2017-09-14 Salzburg Day Two

The group awakened with a mission to get value from their card.  After a difficult start by getting on the bus going the wrong way, (must have been Debbie’s fault), they set off for the Hohensalzburg Fortress via Monchsberg Aufzug Lift.  (2.30 Euro).  Joyce was under the impression that this was a glass elevator with views over the city which delivered the passengers to foot of the fortress.  This was an incorrect impression on several points.  It t was just a closed elevator – no views and it stopped part way up the hill but no where close to the top.

Thus began the walk to the top. The group was not close to the top.  They wandered with some school kids for a while, took some pictures, rested, complained, and finally reached the top.  History Moment:  The Hohensalzburg Fortress was started in 1077 as a show of force and to protect the salt mines.  Through 1810, the archbishops kept expanding the fort.  The tour also included a walk to the top of the fortress.  (More climbing).  Also included in the tour (12 Euro) were the following:

  • The fortress museum – History of the fortress
  • Top of the fortress
  • Regency Rooms – Those archbishops lived well
  • Rainer Regiment Museum – preserving the history and memory of Salzburg’s former home regiment, the Imperial Austro-Hungarian Infantry Regiment “Archduke Rainer” No. 59.
  • Marionette Exhibit (Too creepy for Debbie – she has no pictures)
  • Funicular ride (both ways)

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The group rode the Funicular down (Debbie knows that when she hears the word funicular that it will involve a fee and walking straight uphill if you don’t pay.  She wonders why they did not take the funicular up to the top of the fortress and then walk down?)

Joyce’s response was “I don’t want to talk about it.  You got to ride the lift and meet German high school students.”)

After all the hard work in the morning, the group sat down on a scenic balcony to enjoy lunch and the view below.  Then the wind started to blow, the sun went behind the clouds,  the napkins blew off the table and it got cold.  Everyone chose to move inside instead of sitting under blankets.   The meal was one of the best that the group has had thus the pictures.

The afternoon was a visit to Domquartier Salzburg.  This is  basically a bunch of museums combined into one.  It includes St. Peter’s (with 5 organs), palace rooms and a bunch of other things.   Cost 12 Euro.  The group did have an incident.  Everyone had put their stuff in a locker to go into the Domquartier.  They followed the tour with their audio guide up, over and around the building.  They came to a large room where the guards took away their guides and started locking up.  The problem was that the group was in a different building and they couldn’t figure out how to get back to the locker.  The guards kept telling them that they came in through the church which they did not really remember.  (Hmmm, an older group forgetting where they came in?)  Debbie was not as concerned as the other because Little Miss Paranoid had kept her purse with her.  Debbie convinced the other 3 that they might have come in through the church.  Soooo,  out they went through the rain and cold (people had deposited their coats in the locker) to find the entrance.  They bonded with the entry lady who gave them guides again and let them back in.  (Debbie felt certain that her new friend was going to scold the other guards severely for kicking them out.)

Next stop – the Christmas museum. It was a nice stop. (6 Euro)  It was raining and they had the City card so they proceeded to the Salzburg Museum (8.50 Euro).  Another museum about Salzburg.  (Debbie has to be honest – all these museums were starting to run together).

Total through Day Two 68.90 Euro.   They had surpassed the Salzburg City Card value and still one day to go!  Les Cheap Girls Rock!

 

2017-09-13 Salzburg

The group bade farewell to Vienna and took their last train ride of the trip.  They were brave and didn’t even get a seat reservation.  They felt like seasoned travelers.  They pulled out snacks and ate on the train.  They arrived in Salzburg in the early afternoon.

They dragged their suitcases the two blocks to the Pension Jahn.  (Debbie always wanted to stay in a Pension).  They were too early to check in to their rooms so they were off to explore.  Les Cheap Girls had purchased a 3 day pass which included a transportation pass for 48 euro.  They were all about getting value for the tickets.  So, you know that there will be tracking of the value of the Salzburg trip.

