Gaby had come with David. Also Monika was there to farewell us. This was 24 years ago, meaning that none of Monika’s girls had been born yet, but Monika had  of course already Troy and Ryan. They were ten at the time.

After Singapore our next destination was Paris. I already mentioned in Part One that we picked up a 2CV in Paris.
We did a bit of sightseeing in Paris, where we had booked a hotel for two nights. Then we did drive through country area. Close to where the Mt Blanc Tunnel leads towards Italy we had some overnight stops at a hotel which had very basic accommodation. The good thing was, that from there it was not far to Switzerland. We had a few excursions to Geneva. I am sure we made some pictures there but unfortunately cannot find them at present. I have no idea, why they are not in the books with all the other pictures from this trip.

I think I already mentioned what a horror the Mont Blanc Tunnel turned out to be. Well, I guess when this tunnel was built, they had no idea by how much traffic would increase, and that especially these big trucks would pollute the air and that they had to make sure that ventilation remained okay. These days they would never attempt to build a tunnel with only one lane in each direction. The tunnel goes for 11 kilometres without any interruptions.

I am sure we took a lot of pictures in Italy. I just cannot find them at present and have to try and publish some at another time. We stayed in several different hotel during our trip through Italy. In Rome we found a very reasonably priced hotel close to the Vatican.

We spent a lovely day in Venice, we also had a look at the leaning tower of Pisa. But I have no picture of it. Here is another picture with Caroline and me in Venice.

From Italy we went to Austria and from there for a trip to Bayrischzell along the Alpenstrasse. On the way we had a look at Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart. On the Alpenstrasse we were caught in a blizzard. After a stay over at Bayrischzell we tried to reach the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany. But it was bad weather. This is why the cable cars to the top of the Zugspitze were not in operation.

Here is what I Wikipedia says about the cable cars:

“Three cable cars run to the top of the Zugspitze. The first, the Tyrolean Zugspitze Cable Car, was built in 1926 and terminated on an arête below the summit before the terminus was moved to the actual summit in 1991. A rack railway, the Bavarian Zugspitze Railway, runs inside the northern flank of the mountain and ends on the Zugspitzplatt, from where a second cable car takes passengers to the top. The rack railway and the Eibsee Cable Car, the third cableway, transport an average of 500,000 people to the summit each year. In winter, nine ski lifts cover the ski area on the Zugspitzplatt. The weather station, opened in 1900, and the research station in the Schneefernerhaus are mainly used to conduct climate research.”

We made it to Neuschwanstein Castle just a few minutes before they were about to close. O our way back to Austria we stayed near Ober-Ammergau. We had accommodation in a pleasant hotel. When we woke up in the morning, our car was covered in snow.

Then back to Windischgarsten where Peter’s sister Eva lives with Harald, her husband. Harald built this house all on his own:

We stayed with Eva and Harald over Easter. Peter’s other sister, Ilse, had come also with husband Klaus and sons Daniel and Stefan. Ilse and her family live in Berlin. They all still live there. After Easter we travelled to Berlin. My Mum lived in a seniors’ home unit at the time. We took her in our 2CV to the Brandenburg Gate which was being restored after the Fall of the Wall a few months earlier.

24 years ago Mum was 79, the same age that I am now!

After returning our car in Paris we spent a few great days exploring the city, staying in a lovely old hotel.

As I mentioned in the first Part, we spent three days in Anaheim to visit Disneyland. Here is just a sample of some Disneyland photos.