Day 27 - Lauterbrunnen and Trummelbach Falls

Before we left Germany, we stopped at the grocery store to get food for our next five nights.  We stocked up on our German favorites:  biscuit cookies, beer, liverwurst, and bread.  The car is big enough to hold our luggage, a growing stash of souvenirs, and a picnic - but no groceries.  So we had them at our feet and in our laps, except for the driver, who complained about the resulting impact on the car's acceleration.

For those of you who would like an update on Greg, he has recovered from his bad cold.

As we drive on the two-lane road into Lauterbrunnen, we have an overwhelming feeling of deja vu... have we been here before?  It looks and feels just like Yosemite!  But it isn't - it is Switzerland.  Yosemite is my favorite place in the world, my happy place.  Lauterbrunnen is even better, more majestic!  Plus our view of the valley has absolutely no one in it - as if the world hasn't even discovered it yet!

Wow!  I think I can handle this for the next 5 days!  This is the view from our bed and deck.

It is t-shirt weather here!  (Jeremy has a jacket on to go into the cold waterfall mountain)

Upon arrival to our flat, we unloaded the car and immediately left for nearby Trummelbach Falls - before they closed for the day. They are Europe's largest subterranean waterfalls, which alone carry the meltwater of the glaciers from the Jungfrau down to the valley.  

The waterfalls are accessible by this underground lift which brings you to the galleries, tunnels, paths and platforms.

Trummelbach Falls

Inside the tunnel of the falls.

The falls are too twisty curvy to get a good view of how spectacular they are, but we could tell by their deafening roar and the glimpses we got.  The water that flows out at the bottom - and continues through the valley - is turquoise blue glacier melt.

Back at the flat we sat on the deck for the rest of the evening, staring at the view and watching the base jumpers and para gliders who land in the field in front of us.

I would love to try this!

Jeremy's perfect pad - he doesn't want to leave it!

This is a very comfortable flat!

Logistics:
- You probably know this, but we didn't ... We knew you either bring your own bags or buy them - that is common.  But we didn't know you unload the cart and then fill it up again.  Then you move your full cart to the packing station at the front of the store.
- To drive on the main roads in Switzerland you need a vignette.  It costs 42 euro.  They actually stand on the border and check for your vignette as you cross.
- Switzerland's lodging options were blowing our budget.  Increasing our itinerary to stay for 5 nights opened up more affordable options for us.
- We are staying at Homeaway rental #805985 owned by Helena Francis.  She is by far the best landlord we have worked with on our trip.

Thoughts on Germany

- Jeremy said it was the coolest place we've been to so far, and is a contender for one of our best trips ever. He would definitely come back.
- Jeremy liked the weather, the drinking age, the beer, the beer gardens, the music, and the bratwurst and salami.
- Chris very much liked Germany and is entertaining the idea of living there someday. He likes the weather, the small towns (each with their own butcher), and how everything is nearby and walkable. He liked how all the foliage is green. He liked how the license plates indicate what town they are from.
- Chris thought knowing the language was cool but he noticed that there are a lot of words he doesn't know. He learned more while he was there.
- Greg liked visiting the small towns. He liked being able to park the car and walk around to see places rather than drive from place to place like we did in Munich.
- I like Germany a lot. It feels comfortable to me. I liked that it is not mobbed with crowds. Germans are polite, nice, and most speak English very well. Germany is very pretty and I love how all the towns look. I like the church steeples standing tall in each town. I liked the free, quality roads. I liked all the very nice (German-made) cars that everyone seems to own. So what's not to like? For me (and Kate) - the weather. All that said - I will be back someday but I do not need to make repeated visits, unless they involve visiting Chris.

Day 26 - Coaster Bob and Triberg

As we were leaving Kaub, the caretaker said to Chris (in German), "You learn more German and I will learn more English!"

Today we prioritized Coaster Bob over two beautiful castles:  Eltz and Hohenzollern.  Everyone thought it was the best choice (well, maybe not me, but my family's happiness is my best choice).

Blindly following the GPS - that we programmed back at home - is often unsettling.  Driving through little towns in what feels like a direction to nowhere, on an empty road ... I keep my fingers crossed that it is right.

Finally a road sign has our destination on it:  Mehliskopf

I am pretty sure one of the road signs we passed on the curvy mountain road was a warning:  motorcycle race course.  I was surprised when we actually made it to our destination: Mehliskopf "Natur, Sport und Freizeit".  The coaster was sitting silent and there was no sign of anyone except construction workers so I was afraid it was closed.  Nope.

Coaster Bob track at Mehliskopf

Coaster Bob is the big daddy of bobsleds with over 1000 meters of track.  It is open rain or shine, but it didn't matter today - 78 degrees and no sign of rain!

Getting on the bobsleds

The bobsled was a lot of fun!  It goes faster than you think is safe.  We bought the family pass = 15 rides (41 euros).  Careful who you get behind.  A couple who showed up and were in front of us - the lady was pretty much crying from the beginning.  Of course they braked the whole way down the hill so the rest of us had to as well.  When we were done, Kate wanted to buy another round of 15 rides.

