Au pair reunion is good excuse for family trip

The next morning we boarded a train to Mainz and Wiesbaden, Germany, to see our second and fourth au pairs, Martina and Tina. We stayed at a Hilton in Mainz, across the Rhine River from Wiesbaden, Tina’s home.

Some of our au pairs told us there wouldn’t be much to do in Mainz. We chose it because it was close to Wiesbaden and had a hotel where we could use points. But we were curious to see a city that was less touristy.

Duncan, Ellen and I walked about five minutes into the old town area at 8 a.m. the next day. It was charming in much the same way Salzburg was, but not as busy. We found a good bakery called Werner’s Backstube for breakfast. We discovered a large outdoor market with fruits, vegetables and meats.

Our bus ride to Weisbaden took 25 minutes. Tina met us at the bus stop, looking just the same as the last time we saw her. She lives with her husband, Andy, in an apartment near the Rhine River.

Martina arrived a few hours later from Heidelberg. Tina and Martina are friends; Tina was in Martina’s wedding the summer before. So they were happy to see one another as well as us.

Both have been to Richmond a good bit since their au pair days. Martina lived with us again during internships at the Virginia Film Office and a Richmond TV station. Tina returned after her au pair year for a six-month internship with a Richmond company. So it was like old home week to see them.

We saw the city building and grounds where Tina got married (near the Rhine River) and a casino downtown. We also saw a hot water spring, and I drank some of the water, which tasted salty. But my kids wanted to shop. Maureen and Ellen wanted English language novels, and all the kids wanted German chocolate to take to the states. We found all the shops we could have wanted downtown.

I was struck by how different Wiesbaden looked from the other cities we visited. The streets were wide and weren’t made of cobblestones. Wiesbaden has some large green vistas. On one side of the city building where Tina got married, there was grass as far as we could see.

Later in the day we were joined by Martina’s husband, Roland, whom we met a few years earlier. And Tina’s husband, Andy, joined us after work. We had a home-cooked meal at Tina’s home — a nice change after weeks of eating in restaurants.

We spent our final day at a park called Schloss Freudenberg that’s a cross between a children’s museum, a science museum and a park. The kids thought it would be too young for them. But we all had a great time walking on stilts, experiencing what it’s like to be blind and feeling vibrations while sitting in a metal pot being rubbed with a mallet.

When it was time to leave Tina and Martina, we already were longing to return to Germany. I found it interesting that they enjoyed Germany and Austria much more than Italy. I think that’s likely because we spent our time in Austria and Germany with the au pairs, who have all become good friends.
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If You Go…

COLOGNE, GERMANY: http://bit.ly/aZ3bh3

CHOCOLATE MUSEUM (SCHOKOLADENMUSEUM): Located on the Rhine River in Cologne. Open Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Admission: $10 (7.50 euros).

PHANTASIALAND: Bruehl, Germany, just outside of Cologne; http://www.phantasialand.de/eng/Park. Free entry for children under 7 with ID. Adults, $45 (34.50 euros); children older than 7 but shorter than 4 foot 8 (1.45 meters), $38 (29.50 euros).

OLD TOWN SALZBURG, AUSTRIA: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/784

SCHLOSS FREUDENBERG: Park with interactive exhibits and attractions in Wiesbaden, Germany, http://www.schlossfreudenberg.de/english/english.html