tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74279701590375521302024-03-04T23:44:40.098-08:00Sellers' Family FunSellers' Family Funhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02019020266094764444noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7427970159037552130.post-32904198386538459182010-07-04T07:50:00.000-07:002010-07-04T10:48:24.473-07:00Idar Oberstein July 1, 2010<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihqyyBv8z68I4zyd8TyjWEehh1ZRNFPe_xU8e5Lq7upjcZNenBNvvZFoZhdBOitaByCtaclZKevlMty7cS77xRCEyVlJ8tgdb43XuWUp81IxeLR3CvNimnQzY7a2fiQgGJo-mSxy293YoD/s1600/IMG_3967.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihqyyBv8z68I4zyd8TyjWEehh1ZRNFPe_xU8e5Lq7upjcZNenBNvvZFoZhdBOitaByCtaclZKevlMty7cS77xRCEyVlJ8tgdb43XuWUp81IxeLR3CvNimnQzY7a2fiQgGJo-mSxy293YoD/s320/IMG_3967.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490108086166158786" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Idar Oberstein ~ Home of the "church in the rock"</span></span><br /><div id="rss"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;"><br /></span></span></div><div id="rss"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We left by 9, and invited Father Mike to tag along. It's always nice to h</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande'; ">ave a religious person with us...for a few reasons...faith and moral support, and</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande'; ">an extra adult for myself to have some adult conversation, and to help watch </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande'; ">the kiddos. </span></div><div id="rss"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><br /></span></div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFbd2XJEysBkABcGCf7FedxsLMFkTeK7KBrojLr0j3_6ptOoGZmsD6Cs0pBn8hmSzvK_oz80alGePWkM2lJYlS_Xn9dug6wjkbO6JgKW9B_smD-NmJFP0TeyadbvB9-BnFZAACB5gBm1K8/s320/IMG_3969.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490080646257702354" /><div id="rss"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Idar Oberstein is only about 45 minutes away from home. As soon as you drive into the town, you can see the church in the mountain, so you know you are there. We parked in a parking garage across the street. Anyone who has parked in a parking garage in Europe will understan</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">d the hardship that I went through. This was the first time I parked in one...Thom alwa</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">ys did the driving, or I parked on the street.</span></span></div><div id="rss" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div id="rss"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The kids counted the steps to the top of the church...it was 220!! Most of which were outside, until you come to the mountain part, which was a lot cooler inside, and a welcome to the heat outside. Once inside we paid to look around, we were shocked to see the inside. From the outside it</span></span></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZiGrFFICZ6xRlhb0glbJ217e4anQEYMwA3RYvqIEYtJNrrE8VBeE_gXbRpm80ioYBGKiwlVQyLOMBYZSWUQirnnNxocdA9lgR1gGpUZ-TNFw_dvrmRTZWWHTxWRE-dnwG_cPdwEkVNZ6/s320/IMG_3971.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490084366929052610" /><div id="rss"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> looked much bigger. The picture was taken from the back of the church. They have services here (Evangelical) once a month from May to October b/c church goers have to climb the stairs to get th</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande'; ">ere, and it is not safe or easy to do</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande'; ">ing the winter time. We only spent about 15 minutes there.</span></div><div id="rss"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div id="rss"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande'; ">Some of us wanted to do some more exploring, and saw a sign for the Schloss and Burg (castle and castle ruins). Father stayed behind with Feliciti and Emilee. I think they got the better end of that deal...sitting in the cool shad</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande'; ">e. I had no idea what a trek we had in front of us!! The sign said 0.3 a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande'; ">nd 0.4 km to each of them. What the sign failed to mention was the steep and steady incline the entire way up. I had Matthew on one hip, and Dominick's hand with my other hand. At one point we were given a chose...left to the schloss (0.2 km) or the burg to the right (0.1 km). In our house we have a democracy..and the vote was 2 to 1, with Matthew and I not voting. So the decision was to go to the Schloss...another 0.2 km uphill!!! If I would have known that we were not allowed to explore in the Schloss, and they turned half of it into a restaurant we would hav</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande'; ">e opted for the Burg!!! But on the positive side, we found a cute little souvenir shop and the kids all picked out a gem. Idar Oberstein is also known for the gem mines..woo-hoo!!</span></div><div id="rss"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div></span></div><div id="rss"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So once we met up with Father, Feliciti and Emilee (this time the walk was much easier, going down), we started for the bottom of the hill. I made a lunch, so we found some tables, ordered some cold drinks and ate our lunch there...yeh, I asked if we could sit there before we got too comfortable. Maybe she felt sorry for us, because we were all sweaty and I had 6 kids, so she let us eat our lunch there and just pay for the drinks we ordered. I found an info brochure from a small shop next to the cafe we ate it. The brochure gave us an address for the mines...or so we thought. </span></span></div><div id="rss"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div id="rss"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">After lunch, we headed for the mines. Father stayed in the car with Matthew, b/c he fell asleep. I took the kids to the gem museum and asked them how to get to the mines. They said it was a 30 minute walk or a 10 minute </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande'; ">drive up the mountain. I also asked them (from reading the brochure) where the activity for the kids is...gem hunting. They told me they do it there, but we needed an appointment. I must have looked disappointed b/c she then proceeded to see if they could "squeeze" us in. She probably also saw that I had 5 kids with me, and that is their typical group size...see it pays to have a lot of kids. So instead of going to the mines, we stayed there, and let the kids "dig" for their own gems. Good thing...b/c I might have found my own treasure in the mines.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.... hint-hint babe!! The </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:webdings;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">kids had a great time digging for their own gemstones. Everything they found, they were able to keep. After about an hour of looking, we decided to finally call it quits. The kids ended up finding about 80 pieces!! At the end, the part of the fun was the kids were able to pick out a rock...at least thats what the kids thought it was. They thought..wow thanks a lot (sarcastic)!! But then the man took their rocks they picked out, put it in a big "</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:webdings;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">plier" looking tool, and cut it in half...</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:webdings;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">and then they got some great looking crystals!!</span></span></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfGMclxhst3B6abGkwttWC3XR0rI7GuHguaZXYPvW3CEtELqvWEpxfr2uLRjlKXMREPz77zzYHnyY6IiZEQtufGR3tLE0QsLQ4U5MggMf8ohWOqpbcWxYX_NGke194OC_oL0DZUrVGyUl9/s320/IMG_3983.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490093853332186114" /><div id="rss"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:webdings;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I found a neat looking jar at the Homberg flea market yesterday so the kids can display their finds!! </span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div id="rss"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:webdings;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div id="rss"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:webdings;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We had a great time in Idar Oberstein. There are still a few things we would like to do...if we get the chance (mines). Till next time!! </span></span></span></div></span><!-- navigation start --><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span><div id="navigation"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7427970159037552130#"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><img alt="Home" width="82" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6SlSTnq_xPw_O1oDqITwMNqZcB-m-MwEqIqA0IEA8BLqrnnfM9nLOYTdRyw11AkV_T43ArU1twZkLLYZkUSPREGRRRYXCeiIwmJftLWYpECBsucVGeeCZJGiv5wgig8JFWfiiBNP4uE/s1600/spacer.gif" height="36" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7427970159037552130#"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><img alt="About" width="82" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6SlSTnq_xPw_O1oDqITwMNqZcB-m-MwEqIqA0IEA8BLqrnnfM9nLOYTdRyw11AkV_T43ArU1twZkLLYZkUSPREGRRRYXCeiIwmJftLWYpECBsucVGeeCZJGiv5wgig8JFWfiiBNP4uE/s1600/spacer.gif" height="36" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7427970159037552130#/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><img alt="Contact" width="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6SlSTnq_xPw_O1oDqITwMNqZcB-m-MwEqIqA0IEA8BLqrnnfM9nLOYTdRyw11AkV_T43ArU1twZkLLYZkUSPREGRRRYXCeiIwmJftLWYpECBsucVGeeCZJGiv5wgig8JFWfiiBNP4uE/s1600/spacer.gif" height="36" /></span></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7427970159037552130#"><img alt="FAQ" width="70" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6SlSTnq_xPw_O1oDqITwMNqZcB-m-MwEqIqA0IEA8BLqrnnfM9nLOYTdRyw11AkV_T43ArU1twZkLLYZkUSPREGRRRYXCeiIwmJftLWYpECBsucVGeeCZJGiv5wgig8JFWfiiBNP4uE/s1600/spacer.gif" height="36" /></a> </div><!-- navigation end --><!--------- Search Form ---------><div id="searchform"><form id="cse-search-box" action="http://www.google.com/cse" target="_blank"><div style="text-align: auto;"> <input alt="Search" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6SlSTnq_xPw_O1oDqITwMNqZcB-m-MwEqIqA0IEA8BLqrnnfM9nLOYTdRyw11AkV_T43ArU1twZkLLYZkUSPREGRRRYXCeiIwmJftLWYpECBsucVGeeCZJGiv5wgig8JFWfiiBNP4uE/s1600/spacer.gif" name="sa" type="image"> </div></form></div> <div class="endline"></div>Sellers' Family Funhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02019020266094764444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7427970159037552130.post-20238511409317960112010-05-30T06:04:00.000-07:002010-05-30T14:13:59.713-07:00Luxembourg ~ our first solo trip<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF0000;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtM-SQHW4gsgE5lG7ZjdJHD4J_Jo9m3l_p2v1GQ-Pb7cv86ApZWxaGeZDUtdySu0RsvhHSh2YL07Ue9smaBKlRW3afbW-YHET9rzt1Op9ZnL2Bh7NDqSusxmbN8gUgFngLoy4PjKlWsIu6/s320/IMG_3812.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477143898102636482" /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF0000;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); ">Luxembourg for Memorial Day</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So this was my first solo trip without any other adults...just me and the kiddos!!! We decided to go to Luxembourg. We planned on leaving the house at 9, and actually left at 9:15...fantastic team cohesion!!! Lunches made, everyone dressed, potty breaks, activities to entertain them while in the car, and diaper bag!! It was 1 1/2 hour drive and it was easy!! (NO stau's)</div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss">Our first stop was the American Cemetary. We got there about 11 and looked around. We found General Patton's burial spot.</div><div id="rss"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYry9Cd3Ohi7I5VYKQj868WENHWt2ECRFnKherJOuja7TjnJe_FzvaPiYnKhYelyhX_JMnV4adVlA3T6QzKqpBu4LZnbX1LBFwjxfNMy9Ruh8aRuD5fFO9mdRU-4IFMG3g38vK66Cs5hyQ/s320/IMG_3808.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477173223055617938" /></div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss">We looked at lot of headstones, but not all 5,076 of them. There are 2 Medal of Honor headstones, and the kids found them. I am thankful we didn't have to search through all the headstones, but rather just about half of them before we "stumbled" upon them.</div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP7B4O2ERUayAfB93vF7UwVbT4ClMP7i0pm0Wo3G4dTpqCjftkeHd6xNpB4-wGSIu7vYNSh3KV9S9zWcCramrWNE5DkleODQ8XiK_ltd7V1Q93rs2Sx7Jsfm_W_w51DZdrxpspSV9B7sZh/s320/IMG_3813.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477143098131879250" /></div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss">We also got a lesson from a PFC and SGT on how the cannons worked. The kids even asked a few questions, but couldn't get passed the "rotten egg" sulfur smell from the practice rounds.</div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss">Emilee and Dominick tried playing in the fountains before I stopped them. We saw some of the girl scouts and boy scouts cleaning the headstones. Feliciti and Gabi could have helped, since they are girl scouts, but since they didn't camp out the night before, they weren't "allowed." Everyone was preparing for the ceremony that was going to start at 4pm. Instead of hanging around for 4 more hours, we decided to go to Luxembourg City and then come back. It was only a 10 minute drive!!</div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss">I forgot our Europe "guide" book at home, so I had to wing it and depend on our GPS to get us into the city by picking an address!! ha-ha!! We got there, and once we entered, we knew we had made it to the city!! We were surrounded by huge buildings, traffic, taxis, and tour buses..not something we have seen very much of since living here in Germany. Parking was interesting (another city "issue") I circled around 2-3 times before I found a spot, but we could only park for 2 1/2 hours. I knew I wanted to see the cathedral. And a friend told us about the Viaducts and a huge park.</div><div id="rss"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzFc7Y0yZDsc4B5pz2Byuemhx6Xalui25-RmAUUuIpy7MTdFLhHCseHNj2Zsroi7klOaLYDSw2LY_h32_fIPxaHt4ocpBgWCDVUNc2ddD5XHs0iEDtNu0FqayRJ_I7KzFkCyw_ExlkUo0-/s320/IMG_3818.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477161528528320482" /></div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss">Our first stop was the Cathedral of Notre Dame. You would think that once you see one Catholic church, you've seen them all....NOT! This one was just as beautiful, and I could never get enough of</div><div id="rss"> seeing the architecture, paintings, tapestries and just the pure "awe" of any church. The pictures say it all!!! (see facebook profile for more pics)</div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss">We had about an hour before our parking expired, so we went exploring. We never found the Viaducts. We never really found any other "touristy" sites, so we went window shopping. The kids wanted icee's and shared 2 of them. We then had to go bacvk to the car before they were going to tow it. There were "rent-a-cops" literally watching their watches and walking around the parking lot. We got there just in time. As the kids loaded themselves in the car, I nursed Matthew and then we were off.</div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD4KJH1nh0vgKEYix6xE1pVGUnUQj3LfNb3xr6DGOe0WjY9MbFHc8m_GtPa_RMHiuYx9thP2E9OAyuuYhOhVnlDCUnWSikxjI89shsR_eJk94GS7x5kAfNkVyeqFqm6h_FpV0bch7ubSve/s320/IMG_3831.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477168258619822770" /></div><div id="rss">We had 2 hours before the cermony started, so we went on a mission to find the park. We drove around for a little while, and found it!! But the silly part of this part of the story is, the park was literally across the street from where we parked. Just behind some trees and down a path..nto something we could see from the parking area. I luckily found another parking spot, bought our parking ticket, which gave us 1 1/2 hours, just enough time to let the kids burn some energy off. This park is awesome!!! The kids loved it. I even let down my guard and let them play in the water ~ but not too much since we didn't have a change of clothes and a ceremony still to go to. And anyone who knows me well enough, knows this is a huge step for me to let the kids play in water ~ UNPREPARED!! After the kids went down the huge slide, played pirates on the ship adn play in the water it was time to go. </div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss">We, again, raced to the car in hopes it wouldn't get towed away. We only had a 10 minute drive back to the cemetary Once we got there, the parkig lot was filled, and the street was lined up with cars on both sides of the street, for probably a mile. We parked the car, and ran up the hill (thank goodness for the double stroller) to the ceremony. We were about 10 minutes late, but didn't miss much. Some distinguished guests were speaking ~ the Prince of Luxembourg, an Air Force 3 star General (sorry, didn't catch his name), General (R) Chenseky, Luxembourg's mayor and others. They laid wreaths of flowers. And then other guests and the Girl and Boy Scouts laid smaller bouquets on the first row of headstones. It was very nice. The kids started getting fussy, so we started heading back. While the kids were in the bathroom, they did the 21 gun salute with the Howitzers...it was very loud, and the first boom scared the kiddos, but then by #3 they were use to it. I thought they were going to do 21 rounds between the 3 Howitzers (therefore only sounding like it would be 7 shots), but they did all 21 separately. They also played Taps, and then Luxembourg's anthem and then our anthem. I held it together till our anthem, and then started crying because I missed Thom so much!!! Overall the ceremony was beautiful, and the kids appreciated it as well. It was definitely worth it despite being 10 minutes late, and having to run a mile to get there!!!</div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss">We got in the car and had an easy drive back home. The 3 little ones fell asleep. We stopped for some Doner's and ate them at home. Overall it was a good day. I proved to myself that I could handle small trips, and the kids proved to themselves (and me) that they could behave. They earned another trip :o)</div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss">Till next time!! </div><div id="rss"><br /></div><div id="rss">P.S. Sorry I couldn't get more pics on here, like I usually do. I am still learning how to use our month old Mac...I don't know how to adjust the picture sizes or move them around easily on the blog page...hopefully by the next entry I'll have it down!! See my facebook profile if you would like to see more pictures!!</div><!-- navigation start --> <div id="navigation"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7427970159037552130#"><img alt="Home" width="82" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6SlSTnq_xPw_O1oDqITwMNqZcB-m-MwEqIqA0IEA8BLqrnnfM9nLOYTdRyw11AkV_T43ArU1twZkLLYZkUSPREGRRRYXCeiIwmJftLWYpECBsucVGeeCZJGiv5wgig8JFWfiiBNP4uE/s1600/spacer.gif" height="36" /></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7427970159037552130#"><img alt="About" width="82" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6SlSTnq_xPw_O1oDqITwMNqZcB-m-MwEqIqA0IEA8BLqrnnfM9nLOYTdRyw11AkV_T43ArU1twZkLLYZkUSPREGRRRYXCeiIwmJftLWYpECBsucVGeeCZJGiv5wgig8JFWfiiBNP4uE/s1600/spacer.gif" height="36" /></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7427970159037552130#/"><img alt="Contact" width="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6SlSTnq_xPw_O1oDqITwMNqZcB-m-MwEqIqA0IEA8BLqrnnfM9nLOYTdRyw11AkV_T43ArU1twZkLLYZkUSPREGRRRYXCeiIwmJftLWYpECBsucVGeeCZJGiv5wgig8JFWfiiBNP4uE/s1600/spacer.gif" height="36" /></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7427970159037552130#"><img alt="FAQ" width="70" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6SlSTnq_xPw_O1oDqITwMNqZcB-m-MwEqIqA0IEA8BLqrnnfM9nLOYTdRyw11AkV_T43ArU1twZkLLYZkUSPREGRRRYXCeiIwmJftLWYpECBsucVGeeCZJGiv5wgig8JFWfiiBNP4uE/s1600/spacer.gif" height="36" /></a> </div><!