Europe, Fall 2007, the final days

The view from the war memorial (Denkmal) onto Ostrach



Posing in front of the war memorial of 1799



We went for a walk just outside town



With my friends Joerg and Uschi and their beautiful house



Amy with my mom and dad



We grabbed lunch in Sigmaringen at the Theater Cafe



Amy is checking out a German newspaper



We also got to catch up with the internet



On our way to Reutlingen we drove past castle Lichtenstein



We had coffee with my friends Matthias and Jutta in Reutlingen

Europe, Fall 2007, Gaggenau and Freiburg

En route to go visit my brother in Gaggenau, Germany



Along the way of course we saw more castles



My brother Manfred, his wife Bettina and their daughter



We went for a little walk in the park



To be young again



We then moved on to Freiburg. This is where we ate dinner on Thursday eve and where I fell in the ditch



Our hotel in Freiburg was small and cozy



This was the view from our hotel room. The beautiful Muenster in Freiburg and the market surrounding it.



Amy and I got a tour of the university hospital in Freiburg so she could compare



We also checked out the Freiburg train station as Amy has an interest in trains



Bicycles are everywhere in Freiburg

Europe, Fall 2007, the next days

We visited the beautiful and very large baroque Basilika in Weingarten, Germany on Monday



I realized that my friend Eric Buck has satellite offices all over the world



This part of Germany is well known for the storks



The storks are everywhere



On Tuesday we we tried to see all kinds of touristy things. Here Amy is feeding popcorn to one of the 200 Barbary Macaques at the Affenberg in Salem



These Barbary Macaques like apples too



The castle in Salem, Germany



In the courtyard of the Salem castle, Amy got friendly with a local



The church in Salem is in the center of the castle



That afternoon we visited the beautiful castle in Sigmaringen



I made a new friend at the castle in Sigmaringen



On Wednesday we went to see my relatives in Rottweil, Germany and for dinner we had a traditional Swabian meal in a traditional Wirtshaus



Since it was Halloween we went out to a Halloween party where we saw former Pogues guitarist Jamie Clarke with his new band



Jamie Clarke and his band Perfekt in action

Europe, Fall 2007, the first days

We arrived on Saturday around 8am and our rental car was a Citroen C4



After a long nap we went out for a meal



On Sunday morning Amy and my sister Sandra get to know each other



I am earning my keep and assist with shaking the apples from the apple tree in our yard



Amy also helps out by gathering the apples



Posing at the carneval fountain in my home town of Ostrach



My dad enjoys his new hat



A very rare sign in Germany. No bikes allowed here.



Amy enjoys the sights in Ueberlingen, Germany



The very beautiful baroque Basilika Birnau between Meersburg and Ueberlingen overlooks the Lake of Constance



Meersburg, Germany is a very beautiful town too



Amy with my friends Mandy and Eugen inside the Franziskaner bar



Amy and I enjoy the smoke free bar environment in Germany. (Germany went smoke free in most bars and restaurants late this summer)



Eugen shows us a "smoker tent" outside the Franziskaner bar.

Rumor has it that they stink

but they are so cute

Raikkonen wins 2007 F1 crown

It was all but certain that new sensation Lewis Hamilton (GBR) would win the 2007 F1 World Championships, but in the end it was Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) who won the final race and the title. Go Ferrari.

Vacation soon

Amy and I are going on a little vacation soon. Oh boy.