Hey y’all, the last time I checked in was on Monday night from Bozen, Italy. I was preparing to head to Innsbruck, Austria the next day.
On Tuesday morning, I checked out of my room in Bozen and got on the road for Innsbruck at about noon. I was once again treated to some spectacular mountain scenery on the 2 hour drive north through the Alps.
Below are some pics from the drive:
Heading out of Bozen early Tuesday afternoon. Sayonara Bozen (or Bolzano if you are Italian).A castle on a hill just outside of Bozen. One of several tunnels I passed through on the route from Bozen to Innsbruck.Bozen to Innsbruck scenery (Italy).Bozen to Innsbruck scenery (Italy).Bozen to Innsbruck scenery (Italy).Bozen to Innsbruck scenery (Italy).Bozen to Innsbruck scenery (Italy).Bozen to Innsbruck scenery (Italy).Bozen to Innsbruck scenery (Italy).Bozen to Innsbruck scenery (Italy).Bozen to Innsbruck scenery (Italy).Hitting the Austrian Border.Bozen to Innsbruck scenery (Austria).Finally getting some food just over the Austrian border. I don’t know what possessed me to get spaghetti in Austria when I’d just come from Italy, but it was pretty good nonetheless. An apple strudel with vanilla sauce for dessert. This was amazing and I’m ashamed to admit that I licked the plate when no one was looking. 😂Bozen to Innsbruck scenery (Italy).Hitting the outskirts of Innsbruck.
I arrived to Innsbruck at about 3pm and made my way to a few points of interest outside the old town (where my hotel was) so I could see them before parking the car for the duration of my stay there. The most interesting thing I saw Tuesday afternoon was the Olympic Ski Jump.
A museum to the military history of the Tyrolean area, but it was closed on Tuesdays as I was to find out upon arrival. A statue outside the museum. The Olympic Ski Jump that was used for the two times that Innsbruck hosted the winter Olympics. There were actually guys jumping when I arrived, but they quit for the day before I managed to get a pic or video of them. It was neat to see though. Stift Wilten Monastery.Pfarrkirche Basilica.The Austrian variation of the German greeting “Grüss Gott”, which means God’s Greetings. The Triumphpforte. Approaching old town Innsbruck.
After checking out the more distant sights, I headed in to the old town and found my hotel. I was pleased to find it had a garage attached to it where I could stash the Fiesta and I was really impressed with the place. The room was very nice and there was a pool on the top floor, and it was only 3 minutes walking to the heart of the old town. After I checked in and got settled in to the room, I made my way in to town with my music equipment and did a little busking near a few patios and wound up having my best busking money night of the whole trip!
Arrival to the public parking garage that my hotel was attached to. Very convenient to all the old town points of interest. The lobby of the hotel Grauer Bär (Gray Bear)My room in Innsbruck. Classy joint. My busking spot on Tuesday evening. I was within earshot of three separate patios, which I think greatly increased my tips. People would listen through their dinner and then come over and give me a nice tip and a compliment before departing. I played here for 2hrs and 15 minutes until the cops came by and shut me down at about 9:45. I had a lot of people really into the music at the time, so that was kind of a shame…But I cleaned up! Organized and ready to trade in at the cafe. 163 euros – my best night on the streets of my tour. The bar owner closest to me gave me a couple of free beers and asked me to come back and play the next night in the same spot. So I guess I was good for his business on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, I got up and partook in the free breakfast that the hotel offered and it was very good. Afterwards, I went to my room and passed back out for a few hours. Eventually, I got up and made my way to the hotel pool and hot tub before coming back to the room to get cleaned up and head back out for my main old town sightseeing, with the plan to busk again in the evening and get an earlier start than I had on Tuesday to see if I could get a longer session in before any cops would show up.
