Germany Day 5

Sept. 14, 2011. I hope everyone appreciates these stupid journals that I'm losing sleep writing every dang night! It sure sounded like a good idea before I left, but I forgot how tired I would be after a full day of traveling and touring. Crap! Now I have chocolate on the mouse! [[[brief pause to clean mouse]]] OK now I'm done whining and will get busy!

Morning was an exciting rush of 6 women all getting ready in a room with one bathroom. Everyone handled it remarkably well and there was no bloodshed! Actually, it was rather fun in a summer camp kind of way. We breakfasted at the hostel dining room on cold cuts, cheese, bread, kiwi fruit, and cereal (well, I didn't actually have any of the cereal because you know my whole soggy food issues!) and hot tea. We loaded everyone and all the luggage (Dang, 18 people have a lot of luggage!) into the two vans and left Darmstadt. We were headed for Rudesheim on the Rhine River to take a river cruise. The drive took about an hour and a half, with a small detour when our GPS crashed and we missed an exit so had to 'recalculate'. Jens was our driver, and he attempted to teach us a German song. We we really pathetic - our German sucks! We liked the topic of the song: If the water in the Rhine were golden wine, and I were a fish I could be drunk all the time! Even with our detour, we arrived in Rudesheim in plenty of time to get aboard for our cruise.

The steep cliffs surrounding Rudesheim are covered in grape fields, row after row after row of grapes. It didn't seem like anyone could walk on those steep grades, but apparently they can and do. We could see tiny bright spots of color among the rows where workers were harvesting. We boarded a large boat - or ship - and the next two hours were like something out of a fairy tale! Picturesque towns clung to the banks on both sides of the river in a narrow stretch between the water and the cliffs. Sometimes there was only room for one street, with a few houses on either side.Cathedrals and churches and castles, oh my! Ehrenfels Castle, Rheinstein castle, Rheichenstein Castle, Heinburg Castle - it seems like at every turn of the river there was another castle rising from the rocky cliffs! The castles were built during the Middle Ages as defensive structures by powerful rulers to protect their estates and their inhabitants. Each has its own story, but those stories will have to be told later when I have the time to do them justice. Words cannot begin to convey the sheer beauty of this stretch of the river! The centuries of history, imagining the lives of the people that lived here and created these magnificent structures, the natural beauty of the river gorge - all of it combined simply took my breath away!

The river itself was fascinating to watch. Large ships, barges, small boats, ferries and kayaks were all going about their business on a river not much wider than the Rock River, but much deeper and swifter. The ships were ocean-going vessels, and could maneuver on that busy river more easily it seems than a small pleasure boat on the Mississippi. Rows of campers were lined up along the river in camping areas, usually just a row or two because that is all there is room for.

We got off the ship at St. Goar, and had a late lunch together at a lovely German restaurant. I had a really difficult time deciding between Saurbrauten and Goulash, but the Sauerbraten won out because it was served with red cabbage and spatzle and the goulash only had knodel. I have got to stop eating so much spatzle! I am going to pay dearly for these calories later, but its sooooo good! We had some time after lunch to shop a little. We saw the world's largest hanging cuckoo clock, and Deb looked enough like a German woman that a reporter tried to interview her! A short ferry ride to St. Goarhausen took us back to the vans, where Jens and Judy had driven them while we were cruising. Then it was on the road again to Heidelberg (giggle...remember hearing about Heidelberg on Hogan's Heroes?) and another youth hostel, a brisk walk to burn some of the spatzle calories, and a late dinner of salad at an Italian restaurant. How did it get to be so late so fast?! Shower, journal, bed! Guten abend!

