Wanderings in Germany/Austria: Part III

Monday night we stayed in a hotel in downtown Innsbruck to recoup and take some time to see the city and the nearby castle, Schloss Ambras. Tuesday evening we did some grocery shopping (an experience I always love in new places) and procured the fixings for a dinner of lentil soup, salad and bread, which we threw together at Leila and Harry’s for a final hurrah before heading back to Germany. Another of Aaron’s Austrian friends, Tommy, showed up for dinner, and we had a blast eating (as always), drinking and babbling.

Wednesday, we caught a train back to Mainz which was supposed to get us into town by 6:46 p.m., but stopped on the tracks for an hour, throwing our connections to the wind and getting us into Mainz for a late dinner at 9:30 p.m.! We ate at a converted church in Mainz with my brother, Paul (who's working in Germany for four months), then grabbed some beers at a local bar. And then it was Thursday, the day that Sam made her flight to Fez, Morocco. By the way, Sam arrived safely in Morocco and has actually begun seeing clients at Al Akhawayn (hopefully she will add a post sometime soon here to describe her experiences)!

So, while Sam was being indoctrinated in her (our) new home, Paul and I decided to spend the weekend driving up the Rhine for wine and castles. The first night we slept in the tower of a castle high above the town of Bacharach on the Rhine. The evening consisted of an awesome dinner and then several glasses of wine at the Kulinarische Sommernacht festival. Ninety percent of the people at this festival had Paul and I by 50 years, but the band still felt obliged to cover American 80's songs. Their rendition of Long Train Runnin' by the Doobie Brothers was stirring. The wine was delicious and helped make the treacherous 20 minute uphill walk in the dark woods to the castle an invigorating experience. At one point, completely blind and knowing that we were no longer on the trail, I had the brilliant idea of using Paul's lighter to help us find the right path. Step aside, Indiana Jones.

Day two we drove past multiple castles (burgs), wandered through Burg Rheinfels and stayed the night in a fortress above the town of Koblenz, where the Rhine and Mosel river join. Another steep walk downhill and a 45 minute walk into town, tasty Indian food for dinner and tasty weiss beers for dessert, then we managed to catch a bus back to the trail head and meander through another patch of dark woods (sans lighter) to the fortress.

And FINALLY ... Paul and I made our way past the Loreley cliffs back to Mainz on Sunday and hung out downtown for the evening. Mainz is a pretty kick-ass town with old, narrow cobblestone streets, lots of beautiful old architecture, and a fantastic waterfront (the Rhine) filled with people, bars, restaurants and even a brilliant waterfront beach bar with sand, volleyball, tables, beer, food, coffee (yay!) and cocktails.

And Monday I flew back to Portland.

THE END

PS: Take a look at the pictures by using the "Germany/Austria Wanderings" link in the PICTURE LINKS to the right.