The Auto-WHAT?!

August 3-4 :We're off to Germany

First stop: Schaffhausen in Switzerland - love that the Bay windows and paintings  on the buildings were so ornate and beautiful. 

Autobahn: WOW!!! Why doesn’t 160km/hr feel that ludicrous?! I can confirm that 200km/h IS Ludicrous!!! Passing cars was extraordinary and scary!!! It is amazing how fast the kilometres go by at that speed!! The rest of my racing crew was smart to hit the gas when I was asleep - I was white knuckling the car door handle in the back seat when I was awake!!!

For this road trip, I pulled out some of the treats that I brought back from Canada. The fuzzy peaches were a hit with the gang, and they definitely survived better than the chocolate we brought!! The chocolate ended up in a melted chunk - rest assured, we let it cool and enjoyed it from the fridge when we were back from our trip!

Tübingen: to the castle that is now a university (and perhaps was back then?) where we stepped into the laboratory where DNA was discovered in 1869 by Friedrich Miescher! I totally geeked out - truly, I am in awe that I was there! In my next life I am going to go into science instead of accounting! We had to be fast, since we were heading to the AMG factory tour, and there was no way we could be late for that! Construction on the highway meant that we couldn’t benefit from kilometres of unlimited speed limit!!!

The castle was up on a hill, overlooking the area of beautiful countryside, slanted roofs, and vineyards. It was a trek up in the 35c heat and we were thankful that there was some shade in the cobblestone roads heading to the car. 

AMG Factory tour: saw the Formula 1 safety cars and medical cars in for service. They repair the cars every time they need to. 

Dinner was nearby the AMG factory. It was a deliciously traditional german restaurant with schnitzel bigger than the  size of my head! It was superb! So was the local white wine - I tried a Riesling since it was local.

Then on our way to Freiburg the navigation took us through a windy twisty route. Justin wanted to go faster, and said “let’s get slippery and autobahn this  shit”! 

We finally arrived in Freiburg at 9:30pm. Hot day and we are tuckered!! The hotel has no air conditioning and is at least 30c!! Ugh!!! 

It is interesting that even though we are about 150km from Baar, there is a noticeable difference - Town cleanliness, organization, etc. 

Saturday August 4, 2018

Freiburg, Germany: 

There was a market so close to our hotel and it was filled with fruits, veggies, meats, wood workers, wines, honey, and more... plus a couple musicians! 

We went for a walk up into the forest to get to a beautiful look out- well, the actual lookout was a spiral staircase that rose so high, and had a fabulous feature of wobbling when you were at the highest point!!! That was a tidbit only Sarah learned because she was the only one who went up!! We can’t wait to see her photos - I am sure hey are spectacular! 

It is so hot - it said 37.5c at one point. I mentioned already that this is the hottest summer in Switzerland since 1854! But all across Europe there is a heatwave now. And there is hardly a break at night. 

After the hike where we all sweated buckets and soaked through our clothes, we found a cafe. I am craving a coffee but I couldn’t do any more heat, so I enjoyed a smoothie, as did each of the girls. So cool and refreshing!!! Then back out into the heat to wander around before seeking refuge in the Air Conditioning of the car for the drive back to Switzerland . 

Sunday August 5, 2018

Justin had a great time going to the old car show that happens the first Sunday of each month in Zug. He went with Peter, who also loves cars.

The girls and I rested up for our afternoon adventure to Sisikon to watch the RedBull Cliff Diving competition!

It was so cool to be a part of that. There were floaties, boats, canoes, kayaks, dingies, paddle boards, and of course boats of all kinds, all crowded together to make a grandstand. We watched from on the shore, on  the docks (where we were under a sprinkler for some of it!), and from the water. The town of Sisikon has a population of 382, and during the cliff diving event there were over 8000 people!! Taking the train was super easy and we were there in less than 50 minutes.