Follow our Flitterwochen

---

"Flitterwochen" is the German word for "honeymoon." I just love that word! On Labor Day, Rob and I will be leaving for a 10-day honeymoon trip, mostly in Germany. No, Hawaii was not our honeymoon -- we just went there to get married and there was little time for sightseeing or exploring!

Internet access in Germany could be a problem -- we just don't know if it will be available in the smaller "mom and pop" hotels or how much it will cost (if it's an "arm and a leg," we will look for a Starbucks or Internet cafe in Heilbronn and Munich). That means we may not be able to post daily. I bought a small Acer netbook for the trip, which is lightweight and easy to pack, so we'll be able to check out our photos as soon as we take them.

We are flying into Zurich, as that was cheaper than flying directly to Munich (even though we change planes in Germany)! Rob has plenty of experience with driving on the autobahn, where the advisory speed is 80 mph with no speed limit. So we'll be renting a car, and following our own itinerary -- no tour groups for us! Hopefully, my broken German will be sufficient to help us to do what we want.

We are driving in a big loop, starting and ending at Zurich. Stops along the way, going clockwise, will be: Triberg (in the Black Forest), Heilbronn, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Ansbach, Dinkelsbuhl, Farchant/Oberammergau, Reutte (Austria), and Pfronten. Oberammergau will be the highlight of the trip. We have tickets to see the every-10-year Oberammergau Passion Play, depicting the life and death of Jesus. About half the inhabitants of Oberammergau (about 2,000 villagers) take part in this production.

The next highlight, at least for me, will be a visit to my ancestral village of Grossgartach (now incorporated into the municipality of Leingarten) to see the street where my ancestor, John Jacob Link, lived, visit the church he attended and the town cemetery, and maybe visit the town archives. There we are meeting Herr Kuno Krieger, a very distant relative, who will be our tour guide and new friend. I have been trying to correspond with Herr Krieger in German, so hopefully, this is really going to happen!

We'll save the rest for later! Rob's been wanting to write, too, but just hasn't had the time yet -- maybe on the plane. Oh, we don't plan to use our cell phones, so e-mail will be the best way to contact us. Auf Wiedersehen for now!

---

Photos

Our Driving Route
The blue loop starting and ending in Zurich.