My brother George suggested that I put a Rhine ferry trip on my schedule, so I did just that. Early Saturday morning I took the train from Worms to Mainz, where I would begin. I walked from the train station to the river, then walked north, as instructed by Google Maps. I eventually realized that the ferry dock is actually south from my point of access, so I backtracked, and watched as the ferry pulled away from shore.

This blip had its bright side, as it gave me a chance to put down my heavy load and sit in the sun for 45 minutes until the next boat arrived. I eventually boarded and headed down the river, which for the Rhine is north.

The scenery was gorgeous and the weather was sunny but quite cool on the water.

The boats run up and down the river a few times each day, so with a day pass, one can get off at a town along the way, explore a bit, then hop on a later ferry to finish the trip. I had planned to use my shore time in the town of Bacharach, but before we reached that port we came to Bingen. As in “Hildegard of Bingen.”

I got off there instead and found my way to the Museum am Strom (on the River) and spent the next 90 minutes learning more about this interesting person, described in their (English version) brochure as “Abbess, advisor and admonisher, visionary, theologian, composer and healer.” Quite a gal for the Middle Ages, or for any time.

There were also some artifacts from even hundreds of years before Hildegard. The area along the Rhine was a trading route during the Roman Empire.

Following the Rhine trip was a night (and morning) to remember in the town of Koblenz. Stay tuned.

Let me introduce you to my new friend, Pascal.

Peter and I have been Couchsurfing hosts for a decade or so. (If you don’t know about the Couchsurfing network, Google it.) I was hoping to do a little Couchsurfing on this trip, and I just spent two nights with a kind, generous, interesting CS host in the town of Worms (pronounced “Voorms.” Yes, as in The Diet of Voorms”

Pascal responded to my Couchsurfing inquiry by saying that he’d be happy to host me. Since he would have the day off, he suggested that I make a stop in Heidelberg on the way to Worms and he could meet me there and show me around that beautiful town. What a great suggestion! Heidelberg had everything:

The next day was spent walking around Worms with my guide and seeing the sites, including the cathedral where Martin Luther defended his theses in 1521 and was basically declared a heretic.

Also note-worthy was the old (I mean really old) Jewish cemetery, with graves from as far back as the 12th century. Can you imagine?

And a large statue of Luther with some of his predecessors and cronies.

Pascal usually hosts Couchsurfers with his partner, but Shako was out of town so I did not get to meet him. Pascal was off to work that second evening, so I stopped by to say hello and give him a little business.

Two days in this beautiful city really was only a taste, but what a taste it was.

I came across a “Musical Map of Prague,” and while I was not able to find the Beethoven tree or the John Lennon Wall, I successfully got myself to the Antonin Dvorak museum.

I loved learning about Dvorak’s life—who knew that he was an avid bird man who loved trains? He once commented, “I would give all my symphonies to have invented the steam engine.” Aren’t we glad that didn’t happen!

During his three years in the U.S. (when he wrote what we know as The New World Symphony), he was the Director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York. He was amply compensated in that role; at $15,000 his salary was a third higher than the mayor of NYC.

And then…

The beer museum was self-guided, and not too impressive, but the tastes at the end down in the old pub room were worth the ticket price.

The four beers were all lagers, from four Czech breweries, and they were all delicious. I have a new appreciation for lagers; well, Czech lagers at least.

And the sweet little hotel I stayed in: Hotel Petr.

It is across the river from Old Town and New Town, in an area referred to as Lesser Town. It was within walking distance to Old and New, with various bridges to cross that river, including the famous Charles Bridge, which I did walk across, but evidently did not capture with a photo.

My departure of Prague included trouble finding the right bus station, and frustration with my lack of Czech language skills to deal with these kinds of situations. But in the end, I was able to find my way, due to the kindness of strangers, and I am so grateful for the time I had in Prague.

Claudia’s mother Trudi arrived on Sunday from her home in Sandersdorf, north of here, near Leipzig. She will be traveling west with Claudia and Helmut to a town near Stuttgart where they will surprise Trudi’s sister on the occasion of her 80th birthday.

