Stuttgart

Our second German destination was Stuttgart, chosen because of another friend I met traveling who graciously offered to host us. (For those who have read my book or just have been following along on the adventures since long before this blog existed, it's M, who was badly injured in the bus accident I was in in Tanzania.)

It's 9 years since I've seen M and we haven't really kept in touch in the meantime, but it felt strangely normal to spend time with her again (and under much better circumstances this time!). On the night we arrived, she made us an amazing dinner of kasspatzle (sorry--there should be two dots over the a's in that word; I can't figure out how to access accent marks on this computer)....

...had a spread, each morning, of gorgeous German baked goods...

...and arranged for her good friend, C (she's changed the spelling of her name...some of you may know her as K...), who was also on the bus with us, to drive over from Munich area for a full reunion over breakfast one morning. As I said, hard to process the three of us in the same room together after so much time and given the circumstances in Tanzania. But also it felt very normal, and I had the clear sense that these are women I would choose as friends regardless. It was so nice to get to spend some time with them, building a non-emergency friendship.

And of course, the visit gave us an opportunity to explore Stuttgart itself. I really enjoyed the enormous main square, Schlossplatz.

Also, there was a wine fest (which seems to be code for: lots of amazing food vendors everywhere and people drinking heartily starting in the late morning) that was nice to wander around.

We even biked out along the river to the Mercedez-Benz museum, which is one of the more interesting museums I've ever been to. You're looking here at the first automobile ever, designed by a German man called--you guessed it--Benz, in 1885.

Happily, M was able to take most of a day off from her busy life as a doctor and take a little fieldtrip with SR and me to the outskirts of the city, where we climbed a hill through beautiful vineyards with bunches of grapes just sagging from the vines (and they were SO SO GOOD).

At the top, we reached Grabkapelle, the beautifully situated grave and chapel dedicated to Katharine, wife of Wilhelm I. I somehow failed to take a picture of the chapel itself, but the views over Stuttgart were equally nice.

Yet another amazingly wonderful visit on this trip that just seems charmed.

Frankfurt & around

Visiting Germany was a must-do on this trip, partly because SR was actually born in Germany (while his mother was here with his father, who was stationed at a military base near Nuremberg), and partly for the opportunity to reconnect with some fantastic people.

First stop, Frankfurt: chosen because of our incredibly sweet friend J, whom we met last year on the tour we took through the center of Australia. She picked us up at the train station and immediately took us out for dinner at a very traditional Frankfurt restaurant. I tried the regionally popular apple wine, while J had equally local apple juice and SR began sampling Germany's offering of beers.

My dinner was a local staple: Frankfurt-style "green sauce" with boiled potatoes and eggs. And yum.

The next four days were a whirlwind of experiences in Frankfurt and the surrounding countryside, thanks to J and her boyfriend T. We caught a free city tour organized by some of the local hostels, which gave us a great overview of the city (including this stop at the main town square, famous as the site of the Nazi book burning way back when--though the recent visit of Queen Elizabeth was much more the talk of the town).

We also headed out of town in several directions during our visit. We visited the restored fortress that is part of the World Heritage Site Limes, preserving ruins of the border of the Roman Empire where it met with the free Germanic tribes to the north...

...spent a day exploring the incredibly picturesque Mosel River wine valley, with its endless number of adorable, riverbank towns...

 

 

 

...braved the throbbing music and throngs at Museumsuferfest in Frankfurt at least long enough to get some delicious food from one of the MANY food carts and appreciate the view of the city as the sun set...

 

...wandered around attractive nearby towns such as Mainz and Wiesbaden...

 

...and were, in general, spoiled rotten by J & T, who fed us SO WELL...

...helped us experience some of that famous German bread (SR is here for the beer, sausage, and pretzel; for me, just more brown bread please!)...

...answered all of our questions about German history and culture, made us feel so at home, pointed us to other great spots such as Marburg, and in general gave us an unforgettable visit. Their pride in their native country was evident and touching. Really, I could have posted twice as many photos as I have, we did so much in our four days here! I guess if you want to see more, you'll just have to ask next time you see me....