First view of Odense (olnse)

We got a little help from a friend today, Martin came to get the toilet going again, retrieve our wet clothes from the washer and connect the dishwasher to the drain. (Danish appliances have baffled us a bit)

But before all of that, we got into our little Fiat and headed to the closest town, Odense, home of Hans Christian Andersen. We made a round-about tour of the city and ended up at HC Andersen's house. Saw a spindle just like the one I have in my suitcase (well mine's a bit smaller)

We had lunch at a little outdoor cafe. Decided to share a sandwich when we saw the prices. Two beers, one sandwich (a very good one, by the way) cost 220 Krona. Whew, that translates into $44.00. As everyone will tell you, Denmark is expensive. We have curbed our costs by shopping in the local market, having coffee, toast and yogurt for breakfast, and preparing our own dinner. Sometimes eating on the road for lunch is unavoidable, but we think our budget plan will help curb the pain of the krona.

We continue to have 70 degree days, mosquito nights and many more rolling hills to scale.

Keep in touch with us at our new address in Hedeboerne.

Notes from Odense

Dear friends,

Can't really explain why the bread, cheese, wine, cucumbers and tomatoes taste so elegant here. Our little picnics on the patio seem so special.

We took a break today and napped in the sunshine, got out the travel books and enjoyed shopping in a grocery store where we understand nothing....literally nothing. Our first Bar-b-q on the patio tonight, couldn't have been more pleasant.

There is a lot to see here in Funen and beyond. So we will get back into sight-seeing mode tomorrow. We are taking things slow at first. Don't want to wonder too far, too fast with our little car and Gene's international drivers license. We finally need the GPS and it went kaput! No bother, only one highway, 4 islands and 6,800 miles of coastline. We ought to be able to navigate that.


For those of you considering trying a house exchange. We are loving it. We have had a few little challenges, but nothing we can't handle. Mostly are finding that having a home base, taking each day as it comes and having the flexibility of just hanging out, suits us really well.

Not to mention the wonderful Zen garden and butterfly plants. So very nice....

There is an extra room, anyone want to come for a visit?

Adapting well in Denmark

Gene has sorted out the kitchen and cooked us up a nice dinner and I am fascinated with every room. Ulla has decorated so beautifully, I can hardly stop looking at the pictures of the sea, African scenes, Asian symbols. It is really beautiful here. Like a museum.


We are getting into a bit of a routine, yoga is back on my schedule and the "coffee and walk" are back on Gene's. Very nice to take a deep breath and feel a little space in our travels.

Today we will stay close to Odense, get a few necessities at the store, find a post office and take a walk in the old town. If anyone out there has time, drop me a line, we am anxious to hear from you. Had fun watching the Daily Show last night with subtitles in Danish.

Ta ta

Denmark

We are speeding north in an IC-(Inter-city) train, through the north of Germany approaching the Danish boarder. The colors are changing from green to yellow, huge fields that must feed much of Germany are on both sides of us. Tall corn that looks ready to harvest, low fields of beans or peas spread out in this flat country to the horizon. The towns are getting smaller now. Hamburg was the last of the big cities.

We will change trains one more time before entering Denmark. The town is Flensburg. We would never have seen it on the map except that it sits at the boarder where this German train terminates. We haven’t spoken to a single soul except the conductor who checked our ticket, so we could be in Indiana or Kentucky or Spain and see the same wild berries growing along the train tracks, grain silos, and brick houses. But the occasional announcements of unintelligible train stops remind us that we are in Germany.

Gene is busy on his computer, trying to recall our itinerary. We failed to make a daily journal, partly because every minute seems to have been absorbed with travel and partly because it takes blocks of reflective time that we haven’t been able to find in our day until now.

The beauty of train travel is the time it takes to get from one spot to another allows for lots of reflection. This is an eight-hour trip today. Leaving at 6:45 am and arriving at 15:30 pm.

