Coming Home

We woke up at 4:00 to get ready and out the door by 5:00. Our hotel called for a taxi and it seemed to appear out of nowhere. Smooth sailing to the train station and on to the airport.

It some ways even though things go smoothly it still seems to be a bit difficult, just making sure we are on the correct train, etc. We couldn't find many English speakers, or maybe people just didn't want to help. We realized we needed to validate our train tickets as the people were boarding. These trains stop and leave very quickly, so you have to be ready. We remembered the validation process from Italy, but we were not sure about Germany and we didn't see any validation machines. Luckily someone who spoke English did hear me asking and looking and pointed out the machine. I stuck them in as fast as I could hoping to get on the train that Monte and Paige had just boarded. I was happy I made it too! It is always hard when you're carrying luggage, and trying to figure everything out too.

We arrived with a comfortable amount of time so everything went fine. I was a bit concerned as we boarded our flight when I heard a father tell his little kids they were in row 16, and we are 17! But I shouldn't have let that bother me. Instead I should be concerned that we have about six kids within three rows of us between the ages of 1 1/2 and 6. This may be an interesting flight. The single dad is with 2 kids, one maybe 3 and one maybe 5 siting directly in front of us with only himself across the isle. Hope it all goes ok. The sneezing and coughing I hear concerns me less. The joys of flying!



We are 4 hours in and the kids have been great so far. The beauty of computers and movies! They have ear phones and movies on the ipad.

We are getting hungry..surprise, surprise! Glad we grabbed a bit of food before we left, but our flight left at 9:30 and it is 1:30, shouldn't there be lunch by now, and what about the Baileys I was expecting? This time no chocolate, no wine, and no Baileys. I hope they step it up soon or my last impressions of Air Berlin may change!

We are now at 3:15, finally got some hot food, wine and Baileys. Whoo! I feel better!

Had some beautiful views out of the airplane: icebergs, mountains, snow plains, most in Canada. We missed Iceland, which I bet was gorgeous.








Maybe I'm fooling myself, but it seems to me this flight wouldn't be too bad if we didn't have to get up so early. But, I think the jet leg is worse this direction. I guess well see. Ah oh...baby crawling up the isle!


Lucky for us the new iPad has a 10+ hour battery. The kids nearest to us used it all.

We arrived on time and took a shuttle to the hotel in SF. We did a park and fly hotel package, but decided to stay at the hotel the last night since our departure wasn't until the afternoon. We got to the hotel at 1:30, but considered driving home since we all felt pretty good. I encouraged Monte to stay, at least for a couple of hours to get some sleep before we drove home. We tried, but felt so wired we just decided to leave at about 2:30. We figured we'd run into traffic since we were in the Bay Area on a Friday. But, we forgot it was a holiday weekend until we were underway. Wow...a lot of traffic! It took us 4 hours to get home. We picked up dinner and were asleep by about 8:00. I think by that time we had been awake 25 hours! I don't even remember giving myself an injection (those great meds) and when I woke up at 11:30 I thought I had forgotten. I couldn't find my syringe and then found the package in the garbage, so I knew I had taken it. Weird to be that tired!

When we got home we found out from Megan our house-sitter that our cat had been eating a lot of food. She had also heard some different sounds in the house but the cat was in the room with her and the dog was at dog vacation camp, so it wasn't them. She couldn't find any problems until one night she opened the side door to find a raccoon staring at her. He had been coming in through the cat door! Good thing Megan was staying here or the raccoon could have been getting into more than just cat food!

It is good to be home...I think...?? We loved our trip and already started planning the next one. But, nothing beats home sweet home!

Until next time.......




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Location:45,000 Feet

Our Last Day

We left our B&B, here are the owners:



When we left he pulled out a hankie and pretended to cry and wipe tears and then said "shit, shit". I'm not sure if he really understood the translation of shit!

We drove to Koln (Cologne) today to return our car and see the famous cathedral. Our drive was wonderful along the Mosel River and then the Rhine. It was a beautiful sunny day, temperature in the low 70's. We decided to find our hotel and drop our bags before returning the car which was located near the cathedral. I don't know what it is but big cities with tons of cars, bikes, two lanes where one lane turns into parking unexpectedly, all of it kind of freaks us out. It really takes two people to drive, one to yell, "Watch out! And the other one to drive the car! It really is amazing we didn't kill someone on this month long trip...whoops, did I day that out loud? We are thankful Monte is a skilled driver.