Germany Day 4

Sept. 13, 2011. Today is a travel day. Breakfast was a hurried affair since we had to be at the train station for a 9:19 AM departure. We quickly ate an open-faced sandwich and drank a little tea, then grabbed our suitcases for a shorrt walk across the padlock bridge to meet the taxi. Herman, Christine and Gustl walked with us, and we said goodbye to Christine and Gustl at the bridge since she had an appointment to keep. It was hard to leave; Christine has been an exceptional hostess and we had a wonderful time in Regensburg! Herman had time to go with us to the train station to make sure we got on the right train, and many hugs were exchanged as we said goodbye to this fun, interesting man. He was going to spend the rest of the day bicycling to Kelheim and doing some repairs at Christine's office. I hope I am as active and vital as Herman is at 70; he is an inspiration!

From Regensburg to Nurmberg to Aschaffenburg to Darmstadt Main by train; from Darmstadt Main to Darmstadt Ohstbahnhof by bus; from Darmstadt Ohstbahnhof to the youth hostel on foot. Much of the time you could see nothing but trees along the train tracks so I dozed off and on. It looks so much like home here - the rolling hills and fields could be Illinois. The houses with thier red roofs and solar panels are different, but much else is the same. When we arrived in Darmstadt, we arrived in an entirely different world from Regensburg. Regensburg is a village, Christine kept saying. And how right she was! Darmstadt is a city - a large, busy, modern city. If the signs were in English it could be Chicago! As we waited for the rest of our group at the hostel, we could see rush hour traffic zooming past.

It turns out the group had gone out for an early dinner and were coming back for the evening as we were ready to go out. So Deb and I headed to the city center for dinner to Darmftadter Ratsteller Hausbrauerie, a restaurant recommend by Jens and Judy. It was on the edge of the city plaza, where we could sit in the biergarten and watched the locals go about their lives. The flower vendor had beautiful blooms for sale: fragrant lilies, lovlely dahlias, spiky gladiolus and best of all a huge cart full of pumpkins! There was a stack of blankets to wrap around customers' shoulders if they got chilly at the biergarten. Deb and I both ordered kasespatzle (spatzle with cheese and onions) was it was so good I decided to make it for our German Christmas dinner. The house beer was a light beer, and not as good as the dark ones I have had but I will continue to honor my vow to try a different house beer daily!

After dinner, we strolled the streets that radiated off the city center like spokes in wheel. It was a shopping area, and we found some familiar stores: Claire's Boutique, TJ Maxx and The Finish Line. There was also a Euro Store (like a $1 store but everything for 1 Euro) and a grocery store we browsed to see the different German foods. The moldy sausage looked disgusting, but everthing else was pretty normal and it was fun to see familiar foods with German labels. After window shopping, we walked back to the hostel and visited with some of our group for awhile. 6 of us women are sharing a room, so it should be a race in the morning to see if we can be ready on time! The group is tired after their flight, so I think it will be an early night for all of us. Tomorrow, we go to Ruedesheim for a boat trip on the Rhine, so we will see if it will be like a Tetris game to fit all of us and our luggage into the vans!

Germany Day 3

Sept. 12, 2011. Today was a little more laid back than the last couple days. Unfortunately neither Deb nor I got much sleep last night because after we went to bed at 1:30 AM, we laid awake and gabbed and giggled for a couple more hours. I have no idea why our bodies decided to revert to Illinois time again, but they certainly did! When Herman called us for breakfast we were so out of it we couldn't even get dressed and went to Christine's house in our pajamas! Herman had been to the bakery so we had fresh rolls, butter, fruits, meat, cheese and tea which is becoming our usual morning fare. Christine had to go to work, and Herman had plans with a friend so we were perfectly fine wandering around on our own. We had to catch up on some general organization stuff first - photos, journals, getting a misplaced debit card to Germany, and moving to the upstairs apartment - so it was lunchtime before we made it out for the day.

Another beautiful day was in progress as we made our way across the Danube and into town. It seems I get to wake up by the river often - usually the Rock River but these last few days the Danube. With no real plans for the day, we just walked around town, stopping at any shop or attraction that caught our fancy. When we found ourselves in front of St. Peter's Cathedral, we decided to take the city tour that we took on our first day here that we couldn't understand since it was in German; this time we asked for the English version and it was very interesting and informative. Some of the stories Christine had been telling us began to make sense and we saw the city landmarks in a new light.

