Sedona

Boy!  What an adventure I had!

Over Christmas Break, some friends and I decided to take a short jaunt through Sedona, Flagstaff, and the Grand Canyon.  As I'd been to the Sedona area before, I did most of the driving and tour-guiding while my friends sat back and admired the scenery.

Here are some of the highlights!

Uptown Sedona

We arrived in Sedona late at night six days before Christmas.  Since it was so dark, we couldn't see the gorgeous red rocks that make this area famous.  So...

Bright and early the next morning, we set out to visit Uptown Sedona, which is not only a great place to shop but also a great place to get pictures of Snoopy Rock!

Snoopy Rock

Since we were now five days away from Christmas, Uptown Sedona was all decorated for the holidays!

There were also these nifty little instruments that my friends had fun playing (it was a little hard to hold the batons with my plushy hands).

While window-shopping with my friends, I had the opportunity to meet one of Arizona's legendary jackalopes!  He assured me that jackalopes do, in fact, exist, but they're very elusive and have years of experience hiding from people (there's even an annual "Who's The Best Hider" convention and competition!).   

Chapel of the Holy Cross

After we'd spent some time looking around Uptown Sedona, we headed south toward the Village of Oak Creek to visit the Chapel of the Holy Cross.  This Catholic church has become famous not only for it's stunning views (which are truly amazing!), but also because it was built into a ledge of red rock overlooking Bell Rock and Cathedral Rock (to name a few)!

The Outside of Chapel of the Holy Cross

Cathedral Rock from Chapel of the Holy Cross

Bell Rock (far right) from Chapel of the Holy Cross

Chapel of the Holy Cross is a functioning church as well as a tourist attraction.  It is open to the public Monday through Saturday from 9 am to 5pm, but they open at 10 am on Sundays to allow time for morning Mass.

The Inside of Chapel of the Holy Cross

Chapel of the Holy Cross is all ready for Christmas too!

Oak Creek Canyon and West Fork Trail 108

North of Sedona on AZ-89A lies the beautiful Oak Creek Canyon.

As to why they didn't put the Village of Oak Creek closer to Oak Creek Canyon itself may never be known.  As it was, it took us about 30 minutes to drive from Chapel of the Holy Cross to the canyon.

Just beyond Uptown Sedona, the road becomes a little more windy -- not too windy, mind you.  The road runs along the side of a cliff and sports some excellent views!  A great place to pull over and take pictures of this scenery is the Midgley Bridge.  There's a place to park and a trail that takes you down under the bridge for some great photo opportunities!  Be careful, though.  The trial is a bit rugged and can be steep at times.  

View from the Midgley Bridge Trail

It's a good idea to wear comfortable walking shoes or hiking shoes on this trail.  My friends strongly advice against wearing high heels down there (they know from experience).

High heels are not good shoes for the Midgley Bridge Trial.

AZ-89A continues down into the canyon, and gets closer and closer to the creek.  There are a lot of little hotels and rental cabins down there where people can stay pretty close to the water.  Sometimes in the winter, there's snow down there.  Sadly there was no snow there when we visited.

Indian Garlands is a great place to grab a sandwich for the road on your way into the canyon.  During the fall months, they carry the most AMAZING apple cider in the world!  So if you're planning to be in the area during the fall and love fresh apple cider, be sure to make a stop at Indian Garlands!

My friends and I headed to West Fork Trail for a picnic lunch and a hike.  It's a beautiful spot near the bottom of the canyon, surrounded on all sides by towering cliffs of red rock and thick forests.  This area is absolutely gorgeous in the fall when the leaves are changing color!  Sadly, this was not the case five days before Christmas (although it's still a lovely place even in the winter).

Picnicking at the West Fork Trail 

Crossing the Bridge to the Trail

While the hike itself is generally pretty easy (maybe moderate at times, but mostly easy), there are a few places where you have to cross the creek to continue on the trail.  We only made it to the first river crossing because it was getting cold and we didn't have our winter gear with us.  But if you're prepared for the weather and really enjoy rock-hopping and beautiful scenery, West Fork is the perfect place to go!

Tlaquepaque 

If you've got a lot of money and like southwestern clothes, jewelry, and trinkets, then Tlaquepaque is definitely worth a visit!

Even if you don't have a lot of money to spend, Tlaquepaque is still a great place to window-shop, take pictures, and enjoy a bit of southwestern architecture.

