We showered up and headed to La Plaza del Mercado Santurce, which is a Farmer's Market by day and a dining/entertainment spot at night. Lots of people and music, we grabbed some empanadas and other fried treats at a smaller stand called Frituras. We put our name in at a restaurant with a small outdoor seating are in the Plaza called Boronia and went to enjoy a drink while waiting for a table. They called us when a table was open and I split a fried cheese with guava sauce appetizer and enjoyed a delicious conch mofongo for dinner. We walked around a little after dinner and then headed back to the apartment, as I wanted to get an early start to beat the crowds in old San Juan the next morning.
Day two, I make some delicious Puerto Rican coffee I bought at the grocery store and get everyone up around 7am to walk around Old San Juan. We make the quick drive over and find all day parking for $3, a steal compared to Seattle parking prices! We wander in and out of little cobblestone streets, taking photos of and enjoying all the brightly colored buildings. It is a beautiful old city, especially when there are few people out yet. We walk past Castillo San Cristobal, but it isn't open for several hours. We enjoy the ocean views from the old, massive, crumbling city walls, as Old San Juan is a small island connected with bridges. 
We wander above and past La Perla, the colorful, old shantytown directly outside the city wall. Wade and I wander through a cemetery on the hill right along the ocean. You probably know by now that I love wandering cemeteries, and this one is set in one of the most amazing settings. We stop and watch people surfing and see large cargo ships pass. 
In addition to my usual trying to find my headstones or grave markers and trying to find the oldest or youngest person, there are also dog, cats, chickens, and iguanas roaming around to play with. One green iguana rustled out of a broken grave and scared Wade half to death! Finally, we head back and find Naomi who was napping in the grass. We stop at Mil Letras Art and Coffeehouse a sandwich, pastry, and you guessed it... coffee. 
By now, Old San Juan is waking up and getting more crowded. We head off to Fortaleza Street, as I want to see the colorful street of umbrellas I had heard about. We happened upon a building that looked non-descript from the outside, but a man invited us in. 
Turned out it was the Seminario Conciliar de San Ildefonso and there was a sweet older gentleman that seemed to take great pride in the building. He kept encouraging us to explore all of the rooms and areas inside. It was really gorgeous inside, and a nice reprieve from the crowds and heat of the day with peaceful gardens, detailed architecture and vibrant colors. 
Afterwards, we headed to the fort with the lighthouse, Castillo San Felipe del Morro or "El Morro". The plan was to renew my recently expired annual National Parks pass, as I need one and it would cover each person's $7 entry fee, but they had run out at that fort. The ranger was pretty sure the had annual passes left at the other fort, which was back near where we parked. So we headed back to Castillo San Cristobal. 
It is the largest fortress of the Americas and was full of artillery ramps, cannons, tunnels, and great views of the city. The weather is starting to look a bit stormy and Old San Juan is packed by now. Naomi stayed in Old San Juan, but Wade and I head back to the car and go for a late lunch. We ate at La Casita Blanca, a spot suggested by Dan, a friend from my freshman year of college that grew up in Puerto Rico and returned after college. The restaurant is cute, built in a little neighborhood house. They have a small daily menu on a chalkboard that they bring to the table, along with complimentary fritters and plantain soup to start. I enjoyed my lunch of chicharrones pollo (like fried chicken) with rice and beans, with several shakes of the homemade hot sauce on the table. They also bring complimentary shot of chichaito (anise liquor) with 3 coffee beans. Afterward, we decide to drive to beaches out of San Juan in an area to the northeast called Loiza, recommended to me by another friend. It was a nice drive, as once you are out of the city, it feels like a totally different place. Driving on a more "jungley" road with some sad, squished iguanas on the road who had come to sun themselves and didn't get out of the way of traffic, we reached the small beach town with food shacks along the road and small secluded beaches all along the road. Sadly, the weather just didn't make for a nice beach afternoon, but it was still a fun little adventure.
