Kastelruth

After our hike in the mountains on Sunday we took it easy on Monday and explored Kastelruth and the surrounding area

 A little fountain on the main square - not too far from an ice cream parlor

Mia even found a playground wih a great zip line

We also saw some charming old Fiat 500

In the evening with found a resturant only 100 m from the farm weith great local dishes and outdoor seating

Marinzenalm

The drive to Kastelruth in South Tyrol was not much fun because of all the traffic but once we got there we really liked the beautiful scenery with pastures, woods and mountains. We stayed on a farm a little bit uphill and got drenched by rain on our first shopping  expedition into town.
The next morning the sun was shining

For our first hike we took a chair lift up to Marinzenalm - a cow pasture in the mountains

Up at the lift station was playground a a petting zoo

A short hike towards the mountains

The weather turned a bit worse

We made it back to the village before a rain shower started

In the evening we walked a few minutes from the farm when the weather was fine again

Schaffhausen

Almost 9 years after our last visit in Schaffhausen we came back to visit Antje on our way to a vacation in South Tirol.

Antje had prepared dinner but first we went for a walk along the Rhine

Then it was time for a good dinner with good friends

 ..and a great view out of the living room

Day at the Pool

After all the traveling Ha and Erika wanted to take it easy and had a lazy day in town that also included some time at the pool

Unfortunately it was time to say goodbye after the weekend

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