An ideal vacation in Hesse (your itinerary)

There is so much to do in Germany, and even in the state of Hesse alone. A family could make a very enjoyable vacation out of a fair-weather trip to Hesse, and even without a car. The first thing you will want to do is download two crucial apps for your visit without a car: the DB Navigator app and the RMV app. (Search the Play Store for "RMV Hesse". It is the RMV Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund app that pops up.) Although it is not necessary, I recommend tying a credit card to both of these apps as soon as you can to facilitate ticket purchases. The next thing you will want to do is to buy a portable cell phone charger so that when you purchase e-tickets on RMV, your battery doesn't die on you and cost you a 60 Euro fine for not having a ticket for the train or bus. (That never happened to me, but over the course of two years, I saw several people get ticketed or get kicked off the train or bus.)

I got to know Hesse a good bit, so here are my recommendations for a family vacation there without a car:

1) Day 1: Travel. Red-eye flight from the U.S. to Frankfurt. Immediately upon arrival, withdraw at least 200 Euros in cash, because Hesse (and Germany in general) is very much a cash economy.

You may have one or more of these expressions on your face during and after a long day of travel to Germany.

2) Day 2: Romer Plaza. Use the RMV app to direct you to the right train from the airport to your AirBnB near Romer Plaza. Don't go to sleep! Leave your luggage at the AirBnB and go visit Romer plaza. Grab a cup of coffee at ConditCouture, and if you're up for it, enjoy a piece of cake. Sit outside if the weather is nice and enjoy the view.

After you've rested a bit at the cafe, visit the cathedral, its museum (including the second location), and the architecture of the "New Old Town". It is absolutely lovely. There are dozens of restaurants near the area. I recommend finding a place for schnitzel, which is German comfort food at its best. After lunch, I recommend either a stroll across the bridge to the Design museum, or a visit to the Goethe House for a good picture of life in the 1800s for the wealthy in Germany. I suggest that you do NOT visit the Schirn Museum on your most tired day! Get to bed early, but try to stay awake until at least 8:00 p.m. so that the rest of your trip is enjoyable.

Inside the cathedral is a photo that shows the destruction surrounding it following the bombings of WWII.
It is worth the visit just to see that photo.

3) Day 3: City change and Wiesbaden visit. On your first full day in Germany, leave Frankfurt and get a place to stay in Mainz for the next 4 nights. Check the RMV app to find the most efficient route. The train is easy enough, but will probably require a transfer. This short trip is a good way to learn how to navigate the public transportation system. If you mess up, it should not be a giant mistake.

After you check in to your "new home" for the next 4 nights, get back to the bus or train station and take a trip to Wiesbaden. The things to visit there include: Kochbrunnen, a well from the hot springs the town is named after, the Protestant Church, the Landeshauptmuseum, and a good place to eat, such as Hans im Gluck or Lovt & Liebe. If you did not get schnitzel in Frankfurt, or if you desire another evening of German cuisine, I recommend Paulaner's in Wiesbaden. It is a small chain and they are very family friendly. If you are there in the summer, visit Ciao Ciao for some of the best ice cream (ever!). There is also the Casino (kurhaus), if that is of interest to you. It did not fit my family, so we never visited it. These activities should easily fill up the rest of your afternoon.

A beautiful July day in Wiesbaden

4) Day 4: Rhein River Cruise. You can take a Rhein River Cruise from Mainz, and I highly recommend it. Overall, this will be a nice relaxing day, which will probably be welcome after those first 3 days full of aggressive travel and little rest. Bring water! It is possible to do a round-trip cruise, but I don't recommend it because you will be on a boat for about 8 (or more!) hours, and the afternoon will be just about the exact same as the morning. Instead, I recommend that you get tickets departing from Mainz, and get off at St. Goar (not to be confused with St. Goarshausen). Have a radler (beer with lemonade) on the cruise. At St. Goar, you will take a short walk to visit Burg Rheinfels, which is a nice castle to visit while in Germany. They are friendly, the upkeep is good, and the kitchen is downright fascinating (because it is a a medieval kitchen--imagine having to cook in it!). After your boat ride and your castle visit, take the train back to Mainz. It is an easy, beautiful train ride that doesn't require a transfer. If you want a convenient, low maintenance dinner, try Mosch Mosch. It's sort of like the Noodles & Co. in the U.S.

* Cultural note: If you go into Mosch Mosch, and many other restaurants in Germany, you will sit close to people you don't know. When you sit, greet them with "Hallo" or "Guten Tag" or "Guten Abend". When you leave, depart with a "Tschuss" or "Schon Tag" or "Auf Wiedersehen". That is what is polite.

Really. The Rhein River Cruise is fabulous.

FABULOUS.

