Weekly update time

Here's what we've been up to this past week (other than working):

Had to get a new stove.  Oh darn, the oven went out on the old one.....so we upgraded a little.  Can't wait to get the new kitchen to match this fancy stove.

Got rid of this thing in the guest room.  

Gave it to Cris and replaced it with this old dresser that we had in Paul's office. 

 Looks way better.  Might upgrade the knobs on it.

 

 

Paul took a Saturday night off and we went and listened to Sean & Staci.

Great night.....and funny that Paul got this picture of someone else taking a picture.

We had our photo taken, fingerprinted, and interview done and got our final approval to be part of the Global Entry Program and received our Known Traveler numbers.  Yay......we can now get TSA Precheck for every flight AND no standing in custom's lines when we come back from an international trip.

We bought a new grill gazebo since our patio cover got destroyed by hail.  Last night we put it together.  Enjoy watching our progress:

Yay!  It's up.  We're still not exactly sure where it will have it's final home, but at least it's up. 

So that's what we've been up to this week.  Still have lots (and lots) of vacation photos to get on here.

We made it to Koblenz!

The scenery from the train windows to Koblenz was amazing. 

We saw so many castles along the banks of the Rhine River.

 

There were lots of cute little villages built along the river's edge.

 

After the 1.5 hour ride to Koblenz, my first visit needed to find the Toilette

Luckily, they had this wonderful facility located in the train station in Koblenz.  As a traveler, finding places to use the bathroom are sometimes a real challenge.....this was a welcome sight. 

It didn't even matter that it cost 1 euro to use....it was so worth it!

 

Interesting thing we noticed with all the restrooms in both Germany and France, there was a toilet brush always located in any bathroom or stall in all of the restrooms. 

This restroom was exceptionally clean.

 

Once arriving in Koblenz we started walking and enjoying all the fun,

different and interesting things about this foreign city.

I love to see all the old churches everywhere we go.....

they have the most beautiful architecture.

We finally found the Visitor's Center and got the directions to our next destination, which luckily placed us along the Rhine River.  Other than the day being a little cloudy.....it was so beautiful here.

The most exciting thing in Koblenz to see is the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress.  It's that big building on the hill over my left shoulder in the picture above.  This was a castle in the 10th century and then turned into the biggest fortress in Europe in the 16th century.  What's the best way to get up there.....a gondola ride over the Rhine River of course!

Here was our chariot across the river:

 

Awwwwww......isn't he cute?  This guy takes me on the best vacations!

The view to the other side of the river was amazing.  Just wished that the reflection of the glass window didn't show up......dang thing ruins my shots.

We spent the next couple of hours roaming through this gigantic castle/fortress. 

What an amazing and beautiful place.

 

It had a great view of the Rhine River and the Mosel Rivers meet each other.

After enjoying the scenic ride back down the hill on the gondola, it was time to get some souvenirs (German beer glasses) and find something to eat for lunch. 

We found this really authentic German restaurant run by a woman who spoke no English.  After pointing and pictures and at food in her case.....we received our lunches.  It was the best German food I've ever had.  It was some kind of slow and tender roasted pork and the best fried potatoes I've ever had in my life.  Paul feasted on Sausages and a very different kind of Sauerkraut.

With full and happy tummies.....we headed back to the train station. 

We had some more sightseeing to go and do.

 

But this story will have to be continued in the next edition of this blog..........

P.S.  After visiting Koblenz, my mother told me that this is the city my great-grandmother Parslow came from.  Very interesting that out of all the places we could have visited that day.....we had chosen Koblenz.  It made this journey even more special thinking about her living in that little town along the river.  I was even more thrilled after we arrived home and I unwrapped my souvenir....I didn't even realize that I had bought one that had this special town on it.  I love this glass!

I hope that we will get the opportunity to come back

and get a chance to explore here again some day

Day 1. Exploring Germany

We were so exhausted from our trip to Frankfurt, that we really made it an early night.  The bonus for going to bed early means you get up early.  We never get up early.....unless we have to.  Getting up early also have us lots of time to go exploring.....and we only had Monday as our only full day to sightsee Germany.

First thing on our agenda was breakfast.  Our hotel plan included a free buffet breakfast and we were excited to experience a German breakfast.  We got down to the buffet at 6:30am (we NEVER are the first people to the breakfast buffet.  We are usually the last).  We never have seen a more beautiful and different assortment of breakfast items to choose from.

As you found your table, they also asked if you wanted scrambled eggs or an omelet and bacon.  They also brought you a little drink they called Fit Drink.  It was a yogurt like smoothie.  First day was Strawberry and second day was Peach.  Great way to start your day.

 There was a table of pasteries, a table of fruit, a table of Chinese soup.......

 A table of weird meats and/or fish we didn't know what it was, a table of juices and smoothies......

 A table of cold cuts and cheeses.  Seriously, there was so many tables of delicious food. 

I have to admit......this was the BEST breakfast buffet we have ever feasted on in all of our travels.

 

After breakfast, we headed across the street to the train station to get our tickets to adventure.  After much research, we decided to take the train to Bacharach and Koblenz.  We wanted to see old medieval towns and German castles.  We found a helpful customer service department that got us the tickets that we needed we were on our way!

 

Of course, you can't hop on a train without taking a few pictures to document the adventure!

Or those of you that know us know that you can't have a vacation with out a few picture screw ups either.  We'll have several of those for you along the way

And you always need to take a selfie.  The trains in Germany were very nice, clean, and reasonably priced.  It was a great way to travel.  We had about a 90 minute ride to Koblenz, and a lot of it was along the Rhein River and there was so many beautiful things to see along the way.

 

But before we can enjoy some of the pictures from the train ride.....

we gotta throw in another "what the heck happened here" picture

Here's you go.....some pictures from our train journey to Koblenz

 

There are just too many things for just one blog......so we'll continue this journey on the next one!

 

 

It's all about Wrigley

We really wouldn't want to go on so many trips if we had to worry about who was going to take care of our little dog.  Ever since our primary caretaker (Cris) moved farther away, other arrangements had to be made.

We are so glad to have found Vanessa.  Wrigley loves going to their house, is always good when she's there, gets spoiled, and doesn't poop or pee in their house.  We know that she loves going there and has so much fun and gets lots of love and attention.

Here's the latest pics that Vanessa sent us when we were traveling.

 How obvious is it that she doesn't like baths?

 Always nice to get a postcard from home

 Evidence that they spoil her.  She gets to sleep on the furniture and they even give her a pillow

 This is how you know she is totally happy and comfortable

 Playing with her favorite toy

 Seriously, how can you not love this sweet little face

I'm glad they love to watch her as much as she loves to be at their house.  We can sure travel easy not worrying about our little dog (well I don't actually think Paul worries about it like I do)

Oops....almost forgot one: