Germany

The high point of our recent trip to Germant trip was probably when the German lady at the check-in desk congratulated me on the impending birth of my second child. Oh no wait - I get confused (HIGH point, Heather, HIGH point). Needless to say that that particular dress I was wearing has gone straight into the goodwill bag.

Where was I? The high point, oh yes. Well there were a fair few of them so it’s hard to pick: It could have been drinking a coffee at Ginny’s favourite place for the sixth time in a row. Or perhaps it was when we happened across a German festival one evening where the locals raucously sang ‘Schlagen, Flagen, Heifen Blahgen’ (or something) as they swayed, arms interlocked, pint glasses full, to the band. Classic. Perhaps it was the third or fourth church we saw in Triers, one of those ridiculously ornate pink and gold ones which had detail and humour dripping from every eve and Andy in absolute rapture. Maybe even the schnitzels, bratwurst and warm bread pretzels that were on offer everywhere. But if pushed I would have to say that the high point for me occurred when Dave and I bought a Bratwurst on our final day. After the seller had established that Dave was an English speaker (no doubt alerted by his furious pointing at a sausage and the words ‘One of them please’) - my order of ‘I habe eine Bratwurst mit dem sauerkraut, bitte’ was so seamless that the vendor replied in rapid German, no doubt assuming that I was German. Those two years of German weren’t for nothing baby!

The trip was absolutely wonderful. We stayed for two nights in Cochem, a small town on the Mosel River about 3 hours west of Frankfurt. Mosel Valley = German Wine Country (with Dave and Andy making up 50% of the attendees this is hardly surprising). The countryside was simply breathtaking- it was as though the houses, the churches, the castles and the forests were taken out of some fairytale picture book. I half expected to see Hansel or Gretal. It was the clichéd image of picturesque Germany, and that’s the way I wanted it. Don’t get me wrong – I love a big city and I can’t wait to go to Berlin one day – but to be out in a little remote area that only the Germans seem to visit was… well… joyous. It made me giddy. And even though we calculated that after Fred, myself and Dave were the youngest people in town – and Ginny and Andy were a good ten years youngest than the next person – I wouldn’t change a thing. Plus having Ginny there, ready to take Fred for cuddles and play at the crack of dawn, was a wonderful relief. We miss so much being able to share the marvellousness of Fred with our friends and family, so I think I can easily say that having the company of Ginny and Andy for the weekend was the real high point of the trip.

(I apologise for the quantity of swan photos in the following montage. They were ridiculously cute)

Dinner on our first evening in Cochem, aside the Mosel River

In the background is Reichsberg Castle, the most dominating landmark in the Cochem. It was built in 1100AD

Fred's first ever glass of water

Germans being german.

The next day we took a trip to Triers, about a half hour south of Cochem.

The Cathedral (Dom)


Porta Nigra. The city gate that the Romans erected in 180 AD

Fred's second ever glass of water.
The Basilika, Constantine's throne room, the largest surviving single-room structure from Roman times.

The Electoral Palace

Inside the Church of St Paulin. I'm sure Andy has much better photos of this (considering he took a thousand).

Back in Cochem, at our favourite coffee spot overlooking Martin's Fountain

Reichsberg Castle.