Kasey and Evan in Germany

After a solid week of France, Kasey and Evan were ready for some hearty food and lots of beer. Matt and I were happy to oblige.

The first night we took them to Eisgrub, which is where we took my parents. It's the one with the big beer tower. I didn't get a picture (I have several already), but they seemed to enjoy the 5-liters we had, as well as the sauerbraten and gorgonzola schnitzel. 

On the way back, we decided to catch part of the France game at the Mainzer Strand, the beach!

The next day, we went to check out the Marksburg Castle. We managed to just catch the English speaking tour and saw all kinds of medieval awesomeness:

Hanging out in the wine cellar

Kitchen - they also rent out the space for medieval parties!

 Tiny bed.

At the end we grabbed some lunch. And ran into people who were not only French, but also from Connecticut and had people and places in common with Kasey and Evan. Small world.

That night we headed over to Wiesbaden to watch the (somewhat boring) Germany-USA game. Wiesbaden is a highly concentrated area of English speakers, specifically Americans, so it was quite an experience.

It was pretty crowded outside so we found a spot inside to watch the game and have some pre-dinner drinks.

I really didn't care much about the game... to me, it was only a placeholder before dinner at Okinii, one of my favorite restaurants here. It's an all-you-can-eat Asian tapas place, and you order 5 items per round - on an iPad. They've got everything from sushi, spring rolls, chicken teriyaki, grilled veggies - you name it.

Some of us were slowing down....

And Kasey (silly Kasey!) decided to order plain rice. Don't fill up on rice, Kasey! (She insisted it was the right decision). We were all pretty miserable afterwards, but that's to be expected. As one of our friends says frequently, you don't go to Okinii to enjoy it, you do it to see how much you can stuff your face.

The next two days we spent in Belgium, but upon our return, we got back into the German way of life. I really wanted to make sure they went to a festival while they were here, since my parents loved what they called the "river fest" in Mainz, so I was happy to find that Frankfurt had one, with a more international spin.

Places were selling burritos, Thai food, Indian, Argentinean, Italian, etc.

Kasey and Evan were more excited about the German grub, namely bratwurst.

And one of the most delicious flammkuchen ever!

I also got Kasey involved with the Aperol Spritz...the Italian stand guys were making really good ones.

And Evan got this awesome ham and potato salad plate.

A fun day all around... it was a smaller festival that what we typically go to, but I enjoyed it. There weren't a ton of people which made it even more pleasant.

The following day we went to the grocery store. I know that sounds lame, but we find foreign grocery stores to be pretty awesome - there are a ton of products you just don't find back in the U.S.

We wanted to make sure there we hit another German restaurant for lunch, so we strolled through Mainz and over to one of our favorite places. Evan got the sampler plate and Kasey got garlic cream schnitzel. Mmm.

Kasey and I quickly browsed a store while the guys were paying and we found these - it's sauce for PET FOOD, people! How cool!

After lunch we continued our walk and got these nifty bridge pictures, similar to what I have of my parents trip, and had another drink in a biergarten.

Sadly, all good trips must come to an end sometime. Kasey and Evan headed back to the states for more traveling and to see their sweet doggie Bear.

The last order of business?

Bavarian breakfast - white sausages, pretzel, sweet mustard and beer.

Oven-warm pretzels are the best.

Come back soon, you guys!!

Parents in Europe: Part 3 of 3

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.