France

Today my sister Janet and I drove into France. We saw the American Cemetery at Lorraine which was a very moving site. We then drove to Metz (pronounced Mess) where we had a great lunch; saw a beautiful, old cathedral; and then went shopping and window shopping. We then drove back through the back roads of France to Germany. Great, relaxing day.

Monday in Germany

I'm losing track of the dates :-)

Sunday we had a quiet day.  Janet and I went grocery shopping and then some of their friends came over for dinner.  Today I'm enjoying a quiet morning while Janet takes the kidlets to their summer program and goes to the gym.  We'll be visiting some of the local German villages this afternoon when the kids get home.

4th of July in Germany

Most important things first: Makeup bag found, crisis averted. It was in a side pocket of the suitcase. Not that I plan on wearing much makeup while here. Most of the buildings do not have air conditioning so I would just sweat it off anyway.

Our first day we kind of poked around the village and went sightseeing and window shopping. It was threatening rain and we didn't want to get caught in the cable cars when they shut them down because of lightening.

We started the morning out by going on a cable car ride up into the hillside of Rudesheim where we walked through a wooded area. The kids and I went into a bird sanctuary where they rehabilitate injured birds and then release them into the wild. We saw a bunch of different falcons, some buzzards, and a couple of bald eagles. We then took a ski lift-type ride down to another little town where we were going to catch a river cruise ship to see the castles that line the Rhein River. I have to tell you, that was a hard thing to do -- I'm afraid of heights. And I had Leo on the seat with me. I was proud that I managed to control my panic so I did not freak him out. We got off the ship and took the train back down to Rudesheim where we attended mass at St. Jakobus (James) Catholic Church. There was a wine reception after mass. We think the priest was named Bishop because there was a big announcement made at the end of the mass; however, it being in German, we're not sure what happened. Maybe they were just announcing there would be a wine reception after mass and that made everyone clap. We're now back home for a nice, relaxing evening.

Germany - Day 1 and 2

Arrived in Germany after about a 13-hour flight.  My sister and brother-in-law met me at the airport and we made the 1 1/2 hour drive to their home.  First we stopped at the base so that I could get a temporary ID card that will allow me on the base.  I made the joke to my brother-in-law that I could do whatever I wanted and he would get in trouble since he was my sponsor, but then he reminded me that he signed as my sponsor so that gives him the right to boss me around which I don't think I like too much.

Last night for dinner we went to an authentic little German restaurant and had an early evening.  This morning we're getting ready to go on a Rhine River cruise where we will see lots of castles and little German towns.  Photos will follow hopefully.

So far the trip's going great.  The only downfall is I either left my makeup on my bed or the TSA did not put it back in my suitcase after they searched it.  So I'm seeing Germany au naturale :-) Hopefully it's sitting on my bed; otherwise, I get to spend about $200 to replace everything when I get back.

Aufweidersein