Exploring

Charlotte and I had a great morning exploring the pedestrian zone.

I sort of let her lead the way -- except, hot as it is, that way often led right toward the open door of an air-conditioned store. So we modified the walk a bit.

But we did visit some nice little alleys and met lots of interesting dogs -- and mostly nice people. (I've no idea what that one older lady said to me, but it sure didn't sound like "Guten Tag".)

We met a little poodle outside a boutique. Charlotte and she really liked each other at first -- until Charlotte became more interested in her pile of dog treats than the dog itself. But they never got seriously rough with each other.

In fact, all the dogs here seem pretty friendly. The bigger dogs are gentle with the little ones, and the little runs love to run little orbits around the bigger dogs.

And very few people wave you off, saying whatever the German equivalent of "She eats dogs like yours for breakfast" is.

One area of the pedestrian zone has some little fountains. Real popular with kids, and not so popular with parents of those same kids.

Charlotte did some shadow boxing with one of the fountains, getting close enough to feel the water, then jumping back and barking.

Eventually she settled in a damp, shady spot.

On the way back, we ran into a little miniature doberman. She and Charlotte immediately took a liking to each other -- and then I heard a woman's voice call, "Hallo, Charlotte!"

That's when I recognized the little dog as Cheri, a dog Glen and I had gone to the park Tuesday night hoping to run into. Cheri is Charlotte's best friend.

And no wonder! They both have the same energy level -- and roughly the same size footprint!

Cheri is owned by Katrina, who is very nice and speaks just a bit more English than I do German. "I am Katrina," she says. "Like New Orleans. The tornado."

Finally, this is a photo of a steaming volcano sculpture just outside the park. And the volcano part is just a partial fiction.

Wiesbaden is named for the hot mineral waters that spring naturally around the city. This fountain isn't technically a natural spring. It's pumped into the air. But the water is directly from a natural hot spring -- and it's definitely warmer than my morning shower.