Adventures in Deutschland: Day 23

My dad and Jan have left for Italy so now I have more than enough time to blog and fill you in on the week's activities :-). On Tuesday the weather started to really heat up so that it took me well over an hour to walk to my dad's (it usually takes about 45 minutes). We had to keep taking water breaks and resting in the shade. Given the heat (and some storm predictions), we weren't sure what the day would look like, but we thought we'd take a shot at going to Meersburg. I had read that it is a cute town, but our German housemate Birger said it is too touristy. What really drew us to Meersburg was the recommendation by Todd's teacher (and some bloggers) of Meersburg for wineries. We planned on taking a very short trip to Meersburg to walk some of the "wanderwegs" - paths - through some vineyards.

After a short train ride to Konstanz and a scary yet uneventful trip on bus no. 1, we got on a ferry to go to Meersburg. The ferry ride itself was wonderful. It took maybe 15 minutes and was breezy and cool on the third level where pedestrians are directed. You can see pictures of the ferry below. Therese was very excited to be on a boat (unlike our last boat ride); I think it was the wind that really sold her on the experience. As the ferry glided up to Meersburg, we could see rows and rows of grapevines decorating its hills. It was beautiful.

Once on dry land, we wandered into the city to see what there was to see. There was a city gate dating back to medieval times (according to my guidebook, anyhow) and restaurants and shops as far as the eye could see. It was a very cute little place, but what struck me most was what I was hearing around me. Mixed in with the usual German were words that sounded weird and out-of-place. It took us a minute to realize it, but people all around us were speaking English. And not just any English - definitively American English. It was very strange. Of course it was very nice to order lunch from an English menu :-). After a few drinks and a delicious lunch (my dad and I had great Carbonara, Jan had a pasta with salmon), we climbed up the steep medieval streets to the main city. Therese, determined child that she is, insisted on treking the entire thing herself.

Hot and sweaty, we decided to look at the "old castle" (the "new castle" was built in the 17th or 18th century) to see what we could see. I whipped out my trusty guide book and read that you can go through this castle - the oldest intact castle in Germany - and see over 30 furnished rooms. And so we had a change of heart and a change of plans and ended up spending nearly 2 hours in the old castle. (For more on this story, it is continued on the post below...)