Life: Idiotropic

I can't believe that Elise is two years old already. The time really has flewn by. She is so tiny still that people always think she's younger until she opens her mouth to talk and boy, can she talk! Sometimes I think she anunciates better than Luci and her sentences are wonderful and complex! The other absolutely amazing thing is that she is by far the most polite person in the house. Thank you is her favorite word and it is not uncommon to hear "thank you so much, mommy" coming out of her mouth. It is the sweetest thing!


So, on her birthday I'd wanted to have a little fun, but the marder got in the way of the morning play, so we had to take care of that first. In the afternoon we picked up Arianna and Luci and went out for coffee and dessert. The girls loved it because we sat outside and they got to watch the goldfish in the pond. I think I'll go there more often. It was as if I didn't have any children. Mom and I visited and the girls stared at the fish almost the entire time. Elise did take a little time to have some cake which was good because with the bandaged fingers and marder issue, I hadn't had time to bake one.

That afternoon we just played until ballet time, then we all piled in the van for Sittard. While Tiara danced, we all sat around and had some good, ol' fashioned birthday ice cream.
Kirk and Arianna above and my mom with Luci below... Tiara did get to join us after ballet and have some ice cream too. The scary thing about that was that she puts on her shrug and little skirt after ballet to be a little more dressed and she's just cute. So she and Kirk were walking together out of the market towards the car and Kirk noticed young guys looking over at her checking her out. He was terrified. I'm just glad she still thinks boys are icky.
The girls wanted blue flavor - it's actually called Smurfeis. Yep, smurfs are big over here. They like the color and it takes a bit like caramel. My mistake was putting her in the white dress. By the time she was done with her ice cream, the front of her dress looked like a very good tie-dye job. At least it was a pretty color blue.
We'd gone to our favorite ice cream place on the market. I know the owner there and she is very nice. She speaks great English too... but at one point I'd asked for another Mineralwasser and an Apfelschorle. Apfelschorle is a very common drink here in Germany that is basically a mix of apple juice and mineral water - the girls love it. I assumed that because Sittard is right on the border that they would know about it. I assumed wrong. She must have thought that my pronunciation was horrible because a few minutes later she brought out a large plate of apple strudel. I thought that may be she was just being nice since it was Elise birthday, but the schorle never showed up. Oh well... live and learn. It was good strudel nonetheless and after the cake for lunch and ice cream, I guess it was good to top off the rest of the sweets in our tummies.
When we got home we brought the presents outside and played in the yard. Elise got a new soccer ball and a new baby doll and a few other little things.
The big hit was a set that I got with a tunnel and two tents. It was actually supposed to be a tent and a teepee, but it was packaged wrong. Still, we made it work and the girls had a great time playing in it. At one point, all 4 girls were in one little tent and they were laughing. Amazing... wish they could cooperate that well in the bathroom.

My check engine light was on, so Kirk made me take my van in to the dealer. He met me there and the guys came out to check the engine. They ran a few tests and then lifted the hood. The insulation in the hood was shredded in several places. The engine and all the parts inside were very dirty and sticky. And... three little wires inside were completely severed.

Our question immediately was, "what could have done this?" The response: Marder. Kirk didn't know that German word. We looked puzzled. Then the man described it as an animal and eventually led us to this sign that they had in the window at the dealership.

A marder is a meter long weasel-like animal that lives here. When the cables and wires in a car are warm from the motor, they give off a smell that is similar to the female pheremone, so it attracts the males. The males climb up into the engine area, spray and chew up things. Then the females smell the male's spray and come and go a bit crazy (the guy at the dealership actually made a face, shook his head, and made a noise like a rabid sex-crazed marder, but I can't do that here... just imagine it... it was quite funny). So, a marder had a party in my van.