They went back to the train station for the initial get acquainted bus ride to Old Town.  The group got caught up in the sea of tour bus tourists and arrived at Mozart’s birthplace.  Cultural Moment:  Mozart’s birthplace was the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at No. 9 Getreidegasse in Salzburg, Austria. The Mozart family resided on the third floor from 1747 to 1773; Mozart himself was born here on 27 January 1756.  (Debbie and Larry’s daughter was born on January 27th.  That is why Lindsey is so musically talented.  Next time you see Lindsey ask her to sing for you).  This was somewhat disappointing.  It was mostly empty rooms with pictures in it.  They stopped at a church and a few shops,  (Debbie was able to resist the shops).  They made it back to the Pension and turned in early but were happy to have knocked a couple of things off the list.
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Day one total:   Transportation Pass $17.10 for 3 days – Mozart’s birthplace $11.00.  Total amount:  $28.10.

2017-09-12 You Met Who?

The group knows all about the historic Austrian empire.  Today, they were going to find out about the current government.

The four were off to an early start.  They showed up at the Hofburg building early but couldn’t quite figure out the correct building.  Somehow, they got into the wrong area.  A guarded area.  Joyce swears that the guard made eye-contact with her and then touched his gun.  Another guard quickly volunteered to escort them to the correct room to diffuse the situation.

With the special escort, they managed to the first guests on the first official tour ever.  They managed to throw the entire staff in disarray when some members requested a visit to the WC.  Apparently, this scenario had not been tested.  It ended up requiring a trip through security and then back out to a secure bathroom.  There were 10 people on the tour.  The tour was in both German and English with the German description first followed by the English translation.  While the group did not understand German, they noted that it takes 3 to 4 times longer to explain it in German with eye contact and laughing (ha ha ha ha) but the English version does not have jokes.

On the second tour stop, the guide spent 15 to 20 minutes telling them about a room behind a closed door.  Long enough for everyone to start leaning against the wall, fidgeting and so on.

As the tour moved away from the closed door, Joyce asked “Are we going to see that room?”
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Guide:  “No.  If you were on another tour yes but this tour no”.

The tour continued to the Parliament small meeting rooms where the tour guide introduced a lady passing through.  She stopped and told everyone hello.  The Austrians were quite excited and the guide introduced her to the four on the English tour.  Surprise!  They met the 1st President of the Parliament.  (They have 3) . Think of it as the Vice President or Speaker of the House.  Yep, the group met Doris Bures.   (Bet that the guy touching the gun didn’t know that we knew Doris.  Would have been a whole different attitude).  After the meeting, they visited the Parliament room and took stately pictures.

After the tour, they discovered Naschmrkt.  It was a wonderful place with great food.  The chocolate club found some great candy but don’t know what it is called.  It is urgent that they know the name so they can buy more.  Please let us know if you what the candy is.

2017-09-11 Schonbrunn

Today was the last item on our Sisi Ticket,  a visit to Schonbrunn Palace.  History Moment:  Schonbrunn Palace  was a former imperial summer residence located in Vienna, Austria. (Larry thinks that he might also need a summer residence a few miles from home.  Debbie thinks not )  Debbie tried to channel Joyce and get there early but didn’t quite make it as early as Joyce would have suggested.  They arrived at the same time as the tour buses so fought their way through the crowds.   Lots of pictures were taken from the outside but none were allowed from the inside.  Disappointingly, some of the tour was the exact same as the Hofburg museum with the same rooms and audio.  Sisi was once again a focus of much of the tour.  (Debbie is not sure what that says about the German perception of tourists.  Did they think that tourists don’t listen?  Their cameras had been taken away so they are probably listening even more intently.  Debbie thinks that she could help make the tour and gift shop be better.  The museum needs to hire her.  She could pass a Sisi test.)

After having been Sisified, the group felt a bit royal so had a late morning apple strudel with coffee.  You decide who made the better choice by the pictures.  There was the whipped cream contingent and then the vanilla cream contingent.  Feel free to vote on your choice.  To work off the dessert, they went for a walk in the Schronbrunn park.  They strolled all about until they saw Gloriette and decided the view was worth the climb but were too cheap to pay to enter.

