Marianske Lazne (Marienbad) Czech

 My friend and I went away last weekend to a famous European Spa town in the Bohemian Region of Czech Republic. Marienske Lazne is the name of the town in Czech, but in German it is called Marienbad (Whenever you have "bad" in the name of a German town it means "bath" and is known for the Natural Springs there.  Marienbad is famous for its healing waters and many famous people have visited over the years (including King Edward VII, Nicholas II (the Russian Czar), Mark Twain etc.). It is an adorable little city with a population of about 15,000. It was Communist up until the wall came down, and it still seems like it is a city stuck in time - such a neat experience (for ex. maybe a little bit like Cuba). You can almost picture the streets filled with old cars and ladies in fur coats and Russian Hats. It is also near the area where the Headquarters of General Pattons 3rd Army was during World War II).

One great thing too is that it is only a little over an hour from our house and is amazingly inexpensive for a spa town. Almost every building in the town is a hotel/spa and they offer packages with food, pool, steam room, saunas, and spa services. They give Spa Robes and slippers and most everyone in the Hotel just walks around in a robe (so funny). The city itself has 7 different types of springs with totally different types of water. The different waters contain different minerals (hence the healing part). They have a Pavilion where you can test the different waters for free. The locals come and fill up their water bottles too (which for me was quite comforting because smelling and tasting some of the different waters made you question the safety of it - but to see the locals drinking it gave much comfort :-). As usual, the weather was less than stellar (we did see a little sun though on the last day), Still a great time! 

All of the Hotels looked similar - this one reminded me of Schonbrunn in Vienna.

Here is the same building as above - Gorgeous!

The small city/town is built around a beautiful park.

It is famous for this giant wafer called Oplatky. We tried some at a cafe one day - warmed, with coffee (it was delicious!)

the sun peaked out a little... Not too much though

In the park was a small monument dedicated to General Patton and his Army 

Beautiful old architecture

This is the Pavilion where you can test the different healing waters...

This was filled with bubbling water - straight from the Spring..

You could buy these fancy cups for testing or just bring a water bottle of your own...

Each sink had warm and cold water from the different springs. There was one that had sulfur (not sure if you have ever smelled sulfur, but it is not the best smelling thing in the world. It was funny to see people's reactions after testing the sulfer water :-).   

An old Russian Orthodox Church (we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but it so much different than the Catholic Churches here...

This is a monument representing each of the 7 types of spring water and their mineral benefits...

They had horse and carriages and also an outdoor skating rink (although it was too warm to skate)

And a nice memorial for the Paris Victims...

This was really funny -we went for a run one morning and there was no snow to be seen. When we got to the top of the kill and turned a corner, there was a small little ski resort !

It was small, but had 3 lifts - perfect for kids!!!

The Spa Robes waiting for us!

 

I thought this building was kind of neat. It looks as though it hasn't been quite renovated up to par yet (that is what I meant by a city stuck in time - although most of the Spas were very modern)

Ice Skating

Mia's class has been going both ice skating and swimming on a bi-weekly basis since early Fall (yes - not so bad for a class that finishes school between 12:15 and 1:00 each day). We had only been ice skating a few times on our own, but being that she goes often with school now, she has gotten quite a bit better. Over vacation, we took Mia and her friend ice skating at the local rink in our city and it was so fun to watch. It reminded me a little of the old roller skating stereotypes... They were quite good maneuvering among the crowd (unlike Me, who went a few times around and then quit, or Bryan who didn't even attempt a try). I love the experiences she gets here. The price is amazing too (which makes it possible for ALL the kids to become decent skaters and swimmers - not just the kids whose families can afford it)  They don't have to pay anything when they go with the school and to go to the ice rink on your own, is the equivalent of $1.95. Gotta love it!

Mia and her friend skating by...

Here is a better shot :-)

The place was quite busy... In the winter, it is an ice skating rink, but in the summer it changes into an inline skating rink ..

And the hot chocolate was .50 cents - all about the kids and not just about making a killer profit! I am so grateful that she gets these experiences!

My German Class

After meeting 4 hours everyday for 3 months, my German class finally finished last Friday.  It is amazing to me how much you can enjoy learning when there is no pressure of getting a perfect grade or cramming for quizzes (maybe it is just a sign of getting old :-)). There was a big test at the end with different components that included; listening, reading, writing and also 3 different speaking portions. The test lasted most of the day, but I won't find out for a few weeks how I did. Hopefully I passed the B1 level (which concludes to the German Government and everyone else that would care that basically you are proficient enough in German to stay and work here). It really doesn't mean too much for me either way, but I am just really happy having learned so much over the past several months.

Not only have I learned a lot more about the German language, but I also have a new insight and appreciation for all of the people in my class too. My class literally represented the world - different countries, different religions, different families, different stories. There were mostly asylum seekers in my class (so interesting - yet also sad -to hear their stories). Starting over from scratch in a new land with a new language is not an easy thing. It is really nice though because all of their basic needs are met here and their potential for a nice life is definitely possible here. Makes you very grateful for what you have though.  And definitely makes you see the world in a different way!!!

A couple of funny things...

 **It was funny because on the big test day everyone was nervous - my friend from Czech pointed out the fact that we all have such different backgrounds, yet in the end, we are so similar (we all get nervous for a big test :-))

**It is funny too because, often I look at the car that I drive and see it as an old, dirty car - and wouldn't it be nice to get a new one. My classmates saw it in a completely different light (I had to drive one day on a field trip and they saw it as a unique solid car that was a good brand). You don't even need a car here to live (and of course almost none of them owned a car) and so I decided to change my attitude about my old, dirty car and be grateful that it is paid for and that it has safely taken my family to so many amazing places here in Europe. The car doesn't matter - it is the experiences and people that matter!

