Follow Me to Traben-Trarbach, Germany

 When you have a gorgeous three day weekend, you know you have to take advantage of it.  We decided to head to Germany one last time before our move, and do a little exploring.  Normally, my exploring is based on castles, but this time I wanted to just walk around one of the little towns along the Moselle River. A friend of mine recommended Traben-Trarbach, and we were not disappointed.  And guess what... there is a castle on the hillside above the town, so that's a bonus!  

 Traben-Trarbach is nestled between the hills, and lies along both banks of the Moselle River. Traben is on one side, and Trarbach is on the other.  The hillsides that aren't forest, are covered with vineyards. It's like something out of a fairy tale. 

 As an added bonus, they were having an antique car show along the banks of the river.  How awesome is that?  They had just about every type of vehicle that you can imagine.

 But this beauty was my favorite.  Isn't she stunning?  Couldn't you see me cruising around Ft. Walton Beach in this?  OK, I'd be too nervous to drive her, but I'd stare at her.  A lot.  I even told Russ that I would give up all my Polish Pottery if he bought her for me.  I expect them to deliver her any day now. 

 I picked out this little number for Jess.  It's the perfect car for a college gal.  When you're done driving it, you just put it in your pocket until you need it again.  The entire front of the car opens like a door so the driver can get in and out. 

 We had some fun taking pictures on the bridge.  Have you ever felt like someone was watching you?  Nah.  Me either. 

 And there is my patient and ever so tolerant hubby.  I'm not sure if he was admiring the view or pretending that he wasn't with the strange people taking lots of ridiculous pictures on the bridge. 

 We walked around the town some more, enjoying the beautiful architecture, and then it was time to head for home. 

 Check out this amazing view of the Moselle River.  This might just be the best view in all of Germany! 

 (I don't know why this picture jumped out of order, but here it is just the same.)

We had a fantastic day exploring beautiful Traben-Trarbach.  And we added another wonderful memory to our time in Europe.  Hope your weekend was just as great!

Aachen Christmas Market

From November 18 to December 23, Aachen is home to Winter Magic. That's the name of this years Christmas Market, and "magic" is a perfect choice. Aachen, Germany, hosts one of my top 5 European Christmas markets. Wooden stalls start in front of the historic City Hall, wind down narrow streets to the Cathedral, and then lead you back up the other side.

The only sad part of our visit to Aachen was seeing our faithful friend being loaded up and taken away. This statue used to stand just to the left of the Town Hall, but the he's had it pretty rough the last few years. He is showing more than a little wear and tear, so the city passed him over to a company who will repair him and find him another home. I'm sorry to say that it won't be in Aachen. He will be greatly missed.

All of the local stores were all dressed up in their holiday best, and were definitely in the Christmas Spirit. The window of the Printis shop never fails to impress.

We had a fantastic time exploring the city with friends, and making a few new ones along the way as well.

I might have even picked up a Christmas gift or two.

There was so much to see, eat and do that it was almost overwhelming. Almost.

We had a fantastic day in Aachen, and couldn't have chosen a better location to kick off our season of European Christmas marketing. Merry Christmas!

The Moms in Monschau, Germany

Russ and I went to Monschau, Germany, a few months ago. It was one of those places that we knew we had to go back to, so it was a perfect location to take the Moms. I won't bore you with the history of the town again. Feel free to read my last post about Monschau if you want all those details. As pretty as it was in April, it was even more so now... in full bloom.

Here is proof that we haven't worn the Moms out too much yet. You would think that we all would be losing weight with all the running around we've been doing, but that's not the case. We've been doing a lot of eating, too.

The Red House (still peach in color) was just as pretty as last time.

And this is still my favorite view of the city. Can you imagine growing up in a place like this? I think the castle ruins on the hillside in the background is a nice touch. Europe is amazing.

The dapper gentleman was still hanging around outside the church. The plaque beside him says that this is Maabens Paulche (1856 - 1940).

This is another one of my favorite views in Monschau. After admiring the view, turn around and head to the bakery (just behind you to the right).

