Our trip to Venice

(Once again, this post is very late. It was started the day after Mom and Dad left and I'm just now to the point of posting it. I think this one should catch me up to date though. With going back to work this week I haven't had the time I need to get them finished.)

Sadly, Mom and Dad left yesterday morning. Since they were scheduled to fly out of Frankfurt, we left the house at 6:00 to give us enough time for the drive, getting checked in and finding the gate. I hate saying goodbye to my family. Someday I hope to live close to them again. Visits are not enough for me because it's never enough. It's just a visit. Not everyday life, but everyone on top of each other for a few weeks and no matter how much we enjoy being together it's never as comfortable as when we can interact on a more regular basis and not try to force everything into a few weeks. I always feel like I need to soak it all up while they're here to hold me over to the next visit, but it just doesn't work that way.

The house felt very empty when we got home from Frankfurt. It was strangely quiet with just the two of us in the house...not counting the two bickering cats. Mom often leaves me a little note when they've been here visiting. It's always nice to hear from her one more time. She didn't disappoint and I found the note in the guest room. Thanks Mom :o)

I'm coming down with some bug. Dad was pretty sick a couple of days they were here, then Sam came down with it a few days ago. Yesterday morning I started feeling a sore throat. Hopefully I can get over it by Monday. I'm sure a call to my boss on Monday morning would not be very welcome. Especially since it's my last week with NAF. I know my plate will be quite full with finishing things up with that job in time to move to the other one the following Monday.

During my previous blogs about Mom and Dad being here I somehow skipped over several days and also failed to post our trip to Venice, which was awesome! So, even though it's late and out of order I'm still going to post it.

First though, just a couple of days after they got here we went to Berg Hohen Zollern which is a castle that is very close to us and is still owned by the royal family which once occupied it. They were the rulers of Prussia and the sole heir owns it now and has private quarters in the castle where he lives when in the area.

Some of us (not me) were feeling energetic, so we decided to climb the hill to and from the castle. Keep in mind - castles by nature are at the very top of the hill. I wasn't incredibly excited about it, but figured I could use the exercise too, so off we went. At the end I was glad we walked it. We had a lot of fun.

Mom and Dad climbing the stairs to the castle

Sam on the way to the castle

Me and Sam at the castle entrance

Mom sitting in the castle wall

Mom looking out one of the guard towers

Sam and Dad standing on the castle gate covering the mote

One of the towers

Mom and Dad

This is where we entered for the tour of the castle -

unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside.

Now on to Venice. One week after Mom and Dad got here we headed to Venice, Italy. It was about a 6 to 8 hour drive and through the most beautiful country. Our trip took us from Germany, through the Alps of Austria and then into Italy. I can't even explain how beautiful it was. We were right in the mountains and gorgeous scenery surrounded us. There were small villages nestled into the mountainsides. There's no way a picture can do it justice.

On the way down we had breakfast in Germany, lunch in Austria and dinner in Italy. This is the view we had while having lunch in Austria.

Lunch in Austria

Somewhere in Austria taking a break from the car. (I have no idea why Sam's missing a shoe)

This is not the best picture because we were driving, but it gives an idea of the houses scattered on the mountainsides.

By the time we made it to Mestre (the newer part of Venice which is not part of the islands) we had been travelling all day and had been in heavy traffic the last hour or two. Once again, I was so thankful for Tom-Tom navigating us right to the hotel. It was about 8:00pm and as we made our way to the hotel I was wondering what my friend, Marika, had gotten us into. It looked like a very shady part of town, an industrial area, and lots of seedy characters hanging out on the street corners. I was not very comfortable with the situation and our hotel ended up being right in the middle of it all. I had reservations about staying there after seeing the area it was in, but we decided to check it out.

It was very basic to say the least. Just one double and two twin beds and one very small bathroom with the smallest shower I've ever seen. Seriously, I think it was about as wide as Sam's shoulders. I still don't know how he or Dad managed to take a shower in it. But we figured all we needed was a place to sleep while we were there, so it would work. We were all hungry and decided to walk to a restaurant close by. We had to give our car keys to the man at the front desk because the parking area was so small that they had to have the keys in case they needed to move the car.

