A 25-mile Bike Ride Along the Wupper River, Wuppertal, Germany

Tabea Krah, a PhD student at the University of Wuppertal, invited me to join her family for a bike ride this afternoon.  There were 7 of us on the trip...

We are at the "top" of our ride, where three cities (Wuppertal,  Solingen, and Remscheid, I believe) meet.

At this point  I am still smiling!

Schloss Burg

We went from Wuppertal-Vohwinkel to the city of Haan and from there on the path "Korkenziehertrasse" to the city of Solingen (the district is called Solingen-Burg). In Solingen we saw the Müngstener Brücke, crossed the Wupper River by using the Wupperfähre, and then went up to Schloss Burg by taking the Seilbahn (ski lift...much better option than what Anja forced Mallory and I to do on Friday!). Afterwards we returned to Wuppertal-Vohwinkel by riding the bikes along the Wupper (upstream, and thus uphill for most of the way back to the Krah house).

Under Müngstener Brücke, which spans the Wupper River.  That is Tabea on the right.

A Hike Up to Burgruine Hohenneuffen, Neuffen, Germany

After seeing a very large looking castle off in the distance from Anja's village of Schlaitdorf, we decided to go see it today.  Anja was the chauffeur, and she drove Mallory and I to a parking lot to where the trail starts up the "berg" where the castle is located.  (GPS was not much help in getting to the parking lot, as it took us to two different places where the road was closed for construction!)  We walked (about 45 minutes) up to the castle.  When we got near the top, I shouted, "Anja!  There are cars up here!"  Apparently you can drive up to nearly the top if you approach from the other side. Anja just smiled, and indicated it was "pay back" for once taking her on a lonnnnnggggg bicycle ride to the Apple Butter Festival in Grand Rapids, Ohio, when she was living with us.  She continued to laugh about my discovery of the cars at the top for the remainder of our hike up (and down).

We stopped for a drink and a snack at the castle.

This is the view we had from our table...Schlaitdorf is off in the (far) distance to the right.

Anja stopped laughing about our hike (and discovering the cars/parking lot) long enough to pose for a picture.

Mini-Family Reunion at Schwabengarten in Stuttgart, Germany

Today was a day to catch up on tasks I had been putting off because of no free time...so, very relaxing!  At the end of the day our chauffeur, Anja, drove Mallory and I to see our (very distant) cousin Sebastian and his wife Karen.  We decided to meet at a beer garden (what else?) somewhat between where they live and where Anja's parents live.

Karen, Sebastian, Mallory, and Dwayne Gremler

Dinner at Schwabengarten

We had beer (of course!) and dinner, and recalled our last meeting...almost one year ago (June 4, 2016) Samantha and I were at their wedding in Gernrode, Germany.  (See the earlier entry in this blog for that date!)

Bride and Groom on June 4, 2016, just outside the church in Gernrode

At their wedding reception, June 4, 2016.

Final Instructions in the "Publishing Scholarly Research" Seminar at Hohenheim University, Stuttgart, Germany

We finished up 3 full days of discussing the academic publication process...and in relatively high temperatures.  For the final bit of instruction, I treated the attendees to a drink...and, my intent was to make sure they know how to celebrate success.

Hohenheim University PhD students demonstrating their skills at celebrating success!
The students are (starting in the back row from the left): Timo T., Nelly W., Adrian L., and Shirin G.
The next row includes: Leif B., Vivien H., Nicola C., and Prof. Dr. Marion Büttgen (my host).
The third row includes Anne Maria S., Laura O., Johanna S. and Iris P.
And, the front row includes me, Anke S., and Stephy T.

What was I thinking?  That Germans don't know how to celebrate?  That was a foolish thought on my part.  Indeed, two of the girls BEGAN their celebration by ordering TWO beers each! 

Laura and Anke are showing me a different (and better?) approach to celebrating...having a beer in each hand!

Since I do have German roots (my grandfather was born in Germany), I showed them...with my THREE beers at once! 

"Publishing Scholarly Research" Seminar at Hohenheim University, Stuttgart, Germany

Today was the beginning of a three-day publishing seminar for PhD students at Hohenheim University.  I was invited to conduct this seminar by Marion Buttgen after we met last year at the SERVSIG Research Conference in Maastricht.

There are several future research stars in this picture...I cannot wait to see their research in print!

About 25 scholars attended today's session.  We will meet for two more days...hopefully the weather will cool off a bit.  The room is the Aula in the Schloss Mittelbau.

The seminar was held in the Aula in the Schloss Mittelbau at Hohenheim. This is the corner room in the left-center part of the building that sticks out in the picture.

A Visit to a Bee Hive, Schlaitdorf, Germany

I met a neighbor of Dieter and Helga Class at Helga's birthday party, Rainer.  We got to taking, and he told me that one of his hobbies was bee keeping.  So, I asked him if he would take me to see his bees. We left the party for about an hour to go see the bees.  VERY INTERESTING!

I ain't afraid of no bees!

Rainer shared a lot of information with me about bees.  Apparently wearing black or brown clothes would not be good...bees tend to think that you are a bear wanting their honey if you do not wear light-colored clothes.  And, using smoke makes the bees much more docile.  They think there may be a fire, so the grab a bunch of honey in case they have to leave their home...this additional honey makes them move much slower.

Rainer is preparing smoke to use before opening the bee hive.

In the two hive that I saw, there were probably 6,000-8,000 bees in each hive. 

Mallory Acquires an Admirer in Tubingen, Germany

Dieter and Helga Class treated us to dinner in Tubingen, Germany...where they went to university. We went to the Italian restaurant they frequented as college students.  Over the course of dinner, Mallory acquired an admirer...the waiter.  He referred to Mallory as "his love" whenever he brought her pizza out to her.

Mallory's new love...although, I don't think she learned his name.  Helga was enjoying it all, too!

He next gave Mallory her dessert (ice cream!) and said it was free (and from him).  Then he offered all seven of us at the dinner table some Grappa as we wrapped up our meal...apparently something the Class family had never received even though they go to the restaurant frequently.  This is probably the most embarrassed I have ever seen Mallory!

Some free Grappa from her new German Italian friend!

A memorable evening!  Perhaps she and Samantha can plan a double wedding?