From the train I can see black bridges, red tiled roofs, lawns and swing sets. We are passing high above the city on a narrow bridge. The bridge is so high, it makes my knees knock. We think it has been built to allow ships to pass under on the river that must be 10 stories below us. Hope this conductor is paying attention.

Though our travel has been smooth, it has not been without a few funny incidents: Here are a few suggestions for fellow travelers:

First, keep your mind focused on entering the correct bathroom if you can...

Twice I have ended up in the men’s restroom after getting the token, finding the WC and figuring out the turnstile. It seems that my brain doesn’t have enough free space to look at the men’s/women’s sign while negotiating the turnstile. The men have been very gracious:) I’ve got to get better at that.

Second, try to get off the train at the correct station whenever possible....

Our first experience with this was on the way to Cochem. It was so dark we couldn’t see the signs and so late there were very few people to ask. Top it off with multiple Cochem exits and we were bound to miss it. Our “Lost American Traveler” faces gave us away and the lovely locals helped us get off at the right exit. Late-night fiasco avoided.

Our second experience was today. We asked a fellow traveler how many stops were in Hamburg and he said “only one”, so we heard a Hamburg stop announced and prepared to disembark. The train stopped, we stepped off in Hamburg-Harbur. And the man who gave us the mis-information ran after us to get us back on the train, wrong stop. Saved again.

This was the same poor guy who politely told Gene that he had a reservation for the seat Gene was sitting in and would he kindly move. Gene's sat there with his “Confused American Traveler” face on, noticing that there were lots of other empty seats. So the man asked again with more clarity and put his things down on the adjoining seat saying, "I only need the one you are sitting in, you can have the others". Gene picked up his lap-top, phone, back-pack, maps, pens, etc and moved, still confused, but compliant.

Our third "try to get off at the right train station experience" came during our ride out of Hamburg. The announcer had such a strong accent we couldn't tell she was speaking English until she said “Thank you” at the end of the announcements. So, she announced Rendsburg, which sounded like Flendsburg and we were, once again, scrambling for our maps, reservations and notes to be sure we weren't missing our station.

Third, pack a lunch when you are traveling in uncharted territory...

Many trains will have a dining car and if you have local currency with you, you should be able to find a roll and coffee at the very least. Gene and I made some tiny little mistakes. We didn't bring along enough coinage and we casually missed our opportunity to use the dinning car until it was too late. So here we sit, with too few coins and, even fewer, since Gene put the few we had into a machine that wouldn't give them back. There is a coffee stand, but no attendant. We consider stealing some, but that seemed like a bad idea. Luckily, we had breakfast at Peters 11 hours ago. Now I understand why Angelica wanted to take us shopping for food for the train ride. Yes, that would have been wise. Every one else on this train seems to have a warm crispy sandwich. Oh well, lesson learned.

Our mistakes make us laugh and realize how flawless our trip has been. What would travel be if it didn't test your wit and stomach.

We just crossed the border and entered Denmark, this is how we know...

People say “Ya” a lot.

The city names have letters that I have never seen before, in combinations that are impossible for an English speaker to say.

The sun has gone behind a cloud.

We are traveling along water, bridges and more water.

Yes, this must be Denmark!!

Post script-

We are safe and sound in our wonderful, temporary home on Hedebovej Road in a town we can't pronounce or spell, near Odense, Funin, Denmark.

Skaal!!

Reflections on Duisburg

Peter and Angelica placed us safely onto the correct train this morning at 6:46 (German trains are very precise), on our way to Denmark. Our Duisburg visit was everything I had hoped for. Gene got to climb in the trees, I got to spend a warm day in the garden and the cat, Benji, remembered me. We did not say “good-by”, just “see you later”, as we left our dear cousins. There were many highlights in Duisburg, here is the short list:

Seeing Mary Anne (90) and sharing her joy at meeting again, priceless. We are considering returning for her 91^st birthday next April.

Reconnecting with Peter, Angelica and Sandra and adding Marlon to our group of friends in Duisburg.

Skyping with Gene and Gloria, you should have seen Mary Anne’s face when she realized you could see her.

