Ama and Aba Visit the LeAndreses

We were happy to spend the first two weeks of March with my parents visiting in Eindhoven and Southwestern Germany. They flew from Portland to Dusseldorf and took the train from the airport over to Eindhoven. They spent Friday through Tuesday in Eindhoven getting over jet lag, playing with Elliott (my dad hadn't seen him since August!), going to the market and eating lots of fried goodies, and riding bikes. On Sunday we even got to eat dim sum, which actually wasn't bad. My parents also made a trip to Amsterdam. Strangely, their train was delayed on the way back because a WWII-era bomb was discovered near the train tracks in Utrecht (at least that's what they overheard someone say)!

On Wednesday the 7th we picked up a rental car in Eindhoven (a Ford Mondeo station wagon), got packed up, and drove to Cologne (in German it's Koln, in Dutch it's Keulen), where we spent one night at a Hotel Ibis. To get from our hotel to the old city center, we took a fairly long walk, which included a bridge crossing over the Rhine. Elliott particularly appreciated the statues of soldiers on horseback guarding the bridge entrances ("sss! sss!" = "horse! horse!"). Crossing into Cologne's old town we saw the massive Dom cathedral. Its facade is the largest on a church in the world, its tower is over 500 feet tall and its construction began in the 13th century (that's old!). It's exterior, strangely, is soot-black. We don't know exactly why this is, but we speculate that it's either due to fire or pollution. Inside we were amazed to find that the church was almost completely empty of tourists! This was a significant departure from what we found at the Notre Dame in Paris, and it made our visit very enjoyable. The towering stained glass windows were amazing. My dad and I climbed hundreds of steps to the top of the tower for a very nice view and a decent workout. We also visited the Römisch-Germanisches Museum, a museum housing a ton of Roman artifacts from when Cologne was a Roman settlement. I think we've now seen enough Roman artifacts to last us quite a long time. For dinner in Cologne we went to a traditional beer hall. I (Cameron) saw it as a chance to see an authentic German "beer-wench", someone that I imagined would look like a Saint Pauli girl. Unfortunately our waiter was a Greek dude, certainly less blond and less busty than your run of the mill beer-wench. At least the food was good: meat, potatoes, and kraut, including a 1-meter long sausage that Megan and I shared. The search for a proper beer-wench continues...

On the 8th we drove for a few hours to get to Bacharach, a small town south of Cologne in the Rhine's wine country. We stayed in a castle there for four nights. The castle, named Burg Stahleck, was located at the top of a hill overlooking the town of Bacharach. Views from the castle courtyard and our room were spectacular! We could see up and down the Rhine; we could see the medieval town below us; and we could see the valley's hillsides covered with vineyards (no grapes at this time of the year). The castle was great for a number of reasons. First, it was family friendly. Second, it had it's own cafeteria. We ate breakfast there every morning, which consisted mostly of bread, cheese, sliced meat, and yogurt. We also ate dinner there every evening because it was cheap, not too fancy (good for dining with Elliott), and the food was decent and all-you-can eat (good for my dad). Third, the cafeteria became a bar at night with snacks, games, and a good selection of beers and locally grown wines. Finally, it was a CASTLE; need I say more?

We used Bacharach as a home base for day trips. One day we made a day trip north to a town called Hohr-Grenzhausen which is known for it's ceramic/pottery industry. The pottery made from the clay in this region can be recognized for it's grey color; we bought a few pieces for souvenirs. Another day we may a trip to the town of St. Goar, where we toured the town's giant castle, Burg Rheinfels. At one time it was one of the largest castles on the Rhine. It was destroyed by French troops in the late 1700s, and is now a ruin. Megan and I took a self-guided tour from Rick Steve's "Best of Europe" guidebook, which was fun. Walking around the exterior it was obvious that the castle was not simply a home, but was a defensive structure, as arrow-shooting slots and oil-pouring holes were visible all over the castle's walls. Another day we visited the town of Bingen. My parents took a ferry from St. Goar to Bingen, while Megan and I drove. Highlights of Bingen included warm weather; tasty ice cream; a man at the Hildegard von Bingen museum giving Elliott a bar of chocolate; and a walk through the town to a small castle perched at the top of a hill in the center of town.

On Monday the 12th we left Bacharach for Dusseldorf, where my parents and Megan and Elliott would be flying out on the 13th. We stayed at a hotel about a half-hour walk from the old town. We enjoyed lunch at an open air market square downtown with all of the business people on their lunch breaks (it's been a while since I've seen so many suits!). We ate sausages, soups, and fish. Amazingly, many of the dishes were served with real silverware and dishes, even though we just ate on some steps. Dusseldorf is not full of big tourist sites, so we spent most of our time there just wandering through the old town. We were surprised to see how fashion-oriented the people of Dusseldorf are. Everyone was dressed very stylishly (in our opinion) and many of the stores downtown were very fancy (also in our opinion). We found out later that Dusseldorf is the fashion capital of Germany, and is home to many designers and fashion shows. The one site in Dusseldorf that we had planned on seeing, a Picasso exhibit at the modern art museum, was closed on Mondays. Sorry mom...

On Tuesday the 13th I dropped off my parents, Megan and Elliott at the Dusseldorf airport. It was very sad to say goodbye to them all. Hurry home Megan and Elliott, I miss you!