It was such fun finally meeting Trudi. My hosts did a fabulous job of interpreting for us, as we each have to resort to our native language in order to say something longer than a phrase. I’m finding, though, that phrases go quite a ways.

This beautiful bouquet includes a couple items of particular note: the frosted, rosemary-type plant is “curry herb” and the smaller-fronds, dark green one is “olive herb.” They taste amazingly like their namesakes.

Knowing that I am looking forward to exploring some historical Luther sites, Trudi brought something special for me.

Just a note about Friday’s trip to Passau, located at the confluence of three rivers. One of these is the Danube, which we drove alongside to get there from Aicha.

As usual, I was awed by the beauty and antiquity of it all.

The Bishop’s cathedral was impressive, but the highlight of the day for me was a more modest church we happened upon. There was a concert in process there. We stood in the doorway, peeking through the window, and listened to a girls’ choir singing the Bach chorale: Jesu, Priceless Treasure. With the variations. No picture of this, just a glorious memory.

Yesterday I purchased my first item that wasn’t for food, transportation, or museum entrance. It is related to transportation. It is a compass!

Peter suggested this when I was lamenting about having difficulty determining directions. I am directionally challenged to begin with and when the streets are not in grids it’s hopeless. This 3€ investment came in very handy today. I’d be lying if I said I walked the streets with total confidence, but I did feel lost less often.

Of course, things are starting to look familiar, and that helps too. Tomorrow it’s back to the countryside for a couple days, and then…. Stay tuned.

My hosts are such good sports to humor me with a few tourist sites, such as King Ludwig’s castles and a taste of Oktoberfest. But the best days by far have been to the less famous spots and doing the activities of daily life with them. Helmut is a geology professor (recently retired) and Claudia is a geologist also; both are natural teachers, who are also very fluent in English, even though they deny that.

Highlights so far include a car trip through the Bavarian forest to the Czech border and the train station built right ON the border in the 1880’s when the rulers were getting along (and closed during the Iron Curt years when they were not). Then picking wild mushrooms on the way home and making Risotto with Claudia—did I mention she is a fabulous cook? Bicycling along the Danube River which is just steps from their home in Aicha—built in 1730! The house was originally the rectory, so it’s adjacent to the cemetery and little parish church. The bells chime on the hour, with a special 60 second chiming frenzy at 6 am. Time to get up. Not a moment should be wasted!

This was one of the first complete sentences I learned when I began studying (I use the term loosely) German some months ago. It means “The breakfast is delicious.” I was so happy to be able to say that to my friends on my first morning in Germany, and every subsequent morning. The breakfasts (and every other meal and snack I’ve had so far) truly ARE delicious.

Reuniting with Claudia, who lived with us for the summer of 1999, and meeting her husband Helmut for the first time has been more fabulous than I even imagined. They were there to meet me at the Munich airport — what a happy reunion that was — and then we rode 2 trains and a bus to get to their flat, right in the heart of the city.

By the time we finished supper it was 8:30 pm (20:30) but, determined to get the most out of every moment, we hopped back on a bus and then walked around Old Munich. I learned some Bavarian history, saw amazing buildings, and listened to a street musician combo the likes of which I have never heard. We also came across a plaza where people were demonstrating against a neo-Nazi program.

A great beginning.

Thirteen years ago this very day I was on a plane, traveling east. I’d gotten the call from daughter Carmel that she was in labor and preparing, with her partner Jess, for the birth of their first child. As planned, I hurriedly searched for the best last-minute airfare, kissed my family goodbye, and hopped on the Airporter Shuttle to SeaTac.

When changing planes, probably somewhere in the Midwest, I had enough time to find a pay phone (remember those?) and I learned that my first grandchild had entered this world. And in a few more hours I was sitting in the living room of their little house in Charleston, South Carolina, looking into his eyes. I was filled with love and gratitude.

Today, I’m sitting at SeaTac, with a bit of time to kill. There were no co-workers to touch base with before leaving town, and Peter was the only family member to kiss goodbye. This is a trip I’ve been planning for over a year. I originally thought it would be two of us going, but it turns out that it will be a solo trip. I’ve had some time to adjust to that concept, and the prospect is now before me like a big package, waiting to be opened.