Y2W8 - JR's Second Week
After returning from England, I decided to go to work for a couple days so I could get some well deserved rest before embarking on another see all of Europe in a couple days type trip. My German colleagues at work cringe every time I describe a 2 or 3 day trip around some part of Europe – 3 week holidays to a single destination are the norm. So Tuesday and Wednesday I handed tour guide responsibilities off to Ellyn and the girls. They took JR to Remagen as that is where ‘Karratsch’ (Rudolf Caracciola) grew up and they have a plaque where his house was and also a monument in his honor nearby. Additionally, they visited the Bridge at Remagen of which Ellyn has posted our previous visits. That evening we welcomed a babysitter and a dinner out with the three adults.
After prolonged deliberations on what to do on Wednesday, El and JR decided to go to Düsseldorf's Königsallee which is a posh shopping strip with shops such as Prada and Burberry. Of course, Starbucks happened to be their first stop. I had to take a couple minutes out of my day to help guide them into Düsseldorf zentrum. I felt a bit obligated as I continue to disregard portable navigation systems as a poor excuse for good research and a sense of direction. A bit arrogant I know, but my theory that navigation systems weaken one’s ability to remember how they got to a particular location in the first place was inversely validated as JR and El found their way out of out of Düsseldorf and back to Bonn without any issue.
On Saturday, all we had planned was eventually getting to Baden Baden, Germany where I had reserved a hotel. Having spotted a Gondola tram just down from our hotel in Beatenberg overlooking Interlaken, we decided with absolutely beautiful skies that a trip
to the top of Niederhorn was a must. The views were unbelievable and one of the highlights of the entire trip. What we expected to be a 20 minute venture to the top on the gondola, ended up being a couple hour excursion along the ridge of the mountain. (Ellyn briefly interjecting here) My crazy husband and daughters were galloping along this rickity fence with a 1000 foot cliff on ther other side. (Hey Belobraidich's -- remind you of anyone?) It reminded me of my Father and how much he would have loved being there with us. He would have been galloping along side them while I was behind them cringing.
That afternoon, we travelled to Baden Baden (the home of some of JR’s ancestors in the mid-1800’s). Baden Baden (German ‘to bathe’) is a renowned spa town in the hills of the Schwartzwald (Black Forest). JR, now running on high-octane fuel from the adrenaline of being in the home of his ancestors, left us behind to take in the entire town in a couple hours time. Seeing him so excited was infectious and really made things extra fun. We split up and reconvened for dinner in the city center. I (Ellyn interjecting again) really wanted to buy Greg a Chocolate Torte for his birthday that we saw in one of the Chocolatier shops but he refused. The girls and I resorted to the old standby (imported Duncan Hines Devil's Food) on Sunday when we got home.
Su
nday was all about the race at Hockenheimring. It was a brilliant race as Lewis Hamilton was forced to come from behind after a poor pitting strategy lost him the lead he had held all day. JR and I were positioned perfectly to watch him first overtake Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and then Renault’s Nelson Piquet Jr. in the last 10 laps to win. We finished the day driving the same strip of autobahn road where our trip’s historical honoree ‘Karatsch’ drove a record of 432.7 km/h (268.9 mph) on 28 January 1938 which remains to this day the fastest ever officially timed speed on a public road.
After prolonged deliberations on what to do on Wednesday, El and JR decided to go to Düsseldorf's Königsallee which is a posh shopping strip with shops such as Prada and Burberry. Of course, Starbucks happened to be their first stop. I had to take a couple minutes out of my day to help guide them into Düsseldorf zentrum. I felt a bit obligated as I continue to disregard portable navigation systems as a poor excuse for good research and a sense of direction. A bit arrogant I know, but my theory that navigation systems weaken one’s ability to remember how they got to a particular location in the first place was inversely validated as JR and El found their way out of out of Düsseldorf and back to Bonn without any issue.
Thursday morning, we all took off for Switzerland. We had done some informal polling amongst friends and colleagues and the consistent response from all was that this particular area of Switzerland near Interlaken is most beautiful, but it wasn't until we got there that we could comprehend what that meant.
Travel down to Switzerland was a bit slow as we had decided to take two vehicles part way down as JR and I were staying later on Sunday for the German Grand Prix. JR apparently cares a bit more about auto-bahn safety than I do and it took him a few minutes to get his driving legs going (or perhaps the throttle pedal was a bit stiff). Just as we were getting aligned on speed, we ran into a bit of construction followed by heavy rains (Germans slow it way down in the rain). The result was an extra hour or two on our originally planned 6 hour journey.
