Saying Goodbye to Germany – Honeymoon Trip Reflection Day 14 and 15

We got up at a reasonable hour on Monday morning, packed up the car and were ready to hit the road. Before we left, I made a point of going to the nearby grocery store, buying some flowers and leaving them at my grandmother’s grave before we left. I figured Nonna and Nonno would both appreciate the gesture. I don’t know when I’ll be back there so I wanted to make sure she knew I was thinking of her. It was difficult to leave, but I knew we had to get going.

We hit the autobahn with the GPS set for Heppenheim, which is a small town southwest of Frankfurt where we’d be spending the night. It was cheaper than staying in Frankfurt and made more sense since the airport was southwest of the city anyway. Plus I had found a cute little AirBnB property for us to stay at.

The drive takes about four hours. We had discussed the possibility of making a stop at Dachau on our way out of Munich, but we decided we weren’t in the right mental state to go through that experience that day and opted out of going. Heidelberg was on the way so we decided that would be a good place to stop for coffee before arriving in Heppenheim.

We arrived in Heidelberg about three hours later and parked in a garage in the old part of town. We walked along the pedestrian section, but it was still remarkably hot in the sun, so we opted for ice cream instead of coffee. After stretching our legs for about 45 minutes we got back to the car and drove the rest of the way to Heppenheim. The AirBnB listing had warned us that it was a little difficult to find, and it certainly was. We somehow drove by it three times because it was tucked into a small corner of a small cobbled street. We eventually found it and our host explained where we needed to park along the main road. We settled in, freshened up a bit and then headed out on foot to explore Heppenheim. It is a small town but has some really adorable old Fachwerk houses.

I was happily surprised by how much charm the little town had. We walked around and explored and then settled on having dinner at a restaurant on the main square.

It was an unexpectedly delicious meal. We ate a restaurant called Filou. We started off with a bowl of creamy mushroom soup and an antipasti platter. For entrees I had a smoked salmon pasta and Mike had “geschnetzeltes.” Since we were back in the Rhineland I had wine with dinner and Mike had a Radler. The service, the food and the atmosphere were all top notch. After dinner we walked around some more and found a gelato place for dessert. Since we knew we had a very early morning the next day we went to bed early.

 

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The next day we were up at the crack of dawn. We packed up our things and got in the car. It was a bittersweet morning. We were not happy to be leaving Europe but we were happy to go home and share our photos and stories with friends and family. I nearly missed the rental car return at the airport, but luckily Mike was more awake than I was and directed me in the right direction. We handed over the keys to the car and I sadly said goodbye to our beloved Mini. Mike walked away determined that our next car would be a Mini. And I have to say, it was a joy to drive that car. It was just the right size to fit in all the tight European parking garages, but spiffy enough to still hold its own on the autobahn. I would drive a Mini again any day. We checked in and went through security and then searched for breakfast.

We found a nice restaurant that was serving a full breakfast so we sat down since we had plenty of time. The flight back was pretty average.

We flew from Frankfurt to Newark and then Newark to Nashville. Newark such a gross airport, it’s sad that so many foreigners are welcomed into our country by an airport like that… it certainly put a damper on our mood. We were “home”… Yay! Not really. Our flight to Nashville was delayed, so we bought some overpriced snacks and sat down on the nasty old carpeted floor somewhere in the terminal and waited.

We finally boarded the short flight back to Nashville where Mom and Vanessa were happily waiting to pick us up and we were happy to see them. The hour and a half drive from Nashville back to Mom’s in Horse Cave went by pretty quickly but we were greeted by ominous storm clouds. Maybe the weather gods were as sad as we were. But we unpacked all our souvenirs and goodies, ate a small meal, showered and went to sleep.

Our Honeymoon Trip

Our honeymoon was a great adventure. I don’t think I can complain about any part of it. Everything went as smoothly as it possibly could. We saw beautiful places and ate so many delicious things and Mike is officially hooked on Weissbier. Since we got back to Florida he’s gotten to know all the local beer/liquor stores and their German beer inventory extremely well. Our fridge now almost always has some Weissbier in it, and we even went so far as to buy Lederhosen and a Dirndl for Oktoberfest this year. We wore them to Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival. 🙂

I should also note that I consider us extremely lucky to have visited Germany, Munich especially, just before the refugee crises began. A lot of things have and will continue to change in Germany. I am proud of how Germany has been handling the crises and welcoming in those who need help. Change is not necessarily a bad thing, but I’m glad that Michael saw it the way that I remember it. I hope we can go back sooner rather than later. But for now, the next big adventure on the books for us, is a trip to the southern hemisphere with 2 days in Sydney, Australia and 12 days in New Zealand! And I can’t. Freaking. Wait!

A Day at Lake Starnberg – Honeymoon Trip Reflection Day Thirteen of Fifteen

Day thirteen of our honeymoon was a relaxation day. It was our last day in Bavaria and we wanted to savor it so I didn’t plan a very busy day. We slept in, put on our bathing suits and headed for Starnbergersee aka Lake Starnberg. Crazy Bavarian King Ludwig died at this lake. Some say he was murdered and others say he died of suicide. The truth remains a mystery.
It is one of the large lakes around Munich where a lot of people go to swim and lay in the sun. The water is crystal clear blue and quite cold. I remember going when I was little. Some times we’d go to a public beach, with various facilities like bathrooms and a snack bar, and other times we’d drive around to remote parts of the lake shore and just park along the road, walk through the woods a bit and find a secluded spot to camp out for a few hours. Since I wasn’t 100% confident in my ability to find a nice secluded spot, or 100% confident that there might not already be some people enjoying that area in the nude (didn’t want shock Mike too much haha), I opted for the public beach route.

