Sep 7, 2026 - Monday - Brandstatt, Austria to Linz, Austria

Short day today at 24 km. Did I mention that the weather gods have been very kind. So far on the bike days the forecast is for cooler, dry days which has been perfect these first two days.

Buffet breakfast again and we grabbed the free sandwiches for our lunch. The ride was great with only one short section with cars zooming by and one detour where we had to backtrack a bit. Ralph and Teri stopped at a bike shop to find water bottles and Deb and I found a nice shady park near the river where some other folks from the boat had stopped. Our plan was to eat lunch at a beach near the end of today's ride and then take the rest of the day to explore Linz. The beach was not all that great but we found some steps to sit on and eat lunch. We shortly got to the boat, which we had seen pass us on the river earlier, dropped the bikes off, changed into street clothes and walked into Linz. Linz is another beautiful old city with big churches and cobblestone streets. We took the tram to Postlingberg, the top of a mountain across the river where you can get a nice view of the city. Our new table mates, Dana and Nancy, also were on the tram so we all stuck together for our visit. We’d been told about the  Dragon Ride (Grottenbahn) which is a 120 year old amusement ride in an old castle featuring Grimm Fairy Tales. It’s been modernized but it was very cute. Makes me want to go back and read those fairy tales again.

After our Dragon ride we headed back into the city on the tram and walked around. Deb was on a mission to find a slice of Linzer Torte, the oldest Austrian Cake recipe. We went to the K.U.K. Hofbackerei for shared slices of Linzer Torte and coffee/tea. Very nice but we all agreed it wasn’t our favorite dessert. After this we searched out the New Cathedral, a church built in the mid-1800’s that is now Austria’s largest church, with seating for 20,000. Downtown Linz was really nice and much less touristy than some of the other European cities we’ve visited.

The boat left at 7 p.m. so we had to be back on board by 6:30. We made the 6:45 debriefing for tomorrow's ride as the boat started down river and then straight to dinner.

Sep 6, 2026 - Sunday -, Austria to Brandstatt, Austria

Woke up to a beautiful blue sky day. They already had the bikes off the boat while we were finishing our breakfast. Breakfast is buffet style with omelets, eggs, lots of meats and yogurts and fruits and bread and cheese, you get the idea. They also have sandwiches to take with us in bags which we all grabbed. Back to the room to change into bike clothes and then out to find our bikes. Since there are 120 or so bikes out there you need to find the one with your room number on it which can take a while. The crew was helpful with last minute questions. And then we were off.

We each have an app for our phones that gives us turn by turn instructions so it is pretty impossible to get lost. We stopped at a church immediately after starting which was another of the endless supply of big fancy and old churches here.

Today was the longest biking day with 45 kilometers. The bike paths are clearly marked and not too busy. Being Sunday there were a few locals out riding their bikes. We had to take two ferries (3 euros each) and we stopped at a roadside snack bar and bought drinks and ate our sandwiches. We stopped for ice cream in Aschach at the place with the longest line, as Claudia had instructed.

Somewhere today we came across a town fair of some kind inside a big barn-like structure. They had a brass band on stage and everyone was drinking beer and eating German food. Still not sure what it was about but they did not seem to mind us wandering in.

We got back to the boat early since we were so speedy today and sat on the deck until 3:30 when they put out cake and coffee. We had the usual debrief by Claudia about the next day's ride and then we were supposed to have a gala but it turned out to be an introduction to the crew and a bit fancier dinner. Then off to bed.

Sep 5, 2026 - Saturday - Passau, Germany - On the boat

We got on the boat today, but not until 3:30. Nice hotel, Hotel Konig, they had a great breakfast and we then decided to walk around Passau. Another lovely century or two old town on the Danube river where it meets two other rivers. We got tickets for an organ recital at noon at a cathedral  in town and after that found the farmers market. We picked up slices of pizza at a little shop on a back street and then headed back to the hotel to meet the shuttle driver who would drive us to the dock to meet the boat. He was a half hour late which was fine since we were early anyway, and the woman working at the hotel gave us Prosecco for our troubles. We got checked in on the boat and they took our bags to the rooms. That evening we had a welcome kickoff gathering with champagne. There are 75 English speakers and 53 or so German speakers on board, about twice the number of people that were on our trip two years ago. We have assigned seats for breakfast and dinner and the four of us shared a table with a couple from the Boston area.

