Old Country Fairytale

You know when you think of Germany, you think of timbered houses, quaint villages with cobblestone roads, and in general just cute?  Well, that's where I took Mom when she visited....to France.  To be fair, it's that portion of France that changed hands so many times between Germany and France that it's a little of both.

We went to the Alsace region of France and drove along the wine route.  It's made up of those quaint villages with cobblestone roads.  The required phrase was "awww, how cute."  We visited Obernai, the Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle, Riquewehr, and others that I can't remember.  But they were cute.

It turns out that the emblem of the Alsace are storks.  There were stork nests on the tops of buildings, at the tops of poles designed for stork nests, and it seemed everywhere.  We got a few good pictures of these storks in their nest. 


 













I took Mom to Heidelberg on Friday so she could see the castle with the views.  There's an American base near by, so there tend to be a lot of Americans there, but it's a nice city and the castle, the grounds, and the view are beautiful.

The trip was relaxing and not the run-around of trying to see a bunch of things all in a week.  The weather couldn't have been in any better.  It was sunny and in the low 60s every day.  I think almost every single one of our lunches were outside in the sun.

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

In early September I had a couple of visitors. Dad and Chad arrived on the same day for their Euro trip. They had the requisite schnitzel and beer for their first meal and I showed them around Wiesbaden.

The next day we took a Rhein river cruise up to St. Goar. It was a tad brisk on top of the boat, but we had great weather and saw so many castles. Some of us *cough* even saw submarines. We all really enjoyed the cruise and I don't think Chad thought he'd ever see so many old things within such a short period of time.



In St. Goar, we took a self-guided walking tour of the castle that was built in 1200AD. The views of the river valley were amazing and the castle had so many nooks and crannies to explore.
Chad flew to Paris the next day and Dad and I started our journey. Our main destination was the Belgium beer festival in Brussels, but on the way there, we stopped in Cologne so he could see one of the largest cathedrals in the world.

The festival took place the entire weekend, but unless you get there in the first few hours, it's terribly crowded and very difficult to maneuver (i.e. get beer). Instead, that evening we just went to the main square to see the craziness and then headed to dinner at Chez Leon. It's on a touristy pedestrian street, which meant we got to sit and watch people, a lot of them drunk, pass by our table. I don't know how long we were there, but I know we both enjoyed watching the characters walk by. We ate at the same place both nights, because the food was good and the people watching was phenomenal.


We had a lot of fun at the beer festival. We got there right when it opened at 11 a.m. You have to buy tokens to use inside the fence and Dad, for some odd reason, thought 20 was enough for the both of us. (I used 20 or more last year by myself.) I relented, knowing that we'd need more later...and we did. This year, you had to buy a separate token that you used to return your glass and when you did, you received the token back, which allowed you to get another beer. Last year, when you were done with your glass, you just set it down and someone would come by to pick them up. I guess, with this year's method, the vendors lost fewer glasses.


Dad's first order of business was walking around to all the stands to grab their coasters, which made great souvenirs. Dad also picked up some For his first couple of beers, I directed him to a few of my favorites and ones he might enjoy. We probably stayed there for about 4 hours before we went back to the hotel for a nap (and some water).



The next morning we made a pilgrimage to the Trappist brewery Westvleteren. The monks' brew has been voted as the best beer in the world (the 12 that is) and you have to have an appointment to be able to pick up cases of it. (I've written about this before.) They do have a cafe and a small gift shop, so I had a 12 and Dad had two blondes (those are beers). I made sure to give him a hard time for not having the best beer in the world and instead having blonde beer. Given that this was his first true indulgence in to the world of Belgian beer, I let it slide. We also each bought a six-pack, which is the only opportunity to buy the beer unless you were lucky enough to have an appointment to pick up crates of beer.

After the monastery, we headed to a beer store and found a couple of the beers that Dad enjoyed at the festival, as well as a glass or two, and I got a case of something too. The American military cemetery in Luxembourg was our next stop, but by the time we arrived, it had just closed for the day. We did go back before we headed home. Then, we made our way to the oldest city in Germany: Trier.

Trier has a lot of Roman ruins all over the city and I knew Dad would like it. We saw the amphitheater, the city gate, the baths, and the bridge--all Roman ruins. It's hard to believe that they're still standing and we can still get a good idea of what these structures looked like and how they were used.


On Dad's last day in Germany, I took him to the market, and for lunch to a great Italian deli that serves wonderful, fresh sandwiches, and some yummy prosecco. He also got to meet my friends Kim and Brian, and their ball of energy, also known as Jack.

It was a great visit and hopefully both Dad and Chad can return before I leave next summer.

Things I Like to Do

Since Christmas, most of my time outside of work has been spent with friends, who I'm very lucky to have here. Mostly we just get together for dinner, conversation, or a movie....and a drink or so. This winter has been a long one (especially without my beloved laptop), but it was much better than last year. The number of days it snowed was absurd since "it never snows here." And because it never snows, they also don't believe in snow removal. Their idea of cleaning the streets consists of letting the cars drive on the roads to pack the snow down, which later turns into ice. It was so much fun.

Over the 3-day holiday weekend in January, my friend Dave and I decided to take a day trip to Koblenz. We heard it was a nice city and it's at the confluence of the Moselle and Rhein rivers. I'm sure it's a very pretty city, when your teeth aren't chattering and you're constantly looking for a church to duck into to get warm.

