Germany - November 15 - 29, 2001

In November 2001, Ian's brother Erik, his wife Julie, and their two kids Madelyn (2 yrs old) and Nathan (about four months old), were living in Heidelberg, Germany, where Julie was stationed as an Army doctor. This presented the best opportunity for us to take our first oversees vacation together, spending two fun filled weeks exploring Germany with family. We spent most the vacation in the south-western parts of Germany, including Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Trier, and the Black Forest. We also managed to make a side trip to Paris, where we had a few days to ourselves before meeting up with everyone again at Disneyland Paris.

~Day 1: Castle Ruins~
Our trip began with a ten-hour flight from Dallas to Frankfurt, our first time over the Atlantic Ocean. We were greeted at the airport by Erik, Madelyn and Nathan, and promptly set off on an afternoon of castle visits around Heidelberg, to help us adjust to the time difference. Sleep would have been nice, but Germany in the fall is absolutely beautiful. It was fun climbing around the castle ruins with Madelyn, whom we had not seen since our wedding almost two years earlier. Pictured below include various views of the castle scenery and our explorations.

~Day 2: Heidelberg~
On our second day in Germany, we walked along downtown Heidelberg with Erik and the kids, and met up with Julie for the afternoon. We walked through the Hauptstr (shopping area) and then visited a church to get a better view of the city. It was a 200+ step climb in a narrow passageway to the top of the church tower, but it led to a wrap-around balcony giving excellent views of Heidelberg, and our next destination: Heidelberg Castle. The Castle is in beautiful shape and contains, among other things, the world's largest barrel of beer. Pictured below: us from the church balcony, the church as viewed from the castle, the alter of the church, Heidelberg castle (various views), us at the castle, and views of Heidelberg.

~Day 4: Black Forest~
So Day 3 was a Sunday, so we spent it at church, but Day 4 we headed south through part of the Black Forest with Erik and the kids. It ended up being a pretty cold day, but we saw one of the best castles on the trip here. The "black" forest was actually more orange and white with fall foilage and snow, but it made for great pictures. While the castles we saw around Heidelberg were just outlines of castle walls, the first stop we made on this trip was one of the larger castle ruins, containing several rooms and staircases to go explore. It also reminded Kelly that she is actually quite afraid of heights, but we managed to hit all of the scenic outlooks anyway. Afterwards, we continued through the Black Forest to a cute town for some shopping, and more pictures of wintery roads and hillsides. Pictured below include the various seasons we drove through, impressive castle ruins, and visits throughout the Black Forest.

~Days 5 - 10: On To Paris!~
We decided to take an excursion during this trip to go explore Paris. On Day 5, we left by ourselves from the train station in Mannheim and traveled to Paris for a couple nights on our own. Afterwards, we met up with Erik and family at Disneyland Paris, where we spent Thanksgiving abroad. For more on our excurision in Paris, please click here.

~Day 11: Ladenburg & Mannheim~
Day 10 was another travel day by train back to Germany from Paris. The return trip was a much longer and more crowded train ride, and unlike the train to Paris, the return trip did not come with English subtitles. Luckily we got off on the right stop, but on Day 11, we decided to take it easy and visit some of the small towns around Heidelberg. We began the day in Ladenburg, a city with some history dating back to Roman times, and finished it out in Mannheim for some shopping. Ladenburg is where we picked out Ian's new wedding ring, since he lost the original on Space Mountain in Disneyland Paris. This is also the town of Die Kartoffel (The Potato), one of our favorite restaurants on the trip. It was a drizzly day, but relaxing after the long trip. Pictured below: Kelly and Madelyn, the ring shop, Kelly and Nathan at Die Kartoffel (bad picture, but only one we have of inside the restaurant), and a courtyard wall in front of Die Kartoffel.

~Day 12: Trier~
Trier was one of our favorite parts of the trip. It is just outside of Luxembourgh and is the oldest Roman city in Germany. We spent the day with Erik and the kids looking at Roman ruins, including the amphitheater, King's bathe and Porta Nigra (one of the old entrances to the city). The amphitheater at Trier was used for speeches, concerts and spectacles such as the gladiators. We were able to peak below the floor where the gladiators and animals used to be kept in an intricate labrynth of passageways and cells. The theater was designed with natural sound projection so Erik took advantage of the quality to play his flute. The Roman Bathes were pretty interesting, too. It was once part of the King's Palace, and the bathes were kept warm by heating the entire room through the walls. It was cool. We also got a preview of the Christmas festival before heading back to Heidelberg to celebrate early Christmas with Erik, Julie and the kids.

~Day 13 and Final Memories~
We rounded out our trip with a second visit to Ladenburg to pick up Ian's new wedding ring before enjoying a casual day with Erik and the kids. We took Madelyn swimming and went to the Heidelberg Christmas festival later that evening. It was a very cool Christmas market, and with our good trip timing, we were able to visit a couple of the towns' Christmas markets during out stay.

Because we had family as tour guides, we didn't do much planning for this trip. However, we definitely recommend going to Europe this time of year. It is definitely colder, but very beautiful and less crowded. Below are a couple links that you might find interesting or helpful should you decide to venture to this part of Germany.

• Click here to visit Erik & Julie's on-line travelogue, including information on Germany.
• Click here to visit the official website for Heidelberg, in English.