Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Ingolstadt and Rothenburg

Wolfgang and Julie Garber met us at the train station late Thursday night and then let us keep them up into all hours of the night chatting. They are amazing! We slept in on Friday, had a leisurely morning, and then once their kids got home from school, we all took off for the weekend. They took us to Rothenburg, which is this gorgeous German town. Walking down the streets, I thought the houses must be cardboard cutouts or at the very least, enlarged dollhouses. The first night there, we went on the Night Watchman Tour, which took us through the city streets, outside the walls, sharing what life was like in the 1300’s. Wolfgang and Julie had been on this tour before and said that it keeps getting better. The Night Watchman was mysterious with great dose of humor and kept all of us entertained.

The following day we explored Rothenburg, shopping, eating, and visiting the criminal museum where we learned all about torture methods, ways of executing criminals, and various other punishments for various other crimes. Interesting!

Shopping in Rothenburg got us in the mood for Christmas, especially the huge Christmas store they have there. It looks like Christmas, it smells like Christmas, it must be Christmas, right? But I suppose we’ll simply have to wait like the rest of you!

On Sunday we stopped in another medieval town for lunch and then back to Ingolstadt. Monday was spent exploring Ingolstadt, visiting the churches, castles, and stores there. It had gotten too cold by then to ignore and we finally broke down and bought coats. I think we’ll be very grateful for that as we continue heading North. Our last night there, I went with Wolfgang and Julie to the older kids’ school where they were having their version of what I suppose we would call a “Back to School Night.” It was fun learning about their schools and curriculum. A night out for Greek food followed, then back home to bed.

We were sorry to leave the Garber household on Tuesday. We feel like leaving home again, and that just keeps getting harder instead of easier. But off we go again...this time headed for Berlin. Until next time...

Pics:

1. Wolfgang and Julie in front of the Christmas store in Rothenburg.
2. The kids (Dominic, Jacqueline, and Rebekka) during our walk in Rothenburg.
3-4 The beautiful city of Rothenburg...did I mention how beautiful it was?
5. This is a picture of the river in Ingolstadt the day Wolfgang showed us around. He's an amazing guide!!!

No comments: