Michael and Mel, Day 3 Luzern, Switzerland

First stop, the grocery store. We bought fruit, peppers, tomatoes, cheese, rolls, candy, pretzels, yogurt and chips. Then we gassed up the car and headed for Luzern.

We went first to Lowendenkmal to see the amazing lion sculpture in the rock.

The boys' first look at the lion.

We walked to the lake. We were lucky because the weather cleared up. We had a few scattered rain drops, but mostly just cloudy skies for the rest of the day.

Sam and Simon enjoyed watching the swans.

Sam really liked this boat with the dragon on the front.

We walked across the wooden bridge, the Kapellbrucke, with it's lovely paintings on the eaves.

Then we crossed another long bridge.



Sam learned about the locks that lovers put on the bridges in Europe to lock in their love.

That inspired a big kiss.

Simon is quite the photographer.

More ice cream!

Then we drove past the Zurich Sea and through the mountains. We stayed in a beautiful three-story home--Gastehaus Weber. We had the whole top floor. Michael and Mel and Bob went off to find some food. I stayed with Sam and Simon, and we had some much needed down time in our jammies. Sam built a cool ship with Legos, and Simon and I played catch with his stuffed animal. 

In the morning, we woke up refreshed to the sound of cow bells and these beautiful mountains.

Michael and Mel, Day 2 Strasbourg, France

Strasbourg, France is such a fun city! 

We walked up and down the narrow streets.

We visited the majestic Strasbourg Cathedral with its colorful stained glass windows.

In the boulangerie we found macarons and these chocolate spaghetti ball cookies.

 Because we had parked in separate locations, we met at L'Orangerie Park, where we saw a stork. Michael and Bob got busy with bird watching. Sam and Simon fed the ducks and climbed the trees by the pond.

Grandpa treated everyone to ice cream cones, and then we headed back to Germany to stay the night in Weil am Rhein at Hauptstrasse 60, 79576.

Michael, Mel, Sam, and Simon Arrive in Frankfurt! October 7, 2012

Hooray! We had just been waiting and waiting for this special day when Michael and Mel's sweet family would arrive in Europe.

 

The first thing we did was head  to the park that has the zip line that we had been telling Sam and Simon about. They loved it!

Then we decided to go to Burg Munzenberg to see the shell of an old castle. We were in two cars and quickly learned our first lesson in caravaning together. Don't leave without each other.

When we arrived at the castle, we found that it was already closed. So we waited for another half an hour, and just as we were going to the car, Michael pulled up. It was a miracle that we found each other. So we made some rules about how to best stick together. The car in the front slows down and the car in the back speeds up. We stick together! Good plan! We also borrowed a cell phone to stay in touch, which was a great blessing.

We saw this really cool fungi on a tree.

Then we drove to Butzbach to walk through this quaint city surrounded by its old city wall. 

Sam and Simon enjoyed playing at this park.

We love the spectacular old, half-timbered houses here.

Sam and Simon found the street scene fun too!

We came home and enjoyed a German dinner of pork patties with mustard, boiled buttered potatoes, and red apple cabbage. The Dearings brought us cookies for dessert. A wonderful first day!