Photos by Maria Goldsmith and Geza Ginzery
A trip to Europe was planned, which was to include visiting Kati’s Mountain, her beloved Matterhorn, in Switzerland, spending a week in Germany’s famous region, Bavaria, then travel to Budapest for another week, and maybe spend some time at the Balaton.
We flew to Budapest, where we met with Kati. She oversaw acquiring the train tickets to Munich. She was very concerned to make the proper arrangements to make sure we were in total comfort for the trip. The trip was wonderful and before too long we were in Munich. We took some time to do a little sightseeing and snapped the following pictures:
We rented a minivan and headed down to our timeshare in Bavaria. The rented vehicle for the trip turned out to be a Renault minivan with plenty of room for us and ours. After making the arrangements we went to find and pick up the vehicle. We ended up in the basement of the building, a rather dingy looking place with insufficient lighting and a ceiling that seemed to be too low for the vehicle to fit through. I don’t think I took a breath until we cleared the building.
The longer I drove the van the more I liked it. It had plenty of power with great visibility all around. It kept up with the Autobahn traffic admirably and managed the mountain roads up and down just fine.
Driving on the Autobahn was thrilling but it got even more excited when we started to climb and climb on the two-lane roads. It was amazing that no matter how steep the road was there were bicyclists pedaling right alongside of you.
The timeshare was in a little village called Oberstoufen in Bavaria and this too was comfortable enough for all of us.
We were close enough to the Alps which gave Maria an idea. She has heard me talking about riding a motorcycle in the Alps, so she managed to find a private guy, who was willing to let me ride his motorcycle. How she found him, I don’t know but there he was with his venerable Moto Guzzi, ready to go with helmet and gloves.
Click on image to see description.
Strange feeling, riding someone else’s motorcycle on a different continent, country, surrounding. I was feeling very elated and thoroughly enjoying myself, when I came up on an accident scene. It must have just happened, and it involved a car and a motorcycle. The bike was in a ditch on my side of the road, but it was not visible to me. The rider must have been hurt because I heard him whimpering in pain. Others have stopped as well and since I was really in no position to be of any help, I slowly rode by. I decided to cut my ride short, and the rest of my ride was not quite as enjoyable. However, I will forever be thankful to Maria for her kindness and obvious resourcefulness in crossing off this item on my bucket list. What follows is a slideshow of some of the typical Bavarian scenery we encountered during this unforgettable trip.
Bavarian Scenery
There were flowerboxes in every window of every house.
Driving around a corner in a village we came upon this BMW motorcycle dealer called Martin. We stopped, looked around and picked out a tee shirt. They wouldn’t let me pay for it. It was a tee shirt advertising their racing team.
After continued enjoyment of the wonderful scenery we arrived at the time share,
Oberstaufen, Germany
This the beginning of the infamous “short hike” in the hills of Bavaria. We had lunch at this little eatery, after which we went through a door to start the trip. Come to think of it, we had to pay for the privilege.
Toward the end of this walk we came upon a group bovine. One was a young bull; the rest were cows. He had a teenager’s attitude with enough power to back it up. He picked out Sonny as the one he was going to bother, so he headed for him. The young bull gestured a headbutt toward Sonny inches away from him, so Sonny hit him on the head with an empty water bottle. The bull didn’t like that and another headbutt followed with a lot more force. Jake and Maria panicked, which scared the bull, making him wonder off.
Since then, this story had been told many times and Maria managed to embellish is more than once.
We all got home safe and sound, albeit very tired but also very proud to have been able to complete this arduous task.
Italy
The timeshare offered a bus trip to Northern Italy. We quickly signed up for it and before long we were enjoying the scenery. We stopped once for a bathroom break, kind of in the middle of nowhere. The building looked kind of funky. Mary was less than enthusiastic about the female accommodations because to do their business they stood over a hole in the floor, aimed and hoped for the best.
We also stopped at a medium-sized town where we had some of the best gelato in the world and got to walk around a bit. Later on, we boarded a ship for a cruise around Lago Maggiore. We looked for George Clooney to no avail.
Zermatt, Switzerland
Years ago, Maria spent some time skiing in Zermatt, acquiring some lifelong memories. Now, we were heading for it to help her relive those memories and to take Kati to see her mountain in person. She absolutely loves her Matterhorn and can’t wait to see it.
Zermatt is just a little village, in which there are no motorized vehicles allowed. You can walk to it, or, as we did, take a tram. After a short ride we were walking down main street and encountered a herd of goat on their way home after a hard day of grazing.
After a short walk we arrived at a place from which the Matterhorn was visible. Only for a short while though, as clouds were always swirling around the peak. Sonny had rented a cell phone to be used during this trip. This was a big deal, as personal cell phones were still pretty rare. I asked Sonny to use it and I called Kati’s mother back in Budapest and I let Kati talk to her. It was a short, tear-stained conversation. She was overcome by the situation and needed to rest on a bench, while not taking her eyes off the mountain.
I don’t remember where we upon this view of one of the many passes traversing the Alps. I exited the car to take this picture. I was mesmerized for minutes, imagining myself going around one of those hairpins. This picture still gives me goosebumps.
Salzburg, Austria
Maria drove from the timeshare to Munich, most on the Autobahn. I was dead tired at this point, and I don’t even remember how I ended up horizontal on the back seat with my head in Kati’s lap. She seemed embarrassed by it all but for me it was a wonderful, much needed nap.
Oh, the hills are alive, filled with the sound of music. Yes, we are in Salzburg, Austria, a city filled with memories for me, as I’ve been here twice before. The city is halved by the Salzburg River, and, similar to Budapest, one half is flat, the other is mountainous. There is an old fort at the top, which can be reached by a funicular. Enjoy the pictures.
Many of the native Salzburgers either walk or ride bicycles, a refreshing change from the rest of the world.
Budapest, Hungary
After dropping off the minivan in Munich, we took a train back to Budapest. We stayed in the apartment for a few days, then, thanks to Kati, we were able to rent a little house for a few days at the Balaton. That lake has some magical powers because we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and all the physical and mental strain of traveling dissipated in a few hours,
Enjoy the pictures of Budapest, then of the Balaton, the largest lake in Western Europe. The Southern shore is soft sand bottom and bately over your head a quarter mile out, while the Northern shore will swallow you after only twenty feet.
The Balaton