-- navigation end --><!--------- Search Form ---------><div id="searchform"><form id="cse-search-box" action="http://www.google.com/cse" target="_blank"><div> <input value="partner-pub-3043967897161641:dbsax8eopgu" name="cx" type="hidden"> <input value="ISO-8859-1" name="ie" type="hidden"> <input class="searchtext" name="q" size="25" type="text"></div></form></div> <div class="endline"></div>Sellers' Family Funhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02019020266094764444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7427970159037552130.post-18255007082417272922010-04-17T00:34:00.000-07:002010-04-17T06:46:10.881-07:00Rottenberg Germany April 13-14, 2010It has truly been a while since we have taken any trips anywhere. As most of you know, Thom is deployed. We found out before Christmas. Between the cold, rainy and yucky weather, and Thom's preparing for his year deployment, the trips have come to a screeching halt. I have decided that I can either sit around and wait for the year to be done, or I can venture out some and make the time pass quicker with taking small little trips with the kids. Even though after this first trip, I realized it is not as much fun without Thom, it made this week go by very fast. I have some more day trips planned for us for the summer. I don't think I am brave enough to do anything extravagent...and besides we need to save those trips for Thom...it's only fair...and it's not as much fun without him.<br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /> </div><div>So this first "solo" trip was to Rottenberg. Many of our friends have raved about this town...it is a Medieval town with a lot of shopping. It was 2 1/2 hours away. I have a friend, Kitty who's husband is also deployed and she has 2 boys. We decided that we would go together (she was a huge help). We also invited Father Mike on this adventure. Because it was 2 1/2 hours away, and we thought there was going to be a lot to do, we ended up making hotel reservations at Gasthof Butz (highly recommended by us). <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOyLKDXtGKg-IE4D9gvA7RoXnldSz9PPx0MHMrHngFH3-FqCW3zuizzj53UGlhrfp17vNERPbEdaFAPFn91Qk20YtswHVoMibL-Y41S-w0ubfbcvJ9l9ujs7yPiR8NrkY_LJSTVySjVXlJ/s1600/IMG_3647.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 213px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 139px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461067811877282338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOyLKDXtGKg-IE4D9gvA7RoXnldSz9PPx0MHMrHngFH3-FqCW3zuizzj53UGlhrfp17vNERPbEdaFAPFn91Qk20YtswHVoMibL-Y41S-w0ubfbcvJ9l9ujs7yPiR8NrkY_LJSTVySjVXlJ/s320/IMG_3647.JPG" /></a>Here are pictures from our hotel...Matthew was rather impressed~ can't you tell?</div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7fIBlLvJEAUfiUTalIQQneaJFTn1Gku-SPa_e6etrH8ytw-MpmcbLnLRv46-EdET_QY97BLoksYLjuWH9Ycpq20rxcss3rnBI2NpUf_ih62s53gmkjzW4ClQeCFH9bzjnXNw13nPoHd0/s1600/IMG_3672.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 206px; HEIGHT: 147px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461072815977003986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7fIBlLvJEAUfiUTalIQQneaJFTn1Gku-SPa_e6etrH8ytw-MpmcbLnLRv46-EdET_QY97BLoksYLjuWH9Ycpq20rxcss3rnBI2NpUf_ih62s53gmkjzW4ClQeCFH9bzjnXNw13nPoHd0/s320/IMG_3672.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMSNJO3fPMDK37Phh7Vxa6RLptoIRZpaSQi6tbhZcsOhLDkCg0E-ONIOPusSLGjdnbnrAz5cfm9AcRLRCaWFry3sMMa_iwwHEaWamRuih3iWBy1AlemL7BhK6gsZ1L3BSXjiRqYRkxMs1h/s1600/IMG_3673.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 210px; HEIGHT: 151px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461070916959696226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMSNJO3fPMDK37Phh7Vxa6RLptoIRZpaSQi6tbhZcsOhLDkCg0E-ONIOPusSLGjdnbnrAz5cfm9AcRLRCaWFry3sMMa_iwwHEaWamRuih3iWBy1AlemL7BhK6gsZ1L3BSXjiRqYRkxMs1h/s320/IMG_3673.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br />Our Gasthaus was on the inside of the town. Rottenberg is surrounded by a wall, and we were lucky enough to have our hotel inside...saving time and money on parking. Here are some pictures of the town and wall. </div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl8_EgYHSMoGBCvqihpARSYk-1eRUg-suAC2nWws_X5iOW0vMrqpcfOpBkLxJ-FEQk0U224XAbXdj_GiZrUttrIG79JsKyjXRNbQiAvgTdAEDlo72OHdwZHbhRNq5_o-6smT4JrH3wxZQi/s1600/IMG_3646.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 158px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 168px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461067803485686370" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl8_EgYHSMoGBCvqihpARSYk-1eRUg-suAC2nWws_X5iOW0vMrqpcfOpBkLxJ-FEQk0U224XAbXdj_GiZrUttrIG79JsKyjXRNbQiAvgTdAEDlo72OHdwZHbhRNq5_o-6smT4JrH3wxZQi/s320/IMG_3646.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl8_EgYHSMoGBCvqihpARSYk-1eRUg-suAC2nWws_X5iOW0vMrqpcfOpBkLxJ-FEQk0U224XAbXdj_GiZrUttrIG79JsKyjXRNbQiAvgTdAEDlo72OHdwZHbhRNq5_o-6smT4JrH3wxZQi/s1600/IMG_3646.JPG"></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHt8GmIJx7oGjVtgnu3Hx3s2rWUS5GkJpj2lsMG4I3_dPfMxIbi8Uxu2_rJcrl28PfEqtcC-fI0gnHj_teHV-9r-pzgcc30OlovbZWIPLHhyphenhyphen6Yc_GU6RlJGQ0anetPqd5MfdM85pE19TnM/s1600/IMG_3653.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 251px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 153px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461065842415273426" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHt8GmIJx7oGjVtgnu3Hx3s2rWUS5GkJpj2lsMG4I3_dPfMxIbi8Uxu2_rJcrl28PfEqtcC-fI0gnHj_teHV-9r-pzgcc30OlovbZWIPLHhyphenhyphen6Yc_GU6RlJGQ0anetPqd5MfdM85pE19TnM/s320/IMG_3653.JPG" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy0sIj5chIteCuNUqH4O0F17ovdEErK9_cknz2kpK8Nh45GdlhyvZTOqnUJLHqs4NkOiXV9GiE40coOrjpkwdjW2TcMaDjrAumc4gyszz-zJc_7LfNvX1XtACBtF_dJITcZDoEfgjk4_df/s1600/IMG_3682.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 230px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 163px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461067827643027746" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy0sIj5chIteCuNUqH4O0F17ovdEErK9_cknz2kpK8Nh45GdlhyvZTOqnUJLHqs4NkOiXV9GiE40coOrjpkwdjW2TcMaDjrAumc4gyszz-zJc_7LfNvX1XtACBtF_dJITcZDoEfgjk4_df/s320/IMG_3682.JPG" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl8_EgYHSMoGBCvqihpARSYk-1eRUg-suAC2nWws_X5iOW0vMrqpcfOpBkLxJ-FEQk0U224XAbXdj_GiZrUttrIG79JsKyjXRNbQiAvgTdAEDlo72OHdwZHbhRNq5_o-6smT4JrH3wxZQi/s1600/IMG_3646.JPG"></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Our first stop (after eatting a packed lunch of brotchen and pretzel sticks) was Saint Jacob's church. It is a protestant church, and very big. It is one of the biggest and oldest in Rottenberg. We were suprised that we had to pay in order to come in and take a look. As a matter of fact we had to pay for every church that we visited...so we only visited one. At Saint Jacob's there is a relic of the precious blood of Jesus Christ. We were told that Rottenberg use to be a big pilgrimage site. I was amazed that a protestant chuch actually had the blood of Christ displayed...I thought only us Catholics who displayed relics. Correct me if I am wrong..and this is not intended to put any of my protestant friends down. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7bUmuFuTBspuWL_vtPa1FkhMe_zYAqMUlya93odSVa0JIgNKidIqOXUv5IXHuLuqamuUIbeG5pb8vn0K1KxpqA2O8OmjOHxUZtJgCckv_3xOxkopH_chfmrhdaN9BG5KayMGxrd7N_N8s/s1600/IMG_3649.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 304px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 179px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461067822574789938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7bUmuFuTBspuWL_vtPa1FkhMe_zYAqMUlya93odSVa0JIgNKidIqOXUv5IXHuLuqamuUIbeG5pb8vn0K1KxpqA2O8OmjOHxUZtJgCckv_3xOxkopH_chfmrhdaN9BG5KayMGxrd7N_N8s/s320/IMG_3649.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbPHyu8CXYqaBRNlwBh91vrVHj1XKqBWir_mxtpOHF2slUpCUHf6dYvC9qLIQ0BvGtYEne7UODxT_qVrTvbbawirh_fkUFPXkaGj51Td12woRpp-K04XkhoEnfFmmJHtfgDFijoPGONK9/s1600/IMG_3648.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 270px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 177px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461067814532141138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbPHyu8CXYqaBRNlwBh91vrVHj1XKqBWir_mxtpOHF2slUpCUHf6dYvC9qLIQ0BvGtYEne7UODxT_qVrTvbbawirh_fkUFPXkaGj51Td12woRpp-K04XkhoEnfFmmJHtfgDFijoPGONK9/s320/IMG_3648.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />After we left the church, we headed for the Rathaus (court house) and checked on the times and price of the Nightwatchman tour. It was going to be at 8pm, and we were told that we definitely had to go and check it out. So we decided to walk around the town some and see what other touristy sites we could find. We stopped by a shop and I got some Rottenberg pottery coffee cups that say Mama and Papa on it...pretty cute. We also got our magnet and postcards. There were 3 Kathie Wolfhart Christmas stores in this small town...right across the street from each other...how funny!! We didn't even go inside, b/c it is not a kid friendly store, and neither Kitty or I really needed anything in there. There wasn't much else to shop for, so we continued on looking around. We roamed the streets and browsed. We came to the town gardens, and it was big and beautiful..and had a great view.<br /></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgOfX-a7imAJ3QLT2_zWKlBHnSe9X6io54vtLyyKGRcsJ5iLwUMTZcQBMt1jufOshzSPNX3lS25EmRNCS2-eYLEadG9T48yc205O9HhwM_Pkic9K2E3_m1zfHhoEs1b2VExRoIvv-QVW40/s1600/IMG_3668.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 275px; HEIGHT: 237px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461070905640298802" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgOfX-a7imAJ3QLT2_zWKlBHnSe9X6io54vtLyyKGRcsJ5iLwUMTZcQBMt1jufOshzSPNX3lS25EmRNCS2-eYLEadG9T48yc205O9HhwM_Pkic9K2E3_m1zfHhoEs1b2VExRoIvv-QVW40/s320/IMG_3668.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div>We were told that while in Rottenberg you have to try a Schneeball. Some of our friends said it was good, others said it was bad...but either way you have to try one. A Schneeball is a fried ball covered in powdered sugar...sounds good enough. But boy oh boy..it is not that good at all. But that is a checkmark on our list of tourist things to do!!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgItsELSUE8eTxY9cxM4ITj91o4UbABXbAtTQH7gNidsrhrK6sWRAtSWYuw-8VuzpuXyAsX601LCxhO38nV5RKl2G73Va_CAhvkok0qJiOuIOinse5VSB4odug49qY2fJT00iRCwTwaaMg0/s1600/IMG_3660.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 137px; HEIGHT: 142px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461070892935174978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgItsELSUE8eTxY9cxM4ITj91o4UbABXbAtTQH7gNidsrhrK6sWRAtSWYuw-8VuzpuXyAsX601LCxhO38nV5RKl2G73Va_CAhvkok0qJiOuIOinse5VSB4odug49qY2fJT00iRCwTwaaMg0/s320/IMG_3660.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_k1hCh7DKjzjFqQw9DJU4nII_CxtEOf1yK3H2WETIVyfFbUtul6M1N2ZAdYteH-a-IdFzxLKgHcWaeimiDwdk1ED-AEBQlGgo7oqpasEHYLEv2ICFuiWxQqyHGyQca07ovylZbUtYuKp/s1600/IMG_3662.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 288px; HEIGHT: 169px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461072812317602194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_k1hCh7DKjzjFqQw9DJU4nII_CxtEOf1yK3H2WETIVyfFbUtul6M1N2ZAdYteH-a-IdFzxLKgHcWaeimiDwdk1ED-AEBQlGgo7oqpasEHYLEv2ICFuiWxQqyHGyQca07ovylZbUtYuKp/s320/IMG_3662.JPG" /></a><br /><br />We found in the tour guide that there was a criminal museum...we thought we would check it out. It was starting to rain, so it was perfect timing to get inside. It was interesting, and the kids had a lot of questions. We went to the criminal museum in Amsterdam, so the kids knew about some of the "devices" already..but it is still interesting to see how intrigued the kids were. </div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5SOCejES5laII2PvBxS5uwR2GRfQWU30NyvQPU5OHqn93f3AeHQYO_cWiuC9fEqhjqsUmTN5ujeRHz2xdUvH1qeTJ_WB5oVX9WThyphenhyphenBPVGW-s77p942CIPxRy_ZKleihBxUWmo0V-6SXip/s1600/IMG_3669.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 250px; HEIGHT: 168px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461070908611749602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5SOCejES5laII2PvBxS5uwR2GRfQWU30NyvQPU5OHqn93f3AeHQYO_cWiuC9fEqhjqsUmTN5ujeRHz2xdUvH1qeTJ_WB5oVX9WThyphenhyphenBPVGW-s77p942CIPxRy_ZKleihBxUWmo0V-6SXip/s320/IMG_3669.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div></div><div>After that adventure, we thought it would be a good idea to go back to the hotel, and try to rest a bit, since we were going to be out "late" on the tour...late for the kids!! But yeh, that nap didn't happen...what was I thinking??<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwB2wkDT_faSgRGkcZthiilzQ9OHMSuSGHFoIsa5PSqXYiw74JHGxy0errE4fuS_vimXDnUTWb7ovVN2C0Tbb7V0-uoIC0HpRLTq47d1e7yuc0CIU9vc0MPdJD6fQ7a5DsKakVcyyyyFWp/s1600/IMG_3659.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 244px; HEIGHT: 195px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461070884217347202" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwB2wkDT_faSgRGkcZthiilzQ9OHMSuSGHFoIsa5PSqXYiw74JHGxy0errE4fuS_vimXDnUTWb7ovVN2C0Tbb7V0-uoIC0HpRLTq47d1e7yuc0CIU9vc0MPdJD6fQ7a5DsKakVcyyyyFWp/s320/IMG_3659.JPG" /></a>This is a picture of Saint George's fountain!!<br /><br />Here are some random pictures of Father Mike and Kitty and the kids!! Emilee really enjoyed holding Father Mike's hand...probably since I was busy pushing the stroller most of the time. Even though I have a picture of Father Mike pushing the stroller one time, since I was feeding Matthew!! What a great man..and such a big help. Thanks Kitty for all your help too!!<br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PHoeXlvZYAGThpdaqa1WuDd9JZ6YxWEqSjFsU8X1PbD2A8oyRSsOFwCp2qoO1cLElAZCaxLaajD29n1AevbBD3JdpdKGbN5tCBg0MTB3AIz4s-dwPdgRZX_O6hn2UwLdD8jJoUK43BTK/s1600/IMG_3665.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 254px; HEIGHT: 248px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461072799637419266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PHoeXlvZYAGThpdaqa1WuDd9JZ6YxWEqSjFsU8X1PbD2A8oyRSsOFwCp2qoO1cLElAZCaxLaajD29n1AevbBD3JdpdKGbN5tCBg0MTB3AIz4s-dwPdgRZX_O6hn2UwLdD8jJoUK43BTK/s320/IMG_3665.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQL-Df2uzLqRF2e2YL_ntIB0dGfEnJOjKMxQjTCosxjBl5ZgvZVd1QifNf-b0hCQzicoAlOol3tWACy4XI0o33LNUDCH6fCp5vPMJtYAmt1XkmZ62rkxcsWbiE_IwwwncYKbZKf29bMPIh/s1600/IMG_3676.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 302px; HEIGHT: 285px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461072819310002930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQL-Df2uzLqRF2e2YL_ntIB0dGfEnJOjKMxQjTCosxjBl5ZgvZVd1QifNf-b0hCQzicoAlOol3tWACy4XI0o33LNUDCH6fCp5vPMJtYAmt1XkmZ62rkxcsWbiE_IwwwncYKbZKf29bMPIh/s320/IMG_3676.JPG" /></a><br /><br />We had dinner in our hotel. I had Sauerbraten (German pot roast) and the kids all had bratwurst and french fries. We also all had dessert, since everyone behaved fairly well. </div><br /><div>It was finally time to do the tour. I was able to get a picture with the tour guide before I had to leave. Unfortunately it started raining harder, and the 3 little ones were getting really fussy. Kitty graciously volunteered to go on the tour with the 3 older ones, and her kiddos. I took the 3 little ones back to the hotel and put them to bed. I was told that the tour was "cute" and gave some good info about life during medieval times. I head a little bit of the tour before I left, and it definitely seemed to be geared toward kids (for some reason). </div><br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UjOMKgsR2qKwU4cqQwLBjbR4d81g5pxl8x50z_jxDZ0xa-LezoNV6xgqP2Fc8ZuY1SRd80T0w8ZJnts2WAUMQEctWTNxRKzpdgAy2c3GmBCBwzy1ppaYrvaYZJyhgysPSK8JclTZkaVv/s1600/IMG_3677.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 271px; HEIGHT: 271px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461072826195428578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UjOMKgsR2qKwU4cqQwLBjbR4d81g5pxl8x50z_jxDZ0xa-LezoNV6xgqP2Fc8ZuY1SRd80T0w8ZJnts2WAUMQEctWTNxRKzpdgAy2c3GmBCBwzy1ppaYrvaYZJyhgysPSK8JclTZkaVv/s320/IMG_3677.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nI51W988jLVB_bY6QiM-9La1T-4Rtnpjeme39JX8jKBqgSrHXSTvs0cg1pXRTmer_jsij1LH9n3q4npmXF2XxAKk35Hw5P4qbX5vvQkIZYuR5k8J8J2InUiRFUwVKLXTsMLsurTqpKNO/s1600/IMG_3683.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 228px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 190px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461098232453259298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nI51W988jLVB_bY6QiM-9La1T-4Rtnpjeme39JX8jKBqgSrHXSTvs0cg1pXRTmer_jsij1LH9n3q4npmXF2XxAKk35Hw5P4qbX5vvQkIZYuR5k8J8J2InUiRFUwVKLXTsMLsurTqpKNO/s320/IMG_3683.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br />The next day was not too filled with things to do. After a typical german breakfast, we checked out of the hotel. We ended up walking the perimeter of the wall. Initially I took the double stroller up the windy steep stairs, but had to end that adventure and come back down because the walkway was too narrow. BUt Kitty took the older kids up top, while I walked along the wall below them with Father Mike.<br /><br /></div><div>After eatting lunch, we thought it was time to start heading home. It was my turn to drive with Father Mike...and we had a great conversation...I learned a lot about predertermination, prevenial grace, actual grace and supernatural grace...if anyone want to know!!! It was a nice time...we were able to get out and see more of Germany. We are thankful to be able to go out and travel. </div><div> </div><div>I'll try and post our next trip as soon as I can. This is rather time consuming..and putting pictures on here takes forever!! Thanks again Kitty and Father Mike for "chaperoning"!!!<br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Sellers' Family Funhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02019020266094764444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7427970159037552130.post-53754185044906847862009-12-11T08:42:00.000-08:002009-12-13T12:22:37.903-08:00Garmisch on Thanksgiving<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRR90AhsNdpKhLSYpj9SepjrPPZJcluTpQeXotcGCy4eK9AXldr2rin6Ukgt525zx61kl7mOE0ljLCyHYvszdf25a9y0P2MPDnaJgkzdtFjMAFHQTIBgD06zzOkuwzkqrrHhHSR-f-NZMG/s1600-h/IMG_3294.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414737529000765826" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRR90AhsNdpKhLSYpj9SepjrPPZJcluTpQeXotcGCy4eK9AXldr2rin6Ukgt525zx61kl7mOE0ljLCyHYvszdf25a9y0P2MPDnaJgkzdtFjMAFHQTIBgD06zzOkuwzkqrrHhHSR-f-NZMG/s320/IMG_3294.JPG" /></a>OK....so I know I'm almost a holiday behind...I don't know how you blogger friends can update your blogs every day???? This Thanksgiving we thought we would try something new....well not completly new. We still wanted to eat a yummy Thanksgiving dinner, but wanted to do something different for the weekend. We heard about these rustic cabins for rent in Garmisch, Germany (Bavaria...which is in the Alps...for anyone who doesn't know). I called about 2 weeks before we were to leave to get a reservation..hopefully. When I called, they said we would be taking the last one...and lucky we did, because one of Thom's co-workers called a few hours after I did, and they did not have anything left. So we were a bit nervous about rustic cabins...they have heat, microwave, fridge, TV and enough beds for everyone to have their own (well, except Matthew), BUT NO water!!! We would have to go to the "wash closet" across the street to use the bathroom...but Thom said.."let's give it a shot!!"