Saying goodbye is no fun at all, but I have several coming up, so I'll make this one my first. Since we'll leave Germany tomorrow, this will be my last blog until another trip. I really appreciated all your comments & encouragement; they kept me writing some nights when I wasn't sure what to say or maybe I just felt too tried to write. It was really fun!
It's been a mellow day of getting things organized to pack, enjoying time with Dana & helping a little with tonight's Taco Fest. Guests will be here for dinner, & they're Germans, so a big spread for making your own tacos is the plan. It should be novel to them. Andreas (tour guide's son & Chris' coworker) & his 15 year old daughter & 13 year old son will join us--plus another of Chris' coworker, Sue, an American. It should be a fun night & a good way to say Auf wiedersehn to Germany. Hopefully, we'll visit again next year, but that seems a long time from now when Karl says he hates for us to leave.......I predict tears on the airplane.
Thanks for reading
Love, Judy
THOUGHT OF THE DAY: I am fortunate to have good friends & a loving family.....
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
A Rhine Valley Private Guided Tour
10/22/12
What a day! A man who works with Chris offered the services of his father, a tour guide, for the four of us: Dana, Chris, Dave & me, so we took him up on it & had an amazing time. Gustof was the guide, & Andreas, the son. Gustof brought his wife, Erica, who was very helpful & had some good stories too.
We proceeded to the Rhine Valley in 2 cars & used walkie talkies to communicate. Dana translated for Gustof, & off we went on this brilliant sunny day. We were in a Unesco World Heritage site, a 67 kilometer area, for some of the day. I tried to take notes, but please don't fact check me! We were bumping along over hill & dale, having a grand old time. It's late, so the pictures will do most of the talking tonight.
We saw 2 churches in Oberwesel, St. Martin's & the Church of the Virgin Mary, each unique & beautiful in their own way. There are 65 figures on this gold altar at the Virgin Mary, & many were stolen & recently replaced, so they are guarded & have an alarm. This church dates back to 1331.
Dave & I have been trying to imagine how grapes can possibly be managed on such steep slopes, & today we saw first hand just how they do it. Gustof took us to the top of a steep grade where people were harvesting, & we saw up close what was going on. The owner of the land & grapes explained that workers from as young as 13 to as old as 70+ pick. Each has their own crate where they put the grapes, & the crate is on a cable which is winched up when it's full. Maybe the pictures will explain. The winch is on a tractor.
Pretty steep, huh?
She's on that slope with only her pruning shears.
The crate is being pulled up the hill by the winch in this picture.
It's strong enough to pull up the picker too.
The grapes are loaded into what looks like a dumpster that the tractor will pull to the winery.
This is the owner who told me he got to live & work in this wonderful place where we can only vacation. He was a jolly younger fellow who loved his life!
The leaves both on the trees & grapevines are turning beautiful colors.
Beautiful castles perched on every hill, or so it seemed.
We took a coffee break at Schloss Rheinfels Restaurant & Hotel www.schloss-rheinfels.de . I felt like we were on top of the world. Schloss is the German word for castle.
The most narrow & treacherous part of the Rhine is at the Lorelei, the name for that spot on the river & the steep cliff overlooking. Many ships have wrecked there.
We took a car ferry to get across the river, & it's name was the Lorelei.
It was a beautiful day & a joy to share with Dana & Chris.
Tomorrow night, our last one here, Andreas & his teen children are coming here for dinner. I'll be blogging after that plus packing, so let's hope I can get to it.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY: A generous family gave us a gift today---their time & hospitality.
What a day! A man who works with Chris offered the services of his father, a tour guide, for the four of us: Dana, Chris, Dave & me, so we took him up on it & had an amazing time. Gustof was the guide, & Andreas, the son. Gustof brought his wife, Erica, who was very helpful & had some good stories too.
We proceeded to the Rhine Valley in 2 cars & used walkie talkies to communicate. Dana translated for Gustof, & off we went on this brilliant sunny day. We were in a Unesco World Heritage site, a 67 kilometer area, for some of the day. I tried to take notes, but please don't fact check me! We were bumping along over hill & dale, having a grand old time. It's late, so the pictures will do most of the talking tonight.
