text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Sep 15, 2009
|Filing date
|Oct 31, 2006
|Priority date
|Nov 21, 2002
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Ming Zheng, Bruce A. Diner
|Original Assignee
|E.I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (10), Non-Patent Citations (15), Referenced by (1), Classifications (18), Legal Events (3)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application 60/428,087, filed Nov. 21, 2002 and U.S. provisional application 60/432804, filed Dec. 12, 2002.
The invention relates the use of biopolymers to disperse carbon nanotubes for use in nanodevices. More specifically nucleic acid molecules have been found to disperse bundled carbon nanotubes.
Carbon nanotubes (CNT) have been the subject of intense research since their discovery in 1991. CNT's possess unique properties such as small size and electrical conductivity, which makes them suitable in a wide range of applications, including use as structural materials in molecular electronics, nanoelectronic components, and field emission displays. Carbon nanotubes may be either multi-walled (MWNTs) or single-walled (SWNTs), and have diameters in the nanometer range.
Depending on their atomic structure CNT's may have either metallic or semiconductor properties, and these properties, in combination with their small dimensions makes them particularly attractive for use in fabrication of nano-devices. A major obstacle to such efforts has been the diversity of tube diameters, chiral angles, and aggregation states in nanotube samples obtained from the various preparation methods. Aggregation is particularly problematic because the highly polarizable, smooth-sided fullerene tubes readily form parallel bundles or ropes with a large van der Waals binding energy. This bundling perturbs the electronic structure of the tubes, and it confounds all attempts to separate the tubes by size or type or to use them as individual macromolecular species.
There have been many reports on producing suspensions enriched in individual fullerene tubes (J. Liu et al., Science 280, 1253 (1998); M. J. O'Connell et al., Chem. Phys. Lett. 342, 265 (2001); S. Bandow et al., J. Phys. Chem. B 101, 8839 (1997); J. Chen et al., Science 282, 95 (1998); G. S. Duesberg, J. Muster, V. Krstic, M. Burghard, S. Roth, Appl. Phys. A 67, 117 (1998); A. B. Dalton et al., J. Phys. Chem. B 104, 10012 (2000); A. B. Dalton et al., Synth. Metals 121, 1217 (2001); R. Bandyopadhyaya, E. Nativ-Roth, O. Regev, R. Yerushalmi-Rozen, Nano Lett. 2, 25 (2002)), available samples have still been dominated by small nanotube bundles. M. O'Connell et al (Science 297, 593 (2002)) has described a method based on vigorous treatment with a sonicator followed by centrifugation, primarily yielding individual fullerene nanotubes in aqueous micellar suspensions. Also described are processes (M. O'Connell et al., Chem. Phys. Lett., 342, 265, 2001; WO 02/076888) for the solubilization of carbon nanotubes in water by association with selected polymers, although not all polymers tried were successful.
Once the nanotubes are in a dispersed form suitable for further manipulation, a desirable next step is self-assembly of the nanotubes on a solid substrate. Associating oligonucleotides to carbon nanotubes would allow one to use bimolecular techniques for the positioning of the nanotubes on a substrate. K. A. Williams et al (AIP Conf. Proc. 663, 444, 2002) has covalently coupled peptide nucleic acid oligomers to carbon nanotubes and then hybridized this construct to DNA. However, DNA was not directly attached to the nanotubes, nor was dispersion of nanotube bundles observed.
The problem to be solved, therefore, is to provide a method for the facile and inexpensive solubilization and dispersion of bundled carbon nanotubes for use in the fabrication of nano-devices. Applicants have solved the stated problem through the discovery that stabilized solutions of nucleic acid molecules have the ability to disperse and solubilize carbon nanotubes, resulting in the formation of nanotube-nucleic acid complexes. Although complexes of nucleic acids and carbon nanotubes are known, the present complexes are new, in that the association between the nanotube and nucleic acid is non-covalent and not through the interaction of specific functionalized groups.
The invention provides a method for dispersing a population of carbon nanotubes comprising:
a) providing a stabilized solution of nucleic acid molecules;
b) contacting a population of carbon nanotubes with an effective amount of the stabilized nucleic acid solution of step (a) for a time sufficient to disperse the carbon nanotubes; and
c) optionally recovering the dispersed carbon nanotubes.
In an alternate embodiment the invention provides a method of immobilizing a carbon nanotube comprising:
a) providing a stabilized solution of nucleic acid molecules, said nucleic acid molecules functionalized with at least one first member of a binding pair;
b) providing a solid substrate having at least one second member of a binding pair immobilized thereon;
c) contacting a population of carbon nanotubes with an effective amount of the stabilized nucleic acid solution of step (a) whereby the population of carbon nanotubes is dispersed and whereby each carbon nanotube of the population becomes associated with at least one functionalized nucleic acid molecule of step (a); and
d) contacting the dispersed, nucleic acid associated carbon nanotubes of step (c) with the solid substrate of step (b) whereby the nucleic acid associated carbon nanotubes are immobilized through the interaction of the first and second binding pairs.
Also provided by the invention is a carbon nanotube—nucleic acid complex comprising an unfunctionalized carbon nanotube bound to a nucleic acid molecule.
The invention relates to a method for dispersing a population of bundled carbon nanotubes by contacting the bundled nanotubes with a stabilized solution of nucleic acid molecules. It has been found that nucleic acids are very effective in dispersing the nanotubes, forming nanotube-nucleic acid complexes based on non-covalent interactions between the nanotube and the nucleic acid molecule.
The method is particularly useful since a major obstacle to the manipulation and use of carbon nanotubes (CNT's) as structural materials has been their poor solubility and their tendency to aggregate in bundles or clusters.
In this disclosure the following terms and abbreviations may be used for the interpretation of the claims and specification.
"cDNA" means complementary DNA
"PNA" means peptide nucleic acid
"SEM" means scanning electron microscopy
"ssDNA" means single stranded DNA
"tRNA" means transfer RNA
"CNT" means carbon nanotube
"MWNT" means multi-walled nanotube
"SWNT" means single walled nanotube
"TEM" means transmission electron microscopy
The term "carbon nanotube" refers to a hollow article composed primarily of carbon atoms. The carbon nanotube can be doped with other elements, e.g., metals. The nanotubes typically have a narrow dimension (diameter) of about 1-200 nm and a long dimension (length), where the ratio of the long dimension to the narrow dimension, i.e., the aspect ratio, is at least 5. In general, the aspect ratio is between 10 and 2000.
As used herein a "nucleic acid molecule" is defined as a polymer of RNA, DNA, or peptide nucleic acid (PNA) that is single-or double-stranded, optionally containing synthetic, non-natural or altered nucleotide bases. A nucleic acid molecule in the form of a polymer of DNA may be comprised of one or more segments of cDNA, genomic DNA or synthetic DNA.
The letters "A", "G", "T", "C" when referred to in the context of nucleic acids will mean the purine bases adenine (C5H5N5) and guanine (C5H5N5O) and the pyrimidine bases thymine (C5H6N2O2) and cytosine (C4H5N3O), respectively.
The term "peptide nucleic acids" refers to a material having stretches of nucleic acid polymers linked together by peptide linkers.
As used herein the term "stabilized solution of nucleic acid molecules" refers to a solution of nucleic acid molecules that are solubilized and in a relaxed secondary conformation.
The term "nanotube-nucleic acid complex" means a composition comprising a carbon nanotube loosely associated with at least one nucleic acid molecule. Typically the association between the nucleic acid and the nanotube is by van der Waals bonds or some other non-covalent means.
The term "binding pair" refers to chemical or biopolymer based couples that bind specifically to each other. Common examples of binding pairs are immune-type binding pairs, such as antigen/antibody or hapten/anti-hapten systems. Suitable binding pairs glutathione-S-transferase/glutathione, 6�histidine Tag/Ni-NTA, streptavidin/biotin, S-protein/S-peptide, cutinase/phosphonate inhibitor, antigen/antibody, hapten/anti-hapten, folic acid/folate binding protein, and protein A or G/immunoglobulins. Another example of a binding pair is a negatively charged phosphate backbone of a nucleic acid molecule, with the second member being a positively charged surface.
The term "ligand" or "reactive ligand" will refer to one member of a binding pair which has been incorporated into the nucleic acid analyte and may include but is not limited to antibodies, lectins, receptors, binding proteins or chemical agents.
The term "agitation means" refers to a devices that facilitate the dispersion of nanotubes and nucleic acids. A typical agitation means is sonication.
The term "denaturant" as used herein refers to substances effective in the denaturation of DNA and other nucleic acid molecules.
The term "solid support" means a material suitable for the immobilization of a nanotube-nucleic acid complex. Typically the solid support provides an attachment of a member of a binding pair through which the complex is capture and immobilized.
The term "hybridization domain" refers to a specific portion of a nucleic acid molecule that is designed to hybridize to a complementary strand of another nucleic acid molecule. "Hybridizable" nucleic acids may be used to immobilize or direct placement of nanotube-nucleic acid complexes in the fabrication of nano-devices.
A nucleic acid molecule is "hybridizable" to another nucleic acid molecule, such as a cDNA, genomic DNA, or RNA, when a single stranded form of the nucleic acid molecule can anneal to the other nucleic acid molecule under the appropriate conditions of temperature and solution ionic strength. Hybridization and washing conditions are well known and exemplified in Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E. F. and Maniatis, T. Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Second Edition, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor (1989), particularly Chapter 11 and Table 11.1 therein (entirely incorporated herein by reference). The conditions of temperature and ionic strength determine the "stringency" of the hybridization. Stringency conditions can be adjusted to screen for moderately similar fragments, such as homologous sequences from distantly related organisms, to highly similar fragments, such as genes that duplicate functional enzymes from closely related organisms. Post-hybridization washes determine stringency conditions. One set of preferred conditions uses a series of washes starting with 6�SSC, 0.5% SDS at room temperature for 15 min, then repeated with 2�SSC, 0.5% SDS at 45� C. for 30 min, and then repeated twice with 0.2�SSC, 0.5% SDS at 50� C. for 30 min. A more preferred set of stringent conditions uses higher temperatures in which the washes are identical to those above except for the temperature of the final two 30 min washes in 0.2�SSC, 0.5% SDS was increased to 60� C. Another preferred set of highly stringent conditions uses two final washes in 0.1�SSC, 0.1�SDS at 65� C. Hybridization requires that the two nucleic acids contain complementary sequences, although depending on the stringency of the hybridization, mismatches between bases are possible. The appropriate stringency for hybridizing nucleic acids depends on the length of the nucleic acids and the degree of complementation, variables well known in the art. The greater the degree of similarity or homology between two nucleotide sequences, the greater the value of Tm for hybrids of nucleic acids having those sequences. The relative stability (corresponding to higher Tm) of nucleic acid hybridizations decreases in the following order: RNA:RNA, DNA:RNA, DNA:DNA. For hybrids of greater than 100 nucleotides in length, equations for calculating Tm have been derived (see Sambrook et al., supra, 9.50-9.51). For hybridizations with shorter nucleic acids, i.e., oligonucleotides, the position of mismatches becomes more important, and the length of the oligonucleotide determines its specificity (see Sambrook et al., supra, 11.7-11.8). In one embodiment the length for a hybridizable nucleic acid is at least about 10 nucleotides. Preferable a minimum length for a hybridizable nucleic acid is at least about 15 nucleotides; more preferably at least about 20 nucleotides; and most preferably the length is at least 30 nucleotides. Furthermore, the skilled artisan will recognize that the temperature and wash solution salt concentration may be adjusted as necessary according to factors such as length of the probe.
