Minotel Hotel Im Rastmarkt Ansbach

Jon and I have a new deal. I plan a trip and drive, and he'll go anywhere. He'll even drive us home. One of the perks of subbing, I'm left with pockets of time to come up with trips. Trip number one, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, mostly because it fell neatly within the day trip range.<br><br>Part of our deal means I drive . . . The morning greeted us with a pea soup fog, enough to hide all road signs from any meaningful distance. GPS is good. I did drive fast ...

... the northernmost town on the Road. It was a cute beginning, though a reminder of why I am not enamored of German food (lots of sausages and very little veggies). But Wurzburg is a huge wine producing town, so color me very happy about that. (hic)<br><br>This morning we drove south to the most famous town on the Road, Rothenburg au der Tauber. Seriously, this town has to be seen to be believed. It looks like Fantasyland exploded in 12 different ...

... deposit at the hotel later, but it was too early for dinner, so we found a table in a corner of the square and had a beer. A very good beer! After our break, Erin wanted to find the old city wall gates in the middle of town, so we set out again exploring. Along the way we found the one internet café in town and decided to Skype the parents early. This was our most frustrating event of the trip; the café employee spoke almost no English, and knew less about ...

... freely.<br><br>If anyone has Skype, please email me your user name so we can communicate whenever I get the wifi.<br><br>I miss my friends, family, and Bruce a lot. I'm Skyping with him right now, and it is so good to see his little dimpled face. Miss that smile a lot.<br><br>12 more days until I'm a part of the American world again, but don't worry guys, I really am getting a lot ...

... more rewarding.<br><br>Dinkelsbuhl here we come. It is pushing just about 4 when we arrive in town. We pull into a parking spot and see a reenactment of an old town. We learn it is the Swedish soldiers camp of their invasion of Dinkelsbuyl during the 30 years war. One day, it is told, a group of children went to the Swedish army commander and pleaded that he spare their town, which he did. The festival THAT HAS BEEN ON ALL WEEK!!! And we ...

So now Im in Germany. Weve been on the bus for about two full days and its wreaking havoc on my stomach. I havent felt right since I left Switzerland. <br><br>I did get to do some shopping, and the food has been pretty good so far. <br><br>Thursday, we left Switzerland for what was supposed to be a 4 hour bus ride to the Black Forest to see a cuckoo clock factory (it was cool, but the clocks were too expensive).<br>The ride turned out ...

... dishes. All done so very nicely in ceramic tiles, lots of hooks in the showers and clean, clean.<br><br>We put our awning up, it is overcast and looks like it will pour. There is wi-fi all over, so we are checking emails. <br><br>Across from us someone begins to play the violin. How romantic it is here, under some stars, listening to a young woman play so beautifully ...

... demonstrated a sense of humor, actually laughter. After that I started paying closer attention and I came to understand that most Germans are focused, structured, serious people while working. In the evenings when they gathered at the bar located in the hotel, they seemed to transform. They would laugh, joke and have a really good time. It seemed to me that they were quite adept at compartmentalizing work and play ...

... was spread on slabs of bread served with pickles and mustard. I still can't quite figure out Alpen-Kaffeesahne. It bears some resemblance to Pet or Carnation Evaporated Milk but isn't even a distant relative of Coffee Cream. I have also sampled a pastry that looks like a punchke (spell check where are you?) and is filled with every imaginable cream flavored center. YMMMMMMM. This week end I'm back on the road.

... grocery store. There is no doubt that none of my genes are German in origin. I actually found myself becoming more and more depressed as I navigated the multi directionally wheeled cart down aisle after aisle of the most boring, unattractive, unappealing, substandard food I have ever had the opportunity to rest my eyes upon. Well, maybe Russia was in the running. Those of you that know me are aware of what I can do with the barest of staples. This was beyond my ...