Deutschland II

Didn't get a chance to post the rest of these photos earlier, but once Dad headed back to the States, Deanne and Jonathan came to visit for 3 days in Ellerstadt before heading on to Stuttgart and then France. It was so fun to have them there and to get to introduce people to so many things I enjoy, including big breakfasts at Omi's with brotchen and soft-boiled eggs! We did a lot of sight seeing crammed into a short amount of
time and D & J were amazingly resilient considering the tours begain on day 1 with no time for adjustment from the time change! Annette took us to the Limburg, the ruins of an old cloister in Bad Durkheim and had a snack of something similar to onion quiche and new wine- yum! Then on to a very cute, very Pfaelz-ish restaurant where we all had a wonderful meal and sampled some wines. The next day was dedicated to Speyer. Annette took us to the town and then we walked around a bit and saw the cathedral there- the Speyer Dom. We ate a little something in the Hofbrauhaus and walked down to the Rhein River. The final day Sabine took us to Heidelberg where we explored the town and walked through the old castle. Its such a beautiful town with so many buildings that are works of art. It makes me look at the big box stores with a refreshed disdain. Why don't we care about beauty in our buildings?
Once Deanne and Jonathan continued on their way (a sad goodbye for me since we never know when we will see each other again) then I had a few more days before my own departure. Sabine and I went to downtown Schwetzingen and I finally got to meet her friend Biggi. We had a lovely afternoon of sitting in the sunshine outside their local pub and having white wine schoelers (spell?). I was so happy also to see Tante Ilsa and Tante Mariele again. Annette cooked a huge feast for us all, the whole family was there, even Omi made it from her house. We had my favorite Markloesensuppe, which is soup with little dumplings that are made of bone marrow and is very tasty, as a starter and it only got better from there!
It was such a nice trip and I'm looking forward to going again soon- with any luck for Wolfgang's 60th which is coming up next October...