So anyway, we found the hotel ok, but parking on the street was difficult. We finally found a place, paid for parking and went in to get our room. They told us they had a garage we could use so we figured it would make it easier to get our bags into the room. Someone had to use a key to let us into to the parking garage. Have you ever seen those lots on TV where your car goes into an elevator and then it is parked within a couple inches of the others...yep! That is what we did. Very interesting. We got our bags to the room and then had to get the attendant to help us get the car back out. A bit scary, but we did it.

We didn't mention in the blog that we had a rental car issue. When we picked up the car in Munich, it was late afternoon, we drove it from the dark garage, and then we were on our way. Sure we hadn't slept much in the last 24 hrs or so, but we drove fine and made it to our B&B ok. We parked in a lot for the B&B where there was only a couple other cars, and we were on the end. Anyway, the next morning Monte was up early, before breakfast, and went out to get coffee. When he returned he noticed a large scrape along the side of the car. I mean a large scrape, like12 inches from top to bottom in a white paint color, and probably 5 inches wide. We couldn't believe it! We never remembered hitting anything, no one had parked next to us, there was no chance it could have been something we did....or could it? We were so tired, could we have hit something and not known it? So, many thoughts were going through our head...do we call our insurance, call the rental car company, call the agent who set up the rental? We did not have a phone and didn't want to spend time worrying about it, so we decided to let it go and deal with it when we turned the car in. All day today we were thinking of what to say, will they believe us if we say we didn't do it, how much will it cost, etc. It has been on our mind the last month. Not to mention our parking brake got stuck (it works by a button) and we couldn't get the gas tank cover off- push button that wouldn't open, even though we had done it many times. So it is clear we were not having a love affair with this car!





So we went to return the car, drove around and around trying not to kill someone and finally found a small sign. We drove in and still couldn't find it. Monte got directions and just walked since we had found a parking place. He says he would never have found it without help. To make a very long story short, there was small writing on our contract noting the damage to the car, so we didn't do it! Even though we were sure we didn't, we didn't know how we would prove that. So, we felt much better! It would have been nice had they mentioned it to us when we first got the car. Oh, well.




We walked to the train station to find out what train we need to get us to the airport. We had no option of return flights, it is only at 9:30, so unfortunately we have to get up by 4:00am, be out to call for a taxi for the ten min ride to the train station, take the 40 min ride, catch the shuttle to the terminal and check in 3 hours early. Well, I was hoping to avoid all this, but what can you do? Maybe we'll sleep well on the airplane.





After dropping our car we walked to the cathedral. It was amazing! We didn't get any information about it, but just looking at it was fantastic. We spent about an hour inside, then decided to walk back to our hotel. And of course, nothing is easy when you travel. So it took awhile to find the right street and it began to rain. Luckily, yesterday we picked up a cheap umbrella since it looked like possible rain. Our raincoats did arrive by mail yesterday but we didn't get them until the end of our day, and today we dropped our luggage at the hotel without thinking about raincoats. It had looked sunny and nice. So our 7€ umbrella was worth it.

We had a nice dinner at the hotel; we are packed and ready for our 4am call.


Makes you appreciate our "all you can drink" soda! This is the size of a coke. Funny how the beer portions are not a problem!


Small elevator! We could hardly put ourselves in much less our luggage.


This was more of a business day just getting ready to fly, but still a fun and exciting day. Many interesting people here in Koln, reminds me San Francisco, if you know what I mean.

A GREAT trip! We have loved every minute! So thankful we have had this opportunity in our lives!


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Location:B9,Cologne,Germany

Mosel River Day Three

Today we decided to go to the tourist areas of the Rhine River, St. Goar and Bacharach. We took a river boat cruise between the two. The weather was much nicer today, overcast with misty rain occasionally. It was fun walking around the villages. No crowds at all, anywhere we have been. In fact, yesterday we ran into an older German couple we had talked to the day before and as they noticed us they said, "Oh, the Americans".

It was really fun to see all the castles along the river. They are amazing and there are so many. Again we loved watching the cargo barges and river boat cruises. The villages are again those storybook kind, we never seem to get tired of them.