Inside, you'll find some delicious German gingerbread. If nothing else, just walk into this store and take a deep breath. You'll never want to leave. It smells that good.

Russ and his Mom posed in front of my future home. It's separated from the rest of the town by a little creek with stone walls on each side of it.

There is a little bridge over the creek. The only change I need to make it changing the bridge into a draw bridge. Then it will be perfect.

This is the view from the front of my future home.

There is a sculpture garden on the other side of Monschau. It's lots of fun to walk around, so make sure you stop by on your visit to the city. This fountain made us laugh.

The whole garden had lots of interesting fountains and sculptures. It gave all of us lots of inspiration for our own gardens. Mom would have bought a fountain, but she couldn't fit it into her luggage.

A short walk past the sculpture garden takes you to the glass shop. They have a glass blower on location, so all of these products were made here. They had just about every color of glass you could imagine, and twice as many shapes.

After browsing through the glass displays, we headed back into the main part of Monschau to find some lunch.

German food is not low fat, but boy is it delicious. Russ and his Mom got the schnitzel with mushroom sauce. Mom and I got it with the local Monschau mustard sauce. Delicious!

I think the Moms really enjoyed their day in Monschau.

Not only did the Moms get to check out a new city, they also added a new country to their list of places they've been. If you're keeping track, they have now been to Belgium, The Netherlands, France, England, and Germany. And it's just been two weeks! We'll be taking it a lot easier from here on out. We have lots of day trips planned, but no more big adventures to far off lands. Tomorrow, we will check out things closer to home.

Talocan At Phantasia Land

This is why I didn't ride Talocan. I think the video speaks for itself...

Phantasia Land in Bruhl, Germany!

We took a trip with KB to visit Phantasia Land in Bruhl, Germany, today. Unfortunately, you can't predict European weather at all, so we were a little nervous when the day started out cold and rainy, but we decided to keep with our plan. We were happy we did! Phantasia Land is a very cool amusement park, located about 2 hours from Kleine Brogel. It has 5 different lands that are similar to what you'd find at Disney world, but the park is more the size of a small Six Flags. There are three entrances to the park, but we went in at Berlin, the main street of the whole thing. Just inside the gate is a very cool 2 story carousel.

If you head to the right, you'll go into Deep In Africa. This is where you'll find our favorite attraction... Black Mamba. Black Mamba is an extremely fun roller coaster, the kind where you hang underneath it. It only lasts about a minute, but it's a blast!

Here are Russ and Brandon, setting off on their adventure. Jess, Cat, and George were competing to see who could ride it the most. I think George set the record with 13 rides! (3 were my limit.) If you stand on the nearby observation bridge, Black Mamba circles over and around you. It's lots of fun to watch! None of us were crazy enough to get on this ride. It's in Mexico, and it's called Talocan. It rotates you around on a big wheel, while spinning the middle section where everyone is sitting. Very nauseating, and a tad painful to boot. We were happy to just watch this one.

This is a look back up Berlin's main street toward the entrance. It had started to rain again at this point. *Note that they don't shut down rides here when it rains. Even when there is lightening and thunder involved. (This includes the metal roller coasters! Eeeeek!)

This is a crazy pair of indoor roller coasters, centered around a ride that lifts you up and drops you. It's located in Fantasy. The car of the roller coaster spins as you are going down the track. You have two choices of tracks: Fear and Force. Don't ride Fear after eating. I'm just saying.

Mystery Castle is located in...Mystery, of course. It's similar to the Tower of Terror in Disney World. Most of us passed on this one, but Russ just had to ride it. Better him than me.

The sun soon came out again, and it was a beautiful day. Off to explore more sections of the park! This is China Town, of course.

We had a really fun day at the park, and soon it was time to head back home. Can you see the name of the roller coaster there? Yep. It's called the Michael Jackson Thriller Ride. I'm not sure what that has to do with Mexico (that's where the ride is located), but such is life. It looked like more of a runaway mine train sort of ride. If you ever find yourself in the vicinity of Bruhl, Germany, and are looking for a fun way to spend the day, then check out Phantasia Land! Be sure to ride Black Mamba. She's a blast!