German Reunification Long Weekend

Last weekend was the German Holiday that celebrates the joining of the east and the west back into the motherland!

I had to take a business trip to Cologne on the Friday, so Jayne came along.  We had the opportunity to explore the Cathedral, which is one of the worlds largest during our lunch time.  The gothic architecture is stunning and can be seen from several miles away due to its immense size.  It is one of Germany’s most visited sites, which has an average daily visit of nearly 20 thousand tourists.

The stained glass is just amazing, and must average about 100 feet in height.  The detail work is stunning!

Apparently there is still an angel or two in town, as they made sure I did not choke on a chicken bone while I enjoyed my lunch in the 30 degree sun.

Walking back to the adidas Store required a little detour for a “Berliner” donut.  It is a good thing we packed a couple of sweets for the ride home, as the drive up was 3.5hrs, but the trip home was over 6 with the holiday weekend traffic.

We decided to reward ourselves with a 45 km bike ride to Bamberg on Saturday, as we had spent so much time in the car the day before.  It was another 30 degree day, but the terrain is mostly flat and either hard packed gravel or paved bike path.  We enjoyed watching the barges chug past us on the Danube Canal as we cycled along side them literally 20 feet away.

Bamberg is a UNESCO Heritage Site, and as the weather was so wonderful, apparently every other tourist in Germany decided that it would be a good idea to visit as well.  We cycled thru the crowds and eventually found the most amazing little Italian Restaurant where we packed our bellies full of fresh pasta.  Having cycled for nearly 4 hours, and a bit of beer and pasta, we felt that maybe the train would have more steam than us for the return journey home.  Train wins at 6 Euro!

The following day we took a drive into the Franconia Switzerland region and had the most delicious lunch to celebrate Jayne’s Birthday.  I had the deep fried duck with dumplings and Jayne had the traditional schnitzel dinner.  Apparently low fat is not words that can be converted into German. A sunny couple of hours on the patio, a drive thru the rolling hills, and home in time for an afternoon nap!  I wonder what the rest of the world was doing.

We have now finished most of the odd jobs in the apartment and really enjoyed a couple of days off!  We will now start to get to explore the local region a bit.  We have hiked the forest in our area, and traveled around the countryside a bit.  We will share some of the highlights with you at another time, as “Tim” seems to have trouble remembering to bring the camera.  I think it is because my mind is on the next sensational meal J

A walk thru the Cologne Cathederal ensures that the angels are on your side :)

We will need to walk a lot more Cathederal's if we keep stoping at the sweet shop!

Cycling down the Danube to Bamberg

Now this is a Cathedral that I can handle.  Drive by religion??

Cycling down the Danube to Bamberg, and the train back!

Sorry for the picture organization but trying to post during lunch at work due to no internet at home yet and so time is of the essence.     :(