I arrived in Frankfurt early Saturday morning, around 5:45am. It was a very long and fairly uncomfortable flight, so I was more than ready to get off the plane. However though I tried very hard, I was not able to sleep more than an hour on the plane, so I was totally exhausted! It was so great to see Phil again. Though it had only been two weeks, it almost seemed longer than the first three weeks we were apart. One of his co-workers was with because we were dropping her off with a friend who lived close to Frankfurt later that morning. We then headed to downtown to find some breakfast and also explore a while since Lori (his co-worker) was not supposed to meet her friend until later in the morning.
It was really fun to walk around, however I was so tired it was a little comical. After we got some coffee, I did a little better, but still felt like I was half in a coma! Once we dropped Lori off, we had close to a two hour drive back to Bad Mergentheim. It was beautiful country we were driving through. Since we were on the auto ban, we were going around 100-110 MPH and with no sleep and a manual car, it was totally freaking me out! I am sure most of it was that I was so tired, but seriously that it fast.
Once we got back to the hotel, I could not fight it anymore and took about a 45 minute nap. Even just that short amount of sleep helped so much. For dinner we walked down into the town and ate at one of his favorite restaurants. I was so thankful that Phil knew some German, because I understood almost nothing! I hate not being able to communicate well, but there is not much I can do about it. It was great food and the surroundings were amazing. Once we got back to the hotel, I could not stay awake any longer and crashed at 9pm.
We both woke up at 10:30 the next morning. I don’t think I have slept that many hours in a row since I was in college pulling all-nighters! Since we missed breakfast at the hotel, we ventured back into town to find a place to eat. We found this cute little bakery in the town that we both loved. All the menus were in German and no one there spoke English, so we totally guessed at what we were ordering. It ended up being platters of cheese, meat, tomatoes, cucumbers and a few other little things.
For the rest of the day we did a little exploring in the town, but mostly just relaxed and enjoyed being together!
I was fairly happy because I thought I had made the time change well and was completely adjusted. However, about 10pm Sunday night it was like all the sudden my body was convinced it was 4 in the afternoon and sleeping was not going to happen. After a few hours of laying awake trying to sleep I finally gave in and took some sleeping medication. I really hate doing things like that, but I was not able to sleep at all, and knew that if I didn’t it would just take that much longer to adjust. I am really thankful that we have so much time here as well, it makes it less frustrating adjusting to the time zone.
Monday Phil had to work all day, so I was on my own! I started the day with a great run through a park that is close by. Running on sidewalks in Roseville will never be the same. It was beyond beautiful where I was running. All the flowers are in full bloom and there are fountains and statues everywhere. The lane I was running on had huge trees on either side. There is also a castle that I ran through as well! So awesome!
After my run and shower I went to a outside patio that overlooks most of the valley and town to read and journaled. Everything is so beautiful and new here I feel so spoiled! I spent the rest of the day reading and exploring the area some more. It feels so good to just relax and enjoy my time here without feeling like there is not enough time to do everything.
For dinner we went back to the same restaurant we went to the first night, this time with one of Phil’s co-workers, Tony, and his fiancée who had just flown in as well, Natasha. After dinner we went and got ice cream from a little place in the village. There are ice cream shops everywhere, I think I am in heaven :)
Yesterday, after sleeping in and breakfast in bed and reading in the sunshine on our balcony (seriously, I don’t think I’m coming back!!), I headed into town to meet Natasha. We walked around for a while, went into some fun little shops and then had lunch. There was this one store that had little doll furniture that looked exactly like the American Girl doll collection for Kirsten. I got really excited, and wished Emily were here because I know she would have loved it as well!
Last night a man who works for Wurth here in Germany wanted to take us to his families’ vineyard. We really did not know what he meant, but went anyway. We followed him in our car through these crazy windy roads through beautiful countryside and ended up at the top of this huge hill where all the fields filled with grape vines were. The fields are on these crazy hills that would be extremely hard to walk up and down, much less farm. It was so breathtaking at the top though. You could see the little down below and then acres and acres of the vineyard.
Hans told us all about how they grow, when they harvest, and so many other really cool things. Then he took as down to the place where they actually make the wine. When we walked in, he had this beautiful table set up for us and a huge plate of meats, cheese and bread for us. Then he served us ten different kinds of wine! It was some of the best I have ever had. In the middle of our wine tasting, he took us through the building and showed us exactly how the wine is made and then took us into the cellar. It was such a treat to see and learn so much!
We were both so grateful for such a cool opportunity to experience this! I love that almost everything we have done is not what a typical tourist would do, but off the beaten path. This private tour was such a special experience. I kept on turning to Phil and saying that this is the coolest thing ever! If we don’t come back, I guess everyone will just have to come visit!! After so much wine, I slept like a baby! Hans kept on saying that if you drink it slow enough and with food (like we were) you would not feel the effects of the alcohol. Well, maybe that was true for the others…. :)
Phil left for work early again this morning, and I slept in. Normally he puts the “do not disturb” sign on the door when he leaves in the morning and then when I am up and about I take it down. Well, this morning he must have forgotten because I work up to the maid literally leaning over the bed looking at me. It was so surprising I jumped! She then started speaking to me in German, and I said “English” and she laughed… so we tried to communicate. Eventually she understood that I was saying I would leave in about two hours and she could come in then. After she left I just sat and laughed.
Today it is raining so there is not quite as much for me to do. However they have not had near enough rain this spring (I guess Minnesota is stealing it all) so it is a good thing for them. We are leaving for Paris in the morning so I am sitting in the laundry room waiting for loads of laundry to be done and then will head into town and hopefully get some things we need for the trip. All the stores close at 5pm here, so I need to go before Phil gets off work. Hopefully it will stop raining before then, otherwise the half a mile into town will be quite wet :)
