WE'VE ARRIVED AT THE "GRAPE ON THE LAKE"!

Mike and I drove to LAX Wednesday afternoon to begin our trip to Germany. Mike is working in Friedrichshafen for a little more than a month, and I am here for 2 1/2 weeks for vacation! Yahoo!

We were surprised to see a lot of news vans from various TV stations parked outside the international terminal and wondered what was going on inside. We saw some news teams setting up cameras but never found out what was going on.

Mike had a 5:30 pm flight on American, and I had a 7:30 pm flight on Swiss. Mike's flight left on time, and he flew to London. I left on time as well, and flew directly to Zurich. We both got in late, due to the weather systems over the east coast. Didn't matter for me, but Mike almost missed his connecting flight to Zurich. He made it, but his bags didn't. We met up in Zurich, and were greeted by some COLD weather, which was certainly expected for February in Europe. The "schnee" was falling, and it was -4C, about 24 degrees farenheit. Cold for a California girl! After Mike filled out all the necessary paperwork for his missing bags, we got in his rental car and headed for Germany. It was about 6:00 pm Zurich time, and we hit a lot of rush hour traffic. The highway was packed. It took us quite a long time to get to Konstanz to catch the ferry across the Bodensee into Germany.

When we finally got to Konstanz we were surprised to see people wandering all over the town in nightshirts and various costumes. I remembered then, that it was the beginning of "Fasching", the German equivalent of Mardi Gras: wild partying before Lent begins! It is a celebration of two things, the ceremonial driving out of the "evil spirits of winter", and the beginning of Lent and the fasting time. According to tradition, 3 and 1/2 weeks before Ash Wednesday the townspeople gather at night in their nightshirts to "wake up the Schalk". He is kind of a court jester type of person that begins and ends the Fasching celebrations. We are planning to go to Munich this weekend, so will no doubt see more of the Fasching festivities.

We stopped at a McDonalds (a quick alternative to a long, delicious German dinner) for some food, and then got lost trying to find the ferry in Konstanz. We drove around quite awhile following a few widely spaced signs that showed a picture of a car riding on a boat.   We finally found the terminal, and the ferry.  It was loading when we arrived, so we didn't have a long wait.

From the other side of the pond we drove fairly quicky into Friedrichshafen to our hotel:   The Traube am See. Translated, this means Grape on the Lake. I thought that was pretty funny, hence the name of this post.

I was cold, so immediately bundled up in the comforter from the bed to get warm. I have a feeling I may be shivering for the next 2 1/2 weeks. There is a very good reason that I live in the desert! 

This morning I slept until 9 am (heaven!) and then had breakfast in the hotel. Mike was at work already, so I decided to keep myself busy by taking a walk.  Here is the beginning of the "Wanderweg".

Oh, doesn't the Bodensee look cold?  I can't imagine how the swans and ducks that were sitting in the water could stand it!!

I took this last picture for my  daughter-in-law, Stacy; and also for my cousin, Marcia!  They both love wandering around old cemeteries as much as I do!

When Mike gets home tonight, I imagine that we'll go out for dinner with his friends from work, and then get a good night's sleep.  For now, I think I'll read a book all afternoon and then take a nap!  Wow, I could get used to this laziness quite quickly!  Tune in again tomorrow for the Munich adventures, and the move to our apartment, Mike's home for the next 4 1/2 weeks.