European Honeymoon 1999: Germany Introduction
OK, so between our arrival in Germany, we spent one (drunken) night in Paris (Versailles, to be precise) with friends, eating (and drinking) and staying up way, way too late. It begins with our exiting the Chunnel and getting on the wrong metro to get back to the airport. Some really nice Frenchmen directed us VERY HURRIDLY to get OFF THE TRAIN and get back on the correct one. We dashed off this train, half thinking we were leaving all our belongings, only to be left standing on this platform in the middle of two tracks, with nothing to be seen as far as the eye can see except for the backs of houses and empty track. We actually thought they were messing with use ("stupid Americans", we pictured them saying), but eventually, the correct train came, and, in fact we made it back to the airport OK.
And there: WE RENTED OUR CAR.
Thus begins our Car Oddessy. We were trying to pick up Loyd and Whitney from their hotel, which turns out to be right by the airport, but through basic ("stupid Americans, why don't we speak French?") miscommunications with the lady at the Auto Europe, we end up driving around the Perifique, which is basically this highway all the way around Paris. I think this is a link to it, but the map may have expired. See that big yellow circle all around the city? That was us. We eventually circle back around to the airport, find Loyd and Whitney, and pile in the car to meet at a friend's house. We end up driving through Paris, on Boulevard St Michel, eventually to the Arc de Triomphe (Arch of Triumph). We'd stopped for directions, but silly us (read: STUPID AMERICANS) when we asked for directions, we tried to pronounce where we were headed rather than just pointing to the name and saying "where is this" and "Frances" is definitely pronounced differently than "Francois" and the closed department store we found was definitely NOT our friend's house.
Our friend Alex caught the Metro to us and rode with us to the correct locale. :) What's funny is that he said "oh, don't take St. Michel, it's crazy this time of day", and we ALREADY HAD!!!
Net time in car on our first day in Paris: 9 hours. No, that is not a joke. I wish that it were.
Hence the excessive drinking.
We spend that night at Fabien's family home - we'd call it a large apartment or townhome, I guess. What was cool is that it had been in his family for something like 200 years. His grandparents were born there, as were his parents, etc. It was amazing. I loved it. There we ate and drank with Fabien, Laurent, Sophie, Charlotte, Manu, Alex and Derek.
We didn't go to bed until 5am that night, and we slept the next day until 3 or 4. And then we got on the road to Germany. :) We were headed to my old friend Jill's house, and I guess we had no idea how long it was actually going to take, because I have to say she was pretty pissed when she found out what time we were leaving. She has a young (he was way younger then) son and we were pretty much going to be getting there when he was already asleep. But wait, it gets better.
We drive forever, drive FAST on the Autobahn (almost 200mph! wheeeeeee!) and, geeze, another Stupid American moment, we discover that we've been heading as FAST AS WE CAN GO to "Frieberg". We were actually initially HEADED FOR "Friedberg". One is on the border between Germany and Switzerland. One is in Central Germany. Clearly not the same thing. Soooooooo, when we figure this out, I call Jill, who can, by now, only laugh, and we begin speeding for all we're worth to the RIGHT PLACE. We got there at 1:30am. Jill and her husband Guenter drank (yes, we deserved it) with us until after 3. It was great!! They were the best hosts; they actually gave us their bed so that we could rest well. I couldn't believe it.
Our time with Jill is Germany, Phase One. Then we have some other stuff (Phase Two) that we'll get to later, but because my photos are all mixed up and I can't remember what goes where from what castle, I'm presenting One and Three together. Confused yet? I know I am.
So, Phase Three is our trip to stay with my other friend, Rene, and her husband and two children (and her father, who was visiting from the States). I forgot to mention that both Rene and Jill are originally from the US and they both married Germans and moved there. (I know, what are the odds.) That's how I know them and that's why we were staying with them both. During Phase Three, JR and Michael hooked up with us and we all hung out as a huge group.
European Honeymoon 1999 - Germany, Phase One & Phase Three
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This is Rene, her husband Matthias, and their son Callan (on the right) and Jill's son Andreas (on the left). Rene is laughing here because she said she was posing with "her two sons". Her daughter, Imena, is elsewhere. We were, as a GIANT GROUP of something like 14, were visiting a local Schloss (castle), the Heidelburg Castle. Later that day, we had coffee in a wonderful cafe that we pretty much took over, and later warmed ourselves with chili at Rene's. WAY FUN.
This is Andreas, Jill's son. To me, in these photos, he looks just like his mother. He was LOVING riding these little springy cars in the courtyard beneath the schloss. I remember he laughed and laughed.
Michael holds Andreas while looking out a window at the castle.
Now it's my turn to hold Andreas!! :)
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