Girls' Weekend in Germany!

Oh boy, do I have a lot of time to make up for! Well, I finally planned an ADPI Girls' Trip for sisters living in Europe. I've always wanted to getaway with the girls and am envious every time my Zeta Phi chapter sisters plan a weekend out of town. This trip was especially exciting because those who attended had never met each other until then. So, on the weekend of 11-13 April four of us had a wonderful visit in Mainz, Germany (near Frankfurt). Two sisters, Andrea and Gina, live within an hour away of the city, Colleen flew from Naples, Italy, and of course I arrived from London. It seemed like we were old friends and conversation flowed easily. Ahhh, the bond and joys of sisterhood!

Amber, Colleen, Andrea, Gina

While I arranged the hotel details, Andrea planned most of our activities for the weekend as she has been living in Germany for quite a few years now and is the most familiar with the area. On Friday evening, Gina and I were the first to arrive and dined alone near the hotel. Unfortunately, Colleen had some transportation problems and did not meet up with us until later in the evening. Andrea was finishing up work for her graduate class and did not arrive until Saturday morning.

After enjoying a delicious german buffet breakfast, we met up with Andrea at the Gutenberg Museum Workshop. (The Gutenberg Museum is one of the oldest museums of printing in the world.) We probably spent a couple of hours in the shop creating ADPI prints. I have to say that the children caught on much faster than we did and had many more prints by the end. Afterward we did a quick tour of the Museum to see the Gutenberg Bible and other "treasures". We strolled through the local market before meeting up for a guided walking tour of the city. Our guide spoke in both German and English, but it was obvious that the german dialogue was much more detailed than the one we received in English. Apparently the version given to us was a bit embellished and after deciding our attention was not being captivated we decided to duck out early and see a few sites of our own before moving on to our next "appointment".

Working one of the presses

Our finished product

Andrea very wisely made arrangements for us to join the wine tour (only in German) at Kupferberg Wine Cellar - a specialist producer of sparkling wine ("Sekt"). After a tour of the cellars we were treated to a wine tasting of three varieties of Sekt (again dialogue in german). Needless to say we were all very giddy after that activity. We were released into the gift shop where we all proceeded to buy several bottles of Sekt. Andrea took my bottles back to her place, in hopes that I would come visit to collect! Hopefully I'll make it there before she moves back to the States at the end of the summer! Otherwise, she'll have to mail them to me. Anyway, after getting drunk for "free" we headed to dinner. We went to an authentic Mexican restaurant, for more drinks...and oh, dinner. (I have not seen another authentic Mexican restaurant anywhere in Europe. ) Oh, but the night was not over yet!!! Germany is known for its spas and thermal baths, so of course we had to experience this for ourselves. We drove across the river (thanks Gina!) into Wiesbaden to one of the spas and enjoyed an hour or so in the large "heated pool". Now by this time it is about 10:00pm or so. We eventually returned to the hotel, sadly putting an end to our fabulous day.

Enjoying our Sekt!

Our "souvenirs"

Sunday morning, we took a stroll around the hotel along the Rhine River and said our goodbyes. What a wonderful weekend it was! I will treasure the memories and the new friendships I've formed. I hope I can get in a few more girls' trips around Europe before returning to the States.

Beautiful girls!

ALL Pictures http://picasaweb.google.com/amber.biviano/Germany

P.S. I learned that Andrea and I are only four days apart in age (I'm older) and Colleen and I share wedding anniversaries (I married in 2001, she married just last year in 2007)!!!