Skyping with Natalie and Craig- Loved seeing how big the baby is. Miss you guys.

Skyping with Caroline- What a surprise to hear your voice in the living room in Duisburg. Good to know we are so easily connected.

Going to the tree climbing park and seeing Gene’s enthusiasm for this new sport (new to us). Note the tiny spot up over the river in the netting, that’s Gene.

Going to the Neanderthal museum in the Neander Valley. Had no idea how little I knew about Neanderthals.

Having coffee in the morning, while American pop music plays in the background, and white wine in the afternoon on the sunny porch. Just like home.

Spending a warm afternoon at Peter and Angelica’s garden eating BBQ and playing 9-hole golf with Mary Anne, Sandra, Marlon and of course Peter and Angelica.

Spending our last evening at Tony’s Hutti, eating wonderful Croatian dishes and being surprised by the large (2 liter) bottle of wine they delivered to our table. Thought we couldn’t finish it, but with great enthusiasm, we managed. Grilled calamari and white fish in lemon sauce-.We won’t forget Tony’s attention to detail, sure made us feel welcome. (Tony is next to

Peter)

So, we leave Germany after a flawless 16 days. Heading out on our own. Let the travel challenges begin. So far, we don’t understand any of the train announcements and just hope we can make all of our connections to get us into Odense (pronounced Old-dense-a) by this afternoon. I am having fond memories of train travel as we pull out our laptops and activate our Eurail Pass. Time to write, relax and watch the sun rise through the fog.

Carol

Treasures of Duisburg

Duisburg is not a destination city or a sightseeing highlight. It is not even noted in the travel books, but there are treasures here that make it worth the visit. We visited with 90-year old Marianne today who is so full of life, it makes us feel so glad to know her. She sent greetings home via video with the eloquence of a news caster. The first shot, she was a bit shy, but once she got going, she was eager to share her experiences in German with her friends back home. And didn't hesitate in front of the camera.


She gave me a little spindle as a gift that is so sweet because it matches the spindle in her bedroom. We are "spindle mates" and both spindles are from Chemnitz, her birthplace. Very special experience for Gene and I.
















Our afternoon was spent in the Franke garden, enjoying a bit of bad-mitten, a few new beers, (they are trying to help us reach our goal) and a bar-b-que. We also got the whole group to play the card game "Golf" which seemed to become quickly competitive. Sandra and her boyfriend Marlon joined us so we had all of the generations enjoying a picnic together.


We also re-visited the sight of the Love Parade where 20 young people lost their lives shortly before Melissa and I arrived last year. There is now a moving memorial of the event and shadowy images have been painted on the tunnel walls to remind the drivers of the faceless individuals who lost their lives there.




















The group is waiting to teach me another new game, so got to go, but wanted everyone to know we are enjoying our time with the Frankes and are finding the treasures here in Duisburg.

Added note: Marianne skyped with Gene and Gloria tonight, she was so surprised to see them appear, she almost jumped. But once again, she rose to the occasion and chatted away to Gene and Gloria as if skype-ing was an every day experience for her. We all had a great day and Angelica won at "Golf".

Duisburg

Stefan delivered us safely to Duisburg. We said our good-by's to Sina and Stefan and were welcomed by Peter and Angelica. Peter's wonderful water-bed awaits us. We are getting closer to Denmark and hoping the weather holds.

This is the third household this week where a long abandoned Settlers of Catan game was hiding in the closet. So Gene and I are dusting off the Settlers games along our path and enjoying teaching this German game to the Germans.

Will skype with Natalie tonight, can't wait.

Carol

Wine and sunshine

We have had stunning weather. Almost too good to be true. Our hosts tell us that it rained all summer, so maybe we are enjoying the global environmental changes, as Germany gets wetter in the summer and warmer in the Fall. Whatever the cause, we have not yet needed our rain clothes and today, we took advantage again of the sunshine and headed to an outdoor attraction called Freilichtmuseum in Lindlar. Any guesses as to what kind of a museum this was? I will give you a hint. It is about the Bergisch kind of life in the 1800's. Still stumped? As the Germans are always saying, "let me try to translate for you".