Standard recombinant DNA and molecular biology techniques used here are well known in the art and are described by Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E. F. and Maniatis, T., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratorv Manual, Second Edition, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. (1989) (hereinafter "Maniatis"); and by Silhavy, T. J., Bennan, M. L. and Enquist, L. W., Experiments with Gene Fusions, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cold Press Spring Harbor, N.Y. (1984); and by Ausubel, F. M. et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, published by Greene Publishing Assoc. and Wiley-Interscience (1987).
Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes.
The invention provides a method for the dispersion of bundled carbon nanotubes by contacting the nanotubes with a stabilized solution of nucleic acid molecules.
Carbon Nanotubes
Carbon nanotubes of the invention are generally about 0.5-2 nm in diameter where the ratio of the length dimension to the narrow dimension, i.e., the aspect ratio, is at least 5. In general, the aspect ratio is between 10 and 2000. Carbon nanotubes are comprised primarily of carbon atoms, however may be doped with other elements, e.g., metals. The carbon-based nanotubes of the invention can be either multi-walled nanotubes (MWNTs) or single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs). A MWNT, for example, includes several concentric nanotubes each having a different diameter. Thus, the smallest diameter tube is encapsulated by a larger diameter tube, which in turn, is encapsulated by another larger diameter nanotube. A SWNT, on the other hand, includes only one nanotube.
Carbon nanotubes (CNT) may be produced by a variety of methods, and are additionally commercially available. Methods of CNT synthesis include laser vaporization of graphite (A. Thess et al. Science 273, 483 (1996)), arc discharge (C. Journet et al., Nature 388, 756 (1997)) and HiPCo (high pressure carbon monoxide) process (P. Nikolaev et al. Chem. Phys. Lett. 313, 91-97 (1999)). Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) can also be used in producing carbon nanotubes (J. Kong et al. Chem. Phys. Lett. 292, 567-574 (1998); J. Kong et al. Nature 395, 878-879 (1998); A. Cassell et al. J. Phys. Chem. 103, 6484-6492 (1999); H. Dai et al. J. Phys. Chem. 103,11246-11255 (1999)).
Additionally CNT's may be grown via catalytic processes both in solution and on solid substrates (Yan Li, et al., Chem. Mater.; 2001; 13(3); 1008-1014); (N. Franklin and H. Dai Adv. Mater. 12, 890 (2000); A. Cassell et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 121, 7975-7976 (1999)).
Nucleic Acid Molecules
Nucleic acid molecules of the invention may be of any type and from any suitable source and include but are not limited to DNA, RNA and peptide nucleic acids. The nucleic acid molecules may be either single stranded or double stranded and may optionally be functionalized at any point with a variety of reactive groups, ligands or agents. The nucleic acid molecules of the invention may be generated by synthetic means or may be isolated from nature by protocols well known in the art (Sambrook supra).
It should be noted that functionalization of the nucleic acids are not necessary for their association with CNT's for the purpose of dispersion. Functionailzation may be of interest after the CNT's have been dispersed and it is desired to bind other moieties to the nucleic acid or immobilize the carbon nanotube-nucleic acid complex to a surface through various functionalized elements of the nucleic acid. As used herein nucleic acids that are used for dispersion, typically lack functional groups and are referred to herein as "unfunctionalized."
Peptide nucleic acids (PNA) are particularly useful in the present invention as they possess the double functionality of both nucleic acids and peptides. Methods for the synthesis and use of PNA's are well known in the art, see for example Antsypovitch, S. I. Peptide nucleic acids: structure Russian Chemical Reviews (2002), 71(1), 71-83.
The nucleic acid molecules of the invention may have any composition of bases and may even consists of stretches of the same base (poly A or polyT for example) without impairing the ability of the nucleic acid molecule to disperse the bundled nanotube. Preferably the nucleic acid molecules will be less than about 2000 bases where less than 1000 bases is preferred and where from about 5 bases to about 1000 bases is most preferred. Generally the ability of nucleic acids to disperse carbon nanotubes appears to be independent of sequence or base composition, however there is some evidence to suggest that the less G-C and T-A base-pairing interactions in a sequence, the higher the dispersion efficiency, and that RNA and varieties thereof is particularly effective in dispersion and is thus preferred herein. Nucleic acid molecules suitable for use in the present invention include but are not limited to those having the general formula:
In addition the combinations listed above the person of skill in the art will recognize that any of these sequences may have one or more deoxyribonucleotides replaced by ribonucleotides (i.e., RNA or RNA/DNA hybrid) or one or more sugar-phosphate linkages replaced by peptide bonds (i.e. PNA or PNA/RNA/DNA hybrid).
Ligand Incorporation
It is contemplated that ligands may be introduced into the nucleic acid molecules in a variety positional orientations and numbers. For example ligands can be incorporated into one or both strands of a duplex nucleic acid analyte. Positionally, ligands can be incorporated either at the 5′ or 3′ ends of the analyte or incorporated on internal bases within the nucleic acid sequence, but incorporation internally is generally preferred.
The method of incorporation of the ligand into the nucleic acid sequences may be accomplished either by chemical or enzymatic means, or by direct incorporation of ligand labeled bases into the target sequence. In a preferred approach, ligand incorporated sequences are prepared using ligand labeled bases or primers during polymerase chain reaction. Ligand incorporation can be accomplished either through the incorporation of primers modified with ligand(s) or by using ligand labeled dNTPs. Ligand labeled primers can be prepared using standard oligonucleotide cyanoethyl phosphoramidite chemistry by substituting selected bases with ligand modified phosphoramidite bases during primer synthesis. Alternatively, if primers are prepared with modified bases containing a linkable molecular spacer, the ligands can be chemically linked to the spacer after primer synthesis. Another method would make use of ligand labeled dNTPs or amino modified dNTPs which can be incorporated into a target nucleic acid sequence during the amplification procedure.
There are several advantages to synthesis of ligand incorporated nucleic acid sequences by PCR. For example, where labeled primers are used, it is possible to control both the positioning and number of ligands within one or both strands of the target sequence by the appropriate placement of the ligand in the primers.
Of particular interest in the present invention is the incorporation of binding pairs into the nucleic acid molecule. Where a nucleic acid is associated with a carbon nanotube, the use of specific binding pairs enables the placement of the nucleic acid portion at a specific point of attachment and facilitates the rationale design of nano-devices and structures. Members of specific binding pairs suitable for use in practicing the invention can be of the immune or non-immune type. Immune specific binding pairs are exemplified by antigen/antibody systems or hapten/anti-hapten systems. The antibody member, whether polyclonal, monoclonal or an immunoreactive fragment thereof, of the binding pair can be produced by customary methods familiar to those skilled in the art. The terms "immunoreactive antibody fragment" or "immunoreactive fragment"refer to fragments which contain the binding region of the antibody. Such fragments may be Fab-type fragments which are defined as fragments devoid of the Fc portion, e.g., Fab, Fab′ and F(ab′)2 fragments, or may be so-called "half-molecule" fragments obtained by reductive cleavage of the disulfide bonds connecting the heavy chain components of the intact antibody. If the antigen member of the specific binding pair is not immunogenic, e.g., a hapten, it can be covalently coupled to a carrier protein to render it immunogenic.
Non-immune binding pairs include systems wherein the two components share a natural affinity for each other but are not antibodies. Exemplary non-immune binding pairs are biotin-avidin or biotin-steptavidin, folic acid-folate binding protein, complementary probe nucleic acids, Proteins A, G, and immunoglobulins, etc. Also included are non-immune binding pairs which form a covalent bond with each other: exemplary covalent binding pairs include sulfhydryl reactive groups such as maleimides and haloacetyl derivatives and amine reactive groups such as isothiocyanates, succinimidyl esters and sulfonyl halides, etc. M. N. Bobrow, et al., J. Immunol. Methods, 125, 279, (1989).
Binding pairs particularly suitable or use in the present invention include but are not limited to immune-type binding pairs, such as antigen/antibody or hapten/anti-hapten systems as well as glutathione-S-transferase/glutathione, 6� histidine Tag/Ni-NTA, streptavidin/biotin, S-protein/S-peptide, cutinase/phosphonate inhibitor, antigen/antibody, hapten/anti-hapten, folic acid/folate binding protein, and protein A or G/immunoglobulins. Binding pairs may also include charged moieties as for example, a negatively charged phosphate backbone of a nucleic acid molecule, with the second member being a positively charged surface.
Nucleic Acid Stabilization
Once the nucleic acid molecule has been prepared it may be stabilized in a suitable solution. It is preferred if the nucleic acid molecules are in a relaxed secondary conformation and only loosely associated with each other to allow for the greatest contact by individual strands with the carbon nanotubes. Stabilized solutions of nucleic acids are common and well known in the art (see Sambrook supra) and typically include salts and buffers such as sodium and potassium salts, and TRIS (Tris(2-aminoethyl)amine), HEPES (N-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine-N′-(2-ethanesulfonic acid), and MES(2-(N-Morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid. Preferred solvents for stabilized nucleic acid solutions are those that are water miscible where water is most preferred.
Once the nucleic acid molecules are stabilized in a suitable solution they may be contacted with a population of bundled carbon nanotubes. It is preferred, although not necessary if the contacting is done in the presence of an agitation means of some sort. Typically the agitation means employs sonication for example, however may also include, devices that produce high shear mixing of the nucleic acids and nanotubes (i.e. homogenization), or any combination thereof. Upon agitation the carbon nanotubes will become dispersed and will form nanotube-nucleic acid complexes comprising at least one nucleic acid molecule loosely associated with the carbon nanotube by hydrogen bonding or some non-covalent means.
The process of agitation and dispersion may be improved with the optional addition of nucleic acid denaturing substances to the solution. Common denaturants include but are not limited to formamide, urea and guanidine. A non-limiting list of suitable denaturants may be found in Sambrook supra.