5) Day 5: Mainz. Mainz has become one of my favorite cities. The things to visit there include: The Dom (cathedral), The Gutenberg Museum, The Schiff Museum (Museum of Ancient Seafaring), the Roman amphitheater, the incredibly blue Chagall windows at St. Stephen's Church, and the Isis and Magna Mater museum, which is underneath a small shopping mall, but really is a must-see because of its uniqueness. There are also other Roman ruins all around Mainz that could be of interest, depending on your time and energy levels.

Three of my favorite windows ever.

6) Day 6: Rudesheim Romantik Tour. This is a great day-long tour that gives you a different view of the Rhein River. Take the train from Mainz to Rudesheim, and follow the crowd to the ticket office for the Rudesheim Romantik Tour. It involves hiking, so bring sunscreen and water. It also involves 2 gondola rides, so I don't recommend it for small children, since the rides are open. But it is a nice day that will show you some beautiful views, some interesting architecture, and some really nice vineyards. Return to Mainz for your last night there. I hope you will be sad to be leaving.

A small part of the hike on the Rudesheim Romantik Tour. Beautiful. This was taken in August.

7) Day 7: Return trip to Frankfurt. Take the train back to Frankfurt, and deposit your luggage at your next sleeping place, once again near Romer Plaza. Visit the Schirn Museum and the Design Museum or Goethe House (whichever you didn't on Day 2). The Schirn Museum is world-renown and deserves your wakeful attention. I recommend checking the exhibitions on their website before taking your children, as some exhibitions may not be appropriate for children or youth. Also note that the Schirn Museum has a great play area for your young kids.

Did I ever mention in this blog how much I love the Schirn Museum? Nothing I could say about it would do its exhibitions justice. Go visit it.

8) Day 8: Return trip to the U.S. Take a morning flight home. Leave in the morning to get there in the afternoon.

When a foreign city starts to feel like home

Photo from the Schirn Museum exhibit

I had a chance to walk around Frankfurt by myself for half a day yesterday.

I took the S train to the U train into Römer Plaza. On a pretty day, Römer Plaza is one of the best places in the world to sit alone.

It was a pretty day.

I visited the Schirn museum. Their exhibit at the moment is vulgar, offensive, distasteful, and disgusting. It was an exhibit from two Swedish artists who create stop motion films. They use multiple mediums such as clay, felt, metals, and probably anything else that fits their needs. They had running themes of masks and animals, sometimes animals wearing masks. If I could take a guess, I would say that the artists were making an overall statement that we are not who we need to be. We are not true to ourselves. We are not true to each other.

Many of the films were gruesome. The pieces of art physically on display (in addition to the films) were exquisite. The first thing you see when you walk in is a room full of exotic birds in all different positions. You might be caught off guard with the detail and even the size of them. Then you'll notice the film. I watched the first film with curiosity. Stuffed women made of nylons having to do with breaking eggs. The next film I saw, I watched with interest. That was the gruesome one, but I was interested to learn the artists' agenda. The next, with loathing. Picture a baby and a momma who are switching in between a lizard and a lizard skeleton. Really, words don't describe it. The last one I watched, which was the maximum I could tolerate, I watched with horror. Something about a mother's children forcibly re-entering her womb to undo their own birth. Honestly, I couldn't do it, so I didn't watch very much of that one.

I love, love, love the Schirn museum. No other thing I've seen or done has taken me outside of my culture and made me think more than this museum has. I am fascinated by the artists whose works they display. What drives them? Why are they so different from me? In what (or whom) do they place their hope? That is what I always wonder about people. I really enjoy new cultures and different lifestyles. The Schirn museum is amazing at showing me that.

Because of that, more so than the artists, I would love to meet the curator. Who is that person?! How did they get so good at their job? What drives them, and how do they find people?

I'm just a simple Pennsylvania girl, and I'm happy to be that. But I'm also happy that I've had the opportunity to visit this world-renowned museum, more than once, and to let it open my eyes just a little more than they were before. I think I will get to see two more exhibitions before we leave. I missed several while I was here. But what I've seen thus far has been very, very interesting.

When I walked out of the museum, I realized that I knew where I was going, and I didn't need to use Google maps to get there. That was a nice feeling, but then I started to get a little bit sad. I was starting to feel at home in Frankfurt. I enjoy Römer Plaza and visiting the nearby churches. I walked across the footbridge and simply enjoyed the skyline. It was a really nice afternoon. It felt a little bit like home: comfortable, familiar, welcoming, and even unimposing. I was saddened by the thought that after this year, I may never see Frankfurt again. I may, but I may not.

I think that's the way these moments are going to be for me for the next two months. I'm looking forward to them so much.

At the same time, I don't think I will regret leaving at all. I am ready to go home to the always-familiar way of life. I am so very ready to see my family and friends. My life has been such an adventure these past two years. I am looking forward to seeing what the next stage will bring.

