Germany Blog 2011
Days 1 and 2
We finally got started on our adventure. We’ve been planning for a year, bought airline tickets in April, made and changed all the hotel reservations in February and June, and we’ve been dreaming about it all this time. The plan was for Sarah to be at Paula’s house at 9:17 to begin the pick up of the Dalton girls. Linda was to be on the Groome’s shuttle in Chattanooga before 10:00. Everything went as planned and the shuttle was a little early to Dalton. Phyllis even came over the wish us Bon Voyage at the LaQuinta Inn. There was a big rainstorm just before the shuttle arrived but we all got onboard and even got our luggage all loaded too. The shuttle was full and the conversation just kept on going all the way to the airport.
We arrived around noon for our 4:30 flight so we had plenty of time to get everything done and situated. For the first time ever, we were all able to check in with Delta the night before we left so all we had to do was give our bags to the guys at the curb check in, get out luggage receipts and avoid most of the long lines. Security was not too bad, but the security person did give Paula a really good patdown. I got separated into a different area than everyone else, but we met up and went on toward the gate.
We all had food from various places in the food court at the E concourse and moseyed on down to gate E3. We were about the first ones there but we had lots of time to read magazines, charge phones, chit chat, and get ready to fly. The area just kept getting more and more crowded until lots of people were there. They called First Class, then Business Class, and then Zone 2 (Comfort Economy) and that was us. We got to get on before most of the other passengers. We got all settled in and waited for tons of other people to get settled and then we took off. We were only a few minutes late for our nine hour flight.
I sat next to a young woman from Idaho who had been in Miami on business and was heading the France for a few days before working in Frankfurt for a week. I’d hate to keep up with her schedule. She was very nice and did lots of work on her computer and watched a couple of movies. Paula and Sarah had a good time playing games on the computers in the back of the seats ahead of them. Those computers were on the back of the seats of the lady and I and it felt kind of like a massage as they punched buttons. Lots of buttons. Linda and Sue sat behind them and among other activities, watched the movie Bridesmaids on Sue’s iPad. It was obviously a very funny movie and they did not realize how loudly they were laughing at lots of places, but the rest of us did. One lady who sat way behind them even commented to them about it as she was exiting the plane. I’ll have to watch that movie cause it must be good.
We were served drinks, then supper, then more drinks. I took a sleeping pill and tried to sleep but I tossed and turned, put my sleep mask on and off, covered up with my coat and uncovered, but I never did sleep. I finally gave up and read on my computer for a while. None of us got any sleep but it was a calm peaceful flight overall. The extra legroom in Comfort Economy was a wonderful treat and we will try to purchase it whenever we can in the future. There were many children on the plane, but we never heard any of them.
We arrived in Frankfurt just as the sun had risen (about 7:30 a.m.) and waited for everyone else to get off the plane. We don’t like to have people behind us rushing us, so we just take our own sweet time and piddle around. We had to go through customs but there were no problems there. We got the car rental worked out, picked up a GPS for it and started looking for the car. After going back to the rental desk to get those directions explained to me again, we finally found it. It is a BIG square car but we and our luggage all fit in it just fine. I hope there are not many really skinny roads to drive on. I had to get the attendant to show me how to get it in reverse. I had never seen a stick shift with six forward gears and a reverse where you have to pull the lever up and then go to the left and forward. Now it makes perfect sense but I still forget to work it correctly. Sues does her job of correcting me quite well so everything is just fine.
The temperature in Frankfurt was 1 degree Celsius – that’s about 34 degrees F. It was quite cool. As we left the airport, Sue was trying to set up the GPS, which was not cooperating, while she was watching signs and telling me which way to go as she was also reading a map to find the way. After all was said and done, the GPS lady talked to herself (but we’ll straighten her out tomorrow) while we rode all around the area and saw lots more rural areas than we had to in order to arrive in Bacharach. We went straight through the town of Wiesbaden and it had some really pretty old buildings. We went through lots of forest that I think may be similar to the Black Forest. We saw lots of little villages and many acres of agricultural fields. We kept getting close to the rivers (we could tell by the fog that was in those valleys) and then swerving away again as we tried to follow their road signs. They are certainly not set up as well as the ones in the US, or at least we are not used to them. Seriously, we saw lots of beautiful scenery and since the sky was a beautiful clear blue, it was a nice but long ride.