We saw 2 churches in Oberwesel, St. Martin's & the Church of the Virgin Mary, each unique & beautiful in their own way. There are 65 figures on this gold altar at the Virgin Mary, & many were stolen & recently replaced, so they are guarded & have an alarm. This church dates back to 1331.
Dave & I have been trying to imagine how grapes can possibly be managed on such steep slopes, & today we saw first hand just how they do it. Gustof took us to the top of a steep grade where people were harvesting, & we saw up close what was going on. The owner of the land & grapes explained that workers from as young as 13 to as old as 70+ pick. Each has their own crate where they put the grapes, & the crate is on a cable which is winched up when it's full. Maybe the pictures will explain. The winch is on a tractor.
She's on that slope with only her pruning shears.
The crate is being pulled up the hill by the winch in this picture.
It's strong enough to pull up the picker too.
The grapes are loaded into what looks like a dumpster that the tractor will pull to the winery.
This is the owner who told me he got to live & work in this wonderful place where we can only vacation. He was a jolly younger fellow who loved his life!
The leaves both on the trees & grapevines are turning beautiful colors.
In front of the city council building of one of the little towns, here stands a huge wine glass. This area is proud of its wine!
While we watched the grape harvesting, Andreas opened a wonderful bottle of sparkling wine & some pretzels. What a treat! We all said "Prost."
We took a coffee break at Schloss Rheinfels Restaurant & Hotel www.schloss-rheinfels.de . I felt like we were on top of the world. Schloss is the German word for castle.
The most narrow & treacherous part of the Rhine is at the Lorelei, the name for that spot on the river & the steep cliff overlooking. Many ships have wrecked there.
We took a car ferry to get across the river, & it's name was the Lorelei.
It was a beautiful day & a joy to share with Dana & Chris.
Tomorrow night, our last one here, Andreas & his teen children are coming here for dinner. I'll be blogging after that plus packing, so let's hope I can get to it.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY: A generous family gave us a gift today---their time & hospitality.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Apple Fest at Frankfurt International School
10/21/12
After church today, we headed straight to Apple Fest at the kids' school, & festive it was! There was lots of food---real American style hamburgers (it had the longest line), bratwurst, hot dogs, all kinds of homemade desserts, apple & others, &, for the grownups, a beer tent. Jessie worked the booth where they put henna designs, which last about 2 weeks.
Karl worked the apple press where they sold the juice they made, & it was delicious.
No, neither of those boys are Karl, but it's the best picture we got of the apple press. Here's one of Karl & his friend William working in the assembly line to make the juice. There was a whole lot of pressing, coring, straining going on---
Dave took a bite of his brat before taking this picture, but this is how they're served, in a small roll with mustard on top:
There were good pretzels too:
The fest was held in the school parking lot, while a mean game of dodge ball was going on in the gym among students. Here's an overview of the scene. I forgot to mention there was live music & a dunk tank where the kids could try to dunk the teachers.
And I suppose the best illustration of the diversity of this school is this Japanese bag piper in Germany no less!
We had a chance to meet several people from Chris' office & their spouses, all very friendly, at the fest. They work in various branches of the federal government like the IRS, Secret Service, etc, & come from all over the US. They offer Chris & Dana a ready-made social group.
Church today was interesting. The sermon topic was water, & the minister said he'd take us from Genesis through Revelations in 30 minutes, & he did!
I wish I'd brought more clothes for warm weather; it was 70 degrees today & sunny.
I know I keep talking about those sugar beets, so this will be the end of it. Dave brought one home yesterday, & we cut it up & tasted it. It has a definite beet taste but much sweeter than any I've had before.
We're all having a sitting down moment after so much standing. Jessie's doing her homework, & Karl is on his way home on the train. It was a fun day all around.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY: I'm grateful to have had this chance to see Dana & Chris' family life in Germany. When I'm in Moraga, I'll be able to picture them in this nice house & having a good life.