I don’t recommend going to the town of Starnberg which is always full of tourists, unless you like looking at sailboats, because there are tons of those! To avoid crowds, any of the other small towns along the shore will have public access spots. We set the GPS to Starnberg and once we arrived there just drove along the lakeside in search of a café for breakfast. Once again the stores-tend-to-be-closed-on-Sunday German tradition bit me in the butt. I figured we could go to the grocery store, pick up a few things and make our lake day a picnic day as well. No go. So…we found a small café and had cappuccinos and cake for breakfast. 🙂 After breakfast we drove down to Tutzing and found a public access area, “Südbad Tutzing,” with ample parking and paid the 5 euros per person to get in. Mike was in a heaven. Thick green grass, refreshing cool water, and a beer stand within 50 feet. We stayed for several hours, simply repeating a cycle of sunning, swimming, and drinking.

The water is cold, so you have to jump in. I also recommend jumping in from the available docks because walking in can be painful on your feet (like Lago di Garda) because it’s all large rocks and pebbles, not sand or mud. And if you don’t like seaweed touching you feet, it’s good to get past that bit too by walking out further on the dock. Luckily, most public beaches are used so often things don’t get a chance to grow much…but the secluded spots will definitely have more. As a Floridian, I LOVE swimming in these lakes. There are no alligators, no water moccasins, no turtles, no frogs, nothing scaly, slimy or hungry is going to bother you here. The closest you get to a wildlife encounter may be the occasional fish. You won’t catch me ever swimming in a Florida lake. It takes a lot for me to go into the ocean! 🙂

After a few hours of soaking up the Alpine sun (which made the freckles on my face come out like crazy), we packed up and drove back to the BnB. The night before we had asked my uncle Ferdinand where we should eat our last dinner in Munich, and he recommended the Paulaner restaurant. So after a shower and change of clothes, we headed back downtown. Traffic was a little heavy because of endless construction, but we eventually found the restaurant and a place to park. Dinner was delicious. It was everything a last meal in Bavaria should be.

We sat outside in the beer garden area under some beautiful trees. Our waitress was a little overwhelmed by some very obnoxious tourists on the other side of the courtyard so I joked with her in German about them being stereotypical and we got excellent service after that. Here’s the thing, if it’s considered rude in America, it’s probably especially rude in Germany…so don’t do stupid things like dramatically wave the bill at her. She knows you’re ready to pay and will get to you when she’s done setting down five giant beer glasses for the other table. I asked her how she was coping and she said, “I just don’t understand why they all came here tonight!” Apparently she’d be dealing with American tourists all afternoon. I promised her in German that we would be easy to take care of and she seemed to appreciate the candor.

We started off our meal with a delicious beef broth with small bread dumplings. This isn’t a typical dish to eat in the summer heat, but it is a favorite of mine and I needed a fix before we left. I drank Riesling and Mike got a Weissbier flight.

For entrees, I got a roasted pork dish (with glorious amounts of pork fat that probably immediately clogged some of my arteries) and Mike got a nice steak.

After our meal we got back in the car and I drove us to the old part of town and we parked in the main garage by the opera house. From there we took a nice evening walk through downtown Munich. We didn’t have a destination in mind, we just walked around. We stopped and listened to street musicians and window shopped. We got some gelato from a stand and kept walking.

The Neues Rathaus looks really nice at night when it is all lit up. I’d never dined at the Ratskeller in the Rathaus, so when we spontaneously decided to have dessert there (yes…second dessert after the gelato haha) it was something new for both of us. We sat on the inner courtyard and had drinks and cake. More Riesling for me and one last Weissbier for Mike, who was officially hooked on that type of beer. And we split a slice of Black Forest Cake because why not? Around 9pm we decided to we needed to head back. The next day would be an early one as we headed back to Frankfurt and we still needed to pack up our things. It was a wonderful last day to have in Munich. We could have crammed in a few more sites to see, but we both needed some time to just breathe. The hours by the lake followed by two good meals was the best we could have asked for!

 

Into the Alps — Honeymoon Trip Reflection Day Twelve of Fifteen

Here’s the thing. I should be reading for one of my classes right now but I just don’t have the heart for it. The events in Paris have struck a chord and I’ve had a heavy heart for the last few days. As an anthropologist it is part of my job to be aware of the crises impacting people around the world. It is part of my job to advocate for those who are marginalized. It is part of my job to discuss cultural differences. It is my job to fight xenophobia and radicalism in all its forms. At least, that’s how I view my job as an anthropologist. Some who share that title may disagree with me. But some days, I’m just a 27-year-old white, middle-class female and my reactions to world events are colored by my own circumstances, just like everyone else.
Were there other recent terror attacks that deserved equal coverage in the media? Of course. Is the media always skewed toward covering the suffering of white, or nearly white humans, over more marginalized populations in the far east or in Africa? Absolutely. But that does not change the degree of tragedy that occurred in Paris over the weekend. Many of those who died were my age, doing things I would do on a Friday night. And that hits home in a way some of the other things simply cannot, because they are so removed from my everyday life. That is not something I will apologize for because I as an anthropologist I am aware of this dichotomy. I fully support raising awareness of our post-colonial reality whenever possible, but some times we need a few days to mourn before we get too deep into the intellectual stuff. The political stuff.