Additionally temperature during the contacting process will have an effect on the efficacy of the dispersion. Agitation at room temperature or higher was seen to give longer dispersion times whereas agitation at temperatures below room temperature (23� C.) were seen to give more rapid dispersion times where temperatures of about 4� C. are preferred.
Recovery of Dispersed Nanotubes
Once the nanotube-nucleic acid molecule complexes are formed they must be separated from solution. Where the nucleic acid has been functionalized by the addition of a binding pair for example separation could be accomplished by means of immobilization thought the binding pair as discussed below. However, where the nucleic acid has not been functionalized an alternate means for separation must be found. Applicants have provided a novel separation method involving either gel electrophoresis chromatography or a phase separation method that is rapid and facile and permits the separation of nanotube-nucleic acid complexes into discreet fractions based on size or charge. These methods have been applied to the separation and recovery of coated nanoparticles (as described in U.S. Ser. No. 10/622,889 incorporated herein by reference) and have been found useful here.
Gel electrophoresis is a commonly used method in biochemistry and molecular biology to separate macromolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. The gel serves as a sieving medium to separate the macromolecules on the basis of size. In the present invention, the gel can be made from agarose or polyacrylamide. Methods for preparing suitable gels are well known and exemplified in Sambrook, supra, particularly Chapter 6 (entirely incorporated herein by reference). Suitable agarose gels have an agarose concentration between 0.6 and 6% (weight per volume), while suitable polyacrylamide gels have an acrylamide concentration between 3.5 and 20% (weight per volume). It is well known in the art that the concentration of the gel to be used depends on the size of the molecules being separated. Specifically, higher gel concentrations provide better separation for smaller molecules, while lower gel concentrations are used to separate larger molecules. The gel concentration to be used for a given nanoparticle fractionation can be determined by routine experimentation. The preferred gel of the present invention is a 1% or lower agarose gel.
In order to determine the average particle size of the complexes a densifying agent may be added to an aqueous solution of the complexes. The purpose of densifying agent is to increase the specific gravity of the nanoparticle solution to facilitate loading of the solution into the gel. Suitable densifying agents are well known and include, but are not limited to, glycerol, sucrose, and Ficoll (a nonionic, synthetic polymer of sucrose, approximate molecular weight of 400,000, available from Sigma, St. Louis, Mo.). The complex solution is then added to the wells in the gel. The complexes migrate according to their apparent molecular weight and size of any particular complex may be determined by using molecular weight standards.
Alternatively the complexes may be separated by two phase separation methods. In this method nanotube-nucleic acid complexes in solution are fractionated by adding a substantially water-miscible organic solvent in the presence of an electrolyte. The amount of the substantially water-miscible organic solvent added depends on the average particle size desired. The appropriate amount can be determined by routine experimentation. Typically, the substantially water-miscible organic solvent is added to give a concentration of about 5% to 10% by volume to precipitate out the largest particles. The complexes are collected by centrifugation or filtration. Centrifugation is typically done using a centrifuge, such as a Sorvall� RT7 PLUS centrifuge available from Kendro Laboratory Products (Newtown, Conn.), for about 1 min at about 4,000 rpm. For filtration, a porous membrane with a pore size small enough to collect the complex size of interest can be used. Optionally, sequential additions of the substantially water-miscible organic solvent are made to the complex solution to increase the solvent content of the solution and therefore, precipitate out complexes of smaller sizes.
Immobilization/Association of Nanotube-Nucleic Acid Complexes
Once formed the dispersed nanotube-nucleic acid complexes containing ligands or binding pairs may be either immobilized on a solid substrate or rationally associated with other complexes in a process of nano-device fabrication.
For example, where the nucleic acid molecule has been functionalized with a first member of a binding pair, it may be immobilized on a solid support containing a second member of the binding pair. Solid supports suitable for such purposes are common and well known in the art and include but are not limited to, silicon wafers, synthetic polymer supports, such as polystyrene, polypropylene, polyglycidylmethacrylate, substituted polystyrene (e.g., aminated or carboxylated polystyrene; polyacrylamides; polyamides; polyvinylchlorides, etc.), glass, agarose, nitrocellulose, nylon, nickel grids or disks, silicon wafers, carbon supports, aminosilane-treated silica, polylysine coated glass, mica, and semiconductors such as Si, Ge, and GaAs. Method for incorporating binding pair members onto the surface of solid supports is also and advanced art (see for example, Immobilized Enzymes, Inchiro Chibata, Halsted Press, New York (1978) and Cuatrecasas, J. Bio. Chem., 245: 3059 (1970)).
Preferred binding pairs for immobilization of the present complexes are biotin/streptavidin or biotin/avidin.
Alternatively it will be possible to immobilize the complexes of the invention by direct interaction between nucleic acid molecules. For example, nucleic acid molecules in the dispersion sample may be chosen or designed to incorporate a specific hybridization domain that will hybridize with a specific complementary sequence. Nucleic acids having the complement sequence to the hybridization domain may be placed on the surface of the support and the complex captured by hybridization. Immobilization of nucleic acids to a solid support is common and well known in the art and may be accomplished for example using ultraviolet irradiation, baking, capillary transfer or vacuum transfer. Examples of nucleic acid immobilization on nitrocellulose and other suitable supports are given in Kalachikov, S. M., et al., Bioorg. Khim., 18, 52, (1992) and Nierzwicki-Bauer, et al., Biotechiques, 9, 472, (1990).
It will be appreciated by the person of skill in the art that the above mentioned interactions that enable the immobilization of the complexes of the invention may be equally employed to associate individual complexes with other complexes in a specific fashion. For example, a biotin containing complex may associate with a streptavidin containing complex or the hybridization domain of one nucleic acid molecule may be designed to bind to a similar domain on another complex.
In this fashion complexes may be rationally associated or immobilized to facilitate device fabrication.
Metallization of Associated or Immobilized Complexes
Where it is desired to use the complexes of the invention, either immobilized or associated in a particular conformation, as electrical conductors, the complexes can be metallized according to methods well known in the art. So for example it is well known in the art to sputter or evaporatively coat nanoscale structures with metals such as gold or platinum, respectively, in order to stabilize and image the structures (Schnur, J. M. et al. (1987) Thin Solid Films 152, 181-206; Markowitz, M. et al. (1992) Thin Solid Films 224, 242-7), rhapidosomes (Pazirandeh, M. et al. (1992) Biomimetics 1, 41), DNA (Braun, E. et al. (1998) Nature 391, 775-8) and microtubules (Kirsch, R. et al. (1997) Thin Solid Films 305, 248-253).
Metallized nanotube-nucleic acid complexes of the invention will be useful as nanowires or molecular interconnects in the fabrication of nano-devices. It will be expected for example that these metallized structures could be arrayed in a crossed arrangement, where the distance between adjacent complex can be controlled by the potential difference between them, then the array could be used as a non-volatile memory device similar to that proposed by Leiber and collaborators (Rueckes T. et al. (2000). Science 289, 94-97) for carbon nanotubes. Semiconducting complexes could find use in 3-terminal gated devices which can be used directly as switches, amplifiers or logic gates. By linking the metalized complexes with organic semiconductors, it may be possible to develop 2-terminal switching devices, showing, for example, negative differential resistance (e.g. Fan et al. (2002) JACS 124, 5550-5560). Other possible applications include point sources for emission in field-emission display devices and as conductive inclusions in conductive coatings.
The present invention is further defined in the following Examples. It should be understood that these Examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only. From the above discussion and these Examples, one skilled in the art can ascertain the essential characteristics of this invention, and without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to various uses and conditions.
General Methods
Standard recombinant DNA and molecular biology techniques used in the Examples are well known in the art and are described by Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E. F. and Maniatis, T. Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: Cold Spring Harbor, (1989) (Maniatis) and by T. J. Silhavy, M. L. Bennan, and L. W. Enquist, Experiments with Gene Fusions, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. (1984) and by Ausubel, F. M. et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, pub. by Greene Publishing Assoc. and Wiley-Interscience (1987).
The meaning of abbreviations is as follows: "h" means hour(s), "min" means minute(s), "sec" means second(s), "d" means day(s), "mL"means milliliters, "L" means liters.
General Procedure for Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes by Nucleic Acid
The single wall carbon nanotubes were made by the HiPCO process, either purified or unpurified, and were purchased from CNI (Houston, Tex.). The materials were used as received without further modification. Single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) oligonucleotides were purchased from Integrated DNA Technologies, INC ( Coralville, Iowa). Yeast tRNA was purchased from Sigma (St. Louis, Mo.). RNA homopolymers poly(A), poly(C) and poly(U) were purchased from Amersham Biosciences (Piscataway, N.J.). In a typical experiment, 10 mg of CNT were suspended in 10 mL of 1�SSC buffer (0.15M NaCl, 0.015M sodium citrate), then sonicated for 2 min with a TORBEO 130-Watt Ultrasonic Processor (Cole-Parmer Instrument Company, Vernon Hills, Ill.). Nucleic acids were dissolved in H2O to give a final concentration of 10 mg/mL. 50 μL of the CNT suspension and 5 μL of 10 mg/mL nucleic acid solution were added to 200 μL of H2O to give a final volume of 255 μL. The mixture was sonicated for 3 min., followed by 90 min of centrifugation at 16,000 g (Biofuge fresco, Kendro Laoratory Products, Newtown, Conn.). The supernatant was then removed for spectroscopic measurement. Absorption spectra from 400 nm to 900 nm were recorded using Ultrospec 3300 UV-Vis spectrophotometer (Amersham Biosciences, Piscataway, N.J.). The 730 nm peak was taken as a measure of the yield of the dispersion process.
In this experiment, purified single wall carbon nanotubes (HiPCO) were used. Following the procedure described above, the dispersion efficiency of a variety of sequences was examined. The sequences used include:
(N)90: where N stands for a random mix of G, A, T and C, the total length is 90 bases;
(C/A)90: where C/A stands for a random mix of C and A, the total length is 90 bases;
(G/A)90: where G/A stands for a random mix of G and A, the total length is 90 bases;
(G/T)90: where G/T stands for a random mix of G and T, the total length is 90 bases;
(C/T)90, 60, 30: where C/T stands for a random mix of C and T, the total length is 90, 60 and 30 bases, respectively;
C60: a homopolymer of C with 60 bases long;
T60: a homopolymer of T with 60 bases long.