After church today, we headed straight to Apple Fest at the kids' school, & festive it was! There was lots of food---real American style hamburgers (it had the longest line), bratwurst, hot dogs, all kinds of homemade desserts, apple & others, &, for the grownups, a beer tent. Jessie worked the booth where they put henna designs, which last about 2 weeks.
Karl worked the apple press where they sold the juice they made, & it was delicious.
No, neither of those boys are Karl, but it's the best picture we got of the apple press. Here's one of Karl & his friend William working in the assembly line to make the juice. There was a whole lot of pressing, coring, straining going on---
Dave took a bite of his brat before taking this picture, but this is how they're served, in a small roll with mustard on top:
There were good pretzels too:
The fest was held in the school parking lot, while a mean game of dodge ball was going on in the gym among students. Here's an overview of the scene. I forgot to mention there was live music & a dunk tank where the kids could try to dunk the teachers.
And I suppose the best illustration of the diversity of this school is this Japanese bag piper in Germany no less!
We had a chance to meet several people from Chris' office & their spouses, all very friendly, at the fest. They work in various branches of the federal government like the IRS, Secret Service, etc, & come from all over the US. They offer Chris & Dana a ready-made social group.
Church today was interesting. The sermon topic was water, & the minister said he'd take us from Genesis through Revelations in 30 minutes, & he did!
I wish I'd brought more clothes for warm weather; it was 70 degrees today & sunny.
I know I keep talking about those sugar beets, so this will be the end of it. Dave brought one home yesterday, & we cut it up & tasted it. It has a definite beet taste but much sweeter than any I've had before.
We're all having a sitting down moment after so much standing. Jessie's doing her homework, & Karl is on his way home on the train. It was a fun day all around.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY: I'm grateful to have had this chance to see Dana & Chris' family life in Germany. When I'm in Moraga, I'll be able to picture them in this nice house & having a good life.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
A Day at Home
10/20/12
It was nice to wake up, go downstairs & have coffee with Dana, Chris & Dave. The weather is absolutely beautiful, in the high 60's with sunshine which was pouring in through the big patio windows. Jessie got up super early to go to her cross country meet which was away, so we didn't go. Karl, being a 15 year old, slept late.
We all pitched in & did work around the house after breakfast & coffee. I pulled weeds & trimmed some small bushes, Chris & Dana cleaned out their single car garage, & Dave supervised. His excuse, & rightly so, was he hadn't brought grungy clothes. He did tons to help when we first got here anyway---all that Ikea stuff, for example. It was a productive morning based on the huge trash bags we filled.
After a late lunch, the grownups took a long walk & came upon the Aero Club, aka, model airplanes, remote controlled. There were even some gliders & helicopters. People (all male, I might add) were quite serious about their planes. There was even a club house where folks were socializing.
Jessie calls all these fields their backyard, & it kind of feels like that. It's nice having a country feel right in the middle of town.
Chris bought a new/used bike today, so now all 4 have bikes. Note the basket---that's just standard around here, & they all hope to ride more & drive less. It's possible here to do that.
I enjoyed a moment on the patio in between weeding to appreciate the view of the fall leaves.
We went to a beer garden for dinner tonight, & the food was delicious. The Germans eat lots of meat, so we did too---everyone got a meat dish except Jessie who got salmon which turned out to be smoked. She does not like it prepared that way (menus aren't easy in German), so she & I shared my very large schnitzel, & we each had a big salad. It was plenty. It felt like a place where the locals go, so I predict C,D,J,K will go back there. The food was excellent.
We encountered an older man on the walking trail today with a tiny dog named Trudy, & he was so proud of her. He told Dana that Trudy likes to be petted, so we all took a turn patting Trudy who rubbed on our legs like a cat would do. As we walked away, I could hear him talking to Trudy in German saying something about Americans. A nice moment with smiles all around.