This is me leading my tour group












We did have a different experience today. While we were driving Monte had a guy following that kept trying to pass, but didn't. So, when he found a space he pulled over to let the guy pass. When we pulled over he did too. He got out of the car and motioned for us to stop, he was wearing a police uniform. He came up to the window, hands down on our car door and said something in German and Monte told him he only speaks a bit if German. Then the police said "Can I help you?", not in a friendly manner. Monte explained he was just letting him pass and that we didn't need his help. He said ok, have a good day, then left. It was weird. His car was unmarked and Monte said his uniform said captain on it. He thinks the guy was having a bad day and would have chewed us out if we were German, but I'm not sure what for, maybe going too slow...we were going speed limit!

We also got lost and Monte asked a guy for directions, instead he said follow me, I'll take you there. Nice guy.


Of course we had our usual breakfast, ate lunch at 2:00 (and found a place open, maybe because it is more touristy -sandwich, soup, and a personal size German pizza which is really good). Then we had cake at 4:00, because it is tradition, you know, and then our light dinner turned into a full course dinner...because it was our last chance! Then we walked around town as we have for the last couple nights. Nice to have it cooler.



Tomorrow we return our car, train to our hotel, see the cathedral in Koln, then fly home on Friday.





Paige was feeling sad tonight knowing that we are leaving. It is sad to think we may never see the same places again, but you never, we may, or we may find even better ones!

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Location:Briedern, Germany

Mosel River Day Two

Monte had not really considered looking for a B&B with air-conditioning in Germany. He was thinking it would cool and possibly rainy. Think again! It was quite warm yesterday and even hotter today. When we left the states it had been cool, so we never did get use to the CA heat. And then here, there is no air-conditioning. The only cooler places are stone churches. We are also on the third floor of our B & B and the temperature raises considerably with each floor. But, it does make the view beautiful!

Today we took a boat ride up the Mosel, walked around Cochem, a village a couple towns away, and then decided to get in our air-conditioned car and drive around.
This is the castle in Cochem, a view from the boat ride.








It is expected to get to about 39 degrees C, about 95-100 F. We found a nice place to sit in the shade and enjoy the view of the river. We came home and are napping again. I'm beginning to think we are mostly eating and sleeping! But, what better thing to do while you are on vacation!

I think Monte was hoping we would be able to see lots of castles, but there are only a few in this region, but they are dramatic and the surroundings are beautiful.







I think we will eat at the same place as last night and hike up the hill again. It was very enjoyable, one of those places you just can't stop taking pictures.

Dinner was great again, we had a fun time hanging out together. I think we are beginning to get more goofy as time goes on. We are now starting to take weird pictures of each other, like up the nose, my giraffe neck, Montes hairy legs, etc. we then have a great laugh about them. Petra, our dear friend speaks very good English but is so cute when she gets things wrong. Of course we would never tease her about it, but we think it is so cute that we have taken to copying her. She says, " they hard work, they become the money, and it is finished!" - (this means someone retired) Our friends Marco from Verona, Karstin from Germany, both say, "ez fantastic"! These are silly fun things we say to each other.

We have a bathroom at this location that has motion sensors that will set off a fan. It is very annoying because it gets turned on so often, even just walking by. So Monte and I have a game to see who can get in the bathroom the furthest without setting it off. We are currently tied. As Monte says, simple things amuse simple minds.







Even with the heat so bad today we saw many people still out cycling. And, I don't mean young athletic men, I mean some very old, very gray people. It amazes me that the heat doesn't stop them, it sure does us!

Our host brought in a fan for us to use in our room tonight. It sure is nice to have, but we actually did ok last night. I hear it is suppose to be thunderstorms. So, that could be fun!


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Location:Briedern, Germany

Mosel River

We arrived to our nice B & B around noon. A beautiful day, very warm. We have a gorgeous view of the Mosel River from our room.



Monte wanted to stay here over a cheaper place I had found and all he can talk about is how nice HIS choice was! It is nice, but expensive. But then, all of our places have been very nice, all my choices!

We took a quick nap and then decided to and find food. We drove about 10 min into Cochem, a larger village, and found a stand to buy bratwurst and french fries.



Our first encounter with someone rude, a young guy that just had an attitude. It was quite surprising since everyone has been very nice so far, even in France.



