Many of you know that Phil just spent two weeks working in Germany; you also know that Myrna got to go along, too (I *LOVE* his job!). :-) You have to know as well that I took a few pictures while we were gone.

The first one, above: Looking out the window of our aircraft at a plane identical to the United 777 we were on for our flight from Chicago to Frankfurt. We left O'Hare Airport Sunday evening, September 13th and arrived in Frankfurt eight hours later (it was 9:55 AM Monday when our plane arrived in Germany).

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On many flights, Phil enjoys playing with an electronic Sudoku game I purchased for him. The photo above was taken after our meal and before we took our Ambien for the long nap we would enjoy while in flight.

Above: The Autobahn! It may *look* like just a regular expressway, but riding/driving on it is a very different experience from anything in the United States. While there is a speed limit only at various & limited points on the roadway system, the continuous high speed is amazing. It was strange to drive so fast with no sense of guilt or fear of flashing red lights coming up behind! ha

German drivers are VERY considerate and actually exercise driving safety and "etiquette." The slower cars keep to the right; the left lane is only for those cars and motorcycles going very fast! In areas where there were three lanes, cars in the middle lane may have been going over 160 kilometers per hour (over 100 mph), all the while being passed up by cars flying by in the left lane! I videoed our speedometer showing 164 kph, and we were traveling with the rest of the traffic in the middle lane! :-) Let me say that we felt very safe the entire two weeks we were using the Autobahn.

Just a way to say Exit. :-)

Upon leaving Frankfurt, we drove southward about 1.5 hours to Karlsruhe, where we checked into the Renaissance Hotel. We would spend six nights in Karlsruhe. Phil drove each day to Rastatt, a 25-minute drive farther south, and worked at the offices of the IBM client, Maquet, manufacturer of all sorts of medical devices and equipment.

Renaissance Hotel lobby, Karlsruhe, Germany

Above and below: two interesting buildings, Karlsruhe

On Saturday, September 19th, we decided to leave Karlsruhe and go for a long drive. That drive took us over into Strasbourg, France; south from there to Basel, Switzerland; east to Zurich, Switzerland; north through the Black Forest to Stuttgardt; and northwest back to Karlsruhe. In all we were gone only about 8 eight hours. What a great little "day trip."

While in France, we stopped at a rest area. We were able to get one of our very favorite French treats which we've had many times in the past on trips to France: (dark) chocolate-filled croissants! Oh, my......just too wonderful for words!

The rest area in the French coutryside also had a huge, beautifully designed vegetable garden and lots of flowers. I found a very busy bee frantically drinking nectar from a delicate white rose blossom.

And, oh, did we enjoy the magnificent dance of the butterfly (or moth??) above as "she" also busily drank nectar from the tiny deep lavender blooms. She turned every which way so that I could get pictures of her from every angle possible. :-)

Traveling in Switzerland

Huge rest stop/shopping mall over Swiss roadway

Fun with my camera in a Swiss tunnel :-)

Construction *everywhere* in Zurich!

Street, Rastatt, Germany

Rastatt, Germany

Phil by our rental car, Rastatt, Germany

German restaurant where we had weiner schnitzel made with "meat of the pig" because, according to our waitress in her limited English, "Today there is no meat of the cow; only meat of the pig." :-)

Palace, Rastatt, Germany

Palace grounds, Rastatt, Germany

Palace grounds, Rastatt, Germany

Palace, Rastatt, Germany

Street in Germany

(Many of the photos, such as these four, I took while we were driving.)

Street in Germany

Street in Germany

German home with flower boxes

Sunday morning, September 20th, we left Karlsruhe, and after Phil took me to see the palace in Rastatt (where Maquet is located), we drove southeast about 15 minutes from Rastatt to Baden-Baden and checked into the hotel where we would spend the rest of our time in Germany. Once we had our things settled in the hotel room, we drove about 60 kilometers farther southeastward into Germany's famous Black Forest. It was a beautiful drive along a two-lane and often winding road. There were a few spots where we were able to stop so that I could capture a picture, such as above. There were bushes filled with red berries, and the dark evergreens provided a lush background for the color of the berry-laden bushes.

View of mountains within the Black Forest, Germany

Black Forest, Germany

Black Forest, Germany

Cute cars we saw on the roadways

The above adorable and sporty little roadster is a Ford product! Have you seen anything like it in the States? We haven't....but we'd love to!

Purple and red fancy three-wheelers driving through the Black Forest ahead of us.

We drove through the Black Forest about 60 kilometers southeastward from Baden-Baden, and our "turnaround town" was Freudenstadt. Once we reached the center of town, we discovered a beautiful town center with fountains and flowers. Across the street from the plaza-type area was the large building with flower boxes wrapping entirely around it.