So I went to the Celtic Corner again, and the owner was there.

They taught me a new dice game called shock…and it seemed I was going well until I had to buy everyone a round. Don’t know exactly how that happened, but I somehow ended up with all the coasters 🙁

Anyways…we’re going to take a work trip this morning…so I’m off.

I have to upload all my weekend photos and do that entry this evening. Maybe I’ll lay off the Guinness tonight to make that a probability.

Eberbach

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Most likely, I’m within 3km of wherever it is….but I never found it. Instead, I walked around the trails for about 3 hours and never found the ruins I was seeking. I need better GPS coordinates in the future…

It was a wonderful day to be out walking in the woods…and I came out at a few points into vineyards.

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But I never found anything really interesting…that was it for the ruins, and I’ve avoided searching for “ruins” again…I just don’t have the time to plan such a thing, and the TomTom isn’t really something I want to be carrying around telling me to “turn around” while I’m walking around. So I headed off to a castle that was real!   Even after reading more this week, I really don’t know where Eberbach castle ruins would have been… I think it was just a joke they play on people who trust in the internets.

Guttenburg

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So this was a real castle. And, they had a real bird show. Of course, the ticket folks don’t speak English so i paid for a bird show and a castle visit. I promptly ignored the bird show (on accident) and toured the castle.

It has a tour you’re able to climb all the way to the top of!

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Do I not look happy? I have this irrational fear of heights…and the old railing just wasn’t instilling a lot of confidence it would hold if I leaned over. I looked at the view…it was great. There was a nice cool breeze…and I notice this bird show below me… woops.

So I go to the bird show.

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I literally almost walked over this guy..while he was carrying the owl as I headed to a seat in the back row. It was a great show. Lots of birds. I was the only American, and main guy giving the show asked for an American as they had a bald eagle.

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He actually took the time to say a few things in English, and I am pretty sure I’m the only person in the entire audience who needs it. At any rate, it was a great show. They allow the birds to take off and soar about.

The birds come back…to their home! I had never seen “captive” birds allowed to just take off like that. At one point, they had 3 eagles of theres off flying around.

Go to Guttenburg. See the bird show.

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At the end of the show, you walk through more of the exterior of the castle and that’s where all the birds pens are at.

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When you’re done with that…head to Ettlingen, visit the Celtic Corner. Colorado Mike will serve you up some honest American English, and an Irish beer!

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Of course, if you’re me…the kitchen will be closed…so drink your beer and go get a Doner Kabob!

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and then go home and sleep…or go for a walk…whatever…that was last weekend!

I come home on 10-May…and I have more stuff to post and upload still from *this* weekend! I’ll get crack-a-lackin! Still need to find some chocolates that I’ve promised everyone, d’oh!

Back in Germany, I managed to get to Mannheim. I didn’t really have a plan for Mannheim..so I picked a park that the TomTom920 said I should go see. What did I have to loose?

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This was a realllly big park. At first, I didn’t figure out how to get inside the fence. I found a bunch of exits…no you couldn’t walk in them. So I probably wasted an hour as i wandered around outside the fence. Finally, I turned around and there was the entrance..about 20 feet from where I made a right turn. d’oh!

They had a neat gondola ride in the pond thing that was the length of the park. I bought a round trip ticket…and was kicked off at the far end.

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The sights from the boat ride..

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That was really it for the park. It was closing, and everyone was leaving. So I took a boat ride, which was very nice and relaxing after such a long walk around the exterior of the park… and a nice walk back where I entered.

As I was leaving, I crossed a cool bridge: [flickr]photo:2460205480[/flickr]

It was getting late, and I needed to hurry up a bit.

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Sorry, I couldn’t manage a picture at faster speeds…I tried, but it never worked out. Besides, I was getting passed..often…even at that speed.

Tchuse!

I visited another country! I didn’t even bring a passport, good thing no one asked for that.

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I went to Strasbourg, there’s a Cathedral there. And a famous clock! Apparently, the clock goes off at 12:30 and the figures move around. I got there about 20 minutes before 12:30…and staggered into the church. I then walked right up front. 2 euros, and worth every penny.

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The famous Astronomical clock! It’s really cool, and worth the price of admission. Why? Well, there’s the clock..and the entire church you get to explore. Plan and get there early, don’t just wander in like me…or do, it worked out for me.

