So off to the next part of my trip!
I am beginning to write this totally sleepy from my night of not falling asleep - again**. This gets real old really fast. So I am relaxing and trying to start write and I am almost about to fall asleep. So I am pushing on. If I nap, as many people would suggest, then I would again have a no sleep night and that would be bad new bears.
** I started this this morning and am fortunately much more alert! :)
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| The Palace! Look at those stag statues! |
Anyway, part of the weekend I was in Germany I was entertained by Anne-Sophie's awesome sister, Valerie and her boyfriend David and Anne's boyfriend Nico, because she had a work presentation on Saturday afternoon. When one spends over a week with someone, one has to expect some surprises. Fortunately, we had a very enjoyable afternoon together. Johann was with us as well, and he was a great little companion! I miss that little guy!
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| Party of 6! |
It was soccer play-off time in Europe ( here too, but not a lot of folks seem to watch soccer!) and there was a lot of excitement- we wore interesting things when Germany was playing, there were tons of outdoor viewing locations and soccer mania was rampant. I believe I interpreted correctly that no one in Germany, though they were rooting for them, believed the German team would do well. Which they kind of didn't.
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| Germany jersey! |
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| I wish I had a photo of the wig that was making the rounds! |
So we did some fun things such as go out for ice-cream (this was a frequent occurrence) then had a drink at an outdoor viewing place that had some very good wine. After which we went and saw an honest-to-god palace! The grounds and formal gardens connected with the
Schwetzingen Palace were spectacular! And there was even a mosque, which was beautiful as well. To me, though this was by far the most opulent of the castles of various ones I saw, and it sort of was the least interesting. I truly enjoyed the grounds, gardens, and the formality of it all, but I really like my castles, well...., more castley. Apparently I have romantic notions about what a castle should look like. Like old and with dungeons and towers I guess. There was a lot to look at- but you might be able to tell that I had some fairly harsh lighting conditions here- but that is ok. Wandering around and seeing all the little hidden nooks and fountains and statues was a satisfying experience. There was some beautiful beautiful sights.
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| The entrance where we entered the grounds- |
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| A little Roman temple with pond and statue |
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| Part of the mosque area |
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| Mosque |
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| Fountain and statue with urns |
After finishing up at the Palace we actually went to eat in outdoor seating at an American style sports bar! It was fairly amusing, really, to go to Germany to eat a (veggie) burger and fries. We had a grand time all together.
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| These hedges- or whatever you call them, were just stunning |
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| Part of the palace grounds |
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| The gate out of the property |
I have to comment on the language experience during this afternoon! It was quite amusing to listen to the different selections of languages spoken. Of course there were the three Germans, 2 of whom spoke impeccable English, one who spoke English a little. One spoke French and English, I speak English and a bit of German. There was a lot of mixed languages going on and it was a fascinating thing to behold. Just one of the things I found so interesting and enjoyable about being in a foreign country. As I have mentioned previously, the landscape and the buildings in the southwest of Germany was like a fairytale to me. I was enthralled with the way it looked- I know I have mentioned how beautiful it was before, I just can't describe how much I loved it. And those buildings- so charming. I tell you, America needs to step up its game. Get out and plant flowers from your windows people- you are missing the boat.
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| Even their lampposts in some locales have roses growing on them. |
Speaking of charm, we went for a drive through a tiny part of the Black Forest on Sunday and landed in a beauty of a village where we stopped for- SURPRISE!! Ice cream! In case you are wondering- I did eat more than pretzels and ice cream. But I could have been fine with those two things as well.... and the wine, but I digress.
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| So. Damn. Cool. |
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| I loved this painting on the building. |
I found some lovely little shops, even if they were closed for the most part, and a few interesting little spots nestled in here and there. There was also a stop in a shop connected to a factory that makes the little espresso cups that I drank coffee (really really good coffee) each morning. I picked up a couple cups there, and they were literally the only souvenir I got for myself the whole time I was there. These cups are from the
Zeller Keramik factory in the town of Zeller am Harmersbach.
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| Chicken cup with espresso!! And Johann! |
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| Some of the amazing details- carvings above the windows. Look at the curves that divide the windows to the left. Stunning |
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| A little gate that has if you look closely a bunch of cannons tucked up above |
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| I had to take this photo of a Wrigleys gum sign! |
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So, funny story on this photo- my son Jon wanted to know if everyone was wearing
lederhosen- Anne got a laugh out of that. She says yes, lederhosen und dirndls. I found
the right store for it!
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| Another little cool place that i have no idea why its there. But it was fun to explore |
What a splendid few days we had- and in between I had such wonderful conversation with Anne-Sophie and enjoyed spending a little time with her family and just being in that lovely home I shared for a week. Next post up is going to be Strasbourg, unfortunately the wrap up for my amazing part one of my trip in June. Some one asked me what my very favorite part was, and I can honestly say it all was my favorite. I just can't choose.
So until next time, be a joy giver. Put a smile on someones face. :)
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