After the kickoff Claudia debriefed us on the bike trip tomorrow and went over the details of our bikes and the route and any good spots to stop at. We had dinner at 7:30 and then at 9:00 we had to go try helmets on. And then finally, bed time.

Sep 4, 2026 - Salzburg Austria to Passau Germany

Ralph, Deb and Milo all went for a walk first thing in the morning. Today we take the train to Passau in Germany where we start the bike tour. We ate the last few things in the refrigerator for breakfast, packed all of our clothes in suitcases and backpacks and walked the kilometer to the train station. Deb and I had previously planned on going on the 10:42 train but decided to go on the same train as Teri and Ralph at 12:11. Their train did not show up on the Eurail app so we asked the nice OBB info guy and he said the app is not always right so just get on the train. None of us had seats reserved but there were plenty of seats so nobody had to move on both trains.

We had a one hour train from Salzburg to Wels, Austria. An old gentleman with one arm bandaged up chatted us up. He kind of looked homeless but was very nice (and loud)to us in his broken English. Ralph helped him with his bags since he only seemed to be using one arm. He was very grateful and gracious. 

We had an hour layover in Wels but found the cafe for a cuppa. Another hour on the train to Passau and a kilometer walk to the hotel. We checked in and decided to walk to where the three rivers meet, another kilometer or so away. The Danube and Inn Rivers meet and another smaller one, the Ilz meets there as well. The Inn River is cloudy as it comes from glacial mountains and the Danube is clear so you can see them combine and mix as they go downstream. 

We walked back toward the hotel and stopped for dinner at the Altes Brauhaus, a small restaurant, as the sun was setting. We had classic German dishes and local beer. No room for dessert so back to the hotel.

Sep 3, 2026 - Salzburg Day 2

Today we took a bus to Durrnberg (near Hallein)  to go down into the salt mine there. We have the bus system mostly working and Teri is an excellent researcher on most everything. Like anything, it looks complicated when you start but it is pretty easy after a day or two (and having tools like Google Maps).

The bus took about an hour to get to Durrnberg and the salt mine (Saltzwelten Salzburg) was right across from the bus stop. Our Salzburg Card got us on all the buses and gave us a couple of euros discount on the salt mine tour. It got us into all the museums and pretty much anything we were interested in. We paid 43 euros each and Deb counted it up tonight and we got 112 euros worth of entrance fees (per person)  plus all the free transportation.

The Salt Mine tour was top drawer. I think of our little Bisbee mine tour and I will say, Bisbee has it hands down as far as authenticity. This salt mine tour is slick and modern and very professionally done. This mine  stopped working in the 1980’s but the company has another nearby mine that still produces salt.

A young woman ran the whole tour by herself and gave each station presentation in German and English. She ran the tram and the boat that took us across an underground lake. There were two slides that we had to slide down. Everything was automated so one person could run it. They began mining salt before Christ and she was great at taking us through each time period and the tools and technology of each.

After the mine tour we went to Untersburg to ride the cable car to the top of the mountain there (also included in the Salzburg Card). We hiked a bit above where the lift ends and got a beautiful view of Salzburg nearby.

We took the bus back to Salzburg where Ralph and I went back to the apartments to “read” and Deb and Teri did some more exploring around town. They went over the Mozart Bridge, went to the Christmas Museum and found the giant pickle sculptures. They returned and we all went to Uncle Vans which had Vietnamese  food. Then we found ice cream and called it a day.

Sep 2, 2026 - Wednesday - Salzburg Day 1

Between the two apartments we have one coffee maker that doesn’t work and the other one that you can’t buy coffee pods for in the local store. Deb and I went out this morning to get some milk, pasties, bananas, yogurt and the wrong coffee pods. We shared the pastries with Teri and Ralph and then it was go time. 

