1st entry from Germany

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Departure
Regan, Cheri and Jackson were nice enough to take me to the Orlando airport for my flight over the pond. Flight was scheduled for 9:25pm and the Condor wanted me at the aiport 3 hours in advance. We left my house around 4:30pm. We got a little nervous when we first started off, because I95 was a freaking parking lot. But no worries, just a couple accidents and some rubbernecking. Traffic cleared up in about 20 mins. After dropping me off, the fam was heading over to Sea World for the evening. Thanks for the snacks Cheri!


Flight
I flew over on a German airline, Condor. It was a direct flight to Frankfurt which was awesome. The flight was full of German families with small childen, most likely returning from an Orlando vacation. Everyone was speaking German which was pretty cool. Aside from the courtesy English that the pilot and wait staff spoke, I didn't here a word of English. With the 9:25pm departure/12:35 arrival, my plan was to grab a bite at the airport before take-off, read a little on the plane, then crash for the night. Unlike some people, namely Reg, Ed and Shelly, I can sleep my a$$ on a plane. Plan was executed without a hitch!

Arrival
No issues on arrival. Passport check, customs were whatever. Cool walking through the airport taking in the German culture. Ed picked me up in the pimped out Beemer. Sweet ride. Rolled on the Autobahn to Hanau. Hanau is approx. 30 mins from Frankfurt airport. ---- Ed and Shelly know the drill on the whole jet lag/long flight deal. The plan was to go for a walk so I could stretch my legs, get acclimated and stay vertical. Shelly had the dogs ready as soon as Ed and I got to the house. Little Madison was taking a nap and would be fine while we walked down the street to a nearby trail.

After the walk we hung out, caught up and waited for the little one to wake. It's great to see Ed and Shelly (and now Madison). With them being in Germany, I've only seen them once or twice a year when they get back for special occasions. I last saw the fam this past March in Florida. And since then, little Madison has sprouted up and is walking too! ---- Once Madison awoke, Ed and Shelly had some nearby sites in mind show me.













First we rolled over to Ronnenburg castle which is ~20mins from their house. Great castle. Sits up on a hill in the rolling pastures of the country side , very cool.
We ate dinner at a great little restaurant at the castle. Awesome fried pork and weis beer. My first authentic German meal!












Next we rolled to Budingen (sp?) which is also in the general area of Hanau. This is a great little town with classic old style German houses and buildings. And of course, there was a castle. Stopped off at a nice beer garden and had some apple wine.


Great Day! Awesome welcome to Germany. Thanks Ed, Shelly and Madison.