Apparently it is a big problem here. Half of all engine problems in this area are caused by marders. Many people have had to replace their entire engines. We got lucky with a quick and inexpensive repair. So what to do? Our first thought: mouse traps. Not a possibility. Marders are protected by German law. It is illegal to kill them. You can trap them, but locals have told us that they have a remarkable sense of territory and have been trapped and carried away only to return to the same area. The only thing you can do is to spray this sticky stuff on the engine. Kirk did that. He scrubbed the engine and all around it, cleaned it all well, then sprayed it with this sticky gunk. A couple days later we looked inside and saw a nice line of fur stuck to one of the parts below the engine. I'm hoping that the critter smelled the stuff and left. Either way, we'll be keeping an eye on that the rest of our time here.

Our neighbor said she had one living in her attic for a while and she's seen them in the field next door. They are harmless to people and actually, aside for their engine fetish, are quite good because they kill and eat mice. Articles in the paper have said that this season is a particularly bad one with a high population of marder. Another friend said that after smelling a rather foul smell, found the remnants of a rabbit under her hood - how sweet! It brought her a present! Doesn't it make you want to take one home for a pet?

Wednesday we ran around Geilenkirchen looking for the perfect gift - which, incidentaly, didn't exsist. Elise birthday was the next day, so I frantically searched for something. I did manage to find a new soccer ball for her and a few little things that day. It was just a nice sunny morning in GK. Mom and I shopped, then we all went out for coffee and cake at my favorite konditerei. The girls love the fountain there in GK, so they played in that while mom and I took turns running into stores.

Wednesday is supposed to be pizza night. Mom had brought a bottle of Oregon wine for them since they are so great to us, so we were going to wrap it up nicely and then go over - just her and I - to have a nice relaxing glass of wine together while we waited for our take-out order. It was such a great plan. I was ready and looking forward to that time. I keep all of my wrapping stuff in the attic, so I went up there to find a gift bag. The attic door has a bolt and a key lock. I can never lock it with the key. Kirk has told me over and over to pull it tight and lock it and it just hasn't worked. So... this night, in my brilliance, I decided to slam it shut and try to lock it very quickly. Good plan, I thought, but my execution wasn't quite right. Somehow in my rush to get out of there, I slammed three of my fingers in the door. So, I ran down three flights of stairs in near hysteria and then completely lost any remnant of control while my fingers throbbed under cold water at the kitchen sink. I cannot believe how painful they were. Mom, being my mother and a nurse insisted that Kirk take me to the emergency room. Not my first choice. I still wanted my glass of wine and pizza!

The hospital was nice and clean. The emergency room seemed ok. We rang the bell. A nurse came. Kirk spoke to her in German. I told her my fingers were ok. She said "oh, no they're not." So we waited and waited.

A little girl sat near us with her parents. She'd broken something in her arm. She was filthy. A sweet girl and trying hard to be brave, but it looked like she'd been playing outside in the dirt for a while. She howled when they took her x-rays. It was hard not to cry just hearing her. It was such a painful cry. And then later we heard her as they set her bones and put her arm in a cast. She was screaming. I just wanted to give her a toy. Her parents were kind, but seemed distant - may be they were just tired. What struck me most was that after it was all over and we saw her come out at the end in a cast, her hand and arm - every visible part of it - was still absolutely filthy. And she was still sobbing - I'm guessing she didn't get anything for the pain.

I saw the doctor who spoke very good English and was very kind. I could still move them, but I had to wait again and get an x-ray too. All the staff were friendly. Got the x-ray and waited a long time because they got busy with other people with more important issues than some smashed fingers. I'd had my fingers straight over ice the whole time and that helped, but I still got those sharp pains. Eventually I got my turn again. They wrapped each of the three fingers individually and sent me home. Very anticlimactic. They didn't offer me anything for the pain. They didn't tell me how long to keep them wrapped. They didn't tell me that it is illegal to drive with hurt fingers (a friend told me later, but I was ok and just kept that hand low - a $375 ticket!)
I think may be if I'd asked, I may have gotten something for pain and a few more answers, but I didn't. It just surprised me. I think that in the U.S. they would have given me something for pain and an antibiotic right away. I was given nothing and told to get a tetanus shot because tetanus would give me "a slow and painful death." Gee, thanks.

