Trips 2013: The "Ladies" Visit/Spring Break 2013 Part I

I have been looking forward to this post for a long time - reliving such a wonderful visit. Truly, last year in March, 3 of our favorite ladies connected to our DCF/Church on Riggs past came to visit. They stayed with us in Germany a week, then we all traveled to Barcelona for a week. It was a WONDERFUL trip. We wish we could take buffers like that on all our family vacations. They really did smooth out the rough edges in our younger travelers and even me and Stuart. Ladies, I cannot thank you enough and I hope you enjoy this two part saga of reliving our good times. (And if you are wondering why ladies is in quotes in the title, well, let's just say that Stuart had a strangely hilarious way of pronouncing ladies that sounded a little, well, ummm....)

I THINK I picked everyone up from the airport - at their respective times. Is that right? And we chilled at the house - but not for long. We ventured out the next day to discover Kaiserswerth, the little town (a part of Düsseldorf) that the Hayes' family life is centered around. 

Gina, me, and Suz at the Rhine - just a 10 minute walk from our house!

Schloss Kalkum - also a short bike ride or 15 minute walk from our house.

Monica with "Elvis' Caddy" - rumor (and the sign) says this was the car Elvis drove while stationed here in Germany.

Kaiserpfalz castle ruins - along the Rhine and right in Kaiserswerth

Interior of St. Suidbertus church - Catholic church in Kaiserswerth

Love these ladies!

Downtown Düsseldorf along the Rhine walk

Rub the nose of the lion (symbol for Düsseldorf) for good luck.

We headed to Cologne (or Köln) for a little day trip some time that week and an English tour of the Kölner Dom (read really large Catholic cathedral). This cathedral was the final destination of many ancient pilgramages because it is said to hold the relics of the 3 Magis bones. We saw the ark where they are kept, but were not there on the day of the big reveal (they display the bones once a year for any to see.) Great English tour daily around 2:30 if you are ever interested in visiting (and you should be!)

Group shot in Köln - see the disciples above the entrance?

Cannot get a normal smile out of Zee.

Walking the square at the Dom

Cool little drain - watched a leaf all the way down

Street performers outside the Kolner Dom

The boys joined us!

Chocolate consumption at the Lindt Chocolate museum in Cologne/Koln

Lucky us! They only unveil this altar piece during the Lenten season in the cathedral. Amazing.

Later that week, we left the boys for a day to their own devices and headed on a Rhine trip. We drove to Koblenz, took the Milk Run Train (MRT) to Bacharach and observed all the castles along the Rhine. We toured Bacharach and got some of the BEST döners I've ever had (think similar to a gyro). We then braved a very strange and scary drive to see Burg Eltz - all in a rental car because my car did something funny the day befoe and I didn't trust it. (Plus, there may have been an incident in the car the day before as well...when we were trying to go to Brussels for the day. Ask one of the ladies! :-) )

So quaint, right? Gina by the little river.

Guess we know what grapes we have here!

Suz capturing the moment

Bacharach along the Rhine

Ummm...were we excited it was an old wine house??

More Bacharach

Picture time in Bacharach

Bacharach along the Rhine river - really beautiful, even in the fog and cold

The Bacharach vineyards beside the town wall (that we are standing on!)

 A fairy tale castle - Burg Eltz (and it was snowing!)

If you ask more details of the drive to Burg Eltz (thanking God we all made it safely back - I was the driver - people should not walk on mountain roads when I am driving, that is all I am saying), or perhaps the spicy currywurst served in Kaiserswerth (spicy...like the first kiss of your life!), you can hear more of our adventures. Seriously, a great first week to the vacation, minus a little illness here and there.

Next post - BARCELONA!