I honestly was very worried about our things being stolen. We couldn't leave anything in the car for safe keeping because they had the key, neither did I feel secure leaving anything in our room since they also, obviously, had a key to that. In the end, we decided things would probably be safer in the room, but we did our best to hide anything of value.

Mom standing in the world's smallest shower (notice the broken door)

We had many discussion on what we thought this extra little "toilet" was, but I'm pretty sure it was a bidet since I don't think it was intended for foot washing. Whatever it was - I steered clear of it.

We walked to a small cafe and had pizza. It was hot and we were all rather miserable. On our way back to the room we were approached by a man who may have just been friendly, but he made me want to hold on to my purse a little tighter. We were happy to drop into bed that night no matter how hard the mattresses were.

It's amazing how a night's sleep and sunlight can change your outlook in a situation. The next morning the sun was shining brightly and it looked so beautiful outside. After having a small continental breakfast at the hotel, we headed out to catch the bus to Venice. That was another interesting experience. We missed the first bus because we hesitated. People were crammed onto the bus and silly us - we thought we'd wait for the next bus because surely it wouldn't be so packed :) We finally caught on and decided when the next bus got there we would just cram on with everyone else. These Europeans know how to pack people on a bus. For the ride over to Venice we were all standing and I could barely even move my arms. We certainly felt like sardines.

Mom and Dad outside the Monte Piana hotel where we stayed

Me and Sam

Venice was truly amazing! Before our trip I really didn't understand that Venice is a cluster of small islands connected by bridges for the most part. There are water canals that run through the whole area and you walk everywhere because there's no room for roads. Boats ferries take you between all the islands. When we got off the bus we took a boat up through the Grand Canal. There were stops all along the way that we could get off at. Something interesting to see is everything being delivered by boat because there is no access for vehicles. Mail, laundry, furniture, groceries, trash pick up....everything. They even have emergency boats and police boats.

Furniture being delivered by boat.

Sam and I on the boat

The shoreline of San Marco Square

One of the many canals

Another canal with gondolas

We got off at San Marco Square and started our adventure. There was so much to see. So many little stores to shop in. It's definitely a tourist town. It was obvious that tourism is what their economy is based on.

Mom and Dad on the walkway from the boat

Me, Sam and Dad standing by a canal.

Feeding the pigeons in Piazza San Marco.

Mom absolutely loved this!

We took ferries to two other islands. Murano is known for their blown glass and Burano is known for their lace and doilies. At the end of the day we realized we had just touched the surface of Venice and needed about a week there to really take it all in. Once again, pictures just don't do it justice, but it's absolutely beautiful and unique.

Waiting for the next boat

Sam and I outside the glass blowing factory on Murano

Sam and I on a bridge in Murano

Canal in Murano

Sam and I on the boat after a long day in Venice

Well, that was our trip to Venice. It's a shame that pictures can't do it the justice it deserves. We'll definitly go back some day, but I think we'll stay for several days next time. There's so much more to see than what we had time for.

Garmisch, Eagle's Nest and the Gorge

(As you can see from the date on this blog, it was started some time ago and I just haven't had a chance to finish and post it. So, here it is....very late.)

One week from today Mom and Dad will be on their way back to Alaska and I miss them already. I hate goodbyes with my family. I wish there was a way to bring our two worlds together. It's more than having a couple of visits each year. It's the daily interaction that I miss.

We just got back home tonight from visiting Garmisch, Germany. We stayed at the Edelweiss Hotel which is an Armed Forces Recreation Center. It's an absolutely beautiful facility and the scenery in that area of Germany is amazing. Garmisch is surrounded on every side by the German Alps. The weather didn't totally cooperate with us, but we still had a wonderful time. On the way down Tuesday, we stopped by Dachau so Mom and Dad could visit the Concentration Camp Memorial Site. As before, it was a sobering experience. This time I had a chance to read more of the displays and found it very interesting and educational. It's frightening to me that humanity could sink to such levels and treat other humans in ways I could never even think of treating an animal. I'm sure it didn't start out that way, but slowly sank to lower and lower levels.

Mom, Dad and Sam at the entrance to Dachau

Sam, Me and Dad

Sam waiting patiently. Mom and Dad were taking the time to read the displays as we went through the museum part of Dachau. Sam had already seen Dachau and was hungry, so he wanted them to hurry up.

