As is the story of this whole trip, on our last day all together we headed to the train station, dragging our bags along behind us. Our final destination was Frankfurt, but we had a long day ahead of us!
Dad took some pictures inside this at the train station - it's a parking garage for bikes! I think it's very cheap - like 50 cents a day or something?
Carson worked while we rode. He was editing a publication at the time.
Our first stop was Cologne. We wanted Mom and Dad to see Cologne, so we sort of planned a roundabout train trip on regional trains. We stopped there for an hour and a half, which was enough time to see what we wanted to see.
First, Carson stayed with the bags in Starbucks while I took Mom and Dad into the Cathedral.
We also had Apfelberliners.
Next, I stayed with the bags, while everyone else went to the Roman ruins underground. Carson and I went here with Ben back in October (see post here) and it's pretty neat! Cologne was occupied by the Romans for quite some time so there's some major history here.
We ate lunch and then got back on a train! Our journey was unexpectedly beautiful.We stayed next to the Rhine River the whole time and got to see castles, vineyards and beautiful old towns. We passed through Remagen, which Dad recognized from an old movie, The Bridge at Remagen, as well as some places Carson and I recognized from our river cruise down the Rhine from Rüdesheim last summer. If we'd had another week in Europe, I would have loved to take Mom and Dad on a Rhine cruise, but this was the next best thing! We saw castles for miles and miles!
And Mom enjoyed another pretzel.
We passed the Roman Theater ruins in Mainz (post here)
And we finally made it to the Frankfurt airport. The train went directly there, so we hopped off and then navigated to the hotel (Hilton Garden Inn, inside the airport).
Dad washed his socks and stuck them on the air conditioner to dry.
We took the S-Bahn into the city to see Frankfurt just a little bit. It's not my favorite German city because most of it isn't very pretty (to me), so we showed them the pretty parts! 
Here's a little slab of the Berlin Wall.
The home of Goethe, the German writer. It's a museum (it was closed for the day) and Carson went here during Museumsuferfest in August.
Römerberg Square
We walked onto this bridge that overlooked the Main River (pronounced "mine")
We grabbed quick food for dinner that in my opinion wasn't really that great. If I'd been thinking about it I'd remember all the tasty looking options back at the airport, but I didn't and our food was mediocre.
Here's Dad taking a picture of Carson next to a doesn't-exist-in-the-States-Honda. There are quite a few models I've never seen in the US but see often in Germany.
S-Bahning it back to the airport.
So we hadn't planned on all of us staying at the airport also right before we left that morning. We packed a bag quickly and hoped for a big enough room. They didn't have any four person rooms, so I slept under a desk and Carson slept on the floor next to me. The air conditioner blasted him all night long, poor guy, and he was an icicle who didn't get any sleep. My spot on the floor wasn't that comfortable, but I was certainly warmer than Carson and got a decent amount of sleep. Sorry buddy! This is a recreation the next morning.
Dad and Mom went off to check in for their flight, while Carson and I grabbed breakfast and then boarded the FlixBus back home. Everyone made it home safe and sound although some naps to catch up on sleep were definitely necessary. I'm so so glad my parents were able to make the trip out to see us!
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