Karlovy Vary & Cheb Dragon Market, Czech Republic

Fountain with hot water for drinking.

Europeans getting water with their special cups.

Check out the mullet.
Special monument dedicated to U.S. soldiers in 1945.

Click on the picture to enlarge it.
Friends I hung out with.

Famous Bathhouse.
Grand Hotel.
Pretty buildings.
One of the fountains. This one took me by surprise.

I was close to having a burnt finger.
Mary and Ingrid in the Czech Republic

Today, I travelled with the USO to the Czech Republic. The area is known for its variety of souvenirs (crystal chandeliers, Bohemian Crystal, unique jewelry, vases). Upon arrival we were given a city tour. We saw many bath houses (spas), the Grand Hotel, and many unique buildings. Throughout the town were many little fountains with steaming hot water coming from them for passersby to drink. They sell special cups to drink the water from, there is a straw like handle. It is supposed to be good for your health, but you should not drink too much. It will make you sick. Also, they sell warm wafer cookie things throughout the town. They are pretty good. They remind me of the wafers for communion, but bigger and sugary. The area is also known for Becherovka. It is a special bitter-sweet herbal liqueur made of medicinal herbs and spices. They say it has curative effects. If drunk in a small amount it has a beneficial influence on the whole digestive system and soothing the nerves. I have not tried it yet, but I did bring some home. We tried to go to the Becherovka Museum for a tour, but the tours were booked until the next day.
On the way home we stopped at the Cheb Dragon Market. It was similar to Chinatown in CA. Many many Asians selling goods from China. I'm not sure which were fake and which were real (Prada, Coach, Jack Wolfskin, Nike, Adidas, Crystal, cigarettes, and much more). Unfortunately, I had little cash on me and of course that is all they would take. I plan to go back to the Market with some friends soon.

Hohenzollern Castle

I decided you needed to see a better pic of the castle. These are pics of my postcard and my tour ticket. The fall foliage is beautiful in these pics.

Hohenzollern Castle

Today I was invited to go visit one of the castles in Germany. I went to Hohenzollern Castle with a new friend, Heather and her friend Laura(who is visiting from Pennsylvania). Heather is only in Germany for 4 months total, so she has made good use of her time here and has seen a lot more of Germany then me. I hope to tag along a few more times before she leaves. Being jobless makes this possible.
Hohenzollern Castle is the ancestral seat of the Prussian Kings and German Emperors as well as the Swabian branch of the Princes of Hohenzollern. It ranks among Europe’s most famous and popular castles. The stunning panorama of the picturesque landscape has already been admired by Emperor William II. (1859-1941) who visited the castle several times and is said to have uttered “the view from up here is truly worth a voyage” (http://www.preussen.de/en/today/burg_hohenzollern.html).
Fortunately, they offer a ride to the top for 1.60 euro. It was a steep descent on the walk down. We definately felt it in our legs. It was an enjoyable day. It was great to have a break from reality for the day. I definately needed it.
Tomorrow, I am headed back to the tapestry store to return a purse and to get a few Christmas decorations. Saturday, I am tagging along with my friend Barbie and her husband to either the Black Forest or the castle that the Disney Castle was based on. Sunday, I am headed to a BBQ held by a coworker of Andrew's (FINALLY I get to meet the people he spends all day with). And Monday, I am going to downtown Stuttgart and out in the evening for dinner in celebration of my 27th birthday.

Home again Home again....

It's been a while since I have posted, but I figure this is my life in Germany page, so my summer in the US doesn't count as a trip of sorts. I spent about 7.5 weeks in the US. I was able to see Andrew in NC for 4 days(spent part of our 1st Anniversary (Aug 12) together before I flew back to Iowa), before I headed back to Germany. He is in NC until Thanksgiving, I think. Completing more training....

I am in the process of trying to get a job with the schools again. The government complicates the process with all of the hoops you have to jump through. VERY VERY FRUSTRATING!!

