Day 2...

...was jam-packed and lots of fun! After a slow entrance into the day, we certainly covered a lot of ground before the end. However, I learned a very valuable lesson....never, never, never, NEVER leave home without the camera charger...even though the camera has always stayed charged for 3-weeks, not just 1 day. Thank goodness Heather is just as much of a picture person as I am and always has her camera. BIG blessings....

Our first stop yesterday was at the Weisbaden Market. Oh what a wonderful market it was! There was everything you could imagine at this market...fresh flowers, fruit, vegetables, freshly cut meat, dairy...cheese, eggs, fresh milk...freshly squeezed juices, every form of bread you can make, pastries, jellies (or marmalade as it's called here) and seasonings. I could have stayed there for hours! Two things I learned: I LOVE zinnias now more than ever and I wish that I could shop at a fresh market every week!

Next stop was the Military Base. I desperately needed Euros (still had not exchanged money yet) and Heather had a "surprise". Now, I have never been on a miliary base before and it was a new experience. First, there were GERMAN guards at the entrance checking each person and vehicle entering post. If you do not have a military card, you must show your passport. So, I oblige and hand it over fully expecting a polite "hallo" and off we go...not the case. They take my passport, look at me, back at the passport and tell us to pull over. My heart is pounding faster than it ever has...it's one thing to be in the U.S. and have issues, but to be in a foreign country with issues is another thing entirely! All I can think of is how glad I am that I registered my visit with the U.S. Embassy in Germany. Heather realizes how panicked I am and quickly tells me not to worry this is protocol for visitors. The "visitor" has to be escorted through the rest of the check point. The funny thing is that I am not the one that is physically escorted, but it is Heather! Strange. Anyway, we get through without any further issues and I get to have my passport back. Whew!

While on base, we go to the PX and get a couple things that we need for our day, exchange dollars for Euros (exchange rate was 1:1.66, not bad at all!) We grab a quick lunch and then Heather tells us to stay put and finish eating and she'll be right back....about 30 minutes later, she comes back for us and off we go to start the rest of our day. The "surprise" was about to be uncovered...in such typical TPT fashion, she rented a CONVERTIBLE BMW for our trips over the next couple of days! This was such a wonderful surprise and the rest of the vacation was already shaping up to be fantastic! (In case you don't know Heather or any history about our spontaneous trips in the States, Heather ALWAYS rents a convertible at some point...even for just a few hours :))

So..after we transfer all of our "stuff" from one car to the other, off we head towards Heidelberg. Now, I don't claim to know much about cars, but even I am not easily intimidated...this car had a mind of it's own. It was a diesel powered car with sustainable features. for example, all cars in Germany are standard 6 gear + reverse engines and it is quite common that when you stop at a light or stop sign or whatever, to put the car in neutral and stop. Well, this car when stopped turns off completely. When the clutch is engaged it immediately starts back up again. Wierd, but appreciated I am sure by the environment. That took some getting used to. The next task is to figure out how to let down the top....and as soon as I learn German I can read up on it in the manual. Needless to say, the pictures didn't help much so we will have to figure it out later.

Once in Heidelberg, I am impressed. This city sits on the banks of the Neckar River. It's beautiful! There are several Universities in Heidelberg and one is an American University. Quite cool. The first thing we do is find parking....we finally find the parking garage, but have to wait about 15 minutes for someone to leave so that we can enter. That's right, it was FULL! But that's okay because we were able to get in fairly quick and get on our way around the city. Once parked, we made our way to the train station so that we could get to the top of the "mountain" to visit the Schloss Castle. It's not a functioning place anymore, but still very massive and grand. It is more of a castle "ruin" than anything. However, there were people in formal wear everywhere, so there must've been an event taking place that we could not see. I loved this castle because the grounds were very plain, but open and green. We got a lot of exercise walking around and just hanging out on the lawn (kids needed a break from the stroller and walking). It's very hot this day and we go through a lot of water and fruit that be purchased at the market and just "happen" to throw in the stroller "just in case."

As we make our way back down the mountain, off to town center we go. Something about it reminded me of Mary Poppins. I found a beautiful hand-carved wooden cross. It has the most detailed grapevines all in it...very pretty and I am glad to have found it. For some reason, I have gathered a collection of crosses over the years and I realized this not long ago. In my next house, I will plan for a "Cross Wall" so that they can all be displayed.

We strolled the streets of Heidelberg for several hours going in and out of stores and even talking to a few people - mostly tourists - but very nice. I found a clothing boutique named Stefanel, which is my name in German. Of course I have a picture and may one day have to open my own store...ha!

By this time, it is 7:30 and time for dinner! We find a side street restaurant that has seating outside. It's so nice outside that sitting inside is not an option! We order Flammkuchen (German pizza), tomato basil soup, French Baguette Sandwich. Now, German pizza is not "normal" pizza....Italian pizza has a tomato sauce base. German pizza has a cream cheese base. Very thin and not the Philly Cream Cheese, either. The crust is very thin and crisp...think tart. The toppings are like what you'd expect, but they use Formaggio cheese instead of mozzerella or cheddar. I cannot say that I would prefer this style of pizza over Italian style, but I did enjoy it and would order it again.

Because Heidelberg is a touristy type place, there are tons of dessert places...gelato stations, crepes, etc. Mattie had been talking about "ice cream" all afternoon and we promised her that we would get her some after dinner...if she ate a good one. And, true to our word and true to her actions, we got the "ice cream" after dinner. It was Gelato (Italian Ice) and it was GOOD! You can get this in the U.S., but we Americans tend to go for the cream instead of the ice. Or, at least this American does. It's been a while since I have been around a 3-year old eating ice cream and walking. Mattie was enjoying her chocolate Gelato and wearing most of it, too. It was running down her elbows, all across her face, and dripping steadily....what were we thinking to not sit down and eat our desserts! Europeans believe that meals/food should be enjoyed and that does not mean walking around with it. People were looking at us...but at least they were laughing and not sneering. Mattie was really cute, but we were praying that she wouldn't run into anyone for they would surely be covered in chocolate Gelato. She was just precious and enjoying every minute of this treat.

After a little "issue" getting out of the parking garage, we are finally on the road and headed back home to Weisbaden. It's late and everyone is tired. The kids are asleep before we even get out of the parking garage. It's so good to have the quiet time with my friend and talk "adult stuff" without having little ears listening. I have learned that 3-year olds are much more perceptive than I give them credit for.

Today we are headed up the Rhine River and Heather just figured out how to let the top down on the convertible! Woo-Hoo! This is shaping up to be a GREAT day! I hope the kids like wind in their hair......

Sweet dreams....it is around 4a.m. in the State.

Auf Weideresehan (Goodbye),
SS