A gorgeous day at Romer plaza, which is a great place to visit

From the Schirn Museum. Look at this incredible detail.

I just the other day told my dad that I miss the PA wildlife. I sent this picture to him and called it, "Frankfurt wildlife". He said, "I think that's a turkey, but it looks like it belongs in a cartoon." Exactly.

A two photo panorama of Romer plaza. There is so much going on in this photo.

What I will miss about living in Germany

I'm getting so close to coming home.

True, it's still 5.32602 months away, but these months are going to go by so fast. I've been thinking about my life back home and what I might miss about living here.

The most obvious thing, I think, is the ability to travel Europe so easily, except that I'm not really sure that I'll miss it. I've traveled quite a bit so far, and I've seen a lot here. It's been incredible, but the reason I'm not so sure I'll miss traveling in Europe is because I haven't yet taken my family around the United States. Until coming here to live, I had been intimidated about travel by our number and age of our children, so we hadn't traveled much since the twins were born. Now, I have no doubt that we're capable of going long distances in the vehicle as a family, and if I forget the luggage, or my swimsuit, or whatever, we'll be fine and still have fun. So while I've certainly enjoyed traveling in Europe so much, I'm also looking forward to traveling in the States.

Public transportation is indeed very good here, but I don't think I'll miss it because, frankly, herding our four kids onto a train or bus is stressful, and I'd rather just keep them all contained in the family minivan. Our trip to Italy was pretty fantastic, and although driving there was a little bit stressful (there are no rules!), I think it was much more convenient for us than if  we had tried to fly and use trains and buses once we were there. That holds true for everywhere we've been so far, I think. At this point, I pretty much only use public transportation when it's me and only one kid, and usually only when I don't want the stress of trying to find a parking space.

I will probably miss the German food. The fries here are so fresh and yummy. The schnitzel is tender and inexpensive. The sausage is quite tasty. They have really good mustards and very cheap, fresh bread. And their chocolate! I like Hershey's chocolate, but compared to Ritter, Lindt, Milka, Kinder, and even some of the store brands, Hershey's is pretty unimaginative.

I will certainly miss the fact that they have some sort of festival every time you turn around. It's very much an outdoor society, regardless of the weather. I feel like I've learned to do things without looking at the forecast, and I think that is a good lesson to learn.

I will miss Mainz, and specifically St. Stephan's Cathedral and the Isis and Magna Mater museum, especially with the volunteer there who has a PhD and is a wealth of knowledge and speaks excellent English.

In general, I will miss all the amazing cathedrals. I've seen so many, but how many have I not seen?! Hundreds, probably, considering that most of the big cities have 3 or more in each of them.

I will miss the history here. I love to see the Roman influence and to try to imagine real people walking around these places a thousand years ago or more.

I will miss the radiator that is also a towel rack in my bathroom. That is such a nice creature comfort to have every day!

I will certainly miss our friend Ken. He's my coworker also on this rotation, and he has proven to be a great source of wisdom in every area of my life. I know I will miss him, but I have so many friends to go back to. I can't wait to see my friends and family!!! I am so excited for so many happy reunions.

I will miss the walking zone (fußganger) in Wiesbaden. But a new sidewalk was put in near our house just before we left, and I look forward to taking evening walks with the family again back home.

I will miss being so close to Frankfurt, or any big city, really. I still intend to get back to Frankfurt again before I leave and visit the Schirn museum and the Museum of Modern Art (MMK). Although it's not as close, D.C. is also nice and has a lot of free stuff that I look forward to taking the family to.

David said that he will miss the Wiesbaden Schlachthof (an old slaughterhouse turned music venue), Thomann Music store with its 19% discount, and access to good beer.

One other thing I'll miss, that isn't actually relevant to being in Germany, is the age of my children. We made a lot of memories in this house, and since we're leaving it, I won't be able to think, "Remember that time when?..." I'm sure I'll do that anyway, but in a little way, we'll be leaving a piece of those memories behind. But we will have many more memories to make ahead of us, God willing.

So there are some things I'll miss, but in most cases, there are things back home that can fill the gap (no Kinder hippos, though!). And nothing compares to being close to my family and friends again! I'm getting very excited already!!

Some random cute pictures:

Walking home from dinner with a friend one night.  I thought this looked cool.

Reunited!

I'm so excited that Melissa is here and that we're going to Disneyland Paris tomorrow!

Melissa is my long-time friend from high school. We have never, as far as I can recall, had a break in our friendship. She and her mom put up with me many, many weekends in high school. I worked with them at the Clearfield drive-in sometimes in the summer. I remember being so tired (that's my excuse) that I asked a man what he wanted on his pepperoni pizza. Of course he looked at me like I was an idiot, but then he said "pepperoni" for my benefit.  As I walked away, I realized why I got that look from him. Lol. So embarrassing!