Bergisch is the word meaning hill villages. Sina's family lives in the Bergischen Lands. Over the years, people in this part of Germany had a very hard life and developed a particular way of managing their tiny, hilly farms to make a living for their families. The historians are concerned about preserving the memory of life between the 1800's-mid-1900's, so they have re-located houses, barns, workshops and even garden plans from other hill villages and moved them to this hilly location to recreate a Bergisch village museum. The detail of their work is quite impressive. Some homes were moved along with all of the household belongings, furniture, dishes, etc. In some cases, families donate their family home to this project.



Since my childhood summers were spent on a small farm in Indiana, today brought back so may memories. The smell of the chickens and the ground corn reminded me of feeding my grandmother's chickens. I was always afraid of the roosters.

The old outhouse was exactly like the one in my grandmother's garden. The hand pump in the kitchen and large kitchen sideboard all brought back the Hume Farm. And the bathtub and fixtures were exactly like the ones we have in our current house in Redlands. It was a wonderful outdoor museum.

Tonight we prepared an American style bar-b-que for Sina's family and then attended a local handball competition. No rest for the travelers:) We fixed chicken and steak, Waldorf salad and corn-on-the-cob. Note to self; Europeans generally consider corn-on-the-cob animal food. Sina's parents had never tasted it before. They ate it graciously.

The picnic was sunny are warm and we even sat outside around a back-yard fire pit tonight, just like summer.



@graham (this is the German way to send a call out)... Stefan wore his navy blue Cal shirt today and every time I saw him coming, I thought it was you. It was strange to have your height and your shirt with us. Stefan is doing his best to replace you with his jokes and "garbage disposal style" eating.



@natalie..Saw a very cool basket swing for children today, made in the 1800's. Like a papasan chair only woven of soft string and without the cushion or the stand, so children can lay in it, hanging from a swing-set frame. Very comfy for several children.

@melissa.. If we had enjoyed weather like this last year, we may have never left Germany!!

Handball competition notes:
1. Don't forget to take your ear plugs. The intensity of the German fans with their fugazellas can be ear splitting.
2. Half-time music is always from Rocky movies, no matter where you are in the world.
3. Handball players take so many injury time-outs, you start to think they are faking it. (Though the sport makes pro football look like a sissy game) I can't believe I said sissy?!?!
4. Win or lose, a close game is always more fun, even when you don't know the teams or the rules. And doing a dramatic final kick through a line-up of huge guys seems like the right thing to do when there are 5 seconds left.
5. Hamburg beat the local team by 1 point, quite a game.


All is well with the travelers. Must confess, the beer challenge has gone to the way-side. We need to do it in Belgium where there are lots of types of beer. We topped out at about 10. Still enjoying the beers, but can't get much variety.

Wine is a different story, lots of varieties and plenty to enjoy. The Germans enjoy afternoon "Coffee" with cake. The English do "Tea", of course, and we have decide that those of us from Redlands do "Wine and Sunshine".

So, from Carol, enjoying the Wine and Sunshine on the terrace.

Some things are just funny

Just a few laughs from our travels.

We enjoyed this Ding-Dong-like treat today.












During the falcon show at Reichtburg Castle...This guy got more than he bargained for....


















Cologne Cathedral...one out of every 4 saints survives untarnished.

Cologne, Blood Wurst and Pig leg

The last time I visited Cologne, I hopped off the train, looked up at the cathedral, felt the rain and cold and hopped back onto the train. That was it, everyone told me I needed to see the cathedral and I did. It left an impression of dark, looming and cold.

Today, we spent the whole day in Cologne and I loved it. From the Chocolate Museum, Roman ruins, and our stroll along the water front. It was really a great day.

Gene and I even followed the local tradition of locking our hearts together on the Cologne bridge (along with 20,000 others) and throwing the key into the Rhine River where it lay on the bottom with all of the other keys. We did see a few combination locks, those must be for the undecided.

