4 Stray Katz: Learning about Opa's childhood whilst exploring Bad Honnef and surrounds.

Our first afternoon at Bad Honnef was spent exploring the house and gardens where Henry and his brothers and sisters grew up. We heard many stories of their childhood escapades and learnt about the challenging times for the family during the war years. After they were evacuated from Berlin, Henry's mother did not know the whereabouts of her husband for many years and life was challenging for her with 8 children. She must have done a great job though as all the children have led happy and successful loves.

Gerhard and Gabi showed us around the old family home and we enjoyed seeing many photos and memorabilia from Henry's parents and their lives pre and post war. We had a scrumptious bbq in the backyard and polished off several bottles of delicious local wine that Henry found in Gerhard's extensive cellar.

Monday was spent climbing the Drachenfels (Dragon Mountain), one of the most popular of the 'Seven Mountains' along this part of the Rhine. On top of the 321m high mountain we were rewarded with splendid views of the Rhine, we could even see the town of Bad Honnef. We climbed right to the top to the ruins of the old Drachenberg castle. After lunch we took the rack railway down the mountain and wandered through the picturesque town of Konigswinter. It was a wonderful day that ended with a fabulous evening at a river side pub/restaurant with Gerhard and Gabi. Cold beer, delicious food, a great view and wonderful people.

The nearby town of Linz was our destination for the next day. The well preserved town still had the old walls and gate and was full of traditional German buildings. It was raining so we punctuated our explorations with lunch in a restaurant in the main square. It was here that the Germans' love and acceptance of dogs was really demonstrated. Henry had told us that dogs were allowed in supermarkets but we were yet to see that, however as we walked up the stairs to the second level of the restaurant we were very surprised to see two very large dogs sitting with their owners upstairs in the small restaurant. Since then we have seen dogs in bars, at castles and in shopping centres. After enjoying some local specialities the rain had stopped so we wandered around town. The kids constantly marvelled at the old buildings and houses and kept asking, 'is this one older than Australia?' Most were more than 200 years old with many 3-400 years old.

Wednesday was spent exploring one of the most well preserved castles in Germany, Berg Eltz. The beginnings of the castle were first erected nearly 1000 years ago and over the next 400 years it was added to. The castle managed to survive intact due the alliances the family had built with other rich and powerful families (the married into all of the influential families in Europe). By the standards of the time the Eltz family was very advanced, with heating in most rooms, basic insulation and even toilets in many rooms where the waste was channeled directly outside. We were all impressed by the armour, the swords and the incredible treasure chamber. We did a informative tour (that was thankfully in English) before wandering the grounds and playing in the Rhine at the base of the castle. Gabi had prepared a delicious dinner for our last night. A superb end to our time in Bad Honnef.

After coffee and cuddles the next morning we all bid Auf Wierdersehen to Gerhard and Gabi before getting a train into Cologne for a few days as tourists (without the help of locals to translate)!