Our first visit was to the Mirabell Gardens. Gorgeous gardens that included a really cool dwarf sculpture area, as well as the “do-re-mi” steps and the Pegasus Fountain from The Sound of Music.

Second stop was Mozart’s birthplace. Pretty cool to see where Mozart was born and lived with his family in a third floor apartment and seven kids. None of us knew much about Mozart, so all pretty interesting.

Next up was the Toy Museum which is not so much a museum but a place to bring young kids to wear them out. A wonderful resource for families with kids. You name it, they have it from reading nooks to model railroads to slot cars to building blocks to drawing projects to climbing structures.

Deb here for the rest. By this time we were ready for a pause, so found a cafe and drank kombucha (Teri and I) and coffee (the men). We were also hungry so we went to the square where a market was set up. Ralph, John and I all ordered the hot dog “special” which included fried onions, pickles, ketchup and mustard and was pretty tasty.

By this time it was after 2 and we decided to aim for the 3 p.m. boat cruise included with our card. We picked up tickets, scored window seats and enjoyed a leisurely 45 minute narrated cruise on the river.

Next project was to take the #25 bus to Hellbrunn Palace, an old castle outside of town. I’d read about the Palace’s “trick fountains” as being something good to see, but hadn’t thought we’d have enough time to venture out of town for this one. The bus was easy and we arrived by 4:30 p.m. When we picked up our tickets (Salzburg Card again) we were told to go to the trick fountains show at 4:45. None of us knew what to expect but it was the highlight of the day! When the palace was built in the 1600’s, the archbishop who owned the place had a vision for water powered entertainment, no electricity but amazing stuff. Hard to describe but worth looking up. Fantastically creative grottos, displays, trick fountains that would pop off randomly (based on an assistant controlling them), sculptures, really wild and all done hundreds of years ago. And then the icing on the cake was seeing the gazebo from The Sound of Music, along with the spectacular gardens. All a big wow!

By the time we left there it was 6 p.m. and we were tired and hungry. Back to the city and we made the decision to visit the rooftop terrace at Hotel Stein for drinks. Once up there we had drinks and decided to split a couple of burgers and fries for dinner. Another beautiful night shared with good friends at the end of a great day.

Sept 1, 2026 - Tuesday - Innsbruck Austria to Steingasse 29, Salzburg Austria

Another train day. It turns out our train was cancelled and we went to the office next door and the same nice young woman got us reserved seats on the next one an hour later. We burned the hour like all Europeans do, finding a cafe and drinking coffee and watching people walk by.

The train goes all the way to Vienna but we got off at Salzburg so it was pretty full, given the other folks who probably missed the cancelled train. We were glad to have reserved seats.

It was two hours in our reserved seats watching the change from the mountains to the flat farmland. We ended up riding from Austria into Germany and then back into Austria. 

Once we got to Salzburg we walked the 2.3 km to the apartment that our friends Teri and Ralph had found. They arrived the previous day so they had one day to recover from jetlag. They were out exploring the city so we found a couple of sandwiches at a nearby shop and sat on the steps of our building and enjoyed lunch in our new city. We checked in at 2:00 when they returned and the woman who runs the place dropped by to let us in. The apartment looks good, Teri and Ralph are across the hall, and Teri and Deb already had the rest of the day planned out.

We all have Salzburg Passes which lets us get into all the museums and also lets us ride all the buses and local trains.

First stop was to ride the Funicular up to Fortress Hohensalzburg and visit the museum there. Another castle built centuries ago with more history than we can comprehend. We toured the small museums in the fortress, then walked up the 132 stairs to the tower for a great panoramic view of the city and mountains.

