Wednesday
In the late afternoon we went for a longish walk (about an hour) along the Rhine River. It was cold and windy but very enjoyable. We hope to walk all the way to Bonn sometime soon, which would be about 3 miles. Then we can take the tram back!
Boats, ducks, and the village of Mondorf in the distance
Part of the extensive network of walking and biking paths across Germany.
Warning: road ends, rather abruptly.
We walked as far as the Mondorf ferry, a friendly and simple affair that takes cars and people back and forth across the river.
David and a very large swan. I'm bummed about the blur - our little camera doesn't do very well in low light.
Thursday
Thursday we went into Bonn to get David some shoes and have another look around. We didn't stay long since it poured rain almost the entire time, but we made time to eat hot pretzels from the Christmas market, see Beethoven's house (just the outside), and pick out some good shoes at the Karstadt department store.
Rainy day at the Bonn Christmas Market. Note city gate or something on the left - we haven't learned what that is yet.
The house where Beethoven was born.
Sign in a department store window reminding shoppers that December 6th is St. Nicholas' Day. In Germany, St. Nick visits on December 6 instead of Christmas.
Today
Today I got some housework and web work done and went for a river walk all by my lonesome. After a very stormy start, today was quite sunny and I really enjoyed my walk.
The path, which I had all to myself nearly the entire time.
No swimming, by order of the Burgermeister (mayor)
A nice little beach
A few minutes ago, my doorbell rang and I couldn't figure who it could possibly be! At the door was a man in an orange reflective suit who said something to me in German. (They have a habit of doing that here.) I asked if he spoke English by any chance, he said no, I said I speak a tiny bit of German, and then as a solution he pulled out a note from his pocket and gave it to me. This I could read, fortunately, and it said, "We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Your Garbagemen."
So I said "Ah! Danke." Then I didn't know what else to do so I bid him Auf Wiedersehen and went to close the door, but he indicated through pointing and a sentence that included the word Frau that he was waiting for my landlady to come back to the door. I suspect that it must be customary to give him a Christmas tip. More cultural learnings.
Meanwhile, David has driven through four countries today and is safely in his Dover hotel now. Unfortunately his drive was stormy and chaotic for most of the way, but became calmer in Belgium. He successfully went through passport control at the port, although the agent did notice he has an expired entry visa for the UK. David said he would only be in England for a few days to return the car, and the man seemed satisfied. We were a tiny bit worried they wouldn't let him back in, so that's a relief!
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