Ocean of Rocks

Ever since we went to the Felsenmeer - literally the ocean of rocks - almost two years ago Mia wanted to show it to Erika and Jacob - her old climbing buddies from Arlington. So with Erika in town it was on top of her list of places to go.

It was a bit hot but the girls really enjoyed it and Ha jointed the fun

A n unfinished column the Romans left behind 1700 years ago was good resting place on top

Back in Heidelberg the climbing continued and Mia took Erika to the Alla Hopp playground

After all this activities we all deserved a pizza at a restaurant with outdoor setng nearby

Rüdesheim

We picked up Ha and Erika at the airport in Frankfurt when they returned from a trip to Venice and Firence and took them to Rüdesheim. The town is at the beginning of the romantic part of the Rhine valley with mountains and castles

After a bought our tickets for a 90 minute river cruise there was still some time left for a ice cream

On the ship there it was time for some drinks

After the cruise we took a gondola up a mountain with the monument

Of course a hill always is a good opportunity for rolling around

Erika was itching from the grass after this great idea

Barbara was in the neighborhood as well and had joined us for on the return part of the cruise

The Germania statue

 We walked back to town

The girls had another great idea and walked part of the way in trenches full of weeds

A snack back in Rüdesheim

Meeting the Major of Heidelberg

Mia's girl scout group had a meeting with the major of Heidelberg to tell them about their contacts with girl scouts in Palo Alto - a sister city of Heidelberg.

After the meeting they posed for a picture outside the town hall

All the girl scouts got some chocolates as a present

Sunday Walk with Ha and Erika

After not seeing our old friends and neighbors for almost five years Erika and her mother came to visit us in Heidelberg. They are going to use it as a base for trips to Paris and Venice and only stayed over the weekend before coming back later but we were all very excited and  happy to see them at arrivals at the Frankfurt airport.
After a day of relaxing at the pool  and our place - including the European song contest - we took them for a little walk on Sunday.
We started on top of the Königsstuhl

After an hour or so we made it down to the castle

Like in old times Erika and Mia looked for climbing options

Time for some refreshments

After dinner at a beer garden in the old town we walked over the old bridge to catch a bus back home