All this touring and it was not even noon.  So, off they went to the Parliament building for a free tour or so they thought.  Shockingly, the Parliament building was surrounded by cranes. Ever in denial, Debbie pushed on telling the group that she was sure there was a tour.  (Wrong, Debbie, wrong).  The information office said that the building was closed for 3 years for construction BUT tomorrow was the first tour at the temporary location, the Hofburg.  The Hofburg? (where else right?  Debbie hopes that Sisi will not be there.  Debbie also feels that the website should be updated and hopes other tour guides are not having this issue.).
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They continued on to take a tour of inside St. Stephen’s and the crypt. (Remember it was closed before.  Debbie, are we seeing a pattern here?)   The group felt a little cheated by the crypt tour.  It was in German and English.  The German description was first and would involve waving of hands with a long description.  The English translation was “A lot of people were buried here.”  At the very end of the crypt tours, tickets were purchased (basically to get out).  Unfortunately, Larry was separated from Debbie and now resides in the St. Stephen’s crypt.  (Just joking but Larry said his hands did start to sweat and was glad that Debbie had pre-paid for him.)

2017-09-10 Sisi Pass

The day started early with a visit to the Hofburg Palace to use the group’s Sisi Tickets.

Who is Sisi you ask?  Duchess Elisabeth of Bavaria was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, (and many other titles) by marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I.  She was assassinated in 1898.  Sisi was her nickname.  She became popular after her death.

Debbie was quite pleased that the group had bought tickets yesterday.  The ticket is a combination and has several different places to visit.   History and Cultural moments are coming up:

Imperial Silver Collection – An impressive array of court tableware, silver and porcelain belonging to the Habsburgs (aka Hofburgs)  are on display at the Imperial Silver Collection.  Originally, the group thought that they would blast through the collection but with the help of the audio guide it was quite interesting.  (Larry did blast through because he says that his job is photographer.  So, if you need pictures of plates or silver please contact Larry.)

Next stop was the Sisi Museum. The Sisi Museum is in the Imperial Apartments of the Imperial Palace and compares the myth and the facts of Sisi. Among the highlights are numerous personal objects once owned by Empress Elisabeth as well as the most famous portraits of the empress.

The group learned much about Sisi.  Let’s ask them what they learned.

Larry:  “You people have her name wrong.  It is pronounced CeeCee like the pizza”.

Debbie:  “No, it is pronounced Sissy.”

Larry:  “How do you know?”

Debbie:  “Because the audioguide said it 100 times”.

Joyce:  “She had long hair down to her feet. “

Joyce:  “I learned that you can’t take pictures in the museum and that the museum is persistent about it.  They had to tell me twice but I finally got it”.

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Jerry:  “They can’t spell her name right.  Sisi is not really Sissy.   She exercised a lot”.

Debbie:  “Voice what voice?”

Larry:  “You know the one in her movie”.

Debbie:  “That was a 1950 movie.  She died in 1898”.

Larry:  “Where is Jerry?  He will back me up”.

Debbie:  “Did you listen to the audio guide?

Larry:  “Well no, but no one told me not to take pictures.  Maybe I will listen closer next time.”

The group continued on to the Hofburg Imperial Apartments – Court ceremonial dictated that each member of the family had their own apartments or suites in one of the numerous palace wings, the Imperial Chancellery Wing and the Amalia Residence, which contained the apartments of Franz Joseph and Elisabeth (Sisi) are today open to the public.  (More Sisi stuff).

Final stop before lunch, (Larry says that the four are hardworking tourists), was the Hofburg Treasury. The Imperial Treasury at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria contains a valuable collection of secular and ecclesiastical treasures covering over a thousand years of European history.  This collection has a lot of cool items.

After lunch, they traveled to the Imperial Furniture Collection.  The Imperial Furniture Collection in Vienna is a furniture museum that houses one of the most important collections of furniture in the world. It was interesting as the Hofburgs had several palaces that were not furnished.  Several warehouses of furniture were kept and before the Royal family went to a location all the furniture was taken to the location.  This could be for as many as 1000 people.  There was a room full of chairs or toilet or cabinets or you name it.  Some of the actual furniture was used for movie sets.  Evidently, this collection was not as important as suggested because no one took any pictures.