We finished our day at an old pub eating traditional Cologne food and beer. Gene had blood wurst, which is made of dried blood in a pate', yikes!! I couldn't look. Note the celery "head dress", must be intended to improve the appearance.

I had, what the waiter described as, a roasted pig leg. And it actually looked like a pig leg. So glad I am vegetarian most of the time. But I must say the slow-cooked, roasted ham was really delicious. And Gene literally gobbled down the blood wurst with sauteed apples and onions.
















In the end, I have changed my impression of Cologne. It is certainly more than just a big scary cathedral and the origin of Eu De Cologne. Lots of history from Roman times, to the nearly total deconstruction from WW II bombings and now a vibrant city. Amazing resilience.

Cheers!!

Final note: we are staying in the country, outside of Cologne, in the hill cities. Beautiful view. We get the day off tomorrow to enjoy the forest and catch our breath.

Odds and ends

We are now settled in Gummersbach, near Koln. We are up in the rolling hills where Sina grew up. Her family has welcomed us and put us up on the top of the world in their attic room. It is beautiful. Traveling with family is so wonderful, makes hotel hopping seem cold and unfriendly.

We will visit Koln today and perhaps see the famous Chocolate Museum. I am always up for a chocolate experience of any kind. The cathedral of course, and perhaps the sports museum.

We are moving north and can anticipate a bit more wet and cool weather. Though no rain yet.


My final thoughts about castles. They seem to be everywhere. We are sitting waiting for a train and there are remains of a castle, we look to the top of almost any hillside and there is another castle, some huge, some tiny remains, but always the same. And as you can see, I never get tired of photographing, yet another castle. This is just something you don't see every day in Redlands.










Also, we had a chance to Skype with Graham last night, totally awesome seeing him. Anyone else out there who wants to Skype, let us know. Our 10 pm is your 1:00 in the afternoon. We are usually settled and available about that time.

See you at the next castle,

Carol

The Rhine, Rick and Riesling

It is Wednesday, we have been overnight in Cochem (spoken with lots of throatiness) for two nights. Leaving the busy Rhine to enjoy the Mosel and the New Wine Season. We are staying at a winery which is very handy to the train station, thus we hear the trains throughout the night. Grape vines, loaded with ripe grapes, crawl up the hillside behind our room and the smell of juice is strong when the wind is right.

New wine is a new taste for us. Note the cloudy purple and yellow glasses. The grapes are crushed, put in a bottle and allowed to ferment for a day or two. I've been told not to try this at home, they explode under pressure.

The juice is light on alcohol, but heavy on grape, with a nice pre-wine flavor. It is traditionally served during late September and early October with onion cake. So we have been enjoying the tastes of the season with Caroline. It is called zwiebelkuchen and Deutsche federweisser, hence why we need Caroline along to order it.

In addition to the New Wines, we have had spectacular Rieslings. Everywhere we go, we sit down to crisp, fragrant, fruity Riesling. Our favorites tend to be the semi-dry. But I haven't met a Riesling I haven't liked yet.

Aren't they beautiful?

And my final note. Thanks to our friends, family and Rick Steves, we are having a wonderful chance to sip our way through the wine country.

Love you all,

Carol

About Castles

There are two kinds of castles. The kind hidden in the mountainside, hardly visible from the river, and the kind that sit like monuments on the top of the hillsides saying “Here I am, just try and conquer me!” We saw lots of both kinds today. I have named the Rhine castles myself, since the real names have far too many letters and sounds for me to remember.

The first we saw was “Camouflage Castle” can you find it among the green?

This next one is “Cabana Castle”, it is occupied by it’s current owners and has colorful cabanas on the patios, so un-castle like.

Then there was “Canon Castle”, (see the ruined castle below), we explored the ruins of this one. Canon balls were piled in the abandoned courtyard. Apparently, canon balls were so valuable, after the battle, they would send scavengers out to retrieve the canon balls from the battle field.

