Day 58: Visiting with the Samfasses (9/8/2010)

Davin and I woke up around 9:30am. Wilma helped us get our breakfast of english muffins and frosted mini wheats. Then we packed up and brought our bags downstairs. Bastian had forgotten to bring his cell phone home with him so we had no way to contact him. However, we didn’t have to wait long before he showed up at the house.

We packed our things into Bastian’s car, and then the four of us went to visit the castle in Rimpar. The castle is where city hall is located and Wilma is on the city council and she occasionally gives castle tours, so she literally has the keys to the castle. The coolest part of our tour was being able to climb to the top of the castle tower. The view from up there was really nice.


Meanwhile, Bastian went to pick up Katarina. Then they met us back at the castle. All of us drove into Wuerzburg and dropped Wilma off at work. Then we visited Thilo at his apartment. Thilo showed us around and we saw his girlfriend Lisa again. It was nice to see him. I took a picture of the brothers and their girlfriends to show my mom. It wasn’t long before Thilo had to set off for work, so we said goodbye and set off to tour to Residenz.




The Residenz was a very beautiful palace. The ceiling paintings were amazing. Unfortunately, pictures weren’t allowed. There was an interesting exhibit on the manufacture of tapestries. It was neat to learn how they were made in factories and could be purchased in pieces or several panels could be seamlessly combined into one.



When we finished our tour, we found a Doener place for lunch. It was really cheap and super delicious! The Doener shop was very close to Norbert’s work place, so we stopped by really quick so I could take his picture. (I forgot to do it the night before.)


Next Bastian dropped me and Davion off at Nautiland, an indoor/outdoor swimming pool that Davin and I remember from previous visits. It was about 4:30pm when we arrived there. It was pretty cheap to get in, 4.50 Euros for the day. Inside we went on the water slide and the river current. It was all really lame compared to our grand childhood memories, but it’s kind of fun to have your illusions shattered. The slide was pretty slow and unimpressive, and the river current just doesn’t have as strong an effect on you once you’re an adult.

At 6pm, Bastian picked us up and brought us to the train station. We said our goodbyes and made it on the 6:36pm train back to Bayreuth. Davin and I chatted a bit, and I worked on the updates for the two hour train ride.

Dad and Jona picked us up from the train station at 9pm. Back at the house we scrounged up a dinner of leftovers, and then we spent the evening on our computers. I chatted with Scott of course, and went to bed a little after midnight.