We had nowhere to be, and it was raining, so we slept in late, had coffee in bed, and I blogged for a while. Every-so-often we heard a tractor putter by. We left the house in the afternoon when the rain stopped to take a hike. There were many hiking routes in the area. For reference we took a picture of the trail map posted next to our house and then started looking for signs to get us going in the right direction. The air was moist and earthy. Following ...

We cleared out of our cozy apartment in Bacharach and said goodbye to Tammy, Doug, Mila, Makenna, and Deborah. We were sad to leave them, and wished they could continue on with us for the rest of the summer. Knowing that they were heading to Canada made Tim, Darius and Mariah a little homesick. Brennin, Belia and I were just happy to have more time to keep exploring. But given the choice to go home early they said no, they were excited for our upcoming adven...

We made alternate plans to see a concentration camp closer by. I decided to go along, but not to do the tour with Belia, and then join the group for the trip to Stuttgart to see the Porsche Museum. Struthof was a camp found just past the German border in France. The scenery driving to Struthof is beautiful. Winding roads through beautiful forests, flowers in the ditches, and views over valleys in places. In fact the area was a ski resort before the war. I...

The plan was for everyone but Belia and I to travel to Buchenwald Concentration Camp. I thought it would be a lot for Belia to handle. I encouraged Mariah and Darius to stay back too, and go when they were older, but they insisted on going. Mariah and Darius had learned about concentration camps in school, and in books, so they were intent on going. When the rest of the group started driving they realized that the GPS was taking them to a different Buchenwald,...

After breakfast we said goodbye to our castle and went to the main street of Bacharach, finding Café Haus Stiehl. The owner, Marjkijke, met us and toured us through her contemporary renovated apartments. Behind her cafe we crossed over the outdoor patio, and up a set of stairs. The landing led to a door to an apartment, but we continued up another flight of steps. Opening the door we found a unit with a kitchen, living room, and bedrooms on the right, and a ...