Rothenburg ob de Tauber

October 3-6, 2013

3^rd- This is our first trip since arriving in Germany. We were very excited for this trip. Today we got up early and drove the 3 hours to Rothenburg, it is a walled in city that is very old. We checked into our hotel Gladius Raidel, and met Norry, our housemaster. It was a cute wooden hotel and Norry was very sweet. We checked in and then parked the car, as there cannot be any cars parked on the streets overnight, and barely any cars are allowed in the city at all. It is very narrow and hard to drive. Then we walked into town and found market square, the center of the town. There we waited for the English Walking Tour. Our guide was Claudia and she took us around the city telling us about the sights and the history. We learnt about the traditional food of an onion pastry with fresh wine and snowballs- circular dough fried in a ball mechanism and sprinkled with sugar, or non-traditional have chocolate, cream, nuts, anything you can imagine. She even let us have a taste of the traditional kind. It was good, but I think the non-traditional ones sound better! They made these snowballs because back in the old days when they hosted parties, lots of important people came and the cooks needed something that would last for a while so they could bake it ahead of time. This worked perfectly. We always learnt about the war and the wall that was built for protection and the towers that could overlook the wall. We saw the museums and the fancy houses and learnt that everything in the city must stay preserved and must not be modernized which is why everything looks so old. After the tour we went back to Market Square and tried one of the onion pastries with the wine. It was very good! We met a couple from Colorado doing a bike tour and chatted with them for a while. Then we did some shopping and decided to get a non-traditional snowball with a coffee. I was right!!! YUM YUM!!! We continued to shop along the high street and then picked up a pizza to have later for dinner. We went back to the hotel and relaxed, read, and ate our pizza.

4^th- Today we got up early to have breakfast at the hotel. We met a mother and daughter from California on their way to the Czech Republic for some genealogy stuff. They were really nice. Then we went into town to look at some more shops and then back to Market Square for Rick Steve’s walking tour. He is very popular in the city, some shops even said they were recommended by him in his books! We began with Market Square and were sad to discover one of the first things on his list was to watch the clock tower open up and chime, but because they are doing some upkeeps to the building it was out of use and we couldn’t see it. So next was Town Hall. There is two different looking buildings for town hall and one has a tower. We went inside to go up the tower to one of the best view points in the city, according to Rick Steves. However, as you begin it is okay but once you get towards the top, it gets very scary with narrow stairs and even a ladder to climb up to the very top where it is very, very narrow! Heavens didn’t like it very much but we did get to see a lot. It was a beautiful view. After that we went to St. Jakobs Church, and saw the dog statue which symbolizes a story that the bell ringer jumped out of his tower because he built a tower and another person built a fancier tower right next to it, his dog followed but got stuck halfway down and this is where the statue is. Although this is only a story. Inside it had a beautiful altar, stained glass windows, and a huge organ. But the main event here is the famous wooden, hand carved Altar of the Hold Blood which contains a crystal with God’s blood inside. It was truly amazing at how old and beautiful it is. We also witnessed some men performing a song, which was random but cool. Next we walked to Covent Garden, which is not the same as the one in London, this one is literally a garden and very tiny. Then to the Castle Gardens where there once stood a castle that was partially destroyed with bombing but also the bricks taken and used elsewhere. Although there are some beautiful views there and I found a house that I absolutely love but would never live in…scroll down to see! Next we walked to the Christmas Museum- Kathe Wohlfart’s Christmas museum, very famous. The museum part was not so amazing, but the shop was outstanding. First of all giant, so many floors I don’t know if we saw it all, a giant, 3 story Christmas tree and decorations everywhere. Although, very expensive, so we just looked around. We did learn a little bit during the museum visit, like the history of the Christmas tree. It began in Germany when they would hang the tree from the ceiling and use candles instead of lights, which caused lots of fires. They travelled out of Germany via soldiers receiving them as gifts and began to be popular in the US. Later on the angel became famous because a man put one on his tree to remember his daughter and it caught on. Finally, much later the US began using lights instead of candles. Next we went to the Medieval Crime and Punishment Museum. This was very interesting. The crimes you were punished for, like baking bread badly and selling it in your bakery, or a musician playing bad music on the street, or two women gossiping or fighting. And the punishments you received were terrible- being trapped in a cage and dunked in water, being put in the stocks, or having to wear masks to make you look silly. These weren’t even the severe punishments, those could cost you an arm and a leg….literally! You could be pulled apart, limb by limb, beheaded, or hung! There were three floors of pictures, replicas, and original torture devices. Very interesting.  After the museum we went to a café and got a coffee and an onion pastry..got to love them! Then back to the hotel to nap. Then we went to an Italian restaurant for dinner. We still tried to eat German food by ordering Ribs and Schnitzel though. Then we went on the Night Watchmen’s Tour. The Night Watchmen dresses up and carries and axe and lantern. He was very funny and informative.  He explained that back in the old days it was a very low class job but it was important to guard the walls and keep an eye over the city. They would be in charge of telling everyone to go to bed and if you were not inside the walls before time was up they would lock you out. The only back in would be through a tiny door inside the bigger door and it would cost you a lot to get through. He explained that Rothenburg has been through a lot. It was very rich, then poor, then rich, then poor, then almost non-existent, and now rich again. He said they almost died out because of plague, war and bombings, but barely survived even though nothing happened for hundreds of years. They were saved during the war by an American Military Man who loved the beauty of the city and years later by artists who also loved the city. This brought tourism back to the city and made it the wealthy place it is today with 2,000 overnight visitors every day and many more who come just for the day. Only about 2000 people live inside the walls. You can now pay 1000 euros to help fix up the wall, as everything must stay preserved and have your name put on the wall. There is even one family who after generations and generations still live in the house. They had old fashioned door bells but had to disable them because tourists ran them all the time lol. It was a nice tour and great to see a different side to the city, as well as the tour guide was hilarious. He even made a DVD so that we didn’t have to remember all the information lol. Afterwards we headed back to our hotel to go to bed.

