Living vicariously

Junior and future DIL landed in Zurich Friday no issues.  They texted us from their hotel at 0400 (1100 their time) that they had made their hotel.  They have 2.5 days in Zurich before they hop a train to Paris.  Sounds glamorous.  I would be jealous if I hadn't just pulled off a one week trip to Germany just last month.

We spent almost 5 years of our life over in Germany and we fell in love with the country.  No matter what kind of lifestyle you enjoy, there is always something to peek your interest.  Whether it is exploring old castles and ruins from the 1700s, looking at battlefields from recent wars, discovering the treasures of the last century, touring the wine country, or sampling the local breweries, there is something for everything.  I noted from my recent road trip, if you ever do get over to the old country, try to take time to tour some of the local sites. Germany has lots of older buildings/castles/fortresses many of which date back to the middle ages. During my short trip over to Frankfurt last month, I was only able to squeeze in two days to fart around and I worked max out my exploring.  Got to see a few burgs on a drive by basis. Toured the Heidelberg Castle and Hanau Palace briefly.  The thing that always impressed me was the the depth of culture and history.  They have homes and buildings that date back to the 1800's.  Castles that were build 2-300 years ago (or longer).  If you are adventurous, you can explore ruins (or still standing castles) that are older than many countries.  To me, it is always interesting and inspiring to walk the walls and parapets of things that were built ages ago.   Today, society seems to be more interested in the latest technology or whiz-bang device that may on last a year or two.  In Houston, one of our cultural icons was the Astrodome.  An innovation at the time, it opened a mere 45 years ago, but, with advent of newer, larger stadiums, it has been vacant for almost 10 years waiting for the city to decide its fate.   


Heidelberg Castle



Hanau Palace

Ruins surrounding Steinheim