Farmer to the Rescue

Did you hear the funny story about my driving mishap?  It happened the first year we were here.  I was driving to a quilting retreat, I know that doesn't surprise most of you.
I had recently heard a story about how people blindly follow GPS's so.... I took written directions along, just in case.  When I was nearing my destination the routes were different.  So, I fallow what the written directions say and end up nowhere near a retreat center, then I try the GPS, again, but end up more turned around.  At this point I'm getting a little frustrated, the county side is beautiful, but I am wasting precious quilting time.
Although I was not very far from home it was nearing dusk, and I was feeling very unsure.  I called the point of contact.  She gave me directions.  The retreat center was not far from where I was!  I had zigged when I should have zagged, and needed to turn around. 
On this unfamiliar farm road I took a wide turn, and didn't happen to see that ditch.  My front tire was only inches away from sliding down, and both of my back tires were completely off the ground.  My first instinct?  Call Martin crying.  Stuck in the middle of no-where, foreign county, can't speak the language, with a car in the ditch.
It wasn't long before the first car drove by, with the tiny amount of German and her limited English I asked for the farmer of the town to bring his tractor to pull me out.  I had to laugh when I saw the worlds smallest tractor driving down that road.  The woman had driven to the town Bakery and phoned the farmer who came within minutes.  He didn't speak any English, but that didn't stop him from pulling me right out of that ditch and setting all 4 wheels on solid ground.
How did I thank him?  A kiss on the check.

Although this wasn't very funny at the time, I did snap this one picture.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

 

A very quaint little village here in Germany, complete with a City Wall, Towers, Cobble Stones and many Watchtowers.   The weather was a little on the cool side, but we buttoned up and toured like pros.

 
Walking around the village up on the city wall was very beautiful.  Plenty of space for the kids to run, and get some great pictures. 














The famous "Schneeball" which is basically pie crust that has been rolled into strips, then formed into a delicate ball and sprinkled with your choice of Cinnamon and Sugar, nuts, or chocolate.

Bavaria

Where you can almost touch a time long ago.

Where you can hear the sound of cow bells clinging.

And see a parade.

Where you can feel the cool water on your toes.

And make friends.

Strasbourg, France

Naomi and I took a tour with the USO to Strasbourg France. It was very relaxing to not drive the Suburban down these little streets and enjoy the ride.

Strasbourg is in the Alsace region, and was once part of Germany. Today it is the host of the Council of Europe, as well as the European Court of Human Rights. We made a short stop to see the headquarters and take pictures.

Next we walked the city center, stopped at a market, admired all the old architecture and went to the cathedral. Our tour guide was an older lady who surprisingly walked VERY fast and was extremely knowledgeable.

For lunch we found a charming plaza, enjoyed the sunny afternoon and watched the people passing by.

We ended our tour with on a boat tour. Although it sounds lovely it was uncomfortably hot and we had no water left. But, over all it was a great day and we got to see another little corner of Europe.

Before we knew it we were back on the bus and headed home.

Flea Market

There are lots of Flea Markets here in Germany, but there is one in particular that I fell in LOVE with. It only takes place on the first Saturday of each month, but I will try try try to make it there as many times as I can. It is in the town of Homburg, which is 45 minutes from us. A wagon full of kids, snacks tucked away in a cooler and euro in hand we walked from 9 -12 and didn't even get through half!

What did we find that we could not live without?

• 1 wooden sled
• 6 Lego men
• 1 dinosaur
• German Bible for 1897
• 4 ice cream cones.

The Black Forest

Winding roads lead into the famous Black Forest in southern Germany. There you will find Coocoo clocks galore, Germany's largest waterfall, Cows that actually wear bells and the sweet town of Freiburg. Our first stop was the Treiburg where we made a quick stop to see the clocks, then ate lunch and onto the waterfall. There was a marked dirt path leading to the top with a beautiful over look. Large birds flew down and ate peanuts from visitors who payed for a 1 euro bag. Which of course we did. A forest surrounds the area with tall dark trees for as far as you can see.

After our journey to the waterfall we made out way to the hotel in a lazy little town and had some down time. Sitting on our balcony we heard cow in a meadow and the bells around their necks clinging, a school band practicing and the hum of bees.

Up bright and early and onto Freiburg. One of the most beautiful cities we have seen thus far. There is a small waterway that runs adjacent to the sidewalk through the entire downtown. It is about 12 inches wide and maybe 6 inches deep. Eyan made a very unlucky step and had a very wet shoe, but we trudged onward. It was a dreary Saturday, but the market was in full swing. Booths tempted us with flowers, honey, and a variety of cheese, meet and olives. There were several museums that we went into and saw some interesting paintings and statues some dating back over 500 years. We ended the day at a little Pizzeria, and a long drive home. But well worth the trip. Yet another charming city that I hope to visit again.

The Crucifixion Painted in Germany between 1440-50

Mainz

Mainz is a beautiful city on the Rhine river.

We spent the day exploring and enjoying the sights.

