Some German Adventures

One day Harlan and I decided to just get on a train and go somewhere. We picked a city, Düsseldorf, not too far away but a couple of hours by train. The train ride was quite noisy…it turned out that there were several soccer games being held and fans were going to the different games by train. They were very enthusiastic about their teams and sang and cheered loudly anticipating a welcome outcome.

Did you know that I really like the game of soccer… in most of the world soccer is called football. I have been going to watch a few games at the local restaurant near our apartment because they have a huge TV screen. It’s like being at the movies! It is great to be surrounded by people excited by the game and to be able to watch the footwork. I think of all the hours of practice and how they can be so exact in kicking the ball from player to player. I find it fascinating. I kind of wanted to follow the people on the train to the game.

After getting off the train we wandered down to the old part of the city. We walked along the narrow lanes and ended up on the river walk which is along the Rhine.
We also went up in the tower by the river to see a ‘long’ view.












We stopped at a bakery to have coffee and cake( it was my birthday!) The cakes were very yummy, mine was a chocolate mousse cake.


This was the path along the river. From the side, it looks like it undulates….or goes up and down. I thought that it was going to be a very bumpy walk. But it was just an optical illusion. Here is a picture of what it really was like.


Eventually, Harlan and I decided to head back home and after one wrong train ride…a long story of which I won’t go into, we arrived back home to Muenster.

Mannheim
I have a cousin in Germany named Barbara that I met for the first time last October in San Francisco. She is a very nice woman and we made plans to get together again when Harlan and I were in Germany. So one day we got on the train and went to Mannheim, Germany which is where Barbara lives. Here is a movie out the window of the train…just to give you an idea of what it is like being on the train.


Barbara took us for lunch out in a rural town named Forst which has many vineyards. I had local sausages with sauerkraut and potato soup…delicious.



Here we are outside the restaurant.
It was a rainy day but we decided to go for a walk in the vineyards anyway. Barbara often comes out here to take walks and I can see why. It is very peaceful and there are many birds to see and hear. We heard a nightingale, but unfortunately we didn’t see it.










































That night we went to Barbara’s apartment for a “German” dinner which is basically delicious bread, cheese and meat. We ate off of dishes that belonged to my great-grandfather James Simon. That was a big thrill! Barbara and I have the same great-grandfather.


Barbara is a very fascinating woman. She has traveled a lot, especially in Tibet, China and India. She was a tour guide for many years and her apartment is chock full of memories of her travels. She knows the story of each piece! She still travels a bit, last winter she went with a group of people to help study ancient tribes in the Sahara dessert! A very exciting life!

The next day we journeyed with Barbara to Heidelburg which is a university town and where her sister Irene lives (also my cousin!) We wandered around the town and had lunch together. A fun day but then we had to say goodbye, which was very sad, and head back home to Muenster.
























Water Castles
One day my friend Carlos was kind enough to take me on a little day trip to the ‘water’ castles that are around Muenster. They are called water castles because they are surrounded by water…moats.














We first stopped at Burg Hulshoff, a house with lovely gardens that we walked around and then had lunch in the restaurant.

Next we went to Burg Vischering which was my favorite because it is a medieval castle. Can you imagine knights and damsels here?


Scholss Nordkirchenwas our last stop, a very elegant place. The gardens are beautiful and filled with statues.

Of course Harlan and I had other adventures in Germany but on May 3rd we went on a train to the city of Delft in the Netherlands which is where we are living now!