<br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>We were just about ready to leave on our 5 hour drive. We were making last minute potty breaks, turning lights off, and double checking everything when Emilee came skipping through the living room, tripped on the carpet, and hit her head on the coffee table...and wouldn't you know it...she ended up having to go to the ER and getting 3 stitches....never a dull moment in our household!!! The trip there was very easy...no construction, no traffic jams, and we only had to stop once to use the bathroom, eat, and feed Matthew!! We got there about 11pm. And finally made it to bed at midnight, after unloading the car, and finding the bathroom in the dark...we didn't want to have to get up in the middle of the night to go potty (and luckily every night we were there, we didn't have to...woo-hoo!!)<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi77IS861E2wg04cyKEr_eqcK57zjAlXVLTe3jSNKqOKE6ygG0f_qJ7xPs6FVQEf0dyW5CjpMwACDJzkeRgLdZBrXfJgHM9isZLMYs0i9kpkIGX3cMxB1Db2eKJwVQ64H9sKPhEZJlj6LeW/s1600-h/IMG_3232.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414025348537465442" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi77IS861E2wg04cyKEr_eqcK57zjAlXVLTe3jSNKqOKE6ygG0f_qJ7xPs6FVQEf0dyW5CjpMwACDJzkeRgLdZBrXfJgHM9isZLMYs0i9kpkIGX3cMxB1Db2eKJwVQ64H9sKPhEZJlj6LeW/s320/IMG_3232.JPG" /></a>The kids loved the cabin. It was quite cozy. Thom and I felt like we were living "Little House on the Prairie" style with the loft!!! But it was very nice. And Emilee was thrilled to be a big girl and sleep on the top bunk. </div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjzQ6TCkK8cFXAP21weqDmr5wKr00LHdH74zSCRSH29diXtjGxhb5_d-k01c85vk88b9AQHifqNUjI8ir2JHCgghkMHe3DHHPHPK8L2lOLbKuoIR2Pe8iINfeCE3UcwZwHwV_SZ_l1pG9R/s1600-h/IMG_3233.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414025979046784034" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjzQ6TCkK8cFXAP21weqDmr5wKr00LHdH74zSCRSH29diXtjGxhb5_d-k01c85vk88b9AQHifqNUjI8ir2JHCgghkMHe3DHHPHPK8L2lOLbKuoIR2Pe8iINfeCE3UcwZwHwV_SZ_l1pG9R/s320/IMG_3233.JPG" /></a></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Enough about the cabin now!! One of our goals was to make it to Newschwanstein<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtcJ0dgq79TGJWlHfnTGmiOf8goxQHeEeGzetugripR1F6gpivT5uaimmoqqC23Fg0iX3gSKvRHD767yfa8baTL5BrYFHl6cD-THbputSKSxSZLOpI1-2k56yaltOI-vTHCx-zeDCjnXH_/s1600-h/IMG_3244.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414737022945355778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtcJ0dgq79TGJWlHfnTGmiOf8goxQHeEeGzetugripR1F6gpivT5uaimmoqqC23Fg0iX3gSKvRHD767yfa8baTL5BrYFHl6cD-THbputSKSxSZLOpI1-2k56yaltOI-vTHCx-zeDCjnXH_/s320/IMG_3244.JPG" /></a> castle. This was one of Ludwig II's castles. This is also the one that inspired Walt Disney to design his "princess" castle. It was quite maginificent. We had the choice to take a 45 minute walk up hill to the castle, or take a bus ride up....so we chose the bus...are you kidding me...with 2 toddlers and a baby...that 45 minutes would have turned into 3 hours!!! Once we arrived to the top we had about 1 1/2 hours before our tour was to start. We decided to walk to a bridge to get a beautiful view. This bridge was b<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiipxnsivE6gx2vKS_VjOPoTC1_zYXbS6jMqkAQwq4wPm5lzTalaSooXsTpc-yWdF1soxx6_P1J-tXD8tPj3elSSFcPFDC2zlaXVA530N0cMXQ7J1KmQFwR1_NQ8Xh_cZ2qrVuBYlMSZRFw/s1600-h/IMG_3242.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414738023926994690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiipxnsivE6gx2vKS_VjOPoTC1_zYXbS6jMqkAQwq4wPm5lzTalaSooXsTpc-yWdF1soxx6_P1J-tXD8tPj3elSSFcPFDC2zlaXVA530N0cMXQ7J1KmQFwR1_NQ8Xh_cZ2qrVuBYlMSZRFw/s320/IMG_3242.JPG" /></a>uilt before the castle...and boy did it show....every other step was wobbly and the boards buckled some. It was a bit intense...especially with 2 little ones. But the view was amazing!!! Once we left the "deadly" bridge we started to head for our tour. We had a hill to walk up after all...and it took about 45 minutes to walk up it. We still had 30minutes before our tour started, so I took that time to nurse Matthew. While we were waiting, we became celebrities. A group of Japanese tourists were amazed that all 6 kids were ours, and they started taking our pictures. At one point we were surrounded by 6 of them taking our pictures. We thought it was funny. </div><div>We were unable to take any pictures inside the castle. The tour was short. It was elegant and huge inside. There are 120 rooms, but only 16 were completed, and <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJTLCihqNOuctOdUitB14m0I93V0RYF9oeudN8YaPII8Pr1fiuHDXBut4fz-gVcCvlUE50vDy3e9NdUJWcXA_ueVLB09CjrlYzAkfvdWqt41eurefLwumlYPrXJcDBVmzzigPEfrsc3op/s1600-h/IMG_3252.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414745394122165634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJTLCihqNOuctOdUitB14m0I93V0RYF9oeudN8YaPII8Pr1fiuHDXBut4fz-gVcCvlUE50vDy3e9NdUJWcXA_ueVLB09CjrlYzAkfvdWqt41eurefLwumlYPrXJcDBVmzzigPEfrsc3op/s320/IMG_3252.JPG" /></a>what we were able to see. King Ludwig was in the castle for 2 days before he was taken to the insane asylum. After the tour we caught our bus down the hill. It was starting to get dark already. There was actually another castle across the street, but it was already closed. We walked around the perimeter of it. This castle was around when Ludwig was a child. He loved it and wanted to make a castle bigger and better...hence he built Neuschwanstein on the hill in front of it. Here's a picture of that castle ( the gold one in the back on top of the hill) <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 301px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414744490581992850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ruk28wotRS6wgfrmYXkClF3Ss5D_okjLWa5I6i93rBqCgRS0seDJKpJND-S0Z2pD0-AJOiBPDmEiE40nKuYsjs6O8B6tVxBmC-0AES6i7lfFpddch3gmpr7WcmE-J0mRhmJOo5y-66lG/s320/IMG_3247.JPG" /></div><div>We found a cute little restaurant to eat it for dinner. The kids had schnitzel and fried potatoes. I had some german meatloaf (reminded me of spam, but better tasting) and Thom had a potatoe and beef hash. The food was all good. </div><div></div><div>The next day everyone was up and ready to go again around 7...amazing that these kids aren't wore out.We were going to go sledding, but the only place to go was on Zugspitze (highest mountain peak in Germany) and <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNXPoQL_Lt7c7brN7YKJTQ_IoOl5kvhHbyEKRMKem2TQ7OAj_Hnohi5X3s8PtKxvNDtOuAOodojBT-ckSlSG7fIg5ssjcPWZLBWCeIQhK2FUpHxroIinz8EVd0jljF8DhqTPa7Mu37QaIW/s1600-h/IMG_3274.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414772013434790978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNXPoQL_Lt7c7brN7YKJTQ_IoOl5kvhHbyEKRMKem2TQ7OAj_Hnohi5X3s8PtKxvNDtOuAOodojBT-ckSlSG7fIg5ssjcPWZLBWCeIQhK2FUpHxroIinz8EVd0jljF8DhqTPa7Mu37QaIW/s320/IMG_3274.JPG" /></a>that was going cost to $170.It was also extra cold (high of 38...and that wasn't even on the mountain). So too cold. So instead, we went to Reisse See. We walked around the lake and took some family pictures. We relized we haven't taken a family picture yet with Matthew. So we got the tripod out and started shooting. This was also the site of the bobsled track and lake used for hockey for the 1936 winter Olympics.The actual track was still there ~made from built up dirt mounds which was neat to see. It was really extra cold by the lake.</div><br /><br /><br /><div>Lunchtime!! We found Biete Cafe Max.When we walked in, there was a bar (but other seatting areas too) and a bunch of men drinking beer and they all stared at us. Our waiter (also the bartender) had a handlebar mustache which the kids got a kick out of. The kids all had white hot chocolate (they all loved),Thom had a Frankinskaner hell beer and I had a Pina Collada.The kids then had noodles w/cream sauce,and then Thom and I had locally made white brawtwarst with their own mustard and a fresh pretzel. The kids also got some ice cream. And Thom and I were treated to a blood orange vodka shot...we were told it was to fight off the swine flu...OK...it was yummy. Haven't had a shot of anything since college!! </div><br /><div>Our next stop was the Eibsee. This lake is at the foot of the Zugspitze. This was a very huge lake. Our intent was to walk the perimeter of it, but that didn't happen. We probably walked a mile out (and took almost an hour) when we decided it was still s long way to go and it was really cold. So we let the kids throw rocks into the lake. Thom was trying to teach the kids how to skip the rocks on the water, but they couldn't do it. It is actually challenging...I tried it too....and couldn't do it.<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414801159964679906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnrl2pTqvqRVnLDeILKQwklIN9lZY-XiaK8tY96Pmfw8nqM8vCrJC46siSmll-Aq2AfoAqfZ-R5XXUQhbNWCILvlSxEl7k1cBvFklZ7HOZCsqSALUFPPvlju0PIeuSJj2b0_oWA2DZP5vW/s320/IMG_3284.JPG" /> After about 5 minutes of that fun, we started heading back. It took us only 30 minutes to get back ~ probably b/c I carried Dominick most of the way. Thom had Matthew. </div><br /><div>After getting our "winter gear"off, we started heading back to the cabin. We made one pit-stop <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbHnaHhKjgYt0kPbZNM7Lcq61uWIXb60kjFzFOD4Wsa_BhdIyCHhLDPyVbp7J_tsdOyWqqUBUpOIzN1AcPZKHzgfEDaZg8V0xHvFArTq83ZdGj1qhyF-iCL6ASNHISBoBixsFgMppeVRMy/s1600-h/IMG_3291.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414813154857529026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbHnaHhKjgYt0kPbZNM7Lcq61uWIXb60kjFzFOD4Wsa_BhdIyCHhLDPyVbp7J_tsdOyWqqUBUpOIzN1AcPZKHzgfEDaZg8V0xHvFArTq83ZdGj1qhyF-iCL6ASNHISBoBixsFgMppeVRMy/s320/IMG_3291.JPG" /></a>at a backery....it was my birthday and we needed some cake. We got a variety of cakes. We went back to the cabin, and everyone sang Happy Birthday to me. While eatting our cake we watched Twilight...for the first time...I know, I know...we're behind...especially since New Moon just came out. But nonetheless...it was a great birthday. </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>The next day was check-out....and our long drive back home....which was uneventful. We were</div><div>told that Garmisch ended up getting a "dump-load" of snow on Monday!!! Oh well, there's a reason we missed it. But we are planning a week long ski trip in Feb/March in Austria!!!</div><div></div><div>Next event in the Christkindlemarket in Nurnberg...December 17th...see you then. </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Sellers' Family Funhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02019020266094764444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7427970159037552130.post-29202887154643675672009-11-14T07:59:00.000-08:002009-11-18T02:42:55.749-08:00Bitche, France November 14, 2009<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjnDkfLofegijE2dx2t5w3LMM1EcHPHeN931xpiKD-L1PU3NmuANnp1HwvuaZ5k26msq0FkwUvMBQgUZQFhismS09x-1nAqpB1dANZ0dQ7aYFQo7A1jiktI_IqmqYdq6QwFX-LF1weUqn-/s1600-h/IMG_3182.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 321px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 146px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404005805868901794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjnDkfLofegijE2dx2t5w3LMM1EcHPHeN931xpiKD-L1PU3NmuANnp1HwvuaZ5k26msq0FkwUvMBQgUZQFhismS09x-1nAqpB1dANZ0dQ7aYFQo7A1jiktI_IqmqYdq6QwFX-LF1weUqn-/s320/IMG_3182.JPG" /></a> So it's been a while since we have taken any trips anywhere. In the time since our last trip (Belgium August 7-8) Matthew Isaac was born (Sept 21), Thom was in the field for 2 weeks (Oct 9-23) and I had surgery for 2 lacerated tendons in my ring finger(Nov 6). So as you can see, taking trips was not a priority for us. We did attend some fests locally (Medieval fest, potatoe fest and a pumpkin fest). They were a lot of fun, and very yummy to experience the local food.<br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404004919188422178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPxfXd1L1hRUhvkMEk6GEx5FEkSYeLh2gOBSrWkcFrGFxcW81639bfwH-GizAs3dWhwKfQATkkhZXNJm1mC41S_MBXTu8hFoblyEPuOg3VYhcPn_c0p-GIeCR2KLWmdUCFzFo1yTd4REqL/s320/IMG_3172.JPG" />So today we decided to go to Bitche (pronounced Bee-shay) France. It is only 45 minutes from the house. The day started off with an overcast and held up for a few hours. We went to Citadel de Bitche first. This use to be a huge fortress built in the 17th century that has underground kitchens, dormitories and even a hospital. Unfortunately it was closed (not sure why), so we couldn't tour the inside. We walked the perimeter and got some pretty good pictures. It took us about an hour to walk around it...but take into consideration we have Emilee and Dominick with their small legs. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOpnElUjbfgu7aG4NrL0A43mcDwnb8PyJRpZQdHqHf7TGtVyP43AA3QP16R1JOMpfqHtE9IiRdxbLs8QoQQ0vB-0ngg3F0k46igUlGC1ANLVwUGFAsooXbMpij23SWRO6OuFUUbC-7vELJ/s1600-h/IMG_3173.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 236px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 165px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404003471463046898" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOpnElUjbfgu7aG4NrL0A43mcDwnb8PyJRpZQdHqHf7TGtVyP43AA3QP16R1JOMpfqHtE9IiRdxbLs8QoQQ0vB-0ngg3F0k46igUlGC1ANLVwUGFAsooXbMpij23SWRO6OuFUUbC-7vELJ/s320/IMG_3173.JPG" /></a> </div><br />As you can see, it was very, very windy. This was near the end of our walk, and by this time Dominick was not wanting to walk anymore, so it was a good time to head for the car. Oh, before we were able to get into the car we had to clean off the dog poop from Gabi's shoes. Let me tell you...that is not only gross, but disrespectful. I can't stand it when people leave their dogs excrements "out" for others to find!!! And that is a smell that I do not want "stuck" in my brand new car carpets.<br /><br /><br /><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtl_MxH0UCQsdJ0vD5_QX3R4GZw8ibpaj2VaJ1s0HuRoAFeJQ0qbP8aDPZN637XQXCsNjbGkLcYZs-KAxQyu6keOUVW77BdF6Es3YQuu_XDV6lQoIN5x66YtWznpu6DZjmq4wefpACqWCo/s1600-h/IMG_3178.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404004279966635426" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtl_MxH0UCQsdJ0vD5_QX3R4GZw8ibpaj2VaJ1s0HuRoAFeJQ0qbP8aDPZN637XQXCsNjbGkLcYZs-KAxQyu6keOUVW77BdF6Es3YQuu_XDV6lQoIN5x66YtWznpu6DZjmq4wefpACqWCo/s320/IMG_3178.JPG" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>After we left the fortress, it was time to try some of the French cuisine. We drove a<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh1aXQNmGOsR7ph3fwUT32bPak2QxWbz10n7dEwBSqU3HejyXFzrKme2Fqkih-ljG3-za0oEoDljll95jLlWf-DCoGhGxChxoSv2x_q7R8wG7LxZSsBr1MbbY-DsDFPtCFk3W-9eUbdOvn/s1600/IMG_3181.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405392005172940450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh1aXQNmGOsR7ph3fwUT32bPak2QxWbz10n7dEwBSqU3HejyXFzrKme2Fqkih-ljG3-za0oEoDljll95jLlWf-DCoGhGxChxoSv2x_q7R8wG7LxZSsBr1MbbY-DsDFPtCFk3W-9eUbdOvn/s320/IMG_3181.JPG" /></a>round "downtown" and found a cute little restaurant on a lake named Auberge du Lac. We, unfortunately, forgot our French phrase book at home, so we had to wing it. We knew we were in trouble when we walked in, and they greeted us in French, and sat us. They told us the specials in French, and the only word we were able to decipher was PIZZA. So we knew that was a safe bet for the kids. Thom and I were going to be brave and explore the menu, and hope for the best. Thom ordered Grillee maitre de hotel, which was a very good and tender steak. He had mixed vegetables sauteed in butter and spices, and french fries. I ordered La Bouchee a la Reine riz-frites. This too was very good. It looked like a Hungry Jack biscuit, filled with mushrooms, chicken and gravy. It reminded me of a pot-pie. I also had french fries. The kids enjoyed there pizzas....but it takes a lot to mess up pizza. They did say that they liked the pizza in Rome better.....how funny...our little food critiques!!! This picture was taken outside the restaurant.</p><br /><p>It was cold outside and it started raining. We were told to go visit St Catherines church, because it has a really big organ inside. After finding the church I ran inside to check it out and see if it was worth pulling the kids out of the car in the rain. It was a nice church, and the organ was big (not huge), but it looked like mass was going to start, so we didn't pull everyone out of the car. </p><br /><p>We wanted to see if there was anything else we could do since it was early afternoon, and had less than an hour to get home. We did a search on our GPS for attractions, and randomly chose a park and museum. Unfortunately the park was an archaelogical excavation site...hhmm who knew that is what the name of the park was on the GPS. So off to the museum....but that was closed. The weather was getting worse, so we decided to head home. It was an interesting day. Oh I forgot to mention, we brought our passports just in case....well Matthew doesn't have his yet, and they took Thom's and my passports to process Matthew's, so we were technically in France illegally....but no one has to know...and its not like there was a checkpoint!!! So that is the story for our first trip to France. We will be returning, because Thom is running a marathon in Paris in April...so stay tuned.</p><br /><p>Our next adventure is over the Thanksgiving break....renting a cabin in the Alps in Garmisch Germany....doing some sledding, and going to visit Neuschwanstein castle (the "princess" castle where Walt Disney got the idea for his castle at Disney World). Should be a good time!!!!</p><br /><p></p>Sellers' Family Funhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02019020266094764444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7427970159037552130.post-48004994940118527012009-08-13T06:59:00.000-07:002009-08-13T12:29:45.665-07:00Brussels Belgium, August 7-8, 2009This was a kind of "spur of the moment" trip. We knew we wanted to go to Brussles (to say that we have been), but couldn't really plan too much. For some reason, Thom's schedule has been like a revolving door..constantly changing this month!!! It was a 3 1/2 hour drive, we had no real plans, and no hotel reservations...so we'll see!!! Boy did we have an "adventure."<br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>We missed our hotel exit and ended up seeing "down~town" Brussels. When we finally got to the hotel, we were discriminated against..not once but twice!! We were told at one place they had room for us, but as soon as I said we had 5 kids..."oh, I'm sorry we are completly booked tonight." The other one just said "forget it." We finally found a Holiday Inn (which you don't find very much here in Europe), and they allowed us to all stay. Once we checked in, we decided we would try and do some sightseeing. We got a map, put Emi and Dominick into the strollers and started walking. Our intention was to go to the "Grand Place", which was suppose to be 1 1/2-2 miles away (a 30 min walk). After walking 45+ minutes and didn't see anything that resembled the Grand Place we turned around and started looking for something to eat. We discovered a few things on this walk:</div><br /><div>*the French and Dutch language barrier sucks ~ it was hard to read the street signs and restaurant menus.</div><br /><div>*the cobblestone walkways are torture on the stroller (to include Emi and Dominick) and on our ankles.</div><br /><div>*the restaurant selection is limited ~ instead we saw a lot of beauty salons, fitness centers and stores and chocolate and lace stores. AND the restaurants didn't open till 6:30 for dinner.</div><br /><div>*cars don't care about other cars (they will make a one lane road into a 2 lane) or about pedestrians ~ so watch very carefully when crossing. We were told that it wasn't until about 15 years ago that it was required to have a licence here...and most of the drivers were grand-fathered in, without being required to take a test...yikes!!!!</div><div></div><div>So we finally settled on a restaurant that spoke universally ~ <strong>PIZZA!!!!</strong> It was ok...but it was going to be hard to top the authentic Italian pizza we had just 2 weeks ago. We passed some chocolate and torte bakeries, and we were going to pick one up for Thom's birthday, but they were closed by the time we finished dinner. As a matter of fact, most things that were family oriented were closing, so we went back to the hotel, and called it a night (at 8pm).