We walked to Frankental again to get our 5 miles. It’s a nice stroll and you can find something new to see every time. Today we found a statue of “Der Treidler” along the path. A Treidler would pull (by hand and back) small boats down the River. Amy tried to help him. After our Wine-thirty treats, we took a taxi to dinner at a small restaurant owned and operated by friends of Britta and Osse. We tried some good German food (Wienerschnitzel and Rumpsteak mit Zwiebel (with onions)) and lots of fried potatoes. Brian got to try a local specialty of crepes with bacon, white asparagus and greens only grown here (Baerlauch). It's like wild garlic or ramps for you West Virginians. It was a very nice evening and it was late when we got ... read more

We arrived early with no lines or paperwork in Customs. It seemed too good to be true. Then we hopped a regional train to Mannheim. We took a Taxi to Aunt Eva’s and were there before lunch. Easy Peasy! Eva made us soup for lunch. We unpacked and took a walk around the neighborhood to stretch our legs. Amy found a playground to stretch in. Brian wouldn’t let her climb to the top because we aren’t part of the wonderful German healthcare system! Our Travel Gnome is with us and he made a few friends on the walk and in Eva’s garden. We had our traditional “wine-thirty” in the afternoon with Sect, snacks and mini-pizzas. Eva made us lasagna and salad. Britta, Osse, and Nick the dog came by to say hello and eat with us. ... read more

Our last day has arrived. We got up at 0530 to get ready, say goodbyes and be on time for our early van pickup. We’ll really miss our days with Aunt Eva and getting to spend time in person with Mom and Jerry. Our family in Germany is very gracious with their time, their energy, their ideas for excursions. and of course, their food and wine (!). They are truly what make our trips very special. We are a few years older and maybe our adventures now are a little more modest than our 2005 New Zealand glacier hiking, whale watching, and forest hikes. Despite that, we hope you found some fun trailing along with us. It was a great, low-key trip that focused more on visiting and that was exactly what we all needed. Hey, ... read more

Today we set out to visit a “Burg” in Southern Germany. Britta and Osse took us to Burg Berwartstein. Berwartstein "Castle" belongs to a category of rock castles that were part of Palatinate defenses during the Middle Ages. Stairs, passages and rooms are carved out of rock to form a complete living system which was essential to defending the castle. There’s a good story about one of the original owners, the Knight (Ritter) Hans Trapp. He was given Berwartstein as a fiefdom and became a robber baron. Kind of like Robin Hood but he kept the money, stealing from travelers and fighting with the monks in Wissembourg who felt he should not have the castle. His symbol was a raven, which is known for taking shiny things like rings. His legend grew with children in France ... read more

Today, Brian and Amy went to the “Luisenpark” in Mannheim. This is a big, beautiful park with flowers, gardens and animals. Very much like Central Park in New York City. It was too hard to bike there because it’s big city driving and you had to find a bridge to cross the Rhine. We took a taxi which cost a little more Euro compared to the bus/train but the convenience and speed couldn’t be beat (next time, we’ll learn the public transit system and buy day passes!). We lucked out with the weather. It warmed up just enough and the sun came out often. We walked through sculptures, roamed all kinds of gardens, saw the Chinese pagoda, visited all the animals (penguins for Amy and snakes for Brian!), played in the playgrounds, and even spent some ... read more