Visiting Rothenburg ob der Tauber

I should apologize in advance because this ended up being a pretty long post. I didn't have to post so many pictures and I know a lot of people may not be interested in them, but I know my Mom will be and after all that is my original reason for starting this blog. So, feel free to skip this one if you don't want to hear me rattle on and show pictures from our weekend.

We just got home from church not too long ago. We stopped by Patch Barracks to get a couple of movies for the next few days, then we went to eat at one of our favorite Italian restaurants. It's a place we first discovered when we made a few wrong turns in Sindelfingen. The first day we ate there we felt like we were in an Italian commercial, sitting out on the cobblestone courtyard with people walking along the streets. We've been back there several times and we always enjoy it.

Usually at some point during the weekend we stop in at our new place to peek in the windows and see if anything new has been done. We have our walk through with the contractor on Wednesday, so everything should be done by then. We're very excited about it. The only thing that stinks about the new place is the parking situation. That's not so good. We share a garage with the neighbor right beside us. We have two parking stalls on top of each other. So, it's a double-wide garage with two levels and it can be raised or lowered depending on which level your vehicle is parked. They do that here to save space I guess. Sam's truck won't fit in though, so he'll be parking down the street

The driveway is shared with one of the neighbors who has lived there for many years. Our drive is very narrow to begin with then he puts up a chain to mark the property line, so we can't back into his side of the drive to help us get turned around (even though he doesn't use that area to park in - he has a large parking area further back). We're hoping for the best, but I'm concerned he could end up being someone that's hard to deal with. I don't really blame him for being frustrated about these townhouses being built right beside his house, but it's done and hopefully we can all just get along.

Yesterday we were planning to drive to Rothenburg ob der Tauber to explore that city. Before leaving though we called the post office to see if we had any package slips in our box. There was but the lady Sam spoke to said they weren't opening the window for another two hours. Well....we decided to try our luck and stopped by Patch on our way and there was not one...but TWO slips in the box. Sam persistently kept knocking on the window until someone opened it, had pity on us and handed us our boxes. I was thrilled to get the boxes, but did feel really bad that we pushed our way through. It's hard for me not to follow the rules. Anyhow, we got a box from my Mom and Dad and one from my sister. Of course we waited until we got home that evening to open them.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is an old 16th century medieval town. Old town Rothenburg, which is in the center of the modern city, is still surrounded by the original stone wall. It's really awesome and we didn't have near enough time to go through the whole place. It was mostly cobblestone roads with lots of shops and bakeries. Lots of old buildings. During the summer we read that the town citizens re-enact life as it was in the 1600s. I'd like to go back to see that. At this time of year it was pretty chilly, but we really enjoyed seeing it all.

This is at one of the entrances to the city. On our way out we realized there was a walkway on the wall that we could have explored.






People actually still live within the old town too. We were taking a shortcut through some of the houses. It's crazy how close together they built them. This walkway leads between the buildings.

Sam at one of the town entrances

This is a Schneeballen or Snowball. We saw these everywhere and had to see what they were like. Basically, it's dough that's been rolled out then sliced and crumpled into a ball before being deep fried. Some have marzipan, vanilla cream or nougat in the center. They come in a variety of flavors. Some are covered in cinnamon & sugar, powdered sugar or chocolate. We had a hard time choosing. We didn't think they were the best dessert we've ever had, but it was interesting to try.

I'm not sure what building this is. Perhaps the Rathaus or city hall.

These horses were just beautiful. They had long hair down their legs. This wagon gave tours around the city. Maybe next time we'll have to try it out.

There were lots of Christmas stores with beautiful nutcrackers, smokers and ornaments. Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas stores began business in 1964. The stores can be found all over Germany and they have beautiful decorations. This vehicle was parked in front of the Käthe Wohlfahrt store here in Rothenburg ob der Tauber which has been in business since 1977.

We visited the Criminal Museum while we were there. It had medieval instruments of torture and law enforcement. Some of the items on display were incredibly creepy. Whoever created a lot of the torture methods had to be somewhat demented. Anyhow, it was still interesting to see. This is one of the displays with the spike chair and I think that's an arm twister in the back. I know....it's sick.