We sat on a bench near the river and watched as river cruises and other boats went by and just people watched. After awhile we were getting pretty hot and decided to go back to our b&b and put shorts on. But, then we decided to take another nap. We sure seem very tired for not doing much. Maybe it is old age!






We just had a knock at our door, a phone call from our last "hotel". I guess Kerstin got home from work and noticed our raincoats in their closet. She ran them to the post office and called us here at this B&B! They should arrive on Wednesday. That's the best hotel service we have ever had!

Dinner is one of our favorite experiences, so we decided to try a restaurant in a nearby village called Belstein. It is a popular tiny village right on the river. Many tours and river cruises stop there even though the population can't be more than a hundred or two. We thought it would be better to visit after most of the tourists left. Our dinner was great. I had veal, Paige had a local mushroom in season (sautéed with potatoes) and Monte had a beef dish, all had wonderful sauces. I was hoping to enjoy some good German beer, isn't that what Germany is known for? Well, i guess in Bavaria. I couldn't even order a beer for dinner, they only have wine, local wine. I don't kow what i was thinking.







We will have to be on a major diet when we return! We are not getting the exercise we did on our last trip.


After dinner walked through the village and found steps that took us up to the top near a church. The view was breathtaking. There are steep hills all around with vineyards as far as you can see, and the Mosel River running through it. You can see villages scattered in the distance. As we were admiring the view we heard a helicopter in the distance and then noticed him getting closer. If we were close to Hollywood I would have though they were filming a movie. That helicopter was coming straight for us. I almost wanted to run, then we noticed that he was a crop duster for the vineyards. It was amazing watching him fly up and down the steep hills. We found ourselves unable to leave being so captified by it. Then we walked back down and sat by the river. We noticed many locals cling out to sit and watch too.
















A great day!


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Location:Briedern, Germany

The Simon Inn (our friends Kerstin and Karstin)

It seems that with each move the weather turns, usually to a light rain. It happened again on our way to the Simon Inn. We had such a nice welcome with balloons at the door and welcoming notes throughout the house. We even had towels folded on our beds with notes for us, coffee and cake waiting. We had a very nice time catching up over several hours, then we had dinner. We loved our German style BBQ! There were many different courses of kabobs, bacon wrapped meat, lamb, figs with bacon, etc, all with fresh herbs. It was all delicious! We were up until midnight again, just talking the evening away.









The next morning after a wonderful German breakfast and more relaxation, we set out for the Rhine River. It was a beautiful warm day, almost too warm. We walked through the cute village, had an ice cream cone of reisling ice cream, walked through a castle with its beautiful gardens, then decided to sit at a cafe right on the river. We had drinks, mine was like a wine cooler with basil and lime.









We enjoyed great conversation and a beautiful view of the river, and watched boats coming and going. After an hour or so we walked through town to another cafe for cake and coffee. It is a tradition to have cake and coffee between 3-4 o'clock. It was wonderful again.



After more talk and more relaxing we were off to see more of the village and then decided to go to a monastery. They were having a televised concert that evening. We watched as people were arriving all dressed up up in their formal attire.






Due to the concert we where not able to tour the monastery, but just the grounds. It was beautiful with vineyards all around. Then we decided to head off to a local village for their wine festival. It was held in their village center.












There were tables set up, vendors selling food, wine, beer, etc. and a band playing. It was quite an authentic German experience. The village must not have been bigger than a couple hundred people, so probably half the village showed up. The older people would sing along with the band, and after a few drinks they got up to dance. Kerstin told us that all Germans learn the fox trot and waltz, and boy could those old people dance! As we were leaving, one old gal told us to come back the following day at 10:00 for a beer festival they were having! Those Germans love to party!

We ended the day with more conversation before bed. The following morning Karstin took the morning off work to feed us breakfast and see us off. It was a really wonderful time with friends that are precious. Seems like we have known them for 30 years, yet we met them once 2 years ago and enjoyed dinner with them twice at that time. We feel fortunate to have them as our friends, and to have been so welcomed.





A must do while in Germany.......drive on the autobahn with a German!
ZOOM...ZOOM!

Off to the Mosel....oh no...we left our rain coats at the Simon Inn!


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Location:Im Spieß,Neu-Anspach,Germany