As we said farewell to Zoe for the last time, we began to look at flights to make our way home. We quickly discovered that we were in peak travel time for European and UK kids to head back to school. Not only were we flying out of a small airport with a limited schedule, that week’s flights were VERY expensive (as in quadruple the price of other weeks we were looking at). Our best flight option turned out to be Frankfurt, Germany. Since we had never really explored much beyond Frankfurt itself, we decided to spend a little time exploring nearby towns outside of Frankfurt before making the very long journey home.
With 5 very large and heavy duffles in tow, we hopped on a flight from Preveza, Greece to Frankfurt, Germany. Our rental car would become our luggage storage locker during this part of our adventure. Our first stop was about an hour and a half way to the town of Mainz. This was a much larger town than I expected and sits right along the Rhine River. Most of the area surrounding the old town was more modern and common style architecture….nothing spectacular (more like being at home in a US city). However, in the heart of Mainz was the beautiful German style architecture that we had come to know and love. Steep pitched roofs over ornately styled buildings were a sight to see. We continued through town to the Mainz Cathedral (also known as St. Martin’s Cathedral). This was definitely a highlight on our visit to Mainz. The 1000 year old Roman Catholic cathedral towers above the historical center in all its red sandstone glory. There are many plates on the floors and walls in memory of the 250 people buried here. The scenery along the Rhine River makes for a very pleasant walk while exploring the area. In the evening we discovered a couple of very quaint and well reviewed restaurants where we enjoyed the local beer and some delicious German cuisine.
After 2 days of exploring Mainz, we hoped in the car and headed to the town of Rüdesheim. This has turned out to be my all time favorite place in Germany. It is a German winemaking town in the Rhine Gorge and is known for its medieval architecture. It is also located along the Rhine River offering spectacular views not only from the shores of the river but from the towering vine covered hills above. This area is famous for its Riesling wines….and let me tell you….they did not disappoint! Not only were we treated to amazing views, scenic hikes and historic castles, but the old town has a very lively atmosphere especially in the evening.
We had 2 nights booked at a weinhaus (wine house) which was a charming little hotel with a central courtyard canopied with vines. Upon arrival, we were invited to go sit in the courtyard while enjoying a glass of their sparkling wine. It was quite delicious. After milling around all the cute little shops (including many Christmas shops….my favorite), we headed to the gondola for a scenic ride over the vineyards up to the Niederwald Monument. The monument commemorates the founding of the German Empire. We wandered through the winding trails and pathways that took us through the vineyards and overlooked the river and valley. About halfway through our hike, we came across a man with a big cask barrel wine stand along the roadway. Of course we stopped for a little taste….you can’t pass that up! We hiked down through the vineyards back to where we had picked up the gondola to the top. It was an incredibly beautiful hike, and we decided to do a similar one the following day.
That evening, we discovered that our hotel had live music in the courtyard every evening. As a matter of fact, a number of surrounding bars and establishments had live music. Not only that, but our place had its own little glockenspiel that played every hour (no, not all night long). It definitely attracted large crowds of people to watch the little people come out of the tower and dance around to the music before returning to behind the door. We spent two days doing some great hikes with spectacular views, enjoying the local cuisine, shopping in all the quaint little stores, and trying out the many wine gardens. Like I said, this was truly one of my most favorite places in Germany, and I was sad we were only there for 2 days.
The next stop on our adventure was the town of Heidelberg. I had definitely heard of this place and figured it would be one of my favorites. It was not. While it was a beautiful town to visit, it was beyond packed with visitors making it difficult to wander and get into places. It has a very well preserved Old Town and Old Bridge. We had a great time walking the Philosopher’s Way which is a very scenic (and steep) walking path. It was also raining which made the trek quite slippery. Because the city is a center for science and research, there is a very large international student population which is reflected in the diversity of restaurants. While it was tempting to try out some more international flavors, I felt like I needed to get my fix of German food while in Germany. I’m pretty sure I had Schweinhaxe (roasted pig knuckle) way too many times! But it was sooooo good!
After 2 days of exploring Heidelberg, it was time to make our way back to Frankfurt. We had a hotel booked near the airport since our flight back to the US was leaving pretty early in the morning. Along the drive back to Frankfurt, we stopped at Frankenstein Castle which is a real castle on the top of a hill near the town of Darmstadt. It is believed to have been what inspired the novel “Frankenstein.” Although not confirmed, it is said that a 17th century alchemist lived in the castle performing his many unusual experiments on dead bodies he exhumed. It was said that he had created a monster that had been brought to life by a bolt of lightning. While there is not proof of any of these stories, you can definitely see where they might have come from as you wander the creepy castle. Even more creepy was the hiking trails surrounding the castle. Of course you know that Dan and I had to go explore the hiking trails. Needless to say, the trail was heavily shrouded in trees, vines and plant life. Very little sun was able to permeate the canopy over the trail. Along our journey, we encountered all kinds of crazy (and sometimes creepy) structures including some mossy tunnels that looked like trolls might live there and a memorial carving that looked like a scary witch. Yes, we enjoyed our creepy hike through Frankenstein’s forest….definitely worth the heebie jeebies we took away!
Unfortunately, that was the end of our mini exploration of a small part of Germany. We had an amazing time, but it was time to get home before grandchild number 6 arrived. Mom was going to be induced well before her due date, and we weren’t sure if we would be needed to babysit her 2 other boys. On top of that, our son-in-law tore his bicep which required surgical reattachment. This meant that when my daughter went back to work, he would be unable to lift their new baby. We bid a sad farewell to our European adventures but were excited about spending some quality time with all 6 of our beautiful grandchildren! But wait! There is more. Our journey is not ending here. As we speak, Dan and I are in the process of buying another boat on the west coast of the US. We hope you will stay tuned for some new crazy adventures all little closer to home!