Mom and Dad with the foundations of the bunker houses behind them. The actual buildings were demolished, but they left markers where each building stood.

Me, Sam and Dad on the bridge leading to the crematorium

Mom and Dad with the gas chambers/crematorium in the background

From Dachau, we drove on down to Garmisch and checked into the Edelweiss. It always amazes me that I feel so exhausted from just travelling, but we arrived pretty tired. We were settled in our rooms by 8:00 and didn't do much else that evening besides eat dinner in one of the restaurants on site. I really enjoyed having a good American meal there. They even gave us ice in our drinks :)

Sam and I on the balcony at the Edelweiss

Wednesday we headed to Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgaden, Germany. It was so interesting because I learned a lot that I hadn't known. Prior to this trip, I didn't exactly know what it was, but had an idea that it was one of Hitler's homes and where he eventually committed suicide. What I found out though, was that it wasn't a home at all, but rather just a opulent tea room to impress dignitaries. It was given to Hitler as a 50th birthday present and he only went there about 14 times, due to his fear of heights.

Please excuse the poor quality of this picture. I took a picture of a picture. Due to the heavy fog the day we were there, this was the best I could do at getting a good view of Eagle's Nest.

The location of the Eagle's Nest is amazing. We drove up a steep mountain for quite awhile just to reach a parking lot where we got on a bus that took us further up the mountain to the Eagle's Nest. We were at about 6000 feet and it was so beautiful. We were hoping the fog would clear off so we could see the mountains surrounding us. It didn't, but was gorgeous just the same. We paid a small fee to have an English tour guide. It was money well spent. She did a great job of explaining the history and telling us some interesting tid bits.

Mom and Dad in the bus taking us to the Eagle's Nest

Me and Sam in the bus

All of us at the entrance to the tunnel which leads to the elevator that goes up through the mountain to the Eagle's Nest

Mom and Dad taking a break up the hill from the tea room

Having lunch in the dining hall of the Eagle's Nest

For those of you who know my parents - this is not what it appears to be. They were drinking Apfelsaftschorle, which is a mix of mineral water and apple juice, but it looked surprisingly like beer.

Sam and I sitting at the fireplace in the dining hall

On our way out, leaving through the tunnel

Waiting for the bus to take us back down the mountain

Whether at the concentration camp or Hitler's tea room it's always hard to wrap my mind around the fact that I'm standing in the same place history took place in. We ate lunch at the Eagle's Nest in the same room Hitler ate. Had food cooked in the original kitchen. It just doesn't really sink in.

Thursday instead of just heading the 3 hours back to Stuttgart we stayed around Garmisch for a little while. It's such a beautiful town. We walked through downtown and had breakfast at a little outside cafe.

Sam had heard about an Olympic ski jump that was used in the 1936 Olympics which were held in Garmisch. We went to see that then walked out to a beautiful gorge a mile or so behind the ski jump. There were cable cars available to take us all the way to the top. It was gorgeous from up there, but really scary to be so far above ground suspended by only a cable. It was pouring down the rain when we started to walk back to the car, but we had a fun walk regardless.

Mom and Dad took the first cable car up, so Sam and I were waiting for our ride

Mom and Dad waiting at the top for us

The view from the cable car

All ready for the wet walk back to the car

Somehow I skipped an entire week of activities, so I'll have to go backward and play catch up with future blogs. We've been so busy that I haven't kept up with blogging. We've taken lots of pictures so I had a hard time deciding on which ones to post.

This post is very late, but better late than never....right? Until next time...

Mom and Dad's first week in Germany

(As you can tell by the date on this blog, it was started sometime last week, but figured I'd post it anyhow. )

Mom and Dad arrived here safely last Friday. They flew into the Frankfurt airport, so Sam and I drove there to pick them up. Frankfurt's just a couple of hours drive from Stuttgart. Being concerned about morning traffic, we left very early only to find out it was a German holiday and we had clear roads the whole way. We got there pretty early and the flight ended up being about an hour late, so we had a bit of a wait. It was so nice to see Mom and Dad again. I was suprised they weren't more tired, but it was only midnight Alaska time, so they still felt pretty good. The jet lag would hit them later though.