The next day, I had a plan to walk back to the La Plaza del Mercado Santurce to check out the farmer's market during the morning and take photos of some of the fun graffiti mural art we had passed. Bonus for Wade is that he could sleep in! Naomi joined me and we had a nice little walk. The market wasn't really all that great, but it was totally different looking in the daylight. We split a fruit shake and I had some fried empandas for breakfast. Naomi grabbed some fruit and I grabbed some meat and cheese from the butcher for hiking snacks. Wade came and picked us up and we headed on a trip to the infamous "Pork Road" in Guavate that I heard so much about. I planned a few stops along the way, as we didn't want to get to lunch too early. First, we stopped at a botanical garden in Caguas, but looked more like a golf course at the entrance and the admission fee seemed a bit high so we headed to town. Caguas seemed like a cute town. They had family fun stuff set up in the town plaza. And a few small museums which are all within an easy walking distance. 
We visited the history museum and tobacco museum before heading for lunch. Made it to Guavate, where there are roast pig stalls all along the road. We headed to the coordinates of one that my friend Dan said was best. Ordered our portions of roasted pig with extra skin that was crispy and delicious before heading to the cafeteria style area to pick out some sides. It was soooo yummy! After lunch, we decided to take a different, longer way back to the city. We continued on through mountains. The winding roads had beautiful views and around almost every corner was a small roadside bar. Sadly, Naomi apparently gets motion sickness, so she did not enjoy the ride as much as Wade and I did. 
We stop at Canyon de San Cristobal and take in the fresh mountain air. There are these cool trees that have brown bark, but peels underneath with different shades of orange, red, and green. It reminded me of when we used to use colored crayons on paper and then cover the colors with black crayon so that when you scratch the black off, the colors show underneath. We walked over to the lookout point to the canyon and river below. 
Next, we hopped back in the car and headed to an old hydroelectric dam lookout in Comerio on the Río La Plata. We pass through a few smaller towns with no traffic lights, as there is no power still. People just blare their horn and go through the four way stop. The dam was built around 1910, but is no longer in use. We headed back to San Juan. Naomi prepped herself to go salsa dancing in Old San Juan while Wade and I met with my friend Dan, who I hadn't seen since freshman year of college, and his family for dinner. We ate at a place called Mi Defensa Los Pescao. It was really a treat to get to see an old friend and meet his wife and kids and the food was fabulous. It was both interesting and heartbreaking to hear their stories about Hurricane Maria. There was also a stray cat at the restaurant that I really wanted to bring home with me. It was so friendly and would bop up like a bunny to reach your hand so you would pet it. Wade may or may not have caught me the next morning researching how to bring a cat from Puerto Rico back to Seattle. There are soooo many stray animals all over Puerto Rico, abandoned or lost after the hurricane. As some had not been spayed or neutered, they are now having stray kittens and puppies running around.On the fourth day, Naomi slept in after her big night out and Wade and I headed out for our car trip, around the island. We headed to Arecibo to go on a cave tour of Cueva Ventana.
We ended up on the first tour and were lucky to only have ourselves and another couple on the tour (the next tour had a huge, loud girl scout troop). The cave was fun and we got to see bats, a few cave spiders, and a Puerto Rican yellow tree boa. The cave opens up to the top of a limestone cliff, giving a window to the beautiful valley below. 
Next, we headed to the second world's largest single dish radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory. We wandered and played at the exhibits at a fun little museum before heading to the lookout. Completed in 1963 in a large sinkhole, the dish is an impressive 1,000 feet wide and 167 feet deep. It is known for being the first to directly image an asteroid, and discovered the first planets outside our solar system, as well as studies of extraterrestrial intelligence. After the observatory, we headed to lunch at Restaurante Hacienda Lealtad in Lares, a coffee hacienda/cafe on a mountaintop. The hostess spoke was the only one who spoke English, but she managed to get us a table on the beautiful outdoor porch, overlooking the canyon. 
