Birthday

"Hallo" our landlady yelled up the stairs of our little German Apartment last Tuesday. I have a surprise for you! So we walked down stairs and she invited Dick and I into her kitchen where she presented me with a birthday cake she had made that morning. It was beautiful with cake, whipped cream, mandarin oranges and white chocolate shavings on top. She said it was for my party. I didn't have the heart to tell her that we already celebrated in Berlin where they had a Coral and Mima cake for me there. We did enjoy it for dessert and it was Wonderbar! Don't worry Ivy, I will get the recipe.


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Location:Berschweiler Germany

Sunday Afternoon Competition

Here is a couple of shots from the local Sunday afternoon futball (soccer) match. The field is maybe a hundred yards from Zeb's house. I walked over and watched part of the match. It was a tie at the end of regulation and came down to penalty kicks. The local team won by a goalies block on the last kick.


This school and large soccer field sits between Zeb's house and our apartment. About a two minute walk from our place and a minute from Zeb's.
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Corner shot to set up a shot on goal. To no avail.

Location:Berschweiler

Here is the second castle. It is called Burg Eltz. It has been in continuous ownership of members of the Eltz family for 34 generations. They give separate tours here in English and the young guide was great. They castle has 80 rooms. To give an idea of the very high standard of living during medieval times for this family, consider these things: 40 fireplaces (1 for every 2 rooms), 20 toilets (1for every 4 rooms), and each family member averaged 3 servants. The arsenal of weaponry in this castle is impressive. With the weaponry available and the obvious strategic placement, it is easy to imagine how it has survived. You were not allowed to take photos inside this one. Partly because this is still a privately owned "home." it is out in the country, and on a jut of land in a valley with a stream running basically on three sides. They have a large treasury display which further points out that this was a very wealthy and influential family. Many items in the castle are the original pieces from the 14 and 15 hundreds. There is very little restoration or reproduction here.



Denise at the approach to Burg Eltz residence.


A view from a courtyard.

Mosel Castles

This past Thursday Denise and I took our first solo day trip on the road. We visited two castles and drove along the Mosel river. It is a beautiful area. High hills with a large river with lots of boats from family boats to large cruisers, barges, and hotel/tour boats. All along the river are vineyards with grapes on the steep hillsides of the river valley. They are famous for their Riesling wine. The castles were well worth the visits. The pictures below are from the Castle at Cochem. They give tours which explain a lot about the building and architecture and give a lot of insight into living in the medieval times. Our guide here gave the tour in German. They gave out explanation sheets for French, Danish, etc. In a lot of rooms she would comment to the Scandinavians and to Denise and I in our languages. She considers herself fluent in four. It is amazing to see the structures and with the explanation, picture life in the times that these places were thriving residences.



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Location:Cochem, Germany

Keys and Locks

Every door has an old fashioned lock and key, not just the outside but every inside door and every clothes press as well. The keys remain in the doors and we can lock ourselves in or out. The apartment has five doors inside and two free standing closets, with keys for all. How fun for kids...but I'm sure families with children removed all keys. Fun house tidbit for ya!


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Location:Berggrube,Berschweiler bei Baumholder,Germany

Checkpoint Charlie

This morning we visited Checkpoint Charlie where people passed from West to East Berlin during the Cold War. It was very interesting to see. It brought to life the reality of the political stuff we heard about and saw on TV growing up. Then we visited a part of the wall that remains and is preserved as The East Berlin Gallery. The entire stretch of of the wall - about a kilometer and a half - is portioned off in a series of murals painted by a variety of artists with varying perspectives and persuasions. Jesse would love it.
This afternoon we went to the Pergamom Museum. It is in an area called Museum Island. It was awesome. Ancient relics from Pergamum, Babylonia, etc. There were marble columns and statues from as far back as 1200 B.C. They had replicated the Gate of Ishtar in Babylon, and extensive statues that had been unearthed. Some of the exhibits were the largest I had ever seen. You could easily spend at least 3 days just at the museum exhibits here.
David Smith - If you see this blog, I got you a piece of the wall. With your passion for history, I thought you would appreciate the artifact.
Pics of the day below:



This is where you crossed into East Berlin.



This photo of the Russian soldier told you that you were about to cross into Communist East Germany.