I've been looking forward to sharing our lives here in Germany with them. It's been fun seeing their impressions of life in Europe. Alot of what they point out are things that struck me as odd when we first arrived too. I think they like it better than they thought they would. Mom keeps mentioning how green and beautiful the landscape is. It really is gorgeous here. Lots of open fields. The German's do that right. The houses are close together, which allows for lots of open country.

Mom and Dad brought their cat with them. Mom has always called him Papa Kitty, but Sam is convinced he should be called Konishiki, after a famous Hawaiian Sumo wrestler, due to his size. So, at this point we still call him both. Poor thing must be terrible confused. Because of Dad's allergies they couldn't let Konishiki have the run of the house, so we decided to bring him here. I've been concerned about it though because of how Gabby has always been with other cats.

We kept them separated for several days and then Sunday we decided to see how they would do together. Gabby's always been such a little bully, so I was a bit concerned. Any cat she's ever seen she's chased or tried to attack through a window. Bringing these two cats together is the first time I've realized that it's fear on Gabby's part that makes her so agressive. She's never really been around another cat since she was taken from her mama at around one week old.

There's been quite a bit of hissing and growling, but we just need to let them work out their differences. They pretty much keep to themselves and when Konishiki gets too close Gabby tells him to back off. They're so curious about each other though. Even though she's not very welcoming to him, Konishiki still follows Gabby around and she, in turn, follows him around too.

Before we let them out together Gabby was very agressive to me. She kept hissing and slapping at me. I think she smelled Konishiki on me, but didn't know what it was. All she knew was that it was different and didn't belong. She's really settled down alot since we let them out together. I think it's going to take awhile, but I believe they'll work it out.

We've been staying pretty busy. Tomorrow we're heading to Venice for a few days. My Italian friend, Marika, and her family came over this evening to talk to us about what to do there. Marika and I have become really good friends working together at NAF. She took my Venice book over the weekend to write notes in it. She and Jason have two little boys that Sam seems to tramatize every time we're together. They love playing with him, but it seems to always end in tears. Thankfully, Marika and Jason are easy going and don't seem to get upset about it. Tonight the tears started when Sam acted like he was going to put the rolladens down with the boys still outside after they sprayed us with the water hose. They and Sam had been teasing each other back and forth all evening, but that really scared them.

Here are some pictures from Mom and Dad's first week in Germany -

Mom and Dad on Panzer Kaserne

Waiting for the train to Stuttgart Stadtmitte

Mom and Dad in downtown Stuttgart

Konishiki out of the room for the first time and investigating everything

Getting some love from Sam

Mom and Dad are coming to Germany!!!

We're having problems with our internet, so I haven't been able to post for awhile. Of course, that's only been this last week. Prior to that I really don't have an excuse other than I've been busy. Mom and Dad are on their way here today and we'll be picking them up at Frankfort in the morning. I'm so excited about them coming! It's going to be fun showing them how life is over here. I'm also excited about 3 weeks off of work :) I kept thinking they were going to arrive here this morning and had taken the day off work for it, then on Tuesday I starting thinking about it and realized they were coming a day later. The 10 hour time difference got me confused. So, I worked half a day today and still had this afternoon to run to the commissary and finish getting the house around.

I miss blogging more, but there's been a distict lack of time for it since I started work. There's a big change coming in my job too. Just today I accepted another position. I've had two job offers I've been weighing the pros and cons on, but finally decided to go with the Civilian Personnel Advisory Center (CPAC). It's still Human Resources, just for another part of the Army. Anyhow, I'll probably go back to my current position for a week or two then start the other job. Should be interesting.

Our lives are going to be changing too with adopting Mom and Dad's cat. Since Dad's so allergic, it's best for them and the cat for us to take him. We're just hoping Gabby eventually accepts the idea of having another cat in the house. She's always been so spoiled by us.

We were having beautiful weather just a week ago, but it's gotten pretty chilly and cloudy. It'll be nice to have Mom and Dad here regardless of the weather, but I do hope it clears up again so they have a nice vacation. Well, I need to finish up the house. Until next time...