Part of me is thankful that Michael got to see parts of Europe before all this chaos – that he got to experience the feeling of visiting without fear or anxiety. And then the other part of me is extremely saddened by the turn Europe seems to be taking. I can only hope that it the entire continent doesn’t descend into chaos over the next few years, but right now that is looking like a possibility. That said, it seems like the only thing I can do right now is reflect on the times I’ve been there, so I may as well write another entry about our honeymoon trip. So here goes…

From Italy Back to Germany via Salzburg, Austria – Honeymoon Trip Reflection Day Ten of Fifteen

I was particularly happy that our last day in Italy had been so relaxing because Day Ten was a busy day. It was hard to leave Alessandra’s beautiful house in Rovolon. Here are a two of the photos I took of the gorgeous scenery surrounding the house.

Day Ten of our honeymoon was a travel day. We were driving from Rovolon back into Germany for a few days in Munich. To break up the drive we made a pit stop in Salzburg, Austria so Michael could see some of the Mozart/music history things the city had to offer. The first part of our drive from Rovolon to Salzburg went by surprisingly quickly. Over the course of four and a half hours the Italian countryside slowly turned into the familiar Alpine foothills and before we knew it we were crossing out of Italy into Austria. It is an easy drive on the Salzbürger Autobahn into Salzburg from the south. As we had on our entire trip we simply set the GPS to the city and then followed the signs to parking garages in the center.
One of the neat things about Altstadt (old town) of Salzburg is that it seems to be chiseled out of the hillside on one side and flanked by the Salzach River on the other. There are many things to do in Salzburg, but since we were just passing through we limited ourselves to the old town for a few hours before continuing on to Munich. We parked downtown and headed into the pedestrian section for lunch. One of the things I love about these old pedestrian streets are the narrow, shop-lined, tunnel-like alleys that connect the streets with each other. We found a nice spot for lunch at a restaurant that had some shaded outdoor seating. Mike had some sausage and fries and I had a potato hash topped with an egg. It was a good lunch to tide us over, since I had special dinner plans ahead for us. After lunch we explored the city on foot. The only site we knew we had to see was Mozart’s Geburtshaus (birth house). Before we headed there we walked along the streets, peeking into various churches and store fronts. Everywhere around the city there were plaques on the walls outside buildings…so and so lived here…so and so who wrote about Mozart worked here. Mozart is everywhere in Salzburg. It was a hot day, so we took advantage of the few fresh water fountains throughout the old part of town. It is fresh and cold water for free – not something you come across in Europe very often. Once we got to Mozart’s house we were pleasantly surprised by how informative and well laid out the museum was. I didn’t take any photos but Mike took one of the plaque on the outside of the building. After our tour which included the Mozart family history, some great old music documents, instruments and unique possessions, we decided we should probably have some coffee before we hit the road again. As touristy as it was, we opted for the Mozart Cafe, just across the street from the museum. I was fully prepared to pay for an overpriced Eiskaffee, but I didn’t mind if it came with a clean bathroom. We slurped up our coffees and then headed back to the parking garage. The drive from Salzburg to our B&B in Schäftlarn, southwest of Munich, would only take us about two hours, but we wanted to get there in time to check in and get a nice dinner. For the Munich part of our trip it was important to me for us to stay near where my mom grew up and where my grandparents used to live. The actual house was sold several years ago but I got the closest I could when I found this great AirBnB property in Schäftlarn, which was the small village right next to the one my mom grew up in. It felt serendipitous when I found it on AirBnB. It was so close that was within walking distance to the house my mom grew up in, and the churchyard where my grandmother was buried. It had much the same feel that the old house did. I knew this could land me in one of two emotional places: happy nostalgia, or sad reflection. I think each of the three days we were there I oscillated between those two head spaces. Thankfully Michael was extremely understanding and very supportive.
The drive from the Autobahn exit to Schäftlarn was one that I knew extremely well but had never driven myself. I was always in the passenger seat, so it was a bit surreal, but I knew were to go and turned off the GPS. I was pretty quiet, just taking in all the changes that had happened over the course of four years. We arrived to the BnB and were greeted by our host, Anja. She was so quintessentially German in her absolute practicality and straightforwardness. She showed us the guest house and explained that everything else we needed to know was in the manual, and then she left. It was a stark difference from Alessandra who spent the better part of 30 minutes with us – but it was not a bad difference. We brought our bags in, settled in for a bit and then headed out to dinner. We could have walked the distance (1.5 km) but we drove over and parked the car along the road I knew so well. Every time we came to Germany when I was little I would get excited when we got to this last stretch of road. It meant we were almost there and we were about to be greeted with the warmest hugs. This neighboring village is called Irschenhausen, and the restaurant we were going to have dinner at is called the Rittergütl. We sat in the garden area out back. The familiar view of the distant alps was a gorgeous one and I was excited to eat some home-cooked German food. We started out with an appetizer of fresh cheese (cream cheese) with fresh radishes, cucumbers and sprouts with bread. For our main dishes, Michael had a schnitzel and I had roast duck. It was delicious, but I felt awkward. Michael could tell, but he also knew it was the nostalgia kicking in. I used to come here with my grandparents, I was thinking… people knew them and we were greeted differently by the owners and the staff. Now I was just a tourist. Despite having spent most of the day in the car, we were tired. We finished dinner pretty quickly and then went for a walk like I had often done with my mom and Vanessa at dinner at my grandparents’. I was reflecting on all those walks as we passed a farmhouse that was being turned into apartments. That farmhouse used to have the barn where I remember going when I was little, no older than 5 or 6, to get fresh milk. The farmer died many years ago and shortly after his wife too, of breast cancer. I suppose their family did not want to keep on with the old business…so it was sold. Change happens I suppose. We walked further, past the Irschenhausen May Pole, so iconic in its Bavarian blue and white. Not far beyond that was the small village church. I visited the churchyard to see my grandmother’s grave and placed a few flowers down that I had collected along the walk. She always liked wildflowers anyway. It was a bittersweet moment – one that I’m not sure I was entirely prepared for. I had purposely structured our itinerary in a way that put Munich at the end. I thought maybe being in other parts of Germany before then would make it easier, but it didn’t. Michael knew that this part of the trip was essentially a healing trip for me and he was so good about it. I instinctively wanted to head up the hill to the old house, and I did so with trepidation, knowing the old house had been torn down in favor of new eco-friendly build. Four years ago it had been under construction. Now it was finished and the chapter was abruptly closed. The beautiful climbing roses were gone. The lush, thick green hedge was gone. The many raspberry bushes my grandmother had, that bore so much more fruit than anyone could eat in a year – all gone. The only thing recognizable about it was the three large trees they left in the backyard. I knew that not far from those trees there used to sit a swing set I would play on when I was little. There used to be a small sandbox… The list could go on, but to what end? It was now gone and I needed to accept it. Michael put his hand on my shoulder as we walked by and I tried to explain to him how it used to look. After that we went back to the car, drove to the BnB and spent the evening quietly in our cabin.

