When in Deutschland…Do What the Germans Do!!! 2/9/2009

After teaching a class for a week in Zurich, Switzerland, my Dad came to visit me for a long weekend! We decided to visit Germany (because neither of us had been and wanted to visit) and so we did a little research. Everyone I talked to said that we should visit Heidelberg....charming town with a really cool castle. Then Stuttgart was recommended for its interesting museums, beautiful castle, and of course, the Mercedes-Benz Museum.

After a few hours on a train, we met in Stuttgart, Germany. We stayed at a Marriot which is always nice and like home. I even was able to snatch a bunch of sample size shampoos and lotions!! Money! Our hotel was a trek to the city center so we stayed in and ate at the very nice hotel restaurant. We both had traditional German meals consisting of Swabian noodles, pork with gravy, and bread.

The next morning, we got up and headed toward the city center to explore. We ran across a German museum with an Erwin Rommel exhibit. It was very interesting and all in German (but you could still figure it out). We then walked around the Schlossplatz (the new palace) and all around the market and shopping areas. We tried (but failed) to get American coffee, but we put some milk in it and it wasn't that bad. We then caught a cab and ventured out to the Mercedes-Benz Museum. What a cool place! It had so many cool cars and the history was very interesting, and of course, Dad enjoyed it!

We then caught our train to Heidelberg, and settled in to our Marriot there. We watched a really good movie on a British movie channel about hiding escaped Allied POW's in the Vatican. Christopher Plummer played a Nazi in the film and it really irritated me b/c he is and always will be Capt. Von Trapp singing "Edelweiss". After our movie (it was raining outside), we ate at the really small tavern in the hotel. It was AMAZING! I had pork schnitzel, and sauerkraut, and some humungous sausage thing. We drank Heidelberger beer (which was the agreed favorite of the trip) and collected numerous coasters from our friendly waitress. We had apple strudel for dessert of course!

The next morning, we got up and ventured out to the Heidelberg castle. We took a funicular up one stop on the mountain and went out to see the castle. It was beautiful! A combination of new and old (and with that I mean 17th century and 18th century) with beautiful gardens and great views of Heidelberg and the River Neckar. Then we went up to the top of the mountain on the rickety funicular tram….it was gorgeous and there were crazy people up there on their bikes…which meant they biked all the up there!

After coming down the mountain, we explored the streets of Heidelberg and ate at a local tavern. Let me just say…you have not had sauerkraut until you have it in Germany! I ordered a huge bowl and it was delicious. Sadly, after lunch we had to leave for Maastricht (after we bought Hard Rock pins). In Maastricht, we checked into the Bed and Breakfast and went to my local favorite, The Shamrock Pub. We had a few beers, some nuts, and a ham and cheese toasty (yes the Shamrock serves food!!), and some drunk Canadian kid bought us apple cider shots and Dad took one!!

The next morning, Monday, I took Dad around Maastricht showing him the churches, Vrijthof, and Market Squares. We had American coffee at McDonalds and waffles on the street. They are so good! I showed him around the university and ate at one of our favorite pubs where the French onion soup is to die for! I even got Dad to eat fries with mayo…and he liked it! I am telling you, don't knock it till you try it! After dinner, we parted ways and Dad got ready for his flight back to the states. It was such a great weekend, and I am so glad he got to come visit me! Now we just a family trip to Europe!! And maybe we will all get to hold our own passports??!!! Haha

Tot Ziens!

Love,

Betsy