The hotel had a great breakfast buffet…And it was included in the price of the room. Normally you have to pay for breakfast in European hotels, so I definitely wanted to take advantage of the free food. It was worth getting up for. Hitting the 5th floor pool on Wednesday afternoon. There was a great view from the hot tub. Setting out for some old town sightseeing at about 4pm on Wednesday. This is the Goldener Dachl (golden roof), the symbol of Innsbruck. A close up of the Goldener Dachl. The Stadt Turm (city tower).The Innsbruck Cathedral. The Hofburg (Royal Palace)One of Innsbruck’s pedestrian streets. The Leopold fountain. Maria-Thersian Strasse – the main pedestrian thoroughfare of Innsbruck. The Annasäule in the middle of Maria-Thersian street. A close up of the Virgin Mary atop the Annasäule. An interesting looking paint job on this building. Another view of the Maria-Thersian Strasse facing the other direction back towards old town. Grabbing some Tyrol style goulash for dinner before setting up my stuff to busk. It was fair at best. Back to my spot on Wednesday evening. This time the owner of the closest cafe provided me a chair and offered me all the beer I wanted. But I only had two and managed to knock over the glass on the second one and broke it. Whoops. Regardless, I killed it in this spot, playing for 3 hrs and 15 minutes until the cops came and shut me down again. But…I stuffed my pockets with money as I went…202 euros and 5 British pounds – my new street record. Either I’m getting better or they just have a lot more money in Austria than in Eastern Europe. I’m thinking the latter. 😂 Either way, I decided to cancel my reservation for Thursday night at my hotel because this time the cops asked about a permit that I didn’t have and I didn’t want to risk a third night of playing there illegally.
On Thursday morning – I checked out of my room at 1pm and decided to hit the Hungerbergbahn to go to the Top of Innsbruck before leaving town. The process involved getting a ticket downtown and taking a funicular train to an upper station before transferring to a cable car to go all the way to the top. It was a little expensive, but the views were absolutely incredible from up there.
Getting my ticket to go to the top of the mountain. It was a little “steep” at 42 euros, but in the end it was worth it for some once in a lifetime views. A view of the upper terminal from downtown Innsbruck. Boarding the funicular in downtown Innsbruck for the 10 minute climb to the upper station. Crossing the Inn River on the funicular. Interestingly the name Innsbruck comes from the River Inn and the word Brücke, which means bridge in German. So the translation of the city name would be Inn Bridge. A view of the ski jump from the upper funicular station before boarding the cable car. Underway to the top of Innsbruck. The cable car ride was about 12 minutes or so. A cool looking house near the upper funicular station.
Here are some progressively higher photos from the cable car ride:
Arrival to the first station on the cable car. Here is a display about the various cables used to support the cars. The interior of one of the larger cables. The sign said it could support about 12,000 kilograms – which is about 26,000 pounds.
Here are some views from the top of the mountain.
This was the second cable car that took you all the way to the top. It was jam packed full of people. Made it all the way to the top. 1 funicular and 2 cable cars later 🚠…
Here is a video of the full overview from Top of Innsbruck. I got lucky coming back down from the second cable car. They only allow 60 people per trip and there were 59 when I walked up. After I scanned my ticket, they stopped boarding and everybody else that walked up after me had to wait another 20 minutes for the car to come back up. Once again packed in like sardines. This was the restaurant at the first cable car station and I decided to chill out there a few minutes for some strudel and a coffee and to enjoy the last of the scenery before heading back down. European coffee is just so much better than what we have at home. Coffee is like a religion here. I do love some apple strudel. Hopping on the car back down to the upper funicular station. Passing a car headed up the mountain on my way down. The funicular driver had the easiest job I’ve ever seen. He literally pushed the same button 3 separate times on the whole ride down and did nothing else. This is a job liable to be lost to automation some day. The extremely steep funicular tracks.
After getting back to downtown Innsbruck, I made the short walk back to the hotel to get the Fiesta and get on the road to my next destination of Lustenau, Austria – 2 1/2 hours to the west. I had initially planned to spend Thursday night again in Innsbruck, but after the police shut me down the second time I decided it was time to push out to somewhere new. I had wanted to go to a city called Bregenz to see Lake Constance and get closer to Lichtenstein, where I had gigs lined up for Friday and Saturday, but it turned out that there is a big summer festival happening there at the moment and hotel prices were through the roof. So instead, I booked a room at a Chinese run hotel in Lustenau which was only about 20 minutes to the south of Bregenz. My plan was then to relax on Thursday night and see Bregenz on Friday afternoon before heading to Lichtenstein to settle in for my gig there.
Seeing the Landes Theater on my way back to get the car from the hotel. An interesting looking fortification on the outskirts of old town Innsbruck. A church on the outskirts of old town Innsbruck. Another view of the church. The Schloss Büchsenhausen on the outskirts of the old town. The other half of Schloss Büchsenhausen. So long Innsbruck!
Here are some scenery pics from the westward journey across Austria, from Innsbruck to Lustenau:
One of about 10 tunnels I went through crossing Austria. The light at the end of another tunnel. A massive traffic jam at one the tunnels. It turned out this semi with a flat tire was to blame. Hitting the outskirts of Lustenau. Arrival to the SinoHaus hotel in Lustenau. It was run by a Chinese family and had an American style Chinese buffet as well. It did the job for dinner on Thursday. I spent the rest of the evening chilling out and catching up on the blog and doing a little bit of research and booking for the upcoming days.
On Friday morning, I checked out of the SinoHaus and grabbed some breakfast from a nearby bakery before heading in to Bregenz to have a look around and see Lake Constance.
A couple of pastries to get me going on Friday morning. A cool looking building sitting on top of a hill on the way to Bregenz. Hitting Bregenz, only 20 minutes away from the hotel in Lustenau. Approaching downtown Bregenz.I’m pretty sure this was the town hall. A view of Lake Constance from downtown Bregenz.Fighting some pretty horrible traffic in Bregenz. Another view of the town hall.
After checking out Bregenz for about 45 minutes, I decided to head to Lichtenstein to get situated and catch up with everybody at the Ethno Bar in Schaanwald. I had been there in 2019 on my first European tour and had an amazing time and they were really looking forward to having me back and I was looking forward to coming back. On the way there, I stopped just before the border in Feldkirch, Austria to get some lunch and visit a music store to get a new set of strings for my guitar.
Headed from Bregenz to Liechtenstein.Stopping at the Zuammenklang music store in Feldkirch, Austria for what I thought was just going to be a pack of guitar strings. But upon chatting with the owner of the store, Roland, and telling him that I was less than thrilled with the tone of my new guitar, he offered me this one for a straight up trade. It was a used guitar, but I liked the tone of it much better than the one I’d bought a few weeks ago in Poland after my black one had failed. He and the co-owner of the shop, Fabio, were both great guys and I was excited about playing my new (to me) guitar on Friday night. Taking a walk through Feldkirch on my way to find some lunch. A beautiful blue water river running through Feldkirch. Found a little cafe that was open and had a Cordon Bleu. 27 euros for this – the area around Lichtenstein is super expensive. A woman walked by the cafe fully decked out for COVID. Not sure I can understand this level of precaution, especially outdoors…A church in Feldkirch. An interesting looking building in Feldkirch. A cool paint job on this building in Feldkirch.
After getting back to the car after lunch, I headed just across the border to the Ethno Cafe and found the owners (and my good friends) Svetlana and Alban and a few others hanging out there. I was greeted with the first of many beers and after talking to Svetlana and Alban and the other customers for a while, I eventually started to get the stage set up for my gig that night.
