So this year Shanna said she really wanted to go, so I went & got us tickets through the USO. Neither of us are really big on USO trips because you pay a premium to have them drive you to & from a destination, and in a lot of cases, it's cheaper just to drive yourself. While that would have been the case here, it would have been tough to coordinate with the group who was going with us, but more importantly, this allowed everyone to relax and have a few drinks without worrying about driving anywhere after.
The trip was going to be a long one, so Saturday morning I took the dogs to the kennel and dropped them off. When I got back, Shanna had packed us a breakfast, and because she's just that type of person, she also packed a breakfast for everyone going in our group. We got to base, met up with our friends, and the bus took off at 10am. We eventually got to Koblenz around 1:30, and started to explore the town. The boat we were going to be on didn't board until 6pm, so we had some time. It was a neat town, with two major rivers converging on it, and a huge fortress up on a hill over looking the city. I'd been through Koblenz before on a train when I was heading to Luxembourg last year, but I had no idea how pretty the city was.
It was a nice day at first, but clouds rolled in that afternoon. We'd heard about a walking tour, but we hadn't eaten lunch yet and were all hungry. After grabbing lunch, we didn't have enough time to make it to the meeting point to start the tour. Instead we walked around ourselves for a bit, then found an outdoor cafe to sit at on the river.
Eventually 6pm rolled around and we headed to the dock. After a little confusion, we eventually found our dock and our boat. It was HUGE. Including the top deck it was four stories, with multiple bars and a DJ on each level. When we first got on the boat it started to rain, so we headed down stairs to the bottom deck where it wasn't that crowded. The way the trip was laid out was we floated up the river until it got dark around, then we floated back to our starting point while watching the fireworks. After getting a table we headed to the bar to get a round of drinks. It took FOREVER because it was so busy, but that's when I noticed that in addition to selling beer in glasses, they also sold it by the 10 Liter keg. Getting that keg ended up being a great decision, because it lasted us almost the entire night and we never had to go wait in line again.
The scenery was beautiful. There were vineyards planted on the hills, and it quickly became apparent that this was a popular camping night because there were tents and campers all along the river side. Eventually, as the sun set, we reached the point where they dropped anchor. At that point we made our way to the top deck, and Shanna found a spot where we could put the keg and watch the fireworks while the DJ played all kinds of music.
When the sun had completely set, the show started. There were all kinds of boats sitting near ours, and as the fireworks exploded over head, you could see them all. Then we started floating. It was an amazing sight, and one that videos, pictures & a description just can't fully convey. As floated down the river there was a mix of dance music and instrumental movie soundtrack songs played. There were fireworks going off on both sides of the river, and every town & castle we passed was bathed in red light.
It took about an hour to get back to Koblenz, but the show wasn't over yet. As we approached we could see the fortress up on the hill flooded with red & green light. Unfortunately none of our cameras took clear pictures of it, but this was the best I could get.
Once we were back there, the finale kicked off. There were explosions left & right over the fortress, and it was amazing. After the show was over we docked and walked back to the bus. It was midnight at this point, and we were all beat. When the bus got going, and the lights turned off, it didn't take long for everyone to fall asleep. We pulled into Stuttgart around 4am, and were home & in bed at 5am. It had been a long day, but we all had a lot of fun.
The present I ordered for Shanna hasn't arrived yet because it's being custom made, but it should be here any day now. When you leave a city in Germany, you'll see a sign. Half the sign will have the name of the town you're leaving with a red line through it. On the other half of the sign is the town you're heading to, along with the distance from that point to the city. Shanna had seen a tshirt when we got here of that sign, but it said leaving Washington DC and heading to Stuttgart, and how she really wanted that. I couldn't find the shirt, but there's a shop on base that makes custom signs and license plates, and they were able to have it made. Here's an example of an actual road sign here in Stuttgart:
We'll probably get it framed, then get another one when we leave Stuttgart with wherever we are moving to.
We have two weeks of down time, then at the end of August, Shanna's parents are coming to visit for a week. It should be fun!
To view the picture page, click here or any of the pictures above.
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