Home to Schneckenhausen

Saturday August 2, 2008
We left Berlin at 11:30am and arrived in Snail's Home at 7:30! This trip included an hour long stop for gas at an Esso station, with McDonald's (also has a McDrive and a McCafe). WE need these kinds of Mickey D's in the states...you can buy a lovely cheesecake torte for breakfast to take to your coworkers! The crowd waiting to order was patient and orderly, but it took awhile (maybe 1/2 hour) to get to the front of the line!Driving through former east Germany was beautiful. Unspoiled farmland and pine woods the entire way. The freeway is brand new, and traffic flow was for the most part very smooth. I am still not used to the speeds at which people drive here, my heart is in my throat at times! But drivers are safe, and follow the strict rules of the road (no passing on the right, the far left lane is for passing ONLY....no hanging out and driving in it).We knew the stores would be closed tomorrow, Sunday, so stopped in Otterberg at the new Wasgau for some food before it closed at 8:30.Also stopped in B to take photos of a friend's house! Hope I found it!

Sunday August 3, 2008 Snail's Home, Germany
We woke up gently this Sunday morning, Roland fixed a fabulous breakfast and we worked on the piles of laundry that only a family of 8 on a seven day trip can accumulate! We weren’t sure WHAT we wanted to do today…rest…or find a new adventure? As I browsed through a magazine about USO tours I read one about going to the Wine Street of Germany, and a castle ruin that is visible from the A6, south of Mannheim, in a village called Neulingen (as opposed to Altlingen, Neu= new and Alt= old). It sounded good, so we packed up after lunch and headed down the road, only 20-30 miles to our destination. Had to turn around in the village of Mehlingen, a bike ride was coming through town, so took the LONG way around, but enjoyed the dense forest covering the hills. Neulingen is a completely charming village clinging to the side of a small hill, somewhat like a small volcanic outcropping. There are 5 narrow cobbled streets with darling stucco/half timbered homes set on either side of the roads. There were several wine makers open, the largest is Ruttger (put an umlaut on the U). We went up into the ruins of the old castle at the top of the village. Nearby, in a quaint church (aren't they all 'quaint'?) a wedding planning session was going on, with a recording of Bryan Adams singing ‘Everything I do…I do it for you…” as the guys in the balcony worked out a sound system problem. The music felt oddly out of place inside the ancient walls of the sanctuary. We rested at a small playground while the kids ran off energy and then headed for Worms, where Luther defended his 95 Thesis so many years ago. The Dom at Worms was dark, yet had the most ornate altar area we’d ever seen. There were amazing stained glass windows, traditional designs and contemporary designs. The Neu Nibelungen concert was currently in concert, set up outside, up against the church walls. People were flocking to an outdoor Italian icecream stand (very very nice, with a backlit visual menu). Seriously, there were 30-50 people waiting at any given moment. Dave and I enjoyed being Nana and Papa watching the grandkids (little one is like Pebbles and Bambam in her walker!) race around the bricked in driveway in front of the house tonight while David and Roland took a bike ride on the surrounding hills (Roland wiped out on a gravel farm road, but all is ok). Wesley and I rode bikes up to the cemetery (Friedhof…much better word…meaning a courtyard of peace) and back to the house.