From the 1,900 year-old Roman wall remains to the stone bridge built between 1135 and 1146 to the many ancient cathedrals and abbeys, we saw thousands of years of history unfold before us. During Medieval times, Regensburg was a major trade center and a crossroads for mercantile traffic heading to and from Italy and as far east as Kiev. With their growing wealth, Regensburg's merchants built elaborate patrician homes in the form of Italian fortified fortresses. Each showed off his wealth and prestige by trying to build the highest tower. Nineteen still stand today. During this period, the city's faithful built the Gothic St. Peter's Cathedral (a 250-year undertaking) and a multitude of churches and monasteries. Today, the large medieval center of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, preserving their heritage for future generations.

We enjoyed lunch at the Historiche Wurstkuche, an ancient sausage kitchen on the bank of the Danube. Sausages have been grilled over an open fire here for hundreds of years, and it is a required stop for anyone visiting Regensburg. We each had six with sauerkraut and sweet mustard on hard rolls. Delicious!

After lunch, we walked to the other end of town to see the Thurn and Taxis Museum, the palace built by the fortune made by the Thurns and Taxis with their postal monopoly. The palace has over 500 rooms and is bigger than Buckingham palace. However, we got sidetracked by the abbey church of St. Emmeram, built in the 13th century, This church was not only beautiful, but kind of spooky. There were dead people buried beneath the floor everywhere! There were also two glass display cases with what I swear were skeletons wrapped in gauze and decorated with clothes and jewels. Since the captions in the brochure were in German, I really couldn't tell for sure but it was so creepy that I loved it!

A little shopping followed as we strolled back through town, stopping at the 1,900 year-old Roman fort ruins to marvel at the ancient stones incorporated right into buildings in use today. With tired feet, we arrived at the apartment ready for a short rest. However, Christine had finished her work day a little sooner than planned so we left almost immediately for dinner. We joined her son Julian and some friends for pizza at an Italian restaurant, and for drinks later at a local bar. As we walked to dinner, and then to the bar, Christine told us many interesting stories about the buildings we passed, even pulling us into some to show us the best details. What a great hostess! It has been a wonderful 3 days and we are going to be a little sad to be leaving Regensburg tomorrow. But - we get to join up with the rest of our group and spend the next 2 weeks touring Bavaria! It's only just begun!

Germany Day 2

Sept. 11, 2011. Day 2 in Germany is winding down. It was a very full, eventful day! I had to figure out the covers situation last night (you sleep beneath a comforter instead of a sheet plus a comforter) and then I had to keep sticking random body parts out from underneath because I would get too hot. But I was totally exhausted and slept like I was dead. That is, until Deb decided to get up at 3 AM and blog and the light and typing noises were keeping me awake so I had to get up and find earplugs and an eye mask to get back to sleep! Good grief, doesn't anyone I sleep with stay asleep the whole night?! (Yes, Randy I'm referring to you!) Eventually Deb went back to bed and Christine woke us for breakfast at 9. She had prepared a traditional German breakfast with cut fruit (apples, melons and bananas), sliced lunch meats and cheeses, yogurt, wheat bread and butter, and hot tea. We ate outdoors with Herman on the deck with the sun shining and church bells chiming the hour.

