Getting there
I was unsure how the boys would do with the 13 hours of flying and then the 8 hour time difference. Well, these two acted like seasoned world travelers. Both of them were really well behaved on the plane even though we arrived in Germany at what was for us, the middle of the night. When we arrived, it was around 8 am Germany time and Drew kept cracking me and my mom up by asking, "when are we having dinner?", "what day is it?". Over and over again. I was like, "let's go over this AGAIN, it is morning here, it is Saturday".
Once we got to the hotel, we unpacked and while doing this, Ethan fell asleep on us. Now, the best way to acclimatize to a different time zone is to sleep and eat at the times the local people sleep and eat. My mom and I woke him up to go into town and he was not happy. Once in the altstadt, I told him I was buying him a Coke and he was going to drink it all. Definitely a first.
Germany
Our 2nd day there, we took the train (illegally as it turns out - accidentally got on the ICE, which we did not have tickets for but got us stowaways to Cologne in record time) to Cologne to see the famous Dom there. One of the biggest Gothic cathedrals in the world. We climbed 510 steps to the top of one of the spires, which was really cool but given the 95 degree heat and humidity, also really hot. We also happened to be there the same day as the Gay Pride parade which brought out a colorful crowd and provided a whole different kind of education for the boys. I think I will be laughing for months over the look on Ethan's face after passing some men, in mini skirts and heels who, ehem, had some enhancements. One had his new Pam Anderson chest covered only with pasties.
Drew was so excited about riding the trains and subways. Excitement that dissipated after a whole week of subwaying everywhere.
The guys at Konigsalle in Dusseldorf. Basically a fancy shopping street but it did have a very pretty canal and bridges in the middle.
Both boys, but Drew in particular, loved watching the barges going up and down the Rhine river. Drew made both my mom and I take several pictures of the barges.
We went down to the river one night after dinner and the guys had fun throwing rocks in the river and watching the barge traffic.
Here are the guys at a park north of Dusseldorf. It was a really pretty park and had a fun children's play area. It was super hot out so both guys were beet red in the face and pretty droopy after playing there for awhile.
On our last day in Dusseldorf, we were sick of the big city and decided to rent a car to drive south to Burg Elz, the castle. It is an 800 year old castle that has amazingly been in the same family all that time. They still live in one part of the castle. Unfortunately, midway through our trip down there, Drew got horribly sick. Painful headache, vomiting, telling me he thought he was going to pass out and looking like he might make good on that statement.I decided we would turn around and head back to the city. Yeah right. Every autobahn exit I passed had no way to get back on the freeway and armed only with directions to the castle and a crappy rental car map and not wanting to get us lost in middle Germany, we decided to drive the remaining 20 minutes to the castle, let Ethan look at it but not tour it and then go back. Also adding to the fun was the fact that it was 100 degrees out and about 85% humidity. The castle looked amazing but all in all, it was a stressful and rough day that had both kids crying at one point and a certain blond woman driving a minicar on the autobahn wanting to cry too.