Sam posing with some of the dummy masks they used for humiliation purposes. It was amazing to me the things they had to discipline/humiliate quarrelsome women. Like a piece of wood with holes for two women's heads and hands (also used for a married couple). They would be put in this contraption until they worked out their differences. I am SO glad not to be living in those times. Women didn't have much of a say in anything it seemed.

Sam standing under a human cage in front of the museum

My own personal knight in shining armour

Stairs that lead to the top of the wall. Next time we'll have to walk around the city this way. It was getting late at this point so we wanted to head home. We still had two Christmas boxes to open when we got back which we thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you Mom/Dad and Kristy! We really enjoyed opening everything.

Well, there you have our weekend in a nutshell. Seems like there's always something to do or see here in Europe. Hope you enjoyed the little tour of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Sam has to work tomorrow, but then has New Year's Day off. I like it when he's off work and we can be together. I wish everyone a Happy New Year. Talk to you next year!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you! I hope you had a wonderful time with family and friends. We enjoyed our day, although I always miss my family around this time of year. It's so much better when we have family to share the season with.

This was only the second Christmas we've spent truly by ourselves. Other years we've either been with my family or Sam's. We both have traditions that we grew up with and so we're trying to incorporate both sides into how we celebrate the season. Sam grew up with the German traditions of setting out the boot or shoe on the eve of St. Nicholas' feast day (Dec 5) and the advent calendar (both of which we'll probably do with our kids). They also have dinner and open gifts on Christmas Eve where my family primarily celebrates Christmas day with opening gifts in the morning then having dinner in the afternoon. We want to combine our family traditions so we can both feel like a part of us has been brought into our new family.

So, this year we were going to open a gift or two after coming home from the Christmas Eve service at Patch, but through poor planning on our part we only had 2 gifts each. We just decided to do stockings that evening and waited on the gifts for Christmas morning. We still have gifts coming in the mail for each other as well as from our families.

We planned on having my friend, Carmen, and her family for Christmas dinner, but they've only been in Germany for 2 weeks and didn't feel like they could get to the train station and on down here. So, it was just us. I still made the full dinner of turkey, dressing, potatoes, candied yams, squash, cranberry relish and bread, but it would have been nice to have others to share it with. We'll just be eating leftovers for the next week, but then isn't that normal?

On another note, Saturday on our way home we stopped in at our new townhouse. Pathetic?...maybe, but we just like to look in the windows and see the progress. I was so excited to see that the wooden stairs had been installed, as well as, the hand rail and bathroom door (we can only see the ground floor). We also saw the hardwood stacked downstairs waiting to be put on the floors. We have our final walk through on January 2nd, so we're pretty excited about that. The townhouse next to ours has been sold to another American couple and the other unit has been looked at by Americans. We just might have little America there by the time it's done.

Last Friday, I heard a thump upstairs and when I went to see what it was I saw this bird on our balcony with Gabby watching it closely. It must have flown into the window hard and stunned it. It was pretty chilly out, so I went to get a box with a towel in it to put out by the bird. Thankfully, by the time I got back it had flown away. Gabby could hardly contain herself though when that bird was just feet from her. How exciting for the little hunter that she envisions herself to be!

Here are a few pictures from Christmas Eve. Try as I might I have not been able to figure out the timer on our camera, so we had to resort to individual pictures or seeing who's arm was longest(hence the funny angle of the pictures). We're both pretty short so those didn't turn out as good as we wanted, but here they are anyhow.

I wanted a picture of us in front of the Christmas tree, but this was the best we could do.

We wanted one with Gabby although she doesn't look too excited to be in the picture.

Me in front of the tree.

My sweet husband in front of the tree.

Busy days before Christmas

Finally, last Friday we got all the boxes mailed out. I know we cut it close. I'm just hoping everyone gets them in time for Christmas. Next year, I'll be shopping throughout the year, so we don't get down to the wire again. That's just too stressful and it takes away from the peacefulness that usually surrounds this time of year. Not that it's always peaceful, but that's what we aim for and achieve most of the time. Of course, there are more demands on our time during this season because of the different parties or events that we attend.

