Since we settled down in Germany, I barely had a chance to review photos or videos we recorded here. I personally consider it as a good sign. I wish we could pay more attention to and enjoy the magnificent moments we want to remember – what it means to be living.

Since summer break almost ends, I finally managed to put some clips we recorded in July and early August into this Vlog as part I. During weekdays, we usually do some house chores, make travel plans and of course review the trips we took before. For kids, they record those moments in their own travel journals. On weekends, We explore one or two new places as planned.

This way, we cherish the moments of picking fruits at a local farm, being surprised by the kindness of a stranger, watching our kids splashing in a fountain by the train station. The feel of living stays with us while also makes us realize how quickly we all have grown.

Frankfurt

Frankfurt is a global hub for commerce, culture, education, tourism and transportation (it is the primary hub for Lufthansa airline). Luckily, we are just half an hour train ride from that big city. There, we visited Goethe House and a few other landmarks.

Goethe was born and raised in this house until his youth. Here, he wrote his early works, poems, plays including first version of “Faust”, and many more… We did not read any of his books but the title of his famous work, “The Sorrow of Young Werther”, carries his fame way back to my teenager years. One interesting thing we just found that, If you don’t speak German, it’s not at all obvious how you are supposed to say his name. A safe bet is to start with a hard g on ‘Ger…’ and end with a ‘ter’: Ger-ter. Surprisingly, my mother tongue mimics such sound. In Chinese, we say his name “Ge-de” (“歌德“), which is quite accurate!

And Just a few minutes of walk, we went to Römerberg. Historical timber-framed buildings (“Fachwerkhaus” in German) surround the square as in the past. In the center of Römerberg, stands the Fountain of Justice. The fountain played an important part in the olden Roman emperor days, when large public festivals were held here like Coronation. 

Wiesbaden

As the capital of Hesse state, Wiesbaden is home to a number of interesting historical sites and is located just across the Rhine River from us. Baden means bath in German. The name of Wiesbaden stems from Roman language means taking a bath in meadow. So you can guess, Wiesbaden is famous for its hot springs. And the Kurhaus is Wiesbaden’s main spa center – a glorious neoclassical building with a distinctive metal and glass dome.

At the foot of the Neroberg hill, there is one and only functional railway in the world that still uses water ballast as a propulsion system. There are two trains operating simultaneously, an uphill one and a downhill one. Water is pumped into the downhill train at the hill top to make it heavier than the one at the bottom. As the downhill train descends the slope, a steel cable pulls the uphill car to the top. Then the water is drained and pumped back to the car at the top of the hill.

Idstein – Bad Camberg

Idstein and Bad Camberg are located 40 minutes train ride from Frankfurt. They are actually closer to Wiesbaden by car, if you prefer. The special thing about these two small towns is their well-preserved historical Fachwerkhaus in the old towns.

The buildings there are magnificent with elaborately carved details outside. There are also a couple of Leaning Houses, built in 18th century, which thanks to extensive renovation, only gives the impression from outside that they are about to tip over. We visited the most famous building called Witch Tower at the old town of Idstein. Below the tower is a miniature garden that feels like “Alice in Wonderland”. Not sure if it is widely recognized, but we just call Idstein a ” fairy town”.

Bad Camberg is further north by a few train stops from Idstein. There, We caught an early Oktoberfest in Bad Camberg. People gathered around from nearby towns. Usually Oktoberfest will start in September but it does not hurt to just fill a Sunday afternoon with music, beer, and fun. For us, beer and Ice cream was good enough for the fun gathering. Obviously kids got more excited in the fountain instead.

Ingelheim

Ingelheim may not be as popular as other cities in Germany, but in my opinion is truly a gem worth a visit. We just spent a Friday afternoon there after kids’ school.

Nestled along the Rhein river, Ingelheim and its surrounding area is characterized by its ideal condition to grow grapes for red wine. It looks back at a wine making tradition that spans two thousand years. It’s a pleasure strolling through the small alleys covered with rows of vines.

Heidelberg

Since we missed a train in the morning, we didn’t have time to fully explore this historic city. We spent most of the time in the Heidelberg castle. But it is a city more amazing than these pictures can display – we will catch up more in part II.

Heidelberg lies at the point where the Neckar river merges into the Rhine plain. The city offers plenty of sightseeing: stroll through the charming old town and across the bridge to climb the Heidelberg Castle – the 16^thcentury castle is one of the best examples of German Renaissance architecture. By saying castle, it is actually a castle ruin. After its destruction by the French, it has remained the largest and most picturesque ruin in Germany. We reach to its top by the Bergbahn, a funicular railway running up and down the hill. It is quite a view from the ruins to oversee the whole city.

About Living in Here

Before leaving Colorado, I had plenty of time wondering about travel life – especially when so many of us are looking forward to a time where we can leave our masks behind, hug our grandparents instead of facetime, hop on a plane with an ease, and sit down for a get-together dinner with friends again. The fact is, even though some of them are still hanging on my list, we came to appreciate many unexpected and meaningful things.

When travel plans become main entries in the calendar, it feels more and more like living. Over the past months, I am sort of able to understand why.

When traveling, we become more patient observers of this world with awe. We are gifted with more chances and time to connect to a new place. To embrace new ways of life, we also have to overcome some culture shocks. Lack of air conditioning here in Germany may be one of the hardest challenges during summer. Switching from car to public transportation may be another. By taking a lot of buses, trams, trains and walking, we started to appreciate the beauty of interacting with more people and the slower pace of life. 

Despite of some culture differences, we also see how similar we are as humans, across the entire earth. We had experience of getting rigidly fined just because we had hopped onto a wrong train. We got experience of missing a bus by a couple of seconds (the driver won’t open the door once it is closed and they will teach you a lesson by pointing his watch). We were gifted hand-woven butterflies from a nice old lady that we just become acquainted with on a bus. Besides the stereotypes of being strict about rules, and being punctuate, we also feel a keen sense of community and friendly heart underneath German’s cool armed appearance.

During traveling, we try to live a simple life. I would wear the same T-shirt for a couple of days. I recycled a yogurt glass jar as my drinking bottle and knitted fluffy toys for the kids. We decorated our rental home with our own paintings. Most of the time, we just have four backpacks with us, each on our own back – each bring our own necessary stuff including clothes, gears and accessories. For us, A light backpack is key to a satisfying trip.

When traveling, we learned how to savor any moment we are in. Instead of getting furious of missing the scheduled cruise, we just sat by the Rhein river bank watching the water ebb along, and enjoyed a Thai meal. Since we are fully aware of how fleeting our time is and we may never be here again, we better be positive and turn the travel to a chance that provides us with a lifetime of memories. Indeed, it feels amazing.