Our readers share tales of their rambles around the world.
Who: Chris Fleet (the author) and his wife, Linda, of Front Royal, Va.
Where, when, why: Two weeks in early May to celebrate Linda’s birthday and our 50th wedding anniversary. The trip included Bavaria to see longtime friends, Ireland and a return visit to Paris. The last time we were there, in May 2005, Linda was sick and toured the inside of the hotel room.
Highlights and high points: From Paris, we rode the train to Normandy and took a tour with a wonderful guide who, through his descriptive and animated presentation, brought the D-Day invasion to life. We stood on Omaha Beach and walked through the American cemetery, an incredibly humbling and sobering experience. In Paris, we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Eiffel Tower, bypassing the long ticket lines. In Ireland, we were treated to an absolutely clear and sunny day at the Cliffs of Moher, an event that doesn’t often occur. The view from 700 feet above the ocean was breathtaking.
Cultural connection or disconnect: The connection with our German friends stretches back to just after World War II, when my father was stationed in Munich. Our housekeeper and cook at the time is now the matriarch of a family that includes a grown son and his family. Over the years, we have kept in contact, and since Anni is nearly 90, we wanted to take the opportunity to visit with her again. Anni’s English is based on my mother’s recipes, which she followed 65 years ago, and is therefore fairly limited. But it was a delight to immerse ourselves in the Bavarian culture and language and experience the small-town, untouristy atmosphere of Penzberg, about halfway between Munich and Garmisch.
On a bus trip from Cork to Killarney in Ireland, two elderly gentlemen sat across the aisle from us and carried on a lively conversation in Gaelic. We couldn’t understand what they were saying, but we all had a great chuckle after one of the gentlemen used the universally understood sound commonly referred to as the “raspberry.” We found it especially humorous because it seemed so out-of-character for such dignified-looking Irishmen.
Biggest laugh or cry: There were a lot of moving parts to this trip, all of which we customized to our personal objectives and schedule. It worked beautifully — until our journey home. We spent nine hours in the Newark airport, waiting out a bad storm that had hit the Washington area and caused flight cancellations. We finally made it home by 2 a.m. the next morning and were thankful that the delay had occurred at the end of our trip.
How unexpected: In Ireland, we visited the little seaside town of Cobh, the last port of call for the America-bound Titanic. In the original offices of the White Star Line, we visited the realistic “Titanic Experience.” Through narration, models and reproductions, we followed the passengers who boarded the ship on April 11, 1912, and explored the events leading up to and following the sinking four days later. Looking at the list of passengers, I was surprised to discover that a distant relative was a crew member on the ill-fated ship.
Fondest memento or memory: When reviewing a pleasant trip, our minds often linger on the little moments: the hot, creamy porridge we ate for breakfast in Ireland, for example, or the stories we shared over coffee and Bavarian torte in a German household. But the memory we keep coming back to is dinner in a restaurant in the Bavarian mountains with three generations of “our” German family.
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