Marker in the sidewalk that marks where the wall separated East and West.



One of the East Berlin Gallery murals



Another mural

Location:Berlin, Germany

Zoo time

Well, I got my baptism for driving in Germany yesterday. Nine hours on the road to Berlin. We went to the Berlin Zoo today to celebrate Coral's birthday, which is tomorrow. We are staying in Berlin until Monday. Denise and I, all of Zeb's family, and Sara's mom are hear. You would not believe where we ate last night. Right down the street from our hotel is - The Route 66 Diner -complete with the music, menu, and decor.
The Berlin Zoo is touted as being the world's biggest zoo pertaining to the number of species in captivity. Below are some pics from the day.
A trivia question for all of you. Where is Ausfahrt?
Tomorrow we are going to visit Checkpoint Charlie, a wall museum, etc.


The youngsters are all excited for their first subway train ride on the way to the zoo.






Papa, Reuben, and Elijah watching a hippo surface just beyond the glass. Denise was acting photographer to get me in shot :)



Denise trying to catch an enormous bubble created by a man at the zoo gate.

Location:Berlin, Germany

Trier Cathedral

This cathedral was awe inspiring. It is huge in every aspects. At least a dozen huge scenario sculptures, triple nave, double choir, etc. I would estimate about 2 football fields in length. Detail ornamentation everywhere you look. It incorporates one part from the 4th century and most was built between the 12th and 14th centuries. Behind the top from nave is an area where they house what they claim to be a robe worn by Jesus. When you look at a couple of the photos, realize how small the people at the other end of the church look. Several things around town are from the Roman occupation built around the 2nd century. Trier's original name was Augustus Treverorum. It was founded by Augustus himself and was the capital of the Belgica prima province.


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Location:Dom St Peter

For Foodies

For all my foodie friends and family, I will from time to time show a sampling of dishes and food products. Milk and yogurt can be bought in glass bottles which preserves the taste much better than a carton and as cheap as the carton ones. They absolutely recycle everything here and have an elaborate system for pick up. They even have bins or dumpsters which all leftover food scraps go in and it is used. So recycling glass is not a problem. Of course a few cookies and coffee is essential. We bought local cherries that, no joke, are the size of walnuts or crabapples. So sorry, we ate them all before I thought to take a picture.
The castle day was cancelled due to rain, but we were able to tour Trier on Monday. Friday we head to Berlin. Please be patient with us, we will post daily unless the Internet is down. Sending Bis Morgen to all!


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Location:Fohren-Linden, Germany Week Two

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This is the Porta Nigra ( The black gate) in Trier, Germany. Trier is the oldest town in Germany and was established about 16 BC. This gateway was built by the Romans in the 2nd century. In the 12th century a group turned it into a two-story church and it was a church about 700 years. Now it is fairly restored to it former self. It is one of the best preserved early Roman gateways in Europe. Below is a picture of Coral and Elijah in one of the top story window arches.

Trier Tour

Haven't been able to blog for a couple of days due to lack of Internet service. When the weather is bad here, so is the internet. We bought a European Vodafone stick for our laptop, but it is pretty iffy.
The car Zeb bought so we would have a car to drive when we are in Europe is pictured below. It is a 1997 BMW. It drives pretty nice. The speed limits here are kind of tricky. There are posted speeds in some areas and there are assumed limits in others that you have to learn. On the autobahns (read interstate or freeways) in some areas the limit is 130 kilometers per hour and other areas there are no restrictions (read no speed limit). People go past you doing over 100 miles per hour or 160 kph plus.



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Location:Cohen-Linden

Cave Visit

Well, today's forecast was for rain. And they were right. It rained pretty much all day. So, we put off the castle visit and went to a "cave" on the edge of Idar Oberstein. It is actually tunnels that were made mining for gems and semi precious stones. The tour was about an hour and the showed how the mining was done and remnants of the gems. There was topaz, jasper, amethyst, and agates of all sizes. It was pretty interesting to see the large agate deposits and the various gems and crystals. Got the rest of our paperwork done today on the car so we can officially drive now. Below are a couple of pictures from the underground gem mine.



