Incoherent Scribblings

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It appears to me that as an expatriate sometimes you have to consciously make an effort to enjoy what your host country has to offer. It is so easy to begin to take things for granted: It seems like you have all the time in the world to see and do everything and so you put it off again and again… until finally, one day you repatriate and never get to really visit anything.

Now that August has arrived, for the next three to four weeks most of Europe will be on holiday. However, since A. and I have no children that have been set free for summer break we are in no hurry to take our holidays at this time. Nevertheless, come September A. will probably take some time off and we will travel a bit more around Germany, most likely to the Rhine Valley once again.

Along with the Alpine region and Berlin, the Rhine Valley is probably one of Germany’s top tourist destinations and since my in-laws live there, it is one the place outside of Bavaria that I have had a chance to visit on many occasions. And by now, I feel that I know the area quite well.

I must admit that I am quite fond of this region. Bavaria is nice, but in my opinion the area around the Rhine has a different feel to it and since A. grew up in the area, we seem to have more fun there because he knows the places to go and the things to do.

One of my favorite trips to this region was a couple of years ago when we took a tour of the Mosel Valley right at the beginning of the grape harvest. The Mosel Valley is one of Germany’s wine producing regions and during the grape harvest there are all sorts of wine celebrations offered, complete with wine tastings! (We especially enjoyed this since we are more wine aficionados than beer drinkers.)

Another of my favorite trips was during March of 2004 when we went to see the famous Lorelei rock. Because I am quite fond of brushing my long blonde hair, the Lorelei story became a little joke between A. and me when we first met. For that reason, one of the places in Germany that he just had to take me was to this area where the Rhine is at its most twisted.

We had such a lovely time driving along the Rhine Valley that day even though it was early spring and therefore quite cool. We drove up one side of the Rhine and down the other, eventually making our way to the top of the Lorelei rock, where I sat near the statue of the famous lady and attempted to brush my hair. It would have been a great photo to send home: Unfortunately, it was very windy and quite wet that day and in the photo I ended up looking like a drowned rat!

These were probably my two favorite trips in the river valleys, even though I enjoyed the day that we spent in Trier exploring Roman ruins and had a great time climbing to the top of the Dom in Cologne as well. However, there are still many things to do and see in the Rhine Valley, so come September when we make our obligatory six-month pilgrimage to the in-laws I am sure I will have yet another chance to see and learn new things about that particular area of Germany!