September 28, 2025 - Munich to Elchingen, Germany

Well, we aren't sure what happened, but Tobey ended up getting sick again overnight. We had plans to meet up with Tom and his family today, but decided we should cancel. We were going on to Erbach to see Stephan's parents (another one of our German boys) and stay with them tonight. We cancelled that, too.

Paul wanted us to stay at his place, but Tobey and I both felt it was better to get a hotel so he wouldn't feel worse, knowing we were putting Paul out. He is really an awesome young man, but we decided to move. Tobey was originally the driver on the car, but I thought it better if I drove knowing he wasn't feeling well. We have a VW T-Roc convertible (6 speed), but the weather is too chilly to drive with the top down!

We arrived in Elchingen around 1pm and were checked in. We are staying at the Austuble Hotel Restaurant. It's a bit unique. There is a restaurant on the main level and you enter the hotel part from the side and go upstairs to the rooms. On the way, you pass by the kitchen! It comes with breakfast, so we will see how it goes tomorrow.

Tobey climbed into bed and slept. I took a LONG walk - over an hour - to check out this village. It's Sunday and the only other place I saw that is open was another restaurant. All of the shops and markets are closed! I saw this unusual sculpture in front of an apartment building not far from our hotel.

I also saw several cigarette vending machines all over the town which surprised me.

After I got back to our room, I watched part of a football game - the first time we have turned on a TV since we left Colorado. Tobey was feeling a little better so we walked to the other restaurant for a light dinner - noodle soup and French fries. So far, he seems to be doing okay, but we will call it an early night.

September 27, 2025 - Munich, Germany

We had an easy morning and were ready when Paul came to pick us up around 11:30 this morning. We had a special treat - Paul is the marketing director for Ferrari and he came in a Ferrari and took each of us for a ride before going to Oktoberfest. Ladies first - and fastest! On the Autobahn our speed got up to 275kph - that's 170mph!!! Crazy. Tobey and Paul only got up to about 270kph (167mph). Thank goodness it was only for a short time!


Speed when Tobey was in the car ...



After Tobey's ride, we took the train to the Oktoberfest grounds, arriving about 1pm. It was crowded even early in the day. It's not just beer tents, there is a huge carnival and booths selling food and souvenirs.

We stopped to watch this Toboggan ride and laughed and laughed. To get to the slide, everyone has to slide uphill before climbing the ladder to get to the top. It is a moving walkway of sorts, but goes fast and uphill. There was always one of the workers helping, but more than 50 percent of the people fell down and slid uphill on their bottoms! Paul said it gets funnier after there is more alcohol involved!

Mara was in the "wine" tent with girlfriends, so we headed there to say hello. This is the inside. It was huge and filled with people.

Paul lucked into finding a table of people that were leaving and there were no new reservations for the table, so we were able to get it - one row back from the stage! An added bonus for us that we didn't expect was seeing Paul's mom and cousin. Eva, Paul's mom, brought his cousin from Italy and two of her friends who came to Munich for "Italian Week" at Oktoberfest. We hadn't seen Francesca, his cousin, since 2008. Needless to say, she has grown up and is now a doctor.

Mara, Eva (Paul's mother) and Paul

Eva, Paul, and Paul's cousin, Francesca.

Paul and Tobey singing along with the band

This was the first band that was performing.

This was the second band.

The tables have only benches in a U-shape. Everyone gets up and stands on the benches and dances and sings along - or just visits with the people around you. It is VERY loud and a bit crazy! Here is a brief view of the fun. https://youtube.com/shorts/X2LqCM64h94

Why do these people have umbrellas? Good question.

When the table orders a LARGE bottle of champagne, the server starts to loosen the cork, then they pound it on the floor, moving it a little more. It takes several taps, then the cork comes out and they spray everyone! This is a video of the opening! https://youtu.be/EP8Bdn7sQfo
We were a table away from one of the openings and got a bit wet with champagne! It was crazy.

After a shared lunch and a few hours of entertainment, we went outside to check out the carnival activities. Paul and I went on the roller coaster - the front seat - six loops. It was awesome! Paul, Tobey, and Mara tried their luck at the shooting game. Paul did well and won two small stuffed animals for Mara.

Tobey and Mara shared a turn but they didn't get enough points for a prize. It was still fun for them.

Paul was successful in the hammer slam and won a keychain for Mara.

We finished out the evening with a ride on the Wild Mouse before heading out to Trader Vic's for dinner. We shared an assortment of appetizers and we were all stuffed.


