My Adventures Along the Rhine

The good times and overall love fest just kept rolling for us as we flew into Germany. For this leg of the trip we flew into Frankfurt rented a car and drove to our “home” base in Koblenz. In route we got a taste of the beautiful German countryside. Perhaps it is because I live in the Mid-West of the US, but I am a sucker for rolling hills and the small German villages that are planted along them. I think I must have said, “Wow” to my wife at least a couple of dozen times in the first half hour.

This was a notable trip for my better half though. One of these small German country towns is called Dillhausen, and it is the genuine “Motherland” of my wife. Before immigrating and finding their way to the US, this is the very town that one side of my wife’s family used to call home. Here’s a lovely picture of my wife with Dillhausen in the background. Honestly this is one of my favorite pictures from the trip because it’s the past meeting the present and coming full circle.

When finally reaching Koblenz we were greeted with an unexpected, unbelievable and blessed surprise. We had found out upon checking into our hotel that our accommodations while we were in Germany had been taken care of. So here we were with our expenses planned out and our budget set, and God and our friends are screaming at me to HAVE FUN. The message was clearly received. My wife and I were (and still very much are) incredible grateful at the generosity of these friends in particular, and words alone cannot express our thanks and love.

With that set we met up with a family friend of my wife’s. This particular gentleman worked with my father-in-law and served during his working years as a senior executive for a company that is a leading global supplier of technology and services. If I said the company name here, trust me, you would know it. This particular family friend and his wife lovingly took on the roles of tour guide and showed us some incredible places along the Rhine.

Our first day was highlighted with a cable car ride up a mountain for some awesome photo ops. Since I feel that I’ve been typing for a bit, here’s some eye candy ;)

Our second day was just as incredible. We drove along the Rhine for castle and church hunting, as well as taking a ferry boat across this wonderful German river. The sights, sounds, food and wine were all absolutely incredible. I mean we just don’t have sights like this here in the States and I feel privileged to have been able to take these sights in with my own eyes. And the beer I think I can sum up in three hopefully non-sacrilege words: OH…MY…GOD!! The local pilsners out in Germany are soooooo much better than any microbrew I have tasted state side. I mean wow, those Germans know damn well what they are doing :) Here’s a few of my favorite pictures we took along the way.

I definitely loved Germany a lot more than I anticipated. And apart from the beauty and history of the area, the biggest piece of that was the company that we were with along the way. My wife’s family friend and his wife are the sweetest, most intelligent and incredible couple I think I have ever met in my life. I mean I want to be this guy when I grow up. He speaks several languages fluently, was (and in my opinion still very much IS) a leader, innovator and visionary in the field that he planted his career in. And to top it off this couple has a heart of gold. I mean this guy, in addition to his career, served as a speaker and lecturer at universities and GAVE his salary away for charitable causes. That my friends, is why God calls us as believers to take dominion over money and finances, so that we can do our part to bless and change the world with God’s resources.

We wined, we dined, we shared laughs and took in the best of the best together of what Germany has to offer. And when we said goodbye it was heartfelt and genuine. I felt a flood of emotions come upon me and found myself wiping away tears as if I was saying Auf Wiedersehen to my very own beloved grandparents. And I looked over to my wife and say just as many, if not more, tears streaming down her face. We loved our visit to Germany, and we loved the company we shared it with even more.