Pepper Grinders Are My New Weapon of Choice

Since I know tomorrow will probably be hectic with relatives coming in and out to say goodbye before we leave, I thought it best to update my blog tonight instead of tomorrow to limit my time out of the house. In doing so, I had to venture out into what I thought was a passing rain storm. This storm seemed to progress with my each and every step towards the internet cafe with whipping winds, donner und blitz (no not felt-tipped antlered reindeer for Christmas in July, but thunder and lightning), and eventually hail. So I am now sitting with wet pants and shoes (despite my umbrella) as I am typing this, so please appreciate the effort put in to bring this information to you.
Last night we went out to dinner with Aunt Edith, Aunt Herta, and Ralf to Pizzeria Giolio. Considering I know how the Germans make pizza, I opted for spaghetti and tomato sauce for the evening. We had appetizers of bruschetta, while Ralf had what appeared to be tuna salad. He asked the waiter for ground pepper, which in America, wouldn't be an intimidating task. Alas, in Germany, they must disperse pepper with Theodore Roosevelt in mind. The Germans live by the rule of "talk softly and carry a big pepper grinder" being as I'm pretty convinced this monstrosity was nearly three feet long. The remainder of dinner was very pleasant with casual conversation about sports, news, the weather, and how nothing in the world beats Apple products, at least according to Ralf.
As we exited the establishment, Ralf was hoping to get a picture of us all standing on the sidewalk. This went well until about 2 seconds before he took the picture, which was when Aunt Edith thought it would be funny to open her umbrella to block all of us from his camera. Eventually Ralf did get his picture, though it did take some coaxing. We then wandered to the Eis Cafe on the corner for some icecream and cappucino. I opted for the "Pinocchio" eis, which was a scoop of vanilla and a scoop of chocolate with two M and M's for eyes, and a cone for a hat and the tip of a cone for the nose so that it actually resembled Pinocchio. I ordered this for two distinct reasons: I enjoy being a kid and it was the smallest amount of icecream available. Following our icecream, we wandered back to Oma's for some rest.
Today I was awoken by Oma's version of an alarm clock; her knocking on the pipes in the kitchen with a pair of scissors so that the vibrations travel up to the radiator in my room. I soon wandered down for a breakfast of a buttered sesame seed roll and cup of coffee (13) and promptly entered into the most awkward breakfast conversation ever (yet strikingly normal for Oma). First she mentioned my late uncle and a trip she had taken with him, my dad, and one of my aunts when they were kids. Then she brought up how my Opa had a stroke in 2001 that impaired the left hand side of his body. This was followed by her stating that Opa told her that she wasn't Amalie, but his oma because she had gray hair and Amalie had black hair. To make things more interesting, she brought up how my aunt Edith's ex-husband used to be the one to take care of Opa when he was still alive. And to top things off, she asked me how my other grandmother is doing and that my dad really liked Pete (my late grandfather). After swallowing all of this and my breakfast, I went to retrieve Nick from upstairs so he could eat and we could leave with Uncle Winfred and Monika for our trek to Rüdesheim and Koblenz for the Bundesgardenschau (BUGA 11).

We left Oma's around 9am after Nick prayed for us in the garden. Our first stop was Rüdesheim, which is a quaint little town on the Rhine River. We wandered along cobblestoned streets, passed old hotels, and into shops. Monika bought some chocolate that she shared with us all. This chocolate was filled with Asbach, which is made in this region. Oh, I forgot to mention, but Asbach is cognac. Nothing like two cognac filled pieces of chocolate before 11am to give you a little extra jolt in the morning. After we finished wandering, Uncle Winfred donated our parking pass to a family from England so that they didn't have to pay.
He then drove us on a scenic road aong the Rhine that took us the 54km to Koblenz. The best way to describe this drive is as follows: Castles. Vineyards. Castles surrounded by vineyards. Vineyards surrounded by castles. Okay, so that last one might not be so accurate, but you catch my drift. Some of the names of these castles included Schloss Stolzenfels, Pfalzgrafenstein near Kaub, Oberes Mittelrheintal, Braubach mit Marksburg, and my personal favorite, Maüsturm. In Koblenz, we saw many flowers and another castle. Koblenz is where the Rhine River meets the Mosel River, which can be seen best from the gondola that goes up onto the hillside across the rivers. You can really see where the rivers meet because the Mosel has darker water than the Rhine. We also found time to wander through the Basilica of St. Kastor before catching a bus to the castle gardens. It was truly an experience to see all of the various flowers and architecture in and around Koblenz.

Following numerous hours walking around, Uncle Winfred drove us back to Oberursel via the autobahn. It was a pretty relaxing drive home, but he made sure he got the adrenaline pumping by going 180kpm (about 111mph). We got home safely, which this blog post is a testament to. Oma made eggs over easy, potatoes, and salad for dinner, which I washed down with some Coca Cola.
Tomorrow brings packing, cleaning, more coffee I'm sure, and the procession of 'goodbyes'. That for me is always somewhat awkward being as I never really know when and if I will see some of my relatives again. But no time to think about that. Time to head back to Oma's since the lovely little storm has now passed.