With all this spare time on my hands since im not working right now I have had plenty of time to plan several trips.
In the two and half short months I have been here I have seen so many things in the state of Bavaria. It is rare you will ever catch us at home for the weekend. We usually are on the road to somewhere. So now im ready to venture out to see other places.
Next month we have several trips planned. One weekend we are going to travel the Fairy Tale Road. Paul is a fan of the Brother's Grimm so this was a must. I want to see the castle Sleeping Beauty is based off because that is my favorite fairytale of all time. So we decided what a better way to see both them to travel the Fairy Tale Road.
Here is a link:
Fairy Tale Road
Next is a relaxing weekend in Garmisch at the Edelweiss Resort. I'm sure we will be traveling down to see Neuschwanstein Castle as well as other area sites. The number one thing to do on my list is to go to the Swarovski Crystal Factory in Austria. We will be making that trip that weekend :)
What is Edelweiss Resort you ask?
It is a resort run by the Army MWR program that is opened up to all servicemembers and familiy members. It's basically the Shade of Green Resort of Germany. For those of you not familiar with Shade of Green it is a resort run by MWR that is at Disney World.
Then comes our BIG trip to France and Luxembourg. I am very excited about this one! We have an adventure filled week planned. We plan to visit Paris, Luxembourg, Cologne Germany, Trier Germany, and Soligan Germany. This trip is to celebrate our 10 year Anniversary. We really wanted to fit Normandy into this trip but it just is too far plus all of our friends told us the time to go is in the summer because there are a few Americans there that run bed breakfast hotels in the summer.
Also last week after spending nearly 3 hours on the phone I was able to book our holiday reservations at Edelweiss Resort. Edelweiss was only taking reservations for the holiday season this one day, then they start the waiting list. It was the mad dash to the finish line that day let me say. After a very frustrating three hours I was able to get our reservations for over New Year's. I think this is going to be the first New year's EVER that Paul and I have done something. There is a seperate New Year's Eve party for kids set up and its all included in the price of our stay. We also have some friends that will going too so we are super excited about this trip.
So needless to say we have quite a few exciting trips planned. Keep your eyes open for pictures and as always be on the look out for updates :)
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Monday, February 26, 2007
Nothing New To Report
Nothing new to report this Monday. Our weekend was pretty quiet. Syd had a Girl Scout function on Saturday and Paul and I spent the day moving around furniture. Unfortunately, when moving one of our dressers we found a nice big hole that wasn't there when it left Georgia. So I have to call the claims office this morning and see if I can add that to our claim for damages we already filed with the Army.
We were suppose to go out to eat Saturday night but late in the afternoon Syd and Zac both came down with fevers and nausea. We spent the rest of the weekend being bums at home since both kiddos we sick.
So no roadtrips for us this weekend. However, we do have a few exciting trips planned over the next two months. We have several trips in Germany planned to Trier, Cologne (home of Lindt chocolate), Solingen (home of Henckel Knives), Garmish (home of Edelweiss Resort), and Bergesgarten (home of Hitler's Eagle Nest). We also have a few other trips planned to Paris in April and finally a weekend trip to Luexmbourg and Strasbourg, France.
I'll be sure to send out updates and pictures of our travels :)
We were suppose to go out to eat Saturday night but late in the afternoon Syd and Zac both came down with fevers and nausea. We spent the rest of the weekend being bums at home since both kiddos we sick.
So no roadtrips for us this weekend. However, we do have a few exciting trips planned over the next two months. We have several trips in Germany planned to Trier, Cologne (home of Lindt chocolate), Solingen (home of Henckel Knives), Garmish (home of Edelweiss Resort), and Bergesgarten (home of Hitler's Eagle Nest). We also have a few other trips planned to Paris in April and finally a weekend trip to Luexmbourg and Strasbourg, France.
I'll be sure to send out updates and pictures of our travels :)
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Fasching Festival
Today we stayed close to home instead of traveling. We took this opportunity to go to a local Fasching Festival. We had heard from all our friends it is a MUST see.
What is Fasching you ask?
Fasching is a time to celebrate and party in Germany the days leading up to Ash Wednesday. The Germans dress up in costume and celebrate everything to the fullest before having to give up everything for Lent. It's basically their version of Mardi Gras only better :)
The parade is very unique and unlike anything we had been to before. There was plenty of candy and treats being handed out to the children which we had expected. What we didn't expect is that there was plenty of "treats" for the adults as well. We were standing there watching the parade when we were handed jello shots, followed by beer after beer. Yes, you read that right alcohol is a big center point of this parade. They randomly will hand you bottles of beer, shots, and so on as the parade passes. Did we have a sip? Well who in their right mind can turn down free alcohol :)
After the parade the streets open up to one big party. I have to say it is quite comical watching a bunch of Germans in Halloween costumes line dancing to Billy Ray Cyrus. Everyone is so friendly and even though we can not speak the language very well we still had a fantastic time partying with the Germans.
