Hessen

Going to Bad Homburg became a Halloween tradition for us. We went for the first time with our neighbors in 2005. We decided to go out to eat, and they wanted to use their new GPS system. We thought we were going to the outskirts of Frankfurt (which we kind of were), but we ended up in Bad Homburg. We parked next to a small tower-like building, which was pretty cool. The building across from it actually had a public restroom in it, which seemed odd considering how nice it looked (and the fact that there are few free public restrooms in Germany). There was also a castle off in the distance, but we couldn't get a picture of it because it was too dark. On our trip back in 2006 we walked up there to find that it wasn't as impressive as it looked from afar. Meanwhile, we walked around looking for our restaurant only to find out that it actually didn't exist. Apparently it had closed, or the GPS was off, or something. But in the process of looking for the place, we walked around and found a cool overpass where we could look down on some houses. We got to see some little German kids trick-or-treating too. When we went back 06 we walked in the opposite direction and explored the downtown area a little more. It was a nice litle German town, and amusingly enough, I still haven't been there during the day.

We decided to go to Büdingen based on an article in the Connections magazine--a local military publication. We didn't really know what to expect when we got there, but overall, we had a pretty good time of it. And to make things even nicer, parking was free (another thing rare to Germany). The view upon entering the old city was very quait: a little stream running up to a bridge, leading to a gate and the city entrance. After driving through parts of the new developments, it was pretty amazing to walk down the old streets. It was like the old city was set apart in its own little section, uniquely preserved. Unfortunately, we went on a day when the castle and information office were closed, but we still had fun just walking around the town and seeing parts of the old city, including the old city wall. The gates to the old city were still in tact. It was cool to walk through them and see the towers that were built into them. After looking at some more of the city's architecture, we went to a Croatian restaraunt for dinner. Overall, the trip was one of our favorites.

Rüdesheim is an easy 30 minute drive from our house. We've been there many times, to walk around the city, go to the Christmas markets, or to hike at the Niederwald park just above the town. There is a monument there with an outlook over the Rhine, on a nice day you can see for miles. You can walk up to caslte ruins from one of the trails and walk along the vinyards. Rudesheim itself is a very touristy little town. All of their tourist shops (but none of the other ones) are open on Sunday. They have some nice places to eat and lots of cheap souvenirs. And they also have their own special drink, Rudesheimer Coffee, which is like an Irish coffee, made with a local brandy, set on fire, and topped with whipped creme and chocolate shavings. I don't care for it but is fun to see ordered from time to time. There is also a wine museum and a museum of medeival torture in Rudesheim.