Nuremberg
 We had tree days off for our visit to my birthplace, Nuremberg.  I was very excited during the two hour trip.  We took the Autobahn almost all the way and it went fast.  When we approached Nuremberg the traffic really picked up and many large roads converged near the city.  We lucked out and found our way directly into the city.  Rick has gotten real good at driving here.  As we approached the old city my eyes widened as we approached this huge wall that completely surrounded the center of the city! Up 'til now whenever we found a castle or berg wall it was only partial.  A small section was left of the walls and that was all that survived through all this time.  But in Nuremberg the whole wall was there.  It was at least a mile on each side and 5 feet thick.  At each corner was an immense round tower and large gates.  We drove through a gateway on one of the sides and were able to drive through part of the "Allstadt" or old city.  We stopped at the first news stand and bought a city map so we could find our way and get our bearings.  Now we were ready to look for a hotel.  We found ourselves outside the walled part of the city before long and found a hotel just across the large street that surrounded the wall.  And we lucked out when we found out it was a discount chain hotel called Ibis.  It was 1/3 rd cheaper than the hotel in Freiburg and nicer too.  We even had parking right under the hotel so we parked, dropped off our luggage and went out to explore.
 The view of the old city was dominated by the walls.  They are so large it’s hard to believe they were built so long ago and how long it must have taken to accomplish.  We entered through one of the corner gates which included the south west tower and a small courtyard.  My husband keeps reminding me that as we passed through the gates I giggled and laughed with excitement. All I remember is the awe that I felt.  Once inside the "Allstadt" it was filled with shops.  Some of the streets allowed a limited amount of traffic but most of the streets were for people only.  It was so exciting to walk on these cobblestone streets that were many hundreds of  years old.  Because so much of the old city was heavily bombed during the war many of the buildings were newer but still many old buildings  remained.  Many must have been restored because you didn’t get the feeling of new.  The old buildings in the center of the old city were very large and elaborately decorated with stone carvings.  Only when we got to the north west corner of the city and the berg or castle on the second day, did we see large numbers of preserved houses in the half-timbered style. The other striking thing about Nuremberg was the wonderful statues in the squares.  My favorite was an elaborate fountain called the Marriage Circus.  It included full size figures and animals and even a few oversized animals such as a gigantic lizard and swan.  Since is was early spring in Nuremberg the fountain wasn’t on but I must return this summer to see it full of water.  We had lunch that first day in Nuremberg at an old restaurant that overlooked the oldest residence in the city.  It looked like a tower six stories high.  It was built in the 13th century and added too in the 15th century.  That’s old!  When we left the restaurant there was a group of French dancers in the square.  Half of them were dancing on stilts.  It was wonderful!  It added so much to the already historic ambiance. We saw several other street musicians including one old man playing a violin/horn in a doorway.  He was charming.  After about 4 hours of exploring we returned to the hotel exhausted and rested for a few hours.  We were hoping to find a restaurant in the old city for supper but were too tired to find one so we ate in the hotel restaurant.  They served a version of Greek food and we didn’t enjoy it as much as German food.

 The second day began with breakfast in the hotel and another day of major exploring.  We spent over 7 ½ hours on our feet.  That had to be my record!  This time we had a plan which began with a bus ride to the further part of the city so we could explore our way back.  We got off close to the Toy Museum where we started our day.  It was wonderful.  There were displays full of old toys most of which were around a hundred years old.  There were dolls, puzzles, toy soldiers, mechanical toys, wooden toys, paper toys, miniature doll houses and many miniature rooms and shops filled with exquisite miniature fixtures.  My favorites included the block sets that included all you needed to build a specific castle or building.  These were made from wood, ceramic,  cardboard or paper.   The crown of the display was the model railroad room which showcased a recreation of  the railway yards in Omaha Nebraska and took up 320 square feet.

