Special Symbols in Frankfurt...

As we crossed the bridge towards the historic center, we encountered yet more locks of love.

 This one was enormous.

Just like in Paris, some folks just don’t understand the concept and used combination locks.

It’s not everyday that you see a rabbi climb aboard a lift so he can put the electric lights on a giant menorah in a city that once would have persecuted Jews.

Frankfurt’s Skyline...

The following day Melissa dropped us off at the station so we could catch a train to Frankfurt. We didn’t have any specific plans; we’d just never been there and wanted to wander around.

After an amazing lunch at Vevay, a vegan café, we walked across a bridge and along the river towards the historic center.

Along the way we noticed a lot of cranes, which made good perches for birds.

After being severely bombed during World War II, Frankfurt was rebuilt and is now home to 14 out of 15 of Germany’s skyscrapers.

It is one of the world’s most important financial centers, including being home to the European Central Bank which sets monetary policy for the Eurozone.

Kassel Christmas Market...

The Christmas market was fairly small, but it was fun walking around, snacking on latkes and drinking gluhwein.

Melissa really spoiled us at her house each evening with a delicious vegan meal, which made Ashlynn very happy.

In Honor of Kassel...

While planning our trip, I researched which German Christmas markets in the Frankfurt area stayed open after Christmas. The decision on where to go was easy when I discovered that one of the cities was Kassel (you might recall that was the name of our friends’ son whose death prompted our first visit and eventual relocation to the Netherlands).

 There was a crazy mural near the parking garage in the city center.

A German Monastery...

The following day Ashlynn joined us for our outing which began at the Kreuzberg Monastery. 

While we did take a quick look at the main chapel, our real purpose was to try some of the monastery’s beer. The monks started brewing beer here in 1731, but handed over the duties to laypersons under their supervision in 1992. The beer was quite tasty, so we bought a special glass beer jug called a growler full of seasonal beer.

On the way down the mountain, Melissa had Pieter pull over to her favorite photo spot.

Niederwald Landscape Park...

 At the top of the hill was the Niederwald Landscape Park.

We ran into some Americans who took this group photo.

This is the Niederwalddenkmal, a monument completed in 1883 to commemorate the unification of Germany after the Franco-Prussian War. On the left side peace is depicted, while on the right is war.

Jimmy decided to walk directly through the vineyards rather than along the path and Kati joined him.

 That is, she joined him for awhile. Eventually she ran back to me.

She was quite a daredevil throughout the walk. I was happy to capture this shot of her scaling a stone wall to join Veronica.

Rudesheim am Rhine...

After our tour of the army base, Pieter drove us to Rudesheim am Rhine, a charming town where we had lunch.

After lunch, we set off on a walk through the vineyards above the town...

...with nice views of the Rhine River.

The weather was very mild for late December, which was perfect for our walk.

Kati was ecstatic to have a new place to run free. She probably felt like a queen since the beagles were left at home.