Finishing our train trip

Koblenz was an amazing place to visit, but we needed to start heading back to Frankfurt.  But we weren't quite ready to go back yet, so we hopped off the train in Bacharach.  I am so glad that we did.  Just looking at these pictures makes me remember this awesome tiny little medieval town.  We were there about 5pm and the town was so deserted and almost nothing open.  But that didn't stop us from exploring the town and walking those cobblestone streets.

The Bacharach train stop

 This was our view when we left the train station

 Main street in Bacharach

 Our walk down this main street led us to a place that served ice cream cones. 

What a perfect treat to enjoy while walking the streets

 You can notice that there isn't any traffic.  What a quiet little town.

 Interesting fact:  we had looked at staying in this town during our visit to Germany. 

I don't think we could have lasted more than a night.....absolutely nothing happening around here after 5pm each day.  But what a wonderful place it would be to stay for a couple of days.

 We took this picture because we couldn't believe where they planted their grapes in their vineyards.....on the sides of the hills surrounding the village.

 It was time to start heading back towards the train stop......but not until we get a couple more shots of some of the amazing things we found here.

 While we waited for the train.....I took some pictures of the scenery around the train station

 Loved it here!

And here comes our train arriving in the station.......headed back to Frankfurt!

 Decided to celebrate our last night in Frankfurt by hitting the beer supply in the wet bar. 

The fancy glasses made it taste better!

 Taking our last pictures out of our hotel room window.  We always felt safe there....since we were right across the street from the Polizei station.

Last day time shot of the train station across the street, and......

......one last shot of the train station from the front at night.  Time for dinner and bed.....we still have until 2pm tomorrow to do sightseeing before we hop on a plane to Paris!

Weekly update time

Here's what we've been up to this past week (other than working):

Had to get a new stove.  Oh darn, the oven went out on the old one.....so we upgraded a little.  Can't wait to get the new kitchen to match this fancy stove.

Got rid of this thing in the guest room.  

Gave it to Cris and replaced it with this old dresser that we had in Paul's office. 

 Looks way better.  Might upgrade the knobs on it.

 

 

Paul took a Saturday night off and we went and listened to Sean & Staci.

Great night.....and funny that Paul got this picture of someone else taking a picture.

We had our photo taken, fingerprinted, and interview done and got our final approval to be part of the Global Entry Program and received our Known Traveler numbers.  Yay......we can now get TSA Precheck for every flight AND no standing in custom's lines when we come back from an international trip.

We bought a new grill gazebo since our patio cover got destroyed by hail.  Last night we put it together.  Enjoy watching our progress:

Yay!  It's up.  We're still not exactly sure where it will have it's final home, but at least it's up. 

So that's what we've been up to this week.  Still have lots (and lots) of vacation photos to get on here.

We made it to Koblenz!

The scenery from the train windows to Koblenz was amazing. 

We saw so many castles along the banks of the Rhine River.

 

There were lots of cute little villages built along the river's edge.

 

After the 1.5 hour ride to Koblenz, my first visit needed to find the Toilette

Luckily, they had this wonderful facility located in the train station in Koblenz.  As a traveler, finding places to use the bathroom are sometimes a real challenge.....this was a welcome sight. 

It didn't even matter that it cost 1 euro to use....it was so worth it!

 

Interesting thing we noticed with all the restrooms in both Germany and France, there was a toilet brush always located in any bathroom or stall in all of the restrooms. 

This restroom was exceptionally clean.

 

Once arriving in Koblenz we started walking and enjoying all the fun,

different and interesting things about this foreign city.

I love to see all the old churches everywhere we go.....

they have the most beautiful architecture.

We finally found the Visitor's Center and got the directions to our next destination, which luckily placed us along the Rhine River.  Other than the day being a little cloudy.....it was so beautiful here.

The most exciting thing in Koblenz to see is the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress.  It's that big building on the hill over my left shoulder in the picture above.  This was a castle in the 10th century and then turned into the biggest fortress in Europe in the 16th century.  What's the best way to get up there.....a gondola ride over the Rhine River of course!

Here was our chariot across the river:

 

Awwwwww......isn't he cute?  This guy takes me on the best vacations!

The view to the other side of the river was amazing.  Just wished that the reflection of the glass window didn't show up......dang thing ruins my shots.

We spent the next couple of hours roaming through this gigantic castle/fortress. 

What an amazing and beautiful place.

 

It had a great view of the Rhine River and the Mosel Rivers meet each other.

After enjoying the scenic ride back down the hill on the gondola, it was time to get some souvenirs (German beer glasses) and find something to eat for lunch. 

We found this really authentic German restaurant run by a woman who spoke no English.  After pointing and pictures and at food in her case.....we received our lunches.  It was the best German food I've ever had.  It was some kind of slow and tender roasted pork and the best fried potatoes I've ever had in my life.  Paul feasted on Sausages and a very different kind of Sauerkraut.

With full and happy tummies.....we headed back to the train station. 

We had some more sightseeing to go and do.

 

But this story will have to be continued in the next edition of this blog..........

P.S.  After visiting Koblenz, my mother told me that this is the city my great-grandmother Parslow came from.  Very interesting that out of all the places we could have visited that day.....we had chosen Koblenz.  It made this journey even more special thinking about her living in that little town along the river.  I was even more thrilled after we arrived home and I unwrapped my souvenir....I didn't even realize that I had bought one that had this special town on it.  I love this glass!

I hope that we will get the opportunity to come back

and get a chance to explore here again some day