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Heading Home

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I don't normally write about something as mundane as heading home but, because things have changed so much because of the pandemic, I thought it might be useful to share my experiences.  As I like to include photos when I write blogs - and there aren't any directly related to this content - I've posted some pics I took from the plane.  I don't normally have a window seat so thought I would take advantage of that. Leaving Frankfurt Airport Somewhere above the clouds Approaching Calgary Now back to the real point of this blog! In order to enter Canada, you have to have a PCR COVID test.  Because I was flying home from Frankfurt, it was very convenient as there is a testing centre right at the Frankfurt Airport between the long distance train station and Terminal 1.  It is operated by a company called Centogene.  I had set up an account before I arrived but actually never figured out how to book and pay for a test in advance - it was something about having an authe...
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Perfect Day in Alsace

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After 4 days here of dull, dreary weather, the sun finally appeared today for my last day here before I start heading home.  This afternoon, we drove south and west joining the Alsace Wine Road at St. Hippolyte.  Thankfully, there were still leaves on a lot of the vines which provided some wonderful photo ops. We stopped in Ribeauville, one of the most famous of the Alsace wine villages.  With the sun out, it did not disappoint.  I first visited this village in 1979 on my first trip to Europe.  I fell in love with it then and I have been lucky enough to come back to visit it many, many times since.  It is just magical - along with many of the other Alsatian wine villages. Ribeauvillé  (German  Rappoltsweiler)  is one of the oldest medieval towns in Alsace and it lies below the Vosges Mountains about 53 km southwest of Strasbourg.    It was known in the 8th century as Rathaldovilare and passed from the bishops of Basel to the lords o...
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Back to Alsace - All Saints' Day

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Monday morning, I took the train from Meilen to the Zurich Hauptbahnhof where I caught an ICE (Inter-City Express) to Freiberg.  There I changed to a regional train that stops at all the villages between there and Offenburg.  These trains used to be pretty old and grim but now they all seem to be newer with lots of space for people to bring their bicycles on board.  I tried to capture some of the scenery on the journey out of Switzerland because, even with the dull weather, it was lovely.  Here is a not-so-great video that might give you an idea. Because it was November 1st, it was All Saints Day in Switzerland, Germany, France and in other Catholic countries around the world. This day is  also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are known or unknown.   In places where All Sain...
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A Weekend in CH

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Saturday morning, there was a fog blanketing Zurichsee (Lake Zurich).  Even though we could clearly see his sailboat on the lake from his balcony, he decided we needed to go up into the hills behind Meilen to see if we could get above the fog and get some views of the mountains.   So, we headed for a place called Pfannensteil.  I had been there before with my other friends who live nearby.  The views were lovely and it was all just so, well, Swiss!  The mountains weren't as clear as I have seen them at other times but it is still a lovely countryside regardless. Later, I had dinner with my friends here with whom I usually stay.  It was lovely to see them and we had a great visit.  I had taken their daughter a Halloween costume called Dark Angel along with a black wig.  She looked spectacular in it and was very, very happy.  It was sure worth hauling it here from Canada.  While I'd seen costumes in some stores in France, none were e...
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From 21' to 9'!

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  Friday, we checked out of our lovely flat and my friends headed for la Gare Nice Centre for their 10 hour train journey back to Alsace.  I headed to the airport - using Uber, my new best friend here in the south of France - for my afternoon flight to Zurich. A couple of things about the logistics.  First off, having the Uber app on my phone has been great.  It works well, particularly when you are sharing the cost with friends.  Also, it was about 22 Euros for my ride to the airport and a taxi would have cost much more.  I used the app with I was in Portugal a few years ago as well.  It sure makes getting from Point A to Point B a lot easier when you don't have time to adapt to bus and train schedules.   Second, to enter Switzerland, you have to fill out a form online ( Swiss Entry Form )  giving information about your vaccination status, where and how long you will be staying in CH, and your passport information.  The QR code tha...
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