We had friends visit!!!!

Oh things have been busy here lately and I have loved every minute of it.  Mark came home on a Thursday and Donna and Morgan arrived on Friday so the fun and games began after that.  We went so many places that I'm sure I'll forget something/some place but here's a brief list.

Frankfort to a watch factory and Mark added to his collection with a Sinn

We traveled to Alpirsbach to the convent site, brewery and monastery that Mark and I went to last fall. There are no pictures because I left my camera memory stick at home last week.  Yep remembered the camera, charged the battery but forgot the memory...duh!

 

Then Sunday we drove up the Rhine River and stayed overnight in a castle.  Yep a castle!  It was an amazing adventure and a total surprise for them.  We just told them to pack an overnight bag that morning and didn't tell where we were going until we drove into the town.  It was hard for me to keep it secret but I did and it was so worth it to see their faces.   Here is the website so take a look at those amazing rooms.

 http://www.hotel-schoenburg.com/

 

Here's a picture of us enjoying our evening.

 

 

We drove into up to The Black Forest a couple of days and Donna bought an really cool cuckoo clock.  It's being shipped to them and they'll get it in a few weeks.  We hit several antik stores and would have shopped a lot more if they had been open.  Remember that stores in Germany don't keep "normal" business hours or even regular ones in a lot of cases. 

 

We also went to Strasbourg, France

 

 

And on the way, we stopped in Soufflenheim, France which is a quaint little town that is known for it's pottery.  I was just in 7th heaven!  Here's a link to a story about the town and it's pottery history. I got a roasting pan and lid that look very much like redware.  I'm already plotting my next trip there

 

http://www.stripes.com/military-life/travel/in-soufflenheim-france-making-pottery-of-the-alsace-is-an-age-old-art-1.15869

 

And the final day was spent in Lucerne, Switzerland just enjoying the views of the Alps

 

 

Plus we spent one entire day napping and in jammies all day long.  I think we did that on Wednesday or Thursday which was much needed for all of us.  It was just crazy the miles we covered but what wonderful memories we made!  I couldn't have asked for a better vacation or guests!

 

We put them on a airplane on Sunday and Mark left Wednesday so Clarice and I have been busy catching up on laundry and sleep.