2017-09-09 Vienna

The day began with purchasing train tickets so the group would be mobile tourists.  First stop, the Opera House.  The four were approached by men wearing costumes to buy theater tickets.  Clothes for the concert?  No problem.  They could wear casual clothes because Vienna was casual in the summer.  (Did you know that? )  They only had 7 tickets left in the A section which they would sell to us because we were so nice.  Blah, blah blah.  The group was able to resist the sale.

They continued on with a walk through the city.  Some of the sights that they saw were the following:

Opera House – AKA Wiener Staatsoper – (This was confusing to Debbie –  She thought Wiener Staatsopr was the name of a tour company and kept looking for the Opera House).

Albertinaplatz – Contains several museums and the Monument Against War and Fascism

Kaisergruft – The Imperial Crypt (Kaisergruft), also called the Capuchin Crypt (Kapuzinergruft), is a burial chamber beneath the Capuchin Church.  The bones of 145 Habsburg royalty, plus urns containing the hearts or cremated remains of four others, are here, including 12 emperors and 18 empresses. (Fun fact – A Hapsburg is buried in three places – bones, heart and organs in different places.)

Neuer Markt –  Has lots of statues and other stuff

Graben – The Graben is one of the most famous streets in Vienna’s first district, the city center.  (We walked down it.)

Demel – Chocolate Club field trip – Ultimate Viennese chocolate shop packed full of tourists.  (Debbie resisted the urge to purchase any more chocolate).

St. Peter’s Church – The oldest church building (of which nothing remains today) dates back to the Early Middle Ages, and there is speculation that it could be the oldest church in Vienna.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral – St. Stephen’s Cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna.  (Okay, Debbie failed on this – When the group got there, the church was closed for the day and only open 1 hour the next day).  The church was circled several times with multiple pictures taken.  Vienna gingerbread was also purchased which was quite tasty and helped keep strength up for touring.

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Larry:  People stood too close to me. I felt the togetherness of the tour group.  Jawohl! (He has been wanting to use this word from Hogan Heroes days).

Joyce:  Well, it was informative but did you check with Trip Advisor about this tour? However, did you find this tour?

JerryIt was okay.  I felt energy in the building and energized by the tour.  I might take up singing again.

Larry:  Just wait until you get to Salzburg and the hills are alive with the Sound of Music.

Debbie:  Who ever planned this tour brought the Wein Opera alive.  Maybe we will be invited to the debutante ball in 2018.  We should start practicing the waltz.  It was a magnificent tour!

 

 

 

2017-09-08 Travel Day

Today was a travel day and the group took two Ubers to the train station.  Joyce told them to meet by the restaurant that they visited when they got to Prague.  Debbie and Larry were going alone and Debbie was somewhat concerned.

Debbie:  “Well, okay but what if we get let out somewhere else?”

Joyce:  “There is only one entrance.  You can’t get lost.  (Wrong, Joyce – wrong).”

Debbie:  “I might get lost.”

Joyce:  “You can’t get lost”

Debbie:  “Well, Larry might get lost.  You know he just wanders away.”

Joyce:  “He can’t get lost”.

Thirty minutes after arriving at the train station, dragging bags around 3 floors, Debbie & Larry confessing to each other that they didn’t know where the restaurant was nor the name; they found the meeting place.  Joyce and Jerry were not yet at the meeting place because they too were dragging bags up and down the train station.  Joyce conceded that there was more than one entrance and one could get lost.  (Everyone’s hands were sweaty)

Next mission –  spend their Czech money before they left.  The exchange rate was 25 to 1 for Euro.  Joyce exchanged her money but suggested that they spend Debbie’s money.  (Debbie thinks this just doesn’t sound right)  Joyce went shopping and bought sodas for the train.  She still had money left which she gave to Debbie and Larry to spend in the same store and they just couldn’t do it.  (There was a line, the store just didn’t have the right food and their hands were still sweaty).  Debbie finally found a store and sauntered off to spend the money when Joyce shouted out that it was 15 minutes before the train left.  (Debbie says that this really did not help her concentration.  She felt like she was on one of those shopping shows where you have to spend the money and fill the basket in 60 seconds.)  Debbie ended up with some kind of mystery roll and 2 packages of Oreo’s.  She still had money left. (Okay, if you think you can do better, I’ll meet you at HEB with a couple of foreign dollars and a stop watch).

