Monday, May 31, 2010

Our First Visitors

    We were feeling a little nervous leading up to the arrival of Isaac and Alison, as the crazy volcano was spewing again.  Luckily they landed safely only an hour delayed.  The delay was due to a landing gear issue that had to be tended to, before they took off from Chicago.  They were with us in Heidelberg within an hour of their scheduled arrival!
 
   As we have mentioned, our apartment is a little small.  Fortunately, we have a lot of storage space, including a small room on the 4th floor of our building, affectionately referred to as "the maids quarters."  We actually have an especially small "maids quarters" compared to the others.  We have made due and were able to squeeze a double bed in, with a dresser and table.  It is much more cheery with the fresh blue paint and breezy window sheers.  Here are a few pics for all of our future visitors!  There is a shower and toilet room down the hall.

     They arrived mid-day with a little bit of jet-lag but in great spirits.  They were able to nap on the plane, so their internal clocks were not too messed up.  After an afternoon nap, they were good to go for the evening.  We enjoyed showing them how to use the strassebahn (street car) and took them to the Hauptstrasse for dinner, and a stroll.

    The next day they were able to do some venturing around Heidelberg on their own, while I transported the kids to activities and started our packing for the big trip! 

BIG CRUISE BLOG ~ FITS IN THIS SECTION ~ GO READ ABOUT THE CRUISE!
(It will be posted very soon 1-3 days)

When we returned from the cruise, they spent a day recovering and planning the next part of their adventure.  with some pursuading from Alison they scheduled a trip to Munich!  She really wanted to visit and learn about a concentration camp while here.  Dauchau was one of the first, and has been made into a museum/memorial of sorts.  All German school children are required to visit.  It is just north of Munich, and they were able to get a "tourist" train pass for 3 days for a very reasonable price. 

The next morning they were off!  First to the English Gardens, to find the hotel (which was nearby) and then to a bike tour.  Bike tour Palace, museums, rubbed the lions noses, Marienplatz and everything in between.

They enjoyed dinner at the Hofbrauhaus and bier by the litre, fun, difficulty finding a seat but boisterous and loud! Finally, they plopped down next to others.  The next morning was the tour to Dachau and then the train ride home.

The next morning they had plans of using their train ticket to the Baden-Baden Spas, but Alison was pretty tired and they decided to sleep intstead.  So when everyone was up and going, we went to the Schutzenhaus, though we were hoping to sit in the garden, the ground was too wet and we settled for sitting outside, but in the porch-like area.  We introduced Isaac and Alison to schnitzel, and the German spaetzel and salads and of course it was all washed down with a Pils.  As their diets are usually made up of chicken fingers, french fries, ranch and ketchup, and unlimited soda, it is questionable as to if they enjoyed their meals...needless to say we certainly did!

After lunch, we visited the Schwetzingen Palace, where we had a mix of rain and sunshine.  We strolled through the extensive gardens and random bits of wildlife.  Their were many birds, including geese, a mean swan that followed us around and gave us warning signs (Is there really any question as to why I hate birds?)  We enjoyed watching a mama duck with her 4 little ducklings.  We also came across this neat guy catching his dinner.
We came across this interesting critter in a small lake, when we first saw him swimming we thought he was a beaver, but after watching him for a bit we decided he is a muskrat or otter of some kind.  When he got out of the water his tail was long and rat-like.
We kept seeing these huge fish in the water, that Isaac determined to be grass carp.  They were black and pretty gross looking.  We were really fascinated in watching them come to the surface, look how big their mouths were when opened!


As we left the gardens it began to downpour!  Right after we all loaded into the jeep the sun started to peak out.  As we headed toward home, we spotted first a single rainbow, and then a double!

As we got back into Heidelberg, Erik decided to take us up the big hill behind our house to see the German, WWI cemetary.  There is a memorial that was really neat, with spectacular views of the area.  It is very park-like, with lovely old trees.  A really nice place for a walk.

With one more day left on their train ticket, they decided to take the train to the airport.  Erik took them to the train station this morning and they are on their way back now.  We wish them safe travels!

1 comment:

Mom in High Heels said...

Awwww, they were fun! I hope they had a good trip home. We had a great time meeting them and learning to play spoons. :)
You guys have been ambitious since you got back. We've been laying around like lumps, moaning and groaning about how unfair it is that Willy isn't here to clean up after our meals and why the bed isn't made for us when we're done with breakfast.