We realized on our way to Prague on Friday that Rothenburg ob der Tauber is only 20 minutes off the Autobahn.  We’ve always wanted to visit this medieval walled city but it’s always a bit of drive and not close to anything else we wanted to see.  But not this time.  We woke up, packed up, and were in the car and on our way by 09.30 this morning.  We arrived in Rothenburg just in time for lunch.  Döner kebab, again.  Til we are sick of them.

We didn’t have much time here but it was enough to explore some streets and even walk part of the wall.

 

We were on the road by 9:45 Friday morning for our 6-hour drive to Prague.  WOW!  Our apartment is in the Josefov quarter (former Jewish ghetto), surrounded by Staré Město (Old Town), Praha 1.  It’s perfect for our stay – loft, elevator, AC, balcony, plenty of space.  There were some kinks in the process (communication and information) but thankful it all worked out. We got ourselves in, unpacked, and ready to explore the city.  (On foot because we parked our car in an “elevator”!) We walked to the Staroměstské náměstí (Old Town Square), ate at Mama Lucy Restaurant, stopped in the tourist shops, and headed to the Karlův most (Charles Bridge).

SATURDAY
After breakfast at the Bakeshop, we headed through the Staroměstské náměstí and across the Karlův most toward the Pražský hrad (Prague Castle).   We happened upon groups lining up for the 12th Prague Folklore days in the Old Town Square.  We didn’t get to see any performances but we did watch a few of them parade off.  We walked into the Valdštejnská zahrada (Wallenstein garden) before heading up to the hrad.  We were disappointed with our tour of the castle – she was late and not very interesting.  The Aperolspritz and promises of trdelník eased the disappointment, though.  We then slowly headed back for some down time and happy hour before heading out for dinner and meandering the Pěší Zóna in search of souvenirs.

SUNDAY
After a croissant breakfast in the apartment, we took an Uber back to the hrad to truly see it.  Unfortuantley, the limited view of the Katedrála svatého Víta (St. Vitus Cathedral) from yesterday will have to suffice because the church was closed this morning.  We did get to see the Starý královský palác (Old Royal Palace), bazilika sv. Jiří (St. George’s Basilica), and Zlatá ulička (Golden Lane) with the Daliborka Tower.  Next stop, Josefov.  Here we visited the Maiselova synagoga  (Maisel Synagogue which now houses a museum), Pinkasova synagoga (Pinkas Synagogue – memorial to the nearly 80.000 victims of the Shoah (Holocaust) from the Bohemian lands), Starý židovský hřbitov  (Old Jewish Cemetery), and the Klausová Synagoga (Klausen Synagogue with more Jewish artifacts).  It was a full morning so we headed back to the apartment after lunch.  A, S, and D decided to stay behind while the rest of us headed back out to wander the streets.  We walked some of the Malá Strana (Little Quarter) and even stopped for drinks in the Malé náměstí (Little Square).  We went back to the apartment to rest before dinner.   Since it was our last night, we sat on the ground in the Old Town Square and just people watched.  It is amazing – there are always people out and the stores are all open til 22h!

Hard to believe but today was the last day of school!!  We brought the cookies this morning, celebrated with döner kebab for lunch, and then headed to Bad Wildbad to walk among the trees.  The Baumwipfelpfad Schwarzwald is about 1.250m long (including the spiral ramp in the Turm).  The walkway itself is up to 20m high among the tree tops (mixed forest incl beech trees, firs and spruces) and then it leads you to a spiral ramp to the top of a 40m high observation deck where you can see out over the Schwarzwald!  The last hurrah was for Sebastian, though.  We had a potluck meal at the school before we left him to spend the night with his class at the school.  No sleep for him tonight!

 

 

After school, we headed to Tübingen. First, we met Lizzy and Steve for Eis and a quick walk about the Altstadt Fußgängerzone.  We took a quick pic in front of the Rathaus in the Marktplatz because the last time we were here, it was under renovation so we couldn’t see it clearly. The big event for the day was Stocherkahn ride on the Neckar.  It’s like a gondola ride but on a flat bottomed boat. Another unique feature – in other boats, riders face forward while in Tübingen, one faces inward and leans back.  Oh, and you can remove the back rest and stick your feet in the water.  Quite refreshing on a hot summer day!

