A German Kitchen

A German kitchen. What does that mean actually? Well, when Alex and I made this huge decision to move across the big blue ocean, we started researching about the culture and living in Europe. One of the things we ran across was that German homes and apartments do not come with a kitchen when you move in and you have to buy one. Who ever heard of such a thing. Maybe an appliance here or there, but an entire kitchen. In the states, kitchens and bathrooms are two of the most expensive rooms to remodel.

But here in Germany we have...IKEA, Mobel Martin, Mobel Fruber, etc. You get my picture. Kitchens are uninstalled in one day and reinstalled in another... so, our landlord promised us a new kitchen. So on the same day the British brought our belongings home, the Germans gave us a new kitchen.

Lucky for us, we live in an German society indoctorined in American culture...American's rent apartments and homes with kitchens (PS...we don't have closets either).

Demolition day...they tore out the entire kitchen in 3 hours.

Midway through the installation process, we had the electrician there at 8, the kitchen guys at 10 and the moving company with our household goods in at 11. Everyone was gone by 3.

The finished kitchen. To the right is the fridge. It is exactly the size of a dorm fridge complete with teenie, tiny freezer. We now have a dishwasher, too. Yeah. The painters came today to finish up. We love it.

We're Off to France-Strasbourg

HI!!! Everyone. Alex and I are doing great. The baby arrived today (our car) and it was wonderful to drive it again. However, we took one last little trip in the VW Golf before we returned it. We had that little rental for as long as we had our CR-V in the states. Off we went to STRASBOURG...only hour and 1/2 from Landstuhl but took us 2 hours to find our hotel.
The main reason to go to Strasbourg is to visit The Cathedral of Our Lady. The most beautiful church we have seen to date. It took 400 years to build and as you drive into Strasbourg, it rises beautifully over the city, defining the landscape.

Another view of the cathedral.

Alex...he is so silly. This man has more patience then anyone I have every known. What a great husband...even when I am OUT-OF-CONTROL, he remains calm. LOL

A view of the Ill River from the bridge. The next time we visit, we are taking a boat ride through the city.

An area of Strasbourg called Le Petite France...was at one time the part of the city that held the hospital. The houses are unique because they have cutaway roofs so the tanners could dry out their skins in the attics.

Another view of Le Petite France

The River Ill in Le Petite France

One of three remaining Medieval towers which made up a chain of fortifications.

My favorite...the Chocolate Museum or Les Secrets Du Chocolat (The Secret of Chocolate). The tour ends with a free bag of chocolate and a trip through the store. Yum Yum.

The Rhine River Cruise

These pictures are a little out of order but Alex and I went on the Rhine River Cruise with the USO and we participated in a wine tasting after we docked in Assmanshausen.

So we tried 4 types of wines...

But in this picture I am drinking a FIRST PRIZE Hans had poured for me because I answered a question correctly.

This was FIRST PRIZE...a full glass of wine.

This is Alex's face because he did not get to have a FIRST PRIZE.

Rheinstein Castle from the River Boat. We had toured the inside of this castle earlier that morning. It was beautiful. Rheinstein means Rhine Stone. We viewed a lot of castles on our two hour river cruise.

The Pfalz located in the middle of the Rhine River in the town of Kaub. This castle was once used as a prison. It is unique because it is the only castle that has a dungeon whose floor moves up and down when the water rises or falls. It also was built like the bow of a ship in the front so the water moves around it.

The famous Loreley Rock. The legend says sailors would lose their lives in the Rhine River because they would see a young mermaid sunbathing on the top of the rock and would be so memorized by the sight, their ships would crash into the rock and they would die. As the boat sails past, The Song of the Loreley is played.

Alex and I...cruising down the river. What a wonderful day this was.

A view of the Rhine River from Rheinstein Castle.

The Rhine River was and is a major transportation route and is considered one of the busiest waterways in the world.

