Wednesday, August 01, 2007
The family come to take me home
On the 22nd of July 2007 the final chapter of my Germanic adventure was written as, after a long drive from Blighty my parents and brother arrived in Erlangen to take me home. But not before a bit of a holiday as we first ventured South on the Romantische Strasse (romantic road) to see real Bavaria and its bounteous wonders.
The family stayed in Erlangen for the a couple of nights to get sorted and give dad a bit of a rest after an epic journey. We spent one evening at my former boss Andy's house to which we had been very kindly invited for dinner and where we had a delicious meal of barbequed salmon.
On the 25th we set off towards the alps via a couple of stunning locations, the first stop being picturesque Dinkelsbuhl (above pics). We stayed in a guesthouse belonging to a lovely old lady just outside of the town centre. The houses were all in the typical Bavarian style, high pointed roofs and pastel coloured exteriors. There were a lot of tourists milling around but it was very quaint and we enjoyed our stay there very much.
On the following day we had a coffee in the pretty town of Nordlingen (above) before we headed further south into the mountainous region of Allgau where the Alps begin. Our destination was Fuessen but we stayed just down the road from there in a stunning chalet overlooking the lake Hopfensee. The still expanse of water against the backdrop of mountains with the sun gleaming down was nothing short of breathtaking - truly idyllic.
We stayed there for two nights, enjoying the restaurants on the lake and the scenery. Ian and I spend one afternoon lazily cruising the lake on a pedalo.
We visited the nearby Neuschwanstein Castle, the famous fairytale style castle built by King Ludwig II (below). Once you had found your way up into the hills where the castle lies (we took the shuttle bus) and have fought through the masses of Japanese tourists the views are amazing and the castle itself awesome.
The town of Fussen itself is also worth a visit. The river which runs through has been turned a bright turquoise because of minerals in the earth and is a wonder to behold. The entire area is almost too beautiful to be true.
The next port of call on our adventure was Lindau (below pic), a popular tourist resort on the banks of the Bodensee (also known as Lake Constance), a massive expanse of water which sits between Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
Lindau was actually so popular that there was no accommodation for us, though after a brief panic we found a hotel not too far away in Kressbronn where we had a nice meal served by an eccentric waiter who addressed us in a strange mixture of 3 or 4 languages and after the meal we walked a little along the water's edge. The following day we returned to Erlangen for a few days, where I took the chance to say a final farewell to my friends. We had a really nice dinner at Magda's house with her family which was ok as they all speak pretty perfect English, albeit with a bit of an American accent.
Avid blog followers will remember that I have been to Nuremburg with the parents previously way back in September but as it was my first visit there at the time and there was a BMX rally going on in the centre that day we didn't get to see much. This time was a lot better as Iwas able to give the folks a bit of a tour of Nuremberg city centre. We headed up to the Burg (Castle) for a view out across the city (above) before eating a traditional bratwurst and sauerkraut lunch at the famous Bratwursthauesle (below). 
On the morning of the 3rd of August I said an emotional goodbye to Magda and we began to travel north along the Rhein. Rather than rushing to make it all the way to Rotterdam in one day we stayed over in Rudesheim, a lovely little holiday town on the banks of the river. The tourist information lady was really nice and sorted us out a good B&B right in the centre of town, just off the main promenade. The Rheinland is very much wine country - even the guesthouse we stayed in was also a winery. There was a cable car which took us up over vineyards to the large monument overlooking the town (below) - an amazing view. Mum referred to the place as German Blackpool and there were a few similarities - the nightlife in the little place was pretty lively - all the old folks jigging about to lederhosen clad brass bands - uber German.
Ater a last continental breakfast (we'd had so many I was could barely eat another slice of salami first thing and would have given my right arm for a Weetabix) we made our way towards Rotterdam to catch the ferry which would take us back to good ol' Blighty. We made good time and arrived at the docks a while before the ship was due to depart. We settled into our cupboard of a cabin and my bemusement at the lack of beds for Ian and myself was alleviated when he pulled our bunks down from a comaprtment in the roof! Once freshened up we headed to the massive on board restaurant where Dad had booked us meals at the all you can eat, multi-course, extravaganza of a buffet. We did it proper justice, I enjoyed six different courses, all of which were delicious. I was most impressed. We washed it down with a drink in one of the bars onboard before hitting our vibrating beds for some kip whilst the ship sailed across towards the English east coast.
We were rudely awoken at 6.30 by an announcement into the cabin that breakfast was ready. A look out of the window showed that we were already preparing to dock at Hull.
We enjoyed the restaurant again, where I was able to swap cheese and ham for baked beans and bacon - result! I was home!
The journey from Hull to Liverpool down the M62 didn't take too long and it was very strange to see the English signs and be on the left hand side of the road. It was time for me to start adjusting back to the English way of life.
It was a long trip but the way we did it made it a really enjoyable holiday as well. It was great to spend time with the family again after so long and I'm really greatful that they spent the time and money in coming to get me - Thank you family!
