Trip Notes Spring 2007

Trip Notes Spring 2007 to Europe

These are my generic email notes sent back to friends and family while I was on Vacation in Europe in the Spring of 2007. I reviewed them on 23-Sep-2007 and they seem to be ok after fixing a bunch of spelling errors. All the rest was left as sent.

Marty

Click on date to get to the notes of the date

05/16/07	05/19/07	05/21/2007	05/22/07	05/26/2007
05/28/07	05/29/07	05/31/07
04-Jun-2007	05-Jun-2007	08-Jun-2007	10-Jun-2007	11-Jun-2007
15-Jun-2007	18-Jun-2007

05/16/07 11:20am Woodstock 56°
I will be posting raw notes here. They are unedited.
I have setup this automatic process to handle notes. I can just email them
to myself and they will be posted on this page.
The process also makes copies so I shouldn't lose them.
I will edit all of this some day when I have time.
In 24 hours I leave home to check out some of Europe.
More Later.
Marty
--- End of Note ID:1
 
05/16/07 11:36am Woodstock Sunny 56°
This is the second test of the trip notes.
Marty


--- End of Note ID:2
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05/16/07 12:14pm
I just heard that Steve was in the hospital. I will let you know more
when I know what is going on.
Marty

23-Sep_2007 11:41am Woodstock Sunny 71°
	reviewed this note.

05/19/07 9:30pm Kißlegg, Germany
Hi everybody,

I took up about 30 Hours Thursday and Friday getting to Germany. More than
13 hours were related to the Traveling.
I am in Kißlegg Germany at Mike and Petra's tonight after walking about
26,000 steps. My steps are about 26" each so I guess that is around 10-11
miles.
We got a late start around 11:30 and came back on the train around 7:30pm.
Yes people that is 8 hours including breaks and lunch. It only took 20
minutes to return on the train. I do not remember the town where we went
and I am too tired to look it up tonight.
I am not too tired from the walk. I am tired from the jet lag. I may be
sore tomorrow. For today I think I did well. This is just a warm up for
when I go to Spain next week. No big heavy backpack today. Just water and
the jacket in case it was cool on the return trip. No pictures! That Marty
guy forgot the camera. There was some nice views. You might want and come
and look at this stuff.
Well I need to rest now. More when I get time.
Marty
PS:
Mike and Petra did not stop me from having a couple beers! :-)


--- End of Note ID:1
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 23-Sep_2007 11:56am Woodstock Sunny 71°
	reviewed this note.

05/21/2007 11:00am Kißlegg, Germany
 
Tomorrow I will get packed to go to Spain to start my big walk. I have almost
decided to go the whole way. That is from Roncesvalles to Santiago, Spain
and maybe to the west coast of Spain. I think it is where it comes out to the 525+
miles and around 40-50 days. We leave here to travel to Spain Wednesday morning
around 5:00am and should get to Roncesvalles some time in the evening. This is a
plane ride and 4,5,6 train and/or buses. Mike has that all setup and I am
going along so I'm just following.

All in all it should be good to get started. I am ready to get started.
--- End of Note ID:1 Posted: Mon May 21 12:12:01 CDT 2007
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05/21/07 10:00pm Kißlegg

Hi everyone,
I have posted some notes on my web site. These are raw notes but look at
then any time.
This is the link to get to them:
http://www.doerofthings.com/vacation/notes/
These notes are just generic notes for you to get an idea what is happening.
If there is any thing new it could be posted then. Nothing fancy just some
information.
Each date day will have it's own file. Just click on the date you want to
see.
I will email you if I have some thing. If I have time.

For now this is it for today
--- End of Note ID:2 Posted: Mon May 21 18:12:01 CDT 2007
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 23-Sep_2007 noon Woodstock Sunny 71°
	reviewed this note.

05/22/07 10:20pm Kisslegg, Germany.
Hope all is well with all of you.

Today Mike and I did some more walking as part of my training. I think we
only did 7 miles today. We went to the next big town to "Media Mart", like
Best Buy to get some CD's for Mike's camera. None of the roads are straight
around here. Prices here are a lot higher here and there is a 19% sales tax.
I got to see a lot of the country side. It is nice here. They are cutting
the second cutting of hay already. Not much corn planted here. Soil or
weather is different in this area.
I need to get up very early tomorrow to catch a train to start my travels to
Spain. Mike said that it will be very late when we get there. So I need to
head off to bed so I will not be sleeping on the train/plane/bus or what
ever Petra has set up for Mike and I.
Good night.
Marty
--- End of Note ID:13 Posted: Sat Jun 16 00:12:01 CDT 2007
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 23-Sep_2007 12:05pm Woodstock Sunny 71°
	reviewed this note.