</div><br /><div>The next morning we checked out, and were on a mission to find <strong><span style="color:#ff6600;">Belgian waffles</span></strong> for breakfast...something we thought should be easy enough to do...NOT!! We left the hotel around 8:30, but none of the vendors or bakeries opened till 10. We finally found this little "hole-in-the-wall" place back at the Grand Place area. OH, by the way we were completly lost the day before when we were walking and trying to find this area. </div><br /><p>The waiter didn't understand us well, and that made for interesting process to order our food (since the menu was in French too). We wanted basic waffles (with one topping on them)...well, the kids lucked out b/c of our "great" French speaking abilities....they ended up getting waffles that had strawberries, chocolate and whip cream <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 218px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 181px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369525328160106898" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTRy_3yQMlkypP4vMjeCjtsEby3FKOjMWbRuYkL1CqwEavdCqF7fqql3l_nsjw3V_oECQPaLXH42bJD6PabVaAI2URQOmSN2eWqN_xmeDhWBMfw51a2MLF7ILo-25fpKYGmeJSmezp2zoF/s320/IMG_2691.JPG" />on them. Thom and I ended up getting our one topping (I had chocolate..yum) and Thom had powdered sugar, though he wanted whip cream. We also had Latte Machiattos (3 layered coffee)....this breakfast was <span style="color:#009900;"><strong>VERY, VERY good!!!!</strong></span></p><p>Because none of the things we wanted to do were quite open yet, Thom pulled out our tourist book, and gave us a history lesson of the <span style="color:#ff6600;"><strong>Grand Place</strong></span>. It use to be a market place and where<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2k9jRvT1Sqzzy-j4eo8ryV9qXbnILKJ4EllywhlQ22I39z7JmvAdN4Kubphk7SZ1YnnZeebaz3IAP5Ek2TgdE9XuYJeBj3oOTgf3l7L4cZTlhB-ULeu-Yc8PDqRrYW-OgXZ5Yh48InqqO/s1600-h/IMG_2694.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369523977515189730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2k9jRvT1Sqzzy-j4eo8ryV9qXbnILKJ4EllywhlQ22I39z7JmvAdN4Kubphk7SZ1YnnZeebaz3IAP5Ek2TgdE9XuYJeBj3oOTgf3l7L4cZTlhB-ULeu-Yc8PDqRrYW-OgXZ5Yh48InqqO/s320/IMG_2694.JPG" /></a> the dukes and king use to live. They had all kinds of shops....carpenters, seamstresses, breweries, and more...in order for the marketplace to function for the town. Each building had a different animal "symbol" to name the building. It was very breezy, and we were all in shorts, and just about froze. When we looked around, we were just about the only people wearing shorts..who would have thought in August that this would be an issue????</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEAxbeEkqMAiE5FiLMO7tnJ-rYPn4Xs90mVAWTZXXyfKS5iBy3owo9g4_APWIiNmyOM5kZo9Bu0NaB_xFaAfOoqPacAEIb7PmrZEDy46wBmvnQGsSyQ58_ieN7I3jmxI_XIZfFfLsQgPHc/s1600-h/IMG_2692.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369523781160677826" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEAxbeEkqMAiE5FiLMO7tnJ-rYPn4Xs90mVAWTZXXyfKS5iBy3owo9g4_APWIiNmyOM5kZo9Bu0NaB_xFaAfOoqPacAEIb7PmrZEDy46wBmvnQGsSyQ58_ieN7I3jmxI_XIZfFfLsQgPHc/s320/IMG_2692.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p>After figuring out the correct opening times and correct locations for the museums, we finally were able to visit them (the book was wrong). We first went to the <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gJbWGo8OngwTGAFXCmYDsmLsP7pB61HWl2xnh6YevTOmxYzzkVYzXA55WCeuMTvdzLTvbvQWh5OZQMDOKSTUuplkzj8fnhcZZwZis5SofYv-obonX0ZDm5lAKGVHsYe0Kudx2FlwLJnR/s1600-h/IMG_2711.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369526552520114258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gJbWGo8OngwTGAFXCmYDsmLsP7pB61HWl2xnh6YevTOmxYzzkVYzXA55WCeuMTvdzLTvbvQWh5OZQMDOKSTUuplkzj8fnhcZZwZis5SofYv-obonX0ZDm5lAKGVHsYe0Kudx2FlwLJnR/s320/IMG_2711.JPG" /></a><span style="color:#ff6600;"><strong>brewery museum</strong></span>, where we learned how they made beer in the 1800's and also today. With the entrance fee, there was also a sample of <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCHRZz5ytpruKscxoxnnbsY2UaJd6Hr92mSZBBjdJJ19tO7UCmwVVzhpt3gP3ahLhNDb9qi21nwZCc5GMzwxx5EDquSncrVzxbQhinkVvBSYR70xICsIvu4vbZsE6mI3y45DyTOl0nyd0a/s1600-h/IMG_2707.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369526538670259410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCHRZz5ytpruKscxoxnnbsY2UaJd6Hr92mSZBBjdJJ19tO7UCmwVVzhpt3gP3ahLhNDb9qi21nwZCc5GMzwxx5EDquSncrVzxbQhinkVvBSYR70xICsIvu4vbZsE6mI3y45DyTOl0nyd0a/s320/IMG_2707.JPG" /></a>beer...Thom got to drink his and mine, and said it was very good. Some of our friends actually gave Thom some Belgian beer for his birthday...thanks Alicia and Nick!!</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY8uM1ff6DUsuYhpRiiiljhcmgKaY0XPusp04F3AVgsRaXZBRmftO7GHM4NjRzQxnt11y53a5MOSAcJCMFRbfnY11Yt81RNhtab68_09ZRLgUF1KtjS1Lil4LYnivefx27zb012LMk9itQ/s1600-h/IMG_2701.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369526530952918514" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY8uM1ff6DUsuYhpRiiiljhcmgKaY0XPusp04F3AVgsRaXZBRmftO7GHM4NjRzQxnt11y53a5MOSAcJCMFRbfnY11Yt81RNhtab68_09ZRLgUF1KtjS1Lil4LYnivefx27zb012LMk9itQ/s320/IMG_2701.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><div>We also went to the <strong><span style="color:#ff6600;">chocolate museum</span></strong>...once again we saw how chocolate is made, and we even saw a demonstration. But the best part were the samples that were given to us. They made the mistake of leaving samples of chocolate chips (4 different kinds) out...and Emilee and Dominick found them, and definitely got their fair share of them. <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 321px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 184px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369527925270417186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_JA-pW3BY6eCyKkJrcVKnGwdkCYhbhdsS-RjYospNKcrwqpA8VuKnkvPkDCz1sX0fnuvmU2bsBlXXgkYmtc1_-PnJ70HIkMsM1xuWnJ9MUW72hL33RZOmDopFuoBKBneDHmS4F458-Isa/s320/IMG_2717.JPG" /></div><br /><br /><br /><div>If you visit Brussels, you are "suppose" to visit the <span style="color:#ff6600;"><strong>Manneken~Pis</strong></span>. There are a couple of different stories on the origin of the statue..I won't bore you with the details. The only reason why we found the statue, was because we saw a huge group of tourists standing by it. The statue is hidden in a corner in between 3 chocolate stores, and is a whopping 3 feet tall (maybe). So we got our picture, and then headed over to a chocolate store for some more free samples, and then we actually bought some too!!! The chocolate is good, but very, very sweet. </div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 241px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 278px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369524128275153458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7xAFB1c6v6p0usn_RPe3xhwjOxe3I-oC7mcbbrR2BtA2yU9HD9Aqur6Ee06m1TSSaGZNJSUaQ85eySxeldrUTU5Xan1-1jbRcNvosp9Ky1092fAo495W66xojMwjVv5ZGSivzAFuGGpK/s320/IMG_2697.JPG" /> Our day was starting to wrap up, but we promised the kids we would take them to <span style="color:#ff6600;"><strong>Autoworld</strong></span>. This was another museum that had over 400 cars ranging from the 1900's until today. They even had some bikes (motorized and not) from the 1890's and even some stagecoaches. The kids (esp the boys) were in awe over all the cars there. We told the kids to pick out their favorite ones, and we'll take a picture of them in front of it.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 321px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 183px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369530486557367026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZIuZfocudOLTEdog3PSPknSHE6e24L8ZNXDjH2oGaKtCM-V1dIHYmLMZaSy02qHPQ1xZfIQ0yBOhIB6Irnzd8Xd3jpOE_AZHj0YOv13RYL-n3GnKLnAM6ioWbzp7tJiVH70b0n4b8PrET/s320/IMG_2742.JPG" /><br /><div>Overall Brussles is a place that we can say we have seen. It is not very family friendly though. We thought it was just us because of the 5 kids and me waddleing around...but we talked to some friends and co-workers, and they said they got the same treatment. We have concluded that Brussels is for single people or those without kids...it is definitely a night-atmosphere kind of town. But we were also told that Bruge' Belgium (about an 1 1/2 hrs north of Brussels) is a lot friendlier and nicer to visit...so we are going to give Bruge a try later on. </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Sellers' Family Funhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02019020266094764444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7427970159037552130.post-27564954629239878542009-07-23T01:56:00.000-07:002009-07-30T07:06:20.535-07:00*Rome* July 17-22, 2009There are a few points I need to make about this trip before I get into details. First, there was so much to see and do, that we could not get everything done. We stayed busy every day, and still couldn't get it done. Therefore to save you from boredom, and reading for hours, I am only going to hit the hightlights. Two, I took over 250 pictures, and therefore am not able to (obviously) put every picture on here. I am going to put some pictures here, and different ones on facebook. Throughout this entry I will give out pointers...so if you ever make it here (which I highly recommend), then you will have a "heads-up."<br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /><div>We <strong>THOUROUGHLY</strong> enjoyed Rome. We are so happy that we were able to make it here and experience everything we did. We arrived around 10am after a <span style="color:#ff0000;">1 1/2 hour</span> plane ride. We decided to jump right in and experience some authentic Italian food because we couldn't check into our hotel, and our tour did not start for a few more hours. Overall the food was outstanding every place we went. Unfortunately one day we went to a place that the food arrived 10 minutes after we sat down, was luke-warm, and we believe we heard a microwave ding...hhhmm!!! Needless to say that was not the best. </div><br /><div></div><div>*<span style="color:#33ccff;"><em>Pointer 1:</em></span> <em>Go out of your way to eat at little "hole in the wall" restaurants....and stay away from the major "chains." The food is 50 times better, and the hospitality is fantastic!!! You may pay a little more, but it is worth not hearing the ding.* </em><br /></div><div></div><div>Our tour was at the Vatican Museum. So we had to take a bus to St Peters' Basillica. After our stay here we realized that driving here would have been a huge mistake. Italian drivers are careful and there aren't very many accidents here, but the roads are very, very narrow; there are vendors along the streets; restaurants have their cute little tables along the roadside; and the mopeds are everywhere. OK, now back to our tour. Once we arrived at St Peter's Basillica we were looking for our meeting spot for the tour. We looked everywhere, and I finally went with my great Italian (yeh right) to a cop and asked him where this cafe was. He gave us directions, and it took us 45 minutes to get there....up a huge coblestone hill, pregnant, and with 2 strollers, and heat that felt like 120 degrees, and wearing pants/capris and shirts to cover our shoulders (you will NOT be able to enter the Sistine Chapel or Basillica wearing shorts and tank-tops) Once we got there we treated ourselves to some yummy Gilato (Italian ice cream). We have not figured out why this is so good...I mean it comes from the same milk American ice cream comes from, but it is so extra creamy...and I don't know how else to describe it. </div><br /><div>*<span style="color:#33ccff;"><em>Pointer 2: </em></span><span style="color:#000000;"><em>eat Gilato every chance you can get...especially in the heat. We ended up eatting it every day except for once (we splurged on another dessert). *</em></span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#000000;">OK back to the tour. We actually did not take a tour...we bought "skip the lines" tickets...and well worth the money. </span><span style="color:#33ccff;"><em>Pointer 3:</em></span><span style="color:#000000;"><em> spend the extra money to skip the lines on as much as you can...you will save yourself about 2-3 hours of wasted time waiting in lines<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZC1lmpjunufePA6___uiqfhtQdrpEW42_LbbnkCt5JDCskdBpYCU2jU_2jMzu6XNcTcPTqLyXIZkAzPssyLkWZUturimMb0OHDgc2hCmZzM-J-mspbhaGH98wV2mu0co5yxLy_opzEuw8/s1600-h/IMG_2494.JPG"></a> in the heat</em>. </span></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 321px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 185px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361585394808747874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7myPKRPHhCnF3fJK49c9MmBjKgoi8furoUTri71-neqF8W3YaHNAGUyucN1KO3XN1FxPTxcYMsWMtCG7Pgd9M12pAGv_LLCItooPnmjvwcFbmDNmebSPmPoLZ_ZPnTVE0kBbVhlCZMXg/s320/IMG_2412.JPG" /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkCHnMWCSh789ZcLKZGepmMViXPmfFti66A_Rxb4xgIUEdsbLtOW9fpFKSiIoDNPEkkOqoup5bU-8-2ba7RKA7r4uggbFgKFLq2Mx5m73BTVm0npUhv_FT7onkWErxsV7Ks1rYfYbN5BMi/s1600-h/IMG_2416.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361585869058356690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkCHnMWCSh789ZcLKZGepmMViXPmfFti66A_Rxb4xgIUEdsbLtOW9fpFKSiIoDNPEkkOqoup5bU-8-2ba7RKA7r4uggbFgKFLq2Mx5m73BTVm0npUhv_FT7onkWErxsV7Ks1rYfYbN5BMi/s320/IMG_2416.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Once we got into the museum, we were free to roam around ourselves, and do it at our own pace (priceless option with kids). We saw a lot of statues of women, men and animals. We saw a lot of architecture, paintings, artwork, and tapestries that are 100's of years old. One section of the museum even had an Egyptian piece to it. The kids were fascinated and disgusted with the real mummy that was on display...dating back to around 900 BC. We were able to take a lot of pictures here. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6KFKmf34dxHmIjwuL5m9B7zYGCqMowaBNLJpl9RCiqG9wOkPaINTXHQ3xDF6NvIGntU-0sCgqh9gLEfVScXRmhyphenhyphenMG4PRNxBgXEnVlYiVTp6UZ7FpAm5jiylJddfqLGrp0i8D5sIJOBKpx/s1600-h/IMG_2422.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361586204956912226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6KFKmf34dxHmIjwuL5m9B7zYGCqMowaBNLJpl9RCiqG9wOkPaINTXHQ3xDF6NvIGntU-0sCgqh9gLEfVScXRmhyphenhyphenMG4PRNxBgXEnVlYiVTp6UZ7FpAm5jiylJddfqLGrp0i8D5sIJOBKpx/s320/IMG_2422.JPG" /></a><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361587026289998226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTrVFuUa8fwbob6yDKy8TNTJZfQLhIoQc8pDNyFHaFxigJpfNe9Qjm8rtCu1kRMYYI2pv1IxSh2YeouZXBOGjlDe24szhCjWIGfoFcsdUSgTZAYiHysfNDHlucd4Tltn1jKemOb8WvPS5y/s320/IMG_2429.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 237px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361586025644998082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisyNaw8yb8n4dmEbG0Dbb13oS4FswRsA9BGKVqcvoakpYIzcnyvWueonUgJSLPSF_qadBYD7ZQ49d_XWNtdPQAiq0Th8S6gjrbmQrmLBdlWLZ2onCq7ZKeIvHBywRGP0uHZ1AM11WEcCai/s320/IMG_2421.JPG" />They have the museum set up, where you have to go through everything before you can get to the Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel was magnificent!!!! We were not allowed to take pictures, so we had to buy postcards. We all got emotional, because no matter how much I were to describe it, my words do no mercy for the spectactual view we had. We learned in school that <span style="color:#cc0000;">Michaelangelo</span> painted it all....well, here is a bit of history. He painted the middle part of the ceiling (the Genesis section and the prophets and ancestors) and the Last Judgement in the front, but everything else was painted by other artists. He even had a little bit of help over the 4 years it took to paint it. Also he did not want to originally paint the Sistine Chaplel because as he put it "I am a sculpter, not a painter." But the pope begged him to do it. It took us a little over 2 1/2 hours to go through the museum and the Sistine Chapel. </div></div></div></div></div></div><p>Our next stop was to visit inside <span style="color:#cc0000;">St. Peters' Basillica</span>. St Peter was the first Pope <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIhmBdzwPTq6e4Bp6GTOWEK2QGe7yShdTocQU32gNR2J7CVafu5LClbdPXI0hYJi2ya2vfy-ngu0JiAfjoROna5Odz9ZA3Mf1oTKc52STOcvHfpIKfAc0MSSbymfmej53O9_ASCQj5cm_R/s1600-h/IMG_2445.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 216px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361608308033717730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIhmBdzwPTq6e4Bp6GTOWEK2QGe7yShdTocQU32gNR2J7CVafu5LClbdPXI0hYJi2ya2vfy-ngu0JiAfjoROna5Odz9ZA3Mf1oTKc52STOcvHfpIKfAc0MSSbymfmej53O9_ASCQj5cm_R/s320/IMG_2445.JPG" /></a>and it was here that Jesus told him to build the church. This is also where he was crucified (upside down) under the persecution of Emperor Nero. His body is buried here under the alter. This Basillica is huge and <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2BwtRP9qzAc22SfG9UYkkoYMf_Sz3KVRM26QAFgUotOEAeBncpHS0FhIQz7ERVrVAlpXzsDg0FPBWH_GQuELsmwQhZRutE4eiDXR13X3mXvRIwEpke90_KSnXcHVgH5s0fkZiqhYipjwt/s1600-h/IMG_2562.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 217px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361608321904549666" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2BwtRP9qzAc22SfG9UYkkoYMf_Sz3KVRM26QAFgUotOEAeBncpHS0FhIQz7ERVrVAlpXzsDg0FPBWH_GQuELsmwQhZRutE4eiDXR13X3mXvRIwEpke90_KSnXcHVgH5s0fkZiqhYipjwt/s320/IMG_2562.JPG" /></a>beautiful beyond words. The statue below is of Mary holding Jesus after he died. It was sculpted by Michaelangelo, and is the ONLY piece of art that he signed. It is now behind bullet proof glass because a few years ago, some crazy person started destroying it, but it was fixed. Let me show you some of the pictures..instead of my words. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3CeUeRd34zl6KWyezclpFqP5hgENXhjs_gbimranOwHq0uiSxXK6enTQxNlPt9WKrUiHysme3ps9YZL541mLNmgnTKw5xeC36z8by3Gos4Ua7gueLv64nFwg7gk4XOFxXplK-fVpDewWV/s1600-h/IMG_2561.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 208px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361608306548526626" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3CeUeRd34zl6KWyezclpFqP5hgENXhjs_gbimranOwHq0uiSxXK6enTQxNlPt9WKrUiHysme3ps9YZL541mLNmgnTKw5xeC36z8by3Gos4Ua7gueLv64nFwg7gk4XOFxXplK-fVpDewWV/s320/IMG_2561.JPG" /></a></p></div></div></div></div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTZoTzMmQ_zdxNHu3qTofBb9kFJK9nOe0mG4YF_ac3y3hGUUQY0zvYe_oi1oPbqHqPnGXeS113Gut5Ag5jHrF3C03guL8CTXZMwPRm9SxdYPBSIGTO5RS9PdfDmqeI5waJi4aRyJbe-vF/s1600-h/IMG_2444.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 184px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361608301423153714" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTZoTzMmQ_zdxNHu3qTofBb9kFJK9nOe0mG4YF_ac3y3hGUUQY0zvYe_oi1oPbqHqPnGXeS113Gut5Ag5jHrF3C03guL8CTXZMwPRm9SxdYPBSIGTO5RS9PdfDmqeI5waJi4aRyJbe-vF/s320/IMG_2444.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaHAwy5qbgWtFRJLX1jtC_MEF8KKJZiR3Kz55bDOJLd-tMmImj14dxyZekIZECxt1zHT7S2hyphenhyphenrGrJpFlDrzBPBx0Kd88WHYrApVOkBnUukB-uItQS5ctxdWqfPja-Dbi7z2Ld2yUYdPV9z/s1600-h/IMG_2462.