Crossing the unmanned border from Austria to Liechtenstein. This little country has become like a home away from home for me. Extremely beautiful, and wonderful and friendly people. Schaanwald, where the Ethno Bar is located, is the first town you come to in Lichtenstein when entering the country from the Austrian border. The Fiesta got a prime parking spot on Friday at the Ethno Bar. The story of how I wound up in Lichtenstein begins in 2019 when I was on my first European tour. I was playing in Novi Sad, Serbia on the street when a couple came by and gave me a huge tip and told me that they loved my music and that they owned a bar in Lichtenstein that they’d like me to come play. The lady (Svetlana) was originally from Serbia and they just happened to be there visiting some of her family. A couple of months later I went there and they turned out to be the most generous and friendly people ever and showed me an amazing time. I absolutely had to come back this year, even if Lichtenstein was a bit out of the way. A custom chopper also parked outside the bar. They will not let you be thirsty at the Ethno Bar. They have three beers on tap – one from Switzerland, one from Austria, and a wheat beer. I like the Austrian beer the best. The inside of the Ethno Bar on Friday afternoon before the party showed up. My CD set up and tip glass on Friday afternoon. I put the first 5 in there myself just to let people know what it was there for. Turned out to be a good idea. Killing a little time and fueling up before showtime. Part of the crowd for my show on Friday. There was also a birthday party happening, so there was a big group out on the patio bouncing in and out to hear me. And to my right was another room filled up with people playing darts and listening as well. I’d say we had about 40-50 people there on Friday in total. The birthday crew. I had lots of backup singers throughout the night!A girl named Marlena that played a little guitar as well was part of the birthday crew. She picked around a little bit while I took a breather. A guy named Danny became a guest musician on Friday night and did some Johnny Cash. Sadly, and infuriatingly, the jack on the new (used) guitar started failing while he was playing. We tried a new battery and a different cable, but nothing brought it back to life. In this moment, I was definitely regretting trading my other guitar earlier in the day. A better tone is no use if the jack doesn’t work…So we just moved the show out on the patio and played acoustic. Here, Marlena takes another rip at it. A guy named Marco came pretty late and he and I wound up jamming a few songs on the patio at about 3am. He was a good musician. Marco was a good ole dude. Svetlana (Sveti) has an apartment above the bar and was kind enough to invite me to sleep in the guest bedroom for the two nights I was to be in Liechtenstein. An incredibly generous and valuable offer from her, as hotels in Lichtenstein are very very expensive. Also, not having to drive anywhere was a huge bonus after all the free beers and shots 😵A wad of money I found in the tip jar on Friday night – a mix of Euros and Swiss Francs equalling about 50 euros. Certainly better than a sharp stick in the eye.
On Saturday, I got up and moving at about 11 and went downstairs to the bar to have a coffee and talk to Sveti and Alban for a while. They had a birthday shindig to go to at 2pm, but would be returning at 7pm for another birthday being held at the Ethno Bar that I would be playing for. So that gave me about 5 hours to kill and my first order of business was to go back to the Zuammenklang to see if we could figure out what was wrong with the guitar.
Some money from Ethno Bar for the performance on Friday night. I felt it was a little too much for the truncated show, but Alban insisted I take it. At Zuammenklang, Roland completely disassembled the jack and cleaned all the contacts with a solvent and it fixed the problem. He tested it for about 15 minutes and it played just fine. So I had my fingers crossed for Saturday night. It was a good thing he was able to bring it back to life because the guitar I’d traded him Friday got sold on Saturday morning before I arrived…The guys from Zuammenklang insisted on me hanging around for a beer before I could leave. With time to kill, I didn’t offer too much resistance. Headed to the Schnitzel Haus in Feldkirch for some lunch on Saturday. The view from the Schnitzel Haus patio. I went with some sort of vegetable soup…And a jägerschnitzel. This hit the spot. They had a pretty serious wasp problem at the Schnitzel Haus and they had set up a bunch of these homemade traps all around the patio. Regardless of how many were dead and dying in the traps, the bastards were still everywhere and they were relentless. While I was eating my schnitzel, I heard a scream and crying from the table behind me – a young girl eating with her family had been stung on the finger. Taking a little scenic drive through Lichtenstein to kill some more time after lunch. You can get from one end of Lichtenstein to the other in about 40 minutes. It may be a small country, but the citizens are proud of it – as they should be. A castle upon a hill in Schaan. A church in the capital city, Vaduz.
At about 6pm, I returned to the Ethno Bar and it was not long after that before Sveti and Alban returned with the birthday group that I’d be playing for that evening. Everyone was about half-lit upon arrival and they were ready to continue the party. I had the bright idea of playing with my little speaker on the patio instead of playing inside because the weather was so nice on Saturday. Sveti thought that was a great idea and so at about 730, I got everything set up and got the show started out on the patio.