05/26/2007 1:45PM Cizur Menor, Rainy, 70 degrees maybe.
Day 3 and I am sore. Day one was rough went as the guide book said from
Roncesvalles to Larrasoaňa, Spain about 28KM, I was having trouble picking
my feet up. Day 2 went to Arre about 11KM and that was all my feet and
legs could take. Today Day 3 I am stopping now because there is an uphill
trip tomorrow and I need to rest my body. If things go well tomorrow the
top of the hill is where the Wind mills we flew over 3 days ago on the way
to the start. Tomorrow will be about 21.2 KM(13.1 miles) per the map.
Both UP hill and Down Hills are hard on me. But it is a leg and feet thing
the rest of me seems to be doing ok. Well when I start to hurt I get a
little crabby.

This Internet station lets me have about 36 minutes for 2 Euros. about
2.70 US.

Tomorrows plan it to go from hear to Puente La Reina, Spain. (12.miles)

I will update you more in a few days.
Marty
--- End of Note ID:16 Posted: Sat Jun 16 00:12:01 CDT 2007
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 23-Sep_2007 12:13pm Woodstock Sunny 71°
	reviewed this note

05/28/07 2-3:00 Cirauqui, Spain Cold and Raining off and on.
We decided after having a snack at a picnic table just west of town.
It has been raining off and on all morning and it is cold and windy. So
there for I was cold and wet so I decided to back track to this town and
get dry and warmer. Now that I am here I am going to stay here for the
night.
I am much less sore today. Mike tells me this is day 5. I lost count. I
think it is the day before Mike goes home so I think I need to go on a
couple more days on my own. I committed 5 and I think I am ok for a couple
more.
Today I stopped because of the rain and cold. Cold is OK but wet mixed
with rain just doesn't cut it.
I have to go for now because my time is running out on the machine and I
do not have any more change. It only takes 1 Euro coins.

More in a couple days.
Marty
--- End of Note ID:14 Posted: Sat Jun 16 00:12:01 CDT 2007
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  23-Sep_2007 12:18pm Woodstock Sunny 71°
	reviewed this note.

05/29/07 4:45 pm Estella Spain Sunny Cool
Hi every body. Mike tells me I have made my 100km so now my goal is 100
miles. I have not figured how far I have gone so far but it is a long ways
for me with out being in a car. 100 miles is about 160 kilometers(km)
Mike has left me as a guide and I am on my own to do what I can to
continue walking west to Santiago. I still do not know how far I will go.
When it is time to stop I will know. Until that happens I will be
traveling west until it happens. My 5 day goal has past. My 100 km goal
has past and I made it up this last hill where I am staying tonight.
Internet cost a very small amount but I do not always feel like sitting
in front of a keyboard.
Mike left me around 4:-4:15 to catch a bus. He spent a week guiding me
through getting started of my walk of life. After the first day I was
dead. Each day it got better. Today is day...humm...
Started 5-23rd as Roncesvalles and today is the 29th? 6 days already.
I get a little short of breath going up hills. Steep hills that is. My
feet and calves are not getting sore going down like they were in the
beginning. Today my hips were getting a little sore. I thinks my feet and
legs got stronger and now my hips are doing more work.
So my body is going through a learning process too.
Did I say Mike is gone now? Mike was a great help on the trip. He gave me
a lot of things to think about. You can still learn thing from your big
brother. I wanted to try the Camino de Santiago ever since Mike told me
about it after he did it in 2003. The time is right now...well is must be
I am here. THANKS MIKE! Safe trip home.
Hummm... I am on my own here! I will need to learn a little more Spanish
or I will have to learn to point and look hungry. Money is not a problem.
ATM machines are in English and they are very easy to use. Just push the
buttons and they give you a fist full of Euros. Just like home! There are
Bar-Restaurants to get you coffee, lunch, beer,wine and there are Markets
to get you bread and cheese, and there are albergue to sleep at.
I have it made. So tomorrow is another day.
Good night.
Marty

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  23-Sep_2007 12:18pm Woodstock Sunny 71°
	reviewed this note.

