Wordless Wednesday

**I posted a couple new things down below from our Garmisch vacation, make sure you see it all :)**

Dahlias & Lillies

Close to our house is a family farm that has a large pumpkin festival each fall. You might remember our visit last year. Well they also have sweet corn on the cob that they grow and we've been checking regularly to see when they would have some ready to sell. Friday they finally had corn, fresh picked that day...yum!
I know you are probably wondering where the dahlias and lillies play in all this. The place also has a "blumen feld" or flower field where you cut your own. They have several different kinds of lillies, gladiolus, and dahlias to choose from. The dahlias are amazing, some are the size of Colin's head and the most gorgeous colors I've ever seen! You just cut what you like and there is a price list next to a change container and you put your money in the container and away you go. If the shop with the corn and jellies is open you can pay in there too, but if you want to come by when they are not open you just help yourself. There are many flower fields like this around that don't have anyone working them, you just go cut what you like and it's all on the honor system.
Anyway here are a couple of the flowers I chose. Shelby lent his camera to a friend and so he took mine with him to Kyrgyzstan, which forced me to get out my real Canon and actually work for my shots instead of cheating with my Panasonic point and shoot. I actually had time to play with my lighting and do some editing while Colin was napping too. I forgot how fun it is to take pictures, or maybe I just forgot what it's like to have TIME to take pictures!

Dahlias & Lillies

Note!

For my own organizational purposes as I post the vacation blog posts and pictures I will date them through blogger with the date that we actually did the trip/event. So if you log on here and see the same post at the top you might be missing something down below. Scroll down to see if anything new is posted, new posts could be dated between July 7th and July 19th. Hope that makes sense :)

I know, I know!

It's been almost two weeks since I've updated, I know! We've been busy busy busy and things aren't slowing down just yet. Shelby's parents arrived in Germany on the 7th and we spent a few days here at home before heading off to the Alps in Garmisch for a week. Then we came back home to spend a few more days before sending them off to the airport today. Now we have a couple days to get back into the routine of things and on Saturday Shelby goes TDY for a week. I take my Praxis I next week (one of the two big tests I have to take to get my teaching license)so trying to cram for that last minute and taking care of little man while Shel is gone is going to keep me busy. Once I get the test out of the way I hope to get some pictures organized and some blog updates posted, I have lots of pictures! Until then here is a few to hold you over...

Annweiler Castle

Annweiler Castle

The last thing we did before Shel's parents left was head over to Trifels Castle, in Annweiler, which is right around the corner from our house. It isn't exactly known when the castle was built, but first documented mention of it was found in a deed document dating back to 1081! Quite a bit has been restored over the years but it is still always exciting to see a medieval castle. The views from up top are very pretty and the history in the castle is interesting too.

Technik Museum - Speyer

Technik Museum - Speyer

We have been dying to take Colin here for a while now since he is so into airplanes at the moment. About an hour from our house, in Speyer, is a transportation museum that has everything from planes, helicopters, boats, old trains, cars, tractors, and antique machines to a Russian space shuttle and even a U-boat submarine. It is very hands on and you can go inside a lot of the things on display as well as push buttons to watch a little video or make the machine come to life so you can see it work. We left Garmisch in the afternoon and drove about 4 hours to Speyer, where we spent the night in the Technik Museum hotel, which is on the same property. Colin was beside himself when we pulled up and there were planes on display all around the hotel. That night we walked into downtown Speyer and ate dinner and checked out the Speyer Dom church that was there. The next morning we got up and ate breakfast at the hotel and did not let Colin outside or see the planes until we were ready to head over to the museum. Here is his reaction as we rolled out of the hotel in his stroller.


And here is his reaction as we let him out of the stroller and started walking across the empty parking lot to the museum.


Colin had a blast checking everything out and getting to touch and sit in planes and trains. He was so cute as his excitement never waned. He got his fill of airplanes that day and wore himself out!

Linderhof Palace

Linderhof Palace

Our last day in Garmisch we went to Linderhof Palace to see another of King Ludwig II's palaces. This one he did live in and the tour through the inside was very interesting (of course no photos allowed...sorry you will just have to come and visit!) The grounds are spectacular. After touring the castle we went back to Oberammagau to finish cuckoo clock shopping. Janice found just the right cuckoo clock for her house and I decided (yet again) to wait on my purchase to be sure I get the right one. The houses and buildings in Oberammagau are all painted up in traditional style. Some of them depict stories in the pictures, we saw a house with Little Red Riding Hood and another with the story of Hansel and Gretel painted on it.

