We could sleep in!! Yay!!! The hotel was happy to have us for another night, but not at the cheap rate we had, of course, that could only be had over the internet, I suppose we could have logged on to their free internet and booked it but they would have noticed. We then tried to contact Hertz to get the car for an extra day. Wasn't that a challenge!! Many phone calls and internet searches later we had the following information: If your car is one day late back, it is not a problem, two days late and they ring you, three days late and they call the police!! So we could ahve the car without any problem, just make sure it was back on the second day. We also eventually got onto Hertz Paris and confirmed that we were booking it for an extra day. I didn't want Andrew being locked up when he returned the car late.
We went in to see Mel and took the washing back. Yay! the laundry was open and we did the washing, as well as Andrew's and Mel's. Breakfast was in a little cafe next door to the laundry, nice pastries and coffee. Mel had not been well the night before and had deteriorated somewhat overnight so we sent her to bed for the day and finished off the washing. She was a brave soldier for a little while, but was definitely struggling to stay upright.
We then decided to head to Heidelberg to see the castle. What a beautiful little place with the Rhine river running through it. The old part of twon was beautiful with cobbled streets and little market stalls scattered everywhere there was a space. The old bridge was beautiful and there was a wedding in the church with the bells tolling their congratulations. We stopped in the market to get lunch of Bar B Qued sausage with a bread roll. It was a serious sized Bar B Que and the sausage were fed into a machine which sliced them with the turn of a handle. You were given your sausage slices in a little paper bowl, covered in tomato sauce and curry powder. Your bread roll was separate. It was pouring rain, so we ate under the eaves of the nearest building trying not to drown in the heavy shower and hail stones.
After lunch we boarded the cable train to journey up the hill and explore the castle. What an amazing sight, the biggest wine barrel you could imagine, but wait a minute in the next room, there is one even bigger. Oh my god! what a party you could have with that much wine. It was so big you could climb the stairs and go to the platform above to see it. We worked out it was about 22 foot in diameter. We partook of a glass of wine, not from the barrel, and continued our exploring. Across the castle was an apothecary museum. Very interesting as well, although some of the instruments and ingredients were a bit scary. A short stroll down the hill and a llittle more exploring and photo taking before we headed back to Frankfurt and Mel.
Mel felt a little better, so we ventured out for dinner and found a little local hotel that served lovely food and was very quiet. It was a delicious last night, we were relaxed and happy to spend it just enjoying the company of Andrew and Mel before we had to leave. We said a sad farewell to Mel and headed back to the Motel to pack again ready for departure tomorrow. This time it was the right day. At least we had clean clothes to wear and they packed better than dirty ones.
We got up next morning, finished packing and checked out. Andrew drove us to the airport and we bid him a teary and sad farewell, I didn't want to leave him, but of course, I had to be brave and go. As airports go Frankfurt is ordinary and the food choices limited so we had to descend to Maccas for breakfast while we waited for our flight. Our holiday was really over and we had to go home. We would have liked to have stayed longer and we will have to go back, we had such a fantastic time. We had a great trip home and it was lovley to have Noelene meet us at Tullamarine and drive us home. We were tired, happy to be back on solid ground, but sad that our holiday that we had spent so much time planning, and enjoyed so much was over.
