Taunus camp 3

Friday 27th August
We've had some April weather today, starting off with rain. We had all been invited to go for tea with the Westhaus', but as Peter and Hannah have never been to Idstein before, we decided to spend some time there today showing them the beautiful old buildings (and looking for a geocache that we hadn't found on previous visits). It could have been a good idea to go in our van, because one of the advantages this new one has is 4 seat-belted passenger seats. But the road up through the campsite is very rough at the best of times, let alone after all the rain we've had since last night, plus the problem with turning round here at the top - so Peter drove HEA and me into Idstein (14k)and then came back for John. The sun came out, we had lunch at the Brauhaus then found the information we needed for the treasure hunt from a couple of historical plaques. This took us into the Tourist Information office where the children enjoyed building a model house like the ones in the town. We walked along the cobbled streets and through the gates of the castle to the 'witches tower' (in the distance in the photo) - shame it closed yesterday for a month, and shame that the geocache wasn't in the hole in the wall, but we all had a great time anyway ... until the next shower came!



We dashed for the car while John walked quickly to Barbara and Tilman's house. This was about 4 pm. Then followed the Westhaus hospitality par excellance! (Don't know how to say that in German!) Kuchen and keks followed by a walk back to the town in beautiful sunshine for a guided tour (Barbara reading the book in English) which included an impromptu visit into the Union Church. It was closed to the public as it was being prepared for a confirmation service, but we happened to bump into a friend of Tilman's who had the keys in his pocket. The ceiling paintings were particularly impressive, and it was interesting to hear about this Church's history from a man who was obviously a devoted member here. Rain stopped play yet again, so back home with 8 brollies drying in the hall, we enjoyed Barbara's very tasty lasagne and salad. The children had a wonderful time, especially with Claudia, and apart from some water spilt on an
armchair and Adam running through the 'open' door to the lounge and finding it wasn't actually open - it is plain glass and he received a nasty bump on the forehead!, they were kids to be proud of. PHEA leave first thing tomorrow morning for Calais and home - we shall miss them a lot, but our adventure continues ....