Oberammagau

München & Dachau Concentration Camp

München

Today we headed to Munich, or München in German, to spend the morning. We arrived in time to see the huge glockenspiel on the Rathaus chime. The Rathaus-glockenspiel gives its performance three times a day during the summer, at 11am, noon and 5pm. After watching it chime Shelby and I headed up to the top of St. Peter's Church for a better view of the city. Only 306 stairs up a narrow, creaking, wooden staircase and you get a fabulous view of the Rathaus and surrounding city. After that we stopped for some lunch. I went to a backerei (bakery) and got an egg and cheese sandwich on a sunflower seed roll, and Shelby went to a metzgerei (butcher) and got a bratwurst and a dried salami. After lunch it was time for us to get on the road and head to Dachau, just outside of Munich, to visit a concentration camp.

Dachau Concentration Camp

Dachau Concentration Camp was the very first concentration camp to open in Germany and was a model for others within the country. Over 200,000 prisoners walked through the gates which read, Arbeit macht frei, or work makes free. Though there are almost 32,000 recorded deaths at the camp, it is unknown exactly how many prisoners died or were killed here because those numbers do not include prisoners sent to Dachau for "special treatment" or those sent from Dachau to another camp to be killed. Just entering the grounds gives an eerie feeling and seeing how massive the camp was is overwhelming. We Listened to stories from survivors of the camp tell how inhumanely they were treated. How the guards determined your life at camp the moment you arrived and how your fate was constantly up in the air depending on the moods of the Nazi guards.

Conditions were grossly overcrowded. One interesting thing about the camp is that due to the high use of the existing crematorium, a second larger crematorium with gas chamber was built on the grounds. The gas chamber was disguised to look like a bath house for disinfecting prisoners, equipped with fake drains and shower heads to make it look real. It is not known why the gas chamber was never used, only that is was not for reasons of mercy on behalf of the Nazi officials. Unfortunately, the crematoriums were used often.

Shelby and I would like to go back another time when we can leave Colin with a babysitter. Children are not allowed in any of the museum buildings so we took turns going into the main buildings, but missed a lot of the history and exhibits this time.

Höllentalklamm

Höllentalklamm

The last time we visited Garmisch we hiked to Partnachklamm and it was one of my favorite things from that trip. This visit we decided to hike to another klamm in the area and check it out. This klamm, called Höllentalklamm (Hells Valley Gorge in English) was much more of a hike to get to than the other one. We got our workout and then some as we hiked 3.8 km uphill to the klamm and then probably another 1.5 km though it. It was a nice trail the whole way, winding through beautiful woods. Going to the klamm is uphill almost the entire way and took us 2 hours to get there. Heading out of the klamm and back to the car only took us 45 minutes, lol!

This gorge was definitely worth the hike and the views inside were amazing. Colin doesn't ever get to walk on these hikes because he doesn't walk. He takes two steps and stares at a bug for 10 minutes. Then he takes two steps and collects a handfull of rocks. Then he takes two steps and stops to throw the handfull of rocks, one by one of course. Then he takes two steps and stops to admire a leaf. You get the idea. So he rides on Shelby's shoulders most of the way. After making it to the actual klamm we stopped to pay the entrance and then made our way into the gorge. The path has a guard rail along the side and most of the walkway is carved out of the rocks on the side and at times you are actually walking through cave tunnels in the rock. We got wet from the spray of water rushing past and from the water running down from the top of the gorge as well. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

Once we made it through the gorge and came out on the other side we stopped to relax a little in the open canyon area and put our feet in the stream. Colin of wasted no time gathering rocks to throw in the water. Shelby and Colin had fun playing in the wet sand while I put my feet in the water. It was freezing! I could only put my feet in for a minute or so at a time before they would be so numb it was painful. On the hike back to the car Colin fell asleep on Shel's shoulders and kept falling over so we had to take turns carrying him back down the mountain. He slept right through it all and woke just before we hit the car as we were passing the cow pasture. He snapped out of a dead sleep saying "cow, cow, cow" and was excited and all ready to go again. The kid loves cows, lol!

Neuschwanstein Castle

Neuschwanstein

Today was a clear day when we woke up so we decided to head to Neuschwanstein Castle while the views would be good. Unfortunately, clear skies meant sunny skies, which meant hot, which, combined with a steep hike up a mountain to get to the castle makes for fun times! You could cheat and pay to take the shuttle bus or the horse and buggy ride to the top, but who wants to be called a cheater?
Neuschwanstein was the inspiration for Disney's Cinderella Castle and was built by Mad King Ludwig II. The palace was intended to be a personal refuge for the reclusive king, who never actually got to live there. He spent a few days at a time here over the period while the castle was under construction. However, he died before its completion and it was opened to the paying public immediately after his death in 1886. More from the Wiki page about the castle if you are interested and the Neuschwanstein Castle website.

