Another Weekend, Another New Adventure

Sunday, September 24, 2011


Another weekend here in the Rhineland and this one included a trip to a palace. We took the train to Karlsruhe Germany. Three trains through German wine country and 2 hours later, we arrived in the bustling town. From the bahnhof (train station) we boarded a packed streetcar that took us downtown towards the historic palace. As we moved through the city we could see growing crowds. We had arrived in the middle of another fall festival and street fair. We made our way through the crowds and walked towards the palace. The sun was bright in the clear blue sky. The grounds of the palace were covered in lush green grass, with kids playing and people lounging. Fountains and wild flowers completed the  picturesque grounds. As we approached the palace, the comparisons to the US Capitol building were apparent, yet the palace was amazing in its own right. We toured the museum, filled with objects of glamour and elegance from the past residents of the palace. They we made our way towards the tower, at the back of the castle. Some 200+ stairs we climbed in a spiral towards the heavens. The view from the top was a panoramic display of the town and Deutsche Weinstrasse (German Wine Trail).

We climbed down the spiral stairs of the tower and headed toward the cafe for some snacks. A pizza and espresso later, we were back up and moving back towards the center of town. We joined the masses wandering around the city. We shopped around the city center, which was packed, as stores are never open on a Sunday in Germany. Surprisingly this Sunday most stores were open and we explored a toy-store full of hand made wooden toys and antique teddy bears.  Then on to more food...this time gelato and bratwurst, in the middle of the festival as the crowds moved past. As the sun began to dip below the horizon, we hopped back on the tram and made our way back to the train station for our trip back to Ramstein.

More to come soon!

David, Tiffany & Oliver