We were headed to Mainz where all the Campbell/Conrad families were gathering. We drove with aunt Renate from Munich to Mainz on the A9 and A3 autobahns, passing through Nurnberg and Wurzberg. Chris got to drive Renate’s small Mercedes C180 hatchback once we cleared well out of Munich, but was limited to 160 KPH (100 MPH) because of the winter tires she had on the car (or so she claimed). Even at 100 MPH, faster cars were blowing by us — literally, our car would rock when passed by the fastest. The road was surprisingly free of the anticipated holiday traffic so it made for good driving.
We arrived in outside Mainz (Hechtsheim) to join up with the extended family (20 people, to expand to 30 by Christmas day) at the home of Aunt Gisela and Uncle Helmut, and also the new home down the street of cousin Andreas (Winny) and his wife Marianne. In the late afternoon we took the streetcar down into Mainz to go on a Sektkellerei (sparkling wine cellar) tour at the Kupferberg sekt factory. 
With commentary generously in English, the tour guide led our large family group down into the subterranean caverns lined with filth (that’s not filth, that’s useful fungus!) and filled with fermenting bottles. At the farthest reaches of the tour were some Roman caves over two millenia old. After the tour was a sekt tasting with five different glasses with varying degrees of flavor, dryness, sugar, etc. We learned much and enjoyed drinking with our friends more and more as the tasting wore on.