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The trip covered the cities in the eastern Germany (Erfurt, Weimar, Dresden, Berlin and Potsdam), as well as those in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in the western Germany (Dusseldorf, Cologne, Aachen and Monschau).
It turned out to be particularly moving and thought- provoking for us all to visit the historical sites related to the World War II, such as the famous “Church of Our Lady” in Dresden, on which such a long restoration work has finally completed this year, the former concentration camp in Buchenwald, the Holocaust Memorial and remains of the Wall in Berlin.
In North Rhine-Westphalia we were based in Herdecke, Rainer’s hometown, and did a frew excursions to other cities. Chiko’s parents stayed in the same hotel as last time, when they visited Herdecke six years ago, so it was a perfect opportunity for them to reminisce about the wedding of their daughter... :)
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We spent the last few days of their stay to visit places not so far from Stuttgart.
One day we drove through the Black Forest to Freiburg, where we enjoyed walking on the cobbled streets in the nice old town and indulged ourselves with “Black Forest Gateau”, lovely cake made with chocolate, cherries, kirsch and plenty of whipped cream.
The last day was reserved for a visit to the Maulbronn Monastery Complex, which has been included on UNESCO World Heritage List since 1993.
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Although the weather was not always perfect, we managed to make most of time also in Stuttgart. Chiko’s parents took half a day walking through the city centre, enjoying its nice and cozy atmosphere. We were positively surprised that they also loved the local food, very different from Japanese one. They liked to hang around in our neighbourhood, too, and at least had some relaxasion together in our flat, sitting in the Japanese corner listening to the warter sound from our Japanese stone garden, which, of course, suitably impressed them.
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Click to find photos we took during our journey:
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