Me with Alban and Sveti on Saturday before the show. Two of the nicest and most generous people I’ve ever met. A souvenir lighter from Ethno Bar – Alban gave me 5 of them to take home as souvenirs. This was Genevieve and she insisted on us trading hats for a while 😂Ringing the bell puts you on the hook to by the whole bar a round. It got rung a couple of times on Saturday. Some of the birthday party crew out on the patio, waiting for me to get started. Patio stage set up and ready to rock at about 730 on Saturday. Getting the party started on Friday. I was accompanied by a friend of the bar named Pascal for my show Saturday. He’s the lead guitar player for a local metal band called “Pussy Lovers” (😂😂😂 at the band name) and he did a great job improvising on my music – especially considering he knew very few of the songs and that we didn’t have time to practice. This was Gerrit. He was part of the birthday party and he wanted to buy my hat and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Finally his friend put 50 Swiss Francs in my hand for it and I realized he really, really wanted my hat. So I told him to keep it lol. I gave his friend back 20 Francs though because I felt bad taking that much for a hat that I can replace for about 20 bucks when I get back home. A view from later in the evening on Saturday.
Here, Alban’s daughter Miranda comes up to sing “Hallelujah” while I play for her. A guest musician we had on Saturday night. As the night wore on and some new people came, we started opening up the mic for some karaoke. Another advantage of using my speaker – Bluetooth capability. One last guest singer before closing time.
The late night crew getting wild over some “Weiss der Geier” (German Schlager music)
More rampant partying to “”99 Luftbaloons”Counting up my tips and CD sales at the end of the night, about 3am. Altogether, around 190 euros worth of currency between the Swiss Francs and Euros. I was mighty pleased with this. I tried to give some of it to Pascal but he refused to take any money no matter how much I tried. Classy guy.
On Sunday, it was time for me to hit the road towards my next destination of Basel, Switzerland – 2 hours to the west. I planned to drop in on Zurich as well since it was on my route about halfway to Basel. Before I left though, Sveti and Alban wanted to take me out to eat for lunch. Of all places – we wound up back at the Schnitzel Haus 😂
Having a coffee at the Ethno on Sunday at about noon with Alban, Sveti, and Miranda. Out to Sunday lunch at the Schnitzel Haus with Sveti, Alban, Alban’s son Mirco, Miranda, and Pascal. Sveti treated all of us – as I said, she’s an incredibly kind and generous lady. A shot of the various foods everybody ordered. Mine and Sveti’s food. I had a Holzfäller (lumberjack) steak and she had a Caribbean style turkey Schnitzel. Me and Pascal at lunch. After arriving back to the Ethno Bar after lunch, Sveti and Alban pulled me aside to give me a bunch more money for the show on Saturday night. It honestly didn’t feel right to take anything more from them after the incredible hospitality that they showed me, but of course they insisted. She said they had done very well at the bar while I was playing. 200 was from them and the other 130 was from when they (unknowingly to me) had passed a hat for me on Friday night while I was on stage. Altogether, I’d leave Lichtenstein (between tips, CDs, and money from the bar) 730 euros richer than when I arrived for my two shows there, which absolutely blows my mind. That’s not counting all the free drinks and the free accommodations. Just incredible people – that’s really all I can say. And more important than money – I’d made a lot of new friends, fans, and memories. I truly can’t wait to go back to the Ethno Bar.
After saying my goodbyes at Ethno Bar, I got on the road for Zurich at about 3pm on Sunday. Below are some pics of the scenery between Liechtenstein and Zurich:
Until next time, Liechtenstein!A church on a hill in eastern Switzerland. A closer look at the church. A beautiful, long lake I passed in Eastern Switzerland called Wallensee. I’d love to go boating on Wallensee next time I visit Liechtenstein. I went through quite a few more tunnels on my way to Zurich. Slightly flatter terrain approaching Zurich. Final approach to Zurich. Hitting the Zurich city limits.
Upon arrival to Zurich, I spent roughly two hours checking out some various points of interest there that I’d read about before getting back on the road to Basel. Here are some pics of Zurich:
Checking out the FIFA international headquarters on the outskirts of town. Old town Zurich bisected by the Limmat river. The Predigerkirche.The Grossmünster church. The Munsterbrücke. The Fraumünster church.Mountains in the distance. Somebody’s bike laying at the bottom of the Limmat, just off the Münsterbrücke.Augustinergasse.Zurich is the third-most expensive city in the world 🫰Stopping for a quick BK in Zurich. 30 euros for a Whopper, 9 piece nugget, and a medium Fanta. WTF?!?
