Germany visiting friends

Beth got on a plane back to the US, and I couldn't help but be a little jealous that she would soon be in the land of Target and hamburgers. However, I was starting the next phase of my adventures, so I wasn't too sad. In Munich, Ann-Kristine met me at the train station. She was our family's exchange student when I was in high school, and I hadn't seen her in a dozen years. We were both a bit nervous about spending time together again since it had been so long, but as soon as we saw each other, we knew it would be easy. She said to me, "You look just the same!" Aw. It was great to connect with her, see a bit of her life, and spend some time getting to know each other again.
We headed to Regensburg, where her parents live- a delightful city that escaped the bombing during World War II. So it had lots of old walls and bridges and buildings- this church was visible from her parents' balcony.
We visited several other chapels, and after the more minimalist, Gothic style of Paris, I was kind of overwhelmed by the gold and pink and cherubs.
The Kreusers took great care of me, and it was wonderful to see her Dad again (he had visited while Anna lived with us) and to meet her mom.
They of course fed me all sorts of tasty German food; I have another blog post in mind dedicated entirely to the food I got to eat in Europe.
Anna continued to take me to all sorts of lovely places- a monastery on a hill near the Danube,

a castle in Munich.

It was a treat to spend some time with her and her boyfriend Sergio; I passed the report along to my dad that he's a good guy, but unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of them together.

From Munich I headed up to Ulm, where my college friend Eric and his wife April live. April was a terrific tour guide, and we climbed the tower of the tallest church in the world.
We had a good ol' American time together- ate chili, went to see the Terminator movie (really deep, I tell you), and caught up a bit from the past decade or so. They also took me out for schnitzel, which will show up in the food post, and they helped me get my train tickets into Switzerland. I sure appreciate their hospitality. From there, I and my big blue backpack hopped on the train and began the Wandering Around Switzerland part of the trip.