               

Nestled in the heart of Sedona (right next to Los Abrigados), Tlaquepaque is home to some fine dining and unique shops.  My personal favorites are The Secret Garden restaurant and the Feliz Navidad Christmas store!  The Secret Garden sports any number of pastries and sandwiches (my favorite of which is a hummus pizza with onions, red peppers, and feta cheese) -- this is the perfect place to grab a bite after Church!  Feliz Navidad carries an assortment of southwestern style Christmas decorations, and it's open all year round so you can buy Christmas gifts for friends and family even if you're not going to be in the Sedona area for Christmas!

Inside the Feliz Navidad Christmas Store

                                     
The particular day we visited Tlaquepaque happened to coincide with their Christmas festivities, including free food, hot apple cider, carolers, and a chance to sit on Santa's lap!

Carolers, Including Elsa, Anna, and Cinderella

Kids Gather to Sit on Santa's Lap

As far as I know, this Christmas event only happens once a year (our trip coincided with it by coincidence).  So if you're hoping to catch the festivities during your visit, check Tlaquepaque's online calendar for dates and times.


Overall Consensus

So, is Sedona worth a visit?

YOU BET!

The town itself may be small, but don't let size fool you.  There's a lot of fun stuff to do, cools sites to see, and trails to hike all over the place.  It's the perfect vacation spot whether you like hiking and site seeing or simply relaxing and admiring scenery.

Poland

Phew!  What a crazy day!

Today, my adventures took me to Poland.  I didn't get a whole lot of time to explore this country, but boy did my adventure there turn out to be unexpectedly crazy!

It all started out like a normal day of site seeing with my friends  We grabbed a picnic lunch in Forst, a little village just west of the Germany/Poland border, then headed across the border.  I was surprised to find that crossing the border into Poland was relatively painless (in fact, extremely painless).  There weren't any border stations or patrol people or anything.  We just had to pull over at a gas station to get a vignette sticker so that we could drive on their expressways.  I guess they're leaving the borders open because of the European Union arrangement, but they've left their border patrol buildings up just in case it doesn't work out as planned.

The Germany/Poland Border

As I continued to head east toward my destination in the town of Zagan.  I got to experience a bit of the Soviet Union left over from the days when Poland was under Soviet control.  Driving on Soviet-built roads is like riding a wild horse on a roller coaster.  Not a single inch of that road was smoothly paved.  It looked like someone had used asphalt to build a sidewalk and expected you to drive on it.  We didn't dare drive too fast because we wouldn't want to ruin the car.  After being jostled around for a bit, we finally found another smoother road that lead in (more or less) the same direction.


Poland, despite the ridiculously bumpy roads, is a lovely country filled with green fields, tall trees, and other such picturesque landscapes.  I found it particularly interesting that all of the smaller roads were lined with little trees, and that some of those trees had the Polish flag painted on them.

Anyway, we finally arrived at our destination of Zagan, and immediately set out on a new quest: to find the location of the Stalag Luft 3 prisoner-of-war camp.  If you're a fan of The Great Escape (either the movie or the book), that name should sound familiar to you.  And for good reason.  Stalag Luft 3 is where the real Great Escape took place.  And, in case you're wondering, "Stalag Luft" basically translates to "a prisoner-of-war camp for pilots".

I'll admit, Stalag Luft 3 is the whole reason we went to Poland in the first place.

Finding it, however, became an issue because the directions to the site (and the museum that now sits where the camp used to be) are not clearly marked...AT ALL.  At first, it felt like we were going in circles.  Then we finally found a road sign pointing us in the direction of Stalag Luft, which led us down a rough and bumpy dirt road through a sparsely populated region of the Zagan area.

Our tour guide commented that the surrounding woods reminded him of the Blair Witch Project, so I couldn't help but ask if we were in any danger of getting eaten by zombie witches.  I believe everyone thought that was funny.

Just when we were starting to get convinced that we were heading in the wrong direction, we came upon a paved main road with another sign pointing in the direction of Stalag Luft.  Ironically, this sign also led to a bumpy dirt road through the Polish woods.  So, there we were again, in the middle of nowhere, hoping against all hope that our adventure would prove fruitful.

Our tour guide sarcastically stated that when we [eventually] found Stalag Luft 3, it would be right off a main road with a large and clearly marked sign.