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Location:Idar Oberstein

Houses and Wind Generators, Day 9

Stone corners, stone foundations, basements and attics are all common features of the homes in this small town of Germany. Wind generators dot the hillsides, yet do not seem like alien creatures here as they do back home. They remind me of a large version of a Dutch windmill. Todays featured photos: Zeb and Sara's home, a street in this small village with the wind generators in the background, and a beautiful iron fence a few doors down the road.











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Location:Berschweiler, Germany

Germany Day 8

We are learning new skills everyday in this country with the help of our grandkids. Notice the intense look of concentration on Dick's face and the blur of rapid arm movement. Star Wars Kinect and the game is on!
We also acquired "Old Blue" today to begin our road travels and first stop is Marksburg Castle on Friday.




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Location:Fahren-Linden

Played in the park with the kids this morning. Have been looking at used cars online for the local area. Today we bought a BMW! It is 15 years old but in very good condition. People maintain their cars very well here. Like with their houses, property, etc, they take pride in maintaining their cars. But, the good thing is that the used car market is very good here and the prices are better than in the states. A couple of days of paperwork and registration to follow and then we will be on our way in our own car.
We have plans to visit Trier, Germany this weekend. It is the oldest city in Germany. Looks like a great place to visit for a view of medieval times. Trier was founded in 16 B.C. supposedly by the emperor Augustus himself. In the 3rd and 4th centuries it was an imperial seat and capital of the Belgica prima province. It has a gigantic Roman gateway into the city called the Porta Nigra. Pictures to follow. We have been working on getting internet at our apartment to make posting easier. I am trying out a vodafone stick tonight to see if we can get mobile internet. Otherwise we have to be at Zeb's or a hotspot to post.
Until next time....

German window engineering

The windows in all the houses are very cool. They hinge at
The bottom or on the side according to your handle placement. You can even leave them open when it is raining unless it is blowing hard. No screens AND no bugs.

Fohren-Linden, Germany

Day 3 -Germany We have the most beautiful view from our kitchen window of a few houses and hillside next to our little town. Down below is a small field with sheep grazing. Each home seems to have their own little garden growing a variety of summer vegetables. We walk down one street, around a bend, and up another street to our son's home. It takes about 5 minutes. The street is narrow with immaculate yards,very well maintained old German style homes, flowers, gardens and tiny garages with tiny cars in them. The homes all have very steep roofs, most have white stucco walls with brown framed windows and doors. It is peaceful, quiet with an occasional person walking their dog or with a grandchild. We also visited a German grocery store today. I wandered around looking at what they have to offer compared to our American markets. The meats are where I noticed the biggest difference, with such a variety of cold cuts, sausages, and who knows what else (since it is all labeled in German). I don't know what most of them were but they sure looked good. I purchased some raspberry yogurt that came in a glass jar that looked so much better than our American versions along with some German biscuits (crackers). Our very friendly German landlady will lean out her open window to greet us when she sees us coming or going. Last night we walked home about 10:00 pm., she leaned out her open window about one story up from the ground and said she was getting ready for bed. We are two stories up in a little apartment that is the second floor of the home. Thank goodness she speaks excellent English since we speak no German. Hope all our family and friend back home are doing well and enjoying your summer.

Denise on the trampoline at the post 4th of July activities.

This is the view from our kitchen window.

Out the front door and ready for a stroll of the village.

Well, the journey begins. We are in our cozy apartment in Fohren-Linden, Germany. Zeb's house is about a 5 minute walk from "our house' but is actually in the next village of Berschweiler. We enjoyed an American style 4th of July. The Army post had a carnival like activity with rides and games for the kids (and some for adults like the trampoline) all afternoon and fireworks after dark. Zeb barbecued hamburgers and corn on the cob.
We slept late the last two mornings to catch up with the jet lag. This morning we took a stroll through our village. Very traditional Germany. It looks like the midwest, complete with fields, cattle and sheep, etc. Everyone here takes great pride in the village and personal property. Very clean, with lots of landscaping and small gardens. Everyone is cutting and splitting wood for the winter.
The owner of our apartment speaks pretty good English which is a big help.
I'll attach a couple of pictures below to let you see the country we are in right now. Looks like rural midwest except for the architecture. Definitely a Swiss influence?
Well it is not letting me choose pictures. I will post the text and try to figure out the problem.