We both had excellent hamburgers with fried plantains on it and for dessert, I enjoyed one of the best mochas I have ever had. On the way out of the mountains, we drove through San Sebastian to see waterfall Collazo before heading to the coast to check out the beach town of Aguadilla. Aguadilla seemed pretty hard hit by the hurricane and the beach boardwalk was still needing to be rebuilt. 
We were going to stop at a nearby beach, but I needed to put on my swimsuit and the bathrooms were all shuttered. We headed toward Rincon, which also had beaches. I had picked out a beach to relax at but somehow we missed it and ended up in the next little town. Someone gave us directions back and we turned around, hit up a fast food restaurant to change (they don't seem to have public restrooms at gas stations, but no one at fast food restaurants seem to mind if you use their bathrooms). When we got to the beach, it was not the relaxing bob in the ocean I was looking for. Being Sunday afternoon, it was party central with music blaring from all directions. We headed back to the small beach in the next town over and had a quick swim. The town also had noticeable hurricane damage, but some of the residents had prettied up the town with little potted plants using recycled tires and things as planters by the side of the road. Sadly, we were too late to make it much further before the sun set, so I missed out on the abandoned Aguirre Central Sugar Mill. We headed back towards San Juan. It was a terrible drive back. The driving is bad in Puerto Rico during the day, but at night it is an absolute nightmare. Construction zones for miles led to cars driving 60 miles an hour past you in the shoulder. There are cars with fake sirens that they turn on and off to get people to move over. Those stray animals I mentioned earlier are also running around on the side of the highways, and we see a dead cat. Cars zip in and out of lanes and no one uses a turn signal. Everyone is tailgating the car in front of them since if there is any space at all between cars, they seem to think several cars should switch lanes and squeeze in there. And of course the only signs in English are to pay at the toll areas. Thankfully, Wade is a good driver and we make it alive. And I did get to occasionally hear the sound of coquí (the small Puerto Rican frogs), but never did see one on trip.On the last day in the city, we head to El Yunque, the only tropical rainforest in the national forest system. Sadly, the hurricane did quite a bit of damage and only two hikes were open. Most of the hikes I wanted to do to waterfalls and swimming holes were closed due to downed trees and unstable landslide danger. But always nice to get out on a hike! On the way up, we stop at a roadside stand called La Muralla where a couple finishing their food say the food is fabulous.
We ordered several things from the counter (all fried goodies, like much of Puerto Rican food)and it was indeed delicious. The best was the mashed potato beef relleno... I have to figure out how to make that at home. We did the Mt Britton Tower hike, avoiding most of the crowds by taking a service road up. 
We reached the crowds at the top as one group of guys were playing music on a speaker and had their hiking necessity, beer. At least they were nice and shared a beer with Wade. The views from the tower were great and then we walked back through the rainforest path, where you could see regrowth efforts being made in what looked like hay rolls. 
We stopped by La Coca Falls and Bano Grande on the way back out of El Yunque. Oh, and of course we stopped for another mashed potato beef relleno. We drove back the longer way through Loiza for a little afternoon beach and swim time. We found the perfect secluded beach. the weather was perfect and the water was clear water. We got in lots of swimming, although there were some territorial fish that kept nipping at us or chasing us around. 
I walked the whole beach and then came back for another dip in the ocean as Wade went out to check out some afternoon fisherman that showed up and headed out to the rock jetty. Naomi soon joined me in the water, but only because she was chased in by a pack of wild looking dogs. As the sun was setting, we headed to nearby Pinones for dinner. Most of the little food stands Wade and I had seen open on Friday were now closed, so we stopped for a meal at a yummy (and way cheaper than the city) seafood restaurant called La Mamacita. Nice last day in San Juan, as tomorrow we check out of our San Juan AirBnB and head for the island of Culebra!