I think I should round out this entry with some classical music for two reasons: (1) Salzburg is all things Mozart and (2) my grandfather loved classical music. So here are two of my favorite pieces of music by Mozart, and a few more photos from the day. The next entry will be about our day in downtown Munich!

Three Countries, One Day – Honeymoon Trip Reflection Day Four of Fifteen

The beauty of driving around Europe is that everything is fairly close together. Growing up in the States I think we take this for granted – everything is so far apart. I regularly drive from Florida to Kentucky. My relatives and friends across the pond balk at this when I tell them I willingly drive 12 hours in one day, spend a few days and then turn around and drive 12 hours back. We drove 24 hours from Florida to South Texas once. It takes about 40+ hours to drive from New York to Los Angeles…or so says Google Maps. Needless to say, I am used to driving long distances. So when I planned our trip, including a 5-7 hour drive every few days was no big deal for me. Day Four was a travel day. We left Rosemarie’s in Patersberg and headed south. Our end goal was a B&B near Lake Como in Italy where we would spend one night before continuing on to Venice/Verona/etc.

We drove along the border of Germany and France for a while before crossing over and driving into Strasbourg. The border regions are always fascinating to me – especially when you consider how often the arbitrary lines have vacillated back and forth through time. Strasbourg is a unique mix of French and German cultures, and if French is not in your repertoire you’re likely to get away with speaking German far more easily than with speaking English.

We parked in a central parking garage and headed out on foot. Just like last time I visited with Mom and Vanessa, there was a street market open. We thought about going there to grab food but it was still early in the day, so we headed to the cathedral first. We were a little early – the cathedral was opening at noon. So we walked around the old town and down to the river. There are beautiful houses along the river and everything feels alive with window boxes full of colorful flowers and boats puttering down the river.

Half an hour later we were back at the cathedral. Admission is free, as it should be in my opinion. The cathedral looks a lot like other gothic cathedrals, except it only has one tower. Inside is a beautifully ornate organ.  It is colorful, rather than just metallic like most. And the rose window is a gorgeous one, too! We were privy to a special treat during our visit this time around. There was an American choir in town and they sang a few songs from the steps in front of the altar and it echoed beautifully through the nave. I’m not particularly religious these days, but as an anthropologists I acknowledge the true spiritual energy that many people feel and the energy during their singing was palpable and definitely touched me. As per routine, I lit two candles for my grandparents and then we moved on outside in search of lunch. Our original plan to go to the market was trumped by the fact that we really just wanted to sit down, and have access to a decent bathroom. So we picked a restaurant near the pedestrian section and ate some delicious French food. Michael had a Nicoise salad topped with smoked salmon and I had the steak tartare. I know the idea of eating raw meat (especially raw meat mixed with raw egg and seasonings) freaks out a lot of people – but if you’re feeling adventurous, it’s one of my favorite dishes to order when I’m in Europe.  Our waiter was very patient with us and kind – so we made sure to tip him well. Large tips are not generally expected when dining in most parts of Europe, as the wait staff actually earns a good hourly wage, unlike in the States.

After lunch we walked around for a bit more and then bought some macaroons from a bakery down the street. We got two each of four flavors – one obviously had to be chocolate for Mike. And then we headed back to the car and hit the road. We continued South and eventually switched drivers so I could nap. I was woken about an hour later by Michael fervently tapping my leg. “Vivi, Vivi, I don’t know what this is!”

