Ankünfte

I departed from London a day earlier than my friends. The plan was to meet Tara and go to the airport. I had such trouble communicated with her, I hoped I would run into her at the departures gate. Stansted Express took me directly from the Underground to the airport where I rushed to find the check-in desk and departure. My anxiety wouldn't calm until I saw Tara's wonderful blonde hair and smile. We climbed aboard our RyanAir plane and made our way to Germany.
Coming off the plane at Hahn I could feel that familiar travel anxiety rising up when I tried reading the signs. Seeing Felix standing and waving above the arrivals gate was a welcomed sight! In the busyness of travel, I had forgotten how much I was looking forward to seeing him.
He packed us into his little BMW and we were off to the Krämer home, via a few small cities.
We stopped in Oppenheim to see the cathedral and castle ruins. Tara and I chatted nonstop the entire journey and were frequently reminded to speak more slowly.
Along the way we stopped to pick his girlfriend up. I was looking forward to meeting Connie, as I have heard so many wonderful things about her. It's a bit like seeing the other inside of a greeting card. You can get the gist of things on the exterior, but you really need the personalized message inside for it to mean something.
When we arrived to Ludwigshohe (near Mainz) his mother greeted us with a warm German accent and smiles. We were finally here, in a real house! This was better than any five star hotel I could think of. It was packed with lives and love.
Our bedroom had lovely down duvet and our own private bath and balcony. On the table sparkling water had been set out beside German tourism brochures. Pictures on the wall followed the Krämers through their vacations over the years. Someone had also been thoughtful enough to post a large map of Germany.
Dinner consisted of Braten, Knoedel, salad, and bread ccompaniedied by a beautiful white wine from the Krämer Weingut. I had been so frugal in London, eating only what I could afford, this bounty was like manna from heaven! I'm afraid I took a bit more than I could handle, but nicely stuffed it away. It wasn't until the postdinner walk when I realized how much I overindulged in the meal!
Friday we toured the ancient German castles and wineyards via the Rhein. We visited Rudesheim and walked down the famous Drosselgasse street. The way the river flowed through vineyards and tiny town was very romantic!