When we arrived at the castle we didn't expect it to be so busy. We got in line to purchase tour tickets, the only way to see the inside of the castle, and had to kill 2 to 3 hours before our show time. Shelby, Colin and I found a little place with a view to eat lunch and watch the people and horses go by. The walk to the top wasn't that bad after hearing so many people say how horrible it was. The castle allowed no photography inside so you don't get to see any of that, sorry. It was very ornate and considering the time it was built, the details really are amazing. He had an electronic bell system installed to summon servants, a working telephone and a dining room table on a platform that lowered through the floor into a kitchen area below so that his table could be set and meals served without servants having to disturb him by entering through the main living floor. It really was amazing!

After our tour we grabbed a drink and then decided to get a horse and buggy ride down the mountain. Colin was fascinated walking with the horses all the way up earlier and beside himself to be so close to them. He went nuts with excitement on the ride. He was glued to the horse and wouldn't take his eyes off them, grinning the whole time.

After Neuschwanstein we headed over to Oberammagau to do some cuckoo clock shopping. It also looked very different from when we visited last winter. It was packed with tourists visiting for the Passion Play. Way back in 1633 Oberammagau was tormented with plague and the citizens vowed to reenact the life of Christ every ten years so long as they survived the plague and things got better. Things did get better, in 1634 they held the first Passion Play, and they've kept their promise since then. There are even laws for Oberammagau citizens that they cannot cut their hair or shave during the play years so that they look authentic for the shows, it's a really big deal! After checking out a few shops and deciding we were too tired to decide on a clock right then we headed over to Conlan's Restaurant. When we visited Garmisch last winter we stayed in a hotel right across the street from this wonderful restaurant and it became our favorite place that trip. We ate there at least three times then and every time the food was amazing. The owners, Marion and Hubert, remembered us and again wowed us with their excellent food and friendly service. After a delicious dinner it was back to the hotel to give Colin some swimming time in the pool and a little exercise. Day one in Garmisch a success!

Driving to Garmisch

Driving to Garmisch

Sunday morning we hit the Starbucks one last time before getting on the road (since none of us slept last night we needed a couple extra shots in our lattes). We drove for a couple hours and stopped for lunch in Ulm. It was a random stop there, the GPS showed a few fast food choices, which turned out to be in the train station, and we knew soon we'd be heading in to forest/mountain area with few places to stop. Ulm turned out to be a pretty neat place and we added to the list of places to see so we can go spend a little more time there. They have a huge church which is the tallest church in the world! The foundation for the church was built in 1377 and the steeple measures 530 ft, and contains 768 steps to the top where you get a panoromic view for miles at 469 ft in the air.

We decided to go the scenic route into Garmisch which takes you down into Austria, past a lake called the Plansee and then back into Germany. When we came to Garmisch last winter we drove this way and you might remember this photo

From Driving to Garmisch

taken at the same lake. I said then it was one of the most beautiful places I'd ever seen in my life. Now, in the summer time it looks totally different, but equally as gorgeous, it still manages to take your breath away. I want to retire here and look at this lake every day! When we visited in the winter it was dead, we were the only people for miles on the road and we were all alone taking pictures on the shore that day. Summer time is totally different with cars parked on every inch of road shoulder for miles before you even get to the lake. The lake was full of boats and the beaches full of people enjoying the spot. Colin was very excited to get out of his car seat for a little stretch. When he got down to the shore and saw it was covered in rocks he was in heaven. He threw rocks and played in the water until we had to take him, kicking and screaming, back to the car. Fortunately he only had about 45 more minutes to ride before we made it to the hotel. This time we decided to stay at the military resort there called Edelweiss. It's more like an American hotel and we figured it would be more comfortable for Shelby's parents and it had a pool and playground for Colin. Still no air conditioning but at least we had a fan in our room and it was much cooler in the mountains. The rest of Germany was having a horrible heat wave, we picked a great week to take off to the mountains!

Heidelberg Schloss Lighting

Heidelberg Schloss Lighting

Saturday morning we headed off to Heidelberg for the schloss lighting and fireworks. When we got there we found the hotel and it was right in the heart of the alstadt (or old town) like it said. We were right on the river and right next to the pedestrian zone. Unfortunately this day was one of the hottest all year and the high was 97 in Heidelberg. The temperature actually hit 98, wonderful! It was insanely hot. And for those of you stateside saying to yourself "that's not that hot!" I would like to remind you that here in Germany we are not at all accustomed to that kind of heat, we have a few days of 80's in the summer but summer for us is mostly 70's! I'd also like to point out that you have air conditioning, we do not, so HUSH!