We were coming up on the Swiss border and I realized he had never done this before and didn’t know to stop off before the border to buy a “vignette.” The vignette is like a toll. You pay and get a sticker to put on your car and depending on how much you pay, it is good for traveling within the country for a given amount of time. In my just-woken haze we pulled off into the lane for people who hadn’t purchase vignettes and were greeted by a surprisingly friendly border agent from who we purchased a vignette in cash. And then we were in Switzerland. But I was getting tired of driving and as we were approaching Lucerne I started to wonder if we really wanted to drive all the way to the Italy B&B that day.

During the planning phases of the trip I had included Lucerne on our itinerary – but the difference in currency and its reputation for being really expensive put me off and I scrapped it from the itinerary. But now we were driving toward Lucerne and I was having second thoughts. Mike could tell I really wanted to stop – but I had already paid for the B&B in Ardena, Italy. I was torn. The B&B wasn’t that expensive. I’d only paid about $60 for the one night. Lucerne was getting closer by the minute and we needed to make a decision. I had a minor breakdown…a mixture of disappointment in myself for scrapping Lucerne from the plan and anxiety about making the spontaneous decision to do it anyway. Mike convinced me to be spontaneous. It was our honeymoon after all – and how hard could it be to find a hotel for the night?

So we did it. We got off the highway in Lucerne and followed our GPS to a parking garage near the old part of town along the lake. We walked around and stopped in the first hotel we found, which happened to be named The Hotel. That’s how you know something is posh. So, thanks to gifts we received on our Traveler’s Joy Honeymoon Registry, we stayed at this posh hotel. I was very appreciative that the staff at the lobby desk didn’t scoff at our not-so-posh outfits and happily served us as if we had a lot more money than we actually did. The car was valeted and our bags carried up to the room. It was great. I quickly called the host at the Ardena B&B and apologized, telling her we wouldn’t be able to make it tonight. She was very nice about it and that eased my anxiety.

After settling in, we headed out on the town. Lucerne is a lakeside town and it is beautiful. There is a kind of “riverwalk” like district where the water is lined with places to eat and the old Chapel Bridge spans the water from one side to the other. We found a great place for dinner on the water. We watched our new duck friends paddling along in the water next to us, hoping desperately that we would drop a few crumbs in their direction. We were in Switzerland, so Mike ordered fondue. Fish fondue. And I ordered some of the best calf’s liver I’ve ever eaten.  We both relished the meal and then continued down the water’s edge to explore a bit more. We ended up being in Lucerne during a festival weekend, and there was a street market and music playing loudly all around us. We took pictures with the lake and the mountains in the background and then set about finding a drink. We found a neat place located in an old arcade – arcade here meaning something like this arcade.

There were wax covered candelabras and wing back chairs. We had a drink each and then continued walking around. We ultimately ended up back at the hotel and rested a bit before heading back out. We were determined to see as much of the nightlife as possible, so we had a few more drinks and then closed out the evening with some late night pretzel sandwiches and gelato.  We agreed to not set any alarms for the morning and enjoyed sprawling in the huge bed. It was a long but amazing day of breakfast in Germany, lunch in France and dinner in Switzerland. 🙂

Here are a few more pictures from throughout the day:

Our Last Day on the Rhine – Honeymoon Trip Reflection Day Three of Sixteen

Day three was a busy day for us. We wanted to get as much out of our last day on the Rhine as possible, and we definitely racked up some mileage. Our morning started off in the direction of Koblenz. It took just under an hour to get there from Patersberg and the drive was a pretty one. We parked in the old city along the river and continued on foot. Koblenz is known mainly for having the German Corner (Deutsches Eck) where the Rhine and Mosel rivers converge into one. It is pretty neat to see the slightly different colored waters mixing together. And the point is marked with a big plaza, towered over by a huge statue of German Emperor, William I. You can climb up into the statue and get a pretty good view of the water.

I had done some preliminary research about the city and had briefly read something about a cable car ride up over the river onto an old fort/settlement on the opposite river bank. Somehow in my head this seemed much smaller than it actually is. Turns out, it’s quite a ways up, and the views from the top as well worth the money! You can access the fort by car from the other side, but I really recommend doing the cable car ride, especially on a clear blue day like we had. Just don’t go if you have a fear of heights! They say you are always learning something new about your partner and on our honeymoon I learned the Mike is fairly okay with heights but definitely get s a little weak in the knees on cable cars! (Foreshadowing to the post about our trip up a mountain in the Alps later on our trip. Hehe.) The fort at the top is called Ehrenbreitstein Fortress and was built in the 19th century. It is now a part of and contributes to the value of the larger UNESCO World Heritage Site: Upper Middle Rhine Valley. The fort includes a great little museum that has old uniforms and weapons along with local artifacts of Koblenz. The best part, besides the view from the top of the wall down on the rivers, is the fact that you can have lunch with this view. There is a small Imbiss (snack) stand that serves some traditional German fare, beer and wine. Mike and I split a flat-bread and a side order of potato salad. He had a beer and I had some Riesling. It was a wonderful, unplanned, two hour detour up to the top of the fort. I recommend it to anyone visiting Koblenz.

