A New Year and New Cities

When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money.  Then take half the clothes and twice the money.  ~Susan Heller


That is an appropriate quote whenever the travel is aboard RyanAir or Easy Jet.  The "one" carry-on might not apply to everyone- but it sure applied to us....more on that later.

 Sara and I  began the trip staying at a motel right outside the Frankfurt Hahn. terminal.  The trip from Schweinfurt takes about three hours, so since we had an early flight- we decided to stay at the motel.  The rooms were nice and definitely convenient.  The best part was the vending machine.... it had beer and wine.  How fun is that!  Within minutes we were relaxing and having a cocktail in our room.

Early the next morning we were off to Edinburgh, Scotland.  It was an easy flight.  On the trip we met two Army nurses from  Landstuhl, who joined us on our adventure.  Travel was easy- we hopped on the bus that takes you from the airport to the town center and found our hotel (Jury's Inn) quite easily.  Using  the Rick Steve's guide book- we went to lunch at the World's End Pub.  We spent all of our time in the Old section- inside the walled area exploring this part of Edinburgh.  After lunch we headed for Edinburgh Castle........ http://www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk/

The history of the country is fascinating- from the Bruce family to Mary Queen of Scots to her son James until today.  We were fortunate to meet a curator who explained the family history quite succinctly.  

Another great find was the Scottish National Museum, where we saw an exhibit by J.M.W. Turner  http://www.ellensplace.net/turner2.html   There are small museums every where- the city is teaming with history.  We enjoyed the pubs and the shopping and the food- even dining at a Mexican restaurant!  One highlight was the Mary Close House- an underground area left intact when the city built above an original street.  the closeness of the living conditions and the lack of sanitation- no wonder illnesses like the black plaque killed so many.

Saturday, so us off to London to meet Naz and Christine.  We flew into Stansted and again found easy transport into the city center.  We proceeded to get day passes for the Underground.  I found though, that the ticket vending machines don't like Scottish pounds... only British pounds- with the queen's face!  We found our hotel- near to Hyde Park and then went off to the National Museum.  (Traffic in London is crazy!)  There was a Van Gogh exhibit (love him).  We walked around town and found the ticket office for the theater shows.  We got tickets for "Wicked" for that evening.  After a time- we met up with Chris and Naz- went to the hotel and then back out.  After the show- we searched for a certain Indian restaurant- not finding it- we still decided on Indian cuisine.  London is very diverse- on a single street there are traditional Pubs, Indian, Thai, Chinese, Italian and more types of eateries.  

Sunday took us sight seeing.  Lunch was Fish and Chips at a local pub.  We did some shopping and then Sara and I were lucky to attend an organ concert in Westminster Abbey.  The majesty of the church and the solemness of the music were awe inspiring.  This area is also home to Big Ben and the London Eye.  Dinner that evening was Thai- luckily we all love the different cuisines

So....its time to leave on Monday- we pack up- I had bought a small weekend bag for my carry-on.  Sara  has the same suitcase.  We proceed to the gate...we are stopped and the luggage is weighed... Yikes we are over weight and have to check a bag!!!!!  Now waiting to get on the flight (that is delayed) there are loads of people with big carry-on bags and definitely more than one bag!  Live and learn.  Road travel is much easier- and more room to bring home treasures.....

Tschuss.