After touring the castle it was time for a break, so we found a cafe on the property that offered great views of the city below. We started with drinks and ended up ordering dinner there since it was such a nice night. Back down the funicular, walked to our apartments, laundry and bed

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August 31, 2026 - Monday - Innsbruck, Austria

Deb here. Last night we bought a 24-hour Innsbruck Card, giving us access to all kinds of activities in the city, so our plan today was to make the most of the card. We started with a great hotel breakfast buffet (included with our room) and then headed out. Our first goal was to find the Nordkette, a series of a funicular and two gondolas that would whisk us to “The Top of Innsbruck”, also known as Hafelekar Peak, which sits at 7,657 feet. This turned out to be a perfect decision, since there were no crowds early in the day and the weather was ideal. Thrilling rides to the top, then a 15 minute walk up to the summit. So, so gorgeous, with jagged peaks in every direction. Different than the Swiss Alps but still spectacular. After spending some time on top we returned down the three lifts to the bottom. By this time the gondolas were packed, so we were happy to have seen it all when we did. 

Next up was finding the Hop On, Hop Off Sightseeing Bus, also included in our Innsbruck Card. Another great experience, with headphones and narration in English that actually worked. I’d read about a nearby castle named Schloss Ambras, thinking it was too far to visit, but the bus made a stop there so we hopped off. Once again, our cards admitted us and we had a super visit. This castle has lots of 1500 year old history and is regarded as the world’s first museum. Cool armor collections, a “Chamber of Arts and Wonders”, grand hall and more.

Through the castle gardens and back on the bus, aiming for a stop at the Glockenmuseum, a bell foundry and museum over 400 years old. This was a sweet museum, with lots of info about how bells (especially really big ones) are made, along with the chance to try ringing a bunch in different sizes. They actually make the bells there in the foundry, which we could peek into. 

By this time it was 2 p.m. and we were hungry, so rather than waiting for another bus we walked back into the old town and found Markethalle Innsbruck. It’s an indoor market with lots of different vendors, and we found a spot to split a sandwich and have coffee/iced chai. Perfect.

From there it was on to Experience Tirol, a one hour informational program about the area and its history that included virtual reality, 360 degree screen projections and more. Pretty clever. Not sure that I would have chosen this but again, included in the card so why not?

When this ended at 4:30 or so we’d had enough of museums and attractions, so headed back to an Italian cafe where we’d had drinks the night before. It started sprinkling, so we ate inside and had delicious pasta and salad. 

From there it was on to the train station to check on reservations for tomorrow’s train to Salzburg (not needed), then back to our hotel cafe to sit outside with coffee, tea and a shared piece of apfelstrudel. All delicious and the best ending to a full day. 

Aug 30, 2026 - Sunday - Interlaken Ost to Hotel Central, Innsbruck

Our train left Innsbruck Ost (East) at 7:59am so we walked down the hill this morning. It’s Sunday so no bus this early. The hotel left us a big breakfast bag in the refrigerator downstairs. Rolls, bread, cheese, yogurt, an apple, a plum, a couple of juice pouches. The hotel owner did not want us starving on her watch.

We walked downtown and got coffee and tea at the Youth Hostel near the train station. All the old men and some travelers were there. It seems to be the local hangout and the prices are less than the other coffee shops.

The train was right on time (of course) and we got on with not too many people. We are finding that one end of a train trip starts kind of empty and then it gets more full as you get to the other end. One train (from Toulouse to Lyon, France) required seat reservations and the rest either recommended reservations or not. All it means is that if someone paid the extra 8 Euros for a reserved seat and you are sitting in it, you need to move to an empty seat. 

We sat next to a very interesting fellow named Roland who was a midget who had a career in the Circus. He was a really nice guy and very lively. He was known as the world’s smallest ringmaster on the circus circuit and started his career with Barnum and Bailey in the US. Very interesting and pleasant man.

We didn’t reserve seats today and I got moved one stop from the end of the day. I ended up sitting with a young couple from India with a 2 year old which was fun.

We arrived in Innsbruck around 2:30, found the hotel and checked in and then wandered around the old city. We had a drink and became fast friends with a couple from Montreal. He was a retired civil engineer and she was a retired notary traveling to Barcelona for his son’s wedding. Meeting strangers is the best part of travel.

