Europe Trip Part 3: Germany

Germany was home base on our trip.  My aunt and uncle live in Wiesbaden so we stayed with them and branched out from there.  After doing road trips to France and Switzerland we returned to Germany to do some sight seeing there.

The first thing that blew my mind about Germany was the Autobahn.  We were going about 85 mph but people were passing us like we were standing still.  It really made me want to get a sweet BMW or Mercedes so I could experience the true potential of the Autobahn.  One thing I thought was fascinating is that they plant trees all along the sides of the Autobahn.  There are no billboards and you can't see beyond the trees so people keep their eyes on the road.  As a result of this there are very few car accidents, even with the high speeds.

While in Germany, whenever we were out and about we would stop for ice cream.  Only it's not ice cream, they don't have any cream in it and they just call it "ice".  It's way better than our ice cream, and it was actually pretty cheap.  Everything else in Europe would cost an arm and a leg, but you could have an ice cone for 70 Euro cents.

The first full day in Germany we took a trip to Berg Eltz.  It was a pretty cool looking castle.

Once we were inside the castle, Sheldon and I were looking out at the walls and towers trying to decide where we would place our archers.  I'm pretty sure living in a castle must have been like one big tower defense game.  I was hoping we would get attacked by orcs or something but it didn't happen.

The other castle we went to was Heidelberg.  Unlike the first castle, this was was a ruin that had been attacked in the 1500's.  This is one of the towers where they had kept the ammunition.  When it was attacked, the enemy snuck into the tower and blew it up from the inside.  The 22 foot thick walls kept them from attacking it from the outside.

As you can see, the folks at Heidelberg were not as good at tower defense games. 

A large portion of the castle was still intact though, so we were still able to walk through much of it.  The castle was on top of a huge hill so the view looking down on the city was pretty awesome.

We tried the various local german foods, I had bratwurst, schnitzel and various other things.  One night, though, we decided we needed to try a place called Waldgeist (it means forest ghost).  They advertise XXXXXL portions.  Robyn and I ordered a giant burger to share.

Together we were able to eat about half of it.  I also ordered a large water so they brought me a 2 liter "cup" that looked more like a vase.  Don't worry, I drank it all.

But one of my favorite things we did in Germany was that we went to Rudesheim where we took a gondola ride up to the statue of peace.

This statue was built after World War 2.  It symbolizes Germany's desire for peace and represents a promise that they will not enter into war unprovoked.  The statue is pointing the hilt of its sword toward France as a special peace offering to the French who were occupied by the Nazi invaders.

Germany was a fabulous end to our trip.  We got to eat some great food, see some cool stuff and learn a little bit of history. The way home seemed eternal, but we were sure glad to sleep in our own beds again.