breathtakebyways

About breathtakebyways

Ann Williams’ travel articles have appeared in publications all over the country including The Washington Post, Roads to Adventure, and Jack and Jill. Between researching and writing books, she specializes in creative lectures.

Fitting In 2

 in Grand Eastern European River Cruise / Travel tips  tagged German customs / river cruise / River Navigator / tourists / Vantage by

Can you spot the American? Before our trip, a friend said that she wore leather shoes on her trip to Europe because Europeans don’t wear tennis shoes everywhere like we gauche Americans.  Looking like an American seems dicey.  So many people love to hate us, and when we’re liked, it’s usually because we are so easily parted with our dollars.  So I paid top dollar for a pair of non-athletic shoes and then wondered if shoes would really do the trick. IF Steve and I remembered to take off our Vantage badge and headset receiver and camera when we left […]

The Devil is in the Danube 6/20/15

 in Grand Eastern European River Cruise  tagged canal locks / Danube River / Devil's Bridge / Regensburg / river cruise by

Hoax alert:  the Blue Danube is murky green.  Never trust a song writer. Regensburg’s old bridge—or Devil’s Bridge is another sketchy Danube tale.  The bridge’s 12th century builder hurried construction by promising the Devil ownership of the first three souls to cross the finished bridge.  On dedication day the builder preserved the souls of the highest officials of the church and city by sending three farm animals across first.  Furious, the Devil tried to demolish the bridge but only made arches where his back pushed up from the river. The festival scheduled in Regensburg worried our cruise director that “happy” […]

Nuremberg Beauties 6/19/15

 in Grand Eastern European River Cruise  tagged Castle / cemetery / Nuremburg / Rhine River / river cruise / sausage by

“ABC” stands for “another beautiful church” or “another bloody castle”.   An earlier tour group substituted “D(amned)” for “B” after they’d hit “C” overload.  We’ve seen a good many Cs by now, but the fortress on the hill in Nuremberg was still a joy to behold.  I felt like I might look up and see archers on the tower or hear a flagged trumpet blaring forth a royal procession.  A sign on one of the inner doors set me back a step–Private Residence.  People live there.  I love the old stone walls, but homes need windows…and parking spaces.  What is it […]

Bridges of Bamberg 6/18/15

 in Grand Eastern European River Cruise  tagged Bamberg Germany / bridge / Old Town Hall / Rathaus / Rhine Main Danube Canal / Rhine River / river cruise by

Today our ship takes the high road.  We’ll even cruise a bridge over the Autobahn.  I guess I’m not the only one who was ignorant about the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal (RMD) because onboard lecture about it was packed.  The first false start on a connection between the North Sea and Atlantic to the Black sea was launched by my great (to some immense power) uncle Charlemagne in the 700s.  The efforts that followed were only semi-successful until the RMD Canal opened in 1992.  The big hang-up was crossing the continental divide, which the RMD Canal manages with 16 locks to float […]

Holy Gratitude, Blog Woman!

 in Gratitude  tagged blog / gratitude / Sherri Moore by

I spent over a decade trying to get my mystery novel to work.  It may take another five years to get it publishable, but I’m up for it.  My patience with computer issues is another story.  Seven minutes is tops before my gasket blows.  Fortunately  Steve has amazing fortitude for trying and trying and trying and trying until he finds a solution. Still the idea of creating the requisite book-launch website with all bells, whistles, Tweets, and filters seemed akin to curing cancer.  I called the university computer science department and pleaded for a good student.  That’s when the heavens […]

Wurzburg wine cellar and Rothenburg romance 6/19/15

 in Grand Eastern European River Cruise  tagged river cruise / Rothenburg / wine cellar / Wurzburg Residence by

We hear a lot about prince-bishops in this area because they used their civic and church powers to amass fortunes and then build mementos to their greatness.  The Wurzburg Residence is one of those monuments and way too opulent for me.  Maybe there were some complaints at the time too because one of the palace planners confessed to being possessed by a Bauwurm–a building bug.  Room after room of in-your-face excess had me queasy.  I kept wondering how many children went hungry to pay for all that laborious gold leaf.  The last room we toured showed pictures of the ruin […]

Marktheidenfeld Barbeque Bash 6/16/15

 in Grand Eastern European River Cruise  tagged cuckoo / Deppisch Winery / German music / Marktheidenfeld Germany / Rhine River / river cruise by

I started a spectacular day with a walk along the river outside this pretty little town.  The forested hills leveled off to valley floor just across the road.  On my side the tallest grasses were head-high.  I heard a cuckoo and looked around for a house that must have a very loud clock.  I saw neither building nor beak, but I’m betting it was a sneaky bird. Our tour took us to an old paper mill which a young couple operates as a museum.  His family ran the mill for several generations.  She was Scandinavian, and they met at some […]

Heidelberg At Last 6/15/15

 in Grand Eastern European River Cruise  tagged Charlemagne / Heidelberg Bridge / Heidelberg Castle / Rhine River / river cruise by

I knew Heidelberg would be bliss because my dad served there during the WWII Allied occupation, and I studied descriptions of the city to color my recounting of his story.  The bridge and city have been calling me ever since, but I was blown away all the same.  My historic sources painted the castle as a fading ruin above the city.  Clearly that was before the restoration.  The palace is now everything you could want in a castle, except maybe knights on horseback.  Actually the red sandstone fortress offers more than I’d have thought to request—an apothecary museum, the world’s largest wine […]

Castles of the Rhine Gorge 6/14/15

 in Grand Eastern European River Cruise  tagged castles / Niederwald Monument / Rhine River / river cruise by

I looked up from a lively breakfast conversation and thrilled to see a castle peering down on us from a tree-covered hill.  On the upper deck we spotted one hilltop castle after another.   Our cruise director, Veronika, told us their stories along with a sad one about Loreley Rock.  Loreley was a beautiful maiden who threw herself into the river over a knave and became a siren, luring fishermen overboard.  Between castles were charming terracotta-tiled villages, each with at least one lovely, spired church.  In the Rhine Gorge, where fairy tales got their start, even the entrances to train tunnels look like […]

Cologne 6/13/15

 in Grand Eastern European River Cruise by

I’d reasoned that Cologne, the city, must have some European-esque twist to its pronunciation to keep from sounding like perfume.  That’s what I get for thinking.  Cologne, the perfume, is named after Cologne, the city, because the fragrance was born here.  The original scent reminded its discoverer “of an Italian spring morning, of mountain daffodils and orange blossoms after the rain.”  I’m taking his word for it since my allergies are cranky about that sort of thing.  The most famous Eau de Cologne is 4711, named for the shop’s specific location at Glockengasse No. 4711.  Visitors still buy the scent […]