Results from above sequences are shown in
In this experiment, purified single wall carbon nanotubes (HiPCO) were used. Following the procedure described above, the dispersion efficiency of a particular sequence (C/T)30 as a function of duration of sonication examined. As shown in
In this experiment, purified single wall carbon nanotubes (HiPCO) were used. Following the procedure described above, the dispersion efficiency of a particular sequence (C/T)30 in the absence and presence of nucleic acid denaturant formamide. As shown in
In this experiment, purified single wall carbon nanotubes (HiPCO) were used. Two dispersion tests were set up in this Example, following general procedures described above. In the first one, (C/T)30 DNA was used. In the second sample, no DNA was used and 175 μl of H2O plus 25 μl of 10% SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate, purchased from Sigma, St. Louis, Mo.) aqueous solution were added in place of 200 μl of H2O. As shown in
In this experiment, unpurified single wall carbon nanotubes (HiPCO) were used. Dispersion experiments were performed as described above, except that RNA (poly A, poly C, poly U and yeast tRNA) were used. The results shown in
In this experiment, unpurified single wall carbon nanotubes (HiPCO) were used. Following procedure described above, we have examined dispersion efficiency of a particular sequence (C/T)30 as a function of sonication temperature. In the first test, sonication was done as described in above. In the second test, sample was prepared the same way as the first test, except that sample was held in an ice-water bath during sonication. The yield of carbon nanotube dispersion from the second test was determined to be four times higher than the first test. This temperature effect was found to be true for other sequences as well.
In this experiment, both purified and unpurified single wall carbon nanotubes (HiPCO) were tested. Dispersion experiments were performed as described above. In a typical experiment, 200 μl of either DNA or RNA dispersed carbon nanotube solution at concentration of ˜0.1 mg/ml were mixed with equal volume of ethanol. Immediately after mixing, aggregation of carbon nanotube in solution was visible. After 1 min centrifugation at 16,000 g (Biofuge fresco, Kendro Laoratory Products, Newtown, Conn.), the supernatant solution became clear and all the carbon nanotubes went to the pellet. It was found that the pellet could be re-suspended into aqueous solution again.
In this experiment, unpurified single wall carbon nanotubes (HiPCO) were used. Dispersion experiments were performed as described in above. Two ssDNAs were tested: 1) random 90-mer (N90 hereafter); 2) random 90-mer with biotinylated 5′ end (biotin-N90 hereafter). Streptavidin-coated agarose beads were purchased from Sigma (St. Louis, Mo.), and were used as received. Two samples were prepared. Sample 1: 100 μl of the agarose beads were mixed with 100 μl of N90 dispersed carbon nanotube (˜0.1 mg/ml). After 30 min of incubation, the beads were spun down and washed with 0.5 mL of 1�SSC solution for 3 times. Sample 2: same as Sample 1, except biotin-N90 dispersed carbon nanotubes were used. After washing, one could notice that the pellet from Sample 2 was darker than Sample 1, indicating carbon nanotube binding to the beads. The two samples were analyzed by SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy). The results shown in
The sample solution from Example 2 was deposited onto a piece of mica pre-treated with 1 M MgSO4 solution to enhance DNA adsorption, and rinsed with water and dried prior to measurement. Tapping mode was used to acquire the images under ambient conditions (Digital Instruments Dimension 3100, Woodbury, N.Y.).
|Cited Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Oct 4, 1994
|Jul 22, 1997
|Diagenetics Ltd.
|Method of determining the presence and quantifying the number of di- and trinucleotide repeats
|Mar 6, 1996
|Feb 2, 1999
|Meso Scale Technology
|Graphitic nanotubes in luminescence assays
|Jun 4, 1999
|Dec 12, 2000
|President And Fellows Of Harvard College
|Nanometer-scale microscopy probes
|Nov 9, 2001
|Nov 23, 2004
|Intel Corporation
|Carbon nanotube molecular labels
|Nov 18, 2003
|May 20, 2008
|E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company
|Dispersion of carbon nanotubes by nucleic acids
|Mar 19, 2004
|Jan 27, 2005
|Jung Hee Tae
|Method for fabricating a biochip using the high density carbon nanotube film or pattern
|Feb 6, 2004
|Mar 10, 2005
|Vladimir Poponin
|Apparatus and method for the analysis of nucleic acids hydbridization on high density NA chips
|Jan 22, 2004
|Jul 28, 2005
|Hannah Eric C.
|Carbon nanotube molecular labels
|Feb 14, 2005
|Aug 18, 2005
|Young-Jun Park
|Biochip and biomolecular detection system using the same
|Mar 25, 2002
|Oct 3, 2002
|Ben-Gurion University Of The Negev
|Method for the preparation of stable suspensions and powders of single carbon nanotubes
|Bandow et al., Purification of Single-Wall Cabon Nanotubes by Microfiltration, J. Phys. Chem. B 101, 8839, 1997.
|Bandyopadhyaya et al., Stabilization of Individual Carbon Nanotubes in Aqueous Solutions, Nano Lett. 2, 25, 2002.
|Chen et al., Solution Properties of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes, Science 282, 95, 1998.
|Dalton et al., A functional conjugated polymer to process, purify and selectively interact with single wall carbon nanotubes, Synth. Metals 121, 1217, 2001.
|Dalton et al., Selective Interaction of a Semiconjugated Organic Polymer with Single-Wall Nanotubes, J. Phys Chem. B104 10012, 2000.
|Duesberg et al., Chromatographic size separation of single-wall carbon nanotubes Appl. Phys. A 67, 117, 1998.
|Fukushima, Takanori et al., Molecular Ordering of Organic Molten Salts Triggered by Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes, Science, Jun. 27, 2003, p. 2072-2074, vol. 300.
|Guo et al, Immobilization and Visualization of DNA and Proteins on Carbon Nanotubes, Advanced Materials, 1998 10(9), 701-703.
|Jiang et al., Production of aqueous colloidal dispersions of carbon nanotubes, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2003, 260(1), 89-94.
|Lui et al., Fullerene Pipes, Science 280, 1253, 1998.
|O'Connell et al., Band Gap Fluorescence from Individual Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes, Science 297, 593, 2002.
|O'Connell et al., Reversible water-solubilization of single-walled carbon nanoChem. Phys. Lett., 342, 265, 2001.
|Tsang et al., Immobilization of Platinated and Iodinated Oligonucleotides on Carbon Nanotubes, Angew, Chem Int., 1997, 36(20), 2198-2200.
|Wang et al., A treatment method to give separated multi-walled carbon nanotubes with high purity, high crystallization and a large aspect ratio, Carbon, 2003, 41(15), 2939-2948.
|Williams et al., Towards DNA-Mediated Self Assembly of Carbon Nanotube Molecular Devices, AIP Conf. Proc. 663, 444, 2002.
|Citing Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Jun 2, 2010
|Dec 4, 2012
|Shen tongde
|Dispersible carbon nanotubes and method for preparing same
|U.S. Classification
|436/6, 435/283.1, 536/24.1, 435/287.2, 536/24.3, 536/23.1
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Apr 26, 2013
|Maintenance fee reminder mailed
|Sep 15, 2013
|Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees
|Nov 5, 2013
|Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee
Effective date: 20130915


text:
Progressive filly Royal Descent proved successful in rewriting the history books at Randwick on Saturday when becoming the first filly to carry 59kg to victory in the $125,000, Tabcorp Group 3 Adrian Knox Stakes (2000m).
Royal Descent in full flight in the Adrian Knox Stakes, picture sportpix.com.au
Having surpassed Full Of Spirit's record last year of carrying 57.5kg to victory the daughter of Redoute's Choice trained by Chris Waller proved far too good for her rivals when drawing away to score comfortably by 2 1/2L.
"With 59kgs it is never easy and when you are taking on listed-type horses it's really hard. Credit to Nash he used his draw to his advantage and left a bit in the tank which is good when you have that weight to carry," Waller said.
Stepping out at just her sixth career start, Royal Descent proved successful in living up to her early promise with Waller claiming he was confident she was going to be a Group class galloper right from the beginning of her career.
"It is very important to win black-type races especially for people like Gerry Harvey. They put a lot into the game and wins like this keep spurring them along. She's a straight forward filly to train, an absolute beauty," he said.
While she is bred to handle the step up to 2400m for the Group 1 ATC Oaks, Waller is yet to confirm whether or not she will line up in the staying feature.
"I'm going to have to talk to the boss and the Harvey team to see what they say. It's their decision," Waller said.
"They have a very nice filly on their hands and if she does not go on this prep they have a lot to look forward to in the Spring."
Ridden patiently off the speed by Nash Rawiller he felt she was always travelling beautifully in the run and was confident a long way from home.
Rawiller was behind a wall of horses at the top of the straight with Royal Descent under wraps. A gap opened on the rails and Rawiller sent the filly forward and she produced a turn of foot that put paid to the field in short order despite her large weight.
Royal Descent went to the line strongly to suggest that the additional distance of the Oaks will not trouble her.
Express Power (Snitzel) (54kg) and Jim Cassidy were second with Hold Me Tight (Refuse To Bend) (55.5kg) and James McDonald third, the margin 3/4L.
The time was 2.04.01 on the Dead 5 track with the final 600m in 36.19. Royal Descent paid $4.50 on NSW TAB.
"She gave me a beautiful ride throughout the run and probably travelled like the winner the whole race."
While still up in the air whether or not she will back up into the Oaks, Rawiller was confident she would come through this afternoon's effort in good shape.
"She just seemed to take no ill-effect from the run," Rawiller said.
"She basically had a bit of a track gallop early and obviously pinged home. She was strong over the last 400m and gave me no indication that she was about to train off.
"I'm not sure what Chris is going to. He was talking about putting her out but on today's win I'd be happy looking at the Oaks."
Royal Descent is $26 into $9 to take out the $550,000, Group 1 Australian Oaks (2400m) next Saturday.
The other big firmer to come out of the race is Express Power who is $51 into $26. Habibi (NZ) still commands favouritism at $3.50 ahead of Dear Demi, $4.50, with Longport joining Royal Descent on the third line of betting.
Royal Descent, out of the Kaapstad mare Mulan Princess, is her sire's 104th stakeswinner and 18th stakeswinner this season. Bred and owned by Harvey she has raced just six times and won three and placed in two and earned stakes of $223,730.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Article source: MA2
The concept proposal is located in Manhattan's South Street Seaport as an office tower with an adjacent parking structure. In its inception the tower is a product of preserving angles within a complex plane grid, which has been interfered by a Mobius geometric transformation. By manipulating a two-dimensional grid using asymptotic developments, it generates a series of automorphing patterns and higher dimensional structures.
- Architects: MA2
- Project: NYC Tower Proposal
- Location: South Street Seaport, New York
- Software used: Maya, Photoshop, Illustrator, AutoCAD


text:
Honor Flight for veterans
Wed, 26 Nov 2008 02:15:10 GMT —
Some 60 years ago, hundreds of thousands of men lost their lives in World War Two.
