NFL Europa May 2007

We were so happy when Sgt. Butterfield asked us if we wanted to use their season tickets to go see a NFL Europe game in Cologne, Germany. The ride to Cologne was an experience because none of us really knew how to get to the stadium. We thought that he knew, but I guess he had never actually done the driving before, lol.

The game was the Cologne Centurians vs. Rhein Fire. It was so much fun. We loved yelling, "GO CENTUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURIANS! " We even got on television a little bit. But it was a blast. It was strange to be at a game where we could not understand anything they said. We had planned to go again, but after the season was over, they got rid of NFL Europe. We were very sad.
We saw JT O'Sullivan play QB for the Rhein Fire. He was a lot better playing in Europe than now in the NFL.

Keukenhof, Holland April 2006

I really loved the idea of going to Holland to see the tulips. We were a little disappointed at the fact that we had such a cold spring that year so the flowers were a little sparse. But the flowers that they did have were absolutely beautiful.

After Keukenhof, we went to Amsterdam to try to find the Hard Rock Cafe. That was not the hard part. The hard part was trying to find a place to park. We went into a lot that we weren't supposed to be in and had to pull out into a very busy road. We scratched the side mirror on a pole in a lot. Then on our way to the restaurant, we were almost run over by a bunch of people on bicycles. They even have a lane only for bikes.

Trier Christmas Market December 2005

I guess this post should have been before the Paris on, but oh well. December of 2005, we were without the majority of our belongings. We had only been in Germany for a few weeks and were getting very stir crazy. There are only so many times you can go to the BX here or to the one at Ramstein.

So we decided to go Trier and check out the Christmas market. Trier is the oldest city in Germany. The Porta Nigra is what is left of the gate that used to surround the city. I hope to go back to Trier and check out more of the sights before we move.

Paris, France February 2006

We had only been in Europe for a few months when Barry told me that he wanted to take me to Paris for Valentine's Day weekend. I was so excited, especially when he told me that we could stay at the Hilton right at the base of the Eifel Tower. I had always dreamed of waking up to the view of the Eifel Tower right outside my window.

We rented a car to drive to Paris. We certainly weren't going to drive the Magnum to Paris and after we were there, we were so glad that we didn't. Trying to get to the hotel was no easy task. This was all before we bought the GPS and all we had to go on were maps from the internet. It was crazy, but we finally got to the hotel. I had been kind of freaked out because we kept going through the tunnels near where Princess Diana was killed. We parked the car at the hotel and started off to see Paris. I think we had to come back and check in later (been so long, don't remember). It was awesome to see how close we were to the Eifel Tower. The view was amazing. We found that we were really close to the Metro Station, so we went there and bought a bunch of tickets to be able to ride everywhere.

First stop was the Arch de' Triomphe. It was huge! I could not believe how tall it is. And to see the traffic there at the "uninsurable traffic circle" was insane. Then we decided to go to the top of the Arch. Holy cow! There were so many stairs. It was a spiral staircase up the leg of the arch. We had to stop so many times (so did tons of others). When we finally got close to the top, there was a museum and then you walked to the outside on top. It was so windy up there! And way up high! If it had been a prettier day, you would have been able to see a long ways from there. The going down was much easier, lol.

Then we decided to make our way to the Notre Dame Cathedral. It would have been much easier if we had just taken the metro, but we decided to walk the Champs Elysee. It was a long walk. We saw some beautiful and very expensive stores along the way. Barry ran out in the middle of the road to take pictures of the Arch. There were some fountains and statues as well.

We finally came to the cathedral after wandering around for awhile. It was raining outside as we came to the front of the cathedral. It was beautiful. The inside was just as magnificent. Statues, carvings, stained glass, etc. When we exited the cathedral, the sky was beautiful! My mom said it was because God was happy because we went to church! The backside of the cathedral is even prettier.
We then walked through the park towards the Eifel Tower. And we saw the Hotel Des Invalids (I think that is what it is called) which hold the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte. We tried to get in, but it was closed. Grrrr.

We decided that we would go find the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. That was an adventure, but we made it and it was yummy. We got off at the wrong metro station and walked a long way back to our hotel. But we knew that we could keep walking toward the Eifel Tower and we would make it eventually. And in a way, I am glad we walked. The pictures of the Tower that night were my absolute favorite.

Once we were back in the hotel, were enjoyed sitting on the balcony and watching the blinking lights on the Eifel Tower. It was beautiful to just sit there and take in the lights of downtown Paris.

The next morning we had a French breakfast (fresh squeezed oj was the best, french toast in France not the same, lol). And we were off to the Louvre. It was an amazing museum. The Mona Lisa was kind of disappointing for being so famous. Some of the other painting were AMAZING!!! our favorite was by a man name Antonio Campi and it was off the life of Christ. We were just disappointed that you could not take pictures of the paintings. The Louvre was huge and we did not have anywhere near enough time to see everything.

And then....THE EIFEL TOWER!!!! The day was yucky so the view was not that great. The elevator to the top was pretty scary, but it was awesome to be there.

So, the trip to Paris was amazing! I can not wait to take my mom and dad there. I loved the city. Most people talk so horrible about the French and about Paris, but I thought everything about it was amazing.

Blogging About Past Adventures...

I have decided that I want to add some of our older European adventures into my blog for my newer friends. Plus, when we move this year, I plan to make a photo memory book of our four years here in Europe and I would like to get my memories written down so that I don't forget them. So, I apologize to those who have seen all of this and heard all of this before.

Vianden Castle 2009...

On Monday we went to Vianden, Luxembourg, to visit the Vianden Castle. It was our first castle since Neuschwanstein that you could even go into and our first that you could actually take pictures inside. The strange thing was that the majority of the stuff inside was not from this castle, but it was from the same time period at least.

We really had fun at the castle with David, Amy, and Jayden. We even tried a new restaurant called the Coyote Cafe in downtown Bitburg. Food was good, only problem was that we got a parking ticket while we were eating. No idea what for or for how much. We shall see, lol.

Here are a few pics of us all goofing off inside the castle. Not sure if we were supposed to play with the stockades, but we had fun. BARRY DID IT FIRST!

Amy, Jayden, and I were making choking sounds. That is why we look goofy and the guys are just smiling. David was holding the stockade down on my neck...it was not comfy.

Castles and More....

Last weekend we went out in search of some castles in the local area. Thank goodness we have finally made some friends who are all for just driving around until we find stuff to look at, lol. Thanks Amy and David and Jayden. Turns out there are towns around here that have the same name with towns in Luxembourg (just 30 minutes or so away). So while Amy was looking for this castle in Germany, I thought it was in Luxembourg. So, away we went to Luxembourg. Thank goodness it was not very far away because I would have felt really bad when we found no castle there, lol. But we did find the Luxembourg American Military Cemetery. It is kind of a mini Arlington, but only graves from WWII. General Patton is buried there. We were freezing our butts off but it was really interesting.






So, then we drove around and found a few really neat castles. Some actually have people living in them so that made stopping and taking photos a little strange. But we did anyway... We had some interesting adventures with needing to find a bathroom really badly...and having to pay money to a angry looking German woman who told us we must pay or buy something. Thank goodness I though to bring the Euro!

Here are the castles we saw:

We were disappointed that we could not get any closer to the castles, but the roads get very narrow and the car was not going to fit.
So, that was last weekend. This weekend, we are off to the Vianden Castle in Luxembourg. So there will be more pictures soon. And in March we are going to London!!! There will be picture overload from that trip. I am so glad we have friends to make us get out and travel some during our last year here.