It had been at least five years since our last trip to Alsace and Germany.  And while we've been over to the UK and to Paris since then, we hadn't been back to one of our favorite haunting grounds.  Earlier this Spring we were planning out some of our upcoming vacations when it dawned on us that we had a house in Germany's Black Forest that had been offered to us, yet we had failed to take my colleague, Vera, up on her offer.  So after a couple weeks of comparing calendars and checking air rates, we were all set.  Then, with about a month left, our babysitter, Kelley, decided that we would be much better off if she came along with us to make sure Victoria had a good time!    Although I'm loathe to admit it, she was absolutely right!

So at 5:00 PM on August 12^th, I, Kathie, Victoria, and Kelley took off for Philadelphia International Airport for our flight to Germany.  We had purposely selected US Airways' 8:00 PM flight with the hope that Victoria would fall asleep relatively shortly after take-off.  Well, that didn't quite work as the stimulation of trip in general, the airport, the plane, and the personal video monitor on her seat made it simply too exciting to even consider going to sleep.  By the time she finally did drop off on momma's lap, it was almost three hours later we had hoped.

We had a smooth flight across the Atlantic, arriving right on time in Frankfurt-am-Main, where we had no trouble getting through Customs and Immigration before picking up our car.  I was in heaven!  Hertz was "generous" enough (and foolish enough) to let me take a Mercedes C Class and boy was it a dream to drive.  It took me a few minutes to get used to its peculiarities (couldn't figure out how to put it in reverse and then I had a great time trying to figure out what the messages the car's computer was telling me in German!), but once I did, boy, was I a happy camper - 105 MPH on the Autobahn!  What's not to love?!?

Although our plans were to spend the next several nights in Alsace, we decided to make a side trip to one of our favorite wineries in a town called Windesheim in Germany's Nahe Valley (about an hour west of Frankfurt).  After a couple of wrong turns, we made found Herr Poss' winery - a pretty impressive feat in that the last time either of us was there was in 1999!  Unfortunately, we neglected to tell anyone there that we were coming and alas, no one was there, even after we grabbed a bite to eat for lunch.

So we made our way back to the Autobahn and started heading south through the Rhine Valley until we got to where we could head west across the Rhine and into Alsace.  The hardest part at this point wasn't finding the hotel.  It was just staying awake.  Somehow, I managed to do this while Kathie, Victoria, and Kelley snoozed the kilometers away.  By about 5:30, we had made it to the town of Ribeauvillé and the Hotel de la Tour (www.hotel-la-tour.com) - our home for the next three nights.  For those who are interested, we highly recommend this hotel!  Ribeauvillé is centrally located in the middle of Alsace and the hotel is right on the main street through town, literally in the middle on the town hall square.  The service was very friendly and most of the staff spoke at least some English.  All for about €90 per night (high tourist season).  After checking in, we wandered around a bit before dashing through a sudden downpour to one of our favorite restaurants in Ribeauvillé to grab a bite to eat .  In the cellar of a centuries-old building, this restaurant introduced Kelley and Victoria to the "yumminess" of Baeckeoffe and other Alsatian dishes!  We finally dragged ourselves back to the hotel and bed, but not before watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.  Although we lost a lot in the translation from French, it was still great watching the ceremony.

Tomorrow: To market, to market!