It's raining again! We awoke at 7:00am. This was the first night that we both slept straight through the night and we both felt much better and more rested than we have since we have been here.

Breakfast was a buffet, which had the usual goodies including the smoked salmon of which I have become very fond. At 10:00 we packed up for the day and headed out to see the city. We took a left turn out of the hotel and walked for many blocks. We ended up quite a way away from where we thought we should be. We got on a streetcar and rode to no where in particular. I tried to buy tickets from the machine on the streetcar but never could figure it out. We were never challenged to produce a ticket.

We rode for about 6 stops, past the main train station and got off at what ended up being a cemetery. It was a beautiful and peaceful place. We walked around in here for a while and then got back on the trolley back to the hotel area. Back in familiar territory, we headed for the old city section and visited the farmer's market and various stores. My purchase for the day was a wallet from Freiburg Lederhaus. Freiburg has streams flowing through the city which have been channeled through the streets.

About 11:30 we were getting very hungry and walked back to the hotel café for lunch. We both had the fried pike-perch with vegetables and potatoes. Like everything we have had to eat here, it is excellent. After lunch we returned to shopping with renewed vigor. Upon recommendation from the hotel we visited a shop called "Hansen's" to shop for a cuckoo clock. They actually have 2 stores within 2 blocks of each other. We looked in one store, the went to the other, then went back to the first store that we visited. They had many clocks and the decision was difficult but we finally found the clock that we wanted. This was a tax-free store so I got about DM 250 back in cash on the VAT (Value Added Tax) since it was being shipped out of the country. Delivery time is said to be within 10 weeks since they are made to order.

We next stopped at a wine store and inquired about having some shipped back. They said that they did not have the proper licenses to do this so we bought 2 bottles to take back with us. My other purchase for the day was a new wallet. We carried our treasures back to the hotel to unload and start out again.

We stopped at a cheese market and bought some Gruyere. Along about 4:30 we were getting hungry again but neither one of us wanted a large meal after a big lunch.

On the way back to the hotel we passed a store called NORDSEE. They are apparently some sort of chain because we have seen them nearly everywhere that we have been. They specialize in seafood. Barb got a fried whitefish sandwich and I had a smoked salmon with sliced hard-boiled egg (Seelachs mit ei) sandwich, both on a hard roll.

We crashed back at the hotel for a while (no nap although we both felt like it) and finally ate our sandwiches. The hotel had provided us with a small bottle of champagne which we had along with our sandwiches. We then headed back out again for a while but it started to rain so we were back at the hotel in a short time. We packed up for the trip to Frankfurt the next day and watched some TV before going to bed.