No sooner had he said this when we came upon a main road, and there — to our relief and annoyance — was Stalag Luft 3 and its resident museum on the side of the road with a large and clearly marked sign!  I'm still wondering why they don't just tell people to take that main road to get there...

Anyway, most of the camp itself is gone, but they've built a replica of Barracks #104, a replica guard tower, and a replica of part of the tunnel "Harry", which was used during the Great Escape.  If memory serves, the Great Escape took place in the real Barracks #104!

Replica of Barracks #104

Replica of Tunnel "Harry"

Conveniently, there was a nice little set of picnic tables right next to the camp, so my friends and I sat down for our lovely picnic lunch mere feet away from the replica of Barracks #104.  I'll admit it felt a little weird to be eating lunch in the shadow of a POW camp (even though it's only a replica).  

The camp, or what's left of it, is located in a surprisingly lovely patch of bright green Polish forestland.  Zagan was the ideal location for Stalag Luft 3 because the Luftwaffe was headquartered there during the Second World War.  There's still a large military compound in Zagan today, but now it is run by the Polish army instead of the Germans or the Soviets (both of whom have held claim over the area in the past).

Part of the Memorial Museum and the Replica Guard Tower

The Stalag Luft 3 museum also contains information and artifacts recovered from the site after the War.

Officer's Uniforms

Games the Inmates Used to Play in the Camp

Replica of Stalag Luft 3, showing the locations of the three escape tunnels, "Tom", "Dick", and "Harry".

Some of the 50 POW's Who Were Shot After Being Recaptured (after escaping the camp)
Roger Bushell (one of the main orchestrators of the Escape) is second from the right in the top row.

Memorial to the 50 Escapees Who Were Recaptured and Executed

Inside the replica of Barracks #104, they had some of the rooms set up to look like they would have looked during the war.

The Pump They Used to Pump Fresh Air into the Tunnel

Still Image from the Movie of the Actors with the Replica Pump

They had this cut-out poster from the movie that you can pose with.
I'm playing Richard Attenborough, my friend is playing Steve McQueen

Suffice it to say that the Great Escape put Stalag Luft 3 on the map.  

So, is Stalag Luft 3 worth a visit?  

In my opinion, yes...if you have the time, a picnic lunch, and aren't expecting too much.  It's a small memorial and museum, but it's still quite interesting.  The staff is more than happy to show you around the museum and answer questions.  The artifacts and exhibits are pretty cool (if you already know something about the Great Escape).  

A word of advice: don't follow the road signs.  The way to Stalag Luft 3 is terribly marked (hence the crazily bumpy forest drive mentioned earlier).   Look up the route on Google Maps or some other online map system.  Trying to find and follow the signs that are out there is extremely difficult.  Take it from the Plushy Hobbit who's been there.

Germany - Travel Day

Greetings from Germany!

This is my very first adventure overseas!  I was very excited to have the opportunity to come here, explore, and partake of Germany's delicious quinine (if you've read The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings, you know how important a good meal is to us Hobbits).

Travel Day[s]

Every good adventure has a beginning, so I might as well start there.

No matter whether you're flying or driving or hiking or hitchhiking, every single vacation or trip has one thing in common -- you have to get there first.  This either means a super long drive from Point A to Point B, or a super duper long flight to your destination.

My adventure to Germany started out just as such.  I had to catch a flight at 8:55am, which meant that I had to arrive at the airport at 6:55pm to check in and get through security.  So, I had to get up at 5am!

Usually, the process of checking in is rather painless especially if you use Web Check-In (as I did).

For long drives or flights, I like to pass the time by listening to some good music and looking at the clouds!

Although my flight was almost 9 hours long (yikes!) and it was dark outside for about half of that time, I've never been very good at sleeping on airplanes.  On this flight, I slept a grand total of 55 minutes, then spent the rest of the time watching The Monuments Men (one of many movies for rent in Business Class).

The next morning, we were served a light breakfast of fruit and granola with some hot tea or coffee.

 Finally, at about 8:02am Germany time, we arrived at the Frankfurt International Airport!

Check back soon for the continuation of my Adventures in Germany!  

Concerning Plushy Hobbits...and their adventures

Wilkommen to my adventure blog!

I'm Bilbo the Plushy Hobbit.  Despite my love for my armchair by the fireplace in my Plushy Hobbit abode, I can never resist a grand adventure.  This blog is meant to be a chronicle of my various doings and adventures as I travel the world and experience the sites and sounds of new and exciting places with my friends.

Enjoy!