Although sad to leave the summer of the southern hemisphere and the wonderful countries of Australia and New Zealand, we were definitely excited to be heading back in Europe. What we were not looking forward to was the travel we had to endure to get back. We learned quickly that you get what you pay for when using miles to book an across the world flight.
Our first leg was the 11 hour flight from Auckland to Bangkok. We arrived in the middle of the night, tired and groggy. Our layover was 9 hours, so we didn’t have a gate to go to. Instead we had to try to get rest on a set of metal seats, something very uncomfortable for any extended period of time, let alone trying to lay across them. Plus there were constantly people arriving and passing through the terminal. The airport was pretty; there were walls of orchids and this lovely faux temple.
Next was the 4 hour flight to New Delhi. We got through customs much more easily this time around, which was really nice since we could browse the shops, eat at restaurants, and lay down on these wonderfully designed lounge chairs. We probably got the most rest on those chairs during our 17 hour layover. Delhi was not to be outdone by Bangkok and there was this enormous statue sitting in the middle of the terminal.
Finally we boarded our flight for the final leg, which was an 8 hour flight directly to Frankfurt, giving us a grand total of 49 hours. The trip was almost without incidence except that we discovered an entire pocket from Megan’s backpack was empty and we were short 1 Razor cell phone, two phone chargers, 1 computer charger, and 1 power converter. Kinda sucks, but not that big a deal in the big picture.
We were greeted at the airport by Uli and Eva early on a Saturday morning. They whisked us back to Goldbach where we were treated to their signature lovely breakfast, then shortly thereafter, passed out on a comfortable bed.
Uli and Cornelia took us to a nearby town where we parked at the top of a hill and hiked several kilometers through a forest famous for robberies by a group of bandits in the past. At the end was this castle that is complete surrounded by water, which you can’t see in the picture because it is closed for the winter and we couldn’t get close enough. The family still lives in a portion of the castle, the rest is open to the public for tours because they couldn’t afford the upkeep on it.
Next to the castle was a little restaurant that was decorated like a fancy hunting lodge. There were old muskets, pistols, and antlers hanging from the walls. We had a coffee and Megan had a homemade hot chocolate.
Later we dined at one of the Seubert’s favorite restaurants that is also a guest house and that makes their own schnapps. The meal was excellent and the company even better.
The next day we walked along a trail that took us to Hosbach the next town over from Goldbach. It was a nice stroll through fields and woods with some views of the town below. We also saw a few of these hunting towers that lazy hunters sit in and shoot non-human things that run by.
At the end of our hike we were joined by Eva and had another delicious meal at a guest house. You might notice a theme of hiking and eating.
We took Uli’s “Shortcut” back to Goldbach, which means going the long way up a mountain. But it was nice to see more of the area and this strange set of wrestlers. The area was famous for producing excellent wrestlers back when the sport was much more popular.
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