Hello, new luggage!

Good-bye, old luggage! Someday when I am bored (aka no time soon), I will calculate how many thousands of miles our luggage has travelled in recent years. During 2015, I flew across the Atlantic 9 times (the odd flight was moving to Germany). We flew to Norway, Denmark, and Ireland last year. Plus prior years of travels!

Our two-wheeled suitcases and carry-ons served us well, but I had recently noticed other airline passengers with four-wheeled suitcases, gliding effortlessly across miles of airport lobbies. Once the handle of our faithful suitcase stopped pulling out all the way, and the rubber tires of the old carry-on broke off (resulting in loud clacking noises with every step), we decided to upgrade. One zippered lock on an older piece of luggage had snapped entirely.

I will report in on the upcoming travel adventures with a full-sized 4-wheeled suitcase and a 4-wheeled laptop bag as a carryon. We noticed passengers on discount European airline flying to Ireland without a checked suitcase, but with a strictly-measured carryon mini-suitcase, so we will try that idea out on our next weekend trip with rock-bottom airfare.

Of course the cats were not happy to see more luggage show up in the house! It took me so many months to post this after drafting it, that I can report back two successful transatlantic flights with the  full size and carryon 4-wheelers! We are fine, just busy with day-to-day things (maybe I should post about that, but it seems kind of boring)!

Church on the road

I’ve made some interesting observations over the years about faith development while traveling. During August 2014, we were in Chicago and Quebec, attending church in both places. My home church had Bible readings each week that followed a sequence, known as the Lectionary. I don’t remember anymore which passages were read that month, but I noticed that the passages followed each other over the weeks. For example, at home in Massachusetts earlier in August, I heard the beginning part of a certain Bible story. The next  Sunday in Chicago, the sermon referenced the reading that week, which was whatever happened next from the passage the previous week. Then in Quebec, the church was following the same Lectionary, and we heard more of the story. Now, many stories are already familiar, but it was really neat to travel many miles and hear that continuity!

In Europe, we have the opportunity to attend church on base or off base, depending on what type of service we want to attend, such as contemporary, traditional, Gospel, etc. When we are on the road, we are sometimes lucky to find an English speaking service, like in Prague, with phenomenal music, too! Other times our flights or drive times or no English services nearby have resulted in us listening to podcasts. Well, someone more talented than I has arranged for automatic downloads so we can listen to good preaching and sermons. My favorites are: Nadia Bolz-Weber, Jon Niketh, Rick Warren and the team at Saddleback, and Fourth Presbyterian in Chicago. We usually listen in the car, but one time we were “stuck” in Copenhagen waiting for a bus, so listening to a podcast straight off the iphone helped to pass the time in a constructive way.

What are your favorite podcasts? We also have motivational podcasts such as Byron Katie, Martha Beck, and others to inspire us.

Krakow and Boleslawiec, Poland

We enjoyed our time in Krakow, even though it was very short, and would recommend it. If you can snag a cheap flight, it will be better than driving (we drove 6 hours from Kaiserslautern to Dresden, stayed overnight, and then drove another 6 hours to Krakow).

The Advent Market in Krakow included some unique vendors we had not seen previously at Germany markets. Their “hot chocolate” is literally melted chocolate with a spoon, not the drinkable kind. It tasted great but was way too intense to finish (think: hot brownie batter). Dinner was tasty in an Italian restaurant on the main square, and after walking around in the cold, we enjoyed tea and a snack at a café- try the raspberry honey tea!

The reason we drove (instead of flying) was to pick up “Polish Pottery” where it is manufactured, in Poland! The items were priced competitively, so it is worth the drive if you would like to get a bunch of plates, bowls, etc. Boleslawiec is close enough to the German border that you could make a day trip out of it if you wanted to stay overnight in Dresden 1 or 2 nights (not a day trip from K-town!). Friends who have wanted to go to several different pottery places have stayed overnight in Poland.

We were grateful for the many English-speaking employees we met throughout Poland- we also offered to speak German, but English seemed to be preferred. I wish I had taken photos of the smallest shops ever along our walk from the hotel to the market, but it was cold and we were hungry, so I didn't prioritize pictures at the time. We passed by dozens of tiny stores, specializing in 1 type of item/category, such as bathrobes and pajamas only, writing papers and notebooks only, 2 manicure stations only, soaps and bubble baths only, etc.!