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 228px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361608311896027506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaHAwy5qbgWtFRJLX1jtC_MEF8KKJZiR3Kz55bDOJLd-tMmImj14dxyZekIZECxt1zHT7S2hyphenhyphenrGrJpFlDrzBPBx0Kd88WHYrApVOkBnUukB-uItQS5ctxdWqfPja-Dbi7z2Ld2yUYdPV9z/s320/IMG_2462.JPG" /></a></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>This church is absolutely beautiful. There were so many people here all day long. We actually made it back here to go to mass on Sunday. Feliciti and Jakob were so happy to be able to go to communion here (as were Thom and I). The mass was offered in Italian, and we couldn't understand much of it, but still were happy to make it here. The choir sang absolutely wonderfully. There were probably about 400-500 people at mass. While mass was going on the rest of the public (who did not want to attend mass) had to wait outside of the area, and were not allowed to enter until 4pm. </p><p>The next day was our walking Rome tour. This time we actually took a guided tour. Our tour guide was very nice and "sympathetic" for the kids...therefore didn't make any of us rush around. I think the other people in our group appreciated that too, because again it was very hot. The only difference was today we had a bit of a breeze. She told us a lot of interesting facts about Rome (ie, 1. the city was orginally 20 feet below where it is today, and had to be built higher because it always flooded 2. there is always excavation <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD2QQnPup_7JH_8C-Jj800YD8lVsuVXCfV6Ujh8ahwYi76P8Scm16AqIJUEAUofXR1xuu_WeYpgsPf6EvDMWJU_hI-g5JUEvdpnlzfiLn2IovRmdQOCD4ChSLotrLaYm25lmkXhd23RvoM/s1600-h/IMG_2488.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 208px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 242px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361615754928738018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD2QQnPup_7JH_8C-Jj800YD8lVsuVXCfV6Ujh8ahwYi76P8Scm16AqIJUEAUofXR1xuu_WeYpgsPf6EvDMWJU_hI-g5JUEvdpnlzfiLn2IovRmdQOCD4ChSLotrLaYm25lmkXhd23RvoM/s320/IMG_2488.JPG" /></a>going on, and therefore is very dusty). Our first stop was the <span style="color:#cc0000;">Pantheon</span>. It was the Roman temple of "all the gods" and later became a church. Raphael so loved the Pantheon that he was actually buried here in 1520. The dome became a symbol of Rome. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTu6Qpc2zBikTg5q1uUv9Tw0fyf_GTx_Do2qV9oA_H-qCH2vwr4CRSp3Q_v5m8t4EcOxsfQZope-pgXpmogNN_uMX-BOGTrCjrYcnaQSc4lGYqG9AhV4ANANnC0u2GavBCCKvkbb13CBR/s1600-h/IMG_2489.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 249px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361615758684777330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFTu6Qpc2zBikTg5q1uUv9Tw0fyf_GTx_Do2qV9oA_H-qCH2vwr4CRSp3Q_v5m8t4EcOxsfQZope-pgXpmogNN_uMX-BOGTrCjrYcnaQSc4lGYqG9AhV4ANANnC0u2GavBCCKvkbb13CBR/s320/IMG_2489.JPG" /></a></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>We were able to see the famous <span style="color:#cc0000;">Trevi Fountain</span>. Honestly I never heard of the Trevi Fountain before this tour. There are a lot of fountains here, and we all enjoyed a bit of cool relief from them. But this fountain is probably the biggest and most "glamorous" of them all. <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 321px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 177px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361619113122330690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQq-2Qs10Tr4LiuC9GjKahrJGm7MYFOE3I3QJUsnKa-KHGhLBbJfdVpTm1MNbZBbHbWtwjGYXP32LSNGG8ui_eZPi6lqVmu37aQ5MHXG02pq0wNPPjdpjT-SMyNz-P5Rbq5f3_w-pm1hdd/s320/IMG_2503.JPG" />We were finally ready to see some some Roman ruins. We had a long walk and half of it was through loose gravel. Our guide told us more interesting facts and pointed out certain things...like the balconey where Mussoulini gave speeches from when he visited Rome. Once we got to the <span style="color:#cc0000;">Roman Forum,</span> the center of political, commercial and judicial life, we saw a lot of the original Roman buildings, but a lot of them were either destroyed or are still being excavated. <span style="color:#cc0000;">Julius Caesar</span> was buried here, and people still place flowers at his gravesite (which is just a pile of rocks). After climbing the <span style="color:#cc0000;">"Triumphant Road"</span> which was a steep hill with huge boulders embedded in the ground, we could see the Collisseum.<br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQFfWg7vhD9PpxUI7NQeEV-QClV7tB4TbM4McLCUAGlBeZRP6bnVvV0YKdndRaXfY5APl6r6rVj_7YvaWFWpnfIPjirIK1H4GYsPDewADZPbAypmVriyt_Sh0nJFsz9WxTzAxxiwJ6EGY/s1600-h/IMG_2538.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361633011624085522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQFfWg7vhD9PpxUI7NQeEV-QClV7tB4TbM4McLCUAGlBeZRP6bnVvV0YKdndRaXfY5APl6r6rVj_7YvaWFWpnfIPjirIK1H4GYsPDewADZPbAypmVriyt_Sh0nJFsz9WxTzAxxiwJ6EGY/s320/IMG_2538.JPG" /></a>At the <span style="color:#cc0000;">Collisseum</span>, we were able to skip the lines again (woo-hoo!!). After a brief history, the tour guide left, and we explored the Collissum on our own. Actually the term Collisseum is incorrect. It is officially called the Amphitheater, but was "renamed" the Collisseum (not because of the size) but because it was close to a huge statue of Emperor Nero called Collosus. The statue was destroyed after Nero's death to "erase" all the memories of him. The Collisseum was finished in <strong>80AD </strong>and only took <strong>10 years</strong> to build. There are <strong>80 arch entries</strong> that allowed the <strong>80,000</strong> people to be seated in 10 minutes, this was a place considered to be "after-work" entertainment. The columns were built with white limestone ~ and it has been said that the original seating was removed and used to help build St Peter's Basillica. There is a cross here that symbolizes the defeat the Christians had over the pagans, and since 1749 each year the popes do the Stations of the Cross along the walkway of the Collisseum on Good Friday. The steps to get to the uppermost level were very steep (like everything else here) and poor Dominick was literally crawling up them..we found the elevator when we came back down. </p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361631293525675730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiZ0q6FdGGgILIb87RY-J8_t0UuOZp26Vuu6CYRYMb5ZCSySmL6Oy7vy9skZ38YwBWfThJzLSETbvG2dtugzrHZvI9Y5IEWrSmyEsvN4_0ciYdAnVSxY8mBIXzwv2UtEMuIpdbinM9jJVC/s320/IMG_2547.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361631287160787538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhPxcILG1TKTN0RxEaM9S7D0mxSEcwuIsD49fH2RjESz3NtuBgGInjmVKZJMCzoXCLXmmlkX29q4V_UU_9GSV9hYRXwh9Q18Q7Fwx843EkwHctNpNsUw1X0yYDptOyYWNMk0_GTwq9Dsi/s320/IMG_2539.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361631278343802162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOdhu2FuZA49D-MqK_Drdy0xfE5oFQC94m16VOsFownSiMJsG_w66_Jq4Kozrf8bRQbd9p1Y3TAWv-S7sqecFBbobEQQYq2Xw6-UMVNSF0rsfvwhBBbLMP9WyWfREvASiV5jqGmogFQ6tB/s320/IMG_2531.JPG" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361631272272033874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiOFr7clR1vdMAC6STZDvd4xupnPlpxzUCGDEBpvvH0uFB5hBT2cXUsXwjmMHVXHfhlae70dh4qvJDf4ASmOvIBAbUz303lZ1W9LbhJyJERD11JXqthIy5Uq25BWR7nCGpaloDo-jynKrU/s320/IMG_2525.JPG" /> Our day was ending now, and we had about a 1 1/2 mile walk back to the hotel. We did a lot of walking today, and we probably drank about 8 liters of water between us all. This was the average on what we drank everyday.<br /><br /><br /><p>The next three days we did not have any tours, or anything pressing that needed to be done. We bought a 48 hour bus pass...hop on-hop off. </p><br /><p>*<em><span style="color:#33ccff;">Pointer #4</span>: because of the heat, this is another good investment....use the transportation to get you from place to place.</em> *</p><br /><p>We took the bus around for one complete rotation (about 2 hours), a<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKCtIBgNULgN2X0vXwdv-tdp4nIT3kPvgs6FIq26dHo9e8FB1ceNhnt7mcGTASfCec3CM9dca4a5BmlcIdL48pCMf9Gou9hPd7rxE_725o13JSZZjpCnlhAHfL1ZKkjSiNW6fiqGkAmjf/s1600-h/IMG_2596.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361664543877576290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKCtIBgNULgN2X0vXwdv-tdp4nIT3kPvgs6FIq26dHo9e8FB1ceNhnt7mcGTASfCec3CM9dca4a5BmlcIdL48pCMf9Gou9hPd7rxE_725o13JSZZjpCnlhAHfL1ZKkjSiNW6fiqGkAmjf/s320/IMG_2596.JPG" /></a>nd then decided what we wanted to do. Over the next 2 days we went to a lot of "little" stops. I am going to summarize what we saw now. <span style="color:#cc0000;">Piazza del Popolo</span>. Here we saw another fountain (the same place where they had a Moby concert). Here is also where they have the "twin" churches <span style="color:#cc0000;">Santa Maria dei Miracoli <span style="color:#000000;">and</span> Santa Maria in Montesanto</span>....two churches that look identical...except the tops are a bit different, one is more oval than the other. </p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p>We also walked through one of the many shopping district to get to the Spansh steps. Everyone counted the steps and we got 132-137. This was the Spanish area, and if you were caught in this area you could be drafted into the Spanish Army. <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361655303972983954" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirhcDpfzOWnsR_l-ktcqQjkwZ3qRsJmNV1dgkHxpbeOVkKV6RNnmyvJm7Ho85EgBWgZ5G2pcoxv6hgFUPDQmspMLXJNH8S919yogxYUbsB5-dEMDKRV9sa2DmXZxR2ScSbRxZnc8VPXetF/s320/IMG_2604.JPG" />Once we got to the top, we had to take a break because it seemed to be extra hot and sunny up there. We were a bit disappointed b/c the things we wanted to see were closed. </p><br /><p>*<em><span style="color:#33ccff;">Pointer #5</span>: make sure to look in your tour book to check on opening and closing hours. A lot of places close for lunch which is between 1-4pm. *</em></p><br /><p>There are also a lot of obelisk's...many of which came from Egypt...they are tall pointed columns...one of which we saw down in Spanish steps area. Many of them have statues or crosses on the tops. <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 187px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 262px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361655298644328658" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia6hb2XsVqJgvPFXP-0TXzN_8GvP8XuNu7YUqps3IP6_ktfpmusVGFC10cqBFdc9X17du58oaBuyeqBX6f4CuVJTUziwHTLP-bUp_Dzo_FScOOw3GbqQ7vOYFSkmD0v0ndm1276cgEK_zc/s320/IMG_2592.JPG" />To waste some more time, since we had about 3 hours before anything reopened (at least in the area we were at) we walked up to the Pincio Gardens. This is not the typical gardens we are use to. There were no flowers...just a bunch of trees. But there was a small fountain (nothing extravagant) that the kids played in for about an hour. A little middle-eastern 2 year old girl was up there and her and Dominick played together...she even cried when we left....how sweet!!!! </p><br /><p>There are over 900 churches in Rome (most of which are Catholic)..we were only able to see about 10 of them, but passed many more. One of the churches we stopped at was Santa Maria Maggiore..it was here in 356AD where Pope Liberius had a vision of Mother Mary ~ she told him to build a church at the spot he found snow. It was <span style="color:#ff0000;">August 5th</span> when it snowed and so he built this church ~ the church was completed in 440AD. Every year the church has a tradition to throw down white flower petals from the ceiling. The ceiling tiles were believed to be the gold that Columbus brought back from the Americas. Once again the artwork, detail and thought in this (and every church we visited) amazed us ~ it is so beautiful!! Many churches also hold tombs of saints, popes, archbishops, bishops and cardinals. </p><br /><p>Most of the Italians are very friendly. At one of the restaurants we ate it...Thom and I shared a Carbonara Calzone (which was very yummy) and the kids shared some pasta and pizza. As we were leaving, Emilee ran into a pole, and the owner ran over to her and picked her up and gave her a free ice cream. She told us that we are very blessed to have so many kids ~ and Thom and I both agreed. We have been told by many locals that our family is great because of the size, and they are not use to seeing so "many" kids in one family...the average is 1.5 kids per family. </p><br /><p>We also visited Castel Sant' Angelo. The castle was built by Pope Gregory th<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvASPEWtb9Z0aoBjiRf-6qo94trE0QzrgVXwAJEXtwJjDlS1DCF5uLJJjICB1D8vw8PcXrocUhSSS0OQV_lLdbWBBhn53GpvSIWpgnQSOIArhAgIb7Hoj3uobOBE8IXHeMdHzuR3D79CkP/s1600-h/IMG_2640.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361664546775631266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvASPEWtb9Z0aoBjiRf-6qo94trE0QzrgVXwAJEXtwJjDlS1DCF5uLJJjICB1D8vw8PcXrocUhSSS0OQV_lLdbWBBhn53GpvSIWpgnQSOIArhAgIb7Hoj3uobOBE8IXHeMdHzuR3D79CkP/s320/IMG_2640.JPG" /></a>e Great because he had a vision of St. Michael (the archangel). The castel was a papal residence one time and also served as a prison at another time. It has an underground corridor that leads from the Vatican to the castle that would be used for the pope in case he was in danger ~ it was built in 1277 and has no public access. We went to the top of the castle and got some great overview pictures of Rome. There were some beautiful frescos (which we couldn't touch or take pictures of) along some of the walls. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidM7-7VjAK-m3Xf6onaPwVlmDmErp4IAi5SfTDR15zZsqgn_qw6RLjBMXfTaYYql7dLzlth06kFlS-sxv_k3PZoGto7QMFjB5jGAVpZK9jSZsWwsUYIg4MFwLJQ4NOx1uWwytFOII2BqWN/s1600-h/IMG_2590.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361664534118817810" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidM7-7VjAK-m3Xf6onaPwVlmDmErp4IAi5SfTDR15zZsqgn_qw6RLjBMXfTaYYql7dLzlth06kFlS-sxv_k3PZoGto7QMFjB5jGAVpZK9jSZsWwsUYIg4MFwLJQ4NOx1uWwytFOII2BqWN/s320/IMG_2590.JPG" /></a><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361655295117536194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ACptufMyTW6d3CU9oX4dk4epVEllxOG0QLwGErFsKMtQg79lhCVoOJp0Kmbins6Jvl0ttmUh9sah5JyUFc8Lz6BL44vrvbqigQTAZAmEz_7Czy_NIQZnTYV7GJyNq33CiunDqlr3rQVk/s320/IMG_2581.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361655293336120850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO6s4aWStCLlRkHjqin9COvJaQIReioqvGV2R32oS9o9Cxl-of675xbxK5QrJ0dqKqtiV103NgXtH0ghWc0wXZ70I-R_CemaCKmI_uEGxaUa3cz1YRp67aixWYnxhTeSFXTOyQBFhI60Y2/s320/IMG_2585.JPG" /></p><br /><p>We were needing to get some souvenirs before we left. The kids got to pick out a few things with the money they saved up. Between all of them they got snow-globes, t-shirts, hats, pens, rosaries, fans and postcards. Thom and I got some presents for family (for Christmas) and then a few things for ourselves (rosaries, scarves and postcards). But our biggest souvenir were the 2 oil paintings we bought from a local artist. One was a night-time picture of St Peter's, the Tiber River and Castel Angelo. The other one was a generic scene of Italian houses along the ocean side with beautiful flowers. I made a deal with the artist and actually saved about 50 Euros (about $80) for both of them ~ Not too shabby!!! </p><p>We saw a lot more of what I have actually written, but a promise is a promise...I didn't want to make it too unbearalbly long. I hit the hightlights...but just know, no matter what I could write and pictures we could share, seeing it first-hand is the best way to experience what we experienced. Visiting Rome is an experience we will all remember forever!! </p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Sellers' Family Funhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02019020266094764444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7427970159037552130.post-47305313255547003892009-07-13T04:09:00.000-07:002009-07-13T06:11:29.212-07:00Rhine Aflame July 4, 2009<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvu-phYH1kFSFLB-zsSmemt4-s13tLoHhPW642T9EUBVTObzYuSQsJt0qifDsZ8xcfAx3UiCmTx8jXnNMgai7nXDTEIIWwZhriVWaOchkSy0WA87YtKEpNdq5qJXM-HuOggsMt40rsj3JT/s1600-h/IMG_2385.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357931183757774050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvu-phYH1kFSFLB-zsSmemt4-s13tLoHhPW642T9EUBVTObzYuSQsJt0qifDsZ8xcfAx3UiCmTx8jXnNMgai7nXDTEIIWwZhriVWaOchkSy0WA87YtKEpNdq5qJXM-HuOggsMt40rsj3JT/s320/IMG_2385.JPG" /></a><br /><div align="center"><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi-x8q8XohAKm9jObgl6MiV96WTg1G_dyE_3XLKaaveP7ZPTeZYKwzWNsXtyT6nCq0ELXmg1SWAIt2PTOa36L0f8I_1cOErRUsNCbZDHAMCYz_Vo0oGhT-cc4QywAOC6YT6gBb06dElUqu/s1600-h/IMG_2384.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 258px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 211px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357929719617860690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi-x8q8XohAKm9jObgl6MiV96WTg1G_dyE_3XLKaaveP7ZPTeZYKwzWNsXtyT6nCq0ELXmg1SWAIt2PTOa36L0f8I_1cOErRUsNCbZDHAMCYz_Vo0oGhT-cc4QywAOC6YT6gBb06dElUqu/s320/IMG_2384.JPG" /></a> <span style="font-size:180%;color:#ff0000;"><strong>4th of July</strong></span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#000099;"><strong>"German Style"<br /></div></strong></span></span><div><br /> </div><div><div><div><div>This was an event we were told that we could not miss out on. Every first Saturday of the month from April to about October, the Germans shoot off fireworks on the Rhine River, and a procession of about 50 boats all lit up drive down the river as the fireworks are going off. This year the 4th happened to fall on the first Saturday, so we thought...what an opportunity!!!<br /><br /><div><div><div><div>We only lived about an hour away, so we left the house about 6pm. We were not sure how bad the traffic or parking would be. We got there a little after 7 and were lucky enough to find parking right away!!! We were also lucky enough to find the only bench left that happe<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1pEQ4w034oooeXrydkKHkOXAzlYy_kxEQa1qHu8K6p4n47V3PfTAs6KuZb9GOXZupaT_HMPuP8-nrFtKWT9ABmUOC84r0BAF2lEkAT5HIATwwNwB7cFXJ8DFvdSW0lqhMidiaTZVKLx9W/s1600-h/IMG_2386.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357904169312271426" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1pEQ4w034oooeXrydkKHkOXAzlYy_kxEQa1qHu8K6p4n47V3PfTAs6KuZb9GOXZupaT_HMPuP8-nrFtKWT9ABmUOC84r0BAF2lEkAT5HIATwwNwB7cFXJ8DFvdSW0lqhMidiaTZVKLx9W/s320/IMG_2386.JPG" /></a>ned to be between the Rhine river and a park. I know hard to imagine, but it was an ideal spot!!! We let the kids play until they got hungry..which was about 1 1/2 hours. We ate our sandwiches and chips, and then they continued playing some more...they had a blast!!! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKyTghUCzK1nHImcCqHVewvOQ1_3XfGkZJR9LuCCdOZiByrllKd_C_psKGqKjgWDoUAqO0WOvxNuceuxYLIub2l_ilQGmaguFekQbEDsC947GNl49g3izu7jKNsRUsWqRBeVDfP942X1Z/s1600-h/IMG_2381.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357904009162787650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKyTghUCzK1nHImcCqHVewvOQ1_3XfGkZJR9LuCCdOZiByrllKd_C_psKGqKjgWDoUAqO0WOvxNuceuxYLIub2l_ilQGmaguFekQbEDsC947GNl49g3izu7jKNsRUsWqRBeVDfP942X1Z/s320/IMG_2381.JPG" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>We decided since everyone was having such a good time and behaving, that we would all treat ourselves to some ice cream. The nearest ice cream stand on the "boardwalk" (like the NJ boardwalk) was about 1/4 mile down. So by the time Feliciti, Jakob and I returned with the ice cream cones they were half melted. But they still tasted yummy, and everyone enjoyed their flavors. I think Thom really enjoyed his since it was a combo of cherries, vanilla ice cream and alcohol. </div><br /><div>The kids were beginning to wear down, so we told them to come take a break by us until the fireworks started. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-CgIz9wKf88FSrKqkfG3gAoBLQmtgxPOK1i_8693V8PpXOmUDYadtkb0t-1HH-GjGCVNFQ_bcw4_PjNt793UfWFebObOQmBANIwEQ1RLUEtGeqqtxzQgBU8PEVsBZMmh0qQ8igxFdIIdF/s1600-h/IMG_2394.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 252px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357905381479423042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-CgIz9wKf88FSrKqkfG3gAoBLQmtgxPOK1i_8693V8PpXOmUDYadtkb0t-1HH-GjGCVNFQ_bcw4_PjNt793UfWFebObOQmBANIwEQ1RLUEtGeqqtxzQgBU8PEVsBZMmh0qQ8igxFdIIdF/s320/IMG_2394.JPG" /></a> While we were waiting, Dominick was getting a bit bored, and started throwing shoes around...unfortunatly he threw Jakob's sandal right into the river. Emilee was worried about that thing for the rest of the night..."how are we going to get it back? what are the fish going to do with it? how is Jakob going to get home?"