We finally made it to the Rhine River and I was surprised at how much traffic there is on the river. Many barges and riverboats were on the river at all points. It is really a very beautiful place. The hillsides going up from the river are often very steep but many of them are covered in vineyards where the grapes are raised for the specialized wine that is made in this area. I don’t know how the workers are able to walk in the fields – I tell you those vineyards are very, very steep.
We finally found the little town of Bacharach and wandered down a cobblestone street looking for our hotel.
We had seen the front of the hotel from the highway, but couldn’t find it once we were in the middle of the little town. I finally stopped and asked for directions. We turned around, made some turns and still couldn’t find it. We turned around again and found it!! Hooray. As I said, it’s a LARGE van and we parked in the area that is not really made for guest parking. We went up the steps to the hotel, signed in, and went in for lunch. Yes, we had been driving for 4 hours on a trip that should have been one and a half hours. (I must emphasize my motto – If you ain’t been lost, you ain’t been nowhere!! I live by that sentiment.) We had a wonderful lunch and it was a large meal. I mostly ate my French Fries and left the ‘ham and cheese’ sandwich alone – didn’t look like what I was used to.
The rooms were not yet ready for us, so after lunch the staff helped us bring all our luggage into one room (Thank you young people for toting most of the really heavy bags) and we left the car keys with them so that they could move the car if needed. We needed to wait until the stores and banks opened back up at 2 (from the regular lunch break) so that we could exchange some dollars for Euros. We looked about town and had some hot tea and coffee at an outdoor café while waiting. The town is really old (think 1300’s or so) and had crooked little narrow streets with little shops scattered around. There is a beautiful church and OLD city walls and ruins on the hill and everything is just beautiful.
At two on the dot, we went to the bank and the lady told us they do not change dollars into Euros. I thought that’s what banks were for!! She said we could us their ATM to do that but that no one in town would. Some of us used the ATM to exchange a small amount. We then went to the riverside to get tickets for the three o’clock river cruise to St. Goar and back. We had a difficult time making ourselves understood but we finally got the tickets and sat down to wait for the boat to show up. By this time we were really tired. Some of us, not to mention any names Sue, kept resting our eyes for extended periods of time. We were not quite to the stumbling around stage, but it was hovered around the edges waiting to strike.
The boat arrived and it was much larger than I expected. There were hundreds of people on board and some of them were partying. We sat outside and experienced the cold wind. We finally got chairs and avoided getting into fist fight with a man who denied us a chair – I’m proud of you Sarah - a whole day and no violence yet!!! The scenery was beautiful – the tree are starting to get yellow and red, there were lots of OLD buildings that are just beautiful, and the river was interesting The current was quite strong and you can tell it’s a powerful river. We stopped in several towns to pick up and put off passengers before we arrived at St. Goar and disembarked. It’s a typical Rhine River Valley town in that it has beautiful, old buildings, cobblestone streets, small shops and is just a great place to wander around. We found a bank and they actually exchanged our dollars for Euros. We were all really glad to now have real money to spend. We did a little shopping and then waited for the boat to return so we would go back to Bacharach and get some rest. By this time, we were all exhausted. The boat was a different one than before but that was okay. Hundreds of people got off the boat and only a few got on so it was a pleasant journey. We ate Subway sandwiches (not our usual fare, but we were very tired, it was very convenient, and it was wonderful) and watched the scenery from inside the boat this time. It was warm and pleasant. We saw the Loreley rock formation and statue. Turns out that Sarah and Sue and Linda had all been on this cruise before, 40 years before for Sue and Sarah.
We arrived back in Bacharach, found the hotel and then went about sorting out everyone’s luggage so that we could get showers and get to bed. We have a system of randomly choosing roommates for the trip so for the two nights in this hotel Sue and Paula are roomies while Linda, Sarah and I have the larger room. Everyone did a little rearranging of belongings in suitcases, took showers and are now sleeping peacefully, except for me. I’m determined to finish this entry before I take my shower and fall over asleep. We’ll edit it at breakfast, add some photos and then put it on the blog. Hopefully.
I guess if you’re reading it, we were successful.
Tomorrow we plan to explore the Rhine River Valley a little more and then visit a castle and a “Cinderella” city on the Mosel River and then have dinner with a friend who lives here in Germany.
It’s been a great start but we have lots of adventures to experience.
Keeping score, I only ran one red light (in Wiesbaden) and got flashed by a camera (probably recording me speeding).
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