05/31/07 22:52 on this computer maybe 3-4:00 pm not sure right now.
I am in Viana, Spain for the night.
Hi everyone,

I am still out here. My first goal was to do 5 days. I did that while Mike
was still with me. Today is day 7,8,or 9 I think.
Stayed at Los Arcos last night.
Still wondering why I am here. So far I think I have that answer, so I am
just waiting to be sure. I may never know for sure. As long as things are
going ok I will keep going.
Last night one of the guys had to call it quite because he has a broken
heel he had been walking on for 70km. I did not get too much of the
detail because his English was broken and my German is a little rough.
He did not want to give in and the Doctor told him to stop. I think I
saw some tears come to his eyes. The Camino does this to people who
commit to it.

I have decider to do 5 days and now it is 8.
I committed to 100kn and now it is something like 140km. Not sure right now.
Now seeing that I have 100km I am ready for 100 miles(160km)
I just take 35cm(centimeters) about a foot at a time.
If I get that foot in front of the other one I get far down the Camino.

I am doing my laundry while I am on the Internet. This albergue(dorm) has
both a washer and a drier. Most have a sink and a clothes line. And in the
morning they are not dry. Mike said I looked like a walking clothes line
with my socks and underware hanging out of my back pack to dry. It could
take until 2:00pm or later to get really dry.
I better check on them there are a couple other trying to use them.
More updates in a couple days.

Oh, I can receiver email any where in the world.
A couple updates so I know what is happing would be just fine.

Marty
--- End of Note ID:3 Posted: Thu May 31 09:12:01 CDT 2007
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  23-Sep_2007 12:37pm Woodstock Sunny 77°
	reviewed this note.

 Hi every body,
06/04/2007 9:00am or so ,Santo Domingo, Spain
The last few days have been a learning process for me.
I have some, a lot of problems commutating this far into Spain.
Many place I it is a struggle. I get by but my Spanish is mayo.
I lost my Pilgrims Passport so I could not stay in the albergue in Nájera.
I figured I could back track to the last place I knew I had it. When I
pulled out my guide book it must have came out in the wind eat it. Or some
thing.
I went to the bar in Ventosa where I think I still had it and nothing.
I had it in Navarette but I was too tired to go on. They let me stay in the
albergue in Ventosa and he told me I could get a new passport in Nájera.
When I got there they told me that I need to go to Santo Domingo. By the
time I got here every thing as far as albergue´s go was filled up.
So I treated my self to a hotel.

As so as my time runs out on this Internet machine I am heading out to
get an new Pilgrim´s passport. They are will take me to the place I have
to go.
More on this later. H have to go now.
Marty
--- End of Note ID:4 Posted: Mon Jun 4 03:12:01 CDT 2007
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04-Jun-2007 4:00pm Santo Domingo, Spain

Good morning all,
I say ´good morning´ because most of you live in the states.
I think I needed this day off. My feet feel better. I am starting to feel
rested and it is cold sitting here using this Internet station.
I have new paperwork so I will be able to stay in the albergues. The new
Pilgrim´s passport took 5 minutes and cost 1 Euro once I found the right
person and the right place. Thank you Fogre(Spelling may be wrong)

Any way I walked around town and in the down town area it is much like
other big towns. Shoes, clothes, gifts, etc. The stores down town are
smaller then in the USA but it is the same kind of stuff. ATM machines
give € instead of $ but it is spending money. I got some just in case.

I didn't see any thing to buy I think I will get my backpack and take another
look see. I need to get some food for tomorrow anyway. I like to have food
with me because some time you get hungry out in the middle of nowhere.

I have been using pencil and paper and a jackknive in place of a computer
for a many a day I am starting to miss the computer. Give me a quite
corner and a laptop with a Internet connection and as my dad might have
said ¨I am happier then a pig in shit.¨

Anyway, when I return home I will have to put all of my notes to computer
and add more as I am remembering things. There may be many gaps in what I
am posting because sometimes I do not remember what I emailed or wrote on
paper so I just give you some information and if I leave a gap and I give
the end and you have no idea what I am talking about, just make something
up.