**One of the reasons it is so difficult to solve the worlds problems is because people come from such different backgrounds (even within the same country). Etiquette can be completely different. So I was sitting around a table and a girl from Africa and a girl from the Middle East were sitting there too. The girl from Africa literally poked the girl from the Middle East in the belly and said "you have fat - no worries - I do too!" A perfect example of why people don't always see eye to eye. I guess in some African countries, that might be perfectly appropriate, but I am not sure I would have taken it so well... Amazingly different!!!

In this picture - I am the only one from North or South America - amazing how interesting it is when you bring so many countries together... Can you guess where everyone is from?

Happy New Year!!!

We went back to Bamberg for New Years. We have been celebrating New Years with the same group of friends now for 6 years. The first year we were here, we had little kids and were in bed before midnight - little did we know what "Silvester" (New Years) means to the Germans. It is insane! We woke up to the feeling that we were under attack!!! It is extremely fun, but insane! Those calm and collected Germans let loose and it is truly one of the highlights of our year! Of course there is the arsenal of fireworks, but there are also the games, the party favors, and the melting of the lead to see what your new year will bring! It was foggy and a bit rainy/snowy this year, so the sky full of fireworks was not quite up to par as normal - but it was still a really fun time!!!  *of course I am not the best photographer (especially at midnight on New Years eve :-)), but if you go to youtube and type in "Germany New Years" or even "Bamberg New years" or Silvester - you can get a much better idea of the true craziness that exists throughout the country here!! As a side note too, they allow you to shoot fireworks all over the city, but the only 3 restricted sights are those next to; the Cathedral, the Castle and St. Michaels. Other than that - everything is game!!!

The night before New Years' eve, I went out with some friends. There was a fresh  layer of snow - so pretty!

Gorgeous!!!!!

Hard to believe places like this exist!!! 

My kids are not all huge fans of our apartment. We only have 1 small couch (need to get another one) - that is why the kids are all snuggled together. Our heating is electric and it doesn't always warm up so well (notice the huge blanket). So for the exact same reasons that my kids DON'T like it so much - I LOVE it!!! There is not very much to do inside the apartment (although we do have a bunch of board and card games). It either makes us "hang out" inside or get out and enjoy the outside - truly a win win in my book!!!  *Our schnitzel Sandwiches were a tradition every Thursday when we lived here - so they are a real treat for us now!!!

A game of Skipbo (and a selfie) on our bed before heading to our friends' for New Years' Eve!!!

This is the table on New Years at 8:00 pm!! Our friend went all out on party favors and let the kids go to town throwing them all! So glad I wasn't the host :-)

Electronic Darts and "sing star" was the theme for the younger kids. Mia loved the Sing Star - Camden loved the Darts - and Bailey hung out with the adults!!!

They have such yummy food each year!!! I am not a big cook - so I always appreciate yummy food! I helped roll the Spring rolls!! Delicious!!

How many people can you fit on a Balcony at Midnight???

Happy New Year Xuey!!! Mia enjoyed a yummy "Kinder Hugo" for her Midnight Toast!!!

Happy New Year Cam!!! (told you I wasn't that good of a photographer at midnight!!! :-)

And the show begins!!

You hear nothing by Rockets over the sky until 3:00 am or so!!!

Love these girls!!! Happy New Year!!

And then before heading home - you have to melt the lead to see what kind of luck the new year will bring! This explains the tradition...  http://www.alpinevillagecenter.com/bleigiessen-lead-pouring-predictions-new-year/ 

And on the way home, the impeccable streets of Bamberg are completely covered by New Years' remnants!!

The best thing is that at 2:30am - although the streets are completely littered, the streets are still so safe - gotta love it!!

So grateful for our New Years' Tradition!!!

The War Museum

There is a brand new war museum in Bastogne, and we ended spending a huge chunk of the day there. It takes you around in headphones and explains the lead up to the war, the war itself, and the aftermath from 4 different perspectives; that of an American Soldier, a German soldier, a 14 year old boy from Bastogne, and a female teacher from Bastogne. They made it so realistic - and even Mia loved it (and could understand it)! There are 4 movies too that explain it in detail... it was fantastic- we learned so much! We had a few surprises in the museum too...

One of the best Museums we have been to!

lots of tanks of course (it is a war museum :-))

A copy of Hitler's notorious book

They even had a 3-d movie

This was one of the surprises (and heartbreaking). It was a work/concentration camp uniform, but on the armband had the name of the city from where the person came from. 

Of all cities - the person came from Amberg - our city. So sad!

This was the bag that was with the above uniform - I need to get it translated to see what it means...

Even Bailey enjoyed the Museum :-)

I had to teach her how to use a rotary phone - so funny that kids today wouldn't know how it works :-) 

A sign that had seen a lot of gun battle...

Here is a picture from 70 years ago - the weather was just like we experienced today- I can't even imagine being a soldier out in those conditions! You can see the trees of the Adrennes on both sides...

This was the  really funny other surprise - of all of the Newspapers in the World - sitting in a little Museum in Bastogne, Belgium - was my hometown Newspaper from Maine (The Kennebec Journal). What a small world we live in!!! It displayed the headlines from the "Battle of the Bulge"

exactly 70 years ago!!!

And my - how inflation has changed the price of a newspaper :-). And weather conditions are a bit more in depth now too! :-)

Yes - life resumes - and yes, definitely a tragic memory!

And the Cemetery in Lorraine (Saint-Avold) that we visited, holds many of the fallen soldiers.. 

And Mia being goofy in the Gift shop :-) Gotta love that face!!!

And the snow capped Adrennes Mountains on the ride home - definitely appreciative to be in our cozy warm (yet very dirty, I must add) car!!!