5^th- Today we got up early again to eat breakfast at our hotel, then we finished up some shopping while the shops were still open. Then we headed to the wall. You can walk the wall almost the entire way around the city so that is what we did. Along the way seeing the names of all the people who have paid to help fix it up. It was a beautiful view as well to see the city and the surrounding areas. After we looked in a few shops and again went to a café for onion pastry and coffee. Then on our way back to the hotel looked in some more shops. We went to take a nap before dinner. Then we were walking to a pub that Rick Steves recommends and saw a marching band in the Market Square. They were celebrating the holiday where the Berlin wall came down. They were even going to have a performance but we decided because it was in German, and we were hungry to go eat dinner. However, Rick Steves did not mention that on a Saturday night you should make reservations and therefore we couldn’t get into the pub so back to the Italian place, but this time for pasta!! YUM! We also met a tour group from America so we were chatting with them the whole night. We even forgot it was our anniversary! Oops! On the way back to the hotel we stopped and got some snowballs to take back home with us and then back to the hotel for bed.

6^th- Today we got up early for breakfast again and this time after breakfast packed our bags, said goodbye to Norry, and headed out. We stopped in Zwichau to see Annette (our new best friend in Germany, and also my boss) on our way home and chatted with her for a few hours then home to relax as it is back to work tomorrow.

Until next time,

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Oktoberfest

September 28, 2013

Today unexpectedly we decided to try to go to a mini version of Oktoberfest in the town near us. We heard about it from our New Zealand friends. We were not sure if we would be able to get in as we hadn’t bought tickets. However luckily there were tickets we could buy when we got there. It was very cool. Lots of people dressed in German outfits, huge beers, pretzels, sausages, and great music. We met up with Suzanne and Martyn as well as their friends Jim and Linda and some German friends. We sat at their table and enjoyed our beer and food chatting until the music began. Once the music began the whole scene changed as every song involved standing on benches or tables, joining hands, dancing, and clapping. It was wonderful! We had so much fun enjoying the music, the company, and of course the beer. Heavens enjoyed it a little too much lol getting very drunk. But it was very fun and a great way to celebrate Oktoberfest! A once in a lifetime experience, a very German experience. It was a great night.

Until next time,

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Germany

September 1-20, 2013

It took a very long time for us to get to Germany. When we arrived we took a very long train ride to meet up with Thomas and his family. They were so kind to take us in for the weekend. Then we moved into a hotel whilst our apartment was set up. We met some very nice people who helped us to do everything we needed in order to set up our apartment, get bank accounts, register with the town and everything. It took us a few weeks but we finally got everything we needed and moved into our apartment. It started with only a bathroom sink, toilet, and bath. Nothing else. Not even lights! But we managed to make it look like a home. We also walked around the town, very small town, but the view from our balcony is very pretty. I learned to drive standard, which is difficult at times, especially in a new country but after a few minor problems I think I have it down.  I started school and it is difficult at times because of the language barrier but I try. It is very different here. In the mornings the children have breakfast and then playtime. Then for an hour we do circle time and learning time which is usually in English. After that we play outside before lunch. Then after lunch they brush their teeth and sleep for an hour and a half. Then most of them go home and the rest play outside for the rest of the afternoon. My classroom is filled with 15 children mostly aged 4 turning 5. I have another teacher working with me who speaks German and some English and she helps to translate some of what I say to the children and vice versa. I have started to create some resources for my classroom and will begin doing some centers in a couple weeks.

Until next time,

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Our Honeymoon!

August 19-25 2013

19- We began our honeymoon by going to the town court to get our marriage certificate. Then we went to Alexandria Bay in the Thousand Islands for our honeymoon. We arrived on Monday at the Rock Ledge Motel and checked into our cute little cottage. Then we went into Alex Bay to look around. We did a little shopping looking through town then stopped to pick up some dinner and took it to our cottage to eat and watch tv before bed.  