After checking out the Zurich sites and eating my BK, I got back on the road to my final destination of Basel. Well not exactly Basel – Weil am Rhein, Germany, which is 10 minutes north of Basel. Basel is the anchor city of tri-border area between Switzerland, Germany, and France. I went with a hotel in Germany because it was cheaper than the hotels in Basel itself. Here are some pics from the drive between Zurich and Basel:
Taking a tunnel from downtown Zurich to the Autobahn west out of the city.
Approaching Basel, I was feeling the effects of the weekend and was ready to get to my hotel room and chill and do some research/booking and work on the blog, so I decided to push back my sightseeing of Basel until Monday. I only stopped at one place before going to the hotel – an ancient Roman Amphitheatre called Augusta Raurica that was about 15 minutes east of the city.
Augusta Raurica. Another view of Augusta RauricaA classic Fiat I wound up behind nearing Basel. It’s hard to tell from the pic, but both of the back wheels were pointed inward. I don’t know if that was by design or a defect, but it surely can’t be good for tire wear. Arriving to the hotel, they had a map showing just how close it was to the triple international border, which lies in the middle of the Rhein River. My room had a view of the Rhein out the window. My room in Weil am Rhein. There was some hard core recuperation done here on Sunday night.
On Monday, I checked out of my room at about noon and went downstairs to the shopping center that it was attached to get some food and exchange my Swiss money into Euros before setting out to see Basel.
In the shopping center, I found a Nordsee fast food fish place and decided to give European fish one more chance after the several less than pleasant experiences I’ve had with it on this trip. I was once again let down. I ordered this sandwich from a display case and when I sat down to eat it I found out it was COLD. I mean it was refrigerated cold – not even room temperature cold. I could only manage to get about half of it down. Who the hell wants ice cold fried fish?!?I went back up and got some fish and chips that I was assured was hot, and it was much better. But yeah, I’m done with fish over here as a general rule. There was a little bakery stand next to the Nordsee, so I stopped by and got one of these for dessert. It was called a “Vanillenstange” and it was very good. It has a creamy vanilla filling and I’ll be looking for those again next time I hit a German bakery. Hitting up the money exchange to trade my Swiss Francs from Lichtenstein in for Euros on Monday afternoon.
Upon pulling out of the parking garage at the hotel, I found it to be raining cats and dogs outside. Less than ideal conditions for sightseeing in Basel, but I decided to go there anyways and see what I could see from the car. Here’s some pics from my driving tour of Basel:
The Basel cathedral. After seeing this I decided to just get on the road. It’s too hard to take pictures and drive in the rain in a busy city. I’ll just have to come back someday. So long rainy Basel…
After leaving Basel, I headed into France to start making my way to Ghent, Belgium where I have a gig booked on Thursday night at the Missy Sippy bar. My plan for Monday was to make it Nancy, France (2 1/2 hours north) with a stop on the way in a city called Colmar.
The event for the gig I’m headed to play in Belgium. As of now 253 people are going or interested. This may wind up being the biggest crowd I’ve ever played to (if even half that many show up). I’m slightly nervous, but excited at the same time. 🤠Another tunnel leading from central Basel to the French border. Hitting the unmanned French border.Cruising French highways for the first time since 2005 when I was stationed in Germany and visited France. It really unleashed on the way to Colmar. Some very flat French farmland. The rain started letting up, thankfully, just I was approaching Colmar.
I arrived in Colmar at about 330pm and lucked out finding free parking just on the outside of the old town. I walked around there for about an hour and found the place to be extremely pretty, but also pretty touristy. Here are some pics from Colmar:
Colmar’s “Little Venice” with a small boat giving a tour. Colmar’s “Little Venice”I saw tons of fish in the river. Colmar’s “Little Venice”Colmar’s “Little Venice”There were many half timber houses like this one in the old town. And this one. A fountain in the old town. Auto train full of tourists in the old town. Another fountain. Sounds like hunting season back home. 🤣A canal through the old town. Stopping for a coffee…And a crepe – when in France, eat like the French I guess. A 500 year old building called Maison Pfister. St. Martin’s Church. St. Martin’s Church. St. Martin’s Church.The church is known for its stained glass windows. The château d’eau water tower on the outskirts of the old town. It was built by the Germans at the time they controlled Colmar and the surrounding area called Alsace.
