by PatBee

Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - Departed Jacksonville for Frankfurt, via Detroit on Northwest Airlines, who had the most appalling airplane food we ever ate. They've been bought by Delta, so maybe things will improve a bit. Landed in Frankfurt and taxied to Avis in Kelsterbach, where we had reserved a Volkswagen. They gave us a Mercedes-Benz instead. Bud gave up his license when he turned 85, so I was the driver. He later told our grandsons there was nothing more dangerous on the German Autobahns than a 79-year-old grandma behind the wheel of a Mercedes - but I got us back home safe and sound, so what does he know?

We brought our Garmin nuvi GPS, and it is a miracle of modern technology - a must-have for easy driving in Germany. We stopped at an Edeka market near the Avis office and bought basics to stock our kitchens. Then we were on our way. Our Garmin gizmo took us directly to the FeWo Klotz, in Lorchhausen. It was on the ground floor (no steps to schlep luggage!) and had a magnificent view over the Rhine.

FeWo Klotz was 39 Euros a night, with vineyards behind the house and across the road in front. Brötchen service was available, so we put in our order with the landlady and spent the afternoon sitting on our terrace. Bud drank his first Bier of the trip, and I enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine - bottled by our hosts from their own vines.

We went to bed around 8:30 that evening and were awakened at 6:30 by our landlord banging on the door and calling our names. I staggered out of bed and opened the door. He asked if we were all right and I said yes - but why was he so concerned, I wondered? And why was he waking us up at 6:30? Then I found out. It was 6:30 Thursday EVENING and our bag of Brötchen had been sitting on the table outside our door since early morning. We had slept for 22 hours! What a way to spend the first day of our vacation.

This is a very nice FeWo, with friendly hosts, in a small town with a couple of very nice restaurants. One (Kolpinger Haus) was owned by a retired British soldier who is married to a German. We had an interesting chat. Here's the link for Ferienwohnung Klotz, which we recommend to anyone. And here's a picture of Bud on our terrace overlooking the Vater Rhine.

On Monday, September 14 - we left the Rhine and drove to Fischbach, a small town near Kaiserslautern, with an American Army post that is (or was) home to the largest American community outside the continental United States. Our home there was Ferienwohnung Dietrich, and we were lucky once again to be on the ground floor. This FeWo had a washing machine, a dryer, and - once again - Brötchen service, with fresh rolls delivered to our door by seven in the morning (not that we were ever up at that hour). Here's the link to FeWo Dietrich.

Next stop was the Kalte Herberge, near Urach. We had originally reserved an apartment at FeWo Mooshof in Urach, which was listed as €25 a night for the small FeWo. But when the owner asked if we were coming to be part of the Stammtisch gathering, suddenly the price went up to €45 a night! I wrote to the owner and canceled our reservation because I believe he figured we were rich Americans who could be gouged an extra €20 a night. We paid more at the Kalte Herberge, but at least they didn't jack up the price when they learned we were going to be part of the Stammtisch anniversary. Room was OK, breakfast was OK. We were there only two nights.
Here's the link for the hotel Kalte Herberge. And here's a picture:

On Sunday, September 20 - we drove to Machtolsheim (located between Stuttgart and Ulm, and very near Merklingen, with the largest model train exhibit in Europe - or so they say) and returned to the FeWo Schwendemann, where we stayed last summer with our grandsons. It is a very nice FeWo, with separate heating units in each room - so we could turn up the heat in the evening and keep nice and warm. Washing machine in the bathroom, and - once again - Brötchen delivered to our kitchen every morning. The apartment also had a telephone, so we could call our daughters with our AT&T card. It's so easy - just dial 0800-225-5288, enter your card number, and dial the party you're calling. FeWo Schwendemann was €43 a night, and was equipped with every comfort.

On Wednesday, September 23 - we drove to Finsterlohr, a village of 200 people located about 15 minutes northwest of Rothenburg. We had reserved Haus Rost, the same two-story, 1½ bathroom house, with balcony and covered terrace, where we also stayed last summer with our grandsons. This was our third visit to Finsterlohr. First time was in 2006, when we stayed next door in the upstairs apartment of Juergen Rost's parents, both retired bakers, who kept us supplied with home-baked goodies, local Bier, and a bowl of cherry tomatoes fresh from their vines. This place is just a few steps from the local small - but - filled-with-everything Edeka Markt and a Bäckerei just a few steps beyond the market. We recommend both the two-bedroom apartment owned by the parents, who live next door - a charming, comfortable place for €25 a night, FeWo Rost or the house, which was €30 a night. Here's our house-away-from-home for an entire week.

On Thursday, October 1 - we drove to Gammelsbach in the Odenwald and checked into Haus Bartmann - a very nice (very warm, we were glad to learn, because the weather was turning a bit cooler) with washer and dryer service, and Brötchen delivered to our door again each morning. It was €48.75 a day, and a lovely place with a lovely view (castle on hillside across the road) and the only drawback was that it was on the third floor, a good workout for our aging legs. Check it out at Haus Bartmann. We spent a lot of time on our balcony, reading, playing Gin Rummy, daydreaming, just relaxing, for this was our almost-last stop of the trip. Here's the view from our balcony:

On Monday, October 5 - we drove to Kelsterbach, dropped our luggage at the Airport Hotel (€75 a night-buffet breakfast for €9 per person, shuttle to the airport for €15), turned in our car at the Avis office, walked back to the Edeka Supermarket across from the hotel to spend a few Euro on chocolate for our grandchildren, then checked into the hotel and rearranged our luggage for the trip home next day.

Tuesday, October 6 - we were driven to the Frankfurt airport for our trip home - which was a good flight with better food than on the way over.

We made some trips to museums so I could research and take pictures for several more German Life articles I'll be writing in the year ahead. I won't go into detail, but you can check them out yourself at these following websites:

German Shoe Museum in Hauenstein

Teapot, Doll, Teddy Bear, and Much More Museum in Amorbach

Black Forest Museum

Rommel Archives in Herrlingen

Thimble Museum in Creglingen

Pig Museum in Bad Wimpfen

That's all, folks! We had a wonderful time and spent an average of €72 a day, excluding airplane tickets and car rental. Can't do that in the States these days!