The ride is about 90 seconds

Jeremy's highlight was during our picnic lunch when a fly/bee was in Kate's face.  The mental image of her hitting herself in the face repeatedly caused occasional outbursts of laughter the rest of the day.

Picnic lunch after our thrill ride

The drive down from the mountains through the Black Forest was absolutely fantastic!  It was another gorgeous day and the scenery sparkled!  "Black Forest" is a dark, ugly name for a beautiful place!

We drove through one cute town after another!

The Black Forest is beautiful!

Our next stop was originally supposed to be Strasbourg (very German but actually in France).  It is a place I would like to see, however, it lost out to Triberg in the Black Forest - a quieter town.

Triberg, Black Forest

It was our last day for shopping in Germany, and Chris was feeling an urgent need to spend money on souvenirs to preserve his memories of his favorite country.  Triberg is famous for its cuckoo clocks.  He really wanted one but they are very expensive!

One of the cuckoo clock stores in Triberg - it is huge, with two floors!

Shopping in Triberg - there are about 8 touristy stores.

Next we walked to see Triberg waterfalls - the highest in Germany.  They are pretty but when you have Yosemite in your backyard, you don't need to go out of your way to come here.

Triberg waterfalls - it has several levels of falls

It is an easy walk to see the falls

We ate dinner outside along the rushing waterfall's creek.  I love eating outdoors!  The restaurant was across the main street from where we sat on its patio, and the waitress kept crossing the street to serve us.

Dinner at La Cascata along the creek

We ended the day on our hotel balcony - the first time we have had a private connection to the outdoors on this trip!

View from our connecting hotel balconies

The church bell tower is across from us and echoes through the entire valley every 15 minutes - which is what I will miss the most when we return home.  We are staying one night at Hotel Garni Central which is 500 meters from the entrance to the Triberg Waterfall.

Logistics:
- The only free parking in Triberg is behind our hotel.  It barely holds 40 cars, and fills up early with the locals who work in town.

Day 25 – Biking on the Rhine from Oberwesel to Rudesheim

Something amazing happened today.  The sun came out!  The odds were in our favor, and Germany was in its glory.  

The more adventurous of our group went to explore the Rhine and its spires of medieval churches and castles that appear around every bend.  (Greg stayed home to tend to his bad cold, and Jeremy stayed to tend to Greg.)  Many people see the Rhine by river boat.  Another popular method is by bike, which is what we chose.

 

Our host said we could rent bikes at the youth hostel, but when I went there I discovered they discontinued their rental program in February.  The internet does not seem to be a helpful resource for finding bike rentals along the Rhine – I think because the mom and pop places haven’t discovered the world wide web yet.  Online I found that maybe the next town up, Oberwesel, rents bikes.  Thankfully its tourist office said yes, and directed me to a bike shop 300 meters down Rustgasse (there is a parking garage across from it).  An older gentleman runs the shop, and rented us three bikes for a total of 25 euro (for the day)!  He has limited hours – he closes by noon – so we would have to lock our bikes out front when we were done.

In front of the Oberwesel bike rental store

Pfalzgafenstein Castle in Kaub

We biked 15 miles to Rudesheim at a very slow pace of two hours.  The bikes were heavy and (a bit) old, and Kate’s was too big for her.

The first part of the ride was next to the road - which is nice because you can see around you.

We discovered that when the bike path is at the water’s edge, there are swarms of bugs.  Chris said we needed goggles and masks.  At one point we had to cover our mouths so we could breathe and talk.

We headed to Bingen where I knew we could take a ferry to Rudesheim.  When we got there, we locked up our bikes and took a passenger ferry.

Bingen-Rudesheim passenger ferry

From the edge of Rudesheim, looking up to the monument

We enjoyed lunch, ice cream, a quick walk up the Drosselgosse, and then a ride up the cable cars to the Niederwald Monument.

The narrow cobblestone pedestrian Drosselgosse is "the most famous lane in the world"

It is an awesome view from the cable car!

Kate just wanted to ride the cable car - and not get off at the top.

It was such a beautiful day, I would have enjoyed the walk through the vineyards up to the monument.

From the top you could see the Rhine go on forever (it goes all the way to Switzerland).

This is not a moment I will forget... I love my adventurous Katelyn and Christopher!

The Niederwald Monument at the top of the cable cars

Rather than ride another 15 miles and 2 hours back, we took the train.  It is definitely an experience to maneuver bikes around a train station, up and down the stairs to the tracks!  Since the youth hostel told me bikes require a ticket as well (for 5 euro each), I was about to purchase the tickets from the platform kiosk when the nice lady who works on the platform caught me and told me that after 9am bikes are free.  She also told me which train to catch – which I wouldn’t have figured out by myself.

