First Balencie Clan Visitors!

The first Balencie clan members finally made their way over the pond!  My parents!  The anticipation leading up to their arrival was about to kill the girls!  They literally counted the days and kept asking "are Mimi and Papa on the plane yet?".  The day of their arrival finally came and they were allowed to nap for a couple of hours before we got busy.  Their first stop was to (what else) a German fest!  Our neighboring town was hosting their annual Spargel fest and we thought that would be a good place to break-in our guests.  Unfortunately, no one remembered to bring their camera, but a good time was had by all.  We enjoyed some traditional German fare such as flammkuchen, wurst, and of course, beer.  Amazingly, we managed to avoid actually eating spargel at the Spargel Fest.  That was a disappointment.  However, we will be sure to eat some before my parents head back home!

The next day, we made our way over to Speyer which is a great little town about 20 minutes from us.  What a great day!

You can barely make out mom and dad in the entrance to the Speyer Dom.

Mom and Taryn in the Speyer Dom.

In front of a medieval tower in Speyer.

View from the top of the tower.  Dom in background.

Dad and Taryn on top of the tower with the Memorial Church in the distance.

Mom and Leena in the Post Platz.  Old post office on the left and the tower on the right.

A great lunch!  Dad was entertaining the waiter with his German!

After a full day of sight-seeing, we still managed to find time for a June birthday (my mom and Greg)/Father's Day bbq celebration with our good friends Silke, Stefan, Sarah, and Tom.  It was a great evening!

 

No rest for the weary.... the following day, we took in some of the sights in Heidelberg.  We started out with a walk down the Hauptstrasse and then went up to see the castle.  

Mom and the girls in front of the Hotel Ritter, one of the oldest buildings in Heidelberg.

Standing along the Hauptstrasse with the Heidelberg Castle above.

On the Bergbahn on our way to the castle!

At the Heidelberg Castle.



In the castle gardens with the castle behind and Old Town Heidelberg below.

Taryn made a fast friend (as usual) on the castle tour.

Dad in front of the famous wine barrel in the castle.  The biggest in the world!

On the castle terrace with the Neckar River below.

Leaving the castle.

Until our next adventure.....