 Our next destination was the Albrecht Durer House area of the city.  We began to go uphill as we wound our way there.  Durer was a famous artist in the end of the 15th, early 16th century.  This is the part of the city that the greatest concentration on half-timbered house was located.  We had lunch in the Albrect Durer Restaurant.  A good German meal.  Afterwards we headed towards the castle/berg and found ourselves walking the moat!  It didn’t contain water but was probably used to graze cattle and horses.  We walked all the way around walls that were 8 feet thick and towered above us.  Very inspiring.  Eventually we made it around and went into the castle area.  It was built on a hilly area and include many levels of pathways and courtyards.  There was a breathtaking view of the city from one of them.  Since the tourist season hadn’t officially started we couldn’t go inside the castle.  After leaving the castle we went back toward the center of  town and shopped.  One of the stores had the wonderful Bavarian clothing we’d seen in Friburg but he still didn’t find one he liked and fit.  The prices still ran around 159 DM. (abt. $100).
We eventually made it out the south east gate and were headed home but I was so exhausted I wasn’t sure I’d make it. But we finally did after a few rest stops.  What a day!!!!
 
 

Rothenburg ob der Tauber -homepage

 After our Nuremberg visit we decided to return home to Heidelberg via Rothenburg, listed in my tour guide as a medieval town worth seeing.  And they were right.  Rothenburg was also a walled city/town like Nuremberg but much smaller.   We only planned to take a quick tour for an hour but ended up staying three.  We definitely plan to go back.  The small shops and cobbled streets may have been similar to other old cities we’d been to but Rothenburg had a different charm we really loved.   One thing we noticed was that the shops prices were lower than the big city centers we’d been to before.  Rick found his shirt for 1/3 the price!  Other items we found at a lower price were doll miniatures.  I purchased a few there.  After lunch Rick went to a leather store and I found a Fantasy/Role Playing Shop.  I knew my son Mark would love it as he is a member of a live role playing society in Maine.  I bought him a  shirt and a horn.  I also found a wonderful mug for my other son Matt.  Rick meanwhile found the Rucksack he wanted at the leather store.  It was a leather/linen version.  He was very happy to find the two things he wanted to find in Germany in the same town and at a good price.  The other thing I discovered in Rothenburg was their famous and unique cookie!  It is the size of a softball and made up of a crumpled up dough something like pie crust.  I didn’t taste it till we were halfway home or I would have bought more.  It was great.  I can’t wait to go back and really explore this town.
 
 

Flohmarkt
 Well I finally found out what Germans do with their old stuff.  Since I could find no such thing as a lawn/garage sales, I was excited to find signs for "Flomarkets" which I looked up in my dictionary and found out was Flea Market.  Hooray!  Now to find out how to get there was my next challenge which was solved after I had Rick stop next to a sign and writing down all the information.  I searched hard on the Map and finally found where to go.  Rick had the morning off on that day so we planed to go.  the day arrived but having not found out the time the Flomarket opened, we went at the time that stores opened.  Too, late!  The parking was gone!  Rick dropped me off at the gate and he took off in search of a place to park.  But as usual he had good luck to be there when someone else pulled away.  I was  already in heaven when Rick caught up with me.  There was at least two acres of booths chock full of wonderful German goodies.  Too bad it would be difficult to ship home all the things we liked.  We limited our purchases to smaller items.  (I bought lace items of course).  The prices varied widely but there were plenty to choose from. We never made it through the whole place before we had to leave 3 hours later.  But we had a grand time.
New apartment in Leiman

 We finally got a call from the Leiman business that has apartments for rent by the day.  We’ve been coped up in one room for 6 weeks and this was wonderful news.  They had an apartment with a bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom and a balcony!  Yes we were interested!  We made an appointment to see it and it was great - except it was on the fouth floor.   The view was great but 54 steps is tough.  It didn’t take long to decide and we moved in one load that very night.  The next day was the actual move but thanks to Randy, a co-worker of Ricks, we got the rest of our stuff in the two cars and we only needed one ..............

 Our new apartment was a true haven for us.  Space and separate rooms for doing things like sleeping, eating and just watching tv.  The balcony was the best part though.  We’ve spent many happy hours there.  We also had plenty of windows for a very light feeling.  As usual in Germany the windows in the apartment were the usual ingenious ones that we see all over here. The handle on these windows have three positions.  Down locks it closed, to the right openses it sideways for maxium air, washing or just leaning out.But if you turn the handel up the windows open out from the top several inches so you get air without rain getting in if needed.  One thing very different about these wonderful windows is the lack of screens.  I havn’t seen a screen window since I arrived in Germany.  The other common window feature other than lace curtains is the metal shutters.  The hotel we stayed in had curtains but the appartment has the metal shutters on the outside.  They are not like the ones in the U.S. called blinds.   These are all connected and you can pull them down either letting some light and air in, or compleatly closed off for compleate darkness.  Very ingenious.