We took the train back to Paul's house and said goodnight to them as they headed back to Mara's. Tomorrow we are hoping to catch up with another one of our German boys, Tom, and his family so we are off to sleep. Good night!

September 26, 2025 - Istanbul, Turkey to Munich, Germany

It was time to say our final goodbyes to Turkey (and friends) and off to the airport at 8:00am for our 12:00 flight. Traffic was heavy and it takes about an hour to the airport. Getting through the airport was pretty easy and we spent some time in the Priority Lounge. I have NEVER seen a lounge as big, or as nice, as this one! There were several food stations and they cooked orders per your request, too!

There was a separate playroom for children.

There was a special play area for adults, and an outdoor terrace!

Our flight was delayed about 30 minutes so we arrived Munich late, then we waited over an hour to get through Customs! We've never had that happen before in Germany, but you just go with the flow.

We are staying with one of our exchange students, Paul, and his girlfriend, Mara, picked us up from the airport. She is just a sweetheart and we enjoyed the ride back to Paul's place. After she dropped us, we had time to relax before Paul arrived home from work. He fixed carbonara for dinner and it was delicious! After visiting late into the night, they headed to Mara's place and we are heading to bed. We are going to Oktoberfest tomorrow so it will be a busy day.

September 25, 2025 - Istanbul, Turkey

Today we had the "official" tour of Istanbul. We headed to the Rustem Pasha Mosque which is our tour guide, Nilufer's favorite. It was built in 1561 and includes the mosque, inns, shops, and fountain. The Mosque is one of the most embellished mosques of the Ottomans with Iznik tiles on the inner walls. According to the information (I didn't count them) there are 7227 pieces of tiles which make up the 36 tulip motifs in addition to 16,043 tiles with 56 other motifs and five colors. There are also 6218 borders consisting of 747 kinds of tiles, and 850 tiles on which calligraphy is written. The translation may not be exactly right, but as you see the photos you will understand that there are thousands of tiles and the designs are beautiful! The mosque has been destroyed by earthquakes and fires and repaired many times over the years. There is a strict dress code when you enter the mosques. Women must have their shoulders, knees, and heads covered. Men must have their knees covered. Everyone must take their shoes off.

This is the exterior of the mosque.

Women enter the mosque through a separate entrance and pray behind the wooden partitions.

This is part of the ceiling.
We walked a little through through the market area just outside the mosque before heading off to the spice market and our lunch destination.

These are a few photos from the bus on our way.
This is the bridge we would use to cross the Bosporus Strait.

Plenty of traffic on the bridge!
One view from the bridge
This is the Beylerbeyi Palace, a 19th century Ottoman palace located in the Beylerbeyi neighborhood of Istanbul, on the Asian shore of the Bosporus.

We spent time wandering through the market on the Asian side of Istanbul. This is an area where many of the local people come to shop.



It's been a couple days since you had cat pictures, so here are some from the market. Shopping can be so exhausting!


We had our Farewell lunch today. Nilufer ordered several different foods for us to try and it was really fun to try them all. They served family style and each platter was split between four people. We started with some appetizers and dips, but I didn't take any pictures of them. This was the meat kabab - Delicious!!

These dishes were a lamb and bulger rice, then a chicken and rice in a baked pastry, and the bottom dish was a peach, almond and squash - also Delicious!

We also had the puffed bread and baklava and Turkish tea for dessert.

There was plenty leftover (except dessert) and everyone was quite full!

After lunch we walked to the port and took a ferry back across the Bosporus to the European side of Istanbul where we are staying.





It was a wonderful morning and afternoon, but it wasn't over yet! Off the ferry, we got back on the bus to the hotel long enough to unload backpacks and then head off to the Grand Bazaar. It was about a 15 minute walk and about half the group opted to skip this part of the day.

The Grand Bazaar (covered market) in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world. There are 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops. I'm not good at the math stuff, but it covers over 3.1 hectares. There are 22 entrances into the bazaar. Needless to say, we did NOT see everything in the 1-1/2 hours we spent there!



We had a good time seeing everything they had to offer. Back at the hotel we had a little while to organize things before the entire group met and had a farewell drink with our tour director, Nilufer. All throughout the trip Nilufer would wink at Tobey but his bubble was burst when others mentioned she winked at them, as well during the get-together. It was a great trip with lots of good memories, but we all felt sad that it was over.

Tomorrow we leave the group and head to Germany to visit three of our German kids (exchange students we have hosted over the years) and one set of their parents. If I get a chance, I will post a follow-up to these Turkey entries with some final thoughts and photos, but for now, I hope you enjoyed traveling with us!