We had dinner at a German/Austrian restaurant and had schnitzel and sausages. Then more walking around the old town, coffee/tea at a cafe  and then back to the hotel. Tomorrow calls for some rain so we are planning accordingly for tomorrow.

Aug 29, 2026 - Saturday - Hiking in Grindelwald

Our hotel gave us breakfast and we had fun talking with the other guests. Some German, some Australian, and others we did not figure out. Once we left France, we heard more English being spoken. Most everyone here can speak some English so we feel fortunate we can communicate easily.

Today we took the train to Grindelwald and then took a long gondola ride to Grindelwald-First. Then we hiked into a small lake called Bachalpsee.The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and we had great views of the famous Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. We rode the gondola with three people from Massachusetts and a young woman from Canada who just took a job in London. We bumped into them a few times during the day. A very fun group in the gondola.

The hike was about 5 miles out and back and not too strenuous. A lot of people were doing the same hike so lots of company. But the views were to die for and the weather was fantastic. We had lunch at the lake with bread, cheese, fruit and licorice. Then back down the trail, back down the gondola, back down to Interlaken on the train, picked up some groceries and then back to the hotel (on the bus). The scenery from the hotel on this blue sky day was gorgeous, so we enjoyed hanging out on the terrace and taking in the view.

Aug 28 2026 - Friday - Annecy, France to Interlaken, Switzerland

Today is a train day. Three different trains with reasonable connections and everything worked. The first train was Annecy to Geneva. The next train was Geneva to Bern, and the last train was Bern to Interlaken. 

We got coffee at a small sidewalk bar which must have been known all over town as the place to drink coffee and smoke. Then to the farmers market on the streets in Annecy and bought a small loaf of bread, a wedge of brie, some apricots and bananas for our breakfast/lunch today. Again, food here is much less expensive than back in the states! Then to the train station where we found the track for the train to Geneva. Plenty of room on the train. The next train was interesting. We sat in a small cluster of seats with handicapped signs. Plenty of room. A few stops down the tracks at least 4 people in wheelchairs all crowded in and their support team started taking the tables apart to make room. We offered to move out but they said they had plenty of room. We squeezed out from the disabled folks and then found our last train from Bern to Interlaken. Kudos to those people that take care of our handicapped!!

We got to Interlaken and put the directions in for our hotel. Deb promised me a life of adventures if I married her 41 years ago but walking a mile up a mountain road with no sidewalk, with the rain threatening, hauling my suitcase is not what I consider adventure. It was worth it (the marriage too) as the hotel has a beautiful balcony overlooking the town of Interlaken, the river that runs through it and the stunning mountains behind it. And 24 hour coffee and tea!

We heard from a fellow hotel guest that the second best fondue in town was in one of the hotels downtown so we figured out the bus (leaves every 30 minutes) to get us downtown and back. The fondue was great, the beer was great, Deb’s wine was pretty good,  and the bus ride home was smooth. Another fun train travel day. We will be here for two nights and tomorrow we go way up high and hike in the mountains.

Aug 27 2026 - Thursday - A day exploring Annecy

Great hotel with real air conditioning. All the walking leaves us hot and sweaty every night so the showers and AC are wonderful. And no construction workers at 2am!

Our room looks out on one of the canals in town but the flower boxes needed water, which we provided. Deb here for the rest!

I woke up early but as usual, John slept later. We wanted to “hit the streets” early to beat some of the crowds so we took off at about 8 a.m. First stop was for coffee and tea, and we had a nice chat with a brother and sister from South Africa who were visiting from Paris.

We then decided to visit the Basilica, perched up high. Smart move on our part since the temperature was still pretty cool in the morning. We looked inside (huge) and admired the views of the city from on high, and then went down the hill back into the old city to look for a bit of breakfast. Most places weren’t open, but we stopped at a patisserie and enjoyed croissants, cappuccino and hot chocolate. All delicious, of course!