After checking into the hotel we wandered around the town trying not to melt. Shelby and I immediately sought out the Starbucks for some coffee. Aahhhhhhh Starbucks, how I missed you! After a little sightseeing we went on a restaurant hunt. It was more challenging than usual because no place has air conditioning, so you don't want to eat inside. However, the time of day meant the majority of the outside tables were in the sun and that's no good either. Trying to find a place in the shade and somewhere we might have a breeze was tricky. Equally tricky was that due to the World Cup games about to start for the day places were filling up fast. Finally we wound up at an Irish Pub with a fan inside, it got the job done. After eating dinner we went down to a grassy area on the bank of the river to wait until it was fireworks time. Colin immediately went on a rock hunt to collect rocks to throw in the river. He and Daddy sat on the river bank for a long time throwing rocks in the river, Colin loved it. After that Grandma and Grandpa watched Colin play for a while so Shelby and I could walk back to the hotel, the heat was making my contacts bother me and I couldn't stand them being in another 4 hours until the fireworks were over. We found Starbucks again on the way back and then staked our claim to a prime viewing spot on a bridge until showtime. Colin was excited about the fireworks and wasn't scared at all. It was really neat to see the castle all lit up and the fireworks going off above it and then over the bridge as the "bridge fell" in the battle.

The building we were staying in had been a hotel for over 300 years and was build long before then. It wasn't the nicest hotel we've stayed in but I guess when you take into account how old the building is you can only expect so much. Our room was on the fourth floor of the building and that's a lot of stairs! The room was large and was on the corner of the building. We lucked up and actually had two windows in our room, on different walls, so we were able to get a very minimal cross-breeze (of 98 degree air) through our room. Staying in the altstadt on the night Germany played for final position in the World Cup was LOUD. Couldn't sleep in the heat (with or without windows open) but definitely couldn't sleep with the noise of celebrations going on right outside the window. It was a long night and Colin was the only one who got any sleep, lol. Though the room was hot we had a very nice view from our windows and under normal weather circumstances it would be an ok place to stay.

Gondwana Praehistorium

Gondwana Praehistorium

About an hour or so from our house is a dinosaur museum called Gondwana Das Praehistorium. Colin is super into dinosaurs so we've been waiting to take him here and see what it's all about. It was a great day to go because it was a week day in the summer (no school field trips) and it was a nice day outside (so no one wanted to be inside) so we basically had the place to ourselves! Colin was about to bust just walking in the doors and seeing the huge life sized skeleton of some brontosaurus looking dinosaur. Once you pay admission you sit in a round theater and watch a movie projected on the ceiling about how the Earth was created (apparently they favor the Big Bang Theory at this museum) and life evolved. I was concerned Colin wouldn't be too interested in this but he actually sat on Shelby's lap and watched the whole thing without so much as a peep.

After the movie they set you off to the museum where you wander and read about how the dinosaurs came to be and their evolution. There are lots of pictures and models and hands on things the kids can touch and manipulate to keep them interested. You also get a little audio handset to explain details at each stop in the museum. Colin had a great time cleaning up a puzzle that some other kids had put together and left behind completed. He much prefers tearing puzzles apart anyway. When that was done it took Shelby, Grandpa and Colin to figure out how to build some giant prehistoric sea creature. The rooms there are done very life like and realistic. If the scene is supposed to be hot and humid, so is the room. One room was freezing and it looked like snow and ice on all the scenery. The dinosaurs are all animated and very real looking. Colin got scared a couple of times when the angry ones would roar and growl. In one room a huge flash flood comes raging down a rock wall every 5 minutes or so, it was awesome! Colin was hilarious because he wanted to go in and see the dinosaurs, but if he got in a room where the dinosaur was scary he would grab hold of Shelby's head (he was riding on Shel's shoulders) and push hard to turn it back towards where they came in and scream "that way, that way!" Once Shelby would get halfway into the room or so Colin would start yelling "go! go! go!" to get him to move on to the next room and leave the scary one behind. He got scared a couple times but he still loves dinosaurs. He picked out a set of 3 from the gift shop to play with and still gets excited if he sees a dinosaur on TV, on his clothes or somewhere else.
Here is video of the T-Rex. You can see how nice the exhibits are and you can hear Colin saying "wow-wee" in the back and then the T-Rex roars and Colin starts crying, lol.