And just four years ago, a national memorial was built in their honor.
Sadly, hundreds of World War Two veterans die everyday, never getting to see that memorial.
Now a group called Honor Flight is trying to get every veteran it can to Washington D-C to see it for free.
A group out of Union Missouri flew out this past Saturday, and KHQA's Chad Douglas was honored to be on that plane.
This impressive memorial rests in the middle of two of the most well known memorials in the world, the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. It symbolizes just about every aspect of the war. From the lives lost, to the battles fought, to the hard working men and women at home helping the war effort. Sadly, many of the men and women who fought in that war will never get to see it. But Honor Flight hopes to help.
"It's an impossible task for many of them to go to Washington. First, they need help and maybe family can't do it. The other thing is the cost. A lot of WWII veterans nest egg is gone," says co-founder of Franklin County Honor Flight Jim Tayon.
That's why every veteran flies for free. One of the co-founders told me, these men have paid enough. Honor Flight also takes along several volunteers called guardians to help the trip run smoothly. It's a one day trip, chock full of American Pride. We left St. Louis at seven in the morning on a Saturday, and flew to Baltimore.
There, these men were saluted and honored by current Army soldiers and other members of Honor Flight in that area.
"They know for sure they're appreciated," says Tayor.
Once at the memorial, these veterans were greeted by a special guest and WWII vet, former Senator Bob Dole and his wife current Senator Elizabeth Dole. I'm told Senator Dole has not missed a group of Honor Flight veterans since the program started a couple of years ago. (nats?) The veterans also get to visit several other war memorials while in Washington D.C. Then it's back home. But before we land in St. Louis, something special happens.
"On the flight home, we do what we call mail call," says Tayon.
"We have letters written by school children and we bundle them and sort them," says Tayon.
Keep in mind, back in World War II, mail was everything because soldiers and sailors didn't have TV or the internet.
"The letters tell them they love and respect them and appreciate what they did," says Tayon.
And once these veterans are back in St. Louis, it's one final pat on the back and a huge thank you from family members waiting to pick them up.
"Many of them have said this is the best day of my life," says Tayon.
For more information on Honor Flight, you can check out www.honorflight.org.
The group I flew with is called Franklin County Honor Flight out of Union Missouri.
It's website is www.franklincountyhonorflight.org.
You can also write or send a donation to that chapter at Franklin County Honor Flight, PO Box 60, Union, MO 63084
A member of this flight is trying to start up a chapter in Springfield, Illinois.


text: FYI HAZARD REDUCTION BURNS Media Releases By Karen Dore Tuesday 02 Jun 2015 For Your Information Chittering Fire Service Volunteers spent most of their public holiday Monday responding to out of control burn offs throughout the Shire. As such we ask that you please consider Volunteers and take all reasonable care when conducting hazard reduction burns. Hazard Reduction Burning is an important strategy in mitigating the threat of bush fire, however when undertaking a burn off residents should ensure that they; • Only burn what can be managed with the resources (people, fire-fighting equipment, water, time) that they have available; • Ensure that there is enough water available, at all times, to extinguish the fire if required; • Never leave a burn of any size unattended and ensure someone will be on site (if it is a weekender rather than a residence) until the burn is extinguished; • Make sure all neighbours are aware of the burn off; • Ensure that the area to be burnt is surrounded by mineral earth breaks, a 'fire break', of at least 3m. Thank you for your kind attention. Jamie O'Neill Community Emergency Services Manager/Chief Bush Fire Control Officer DATES TO REMEMBER Fire breaks must be cleared by 16 October and remain cleared until 31 May Burning permits are required between 19 October and 30 November / 1 April and 31 May (RESTRICTED SEASON) Burning is prohibited from 1 December to 31 March (PROHIBITED SEASON) NOTE: if there is any alteration to the above dates residents will be advised via SMS (if registered), Media Release, Chatter, Noticeboards and Social Media Category: Media Releases « Back


text:
Hull have been told they will have to pay £3million if they are to have any chance of signing Oxford United forward Kemar Roofe.
The 23-year-old was a revelation for the U's last season when bagging 18 goals in League One and his form has caught the eye of Tigers boss Steve Bruce.
There will be no shortage of interest in Roofe over the summer and United chairman Darryl Eales has slapped a minimum price tag of £3million on his head.
That figure would not be a problem for Hull, but so far no bids have been made.
"To be fair that's always been my minimum number for Kemar," he told the Oxford Mail. "He's got two more years on his contract and there's no pressure on Michael to sell anyone.
"If someone comes in with a valuation that matches ours we will think about it, but no-one has."


text:
We just returned from our 12 day trip to Germany (including travel time). Thanks to everyone on this forum who helped me plan it. To level set for others planning their trip in the future, we are a family of four....adults in their late 40s, teenagers 15 (DS) and 17 (DD).
Day 1: We flew US Air via Philadephia to Munich. I originally booked this flight through Orbitz back in April but at the time the seat selection was acting flaky so I booked the flight without seats and told myself I'd follow up on it later. $1400/ticket. Unfortunately I didn't look at my reminder notes until 2 weeks before the trip and when I called to get seats, they said that we'd have to sit in 4 different places scattered throughout the plane...or we could pay $30 extra a seat and sit together in a "premium" row. We did because it's a long trip not to be able to sit together. There was nothing premium about this row. It was exactly like almost every other row in coach. As soon as we booked it, I'm sure another "premium" row opened up. I was glad we got to sit together but the nickel-and-diming that the airlines are doing these days is driving me nuts.
We ate in Philadelphia, even though we weren't terribly hungry, not knowing if they were going to feed us on the plane, and hoping to escape airline food even if they did. The plane flight was pretty good. All the seats had their own video on demand screens so it helped time pass quickly. We tried to sleep but as always never can.
We arrived in Munich at about 8:10 AM and took the S to a U to a short cab ride to get to our hotel. I didn't realize the airport train was part of the subway system so we ended up buying 1-way train passes and then later had to buy multi-day passes to the subway. As a "do over", we'd buy the multi-day passes at the airport and be set for the rest of our stay.
We stayed at the Holiday Inn Schwabing, arriving about 10:30 AM. It was an unadventurous hotel looking like every other Holiday Inn but it was only 86E a night to sleep 4 on a weekend so a deal. It was an ok, not great location. It was a 10-minute walk to the subway and then 4 stops on the U to Marienplatz. There was a tram that ran to the hotel that you could ride to the subway but we never tried to figure out its schedule...seemed easier to walk.
We checked in easily, dropped off our baggage in our room, and then took the subway/train to see Dachau. It probably took about 40 minutes to get to Dachau. DS and DD slept en route. We ate at a pizza place there...probably the only one...and got gelato. Very good. Then we caught the bus to the memorial site. I was actually kind of disappointed in Dachau. I expected it to be more moving from others' posts. It may be that I have read so extensively about the holocaust that nothing really affected me. Very little is really still intact. Half of the buildings standing turn out to be memorial chapels built after the fact when you get close to them. Only the foundations of the original barracks are left. We stayed a couple of hours, toured the prison cells and the single reconstructed barracks, read a lot of information, watched the movie (DH fell asleep) and walked the full circuit.
At this time, it was only about 4:30PM. Everyone was exhausted but I was trying to push them to stay awake until at least 7PM to get on Germany time so we stopped off at Marienplatz on the way home. We watched the glockenspiel (at 5PM I think) and climbed to the top of St. Peter's church to see the view. We headed home and crashed.
Recent ActivityView all Europe activity »
- 1 Paris, Normandy & Amsterdam with College Graduate
- 2 Italy 9 Days in December/Itinerary Help
- 3 Christmas Markets 2017
- 4 How many miles is a good 'walking tour'?
- 5 Budget trip
- 6 London flat feedback wanted - yes, I'm going slightly crazy!
- 7 Adventureseeker returns to Italy! As glorious and detailed as before!
- 8 Driving
- 9 3 weeks driving the Netherlands
- 10 May Germany, Switzerland, and Iceland
- 11 Algarve Town Selection
- 12 Tips for first trip to UK
- 13 paris to london- day trip
- 14 Browsing Barcelona
- 15 Three nights in the Italian Riviera: hiking in Camogli with day trips
- 16 Pubs showing NFL football in London?
- 17 Sampling Some of Sicily and Bits of Italy Beyond
- 18 Buying a motorcycle in Europe??
- 19 Help With Itinerary By Train: London, Paris, Nice, Florence
- 20 ROMA Pass inclusions. - 3 days in Rome
- 21 Spain December/ January 2018/19
- 22 Portugal
- 23 Pisa Central to Hotel Kinzica at late night.
- 24 Looking for Good Eating in Valencia
- 25 London - Paris - Amsterdam trip planning help
Germany Trip Report - Family of 4 with 2 teens
We just returned from our 12 day trip to Germany (including travel time). Thanks to everyone on this forum who helped me plan it. To level set for others planning their trip in the future, we are a family of four....adults in their late 40s, teenagers 15 (DS) and 17 (DD).
Report Abuse
Day 3: Day 1 was really "Day 1/Day 2". Even though we made it to bed about 8, we slept until about 8:30 the next morning and only roused because DH, DS, and DD wanted to run before we started our day.
Another reason I had booked the Holiday Inn was to try to be close to the English Garden to give them a good place to run. It turns out that it's a little too far from there. Their run (about a 4-5 mile loop) only got them to the edge of it. The great thing though is that Munich (and Germany) has awesome bike paths. They are everywhere and everyone takes advantage of them. Although it takes a little learning at first when you're walking to stay out of the bike path. Because it's smoother than the walking path which runs beside it, you naturally migrate towards it. There were tons of people biking just to do their regular business and the paths turned out to be a great place to run also. One interesting thing about Germany is that people obey their walk/don't walk signs. In the US, they seem to be more of a suggestion than a law. Also, biking seems to be all about function in Munich and not about "healthy exercise". You'll see lots of folks biking along smoking cigarettes.
After running and showering, we went off in search of breakfast. The Holiday Inn serves a buffet breakfast but at 23E a person, it was a little too rich for us. We walked about 5 minutes down the street towards the subway to an awesome pastry shop where we all ate (and drank) for 13E total. Germany has awesome pastries....much better than the wursts. Stop in one at least once a day to truly enjoy your vacation.
After breakfast, we headed back to Marienplatz and then to the
Isator to rent bikes. We rode bikes in the English Garden for a couple of hours. It was a gorgeous sunny day in the high 70s/low 80s. Tons of clothed and unclothed folks enjoying the sunshine but the unclothed folks are far enough away that it's still family-friendly. There are tons of paths through the English Garden. We boringly stuck to the main one so as not to get lost. On our way back, we stopped at the Beer Garden with the Pagoda and ate sausages and roasted potatoes. Lots of folks here...a very good atmosphere.