Further up the river was “Cat Castle and Mouse Castle” not my names. These two were perched on the river and apparently had fought like cats and mice for centuries. The little one on the right is the mouse.

The other thing about castles that we learned is that nearly all of them can be seen by their neighbors. Most are less than 6 miles apart. So becoming allies with your neighbors was critical to keeping the peace. Some were better at this than others.

The last one on this tour is the fighting brothers castles. These two brothers placed their castles side-by-side to be able to protect each other and then proceeded to fight viciously between themselves for generations. Sounds like brothers.

So much for castle lore. Three days of castles has been plenty. Certainly, they represent a time and history that you don't see everyday. The Rhine has treated us well, with only a few hours of rain and a couple of castle stops that turned out to be perfect.

On to the Mosel River tomorrow.

Up the Rhine

We leave early tomorrow for our river trip north on the Rhine. Please be patient with me as I leave the comfort and easy internet access we have enjoyed at Caroline's and take on the river. We are expecting rain and cold, but are still optimistic that it will clear up and give us a view of the castles.

We don't have any idea what to expect, so we have decided to just go forth and see what happens. No reservations, no definite plans, just faith in ourselves.

This is not vacation, this is travel.

Bobbie Cars

We were welcomed back to Weisbaden for the neighborhood party. Caroline lives on a hill and the kids ride little plastic "bobbie cars", like scooters that you sit on, down the hill. Once a year the neighbors closed off the street at both ends, bring in bails of hay to make a soft barrier at the bottom of the hill, and the kids use their worn out shoes from the last year as bobbie car brakes. The kids sit on the bobbie cars and fly down the street. We can hardly watch, they go so fast driving straight at the bails of hay. They usually drag their feet the whole way and it makes a really loud noise. The adults are all around on the sides, hoping the little ones can stop at the bottom, bar-b-q ing meat, drinking beer, and visiting.

Apparently, the only hospital visit was had by one of the adults trying to make sure the route was safe for the kids. It seems that it was a bit safer for the kids than the adults. He was discharged this morning in a sling (don't know what the diagnosis was) and was home bar-b-q ing his steak and drinking his beer this morning in the rain. Poor guy, missed the party.

As for us, we enjoyed an evening with the neighbors and stayed out under the heaters playing "Die Siedler Von Catan" with Stefan and Sina. Most of you know Gene is a total Settlers addict and it is originally a German game, so Stefan found it in their game cupboard and off we went with our erz (rocks), wald (wood) , lehm (bricks) and getreide (wheat) or at least that is what we think they are. I got the Langste Handelsstrasse to win the game.

We have two birthdays to celebrate this weekend, Stefan's and Sina's, so Stefan is making tiramasu for us. I guess the German tradition is to make your own cake:)

Gene and I are hoping for a clear day tomorrow as we head out on our own going up?, down?, with?, north? on the Rhine. You pick the expression you like. I think they call it "down the Rhine" to Amsterdam. Anyway, there will be lots of castles and delicious wines along the way.

Bon voyage

Drinking beer

Our day started with a walk to the Offenbach market, where we got peppers for the fajita dinner we will prepare on Sunday. The markets, grocery stores and shops are all closed on Sunday, so you have to think ahead. A new concept for those of us from the "open 24-hour" world. Stefan and Sina are making the tortillas from scratch (impressive), I will make Grandma Rachel's Spanish rice and Gene will do the vegi's and beef. We are eating meat from "happy animals" (not that any animal is particularly happy about being in our meal. But looking out for the humane treatment of animals is something Sina, Stefan, and many of you back home are concerned about). We are also careful to select "happy cocoa beans", made even happier with a shot of rum.

And had lunch at a Mc Donald's (only things we could find), where they serve Vegi Burgers, the ultimate in the "happy animal meal". Due to the Mc Donald's commitment to ensuring marginal nutrition with all of their meals, this whole wheat bun, vegi burger and tomato delight is simply smothered, inches deep in mayonnaise and catsup. Smothered....




