The Springers came to visit!

A few weeks ago Rob's cousin Nathan and his wife Emily came to visit us. We had a great time talking with them and just hanging out.  It was especially fun for me to hear Emily talk about when she first met Rob and Nathan- long before I met Rob- and what he was like in college.

 

Just after they arrived we made a daytrip out to visit Burg Eltz.  This is one of my favorite castles in Germany, and I was so happy to go there one more time. The Eltz family has owned this castle since the 1100s... 33 generations!

 

Amelie got to come with us while the other kids were at school and she thought she was pretty hot stuff.  (Not that she isn't.)

 

One of my favorite parts of visiting this castle is the walk through the woods from the parking area.  (There is a shuttle option, but I love the walk.) It's like, "oh, we're just on a little trail in the woods" and then "WOW!  Fairytale castle!" I just never get tired of that.

 

We took a lot of photos of the castle from the walking trail, because it is just so pretty.

 

Nate and Emily. 

The light was behind them, which obviously wasn't ideal, but they were super cute. 

 

And one cousin photo too!

 

Ohhh, Germany.

 

After our day at Burg Eltz, Nate and Emily took off to go visit Munich and around that area on their own.  But they came back at the end of the week so that Rob and Nathan could go do something together. While they were occupied elsewhere, I got a babysitter, and Emily and I went to an indoor pool/spa type place in Darmstadt called the Jugendstilbad, out for lunch, and then took a walk around downtown Wiesbaden. It was a lovely laid back day with great company.

 

 

Meanwhile, Rob and Nathan went to the Nürburgring for a very not laid back day.

 

They took a tour of the roughly 13 mile European Grand Prix track with a professional race car driver who explained how to approach the difficult sections and the correct "line."

 

 

Then they rented cars (BMW for Rob; for some reason our minivan and pick-up truck weren't high on his list of dream race cars) and each raced four laps around the track.  There are hills, blind corners, and people can drive any type of car out there that they want to. Rob said it was madness and the track was closed four times during their time there to clear accidents from the track. I'm glad they wore helmets, and that I wasn't there to see it.

 

At some point they realized they'd have more fun if they were each other's passenger, so they got to spend more time there. (I'm hoping they are parked in this photo and that is why Rob's helmet isn't on.) They also had lunch, and enjoyed talking with their driving instructor, and hearing stories about the worst drivers he's seen there. It was a bucket list experience for sure and I'm glad these two got to share it together.