Frulingsfest and Ludwigsburg

I've been very lazy lately about posting to this blog. To be quite honest, my life has not been incredibly exciting or blog worthy for awhile now. I will try to get back to posting more regularly though.

We finally had a "real" weekend. It's been ages since we've taken time off from the house to just get away and do something fun We finally did that this last weekend. A friend has been staying with us since last Tuesday. Julie works for Sam, but recently accepted a job in Korea. So, she's staying with us until she flies out. It's been nice having her here. She's a very easy houseguest.

It's that time of year when I start thinking about flower boxes for our balcony and windows. It's warmed up enough so that I'm not concerned about it freezing again. So, Saturday morning we headed to Hornbach to get the planters and dirt. I found another rose bush to plant. We (meaning Sam) have planted so many trees, bushes and flowers in our back yard that we're running out of space. That's unfortunate because we always find another one to buy. On the way home from Hornbach we stopped at a local garden shop to buy some flowers. I don't feel very creative when it comes to putting flower boxes together, but they somehow end up looking pretty once they're in full bloom. So as not to waste a day of awsome weather, when we got home I went out on the back patio to transplant the flowers. It's going to look good once they have a chance to settle in.

Saturday evening we went to the Frulingsfest. The Frulingsfest is basically like a big fair back in the states. We met a friend at the train stop and rode to downtown Stuttgart. It's about the easiest way to go so we don't have to find or pay for parking. We met up with another friend of Julie's and had a very enjoyable evening. The only thing I could have done without was the roller coaster I was convinced to ride. I knew I didn't like roller coasters, but now I'm more convinced than ever. The minute we were locked in I felt this fear come over me and was desperately wishing I'd made a different choice. I knew the only way I could make it through was to keep my eyes closed, which I did for the entire ride. Next time I even consider riding one I told Sam to just slap me.

We did go on a couple of more mild rides which was fun. Of course there was some good food there. It's always interesting here in Germany because even the fair food is far different from what we're use to. I didn't see one vendor selling hotdogs, hamburgers, fries or elephant ears. Of course they had 100 different kinds of bratwrust, but not a good American hamburger. In the states you can't go to a fair without seeing several places selling cotton candy or candied apples. Well, I didn't see any candied apples and the only cotton candy I saw was in tiny little bags. Very weird.

Me and Julie at the Frulingsfest

Jessica, Julie and John on the Ferris wheel

Me and Sam on the Ferris wheel

The infamous roller coaster

We finally left the fest at about midnight. Good thing we left at that time because the train stops at 12:30 and doesn't start again until about 5:00. We didn't get to bed until 2:00. I can't remember the last time I went to bed that late. I guess I'm getting old because I'm in bed by 9:30 every night anymore. I can't handle those late evenings like I use to.

Sunday afternoon Sam and I went to Ludwigsburg, which is known for its palaces. Back in the early 1700's that area was chosen as a summer residence for royalty. We didn't visit any of the palaces, but instead just walked through all the gardens at the residential palace. I have never seen such beautiful and huge tulips. They really had some beautiful flowers. There was also a garden flea market set up on the grounds of the palace which was fun. It was an awsome day to be outside. I think our incredibly pale skin actually got a little color to it. Here are just a few pictures from that.

Sam and I in front of the Residential Palace

Me in a patch of tulips

My sweet husband

Me on the backside of the Residential Palace.

Our Saturday

Sam worked all night at the lock-in for SAS and didn't get home until 9:00 this morning. Ever since our house got robbed in Hawaii it's been hard for me when Sam's not here through the night. I sleep with lights on and the bear repellent spray next to the bed. Anyhow, I made it through just fine. Sam's someone who really needs his sleep, so he went right to bed when he got in and didn't get up until about 2:00. I think he would have continued sleeping had someone not called needing to talk to him.

I didn't get as much done on the house today as I'd wanted. Last weekend I started painting the living room area. There was only so much of all that white I could take. Surprisingly it went pretty fast, but I had a little bit to finish up this weekend. I got that done this morning. We went with yellow. At times I love it and other times I wonder if it's too much. Regardless, it's definitely an improvement over the white.

