Mom & Dad visit: Keukenhof Gardens

Everything in the Netherlands in pretty close together as the country is not huge. So I was able to pack a lot into one day for us on Easter. Are next stop was Keukenhof Garden to admire all the pretty flowers! For it being a weekend and holiday the garden really wasn't too crowded while we were there. The entrance seemed to be crowded but once you made it past that and more into the garden it wasn't too bad really. The gardens are only open for about a month so I imagine it is almost always a little crowded. I didn't think it hindered the picture taking or viewing of flowers at all.

They do amazing designs with they flowers and have a mixture of different types of flowers in a lot of their designs. The above is there famous "river" design. The gardens also have a different theme each year. This years theme was Holland. So for there main display (below) they made an Amsterdam street line out of flowers. It was very cool and I could only get part of it in the picture because it was so big. 

The kids enjoyed smelling all the different flowers. They do this thing where they smell the flowers and then fake sneeze. I'm not sure where they got it but I'm sure from a cartoon!

They also had a petting zoo for the kids which was nice. My kids love animals and are used to being close to ones at the farm. They had momma sheep with their babies which we so cute.

The gardens have an amazing design and set up. The flow is nice but not everyone has to go in the same direction. They had several photo opportunities set up through out the garden which was really nice. The kids loved this giant wooden shoe. They also had the boat set up pictured below. They also had big wooden shoes you could put your feet in and take pictures. They kids loved all of that interactive stuff. 

Another really cool thing they offered was these lily pads. You could jump from wooden disc to wooden disc along a path and get a picture of the fountain in the back. The jumps were a little too big for the kids so we had to help them. Harper could almost make it with a little help from my mom. Well one time Harper decided not to really jump and my mom only had a hold of one hand so her foot slipped into the water. She wasn't very happy but it was a beautiful day so they dried quickly. 

 We also had lunch in the gardens. They had several restaurant places and concession type things but I really have started to enjoy eating at food carts. They seem to serve more regional food. We had a croquette and waffles from the carts. The croquette was delicious. I'm not really sure what the filling was as it can vary but it seems to have a gravy type texture. The kids even liked it and especially liked the waffle which were more dense they ones I make and were sweeter too.

We ended up staying at the gardens for about 3 1/2 hours. We probably could of stayed longer because I am sure we didn't see everything but it was enough time to enjoy most of it and get our money worth. The kids and the guys were ready to be done by the time we left. My dad made the comment that all the flowers were starting to look the same! I think most people probably spent 4-5 hours there. 

Mom & Dad visit: Delft

After Noah's Ark we head about 30 minutes Northwest to Delft. This is where the blue delftware originated. We stayed a really nice hotel, Hotel Juliana. It was in a more residential area and within walking distance of the downtown area. The hotel was smaller and not a big chain hotel, which I enjoyed.

After checking into the hotel and dropping our stuff we headed out to find somewhere to eat and do a little shopping. The walk really wasn't bad once we kind of figured out the right direction. Delft, like the majority of the Netherlands, have several canals. The downtown area has several places to eat, shops and beautiful building and churches to look at.

 The main canal that goes around downtown

Most of the stores in the square where we ate had touristy stuff. There were also some delftware stores. My mom and I each got some nice stuff there including a plate clock and gifts for my mom and I got a pair of kissing dutch kids. The kissing couple is a very popular design and traditional dutch. The Netherlands is also a very large dairy producing country. Colby loves cheese. They had a cheese store with several different kinds of cheese. You could sample several different kinds and then he bought some cheese to bring home. They also had prefect picture opportunities in front of the store.

The next morning was Easter. So my mom had hid eggs in there room for the kids and had Easter stuff for them. After breakfast at the hotel we headed to where the car was parked and discovered it was right by the delftware factory we were going to next. The factory is an original factory from the 1600's.

We were able to see the process of how delftware is made including a master painter at work. They also have on display several pieces from different collections and limited editions piece they did for the Dutch royal family. 

This is the process of making delftware. They paint it in shades of black and then it turns blue when the piece is "cooked" in the kiln 

We found this to be the most interesting thing at the factory. A model actually wore this outfit made completely from delftware pieces. I can only imagine how heavy it must be!