After checking out Colmar, I started heading northwest to my final destination of Nancy. On the way I stopped at a couple of WW2 related sites that I was interested in seeing from the time of the ” Colmar Pocket” in 1944-45. There’s some really interesting reading about that battle in the link below:
So long Colmar…This little rail station doesn’t look like much, but it’s where PFC Jose Valdez earned a posthumous Medal of Honor by single-handedly fighting off a German tank and two companies of infantry while his squad withdrew to American lines. Read his story at the link below:
I saw this unexpectedly in the middle of a traffic circle in that same area. The French haven’t forgotten what America did for them in WW2. Many vineyards in the area around Colmar. A monument to the US military units that fought in the Colmar Pocket. This was at the base of a French military cemetery that was a little further up the hill. US Army unit patches on the memorial. Some specific soldiers getting recognized on the monument. It’s hard to believe and incredibly sad that almost all of our WW2 veterans are gone now. Without a doubt, the “Greatest Generation” 🇺🇲View of the French countryside from the memorial.
Here’s a video from that same spot to give you a better lay of the land from the memorial. The Sigolsheim French military cemetery above the US memorial. The most interesting thing I read on this sign was that the Germans referred to this hill as Blutberg (blood mountain). The misery of war affects soldiers of every nationally just the same. A French soldier’s grave (Christian). A French soldier’s grave (Jewish). Viva la France. The Sigolsheim war cemetery was a sad, but beautiful place. A French tank on display just down the road near Kaysersberg. A tower in Kaysersberg.Downtown Kaysersberg. The Constantine fountain in Kaysersberg. Eglise Sainte Croix in downtown Kaysersberg. Some buildings on a hill just outside Kaysersberg. On the road to Nancy in earnest – trying to beat the sunset. Another two hours to go…Scenery from Colmar to Nancy.Scenery from Colmar to NancyScenery from Colmar to NancyScenery from Colmar to NancyI’m not sure what aire de Mississippi is, but it seemed worth it to take a picture of the sign. Scenery from Colmar to NancyStopping at a gas station to fill up the tank and my belly. I figured I’d go full Frenchman and have a baguette for dinner after my crepe for lunch. I used to drink the hell out of these back when I was stationed in Europe. I jumped at the chance to get one when I saw it at the gas station. First I’d seen Orangina on the whole trip!Final approach to Nancy at about sundown. Entering the outskirts of Nancy. I did see a few of the points of interest I want to see here before sundown, but I’m going to save those pics for the next post for continuation’s sake. My first room at the Ibis hotel in Nancy. I came to find out that the A/C did not work in this room, so they offered to move me. My new room at the Ibis.
So y’all – that brings me up to the current moment in time. It is about 5am and I’ve been grinding on this post for about 6 hours tonight to try get something out to you guys. Tomorrow, I’m going to finish up seeing what I’m interested in here in Nancy and then I’m going to head a little north to a city called Metz that has quite a bit that I want to check out and then tomorrow night I’ll be staying in Luxembourg City. On Wednesday, I will make the drive to Ghent to meet up with my buddy Andreas that lives there to hang out and then on Thursday I will play my show there. After that, back to Germany to prepare to head home to Kentucky. I’m down to only 8 days left in Europe, so I’m only planning to do one more blog post before I come home. So I’ll check in with y’all then – and as always, I thank you for riding along with me on this adventure!
Wow! I think this has been my favorite post to date. It has everything! I’m still absorbing it all and I intend to go back and re-read it. I’m sure I’ll find things I missed. The best scenery of the trip for me. From the painted buildings to the windows of St. Martin’s and the Alps, everything is a feast for the eyes. This leg of the trip seems very special from the scenery to the sightseeing and food to the busking, gigs and great friends! I’m so impressed that you and just get in the car and navigate it all. Amazing! I just last week got lost trying to get through a roundabout in Muncie. LOL Enjoy these last days of the journey and stay safe. Looking forward to the next post.