As JR was making comments about how the Alps were unimpressive, we exited an auto-bahn tunnel and…. Wham there they were with the Thunsee at their base. The next couple days would yield more spectacular views.
Friday brought a little angst as the clouds were beginning to break up but it was anything but clear. We feared that our planned trip into the Alps would suffer as a result. We decided to go forward with our Clark W. Griswaldesque plan. It proved to be a good decision. After driving through the canyon to Lauterbrunnen, we took the mountain train to Wengen and Kleine Scheidigg. While my German lessons paid dividends while ordering the train tickets, my inability to ask a simple question, “Wo ist dem Geldautomat / Where is the ATM?”, I couldn’t for the life of me remember ‘Geldautomat’. Instead I peppered the convenience store attendant with Autogeldmat, Automatgeld, etc. From then on, JR was on the offensive mocking me for the next couple days. Well deserved abuse as there is typically plenty of grief flowing the other direction.
The day was filled with amazing views of the Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau peaks. We hiked all around the region surrounding Kleine Scheidigg and JR and I mentally prepared our next visit - mountain biking and extended hikes. Later that afternoon, we strolled the city streets of Interlaken.
Travel down to Switzerland was a bit slow as we had decided to take two vehicles part way down as JR and I were staying later on Sunday for the German Grand Prix. JR apparently cares a bit more about auto-bahn safety than I do and it took him a few minutes to get his driving legs going (or perhaps the throttle pedal was a bit stiff). Just as we were getting aligned on speed, we ran into a bit of construction followed by heavy rains (Germans slow it way down in the rain). The result was an extra hour or two on our originally planned 6 hour journey.
As JR was making comments about how the Alps were unimpressive, we exited an auto-bahn tunnel and…. Wham there they were with the Thunsee at their base. The next couple days would yield more spectacular views.
Friday brought a little angst as the clouds were beginning to break up but it was anything but clear. We feared that our planned trip into the Alps would suffer as a result. We decided to go forward with our Clark W. Griswaldesque plan. It proved to be a good decision. After driving through the canyon to Lauterbrunnen, we took the mountain train to Wengen and Kleine Scheidigg. While my German lessons paid dividends while ordering the train tickets, my inability to ask a simple question, “Wo ist dem Geldautomat / Where is the ATM?”, I couldn’t for the life of me remember ‘Geldautomat’. Instead I peppered the convenience store attendant with Autogeldmat, Automatgeld, etc. From then on, JR was on the offensive mocking me for the next couple days. Well deserved abuse as there is typically plenty of grief flowing the other direction.
The day was filled with amazing views of the Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau peaks. We hiked all around the region surrounding Kleine Scheidigg and JR and I mentally prepared our next visit - mountain biking and extended hikes. Later that afternoon, we strolled the city streets of Interlaken.
On Saturday, all we had planned was eventually getting to Baden Baden, Germany where I had reserved a hotel. Having spotted a Gondola tram just down from our hotel in Beatenberg overlooking Interlaken, we decided with absolutely beautiful skies that a trip
to the top of Niederhorn was a must. The views were unbelievable and one of the highlights of the entire trip. What we expected to be a 20 minute venture to the top on the gondola, ended up being a couple hour excursion along the ridge of the mountain. (Ellyn briefly interjecting here) My crazy husband and daughters were galloping along this rickity fence with a 1000 foot cliff on ther other side. (Hey Belobraidich's -- remind you of anyone?) It reminded me of my Father and how much he would have loved being there with us. He would have been galloping along side them while I was behind them cringing.
That afternoon, we travelled to Baden Baden (the home of some of JR’s ancestors in the mid-1800’s). Baden Baden (German ‘to bathe’) is a renowned spa town in the hills of the Schwartzwald (Black Forest). JR, now running on high-octane fuel from the adrenaline of being in the home of his ancestors, left us behind to take in the entire town in a couple hours time. Seeing him so excited was infectious and really made things extra fun. We split up and reconvened for dinner in the city center. I (Ellyn interjecting again) really wanted to buy Greg a Chocolate Torte for his birthday that we saw in one of the Chocolatier shops but he refused. The girls and I resorted to the old standby (imported Duncan Hines Devil's Food) on Sunday when we got home.
Su
nday was all about the race at Hockenheimring. It was a brilliant race as Lewis Hamilton was forced to come from behind after a poor pitting strategy lost him the lead he had held all day. JR and I were positioned perfectly to watch him first overtake Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and then Renault’s Nelson Piquet Jr. in the last 10 laps to win. We finished the day driving the same strip of autobahn road where our trip’s historical honoree ‘Karatsch’ drove a record of 432.7 km/h (268.9 mph) on 28 January 1938 which remains to this day the fastest ever officially timed speed on a public road. 
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