On the day of their arrival, I got a call from Dad from Heathrow saying that he didn't think they would make their connecting flight to Frankfurt, because they had been put in a holding pattern over London, and then parked out in the boonies. I got another call a little later to say that they would just make their plane, but weren't sure if their bags would or not.
Skip forward to us waiting in the airport. After about 1hr of waiting, they finally came through the doors in the International Terminal (worst part of the airport). Turned out that 3/4 of their bags had made it, but the toilet bag hadn't. This was eventually delivered to us at 21:00 on the following day, without anyone actually calling to see if we were home - which luckily we were.
That same night (when the arrived) we took them to Café Klatsch in Friedrichsdorf for some Flammkuchen and a few bevvies - both of which went down a treat, with Diane requesting a second visit later in the week (I was only too happy to oblige).
The next day took us to Heidelberg, which is one of my favorite places to take people because of the beautiful old castle, and the killer view it offers of the town and river below. Not to mention that the town still has some nice "old town" feel to it, although it is fairly touristy now. That being said, we found a nice little place for lunch, and to hide from the rain, that offered basic german food, which went down well with the Aussies on Tour. We also managed to get ourselves interviewed for some German TV Show or Doco that we researching if people knew the song Ich hab' mein Herz in Heidelberg verloren (I lost my heart in Heidelberg). After I answered a few of their questions in German, they turned on Dad and Diane. After I told them that they came from Australia and didn't speak German, the guy switched to flawless English and asked what we sing in Australia. Next thing you know, Dad, Diane, and myself are singing "Waltzing Matilda" with Bel hiding somewhere in the background.
The following days took us for a walk around the top of Feldberg, where you can get a nice view of the surrounding area (and a nice drive up some windy roads for the petrol heads); to Braunfels (cute Castle where you need a group of 5 or more for a tour, but has a cool Alt-Stadt); Frankfurt (just for a look-see, shopping, and an excellent dinner at an Italian Restaurant where the waiter spoke no English); Herzogenaurach (more than just Adidas and Puma...there's Nike as well!); Saalburg (Roman Fort); Hessenpark (old buildings); and finally to the Wine Festival in Friedrichsdorf itself.
One of the best parts of the week was being reminded of the cool things that surround us that we take for granted. For instance - we planned to go to Nürnberg after Herzogenaurach, but the traffic heading to Nürnberg was crazy, so we bailed. D&D weren't phased at all, because they even found the views from the Autobahn amazing - views that we pay no attention to anymore, since we have been here basically 2 years, and that is "common day" kinda stuff now.
Anyway, thanks for coming and visiting guys. We loved having you here, and look forward to having the next group that come towards the end of the year.
 Traditional Bindy-pose by the river in Heidelberg |  And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon... |
 View from the Heidelberg Castle back down to the river |  Dad and Diane at the Heidelberg Castle |
 B&B&D walking on Großer Feldberg |  Crazy toothless busker dude that gave us a personal performance in Frankfurt (I ran in to buy a coffee...) |
 B&B&D near the Old Opera in Frankfurt before going to dinner |  Make me clean my room, will you??!!?! Now it's payback time! |
 Show us your best TV Ad Flammkuchen pose, Diane! |  The father, the beer, and the cheesy baked pasta thingy in Café Klatsch |
Tschüß,
'Brushy (Bj)
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