Blog 16Jul2008 Bad Honnef

I'd better write now as we're off on a big adventure tomorrow morning!

Yesterday (15Jul2008), Kate and Jeff started the day with a run around the river island Insel Grafenwerth and back. Once the girls were up, we had lunch and hopped in the car, destination: Marksburg Castle.

I don't know how we managed it, but we left without a local map. I guess we had huge Europe maps, a Rick Steves book, and the GPS and figured that would get us there. Two people we talked to about Marksburg Castle said to go through Koblenz and just follow the signs. Sounds easy, right?

We first programmed the GPS to get us to Koblenz, but Jeff must have pressed the wrong button because it started leading us North-East out of town (Koblenz is definitely due South). We turned around from that and started heading south. We figured out very quickly the difference between "Quick" and "Short" on the GPS: "Quick" takes you the fastest routes (i.e. AutoBahn) while "Short" takes you via the scenic route. Well, we had a very scenic tour from Bad Hannof to Koblenz, stopping to eat our packed lunch at a rest stop.

After Koblenz, we got lost. Well, as lost as you can get with a GPS. We didn't know what town Marksburg Castle was near, and it still wasn't on any sign. After a few wrong turns, we stopped at a gas station and asked. She gave directions that weren't too clear, but we found a sign! And then another! And then nothing for many kilometers. We asked at another gas station and were told in very broken English we went about 8km too far.

When we found it, it was quite worthwhile. As the website says, Marksburg "is the only hill castle on the Rhine that has never been destroyed". It also has great artifacts, especially in the armoury. After that, we realized how close we were to Lorelei Rock, and Jeff wanted to go. It was after 5PM, but we were getting used to eating late (as most Europeans do). After a quick visit to the rock/statue, we drove back.

To avoid ferries, and to get a glimpse of a new city, we drove back via Bonn, the nearest big city to Bad Honnef. Bonn is much bigger than we expected, and we got a bit lost there as well. (GPSs are great, but still not the be-all and end-all.)

Today (16Jul2008), we stayed in to catch up on things and to avoid the rain. Jeff prepared the minivan (a 1997 Ford Galaxy, in case you're interested) by taking out one of the seats and checking the oil and tires. Kate checked on the camping supplies and did some food preparation. The girls packed themselves and got out for a walk in the rain (they walked down to a bakery for doughnuts.) Jeff fired up the barbeque (a la briquettes) and they all enjoyed barbequed steak, boiled potatoes, peas, and salad.

In the evening, Kate and Jeff went out with a few neighbours for wine at a local restaurant. Jeff biked with Christina and Christophe while Kate drove with Werner, Gerhild and Katja. Christophe's sister and husband showed up, so there were 9 of us there enjoying wine and feuerkuchen (basically thin-crust pizza) and great conversation (they all spoke English extremely well).

Lanlivery to Plymouth to London/Frankfurt/Bad Honnef

On 11Jul2008, Liss, Megan, and Jeff travelled from Lanlivery to Plymouth. Amanda and Leah took them to the Par train station, where they boarded the 9:38AM train. On the train, Jeff phoned Justin to meet them at the Mayflower steps in Plymouth at 2PM.

Upon arriving in Plymouth, Liss, Megan, and Jeff walked to the new Drake Circus shopping mall, where they spent an hour or two in the shops. They explored some of the outdoor walking area, then bought some lunch and ate it near Plymouth Hoe. They explored the Hoe, then walked past the Citadel and down to the Mayflower Steps.

Justin arrived and picked them up right at 2PM. He drove them through the picturesque Dartmoor where they walked over Postbridge, in and around the church at Buckland-in-the-Moor, and drove along Drake's Leat, a watercourse that dates back to the 16th century.

For dinner, Justin and Anne took Liss, Megan, and Jeff to The Ship Inn at Nos Mayo to celebrate Laura's birthday. There, they met up with Laura, Celia, Amanda, Martin, and Josh for a fantastic meal.

On 12Jul2008, Justin and Anne took Liss, Megan, and Jeff from Wood Cottage to Torquay to meet Katie and Margot. The four travelers got aboard the 8:18AM train to Newton Abbot. There, they transferred to another train which took them to Paddington Station. At Paddington, they transferred to the Heathrow Express which whisked them to Terminal 5 by about noon.

Soon after getting their boarding cards, Jeff met with Chris Allen: a Nerd with of Nerds On Site working in the London area. Chris and Jeff chatted for 90 minutes or so while Liss, Megan, and Kate went through security and went shopping in Terminal 5. They met up and boarded the flight together for the 3:35PM flight.

Once in Frankfurt, they found their way to the train station. There, they boarded a train which took them to Koblenz. The train was delayed by 5 minutes, so the connection at Koblenz was dicey. The four of them literally ran from one train to the other, boarding only seconds before it pulled away! Missing this connection would have meant waiting for the next train and possibly missing the ride from the Bad Honnef station to the Lehnert's home.

But they made the connection and arrived in Bad Honnef on schedule. Christophe was there to meet them and take them to the Lehnert's home, only minutes from the station. Christophe's wife, Christina, also visited and welcomed the travelers to their temporary home. The four travelers found their way to a well-deserved rest.

It turns out that most shops are closed on Sunday, but there was enough food to make do for the day. Kate and Jeff walked a couple of blocks to Schneiders Obsthof for some produce in the morning, then took the long way home, passing through the walking district of Bad Honnef and finding their way back through the winding roads of the small city.