P.S. I cannot post a photo of the Auschwitz Concentration camp museum. It horrified me to the depths of my soul, and is very meaningful, if you can visit. It is in the region near Krakow, and there are tours departing from Krakow.

Quebec to Boston by cruise ship

I just figured out that I never shared photos of this trip back in 2014! I caught a cold at the end of the cruise and was sick when we got home, then planned for the Life Coach Training trip in October, then was preparing the house to sell for our move.

We flew to Quebec and enjoyed the city despite the rain at the beginning of the cruise. I didn’t take as many photos on this trip, but the scenery throughout was beautiful even on rainy days (we learned on Prince Edward Island that when the cows are lying down, it means rain is on the way…sure enough, it rained shortly thereafter).

In Nova Scotia, the museum dedicated to the rescue of passengers on the Titanic was sad but memorable. I have never felt unsafe on a modern day cruise ship, though this one disappointed us when the outdoor hot tubs were closed and covered at 9pm- um, hello?

We did have some sunny days, too.

Bar Harbor, Maine, included a free shuttle bus to a state park, thanks to Jeff’s military ID card, and a beautiful walk around a lake. One of the reasons I like cruises is that on-board internet is so expensive that it’s nice to “check out” mentally from being connected all day to the outside world. These days, most cruise ship terminals have free wifi, and I almost took a photo of dozens of passengers on their phones, checking e-mail. Only for the sake of our cat-sitter, I checked e-mail, too, and found out about a job that was being posted for only 2 days, requiring extensive paperwork to be uploaded to the job application website before we got home. Um, no can do, really? Good thing we moved to Germany and I found a job right away then. We would recommend this itinerary- but if you like to enjoy the hot tubs after 9pm, don't go with a cruise line that is known for hosting the retirement age crowd (we liked the people just fine, nothing against retired folks!).

Ceilings of Europe

Rest assured, the ceilings in the cute German house we are renting are standard/boring white popcorn (no photo). But ceilings from days of yore are a sight to behold! This is a café in Vienna- really!!! The one where I had a lemon tart.

One of the smaller rooms of the Belvedere Palace in Vienna:

The large room in the same Palace:

Next up = St. Petersburg, Russia! The “Swan Lake” ballet theater:

Museum of Russian Art:

Church on Spilled Blood (please note, these are ALL mosaics, made of bazillions of tiny chips of stone):

Dublin, Ireland- the “Riverdance” theater:

Whew, that's all for today!

Off the Beaten Path in Holland: Utrecht and the Keukenhof Gardens

This was not a bargain discount weekend trip, but it was a nice treat. Last year, Jeff took a bus tour which departed shortly after midnight from Kaiserslautern, visited the famous gardens by day, and returned on the bus shortly before midnight the same day! Oy! He recommended the destination so highly, but I kept asking if it was worth it to drive 5 hours each way to see some flowers? He said yes, and I suggested that we make an overnight of it.

We decided to skip Amsterdam, and stayed in De Bilt, a town next to Utrecht. For some reason, our drive times are always longer than what a computer route planner says, so it took us over 4 hours with 2 short breaks from K-town. After checking in to the hotel, we popped over to Utrecht for sight-seeing and dinner. We didn’t have a big lunch, so we had dinner first, and by the time we were done with that, all the stores were closed. I guess this is good for people who work in the stores, but we were disappointed to find everything shut down by 6pm. The architecture in Utrecht was very nice, and we walked along some canals. On our way back to the car, we found a huge department store that was closing in 10 minutes (7pm!). As we drove back to the hotel, we passed through De Bilt, and found several shops still open…didn’t buy any souvenirs but enjoyed the stroll.

We are used to getting up early in the morning for work every day, so it was easy to wake up without an alarm clock and get to the Keukenhof gardens early enough to avoid the legendary lines of people. There were already a bunch of tour busses and several dozen cars parked ahead of us, but we breezed in. Car parking 6 Euros per vehicle, adult admission 16 per person. I am fortunate that daffodils are my favorite flower, so while some people might have complained that the famous tulips were not yet fully in bloom, I was thrilled to see so many varieties of daffodils in all their glory. 

