CODE 21! - Mom and Steph Part 3

Little Layla's first swim

A couple of days of perfect weather and now once again it's raining... On the bright side Justin and I found a new great hang out spot and its the perfect place for Layla to learn how to swim! The town lake is finally open again and they put out a blob, floating dock and even made a beach. It is really relaxed, the water is cold but manageable and for the most part it isn't too crowded. The past couple of days, after wearing out the dogs, we have walked down to the lake and then of course grabbed a beer on our way back home. I think I might have even gotten a little tan... But enough about July, it's time for Part 3 of our June adventure!

Riley and I

She tries to keep us but Riley is too fast

After our amazing trip to Prague we arrived back in Baumholder around 5am thoroughly exhausted and  immediately climbed into bed for a long nap. A couple of hours later we awoke and took the quick drive down to Ramstein so I could show my family what a REAL military base looks like. We pull up to the gate and hand the Airforce dude our IDs, the "genius" gets all bent out of shape about my mom and sister's temporary ID cards and calls out "CODE 21!! CODE 21!!" He proceeded to close down the entire gate both directions, set out cones and escort us off of the Base... We went to the office and got everything sorted out, it turns out the guy was just an idiot and the ID cards were perfect so after he was reprimanded we drove to the gate AGAIN and this time were actually allowed to pass. OH the joys of military life... We shopped around in the mall and then grabbed a bite to eat before heading back home.

The next day we woke up early and set off on a long drive to Cologne. The drive was awful, it was rainy, lots of traffic and at least an hour of the drive was in construction. The city of Cologne itself was terrible to navigate and if it hadn't been for my Mom's GPS I doubt we would have made it to the famous Cologne Cathedral but luckily we did and it was completely worth the drive. The cathedral is incredible! Afterwards we braved the cold, rain and headed out for some great shopping. Cologne is famous for its shopping, boutiques, designer shops, everything you can imagine! I believe that we literally shopped till we dropped (or  until the shops closed) and then piled in the car for a late night drive home.

After a long day in Cologne we decided to hang out around Baumholder, drink wine and have a fantastic family dinner! It was the perfect rest day before heading out the Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Rothenburg is a well preserved medieval town. There is even a wall around the whole town! The town is the birth place of the famous christmas store Kathe Wolfart, there is even a christmas museum. It had tons of tourist shops and even a teddy bear store. We took a tour through the "Crime and Punishment" museum as well as the small cathedral that is said to house a shrine that contain a small amount of Jesus' blood from when he was crucified. The town was the perfect ending for Steph's last day in Germany!

Shrine with Jesus' blood

We left early the next day to see Steph off at the airport :( Afterwards my mom, Justin and I headed to Mainz. The town famous for Gutenberg. We wandered the town, peeking into churches, drinking wine and naturally visiting the local cathedral (I'm not sure if I will ever want to see another cathedral as long as I live after we leave Europe)... Unfortunately the Gutenberg museum was closed when we got there so we settled on a stroll along the Rhine.

For my Mom's last weekend in Germany Justin and I decided to take her to the cute town of Berkastel Kues. It is a wine town right on the Mosel river. We even took little Layla with us! We strolled along the shopping area, found a little wine bar and then finished off the evening with a traditional german meal and hike up to the castle ruins in order for a beautiful view of the sunset over the Mosel. The next day we headed down to Kaiserslautern to pick up Steve from the train station and planned our trip to Barcelona! It was so much fun having my family visit us in Germany and I am really glad they were able to come. Now its time to get back to real life and most of all start replenishing our savings account, traveling gets expensive!

Of course she gets to come into restaurants with us

She gets her own seat at the table at the wine bar

Mom and I 

Sunset over the Mosel 

Justin and I are down to our last four and half months of living in Germany so if anybody wants to visit y'all better do it soon!

Fireworks, Castles and Cathedrals - Mom and Steph Part 2

I am not happy right now. One because its raining and two because people are stupid. Unfortunately I don't have any control over the two issues so while I'm waiting for the rain to stop or people to magically gain common sense I will continue with PART 2 of my June adventures!