Full on free chocolate, we arrived at Frankfurt to a rainbow dropping in to the city. Our hotel, 
I instantly like Frankfurt. The buildings are a mix of new skyscrapers and older buildings and there is lots of ethnic diversity. The Christmas Markets were great! Lots of room to move, some stuff for sale that you don't see at every other market, an area in Romerberg that is reconstructed old buildings had a fun double-decker merry go round and a hall with all high-end local handicrafts, including photography, paintings, jewelry, and homemade scarves and clothing.
Everyone seems friendly and appears to be having a good time. And I found reibekuchen, which I looked for and couldn't find in Nuremberg. They are fried potato pancakes like latkes with a variety of sauce choices. I think applesauce is the traditional, but I chose the specialty 7 herb and cream sauce. 
We walk down the commercial street, stopping to hear a great street musician. We head back to the hotel, walking past the Alte Oper (original opera house) and hear more musicians playing outside and then off to bed.
The next morning, we wake up and walk across a bridge and along the Main River in the museum area. We grab a yummy breakfast at a little neighborhood bakery and then walk back 
across another bridge covered in love locks and back through the Christmas Market as it opens. We head to Kleinmarkethalle, the food market where there was all kinds of free samples (like a mini Pike Place Market). 
I saw the most beautiful wheel of cheese I have ever seen, covered in colorful flower petals. I ended up buying some truffle salami and spicy not too briny olives. We grabbed a train to nearby Mainz. We were trying to meet up with a friend of Wade's family, but there was a mix up in location. After some back and forth, we finally got off at the right stop at Mainz-Kastel in nearby Weisbaden and found the pretzel bakery, 
We then continued on by train to a little town called Braubach, that had a castle that was open and easy to get to from the train station. The train ride was picturesque, as it follows the Rhein river. Little towns in the valleys, wine grapes up the hills, and the occasional castle or ruin at the top of the hills. 
I had emailed the tourist information office of Braubach in advance, and they let us store our luggage for free while we took the walk through the town and up the hill to Marksberg Castle. 
We were there just as it opened and managed to get in a small tour of about 8 and the guide decided to give the tour in English (as I learned on my last trip to Germany, there are not many English tours in the off season). The tour was very informative and they rooms were decorated to give you a real feel of castle life. 
The castle was the only one not destroyed during war of around 40 castles in the area (but was damaged in an earthquake). The views from the castle were also beautiful. We then grabbed a train to Koblenz and then off to Trier. I greatly enjoyed my previously purchased salami and olives as train snacks along the journey.
We arrived in Trier later than expected. Trier is right on the border of Luxembourg with a rich history, as it is one of the oldest cities in Germany and was the largest city of the Roman Empire in the 4th Century (oh, and the birthplace of Karl Marx). There are several Roman ruins here, and Wade loves history and "old stuff." We find our hotel and walk through the Christmas Market. 
The wooden pyramid here highlights the wine growing of the region. We grab Flammkuchen (like a flatbread pizza) with potatoes, bacon, and cheese for dinner under the old cathedral and of course, our normal gluhwein before bed.
Our last real day of our trip, we get up early and eat at the hotel's breakfast which is a nice spread for 5 euros a person. First we visit Porta Nigra. 
Built as one of the four gates in the city wall built in 160-200 AD, it is the only one still standing due to a hermit who used to live in it. Small organisms blackened the white sandstone in the Middle Ages, hence its name. 
We were the only ones in it and it was really fun to run up it and have views of the town. Next, we head to the Roman Amphitheater. Not much remains of the seats and theater, but there is an underground area that allows you to see the old cages and trap doors from under the theater where gladiators and animals like the occasional lions and tigers were held. 
And finally, we walk around the Roman Imperial Baths, where you can also go underground to through the hot and cold bath areas in an underground maze of hallways. 
We took a quick walk back to the hotel through the Palace gardens, which are pretty, but I am sure more impressive when there is more foliage than in winter. We grab our backpacks and catch a train back to Koblenz and then an ICE train to Cologne.
has a great view, and is located within walking distance of three Christmas Markets. We first head inside the cathedral for a quick look around. 
