Visit with Pia in Karlsruhe

Today was the day we were going to see Pia. Pia is my "adopted" German daughter. She came into my life in 2005 as and exchange student and been a part ever since. Donna and I took the train north again this time to Karlsruhe. Karlsruhe means the kings place of rest, the castle is at the exact center of the city and every road leads to the castle. Viewed from the air the roads lead way from the castle like the spokes of a wheel. If you cross one of these streets you can look no matter how far out directly at the castle. We met Pia and Matius, who just happens to be a police officer and let us tour the station he works at, I met the communications officer there too. We spent a good part of the day touring around by foot spiraling inward until we reached the castle. Pia introduced us to a new outdoor game called Viking Chess, Matius and Donna kicked Pia and My asses. We ended the day with a treat called Spaghetti Ice its looks like spaghetti but is vanilla ice cream, strawberry sauce and shaved white chocolate, YUM YUM. Of course a local beer is required. We raced back to catch the train, it was a long run. Saying our goodbyes track side we sadly headed home.