Last Thursday, the Air Force Band was having a concert out at Patch High School. Back in Alaska we went to Army Band Christmas concerts almost every year and I love the music. So, that evening I met Sam after work and we went first to the kids concert because alot of them are in his program and wanted Mr. Sam to be there. Then we went to the Air Force Band. They were very good, as expected.

Saturday, my poor husband had to work all day. It was parent's day out and his turn to cover. Because of his work schedule, he really hasn't had much time to do any shopping. The PX is just opening when he goes to work and he gets off around 6:20 every night. Anyhow, when he was finished at work on Saturday he did some shopping. I should say - he TRIED to do some shopping. He couldn't find anything that he planned on buying, so he was a little frustrated about that. I really do feel his pain. I still have a couple things coming in the mail for him that I hope to get by Christmas.

Our church had their Christmas program on Sunday. It was very nice. I always enjoy the kids portion of the Christmas program. Brings back so many memories of when I was young. Doing plays, quoting Scripture, singing the songs....such warm memories. Makes me miss home too. There is nowhere I would rather be than in Alaska for Christmas. I miss being at my parents church, the Christmas programs and caroling that evening. I love going caroling and it's something I don't see other churches do much. At least the churches I've been too since leaving home don't carol. Maybe others do.

Monday evening was the MWR Christmas party at the Panzer Bowling Center. I wasn't too thrilled about going because I really don't know the people, but I was glad we did. Sam bowled a couple of games and they had a nice dinner served. In the end, I'm always glad when I go to a party. I could do without them, but Sam really loves to be with people.

My friend from Hawaii just moved here with her family. They got in last week and are about 1 1/2 hours from us. I haven't talked to her yet. I just got her phone number yesterday, so I'll be giving her a call. It's nice to have someone I know over here even though they're not too close.

Well, that's about it for now. The President gave Federal workers Christmas Eve off, so my husband will have a long weekend. Not sure who we're having for dinner on Christmas. It may just be us, but we'll enjoy our day either way.

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Stuttgart's Christmas market

We went to our first Christmas market this weekend. More specifically, this was a Weihnachtsmarkt or a Christmas street market in downtown Stuttgart. I don't know how many vendors participate, but probably around 500.

There were so many people there. Being a weekend made it busier than usual I'm sure. I'm learning to hold my ground in Germany. It's certainly not all Germans, but many will just push their way through with no apology. You don't want to be in a crowd here in Germany if you have a short temper, because it does get a little frustrating sometimes.

We really enjoyed our time shopping. It was hard to visit every vendor because there were just so many. Of course there were lots of booths for Christmas ornaments, hand painted bulbs, smokers, nutcrackers and homemade items, but there were almost as many food booths of traditional German food and lots of stollen and sweets. As good as it smelled, we didn't end up eating there because the weather couldn't make up its mind on whether to rain or shine and we didn't feel like eating while getting soaked.

The booths were decorated beautifully. Many had full Christmas scenes displayed on top. We saw a lot of nativity scenes, which was nice. It seems like we don't see them as often in America anymore. I think that's sad since it's the whole reason for celebrating.

There was such a festive, holiday feeling walking through the market. Hearing the Christmas music (which again surprised me because most of the songs were in English), smelling the food, looking at all the booths and just being together was really fun.

Earlier this year we made loose plans to go back to Alaska for Christmas, but I'm glad we stayed here for our first German Christmas. I am enjoying this Christmas so much more than those I spent in Hawaii. At least it's not 80˚outside and thankfully I don't see any palm trees covered in Christmas lights. In a lot of ways I loved Hawaii, but I just never could get into the Christmas spirit there. I am a cold weather girl and love to have that chill in the air during the holidays. We don't have any snow here, but at least it's around 40˚ so I feel like lighting candles and baking cookies.

