Since I still have so many pictures left to share of my parents, I'll try to do them in chronological order, but just post witty captions or explanations for each. Here ya go!
Before Matt went on a work trip, we all decided to hit a castle. And take some pictures by the Rhine. We opted for
Burg Sooneck.
We also got a private tour on the inside, where we had to put on giant slippers. There was a huge bronze chandelier in the dining room and our guide said we could totally take it for free - as long as we carried it out ourselves. Considering it was several hundred pounds, we politely declined.
Oh yeah - this was the first night my parents got here, and their first introduction to true German wine and delicious sausages. It did turn cold as the night wore on, but they were troopers. I kept them awake as long as I could when they got here to get them used to the time change. After taking an afternoon nap they were doing really well!
On the way to the castle - first trip on the autobahn! They tolerated it very well and didn't seem scared. If they were, I didn't know.
Dad tried a nice Belgian beer for the first time. He tried many during the trip, and we landed on his favorite: he likes a pilsner. In fact, he drank a ton of Bitburger that we had at home.
After Matt had left, my dad really, really really wanted to go back to the "river fest." He wanted a cheese filled sausage, wine, and some
spatzle. He thought he wouldn't like spatzle at all, but then he saw it when Matt and I shared one, tried a little, and was hooked. He tried throughout the trip to correctly pronounce it, but to no avail. I obliged and took them back to the fest. Here he is, completely content with a glass of wine and a huge portion of spatzle.
Then I went and got them their sausages. My mom later went up to the coffee stand (all by herself!) and ordered her first of many cappuccinos. That was her drink of choice throughout the trip. Some days she had as many as five cappuccinos.
After filling up on fest food, I took them on a walk along the Rhine for the afternoon. We stopped to snap a picture at the Mainz Strand, the beach area they setup in the summer.
I walked them all the way down the river to the train bridge and coaxed them on really quickly for another picture.
On the way back to the apartment, we came upon a little setup of old cars, of which my dad was fascinated with. He wasn't used to seeing so many varieties of cars during the time he was here, and looked genuinely pleased with them all.
One of the places we went to eat was Eisgrub. Mainly because you can get towers of beer at the table, but also because the food is outstanding.
My mom even tried a little beer!
Like me, my dad got the sauerbraten. My mom got this huge and tasty salad.
Not all days were spent being a tourist. On more than one occasion, my parents were perfectly content to just chill out in the apartment all day. They don't have Netflix, so it was all new and exciting to them to binge-watch old TV shows they hadn't seen, like The Twilight Zone.
Oh yeah - my mom got a fancy new jacket! We went to a German department store and found this gem.
We also ate at home a little. This is a shot of our nibbles night - Matt, me and my dad sampled all six of these Belgian beers, and enjoyed amazing cheese, crackers, rolls, and sausages.
Yummy stuff!
Near the end of the trip, my dad kept asking for pretzels. We went around town and got some, and then he went back to this stand - Pretzel World.
Here he is enjoying one!
For the last meal, my mom went for the mushroom cream sauce schnitzel. And very much enjoyed it.
My dad ordered his usual - sausages and sauerkraut.
On the last day, I pulled out Matt and my Oktoberfest clothes to play dress up. My dirndl fits my mom just fine!
She's so cute!
And check out my dad....
...hamming it up for the camera.
So there you have it, folks. My parents trip to Europe. From the pictures anyway, it looks like they had fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment