Germany, Part III

Our last day of sightseeing led us to Speyer, one of Germany's oldest cities.  

 

  

We got lucky and caught the end of their Christmas/New Years Market.  Christmas Markets are a huge thing in Europe, especially Germany.  Most markets last until Christmas, so we were thrilled to find one still open.

One of the major sights of the city is the Old Gate (Alpoertel), which is the medieval west city gate of Speyer and built in the early 1200s.

Of course, we had to pop into the Cathedral.

Turns out there was a service that had just started, so we didn't get to walk around the inside, but the peek I got was stunning.

On our way home we found this interesting spider playscape.  The kids had a blast!

That evening we had a big New Years Eve dinner, pretty sure it was my favorite.

So fireworks are a really big deal on New Years Even in Germany.  We made sure to do a little show before all the kids crashed out.

At midnight we found out just how much Germans love fireworks.  You could hear them popping off from every direction.  And it lasted for over an hour.

Our last day we had a quiet day with our friends.  The kids got one last day to play together and the grownups relaxed, played games, and just enjoyed our time.

We had a fabulous trip thanks to our friends who played hotel, chef, tour guides, and translator.  The girls are still talking about how fun Germany was, and it really really was.

Germany, Part II

Day 3 of our adventure sent us to Mainz.

Our first stop was Marktplatz or Domplatz where the Dom (cathedral- Der Hohe Dom zu Mainz) is located.

 

The girls were much more interested in chasing the birds.

The Cathedral was consecrated in the year 911.   Incredible!

 

And just like the other church, it was stunning inside. 

 

Can you imagine hearing the music coming from those organ pipes?

 Another beautiful nativity.

When we finished touring the church, the girls found this little bridal boutique and each of them picked out the dress for them.

After lunch we did some more walking around and came across this crazy slide.  Everyone had a go, even Daddy!

 

 

 

Then we found what we later learned were ruins from a Roman aqueduct which was created sometime in the early 100s.  

The best part was this amazing view of the city to end our day.

Germany, Part I

Our adventure to Germany began just a few days after Christmas.  We drove a few hours to one of the ports and took an overnight ferry.  Apparently we booked our tickets a little late because all that was left were double rooms, so we split up both ways and took turns having a sleepover with each girl.

As it turns out, Emily gets sea sick.  We found that out less than an hour into Holland.  Lesson learned.

We made it to our friends house a little after lunch and got the kids all re-acquainted.  It had been about four and a half years since the girls had seen each other.  Our hosts took us to dinner that first night and the girls and I got to have our first schnitzel (think chicken fried steak, but German style), delicious! 

The next day we headed into Frankfurt.  By this time, the girls were already best friends.

First stop was the Senkenbery National History Museum.

It was incredible!  We spent most of our time checking out all the dinosaurs.

 

After the museum, we walked over to the neatest restaurant.  The food was again delicious.

Next up was the Römerberg, which is the center of Altstadt (old town).  

While there, we stopped at the Frankfurt Cathedral or Kaiserdom Sankt Bartholomäus.  

Inside the Christmas nativity was still up.

Such a stunning church.

Then we walked over to Paulsplatz, another historic square.

By the end of the day everyone was cold and tired.  But it was a great first day of sight-seeing!