Our first stop was the Gutenberg Museum. A 3 story building with several types of printing machines as well as a lithograph machine. There were many books dating back hundreds of years and one of the original Gutenberg 42 lined Bibles. (Pictures were not allowed to be taken inside)

Next was lunch in the square. We had Schnitzel which is a traditional German meal. A thin cut of pork, lightly breaded and then fried. YUMMM. After out long lunch we headed over to a mini train ride. The ride was about 45 minutes long and took us to the historical highlights. We ended the day with Nana spitting in the Rhine and the kids soaking wet from a fountain. A good day was had by all.

Rhine River Cruise

On a sunny day while our family friend Maggie was still here we took our first ride on a lovely boat down the Rhine River. We started in Bingen and went to St.Goar. The boat was 3 levels, the first level had a small gift shop, huge windows and tables to sit down at. On the second level there was a small restaurant and more big windows and tables and then the last level was an opened deck. We spent most of our time enjoying the breeze and letting the kids play at the playground area. There was so much to see on this portion of the river that I don't even remember all of the historical details, but more castles churches and vinyards than we could keep count of. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone who comes to the area.

Bike Tour

In northern Germany there is a lovely town on the Rhine river called Klon. Maggie and I drove up on a Tuesday and had quite an adventure. Maggie found a place to do Bike tours so we hopped on a bike and away we went.

Having never done a tour on bike I was a little apprehensive. I couldn't even remember the last time I was on a bike! At first I was a little rusty and out of breath, but by the end was riding like a pro through the busy streets. That's not to say that I'm graceful or didn't have any mishaps..... Thanks Maggie for retrieving my shoe out of the middle of the street!

We biked about 10 miles and saw much of the city which is imposable to see from the Suburban. Just say'n'. Klon has the most visited Cathedral, which sees about 1900 visitors a day. We stopped on the bridge, at a park, and most of the monuments. At an old fire house we stopped and had a Coke with lemon. Yuuummm. One really cute thing we saw was on the bridge there were locks that had been locked to the fence by couples in love that then threw the key into the river below. It is said that their love will be locked forever because the key will never be found.

Playmobil Land

For those of you who don't know I am a HUGE fan of Playmobil. So naturally I was thrilled when I found a Playmobil land only a few hours from us. It was great place to explore, with activities for all of us.

One of the first adventures was on a boat, I opted to be the photographer. Martin and the 4 kids maneuvered this high speed water raft with the utmost procession. And no one fell in, which I found to be amazing. In the background is a huge pirate ship that is a Playmobil toy.

Another play area was with loads and loads of sand. The object was to find "gems". We were not so successful at this station, but had fun none the less. There were jiant Playmobil men, a small mine to go in and toys to dig and sift with. For a small fee you could perchase a treasure chest, but I thought my hand worked just the same.

The weather was a bit on the chilly side so we did enjoy the indoor play area filled with every set of Playmobil imaginable. AND multiple sets. I could have stayed in this area for the whole day. It was so fun seeing all the different sets and toys and how all the kids set up everything.

Rothenburg

Rotenburg is a well preserved medieval city about 2 hours from us. The city walls are still standing and you can walk on and around them. While visiting this adorable village we visited a Toy Museum, a medieval Torture Museum and had a walking tour.

The tour was at night with "The Night Watchman" who proudly dressed the part. It was very interesting to learn some of the history of the city and have an interactive experience. Eyan and Naomi loved all the facts and were right up front drinking in all the facts and stories. Silus and Toben on the other hand not so much. Silus fell asleep in Toben's stroller and Toben rode on Martin most of the hour.

Silus didn't want to get anywhere near the Night Watchman and that's why he's not in the picture.

One funny thing that we learned from the tour was that the city door that stands 0ver 10 feet tall has another very small door. So a door within the door. The city had a curfew and if you were outside the city walls after curfew you would have to convince the night watchman you lived in the city and if he let you in, it was through the tiny door. Then you had to pay a fee for being late. What a great way to keep people on time. I think when the kids are old enough I might adopt the fee portion!

Heidleburg

The sun is shinning and it's time to pack up and see what's out there. We hit the road and went to Heidleburg. This trip was more planned out, but that's not to say things went as planned. After driving around without finding the entrance TO the castle we fed the ducks and walked by the river. Blessed are the flexible. The river was full of pattleboats and barges.

On Saturday we got actually found the castle and found parking and ventured in. A beautiful place to spend the morning. The castle was the biggest one we have been to so far, it's hard to put all of it into words. And I guess I really don't have to I can just upload pictures. One of the most interesting things was not the castle, but a small salamander that had lost his way in a freezing pool. The kids with help from Dad rescued this little guy who was pretty waterlogged.

An Itch

We have the itch. The itch to travel. On Saturday we loaded up the car. Snacks. Kids. GPS. Gas. Coats. And so on... We left with only one objective. To see what we could see. I am a planner by nature, so this was a bit foreign. It worked though and we all had a great time.

We didn't wander too far. About an hour away. We visited one of the oldest cities in Germany. Trier. We had a great time. One of the highlights was a Roman Bath House. The kids got to run in and out of ancient ruins, pretending to be lost in a world long long ago.

This little journey only fueled the flame and the itch has begun to grow. Grow. Growing. Growing. AND GROWING!

Plans for a long weekend. Castles. Museums. Cobblestone Streets......