When Stefan finally woke up (he had stayed at the wedding reception until 6 AM) we all hopped in the car to go to Kelheim. This is the town where Christine has her orthodontic practice, and it is a beautifully preserved old city with towers and gates dating to the Middle Ages on the banks of the Danube River. We boarded a large tour boat and cruised upstream through the Danube Gorge. The unusual rock formations along the banks of the river were spectacular, and it was fun to watch the locals out for a day relaxing on the river. They were swimming, kayaking, boating, floating and sunbathing on this gorgeous sunny day. The boat took us to the Monastery of Weltenburg, the oldest Benedictine Abbey in Bavaria. Founded in 620 AD, it has a beautiful Baroque church built between 1716 and 1751, and its own brewery. Weltenburg Abbey brewery is the oldest abbey brewery in the world. It has been brewing beer since 1050. Of course they also have a biergarten, which we now realize are simply everywhere here! On the boat back to Kelheim, we had a good view of a Franciscan hermitage from the 15th century (the sign said they have a biergarten too) and the high-water mark from the 100-year flood in 1999 which was clearly visible where the stone formations are almost white from the rushing water. We had a nice ice cream treat on the boat called a Cherry Lady, which had cherries on the bottom and chocolate chip ice cream on top, with whipped cream and a cookie. Yum! High above the town we could see the circular Liberation Hall, built from 1842 - 1863 to commemorate Bavaria's liberation from Napoleon and currently being renovated.

After our cruise, we drove to a town called Abensberg which is in an area used for the intensive farming of asparagus due to the optimal soil condition and climate. They also have a brewery (surprise!) and they have a unique tower and that is what we came to see. It is a fantastical, colorful, whimsical, Dr. Seussical type structure that was commissioned by the brewery owner and designed by an architect named Friedensreich Hundertwasser. It took many years to convince the town to allow this unique building which was considered an eyesore in their historical village. It is now a busy tourist attraction, and we sat in the ubiquitous biergarten and enjoyed this fun cartoonish tower. I kept thinking of James and how he likes towers - he would have been in tower heaven! I loved this silly building and decided how dangerous I would be if I had money - I would be putting one up in my backyard and adorning it with Dale Chihuly sculptures and scaring the hell out the neighbors. Oh geez, who am I kidding? If I had money I wouldn't have any neighbors - I would have my own island and it would be covered with crazy, weird stuff!

On to Eining, and another world entirely.We traveled from a magical, futuristic tower to ancient ruins from Roman times. Above the Danube, the Romans had built this outpost to defend their outer borders 2,000 years ago. The footings of the buildings, from barracks to baths to store rooms, are still there. They have recently been cleared of brush and trees and had signage added to explain what you are viewing. We were the only visitors there, and it was so quiet and peaceful (except for the voracious mosquitoes!) that we lingered quite awhile. It was incredible to imagine what had occurred on that spot so many centuries ago, and that we could be standing on the very footprints of Roman soldiers. Awesome!

While on the road, we passed some hops fields. This area is famous for its hops, and we wanted to see them growing up close. Stefan and Christine indulged us and slammed on the brakes, and after we took some pictures we got a bonus because the farmer pulled up to start harvesting! They hop vines grow climbing up wires, and the harvester cuts the vines, wires and all, and the whole plant falls into a wagon. It was a short, fun stop to see this crucial part of German beer making.

Next stop - the Danube again at Eining. There is a ferry there that moves across the river on a cable powered only by the river current. For 1 euro you can take yourself and your bike across, and for 2 euros you can take your car. It only holds one car at a time though. We sat in the biergarten (yes, they have one too!) and had some baked trout, potato salad, pretzels and cheese. And beer - I had a Kuchlbauer dark beer from the brewery where the funky tower is. The beer here is very good. If you grew up with this stuff you would never let a Budweiser, much less a Busch Lite, pass through your lips!

I was a little dozy on the ride back to Regensburg, but this was the last day of the fair in town and Deb and I were determined to see a little of it. We leapt out of the car at Stephan and Christine's and walked to the fair. It was 9:00 and they closed at 10:00, so we power shopped at the little market stalls. I got a couple souvenirs for the family, but I won't say who and ruin the surprise! A thunderstorm was blowing in, and as the wind freshened and the lightning flashed we shared a long skinny sausage on a roll and raced for home. We didn't quite make it, and got home wet but happy from the exciting day. A hot shower, and some journaling, ended this day for me. I hoped to get some photos uploaded but that may have to wait for another day. Tonight, sleep calls!