On our way out of the English Garden, we stopped off and saw the surfers on the Isar river. Lots of teenagers were also floating with the current down the river. We didn't have bathing suits but if we had brought them, it would have been something the kids would have enjoyed doing.
We rode back to the bike rental store, turned in our bikes, and poked our heads into the Hofbrauhaus which was close by. It was the middle of the afternoon so it was pretty quiet in there.
Next we took the train to Herrsching to hike to Andechs Monastery thinking we'd get a snack and dessert there. It was a long endeavor...taking us about 5 hours round trip. About an hour to get there on the train each way, an hour to hike there and back, and some time at the monastery. The hike was pleasant enough. You have to follow "little bitty" signs through the town to get to the trail to Andechs. They're very easy to miss. The trail is a very nice, fairly easy hike through the woods and fields. The monastery when you arrive is ok as a destination for a hike but nothing special in and of itself. Another pretty church (among lots of pretty churches in Europe). We ate a pretzel and got some beers, even though we're not big beer drinkers. My travel book had talked about getting apple strudel as a dessert there and we were imagining something hot and fresh but they only had the generic snack cakes you see at stands around Munich.
After our snack, we decided we'd like to catch the bus back to town rather than hike back only to see the last bus for the day pass as we got there. Oh well....back down the path.
Back in Munich, we stopped for a gelato in Marienplatz. (The previous night we had stopped for a fruit smoothie. These are like they make in the US...but they unfortunately skip the ice.) Back to the hotel and bed after that.
Some notes on Munich:
1) This town feels incredibly safe. You don't feel like you have to chain your wallet in your pocket and you see lots of bikes left unlocked.
2) Subway tickets seem to be a suggestion. We hardly saw anyone buying a subway ticket and you don't need a ticket to get onto the platform. They supposedly check them sometimes and fine you if you don't have a ticket...but we never saw any checking going on.
3) The city center is nice but unless you're going to tour some museums, you can probably see it all in an hour.
Report Abuse
>lots of bikes left unlocked.
I had 2 bikes stolen in 3 years, always properly locked.
>Subway tickets seem to be a suggestion.
People use weekly or monthly tickets. They'll send you a new ticket every month by mail. No need to buy from a machine.
Report Abuse
good start, interested in rest of trip when you get a chance.
Report Abuse
Day 4: Up early this morning to run. Breakfast at our yummy pastry shop. Then back to the hotel to pick up our car from Hertz. This was yet another good thing about the Holiday Inn - it had a Hertz office right there. DH was bummed to have to pass up a BMW sedan for a Hyundai station wagon but thought the latter would be better for out luggage. It was a compact station wagon but fit our 4 pieces of luggage well (2 large, 2 medium). It was also a manual which DH hasn't driven in about 20 years so getting out of the steeply inclined Holiday Inn parking lot was an adventure.
We headed off to Berchtesgaden to the Alpenhotel Garni Weiherbach. An uneventful drive. We had our Garmin with European maps (Thanks Paul!) which was absolutely vital. If you're going to drive between small towns, this is a must. I had printed out maps/instructions for getting between our destinations also in case the Garmin decided not to work but if we had tried to follow those, I'm pretty sure we would be divorced now.
The Alpenhotel Garni Weiherbach was a fine hotel..although you must drive to town or walk a really long way. It is on the same road as the Salt Mines parking. We had a suite with 2 bedrooms and a small kitchenette..about $200/night...cash only. After checking in, we headed to the Eisriesenwelt ice caves in Austria. These were about 40 minutes away. Not sure if it's the only way to go but Garmin took us from Berchtesgaden to Hallein on very steep, narrow 1-lane roads with 2-way traffic..another adventure.
Right by the ice caves is Hohenwerfen Castle. We didn't get to see it because we only had time for the caves but it looked really cool, especially views from the top, and would have been cool to see. If anyone else is doing a trip like this, I'd recommend getting an early start and combining both the castle and the ice caves in one day.
The road to the ice caves was supposed to be really steep so we parked in the parking lot at the base and took a shuttle up. Most people drove up so it's doable but DH was still not feeling confident enough with his manual to assure we wouldn't fall off a cliff.
At the top, we bought our tickets, and then hiked 15 minutes to a gondola. At the top of the gondola was a restaurant where we stopped and ate...good food and great views. After that another 15 minute hike to the caves themselves. The hike was strenuous since it was an incline but very doable. We saw all ages of folks who made it fine.
With information we gathered on this site, we were prepared with out sweatshirts, gloves, and hats. Which is about how the guide was attired also. Inside the cave, you climb 700 stairs up and 700 stairs down which makes the sweatshirt sufficient for keeping you warm even though it's below freezing. But you use cold handrails going up and down the stairs which make the gloves invaluable. I probably could have sold them for big bucks.
The tour was given in both German and English and was very interesting. Every third person carried a lantern. It lasted about an hour. I found the stair-climbing to be fine but a couple of folks (in their fifties probably) were really struggling.
After the tour, we just enjoyed the awesome views again and headed down to the restaurant for dessert. They have great strudel here...try it. Back down the gondola and the path. Bad news is the shuttle just comes some time. We had to wait about an hour for it. So if you're not weak of heart, it's probably better to drive up yourself.
Back to Berchtesgaden. The first night, we wandered what we thought was the main street by the Salt Mines and were underwhelmed. We found out later where the real "much better" town was.
Back to our hotel...and to our flat square pillows (How are you supposed to use these - lie with your upper torso on them? fold them in half?). Slept with the windows open. Temperature was comfortable.
Report Abuse
Sorry that the Andechs Monastery was "nothing special in and of itself". To beer connoisseurs everywhere, it is considered one of the best beers in the world and worthy of a pilgrimage
Enjoying the report, though, and looking forward to more.
Report Abuse
Yes, for Germany overall, one would do well to hone their beer-drinking skills. As for me, I'm the unfortunate person where only the third glass starts to taste good...even though others find it divine.
Report Abuse
Day 5: No run this morning as we're trying to fit 2 things into 1 day.
Standard German breakfast served at the hotel...cold cuts, cereal, hard rolls. Perfectly fine...but wishing for my pastries! Next we're headed to the salt mines.
We got right in at around 9:30 and the tour lasted about an hour. Robed up in miner suits. Unfortunately, we were with a high school student tour group...which translates to very rowdy. First you take a train into the mine, then go down a couple of slides (good fun), and then ride on a boat on an underground lake with a light show going on. This is accented with some commentary on the salt mining process...and at the end they give you a small sample of salt in a small container. My kids enjoyed the salt mines but it sort of feels like a Disney ride...so take it with a grain of salt (stupid but accurate pun intended).
After the tour, we headed to the Documentation Center which was only a mile or 2 from the salt mines. En route, we saw a sign for a Sommerodelbahn so stopped at that. I had read about these and was expecting a long luge ride down a mountain. This one, and the next one, we went on, turned out to be more like Germany's version of the U.S. Go Kart tracks you see at "fun centers"...but propelled by gravity instead of gasoline. It was pretty cheap though...10 rides for about 15E...and we enjoyed it.
Then to the documentation center...where finding a parking place was a challenge. We ended up at a parking lot a short hike away and then bought bus tickets to go up the Eagles' Nest. The tickets were for about an hour from the purchase time so we ate at the restaurant near the documentation center...then headed back to catch the bus. The bus ride is maybe 5-10 minutes up to the Eagles' Nest...then you have to wait in line in a tunnel and up an elevator (with lots of other tourists). At the top, we walked out to where a cross is, climbed around the rocks, and enjoyed the view. At this point we lost DS for about 10 minutes which scared me to death as I pictured him plummeting to his death. However, as usually happens, it was just a miscommunication and he had headed back to the building. When we found him, we all headed back to the building to see what was in it...only to find that nothing is. There is one hallway with a few pictures and a restaurant. I was quite disappointed that we paid 16E a piece for a good view. This would be the one thing in the trip that I would recommend for everyone to skip. It's a pretty view but there are a zillion chair lifts around in the Bavarian Alps that will lift you to equally good views at a cheaper price and with fewer tourists.
We caught the bus back down and toured the documentation center. We only had about an hour left before it closed so we saw the bunkers underground, watched a movie in German that had cool footage from the World War II era even though we couldn't understand a lot, and then spent a short time reading some of the information on the upper floors. We had bought the audio guides as they were recommended but actually didn't listen to them much. They're good but verbose..and I think my family's ADD tendencies kick in way before the commentary ends. This is the same for the written museum information. There is a ton of it. You could probably spend all day in the documentation center if you read all of it (BTW, all written text is in German). But the documentation center was only 3E a piece and was worth it. I'd recommend to skip the Eagles' nest and spend more time here.
After the documentation center closed, we were raring for dinner and wanted something non-German so we sought out the closest Chinese restaurant which Garmin said was 4.3 miles away. These ended up being the same 4.3 miles we took on the way to the ice caves...steep, windy, and 1-laned but we were ultimately successful in finding the restaurant.
Back home, I decided that I wanted to attempt some laundry, even though it was early in the trip, since the only laundromat pointed out to me in fodors was in Berchtesgaden. This proved challenging. We found the laundromat fine...4 washing machines, 1 broken, and the other 3 in use...but finishing up shortly...so we waited. Drinks were for sale in the laundromat but no soap....another thing I didn't expect. Not knowing how/where to get soap, I decided I'd just wash them without it...at least they'd be kind of clean. Got them washed and waited for one of the 2 dryers. The 2 folks in front of me finished up but both took their clothes away damp because the dryer hadn't completely dried them and they didn't want to wait longer. Even so, I attempted the dryer on ours. It got hot, but the clothes came out damp...and the laundromat was closing...so we took home damp clothes...and hung them up to dry. The only reason I tell this mundane happening is because, to jump ahead a few days, we decided to have the next hotel wash some clothes for us. They came back nicely folded but all damp. Is this considered normal in Germany? Do folks not dry their clothes all the way or is it just coincidence?
Report Abuse
Day 6: Early morning run. The hotel is close to the national park so the running was good but a bit hilly. Lots of slugs. Breakfast at our hotel then off to Fussen.
