Historical Burgenfest Manderscheid

Just down the road from our house is the Manderscheid Castle Ruins.  Once a year they hold a festival there that reconstructs life in the middle ages or a Renaissance Festival.  Is there a better place to have one than on the very ground that held events like this thousands of years ago. 

In the main area there were booths with food and entertainment.

In the castle ruins is where they set up merchant booths.

Some of the entertainment included jugglers and singers.

And of course the joust.

It Can't Be That Bad

Life can't be that bad when you wake up to these sunrises and have sheep outside your front door.

Dinner at a Castle

At the end of July we were invited to Dr. Pat McDoungh home for a cookout.  The big draw was that Dr. McDoungh and his family live in a restored barn that is part of a Manor House/Castle.  Yes a real castle.   Can I say how cool it is to sit outside looking at a tower that was build in the 1100s?

This is the original tower that was built in the 1100's.

View from the Tower

Manor House that is now a Bed and Breakfast. 

Formula 1 Race

Doug and Dan had the opportunity to go to the Formula 1 Races at the Nederburg Ring in the middle of July.  As I didn't attend I don't have a lot to add except do you see how happy my Danny is?  A boy after his dad's own heart.

  

Our German House

View from our front door.

Last Tuesday we moved into our off base house.  Although it is nice to have our own place, I don't think it is going to feel like home until I get my stuff.  That should happen sometime the end of July.  We live in the country and on the edge of our little village.  All you can see out our front door is fields and on a really clear day you can see the Air Base. 

  

If you think this picture is lacking color it is because my entire house is lacking color.  Everything is white, gray or black.  The house is two story with an amazing attic space for storage. German's don't believe in open concept living so each room is separate. When I have more than base furniture I will take interior pictures.  

This is our landmark. The tree has been trained to grow up the house. We turn here to go home.  

Our neighbors back yard.  This is one of two cows they have. 

The best thing about the little village of Gindorf is the church bells that ring on the hour and half hour. Love it!!!!

Trip to Trier

Train Station in Spiecher

  Our first sightseeing trip in Germany was to Trier.  Trier is the oldest city in Germany known by locals as the city started 1,013 years before Rome.  It has so much history.  We took a train to Trier to teach us how to use the train. It was a great experience and nice not to have to worry about wrong turns, getting off on the wrong traffic circle exit, or where to park.

Train Tracks at Spiecher Station

The scenery is so green.  But you pay for the greenness with rain and boy did it rain the morning of our adventure.

Dom (Catholic Cathedral) 

 Have you ever been someplace and asked yourself if you are really there.  I stood outside the Dom in tears, amazed that I was actually standing outside something so amazing.  Dreams do come true.

Street in Trier

You can see all different building periods in Trier.  I love how they all come together in an eclectic mix that says it is comfortable with their past while continuing onto the future.

Basilica 

The Basilica dates back to Roman times when Trier was the capital of Western Rome.

Wall inside the Basilica 

On the walls you could see the marks put into the brick so that marble could be attached.

Ceiling inside the Basilica

The building is three stories high and the roof is amazing.  

After walking around in the rain we enjoyed a huge German lunch.  The overall favorite was the tomato soup which I was quickly told that I needed to find a recipe so I can make it.

There was so much more to see but we figured that this was a must stop for all our friends and family when they come to visit that we will be able to see much, much more on future visits. 

Information Overlaod

I have officially hit information overload.  Above is a picture of just some of the material that we have received since arriving in Germany.  Everything from how to make a phone call, use a washer, temperature conversions for the oven, driving, shopping, and so on must be relearned.  Needless to say I am ready for the learning curve to shallow out a bit.  I think I may get through the stack by the time we leave Germany.  

Driving is a new adventure here.  I have studied more for this driving test than I ever did for the one I took when I was 16.  I have learned all about strange looking signs, priority roads, and how to drive with no limit speed limits.  I am ready to gain my independence again and Doug is tired of driving me around.   

The German Difference

Living in TLF is a really great way to adjust to living in a different country. It has both American and German electrical outlets, German appliances except the washer/dryer, and American open living concept. It allows you to get use to a few different things without a complete immersion experience. 

Bought eggs and was blown away when each of them had a stamp on them

Simple things like flushing the toilet are just a little different

Love the windows that open two ways:  tilt in and open on a hing. 

Some of the other things to get use to:

  Km instead of miles

  Baking in Celsius 

  All German road signs

  Drivers going really fast

There are other things that are really easy to get use to:

  The weather (hasn't been above 75)

  The friendliness of the people

  Ward members that I haven't even meet yet that are willing to help

I am sure that eventually all these things will seem common place. 

Traveling to Germany

Monday, 10 June we left Phoenix with 10 check-in bags and 9 carry-on items. A huge thanks goes out to Papa and Aunt Taty who got up at 3 am to take us to the airport.  Our flight to Baltimore with Southwest Airlines was as good as could be expected.

Once in Baltimore we got a Skycab to help with the mountain of bags and show us where we needed to go to catch our rotator to Germany. (Best money spent).  We spent most of time in the USO watching new students for the Navel Academy get picked up. Once on board our flight we settled in for a 9 hour flight. 

Uneventful is how I like my flights and that is exactly what we had. We had three movies to watch, a nice dinner service, and a breakfast snack. Some of us were lucky enough to sleep, but for the most part once we landed at 7 am local time we were a bunch of sleep deprived zombies. 

Through customs and with our bags we headed out to meet out temporary sponsor, Maj. Patrick McDonaugh.  We caught the shuttle to Spangdahlem and checked into our TLF room. Maj.  McDonaugh was kind enough to take Doug and I to the commissary so we could put some food into our room.  Let me tell you, grocery shopping with two men when you are brain dead is an interesting experience. One I hope not to repeat in the future. 

Our final chore was to try to stay awake just as long as possible. The boys went to sleep nearly immediately, Doug stayed up for about two more hours, but I was the winner staying awake until 3:30 pm. I slept the clock around and was up at 6 am the next morning. 

We are slowly getting our internal clocks adjusted and acquainting ourselves with the base. We have found a place to live with a move in date of 25 June and should have our car here on the 27th. Maybe next week we will even venture off base.