Soup Package

I thought this was an interesting way to package soup. It's the same method as a chub of beef or liverwurst. I bought another package that I translated as bean soup. It was bean but it was green beans. Very different than expected.

Spectaculum Worms

Today was another great day. We got up about an hour earlier than yesterday. We may be making progress.

We spent a couple of hours at the Spectaculum Worms. It's a fair that shows how life was in the middle ages. We had a great time. Mr & Mrs D even found a few people to chat with.

A lot of visitors are in costume and it is really charming. There were people making charcoal, throwing axes, weaving cloth and working with wood. Mr. D enjoyed watching a craftsman work with a lathe made out of nothing but wood.

We ended up eating round garlic bread with ham and various topping of olives, peppers and canned corn. It was very good.

After that, we headed south to the Mannheim Ikea. It's only 20 minutes away. We bought a few things we needed like a kitchen knife and some glasses that are larger the small things in the apartment. I also picked up a couple of 10 euro chairs that are a bit more comfortable than the kitchen chairs in the apartment. Mr & Mrs D play cribbage a lot at the table so I want them to be as comfortable as possible

I'm proud of the fact that I know my way around town pretty well. I think that's one of the benefits of being in the same place for the whole three weeks. I also found a great view point that I can drive to after I dropped Mr & Mrs Dullum at the Spectaculum. It's the top level of one of the parking garages. They won't have to climb a step to get a great view of the town.

Filling up the tank

Filled up the car for the first time today. $80 US !!!! It's a little expensive but worth having a vehicle that Mr & Mrs D don't have a lot of problems getting in and out of. I put Mr. D on the rental agreement for $50 per week but I think he has decided against giving it a try. I think he feels like I felt when riding with Thomas and Petra C in Hamburg for the first time. It's like a mini race every time the light changes. The road can narrow at any time without much warning. There aren't any speed bumps. The road just narrows to one lane.

Road Trip to Trifels Castle

Another late start. I don't think we are taming the jet lag but it doesn't really matter. It's light until after nine. We drove down the German Wine Road through a half dozen charming towns on the way to Trifels Castle (Reichburgs Trifels). It took 4.5 hours to get there with lots of scenic detours and only 50 minutes to get back home via the highways.


This is where Richard the Lionhearted was held for a period in 1193 on his way back from one of the crusades. We decided to have a cup of coffee and a dessert instead of trekking up to the castle. :) I think I would have had to wear a harness to pull Mrs. D up the hill. BTW, most of the pictures enlarge if you click on them.

German for today and this is important "Umleitung" = detour.

Today's Lunch at Hagenbraeu

Well, we went back to the place on the Rhine. Not entirely my choice but today was Father's Day in Germany. It's a real holiday. Most stores and restaurants were closed. We had a walk about downtown but it was a deserted compared to Tuesday. The dishes in order were schnitzel with onion sauce, tender hamhock meat with a brown sauce and a schnitzel with mushroom sauce. The hamhock came with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. It's good food but a bit pricey. It is right on the river. You can sit and watch all the traffic go by.

Still with the jet lag

It's 1:30 pm in Germany and we just finished breakfast. Mrs D isn't the only one having problems adjusting. It's funny though that we all have our distinct sleeping patterns and aren't really awake at night at the same time. I got to sleep at 3 about the time Mr D woke up. I found out later that Mrs D was awake from midnight to 2:30. We all went to sleep eventually and woke up about noon. We are off to downtown Worms to explore.

The View From Our Window

This is the street side view. Across the park is the Prinz Carl Anlage. This is where Mr. D lived for 2 years.

I thought the area was a bit grubby as first but after walking around, I noticed lots of families with young kids. I've learned that you can't judge German building by the exteriors. There may be really nice apartments inside a run down looking building.

Mrs D appreciates the comfort of the vehicle but she seems embarrassed by the size. It's quite a bit bigger than the average car in the neighborhood. The back is big enough that the wheelchair fits nicely.


We drove to Alzey today but I forgot not only my camera bag but also my jacket and the maps. It's nice to see Mrs D so impressed. It's almost like it hasn't quite sunk in yet. We'll have to go back to Alzey to get pics as its a very nice town. We got a chuckle out of my being scolded by an older German woman for not having a jacket on.

German for today "Ohne Jacke!" = Without a jacket!!!