Above are a few pics from my summer. I spent most of the summer playing with our nephew, Hayden. He turned 1 on Aug. 3 and got to see our new niece Mya Danielle, (Andrew's brother) Brian and Brenda's new addition. She was born on Andrew's 27th birthday, July 18.

It was a great summer spending time with my family and Andrew's family. Plus it was great to see a few friends in NC and to be able to go to Kure Beach where we were wed a year ago.

Zurich, Switzerland

On our way to Zurich, we stopped at the Rhine Falls in Schaffhausen. The falls are only 23m high, 150m wide, and 13m deep. The falls are 14,00-17,000 years old.
Me at the top of the falls.
Top of the falls.
Zurich.
If you click on this picture it will enlarge and you will be able to see the Alps in the distance.

Most days the sky isn't clear enough to see them, we lucked out :)

We left for Switzerland at 6am. Zurich is only about 2.5 hours from here, but we stopped for breakfast and for the falls. Zurich was a fun city. I tagged along with a lady, her husband, and her folks who were visiting. I was happy to have them adopt me for the day. Otherwise, I don't think it would have been quite as fun.

Switzerland still uses Swiss Francs, but a few places will take Euro. So, we had to deal with a third type of currency and we never found a place to truly exchange it. Other than at a chocolate store where you could pay in Euro and get Franc back. I spent a lot of money on chocolate, but it is very very good chocolate.

We also went to the main park in town to check out the flee market. I found a few treasures there ;). Before loading the bus for home, we bought some cheese, meat, and bread from a big grocery store. We made our own sandwiches for dinner. Luckily, the grocery store took credit cards because otherwise I wouldn't have gotten dinner(no Francs to spend).

We arrived home at 715pm.

The next day was spent finishing one of my new books and cleaning the whole apartment. Unfortunately, I had to go back to work on Monday.

21 days left, I think.

Ludwigsburg

Ludwigsburg palace, the best preserved Baroque residence in Germany. Located about 25 minutes from our home.Kind Ludwig's bedroom.
Portraits of the Royal descendants lined this hallway. The woodwork throughout the palace was beautiful. Beautiful gardens surround the palace.

Andrew and I managed to ask a lady to take our picture.

We had an enjoyable time checking out local history. We only toured the main palace and walked around the town for a bit. We decided to check out the gardens when someone comes to visit us. It's a quaint town with plenty of shops and a Farmer's Market on Saturdays. We also have a Farmer's Market about a mile from our house every Saturday. It comes in handy when the Commissary doesn't have what we want. Although, it tends to be a bit pricey.

We finally have someone committed to coming to see us!! My sister, husband, and son have purchased tickets to come visit over my Christmas break. Andrew has no definite guarantee of when he will be around, so I figured it would be nice to see some family here instead of going to the US alone. We have started to plan a bit. We hope to make it to Paris and London over New Year's and of course check out the Christmas Markets.

Also, I have made plans to fly to the US in mid July through mid August. The days depend on when an open flight is available and or cheap. Andrew is supposed to be gone during part of the time, so I figured why sit in Germany alone or travel alone when I can go to the USA and be with family.

Milan, Italy (Milano, Italia)

Milan is the cultural, industrial, and financial center of Italy. It is also one of the main fashion centers in the world, and the second biggest city in Italy. We were able to tour a cathedral, an opera house, and part of a castle. We were unable to see da Vinci's painting of the Last Supper because you had to make a reservation to see it and we didn't know. We did a lot of shopping and walking. I bought tshirts, wine, shoes, and an umbrella. Saw many beautiful buildings and a billion people. It was a great day spent with Veronica and Kailyn (Andrew can't go more than an hour away). Kailyn did well for all that we did. She was definately ready to head home. This is the second largest cathedral in the world.
We went inside, but due to lighting pictures did not turn out so well.

Me.
Part of a larger courtyard in front of the cathedral.
Vendors lined this street. I bought a pair of cheap shoes here.
Yummy Italian Gelato. I had half a cup of cherry and half a cup of chocolate.