When we got home, Dana made 2 pumpkin pies, & only one remained at bedtime. That plus some Belgian chocolates constituted dessert. It was a nice family Saturday. Here's a picture of Chris & Karl viewing something funny on the internet in Karl's room:
THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Savoring simple pleasures....
It was nice to wake up, go downstairs & have coffee with Dana, Chris & Dave. The weather is absolutely beautiful, in the high 60's with sunshine which was pouring in through the big patio windows. Jessie got up super early to go to her cross country meet which was away, so we didn't go. Karl, being a 15 year old, slept late.
We all pitched in & did work around the house after breakfast & coffee. I pulled weeds & trimmed some small bushes, Chris & Dana cleaned out their single car garage, & Dave supervised. His excuse, & rightly so, was he hadn't brought grungy clothes. He did tons to help when we first got here anyway---all that Ikea stuff, for example. It was a productive morning based on the huge trash bags we filled.
After a late lunch, the grownups took a long walk & came upon the Aero Club, aka, model airplanes, remote controlled. There were even some gliders & helicopters. People (all male, I might add) were quite serious about their planes. There was even a club house where folks were socializing.
Before we discovered the airfield, we saw piles & piles of those sugar beets all harvested. The fields had even been plowed. Remember a few weeks back, how green their tops were in all the fields around here? Now the fields are solid plowed dirt with massive piles like this:
Chris bought a new/used bike today, so now all 4 have bikes. Note the basket---that's just standard around here, & they all hope to ride more & drive less. It's possible here to do that.
We encountered an older man on the walking trail today with a tiny dog named Trudy, & he was so proud of her. He told Dana that Trudy likes to be petted, so we all took a turn patting Trudy who rubbed on our legs like a cat would do. As we walked away, I could hear him talking to Trudy in German saying something about Americans. A nice moment with smiles all around.
When we got home, Dana made 2 pumpkin pies, & only one remained at bedtime. That plus some Belgian chocolates constituted dessert. It was a nice family Saturday. Here's a picture of Chris & Karl viewing something funny on the internet in Karl's room:
THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Savoring simple pleasures....
Friday, October 19, 2012
Maria Laach Abbey
10/19/12
We left Cochem & drove about an hour to the Maria Laach Abbey (founded in 1093), which Chris' German tutor highly recommended, & I'm so glad she did. It is a beautiful church on beautiful grounds. Pictures were not allowed inside the church.
The Benedictine monks there do amazing things to keep the place up & running. For instance, they have a forge & make beautiful things, & they have a garden center to rival Orchard nursery in Lafayette. The plants are so vibrant & healthy-looking. Here are some pictures of the succulent area & then some little colorful peppers.
I especially liked this sculpture of either an angel of Jesus, I'm not sure. Here it is front & back. Are those supposed to be wings?
Here's a nice fountain just inside the courtyard of the church:
I like this one of Jesus carrying the lamb on his shoulders:
The fall colors are coming out, & the trees at the Abbey were so pretty.
We went into the church, the organ was playing & it felt so reverent in there. This is Dave entering:
The drive from the Abbey to Bad Hamburg was about an hour and a half, so we arrived at Dana & Chris' house in the mid afternoon. Now, we're waiting for Chris & the kids! It's so nice to be back with family again. Dana's making a special German dish for dinner: Spaezle, a kind of pasta, homemade, no less. Using the noodles, she'll layer caramelized onions, swiss cheese & ham slices & bake it just to warm through & melt the cheese. A German lasagna, sort of....Smells delicious.
Looking back on our 10 day jaunt, I'd say we allowed too much time in "cute little German towns." It's kind of our inside joke, "Oh, another cute little German town," we say to each other as we stroll the streets. For instance, three days in Cochem was too much. There just wasn't enough to do, so thank goodness for our Kindles, lovely scenery & several card games! Relaxing & enjoying the people was part of the fun. I think one day & one night in the small towns would have been enough. Bruges was our favorite place we saw in the last 10 days.
Now to the kids! They're home!
THOUGHT OF THE DAY: It's nice to be home again. Home is where family is......
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