</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTLL6B8aijDYjtikFvZZukzLD4qyzhGDNBOrT1QrjkKMv2fMkb1aaUhlzcwHKiZbfwxgPYUVKOBDlPPS1mTBPV80JEQdcm-girFPN-NEv0EfzbP2QHIMREJ1Ff3Whe_cF1SYixIl_6MgN/s1600-h/IMG_2392.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357905514157405746" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTLL6B8aijDYjtikFvZZukzLD4qyzhGDNBOrT1QrjkKMv2fMkb1aaUhlzcwHKiZbfwxgPYUVKOBDlPPS1mTBPV80JEQdcm-girFPN-NEv0EfzbP2QHIMREJ1Ff3Whe_cF1SYixIl_6MgN/s320/IMG_2392.JPG" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTLL6B8aijDYjtikFvZZukzLD4qyzhGDNBOrT1QrjkKMv2fMkb1aaUhlzcwHKiZbfwxgPYUVKOBDlPPS1mTBPV80JEQdcm-girFPN-NEv0EfzbP2QHIMREJ1Ff3Whe_cF1SYixIl_6MgN/s1600-h/IMG_2392.JPG"></a> </div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0w_ekNEn3SenMf-HFHgYol5Fb34HrK_MNkLOmnJvWCGpVEKH4yfQ-p8Kibz0vrfLyysEiLYHaMlgJyVn-cM83EJlS5fFnBxMDb15ffwxXX8IVPo8iTVWFR19M9MpGMoLW8I-ueA41xRH9/s1600-h/IMG_2404.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357927855201344210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0w_ekNEn3SenMf-HFHgYol5Fb34HrK_MNkLOmnJvWCGpVEKH4yfQ-p8Kibz0vrfLyysEiLYHaMlgJyVn-cM83EJlS5fFnBxMDb15ffwxXX8IVPo8iTVWFR19M9MpGMoLW8I-ueA41xRH9/s320/IMG_2404.JPG" /></a>It was finally time for the show to start. We were excited to see what all the hype was about. It seemed to take forever for the boats to come around the corner...but o<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXBHadyLPYUyj9nV3UiM4isvvbs_yP4zxui6D1uHjTDCRO_6YFx-I5uLjCqpkd8zuAKQhiTNlYEZbkgMClru-b3D3EjM-AlppBxE8z-opq6cTK4iTr9WWbVlVHz7wc67qGhKKIwprzyiTQ/s1600-h/IMG_2390.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357927492920913010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXBHadyLPYUyj9nV3UiM4isvvbs_yP4zxui6D1uHjTDCRO_6YFx-I5uLjCqpkd8zuAKQhiTNlYEZbkgMClru-b3D3EjM-AlppBxE8z-opq6cTK4iTr9WWbVlVHz7wc67qGhKKIwprzyiTQ/s320/IMG_2390.JPG" /></a>nce they did, it was amazing. Imagine....50 big party boats all lit up going down the Rhine river...you could hear the music and the people (drunk I am sure) having a fantastic time. If we didn't have the kids, and I were not pregnant, Thom and I decided that we would have been on one of those boats. In the background, along the mountain sides you could see the fireworks being shot off....this was nice. Dominick and Emilee are old enough to appreciate it, and that they did!! The fireworks in the states are more elaborate, but this was a unique experience. Here are a few of the pictures. One of them is of a castle along the mountain. <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357927694433194962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYat05OWl_Bglq-Ngj4V5TXl4SVNWIk-Ur6lUSKDuYTg1ig8UCThMCdnOZivd3Pk1kbAxlyQD8DHOA_Qe91dF7m2FesHl8NjLx2jJBpJoOeBHBMlSNjsiPi4yo4DNOoqeWT0K2Vt-sHKY/s320/IMG_2402.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357928012453779826" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZr7JvcSIQsMmSqpQP-j5T47DHB4JZJ1gMbxXkjJmVGwIvFOkT3hsh3WCEF7bi6DLC7-0clEK_QJLw-h9t27__FOlc04kcpWr0RS3KrKBoEvni5Z8dumvF0IHNv0YeGJjzY61amLna2-OU/s320/IMG_2405.JPG" /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Sellers' Family Funhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02019020266094764444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7427970159037552130.post-73440075214320267812009-07-13T02:33:00.000-07:002009-07-13T03:57:16.505-07:00Stuttgart Zoo July 3, 2009<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>ZOO TIME!!!! ZOO TIME!!!!! ZOO TIME!!!!! ZOO TIME!!!!! ZOO TIME!!!!! </strong></span><br /><br /></span></div><div>We have not been to a zoo in ages...as a matter of fact, Gabi, Emilee and Dominick have never been to one, and Feliciti and Jakob don't remember going to one. We thought it would be a perfect time to go on a "short" drive down the road to see one...the weather was nice and we had nothing else to do that day. So we hopped in the car, and thought that what would be about a 2 hour drive wouldn't be too bad. Well, well, well....we hit every construction area on the autobahn, and that 2 hour drive turned out to be almost 4 hours. Also on the way there Feliciti got car sick and threw up (in the brand new car). So by this point we thought...should we even continue??? But she said she felt better, so we continued. </div><div><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGY6UXC1-ygdcUa0Dw6VEDndw9xI4hEt8sa_OHuQKffHtAYAajXjMbC0-Y-n4MWNe7Y-E26Bi82A9dTAYC49_3p42OsUVmkbrM4c5BFDpYV3bkOcTOoZM4HyXGAqCBWWv8S4uP9GLHr8t7/s1600-h/IMG_2380.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357891259819826322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGY6UXC1-ygdcUa0Dw6VEDndw9xI4hEt8sa_OHuQKffHtAYAajXjMbC0-Y-n4MWNe7Y-E26Bi82A9dTAYC49_3p42OsUVmkbrM4c5BFDpYV3bkOcTOoZM4HyXGAqCBWWv8S4uP9GLHr8t7/s320/IMG_2380.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /></div><div>The weather started looking questionable by the time we started walking to the entrance. But once again, we did not want to come all this way and not go to the zoo. So we paid and went in. We were able to see some penguins (one of them was actually holding an egg, and was very protective of it).</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div>We also saw some birds, monkeys and the tigers before the "bottom fell on us". We ran to the elephant cages and ended up waiting there for an hour...and the rain never let up. We decided to go out and make it to the next area that we could take advantage of. On our way to the aquarium, we made a few short stops (with the protection of trees) to look at some other animals...giraffes, donkeys and more birds. We were soaking wet by this point, so did it really matter how long we stayed to visit some animals. The kids all thought it was a lot of fun to be completly wet. We literally had NO dry spots of clothes!! We ended up staying in the aquarium for an hour, and then decided we have had enough, and started heading for the car. </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><strong>WHAT AN ADVENTURE!!!!! </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><strong> WHAT AN ADVENTURE!!! </strong></span></div><div><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><strong> WHAT AN ADVENTURE!!!!!</strong></span></div><div><span style="color:#003300;"></span> </div><div>We ended up stopping for some Italian food on the way home. It was very good..and we sat and talked about the memories that we just made....what a trip to the zoo!!</div>Sellers' Family Funhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02019020266094764444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7427970159037552130.post-26520012796349298482009-07-12T09:24:00.000-07:002009-07-13T04:08:41.279-07:00Heidelberg, Germany June 15, 2009<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhht_521x_QuDbwbr1r_M5dA2sNSJsWmIyvt4jjjs3Ct140V9btiWmQkN9Y7jjMKJjIFwFroSxQbFD7f6pIRdLcXKTIySXV5KSGCq_Fsk1LQmdybp_bGvoGLgs3HvsdYgJk9cGidW42bMGI/s1600-h/IMG_2313.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 272px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 209px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357874773234218690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhht_521x_QuDbwbr1r_M5dA2sNSJsWmIyvt4jjjs3Ct140V9btiWmQkN9Y7jjMKJjIFwFroSxQbFD7f6pIRdLcXKTIySXV5KSGCq_Fsk1LQmdybp_bGvoGLgs3HvsdYgJk9cGidW42bMGI/s320/IMG_2313.JPG" /></a> <span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#cc0000;">Schloss Heidelberg</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJF1BCR6EtTfQQDeFo4IXv0MO26UwZ3q315y1Q6egHi-MqBdD5u6hAE-y2V56MukIGm910FgQ1SJrnJVVsCTof3-GzY6zWmBhmhKI45exDoRW51In4cR2KMrxPmg5iYoThq205HdQnBEs8/s1600-h/IMG_2312.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 282px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 203px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357869444129932274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJF1BCR6EtTfQQDeFo4IXv0MO26UwZ3q315y1Q6egHi-MqBdD5u6hAE-y2V56MukIGm910FgQ1SJrnJVVsCTof3-GzY6zWmBhmhKI45exDoRW51In4cR2KMrxPmg5iYoThq205HdQnBEs8/s320/IMG_2312.JPG" /></a><br /><br /></span></span><div><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>We decided to take the train this time just to say that we did ~ it cost us about 30 Euros one way (about $45) to get there. It turned out to be a 2 1/2 hour ride vs. 1 1/2 hours by car). It was fun for the kids to ride on the train, but we are not sure how often we will ride a train...it may be convenient and less wear and tear on our car, but you are limited on what you can carry with you. Once we got to Heidelberg we had to take a bus to the Schloss (castle). We were told at the info desk that we could ride the bus for free with our train ticket...hhhmmm??? No one asked us for a ticket ~ so. We then had to take a cable car up to the schloss, or our other option was to walk up 320 stories ~ pregnant and with 2 strollers...NOT!! At this point we were thinking about the movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles".</div><br /><br /><div>While in the cable car it started to POUR down rain and of course the castle is outside. So we waited in the terminal, had some Cheetos for a snack and waited until it slowed down some. It never really stopped, but we went anyway. We didn't want to come all this way to see the castle from a distance and eat Cheetos in the terminal. </div><br /><br /><div>In order for us to see anything in the castle we had to pay to get in...AND pay for a tour. We were able to see about 1/4 of the castle, because everything else was closed to the public or was under construction. This is how big the castle is:<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 245px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 174px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357870158439237906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6s5OE4yxf-XApGMX_qUVGC4VMzlN5NySW2h6uhxJZ4uED_14fHx5bunYCfKvOxabbA6kIuE-WrLwIxd7j5H-Y9B_lYcSZkHcnypxLBh__cedNq7DiwVLMCxBbMqeo4y4IefeIKBVBJGv/s320/IMG_2315.JPG" /></div><br /><br /><div>The tour was an hour and we saw a few rooms..the wine cellar which had probably 20 feet tall barrels, some artifacts and were told a lot of history. Overall we thought the tour was ok, but mostly a huge tourist trap (unfortunately). <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357870968407587746" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJd9wRTv-uxgcYpBMqv4p51KoB7hqxj7qa2vevF9eP9QkDlVKUIWFu5fdF7iKN4qnJ9E8mt0b-rDRSolE1XKePfao5SxY0lOu9KHi1rJiH8e6jBhi6ZG9w0ZM7gAb7t7iIFbXX4Fhr3OBL/s320/IMG_2318.JPG" /></div></div></div></div></div><br /><div><br /><p></p><br /><br /><p>We also were allowed to see the medicine museum which was the most interesting because it was neat to see what was used for medicine and how it was made....some of the stuff they used is pretty scary. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFz_oeoJfA1Qfz4KegQ-TFNPmCP4Er57p5FimoQcUXZ5DaZfR35yrlMCsnKjtsXDOMbNjMqRU1TFOT-vDn7qA3rwj4xcBJ35GxHB-3PVsJrSF5H-sVt4ThQTMVVxa8BUL56VJAbGNyu90h/s1600-h/IMG_2323.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357872110129173586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFz_oeoJfA1Qfz4KegQ-TFNPmCP4Er57p5FimoQcUXZ5DaZfR35yrlMCsnKjtsXDOMbNjMqRU1TFOT-vDn7qA3rwj4xcBJ35GxHB-3PVsJrSF5H-sVt4ThQTMVVxa8BUL56VJAbGNyu90h/s320/IMG_2323.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9XHyd0cLMx90Y2Aa8p2soLuD5iKedwUZ0Tf3U7kFHnEpF5gHckObJ0PhfU4LkL55X1-ZNBGDLluAcAQkvFzcbCNwm5cz9hH4nSD_Nsuy6H-2CFAK0MYGf2YAzC5i_Zl67fRMSxpAhrIfy/s1600-h/IMG_2324.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357872253184673346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9XHyd0cLMx90Y2Aa8p2soLuD5iKedwUZ0Tf3U7kFHnEpF5gHckObJ0PhfU4LkL55X1-ZNBGDLluAcAQkvFzcbCNwm5cz9hH4nSD_Nsuy6H-2CFAK0MYGf2YAzC5i_Zl67fRMSxpAhrIfy/s320/IMG_2324.JPG" /></a></p><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p>Here are a few pictures of the outside of the Scloss .<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOns_kkzQJ0gEqFGbF8Lrg4qAwQFghruWIQL7FA2W8Nk_dEPntkju-PCoV_NUQJYVm_b5_o7bwUKFGQWiRFmAD-41g13Q9r8UrHyNf63u9Ph-6lx-d8f8GuGCENUMPUtgqWpuXieq-l8aa/s1600-h/IMG_2320.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357873592746072802" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOns_kkzQJ0gEqFGbF8Lrg4qAwQFghruWIQL7FA2W8Nk_dEPntkju-PCoV_NUQJYVm_b5_o7bwUKFGQWiRFmAD-41g13Q9r8UrHyNf63u9Ph-6lx-d8f8GuGCENUMPUtgqWpuXieq-l8aa/s320/IMG_2320.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilY6Xr9-W40VSGox5Vh1K9lhVDVwsnprSitijtuKG5S2RcXsOR9XVDAt8AwnddJVLNrHaQf_zp9VAwLnXpjfQhK5GX8BLE0wrf2jjL-dbDvF52Lgako_iD52FLVZldcFxb5SAgnvpnnhTZ/s1600-h/IMG_2321.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357874000756488162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilY6Xr9-W40VSGox5Vh1K9lhVDVwsnprSitijtuKG5S2RcXsOR9XVDAt8AwnddJVLNrHaQf_zp9VAwLnXpjfQhK5GX8BLE0wrf2jjL-dbDvF52Lgako_iD52FLVZldcFxb5SAgnvpnnhTZ/s320/IMG_2321.JPG" /></a></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p></div></div></div></div>Sellers' Family Funhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02019020266094764444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7427970159037552130.post-91407485142070377502009-07-11T09:18:00.000-07:002009-07-12T09:23:39.679-07:00Trier, Germany June 13, 2009<div><div><div><div>So here we are, 4 days from going to Rome and I never even submitted our last couple of trips...my days just seem to go by so fast. So I apologize for not keeping this updated as much as I have been wanting to...can someone add a couple more hours to each day?<br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggODXKUkqtV-9HiOWELY6ABzjHhuHcRRiy5UgnkpsouJLcxbUS6I-8bPq3NtMtXDYwK-DdZ9uEfONF-jlh7LTDR_aUxN3HpBqU2jL7nGpjcElEXfg7xUCrf5g0lL0JKalM-2mWrLJwsGpF/s1600-h/IMG_2282.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357597736357124722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggODXKUkqtV-9HiOWELY6ABzjHhuHcRRiy5UgnkpsouJLcxbUS6I-8bPq3NtMtXDYwK-DdZ9uEfONF-jlh7LTDR_aUxN3HpBqU2jL7nGpjcElEXfg7xUCrf5g0lL0JKalM-2mWrLJwsGpF/s320/IMG_2282.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2RLw3OZ_yo0fxBXUrDnLcMrP5bfHuW7OXWpLaD3FHR8uGoooRK1_omUtF3X_pDhDPaxJBAfMwwzzaiNB86yoXKmqfAb3eeT4kxlAyJyXrdAMbioXpYvnjjZoEX7jg-M2tfKZI7dFmIXv/s1600-h/IMG_2274.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357597584497894930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA2RLw3OZ_yo0fxBXUrDnLcMrP5bfHuW7OXWpLaD3FHR8uGoooRK1_omUtF3X_pDhDPaxJBAfMwwzzaiNB86yoXKmqfAb3eeT4kxlAyJyXrdAMbioXpYvnjjZoEX7jg-M2tfKZI7dFmIXv/s320/IMG_2274.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Trier is only about 1 hour away from home. Trier (pronounced Tree-air) is the oldest city in Germany, so there is a lot of history. But beyond the "boring" history, as the kids like to say, we were able to actually see a lot of cool stuff (something else they said about this trip). Our first stop was the Porta Nigra ~ The Black Arch. It was the entrance into the old city. In some places around Trier you can still see original walls from Roman times. We went to the top and had a great view of what is now the marketplace of Trier. The staircase was windy, narrow and steep, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7OiSt0Y3JrYtXiSuwdEKfrE0ua8P3SVtqLtXVg61CCfPM9YfruKLqj9rwpjG9wu-SU8o2k2TMnbpSs5wr9TPcbjYeLp0Q2yaCQ4j_RZRUUPMe6lX40_FRe3FoKw8sbwtupv8e56ia1b7V/s1600-h/IMG_2279.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357597179745565394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7OiSt0Y3JrYtXiSuwdEKfrE0ua8P3SVtqLtXVg61CCfPM9YfruKLqj9rwpjG9wu-SU8o2k2TMnbpSs5wr9TPcbjYeLp0Q2yaCQ4j_RZRUUPMe6lX40_FRe3FoKw8sbwtupv8e56ia1b7V/s320/IMG_2279.JPG" /></a>and Emilee and Dominick both insisted on being big girls and boys....needless to say that made mommy and daddy very nervous. There were a lot of stone carvings of Roman leaders in the walls. </div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 245px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 167px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357597441235611970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPjCKm7X-bHUUH6x4A2jlm9wdk_sEzRhTBtfu8wazNgfr85sIep3TOm5aGZngbNhUXA5DJUza0Y2A3H6ox1iB0CsVovAMV7MvPQ5inaxCrOQECBrXxufhB3x7Ee3xYgs8rdUyFxpCrltBC/s320/IMG_2277.JPG" /><br /><br /><br /><div>Our next stop was a bus tour. We toured all around Trier and were able to get on and off the bus at the "tourist" areas. We accidentally got off too early and stopped at a viewing area. We debated whether to walk down to the amphitheater that we could see, but had to walk down about 1/2 mile down a busy, windy and steep hill...or wait 30 minutes for another bus. We could have walked, but were unsure where another bus stop would be and if we could get picked up again. So we waited for another bus and got off at the right stop this time.<br /><br />The amphitheater had most of its original structure...exlcluding the seating that had eroded over time. We went into the areas where they kept the animals and the prisoners....it was very hot outside, so it was a cool relief to go underground. In the picture below, you can see the kids in one of the cells...pretending to be some ferrocious lions!! Dominick and Emilee had fun running around here, besides there were not too many places where they could get lost, and we were confined within a wall. While we were there looking around, they were practicing for a show that was going to be put on later on that night...it was fun to watch the "prisoner" run around with his javelin. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjydLGv0rc-hJF2WjHIx2N0d4ALHACwSI_H_IjLqz0Nz1tJuqy0sV_iiPvSeca2ztjC0wxkzyY9IYV5EfY6igbCguU2C7MltLVkSY0feksNmXi5yGW_KyHc1tHps0hpwEErarvBh0z4pcFt/s1600-h/IMG_2285.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357598852940370066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjydLGv0rc-hJF2WjHIx2N0d4ALHACwSI_H_IjLqz0Nz1tJuqy0sV_iiPvSeca2ztjC0wxkzyY9IYV5EfY6igbCguU2C7MltLVkSY0feksNmXi5yGW_KyHc1tHps0hpwEErarvBh0z4pcFt/s320/IMG_2285.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz1QSwyts1cTti9rMPenuPAs16KTTIe7Ohqsm7MnuRxAO63InXJoOWW7I80eSZZSqoqsjQZzD3TFMfmVjDDUm8y-0TgxGUEbrJCuDSzGmtFXRiQ6tTO60xpQZ42jf8qLTdOuvEB1e6x-Wu/s1600-h/IMG_2287.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357599275676389234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz1QSwyts1cTti9rMPenuPAs16KTTIe7Ohqsm7MnuRxAO63InXJoOWW7I80eSZZSqoqsjQZzD3TFMfmVjDDUm8y-0TgxGUEbrJCuDSzGmtFXRiQ6tTO60xpQZ42jf8qLTdOuvEB1e6x-Wu/s320/IMG_2287.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 317px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 182px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357598990738495138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGAwvaBgWQqC1sIAhO-x4AwgntZevdbxa5UBJeFz4yUTNEoiPuuITxSJIpPsm3nZUFbSpH9SQ_i1NEjDPmty2ydY0eAZfu68snR7D-kgPNiILY2Nebo0QH5hNMOzxlnFpxtEldV1gUhft2/s320/IMG_2289.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357599435124681826" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qIuHvb2qf41oSpHsTl7IltPL8Y02IXD4OGeSxGssgwkWTqf-TTM3-kuJBoSTuLf6qWeo62X0Xmw-Z-iiG_BJptYVkcIrx2pa1KH4MfA1NQ5MDgaxEZrSS6R8dNGpbYGZFtO3lfCFGTAB/s320/IMG_2290.JPG" /><br /><br /><div>We got back on the bus, and ended up going back to the start place. We knew where everything was, and it was all within walking distance now, so we were done with the bus. We walked downtown Trier to the Trier Dom. This is a huge, beautiful Catholic church where Jesus' robe is. It was not on display, however, because they only display it every 30 years (to minimize wear and tear). The next time it will be on display is April 13-May 13, 2012 (we might still be here!!) The gown is in a case made of glass behind a big golden gate. We were able to kneel in front of the gate and get a glimpse of the case. I don't think a lot of people realized what was behind the gate because they glanced in there and then just left. Also in this church there supposedly is a pillar that the devil himself tried to destroy, but we never found it. It was very emotional for all of us, but especially me (probably because of my pregnancy hormones). <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj07Npr5Br1eu9bayLoGTV5A-D4MyEm27gpETObFhdatg9YotYlxmu4bSkzVd-wZlkarT0Md7qUszmsARZScm4daVl8RE_dpbSiBmxdGAbBPprJ3rec953P6CC3GNn9otWBdyGWteyQ3IXG/s1600-h/IMG_2299.