Day 12 - Last Full Day in Germany

 Burg Nanstein Castle

     We are in slowdown mode here in Germany. Getting up late, having breakfast and watching a little Friends on DVD. Around 11:00 a.m. we headed out to see a castle. The temperature was 27 degrees and frost was everywhere.  A fog had settled in that has remained into the evening. 

View from top of the Castle - Can you see the Village?

     Driving through several small villages and a town we arrived at the foot of the hill where the castle was located. Aaron stepped on the gas as the car started to climb and wined up the hill. Arriving at the top we saw one couple appearing around the corner of the castle. So we figured it was open. I took a number of photos as we circled the castle. Our plans were to eat there at the castle but we discovered that both the castle and restaurant were closed until Sunday. Maybe the biggest disappointment was the fog which made it impossible to see the bottom of the hill and surrounding villages. 

Burg Nanstein Castle

     From the castle we headed back to Ramstein Air Force base that we visited on our first day in Germany. For lunch we made a stop where Aaron and Sara often eat to remind them of the States, good ole Chili's. Then we headed to the BX. I need to correct an earlier post. I learned today that when you are on an Air Force base the mall (place to get goods) is called the BX. When on a Army base it's called a PX.  At the BX we picked up a few more gifts and then we drove to Aaron's base where he was required to sign in today marking the end of his official vacation. While on the base he drove us around and showed us his workplace. 

Aaron's Place of Employment

     We then headed home so Pam and I could meet the challenge of packing.  It's going to be a challenge. Coming over we had 3 bags that needed to be checked in. One bag was carrying the odds and ends of super hero characters I had picked up for Aaron over the past few months. We thought the extra bag was going to cost us somewhere between 25 to 35 dollars. However, the charge was 100.00. So our goal is to reduce our bags down to 2. I was able to fit the third bag into one of our larger bags. Now, we have to fit all the clothes we brought plus the tons of gifts that have been purchased. We did decided to mail a few of those gifts back instead of attempting to fit them in our already overcrowded bags.

     Once we have the suitcases ready our plan is to load them in the car these evening. Then just hang around the house until dinner when we will head out for our last dinner in Germany. Sara and Aaron want to take us to  Brauhaus.

     We need to be at Frankfurt airport early so sounds like we will be up around 5 a.m. and out the door by 6 a.m. 

REMEMBER - you can click on most photos to get larger images.