This afternoon we went to a couple of furniture stores. We're looking for some pieces that would fit in the living room better than what we have, but I'm really not too crazy about what we find. I like the old style German furniture, but a lot of what's in the stores is very modern looking. It looks more like furniture you would find in a business rather than comfortable furniture for a home. Every time we sat on a chair or couch it was like sitting on a board. Definitely not comfortable. So, the search continues.

The last few months have been so overshadowed with everything that needs done with the house that I'm really looking forward to putting it all aside when Mom and Dad get here. I'm so excited to share our lives with them. I've been trying to decide on what we want to do while they're here. There's so much to see and do here that it's quite a decision to narrow down our options. We don't want to be traveling the whole time, so I'm trying to keep the longer trips down to just 3 or maybe 4. There's still lots we can do within a day's drive of our house.

Mom's bringing her cat to stay with us. He was a stray kitty that she couldn't turn away, but Dad's allergic so it's not the best situation to have a cat in their house. It's going to be very interesting since Gabby attacks every cat she's ever met. At times I wonder what I could possibly be thinking and worry that it's going to be all out war between the two. But he's a big boy and so sweet. Sam calls him Konishiki, after the Sumo wrestler in Hawaii. I'm really hoping for the best. If Gabby would be nice I think she would enjoy having another cat to play with and keep her company when we're not home. We'll see how that goes.

Well, more to be done tomorrow, so I better close for now.

Still working on the house

The weeks go by so quickly. One week turns into two...then into three...and the time just slips by. I realized just a few days ago that in only 6 weeks Mom and Dad will be arriving here in Germany and I panicked. I thought back to 6 weeks ago and realized how little headway I've made in the house in that amount of time. At this point I'm not sure how I'm going to pull it all together, but I'm really excited about them coming. No matter where I am in getting the house around I'll stop and just enjoy them being here then hit it again when they leave.

This past Saturday Thomas arrived early in the morning to start painting the stairway. Picking out a color had been stressing me because that's a big decision, especially when it's going to be through all floors of the house. If we didn't like it, we'd be stuck with it until we decided to repaint. If we went with too conservative a color it may look really bland, but too dark of a color may be overwhelming. Of course with the whole house being white, any other color is going to look drastically different. We finally decided on an olive green thinking the earth tone would warm up the place and would go fine with our tile color (which I would not have chosen, but was already in the house). When we showed Thomas the color we had chosen, he thought it was too dark for the stairway. We went back to the color cards and came up with a green that's just a little lighter.

Ok, so I don't know how the German's ever get the same color of paint twice. Thomas brought in his paint tinting kit which amounted to a few bottles of color. In my experience with paint we pick out the color hand the card to the guy at Walmart, Lowes or Home Depot and they proceed to add so many CC's of green and so many CC's of yellow, etc. Not Thomas....he just started squirting color into the white paint and mixing it. The color that came out of that fiasco was something similar to auqa blue or as Sam put it "Toothpaste blue". It was horrible. There was no way he was going to paint my stairway that color. He painted a little part and wanted to know what I thought. Unfortunately I don't speak his language and couldn't tell him what I really thought, but I got the card and said "I want this color" pointing to the color we chose. Well, by this time he had run out of a color he needed so he packed up the paint and headed back to the office to get the color he needed.

He came back a couple of hours later with the color we wanted. He had taken it to a store to get the right combinations of colors(thankfully). Sam and I had some errands to run so we left Thomas here to paint. While we were gone I kept thinking about the green we chose and worried that it would be too green, but when we got back and saw the stairway I was very pleased with the color. It looks really warm and magnified in my mind the need to paint the rest of the walls. I probably shouldn't take the time to paint at this point, but I figure better now than after the curtains are hung. So, that's something I'll be working on.

The stairway after painting

Another view heading up to the top floor

Sam's been getting the tiles in the bathroom finished so he can hopefully get the medicine cabinets up over the weekend.

Back in March I interviewed for a position at Patch Barracks and haven't heard anything from them so I figured it had been filled. On Monday I got an email from Human Resources asking for preliminary information for this position. I'm still not sure what it all means, but it appears that I may still be in the running for the job. I'm hesitant starting a new job, but the pay would be much better and would probably not be such a stressful workplace, so we'll see what happens with that.

Well, that's about it from here. Until next time...