 

Couldn’t do a big excursion this afternoon because Hubby actually had to do some work.  So … errands!  Edeka for cookie ingredients + the barber for a hair cut + Bolzplaz for soccer = Weil der Stadt.

Started baking for the Abschlusscookies.  A total of 4 dozen per class for A, D, and S.  That’s a lot of cookies!!

 

We went swimming!  DAS LEUZE Mineralbad in Stuttgart has 8 swimming pools filled with mineral water.  There are also saunas and steam rooms but we didn’t try those.  We started with the indoor 20°C naturbelassenes Mineralwasser (Mineral swimming pool), then the 20° and 24°C outdoor pools.  That’s 68° and 75°F – BRR! There is also a hot tub and an indoor/outdoor pool at 34° and 36°C where we were able to warm up a bit. The most memorable thing about these pools – swimming in sparkling water tingles and fizzes our skin.

FRIDAY
The kids haben Heute Blau gemacht (played hookie from school) so we could leave early for Strasbourg. It was only a two-hour drive that took us to the région d’alsace-lorraine and the picturesque village of Strasbourg. Our loft is perfect – enough beds for each child to sleep separately, a complete – albeit small – kitchen, plenty of windows and balcony, even AC! Only downside is that it is a 6 floor walk-up. With luggage. And a Wasserkasten. Twice a day. Whew!

After we got settled in, we walked into town to grab lunch (sandwichs à emporter) and get our bearings. We sweated, squinted, and even slept on a Batorama tour, scoped out a dinner restaurant (Au Petit Bois Vert), and found a market (La Nouvelle Douane) to buy ingredients for happy hour. The store was pricey but the local wines were delicious and the pâté et saucisson were délicieux!

SATURDAY
After the most expensive petit déjeuner (croissants au chocolat, œufs au plat, chocolat chaud, et café) we have ever had ;-),  we met up with Carsten, Melanie, and Yoshua this morning at the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg. It was a wonderful day spent wandering the streets, taking in the sights, and seeing the kids play. We ate lunch at La Taverne Du Quai (next to last night’s restaurant) and dined at Au Vieux Strasbourg. A touristy locale but with great service and delicious food! Anja had a charcoal portrait drawn and then we bade them good night. But our evening continued … we joined the throngs leaving the island headed towards dancing, music, food, and drink.  And fireworks, of course.  We joined in the festivities and watched the fireworks from below.  And then ran up the steps to watch the finale from our balcony.  It was a late night – the display didn’t start til 22.30h!!

SUNDAY
We left Strasbourg this morning and headed back home.  The 2 girls attended Annalena’s birthday party and the rest of us spent the afternoon with Tante.  We were treated to RITTER Café for Kaffeestunde. YUMMY!

 

 

 

The highlight of today was dinner.  We had a lovely Spaghetti-Abendessen at Lily’s this evening and Michael, Jana, and Denise joined us, too.  And, of course, Lilys berühmter Nachtisch did not disappoint.

 

 

Visiting a university here is just not the same as in the States.  We walked around the campus of the Universität Hohenheim this afternoon.  The school actually uses some part of the Schloss for classes but that’s the most notable thing about the campus.  So, we quickly followed that with our next stop – the Fernsehturm Stuttgart, a repeated request from S.  Of course, we had to have Kaffeestunde at 146m.  We finished the day with dinner at the Hausbrauerei Mönchwasen in Simmozheim.  Kaesespaetzle and Flammkuchen – YUM!  This was the day that S and Hubby fought over a tomato, knocked over the Hefeweizen which fell into the Spezi, breaking the glass and spilling beer and soda all over. As a token, S decided to give our server a very small tip.  As she reached for it perplexedly, she forgot about the .5l Hefe on her tray, spilling that beer on S and the floor.  We didn’t take a picture of either mess, but the older couple beside us got a good laugh.   As the manager said as she helped to clean up, “es passiert öfters.”  Doubt it.

Today, S had a field trip to the Stegmuehle in Daetzingen with the other Deutsch-als-Fremdsprache students and Frau Ulrike Ploch-Wilke.  The kids played games and even had a campfire with marshmallows.  This afternoon, we all went to Weil-der-Stadt for Magnum Eis and to kick the ball around the Bolzplatz.