Guten Tag und Hallo! Sorry for the abrupt end to the post from last week…we were just so busy that I ran out of time (and energy) to write it all up. But I will catch you up on all our doings now. We have had some good times, some bad times, and some truly icky times in the last 10 (or so) days.
The Good
We had a lot of fun on some day trips to Koblenz (twice) and Heidelberg.
Our first trip to Koblenz started with an early train down the Rhine River to board the steamboat Goethe. We wanted to see the beautiful Rhine Valley and all the cute towns and imposing castles from the river. We grabbed a couple of chairs on the deck and enjoyed a lovely sunny day of lazily chugging upstream past the…um…past. There are so many castles on that section of river because there was so much trade going up and down the river and people wanted to levy tolls and grab a slice of that pie. Some of the castles are ruins and some have been restored for use as museums or hotels. It’s called the “Romantic Rhine” because of all the castles and all the wine that they produce on the steep, terraced hills leading up from the river. We had a good time, despite it being a very slow trip and getting a bit too much sun.
Our second trip to Koblenz was just a couple of days later. We found out months ago that Nathan’s Uncle Neil and Aunt Julie were planning a river cruise, but we didn’t know our plans at that time. But when we ended up here in Mainz and we figured out that they were probably going to be nearby, we connected with them and learned that they would be docking at Koblenz. So that was definitely cause for another train trip along the Rhine! We took the train again, walked around town, and had a delicious Mother’s Day brunch. Koblenz is at the confluence of the Mosel River and the Rhine and is kind of a national symbol of unity. There is a big monument there and the rest of the town is pretty nice. We watched Neil and Julie’s river cruise pull in and we really enjoyed seeing familiar faces. We spent a couple of hours with them (as well as Julie’s uncle and aunt) riding the cable car across the river to the fortress and walking around town. We got so caught up strolling and visiting that we let time get away from us. We had a bit of a sprint across town to catch our train so that we could make it home to talk to the kids and grandkids for Mother’s Day. (Worth it!)
Our third daytrip was to Heidelberg. Despite not feeling 100% (more details below), we hopped on the train to see the city. We heard that the old town is pretty and it is! We enjoyed a nice stroll around town and up to the castle. The castle is a well-cared-for ruin and poets and artists have romanticized its crumbling walls and crooked towers. There’s a cool tower and gate on the bridge over the Neckar River and three big churches. Heidelberg is home to Germany’s oldest university. We also hiked up the steep “Snake Path” to a nice walk on the “Philosopher’s Way”.
Mainz has been a good spot to land for a bit. We are enjoying this area as there are lovely parks and we are not far from green spaces. There is even a nature preserve nearby that is a sand dune area. It formed after the last ice age and there are unique flora and fauna there due to the climate and sandy soil.
The Bad (ok, not all bad)
We were looking for some activities to enjoy nearby and Nathan found out about a “street food” festival just a few minutes’ walk from our apartment. We bought our tickets and popped over there on the first day of the festival. It was…umm…kinda sad. There were booths set up around this community center. Each booth had a different offering, like hot dogs or curry or barbecue. But some of the items were already completely gone, which was strange, since it was the first day. Other things were off, like using the same giant tortilla as “naan” at the Indian booth and to wrap a sad burrito at the Mexican booth. Anyway, it wasn’t a great success. After that, we walked into town along the river and that was nice. We also found another festival that looked more promising. We visited that festival a couple days later, despite it being a wine festival. They had lots of outlets for drinks, but also some better-looking street food. They also had music and lots of tables and grassy areas next to the river. We grabbed some wursts and some sparkling water and enjoyed watching people and listening to the (sort of) live music (singers with backing tracks). So that wasn’t bad at all.
The Ugly (ok, not all Ugly)
A day or so after we moved in here, we met a younger couple who just moved to Germany from Mexico City (Emmanuel and Susanna). They live downstairs from us. Anyway, we decided to meet up with them and go to a Mexican restaurant that they heard about. We rode into Mainz on the bus, chatting with them and learning about their lives. Unfortunately, the restaurant that we had planned to visit was closed. Fortunately, there was a backup option not far away and we had a pretty good Tex-Mex meal.
Now for the ugly. Nathan had started to feel kinda yucky before we went for dinner. The day after our Mexican meal, we went to Heidelberg anyway, but he was feeling a bit off the whole time and by the time he went to bed, he even had a fever. His fever was gone the next day, but he ended up having a stomachache for another two or three days.
He started to feel a bit better and we went for a walk one evening. Out of the blue, I had a charley-horse or a nerve problem or something and I had a terrible pain in one shoulder and my neck for a couple of days. Gotta love it when you can injure yourself by doing nothing!
Yesterday, we decided to make the best of a rather difficult week and we booked tickets for a comedy night in Frankfurt. We packed into the crowded train and moseyed into the big city. We chose a Vietnamese restaurant for an early dinner and just as we were sitting down to order, the heavens opened and there was a pretty good rainstorm. We had optimistically (foolishly?) left our raincoats and umbrellas at home, but we hoped that it would quiet down by the time we needed to walk over to the show. But no, it was still raining when we left the restaurant. We didn’t have far to go, so we just muscled through, trying to hug the buildings and utilize overhangs. We didn’t get terribly wet. Did I mention that the comedy show was supposed to be at an outdoor venue? Well, of course by the time we got over there, the rain was tapering off, but they had already cancelled the show. Oh well! We enjoyed our dinner and riding the train! We listened to a funny audiobook about small talk the whole trip, so it was still fun. It was not the greatest week, but it could have been much worse.
That’s about it. We now have less than a month before we fly back to the U.S. It’s hard to believe that we are so close to the end of this chapter. But we are so excited to see our family, snuggle a couple of new babies, and to have some American adventures (and comforts, too). Thanks for sticking with us and we’ll talk to you next week!