I Love Castles!

Day...I have no idea what day it is for me here in Germany. Let me take a stab at it. Umm, 4? Today is Monday, so it must be day four. Anyway, while still in Carlsburg, the little town where Kat's dad and step-mom Maggie live, we took a hike through the forest to a castle that is now a youth hostel. It was built in 1100 something and was destroyed by the French in 1600 something. It has since been rebuilt into a youth hostel, but parts of the old walls are still standing. I took pictures of that one. It wasn't that spectacular, but it was my first castle. Spaghetti Ice Cream!

Then we drove to Bad Durkheim, where we surprised upon a bike festival that was going on and nearly got run over everywhere we walked. We went to a little cafe and had ice cream. I tried spaghetti ice cream, which isn't nearly as gross as it sounds. It is actually vanilla ice cream squeezed through tubes to look like spaghetti noodles, and then strawberry sauce on top to look like red sauce. It was really good! Ice cream here is a production.

After that we drove through this really windy one lane road--and one lane here does not mean one-way traffic, either! You have to pull off in some spots to let other people drive by. We were driving through the forest, though, and it was beautiful! At one point we could see all the way to the horizon of the Rhine valley, all filled with little towns and vinyards. There are tons of vinyards in this area.

After that we packed up and drove Kat's dad's BMW to Herton, where Kat's mom lives. The drive was an experience! We couldn't fit our luggage in the trunk, so we packed what we thought we would need in bags. I am now living out of my backpack and a garbage bag. And then we squeezed ourselves in the car--a feat with 2 car seats in the back--and headed out. Everyone here drives 160 kilometers per hour or faster, which is roughly 100 mph. So we were going at that speed almost the entire time, and it doesn't even feel like you are going that fast, because everyone else is passing you! I also must add that the chances of me ever riding in a more expensive car are slim to none. I did ride in Maggie's Mercedes, though, so...

And now we are here to stay for the week. I have my own room once again, but everyone shares the bathrooms.

This morning we took a walk to see the school where Kat used to go and then we drove to this old village where the houses are super old--some from the 1600s. I took many pictures. There was a castle there, but it doesn't really looke like a castle. Then we drove downtown and had lunch--a doner, which is pronounced doo-na, and should have the double dot doohickey over the o. It is basically a turkish version of the gyro, but bigger, and they use turkey instead of whatever the greeks use. It was good. Then we walked to the castle in the middle of this huge park with 200 year old trees. It was fascinating. We stopped at this playground to climb this huge cargo net. I felt like I should have been clipped in with a 'biner while someone belayed me!

This thing was intense! I love castles!

I do not love stinging nettles! The darn things are everywhere here, lurking where you least expect them. Thus far I have avoided a sting, but I know it is only inevitable, considering my penchant for wandering off the path to look at things. I crawled down off this bridge to get the perfect shot of the castle, and there were stinging nettles everywhere! I managed not to fall in to the moat and not to grab a stinging nettle by accident.

Another thing I am not used to is eating lunchmeat for breakfast. Salami, ham, many types of cheeses--all on a roll, eaten for breakfast. I do like trying out the different types of cheeses, though. They have some good ones here. I plan on trying many more. I'm not into the different types of sausages, but cheese is good!

More later!