Television. Adam tried to watch a morning newscast. Too bad Scott pulled the plug (literally) to use the same outlet to recharge his camera! (We did spot a newscast in the hotel's dining room this morning, to which Scott screamed, Look at their cool floating graphics!!" Upon realizing the newscast was on a loop, Adam proclaimed, " They repeat more than we do.")
We've planned well, each hotel we've stayed at so far comes with free breakfast. As for the TV, we'll see if the power works in Munich.
Frankfurt, Germany
"That's what you need, a big 'ole tea bag," Adam suggests at breakfast.
Tea bags, orange juice and cereal is where recognizable breakfast in Europe stops.
Here, baked beans, tomatoes and cold cuts rule. We've seen fish "paste" rolled up in a tube in Sweden and bologna with olives in Germany. The one constant: awesome Croissants.
One thing we have not digested: Television. Adam tried to watch a morning newscast. Too bad Scott pulled the plug (literally) to use the same outlet to recharge his camera! (We did spot a newscast in the hotel's dining room this morning, to which Scott screamed, Look at their cool floating graphics!!" Upon realizing the newscast was on a loop, Adam proclaimed, " They repeat more than we do.")
We've planned well, each hotel we've stayed at so far comes with free breakfast. As for the TV, we'll see if the power works in Munich.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
By Sea
DATELINE: Leaving Denmark:
After our day at Tivoli in Copenhagen came to an end, we headed south to Denmark's boarder on the Baltic Sea. A quick look at the map in an underground parking lot, the C70 emerged.
Her red license plates turned several heads in downtown Copenhagen (or maybe it's my driving). Most plates in Europe are white these days. And when turning at an intersection in Copenhagen, you have to cross three lanes of traffic. One lane is for bicycles. Another lane is for buses. Then you have a median. And with pedestrians walking in the crosswalk, it can get confusing fast. At one point, were we're parked on top of a crosswalk where locals waddled and biked in front and behind the Volvo.
The race was on to catch a ferry by nightfall and head to Germany.
But first, we needed gas. Volvo warned me to avoid the popular Ethanol blend. And to stay away from other formulas. In fact, enough Volvo drivers from the USA have put in the wrong fuel, that Volvo now installs a sticker on the inside of the fuel door to serve as a reminder of what to avoid.
But which one to choose? A quick look at the instructions, followed by Adam's wisdom of filling satellite trucks and we did fine.
As for paying for gas? You can't do it at the pump. Head inside and see the clerk after you fill up, as if this was 1982 all over again.
Be happy with $3.44 cents a gallon in the USA. In Denmark, we were paying closer to $8.00 a gallon!
Think road signs in the USA are poorly marked? Try Denmark... And reading them in a foreign language.
We missed the ferry dock entrance by 50 feet. That resulted in getting back on the freeway and backtracking six miles to the nearest exit. After a lengthy turnaround, we driving six miles back to the port.
After paying a hefty fare for Car and two people, we were in line to drive into the hull of the ship.
"Your car is on a boat!," Adam proclaimed as we parked inside the boat. Before exiting the vehicle, we had to reprogram her theft protection sensitivity. The rocking motion on the Baltic Sea would have set off the anti-theft alarm (the car's internal sensors are busy). Using the radio, we told the car to keep it down.
After disembarking the parked car, Adam and I dined on fine Denmark Cod (Here, everything tastes like Fish) and took in a beautiful sunset.
Next: Germany awaits.
After our day at Tivoli in Copenhagen came to an end, we headed south to Denmark's boarder on the Baltic Sea. A quick look at the map in an underground parking lot, the C70 emerged.
Her red license plates turned several heads in downtown Copenhagen (or maybe it's my driving). Most plates in Europe are white these days. And when turning at an intersection in Copenhagen, you have to cross three lanes of traffic. One lane is for bicycles. Another lane is for buses. Then you have a median. And with pedestrians walking in the crosswalk, it can get confusing fast. At one point, were we're parked on top of a crosswalk where locals waddled and biked in front and behind the Volvo.
The race was on to catch a ferry by nightfall and head to Germany.
But first, we needed gas. Volvo warned me to avoid the popular Ethanol blend. And to stay away from other formulas. In fact, enough Volvo drivers from the USA have put in the wrong fuel, that Volvo now installs a sticker on the inside of the fuel door to serve as a reminder of what to avoid.
But which one to choose? A quick look at the instructions, followed by Adam's wisdom of filling satellite trucks and we did fine.
As for paying for gas? You can't do it at the pump. Head inside and see the clerk after you fill up, as if this was 1982 all over again.
Be happy with $3.44 cents a gallon in the USA. In Denmark, we were paying closer to $8.00 a gallon!
Think road signs in the USA are poorly marked? Try Denmark... And reading them in a foreign language.
We missed the ferry dock entrance by 50 feet. That resulted in getting back on the freeway and backtracking six miles to the nearest exit. After a lengthy turnaround, we driving six miles back to the port.
After paying a hefty fare for Car and two people, we were in line to drive into the hull of the ship.
"Your car is on a boat!," Adam proclaimed as we parked inside the boat. Before exiting the vehicle, we had to reprogram her theft protection sensitivity. The rocking motion on the Baltic Sea would have set off the anti-theft alarm (the car's internal sensors are busy). Using the radio, we told the car to keep it down.
After disembarking the parked car, Adam and I dined on fine Denmark Cod (Here, everything tastes like Fish) and took in a beautiful sunset.
Next: Germany awaits.
Celebrating 99 Years
Tivoli might be the smallest "big" park in the world.
Everything in this part of the world is smaller than the USA. Including the hotel "lifts," also known as elevators (see the picture below. The sign said it could hold 4 people. We thought more like 2 people ).
Also small: Tivoli Gardens, yet it packs in Big thrills. Only one city block, the park is impressive.
"I'm glad we started with Liseberg Park," Adam said, since Tivoli's charm and beauty captivated us.
The 99-Year-Old "Roller Coaster" is a side friction contraption, meaning that cars simply sit on the track, without any wheels under the rails to keep the cars safely in position. A "break man" rides on a special seat and dictates the speed, insuring the train will not fly off the track. They have a break handle and pull it to keep the train from flying off the rails.
Thanks to our new friend Lars for the personal tour and sharing Tivoli's past with us. Lars took an hour away from Tivoli's executive offices to escort us around the property.
Next: Crossing the Sea
Everything in this part of the world is smaller than the USA. Including the hotel "lifts," also known as elevators (see the picture below. The sign said it could hold 4 people. We thought more like 2 people ).
Also small: Tivoli Gardens, yet it packs in Big thrills. Only one city block, the park is impressive.
"I'm glad we started with Liseberg Park," Adam said, since Tivoli's charm and beauty captivated us.
The 99-Year-Old "Roller Coaster" is a side friction contraption, meaning that cars simply sit on the track, without any wheels under the rails to keep the cars safely in position. A "break man" rides on a special seat and dictates the speed, insuring the train will not fly off the track. They have a break handle and pull it to keep the train from flying off the rails.
Thanks to our new friend Lars for the personal tour and sharing Tivoli's past with us. Lars took an hour away from Tivoli's executive offices to escort us around the property.
Next: Crossing the Sea
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