Bitche Citadelle

Bitche Citadelle

We'd attempted to go to the Citadelle of Bitche (in France) back in February but it was still closed for the winter back then. Today we finally got around to heading back over there to check it out. It was definitely more interesting than I thought it would be. Colin wasn't quite as interested in touring the castle as the rest of us so I volunteered for monster duty and everyone else got to listen to the audio guide and explore the castle uninterrupted. What little bit I did catch of my audio tour was rather interesting though. Dating back to 1297 the Citadelle was widely known to be impenetrable because of sophisticated (for the time) architecture. I'd share a link but they only offer website viewing in French or German, so if you can read one of the two and you really want to know more about it, google La Citadelle de Bitche and knock yourself out. We live very close to France and this is only about 30 minutes from us so we'll have to go back over there one day without Colin so we can really take it all in.

Ice Cream & Berry Pickin

Shelby's parents arrived yesterday to visit for two weeks. Wednesday night we had dinner at home and then walked to get ice cream afterwards. Colin knows how to walk to the ice cream shop and when we get to the corners he points and says "that way" to tell us which way to go. There are also a few stops we have to make along the way. We have to time it right so that when we leave the house we see the train go by. Colin loves the "choo choo" and gets very excited when he sees it.
Here is Colin cheering after the train went by...


After the train tracks we have to stop to pick up a few rocks and save them for the "warlay". When we get to the bridge and the water (warlay) we have to stop and throw the rocks off the bridge.


Once that is over we keep on walking towards the ice cream stand and we come to the "bock bocks" (aka chickens) and we have to peek over the fence at the chickens and say hi. Then we are directed "that way" across the street where we finally make it to the ice cream shop and Colin gets his own waffle cone, usually strawberry.


The next morning we woke up and went to pick strawberries. We've taken Colin a few times, he loves running around and picking eating the strawberries in the field. One of his babysitters works the check out there where you weigh your berries and pay so he also gets a kick out of seeing her there.

Rhine Aflame

Rhine Aflame

Saturday night was a much anticipated night out for Rhine Aflame. They do this event three times each summer, and the one in July is supposed to be the biggest and best of the three nights. We barely got tickets but lucked up and found a few left. Parts of the Rhine River have castles and ruins every half mile or so along both banks of the river, it's beautiful. On Rhine Aflame night these castles are all lit up in colored lights and they shoot off fireworks above them as you cruise down the river. Sounds awesome!

Getting there was interesting, I followed the GPS which said turn right, so I did, and that made me have to drive on to a boat, at which point the GPS says "board ferry." Crap, thanks for the advance notice on that one! I have no idea where the ferry is going or how much it costs but we are on it now and there are cars behind me so I'm not getting off, lol. When I drove on the boat I didn't realize we were ON the boat. I thought we were on a ramp and the boat was going to come up and we'd drive on. When the barge started moving it scared the heck out of me because I didn't realize we were on the boat. Oops. So we cross the river on the ferry and head up a couple kilometers to park closer to where we will catch our cruise boat later.

We got there about 1pm and we didn't have to be on board until 6pm so we had some time to kill. It was really hot so we found a rare restaurant with airconditioning and ate and hung out there. It was a very odd restaurant but the food was good and the waitress spoke English, a bonus. There was stuff on every inch of wall and wood carvings everywhere. The best part was they were playing Christmas music on the radio, LOL. It was very strange but the more we drank the more entertaining it became. After lunch we walked a little ways and found a fountain to cool off in.

Finally it was time to board the boat and get the party started. We ate dinner on the boat and waited for it to get dark. And waited. And waited. And waited. I doesn't get dark until almost 10:30 so we waited forever it felt like! Finally the show started. It was neat and something to see, but not near the spectacle I had expected. Some of the castles were lit up, but definitely not all of them. The fireworks were just ok until you got to the finale at the end. That was the best part and it was pretty awesome. Next time we can drive to the city where the finale is and sit on the river bank instead of buying cruise tickets for the boat. The show leading up to the finale as we went down the river was kind of disappointing. The Germans are funny people too. The entire time they all stand there packed on the deck and no one is talking or making any comments about the fireworks at all. They are very unemotional at events like this. In the US you know how the people ooh and aaahh over the big boomers? Not so much here. There were a very few moments where a couple people were excited about the fireworks in the finale, but for the most part they just stood there quietly watching and enjoying. Strange to us but whatever floats your boat I guess! All in all it was an experience, I'm glad we went to check it out. I wouldn't pay to do it again, but it was definitely something to try once. It isn't every day you get the opportunity to cruise down the Rhine River with fireworks and castles lighting up the night sky.

Wordless Wednesday

Sorry, I got nuthin! The inlaws arrived today and I have been busy preparing and cleaning and haven't taken any pictures. We'll have picture overload soon with the trips and things we have planned while the inlaws are here...just hold your horses for now!