This morning I was going to hang it up with this walking and now I am
going to go on. Maybe it this Internet fix I just got or maybe it is the
rest. I feel the rest did me very, very good.
Until Later,
Marty
--- End of Note ID:5 Posted: Mon Jun 4 12:12:01 CDT 2007

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  23-Sep_2007 12:58pm Woodstock Sunny 79°
	reviewed this note.

 05-Jun-2007 16:21 Viloria, Spain
Well, after taking yesterday off to rest up I thought I would have a good
day today. I left Santo Domingo around 8:00am and headed west for the next
sleeping spot. Within a feel KM my feet started to hurt again. By the
time I got to Redecilla I was ready to hanging it up. There was a
information place there and I asked where I could get a bus to Burgos. I
miss understood part of the instructions and was waiting on the tree bank.
Buses stop many places in the country. After I missed the 12:00 bus the
lady came out and said the autobus stop was down by what I though she was
saying ¨bank¨ it was 'bar'. I walked down there and there it was a bus
stop with 'BUS' painted on the black top by the bar. 12:20 by then next
was 16:00. I did not feel like waiting 3 hours. So I went to the nearby
albergue and had a Coke. 'Things go better with Coke' Well they didn't
open for over an hour so I decided to go to the next village. Nothing
there for me. So I went one more and ended up here at 'Acacio and Orietta'
 in Viloria. 
I find out I am there first Pilgrim. First ever. They just opened today. So
I got my picture taken and every thing. My host told me he spent the last
6 months getting it ready. There is a couple people playing music out
side. One is a student bread maker from South America and his friend who
just showed up.

Anyway my plans of now is to try another day tomorrow. I plan leaving
the Camino de Santiago at Burgos. Today is day 13 and I am starting feel
that there are only a few more days left before I go on to other thing.

Now for news I heard from home. What are you doing with out me to hold
thing to gather. Big fire by Mary. Cork is working to much. Chelli has a
new job. What else going there. Bill and Kim have been under the weather
and I think Steve is getting better now.
I guess I need to get back to take care of all of you. :-)

Well, That is it for now.
Marty
--- End of Note ID:6 Posted: Tue Jun 5 12:12:01 CDT 2007
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  23-Sep_2007 13:08pm Woodstock Sunny 80°
	reviewed this note.

08-Jun-2007 18:00 Burgos, Spain
Hi every one.
Just a note to let you I made it to Burgos. Way more than I would had ever
thought I would go.
I will fill in the detail later.

Marty
--- End of Note ID:7 Posted: Fri Jun 8 12:12:01 CDT 2007
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  23-Sep_2007 13:09pm Woodstock Sunny 80°
	reviewed this note.


10-June-2007 Santiago, Spain
 
Quick note to every one that I am in Santiago, Spain.
I have been so involved I do not know what I wrote last. Internet
connection is slow and cost to much so I will move quickly.
I am site seeing today and trying to figure how to get back to Mikes in
Germany. I will fill you in when there is more time.
It has been great. You all may want to think about trying this. Wait don´t
just think about it do it.
I have a ton of notes and pictures to go through before I see any of you
so you will see me when you see me.
Marty

--- End of Note ID:10 Posted: Sun Jun 10 06:12:02 CDT 2007
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  23-Sep_2007 13:09pm Woodstock Sunny 80°
	reviewed this note.

 11-June-2007 Santiago, Spain
This is my last posting for a while.
I will be on the road again for a few days.
Santiago, Spain is a great town as are any the town and village I have
visited along to travels in Spain.
I am very pleases with my whole vacation. It had some rough times but I
lived through them so I guess I learned something too.
I walked a lot. I thought a lot, I met new people, and I learned how
little Spanish you can know and can still eat. 'Give me some thing to
eat!' does not work here as good as it does in the USA. I will have to
work on that.
Well, Some one else wants the Internet machine so I am going to let then
have it.
Marty
--- End of Note ID:11 Posted: Mon Jun 11 09:12:01 CDT 2007
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  23-Sep_2007 13:13pm Woodstock Sunny 80°
	reviewed this note.