By this time the Chateau d’Annecy was open, so we walked up and visited the Chateau and Museum there. So much history… too much to keep track of! The chateau was first built in the 13th century, then added on to by various owners, finally turned over for military barracks until 1947, then abandoned and inhabited by 350+ homeless people until 1960 something, when it was finally turned into a museum. They’ve done a great job of using the rooms for exhibits, some art and some historical. Really a great visit, with an entry price of only 7 euros. 

By this time it was 12:30, and time to find a bagel place we’d stumbled on last night. We walked there and had delicious bagel sandwiches (smoked salmon for John and pastrami for me), then walked on to the boat dock for our 2 p.m. cruise on the lake.

We’d bought tickets for the boat tour last night and it turned out to be a smart move. It was a 1.5 hour cruise that took us all the way down the lake and back, with narration in both French and English. By this time the temperature was hot (91 today), so being out on the lake felt really good.

Once back we stopped at a cafe for water (we were dehydrated by this time) and a wine and beer. What else can you do when you’re in France?!

John and I parted ways, with him heading back to the hotel and me walking to a nearby beach. I’d been drooling over the blue lake water, wanting so badly to go for a swim, so I’d packed my suit in my backpack this morning. A 15 minute walk and I was there and the water was so refreshing and a perfect temperature. The beach was packed and it was fun watching everyone enjoy the water. Two lifeguards for the swimming area, but with a floating dock that included a water slide it was all barely controlled chaos. Watching the kids do flips off the dock while others were whizzing down the slide made me really glad I wasn’t the lifeguard!

Back to the hotel for showers. 

We’d decided to eat at a restaurant called Tete de Cochon, which opened at 7. We walked there in time to get there right after it opened and had a delicious meal. Dinner salads, bread, wine, beer and wonderful desserts (raspberry crostada for me and chocolate fondant for John). One of the waiters was a comedian wannabe and we were all laughing and enjoying our meals. A nice walk back through town to our hotel.

Aug 26 2026 - Weds - Toulouse, France to Hotel la Cour du 6, Annecy, France

Our train leaves at 7:30 so we had to get up a little early to catch the Metro to the train station. We packed up last night so a few last minute things like cleaning out the refrigerator. And pack the last few things. We used the last punch on the Metro card last night so we had to tap our credit cards to get on the Metro. One stop and we were at the train station. We were early enough to get coffee and tea and watch the big board. They put all the trains on a big jumbo-tron but you have to wait for them to post the track number, which is about 20 minutes before the train leaves. Our train turned up on track 10 and a big bunch of people headed down the escalators and followed the signs to track 10. Deb reserved seats for the first four hours to Lyon since they are required for this train. The nice train lady scanned our reserved seat tickets and off we went.

This train had a bar car and I got the last cappuccino before the machine broke so poor Deb went without even though she went to get our drinks.

In Lyon we had a 15 minute transfer but it turned out we got off one track from the next train to Annecy. This train did not have reserved seats so it was just to get on and find two seats. Our suitcases got dropped in the racks by the doors. This was an older train but very clean and well kept. We had our lunch of crackers and cheese and a couple apricots from our refrigerator cleanout earlier this morning.

After another two hours we arrived in Annecy and Google Maps got us to the hotel, by way of a stop at a cafe for wine and beer. We were an hour early but our (air conditioned!) room was ready so we dropped our luggage off and decided to walk around the city to get our bearings. Annecy is beautiful but swarmed with lots of tourists. We stopped in the tourist info place, picked up a bunch of information and wandered around town and by the lake. We’d asked the employee at the tourist info office for a recommendation for good burgers (we’d had enough bread and cheese for a bit) and he suggested Pebble, which opened at 6:30 p.m. 

After checking out the large and lovely park on the waterfront and some of the canals we walked to Pebble, got our delicious burgers and then walked back to the hotel to call it a night.