We elected to take the 45 minute boat tour along the canal (8 per person), which was interesting even though many tulips had not yet shown their colors. The gardens were beautifully designed. Don’t go if you allergic to hyacinths, as their fragrance perfumed the air. There were snack carts in several areas (fresh strawberries, waffles, ice cream), a few food trucks (sandwiches, smoothies), and cafeterias with soup to salad to hot entrees. According to the European culture, many people brought their own food and were picnicking on the abundant benches, so feel free to bring your own. 

The large building within the gardens had many tulips in bloom, along with hydrangeas, lilacs, and lilies. After 4 and ½ hours, we were ready to call it a day, and headed to the seashore, a quick drive away. How nice to see the ocean again, even with our jackets and shoes on!

We drove back to the hotel with a stop in the town of Gouda! Guess what was closing down just as we arrived shortly before 5 pm? Yep, the market, stores, and museums. So, get thee to Gouda and Utrecht way before 5pm! Again, the architecture was beautiful, and we strolled along some canals, then headed out.

After dinner at a greek restaurant in De Bilt, we returned to our hotel, passing happy cows (well, assuming that frolicking cows are happy), more canals, more flowers along the side of the road, and swans in the canals and on the meadows. The drive back to K-town the following day took us on another route (why? Don’t know), but it was quite scenic, with more sheep and horses.

Slightly off the beaten path in Germany: Wiesbaden

I took photos on our recent day trip to Wiesbaden because I realized too late that I took NO photos a couple of weeks ago during a day trip to the city of Worms. We liked Worms and want to go back, but it was so cold that day, I didn’t feel like taking my phone out of my bag. Pathetic. So, please go to Worms if you have time. Here is proof of our time in Wiesbaden:

If you can take the train into town, you won’t have to pay for parking, but there are plentiful garages in and near the center of town (about an hour away from Kaiserslautern). You’ll see signs with arrows that list how many spots are available in the garages as you approach the main tourist areas. We had lunch at Vapiano, Jeff’s favorite chain of Italian restaurants, which is happy to prepare a variety of vegetarian options. You can elect to have chicken, shrimp or beef added to any dish.

We walked through many pedestrian streets and squares, passing a farmers’ market wrapping up at about 2pm, and dozens of stores. This is the town of 100 Euro leather belts, though I’m sure more affordable options are available in some of the larger department stores that we didn’t go into (Karstadt, Kaufhof). Many of the shops in Wiesbaden are also in Kaiserslautern, but there are also unique offerings such as stationery stores (fancier than McPaper), arts/crafts and health food. We didn’t buy much, but were amazed by the many streets with elegant homes, churches, restaurants, and chocolate, ice cream, book, clothing, décor, etc. etc. stores. 

The park near the theater included flowers growing freely out of the grass! We were recommended to have dinner at Aurum, and would return. The sliced beet appetizer was fantastic, and the electric heaters above the windows kept us cozy outside. There are dozens of restaurants to choose from, so look at the outdoor menus wherever you are, and enjoy.

Off the beaten path in Germany: Triberg, Black Forest

We headed to the alleged cuckoo clock capital, just under three hours from the Kaiserslautern area. Triberg boasts the Guiness Book of World Records’ largest cuckoo clock, which is worth the 2 Euro tour. On the entry level, you see the bottom of the swinging pendulum, which starts up on the 3^rd level. On the 2^nd level, you have an amazing view of carved wood cogs, which keep time accurately.

There are literally thousands of cuckoo clocks to check out in local stores, one of which will shortly reside in Jeff’s office. The other attraction in Triberg is Germany’s longest waterfall. The path up the hill is well maintained, though in colder weather the upper part of the trail is not passable for safety reasons.

The scenery is beautiful, and not as snowy as higher elevations, where we drove through on the way out. We can’t recommend a café, because the one where we enjoyed (drum roll, please…..) cocoa and cake, has such slow service that other customers left after waiting 10 minutes for their order to be taken by the only waitress on duty- no fault of hers, but poor management!

Jeff had a vegetable pita sandwich at the döner stand near the waterfall, which was outstanding- I hadn’t realized how many veggies they had on hand for their pizzas, and they added feta cheese and sauce.