allyson and bryan

I don't really know too much about my German heritage. I do know that ancestors on my dad's side came from Bavaria, which sounds delicious, and that my last name means "warrior" in German. I know that my grandfather, Jerome Krieger, fought against the Germans in World War II, and that, as German Jews in America, we always voted democrat. I know that my family has been here (well, by here, I mean the U.S.) for generations, and that when my dad visited Germany with my brothers years ago, they drove really, really fast on the autobahn.

But that's about it.

So it's with both a mild curiosity and relative lack of useful personal history that I anticipate my first visit to Germany, which officially begins tomorrow. Bryan and I leave South Africa tonight at 7:55 p.m., fly nine hours direct to London, pause for a brief layover and then catch a plane to Frankfurt. We'll spend six nights in and around Frankfurt before moving on to visit friends Tim and Inka, who've recently moved to the southern German town of Frieburg. I hear great things about Frieburg; here are some photos of Tim's new pad.

While we're in Frankfurt, we'll sightsee, drink beer, and celebrate our three-year wedding anniversary. Bryan's got a special surprise hotel picked out for the occasion. I'm not sure exactly where it will be, but you can bet it will have a) satellite TV, hopefully with some English-language channels; b) high-speed internet; and c) a hairdryer. My man knows what I like.

Contrary to our usual MO, I haven't done much research on Frankfurt before arriving, or for that matter, on Germany at all. (You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a decent budget travel book here in South Africa. Gesundheit!) So if you have any recommendations, please send them our way. And if you know anything about the German Kriegers, I'd be up for that, too.

From Freiburg, we plan to spend a month or so traveling in Eastern Europe, hitting some major areas of interest such as Prague and Budapest and Croatia. I do have a book to help me there. At that point, we'll fly back to London, hopefully via Paris, and make our last international stop a house call to dear British pals Clare and Andy.

The goal is to be back in the U.S. on or around Halloween. Are we allowed to dress up as world travelers?

PS I've uploaded some street scene shots from our prime location balcony in Cape Town, along with another classic Bryan video, "Balloon Toss 101," where he tries to explain to 30 crazed teens how the rules work. Equally entertaining is the aftermath. If you have three spare minutes, I recommend both.

stars, they're just like allyson @ 2:55 AM