Celebration of Marriage

Friday morning, we watched the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. For us, it has been interesting to watch the behind scenes on BBC World News and learn about the preparation for their big day, plus past royal events. We enjoyed every moment of the broadcast during their special day.

This past week also marked our 10th  Wedding Anniversary. On Friday evening, Eric and I left for a weekend get-away on the Mosel River. Our hotel, Weinhaus Kolb, welcomed us with a glass of their family wine even though we arrived later than planned.

After a nice German breakfast on Saturday morning, we set out on our on our bikes to tour the Mosel River. We spent the day along the river visiting weinguts, local families who produce and sell their own wine from their homes. We came across a family hosting an open house where we could sample all of their wines and various other food specialties made by their friends.

 Weingut Reinhold Fuchs was a nice break from riding as we sat in their courtyard while conversing with their eldest son and sampled wine and champagne. We purchased a few more bottles of wine and a bottle of oil made with Riesling to add to our collection. Since my basket was full, we decided it was time to head back.

When we were less than 20 minutes away from our hotel, it started to sprinkle and then pour, but we managed to find some huge trees to stop under before continuing on our way. It was a fabulous day cruising along the Mosel River.

Sunday, we returned home to hear about the adventures my Mom and Ray had with the girls during the weekend. Adeline was their personal translator while shopping on Saturday morning at the market and in the stores. They had a good time while we were away and kept Meme and Poppa Ray quite busy. In the later afternoon, we walked downtown for a nice meal in the historic part of Hofheim.

Spring Break Week 2

 We took the train to Frankfurt on Monday since everything else was closed being it was a holiday. We walked the shopping strip and then made our way through the historic area to the waterfront. After an ice cream break, we strolled over to the European Central bank and then caught the Ebbelwei-Express. This is a touring street train that serves traditional Hessen apple wine and juice as it takes you around the city. We were able to find seats together and enjoy the sights. Along the route, we discovered an area for dinner, so after our tour, we boarded the normal street trains and went back to Sachsenhausen for a traditional German meal in a biergarten. 

Tuesday was a transition day as Eric returned to work in Sweden and we caught our breath from the holiday weekend. 

On Wednesday morning, we toured Mainz. The weather was a little cool, but perfect for sight-seeing in the city. Unfortunately, our lunch experience in the main town square was rotten as our food was never delivered and our waitress wanted us to wait another 10 minutes after we already waited over 45 minutes. Then when we tried another restaurant, they were closing for the afternoon break as we just missed the lunch hours. We decided to return home as the girls were tired, but then we picked up Doners on the way home and this made up for our lunch disaster. In the end, this was good timing as an afternoon thunderstorm began as we were sitting down for our late lunch.

 

We spent Thursday morning cruising the Rhine River. The temperatures were cool, but it was good weather for a boat ride. We snacked on our bakery treats  along with some warm beverages to take the morning chill away. Our boat also had a small slide and few ride on toys on the top deck, so the girls played while we enjoyed the scenery. We departed at St. Goarhausen and strolled through the little town. We then caught the train back to Rüdesheim for a late lunch. We enjoyed our traditional German meals of sausage with sauerkraut, pork knuckle, schnitzel, and asparagus as it is in season.

Happy Easter

Our morning started early with the Easter egg hunt that began in the house and then continued outside. The girls had a fun time hunting for their eggs and discovering their baskets in the morning sunshine. They each selected a Peep for their first treat from their baskets. 

We were able to get ourselves ready and out the door in time for church with all of the morning excitement. The family church service was very enjoyable and it good to see the church filled with many families and visitors.  

When we returned home, we snacked on some hors devours while my Mom and I prepared the meal. and managed only to bump into each other a few times.  We noticed Emmie also kept munching on goodies from her basket throughout the afternoon. She would occasionally  pass by the basket, put her hand in  it, and then continue on what she was doing while munching on a sweet treat. We kept dinner simple so we could enjoy the afternoon. The ham, along with the side dishes, turned out delicious. It was wonderful having loved ones around our large table for Easter. For dessert, we enjoyed an apple Torte specific to the Taunus area and a chocolate mousse torte which were both from the local cafe, while Emmie picked out another Peep to have. 

The girls also wanted to have an egg fight, so we all picked out our eggs. Unfortunately, the girls' eggs did not last long as they cracked on the first strike, but I  chose a strong egg and was declared the winner after breaking a few egg tips. Afterwards, washers was played late into the evening. Eric and Adeline were on a winning streak against Ray and Jorge. When the candles burned low, it was determined the night was over, even though the competition was still strong.

We wish everyone a Happy Easter!

Bus Trip

Saturday morning began with a trip to the market and bakeries as we had to stock up on food for Easter dinner and the following day since the stores would be all be closed by mid afternoon today. By the time we left the downtown area, all of us were carrying a filled bag and the girls had already consumed their lunch as every place we visited, they received a special treat. 

In the afternoon, we took a bus trip to Königstein. The ride is double the time it takes for us to drive it, but the view up the hill and through the towns is nice. We strolled through the pedestrian zone with its timber frame houses before walking up to the castle ruins. 

We headed up the hill to the ruins from the 12th century castle to begin our exploration. Once again, we had a nice view overlooking the Taunus hills. The girls liked peeking in the dark and damp rooms. Ray, Eric, and the girls climbed up the tower for an even better look over the area.  When we returned down the hill to my Mom sitting on the park bench, she told us she listened to the church organist practice for Easter Sunday service as the church was directly across from her.