It was definitely an experience and we will definitely be checking out the next Fasching Parade and Festival :)
This isn't petroleum in that barrel but beer they were handing out for free.
This guy was so FUNNY!! We called him the dancing machine because he was dancing when the float went by, he was dancing after the parade ended and he was STILL dancing when we left Fasching. I think he started his Fasching Festival early with a little help from some alcohol.
I got some great video too but it would let me post it here so here are the links below to get to it...
Some German's dancing and singing
Zac was into Fasching too
What is Fasching you ask?
Fasching is a time to celebrate and party in Germany the days leading up to Ash Wednesday. The Germans dress up in costume and celebrate everything to the fullest before having to give up everything for Lent. It's basically their version of Mardi Gras only better :)
The parade is very unique and unlike anything we had been to before. There was plenty of candy and treats being handed out to the children which we had expected. What we didn't expect is that there was plenty of "treats" for the adults as well. We were standing there watching the parade when we were handed jello shots, followed by beer after beer. Yes, you read that right alcohol is a big center point of this parade. They randomly will hand you bottles of beer, shots, and so on as the parade passes. Did we have a sip? Well who in their right mind can turn down free alcohol :)
After the parade the streets open up to one big party. I have to say it is quite comical watching a bunch of Germans in Halloween costumes line dancing to Billy Ray Cyrus. Everyone is so friendly and even though we can not speak the language very well we still had a fantastic time partying with the Germans.
It was definitely an experience and we will definitely be checking out the next Fasching Parade and Festival :)
This isn't petroleum in that barrel but beer they were handing out for free.
This guy was so FUNNY!! We called him the dancing machine because he was dancing when the float went by, he was dancing after the parade ended and he was STILL dancing when we left Fasching. I think he started his Fasching Festival early with a little help from some alcohol.
I got some great video too but it would let me post it here so here are the links below to get to it...
Some German's dancing and singing
Zac was into Fasching too
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Neuschwanstein Castle
Today our adventures brought us to the famous of all castles Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castle. We took the guided tour and did quite a bit exploring at Neuschwanstein. We didn't get the chance to do the tour or climb up to walk around Hohenschwangau because we ran out of time.
Neuschwanstein Castle is located in beautiful Schwangau Germany. If you ever have had the chance to go to Gatlinburg, TN it is similar in the same aspect as far as shopping, the mountains surrounding the area and lots of tourist ONLY that Schwangau Germany makes Gatlinburg look like the dump of all dumps. You get the picture :)To those who know us you know we absoultely love Gatlinburg, TN. Well today we found our Gatlinburg, TN of Germany.
Neuschwanstein Castle was built in the mid 1800's under King Ludwig II. King Ludwig died before it was completed therefore leaving this castle still unfinished to this day. Only 1/3 of the castle was completed upon his death in 1886. The second floor of the castle is an excellent example as it was never finished.
The inside of this castle is beautiful!!! I wish we were allowed to take pictures during the tour but unfortunately it is not allowed. I guess that gives everyone a good excuse to come visit us to see it in person or you can visit the weblink below for a tour. If you do come to visit bring your hiking shoes because you have to walk to Neuschwanstein from the bottom of the mountain. It's about a 30 minute hike straight up and I mean straight up a steep hill.
LINK
It was pretty hazey out today but we still got quite a few Great Pics to share. ENJOY!!!
I'm off to bed because it was a looooooooong day for us as you can see.
The pretzels are just as GRAND as the castle :)
The view overlooking Hohenschwangau Castle and a few other Hohenschwangau Castle pics.
A few other pics of the surrounding area around Neuschwanstein...
Neuschwanstein Castle is located in beautiful Schwangau Germany. If you ever have had the chance to go to Gatlinburg, TN it is similar in the same aspect as far as shopping, the mountains surrounding the area and lots of tourist ONLY that Schwangau Germany makes Gatlinburg look like the dump of all dumps. You get the picture :)To those who know us you know we absoultely love Gatlinburg, TN. Well today we found our Gatlinburg, TN of Germany.
Neuschwanstein Castle was built in the mid 1800's under King Ludwig II. King Ludwig died before it was completed therefore leaving this castle still unfinished to this day. Only 1/3 of the castle was completed upon his death in 1886. The second floor of the castle is an excellent example as it was never finished.
The inside of this castle is beautiful!!! I wish we were allowed to take pictures during the tour but unfortunately it is not allowed. I guess that gives everyone a good excuse to come visit us to see it in person or you can visit the weblink below for a tour. If you do come to visit bring your hiking shoes because you have to walk to Neuschwanstein from the bottom of the mountain. It's about a 30 minute hike straight up and I mean straight up a steep hill.
LINK
It was pretty hazey out today but we still got quite a few Great Pics to share. ENJOY!!!
I'm off to bed because it was a looooooooong day for us as you can see.