 Another wonderful thing that we had in the apartment was an oven, a microwave and best of all the first toaster I’ve seen since I’ve been in Germany!  Toast!!!!  Crazy, the things you miss.  They have wonderful bread here, but no toast.  Other than the four flights of stairs the only other thing that isn’t perfect is that the ice box doesn’t have a freezer, so I don’t get to make ice.  That’s the other great deprivation since arriving in Germany.  They don’t use ice here.  I have to go to and American resturant to get ice in my drinks.  That means McDonalds or Burger King.  Oh yes, we found a Pizza Hut too.

Luxembourg
 

Mai-market

The Czech Republic
Well I made it! I went to the Czech Republic!  A former comunist country! Wow. It was similar to Germany in sereval ways but unfortunately the remnants of 40 years of communist rule has left it's mark.  The buildings wern't all bright and clean and kept in perfect condition.  Most buildings were covered or maybe I should say uncovered with broken and chiped stucco. Roofs often were missing tiles. An unheard of thing in Germany.  Junk cars in the yard and on the road were in sharp contrast to the totally pristine condition of cars in Germany. But despite these obvious differences the countryside was beautiful and the archetecture of the grand buildings was fantastic.
 Now for the best part.  Cheep! Yes everything was cheep.  You could buy everything from half to 1/4 the cost.  It has somthing to do with the exchange rate of dollars or deutchmarks. One of the specialties in Prague were puppets.  It seems puppet theater was either begun there or at least it was the place puppetiers arround the world come to study.  They were for sale everywhere.  The other popular items were avalible all over the Czech Republic.  They include Crystal, lace, Porcelain and garnets.  The crystal included just about anything that could be made out of glass.  Glassware, and crystal chandaliers were the most popular.  The shops filled with linens and lace were very prevelant.  The work included hardanger from Slovacia, and crochet done buy the women in the shops between customers.  The crochet work ran the gambut from the larger type we see in the US to the ultra fine work done with fine thread.  There were many other types but I didn't find out all the names and where they were made.  I bought several tablecloths.
 The garnets I saw everywhere were mined in the mountains of the northern  Czech Republic.  Most were set in gold plated silver but a few shops had the more expensive pieces set in 18K gold.  The styles were almost all in a victorian style which suited me fine.  Modern designs are only just begining to creep into the country and could only  be found in the most exclusive shops. I bough a few small pieces in Prague and a few more in Karlovy Varey, a fabulous spa town we stopped at on the return trip.  Now that's the place to shop!   The other great product from the Czech Republic is the porcelain and the most famous of those is theBlueOnion pattern.  I could have bought tons of it but limited my self to a childs tea set, a set of flatware and a cup.  I really wanted to go crazy but restrained my self.
 One other item from Karlovy Vary (or Carlsbad) that was famous was the cookies!  They're called spa cookies and are just wonderful.  They're like a wafer thin pankake with chocolate or vanilla filling.  Yum.  I bought 15 boxes!
 

Belguim

  We spent the fouth of July on the road back from Brugg, Belgium.  We had a great time.  Brugg is the city of lace.  It took us 7 hours to drive there which was a lot longer than we expected.  So instead of arriving in the early afternoon, spending several hours touring, again in the morning and leaving in the aftenoon..... we had to spend an extra night in order to see anything.  Funny thing though was that the trip home only took 5 1/2 hours.  Go figure.
 Brugg was a lovely city about the size of Heidleberg.  It has a number of canals running through it and has a Netherlands  flavor in the archetecture. It is the first city we've been to that has no street cars.  But it does have a bus system that we used.  We had no Hotel reservations but found a lovely hotel called the Olympia just outside the city center and got the last room.  They have 30 rooms but the rest were booked with a bus tour from England.  After getting set up in our room we went into the city at 5pm.  It was raining lightly but we saw a little of the city before the shops closed at 6pm
 Brugge is only 15 kilometers from the ocean and just across the English chanel so there were alot of Brits there.  In fact we didn't come across anyone who didn't speak english!  Most shopkepers spoke many languages.  In one of the lace stores we were in, we asked the clerk how many languages she spoke and she said 7!  I asked that after I heard her speak Japanese to a customer.