Cologne (Koln)

On a rainy day, we went to Cologne. Two interesting facts about Cologne: 95 % of the city was destroyed during World War 2 and it is also where the name Cologne (the fragrance) got its name. The very famous Cathedral was left in tact though, and we climbed all 533 steps to the very top. We were only in the city for1/2 a day, but we enjoyed our quick visit - even in the rain :-)

Bailey, Camden, and Mia in front of the Cathedral - a long way up to the top!

Inside the Cathedral - gorgeous!!! Amazing to think how this was built so long ago without any of the equipment that we have today....

Always candles to light....

Bailey at the top!

Mia on the way up - 533 steps in all!!!!

Cologne is famous for its Lock bridge (this is where Bamberg got the idea). There are thousands (maybe even millions) of keys laying on the bottom of the Rhein River that open these locks...

The top of the Cathedral, looking down over the Rhein River

The locks go on forever.... Quite amazing to see so much love and friendship :-)

Monschau

Monschau is an adorable Medievel town that reminded me a little of Bamberg. The architecture was different though, in that the roofs weren't red. The center of town restricts driving, so we had to park outside, and walk into the village. Super cute!!!

The houses were so old, and had looked like they had shifted many times :-) The building in this photo looks like it is sinking....

View from the top of the town (notice the roofs aren't red)

Silly Camden

The river ran right through the middle of town

The car driving on the street was a local person - they had cameras for tourists violating the no driving rule...

I adore these 4 people!

We were in Monschau on Corpus Christi day (another day off when everything is closed except for restaurants and a few tourist shops). They were setting up the alter for an outside church service as we walked by.

I love the different materials (stone, cobblestone wood etc.) - so much character! I love these guys too :-)

So cute!

Even the fire department had character!

Western Germany

We just got back from a week in Western Germany. We stayed near the Eifel National Forest, which is on the German side of the Belgium border. As usual, I will bore you to death with photos :-) I just never want to forget this time here.!!! There is so much countryside to see in this region, and apart from a few rainy days, we had a really fun time.

Below are pictures from the Mosel Valley. It is famous for its adorable villages along the Mosel River, as well as its vineyards. It is really a beautiful area, with so much character and quaintness!

This picture was taken as we were driving parallel to the river - the river cruise boats and barges take full advantage of the rivers throughout Germany...

This little tractor reminded me of the little engine that could.... I think I can.....

We spent the afternoon in an adorable town called Cochem. It sits right on the river, and is one of the cutest towns I have ever been to.

We stopped in at a store for wine tasting - they even had a "kinder" table for the kids :-)

Camden being goofy :-)

Along the Mosel River...

This is the town of Cochem - so picture perfect!

Our purchases after the wine tasting - I will truly miss the inexpensive, but great wines in Europe!!!! 

Closer view of the castle in Cochem

So much to see, so little time!

It seems like I spend half my life trip planning. Not huge trip planning, but always looking for deals on the next weekend getaway or week vacation. Often things will pop up that are unbelievable deals, yet unfortunately we don't have time to take advantage of it. There is a deal right now where our entire family could fly to either London or Pisa from our local airport in the month of June, for 150 euro round trip - not each , but 150.00 for the entire family!!!! (that is the equivalent of $200). It kills me to see a deal like that and not be able to find time to go. If we were living in the US, that could easily be a $5000.00 airline ticket purchase. We have been to both locations already, but for that price it is so frustrating not to be able to "make it work" again. So much to do and see, so little time!!!!!

69 days vs. 2 days (and sometimes not even that many)

This morning, once again, the windows are open and the streets are empty. There are barely any cars on the road, no stores open, and no one outside is working.It is quiet. Many street lights are even turned off due to lack of traffic for the holiday. By the afternoon, the streets will be bustling, not with cars, but with families; walking, biking, and enjoying together time.  It is a German Holiday. An odd part to this is that I still have 2 people in the family who are at work and school today :-(. I got to thinking about how often in the US everything shuts down. The only days that I could come up with were Easter and Christmas - and even those days are a little questionable, as I think a few stores stay open on these 2 days too now. Then I thought of how many days there are in Bamberg, when everything is closed - and came up with about 69 days a year. To me the difference is SHOCKING! There are 69 days geared towards family and spending time together here, where America has barely 2. Not to mention the vacation time on top of the 69 days that the Germans get. They average between 5 and 7 weeks a year (where we average 2-4- if you are lucky enough to even get paid leave). I may have quoted this before, but one saying here is: "Americans live to work" and "Europeans work to live" I am sad that I can't bring this normal occurrence of life back with me when we leave :-(

The weekend in photos...

Endlich!!!!

What we have been up to.... (a bit of rambling....)

Finally, we finished our apartment, found a temporary renter, and handed over the keys no less. It has been a fun/interesting experience, but also it is nice to be finished.. We had a great weekend with friends who came to visit from Vienna. We really had a nice time with them, and all of the kids were happy with a little "pal" - which is such a bonus! It is always fun for me to hear about other peoples' adventures living overseas. We have one more month of school for Bailey and Camden (Mia won't get out until the end of July, although she has a 2 week vacation coming up next week - crazy schedules!). Soccer is in full swing and Bailey is on a new Cheerleading team that she really enjoys. School is going well for everyone - it will be interesting to see how everything goes next year (Camden will be back at "normal" school, with about 1/5th of the population from this year - since the base is closing, tons of people are moving away, but nobody new is moving in). He will be at the Middle High School with Bailey. Since our visitors came, Mia has a new found love of reading books in English which is cute (up until now, she has preferred to read in German). We have more visitors coming tonight, and a busy weekend ahead. The weather is gorgeous (Maine Days, as I call them) and except for Bryan's 11 furlough days coming up - no complaints here :-)

Before

After