Day 5 and 6: Tübingen and Hohenzollern Castle

On Saturday morning, we loaded up our bags and headed to the bus stop to wait for bus 105 that would take us to the Hauptbahnhof to catch a TGV to Stuttgart.

The kids did a really great job of packing up their clothes and getting to the bus stop. Everyone was willing to lend a hand to help out.  And I think we all enjoyed the novelty of traveling by public transportation.

A statue of a man handing out pretzels...seemed perfect for Dom.

A brief note about the trains in Germany: There are several regional and commuter trains (S-Bahn, RB, and RE (an express)).  These are the cheapest ways to get around, but have several stops and can be very crowded.  There are also the high speed trains that are more expensive, but extremely comfortable, and not necessarily so crowded.  Riding one of these trains ruins you for other train travel...The TGV was just such a train.  As was the ICE that we took the next day.  We only road 2nd class, but it was wonderful all the same.

 Actually, the train ride was only the first great thing of a day of great things.  A perk of being in the Air Force is meeting people who then move all over the world (see initial post about friends stationed in Ramstein).  Another friend from Montgomery is stationed in Stuttgart and told us to let him know if we actually made it to his part of the country.  When we did, he and his family immediately extended an invitation to stay and they suggested meeting up in the beautiful college town of Tübingen 

 It was a great place to visit.  They took us to a Biergarten and we sat and caught up over beers and sausages as the kids played with each other at the nearby park.  Eric commented it was the most relaxed he had seen me up to that point. Fact check: mostly true

 The town itself was beautiful to look at.  And we climbed yet another church tower to get a glimpse of the surrounding area. 

 Oh, this also marked the first of several times we got ice cream (Eis) for the kids. 

 And John did his best impression of L'Opa. 

 After a bit, we loaded up in their cars and headed back to their house for a relaxing evening of dinner, water gun fights, lego and light saber building, ziplining, and laundry.

 A good time was had by all and the kids really didn't want to leave their new friends.

 For Sunday, our friends  suggested a visit to nearby Hohenzollern Castle.

 And it was fantastic.  All of it.

 We took in the fantastic views...again.  But, they never got old for us.  At least I don't think they did.

 And I took pictures of William next to Kaiser Wilhelm's name and bust.  Because it was clever.  Because his name is William, too.  Get it?

 As luck would have it, there was a temporary display/contest of cuckoo clocks.  And they were all set at different times so you could see at least one or two alert the hour.  I took a quick picture before Dom informed me there were no pictures allowed...such a rule follower.

The kids got to sport some cool red robes during the tour.  These didn't quite make up for the disappointment Molly experienced when I told her we would not be purchasing this lovely maroon dress from the souvenir shop.  But, at least it was something.

We finished our time with our friends with a second trip to the neighborhood park and a drive to the train station.  Time to move to the next area of the country: Bavaria!  Servus!