I was in her wedding ~twenty years ago! Her husband (before they were married) and I used to stay up late together and watch movies and listen to or talk about music. Melissa and her family (including her mom!) probably have no idea how important they were to me back then, and what a special place in my heart they occupy today because of it. But the thing is, I haven't really hung out with them much since joining the Navy. We've kept in touch, but only probably averaged about once a year or less of actual visits. It's a busy world! And of course, every time I see them, it's like we were never apart. I'm so excited to have her all to myself (with 5 other people, of course) for two weeks!!

Tomorrow we are planning to leave at 0500 and go to Disneyland. I hope it's going to go fine. Thursday until now two of the kids (Alex and Lilly) were quite sick with a fever and nausea. I REALLY hope and pray that Griffin and Livvy don't get it. Seeing them sick in Disneyland would make me so sad! But time will tell!!

Today, of course, I took Melissa to Frankfurt. It was really rainy and then on the way home, we drove through a giant storm. Glad we didn't get stuck outside in that! It was a pretty nice day though, visiting the cathedral and going to the Goethe House. Those are two great places to visit, especially if you don't have a lot of time in Frankfurt.

Right now, I'm sitting at home with Lilly watching Blippi. This house is a pretty big fan of the silly man. I think right now Lilly calls him Utchi. (Or Ew-chi.) She sings his and Nicky Notes' songs, and it's pretty cute. Right now, she's dancing because he is. She's so little and cute. I certainly have a lot to be thankful for.

A nice breakfast at the Schirn Cafe

Inside the Frankfurt Cathedral

Part of the story of Christ inside the cathedral

Inside the Goethe house.  Looks like someone had an obsession with bundt cakes.

Window box.  I love the warped glass.

Wallpaper inside the Goethe house.  This reminded me a little bit of some
patterns I saw in Hemingway's house in the FL Keys.

Frankfurt with a friend and family

I was so blessed by my friend Heather's visit! She and her mom stopped in Frankfurt to see me before heading over to Krakow for a longer stay.

Why don't YOU do that?!

Seriously, my visit with Heather was absolutely therapeutic. I needed to spend some time with a loved one in addition to my immediate family!

Heather found an app (was it, "Visit a City"?) that put together a walking tour with her input, and we saw so much in Frankfurt! We saw multiple churches and a couple museums. I especially enjoyed the Schirn Museum, which has an exhibit based on dioramas. I've never seen anything like it before!

I learned how to use public transportation to and from my house this weekend. Finally! And how easy it is! It is so easy, in fact, that I think we're all going to go up to Frankfurt this weekend for a little trip. The kids will love the train, and I think everyone will love getting out for a bit. The train station is only a 7 minute walk from my house! Fortunately I had guessed correctly that an all day ticket was literally good all day and would count for a round-trip ticket. On my first day, nobody checked, but on my second day, the polizei came around, and my ticket was good. Somebody else's wasn't, and the polizei asked for his passport, which he didn't have. So then he took him to the back. Uh oh. (He came back to his seat after a little while. It really wasn't too dramatic, thankfully.)

I am getting into this business of living in Europe! I still have to decide where we'll go over the Christmas holiday. My mom is coming to visit (woo hoo!!), and I'm going to show her as much of Germany as I can, but I think we'll still have time to go somewhere as a family. I'm thinking of going north to Berlin, but I might be intimidated by the weather. I still have time to decide!

And I can't wait to visit Bavaria (today)! I think I am one or two weeks late with the leaves, but that's okay. I'm excited to see the mountains again. This time with a digital camera! It could be great!

After my visit with Heather, I actually did as I planned and took the family to Frankfurt. I'll tell you, I can't get us out the door at a decent hour. Today my goal is noon, but with Frankfurt, it was 10:00. Guess what time we left? 2:00. I know how we are, though, and planned only to go to the Schirn Museum and have a nice dinner. We did both, stopping at a Chinese buffet on the way back to the train station. I also put on the baby backpack for the first time since I discovered my herniated disc in 2015. It went well. I had to give it to Dave quite a bit but less because of my neck and more because my core is weak and it felt like my lungs were being squished. But I'm happy I handled it as much as I did.

Oh, and on another note, I submitted my claim for my household goods. Please pray that it gets resolved smoothly and to our satisfaction. We are just too busy to have to spend too much time fighting this.

And now I share the pictures:

From Frankfurt, a visit to Alaska

And Africa, maybe?

Interesting diorama at the Schirn Museum

Schirn Museum. For me, this exhibit was quite weird

Pretty German building

At the Goethe House

Linen press. Looks like a lot of work to me

At the Museum for Modern Art (MMK). What is the purpose of this exhibit? It is beyond me

Near Romer Plaza

In Romer Plaza