We began our first week of the holiday in the amazing country of Germany and were so excited that we didn‘t ‘need‘ to see anything, thus only visited a few select towns:

• Bingen, Bernkastel-Kues, Traben-Trabach, Kröv, Cochem, Beilstein, Burg Eltz, Boppard, Oberwesel, Sankt Goar, Bacharach, Dinkelsbuhl, Rothenburg, Nuremburg and Wurzburg!

Our first stop in Bingen was to catch a glimpse of the mighty Rhine and get a quick snack (although it’s tough to stop at one in Bingen) before moseying onto the Moselle. After winding our way into the valley through more hairpins than Lea would use in a week in Bali, we arrived at the twin town of Bernkastel-Kues which was so stunning we couldn‘t help but stop by for a wine in a cute wine shop opposite a restaurant with a sign saying “Bakhaus ruf“. Although being fully aware of the impact the German and French diets (covering the three main food groups from white, to yellow to brown) would have on me over the coming weeks and being overly prepared this time, it was still a little early to go the Bakhus ruf option on day 1.

Cochem (pronounced a little like Kokomo, but without the ‘o‘ and the get their fast aspects) was our first hotel location. After many back-and-forths with the manager to organise a meeting time and 24 hours travelling we arrived to see the potential of the view from our room only to end up standing in the sun for an hour waiting to be emailed an entry code, but let‘s save the rant and just say it was the only…Coch-up we experienced as our balcony was certainly worth the wait. Although there could have been more Coch-ups had we chosen to eat at the nearby Dudelsack restaurant…and had a nut allergy. By (partial) coincidence there was a wine festival happening in Cochem, in which we managed to get into the spirit and learned quickly that when one orders dry white wine in Germany you get 3 of them! We loved the festival so much that we spent most of our time on the Moselle in Cochem, apart from one ferry trip to the cute town of Beilstein, including passing through a really cool lock. But I am a bit biased as locks really do float my boat…

En route to our stay in a castle on the Rhine, we visited Burg Eltz, one of the best kept we‘ve seen so far. It was hidden away (ie not much Eltz around) and certainly a challenge to find, including a hike through the forest that had Lea wishing she had brought breadcrumbs and also saying: “I guess if we’re following what everyone else is doing it must be the right thing?“, giving James the chance to reply: “I think you’re not the first person to say that in Germany.“

There‘s not much else to say about staying in our castle that saying we stayed in a castle doesn‘t capture. We travelled up and down the river, from Oberwesel to Sankt Goar to Bacharach…n bach, hoping to try ein klein fine Rhine wine…or zvei and when really pushing the dry wine we were introduced to the term diabetic wine. Those Germans really do have a word for everything. Somewhat surprisingly our favourite wines from the region were the Spatburgunders. Trust the German marketing department to turn the sexy sounding Pinot Noir into something that sounds like you’ve coughed up your late night fast food fix.

From the Rhine we travelled to the Romantic Road region, stopping in Dinkelsbuhl before arriving in Rothenburg. Super cool town where we had two of the best German meal experiences ever, and two of the wurst for Lea. We didn’t know what Camembert Bavarian style was before, but it was the first time I’ve seen Lea not finish a cheese ever!! And we had Lea realise the bread dumpling was just a “Big glob of moistened bread that they’ve clumped together“. Needless to say, when Lea gets the chance of seeing a German menu and and English menu side by side it‘s like discovering the Rosetta stone!

For a change of pace from all the romance, we headed to Nuremburg for a day trip. This place was decimated in WWII, about 9 times, and is still being rebuilt, which made driving into the center of town a bit of a…trial. And also made James a bit self conscious about wearing a shirt covered in turtles. I think they‘ve seen enough shells already. We did a great tour of the town and visited the Documentation Centre built in the to-be Nazi congress building which aims to describe how the movement evolved, was able to come to power and keep it. There were lessons about the sentiment generated post WWI with the tough treatment of Germany in the aftermath, in summary: two wrongs can sometimes make a Reich.

We also visited Zeppelin field where the party held their rallies. It was a little intense so I tried to make a joke about the party having been given so much power by President Hindenburg having climbed the the stairway to heaven, but I’m sure it would have gone down like a lead balloon…ie a lead Zeppelin…Led Zeppelin…Stairway to Heaven….the Hindenburg. Werk with me hier volks.

Our final destination in Germany was Wurzburg. Yes, we saved the Wurzburg for last…burg. We accidentally stumbled on another wine festival, stumbled to a great dinner, stumbled back to the festival and finally came to heading towards Frankfurt airport at 180km/hr the next day to fly out.

What a really wunderbar time we had in Germany…again. There is so much more you can learn on these trips like:

• Kunst museums aren‘t as exciting as they sound

• It‘s intimidating to only have one or two songs memorised by heart when so much here is verboten

• The appeal of European pillows remains a mystery

• An American saying Brits are too literal because the pronounce Jaguar with 3 syllables isn‘t funny anymore, and

• Sitting in the square watching your beer for wasps and people watching can be the same thing…particularly in a Lutheran country.