Wait, October, come back!

I was just reading my dashboard and checking in on my blog when I realized I haven't done a post in over a month!  Yikes!  Where did the month of October go?  After our guests departed at the end of September I think a much needed rest was on our plates after all the fun we had with our dear Nebraskan friends.  We don't have any major plans until Christmastime so we spent time around the area, enjoying the beautiful Fall colors, and whatever nice days we had left of an Indian Summer.  I baked and cooked - a lot (even though I'm frustrated with my tiny sink and lack of counter space :) - because we have two apple trees in our yard that produced more apples than I could keep up with and the cool weather puts me in the comfort food cooking mood.  I attempted a strudel, apple crisp, apple caramel cheesecake and all were equally delicious.  Roasted chicken, German Potato soup with meatballs, and another one with wursts, my first attempt at Käse Spetzle and mini meat loaves! Needless to say we've been hitting the gym routinely!

Apple Crisp

German Potato Soup with Meatballs



Apple Strudel with Ice Cream of course

Herb Roasted Chicken

 

Caramel Apple Cheesecake - Oh.My.Deliciousness

Käse Spaetzle and Mini Meatloaf

I finally organized the picture section of the site (whew whatta project) because Kodak Gallery closed and all photos were moved to Shutterfly.  I had quite a few albums in both sites but now have converted everything to our share site through Shutterfly, which you can access above.  The pictures mostly will be just that, pictures with out captions, because I simply just add them to Shutterfly for convenience of having the share site.  For blogging purposes I download pictures with captions in Picasa.  Be sure to check out the Shutterfly share site and let me know if you have any access issues.

We checked out the Gartenschau in Kaiserslautern which we'd been curious about for over a year. They had a pumpkin display, more like pumpkin art, displaying colorful fish, turtles, mermaids and other ocean life.  It was really cool.  The gardens are beautiful, and it's a great park for a family outing.  There are walking trails throughout that wander in and around all of the dinosaurs in the park.  Yes, we have dinosaurs in Germany!  We climbed the hillside or the Kaiserberg, which was still part of the grounds and had a nice view over Kaiserslautern.

 

Fishy pumpkin art at the Gartenschau

 

Dave and a dino at the Gartenschau

Slideshow of Gartenschau Pictures

DH's birthday was in October.  We actually spent his birthday in Karlsruhe, Germany to check out the town and meet up with a high school friend who was playing with the Danish Rock Band Powersolo.  Mike and his dual citizen (and fellow PYA '96er) wife, Sidsel, are living in Denmark on her family farm for six months with their two daughters.  Mike was asked to fill in on the drums for the band as they toured around Germany so what an awesome opportunity for all of us to get together.  We had a great time hanging out with Mike and the band before the show started.

In the bar manager's apartment before Powersolo went on stage.

We didn't spend a great deal of time in Karlsruhe but did manage to walk around the city and through the central park of the city where we found elephants!

From a pedestrian bridge in the park you can walk right through the zoo!

The main focal point in Karlsruhe is probably the Palace, with 32 streets radiating out from it like spokes on a wheel. - apparently Washington D.C. was modeled from the same plans as Karlsruhe!

Ariel view of Karlsruhe

Much of the old city including the palace was reduced to rubble in WWII but was quickly rebuilt.  We enjoyed dinner in the hopping Markt Square and walked around the city.  There are many museums and places to shop.

Slideshow of the Karlsruhe Pictures

Our Romanian friends, Madalina and Alex came for a night and we visited the Hannenfass Bar in Kaiserslautern where we ordered a meter board, it is 16 (klein) beers on a meter board.  Another activity we'd been talking about and finally crossed off the list.  I have a feeling it won't be the only meter board that we'll ever get :)

Madalina and Alex at Hannenfass with the Meter Board of Beer!

We've had many appointments at the local Arzt getting all the appropriate vaccinations for the trip to Africa. But we're not quite done yet, our last appointment for the 2nd Hep B is right before we leave.  We should be all set now for the next 10 years!  The weather has resulted in terrible sinus issues for me as well.  We are just happy when we see the sun, it has rarely shone in the past few weeks!

On the 24th of October I was able to secure a seat in the 2nd Module of the Deutsch als Fremdsprach Intensiv Kurs, aka German as a foreign language intensive course.  This is a continuation of the Module I took last Nov/Dec.  Along side my friend Rinat, we are there every morning from 8:30-12:30 learning and speaking and reading and writing!  It's a fast-paced course and completely exhausting but for me it really is the best way to learn.  After the 3rd day I couldn't keep my eyes open past 8:00 pm but I've now since adjusted and actually like getting up and around everyday with a routine!  Something this Lady of Leisure hasn't had in a while!   The Module A1-2 will end the day before American Thanksgiving, we will have 4 days off and then Module A2-1 starts which will take me right up to the day we leave for Africa.  I'm hoping to have a good grasp on the language at that point and then possibly continue in January with the 4th Module.

During the break between Modules we will be flying up to Billund, Denmark to enjoy an American Thanksgiving feast with our home town friends Mike and Sidsel on her family farm.  We are looking forward to the trip!  Then the Christmas Markets will be starting up and I really didn't think I'd be all that excited since we visited so many last year but they really are wonderful!  We already have plans with a handful of other JD families to spend the 2nd weekend in December in Köln indulging in the delights of the cities 5 different Weinachtmarkts.  I'm sure that will be a fun time.  Then we are off to Africa!  Oh my goodness, as I write that with the utmost excitement it completely makes me think that I "thought" we didn't have a lot going on during the 4th quarter of 2012.  I guess writing all our happenings in the blog has put that "thought" into perspective!  We sure have had a lot going on, and it doesn't stop there.  We've got some exciting trips planned in 2013 but for now I better get to my Hausaufgaben.