Grand Hotel Schloss Bensberg Bergisch Gladbach

... We've been getting along really well but I can't help but laugh at her for being a bit motherly towards me. The kids and I have also been getting along although I'm not exactly looking forward to sitting in the car for them for 5 hours this weekend :-/ We're going to take them to Lego land in south Germany. I'm trying to pretend to be as excited as they are, but it's not Disney we're talking about here and it's cold, not ...

... 1080;нтер 77;сное, что путеш 77;ствия, являя 89;ь с одной сторо 85;ы путем к истин 85;ому себе, в то же ...

... in things that involved their land, their culture. While world issues seem very far away, historic events like the Potato Famine seem present in their every day lives. It is also a culture very focused on death. Apparently funerals are a huge event in the Irish countryside with absolutely everyone attending. Much bigger than weddings, they last three days and are filled with high-spirited drinking. Additionally, there are death announcements every several
hours ...

... time it was the tallest building in the world.
It was awesome inside with the high vaulted ceiling and beautiful stained glass windows. It has a golden alter which contains their relics, supposedly some of the bones of the Three Wise Men.
This afternoon was the time to pack as we arrive in Amsterdam tonight. We’re in the first group to leave tomorrow for the airport and have to be ready by 5:45 a.m.

Koln

After our Rhine cruise we drove in the coach to Koln (Cologne). Cologne is well-known for a few things, including perfume (4711 in particular), its Roman origins (as a colony – hence the name) and for its twin spired Gothic cathedral. We stopped for a little over an hour in the main square.

The cathedral houses the bones of the three Magi ...

... ich war noch nie auf dem Oktoberfest (und auch noch nie zum Karneval in Köln...). Sei's drum.

Eine Woche Kollegen-Kontakte in Deutschland treffen heisst auf einem Betriebsgelände, dass von drei S-Bahn Stationen auf einer Linie zu erreichen ist, vor allen Dingen viel Fu ...

This weekend I managed to make a trip to see Laura again. Her Mom and her brother took me to an old castle at Schlossenberg, really awesome. They were having a big cheese and pretzel festival this weekend so once you got into the castle courtyard you could sample all kinds of amazing food. The cheese was cool because they had a stand where one lady was actually making cheese and then another one nearby where you could buy a slice off of a huge round of cheese. There was also lots of ...

... Köln to Freiburg.

The cheapest was about 39 euros (ouch) and I had to change between 5 different trains. Small problem was, the first train was about 10 minutes late leaving, and arrived around 30 minutes late... super crazy, since all of the other trains I've taken so far in Germany leave and arrive EXACTLY on the scheduled minute.

continued in the next post, for my arrival to Freiburg...

abrazos

... This is pretty close to Frankfurt. My sister Ati, her husband Luke and my 2yr old niece came over from the US of A. We were joined by the rest of our families and my best man, Sebi as well as Regine's maid of honour, Karen. We had a great and relaxed time before the last bit of organising the "big wedding" five days later were due. The church ceremony was an absolute dream. The minister, Pfarrer Dehmel, was outstanding and created a truly special and personal athmosphere ...

... soon! PPS: Oh yeh, and if anyone is having trouble replying to us through Travel Pod, feel free to just drop us an email via either of our addresses: Rob: parahills@hotmail.com Renee: renee_bryant17@hotmail.com PPPS: And congrats to Scotty Tunbridge and Emma who recently got married - all the best guys! PPPPS: Hahaha, sorry one more, happy birthday to Krystal! PPPPPS: Rob still hasn't had a hair cut since we left Oz - hmmmmmm, it's gonna be pretty speccy after another four months of growth! x