Christmas Markets

Christmas markets are a German tradition dating back hundreds of years. The markets feature hand-crafted items that can be purchased from vendors who have often crafted the items themselves. Each market has its own special charm unique to the community and region. It is amazing to experience the sights, smells and sounds of an Old World Christmas.

As you stroll down the cobble stone streets, you are drawn in by the amazing smells of evergreen reindeer, vanilla popcorn and Gluhwein.

And you just might find St. Nick in the crowd. 

Neudahn Castle

One thing we have enjoyed about living in Germany is being able to explore castle ruins. We decided since the sun was shining (which is rare)  it was a good day to go on our next castle adventure. Maybe the detours on our drive should have been a sign of what was to come. A drive that should have taken us about 30 minutes took an hour. We finally make it to the parking area and begin our hike to the castle.

After a good hike and following the markers to what we were hoping was a neat castle, we found this...

Talk about a big let down!! We found a rock. A rock full of history, but just a rock! Oh well, it was a great afternoon spent with the fam.



Ludwigsburg Palace

Ludwigsburg Palace is one of Germany's largest Baroque palaces and features an enormous baroque garden. Each fall the garden is decorated with pumpkins. So, we hopped in the car and drove the two hours to check out this tradition. We were greated by the most interesting statues all made from pumpkins and gourdes.

We spent the afternoon exploring the gardens and enjoying the beautiful fall day. There were so many neat craved pumpkins. This little dude was my favorite...





Senior Photo Sneak Peak!

Brett got his senior photos taken today. My friend, Ashley, took them for us!  She is just starting out with her photography business. She did a great job with Brett today. I snapped a few shots of Ashley taking Brett's photos. Ashley had scouted out some great locations. I cannot wait to see the photos she took today. Here are a couple photos that I took....

Ludendorff Bridge by swttxt · 365 Project

Ludendorff Bridge by swttxt · 365 Project

Oh, The Places You'll Go!

That should be the tagline for the Armed Services. For the next three years the plan is to visit as many places in Europe as possible since Uncle Sam sent me to live over here. I started my travel wish list as soon as I knew we were moving...London, Paris, Spain, Italy, Berlin, Koln, Amsterdam, the Alps, Geece, Prauge, see any and all castles I possibly can!!!, Normandy, the Eagles Nest. Sounds like a pretty good list, right? New places are added to my list all the time. I could cross a few things off my list. I cannot tell you how many castles that I have already seen. And ALL of them were not more than 30-45 minutes from my house. But there are so many left for me to see...so castles stay on my list. Last week-end we spent the day in Koln. What an amazing place...Koln Catherdal, Hard Rock, Great Saint Martin, the Rhine River, and the Schokoladen Museum and a quick stop at Starbucks before heading home. So, you would think I would cross Koln off my list, right? But there are so many things that we didn't get to see while we were there. So, it stays on the list too.
The first castle we visited....Burg Nanstein.

   Me in front of the Koln Cathederal

So, I am going to share my European adventures with all of you. Plan on seeing lots of pictures and reviews on the places I am lucky enough to visit. Oh, and remind me to scrap them! I need motivation to scrapbook my memories and I know I won't want to forget the smallest detail about living and traveling in Eroupe.