Still as impressive as before with its massive size, stained glass, and art. We then head off for some Christmas magic, as nothing embodies the Christmas spirit for me more the the Christmas Markets in Cologne. 
We grab some fondue while wandering the more traditional market Cathedral Market, that now has international food stalls. Then, we head to the larger and less traditional Old Town Market with its fun "house gnome" theme, large ice skating rink, and 
ice curling games. We listen to music and take a ride on the ferris wheel, enjoying views of the market from above and the cathedral. Later, we walk the riverfront and visit the Harbor Christmas Market. Perfect city to end another trip!
Checked in to our cute hotel, 
Woke up early and head to Tübingen for the annual International Chocolate Festival. I had missed it by a week the last time I was in Germany. The town was super cute and so many good chocolate treats (some with free sample!!!) They have truffles, 
chocolate covered fruit, cookies, crepes, hot chocolate, and chocolate marzipan liqueur. There is even paintings done with chocolate and chocolate seminars. I actually got full on chocolate (and we all know much I love to eat and how rare it is for me to get full on anything).
After that, we head to one of favorite Christmas Markets in Esslingen. It is medieval themed and has lots of entertainment everywhere you look. I wanted to see the start of the festival where they have a fencing match on a platform each evening, but apparently they no longer due this after someone almost fell off (must have been last year?).
The kids area is great with hand cranked rides, archery competitions, hatchet throwing, and a game where you have to guess which box the live mice will run to. There is also flame jugglers and music. I learned I am not so good at archery. 
Oh, and Wade beat me at the live mice game (but, I also picked a stone that reminded me of my cat to mark my box, which in hindsight is probably not the best to lure in a live mouse). Long day, but we had so much fun!! Then took the train the 20 minutes back to Stuttgart.
Early the next morning, we catch the train to Rothenburg ob de Tauber. We check in to our hotel, 
We wandered their Christmas market, which is pretty small and uneventful. Had a nice sit down dinner of beef goulash, spaetzle and a beer at a little restaurant/pub. At 8pm, we headed out on the Nightwatchman tour, which is a great way to learn about the town's history and the guy who has been running it for years has a great sense of humor.
Woke up early and took a few photos without the hordes of tourists (the town is a stop for many tourist buses, so less crowded at night and early morning). We walked part of the medieval wall that goes all around the town, with views of rooftops and the vast farmlands and valley nearby. 
I love this town because it is so easy to imagine what it was like back in the medieval times. I was hoping for snow while we were there, but looks like we are about a week too early. We ate a yummy breakfast at the farmhouse hotel I stayed in the first time I came before grabbing out bags and heading back to the train station.
The Christmas Market is a mess. Granted, it is a Saturday, but it is wall to wall people, everyone is pushy and appears to be in a foul mood, and the city is dirtier than any others and not all that pretty (understandable, considering the history). We returned to the hotel somewhat disappointed. At least our hotel, 
The next morning, we ate breakfast and Wade chatted with some folks from Dusseldorf that were also very disappointed with the Christmas Market. We set off for the very somber trip to the Documentation Center Museum and Nazi Rally Grounds for some WWII history. 
The museum was very well done with interesting movies and audio chock full of information in many different languages.
But to see the actual sites was very eerie and it made me super uncomfortable to see people talking smiling selfies and wanting to stand in the famous spot Hitler stood in. So I tried to focus in plants and things I live growing out of something so vile.
Having enough of Nuremberg and to change the mood back to Christmas, we decided to visit a nearby little town called Bamberg, about a 40 minute ICE train ride from the city. The town supposedly sits on 7 different hills and it was so much more our speed, Cute little town with beautiful architecture and smiling, friendly, helpful people. 
They have an absolutely beautiful Old Town Hall set on a river with painted walls. The market was smaller, but full of yummy food, families, and space to move. This is also the home of my favorite Rauchbier (smoked beer), but didn't find that out until we had already left. I hope to come back here and stay to explore more for a day or two when the weather is a bit better for hiking the hills (and to drink my fair share of rauchbiers).