In my effort to be the best host ever for my first visitors in Germany I toted my mom and sister all over the country! The day after their rainy day arrival I allowed for no jet lag, piled them into the car and drove to Heidelberg for the first "Illumination" of 2013. Three times a year during the summer months the castle of Heidelberg puts on an elaborate firework display to remember the amount of severe destruction the city and castle suffered during the 30 years war. The firework show didn't start until 10:15pm so we had a lot of time to explore, taste wine and eat before heading across the river to pick out our spot for the show. Despite the cold wind and rainy conditions we hiked up to the castle and toured the grounds, tasted local wine next to the giant wine barrel and of course I made them try a traditional German Bratwurst... We found a cute little local cafe to warm up in before the show and after gathering up our blankets attempted to cross the bridge. I say "attempt" because somehow in the 6 hours we spent sightseeing the river had flooded across the road we had driven on to come into the city!  We ended up walking down to the second bridge and were able to cross over to find the perfect spot to see the fireworks show. We also found a different way out the city and were able to make it home safely.

The flooded river 

The Heidelberg castle lit up with fireworks

The next day after a much needed sleep in we headed down the road to Burg Lichtenberg in the town of Kusel. It was a beautiful day with perfect weather, a much needed change from the past two days!

Castle ruins with my sister

After our relaxing day in Kusel we headed to Idar-Oberstein which is famous for its gemstones. First we headed outside of the city to take a tour of one of the mines in the area. It was so much fun and we even got to wear our own hard hats! We then headed into town to visit the gemstone museum and see the castle/church in the mountain. Now normally I am pretty responsible person but somehow I spaced out and locked the key into the car!! Not good. I called Justin and he and a couple of friends were able to come out and unlock the car. I'm such a dunce sometimes.

Mine Tour!

Attempting to break into the car after I locked the keys inside

Burg Eltz with my Sis 

Later in the week we headed to the famous castle Burg Eltz as well as the town and castle of Cochem, see previous blog posts about these two places. The next day we headed to Trier, which is such a cool city! Trier has a heavy roman influence and we were able to see the Porta Nigra, Roman Baths, coluseum (although it was closed) and of course drink some delicious wine! My favorite part of our Trier trip was getting to see the most amazing cathedral. It was beautiful not to mention it apparently is home to the "seamless" robe of Jesus!

Porta Nigra

Trier Cathedral  

The shrine for the "Seamless Robe" worn by Jesus

Our week ended with a nice little hike through Baumholder and a late night drive to K-Town in order to go to Prague!

We found a horse on our hike

HIKING!

PART 3 COMING SOON...

Historical, Vibrant, Beautiful "Praha" - Prague

Prague is a beautiful, colorful city that for some reason has always fascinated me. Early in June my mom, sister and I woke up ridiculously early and headed to Kaiserslautern where we met up with a tour bus to Prague. The bus ride took about six hours and with the help from some dramamine I slept most of the way. Our tour guide gave us a short orientation of the city and left the rest of our time for us to explore on our own.

Sister and I with the city in the background

We strolled around Old Town taking in the the culture and architecture. One of the major sights in the area is the Astronomical clock and every hour it goes off with a short little show. I would have videotaped it but I was distracted and forgot! After the show we joined up with a sightseeing tour, it was a hop on/hop off bus so we had the freedom to get off and explore at any of the major sights. Due to the recent flooding in the are the Charles Bridge was closed but we were able to see all the other sights, do a little bit of shopping and finish the day out at the ultimate cheesy tourist restaurant, The Hard Rock Cafe!

Astronomical Clock in Old Town

The "Hip Hop" Bus 

The center of Old Town 

St. Nikolas Church 

Great Shopping! 

Prague Cathedral 

Stained Glass inside the Prague Cathedral 

Falconry at the Castle 

Replica of the Eiffel Tower 

View from the top of the Bell Tower - 287 steps to the top 

A love lock bridge 

I absolutely LOVED Prague, it has now become my favorite city in Europe and the best part about our trip was being tasting the most fantastic beer I have ever had. Seriously if you ever have the opportunity to get a real czech beer than please take it, I promise it will be worth it!

Best Beer Ever 

4th of July in Germany

Happy (belated) Fourth of July! I made this delicious cake for Justin to take into work... It took forever but turned out pretty good if I do say so myself!!

Justin had to work this fourth of July so we celebrated a little early with a afternoon of fishing and hanging out at a local carnival the day before!

Luckily Justin got off just in time to watch the firework show they put on at the Army base! God Bless the USA