Germany Day 6

Wednesday was a long, but wonderful day! Logan and I took a tour of the Rhine River Valley- famous for the vineyards. Steph dropped us off on base at 0630. No, was not happy to be up that early, but this is one of the things she highly recommended (afterall, she is a travel agent). Logan and I boarded a bus, along with other military families, and headed out. The bus ride was about an hour and a half, most of which Logan ate snacks or played with whatever he could find; he did really well. The tour guide gave us all some brief history of Germany (other than the bad) as well as facts about Germany today. My favorite is that you can get a year- yes a whole year PAID maternity leave, and partial pay for another 2 years. So you can stay home for 3 years. Yeah, sounds great to me!!!

Our first stop of the morning was a beautiful castle (privately owned like most in the area; hey you can get one for about 300,00 euro). Because of the steepness to get to the castle, I was told to leave the stroller on the bus, so Logan got put on his leash. Well he wanted to walk until we started climbing the zig-zag, then he wanted to be carried. I was ready to get my work out, but Logan made friends with a nice AF guy from Hawaii (who has all daughters) so he happily carried Logan on his shoulders all the way up! Once we got up to the castle, we waited at the draw bridge for the owners to come down and meet us. They led us into a courtyard, and here Logan made a new best friend- a black cat named Riesling. She loved to be petted, and Logan ws just the man for the job. She followed us around most of the morning. We toured the castle, seeing statues of armor, bedrooms from the era of the castle, and most of all the breathtaking views from the top. It was a gorgeous morning, and the view was incredible: the Rhine River, boats (we even watched one get stuck), the vineyards...I could live like this...after about an hour of walking around, Logan game me the sign for eat, so we wondered to the cafe they have in the castle, accompanied of course by Riesling. She wasn't really welcomed inside the cafe, but she kept sneaking in so they let her follow Logan on to the terrace (which also had an amazing view). Logan and I shared a breakfast sandwich, and I had the BEST cappuccino ever. Don't know what it was about it, but it rocked.

By the time we were done eating, it was time to meet up and head back toward the bus (yes Logan's friend carried him). WE took a short drive to the waterfront to wait for our boat. While we waited, we were shown into a little shop for wine and brandy tasting. Luckily Logan fell asleep while we were in here, so it made the wait pleasant. They had this really good wine called ice wine. Its made during the winter when the grapes are frozen, but its super expensive, so I just settled for the tasting. We waited about an hour for the boat, and Logan woke right about the time it docked. Our group was the only one on the boar, which was nice. Logan and I spent most of the cruise on the upper deck; me, taking in the beauty of the surrounding vineyards, castles, architecture, and other sights, Logan enjoying running around and playing with trash cans.He started to get restless by the end of the cruise, but his buddy entertained him for a bit by playing with coasters.

We got off the boat after 2 hours or so, in another village, where we met our bus. We took a 10 minute ride to another village for a special lunch. Logan and I had schnitzel, and it was yummy! I of course had wine, because its the same price as a soda. We also had a wine tasting, as the owners of the restaurant make wine. I bought 2 bottles of some really good wines; I hope I can find them here in the states...(I am now a huge fan of German wines). After ice cream and wine purchase, we strolled about town, just walking around and looking. Topped the afternoon off with apple strudel and a cappuccino (not as could as the one from earlier in the day). By this time it was about to storm, and on our way back to the bus, the bottom fell out. Huge drops- and lots of them. Thankful for kind people who helped me get Logan to the bus while trying to keep him dry, and folding up the stroller to put under the bus. Since everyone was on the bus early, we were able to head home.

Logan was so tired, so he was a tad cranky on the way home, but once again, made friends with people who helped keep him entertained. Steph picked us up on base around 6, and we went home, ate, and then Logan and I called it an early night. It was a wonderful day!