Germany Day 1

Sept. 10, 2011. My first day in Germany is about over. I'm exhausted but when I look at the time on this computer it is only 2:40 PM! That's the time at home, however. Here it is 9:40 PM and we just got home from dinner with Christine Hieronymus and her husband Stefan. We ate at a beer garden and I had sauerbraten and spatzle. It was delicious! The house dark beer was very wheaty tasting and good. This afternoon we walked around Regensburg with Christine and Stefan and the dog Gustl. They can take those dogs almost anywhere. There were even dogs at the airport just walking around with their owners and picking people up etc. The flight from Chicago to Munich that was supposed to take off at 6:15 Friday evening actually left at 7:30 due to computer problems. They had to reboot and we were left in the dark and without air conditioning for a little while. If we had know this in advance we wouldn't have had to rush through O'Hare like madwomen and wolf down a Mickey D's snack wrap for dinner trying to get on the plane on time. It was a full flight - well it was full 15 minutes after we were supposed to depart and a few more people wandered aboard. We thought we were being lied to about the computer problems and they were really waiting for the late arrivals. But it seems there were really problems after all. Finally got going for the 8 hour and 12 minute flight. The pilot must have said that a dozen times. "The 8 hour and 12 minute flight..." Anyway, when we finally landed (and I'm sure it was 8 hours and 12 minutes to the second) we couldn't find Christine who was supposed to be meeting us. Finally after 2 phone calls Deb located her and we got on our way to Regensburg. Well after we located the lost keys we finally got underway! We drove on the Autobahn and once we got out of the traffic jam Christine got her Beamer up to 130 km per hour. How much is that in mph I wonder? When we got to Regensburg we put our things in Christine's guest house and went our to see the city. It is a very old Medievel city and has been declared a world heritage city for this reason. The buildings are very old and full of character. Christine is very proud of her city, and showed us many beer gardens and restaurants and shops. We took a bus tour of the city but somehow didn't realize we needed to ask for headphones so we could hear the tour in English so although we saw a lot of the city we couldn't understand a word and consequently had a difficult staying awake. Hey, we had been awake for a very long time at that point. And plane sleep isn't like real sleep! I had a really good hazelnut ice cream cone for a snack. (Plane food isn't like real food either!) Regensburg is along the Danube River; in fact Christine and Stefan's place is right on the Danube. They said there is a real problem with dampness in the house since the river is so close. I didn't ask about flooding at their house but I will try to remember tomorrow. She showed us the high water line on one of the beer garden kitchens so they do get major flooding. I found 2 Halloween books for only 1.5 Euros each so that was my first German purchase. I also saw one of those spinny candle things you usually find at Christmas but it was Halloween. If it was wooden I would have to have it but it was metal so I don't know if I need it that bad. St. Peter's Cathedral is magnificent.There are whirlpools behind the bridge that didn't look all that dangerous but we saw suck down a piece of trash like it was being pulled straight down to hell. Scary! Padlocks on the bridge with couples' names are so cute - they throw the key into the water after locking the lock onto the bridge. Deb just pointed out that we have not been gone from the US for a full 24 hours. Yesterday at this time we were sitting at the QC Airport waiting on our first flight. Dang it seems like forever ago! Not having any real sleep since I got up at 6 Friday morning is so exhausting. I have already tripped on a little step in the apartment and fell so I have an injury already. I am such a klutz! There is chocolate on the pillow so that makes it a little better. Deb is thinking about going to mass at the cathedral tomorrow morning but I would hate to go and have lightning strike that beautiful building! Gustl is barking now since Stefan and Christine left for a wedding reception nearby. BTW we met Stephan's dad Herman today and he biked like a million miles to get here. Well maybe not that far but I am really tired and can't think of how far it is since we have to deal with that whole miles vs. kilometers thing and I am just not up to it right now. He is a stitch, however and reminds us of Grandpa Belshause. He hardly speaks any English but is so friendly and fun. Well this recap is backward and inside out but jet lag is making me feel that way so that is how it goes on my first day in Germany!