Mosel, Germany's beautiful wine country

It has been too long since my last post, but Lindsay and I were enjoying Germany together. I will sare you the details of our time in Bremen, and skip to our last weekend together.

Originally, we were supposed to travel with one another to Greifswald, a city in North Easter Germany. The plan was to meet with a theologian there and discuss church, mission and European/US culture. Unfortuantely we had miscommunicated, and he thought we were coming the next weekend. Hopefully, I will be able to meet with him this week. Instead of feeling blue about the situation, we improvised. Friday after class, I returned home to tell Lindsay that Greifswald was kaput and we must make other plans. Within one hour, Lindsay packed up everything, and we headed off to the Mosel for one last hurrah together.

We left BRemen around 3:45 and arrived in Koln at 6. We dropped off Lindsay's excess American luggage at our Sunday night hotel in Koln, then we were off to the Mosel region. Friday night we arrived in Trier; it was dark, and we had no idea where we were going. Due to the immiediacy with which we planned our rip, I forgot the hotel name, address and phone number on the desk in Bremen. I will spare the relational details of our marriage whiule we searched a dark and strange town for our hotel. Needless to say, we found it within the hour...

Saturday included a tour of the oldest church in Germany. The church dates back to the 4th centruy. Emperor Constantine found Trier to be home for some time. He and his mother built the church (or at least paid for it through slave labor and the like). In the late afternoon, we left Trier for another town, Zell. We arrived in nieghboring Bullay (Boo-Lie) only to find out that a bus traveling to Zell would not come for another hour. We decided to walk the six kilometers to Zell. We arrived exhausted; however, Lindsay and I would not trade the memory of walking the 6km.

Zell was a great town. I met a group of young Germans on Urlaub (vacation), and we sat in a Weinstube for hours speaking German and laughing the night away. During my conversation course, Lindsay was back in the hotel reading a book. After a couple of hours she came to find me - needless to say, when she found me, I had forgotten about the time. Thankfully, and as always, Lindsay was quick to celebrate my new friends (somewhat forgetting that I had left the hotel for more than 2 hours). Following a romantic dinner over salty "Fleisch" (meat), we spent the rest of the evening with my German friends at a nearby Summer Wine Festival. There was much fun to be had!

Sunday morning we travelled to Cochem and Beilstein (Bile-Stine). Two more beautiful towns. Cochem sat nesteld in the wine Valley. Up above the town was an enormous old castle. Beilstein, as Rick Steve's writes, is the quaintest little Wine town in all of Germany. We travelled from Cochem to Beilstein via boat. We were unable to see much of the city as our lunch took 2.5 hours. Again, the time together was worth the wait. I think the best part of the last two months is the reminder of how Lindsay is truly my best friend. we travel, converse, and laugh very well together. And she puts up with me!

On monday, Lindsay's last day in Germany, we enjoyed Cochem in the morning, and travelled to Koln inthe afternoon. The weather was miserable, and Koln somewhat boring. We decided to have a German meal to celebrate our last day together. We went to Papa Joe's. I ordered pork meat, and the waiter assured me that it was not HAM. Guess what - it was. But it was so tasteless that I actually ate it. Lindsay ordered Munich sausages, which were equally as disgusting. We finished our cheap and gross meal, and found an Italien restaurant for round two. As always, Italien food never fails! OUr last night in Germany - priceless.

Enough. Enjoy the pictures.

By the way, as you might already know - Lindsay made it home safely. Pray that my interactions at the airport go well.