The train system throughout Europe impresses us more with every exposure we have. The high speed trains are quiet and relaxing, so much so that we barely noticed when we were traveling at 180 mph. We have also been surprised by the attitude Europeans have towards traveling with pets. Multiple times we have seen people bring their large dogs onto public transport. Often the dogs sit right on the chairs, but the conductor doesn't even bat an eye. Our train rid...

We departed Stuttgart in high spirits having made great friends with the Würfls and excited to get to warmer climes in southern France. First we stopped in Strasbourg to change trains, and because we anticipated this being our longest layover we did some grocery shopping for lunch later. On the next train to Marseille, we tried to wait until the conductor came through to check the tickets before breaking out a sandwich bar, but after several hours we decide...