After lunch we made our way back down with the cable car and strolled through the park a bit before heading back to the car. Our next stop was Bacharach, which is a small storybook town that we learned about thanks to Rick Steves. I don’t usually like to rely on mainstream tourist guides, but in this case Rick was really helpful. It is such a picturesque little town. We parked on the rode near the center and walked around for about an hour and then found a nice place for a glass of wine.   This is a wine town, like so many along the Rhine. The hills surrounding the town are all terraced with vineyards and the local vintner has carts full of freshly bottled wine outside ready for shipment. At the top of a small hill behind the main church is the unfinished Wernerkapelle – an unfinished chapel that looks like ruins now. After our glass of wine we decided to head out before it got to late to get everything else done that we had planned for the day. When I visited this area four years ago with my mom and my sister, we met up with a few family friends who were locals and they showed us around for two days. This is how we learned about all the different cloisters along the Rhine that have since taken up winemaking, including Kloster Eberbach. I had fond memories of touring this place and then buying a special bottle of wine in the shop afterwards. I was hoping to recreate this feeling with Mike, but was met with the disappointing conclusion that sometimes company makes the memory more than the place. We decided to go straight to the shop when we arrived at Eberbach and were greeted by a not-so-friendly store employee. I’m pretty sure she thought we were classless, cheap Americans. Which, okay… if she’s had bad experiences, maybe I would feel the same in her position. However, I spoke very clear German with her and gave her no reason to think of me as just another tourist. When I asked to try a few wines so I could purchase a bottle for my mom she seemed like she just would rather not be bothered but did it anyway. It was disappointing. I suddenly wished Alfons was there.

Photo taken in 2011 during our visit with Alfons

Somehow he had made the experience so much better with all his knowledge of church history and his general exuberance was infectious. This grumpy woman was totally ruining my memory of this place. Mike and I were both put off and decided to leave – but not before I had to assure the woman that I would in fact be able to get one of their wooden boxes through airport security in my checked baggage. I was so annoyed. She tried to tell me that the wood shavings that were used to cushion the bottle in the box would be a problem. I told her I would take my chances and then we left. So…already a little sad that I hadn’t be able to replicate my previous experience for Mike, we headed out to the restaurant that my mom, sister and I had gone to with Alfons and Company on that same trip four years ago.

Dinner with Alfons in 2011

First, we couldn’t find it. The GPS was sending us to weird places. Then we finally did find it but couldn’t find parking. We eventually found parking and I was totally exasperated by the time we walked into the courtyard of the restaurant only to be greeted by older locals looking at us skeptically. We were a good 15-20 years younger than the average patron currently having dinner but we figured it was because it was early. Throughout dinner we felt the looks and mumbles of people around us and generally felt uncomfortable. I didn’t remember it being like this last time. In fact, what I remembered about last time was excellent food, fantastic wine and great conversation and company. There was laughing and happiness.

This time I felt awkward. Did it really make that much of a difference that Alfons wasn’t there? Did this place require a local connection to garner acceptance? I was frustrated. And on top of that, the wine we ordered was horrible. Nearly undrinkable.

The worst wine I’ve ever had. Boo!

The menu described it as tart – but this was almost to the point of being vinegary. I couldn’t finish a single glass. Luckily the food was pretty good. But we ate quickly and left without having dessert. I was sad. I had remembered such an amazing time and wanted to share that with Michael and it didn’t happen. Thankfully Mike was a good sport about it and we decided not to let it get us down. We drove home and thought it would be a good idea to go see our Rhine River view one more time as the sun was setting. The next day was going to be a long day, so we went to bed at a reasonable time. We didn’t really want to leave Rosemarie’s wonderful space, but we knew we had many more wonderful and exciting travel plans ahead of us. 🙂

For anyone traveling to the Frankfurt area I highly recommend spending a day or two along the Rhine. This part of Germany has a lot to offer, even if it isn’t what you immediately think of when you think about visiting Germany. No Bavarian lederhosen or Alpine cows here – but it has its own unique landscape, filled with storybook fachwerk houses and hilltop castles, it is not to be missed. So even though the last few hours of Day Three were a little disheartening, it wouldn’t change my opinion of the area as a whole. Here are some more pictures from our three days on the Rhine. Next post: we travel south through Strasbourg and into Switzerland!

 

In Beethoven’s Footsteps – Honeymoon Trip Reflection Day Two of Fifteen

The first night overseas is always the worst for sleeping. No matter how tired I am, I will fall asleep just fine but wake up promptly around 2am, my body thinking that it’s really 9am. I surfed the internet on my phone for a while and finally fell back asleep until 7am at which point I had to get out of bed because the sun had already been up for several hours. It was a beautiful cool and breezy day. It was so nice being able to open all the windows while I made us breakfast in Rosemarie’s IKEA-fied kitchen. It made me want to buy a house right away so I could customize it, but that is definitely not in the cards for a few more years. In the meantime I’ll be envious of other people’s IKEA purchases. 🙂

The previous day, our host Rosemarie told us she would be leaving us some fresh rolls on the steps before she headed out of town for the day. Well, she did much more than that. This wonderfully sweet woman left us a bottle of champagne, several fresh rolls and croissants from a local bakery, a congratulatory card and a vase full of fresh roses from her garden. Now that is hospitality!

After breakfast we took a look at the map and decided we wanted to start by going north and visiting Bonn and Cologne, and then visiting one or two small Rhine towns on the way back. I had never been to Bonn, so I was excited to see something totally new. Michael was able to teach me a little music history on the way, explaining how Beethoven had been born in Bonn and lived his early life there. So it was no surprise then when we parked the car in one of the public parking garages downtown and were greeted by a Beethoven statue at the ticket machine.

Our first order of business however was buying socks. We were woefully prepared for the cool temperature so we found an H&M in the pedestrian section before heading over to the tourist information office. Now before I continue I just want to say how much I appreciate the German tourist offices that visitors can find in nearly every major city in the country. They are so helpful and make it much easier to appreciate the city and have a stress-free visit. We picked up our “Beethoven in Bonn” walking guide and went on our way.