The Cathedral is very nice. I enjoy stained glass [flickr]photo:2459363925[/flickr] and the church has it all over. The sunlight coming through it was great. There’s a nice alter, which you cannot walk up to. [flickr]photo:2460199128[/flickr]

Outside, when you are done with being in the Cathedral…you can take a tour on the tram. I enjoy anything in English I can find!

[flickr]photo:2460202700[/flickr] Minitram tours! good deal!

You get to see a lot of sights, and in the language you can understand. They drove all over, and explained a lot of the items along the way.

[flickr]photo:2460203222[/flickr] like this old building…

I enjoyed my time in Strasbourg. I got a bit los, and forgot where I parked for awhile. But…the steeple is tall, so, I found my way eventually.

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I paid the parking thing (which was English…) and got out! I sent probably half a day wandering around Strasbourg. On the way back I stopped at McDonalds and ordered the quarter ponder with cheese, medium fries and a coke. The guy next to the girl about died in laughter, and she was a deer caught in my American headlights. Obviously, she didn’t do the English. I got the Royal mit Pommes unt Coke…and I used the Herren Tolieten (which is why I really stopped…but the ordering was just too tempting.)

I have lots more pictures in Flickr, and I’ll do another post now that they’re uploaded!

Well, today I went and picked up my wash.  I got back almost everything.  2 lange Hosen fehlen.

What’s that mean you say…yeah, me to. Babel to the rescue! 2 long trousers are missing. I believe I was told to come back tomorrow to get them.  Most importantly..I have “whites” to wear.  So no commando for me! *whew*

Today I went looking for a lost castle, and, I didn’t find it. It’s supposedly only accessible by walking if you park in a spot. So I parked in the spot it said…and I walked around for about 3 hours. I never found no ruins. I found vineyards and a dog who growled at everything.

Pictures when I get around to it (aka tomorrow)

Then I went to a castle that I could find…and it was great! Guttenburg is recommended — they even made funny of the sole American in the audience. (That much I understood.)

Saturday I was in France and Baden Baden. Camera battery died for some reason, so..not that many pictures from Saturday…and I forgot how to get back to the car for a while Saturday – thankfully, the church is tall and I eventually meandered back.

I was going to go to Switzerland… but I think I’ll take a pass… it’s a long drive there, and I just don’t want to spend more then 1.5 hrs in a car one way.

Note…ordering a Quarter Pounder with cheese, medium fries and a coke could cause one or two people to burst into laughter as the poor girl behind the counter gets all deer in headlight’s on ya. Stick with Hamburger La Royal, Pommes unt Coke! (then gesture as to get a big coke…it works).

Today is Laundry Day…and it’s coming at a good time!

A co-worker searched and asked, and located one that’s very near work. (It’s in the “food” area from my maps.)  Another co-worker went with yesterday to translate and make sure it wasn’t just a dry cleaners. No one has found a self-service laundry….so…

This morning, I’ve packed up my whites, my darks, and my pants into separate bags.  I think it’s around 20kg’s of clothes to be washed.  I have no idea how much this will be…we’re going today after lunch to drop it all off.  Maybe I’ll get it back Monday… maybe not.  I only have 4 days of clean clothes left…this could get..smelly!

First up…the Technik Museum Speyer!

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See, there it is. Speyer. 12 euros to get in. 2 euros for a worthless English guide book (It’s a copy of their website…).

Speyer has collection of old vehicles. Cars, trains, motorcycles, airplanes, and boats. I was interested in the U9 submarine, Antonv AN22, & Boeing 747. I hadn’t been in any. They also had a model train area. I put in the 1 euro and all the kids loved it! The parents looked at me as if I had betrayed them as I’d seen one take out his wallet and shrug… it was worth it!

So here they are: Me on the wing of a Boeing 747 [flickr]photo:2431091305[/flickr]

and me inside the U9 [flickr]photo:2431092015[/flickr].
Subs aren’t built for tall, or wide, people.

The Antonv is huge! I took this picture peeking out the top observation bubble [flickr]photo:2431907652[/flickr]

Here you can see the Antonv just before I enter a Russian helicopter [flickr]photo:2431091561[/flickr]

I was at the Speyer for a few hours, and got lunch. No english speakers for lunch! I asked if I could see the things under the covers…and the lady was showing lots of soup. But at first I think she thought I insulted her, which if I did, I don’t really know. She said Brat mit Pommes and I said Ja!

