From Ettenheim, Germany

Tonight I'm staying in paradise... but I'll talk about the day first :)

This morning we woke up at the hotel for a great breakfast and then loaded up the bus for Bingen, where we were planning on catching a boat to cruize the Rhine River... The drive was beautiful! We arrived in Bingen about 10 min late for the boat we had planned on, but no worries! Another was only a half an hour behind...

Today was beautiful! We sat out on the open deck of the boat for most of the trip, took in the beautiful hills, vinyards, towns, and castles along the way... I cannot describe how beautiful it was! (Again, sorry about the pictures, I'll make them available as soon as I can!) About an hour and a half into our 2 and a half hour tour, a few of us went into the cabin for a bit of lunch and cards (of course Matt and I won the Euchre game!)... I had spargal soup! Spargal is white asparigus (sp), and the season here is regulated by the government! It is wonderful if you ever get the chance to try some!

In any case, once the tour ended, we had some time to roam a few shops in the town along the shore while we waited for Rene to come with the bus, a beautiful little place on the river! The drive out was even more beautiful than the drive in! Tight winding roads, beautiful hills, trees, fields, vinyards! It was amazing... Melina says it reminds her of some parts of Pennsylvania, but better :). In any case, we then had a 3 hour drive, which took longer due to traffic jams along the way, but we got to Ettenheim around 5:30 and met our hosts, who are actually from the Baptist church in town...

I'm staying with Rainer and Ilse, they live out in a village outside of town, it is beautiful here! We had a barbeque for dinner, then talked for awhile before Ilse called her sister (next door) and Kayci and Rachael joined Clayton and I for a walk up to the highest point in the village... a hill covered in private vinyards with a lookout on the top... it was amazing! We watched the sun set over the Rhine River Valley, and then enjoyed the long walk back by the light of the moon, it was a perfect night!

Now it's time for bed though... getting to the church early in the morning so we can spend the day in Strasburg. It's looking to be a fun day!

Thanks again for the prayers, we're having a blast! Couldn't have asked for a better way to relax after a couple long days of travel!

Blessings,
John