Travelinggirl

Friday, June 11th: All packed and ready to go to the airport!!! Had to leave a few non-essential items behind, but no big deal!  My mom and dad were scheduled to leave the same day because the trip to the airport, in Frankfurt, is a three hour drive (both my aunt and my uncle took us there…they probably wanted to make sure we really were leaving…LOL…kidding!)! Kenya’s and my flight was scheduled to leave at 10:00 a.m., and my mom and dad’s flight at 2:00. We got to the airport around 8:30, and saw that the security lines were really short, so we all decided to go eat our last breakfast together. We all got the exact same thing to eat: a platter that had a roll (with butter, orange marmalade and Nutella), a croissant, ... read more

Wednesday, June 9th: Yawn! Streeeetch!!!! Yikes…what happened this morning!? Another bathroom fiasco! I swear, I think my aunt and uncle are so ready to get rid of all of their house guests! Just kidding…they were so gracious during our whole stay…we NEVER felt like we were outstaying our welcome…except for this morning…if I were the home owner, I think I may have shown a crack in my composure…LOL. Here is what happened: I am not sure if I have previously described the absolutely stunning shower that my aunt and uncle have in their main bath. It is considered a shower that disabled people could use and roll their wheelchairs right into. The stall is all glass walls, about 8 feet high from floor to ceiling. The doors both open outward from the corner of the stall. ... read more

Monday, June 7th: You’ll never believe what we (well actually, it was my aunt) woke up to this morning? The sewer system had backed up and flooded the basement in the main house! When we woke up, we had no idea that it had happened…like I said before, my aunt is an AMAZING hostess…she never said a word and started cleaning up the terrible mess herself! Apparently, a couple of years previously, the city had come out and worked on the system, on the street, and may have caused the flow to drain at a trickle. Little did my aunt and uncle know this, because they lived in the home with just the two of them, they didn’t use the great quantities of toilet paper that us Americans are used to (probably use the bidet quite ... read more

Saturday, June 5th: Today was going to be a hot day! My mom, dad and uncle were going to take Margit home that morning, so, my aunt and I gathered the girls up and went to the local waterpark. I had fond memories of going to the pool with my grandparents, when I was little. They swam every day, rain or shine, in the huge Olympic sized pool. Recently, the city renovated the pool and made it a waterpark, both inside and out! It was completely unrecognizable from the memories of my youth! There were a total of four pools, three outside and a huge one inside. One of the outdoor pools had three levels of diving boards, and the girls wanted to go on the middle one so bad, but kept getting scared! By then ... read more

Thursday, June 3rd: Today, we got up a little later, and had a leisurely breakfast and walked Falco. We were going to go pick up my Mom’s cousin, Margit. Margit was the whole reason for our trip in the first place. She had turned 70 on May 1st, and we were going to have a big family reunion to celebrate. She lived approximately 2 hours away, in the hillsides of Bergkrahlingen (near Bonn). She lives by herself on a large plot of land in a cute little cottage. This was the day that we got up to 200 km per hour on the autobahn!!! That is 124 miles per hour! Whew!! I was holding on with white knuckles!  It’s amazing to me that a car can go that fast with 5 people and 1 dog ... read more