After the self guided tour of the factory, you get headphones and push a number on the remote based on what you are looking at, they have a fairly large gift shop. The pieces there are quite expensive. The large pieces that are hand painted can be upwards of 400-500 euro. They also do stamping now with some designs and those pieces are much cheaper. For example we purchased tiles and a frame for the wall. We got 2 stamped tiles for 12 euro each. The hand painted ones were a little better quality of course but were 50 euro each I believe. The difference in quality was not worth it to me. We also didn't want to spend that much on something that could potential break in our many future moves as an Army family. 

Delft is a very cool town and much bigger then I expected. I wish we could of spent more time there. Although, if you want delftware its better to purchase it from stores downtown or around town instead of at the factory, or at least the factory we went to. 

Mom & Dad visit: Noah's Ark

After we picked my parents up at the airport we headed down to Dordrecht were a couple guys build a life size replica for Noah's Ark. This was something very unique as there are no others in the world.

Admission was a little more then I usually like to pay but knowing it would be fun and interactive for the kids helped. It was 12.50 euro for adult and 7.50 for kids 3-12. We were there for over 2 hours. We probably could of stayed longer if the kids weren't rushing from one thing to the next. 

Inside had a lot to see. There were games like the one above and recreations of room from the ark. They had displays showing the story of Noah's Ark and descriptions to go with each that were in several languages. They had a the creation story and several plastic animals spread through out. The kids favorite part was the real animals. they had some real animals mingling with the plastic ones. They had miniature ponies, rabbits, peacocks, and lots of different birds. 

 There is also a restaurant one the top level but we had already eaten. The whole place was really neat to see and experience. It was also huge and you could easily get lost! They had footprints to follow but they are starting to fade and not everyone follows. We tried to for the most part but also got kind of confused. We ended up going in the same room twice but that is ok.

They had this huge mural at the entrance/exit where you could put your face in the hole with all the animals now it. It certainly made for a great photo opportunity! 

Mom & Dad visit

My birthday trip this year was to the Netherlands. I wanted to go there as soon as we knew we were moving to Germany but this ended up being my trip more by default. The kids had been missing Grandpa and Grandma a lot so my mom decided maybe they would make a trip over sooner then they originally planned. They decided over Easter would be a good time and it was also a week after my birthday and they were still going to be here for my dads birthday.

The original plan was for them to fly into Nuremberg and then we would pick them up and head to the Netherlands for a couple days, then a day in Germany before flying back home. Just a quick 5 day trip.

Well things don't always go as planned. The very first plane they were suppose to be on had mechanical problem causing them to miss their connecting flight. The airline company wanted to switch them to a different flight but they wouldn't make it to Germany until 5pm Saturday night! They were suppose to get in at 9am. After some talking with the rep, my mom figured out that they could be on the same flight just getting off in Amsterdam instead of Nuremberg. However, this put them landing in Nuremberg by 11:30am and it is a 6 1/2 hour drive for us. This changed our plans greatly too. We left early Saturday morning to make it to Amsterdam about noon.

The way things ended up we actually had more time in the Netherlands then we would of before. I had actually looked at having them fly into Amsterdam and leave from Nuremberg but doing one way flights was way more expensive so all in all it really worked out nicely.

I'm going to make a different post for each of our stops.

We enjoyed having my parents visit so much!

On the trail at Kreuzberg Monastery 

Wolfstein Castle Ruins

A couple week ago I turned 27. I know I'm getting so old! haha My present was a trip, thats what we are doing while in Germany, but since it wasn't until the following weekend I still wanted to get out and do something fun. I have my trusty notebook for travel ideas and I opened it to my list of castle and castle ruins. We thought a ruins would be more fun especially for the kids. We didn't want to go too far since we had to be back for our date that night(!) so I got on google and found Wolfstein only about 45 minutes south of us.

Wolfstein was one of the most intact ruins was have seen so far. It was really cool to go inside the main structure of the castle. There were still wall separating the rooms and windows. The kids enjoyed being able to run around and climb on things. There was only another family there when we got there so we pretty much had the place to our selves. Inside one of the rooms in the main castle structure we had a pillory. Of course we had a little fun with it. Its not every day you get to experience a form of medieval punishment with you kids. 

He was being bad!

I forgot the cool tripod we bought for such occasions but oh well I made do with the self timer and a rock. Could of ben better but I learned my lesson for next time. 

The castle, like most, was on top of a mountain/hill I'm not really sure what the Germans consider it. We were able to park pretty close and then walk only a little ways. Of course being up so high always makes for amazing view of this beautiful country we are calling home right now. Harper is our little budding photographer and always wants to take pictures. With a little coaching from mom she was able to capture this picture of Colby and I. Pretty good for a 3 year old I'd say!

