Trip 2009 Part 1 - Germany

In 2009 we joined a tour group from North Dakota State University to Bessarabia to see where Ginny's mom had grown up.

Bessarabia? Where's that?
It's an area currently in Moldova and the Ukraine that was settled by German imigrants in the early 1800's until they were expelled during the beginnings of World War II. A good explanation can be found at:
http://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/history_culture/index.html
and
http://www.grhs.org/chapters/bess/faqs.htm#BACKGROUND_ON_BESSARABIA

Prior to joining the tour group we spent time in Germany on our own.

Itinerary:
Part One: Germany
     Limburg an der Lahn and Koblenz
     The Mosel
     The Rhein
     Frankfurt
     Mainz

Part Two: Bessarabia
     Odessa, Ukraine
     The villages

Part Three: Return to Germany
      Stuttgart
      Alsace
      Tübingen

1. Limburg an der Lahn

It was an easy drive 1 hour from Frankfurt airport north to Limburg an der Lahn. The old town is a collection of half timbered (fachwerk) buildings dating from the middle ages, some amongst the oldest in Germany. It struck us as interesting as any of the more famous towns with the added benefit of not being overrun by non-German tourists.

2. Koblenz

From Lumburg to Koblenz we avoided the autobahn and took a pleasant drive along the Lahn.
At Koblenz we stopped at the castle/fort overlooking the city prior to going to our apartment in nearby Stolzenfels.

Our apartment was directly below Stolzenfels Castle. We couldn't have asked for a better landlady.She had warned us that since we were arriving on a Sunday we wouldn't be able to buy food, so through an exchange of emails she stocked the apartment with food that we expected to need.

We used Koblenz as a base from which we explored the Mosel and Rhein prior to going to Frankfurt.

3. Mosel

5. The Rhein

6. Frankfurt and Mainz

Near Frankfurt Airport we stayed at the Ibis Frankfurt Airport in Kelsterbach where we were to meet the tour group with whom we were to visit the Ukraine. We had 2 days before meeting them to explore Frankfurt and Mainz.

The day we went to Mainz happened to be Ascension Day. We weren't used to Ascension Day being an important holiday, but apparently it is in Germany. Many things in Mainz were closed, but we had an enjoyable day exploring this "city of fools" - at least, its sculptures celebrating Carnival and its fools.

St Stephan's Church was one of the highlights of our entire trip. It was built between 1260 and 1340 but had been gravely damaged during World War II. During its reconstruction Marc Chagall created some magnificent stained glass windows - his last major work before his death. They are intensely blue and bathe the church's interior in a very soft luminescent blue.

We got back to the hotel in time to meet our group and prepare for our morning flight to the Ukraine.