Well what a whirlwind trip I had! There is so much to tell I'm going to break it into multiple posts. Friday Chris and I trekked up north to the London Stanstead airport. We got a flight to Frankfort and drove a rental (an Opal!) to Heidelberg where my friend Amy was just finishing up attending a conference. The next day we drove the mostly scenic route, with some autobahn driving to Wurtzburg, my old home town!
The first and most important stop on the trip for me was to see my old house (above). The grounds had changed a bit, but I still recognized the old playground and the street. Thanks to Amy's intrepid-ness we went into my old building which was being renovated. They had added a few walls and redecorated, but my old room was still there with the same window and ancient radiator. It was very nostalgic, and I could probably have hung out there all day, but we pressed on to enjoy the beautiful city.
Old buildings, churches and palaces, and Wurtzburg isn't even that big of a town! We explored the markplatz on the first day and the next we hiked up to the Marionburg castle (in the background above), with a lovely winding descent into the vineyards. We ate lunch at the most exquisite and quaint wine house in the world, and headed up to Rothenburg, midevial quaint walled tourist town.
I remembered traveling there as a kid, and especially remember the neat clock building (the salmon colored one here) that has two windows that open showing a gentleman and a man drinking beer when the clock chimes. The other big memory I have of the town is the amazing Kathe Woflheart christmas shop.
And the medieval wall upon which you can walk around the entire old city.
It was so scenic, so picturesque, and so peaceful. I felt a real sense of familiarity with things and places, the items for sale at the shops that were so much a part of my childhood, like the ubiquitous wooden Christmas pyramids and cuckoo clocks. I could imagine my parents there 25 years ago, playing the tourist just as I was and buying those things that I would later grow up with and take for granted. It was a great pleasure to see them in their natural habitat, though I probably won't have a home of my own to populated with such things for many years to come.
We finished off most evenings with hearty German meals (I for one am glad to be back in the land of fiber, but it was nice to take a dietary vacation too.) I sampled local wines and Chris tried to do a beer and meat tour, not too difficult considering that's mostly what was on offer!
Giant hunks of meat served all on their own seems to be a restaurant staple there. And the beer, always the beer.
Next week, Freiburg, Triburg, and my nasty chest cold that knocked me down, but I still kept on trucking through my beloved Germany!
I guess he's part of the cotton candy principle too..... life is just better with skippies around.
