Wilkommen!

We spent two solid days in Iceland, and I've only posted about one, but we've already been in Germany for over a week. With a once-weekly post schedule, I'll get way  behind pretty fast if I give you all the details instead of the highlights.

Here's my solution: highlights now, details later, when my life is a little less interesting, and I have a real keyboard.

Welcome to Germany! We stayed with The Girl's cousin for the first two days. He showed us Erbach, Michelstadt, and he happens to be a hobby pilot, so we GOT TO GO UP IN HIS PLANE AND I TOTALLY FLEW IT!!

Erbach Castle was home to a local duke. When it was built, they incorporated this tower of the old fortress. 

I didn't crash or anything! He said I was a natural! ...he may have been being polite.

don't worry: he had the controls when I took pictures.

The old town hall of Michelstadt (back side)

Decorative tile on Elefanthaus.

Sunday night we moved to her aunt's place for a few days. They live in a little village in the countryside, surrounded by fields. The house is right at the edge of one of those fields, and I spent a lot of time during our visit watching a hawk who patrolled that field.

The fields are owned and worked by farmers, but they allow people to walk along the paths between them. The Girl and I spent a lazy afternoon wandering along those paths, passing through small wooded sections, and walking through another nearby village. From one of the numerous hunting platforms, I spotted a fox, but my zoom lens was insufficient to the task.

Germany needs more predators. This mouse has zero fight-or-flight response.

A quaint German country village, with towering crane and a Thunderdome.

That afternoon, we visited an old Roman watchtower.  It has been rebuilt near its original site along the ancient Roman limes (an earthen battlement stretching across Europe).

A cluster of chainsaw carvings stands guard outside the tower.

Many more German adventures await, but that's all I have time to report tonight!

airport security

SFO is a poorly organized airport.  Recently, while flying USAir for the very last time, ever, I had to change terminals in SFO which means going through security a second time, because they like to minimize your chances of making a connection.  On the way back from winter holidays, I carried two very full carry-on items, and I wore a vest Dad gave for Christmas, replete with pockets.  Stored within these various parcels I carried, among other, less interesting things:

• a titanium spork
• a queen-sized quilt
• a handful of Legos (this is actually more standard than you might believe)
• some dried fruit and a quart-sized Ziploc bag of deer jerky (in vest pockets)
• a climbing harness, climbing shoes, and belay device with carabiner
• a kite with a wingspan over seven feet. (these last two items are also more standard than you might believe)

However, the reason the screeners stopped me and went through my vest pockets was this:

"Are you carrying a frog?"  "Yes.  Not that pocket.  On the inside.  That one."  A blue-gloved hand turned, showed it to the young lady watching the monitor screen, and after they had both nodded, satisfied, the frog was returned to me and I continued on my way.  Must have been a slow night at SFO.