I woke up on the top floor of Connie's house. We were again treated like royalty and a fresh breakfast spread in the kitchen. Everyone, including Melany and Yuri joined us for breakfast.

I had used my emergency CO2 cartridge a day prior, so I tried to find a bike shop to buy another one. Unfortunately, the bike shop near Connie was closed almost the entire month of July for "Urlaub" (vacation). I then headed to the market with my dad, where we picked up a specific potted flower Melany had wanted for her garden, as well as some more fresh cherries. 

After hanging out some more in Connie's garden, admiring all her flowers and herbs, it was time to visit the next set of relatives: Jan Erik, Gabbi, Christian, and Claudia. My parents were again going to take the train, and I would meet them 30km down the road in Hanau by bike. Connie was nice enough to give me her ferry punch card with two trips left on it. Taking a ferry across the Main river saved me a few minutes detour over a bridge. On the ride over, I used one, and gave the last punch on the card to a random stranger who was grateful. The ride along the Main River through Frankfurt was beautiful. Lots of people out on the bike path and river. At one point, I found a good sitting spot in the shade to cool off and relax.

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Coming into Hanau, I managed to plug the wrong address into my phone. After realizing that the street number I was looking for did not exist, I realized the street I was on was one letter off from what I had intended. Woops.

I eventually found my way over to my relatives' house, and was again treated like royalty. After I changed out of my bike clothes and cleaned up, my extended family treated my parents and I to a long evening of eating, drinking, and hanging out in the back garden.  We enjoyed an amazing, home cooked dinner, with all the beer and Apfelwein we could drink. 

Claudia, Christian, and I had a good time talking about their upcoming visit to the US. Claudia had spent some time in the US as an exchange student, and was eager to see more of the US. Christian had never been. 

Jan Erik is quite the story teller, and I spent a good part of the night intrigued with his local lore about Hanau. He explained to me how Hanau became known as a goldsmithing town when refugees from Belgium came in the 1800s. It was also the location of a large American military base after WWII. Hanau seemed to be a dynamic place with ever changing groups moving in and out.

We eventually made our way inside and went to bed after a long and fun evening.