August 15th - August 21st

Thursday August 18

We have had a beautiful week! Warm, sun, summer, yippee! I'm hoping to be able to enjoy the high of 86 day today but am stuck in the waiting room right now at St. Johannis Hospital in Landstuhl where I drove Bonnie this am because she has hurt her leg pretty bad. I'm hoping she's ok, I've been helping her walk her two big dogs since she can hardly walk :(which of course I certainly don't mind getting in some play time with someone else's dogs!

Well let's see, Monday was my normal routine of mowing and I felt obligated to do a little extra yard work because the landlords were there working in the yard all morning! I think Frau Schaaf was scolding me a little because I didn't hang enough of the sticky bug catching papers on some of the bushes out front...oh well lesson learned for next year!

Tuesday was definitely a new adventure for me as I ventured into K-Town to The Hair Lounge for my first German haircut and coloring experience. I actually took the bus from Alsenborn which took me right to the TI in K-Town. There was a very helpful man working there that helped explain a bit about the bus (VRN and DB) and Deutsch Bahn (train and bus transport). Apparently the buses that run from our town are not the same company as the ones in the city but the good news is that a round trip ticket or some kind of pass would allow me to use all the different kinds of transportation. So at least I was able to get a little more info on that. The man at the TI said I should visit the info desk at the Bahnhof for more detailed schedules and pass information....but I didn't have time for that since it took over 3 hours to beautify my lovely locks. At The Hair Lounge I was greeted by a whole group of nice ladies. Most spoke a bit of English and all stood around me when my stylist, Manuela, was learning what I wanted done. I think they were stylists in training because they all did little bits and pieces of the process and stood watching Manu as she was cleverly painting my hair.  They served fancy cappuccinos and espressos and were all super nice. All in all it was a good experience and I was very pleased with the outcome, and I darn well better be since it was a bit of a pricey appointment! I made it up to the Bahnhof in time to catch a train back home but since I only had about 10 minutes I didn't have time to inquire at the Deutsch Bahn info desk, just the TI desk inside the door about my trip back home. Basically I could have bought a 24 hour ticket on the bus that morning for €5, 30 but since the bus driver couldn't understand me or me him I bought the 1 way €3,50 and then did the same on the way home. Ok lesson learned there too :). Good news was that I could pick up the bus at the Enkenbach Bahnhof to Alsenborn no charge. Well could I have been that lucky? No. So I walked the 25 minutes home which certainly didn't kill me but the blisters on the back of my heels would say otherwise (still figuring out the perfect footwear here). I've come to the conclusion that I have too many of the wrong shoes and not enough of the right ones! I wish I didn't have to accessorize so much but I guess that is why I look at the Germans and wonder why they are wearing what they are. They are smart, they layer and dress for comfort, and wear socks with Birks, and don't seem to really care if they are matchy matchy. Oh well, I learn. Anyhow, my hair looked too good to stay home so we went to good ole Stella's for some Greek eatin! Yum!

Bonnie and I went back to Stella's for lunch Wednesday (lol) and that afternoon our boxes and paper were finally picked up from the move. Now we can get the garage in order.


Friday August 19

I don't want to jinx it but it has been 5 straight days of summer weather!!! I was finally able to make it to the pool after we returned from the hospital. Unfortunately Bonnie didn't get any answers and we have to go back on Monday for an MRI. Poor thing. She needed to rest her leg so I walked down to the pool and was lucky to get a chair. What a perfect day I was able to get some good sun, read, and oh boy the people watching! Ok, I know we're in a different culture so there are a lot of new things to get used to! Some of these things relating to a public swimming area would include:
-more than my eyes needed of speedo wearing of all ages
-little girls not wearing bathing suit tops
-children changing right out in the open
-a very large back tattoo or tramp stamp on almost every woman
-basically no care whether women fit into their suits or if they covered any part of their body!
Ok now that is quite critical of me. I just had too much time by myself that afternoon! Oh well, I will never feel self conscious again after having been to the pool and with the forecast in the 80's in the next week I might go back! If I do I will not be judgmental. I heard a lot of English speaking people there too, I think there are quite a few living here because of the military. It's a super nice facility with a lot of things to do in there besides the pool. Outdoor volleyball, chess, Foosball, and soccer goals. Tons of grass space, lounging chairs, 3 different diving board heights and a big slide as well as a little restaurant. You can bring in your own food and drinks too (alcohol included) and basically for €2 you can make a whole day of it.


Saturday August 20 Burg Eltz and Reichsburg Cochem

We started out around 8:00 for the Burg Eltz Castled up north from here. It was only about an hour and 45 minutes drive through the windy roads that follow the Moselle River. This was an area more North than where we were last weekend. It is not an easy place to find but when we did you'd be shocked to know that an enormous castle was tucked away there! The very steep and windy road down to the castle is only accessible by walking or shuttle (we walked) and oh when you catch first glimpse of the castle what a magnificent sight!

The Burg Eltz

It has been left intact for 700 years and is still privately owned by the Eltz Family - the 33rd generation! The castle was never destroyed but is currently going through renovations and repairs to keep it in good condition for 100's more years. Unfortunately we were not able to take pics inside on the tour but the website shows pictures of what we saw on the tour, which we took in English! We were able to take pics in the Armoury and Treasury room where I described in detail under the pictures.  My first German castle experience was wonderful! After we climbed the steep road back to the car we made our way upriver to the town of Cochem.

Cochem is a very picturesque, medieval town with the castle, Reichsburg Cochem, sitting high above it's inhabitants. It was another amazing sight to be driving along the Moselle, come around a curve in the river upon this town with the castle up so high!

Cochem Castle

We parked at the north end and walked into town for some lunch at Gasthaus Dazert where the cute old man owner shuffled along and really didn't speak any English. I exercised my language skills at ordering and used my handy speisekarte (menu helper that we carry with) and had a yummy peaceful lunch. It was beautiful outside and we wanted to choose a spot out on a terrace but with so many people out and about we were happy with Dazert, on a 2nd floor with open windows overlooking the main street. We then made the hike up to the castle on the other side of town. The little streets were lined with shops and eateries and wine stores galore! This castle tour was only in German but we were able to follow along with an English printout. it was totally destroyed in 1689 by French soldiers but was reconstructed according to old plans in the late 1800's by Mr. Louis Ravené, arch merchant from Berlin. Since 1978 the castle has been owned by the town. Again, I've described the pictures in more detail so be sure to check the links! At about the end of the tour my camera battery was exhausted, and quite frankly so were Dave and I! We wanted to visit a few of the local wineries but were a little too overheated to be wine tasting. We headed back to the car and made our way further up river, enjoying the beauty of the Moselle and all of the quaint little wine towns that line it as well as the STEEP vineyards that line the walls of the valley! We thought the ones we saw last weekend were steep?! We figured this was a good and close place to come back and visit when we have wine-loving guests stay so we weren't too bummed about not stopping in any of the local joints.

Link to Castle Pictures:

We went to K-Town for dinner outside at the St. Martin Restaurant which was the place behind the swan fountain in a previous posts picture. There was a car show going on downtown which was pretty neat to see in Germany, so we sat outside and enjoyed all the sights and business.

It was still really nice outside so we came home and enjoyed some drinks up on our terrace...another fun little adventure today indeed.



Perfect end to a fun day, I love Germany!