Tuesday brought more clear skies and sunshine, and we were ready to take advantage of it! Our first stop of the day was the city of
Koblenz.
Koblenz sits at the intersection of the Rhine and Mosel Rivers, and is one of Germany's oldest and largest cities.
There are lots of beautiful buildings to see in the city. I didn't know much about it, so we sort of followed a German tour group along. I didn't understand a word the guide was saying, but she pointed to lots of interesting buildings, and I took pictures of them. This was working out quite well until she ditched us at the river. I didn't see how they lost us, but I'm convinced she had her elderly tour group running full blast and
ducking behind hedges until we were gave up the chase.
After we lost our group, we went back to our traditional way of checking out the city...looking at the church. Once again, they never disappoint! It was beautiful.
You would never expect such a pretty color to be inside, but there it was. The stained glass was amazing! After walking around
Koblenz for a while, we were on to the next stage...
driving down to Mosel River and checking out castles. Anyone who knows me knows one thing...I LOVE CASTLES!!!!
I had a certain castle in mind, too...Burg
Eltz. It's very unique in that instead of being built on the top of a hill or mountain like most castles are, it's in a valley. You park in a lot that i in the middle of no where. All you see is woods. Then you start walking. (They had a shuttle bus, but that's for wimps. I'm just saying.)
Up, down, up again, and then you finally come over a rise and look down into the valley...and there she is. Beautiful! (Ignore the
band aid on the left side. She's having a little work done, and it's impolite to stare.) Still, the work is not over, and you have to walk down into the valley and over to the castle.
You aren't allowed to take
pictures inside the castle, but I took a couple in the inner courtyard while waiting for our tour. You can check out their
website if you are curious to see the inside.
I love the bright pops of color here and there. The inside was very beautiful, too. All too soon, it was time to hike back up and out of the valley to our car and head off to the next location down the
Mosel.
We had a few
issues with Thomas (our GPS) on this trip, too. I think he acts up
occasionally just to make sure that we appreciate him. Here, he is saying "Go straight". We're saying, "Uh, NO!"Are you kidding me? It's not even a road. IT'S JUST TWO MUDDY RUTS IN A FIELD!!! I'm starting to think that Thomas was hitting the famous Mosel
Riesling wine while we were touring the castle.
Anyhoo, we got him straightened out and on to a REAL road. Pretty soon, we reached the city of
Cochem.
What could be more fun on such a beautiful day than taking a ride up the side of a mountain in a little two
seater lift. Russ and Brandon went first. :0)
The view from the top was amazing, and you can see
Cochem Castle in the distance. That's our next destination! After admiring the view for a while, back down the mountain we went.
And on to the castle.
Cochem castle is one of the few castles in Germany that, after it's destruction, was rebuilt back to its
original face.
More hiking...but it was definitely worth it. The castle gates were very impressive.
And the view from the gates was fantastic. You can see the Mosel River and the town of
Cochem below.
This is the view from inside the main gates of the castle. Another gate. Safety first, I always say.
The castle is very pretty. When you are inside, you can really see the amazing details on the stained glass windows.
The tower on the right is called the Witches Tower. It's the only tower on the castle that is left from the
original castle. None of the others remained through the battles. Because it
remained intact, local legend says that a witch lives in it and protected it. When the owners rebuilt the castle, they left this tower alone. The painted finish on it is what the entire castle used to look like.
Inside the castle, there were lots of interesting things to see. This door is right off of the hunting room where the men hung out , told stories, and drank. Notice the way the key hole is designed? This is so that no matter how drunk the men got, they could still get the key into the key hole. With all of the wine and beer they drink in this region, I'm not surprised that someone came up with this ingenious design.
This is a special light fixture. It is supposed to bring luck to the castle where is is hanging, and scare off evil spirits. They say that if you rub her red belly and make a wish, it will be granted. Our guide asked Brandon if he wanted to do that, and he declined. He said if he had to rub that things belly to get a wish, he's fine without it. I'd have to agree. She was a tad creepy looking.
This is the dining room in the castle. They had some great furniture, and the blue and white dishes were from the Netherlands.
Back to the outer courtyard again, and the tour was done. We had a great time exploring castles along the Moselle River. And we got a great workout as a bonus. I've hiked several miles up and down mountains this day. I'm ready for bed!
Ahhh...to dream of castles and adventures...minus the creepy red bellied lamp girl. That's still little too creepy for me.
The tower on the right is called the Witches Tower. It's the only tower on the castle that is left from the original castle. None of the others remained through the battles. Because it remained intact, local legend says that a witch lives in it and protected it. When the owners rebuilt the castle, they left this tower alone. The painted finish on it is what the entire castle used to look like. 
Inside the castle, there were lots of interesting things to see. This door is right off of the hunting room where the men hung out , told stories, and drank. Notice the way the key hole is designed? This is so that no matter how drunk the men got, they could still get the key into the key hole. With all of the wine and beer they drink in this region, I'm not surprised that someone came up with this ingenious design. 
This is a special light fixture. It is supposed to bring luck to the castle where is is hanging, and scare off evil spirits. They say that if you rub her red belly and make a wish, it will be granted. Our guide asked Brandon if he wanted to do that, and he declined. He said if he had to rub that things belly to get a wish, he's fine without it. I'd have to agree. She was a tad creepy looking. 
This is the dining room in the castle. They had some great furniture, and the blue and white dishes were from the Netherlands. 