After dropping Sina off for Laney's play date, (Chihuahuas would be crushed if they try to play with a normal sized dog, hence the Chihuahua play clubs) we drove to the highest peak in these parts and stopped for a different kind of "Happy meal". Apple strudel and cocoa with rum. Along with the cold temperatures and drizzly gray day, we got a taste of alpine wonder.

Side note on Laney: What a easy little creature. She goes with us practically everywhere, has little carrying cases, car seat, and lavender harnesses to keep her safe. She is just a trouper during our long walks. She has been allowed in almost everywhere us humans like to go, except the top of the sky scraper:( Don't understand it, but what is to understand when it comes to Chihuahua rights.

I am learning a lot about drinking beer. First, the dark, half liters can put you under the table quite easily. The light, quarter liters are small enough to drink before they get warm and provide a nice sleepy evening. My new favorite is the half beer-half grapefruit juice combination. At 2.5% alcohol you can drink them like water and still carry on a conversation, play settlers and do silly magic tricks without a worry. So, after 4 days of the "100 Beer" challenge, Gene is gallantly carrying the torch for this team with new beers at every turn, but I am settling in on my light-weight, delicious grapefruit friend. I have decided that counting castles is a little more my style.

Castle # 1- On our drive home from the mountain top, we took the scenic route and high above the little town saw this beauty. Mostly in ruins, it stands like a little history lesson above the otherwise contemporary town.



Castle # 2- Large and more complete than the first. This beauty was just a few miles from the first, no doubt they were friendly neighbors back 500 years ago. Note how the wall is just incorporated right into the playground and town building. You can see the layers of living from castle to split- rail to stucco. Really beautiful little winding roads and very elegant homes. When Sina wins the lottery, this will be where she buys a home:)

Must run, Uncle Vic is on his way for Stefan's birthday brunch and there is Spanish rice to cook and laundry to be done.

Cheers,

Carol

Frankfurt am Main

The biggest news is, Sina and Gene won 5-hole golf ! Disclaimer.... they were using Gene's new "Kindergarten Rules". Stefan and I have gone to the Golf Commission for a ruling.


Worst thing of the day was breaking Sina's tiny cream pitcher, it was soooo cute. It was her grandmother's. We feel terrible:( It is irreplaceable. Gene and I share the blame, I was talking with my hands, he was sneaking up behind me with this delicate china piece balanced on a tiny tray. You're right, entirely Gene's fault:)



Best part was taking our first river boat ride, walking the cobbled stone streets, seeing all of the "Mainhattan" skyline from 350 meters up and finding the apple pavement (original apple wine is only made in Frankfurt).







We are off to the countryside tomorrow.

Love to all,

Carol

Is anyone out there?

Melissa, if you are out there…. This photo is for you. We visited the cathedral in Mainz and I just couldn’t get you out of my head. Miss you.

Graham, Last night was for you. Home made Quiche Lorraine, a variety of white wines and robust political talk with the young and the not-so-young, liberal Germans and Americans. Doesn’t get better than that. Wish you were here.

Natalie, I think about you every day. Hope all is going well. We left without seeing you. But you, Craig and baby are in our hearts. Hope the days are getting cool and the nights aren’t too long. Keep in touch.

For everyone else in our lives, we are soaking it in, drinking it up and squeaking every minute out of the sunny days and cool nights.

We have moved to a suburb of Frankfurt and will be staying with Sina and Stefan for a few days. They will be our guides through this beautiful city. Sleeping under “sheets”, we call them feather beds, is so great. Thoughts of shipping feather beds home, keep dancing in my dreams.

I must say, I am enjoying the cool breeze coming through the window at night and the smell of Fall in the air. There is a huge car show in Frankfurt over the next few weeks, biggest in the world. Gene is ready to tackle the crowds to see the newest in electric cars, I think the river cruise sounds like a better option. Either way, our time in Germany feels casual and being with family is marvelous.

Final note. The beers are getting smaller, or I am learning how to order better, thank goodness, these half-liters are killing me. We plan to go to the neighborhood, beer party on Saturday. Small is beautiful.