Zeb South
Hey Nancy! Thanks for the very nice comment. Yes the scenery of this last leg of the trip has been my favorite too. It’s really a beautiful area with amazing people! It can be tricky navigating through it all and sometimes I do get lost too 😂
hey bro! it was a great time with you! a lot of fun! and great to play with you! thank you!
Zeb South
Thanks buddy!! Great playing with you too my man!
Bonnie BIngman
Beautiful scenery again! The photos at Innsbruck are amazing though I’m not sure I would have taken the funicular and cable cars – I’m afraid of heights! Enjoy your last week and stay safe!
Zeb South
Thanks Bonnie. I can understand that – it’s crazy to think you are hanging on by a cable that high up! I appreciate that comment and you following along on my trip. Probably see you pretty soon in good ole South Charleston 👍
William Schwab
Wow Zeb, great job. Wonderful pictures and friends. Guess you’ll eat fish from US lakes. Keep it up and be safe. We miss you.
Zeb South
Thanks Bill! Yes I’ll hold off on fish till I’m back home… Which is soon!
linda South
Wow,Zeb,what a wonderful blog! I really loved all the photos, especially of the landscapes and pictures of the old towns with the gorgeous fountains and lovely churches. The food shots have always been interesting, love to see what you are eating! Love all the “characters” in your story, you have met some really fantastic people along the way you will never forget It is nice to be reminded that France has not forgotten the great sacrifice that our soldiers from the Greatest Generation made for them to be free. Take good care of you for me. Mom
Zeb South
Thanks for the comment! I sure did meet some characters, that’s for sure. I hope to get to return the hospitality to at least a few of them someday!
Nancy
Wow! I think this has been my favorite post to date. It has everything! I’m still absorbing it all and I intend to go back and re-read it. I’m sure I’ll find things I missed. The best scenery of the trip for me. From the painted buildings to the windows of St. Martin’s and the Alps, everything is a feast for the eyes. This leg of the trip seems very special from the scenery to the sightseeing and food to the busking, gigs and great friends! I’m so impressed that you and just get in the car and navigate it all. Amazing! I just last week got lost trying to get through a roundabout in Muncie. LOL Enjoy these last days of the journey and stay safe. Looking forward to the next post.
Zeb South
Hey Nancy! Thanks for the very nice comment. Yes the scenery of this last leg of the trip has been my favorite too. It’s really a beautiful area with amazing people! It can be tricky navigating through it all and sometimes I do get lost too 😂
pascal
hey bro! it was a great time with you! a lot of fun! and great to play with you! thank you!
Zeb South
Thanks buddy!! Great playing with you too my man!
Bonnie BIngman
Beautiful scenery again! The photos at Innsbruck are amazing though I’m not sure I would have taken the funicular and cable cars – I’m afraid of heights! Enjoy your last week and stay safe!
Zeb South
Thanks Bonnie. I can understand that – it’s crazy to think you are hanging on by a cable that high up! I appreciate that comment and you following along on my trip. Probably see you pretty soon in good ole South Charleston 👍
William Schwab
Wow Zeb, great job. Wonderful pictures and friends. Guess you’ll eat fish from US lakes. Keep it up and be safe. We miss you.
Zeb South
Thanks Bill! Yes I’ll hold off on fish till I’m back home… Which is soon!
linda South
Wow,Zeb,what a wonderful blog! I really loved all the photos, especially of the landscapes and pictures of the old towns with the gorgeous fountains and lovely churches. The food shots have always been interesting, love to see what you are eating! Love all the “characters” in your story, you have met some really fantastic people along the way you will never forget It is nice to be reminded that France has not forgotten the great sacrifice that our soldiers from the Greatest Generation made for them to be free. Take good care of you for me. Mom
Zeb South
Thanks for the comment! I sure did meet some characters, that’s for sure. I hope to get to return the hospitality to at least a few of them someday!