We did get a few gifts bought at the market. I still have a few more to buy and boxes to mail out. This is just going to be a different Christmas for us, because it's our first overseas. The other day I tried to order three different things for Sam online and could get none of them shipped here. We have an American address, but many stores won't send to APO/FPO addresses. That's been very frustrating. We also don't have department stores to shop in. We basically have the PX which is not huge. Next year we will need to start shopping very early so we can get something sent to my Mom and she can send it on to us. We're making the best of it, but we just know that our gift boxes will most likely be late to our families and we might not get much from each other.

Well, I need to get busy cleaning the house, ordering what I can online and finish baking a few things. Here are a couple more pictures from downtown.

Walking through the street market

Scenes displayed in the top of the vendor booths

This scene of Hansel and Gretel was made up entirely of Legos and was displayed in a storefront window

Nativity scene displayed on top of one of the vendors

Sam in front of the Glühwein vendor. (Glühwein is hot mulled wine)

Busy getting ready for Christmas

One of the many differences here in Germany regarding renting or buying a house is that more often than not it won't come with a kitchen. I don't understand why, but Germans like to put in their own kitchens so when they move they take their old one with them (I guess or sell it). True to form the townhouse we're buying is kitchenless, so that's been something on our list of things to do.

Last Saturday we went kichen shopping to get the ball rolling. We've been to several stores, but found a place we're happy with and finally have an appointment this coming Saturday to sit down with the salesman. We'll take our houseplans and an idea of what we want and he'll then draw it up so we can see what it will look like. It's kind of fun being able to pick out our own kitchen. We've found some really neat ideas while perusing the kitchen stores. Such as a pull out pantry (love it!), drawers under the sink instead of a cabinet, drawers in place of cabinets on the bottom cupboards. I've seen that in the states too, but I see it more often over here.

I have a few things that are "musts" for my kitchen. I want a BIG sink - no more washing dishes in a tiny circular sink where I get water all over the counter. I want the biggest German oven I can find (which is still smaller than an American one). I have my kitchen wishes written down to take with me Saturday. Should be fun. It's a new experience, but it's kind of nice picking out what we want.

Sam at the front door of the townhouse we're buying

Saturday evening we bought our Christmas tree. Again, that was a different experience than it is back home. We went to a German garden center where they were selling trees, but unlike in the states where you can buy a Douglas Fir, Blue Spruce, Noble Fir, etc. they just had "Christmas trees". It didn't look like they came from a tree farm either, but cut from the forrest. So, we don't have the prettiest tree this year, but we have one. Another thing I noticed was that it didn't smell at all. Back home when we walk into the area where trees are sold the smell just fills your senses. I LOVE that smell and is actually one of the reasons I haven't given in to an artificial tree yet. I do hope my observations don't come accross as negative. It's just different than what I'm used. It's not that one way is necessarily better than another. Besides - when in Rome do as they do and I am.

Living room

The Kachelofen mantel

The house is mostly decorated. It always looks and smells so nice during the holidays. It's so peaceful with the Christmas music playing and candles glowing. Even Sam mentioned how relaxing it was the other night. I've been busy baking the last several days. Getting our store of goodies ready for the season. This is today's progression.

I went back to German class on Wednesday. I almost thought about not returning because I missed 5 classes, but I hated to just quit. I'm very far behind, but will probably continue going and will have to repeat this class. I'll just have a head start on it. Well, that's about it for now.

Thanksgiving and our time in Virginia

It's taken me awhile to get back to posting about our Thanksgiving. Since returning, we've been really busy with the house we're buying and getting ready for the holidays. We left before Thanksgiving and came back with the Christmas season in full swing and I'm very far behind.

When we were in Virginia, we thought if we had time we might drive over to see Kristy and the family - not knowing if it would work out or not. We weren't sure what Thanksgiving was going to be like since the funeral was just two days prior. We wanted to be there for Sam's family if there was going to be some sort of gathering, but Sam's Mom encouraged us to go on to Kristy's. The reason we went back to the States certainly wasn't for a vacation, but since we were in the area and there really wasn't anything we could do in Virginia to help out we were happy to be able to see my sister's family. It was unexpected, but so nice to be with my family for the holiday.

