Top Schlosshotel Weilburg

... up, and it indeed look like Jack Nicholson would axe you to death here. And their internet connection wasn't working, so they never got our resevation for a double room with no bath or window. So they gave us a ginormous suite with a balcony for the same price. Sweeeeet.<br><br>"Bad" means "bath" in German, and any town called "Bad" has a spa. So tonight we went to the town spa to "take the waters" at an art nouveau bathhouse originally ...

... tallest building in Europe until the Eiffel Tower was built. None of these pictures do it justice.<br><br> Inside, it's beauty and size are beyond my ability to describe. Once inside, you can get a sense of the emotional intensity that some people feel in here. It's really quite astonishing no matter what your faith is.<br><br> Behind the main alter is the Shrine of the ...

Today was a light day. I mostly followed the girls around as they shopped in the nearby city of Siegen, although I did buy myself a much-needed belt.<br><br>I learned an interesting fact today, in America our biggest meal is usually dinner and we eat a smaller lunch. In Germany, it is just the opposite ...

... Kasesuppe (cheese soup) and the usual wurst and potatoe salad. Her daughter, Stefanie and boyfriend, as well as her son, Christian, were there as well. We talked until 11:30pm, and then dragged ourselves off to bed. It was a pleasant start to the "Hurricane Relative Visiting". The kids took over Rita's bedroom, while Ken and I slept in her office. She slept on the couch...talk about giving!

... what we saw, swanky!<br><br>We went to the former GDR and visited Wartburg Castel in Eisenach. This is the castle where Martin Luther translated the bible from Greek to German. We went on a guided tour of the castle. Dave and Marion ate some bratwurst from a stand. Dave really enjoyed it, Ann had a little bite but that was all. Safari Ann and Dave enjoyed the visit as well ...

&gt; We toured a castle yesterday with a pretty unintelligible French <br>&gt; guide. It was coolish and I got some nice pics and video. Glad to be <br>&gt; away from that boring town, and the kids loved their homestay! Lots <br>&gt; of spunkiness going on.<br>&gt;<br>&gt; So I'm very tired and cranky now. It's so bad that a Skype disaster drove me to ...

... before we boarded our train. Apart from aircraft and F1 cars, I don't think I've ever seen a faster form of transport in action. Although we were stood about 30 feet from the tracks as the train approached I found myself fighting the impulse to grab onto something, as my brain assumed that something passing at that speed would knock me off my feet, even at such a distance. It was an exhilirating experience, hopefully the first of many to come over the next few days.

... and SO perfect. I guess I'll try. We stayed in an elaborately nice (compared to hostel) Best Western near the train station, and a 15 minute walk by the Rhine, and a park full of brilliantly turning leaves brought us to the extensive Christmas markets of Frankfurt. I don't know where to start...the smells of gingerbread, and roasting nuts, bright Christmas lights, pretzels, beautiful ornaments, candles, big trees completely decorated, a men's chorus singing familiar Christmas tunes, but ...

The alarm woke us suddenly at 3:00am, up showered and out the door by 3:30 - weather was not much above 0deg, so with the heater at max we started the journey to Stansted airport - after a few issues getting into the carpark we jumped on the shuttle bus and headed to the terminal. Our flight was not listed on the departure boards as yet, so the wait commenced - finally we headed to the checkin desk to join another queue before receiving our boarding passes and heading to the next queue ...

... too. We then ventured to Weilburg and Limburg to see some very old towns (where the buildings are actually leaning from warped wood!). It was so neat to see such old places! In Limburg exists The Cathedral of Limburg. It's just a beautiful structure and is so nice inside as well! It, too, has survived and been reconstructed after WWII. The original location was once occupied by a castle owned ...