Maybe it just hasn’t seemed real enough to get all excited about. We’ve been talking about and planning it for a couple of years now, so it’s always sort of been that thing we’re going to do. Even after booking the trip and buying the plane tickets, it still just didn’t seem real.
Now, however, it seems real. Look what we each received in the mail yesterday…
We got a map! I LOVE maps. And a list of all the other folks that are on the tour (13 including us). That Touring Center Alps booklet is our itinerary. We also got some stickers, and some luggage tags. Some anti-fog stuff for our visors. Oh yeah, and a booklet explaining what the road signs mean.
It’s getting real now. 🙂
And check this out…
This will be my ride. It’s just so, so sporty.
Okay, that’s not the actual bike. But it is the model we’ll be riding (we’ll each have our own). I’m not sure what color I’ll get. I don’t really care about the color anyway.
Check out this map…
This side of the map is sort of an artist’s rendition of where we’re going to be riding. The green at the top is Germany. The green area at the bottom is Italy. The red check mark (which you’ll see better if you click on the image) shows the valley where we’ll be staying (Seefeld in Tirol, Austria). Switzerland is at the far left.
Oh yeah, I got the name of the hotel, too: Hotel Central Seefeld.
The wonderful trip coordinator, Doris, who said to me way back in November, “I am there for you!” has totally been there for me. She’s been extremely helpful. So much so that she even arranged train tickets for us, which she did not have to do (as in, that’s not her job). But I’m so glad she did, ’cause let me tell you, that train stuff is confusing for this ignorant American used to dealing with ONE train company… AMTRAK. There are lots of train companies in Europe with different routes, different connections, different purchase plans. Most of which are described in a language other than English.
We just happened to get our train tickets by e-mail yesterday, too. (Of course, they’re in German, so I just have to trust that they are the right thing!).
An entire week in the Alps. Awesome, eh? And while that’s good, that’s not the best part. The best part will be the second week of the trip when we get to visit with our friends in Switzerland and Belgium.
We’re getting excited now. Now, it’s starting to feel real. So real, in fact, that I need to start shopping for my own pair of ass-less leather chaps. Not like THOSE though (I couldn’t resist).
Like these… it’s a safety thing.
This looks awesome! Have a wonderful time.
Oh, I would LOVE to see you in those leather chaps! :-))) Couldn’t you get them in any case, just to see the look on Mike’s face? The trip really does look awesome – I’m sure you guys are going to have an amazing time!! I’ve only seen the area covered in snow, but I hear it’s beautiful in summer as well. And then when you get to Belgium there will be a BBQ feast waiting for you guys! (Not with a fancy outdoor kitchen, really old-style….)
Oh, and a tip based on our American guests’ experience from last year: don’t push people aside trying to get on the train – over here, the trains actually wait a few minutes before departing. 🙂
Annelies, I am very much looking forward to the old-style barbecue. That train tip is a good one, especially since we have five minutes to get from one train to the other in a station we are unfamiliar with in a country where we don’t speak the language and thus won’t be able to read the signs. Mike says it’s a disaster waiting to happen. I say it’s an adventure!
Yay! I’m SO excited to hear some details of your trip. I’ve even told a couple of people that I’m really glad you and Dad are going and that when there was a little doubt awhile back, that I wanted to convince you that you had to do it no matter what. (It’s now my personal goal to send as many of my family members abroad as possible, lol.)
As for the train: Don’t sweat it. I’d venture a guess that there will be more signs in English than you’d expect, particularly in tourist-y areas like train stations. It will definitely be an adventure! Can’t wait to hear more so keep us posted!!
All you need is a pocket dictionary and a sense of humor — You’d be surprised how many people speak perfect English when you attempt to speak some German to them!