Texans In Germany - Chillin' in Hattingen - Summer 2005

In the summer of 2005, my folks came out for the second time to visit us in Germany. They were here for a few days during the wedding, but we really didn't get a chance to see much of the country...plus, the weather in late October isn't exactly ideal for vacationing.


On the first full day, we visited the Krupp mansion, Villa Hugel, near Eva's hometown. It was designed to be a centerpiece of the region - to show how beautiful the area - primarily a steel and coal area - could be.

One of the very cool touches of going inside the mansion was one of the security guards. He must have been 80 years old and a Krupp employee for 65 of them. He was beaming with pride and showed us every nook and cranny of the place.


Of course, we had to have a BBQ. We even did a small beer tasting with some of the local types of beer: Alt (from Düsseldorf), Kölsch (from Köln / Cologne), and Pils (well, technically from the Czech Republic).
The ladies: Jutta, Tanta Ali, and mom relaxing on the porch.