We had an early breakfast at 6am so we could catch the airport shuttle back to Frankfurt at 7am. It's a good thing we left early, because traffic was at a standstill around the city. Still got to the airport in plenty of time. Peggie and Jerry had to wait much longer since their flight was later in the day. We're sure our driver was trying to be helpful, but he sent us to the wrong place. We asked several times but he kept telling us that United was in Terminal 2. We still had a weird feeling as we dropped [View Full Entry]

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Our bed and breakfast Hotel in Wetter includes quite the breakfast - everything you could think of with fruit, muesli, yogurt, meats, breads and cheeses. Amy, as usual, can’t resist the bread, salami and cheese but she woke Brian up with her choice. We were sitting at breakfast and he kept wrinkling his nose saying “What IS that smell!?” It turns out, one of the cheeses was some kind of stinky Limburger - it had to be removed from the table for the good of all. We all gathered to be picked up at 10am to go back to Gabi’s but [View Full Entry]

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Today was our last day in Eva’s home in Edigheim. After packing up our gear, Karin and Roland picked us all up for the trip to Amonau where Gabi and Henry and their family live. Gabi and Henry worked hard all week preparing for the big party to celebrate Gabi’s 50th birthday. They live in a wonderful old house and barn that Henry has done lots of work to remodel and restore into both a home and Physical Therapy practice for Gabi. The barn area is a perfect place for a party. They also own the historic home next door. Gabi [View Full Entry]

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Feeling a little more adventurous today, Brian and Amy hopped on the bikes and set out for the River Rhein (Rhine for us in the USA.) Thanks again to Britta and Osse for the loan of their bikes and some tips for interesting sights! Originally, the plan was to just ride a short bit to visit the Rhein and have a picnic at a little lake close-by. After a 15 minute ride to find the river, we were standing and looking out over the water and, from around the bend, up swam a border collie right to Brian at the beach. [View Full Entry]

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Brian and Amy went for a run/walk and had some breakfast with Peggie, Jerry, and Eva in the morning. Amy's gone back to healthy oatmeal for breakfast but it's hard to turn down "brotchen" (great crusty rolls)", cheese and salami. Brian's weakness is the liverwurst on black bread. Plus, sometimes, there is "speck" (bacon) - bacon is gooood. We better walk more. After yesterday’s bike to ride to Frankenthal to pick up more Euros, today we returned to Frankenthal to spend them! We all loaded up into Eva’s car and she drove us to town for some shopping. She dropped us [View Full Entry]

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Amy on the mend - Hurrah! We got up early to go for a run (for Brian) and a walk (for Amy). Then, in the afternoon, we biked to Frankenthal in search of the magical Deutsche bank ATM which gives us money for no fees. We got there, had great maps and knew EXACTLY where we were. The problem is we didn’t know exactly where the Bank was. We “phoned a friend” and found out that the “Colleen Deal Google Search Helpline is equal to the “John Kriz Map and Direction Service” which was closed for the moment. Thanks for the [View Full Entry]

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Amy’s started to come back to life a little. Today she had a mid-day massage in the close-by spa town with both hot and cold stones. We’re hoping this chases the last of the germs away. While Amy relaxed, Brian, Peggie, and Jerry walked around Bad Durkheim. After Amy was finished, Karin picked us all up and we drove to the historic town of Speyer. The town was the home of German Emperors with some of the earliest architecture dating to the 1200s. Karin, Brian, Peggie and Jerry walked around the town, while Amy stayed at a café both to rest [View Full Entry]

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Boy, the Germ in Germany isn't fooling around. Amy still feeling "mir ist schlecht" - that means like crap. When she wants her Mom to bring her ginger ale and crackers, you know it’s serious. Aunt Eva found some magical meds that Amy started taking today and by the afternoon some of the fever and flu seems to be fading. She actually got up and moved around. Now it’s just a cold so we might be back in the game tomorrow. We managed to all go out to Dinner in Frankenthal with Brian’s cousin, Uli. We ate at a very small [View Full Entry]

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Amy started feeling a little weird last night but today was officially down for the count - wicked sore throat, stomach pain, and achy bones. She slept for almost 24 hours and had to break out the old remedies - drinking hot tea and gargling salt water. Everyone one else needed a day of rest too, so it worked out okay. Did laundry, read books, watched it rain, caught up on the blog. Tomorrow we’re going to take it easy as well until we’re all back to fighting strength. Happy Father’s Day to Amy’s Dad, Randy, and hope all of you [View Full Entry]

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We slept in a little and then piled into two cars for a day-trip to France. We drove to a town in the Moselle area of France, named Bitsche in German, Bitche in French. On the hill in Bitche, there was a citadel converted into a museum with an interactive and historical tour. They had a very interesting set-up for visitors - you put on cordless headphones that pick up signals in any language. They guide you around the old rooms and you follow the story of a French soldier during a siege in by the Germans in 1870. Once inside, [View Full Entry]

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