Aug 25 2026 - Tuesday - Halle des Machines

 

Today we all went in the morning to see the Minotaur at the Halle des Machines. Take engineers and artists and put them in a building with a lot of resources and let them go wild. Wonderful place, sort of like the Steampunk machines we had seen in New Zealand. The Minitoar is a three story mechanical beast complete with hydraulic arms, legs, tail, lungs and head. About a hundred people climb onto this thing and you get a 30 minute ride around the grounds with the thing bellowing and snorting. Poor Alex was scared and I don’t blame him. Yikes. Lots of fun.

The rest of the building has smaller but equally impressive machines and quite a few just plain weird machines as well. It reminded us of Bisbee. Wonderful.

We had lunch in the Cafe there and then after lunch Deb & I went to the L’Envol des Pioniers museum next door while Jake did some work and Nath kept the kids busy napping and chasing bugs. France started flying during World War 1 and built an aviation industry here up until 1933 when all the aviation business merged to make Air France. Toulouse is still a big Airbus hub.

We walked to the bus stop and got the afternoon bus back to Jake and Nath’s. We said our goodbyes tonight since Deb and I had a list of things to do to get ready for our early train in the morning.

Aug 24 2026 - Monday - Day with the kids in Toulouse

We had breakfast in the hotel because it is just so easy and reasonable and the coffee is great. The plan is to give Jake and Nath a day off from the kids. Jake brought the kids here to our hotel and hung out a while (mooching the good coffee). After Jake left we took the kids to the park near the observatory. This town has a history of scientific people and it is the home of the French aviation industry with Airbus headquarters here. The playground had really high slides accessible through rope ladders, which are a little above the kids’ abilities (they are 2 years and 4 months), but they tried anyway and Alex got up one of the safer ones but couldn’t lift himself up through the hole in the floor at the top, so Pop helped him climb back down. Maybe in another year…

The park workers asked everyone to leave the park since they were trimming all the trees today. We had just had lunch so we walked all over looking for another park. We found a patisserie and got the kids snacks, then walked around some more. A lot of miles today but a great way to discover the old back streets. We did find a park late in the day with both kids asleep. Jake joined us and we went back to the hotel hoping to swim but one of the kids was still sleeping so we hung out in the lobby and ate snacks. We decided to bag the swimming thing since by this time rain and thunder were threatening, and we said goodbye, showers, light dinner in the room and bed.

Aug 23 - Sunday - Bagnenes-de-Luchon (France)

Deb didn’t sleep well because the brass bands played until midnight. I woke up once because an ambulance was in the street outside with its light on. Other than that it was interesting to wake up in a really really old house with floorboards hundreds of years old and plumbing that mostly worked. 

Luchon is a couple centuries old town (yup, BC kind of old) and it currently has a population of about 2,700 people. This weekend is a big deal and it attracts a lot of people to see the flower floats and brass bands and to drink a little too much. When we walk the narrow old side streets we can almost imagine the town a hundred years ago. We think what put it on the map were the hot baths since they have some kind of thermo-hydro thing going on, and they built lots of entertaining things in the late 1800’s like a funicular and parks and baths. Some of these things still exist and some have crumbled away. Luchon is the last stop on the train so that was good luck on their part.

But this weekend all the restaurants and bakeries and bars and cafes were booming. A small boulangerie across the street had a line out the door this morning so it must be a popular spot for the locals.

We had breakfast in the AirBnB, a special giant muffin of some kind (tourte aux myrtilles) that fed us all, then spent the morning walking the kids (wearing them out, an endless job). The brass bands sobered up in time for the 10:00 schedule. There were 4 bands roaming around and they would assemble far enough from each other so they could not hear the other bands. There were old restored cars parked on thcarousel lunch but we forgot all about that when we went back to hear more bands and wade through all the people again.

We decided to catch the 2:30 train which worked out perfectly. The floats, pulled by old tractors, began their parade right in front of the train station so we got to see all the floats while waiting for the train.

The train was kind of full but we all found seats and it was a two hour ride back to Toulouse with one train transfer in the middle.

We took the Metro back to the hotel and said our goodbyes. Jake and Nath said the kids collapsed after a nice bath, and so did we.