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357599970458003570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj07Npr5Br1eu9bayLoGTV5A-D4MyEm27gpETObFhdatg9YotYlxmu4bSkzVd-wZlkarT0Md7qUszmsARZScm4daVl8RE_dpbSiBmxdGAbBPprJ3rec953P6CC3GNn9otWBdyGWteyQ3IXG/s320/IMG_2299.JPG" /></a><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357601017624892930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLNTgp03ujw1_q5w581jTRKGs7y16hz0aIAj-BHZ1qYe2OIZpD_1qXUF_BhPtmgCmt561AHMgY1_1Q48K_GNe1P6zQHoEEEooQiOkbTjLMppQNfbgSAF78-HQS4LyV_2t37Lwn_F4UuBK/s320/IMG_2300.JPG" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRZfvyvFNptKwhRNlb-IJtLFC_OHsV2Zl9b5i-hKaabIexMb9VmN4_gYjQ0z9uml6hyFrrLydq16wiTWAPlPPwb1gPVvRbMaqZGCWOIDUoOTiaJqLDJkos2sRdVuWT3GBjjGHAE3BKo11/s1600-h/IMG_2295.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357599608753252146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRZfvyvFNptKwhRNlb-IJtLFC_OHsV2Zl9b5i-hKaabIexMb9VmN4_gYjQ0z9uml6hyFrrLydq16wiTWAPlPPwb1gPVvRbMaqZGCWOIDUoOTiaJqLDJkos2sRdVuWT3GBjjGHAE3BKo11/s320/IMG_2295.JPG" /></a><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 256px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357599762964218242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEify3v-W083TJuknGdv8J6eB3A4xIdtFpadt8SFnXMOfl6OkZLZj-lSx3eTE44Jdkxd_3cpgNxo1Uj1wVRauYW9SlnIcIfoSl5EqfH_WWmaXic_O9atwLeT9hy5z1FnzyFy3A1-0cXXsEVY/s320/IMG_2296.JPG" /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>After we left the church we went to Trier Basilika. There was a wedding going on, so we couldn't go inside. This use to be a throne room for Emperor Constantine ~ it is the only remaining brick Roman structure in Trier. Next to the Basilika was the "bubble-gum pink" Kurfurstliches Palas ~ a former residence for archbishops and electors of Trier, but now holds governement offices. I remember this pink building as a little girl and have a picture of it still. Beyond the gardens of the Basilika was our last stop of the day ~ The Kaiserthermen.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzlhR3W_1LouDPz_MVeaTg14rp3ByKitJcZz0BvdR_eW6wFqPTul9G8Zs_iPFCyGfujJIVNbx8yd0fRYhauGkL-ixFSzyIrcNmmYX19DwvuRE4z8HDszSQ-pWMqrZ5Zkzj75nW0H4lChRh/s1600-h/IMG_2301.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 368px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 197px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357600369672442802" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzlhR3W_1LouDPz_MVeaTg14rp3ByKitJcZz0BvdR_eW6wFqPTul9G8Zs_iPFCyGfujJIVNbx8yd0fRYhauGkL-ixFSzyIrcNmmYX19DwvuRE4z8HDszSQ-pWMqrZ5Zkzj75nW0H4lChRh/s320/IMG_2301.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>The Kaiserthermen were imperial baths where the Romans came for their baths and "spa" treatments. There were underground passages that use to be the sewer network for the city. It was a huge maze and the kids all enjoyed the freedom to roam around. It was very cool underground, and a welcome relief from the heat above ground. We let Jakob "lead" the way...and he kept going in circles. We actually "lost" Dominick one time <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZ86z23rIfUOMY9gQHl0T7hZDayx9ClV4mm-ks4L8VlEqkKHjrPhLZEtEWhb5Kl8iHSacn0kQphAhzlaCRddlbWDMdfiUvdD6Dc35jYJ-aLgKe4MpCfrRX5u2wm7KvIF84WdXTonTld9V/s1600-h/IMG_2307.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357600883586227282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZ86z23rIfUOMY9gQHl0T7hZDayx9ClV4mm-ks4L8VlEqkKHjrPhLZEtEWhb5Kl8iHSacn0kQphAhzlaCRddlbWDMdfiUvdD6Dc35jYJ-aLgKe4MpCfrRX5u2wm7KvIF84WdXTonTld9V/s320/IMG_2307.JPG" /></a>because he went around a corner and we didn't see him right away. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2tM0TU20oBEaqrQmTYUfWHjItgOA2Yxr4xRgSN25AuU7f1zGZnSFumVk6sMlw3VK3dMhnLVPj4aayZX7uftpBviqARXpxYt1-otKyPmaKWTNs3uCsqkloCj7drpWDsVBfjhRnWFoBwel/s1600-h/IMG_2303.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357600704117301410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2tM0TU20oBEaqrQmTYUfWHjItgOA2Yxr4xRgSN25AuU7f1zGZnSFumVk6sMlw3VK3dMhnLVPj4aayZX7uftpBviqARXpxYt1-otKyPmaKWTNs3uCsqkloCj7drpWDsVBfjhRnWFoBwel/s320/IMG_2303.JPG" /></a></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357600524226191954" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRS8y3_Lq7vXFG2MliejG3fUiS5vLw5U6p5yYSx-UaUa8Ng0fj-mNLqi2Nw1LjFuZZp4a3H2fQzd2bwK6IhBlRs9cu9borgM7qT5V13w5QyNCoxLhcIt0hk1bYGBHxuikiEaJXT7ZZjCgt/s320/IMG_2302.JPG" /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>We took a lot of pictures and enjoyed ourselves. The kids behaved themselves and had a good time, so we all treated ourselves to some yummy ice cream. We also bought some cherries and Johannes berries from the farmers market ~ yum yum. We ended up putting the Johannes berries into a smoothie. Thom says the Johannes berries are like smaller, tarter cranberries. </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Sellers' Family Funhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02019020266094764444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7427970159037552130.post-36933082984984677882009-05-28T11:19:00.000-07:002009-05-31T08:54:57.882-07:00Garmish & Berchesgaden Trip May 24-27, 2009<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This was a GREAT time!!! When I was a child, I visited a few of these places, so it was interesting to appreciate the different viewpoint as an adult. We hope that you will enjoy our thoughts and pictures as much as we did....oh and Steph...I still could not get the slides to work..it only showed the code on the preview....aarrgghhh...otherwise there would be more pictures than there are..sorry everyone!!!</span><br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So we drove for almost 6 hours before arriving in Berchesgaden. We hit a lot of construction and 'staus' (pronounced sht-ow) which is german for traffic jam. When we arrived there on Sunday, we decided to walk around the village and do some window shopping (all the stores in Germany are closed on Sundays). We ate some great food...the kids had hot dogs and french fries, Thom had schnitzel (breaded and fried pork) and salad and french fries, I had roast beef, fried potatoes and savoy cabbage. After dinner we visited a beautiful Catholic church, right across the street from our gasthaus.</span> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340946350408733058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 199px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 242px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_kYyR2EpPLNQs3j-sV_z85sxIDgO6yh0-yVo22pbrDKTrqX_bd_EiMz-A7ipp0LMUDnAzRzKyqjxE0bBuErMTVX9-sTi2K9-GtLvyQ4Bn0gjJghYIGSxdhewYAJ0bf3Co-jpd0vvwbx8P/s320/IMG_2184.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">We finally made it to the gasthaus, and went to sleep...because Monday was going to be a very busy day.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">After a scrumptous traditional german breakfast (brotchen, jellies, meat and cheeses) we headed out. Our first stop was to Kleinhaus (Eagle's Nest in English). This was Hitler's 50th birthday present; a huge house on the top of the Alps. We had to take a bus ride to the top of the mountain; this was a very narrow road...so narrow that the bus was the only vehicle that could fit on the road. Jakob and Feliciti didn't even want to look over the edge because it was that high and we could "tip" over as Thom jokingly told the kids if everybody looked over at one time. Once we got to the top of the mountain we had to walk through a man-made tunnel through the mountain to get to Hitler's brass elevator to get to his house. We were unable to view his house, b/c it was only open to those people who took a tour, and we were not allowed to take the tour b/c we had kids under the age of 6. But we were able to view the outside of his house, and the magnificent view he had. Here are some pictures of what we saw. </span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUaJLHZX20MTCkZ_rUSafjJ9qUH8FdWjwvzyhEHQwZ4ptkJxjCCpYY5N_OuvFQVSLJchTwSNa-gtTgIs7UzxFyHMh3Av5kyGscGAp4oeY86goDkHaMVxkMDygYvQZYTNMX-mgrjp8gIZcg/s1600-h/IMG_2195.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342003351763531986" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUaJLHZX20MTCkZ_rUSafjJ9qUH8FdWjwvzyhEHQwZ4ptkJxjCCpYY5N_OuvFQVSLJchTwSNa-gtTgIs7UzxFyHMh3Av5kyGscGAp4oeY86goDkHaMVxkMDygYvQZYTNMX-mgrjp8gIZcg/s320/IMG_2195.JPG" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342003472037941090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXKLDM5iuYJGfcqKAtDbcWJzfD9_DtSsl_mfEz9lj6g0S_zZefKwK9hxNe3wb3xHAIZIjK46cletHtoXMqonzg2ZTjf-XVacnMfDOVn0QU82koPdUtX8fauzUZPRQ4dCNcLGQ6GajIfQ1/s320/IMG_2197.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIzJO_HTZNfemPtX1S_jl8_fvzkpSK-ExAU6RTBNWhYhNog7K3-8UZEe_tPzVMymhuMTZP5Kv8xlRDQsjKhg5nT1odGjyf2Hyd5hGvpJ-YtBtlqVhxfXkedIzmzJ_rKqeAU0vMKWPefoPe/s1600-h/IMG_2191.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342003059608124050" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIzJO_HTZNfemPtX1S_jl8_fvzkpSK-ExAU6RTBNWhYhNog7K3-8UZEe_tPzVMymhuMTZP5Kv8xlRDQsjKhg5nT1odGjyf2Hyd5hGvpJ-YtBtlqVhxfXkedIzmzJ_rKqeAU0vMKWPefoPe/s320/IMG_2191.JPG" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342003177809257378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJW1ePe7D9EXdCNR4rJT8cc_dA8GycH_iETGnmRqXF2LD4qpu1vRz_KFWKypf8QjhSqnDNLPxW6nHG9J4GTllljLFOZt3QtBQ6zJvgKnGgfSnNdDsmsS3l5A1DGhzKAsWB1viz6iwUzYB8/s320/IMG_2193.JPG" border="0" /> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">After we left here, we went to the Salt Mines. We learned a lot about how salt is actually made. We thought it was just mined, and processed and put into containers for sale. Boy it is a lengthy process. We all got to dress up into mining outfits...Emilee and Dominick looked like little Oompa-Loompas. It was very cold in the mine (about 32 degrees ) but felt good since it was hot outside (mid 70's). OK, so we are not use to hot weather anymore, for all of our southern readers!!! We got to ride a mini train into the mines, and then we got to do some of the things the miners do....travel on a boat (while watching a laser show across the small lake), ride down two 60 meter wooden slides, and even ride on a cargo elevator. It was very interesting, and we all enjoyed the tour and extracurricular activities very much.</span><br /><br /><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340965635596178594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSMlmSo0nXjkmgzBWnP6oiXdF9bsNJVO08Mqm8Fxqb0SsRRinB_-xXvVzTp7YprsVrJ0XQYS_X6-2XfOkgBbVIBvteJD8xy11hioJ3-pygaje5OC2SBHJN46Ep_Vi9lr9n1yqKykebrnRw/s320/IMG_2201.JPG" border="0" /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Our next stop was Konigliches Schloss (King's castle). It was interesting to see such beautiful architecture and furniture. We got a tour, half in German and half in English (I could understand most of it, and had to translate some of it for Thom and the kids). We learned about how the Augustinian princes and princesses lived (in 1803), and that the Duke of Munchen still visits, lives there and has parties in the castle occassionally. We were unable to take pictures inside because all the furniture is still original, and they want as little damage as possible. There is a Catholic church there too; and they still celebrate mass. There use to be a monastery there as well. I remember this schloss from when I was a kid and even took a picture of the kids at the same fountain where my sisters and I took a picture.<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFDwSxZ3rcLuSDCz0M0VSEX8Ru0xKoBJjKpTz2mD4RJo_v8gE4sw6Cvn3NkpTsU6QhyUARbV_BgeSDak54xxtg9Cx8zumdk2zwFXkVg49LfzBW8PHk7pC5Y4yxdpuwPst6LpSLxWdkhS2/s1600-h/IMG_2212.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341212453536559890" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 256px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFDwSxZ3rcLuSDCz0M0VSEX8Ru0xKoBJjKpTz2mD4RJo_v8gE4sw6Cvn3NkpTsU6QhyUARbV_BgeSDak54xxtg9Cx8zumdk2zwFXkVg49LfzBW8PHk7pC5Y4yxdpuwPst6LpSLxWdkhS2/s320/IMG_2212.JPG" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340968391040850050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 217px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 235px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoj_sUfHtE7qaXfKQqwmh-InUOVKSQxVGyaLeLUuE1nMHwOjyZCq65zBdYbW_JUQ0oWxzMBbKA-VJsfCKQdtzvOU8dRS12sY21tEUP9rUAHEc94FPB9-NPOKVn3jMcG55fxO1W3tyKtK4i/s320/IMG_2208.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">By this time it was 4:30pm, and the kids still wanted to do one more thing before leaving Berchesgaden. They wanted to ride a cable car up to the Alps...they closed at 5pm, so we had to rush to get there (only 5 min down the road). We made it, and we were all happy we were able to take this breathtaking ride. It was a 600 meter ride up the side of the Alps and took us about 15 minutes. Once we were up there, we took a little detour and found a 100 meter metal slide that we rode in. OK, so you are thinking metal slide in the heat (that is what we thought too)....but we actually sat on a mini-bobsled, and went down the twisty course pretty fast...but we had control with hand held brakes. Even Dominick got to ride....we all had a lot of fun. We then had to walk back up the hill probably about 150 meters to get back to the cable car. On the way down we were really able to get some great pictures.<br /><br /></span><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342004452448599122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpHRwEhG-Om_jgGhKc2LTiylm5vhOyn_XrhrA-aIXRsBMc7kd0N2iOCAS5wKhDXyWMhvaJVqQD6r4pg0FTSkyGbvjv5VkjjmgFO-hapBBEZKgewqhdC5MvbU67SAjU4EUWxrOqgneq22Dq/s320/IMG_2222.JPG" border="0" /> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So it was now time for dinner, after a long, busy and hot day. We decided to get some Italian food....and it was very yummy. OK, now we had a 2 1/2 hour drive to Garmisch...because we had reservations at Edelweis (the military lodge and resort). We arrived there at 10:30pm...and went straight to bed again....we were wore out!!!!</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So our first stop today was to Scloss Linderhof...one of 5 "houses" that belonged to Ludwig II. His other "houses" include Neuschwanstein (the "Disney princess castle was designed from this), Schloss Nymphenberg, Herrenchiemsee and Hohenschulangau. Once again we were not able to take pictures of the inside of the castle, b/c everything is copyrighted (had to buy postcards)....but we were able to take pictures of the outside. Linderhof was the only castle that he saw completed before his death at age 41 (in 1885). This is a VERY impressive and elaborate castle with 10 types of marble from around the world, a 100% African Ivory chandelier (the most expensive piece in the castle), all but one room had gold leaf (total of less than 10 pounds of gold was used...though with seeing it you would think 100 times more was used) decor and crown molding, oil paintings, a minature version of the Versailles Hall of Mirrors, fountains, beautiful gardens, and even a cave that was built for his entertainment and relaxation. It took 9 years to build the entire castle and area. He never married, and was declared insane and was imprisoned and 4 days later was found dead at the bottom of the pond. Experts are unsure if it was murder or suicide. </span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6iLiPoy5e5JO54Ayg80zptT74kErP3BdqhFxR-ETNoepm-vK_TYcbVtogMfPBWa5xGEL5Oz7vC6pncjQJsQlQL0l7SrcKEDCIM5atrV2HSyHhklgdU_S629bt3OzWnBdNnrM5i87EmyBO/s1600-h/IMG_2242.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342008966363561874" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6iLiPoy5e5JO54Ayg80zptT74kErP3BdqhFxR-ETNoepm-vK_TYcbVtogMfPBWa5xGEL5Oz7vC6pncjQJsQlQL0l7SrcKEDCIM5atrV2HSyHhklgdU_S629bt3OzWnBdNnrM5i87EmyBO/s320/IMG_2242.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342008836477184226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 277px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 233px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnOPefW1CrFK6Vj8v5iBgJaUE8bZer8dc_SFAhqEKBIFiDYhiX_SQkEOfl_Y49lzhGMbpZlO0ICcIYVx_ZsCrcxzoWGII16goSlgc5Fkd-ATEROq6kjmLPrmwIiWnDvqegzOYQzmY9emgk/s320/IMG_2239.JPG" border="0" /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIfEXOo8r44cRA4ysycnf8MGNJF01kwxmzBD6a-LWrKE0rJLGzP5KCuqNugo-frC9ff6DoS6yrzZT2FBH7Z3FhGsOslnpeweJVqSqZTUkfi_fnqsdmCmJ6a7GOf_uLw6xMsNgtYDxBiyW/s1600-h/IMG_2225.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342008468439407506" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 250px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIfEXOo8r44cRA4ysycnf8MGNJF01kwxmzBD6a-LWrKE0rJLGzP5KCuqNugo-frC9ff6DoS6yrzZT2FBH7Z3FhGsOslnpeweJVqSqZTUkfi_fnqsdmCmJ6a7GOf_uLw6xMsNgtYDxBiyW/s320/IMG_2225.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342008097278793522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQg4GWjzO8YctmyHcbExYpIdnr6z3RldpFrkCmJrW_8ecSgyFwTW_KaU7dU-Vs_-LF9oZEKG0uxPkZfmvfUDtaO_NCBSgWOzqa1yk2XYJbU6W-NUrAYXHGj3zJtS0scK2aih0oC6avJx_k/s320/IMG_2224.JPG" border="0" /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXtYEMccDkwKnvdhlRen1pXKn95JK0-pxvL2UA0MqqZhm07F2Jm4EkCj4dcKM_WUdkq4zURs5G43_cWvtfOV7AFF_CVumb-c1IgB8bUzrYbc72CyoaiE-6CtY26zNqKx6FHEYO_6tOxsRc/s1600-h/IMG_2223.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342007961813783666" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXtYEMccDkwKnvdhlRen1pXKn95JK0-pxvL2UA0MqqZhm07F2Jm4EkCj4dcKM_WUdkq4zURs5G43_cWvtfOV7AFF_CVumb-c1IgB8bUzrYbc72CyoaiE-6CtY26zNqKx6FHEYO_6tOxsRc/s320/IMG_2223.JPG" border="0" /></a></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXtYEMccDkwKnvdhlRen1pXKn95JK0-pxvL2UA0MqqZhm07F2Jm4EkCj4dcKM_WUdkq4zURs5G43_cWvtfOV7AFF_CVumb-c1IgB8bUzrYbc72CyoaiE-6CtY26zNqKx6FHEYO_6tOxsRc/s1600-h/IMG_2223.JPG"></a></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The kids were ready for something different to do by now. So we went to a monastery that has been making cheese, bread and their own beer since 1330. We all thought that would be pretty interesting....well, b/c we did not book it with a tour group, we were unable to see how it was all done. We were able to, however, look around the church and monastery grounds. This was a very beautiful church. Thom wanted to try some of the beer so we bought some..both light and dark Ettal beer. </span><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-7nqUCilYYaY4iS0SFg59W6PP2jieg3PYIH52m1e-evpfOxBuy1_qghKE4_0F8zim2FsYmt9A-g1yNhL7PaAWuQyR3htD2FluemCr8e4uTyzPnKScQUdMxFnfvZhSkkE-HMY7UK9hRGja/s1600-h/IMG_2243.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342001574171110882" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-7nqUCilYYaY4iS0SFg59W6PP2jieg3PYIH52m1e-evpfOxBuy1_qghKE4_0F8zim2FsYmt9A-g1yNhL7PaAWuQyR3htD2FluemCr8e4uTyzPnKScQUdMxFnfvZhSkkE-HMY7UK9hRGja/s320/IMG_2243.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341999307243997794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIhABvWeDr4EGH6atYHivA4cHMriOUIXqNS1L4MY-cmXp0UzsSnLQngXrwuMWkTvjL7Mnm4e_lGOm39pbwFKioYkOo0zla_zuTmU5z4k9onSEIzF3_UsdhNcnNO4eydQ5AXU3PsQwH3pRX/s320/IMG_2244.JPG" border="0" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXiF3cBOV5phjANmhhiYV5iDmWUetB_z0A6gzKgrKmFpL_v3Z1-5dPgC6_fTDH7FTyYCZqh_1ydk_5iSFYEXph_tIqyTHINZ_J9CgMqAjTHqbfQXdySZX9cslpBgOkDdwYBHrOjjkdLi1r/s1600-h/IMG_2245.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341999522132467314" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXiF3cBOV5phjANmhhiYV5iDmWUetB_z0A6gzKgrKmFpL_v3Z1-5dPgC6_fTDH7FTyYCZqh_1ydk_5iSFYEXph_tIqyTHINZ_J9CgMqAjTHqbfQXdySZX9cslpBgOkDdwYBHrOjjkdLi1r/s320/IMG_2245.JPG" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341999717282424194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFQEmSZe_-ET8qIhPj1yl-aHICj2HGgWr8BHQYRnP8y8BKMzv5k2D63PSnvsssFuOiEDN05SIqJ5H2MNXMb41WMUJNuWBZugQYNYhVATlPXbBW_XPKimMlcigcwd81_BE12nna-KWmPnS/s320/IMG_2249.JPG" border="0" /></div></div></div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintEHbA0uBBA-6EuIw1k_-BUyPv0PlFs17SxYW4rpfSqFn7_gHOBhuQbWGICdWg6skB_h3E8RL6yf7ZXw06z3qosEeLVXllm056uL48NUnV9FE8It_Zmjh_OEKxV8d4TuuSb7cm8INRvWs/s1600-h/IMG_2246.