Trier-Germany's Oldest City

Roman Days in Trier. The held a roman festival in the old baths in Trier. There is a claim made that Trier is actually older then Rome. They call this festival Bread and Games or the real name is Brot und Spiele. They would keep the citizens happy by giving them free bread and offering them entertainment.
The Electoral Palace. This was built in the 18th century and it is surrounded by gardens, fountains and sculptures. The Palace's front gable is decorated with mythological and classical gods. The Palace actually extends further beyond the trees and the story goes that when it was built, the bishop refused to live there because the building was asymmetrical.

One of the places we visited was the Ampihitheatre where the "free entertainment" was offered to the citizens to keep them happy. Often one of the entertainments were the Gladiator fights. Gladiators were actually slaves, usually from Greece who, in order to win their freedom, had to fight to the death against other slaves or wild animals. This is one of the rooms in which they kept the Gladiators before their match. Another special room, was called a Vomitorium, not making this up, this room the slaves were brought into before their match to be sick in.

Part of the Imperial Baths. Romans were maticulous about cleanliness and they often spent a lot of time in the Baths. This was a social area for them.

Aldstaut (the Oldtown)--There is actually a McDonalds in the beautiful building directly behind the man.

Me and Alex

Chateau de Vianden-Luxembourg

Our first glimpse of the Vianden Castle. The bus dropped us off

close to the Village of Vianden. But it was still quite a ways to walk to

the village.

Before our journey up the steep hill. Alex said after we climbed to the top,

"who wants to storm the castle after that climb"

The Castle Vianden
Constructed from the 11th to 14th century on the foundations of a Roman fort and a Carolingian refuge. In the 1800's, the castle was sold off piece by piece. In 1977 the Grand Duke of Luxembourg transferred ownership to the state and it was restored.The village of Vianden-a view from the tower.
The weekend we visited the castle, a medieval festival was occurring, although some of the costumes worn were questionable.

A last remnant of the walls surrounding the village and castle.

The end...for now. Thanks for viewing our blog page. We love visiting all these

beautiful and wonderful places and sharing them with you.

Luxembourg-The City

A view of Luxembourg. The building on the right was used as General Omar Bradley's

headquarter's during the Battle of the Bulge.

The 3 spheres of Our Lady of Notre Dame Cathedral.

The "White House" of Luxembourg. This is where Grand Duke Henri conducts

offical goverenment business. The country of Luxembourg is the only remaining

Dutchy in the world. This means it is ruled by a Grand Duke.

This is a statue of Grand Dutchess Charlotte, grandmother to the current Duke Henri.

She and her family exiled to London during World War II and she is

seen as a national symbol of unity.

The Ducal Palace within the city of Luxembourg.

The orginal entrance to the city of Luxembourg.

Neumunster Abbey Cultural Centre.

The original abbey was destroyed in 1542 and was rebuilt 1606. It was destroyed again and rebuilt. Since then it has been a prison and currently it is used as a cultural centre.

Casemates

The casemates are a labyrinth of defensive passageways that helped forge Luxembourg’s impressive military reputation.

American Military Cemetery-Luxembourg

The American Military Cemetery was our first stop on the

USO tour to Luxembourg.
This is a memorial erected in memory of the many soliders who were killed in World War II.
It says: "1941-1945, In proud remembrance of the acheivements of her sons and in humble tribute to their sacrifices this memorial has been erected by the United States of America."
The front view of the memorial. Inside is a small chapel.

The cemetary. There are 5,075 men and 1 women buried in this cemetary. There are 22 brothers buried side by side. There is 101 Unknown soliders.

General George S. Patton, Jr.

Patton's wish was to be buried with his men. Originally, when he died in December 1945 from complications from a car accident, he was buried with the others in the main part of the cemetary. However, so many people came to few his gravesite, they had to move him because the grounds around him were being destroyed. So he was moved to the front of the cemetary, facing out towards the soliders.

Another view of the cemetary.

If you are interested in more about this cemetary, here the booklet they give you at the cemetary.

http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/lx_pict.pdf