Tübingen

We had originally planned to go on a little vacation during Mia's one week fall break but with the weather not so nice we only did two day trips. One by car to a small town close to the border with Luxembourg with a Lands End Outlet store and another one by train to Tübingen
It was a bit foggy and cool but the old university town on the river Nrckar looked quite romantic on a misty morning

But before exploring the city we first met some friends for a late breakfast

 Mia"s friend had come along as well

After breakfast we walked along the waterfront by the river

An main attraction of the city is the Hölderlin tower where the poet spend his last years. It is now a small museum
Since Mia"s school is named after Hölderlin we checked it out

The view from Hölderlin's room

The next stop on the walking tour was the castle

Then we saw the market square

Some old streets

The old town hall

A town with many nice corners - it would be nice to be back on a nice warm summer day

Pfaffengrunder Terasse

On a walk on the first day of November - a public holiday in this part of Germany - walked we checked out the Pfaffengrunder Terasse - the new central square in Bahnstat where we played some frisbee and  ping pong

 On the way back it started to rain

Then the sun came out again

The Flying Pig

Mia's stuffed pig from Shanghai is sometimes tossed through the air

Wiesbaden

For a reunion of physics students from the nuclear physics institute in Bonn the organizer had arranged a city tour of Wiesbaden. We all could join because the tour was booked for a much bigger group and met the tour guide at the market square

We were really lucky with the weather. When we started in Heidelberg it had been quite foggy.
One stop of the tour was the opera house

Another stop was the grand main spa building - Kurhaus - that was build when the city was a gathering spot for the rich and famous - including the German emperor and his relatives from England or Russia - around 1900:

Mia was not so interested to hear these stories:

The building still very impressive and used as a casino and for conferences

Mia preferred to read her book:

Then of course we also stopped at one of the hot springs that made the city famous:

One can even drink the water right there

It didn't taste too good - just like warm salty water

The tour ended at the market square with the main church - build from bricks - where we had started

The next stop as the Neroberg - a small mountain with a view of the city:

The Russian Orthodox church there was built in 1855 for the Russian wife of the duke of Nassau

Climbing Course Viernheim

 Mia"s girl scout troop made a Sunday morning outing to the climbing course in a forest outside Viernheim. Mia had been there once before two years ago and aloways wanted to go back.
The weather was not so great with a few rain drops sometimes but it was still fun

T
ime for a little chit chat

Riding down the zip lime