Some Pictures from Germany, Portugal, Spain, and Morocco

This is our hotel in Frankfurt, Germany. Not a great section of town, but close to things. We started our trip in Germany due to flight schedules and spent two days here exploring the town, taking a Rhine Cruise, and visiting Heidelberg. See Marguerite in the middle of the picture.

Heidelberg is a city about 50 miles south of Frankfurt. It is a college town with an old castle above the town. The castle is famous because it was not bombed in WWII and has been maintained in an original condition from the last time it was destroyed in Napoleon times.

We started our official tour in Lisbon. Saw the city sites, old city, and famous church where Vasco De Gama is buried. During its heyday, Lisbon was the intellectual and scientific capital of the world. We are visiting the costal defenses in this picture.

This is our hotel in the background near the old city walls. We went on a tour of the old city and nearly got run over. Streets are very narrow. This is the town where many voyages took off for the new world, including Magellan’s voyage around the world. A replica of his ship is in a park for viewing.

This is a Mausoleum where the ex-king is buried. We toured the city and found some unexpected Roman ruins. Rabbat, today's capital of Morocco, was once a major Roman city.

This is Marguerite in a rug co-op where they sell rugs made by cottage labor. As you can see, this is Marguerite's idea of touring. She ended up getting a $650 rug for $425 that anyone could buy in the USA for $195. Marrakech looks like San Bernardino in topography but has very nice sections and very old sections. We went to a Fantasia Nightclub that had Moroccan dancing and outdoor horseback rider type entertainment.

This is an old palace. Marrakech, Fez, and Rabbat have been Imperial cities in the past. Each has old palaces and new palaces for the current king.

We are visiting the front of the newer palace in Fez. Later we took a stroll down the old section of the city (medina). Major crowded, dirty, and a little scary. The donkeys run up the hills to maintain momentum, and if you are in the way, you get smashed up against the walls.

This gentleman makes his living inviting tourists into his cave home. I liked the cave home. Very cool in summer and had TV and all the comforts. He is making tea for us in the picture. He could not have any because it was Ramadan.

Cueta is a Spanish possession in Africa across from Gibraltar. Very clean nice place. From our hotel window one could see Gibraltar and the ships passing through the gateway into the Mediterranean. The next day we took a ferry back to Spain.

This is the classic view of Gibraltar. In reality the city (British possession) is on the other side of the rock. We enjoyed seeing the apes of Gibraltar. They are so used to tourists they grab what they want right out of your hands. Interesting place.

The Alhambra is a walled fortress that once controlled Granada, Spain. It has an Arab section from when they ruled the province to a Charles V palace from when he ruled Spain, Portugal, Austria-Hungary, Netherlands, and most of the new world. Old Granada has very narrow streets and very old buildings dating from when the Spaniards threw out the Moors in 1492.

Toledo was an old capital of Spain. In the background you can see the palace of Philip II. From here he ruled the new world and sent the Armada against England. Later he moved the capital to Madrid. Very nice old city with many jewelry stores. Marguerite liked that. Marguerite was here in 1964 and it felt much more prosperous than it was then. Of course she bought some of the famous gold and black jewelry.

This is the center of old Madrid. Before Phillip II made it the capital, it was a little village. It grew as Spain grew.

This is Marguerite in the Prado Art Museum next to a famous painting by El Greco of a Spanish King. In my view the Spanish painters were not the caliber of the Flemish painters. Many Rembrandt pictures in the gallery ... and they were good pictures.

We took a side trip up into the mountains of Madrid. We saw a Franco memorial to the Spanish Civil War. Very interesting. It was built into the side of a mountain with a major Cathedral in the middle of the cave with tombs for the unknown dead of the Spanish Civil War. Franco is buried here and this is an active church for special occasions. Near here is a major Church/Palace built by Philip II. He was very religious and he lived a simple life, but the church part of the enclave was very decorated. Also is a tomb where the past and future kings of Spain are buried starting with Charles V.