Off to Germany again, but further south

Jeannette and I were up before 9 and set out to buy groceries. We went to the Albert Heijn market in an upscale town nearby. Jeannette explained many local groceries to me, including Vla, dutch pudding in a carton. It comes in vanilla, chocolate, caramel/butterscotch and other flavors, and is richer and creamier than American pudding. We had eaten the pudding at her house for a treat after supper.There were many cheeses, sliced meats, many kinds of bread and cookies. I asked about peanut butter cookies and she said peanut butter is sometimes eaten on bread but never in a cookie. There were various treats for children, including sprinkles that are put on buttered toast for children as an early food. We bought bread, "milche", cheese, eel!- a typical dutch treat-, apples, espresso, and off we went. I packed for the train and just made it in time, for we weren't certain on these winding dutch roads just how far the station in Bussum was. It was hugs to Jeannette and so many thanks for such a wonderful time- incredible!!
After a short ride I switched to the train to Osnabruk. A couple asked about my travels and were very interested in Dad's story. The man even knew of B-17s and the war. He and his wife were delighted woth my visit to Mr Zwanenburg, and Dad's circumstances that brought himback to Holland. He told me "those young men from England and America were heroes to us in Holland, fighting for our freedom."
In Osnabruk I switched trains again and had a nervewracking 30 minute wait. I had bought a ticket for my bike in Amsterdam to Heidelberg, but didn't have a reservaton for it from here on. Jeannette suggested I board the train with it and see if there was room. I prayed while I waited...and waited...the train was late, a first. The train before mine had a trainman who kept wiping his brow and putting his hand to his head as if to say "Oh! I can't believe it's late!" When it pulled in, I put my bike in wagon #7 and had to squeeze it between the full line of bikes and the wall. The trainman asked for my ticket, so I gave him my first class Eurail pass, then my reservations. He looked at them both, looked around, studied the tickets, then stamped them and said "Okay." Whew!!This is the only part of European travel I have found to be tense, and that is the reservations on trains. Especially for bikes. At the next stop, 2 bikes left, so I moved my bike into place and was set.
On the way down to Heidelberg we passed through the beautiful Mossel Valley. After so much flat land it was a delight for these Montana eyes. The mountains rose gently above the valley, and after having never seen a European castle except in books, I saw several within the hour. They were perched high on the hillsides, with very difficult access. Many hillsides had rows upon rows of grape vineyards. This is very beautiful country indeed.
9:34pm (21:34 German time!) I arrived at the station. We hadn't talked with Dietrich for a few days, so he wasn't at the station (he didn't know I was at the station-duh!). I asked a man nearby for help using the phone to find Dietrich's phone # and he was extrememly helpful. When we couldn't find it in the directory, I told him I could find it online if he knew where an internet cafe was. He said "sure, I'll drive you to one nearby." I locked up my bike and went for a ride in....an.....
Alpha Romeo Spyder convertible! Shiny black, with the top down. Sweet!! The man is a doctor in Heidelberg and lives in an old part of town, near the internet cafe. Twenty minutes later I was back at the station and Dietrich and Christine were on their way.