So who or what are/is "the Staufer", and why am I on the trail? To answer the second question first (I just love chiasm, don't you?): Part of the reason I stopped in Stuttgart - in addition to visiting friends and "family" - was to do research for my advanced German class at Pacifica. In German 4/AP we spend a significant amount of time on the M...

I woke up bright and early so that I can start packing for my departure tomorrow. I've gobbled up my breakfast and now I'm onto bigger and better things, otherwise known as THE MALL. First Stop: Königstraße There is a whole entire mile long stree dedicated to exquisite department stores, special shops, and cafes. There are street artists around ...

The 1st night in Stuttgart was the toughest night of the trip. We rolled into town about 3am and the hotel would understandably not let us check in. So we drove around and and ended up parking on a street near the hotel. The funny thing was that, at 3am, it seemed like a fairly empty street, but as the sun came up, we found out it was a main art...

We arrived in Frankfurt a bit early at 10:15 a.m. Frankfurt time (4:15 am EDT). Arrival in Frankfurt was very simple and fast. There was no wheelchair again, but the distances were short. There was only a short line at immigration (no forms to fill out) and none at customs (still no forms). We walked a short way to the next terminal then over to...