Meghan Visits!

From Wednesday-Sunday, Meghan visited me from England. She and her husband are there while he is getting his Masters degree in Bournemouth. Luckily, I didn't have class on Friday and we had lots of time to explore. I was so happy for the company, and can't wait to see her again at the wedding in May. Disclaimer: This post will be pretty long. 

Wednesday: Meghan arrives. I haven't eaten at Nate and I's neighborhood restaurant (Glockencafé), so I was so excited that Meg agreed to go there with me on Wednesday night after her long day of travel. I broke the no-carb diet for her stay, and it was magical. 

Rucola (Arugula) belongs on Pizza!

Thursday: St. Patrick's Day! On Thursday, we stayed in the local vicinity and tried to find some fun sights. We made our way to Trippstadt (13 km away). In Trippstadt, we found a miniature Baroque castle (below) and its gardens.  

After stopping in Trippstadt, we made our way to Frankenstein (20 km away from Kaiserslautern). We found parking and made our way to a pretty church with the Frankenstein Castle ruins in the background. Unfortunately, we couldn't seem to find a way to get up to the ruins, but we explored the area and snapped some pics.  

On the way back to Kaiserslautern, we discovered some beautiful trails, and I led Meg up an embankment that was definitely not a trail. We saw ducks and a swan. Fully knowing that we would be celebrating Irish heritage that night, we tried to 'up' our step-count for the night's festivities. 

The swan spots us, and starts to come closer.

...and closer!

My swan friend and I 

Later that night, Meg and I ventured out to celebrate St. Patty's. We had forgotten to eat, so we stepped into Hannen Fass and ordered some beer and sandwiches. The sandwiches were terrible, but the people-watching was fantastic. After that, we made our way to the local "Irish Pub," which is really a meeting place for Americans. I had assumed that we would run into people we knew there, but to no avail. We braved the crowd for a while, and then made our way back home and celebrated on our own with some prized Yuenglings (bought in the KMCC).

Friday: Recovery day. Friday, Meg and I discovered a travel/food show on Tastemade and binged on that. It is called 'Sourced,' and I highly recommend it. At the KMCC, Meg picked up some American treats and we indulged in some much-needed Taco Bell. Later, we had dinner with some wonderful friends from Abilene. It is so nice to see friends, especially when it is such a surprise! We ate at Kahori in K-town. They offer virtually unlimited food, which you order in batches of 5/person on an iPad. It is an interesting experience, and the group made it an especially interesting dynamic. 

Saturday: Almond Blossom 'Festival' and Bad Durkheim. On Friday, we asked a German woman on base where we should go for the weekend. She recommended the almond blossom festival nearby in Neustadt (40 km away from K-town). Though we showed up on time, everything was wrapping up by the time we got in to town. It was remarkably underwhelming, so we moved on quickly to try and find something else to do. We decided to head to Bad Durkheim.   

No almond blossoms in sight 

The text near the top of the tower says: "Meine Zeit steht in deinen Handen," which translates to "My time is in your hands."   

So many statues in Neustadt  

I'm not sure what this guy is doing. 

A restored fresco in the main Church in Neustadt 

A garden in Bad Durkheim. It was beautiful, even on the very first day of Spring. Once it gets warmer, I cannot wait to return and see the gardens in full-bloom. Meg was able to let me know what most of the plants are called. 

Leaving Bad Durkheim, we discovered Hardenburg. Even as a ruin, it was incredibly intact, considering it was built in 1205-1214. We did not enter the castle, but we were able to see the exterior and parts of the gardens.  Upon arriving, I squealed with joy when I saw the goats grazing.

GOATS! 

GOATS! GOATS! 

GOATS! GOATS! GOATS!  

*Sehr artsy*  

A cute neighborhood statue next to some picnic tables and gardens. I love that these little neighborhoods all have their own character and public gardens. 

Sunday: Worms and Frankfurt am Main. WOW! Worms (pronounced 'vorms') and Frankfurt am Main are incredible. I add the "am Main," because there are actually two Frankfurts in Germany. This one is on the Main river, and the other is Frankfurt on Oder, and it resides in the Northeast on the Oder river on the Polish border. Despite the freezing cold, Meg and I got some good sightseeing in on Sunday in Worms and Frankfurt am Main before making our way to the Airport. 

Worms competes with Trier for the title of oldest city in Germany. Worms is located on the Rhine, and Meg and I had a fun time navigating the city and trying to find the river. There were many people out-and-about in both Worms and Frankfurt. It was a nice change from K-town, where most places are completely dead on Sunday. 

Worms has existed since before Roman times, and became fortified by the the Romans under Drusus in 14 BCE. Worms was an important palatinate of Charlemagne in the early fifth century. Worms is mostly famous for the Diet of Worms (1521), in which Martin Luther was declared a heretic. St. Paul's Church was outstanding. I didn't take pictures inside the Church, because it seemed far too awesome to capture in photographs. 

St. Paul's Church, Worms

Luther-platz

YUM! Meg and I had a wonderful last dinner in Frankfurt. We found this African place on Yelp, and there was actual sand on the floor. It felt like walking on dunes within the restaurant. The experience was very fun, and now we both can't shake the hankering for African food.

Meg and I had a ton of fun, and it was really nice to have some company with Nate in Alabama. We saw snow on the ground the first day I picked her up, and we also had one beautiful day. Now, it's back to class through Thursday. After that, I get 10 days off for Easter. The Germans take Easter very seriously!