jonathanriddle.blogspot.com
A Time Away: Meersburg, Germany
http://jonathanriddle.blogspot.com/2008/06/meersburg-germany.html
Tuesday, June 17, 2008. Meersburg was the one town where I made a mistake that could have been prevented. The plan was to arrive in the evening, find a quaint guesthouse, then enjoy the evening. Reality proved that it was a much farther drive than I had remembered, there were only two hotels still open, and both were excessivly expensive; we still had room in budget though, what can you do? Mom and I were only here for the night, then after our breakfast we had to hurry off to the Alps. I just had to com...
jonathanriddle.blogspot.com
A Time Away: Heidelberg, Germany
http://jonathanriddle.blogspot.com/2008/05/heidelberg-germany.html
Wednesday, May 21, 2008. Long planned and longer awaited, I finally visited Heidelberg with my buddy Greenie. We stayed with the Melli family, missionaries who go back with me to my college days. Heidelberg is a military town with a large U.S. base; it also has a huge fortress, half in ruin. The city is situated along a river, between two long hills. As you look up, the fortress would have protected both the city and the passage on the river. This trip was a great relationtional relief after a long spell...
jonathanriddle.blogspot.com
A Time Away: Reutte, Austria
http://jonathanriddle.blogspot.com/2008/06/reutte-austria.html
Monday, June 2, 2008. Füssen, Germany marks the end of the Romantic Road, but is a touristy border town serving as a busy gateway to King Ludwig's castles. With that in mind I drove mom the extra 5 miles to Reutte, Austria, where we thought we'd see some castle ruins and have a quiet evening. The kid was instantly up, but very dazed. The driver of the small grey car was pretty well in freak out mode, while I struggled in German to ask the kid how he felt. "Are you Ok? By this time Mom and I had missed ou...
jonathanriddle.blogspot.com
A Time Away: Athens, Greece
http://jonathanriddle.blogspot.com/2008/05/athens-greece.html
Saturday, May 10, 2008. April 12th through yesterday gave me 6 flights, 6 countries, 16 or so cities, 18 international border crossings, and somewhere around 600-700 photos. It did not give me, however, decent access to the internet. I flew from Berlin to Athens on what I expected to be the pinnacle of my six months. I took a lot of photos and saw a lot of culture, but other cities/countries will top my list of favorites. After much effort and a few laps around the Parthenon I managed to find this angle ...
jonathanriddle.blogspot.com
A Time Away: Rothenburg - The Walled City
http://jonathanriddle.blogspot.com/2008/05/rothenburg-walled-city.html
Wednesday, May 28, 2008. Rothenburg - The Walled City. One of the few parts of Southern Germany that I'd never seen before this trip, climaxes in Rothenburg. This walled city is surrounded by gravel parking lots attesting to its shameless tourism industry that ensures the locals stay well fed. Unlike the old days when Rothenburg used the wall as a protective fortress/something to throw trash over the exterior of the town is neatly mowed with well kept trials and fresh blooming trees. In constant competit...
jonathanriddle.blogspot.com
A Time Away: Quintessential Germany (Der Romantische Straße)
http://jonathanriddle.blogspot.com/2008/05/quintessential-germany-der-romantische.html
Sunday, May 25, 2008. Quintessential Germany (Der Romantische Straße). A few weeks back my mom came to visit Europe and enjoy what I've spent many years enjoying. She flew into Frankfurt where I was a mere hour late to meet her before we grabbed a little rental car and drove into the heart of Germany, the Romantic Road. Mom was tired from the trip but we had much to see so we continued for an hour stopping for the night in the small village of Röttingen. It was Monday, the one day each week that many Ger...
jonathanriddle.blogspot.com
A Time Away: Touring Berlin
http://jonathanriddle.blogspot.com/2008/04/touring-berlin.html
Thursday, April 24, 2008. The reunified capital of Germany, is one of Europe's great cities. I had heard that the eastern part of Germany is still economically depressed, even 20 years after the fall of the Wall. With this presupposition I traveled to Berlin to find that nearly everything worth doing or seeing is on the eastern side of the famed Wall. History, especially from WWII, is everywhere. Babelplatz is where the 1933 book burning led to an increased power grab by the Nazi party. This is the locat...
jonathanriddle.blogspot.com
A Time Away: Berner Oberland, Switzerland
http://jonathanriddle.blogspot.com/2008/06/berner-oberland-switzerland.html
Wednesday, June 18, 2008. Berner Oberland, Switzerland. After our morning in Meersburg. Mom and I drove into the heart of Switzerland. We visited the towns of Mürren and Gimmelwald. The towns view the majestic 13,600 foot Jungfrau, which is accompanied by the almost as tall Eiger and Mönch. This area is a busy ski resort by winter and wandering/hiking area by summer. While the Alps don't have the cool shapes of the volcanic Oregon mountains, they have a naturally stark appearance; they're rugged, tough, ...
jonathanriddle.blogspot.com
A Time Away: February 2008
http://jonathanriddle.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html
Thursday, February 28, 2008. Ever since returning from Rome I've been struggling against a tough chest/head cold. I've spent a fair amount of time in bed or in front of a movie with a cup of tea and a box of tissues (pretty weak sauce huh). I so rarely become ill that I barely know what do to with myself in recovery. My Austrian friend Matthias chose a climb near his village. It is small by klettersteige standards, onl. There is a small degree of danger involved in this sport that can be minimalized with...