I don't look cold at all.Neither does Dave.

Also in January, I drove to Mons, Belgium to visit David and Rita, with whom I used to work. They were kind enough to invite me over for a weekend to be Belgian, which basically includes beer and french fries. I was in heaven. They have a fryer in their kitchen counter!! I'm afraid that would be a little too dangerous, even for me. Unfortunately, I forgot to take out my camera the entire weekend so I don't have any pictures. Mostly, though, all three of us had a beer in our hand and a fistful of fries in the other for a good part of the weekend. (And those who know me well or who have been reading my blog with interest and are probably wondering why I'd even make that statement--it's pretty much a given.) They also took me to SHAPE, which includes a grocery store filled with international food and drink, catering to the many nationalities stationed there. I think I'd like to work there just for the international food selection (and beer) without taxes!

In February, my friend Chris came to visit again. We relaxed around here and we also took a trip to Berlin. It was so cold that it was hard to walk around much, but we did take in some of the sights, since he had never been. We saw the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie, and the East Side Gallery, which is the longest stretch of the Berlin Wall still standing. We also had dinner at a restaurant called the Alpenstueck, where I had the best meal since I've lived here. The Berlinale, the Berlin International Film Festival, was also taking place and we got free tickets to a showing of film shorts by Mexican directors. There were no George Clooney or Leonarda Dicaprio sightings, but we felt famous.

Yes, that's ice on the river.I need longer arms for self-portraits in front of large monuments.

Upside Down

On Saturday my friend Kim and I took a USO tour called Riesling...something..something...wine tour. That's all I heard anyway ;) Erich "the Red" was our German guide. He got his nickname from President Kennedy, because he couldn't pronounce Erich's last name. So because Erich had (at that time) a red beard and red hair, Erich "the Red" he became. Erich took us through the Rheingau (Rhein River area) stopping in a few towns to explain different things about them and the places you can go to taste the small winery's product. He was a wonderful tour guide with a very dirty-old-man sense of humor.

The tour was mostly driving through the towns on a "bus." The bus, it turned out, was a 15-passenger van. I knew that was trouble in the making, since I tend to get a little car sick, but add windy roads and some incline to it and I wasn't enjoying the ride. Since it was bitterly cold, everyone opted for an old coffeehouse Erich offered instead of more of the tour in the middle of the afternoon. After that, it was more driving; however, we finally ended up at our final destination close to 4.



We went to a small winery where we were treated to 9 wines, plus dinner, and dessert. Everything was delicious! Erich described the wines, what food they went well with, and of course added his humor at any chance he got. "Nipple popper," we learned, was one of his favorite phrases and once he described a wine as a "triple nipple popper."

After dinner, we headed down to the cellar, which dated back to the 1200's. The owner of the winery told us that tradition was that when your daughter got married instead of a dowry, you gave several bottles of wine from your daughter's birth year. His daughter never got married, so he let us taste some of his wine from 1975. Delicious!

Kim thinks Erich had a slight crush or fascination with me, because he made note of my cold red nose while we were outside, remarked how good my haircut looked on me, and also called me "princess" and his "doll." Oh, and when Kim wanted a picture of the two of us, he insisted on kissing my hand.

I don't have any other prospects...hmmm.

The Long Day is Over

Up and at 'em this morning to catch a ride to base at 7 to be at the driver's class and to take my test for my license. I could have fallen asleep I was so tired during the class, but knew he was giving us information that was on the test, so I made sure I paid attention. The test was 100 questions and there were a few I guessed on. I didn't want to be that person who failed the test, so I made sure I went over it twice. I was watching when he checked my answers, but I don't know how many I got wrong. The bottom line is that I PASSED!! Whew, what a relief! My official license should be mailed to me within 30 days.

Next order of business was to register and tag the car I have yet to see or smell for that matter. I went right next door, gave them my paperwork. The only thing missing was the horsepower of my car. Seriously?? The horsepower?? And she wouldn't finish the registration without it. So I call my BMW agent--no answer. (Insert swearing here.) Next, I called my sponsor's husband Ryan, who was going to pick me up afterward. He got on the internet and guessed it at 230. I know you guys are saying, "why the hell wouldn't she know the horsepower?" Honestly, the color matters to me more than the horsepower. Well, that and that I look good driving it. Duh! I mean, when you consider I was driving an 8 year old Saturn running on gerbils, ANYTHING is going to feel like it has more horsepower than my trusty Saturn.

Got my plates, Ryan picked me up, and we went over to the other base. Right outside is where my BMW dealer is located, so I stopped in to talk to him. Unfortunately, my car wasn't there yet. I guess it's sitting at a Mainz BMW dealer, but I can pick it up TOMORROW!! I'm supposed to be there at 10:45 and you can bet I'll be early. So what if I have to sit waiting amongst new, shiny, BMWs in the showroom sipping coffee and inhaling the sweet smell of new cars and leather?

I also got a cellphone today. Now I don't feel so naked or helpless. If you would like to have my number, just let me know.

So I got lots of stuuuffff accomplished today, including my load of laundry I currently have going in the basement. The weights are slowly being lifted...now maybe I should try lifting some of my own and get back into shape.