Germany and Amsterdam

Where does one begin to share a 10 day travel experiences in one simple post? I've tried to posting a small sampling of photos to share a bit of my experience here in Germany so here goes:

A mere 15 hours after arriving in Germany, my daughter and I got on a bus and took a USO trip up to Amsterdam. We met up with Hanne, a fellow stamper who lives in the Netherlands. She was our tour guide for the day. I met Hanne through the Papertrey Forums - isn't it amazing how our stampin hobby can lead to making of new friends around the world???

This next photo is of me on the Eiserner Steg (Bridge) along the River Main in downtown Frankfurt and you can see the Frankfurt skyline in the background. Frankfurt is nicknamed Mainhatten because it has the most prestigious skyline in all of Germany. I did not get the opportunity on this trip to go up to the viewing platform on the Main tower. Next time maybe.

Next you'll see Burg (Castle) Frankenstein in the town of Darmstadt. It was a fascinating small old castle. There was a lovely outdoor dining deck where we were able to enjoy lunch in the 60º sunshine!! (NO coat in that kind of weather).

In downtown Frankfurt there is a typical German square called Römer Square. It is home to a large Christmas market each November/December and is a place for people to gather, eat, shop and explore. I snagged another tourist to snap my picture here. Again, this day was sunny, warm and breezy. Perfect day for exploring.




The NEXT photo is of my daughter with her brand new car! Wow was she excited to pick this beauty up. We had a lot of fun driving on the Autobahn (and yes, they do drive 90 miles per hour pretty routinely.) One rule of German driving is you may never pass a car on the right so you learn to pass left then move right so the really crazy autobahn drivers (who are going well over 100 MPH) can zoom past you.


The final two pics were taken during our trip to Bingen am Rhine (on the Rhine River). Here we met up with a friend of a friend, (Silke and her two boys, Pascal and Dominik). They graciously showed us around Bingen and then we took a ferry across the Rhine - note the castle on the hillside. This is apparently very common along the Rhine. The street photo is of a little street called Drosselgasse in the town of Rüdesheim. We took a gondola ride up to the top of the mountain here where we could see for miles and miles. The hillsides are covered with vineyards. It was a beautiful day and our new friends were just delightful. I spent much of the day conversing with Pascal who is 12. He is learning English and I am learning German (although his English is better than my German!).

We drove home in Amber's new car and collapsed for the night. These last two days will be spent getting my girl settled in. We must buy curtains, rugs, and small things to make her apartment better. It is the first time we have had time to go to the base to get the things she will need.

Then, Monday afternoon I'll be back home in Chicago - the change in temperature from 60s here to 30s in Chicago will be a shock to my system.

Thanks for taking time to stop by. I'm looking forward to stampin again when I return home.