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The group arrived in Vienna and traveled to the flat to meet Philip, the owner.  (Debbie really liked Philip because he carried two bags at a time into the flat for them.  Debbie staggered off the train with just one so it was impressive.  She hopes that Philip will be available for carrying bags when she leaves.)

Once in the flat, a rotating shower schedule was developed since the bathroom situation was challenging.  The schedule approach has been fairly successful except Larry keeps try to put himself in position 1.  He can only remember that he should be in position one which is the head of the line. (Everyone else is working with him and now convinced him that he is position number 2).

That night, they ate at an Austrian restaurant, Wilder Mann, with  staff that spoke very little English.  Debbie continued the schnitzel quest across Europe.  Joyce had ribs and chicken.  She was inventive in clucking like a chicken to describe her meat selection which pleased the waitress immensely.  After the original clucking, the waitress clucked at Joyce each time that she came to the table.  (Debbie thinks the kitchen refers to Joyce as the Chicken Lady.) .

They are now residing in Vienna, Austria.

 

 

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2017-09-07 Terezin

Today was a small tour to Terezin.

History Moment:  Terezin or Theresienstadt concentration camp or ghetto,  was a concentration camp established by the SS during World War II in the garrison city of Terezín located in German-occupied Czechoslovakia.  Thousands of people died there, some killed outright and others dying from malnutrition and disease. More than 150,000 other persons  were held there for months or years, before being sent by rail transports to their deaths.   It was also used for propaganda and to fool the Red Cross. Our guide was a Czech historian who specializes in Terezin history and has published 2 books on the topic.  It was an extremely sad and thought provoking day.  Due to the sensitivity of this subject, we only published pictures.

2017-09-06 City Walk

After yesterday, a slower pace was set for the day.  Some of the places that we visited were :

  • National Monument to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror – The Church of Saints Cyril & Methodius houses a moving memorial to the seven Czech paratroopers who were involved in the assassination of Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich in 1942

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Astronomical Clock – Everyone makes a big deal about this clock.  On the hour, the windows open and all 12 disciples look out the windows and then the bell rings the hour.  Crowds gather to see this clock.  Debbie can’t tell what time it is and has to count bells.  It is a neat looking clock but doesn’t seem very functional to the people that can’t read it.  (Debbie thinks the others can’t read it either but won’t admit it).

  • Nicholas Church – Prague Lesser Town – The Church of Saint Nicholas is a Baroque church in the Lesser Town of Prague. It was built between 1704-1755 on the site where formerly a Gothic church from the 13th century stood, which was also dedicated to Saint Nicholas. You got to love the way the Czechs name things.  Lesser town of Prague or Old New Synagogue.  They built a new synagogue so named the old one the Old new Synagogue.
  • Wenceslas Square – Debbie’s definition – This is a big old square where a lot of history and stuff happened.  King Wenceslas and the song?  People like to protest here.  They jiggled their keys to send the Communists home.
  • Tyn Church, or The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn – This church dominates one side of the Old Town Square. In the early 15th century, the Tyn Church came under the control of the Hussites. But this was a tumultuous period in the Czech lands, when Hussites were being slaughtered by the ruling Roman Catholics. In the end, Catholic Jesuits took control, recasting the bell, and replacing the Hussites symbolic chalice with a large figure of Mary from the melted crown.  This is an impressive looking church from the outside.  It towers over the square.  However, the only way to enter the church is to walk through a restaurant.

Still no ice cream for those in need.

2017-09-05 Prague Castle

The target for today was Praha Castle.  Praha is the Czech translation for Prague.  (It took Debbie awhile to figure this out and it is unclear if Larry is aware yet.  Debbie is pretty sure if she left him somewhere that he could not get back home).   Prague Castle is the number one tourist site in Prague.  It towers over the city and can be seen from most city locations.

Joyce had her group up early with “Boots on the Ground” outside at 7:30. (The group likes to delude themselves with the idea that they have a certain military precision.)  They marched to the tram and with assistance from locals were able to validate tickets.  They and the school children rode the tram up the hill.

