Category: Travel – Germany

Tired as we were, everyone was very excited to see the little German towns that we passed on our way to Rothenberg.

We arrived in town around 9am and dropped off our luggage at the Hotel Rappen and a little talk on what was to happen today.

We then headed into town – our hotel is JUST outside the medieval wall which enclosed the main town. Okay, get ready for photo overload….. the first two were taken on our way to the main square…

which was just gorgeous…. many of the buildings date back as far the 1300s….

The kids (if that’s what you call teenage students) all went up the tower over the town hall. We would have but it was a bit unorganised (from the towers end) that we ended up not bothering and just waited on the steps of the town hall. Definitely not a bad spot to have to wait. When eventually all the kids had been up (only 20 people could be there at a time) we headed back to our hotel to have lunch (which is two doors up from the actual hotel). It was a lovely day (I think we got to a top of 18) so we were able to sit outside in the beirgarten.

My meal was a lovely cauliflower fritter and I ate Kevin’s side salad. Kevin had schnitzel (he doesn’t normally eat veal but pretty much it was only meat choice available. He was also very brave and tried someones blood sausage – which he said was disgusting!!!)

After lunch we split the group into two. Our group went for a walk around part of the town wall, seeing the town from above and exploring under some of the gates.

Everywhere you look in this town is just so cute and fairytale like. Hard to believe it’s all real.

We headed to the Castle Gardens (though there is no longer a castle) where the kids were given the task of drawing something they’d seen that day. Kevin and I relaxed (so glad to be off our feet for a while) and enjoyed the stunning location. One thing I didn’t realized is that all the trees would still be bare – though many are just now starting to bud.

After a bit Kevin and I decided to do a drawing too. Though I only filmed Kevin’s, so you’ll just have to admire my endeavor. I did love Art at school – took it till year 10 but I never very good :-).

Afters our drawing endeavors we headed back to the market square to meet with the other group. Of course I took more photos along the way. It’s one of those places that you want to capture every way you turn. There were lot more people out and about but it was still pretty quiet – I’m guessing because shops are closed here on Sunday.

We then went to have some afternoon tea in the form of “snow balls” – sorry don’t recall the German name. These very delicious treats are only available in this town.

Kevin and I chose 3 small ones to share – chocolate, lemon and powdered. The lemon was our favourite, and yes, we’ll be coming back for more tomorrow :-).

Everyone was feeling rather tired by now and it finally time to head back to the hotel and get into our rooms for showers (yay). We were very impressed by the room. It’s very modern and clean and we even have a balcony. As you can see Kevin was more than ready for bed :-).

After showering and getting changed I did some washing and Kevin made a make-shift clothes line on our balcony.

I also got started on yesterdays blog and at 7pm headed up two doors to have dinner (inside this time). We were served 3 courses. The first was soup with omelette strips.

The same cauliflower fritter that I’d had for lunch but it was so yummy I was happy to have it again.

Desert was a delicious pineapple fritter but I was too full to finish it (so Kevin did as he loves cooked fruit).

I tend to only photograph my own meals but if you’re keen to see what Kevin (non-vegetarian) is eating just let me know.

Some of the kids (like Amy) fell asleep at the table. Afterward we walked like zombies back to the hotel and fell straight into bed. I’m pretty sure I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

If you remember our trip to the UK back in 2010 you’ll know we like to spot goldens. Well, yesterday there was a record count of 5 goldens :-). And to think we weren’t even sure if we’d see any in Germany.

Tomorrow : Another day in Rothenburg

At least that’s what it seemed when I looked at my photos of our long day of travel.

As you can see we are travelling very lightly this trip,with just one medium suitcase and one backpack per person. We said our farewells to the pups, Nan and Christy (who chose to stay with them rather than join Amy’s school trip) and Pop kindly dropped us off at the airport. We then went to get some lunch from Sumo Salad before it was time to meet up with the group.

I still can’t believe this is all I’m taking.

We got everyone checked in and Amy was horrified to find she’d been seated between Kevin & I. Luckily all the kids wanted to change around so that’s what happened after take-off. We had more time to fill in so we got a tea and cookies from Mrs Fields.

Then finally it was time to head through immigration (after a group photo shot, which we don’t have a copy of). Here’s a photo of Kevin & I

And the one where were photobombed 🙂

Finally it was time to head through customs (once all the students had said their farewells). Just so you know – you find many, if any photos of Amy as we are trying to let her be an “independent traveller” like the rest of the group. Kevin & I are just tag-alongs and will hang out more with the teachers. There was a bit more waiting, then it was time to board our first plane, which left just on 4pm. Because Kevin likes a window seat and I like an aisle seat we were seated together. Kevin actually ended up with the teachers, and I sat next to a group of boys, who luckily for me were very well behaved.

Shortly after we took off we were served drinks and peanuts and at 5pm a rather early dinner was served. I only ate the rice balls and bread roll.

I caught up a bit of google reader (still reading but probably won’t be leaving comments until we get back) and watched Storage Wars (which I’d never seen before) on the big screen (yep, no individual screens on this plane) and then Pirates of the Caribbean on my ipad. I started drifting off to sleep so turned it off and listened to some Enya (with my new noise cancelling headphones (which I loved way more than expected). I got a photo of the sunset…

then we were served another MEAL?? (I prefer the little snack pack you get from Qantas for the nighttime munchies) I did eat some of it though because traveling sure throws out your natural body clock and eating seems to help :-). The gnocchi and chocolate cookies were delicious.

Finally after 9 hours we arrived in Bangok. We had to disembark on the tarmak (boy was it stinking hot outside) and catch a bus to the terminal.

Being in a large group (of 37) means you travel pretty slowly so there was brief stop for refreshments. Kevin order a fruit smoothie and I ordered a watermelon juice. But they forgot to make it and we didn’t really have time to wait so I didn’t bother. The teachers thought we had to go through another security check (even though we’d just been through one) so I didn’t buy any water. Of course there was no security but a gate check so we couldn’t go back out. I know you can get drinks on the plane but I really like to have my own bottle to drink whenever I want.

Time to board our second flight. This one on an A380. I was sat behind Kevin,Amy and Hariette this time.

This time I got a Sprite Thai style :-).

And another meal just after takeoff. I was really tired and not much interested in eating. I should have just skipped this meal but when they bring out a special vegetarian meal it seems rude to say know (though they probably don’t really care). Anyway, I had a bit of it – the rice and the roll, and then got on with the business of getting some sleep.

I actually got around 4 or 5 hours so I was pretty happy with that (in addition to the two I had got on the first flight). When I woke up I watch a movie. This was really good. I really enjoy watching surfing movies but didn’t realize this one was based on a true story and had a sad ending. Which meant I had a bit of a cry fest.

Time for another meal. This was rather yummy and I ate most of the main dish, and of course, the roll and croissant.

Finally after another 11 hours of flying we touched down in Frankfurt, Germany. Gotta love with tail cam.

We got off and said goodbye to our plane.

Time for our first time buying food in Germany. Everyone headed straight for the bakery.

We then got on a coach for the two hour drive to Rothenburg, where along the way I enjoyed my second breakfast :-). Told you it seemed like all we did was eat. But this was over a 30-35 hour period of time.

Next up : our first day in the gorgeous town of Rothenburg.