Waiting for the delayed train 

There are bike seat belts on the train

For Chris and me, it was a perfect day!  Greg and Kate were both disappointed ... Greg because he missed the adventure, and Kate because she went on the adventure (the bike ride ruined it for her).

Day 24 - Heidelberg and Kaub

We were in Rothenburg odT for one brief night (which was a perfect taste) and then moved on.  In total we drove four hours today on our way to Kaub on the Rhine River.

Our day stop was "romantic" Heidelberg Castle.  As we entered it through its metropolitan city, struggled with parking, and proceeded to still have problems finding things, I wondered why I added it to our itinerary!

My instructions were to get to Heidelberg and then park in one of the several lots.  But upon arriving, I didn't think it was that easy.  I also had made a note to NOT park at the top of the hill - at the castle - because there is no parking.  We followed the parking signs (they tell you how many spots are available in the lots), and after passing a closed lot, suddenly found ourselves at the top of the hill and stuck in a mess of cars.  Back down we went, and took the first parking we could find - which was a bus lot at the train station; the attendant let cars park there for the going rate of 1.50 euro/hour.

Next my notes said to head to the Haupstrasse to find some lunch.  Another poor set of notes.  Heidelberg's Haupstrasse is the worst shopping street we have been to yet.  None of the places to eat look any good - they all seem highly touristy.  But we needed to eat, so we picked one.

Trying to find a quick, simple place to eat on the Haupstrasse

Next I knew we had to go to the Kornmarkt to catch the funicular up the hill (free with castle entry). It was under construction, so I assumed it was closed (it turns out it wasn't), and we walked 10 minutes up the stairs.  We got on the next English tour at 1:15pm, and then left Heidelberg.

View from the castle, looking down over the Haupstrasse and Alte Brucke.  The metropolitan city is to the left.

Beautiful blue sky ... for two minutes today!

Inside the castle walls ... this is romantic?  Scaffolding and theater equipment are everywhere.

Greg found a sunny spot to wait for our tour.  It was pouring rain before the tour even started.

We think sundials are purely decorative in Germany.

Not much to do at the castle, especially in the rain

After leaving Heidelberg, we headed for our apartment rental in Kaub along the Rhine River.

Tina (our GPS) took us right down to the water and told us to "board ferry".

I couldn't read the tarifs on the sign.  Greg told me to get out.  Nope, still can't read German!

We took the Loreley ferry.

I almost missed the Loreley statue.  Kate was making a fuss in the back seat because it was raining, which meant we couldn't go on the Loreley Bob - a bobsled coaster nearby.  It closes in the rain.  (How does it ever open, I wonder?)

We couldn't find the apartment.  We were distracted by trying to find a grocery store.  Oh why did I pick this random town, I wondered?  The lady who checked us in did not speak English, so gave us all the instructions in German.  She was thrilled that Chris could understand her!  "Scheisse!" she exclaimed, when Chris wasn't in the room to translate.  The best part was when we got to the room with the boar's rug.  The kids were freaked out - it still has a snout and claws!  "You sleep here," she said to Jeremy.  He didn't.  It was actually the common room in the apartment rental (there are three floors of rentals, all empty).  After she showed us the bar, laundry room, game room, and sauna (which we had all to ourselves), she finally brought us to the first floor to our apartment.  (Finally we are not on the top floor!)  Everyone was stunned by the luxurious apartment!  It feels like a home and has no sign of being a rental.  It has three bedrooms, a nice kitchen, and a shower bigger than ours back at home.  The bright front room faces the river so we can watch the ferries and barges go by.  Greg announced he wants to take this apartment with us on the rest of our trip!

Our view is of Pfalzgrafenstein Castle which sits in the middle of the Rhine River.

The living room in our apartment rental.

The apartment is a few doors down from a youth hostel.  I am shocked.  It is like a hotel for kids.  There are around 30 kids (they look 16 years old) spilling out - with no adult in sight.

We did finally find a market that "has everything you need".  It is the size of our living room so trying to put together a few decent meals was interesting.  And of course ... more locals who only speak German.

We ended our day with three very happy kids (to be in their own rooms connected to wifi), a home-cooked meal, and laundry.  Going seven days without a laundry machine was a stretch!  But getting it done with two washers and two dryers (no more hang drying!!) was a breeze ... I think I need another set of machines at home!

Logistics:
- Have a good idea where you are going to park, if possible.  Set your GPS to the Market Square.  It had plenty of parking when we walked by, and it is right in the center where you want to be.  Or park where we did - we left our bags in the car and had several bus drivers plus the attendant guarding it!
- Allow a minimum of 3 1/2 hours to visit Heidelberg Castle.  It takes a while to park, get to the castle, get on a tour, and one hour for the tour.  If you want to shop or walk around the town, add in more time.
- I wanted to stay on the Rhine River but the hotels were small and over my budget.  The normal apartment rental websites did not have anything.  Finally I found Sabine Barde who has a rental in Lorch on Homeway.  She suggested this rental ("Burg Gutenfels") for our family.