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Can you believe they charge 0.30 Euros for a packet of Ketchup?! Me either, I got a couple anyway… The sausage was tastey, so was the Pepsi.

I found the pay station for parking before I left…as it was Frei when I got there. The other museum on the grounds wanted another entry fee…so I passed. All in all, I’d not recomend Speyer…there’s bigger and better musems. From Speyer I headed to Heidelberg Castle.

… of course, it took a while to figure out where the exit really was, I ended up finally parking and following someone else out after a few minutes. I really need some better German translation book…the one I have seems to be missing several key words.

Heidelberg Castel!

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Wait..that’s not a castle… that just marks where I’m parked…4 stories down, on a huge pedestrian walk way that was miles long. I had to have a reference photo in case I got lost. I drove around for probably 45 minutes before I found parking.

The Castle I’m going to: [flickr]2431095451[/flickr]
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It’s a long long walk up to the castle from where I was… I was obvisouly dased in this photo as I had another mile go go straight up. I’m not kidding, it’s up hill, it’s steap. Hnt: When you come to the sign for the Gardens or the Castle…skip the gardens…it’ll quadrupple your walk to the castle.
Here’s the view from one of the resting points up to the castle: [flickr]photo:2431093179[/flickr]
Proof that I made it, and paid my entry fee: [flickr]photo:2431093589[/flickr]
In the courtyard area [flickr]photo:2431093725[/flickr]
I paid 4 Euros for an English Tour, and it was very wrothwile.
I’m in the tour waiting room area…it has stuff to read in English! [flickr]photo:2431094313[/flickr] and things to look at and touch. (*I didn’t touch anything)
You cannot just wander about in the castle. The castle has some issues…it was destroyed, rebuilt, destroyed, rebuilt, burnt, being rebuilt…
On the tour, you visit the library [flickr]photo:2431910580[/flickr]
Notice the lack of walls and ceiling. As I said, its seen rough times.

In one of the halls outside the main rooms [flickr]photo:2431910836[/flickr]

This is an image of the gun powder tower [flickr]photo:2431095177[/flickr]
..the fire mixed pourly with the gun powder causing a devastating remodel moving half the tower…

From the Royal Gardens, over looking the town and Rhein below the castle grounds

[flickr]photo:2431911702[/flickr].

If you’ll notice the church steeples to the left…and on upper left corner…I was parked about a mile further up from that. (just short of that second bridge in the distance)

The “Royal Gardens” don’t have much garden. It’s more like grassy area with trees. I think in the future they should build up the gardens again and put whats in the mock ups into the garden. It would be nice, otherwise..the gardens offer a great view of the valley below.

That’s it for Heidelberg and my sunday! It was a great day, nice and warm.

I headed back to my hotel as it was getting late. Heidelberg isn’t that far away…but my car got to 103mpg finally. I think I’ll limit myself to 85mph…anything over that really doesn’t feel safe in my car.

On this day, in the year of our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-One…I graced this earth with my presence.

What do I want?

You…leave a comment.  That’s it.

For myself… I think I’ll work late and do a network upgrade, hurray!  Hey…is that a present for me, or the employer?!  dags!

I didn’t feel like walking all over Waldbronn tonight.  Also, apparently on Wednesday…the hotel resturaunt is closed.  I’m glad I arrived on a Thursady.  I would have been lost…

Ok, so Ettlingen…Ettlingen hasn’t been so good to me!  Here’s the site of my worst fall…[flickr]photo:2437200434[/flickr]

I had dinner at the place that was closed last time – Restaurant Portabello, and joked when I walked in if they were open.  They laughed, so they got the joke…I think.  I had a Salmon and Noodle in creamy tomao sauce. And a beer..because beer is 3 euros, a cola is 3.2 euros.  Tastey, yet again.

Then I just meandered about.  I remembered the Museum!  While it’s not open at night, the gates weren’t shut…

Why, what a lovely building!  I believe it was once a minor/small castle type building…

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What’s this?  The facade looks a bit interesting..

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HEY! Someone just PAINTED the thing! It’s totally flat.  It’s a good paint job..but..uh…I wonder why..

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That’s really it… I figure out the parking system.  From 07:00 to 19:00 it’s 2 hours of parking, and that’s why I have this wheel in my car…set the time, toss it on the dash – don’t cheat – and be back.  See, it’s all explained in clear German:

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At least it was Frei…and free!