After lunch, the bicycle situation was evaluated and four bicycles were selected and adjusted with the help of the neighbours Walter and Heidi. The four travelers donned helmets and set off for Grafenwerth, an island in the Rhine River beside Bad Honnef. After a quick look around, they headed North along the Rhine to see what they could see. They soon found themselves in Königswinter where several shops were open in the tourist area. They bought well-deserved ice cream cones and walked around a bit.

The bicycle ride back was uneventful, except for that poor jogger who what almost hit by not one, but two of the group (Jeff and Megan need to watch where they're going!). Soon after returning, everyone went next door for a fantastic barbeque dinner of sweet potato, onion, zucchini, lettuce salad, noodle salad, potatoes, steak, schnitzel, and ice-cream desserts. Joining us for dinner was their son Alexander and after dinner was Alexander's friend Tom. After dinner, Tom took Andrew, Liss, and Megan for a quick tour of the city (and an ice cream at McDonald's!) We all retired after a busy first day in Germany.

Monday morning, 14Jul2008, Liss and Jeff walked to the "Hit" grocery market/store for some groceries. For €76.97 (C$123), they got "the basics" which was enough to make carrying them back to the house a bit of a challenge. Incidentally, all groceries appear to be more expensive here with two notable exceptions: cheese and wine!

They all had lunch, then went for a walk into the walking area of Bad Honnef. They were surprised to find that the tourist information section of Town Hall had no literature printed in English! Oh well, there's always the Internet. After a stop at a café for ice creams (for Liss and Megan) and to watch the world go by, they walked back home. It was a sunny afternoon, so Liss and Megan came out in their bikinis and sunned themselves in the back yard.

The first dinner of the trip cooked by the travelers was spätzel and salad. After dinner, Liss, Megan, and Jeff enjoyed a DVD owned by the Lehnerts: the second Harry Potter movie, The Chamber of Secrets. Katie watered the flowers outside and took another walk to the Rhein (force of habit, but without dogs).

10Jul2008 Plymouth to Lanlivery

Yesterday (09Jul2008) was spent inside, avoiding the rain, writing blogs, uploading pictures, and sleeping off jetlag. Again we ate like kings and queens. Jeff walked with Justin to the neighbour's house to look at their computer issue.

Today (10Jul2008), Justin drove Liss, Megan, and Jeff to the Plymouth train station where they hopped the train to Lostwithiel. Amanda and Leah met us at the train station, and we walked around the town. We picked up some pasties and took their home in Lanlivery to eat them for lunch. On the way, we stopped at Amanda's sister-in-law's who live on duchy land (owned by Prince Charles) next to the Restormel Castle. After touring the castle, we went to their place and had our pasties.

After lunch, we headed out for a pony ride. Megan rode Candy while Jeff led it, Liss rode Parry while Amanda lead, and Leah rode Rudy. We all did a loop of Lanlivery.

When we got back, discussion went to Red Dwarf, so we watched Series 1 Episode 1 to refresh our memories of the story. Then we watched Series 8 Episode 1 for something new and funny. Martin and Josh arrived home as we watched.

Amanda put on a great meal of roast beef, vegetarian lasagne, green salad, Waldorf salad, and potatoes. For dessert, we had chocolate cake and Devonshire Clotted Cream (yum!). After dinner, there was some gathering around the computers to check train schedules, scan pictures, look at pictures, and discuss worldly issues. Liss and Leah stayed up (till 2:30AM!) and talked while the rest of us retired for the night.

08Jul2008 Home to SW England

Our trip has started out great! We got the 2PM ferry (thanks, Mom!) and arrived at the airport over 4 hours before our flight. I was asking directions at our ticket counter, when the person there mentioned that our flight was running 2 hours late. I immediately pictured us getting stuck in London having missed our trains, but then she offered to put us on an earlier flight! On top of that, she upgraded us to Business Class. :-)

We whisked through security and nearly walked straight onto the plane. But not before we saw our old neighbours from Shawnigan Lake: Graham, Jasmine, and Tim Ross-Smith were also travelling to England and Germany. It was dreamy in Business Class: we had these little areas called "cabins" where the seat would stretch out into a 6-foot bed and you had your own TV, remote, and telephone. We were offered a selection of dinners and beverages, but I had champagne, goat cheese with vegetables, steak, potatoes, green beans, Pera Cotta, and Lindt chocolates.

We had a great selection of dozens of movies. I enjoyed "10,000 BC", "The Bucket List", and part of "Horton Hears a Who" while Megan watched "Flawless", Liss watched "Son of Rambow" and "Over Her Dead Body", and Kate watched "The Other Boleyn Girl".

After a very abbreviated sleep, we woke to cereal, fruit, and croissants. Before we knew it, we had arrived at the impressive Terminal 5 at Heathrow. Can you believe Terminal 5 took 20,000 workers 19 years and 10 billion dollars to build?

Our bags were among the first off and we zipped into London on the Heathrow Express. Finding ourselves hours ahead of schedule, we checked our bags into storage at Paddington Station and wandered around Hyde Park and vicinity (including Albert Hall and Kensington Palace) for a few hours. Lunch was soup and baguettes at a sandwich shop.

Back at Paddington, we hopped the train to Exeter, made a quick train change, and ended up in Torquay , right on schedule. There, we met Kate's Aunt Margot and Jeff's relatives Anne and Justin. We had a short visit with Margot, then Liss, Megan, and Jeff were off to Wood Cottage with Anne and Justin. When we arrived, we were served salad, quiche, and pizza, then retired after our 24 hours of travel.

Today (09Jul2008), the weather is very wet here at Wood Cottage, but we're hoping for some clearing tomorrow.