En route, we stopped in Garmish-P to do some hiking...arriving about 1PM. I originally wanted to hike the Hoellentalklamm gorge but we ended up at the Olympic stadium where the Partnachklamm gorge was...so decided to do this one instead. At the Olympic stadium was another sommerodelbahn so we tried this one also. About the same as the other one but a little more scenic. We hiked down to the gorge (entry fee is required). The gorge was pretty but small and there were lots of people so the tunnels felt more like winding through a ride line at Disney World. At the end of the gorge, there was a sign for a trail that said Eckbauer 20 minutes so we took this...turned out to be a miscommunication. After about 20 minutes, there was another sign that said Eckbauer 45 minutes so I think the original sign was for 1 hour 20 minutes. The hike was pretty much straight up-hill but very few people on the trail and very enjoyable. We made it to the lift and took the 2-person chair down (for a fee). Most people do this hike in reverse which would be a good recommendation.
I would recommend looking into the other Hoellentalklamm hike (and mapping out directions to it) though which would probably have fewer crowds at the gorge. We had to check in at our hotel in Fussen by 8 so didn't have time to find this. We ate in a Mexican restaurant by the train station...good fajitas...but no burritos, enchiladas, and such.
On to Fussen, where we checked into the Altstadt-Hotel zum Hechten right in the middle of town. Large suite...2 bedrooms (1 with twin beds) and a huge sitting room with a couch and table and chairs.
If I had to do this over, I probably wouldn't stop in Garmisch-P. I'd probably stay an extra night in Berchtesgaden and hike there. If I were going to Garmisch-P, it would be good to stay a couple of days and do a couple of hikes. A quick stop was kind of rushed and unsatisfying.
Report Abuse
The visit to the Eagle's Nest is much, much better if you have an English tourguide. We were given the history of the construction (did you know that the fireplace in the dining room was a birtday gift to Hitler from Mussolini?) and other details during our 30+ minute tour. All the original furnishings were taken as souvenirs by the liberating troops.
Anyway, for us this made our visit much more than just a "pretty view."
Report Abuse
Yeah, you've got to love those Nazis..
Report Abuse
logos, give it up. We've already had that discussion. You are entitled to your opinion as am I.
Report Abuse
See betty, it's not an opinion it's you that is the problem.
And the law sets limits to peoples expressions of opinion. Be aware that certain things will rightfully ban you from entering Germany.
Report Abuse
awayfromitall -- More please. I'm enjoying your report so much!
Report Abuse
Enjoying your report - we did a similar trip 2 years ago. My son called those pillows "crackers" cause they looked like a Saltine!!
Report Abuse
Regarding damp clothes: I believe it finds its roots in the high cost of energy, and Europeans as a whole are much more "green" than many Americans; people are very careful of their energy consumption.
For example, the refrigerator in our rented house does not have a freezer compartment and the dryer has a mode"cupboard dry" where the clothes are as you say still very damp and finish drying as they hang in the closet. To me they're just right for ironing that way.
Report Abuse
klondike, what's an iron? We're way too lazy in our house...only the rare item gets ironed.
Day 7: Rough night's sleep. While the hotel suite was huge and the hotel conveniently located, our room fronted the main street and the narrow cobbled streets seemed to act as an echo chamber. There wasn't a lot of night life going on, but any conversation at all or clicking of heels was amplified. If you choose to stay at this hotel, ask for a room that doesn't front the streets..which would be the majority of them. Also this hotel did "wash and fold" laundry for us...5 days worth of laundry for 4 people for 30E...pretty reasonable compared to prices hotels in the states can charge.
No run this morning as we have to be at the castles by 9:20 to pick up tickets we reserved on the web. Skies are overcast so we brought our raincoats and umbrellas. The drive to the castles, Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein, was only about 5 minutes. Got our tickets easily and walked up to Hohenschwangau. You're supposed to pick up your tickets 1 hour before admission and this gives you tons of time. We were about 10 minutes late picking ours up and still waited outside the castle for 30 minutes. After the tour, we hiked up the road to Neuschwanstein. Arriving early, we walked to Marienbrucke, the bridge with the great photo ops. However, by this time, the clouds had moved in so basically we have a picture of a cloud with one fuzzy turet showing. Back down for the tour, the rain decided to cut loose...and the perfect German weather we had before that ended. Luckily our tour was in about 5 minutes so we took that and then walked back down in the pouring rain. We stopped at a place making fresh fried doughnut ball type of things which were yummy. As for my opinion of the castles, I think they're a must see. Not seeing them would be like going to Paris and not seeing the Eiffel Tower. The crowds were fine and the tours and insides of the castle long enough and interesting enough. If you've seen a lot of Europe, there's a little feeling of deja vu in the elaborateness of the decorations...but still worth seeing...from the inside and outside.
At this point, our original plan was to drive to the Tegelberg lift, ride it to the top, and hike down but in the pouring rain, it seemed less an optimal choice...as the kids' shoes were already soaked even with umbrellas. So we decided to head back and grabbed lunch (very good) at an Italian restaurant called San Marco close to the hotel. As the rain wasn't lifting, we opted for a lazy evening reading in the hotel room stepping out with our umbrellas later for gelato. Since the hotel had a separate "living room", this worked out great.
Note that musts for any trip to Germany are: umbrellas, raincoats, waterproof (or resistant) shoes, and warm clothes (Day 8's story).
Report Abuse
>It got hot, but the clothes came out damp...and the laundromat was closing.
There are two settings "Schranktrocken" and "Bügelfeucht", translated "closet dry" or "damp to iron". It depends what you prefer and how you set the dryer.
Report Abuse
These particular dryers were preset in that their controls were taped over...but logos' comment does bring up an interesting point I should mention. Buy an English-German dictionary. This seems like an "uh duh" but we didn't. In our first European trip to France, we bought one, but ended up having enough high school French (and Spanish) to puzzle out most things and never accessed the dictionary. In Italy, we didn't buy one but again the language roots were so similar to French and Spanish that again it was easy enough to figure out. Not so the case for German. You will have that dictionary well-worn by the end of your trip.
Report Abuse
I've enjoyed this report. Just as an aside, I noticed that some people who have washers don't have dryers. They just hang the clothes on a rack. I don't know if it's about economy or being green or both.
I dry my clothes on hangers or a drying rack, but I also fluff them for a few minutes. Otherwise they're very wrinkled.
I do dry my towels and sheets, though if I were a really good greenie, I'd put up the umbrella rack in the back yard and hang them there. I'm wondering if Germans hang their towels and sheets to dry.
Report Abuse
Sheets are to big to hang inside your appartment, but towels fit nicely on the Wäscheständer
or in many houses you can just put them on a shared clothes line in the basement.
or you use the washer-dryer.
Many houses have a coin operated (Miele) and shared washer and dryer in the basement.
Report Abuse
Keep it coming! Enjoying your report very much.
Report Abuse
Day 8: Woke up to the rain still coming down. As we were to check out of the hotel in Fussen today, hanging around and reading was not an option. The original plan for this day was to go to the "crowd-free" Ehrenberg Ruins in Reutte about 15 miles away and to ride the nearby Biberwier luge. Due to the rain, the latter would be shut down so not an option...major bummer as it's supposed to be the longest and wickedest. I'll have to hit in on my Austria trip someday.
With not a lot of options in the rain and cold (temperature was in the mid-50's that day), we decided to head to Ehrenberg anyway. Stop and crawl traffic the whole way...took us about an hour. Turns out it was because of a Ritterspiele festival being held at Ehrenberg. They had all the parking blocked off and you had to park in a nearby town and be shuttled to the museum area. So much for no crowds. Ritterspiele turns out to be a medieval version of a Renaissance festival. DD thought it was really cool. Medieval tents everywhere and everyone dressed up in medieval garb. We watched a jousting match. It was announced in German but was still easy enough to follow. Then we ate some mixed grill lunch and visited the museum. The museum is just a few euros apiece and is a pretty hands-on friendly one. We all enjoyed trying on the knight's armor.
After this, we were trying to find out how to climb to the ruins (rain and all), but they had blocked off the path from the museum because of the festival and the only way to get there was a trail 40 minutes away. It would be about 4 hours of walking round trip...past our tolerance level in the rain. So...another thing for next time.
We thus started our drive to Rothenburg and our first experience with a full speed autobahn. In getting from Munich to Berchtesgaden and from Berchtesgaden to Fussen, we had driven on autobahns but they were pretty congested. DH got as high as 106 MPH on the drive to Rothenburg, and this is evidently a pretty timid speed, because folks were whizzing by us. Experiencing a non-congested autobahn was a lot of fun though.
Arrived at Rothenburg and checked into our hotel, the Goldener Hirsch. Again we have a 2 bedroom suite. This hotel is pretty fancy. Huge common areas and fancy furniture. The view from our suite was spectacular. The hotel is right inside the wall and we have a balcony that overlooks the wall, the Tauber valley, and grape vineyards.
Walked down the street a short way to a Chinese restaurant for a good meal then called it a day.
Report Abuse
One more interesting note. One goes from Germany to Austria and back with less fanfare then we go between states in the US. No "Welcome to XX" sign or welcome center. You'd never know you had moved to a new country..other than what I assumed were some abandoned border stations off to the side.
Report Abuse
I'm really enjoying your trip report. Thanks for taking the time to post it. I look forward to the next installment.
Report Abuse
Day 9: Beautiful but fairly cold day (for July) in Rothenburg...probably hit highs in the 60's. DH, DD, and DS took their morning run. Very nice but fairly hilly path through the vineyards.
Standard breakfast at the hotel, but this one was enhanced with waffles (albeit the pre-packaged kind), bing cherries, and hot sausages. It was definitely the best we had of all our hotels.
We headed out to see the city. Checked out a lot of stores for souvenirs but bought almost nothing..we're very poor consumers.
We then tried to follow the Rick Steve's walking tour but our ADD tendencies kicked in about half way through.
Climbed the old tower at the town hall. You take a more modern staircase half way up and then some "very original" staircases and a ladder to the top which is very tiny...fits probably only 6 people or so. Visited the Historiengewölbe museum. It was cheap and the dungeons were cool. Checked out the wood carved altar in St. Jakob's church...it is worth seeing...very detailed and elaborate like the wood carved bed of King Ludwig in Neuschwanstein. We skipped the Kriminalmuseum although it was highly recommended, because we had seen a similar torture museum in Italy a few years ago. Walked through the Castle gardens. On our wanderings, we stopped and sampled a Schneeballen. Rick Steve's book said these were something to pass on but with every 5th shop selling them seemed like a must to at least try. We tried 4 different types and found them a little boring but not bad. Not as scrumptious as other pastries we tried during our trip.
Then a pizza stop for lunch and a walk of the wall. The wall doesn't go all the way around and we had some starts and stops at first to find out where to find the contiguous part. Probably took us less than a half hour to walk it. Then we decided to take a walk outside the city to DeTwang..which is supposed to be a village that is the oldest part of Rothenburg. It's a very steep walk down (and back up) to DeTwang. The village is nothing too interesting..indicated by the fact that the highlight for my kids was the playground which of course includes equipment way too small for them. There is a church in the village with another wood carving but we passed on it because of the fee. Sometimes, you just feel like you have your hand in your pocket too much. It would be wonderful to have some 1-price church/museum/castle pass for Germany.