Me doing my best intense German face 🙂

We saw the church where he first learned to play on the organ and encountered many more Beethoven statues on our way to the museum now inside the house where he was born. For various reasons pictures were not allowed in the museum, but for a house museum, it was quite pleasant and thorough! And it is pretty awesome to see the room in which a genius was born!

We made our way back to the parking garage via the main plaza, with another large Beethoven statue, and then started on our way to Köln (Cologne in English). Generally I think Bonn is worth a few hours of your time, if you are in the area, especially if you have an interest in music history. The town itself has many of the same components that any German town has, including a pedestrian zone with ample shopping and a nice plaza to find coffee or a snack. I’m glad we went, but I don’t think I would rush back. Now, there also isn’t much to do in Cologne, besides the visiting the cathedral – but you have to visit the cathedral, no questions asked. I have seen this amazing structure three times in my life and it never, ever, gets old. I don’t care how many beautiful cathedrals you’ve seen… Notre Dame, Chartes, Westminster, Salisbury, etc… you have to see Köln (and also Strasbourg, but more on that in a later entry).

After a slight driving snafu in which I misread an arrow and ended up going the wrong way down a one-way street (hahaha whoops!), we arrived at the central parking garage under the plaza near the cathedral. Hungry, we set off in search of lunch. The pedestrian zone is always a good place to start, and I usually like to walk a few minutes into the zone and then take a side street and see what I can find a little off the beaten path. This time we found a very nice cafe that served us a very decent meal for a very reasonable price.

Going clockwise: Wiener and potato salad for Michael, beef rouladen and steamed potatoes for me, and then a chocolate/rum torte for Michael and a strawberry/rhubarb one for me.

Side note: Always use the restroom wherever you have a meal. I’m sure anyone who has ever been to Europe, or any travel guides about going there, will tell you to use bathrooms when they are available because public restrooms are not as common as they are in the States (and they more than likely will cost you 50-70 cents). Equally important is taking advantage of free drinking water when it becomes available – so even though it may weigh you down a bit, carry a water bottle. Water fountains are few and far between. Asking for tap water at the table will still likely get you a scowl or frown from the waitstaff, so be prepared to pay for water. Personally, this may be the thing I dislike most about my visits to Europe. I drink a lot of water, and paying 3-5 Euros for a litre of “still” or “natural” water just seems so unnecessary. However, it is what it is, so we deal with it. This is not however the case, at least in my memory, in the UK. Perhaps it’s a continental thing. 🙂

Anyway, back to Cologne and its beautiful cathedral. Depending on which way you come into the city, you’ll be able to see its spires standing tall above everything else. Since I can remember, there has always been at least one set of scaffolding covering some part of the outside facade as conservationists continue their endless task of restoring and maintaining the building’s structural integrity as well as its aesthetic appeal. But regardless of the 21st-century attachment currently sitting somewhere on in the outside of the building, it is striking. It is magnificent. Even more so when one considers the technology available to its builders.

We toured the inside and per my routine, I lit two candles for Nonna and Nonno and any other deceased family members currently in my thoughts. I’m not a very good heritage site visitor…or museum visitor for that matter. (Yes. I admit it.) I don’t read most things because I’m more of a visual person so I go around and just take in what’s around me. I like to sit in a pew somewhere in the middle and look around me in all directions. And then we decided to take the long hike up the 533 stairs to the top of one of the towers.

Mike has a slight anxiety about heights, so he got a little weak in the knees when we reached the top of the enclosed staircase and had a few hundred steps left in a more open staircase. The view is always worth it though. On this particular occasion there was a xylophone player playing on the plaza below and the sound was echoing up all the way to the top of the cathedral. It sounded much closer than it actually was. We took in the panorama for a few minutes and then began the descent.

After a quick perusal of the gift shop we did a little people watching. There is a large fountain on the plaza and we sat on the wall surrounding it, observing the various school groups that were there on a field trip. There was one teenager dressed in a sweat suit covered in a cannabis leaf print who kept trying to get his friends to take a picture of him touching a parked police car. I so desperately wanted the officers to come out of the shop in time to see them, but alas… they didn’t and the teen went on being a perfect example of why some people refuse to be teachers. I digress…

Our last stop for the day was on the way home along the Rhine – a small town called Linz am Rhine which has an adorable fachwerkhaus-filled old town with a nice market square in the middle where we found ourselves a nice spot to get some Eiskaffee.

For those not in the know, Eiskaffee is one of my favorites. It’s espresso served with a little creamer/milk, a scoop of very good vanilla ice cream, and a dollop of whipped cream on top. Why this has not become more popular across the pond, I don’t understand. However, it is a staple at my mom’s house, and it’s something I love to order around tea/coffee time in Germany when I’m there.

There were two cute German children playing in the plaza with their father while Mike and I mused about what it would be like to own a little flat on the top floor of a building on the plaza. Dinner time was getting closer so we headed back to the car and drove the rest of the way home, stopping only briefly at Nettomarkt grocery store for a few things for dinner. I know it may seem strange to some, that I enjoy cooking so much I actually want to do it while I’m on vacation, but when I have access to ingredients I normally can’t afford (like fresh mozzarella that only costs 1 Euro per ball….or fresh produce that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg like at Publix) it just makes sense to eat in. Not to mention we were pretty sure we had the best view in town out of our living room window. 🙂

After eating our delicious dinner, we drank our champagne and toasted our view before we snuggled into our down comforters and fell fast asleep.

