Freiburg: Railay Round Two

Hallo!

Back in March, while Andrew and I were in Railay, Thailand, we met a kind and vivacious couple from Germany. Despite the slight language barrier, Oliver and Christina were extremely easy to get along with. We spent a couple of evenings with them, chatting over pizza about our trips and lives back home. We hadn't planned on traveling into Germany on this trip, but after meeting this couple, our minds were changed. So, after Switzerland, we took a quick train ride to Freiburg.

We were greeted with huge glowing smiles, just as we remembered them. After hugs, we dropped our bags off in their car and went for a walk around the city. Freiburg is really beautiful, and being surrounded by the Black Forest doesn't hurt either. After a bit of walking we stopped at a brewery for a bier(beer) and brezel(pretzel)! It was so nice to just sit back and catch up with each other.
Later, we made our way to Oli and Christina's home, a cute and tidy flat just outside of Freiburg. O & C have two sweet little girls completing their family. Thessie(6) and Anni(2 1/2) were with Grandma for the night, but we were greeted with a beautiful drawing and two very pink rooms-although once we met these little ladies, it didn't take long to realize Thessie was no girly-girl.
That night, we went and got our first taste of chicken schnitzel at an awesome local restaurant. 
The next day, we put our "play clothes" on and drove to Europa Park-a huge theme park divided into "countries". We spent the day walking through Greece, riding roller-coasters in Iceland and Russia, and eating in a park in the UK. It was a really cool set-up for a theme park. All the countries had music, food and architecture to match the appropriate cultures. We watched a really good cirque-du-soleil type show, and dizzied ourselves on my favorite ride-the teacups! I felt like I was 6 years old again, back in Disneyland. It was Andrews first big theme park experience, and both our firsts on huge roller-coasters. I think we may become adrenaline junkies! The sometimes hour-long wait in line was SO worth the 4 minutes of thrill on the rides. Oli and Christina take their girls there on Sundays, but they said it was a nice change to go on the "big kid" rides. We were happy to join them :)
That evening, after Christina cooked us a delicious dinner, we dolled up and headed out for a night on the town. Being out with these two in Germany was really cool, as we had talked in Railey about visiting them, and how we would go to Europa Park and then have too many beers on the town--and we did just that! Talk about Deja Vu. 
Sunday was what we like to call a hang-over day. We snuggled on the couch, watched movies and ate great food (our first taste of Raclette). Later in the day we finally got to meet the two cutest German girls on the planet. Thessie, a matter-of-fact 6 year old full of energy, and the more reserved Anni, with the biggest blue eyes, just like her Momma. 
Thessie drug out the boxes of Lego, so we spent the afternoon building ships and helicopters under her (very strict) orders. Andrew definitely won best prize with his helicopter! 
The next day Andrew and I spent the morning and early afternoon walking in and around the Black Forest-named this due to the dense population of pine trees. It was good to get some fresh air, and walking off the alcohol wasn't such a bad thing either.
Before leaving we spent a couple more hours playing with the girls. We built forts, played Play-Doh, and made puzzles. Every time something needed fixed on the fort, or anytime the girls wanted our attention, they yelled "Chessie!". It was close enough, and after realizing how quick I would respond, it became the word for everything. I'm sure Oliver and Christina are still having nightmares with "Chessie!" ringing in their ears.
It was yet another sad goodbye. The girls sent us off with stuffed animals and pictures, hugs, and some tears.

O & C, you two are so genuine and fun; you opened your home to us, and treated us like family. Your girls are very lucky to have such great parents, and you guys are just as lucky to have such wonderful daughters. We are so thankful for meeting you at that fire show in Railey. We hope to meet again soon. Give Anni and Thessie hugs for us, and tell them their Teddies are keeping us company :) xx

After goodbyes, Oliver drove us to Basel, where we caught our flight to Spain. In a (quick) ten days we toured Barcelona, Granada, Toledo, and Madrid. That's up next!

We are down to only three weeks left. Ah, how time flies. We most definitely have mixed emotions about our upcoming flight home, but there are no words to express how excited we are to spend some quality catch-up time with friends and family. 

Until then,

xx A&C