 15-June-2007 8:08am Woodstock, IL USA
Yes, I’m home!
I got home late last night.
I had a little fun getting here yesterday. I started around 6:30am in
Kißlegg, Germany when I caught my first train and thought it was going to
be a piece of cake. The first train went well. The second train was the
wrong one. Then I got off that one and got on another one to correct for
the last one. Then I almost stayed on this one and went back to where I
messed up the first time. I did change trains in time and headed in the
right direction. Then I thought I was doing fine when I got off the train
I was on to get on the next one that would take me down town Munich to the
main station. Well I changed trains and I found out in time I was on the
right one in the first place. I quickly returned to it and continued to
the main train station in Munich. There I cought a subway to the airport.
My plane was late leaving Munich. I was a little concurred that I would
have missed it completely because of missing that first train connection
around seven in the morning. That put me back about an hour. At that point
I knew I was doing ok.

Mike and Petra did a fanatic job building me a schedule to get to the
airport. There are many trains to ride in Germany. Many train use the
same tracks and go every which way. I am sure that it is a very good
system to get you from any one place to another almost any time you want
to get there. We have nothing like this in the states. If I get on a train
in Woodstock it either goes to Crystal Lake or Harvard. And the Crystal
Lake direction could go to Chicago. That is about I know about our train
system because that is all I have used. In Germany it looks like you can
go from Kißlegg to almost any where else in Europe by just changing a
train once in a while. You just need to know where the trains go. Here is
another one of those thing about learning some of the language and ask the
right people. I think the train system in Europe is better than the USA. I
just did not under stand it yet.

At the airport I had enough time to look around and get to my plane with
out any issues. As I said before it was late leaving the airport because
of some kind of problem or scheduling or some thing. We got to London on
time. At London I needed to check in because it was a different air line.
There was some entertainment. There was a group of people in front of me
that did not know where they were going. When you fly international to the
USA I guess you need to have an address where you are going to stay. Each
one in this group didn’t know or some one else had the piece of paper with
the addresses. It was kind of fun to watch this happen because I had two
and half hours before my plane would leave and I know it would not take
that long to straighten out there issues. I know where I lived and even
had it written on my paper work.
Later I found out this same group were on the same plane as me. And they
had no problems after they were checked in.
So this plan was late leaving for a lot of reasons. They moved the gate,
New security procedure they were trying, they lost their take off slot,
and on and on they kept telling us. At this point I just wanted to go
home. This flight was going to be eight hours so I figured a few more
minutes I could handle. Once we got on the plane we had to wait in the
queue for another 30 minutes or so. I think it might have been a 45 minute
delay. So we are on the plane and the caption says not to worry he knew a
short cut to Chicago. He did we were 20 minutes early.

Cork picked me up at the airport and brought me home and I rested up a
little and went to bed.
Thanks Mike, Petra, and Cork



Marty
P.S.: Now I am going to chill out for a few days and see what happens.

--- End of Note ID:12 Posted: Fri Jun 15 09:12:01 CDT 2007
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  23-Sep_2007 13:23pm Woodstock Sunny 80°
	reviewed this note.

 18-June-2007 8:42am Woodstock, IL 76°F
I have been home for 4 days now. Some things are back to normal some things
are not. There is tree that is going to fall in the street in the front of
my driveway. The battery was dead in my car. And dead again the next day. I
have been to see many of my friends so most every one knows I am home. And I
pulled a muscle in my back. I have caught up on most of my paper work and
mail. By the end of the week I can start thinking about my next adventure.
I walked about 200 miles on the Camino while in Spain on almost
every kind of service from Rocks, Mud, Cement, Assault, and you would think
I would have learned to step off the back step of my house. Nop! I stepped
wrong and pulled a muscle in my back a couple days ago. It feels much better
this morning so I guess I will be fine.
At the end of my driveway is a tree that has broken off at the
roots. It is leaning in another tree that is for now keeping it from falling
in the street. It has a 6-8 inch trunk so it isn't going be too much to
remove.
It has been about 100°F every day since I returned. That is 20-30°
warmer than it was in Spain. I needed to adjust to that.
The battery in the car just needed a good charge. It seems to be ok
now.
I guess the next thing I should do is that chill out the thing I was
going to do 3-4 days ago.
Marty
--- End of Note ID:20 Posted: Mon Jun 18 09:12:01 CDT 2007
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  23-Sep_2007 13:29pm Woodstock Sunny 80°
	reviewed this note.

 *** end of trip notes for Europe trip Spring 2007 ***
Marty