Back to the outer courtyard again, and the tour was done. We had a great time exploring castles along the Moselle River. And we got a great workout as a bonus. I've hiked several miles up and down mountains this day. I'm ready for bed! Ahhh...to dream of castles and adventures...minus the creepy red bellied lamp girl. That's still little too creepy for me. 
On Monday morning, our gang loaded up the car and headed out to Spang (Spangdahlem AFB, Germany). I figured this out very carefully, so with our "base camp" for the week at Spang, we could see a lot of Germany in very little time. Props to TLF there, by the way! It was fantastic! After checking in, we drove off to check out the city of Trier, Germany's oldest city. Trier's history begins around the middle of 10BC, around 1,300 years before Rome. First stop in the city...the Imperial Baths (Kaisertherman). They were built under Emperor Constantine in the first half of the 4th century, but were never used for their intended purpose. 
There were lower levers to the Baths, too, and you could explore most of them. 
Constantine's successors completely remodeled the baths after he left them uncompleted. 
Near the Imperial Baths is the Electoral Palace. It's absolutely beautiful. Just behind it on the left, you can see the Roman Basilica peeking out.
There are lots of sculptures on the grounds surrounding the Palace. They were done by F. Tietz. I'm not sure if he didn't like kids, or if he just had his own ideas about child rearing. It seems like a strange way to hold a kid! Lots of the statutes featured kids crying or being held in strange ways. 
(Proof that we were actually there!)
These fountains near the Palace were not only beautiful, but then also ended in a lovely little cafe where we stopped for a cool drink. They also had delicious looking cakes, if you happen to find yourself in the area!
This is the Roman Basilica, also known as Aula Palatina. Emperor Constantine had it built in the early 4th century. 
I thought this building was beautiful. 
This is the the Trier Cathedral (left side) and the Church of Our Lady (right side), and they originate from a double church built in 4th Century. Legend has it that they were built on the site of a former residential palace of Empress Helena (later St. Helena). 
Churches and cathedrals are my favorite things to explore in Europe. The architecture is so amazing, inside and out. 
There is a huge pipe organ high on the left side of the cathedral.
These archways were along the side of the inner courtyard of the church and cathedral. 
This is a look at the inner courtyard. It was so peaceful, with the birds chirping and the breeze softly blowing. 
Here is another look at the courtyard. You can see the arches that form the outside of the walkway in the earlier picture. 
This is the main square or Market Place of Trier. 
The Porta Niagra (Black Gate) is Triers most famous landmark. It's the biggest surviving city gate north of the Alps, and was built near the end of the 2nd century. It's the Northern gate of the city walls that were originally 6.4 km long. No mortar was used in the construction, and the stone blocks were held together with iron clamps cast into place with lead. The gate got it's name after the light sandstone blocks turned gray with age. 
You can climb up in the Porta Niagra, and you are rewarded with a fantastic view of the city of Trier. 
Trier was a beautiful city with lots of interesting history. We had a great time exploring it. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day, either. What a great Monday...but the week's not over yet...
Today was Shadow Day at 
It also provided an awesome view as we traveled all over base on our adventure. At first, the fellas were putting up a ladder for us to use to climb in and out, but that didn't last too long. The kids explained that in real combat, we wouldn't have time to pull out a ladder, so we would just have to rough it, and climb in and out the way that they would in war. It's hard to argue with that logic. 
Our first stop was at the Falconry. This gentlemen has several falcons, and they are used to keep wild birds off of the flight line. Birds can be sucked into the jet engines and destroy them, so it's very important to keep them away from flight line. He also has a pet owl named Johnny, that he let the kids hold and touch. 
Our next stop was at the Fire Department. What could be more cool than getting to shoot water out of the fireman's hose? 
How about getting to ride in the Fire Truck? 
This wasn't a boring, "lets just drive in a little circle" kind of ride, either. They sped off, with sirens blaring and water shooting everywhere. The kids were thrilled! 
The adventure didn't end there. We loaded back into the 
Next stop? How about seeing the jets themselves! The kids were now getting a better understanding of how the jets are put together, and how they run. 
They even got to climb up and check out the cockpits. There wasn't much room inside there, but the controls were really cool. 
Now that they know about the jets, it was time to learn about what makes them "more than just an airline". That's right...weapons! Even MORE cool! They learned about different kinds of bombs and guns that the jets carry, and what kind of damage they do to the enemy. 
Sorry, I loved this old sign, so I just had to throw it in here. Antique! :0) 
It was time for lunch, so we headed over to the Base Community Center for the kind of lunch you'd have if you were at war...
Brandon ended up with 
After lunch, we went somewhere that the kids were REALLY excited about...The Cop Shop. That's the military police building. Why were they so excited? Because they got to see and hold REAL GUNS! Yes, they were unloaded, and they were supervised the entire time, but how cool is that? Have you ever seen a bigger smile on a boys face? 
We went outside to check out an armored vehicle, and the kids got to climb inside. 
The police put on a canine demonstration for us. Have you ever seen a sweeter puppy? Just look at that face. That's a lover, not a fighter!
Then again...maybe not. You might want to think about trying to enter base without permission around here! That dog pulled him down on the ground in just a couple of seconds, and held him there with no problem whatsoever. Um...step away from the dog, kids.
You bet they could! They learned a lot throughout the day, and they were now up to any challenge. Does this look like a face that would leave a fellow Airman behind? Absolutely not! 