The pretzels are just as GRAND as the castle :)
The view overlooking Hohenschwangau Castle and a few other Hohenschwangau Castle pics.
A few other pics of the surrounding area around Neuschwanstein...
Monday, February 12, 2007
Bamberg a MUST see city if you ever come to Germany!!
So our adventures in traveling brought us Bamberg this weekend. We originally made an afternoon trip to Bamberg to check out the local Army base but what we found was so much more!
Bamberg by far is my favorite city so far. The sights were unbelievable there. We enjoyed our trip so much to Bamberg that we plan on making another trip there this coming weekend to finish checking out the sites.
Since it was so late in the day the only thing we were really able to check out was the Neue Residenz, Imperial Cathedral,the old court, St. Jacob, St. Michael's and Schloss Seehof. Babmberg is an extrememly old city wih earliest documentation dating back to 902.
Words can't even explain this city. It truly was amazing. For those of you coming to visit us you can count on going to visit this city. It's less than an hour up the road from us.
Enjoy the pictures!!!
Our first stop of the day was Schloss Seehof. It was built in 1686 as a summer residence for the Bamberg Prince-Bishops.
Schloss Seehof (Schloss means Castle in German)
The outer wall of Schloss Seehof
The family crest
Another picture of Schloss Seehof with the garden...
Next stop was the Neue Residenz, Imperial Cathedral,and The old Court
The Neue Residenz was built in 1613 for the Bamberg Prince-Bishops was begun in 1613. The two wings on the cathedral square were built by Johann Leonhard Dientzenhofer in 1697-1703.
Here is a view from a distance of the Neue Residenz and Imperial Catherdral
Entrance into the Neue Residenz...
The Rose Garden at the Neue Residenz.
note: the wooden boxes house statues.
A view of the city from the Rose Garden...
The Old Courtyard.
The Old Court, whose core forms the former imperial and bishop's palace, was once directly connected with the cathedral. The gate was created in 1573 by the sculptor Pankraz Wagner and its highlight is a relief of Maria, with Heinrich II and Kunigunde and the model of the cathedral next to it.
Imperial Cathedral
The next sight we saw was the Imperial Cathedral. By far this was the best sight of the day!!
The imperial cathedral St Peter and St George goes back to a foundation by Emperor Heinrich II., who founded the diocese of Bamberg in 1007. The first cathedral was consecrated in 1012, but it burnt down. The third building, which has been preserved until today, was finished in 1237 and shows late Romanesque and Early Gothic style elements.
Inside the Imperial Cathedral...
the tomb of the imperial couple, Heinrich II and Kunigunde
St. Michael's....
St. Jacob's...
Other pics of the city
Bamberg by far is my favorite city so far. The sights were unbelievable there. We enjoyed our trip so much to Bamberg that we plan on making another trip there this coming weekend to finish checking out the sites.
Since it was so late in the day the only thing we were really able to check out was the Neue Residenz, Imperial Cathedral,the old court, St. Jacob, St. Michael's and Schloss Seehof. Babmberg is an extrememly old city wih earliest documentation dating back to 902.
Words can't even explain this city. It truly was amazing. For those of you coming to visit us you can count on going to visit this city. It's less than an hour up the road from us.
Enjoy the pictures!!!
Our first stop of the day was Schloss Seehof. It was built in 1686 as a summer residence for the Bamberg Prince-Bishops.
Schloss Seehof (Schloss means Castle in German)
The outer wall of Schloss Seehof
The family crest
Another picture of Schloss Seehof with the garden...
Next stop was the Neue Residenz, Imperial Cathedral,and The old Court
The Neue Residenz was built in 1613 for the Bamberg Prince-Bishops was begun in 1613. The two wings on the cathedral square were built by Johann Leonhard Dientzenhofer in 1697-1703.
Here is a view from a distance of the Neue Residenz and Imperial Catherdral
Entrance into the Neue Residenz...
The Rose Garden at the Neue Residenz.
note: the wooden boxes house statues.
A view of the city from the Rose Garden...
The Old Courtyard.
The Old Court, whose core forms the former imperial and bishop's palace, was once directly connected with the cathedral. The gate was created in 1573 by the sculptor Pankraz Wagner and its highlight is a relief of Maria, with Heinrich II and Kunigunde and the model of the cathedral next to it.
Imperial Cathedral
The next sight we saw was the Imperial Cathedral. By far this was the best sight of the day!!
The imperial cathedral St Peter and St George goes back to a foundation by Emperor Heinrich II., who founded the diocese of Bamberg in 1007. The first cathedral was consecrated in 1012, but it burnt down. The third building, which has been preserved until today, was finished in 1237 and shows late Romanesque and Early Gothic style elements.
Inside the Imperial Cathedral...
the tomb of the imperial couple, Heinrich II and Kunigunde
St. Michael's....
St. Jacob's...
Other pics of the city
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