After a few minutes on the playground and a short stroll through the park, we ended the afternoon with an ice cream cone before boarding the bus to return to Hofheim.

Good Friday

"It is a good day for us, but a bad day for Jesus," said Adeline and Emmie throughout the day. They have been very interested in the days leading up to Easter from the resurrection eggs I created. The daily egg hunt with a surprise object hidden inside each egg was a great way to help them learn about the various events leading up to Easter Sunday as they were anxious to discover the object and then hear the bible passages that went along with it.

The weather was great as well, so we took full advantage of the sunshine and warm temperatures. We barbecued some small white fish we did not know what they were, but there was a huge assortment at the store, so we figured they had to be good. Eric found many recipes for them when we informed him the lady could not translate what they were. The Schollenfish were very tasty and we then learned they are a common fish in the European waters during the late spring which is why we had not heard of them before.

In the afternoon, we went on a walk. Our first stop was to visit the wild pigs in the forest and feed them. We then continued up the hill to the church where Mom and Ray could look out over the surrounding area. We finished our walk at the Meisterturm. The girls played,  while we enjoyed some refreshing beverages in the Biergarten.

In the evening, we decorated our Easter eggs outside. The air was warm and it was still light out for us to be doing this project on the picnic table. It worked out well, as Ray warned us about my Mom dropping at least one of the eggs.  Sure enough, the second to last egg, she dropped and caused dye to splatter on a few of the other eggs. The girls liked the new polka dots on their eggs.

Spring Break Week 1

We arrived back in Germany early on Monday afternoon to begin our first week of Spring Break. The taxi's thermometer indicated it was already 70 degrees outside and it was only lunchtime. We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sunshine and warm air.

Unfortunately, Emmie came down with a fever overnight, but she still wanted to play quietly outside on the picnic blanket with her dolls while I cleaned on Tuesday. It worked out as it was very enjoyable to be outside again since it was another warm and sunny day.

Wednesday morning we first did our shopping in preparing for the holiday weekend. The stores were going to be closed for Friday, Easter Sunday, and Monday.  I gathered as much as I could so I would not need to be in the store on Saturday as I was informed the stores are hectic then. Adeline thought it was funny that I needed two shopping carts for the food. We managed to find room in our basement storage for the food, which was good, since the weather was going to be warm all weekend.

Later in the morning, we met up with Uschi for morning drinks. It was a pleasant visit sitting outside the cafe. She then accompanied us around the market as I picked up my specialty raviolis I ordered from the Noodle lady and a few other items we needed for the holiday weekend.

Thursday morning we ventured to the airport to pick up our first visitors from across the pond, my Mom and Ray. We managed to find our way through the huge parking structure and then waited for them in the arrival area. While we were waiting, we conversed with a man from India while he was also waiting for someone. He offered the girls some excellent lemonade he brought with him. It was made by Coca-Cola in India and was very tasty. The girls gulped it down quickly. Soon we spotted our travelers in their heavy clothes and ran to greet them. We found a simpler way back to our car and piled in for the ride home. We made a few stops around town in the car to pick up the reserved baked goods and fresh fish as I did not want to walk with them home in the warm sunshine.

Thursday afternoon it reached 80 degrees and we were happily swimming at the Rhine Main Therme while Mom and Ray were taking a break at the hotel.  It was a perfect pool day as the water is heated so we enjoyed being outside in the sunshine in the warm water.

Kronborg Castle

Our morning started off being treated like royalty at the Hilton. We were seated at a table over looking the atrium and then Eric ordered us pancakes and waffles even though they were not listed anywhere on the buffet. He remembered they offered this earlier in the year, so when he asked, they were happy to make them for us. When we were served them, the other guests just looked on in awe. 

We stopped in Boulangerie, a local bakery, before our trip to the Kronberg  Castle began. The small bakery was filled with wonderful small treats. We ended up with a more baked goods then intially planned, but I do not think we will be disappointed.

 We then boarded our train to Helsingborg. The hour train ride north was nice as we got to see different architecture and the coast along the way. We then departed the train and boarded a ferry to Helsingor, which is where the castle is. The girls had fun on our 20 minute ferry ride over to the Danish city even though it was windy. It was really neat to see the castle as we were approaching the dock.

We walked along the town's edge and out to Kronborg Castle. The girls skipped through the courtyard which is famous for the setting of Shakespeare's famous tragedy Hamlet. We enjoyed our bakery treats before the castle tours in English began. Our first tour was in the  dark Casemates. This was under the castle where the soldiers lived during the time of war. It was very interesting to learn about their lifestyle and the legend behind their large hero solider and national symbol," Holger the Dane".

Our next tour took us through the castle apartments. The girls enjoyed seeing all of the furniture and accessories within the rooms. While we were in the Knight's Hall, which is the longest hall in Europe, the girls were dancing to some music going on and managed to find the one loose Swedish marble tile in the floor that rattled every time they floated across it.

The day at the castle was very interesting and a good history lesson on the Danish and the importance of the waterways to their wealth.

We boarded another ferry back to Sweden. This time the girls choose to sit inside along the windows for the four kilometer trip. We then stopped in the little town of Lund for dinner and some more sightseeing. We returned back to the hotel with sleepy girls and packed up as we were leaving first thing in the morning.