I enjoy these little adventures with my family so much and hope we can continue even when we move back to the States even though there won't be any castle ruins to explore! 

Kloster Kreuzberg

So I have gotten a little behind on blogging our travels well because we have been traveling a lot and busy at home.

The first weekend in April Colby's friend came to visit us for the 4 day weekend. Colby has been wanting to go to Kreuzberg where they make what people refer to as monk beer. It is a brewery at a monastery. I wanted to go when it was warmer. The weekend that Brandon was visiting was beautiful and since they both love beer we decided it would be a good trip.

They don't only have beer there. They also serve food, have hiking trails, a church and 3 wooden crosses at the top of the hill.

We decided to climb the 300 steps to get to the crosses first. Brandon went to get beer first though and hiked up with two mugs of beer! The view at the top over looking the village was gorgeous! It was nice to relax and enjoy the view after the trek up the hill.

The 3 crosses and Colby's mug

We took the shorter hiking trail around to get back down the the monastery. It was a lovely hike through the forest with a nice little opening so we could see the view down the mountain. The hike was just the right distance for us with the kids. They were able to run/walk the whole way and get out some energy without disrupting anyone else. We as a fall always enjoy spending time outdoors. 

The view along our hike

Once we were back at the monastery, we got some food and more beer for the guys. The kids also enjoyed some ice cream. After eating and Colby getting his 5 liter growler of beer to bring home we went to check out the church. We have seen a lot of church since moving to Germany and its very interesting to see how different they are but also how similar they can be. Harper also had some questions about Jesus on the cross. It was a good chance for me to tell her about the true meaning of Easter which was prefect since we were in the middle of lent. 

Colby and Brandon with 5liters of beer

After leaving the monastery we planned to just head home but as we were heading down the mountain we saw what looked like a castle ruins, Osterberg. We decided it would be fun to check it out. Just Colby and I made the big hike up. It was just ruins. We have been to a couple castle ruins and this one was probably  the most run down we have seen. It was still nice and the view again was very nice. 

Space A

While my husband was gone to training his great grandfather passed. It was a sad time but also happy as he lived a long full life and many years with out his wife.  Since we were just sitting at home alone anyway, I decided to the kids and I would try and get a Space A (available) military flight back to the states for the funeral and some visiting.

This was our first time using Space A and with out our "sponsor" we were pretty low on the totem pole. The also base it on the day and time of sign up in each category. We had to wait for Colby to get our Command Sponsor ship letter so we could fly without him. Everything moved pretty quickly for us. He passes friday night (stateside time) and we were trying to fly out on Tuesday. We didn't make the first flight to leave Ramstein that day but lucky for us there was a flight that was delayed from the day before and we were able to get on that.

We landed at BWI about 5pm EST. Germany had not yet entered Daylight Saving time so in Baltimore we were only 5 hours behind Germany. That being said we landed feeling like it was 10pm and being up since 3am. Jet lag set in for my kids and turned them into evil monsters that in no way resembled them. Once we got through customs, we went on to the ticket counter for a flight to Atlanta. I paid a little more but got us a non-stop flight. They even waived the baggage fee.

We enjoyed our time in Atlanta. Then flew to Kansas to spend time with my husband's family and finally drove up to South Dakota to hang out with my family. We got to see a lot of our family and I got to eat all the places Colby and I have been craving, a lot of which was mexican.

We planned to fly back March 31st so we could be home when Colby got back from his month long training. Well, he called the Wednesday before to say they were sending him home Friday. They only post the flight schedule on Facebook 72 hours in advance and only the roll call times. So then I just had to wait until they had a flight back to Germany available. This happened to be Sunday. I had to fly commercially  back to BWI and they only flights to arrive in time left at 6am. I choose the schedule to put us in BWI as late as possible while still having enough time to get our bags and check in at the AMC counter. We had some decently long layovers but it all worked out. Once they started roll call for the flight I was very worried we weren't going to make the cut. There were a lot of people there! I was stressing once they got down to only 14 seats available but I was able to count the number at that point and we were 8, 9 and 10. Just barely made it. Once we were on the plane they said it was a full flight however, there were several empty or almost empty rows behind me. Whatever I guess. I didn't care as long as I was on that plane. We made it back to Germany happy and just a little tired!

 They are well traveled and wonderful travelers!