Safety Moment:  It was explained on the first day that as long as one was in a crosswalk that the pedestrian has the right of way.  It has been our experience that this is not always true and you need to look like you are Czech or proceed with a stink eye to cross the road.  Debbie has asked that if she is hit to please drag her back into the cross walk.  However:  Trams trump everything.  They have the right of way over pedestrians who then have to fall back to red light/green light concept (somewhat similar to the game).  Trams are very quiet and go all over the road.  Debbie tends to stand looking left / right / left / right until she darts across the road.  (She has been yelled at by the group.  Joyce had her jacket grabbed to save her from the tram).  Anyway, it felt good to be inside a tram and not outside as the group traveled up the hill.)

The little group arrived at the castle before it opened.  (Yes, you read that right – before it opened).  It is an interesting setup.  The President of the Czech Republic has his office in one of the buildings.  Security searched all bags before entry.  Several cars came driving through at a fast pace to park by the President’s office building.  (There didn’t seem to be much concern for tourist safety as they whipped around the blind corners.  Maybe they don’t know that trams trump them? ) The four ran around and took pictures for about 45 minutes before opening thus you will see pictures without all of the know tourists in the shot.

Joyce was 4th in line for the ticket office.  (We know that it would have been 1st if Debbie hadn’t gotten into an incident with the toilet attendant yelling at her “Pay Now!  You Pay Now!”.  It is not Debbie’s fault that she got there before the attendant came to work.  Debbie was more than willing to pay.  What if she had already put her money in the box?  What about that “You Pay Now Lady?”)

Once tickets and audio guides were purchased the group set off with a strict time limit on the audio guide of 3.5 hours.  (The guides were almost the cost of a ticket – not cheap with a big penalty for being late plus a big deposit fee.   We are talking les cheap girl heart attack cost).  Tickets could be purchased for varying configurations. The group had purchased option B which included:

  • Old Royal Palace – The Old Royal Palace is part of the Prague Castle, Czech Republic. Its history dates back to the 12th century and it is designed in the Gothic and Renaissance styles.  (You could not take pictures and we don’t know why.  It is a cement building with nothing in it.  They used to ride horses in it but you can’t do that now.)
  • Basilica of St. George – St. George’s Basilica is the oldest surviving church building within Prague Castle, Prague, Czech Republic. The basilica was founded by Vratislaus I of Bohemia in 920.
  • Golden Lane – Somewhat like Williamsburg but people don’t dress us and it is really crowded
  • Vitus Cathedral – St. Vitus Cathedral is the largest and the most important temple in Prague. Apart from religious services, coronations of Czech kings and queens also took place here. The cathedral is a place of burial of several patron saints, sovereigns, noblemen and archbishops. (Debbie says this is why everyone goes to Prague Castle).

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As good tourists, they tried to go to several of the locations not on their ticket but were denied entry.  (Wrong tickets and they really didn’t want to go anyway. Much to Debbie’s relief, they were able to return the audio guides on time to get back the deposit.  They proceeded to the gardens and a 1000 more pictures.  Next was lunch  outside the castle and away from the main tourist drag.  By the time the group left, there were tourists everywhere so it was good that Joyce had them there early.  (As much as it hurts Debbie to get up early, this model may be used in other cities in the future).

Just a side note:  The castle was a medieval castle not a Cinderella or Versailles chateau.  The church was pretty spectacular but the castle was more rectangular and not that great.  .

After lunch, Joyce announced that we were going to walk back to the flat.

Debbie: “That looks pretty far all the way down there.  How far do you think it is?”

Joyce:  “A mile”

Debbie: “Really?  Cause I do a lot of walking and it looks pretty far?”

Joyce:  “It is a mile”

Larry:  “My foot sort of hurts”

Debbie:  “Can we have ice cream?”

Joyce:  “Yes, wrapped in those cinnamon things”.

Larry:  “We get ice cream?  I can soldier on”.

Debbie:  I can walk to the ice cream.

The group trickles off down the hill (no longer marching with military precision).  Three and a half miles later they arrived at the flat with no ice cream and a blister on Larry’s foot.

Note to Lindsey from Debbie:  “You will be happy to know that your Mom performed successful surgery that night on the blister.  We are thinking of inviting you on the next trip for medical support.  If you can’t come, could I take one of your surgical caps?  I think that I would look more professional.”