Rhine River Cruise August 10, 2010

Before Dad and Dixie arrived I had their entire trip planned out.  We were going to do some USO tours and visit Berlin and Paris.  One of the USO tours I signed us up for was the Rhine river cruise.  After a brutally long day on another USO tour, we woke up early to make it to this tour only to sit and wait two hours for a tour guide who never showed up.  Prior to the trip I was told you could just go and get on a cruise so we decided to do just that.  Lucky for us the weather held up and we were able to enjoy the ride.

Neuschwanstein March 17, 2010

Before we came to Germany, Joe and I wrote down a list of places we would like to visit.  One of the things on the top of my list was Neuschwanstein Castle.  Neuschwanstein Castle was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria as a “love letter” to the composer Richard Wagner.  It is rumored Walt Disney modeled the Cinderella Castle after Neuschwanstein.  This past Sunday we trekked it out to the middle of nowhere to visit the castle.

We got to the castle and were informed the next available tour wouldn’t be starting for an hour and a half.  We wasted time taking some pictures and eating hotdogs and donuts at the cafe.  Eventually, we walked up the hill to the castle, excited to see the inside.  The tour lasted about 30 minutes (max.) and consisted of about ten rooms.  The castle’s room were impressive but I was hoping to see more of the large castle.  Unfortunately, King Ludwig died mysteriously before the castle was finished and a lot of the rooms are incomplete.  I will say this castle was by far the nicest one we have seen in Germany, but it is also the newest.  The drive itself was not too far from Munich and we were able to locate a random McDonald’s for breakfast (score!).  Once the tour was over, we hightailed it out of there for the four hour drive home and our brief trip to Bavaria was over.

And a pretty picture from Wikipedia:

Munich, etc March 17, 2010

Our trip to Munich was actually quite brief.  The shopping was pretty much all luxury – Chanel, Bottega Veneta, Armani, Gucci, etc.  I even managed to drag Joe inside the Bottega store without too much convincing.  Overall, we didn’t see too much of Munich because both of us were pretty cranky (one, more than the other.  I’ll let you guess which one.  *not me*)  We did manage to take some pictures of some things and once we finally ate lunch, all systems were a go.  I’m telling you, Pizza Hut has never tasted better.

The infamous Hofbrauhaus:

We walked around the beer hall for a good ten minutes before finding a seat.  The place was pretty packed and the food was awful but the experience is what people go for.

Pictures from walking around the city

At this castle a duck followed Joe around.  I was kind of hoping it might start chasing him but he didn’t give me the pleasure of my husband running away screaming like a little girl.

Some friends of ours love Munich and have gone several times.  We didn’t love it but I’m guessing it had to do with the hotel more than anything.  We stayed in a hotel that was recommended by our friends and close to the Marianplatz.  When we arrived they informed us we were staying on the fourth floor, and oh by the way the elevator is out.  It was eighty-eight steps to the fourth floor.  On top of the elevator being out, the bed was miserable.  Everytime Joe moved I felt like I was going to bounce out of the bed.  And Joe does not sleep soundly in our bed at home, so it was even worse at the hotel.  So if you visit Munich, DO NOT STAY AT THE City Partner Hotel Adria if you want to be able to sleep.

Baden-Baden March 2, 2010

Baden-Baden is a town in Germany regarded as a spa town.  When Bill Clinton visited Baden-Baden he remarked “It’s so nice they had to name it twice!”  I will agree it is definitely one of the nicer towns we have been to in Germany.  There wasn’t a whole lot to see and the main attractions are the shopping, the oldest casino in Germany and the spas (none of which we indulged in) but it was definitely nice to enjoy the first nice weather in a long time and be out of house.  According to friends the spas are nice but you have to be full on naked as a jay bird and often times you are in a room full of nakedness.  I don’t know about you, but getting naked in front of your husband’s friend sounds a little mortifying to me.  Needless to say, i wasn’t sorry to not visit the spa.

The DZ November 9, 2009

Also known as the drop zone, where Joe will vanish for a week at a time.  Joe’s job at the drop zone is signaling the pilots when to drop their cargo to the ground.  Exciting, I know.  I wanted to share some of the pictures he took that I found on our camera.

And a tank?

 

Seen it in Europe November 6, 2009

Today’s post is a walk around the neighborhood.  If these pictures are a little fuzzy blame Lucy and her inability to not move while I take pictures.

My favorite bi-colored house:

Other houses and such:

House guests November 4, 2009

We had some house guests this weekend:

Meet Belle and Schmeagle.  Our friends high tailed it to Paris for Halloween and we had the pleasure of watching their adorable little dogs.  Schmeagle the Pug was incredibly entertaining with his constant snoring and constant…

…humping of Belle.  The little guy even tried his hand at humping Lucy by climbing onto the back of the couch.  Try to imagine what their offspring would look like!  Lucy really enjoyed the company, as did we.  There was never a dull moment in the house and it was pretty funny to watch Schmeegs walk under Lucy.

And my favorite picture from the weekend – Joe trying to run away from his posse:

 

The oven November 3, 2009

When Joe and I came home we spoke about the oven here and its size.  Joe claimed our oven is about half the size of American ovens.  After a little digging on Sears.com & Lowes.com I found the standard size for an oven is around 30 inches, however I don’t know if that’s the inside of the oven or the size of the oven as a whole.  Our oven from side to side is 23 inches but the actual interior part of the oven is 17 inches wide.  It is so small our roasting pan and cookie sheets do not fit inside.  Luckily, I was able to find a roasting pan at Ikea that fits and hope has been restored for our Thanksgiving dinner, although we may have to make a chicken.   Just some pictures to show you how small it is and no I did not clean it before I took pictures :

23 inches wide and our temperature cheat sheet:

De plane! De plane! November 2, 2009

A couple of days ago I ninja’d my way to the area where Joe’s plane is housed.  With my ninja skills I was able to take several pictures to share with you.  My “guide” (not Joe) let me know that it may not be OK for me to share these photos but if you search for his plane you will find all sorts of planes online, so I am hoping the Military Police won’t come after me.

The outside:

 

My first time inside the plane:

I will admit, the plane was way cooler inside than I imagined.  I am very proud of my pilot! 

 

Seen in Europe October 30, 2009

For those of you who always ask about Lucy…

110 pounds of love.

And a big THANK YOU to Katie for pointing out my bras and spanx in the background.  Hehe. I didn’t even notice!

Coming next week: Joe’s plane, German ovens, a stroll around the neighborhood and German Grocery Stores.  Is there something you would like to see?  Leave it in the comments and we will try to make it happen!