We drove down on Wednesday. It was so nice to see them and the kids again. I really miss having my family around. Connor and Hadassah are both getting so big. I can't believe that next year my little nephew will be a teen. He's getting so handsome and tall, but is still such a sweetheart and doesn't mind his aunt giving him hugs. He always enjoys being around Uncle Sam, who is just a big kid at heart and loves goofing off.




Hadassah is 2 1/2 now and cute as can be. She acted shy at first and kept hiding her face, but it didn't take long for her to get over that. I love how snuggly she is. She would crawl right up on my lap and snuggle down with her blanket. I know I'm biased, but I think she's a little doll.


Thanksgiving dinner was awesome. Kristy always makes great dinners and Thanksgiving was no exception. The food was delicious. It was fun cooking together. I really enjoyed being with my sister again. We were always close and I miss being around her. Kristy's neighbors came for dinner too since they were expecting their first baby any day (she was born last Sunday) and didn't want to wander too far from home. We all ate way too much, but had a nice day.

Friday, Kristy and I went out to do some shopping while the guys kept the kids at home. In all honesty, we didn't go out as much for the shopping as we did just to go somewhere together without everyone trailing along. Anyhow, we enjoyed it in spite of all the crowds. I really enjoy shopping at the American stores. They are just different than German stores and I miss what we have in the States. There were a few things that I needed for holiday baking that I couldn't find in Germany, so I made sure to buy those to bring back with me. Later that day we met the guys and kids for lunch.

I wish we could have had more time to spend with Kristy and David, but we were so happy to have even just a couple of days with them. I am so starved for family interaction in Germany and even before here when we were in Hawaii. I don't make friends that quickly and even when I do it's not quite the same as having my family around. Some of the nicest times were in the evenings when we all sat around the living room talking for several hours. I'm really glad it worked out that we could spend a few days with them.

Me, Connor and Hadassah while we were playing Oceanopoly after Thanksgiving dinner

This is such a hoot! Kristy said anymore when she tells Hadassah to smile for a picture this is what she gets. Too funny!

Another shot of Hadassah's "smile"

She is all girl and loves anything pretty and pink

Connor's catching up to Uncle Sam

Me with Connor and Hadassah

My sister's beautiful family

When we return to the States, it's easy to think that we can visit everyone while we're there, but then I realize that there's quite a bit of travelling involved. We planned to go see my Grandma in West Virginia, but when we looked at the distance we realized we would be pushing it to make it there. We felt bad about not going, but it was just too far away this trip. It turned out good that we didn't go, because I ended up getting sick with a cold. I think I got the same thing Kristy and David had. Thankfully it didn't hang on for more than a couple of days.

We headed back to Virginia on Saturday morning. Sam's parents had rented a condo for a week, so we ended up staying there with them for the remainder of our visit. We really enjoyed spending time with them. The area of Virginia that Sam grew up in is beautiful and has so much history associated with it. We spent our days visiting different historical tourist attractions. As always, we wish we could have had more time with our families. We really did enjoy our visit with everyone, even though I wish the circumstances could have been different.

Walking through Colonial Williamsburg

Sam and Stephanie in lockdown

Sam and I at the Jamestown Settlement

Inside one of the early American Indian huts

Sam aboard one of the ships (Godspeed, Susan Constant or Discovery) that made the 1607 voyage that resulted in the founding of the first permanent English settlement in North America (Jamestown,VA)

Sam inside one of the Jamestown Settlement buildings

There really was so much more we could have done while we were in Virginia, but I enjoyed what we did see. I never realized how much history is in the Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown area. Lots to do and see there. Well, I could continue posting pictures, but I'm sure they're getting a little boring so I'll stop for now.

We flew back to Germany last Wednesday and arrived Thursday morning. The older I get the more I despise travelling. It's just exhausting. There is a 6 hour time difference between Germany and the East Coast and normally it doesn't affect us too much. This time, however, we still feel like we're adjusting back to our schedule a week later. Well, I'll close for now. I still have one more post to do before I feel like I'm caught up. Hopefully I'll get to that tomorrow. Until then...