Pension zur Alten Schmiede Weilburg

... by the ancient Romans. Now, in Japan and Turkey and Hungary, baths are sex-segregated for the naked parts, but clothed for mixed-gender. Not so here...everyone's junk was out for all to see and holy **** was it weird. Especially with the combo of hot sauna; steam room, and cold dips. 'nuff saId. Anyway. My eyes are burning.<br><br>Tomorrow we are visiting the little towns on the Rhine for more neuer wine and pretzels. Then it's home on Monday!

... Magi. This sarcophagus is said to hold the remains of the three kings who followed the star to Bethlehem where Jesus was born.<br><br>Also not to be missed, is the climb up the south tower. We climbed 533 steps to the (almost) top of one of the steeples. What a climb! The view was worth it though. We also got to see the massive bells that ring every 15 minutes.<br> <br>

... is the biggest meal of the day and dinner is usually lighter.<br><br>I also noticed that bakeries (Bäckereien) are much more commonplace here. Our German family buys their bread fresh and they slice it as they use it each meal. I like this. I wonder, how much does a bread slicer cost in the U.S.?<br>

There is one problem with staying in one place for more than one night, especially a larger place; you spread out. Ken had a breakfast meeting...and 6:30am...so he was back before we were done breakfast. Then we packed for a while, had a nap and then it was off to visit Onkel Siefried and Tante Emmi in Witten. They live in a house that backs a old orchard, complete with sweaters...oops, I ...

... on a canon and having a beer.<br><br>We drove to Bad Nauheim, a town about 40 minutes from the airport. Marion had booked a hotel and we stayed there. We found a nice restaurant and ate outside once again. Dave had a delicious steak with chanterelles and rösti with of course beer and schnapps. Ann ate very lightly and enjoyed an apfel schorle! A very nice drink for a delicate stomach.

... really mean to Bruce on the phone, and I'm just about always yelling at the kids if they dare to come near me. I'd kill a drifter for a really great nights sleep.Have I mentioned how awful European pillows are???? <br><br>Anyway, swimming and a cruise down the Rhine river today. Should be nice. Hopefully, I can get it together and snap out of the haze.

A good night's sleep later, we were up and about early to make our way from Kobenhavn to Wallmerod, Germany.<br><br>I'm carrying a bit of a guilty secret about our hotel that I should probably share with you at this point. Lyndsey and I hadn't been staying in just any old hotel: we'd found a deal while still in England that allowed you to book into any Hilton hotel in Europe at 50% of the normal price, and had taken full advantage of the offer in Malmo. I say ...

... a different language. It's too much. I don't know what to say. Definitely not the most exciting trip, but who can argue with Christmas? Saturday we took a train to Cologne, to find more varied Christmas markets under the big, beautiful Cologne Cathedral, a church that took over 6 centuries to complete. Germany was one of the cheapest places I've been to in Europe, so even going to the touristy Christmas markets didn't hurt too bad. Also, we barely ate in restaurants the entire time ...

... Customs and Immigration - 2 hours after arriving at the airport we headed for the departure gate. Whilst waiting for the plane to arrive we began to research our destination and found that the airport we were flying into, although called Frankfurt Hahn, was no where near Frankfurt - but 120km out in the Hahn forest at an old converted Military base - let the adventure begin !! Landed about 11:00, local time, and onto a bus to take us to the 'real' Franfurt airport - an hour and a half ...

... the Counts of Lower Lahn, and it is thought that stucture was present around the 8th century. Changes have been made throughout its history, due to liturgical changes and artistic trends, but during WWII, the outer structure was pretty much destroyed. The outside was plastered over and the outer facade was restored to its original design. The reconstruction of what stands today was finished in 1974.