Blogs from Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Europe

July 17, 2023 – Mark and Savannah arrive I wake up early, I know you are shocked. I arrive downstairs and a wonderful breakfast welcomes me provided by Swen and Eva. Yes, Kirsten and Bea are already having their breakfast. But I did beat Caroline. Ok, today Mark and Savannah are arriving around 12 pm from Düsseldorf by the end of breakfast that has now grown to 1 pm. I always thought those German trains were so punctual….I guess not. We discuss what to do this afternoon and we all decide to rent e-bikes and ride through the vineyards close to Karlsruhe. Done! Kirsten has reserved six e-bikes and we are to pick them up around 1:30 pm. Now we just must wait on Mark and Savannah. Swen picks up Mark and Savannah from the train ... read more

Die 3. Woche in Stuttgart ist erfolgreich zu Ende gegangen und ich fühle mich dort immer heimischer. Die Wohnung ist sehr schön und die Straßenbahn zu Kunden kenne ich mittlerweile auswendig. Letzten Sonntag habe ich dann einen Ausflug nach Karlsruhe gemacht. Dabei bin ich die A8 gefahren, die bei Pforzheim zwar noch nicht erweitert wird, aber immerhin ist eine Eisenbahnbrücke breiter geworden, und bei Karlsbad sollte die Baustelle bald fertig werden. In Karlsruhe habe ich meinen Parkplatz gut gefunden und habe meinen Spaziergang gestartet. Ich war ja schon 1994 und 1998 in der Stadt. Ich bin zunächst zu einem Starbucks, welches geschlossen hatte, bevor ich über den Marktplatz und der Kaiserstraße zu einem anderen Café dieser Kette bin, wo ich dann schließlich meinen Nachmittagskaffee getrunken habe. Von ging ich zum Bundesverfassungsgericht und dem Schloss und bin ... read more

So our blogs may be spaced strangely, but we have been very busy trying to snap photographs between the raindrops in Coburg, Bamberg and Wurzburg. We are, however, enjoying the gingerbread from Nuremberg, a product that they are well known for. Our days in Coburg were particularly enjoyable due to the proximity of our parking stellplatz to the old town. Just a few minutes walk and we were thru an ancient gate and into the area of half-timbered houses, fountains and statues, market platzes as well as the Ehrenburg Schloss, the beautiful gardens and old and beautiful churches We took full advantage of sun on our first day in town and spent the remainder of our days, running in and out of shelters from the rain and visiting indoor venues. My favorite experience was several hours ... read more

Karlsruhe, what can be said? Um, not a lot. Although it is a pretty town, there is not a lot to do here and I really should have known better when the town does not even feature in my Central Europe guidebook. Nonetheless, I arrived in town mid afternoon and promptly got lost – the instructions for locating my accommodation were to “follow the blue signs on the bike rack”. Okay, so I found the bike racks and naturally I could not find the blue signs so I was faced with a 50/50 should I go left or right? I went left, and with my bags in tow, walked almost 2kms before thinking this cannot be right. So, I turned and walked back the 2kms and still not finding any blue signs at the bike racks ... read more

I arrived in Karlsruhe, Germany (via Frankfurt) on Thursday. It has been a blast, walking the streets with Al, eating amazing food, gaining all the weight I lost during the trip...Oh well. The food is great here, Schnitzels, steaks, Turkish food, pretzels and coffee, chocolates, ...Kalsruhe is Germany's third largest city along the western banks of the river Rhine, close to the French border and about 1 hour train ride from Frankfurt. The German trains are world class. They are clean, high speed, and very high tech. Karsruhe is famous for its technical university, which is considered one of the oldest in the country. Karlsruhe is also considered the centerof justice of Germany with its appeals and constitutional courts. This city is also one of the warmest cities in Germany. The weather has been sunny and ... read more