Fifi Lives!!!

We went for another ride yesterday after I had my hair cut. Fifi is in good shape again--the house charger works fine. It's the car charger that died--have to find a new one. Anyway, the ride. We drove to a small, very old village called Monreal. As you can see from the cemetery marker, it is very old--`1640 on the marker. Jim thinks maybe the building I'm standing next to may not have plum(level) floors. I think he's right--again. We just strolled the streets and walked along the little river. Went into the local church--very pretty for a small village. To end the day, we had dinner with Jens and Barbara again. The traditional German meal was awesome. Sauerkraut(which I love), mashed potatoes with fried onions and pork similar to our ham only better. Jens gave us a doggy bag--a 9x13 glass dish!!! Some doggy bag. Yum, yum again. We're going back tonight for our last meal at Gasthaus

Berenz. We have thoroughly enjoyed staying here in Greimersburg and meeting the local people. Tomorrow, we head toward Brugge, Belgium. We hope to find another apartment along the Northern coast. On Wednesday, we are going to stay a night or two(no longer Corry and Henke!!) with the Boomstras in Holland. Hope to have Internet on Sunday night, but for sure on Monday. Until then---onward Fifi.

You just can't go back.

Twenty five years ago Jim and I spent one night and part of a day in Idar-Obarstein, Germany. It was a quaint town, with curving streets, flowered window boxes and great memories. Yesterday, we drove there again. The first picture is of Jim in front of the hotel where we stayed years ago. The second picture is of the same streets, today. So much for the memories. It is now a very large, commerical area. We ate lunch at a cafe and walked around some. We were very disappointed--just can't go back and expect things to be the same. We used Fifi to get us back to Greimersburg. But who knew that their are two towns called Morbach about 40 km from Idar-Oberstein? We used Morbach as a reference point for Fifi. Well, one Morbach goes SE and one goes NW. We didn't realize there were two until we had gone 80 km out of our way. Took us twice as long to get back. And then the charger for Fifi died and so did she! We kind of winged from where we were. That Fifi. The bonus of the day is shown in the third picture. We went to the local pub again for dinner--Jens had prepared a special meal for us and it was fantastic. Filet Mignion, fried potatoes and a whole head of fresh cauliflower. We had ordered it a couple nights before. Yum, yum. He's preparing the meal for us on Friday--a surprise dinner--all German food. Can't wait!!

Today is a lazy day. We took a 4 km walk to Landkern. They have a lovely catholic church--we sat inside and said our prayers. Peaceful. We walked around town, Jim looking at new houses being built. I found the hairdresser and have an appointment for tomorrow for a cut. It hasn't been cut since Mary Sue did it in April--I'm a wee bit shaggy. On the way back from the walk, we passed a farm with 3 horses. I started talking to them and they came right over to the fence. Very sweet horses. One in particular, gave me lots of attention. The picture is for my grandaughter, Erika, who loves horses and is quite an equestrian. The horse gummed my hand and arm for quite some time. Great!!Obviously, that is the second to last pic and the last one is just of some wild flowers along the way.

Tonight, I'm going to look for apartments around Brugge, Belgium on the internet. We really like this apartment thing. It's cheaper than hotels and we can spread out!!

Ernst day

ERNST DAY!!!!! Today was the big day that I set off in search of my roots-----I dug out my Ernst reunion T shirt and off we went to the town of Ernst located on the Mosel river----and I found it!!! I planted my feet in the Mosel to water those roots---and looked around to see if I could trace the heritage of my grandfather Dr John L Ernst-----must be another Ernst town because in this one the wineries out numbered the churches 5 to1----stopped at a few and most of the locals wanted to know if they missed a reunion party---I said ya ya ya -a gut un --but you can come to the next one--hope Jeff gets the garage set up for the Ernst town people--they said they will bring the wine--As you can see Jerry spent the day in the grapes--next weekend the town is having a winefest---every town along the Mosel has a fest--and also make sure that they are not at the same time--interesting summer--finishing off the day with a glass of wine in the official Ernst wine glass --hope they make it home so the "girls" can use them to toast the reunion event.

Other big news of the day----Jerry and I got some new shirts---so we can have a refreshed image ----mine has a little sail boat that is in the German colors---black-red-yellow----look for that in our next thousand pictures

Got a lot to do in the next few weeks---thought time was dragging for a while--but now it doesn't look like we can get it all in --looking forward to Ken and Linda meeting us in Switzerland--onward---Jim

5,000 Miles and 2000 Pictures

Random pictures. Top left is along the Rhine River, Top right is Jim in Co-Chem, bottom left is the tractor ride to the mill(notice the ravine to the right of the wheel) and bottom right is from the Jensch farm near Dresden. That's the view from their property.

Yesterday was a very quiet day. It rained the whole time, so I did the laundry, read my book(surprise, surprise)and Jim did Sudoko. We went to the local pub for dinner. Had homemade pea soup---best I've ever had. Today, we're taking a slow ride down the Mosel River. Stopping wherever feels right. Chilly today.

I had to buy more memory cards for the camera. We've taken at least 2,000 so far. Jen said she'd help me put them on a DVD. I've tried to label them as we go along. Putting the miles on the car, too. Our spirits are better---rest is just what we needed!!!

Cruisin down the Rhine (heading North)

First picture is of Jim putting his feet in the Rhine River. We took a two hour round trip cruise from Bacharach to St. Goar, today. Old castles everywhere. Lots of barges and tour boats, but not many pleasure boats. Beautiful day--80 degrees. Warmest day we've had in 3 weeks. We walked around the towns and looked in the shops -- had lunch at a sidewalk cafe. Really a great day. Got back to the apartment just in time for rain and thunderstorms. Talked with all the kids over the weekend using Skype. Love it. Tomorrow is wash day and maybe a nice long walk around the village.