Meeting our friends

We finally met out friends after they registered their oldest son at the university for foreigners where he had signed up for Italian classes. First we spend some time in the old town  since they were running a bit late

 
Then they finally met us at a square in front of the university 

Since it was already early afternoon time we looked for a good place for lunch close by

Then we also went back to the underground city which had also checked out together on a trip seven years earlier

An ancient city gate outside the buried old city 

Dinner at an nice outdoor restaurant in the old town:

In the evening a scream from the shower when Ji discovered a small visitor. Mia helped to get him out

Sunday in Perugia

We started our first full day in Perugia with a nice breakfast in the courtyard of our hotel. They offered a cappuccino and croissant for only 4 €.

 
Then we walked across the city to check out the train station and the bus network for a trip to Florence we had planned for Tuesday

We also stopped at the old underground part of the city that was buried by the pope after defeating the city in a war that had started because they that didn't want to pay a new tax on salt

 The bus network looked a bit complicated but we managed to figure it out

Trip to Perugia

We had to get very early to start our three hour drive from Heidelberg to Charleroi in Belgium. This was the closest airport that offered flights to Perugia At least we could enjoy a nice sun rise on the A6 highway heading west

It all worked out and we made it to the airport in time. We even stooped for some cheap gas on the way in Luxembourg where the tax is a bit lower

Less than two hours after take-off we landed at the airport between the cities of Assisi - the withe city on the side of the mountain - and Perugia

After a 20 minute cab ride we arrived at the hotel - it's just behind the ancient city gate on the left

The old town on top of a hill was a short walk away

Dinner was at a restaurant that is famous for the great pizza - we agreed with the high ratings on the internet

After 

After dinner we walked back through the old town to our hotel 

 

 

 

Get together in Freiburg

For the first time since more than three years our LSU gang met for a get together. This time in was in Freiburg were a wine festival was schedule for the weekend. Since we didn't have time on the weekend we came Friday and Claudia organized a little tour of the nearby Schwarzwald. One stop was the waterfall in Todtnau

The valley with the waterfall was spanned with a long suspension bridge for tourists which we also checked out. First we had to walk back to our cars

 

The bridge was only two years old

 

The next stop was a restaurant with a great view for an early dinner 

 

Then a little walk at the Schauinsland peak. We had been there before on a trip two years ealier

 

  

Then it was back to the train station for us to go back to Heidelberg. The nect morning we head to leave early to catch a flight to Perugia, Italy

Visit by Claudia

Claudia - an old friend from Cologne - was in town for a short weekend. One evening she showed us all the pictures from her trip to China earlier this year. We even managed to go for a short hike on the Königsstuhl together

 

Ping Pong

After not playing ping pong for a long time at one of the outdoor tables in our neighborhood we spennt a nice evening playing outside