 

“What’s with this Ausfahrt place?” — Honeymoon Trip Reflection Day One of Fifteen

Our wedding was Saturday June 20th. It was a huge success and we got extremely lucky with the weather. For days ahead of the wedding the forecast became grimmer and grimmer. But by a stroke of luck, the clouds and rain cleared in the early afternoon leaving us enough time to set everything up and get ready. From what our friends have told us, everyone had a great time. The reception flew by, just like people told us it would. And before we knew it, we were on the plane to Frankfurt on Monday afternoon. For those who don’t know, I used to go to Germany almost every year, sometimes every other year when money was tight. “Going to Grandma’s House” always meant a trans-Atlantic flight for me and it was something I looked forward to all the time. This pattern changed a few years ago. Older relatives passed away, family dynamics changed, and grad school happened. I dedicated a summer to my internship in England, and then the next summer I was moving and last summer we went back to England…so before I knew it, four years had passed since I’d seen the Vaterland and I knew I needed to go back, if for no other reason than spiritual renewal. So when it came time to decide on the destination for our honeymoon, it was a no-brainer. We decided to call it our Heritage Tour. (Let’s, for the time being, set aside all the possible anthropological meanings and interpretations of the word heritage…lol) Mike’s family came to the US from Italy a few generations ago, and I’ve always identified as German-American…so we decided Southern Germany and Northern Italy, and a few things in between, would be our targets. We essentially made a large counter-clockwise circle that looked like this screen shot from Google Maps. We flew from Nashville to Chicago and then onward to Frankfurt. I have a very strong aversion to airplane food (there’s just something foul about food reheated/steamed in plastic), so I usually stuff my face with something during the connection before the long flight. We had just enough time to grab some overpriced Chinese food before our flight started boarding. I can’t explain how giddy I was, even then, just hearing all the German being spoken at the gate. The flight was decent, but neither of us got much sleep like we should have. We arrived around 9am, proceeded through immigration sans-annoying-TSA-employees and went about picking up the rental car. I did my excited-five-year-old-jumping-with-both-feet-at-once dance when we found our brand new only-had-19-km-logged gray Mini Cooper Sport in the parking garage. We knew we couldn’t check into our first B&B in Patersberg on the Rhine until later that afternoon, so we did some sightseeing for the early afternoon and took care of a few errands. I picked up my SIM card and then we explored Mainz and had lunch. I had visited Mainz previously with Mom, Vanessa and our friend Alfons and remembered a small church with gorgeous Marc Chagall glass windows. It did not disappoint this time around either. Everything looks amazingly blue, no matter the time of day. We walked through the Aldstadt and found a place to eat outside in the sun. It had been a rainy morning and decidedly cooler outside than the hot and humid Kentucky we’d left behind. We were both extremely tired but we pushed through the afternoon and eventually headed toward our first B&B. This was my first time driving in Germany. Previously, Mom had always driven because of insurance costs and being under 25, so I was pretty excited. However, the best thing to happen on Day 1 has to be Michael’s confusion about “Ausfahrt.” As we drove along the Autobahn he asks, “Where is this Ausfahrt place?” It was a valid question. Every few kilometers there was a blue sign with an arrow pointing toward Ausfahrt. Well, in German, that means “Exit.” I had a very good laugh about this first cultural learning moment for Michael. I have used AirBnB before but this was the first trip I’ve planned where all but one accommodation was found on AirBnB. This first one did not disappoint in any way shape or form. In fact, we were blown away by what we got for our money. The photos online did not do it justice. It was the second floor apartment of a house, wonderfully clean and outfitted in quintessentially European features…can I just say how much I miss those European windows?? Our host Rosemarie greeted us so warmly, and congratulated us on our wedding and hoped that our honeymoon would be off to a good start. She walked us through the apartment and then let us settle in. The first thing we did was shower off all the airplane funk and then we went for a walk around the neighborhood…and by neighborhood, I mean above the Rhine river valley. Rosemarie’s house was just beyond the infamous Lorelei bend in the river, where many a man met his maker because of the mythical singers. (Always blaming women in those old stories…) The top of the ridge where Rosemarie’s house was located included the Dreiburgenblick (Three Castle View), which was exceptionally amazing, even on that first overcast day.  Rosemarie had stocked the fridge with essentials to get use started, but we knew we wanted to eat in that night so we went to the grocery store a town over and loaded up on the extremely affordable fresh produce and cold cuts. I mean, hello…a ball of fresh mozzarella for 1 Euro? Two, please. At home I made us a huge plate of antipasti to eat with some fresh bread and then we crashed in bed from the jetlag. And I was asleep in no time, snuggled in the glorious down comforters and pillows. Below are some more pictures from our first day in Germany. My plan with the blog entries for the honeymoon is to do one for each day, so this is one of sixteen. At some point, perhaps when I’m a little further removed from it, and the professional photos have come back, I’ll also be reflecting on the wedding. Right now everything feels like such a blur and I can’t believe all that I have lived in the last month of my life. But I am so happy that I got to go back to my home away from home and the place where I feel most comfortable and natural. It reminded me not to settle for anything, and to continue to reach for my goals, regardless of the oceans that need to be crossed. Let’s close with some wise words from Mark Twain:

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”