Back in Rothenburg, we had a refreshment break and played some pool at the hotel in one of their fancy rooms. Then out at 8 to the town square for the Night Watchman's tour. We were very nervous at first as we saw the number of folks waiting in the square for the tour. There was probably between 100 and 200. However, the tour was great. The Night Watchman is very interesting and funny. Definitely take this tour.
Report Abuse
Day 10: Early morning run then off to Bacharach for our last stop on the trip. The road from Rothenburg to Bacharach is mostly autobahn but a very different experience from our trip from Fussen to Rothenburg. Seemed like every bridge was under repair causing major traffic congestion...lots of stop and roll. Ultimately we arrived and checked into our hotel, the Pension Im Malerwinkel. At 118E a night, this place was a bargain. We had a two bedroom suite with a bathroom. We could see the vineyards climbing the hills outside our room. The hotel was very convenient...and reasonably quiet. It was right outside the city wall (and the city is very small) so it was probably a 2-minute walk to what one might call the city center. The hotel has a small garden in back with tables and chairs that would be a pleasant place for adults to hang with a bottle of wine in the evening. Unfortunately, our teens don't hang very well...at least not with us.
Off to Burg Eltz. This was supposed to be about 40 minutes away per Garmin but due to autobahn backup and tiny, winding roads (which Garmin says you can go 62MPH on!), it took us about twice that.
We stopped at a small restaurant/bar in town and had lunch. The food was good but it was a restaurant that made you wish the August 1st "no smoking" law had already kicked in. We then headed to the Hotel Ringelsteiner Mühle where the trail starts. By the way, this was another rainy day so raincoats and umbrellas were the fare. Even so, the trail was a very nice, pleasant one to walk. Unfortunately, the facade of the castle was marred by scaffolding but it was still an impressive castle...and by positioning the camera just right, we were able to get a family photo in front of it that masked the scaffolding...made up for our cruddy picture of Neuschwanstein. We waited about a half hour for an English tour and in the interim toured the treasury that they have there. The tour was interesting. This was definitely my favorite castle, I think mostly because of its secluded location in the woods and the nice hike to it. Without scaffolding, it'd be even cooler. Back down the trail and home to the hotel.
There is a path from the hotel up to the Castle Stahleck hostel. We took this and checked out the castle. It was very active with its patrons milling around...would probably be a fun place to stay but not as convenient to town. Then we headed into town and selected a German place for dinner. We hadn't tried the German sauerkraut yet so DD got braun brat (spelling probably incorrect) with sauerkraut and this turned out too weird for her. It was sort of a sausage meat loaf with potatoes and carrots. I got the fried trout but it came a little too anatomically correct for me with head and tail intact. I'm the hypocritical type of carnivore that likes to pretend meat comes from the super market and not envision the animal behind it.
Home to bed.
Report Abuse
Day 11: Up early to run...easy flat path along the Rhine river. Breakfast at the hotel then off to take the 10:15 K-D Rhine river cruise to St. Goar. It was a cold day at this point but we had overheard someone say it was supposed to be a nice day so we were attired in shorts and jackets. Sky was overcast so we didn't know if rain was also on the agenda. It was breezy and kind of chilly on the deck...long pants would have been good. The cruise was only supposed to be about 40 minutes but the kids lasted about 2 before they had their heads laying on their arms and their eyes closed. It was way too slow-paced for them. There are only about 4 castles to see in the 40 minutes and the Loreley rock...which is a rock . So if you have teenagers, I'd skip this. However, if it's just adults, and it's a sunny day, I would take a longer cruise. I found it very pleasant floating down the river and if the weather was nicer, wouldn't have minded floating down for another couple hours. With a bottle of wine to share, it'd be great. The 40 minute cruise seems very short especially because a good % of it is docking/undocking at the next port.
At St. Goar, we decided we should probably return to the hotel and get long pants on or we'd just be thinking about being cold all day. So we caught the train back to Bacharach...perhaps a 10 minute ride at most, and returned to our hotel (with a pit stop into a pastry shop on the way...wonderful pastries...well worth the back and forth to St. Goar just to discover this place!).
We then drove the car back down to St. Goar to see Rheinfels Castle. We parked at the river and hiked up...a short perhaps 10 minute hike. Of course now that we had long pants on, that was the signal for the sun to come out and things to warm up. We explored Rheinfels. DH, DD, and myself probably would give this a "medium" rating. However, DS says this was his favorite place...which shows how hard it is to make itinerary recommendations to other people. We had flashlights and DS loved going through all the dark tunnels.
Back down to the car and to Bacharach. We parked the car at the hotel and rented bikes from them...also changed back into shorts. This is so convenient and cheap that it's another great thing about the hotel. It was 6E a piece for all day. We stopped with the bikes at a pizza place in town then took the river path towards Bingen. Our destination, just to have a destination, was the Rheinstein castle. It took us about 40 minutes to get there. Very pleasant, flat, easy ride. We walked up to the castle but didn't go inside. It was only 20 minutes until it closed and as it was our last day in Germany, we were rationing our euros to get as close to 0 as we could. We had also already seen 3 castle insides on this trip so felt fine passing it up. There is a 2.5 km trail from here to Reichenstein Castle also if you have the time to take it. If I had to replan this day, I would probably skip the Rhine cruise and rent bikes 1st thing in the morning...ride down to Reichenstein and see it..then hike to Rheinstein and back and then ride down to St. Goar to see Rheinfels, eating in St. Goar. The real experience is the bike ride I think. It gives you the same views as the Rhine cruise but in a more active way. Lots and lots of folks biking in this region. Lots of folks that seemed in their 50s and 60s also...good to see.
Rode the bikes back and grabbed some gelato. Then home to pack for the trip home the next day.
Report Abuse
Day 12: Flight home day. We had to catch an 11:20 flight out of Frankfurt so decided to leave at 7:30 given our recent experience with autobahn congestion. The hotel didn't start serving breakfast until 8 so we thought we'd just get pastries at the airport.
No problems getting to the airport and to the Hertz checkin...arrived around 8:30. After that, we found the Frankfurt airport to be the worst one ever. It is truly an international airport...seems like 1, maybe 2, billion airlines flying in and out. DH had looked up US Air and found that it was in terminal 2 but after checking in the car at terminal 2, we found that it was in terminal 1. There are no signs outside as in smaller airports, saying which airlines are where...probably hard to fit a billion names on a sign. So off we go to terminal 1. Now how to find US Air. There are rows upon rows of airline counters for EVERY airline in the world and no obvious signs that direct you one way or the other. Eventually, we find it...lots of luggage dragging. I'm not sure if they had the luggage carts there...but these would be a good idea.
We saw one pastry shop but thought we should do the "must do" stuff first before relaxing with breakfast and waiting for the plane. So we went through passport control and one other checkpoint (forget what it was...but both took us about an hour) to get to the gate section only to find that there is nothing near their gates. There is a Duty Free shop and a small stand selling pretty much water/juice and unenticing croissants/muffins. No real restaurants or souvenir shops (DD was hoping to pick up a last minute souvenir for a friend). We grabbed some of the stand's offerings as we had no other choice then went through the final gate security. The gate security is a very small space at the bottom of an escalator. They had to turn off the escalator because folks were backing up on it.
My recommendation if you ever do an open jaw is to do it in reverse of what we did so you don't have to fly out of Frankfurt. Fly into Frankfurt and out of Munich...or another final destination.
Home on the plane. US Air had trouble with their seat back televisions and they kept rebooting the whole system to try to fix it. Each reboot took 30 minutes. Ultimately, DH ended up with no working TV but the rest of ours worked. This was the "screaming babies" flight. One, I think, lasted the whole 8 hours...quite impressive.
In Philadelphia, we had an hour and 40 minutes but had to do the whole passport control/luggage recheck so just made it to our next flight when check-in was starting.
Landed tired and hungry...off to our favorite quick Mexican restaurant before heading home.
Just a note about what the family says their favorite things were:
DH: Ritterspiele (would be even better warmer and dryer)
DD: English Garden and Ritterspiele
DS: Rheinfels
myself: Burg Eltz and the ice caves
Report Abuse
Great report - thanks for sharing!
Report Abuse
Enjoyed it very much. Have been to many of the same places -- luckily withOUT the rain.
Report Abuse
Thanks for finishing your trip report. I must say, I was quite impressed that your family chose to hike in to Burg Eltz, in the rain, none the less, when you could have easily opted to drive to the castle parking lot. IMO, hiking in is the best way to first set eyes on this castle (sorry to hear it was covered in scaffolding).
Report Abuse
"2) Subway tickets seem to be a suggestion. We hardly saw anyone buying a subway ticket and you don't need a ticket to get onto the platform. They supposedly check them sometimes and fine you if you don't have a ticket...but we never saw any checking going on."
Most of the ones who did not buy a ticket have a monthly ticket. Better don't misuse our sophisticated based-on-trust system, because it will be pretty expensive if they catch you without a valid ticket.
Report Abuse
i loved reading this, thanks for recording it.
Report Abuse
landed on this thread after reading your trip report on Vegas, Zion and Bryce.
great report! lots of valuable tips for future travellers.
Report Abuse
I just read your whole report. Really informative and good
tips for my upcoming trip. Glad to know about the Eagle's nest,
etc. so that I will spend more time in the park instead.
Thanks much!
Sign in to comment.


text:
Americans are among the most compassionate on Earth. That's why arms, homes and wallets have opened up around the country for illegal immigrant children who have swarmed the southern border in the hope of a good life.
But America is more than place on a map that happens to be doing better than most around the world.
America is an idea, a set of principles, a way of life. Such things aren't picked up by osmosis, even for natives. They must be taught and learned over years. Such things as the link between freedom and responsibility. The rule of law. Self-respect, and respect for others. Self-reliance and hard work. Private property rights – without which none of these other things matter.
Yes, America is a great melting pot – the most wonderful in history. Yet, you can't make someone American by picking him up and plopping him down here – any more than you can make someone British that way.
This is why, even in the most diverse, welcoming nation in history, there is something called a "naturalization process." Hint: It's not about how to just get here.
Citizenship, native or naturalized, is a process. It's an involved one, filled with solemn obligations.
Being American appears easy on the outside. Far from it. As with a duck's feet, there's a lot going on under the surface.
Citizenship is not something you can just give away, or be handed after landing like a lei in Honolulu.
If only Americans, and future Americans, respected that more.