20- Today we decided to do the Two Nations Cruise. We bought tickets and then went to get some breakfast at a café before the cruise started. Then we took the boat tour through the waters and into Canada. We saw many expensive houses, very tiny islands, and learnt a lot about the Thousand Islands region. The boat then stopped at Bodlt Castle. We got off and decided to have a look around the castle. Poor Mr. Bodlt’s wife died before she could see the castle completed so therefore they renovate it but will never complete it. We walked around exploring and then took the boat back to Alex Bay. We went back to our cottage and took a nap before returning to the Bay for dinner. We went to the Dock of the Bay and had a lovely BBQ chicken and pork meal. Then we went to the drive in- Heaven’s first- and watched Kickass 2 and the beginning of We’re the Millers, but fell asleep in the middle of it. So we drove back to our cottage to watch tv and go to bed.

21- Today we were supposed to go on our hot air balloon ride. However, there was a storm approaching which meant we couldn’t fly. I was very sad but maybe it was for the best. We decided to go on the Singe Castle boat tour. We sailed the waters and arrived at Dark Island and got a guided tour around the Castle. You can even stay in the Master suite for a lot of money! That was the one room we couldn’t see on our tour because it was being rented out. The Castle was very cool as it had many secret passageways that were originally used for the servants. Because back in the days the servants were not allowed to be seen when guests were there. Not only did the Castle have many rooms for the family and guests but also very strange rooms like a sports therapy room. It also had some beautiful gardens. It was a nice tour and very informational. Afterwards we went to Callavarils for dinner. It was the best meal I think I have ever had. I ordered baked stuffed shrimp with rice and beans and Heavens ordered manicotti. It was absolutely delicious. I can’t describe how amazing the shrimp was. It just melted in your mouth and is now my favorite meal. After dinner we went back to the drive in because they were showing new movies. This time we watched Immortal Instruments which was weird and incestual and then Elysium which was good. Then we went back to the cottage to go to sleep.

22- Today was not a very nice day out. The storm had arrived but we decided to go to Clayton which is not very far away and go on yet another boat cruise. This time we went on a glass bottom boat to Rock Island Lighthouse. Because of the storm we couldn’t see very much through the water under the boat but it was still cool to be on a boat that had a glass bottom. We went to Rock Island Lighthouse and got to go up to the top of lighthouse and look out which was cool and see a little history of the lighthouses. When we got back we went to Alex Bay and did some more shopping and picked up a pizza, watched a film, played cards and drank some wine before bed in our cottage.

23- Today was our last day in Alex Bay. We checked out of our little cottage and went to the mini golf and go carts place down the road. We did three laps on one of the longest go cart raceways. My car was super fast and it was really fun. Then we played some mini golf and Heavens beat me by one stoke! On the way out of town we stopped at MazeLand and GOT LOST! Lol. Not really, we eventually found our way through. Then we drove to Syracuse to Uncle Mike and Aunt Jacks house and hung out with Minnie until Uncle Mike got home, then had some dinner and hung out until Aunt Jack and Mikayla got home from NYC.

24- Today we got up and hung out with Uncle Mike, Aunt Jack, and Mikayla then made our way towards Oneida. We stopped at Fort Ricky or as Heavens likes to call it Rickety Farm. She got to see a wolf show where the trainer went inside the enclosure with the wolves. She got to feed the goats and an impatient, persistent deer. We got to hold a snake and get our picture. We walked around looking at all the animals and enjoyed being together. It was lovely. Afterwards we went to Karlee’s house and had a drink with her mom who lives next door and then headed to Turning Stone Casino to meet up with Shelley and Matthew. We went for a buffet dinner and even had a chocolate fountain!!! It was great catching up. We made our way to Exit 33 which has lots of clubs and saw a club that looked cool. When we got in there was a couch with the British Flag print on it and when Heavens asked to take a picture the security guys said we could sit there. So we sat down and took some pictures and then a woman came over and said we could only sit there if we ordered a bottle which was 100 dollars!!! Ridiculous!! Maracia and her two friends showed up and we listened to the band for a few songs, but they were really weird. They looked like they didn’t belong together and they weren’t very good. So we headed out and saw that next door there was a Burlesque show at midnight, I asked about it and they said it was free you just had to buy two drinks and that there was no dress code. So we decided to go to the Tin Rooster to have some drinks and listen to the band, and maybe even do some line dancing until midnight. It was so country and they had a saddle disco ball!! But because dinner was still going on there was no place to sit. Well, Heavens being the charmer that she is talked to the hostess who was so excited that we were newlyweds that she made a table right in front by the band just for us. So we ordered some drinks, listened to the country band, did some line dancing and regular dancing and had a great time. Afterwards we went to go to the Burlesque show and found out that it was a black tie dress code, which we clearly were not prepared for, how annoying!!! So we headed back to Karlee’s house to go to bed. 

25- Today we got up early and went for a nice breakfast with Karlee, her mom, and Maracia then we made the journey home. Once home we got ready to go to the demolition derby finale with Matt and met up with Nick, Lorraine, and Chris and Rian. We cheered for our cars and had a nice end to our wonderful honeymoon.

Until next time,

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