Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Family Visit to Coburg

We started out the next morning by walking around Erlangen and then heading to the trainstation. We took the 40 minute train ride into Coburg and arrived around 11am. The weather was perfect(our first warm weekend in 6 months)and we were impressed with Coburg as soon as we got off the train. The buildings are gorgeous as we made away into the center of town.

We walked around the downtown area, explored the market place and then made our way up to a beautiful castle.

Walking up to Callenburg Castle


Vin and Ash at the main entrance.


We are very excited to be in Coburg.


After walking around the castle grounds we decided to break for lunch. I had researched a few lunch options and found Miles and More, a great little Bavarian hole in the wall. We were seated for about a minute when a woman at the next table introduced herself to us. She mentioned that her friend performed tours of Coburg and could give us a short tour for free. 10 minutes later her friend had arrived and we all chatted over lunch. What a great way to get to know a little more about this town.

After our tour we hiked up to Veste Coburg (the Fortress of Coburg). It was a beautiful walk up to the top.


We finally reached the top and explored Veste.


Walking the grounds.


Ash and her horse.


The temperatures had begun to drop so we had a little hot chocolate at the top before heading back down.

After reaching the bottom it was time to walk through town and back to the train station so that we could begin our ride back to Erlangen. I love the way German towns look when the sun goes down.


We grabbed a loaf of Easter bread to enjoy on the train and had a relaxing ride home. It was a wonderful day exploring Coburg together.

Monday, March 26, 2012

A Family Visit, part 1

It is amazing how fast time begins to fly by when you have something big coming up on the calendar. I still can not believe that we will be leaving Germany in just over a month. There is not enough time to prepare for the move, prepare for our little ones arrival and soak up every last minute we have in Germany. A wise woman reminded me that I need to start saying good bye and begin to prepare my heart for the move now. This was good for me to hear since I would rather just put that off for our final trip to the airport.

As we wrap up our time here we are planning a few short trips but also enjoying a few visitors. Last weekend Phil's mom, brother and sister came to visit for a few days. We had a great time traveling to nearbye towns and eating delicious Bavarian cuisine.

After picking them up from the Frankfurt airport we decided to break up the trip home by stopping in Wurzburg. Phil and I had never been so it was a first for all of us.
Walking into the center of Wurzburg


Family


Beautiful Churches


Brothers in front of The Residenz.




Entering the gardens behind the Residenz.


After walking around for a bit we stopped for a bite to eat. It was fun to introduce everyone to Schnitzel and Spaetzle.



And a coffee break. While we were there the owner was roasting beans which made the whole shop smell amazing.


After walking around a little longer we decided to head into Erlangen and introduce everyone to our little town.

After a little dinner and talking we called it a night to prepare for our trip the next day to Coburg, Germany.