Day 3 - Wiesbaden

  What a wonderful day!  Today we traveled up North to the city of Wiesbaden to visit my friend, Kathryn, and her family.  To get there we spent a lot of time on the autobahn (the highway) which Will loves because often there are no speed limits.  No matter how fast we are going, he always tells us to drive faster.  Although I have to admit, having kids has really made us more cautious on the road.  James and I are both driving noticeably slowler than we would if we didn't have the boys in the car.

  Actually, that reminds me of a story that I forgot to tell you yesterday.  We were walking in Gengenbach near a busy road and the boys wanted to run.  When I insisted that they had to hold hands near this road Will complained, "But in Germany you can go as fast as you want!"

  Anyway, back to Wiesbaden.  We arrived at Kathryn's house a bit late because we had gotten a little lost.  But she didn't mind and her husband, Brandon, made us some delicious steaks for lunch.  

Kathryn and her son Erik

James and Erik play together

Me and my boys.  Jon is wearing German suspenders.

After lunch, we all went up to the Nerobergbahn Train where we took the train up the Neroberg mountain.  The train uses water pumps and a cable system which pulls one car up while the other goes down, so the ride is straight up a very steep incline.  The boys loved it.  On the way down, Will and I were able to ride outside on the front of the train next to the conductor.

Will is excited about the train

James and the boys on the train

Erik plays peekaboo on the train

What a cutie!

  At the top of the hill was a great view of Wiesbaden.  As an extra bonus, on the wall overlooking the city was a stone lion.  Will and Jon loved him and spent a lot of a time sitting between his front paws and climbing on his back.  I was a little nervous about it at first because there was a ten foot fall on the other side but they had a great time.  Will declared himself, "The Lion King" and ruled over all of us.  He would have stayed there all day.

Grandma and the boys overlooking Wiesbaden

Jon, King of the Lions

Will, King of the Lions

Will and Jon on the stone lion

Will on the wall overlooking Wiesbaden

  After that we took a short walk down a steep hill to see a beautiful Russian Orthodox Church.  James had actually been to this church before; his grandmother had taken him and his parents to visit it when he was two.  Cameras weren't allowed inside so unfortunately I can't show you and pictures of the beautiful interior.  There was some music (Russian hymes I think) playing quietly inside and baby Erik started to sing along.  What a cutie.  :-)  I didn't think Will and Jon would be interested (or quiet) so I didn't take them in at first.  But Jon really wanted to see it and both boys enjoyed looking at the statues, the paintings of saints on the ceiling, and all the gold.

Will in front of the Russian Church

Golden Spires

The walk back up the hill was tiring for most of us but Will and Brandon raced to the top.  I'm glad someone had the energy to race with him!   

Will rests after racing Brandon and baby Erik up the hill

  And here are a few more pictures of our time at the top of the mountain...

Jon rocks the suspenders as he makes
his way along the climbing course.

To Will, everything is a race track...

Jon on the kids climbing course

Erik is enjoying his ride on his daddy's back.

What a silly boy

Will and Jon climb into a hollowed out tree and show of their toys.

James and Jon enjoy the view on the way down the mountain.

   



























After all that exercise we were hungry again so we went to a restaurant that serves giant helpings of food.  Really giant.  The eight of us ordered three plates and we had at least a plate of food left over.  The boys loved the giant cheeseburger but the lure of the playground near our table was too strong and they didn't eat much.

Erik digs into in the cheeseburger

Brandon enjoys his large beer.

Yum!

Flying baby!

Kathryn gives the boys a push after dinner

  Today was a perfectly wonderful day.  We ate two delicious meals, had fun on top of a mountain and James and his mom were able to visit his Omi's old house and reminisce.  But for me, the best part was connecting with an old friend.  Long distance is hard on any relationship and the Atlantic is a rather large barrier.  So it was so great to be able to visit, to talk in person, to play with her baby and to realize again why we are friends.  Now I just wish we lived closer!!  Ah well, I suppose it is just another reason to return to Germany...  :-)

Good night!