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342000316374661426" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 168px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintEHbA0uBBA-6EuIw1k_-BUyPv0PlFs17SxYW4rpfSqFn7_gHOBhuQbWGICdWg6skB_h3E8RL6yf7ZXw06z3qosEeLVXllm056uL48NUnV9FE8It_Zmjh_OEKxV8d4TuuSb7cm8INRvWs/s320/IMG_2246.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Our next stop was Oberammagau....here they are "famous" for the intricate woodwork; the huge Catholic influence with crucifixes and statues of Mother Mary and saints; and also the site for the Passion Play which is put on every 10 years (next one being held in 2010). We were looking for a store that allows us to see a demonstration on some of the woodwork...but were unable to find it...even after asking around...no one knew where it was...but our 2009 guidebook says it exists. After a long day we decided to treat ourselves to some cake and ice cream...and just in time becasue it started raining after we finished. This was the first time it rained our entire trip...we were very lucky since we were in rainy season in Bavaria Germany.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Our Edelweis hotel was very nice. We had to get back there by 5pm, b/c Feliciti, Jakob and Gabi had 'kids night out'. Too bad we couldn't get Emilee and Dominick there too..oh well...it was still a bit more of a quiet evening of Mexican food at the hotel. </span><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342014990786470290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmDqUE-rvVmHt-xyvQXtq0geTF0TMuOEO5HhTxlB4hh5GNEbnkytVJeTogM5f3w6y6eROiDqBKYB-t6LDhyphenhypheniTuIcz_ljX0Ra43fiNUqPZx6sfiFKTI0eq6AG929YajlszobV55AI4_GnwK/s320/IMG_2254.JPG" border="0" /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Checkout was by 11am, so we decided to go swimming for the morning before eatting lunch and heading back home. We all really enjoyed our trip. We already realized that there is so much to do at Garmish that we are already planning our next trip there....this Jan/Feb for a ski trip in the Alps. Anybody want to join us? </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Our next trip is going to be June 13-15!! See you then!!!! <div><br /></div></span><div></div>Sellers' Family Funhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02019020266094764444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7427970159037552130.post-88207512617267510852009-04-19T11:48:00.000-07:002009-04-21T05:04:45.449-07:00Our first trip: Amsterdam April 3-5, 2009<div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6t2vIbPnaScouwTIm2ecrUCbLDg4oBwaWTIqXPlexEGiQzmiGyhBnYG63Kq_84e7LW2zjaYUPUqrxZ-DeIpfA8dZFoEXn2gC405tFxiGCPHGg0bvGTEzCQXZoh750QLznzyTMoTASzZMr/s1600-h/IMG_2056.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327107061200862450" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 175px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 175px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6t2vIbPnaScouwTIm2ecrUCbLDg4oBwaWTIqXPlexEGiQzmiGyhBnYG63Kq_84e7LW2zjaYUPUqrxZ-DeIpfA8dZFoEXn2gC405tFxiGCPHGg0bvGTEzCQXZoh750QLznzyTMoTASzZMr/s320/IMG_2056.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRiK8W5_dWcrkVpWKPdrihZKSQ4l3soyS8Nk465iL3peV0aQlJ01xhMy84G_szA2L1Np3LxuHXwxiddWr9KhqmK-jPWiAMcFUwLD9g2r5JDq4u1q71LRfR9VbNDhCuF1LLLF1DufoQf8G/s1600-h/IMG_2069.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327112608230158194" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 174px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 185px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifRiK8W5_dWcrkVpWKPdrihZKSQ4l3soyS8Nk465iL3peV0aQlJ01xhMy84G_szA2L1Np3LxuHXwxiddWr9KhqmK-jPWiAMcFUwLD9g2r5JDq4u1q71LRfR9VbNDhCuF1LLLF1DufoQf8G/s320/IMG_2069.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327109509212036658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 98px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv1MFt_zxyHHpL1RCbr5AOtPgZ66Jff5h3_csKFSxVbV4fekDikNDTjETfAP6nfZH35PSlA-yfRbtGCww3f2MoCVZYOMKeIhE_bUxHf2LJP2kp7cRXC0xj1q92Ro9W4CKoBSYKJcmh4xn6/s320/IMG_2072.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><div>We arrived in Amsterdam after a <strong>5 1/2 hour</strong> drive. The kids were ready to finally get there, since the autobahn was kind of boring....only trees and farmers fields all the way there. Once we got there we checked into our youth hostel (which was a first and last time experience for us...we'll explain later). After we checked in we decided to take the local transportation to downtown Amsterdam to check it out. We came across the <em>Anne Frank Haus</em> which we planned on visiting anyway. It was a real eye opener to see just how small of an area in the attic her family had to hide in for 2 years. We were not allowed to take pictures in the house, so we took a picture of the kids by a statue of Anne Frank. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326480533094363730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 203px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 227px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2z-Q20WwviZhIrgeIB-wKcMGePyJIz5rq-DR6Gu9-dutzRo4ZVsICa07RhKC4L-NhDHbbURMW34ad5nI65cHUZefJ7u123YevGyyh4PxsNMQ6CtlPlYTOiaIocBNAC-i6ZDS0p_NF4BI/s320/IMG_2040.JPG" border="0" /> After the tour we needed to get something to eat. We found a vegetarian restaurant (since it was a Friday during Lent) which was pretty good. The kids had enchiladas, I had a casserole, and Thom had an eggplant and spinach lasagna. Thom's was the best!! After dinner we needed to get back to the hotel to take showers and get ready for our busy day.<br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>Of course the next morning it was sprinkling rain and was a thick overcast. We had to change our plans a little bit. We decided to drive to a cheese factory and wooden clog factory (they were next door to each other). This was interesting to hear how they made cheese....we even got to sample some of the yummy cheese...there were many different flavors, goat and cow....smoked gouda, regular Gouda, pepper (spicy), pesto, garlic, multi spice, and much more. Feliciti did not want to try any of it...I think she was scared, but everyone else enjoyed it, and we all picked out our favs.<br /><br />Here<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIah8gtECfN1ZMfcR1K4jqmEEJGhSxvEULFo8RMpUSpS32f_wIY5j5eu8URfdQBqeQ_hwC52icJbboq8vy6vZQ9sECNk7LXSnYE_AnlWzRcBo1baJ7zQeKrajIhC1Bg1zRH7kPQzJgsSj/s1600-h/IMG_2044.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326482243370228642" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 238px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 163px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIah8gtECfN1ZMfcR1K4jqmEEJGhSxvEULFo8RMpUSpS32f_wIY5j5eu8URfdQBqeQ_hwC52icJbboq8vy6vZQ9sECNk7LXSnYE_AnlWzRcBo1baJ7zQeKrajIhC1Bg1zRH7kPQzJgsSj/s320/IMG_2044.JPG" border="0" /></a> are all the different size cheeses that have to sit on the shelf for a minimum of 2 weeks..but up to 6 months. We were told the oldest cheeses they have are 2 years....which is kind of disgusting to me....I mean it's not like it is wine...right? This is one of the girls who makes the cheeses.<br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326485436803268290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 157px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 210px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxQZefaBedD9oUiRYBz70-OPwK1d1_vIKlAAZQZe25zS9McszdA4sjxPNXqPByeg3hMQSHVwBpsK1FCdSYQBGzcB04GQcEV9SUrqplvT8FVnCOpetoxhFlJa0kLfjH0V_Znr80XKvSpMfa/s320/IMG_2045.JPG" border="0" /> We then stepped next door to see how the shoes are made. This was very interesting too. After the man put a raw piece of wood into the machine, the shoe was molded. He passed it around, and it was still wet. He said they make about a million shoes every year...wow!!!!! We tried on some shoes, but they were NOT comfortable, so instead we just bought little shoes to hang on the fri<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltgQAokijGy8Y7bewuGF0p3FlpVfJ1_Utb24UlmAN8GAIrBtfjAO3GRV8tnEICdl_DyDArXqZtQEht7TSxoIrD6hieh93Ta-fYIpekwJEMTYkvpZ83ukhs0_ww2S-XetETnc5f3k_hkov/s1600-h/IMG_2046.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326484289037955826" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 242px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltgQAokijGy8Y7bewuGF0p3FlpVfJ1_Utb24UlmAN8GAIrBtfjAO3GRV8tnEICdl_DyDArXqZtQEht7TSxoIrD6hieh93Ta-fYIpekwJEMTYkvpZ83ukhs0_ww2S-XetETnc5f3k_hkov/s320/IMG_2046.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPO7Bp6tNu7ARCazHmMRR-pWMja7vWxuqnmknOQzqxjg9jxi65x03MmbBjpD3jkwHP3R6BcmfvmN0v8sC1u_xfbUUvWbjh8Euzy7XMDlX8YH7EjuIR2rRJOz_GpFy_VkMw5gfZR2KmVUe/s1600-h/IMG_2049.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326484578092553122" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 186px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 195px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPO7Bp6tNu7ARCazHmMRR-pWMja7vWxuqnmknOQzqxjg9jxi65x03MmbBjpD3jkwHP3R6BcmfvmN0v8sC1u_xfbUUvWbjh8Euzy7XMDlX8YH7EjuIR2rRJOz_GpFy_VkMw5gfZR2KmVUe/s320/IMG_2049.JPG" border="0" /></a>dge.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>We checked out downtown Amsterdam, since the overcast was still heavy, and we did not want to chance going to the tulip fields and waste a trip because of the poor view. So here are some pictures of various things we saw. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_nfiB0IizcNQNAsY1PwhwyGKD4F5v7x8UF_bENf6QdFSiW19z2y5S4ED4JAFcQvSi7Cakv8pEUNeJiM8dWxNMC6bEXpRAkfx88rJt8adSBUYQtVBTwLHaRl85nBsmZl40U1nke3ibHlw/s1600-h/IMG_2055.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326487409985715714" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 138px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 192px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_nfiB0IizcNQNAsY1PwhwyGKD4F5v7x8UF_bENf6QdFSiW19z2y5S4ED4JAFcQvSi7Cakv8pEUNeJiM8dWxNMC6bEXpRAkfx88rJt8adSBUYQtVBTwLHaRl85nBsmZl40U1nke3ibHlw/s320/IMG_2055.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibRzFnTNDKC4ma6EEoIkM8OziL4yIqYtziuEbZFwKPkIDH9MDwhGrqGiPPmoqTPTkamNIV4rH9u1xSVC4izfMZRV0aangD9YVX5MB9tVcsHZ4re7ob50UlA49z6K05QKDmbpdpCktQRezi/s1600-h/IMG_2050.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326487078943533906" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 181px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibRzFnTNDKC4ma6EEoIkM8OziL4yIqYtziuEbZFwKPkIDH9MDwhGrqGiPPmoqTPTkamNIV4rH9u1xSVC4izfMZRV0aangD9YVX5MB9tVcsHZ4re7ob50UlA49z6K05QKDmbpdpCktQRezi/s320/IMG_2050.JPG" border="0" /> The</a> middle picture is a "beer bike"....oh and there are a lot of bikes. There are more bike riders than car drivers. The third picture is the smallest house in Amsterdam (the one in the middle)<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326487238606819938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 233px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 175px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYjMzDrYFfRV3hT1xIZdIkgZaOZh7dkyKfWqk62pzToQ5QtYhCVrFzkVnWfk6rOOOitGyNLpHniE76AQJFWFBPHXdH0pKVhBH6FOX2XsBAidmBOWpZYhK2_B-mNzoR1taBCEk94Ia9dHyM/s320/IMG_2054.JPG" border="0" /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><br />These are pictures from the city too. The second picture below is the front of Anne Frank's Haus. </div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGs3zWifqFXYZNs7YcyMKAnnlT3MXRfXkWnp-kr-zZi8pi8TeZQFUO34pu6XB2e8Do8k0j6zCtIIwazwCSkkY9q-C1HiZR5dmrHCzRC7qZCJDClsu43oWJVwNDSb1uo_Dmud8ktiww-vUV/s1600-h/IMG_2042.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326489083920432338" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 285px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGs3zWifqFXYZNs7YcyMKAnnlT3MXRfXkWnp-kr-zZi8pi8TeZQFUO34pu6XB2e8Do8k0j6zCtIIwazwCSkkY9q-C1HiZR5dmrHCzRC7qZCJDClsu43oWJVwNDSb1uo_Dmud8ktiww-vUV/s320/IMG_2042.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15Drhm9VTr9QnGb378YGJTA2ZX7MtEqS_DX_H43hx3koU72bRaOJYpmGLiN4d7ICpuYCrzzgvwB9GrI7U8gJggN_ocwx5V0pzzgayvB8XnMpkQQ8gJpnfYHJPtdPFUgWSMSXSojMZkm3F/s1600-h/IMG_2041.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326488902908016642" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 260px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 242px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15Drhm9VTr9QnGb378YGJTA2ZX7MtEqS_DX_H43hx3koU72bRaOJYpmGLiN4d7ICpuYCrzzgvwB9GrI7U8gJggN_ocwx5V0pzzgayvB8XnMpkQQ8gJpnfYHJPtdPFUgWSMSXSojMZkm3F/s320/IMG_2041.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiHsdpF46cdxqBLwr0jnruhpm1Jd3QDv2Ev-0EkDTEtdQXt7EFZ3nJCUbnmrAfOMA9mLcusBxnFzfLAzZGzSHHW8r7Vnq5Zyj0hZrLOGDASX0vHg9q5nq2yMnwslzPZWbqEHt5CsvRxLvJ/s1600-h/IMG_2053.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326490718012169426" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiHsdpF46cdxqBLwr0jnruhpm1Jd3QDv2Ev-0EkDTEtdQXt7EFZ3nJCUbnmrAfOMA9mLcusBxnFzfLAzZGzSHHW8r7Vnq5Zyj0hZrLOGDASX0vHg9q5nq2yMnwslzPZWbqEHt5CsvRxLvJ/s320/IMG_2053.JPG" border="0" /></a>We also visited a Torture museum since th<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG2-gWLTCkVt7RoHGt3fZJqQslo68QSp09yOlBr1MIhc9TznMHelPfDjIPZJHK4Xr-CPieTFZ5byB1qrsx2RSZ-QYUmF28nu8sSl2iYCKJDpvBkfKUCWyYTaLUGgN7huUpsxnQNrOpGN51/s1600-h/IMG_2052.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326490556611991618" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG2-gWLTCkVt7RoHGt3fZJqQslo68QSp09yOlBr1MIhc9TznMHelPfDjIPZJHK4Xr-CPieTFZ5byB1qrsx2RSZ-QYUmF28nu8sSl2iYCKJDpvBkfKUCWyYTaLUGgN7huUpsxnQNrOpGN51/s320/IMG_2052.JPG" border="0" /></a>e weather was still not ideal. Jakob thought this was really interesting. The girls thought it was horrible. Honestly, it was sad to see such a reality that still goes on in some parts of the world. </p><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />OK, now we were told to try eatting at the <em>Pancake Bakery</em>...sounds good enough for us. So when we looked at the menu we were a bit scared. They had the normal pancakes with fruit and nuts and ice cream atop. But what caught our attention was the fish, cheese, bacon, meats, vegetables and other "odd" toppings. So Thom and I decided to share a <em>Canadian pancake</em> which had cheese, bacon, mushrooms and onions on it. Out of all the "different" choices, we opted for the least odd one. OH my goodness!!!! This thing was SSOOOO good!!! Even the kids said they would get that the next time we came here. The kids just got a basic pankcake. Actually these pancakes are more like crepes...oh so good. </div><p>Well the weather never cleared up and we were leaving the next day. So we decided that we would at least go to the tulip gardens on the way home after church. And we are happy that we did make it. The weather was much warmer, sunnier and no overcast. It was worth the wait. These gardens are called <em>Keukenhof Holland</em></p><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggRVUpRzeZ0fua4-O0ICf4nCwemYclAOzvWzrbyR9uJJuutTLkNDHgOs7yxPHxFLQsDfHijTMuTy59SQBxoqiHuqlregGIvdHLWefM7rqJ5FHz94jEKcKVYJTwnBSycEggeb8SA4J3VVtm/s1600-h/IMG_2060.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327108558759799170" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 167px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 195px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggRVUpRzeZ0fua4-O0ICf4nCwemYclAOzvWzrbyR9uJJuutTLkNDHgOs7yxPHxFLQsDfHijTMuTy59SQBxoqiHuqlregGIvdHLWefM7rqJ5FHz94jEKcKVYJTwnBSycEggeb8SA4J3VVtm/s320/IMG_2060.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327107235024258674" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Q3e5eDo3jG0ekrOzp1L1_1Q-r6WrztynP0h7axLv7mIe4_Fbfz3nD90ttBRMZKcX9DvIjq5iJN2ClKYcAPsyqtTlZiMdY-TuFxqEnmB31oV6TCMCq8GthxxKIr62EXfliWa-AXLTYHKN/s320/IMG_2057.JPG" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327109226974495234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 217px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 153px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDM6Mcxtxa7gUJn4YhymhhcmyTFj0OWn2L68noWpiw6tSkBXCbxzLOst6oRs8jJVKzVJWkr_GWsb_atAU_-u-gFrXQ90KX8pEx_X8hBf3X0tSV4vpvIMci8LGHxE5It17h9HJUhJJSjsAx/s320/IMG_2064.JPG" border="0" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTEaxO1nneJ1ALSRY03vha_MPNgBpf6X__2QXR2PYER35GbRqi6x-K3TSCOvYiv4Stw1dhDiVE7XRq42VcHhJw8csChm8qyghvRi3s7Q99Qt-c1bIi1GX-SgK8Rjwo3VU5kxXnvJScZOn/s1600-h/IMG_2062.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327108923915216386" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 245px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTEaxO1nneJ1ALSRY03vha_MPNgBpf6X__2QXR2PYER35GbRqi6x-K3TSCOvYiv4Stw1dhDiVE7XRq42VcHhJw8csChm8qyghvRi3s7Q99Qt-c1bIi1GX-SgK8Rjwo3VU5kxXnvJScZOn/s320/IMG_2062.JPG" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327108781565482434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 170px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 172px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIocm-fO6_s0B4HLchrtd4oj0UXG1Xnz_3I9a3g5b8PopIn7sH-NvR9dliwBoksJaMMAE8F8Wk53qRnisOfd4puyos0VOagb9r7ri6GtKGLtfFJCW3Thgu0LRcGDAenTaBaA5K0avLzLO9/s320/IMG_2061.JPG" border="0" /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Ps62VT5Rj46rfx1sn0-M5xWQpaKX0mgUsvWqUpTnqJ2hznxnz5mGI-IFMg3-_7yd3CrB9cqgxh0dtJctv2bpblouooUwCN3JzSoP8C8Dci-pBSI8C5vdvugqhS9Nr8qlNjJfe5ilguPk/s1600-h/IMG_2059.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327108177783586562" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 195px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 181px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Ps62VT5Rj46rfx1sn0-M5xWQpaKX0mgUsvWqUpTnqJ2hznxnz5mGI-IFMg3-_7yd3CrB9cqgxh0dtJctv2bpblouooUwCN3JzSoP8C8Dci-pBSI8C5vdvugqhS9Nr8qlNjJfe5ilguPk/s320/IMG_2059.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiKC1qottfWcb6aN3yop7WUE0xFM5Svp9vO1iX49Qo9HHR1QBHUP_ynfPg2m1yBEvdmgNaxzx-O1PGzZiFaUZorMzm_ZdhkLb3751tJnPEMKNsn3jr7luJmB4l_isgIPsY7bfFL7fmm_Bv/s1600-h/IMG_2066.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327109375596124322" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 186px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 220px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiKC1qottfWcb6aN3yop7WUE0xFM5Svp9vO1iX49Qo9HHR1QBHUP_ynfPg2m1yBEvdmgNaxzx-O1PGzZiFaUZorMzm_ZdhkLb3751tJnPEMKNsn3jr7luJmB4l_isgIPsY7bfFL7fmm_Bv/s320/IMG_2066.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRn2b_SUEZRDfAXqEnVYIsINQC5o2QWQ49PLWBNbFUHNz6a2s1xhtGpEFKR2-DtSVPBgHin-uUehCM1PVrDF4-ppOkNtAj6O5vWAk9lL1QazZpg-ESffh3DBXNLs9yEZNo6sEdNPS-1YMY/s1600-h/IMG_2063.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327109058072565986" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 259px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 211px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRn2b_SUEZRDfAXqEnVYIsINQC5o2QWQ49PLWBNbFUHNz6a2s1xhtGpEFKR2-DtSVPBgHin-uUehCM1PVrDF4-ppOkNtAj6O5vWAk9lL1QazZpg-ESffh3DBXNLs9yEZNo6sEdNPS-1YMY/s320/IMG_2063.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And just in case you are still wondering about the youth hostel. We were trying to save a little bit of money..and we figured as long as it had a bed and toilet and shower we would be ok...besides we were not there to stay at the hotel all day long. We were there for a total of probably 1 1/2 hours a day (excluding sleep of course). But we were told that we would have the bigger of the rooms since we had kids....oh my....I would hate to see the small room we were originally going to get. There was room for a bunkbed and 2 single beds and a tiny bathroom. We had to walk sideways to get to each bed....it was an experience to say the least....a learning curve. But overall we enjoyed Amsterdam....our first checkmark is made for our list of places we want to visit. </div><div> </div><div>Our next trip is to Garmish and Berchesgaden over Memorial Day weekend. So stay tuned!!!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Sellers' Family Funhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02019020266094764444noreply@blogger.com2