Dan's Rule Number 2237: Don't buy illegal weapons for visiting friends

I guess as a way of extending visits, violating this rule would be the way to go. But seeing BR's eyes light up at the sight of that mace in the shop in Rothenburg, there was no way that I could NOT buy it for him, so I did. Little did we know that they would get yanked off the plane in Frankfurt after their checked luggage was scanned. After having the crap scared out of them by German customs, they were told that this was "...all for nothing", and that they never should have been taken off of the plane. Oh well, they got one extra day here and also were able to sit outside and enjoy some more great beer as the temps soared into the 60's.

We headed to Strasbourg, France on the day they arrived and spent the day walking around, shopping, eating and haing a good time. We were haunted by a mysterious "pipe dude" that seeemed to show up everywhere. The next day we drove into the Black Forest and had a beer at a ski slope up in the mountains before driving back to Wiesbaden and finishing up the day doing some wine tasting on the Rhein.

Monday we headed to Munich, stopping in Rothenburg along the way (MACE!) and finished the day at the Hofbrauhaus where we met and hung out with some German guys from Berlin. Tuesday we headed south into the mountains and visited Castle Neuschwanstein and walked around Fussen a little. Wednesday was all about Munich as we took a city tour, did a lot of walking and took in the Bavarian show at the Hofbrauhaus.

Thursday, we departed Germany and drove into Austria on our way to Prague. We stopped in Salzburg along the way and got into Prague after a LONG drive through the Czech countryside. It probably would have been helpful to cinsult a map to see that there are no expressways from Salzburg to Prague. Who wouldda thunk it?

Friday was St. Patrick's Day so we hunted out an Irish Pub for a noon time Guiness befor walking around the city, shopping and taking in the sights. It was pretty cold and snowed throughout the day. It made for some beautiful pics.

Saturday we took the city tour, relaxed a little and had a great dinner at one of the nicest (and coolest) restaurants in all of Prague and starting looking back at all we had done.

Sunday, we drove back to Wiesbaden and the temp began to rise as we got near home. When we got back, people were outside and Spring had basically come while we were away. I loved that BR and Cory were able to see the city for all the reasons that we love it.

And then Monday came and we said goodbye - we thought...

Our time was way too short but it felt great to share our new life here with people that are very close to us. We miss you both very much already. I think having you guys here really made us realize both how great we have it and how much we really miss our friends and family in Michigan. We can't wait for you to come back again. While we saw so much in a short period of time, there is soo much more to see!

Enjoy the pics

D+K