Talking with others, it seems that the lack of cleaning the arm when setting it is common. I talked to a guy who broke an arm and had to ask them to clean it - which they did, but they weren't going to without the request. A friend of mine just had twins and she told me that she had her babies in the Netherlands because the German doctors won't even prescribe pain medicine after a C-section. Crazy.

I think the doctors are good here, but it is a different way. The prescribe a lot of herbal medicines too - some of which are quite good. Kirk is currently taking pineapple extract and pancreatic extract for his tendonitis. Wierd, but it seems to help the swelling.

This was the week to stay local and to visit little things near my house. I always take people to Rousseau chocolate shop and each time I seem to see a little more. Today I took my mom there too. It was unusually quiet - usually it's quite full of people. I took mom back to the door to the factory so she could peek in and see the process. I'd been invited to walk around once before, but today the owner was there and there were a lot more employees inside working on things. The owner invited us in and told us to look around. We saw a man piping dark chocolate letters onto paper, then woman was piping milk chocolate onto it. Another man was pouring bars of milk chocolate, letting it cool slightly, then sprinkling a mixture of nuts and dried fruits on it. He told us what temperatures the chocolate heats to and what temperature they cool it to before working with it and adding things. He said that chocolate is a health food and told me to try some of the nuts and fruits. There was a large open container of the topping mix in front of me. I was in a chocolate factory - those things went on top of chocolate and while I knew that my hands were fairly clean, it seemed wrong to put my hand in there and take something. So, I hesitated and he reached out, grabbed a small bit of it and handed it to me. He didn't wear gloves either. I'm not worried. I love the chocolate, but it is different. They are very relaxed there. We walked over to where the owner was working. He was making peanut clusters and told us how many kilos on peanuts he had and how hot the chocolate was and showed us where they were combined and made into candies. We saw the whole process there. Then he walked us over to the end - said they were best when they were fresh, so he snatched a couple off the end of the conveyer belt for mom and I, then got a plain one for Elise since she's so young. Yum. Great chocolate and such a fun experience to just be able to walk in like that.

Afterwards we went to the thrift shop and looked around. I didn't find anything that day that I couldn't live without, but mom found a nice painting that she took home and a few pieces of delft pottery to hang on her wall. It's such a fun treasure hunt.

Gangelt is the town about 7K from us down the road. It is a real city, unlike Gillrath that is still just a little village. On Monday, we parked the car and took a walk there.


The church is beautiful, so we walked around that first. It had a lot of old tombstones around the front of it right against the church wall. Then around back we was more tombstones, some very fancy and ornate, but new. They curved around the back of the church and then continued intermittantly through a landscaped garden. Each stone had flowers all around it and a tiny lantern. Most of the lanterns were glowing with lit candles. It was beautiful - both the church and the way they cared for the stones there.


Gangelt is a small town, but it still has a lot of remants of its history. Many parts of its old city wall still stand with small lookouts in them. They are now incorporated in the city and blend in with the brick buildings. The city tower was originally built in 1364, but was destroyed with most of the town by fire in 1484. It was built again in 1511, then destroyed again 31 years later. In 1791, the persistant locals built it again and now it remains, beautiful, though not as old as the town. It is someones house now and has a beautiful white horse near it - I look at it and think that may be Rapunzel should be peering out its top windows.

We walked through the old city gate and around the residential area. I saw a very old farmstead with a shiny new Harley Davidson sitting in front of it.

Gangelt has a wild animal park and a nice playground. It is also where I do all my local grocery shopping. I like it. The top photo shows part of the old city wall. There is usually a very large herd of black and white cows in front of it. In the background you can see the steeple of the church and a neat building to the right with a series of bells in it. It's a simple town, but it has personality.

On Sunday, May 7th, my mom and I had the luxury of spending a day out without children. I'd heard that the Sunday market in Liege, Belgium was wonderful, so we went. It was only an hour away from us and an easy drive. Liege is the third largest city in Belgium and is predominantly French in language use and attitude. Parking was remarkably easy though the streets by the river were lined with cars on either side, we were able to find a spot in a little free lot right near the bridge. The city was a mix of old and new like so many here, but the bridge was the most impressive with huge statues on all sides - four of them total and all different.


The market is held on Sundays right by the river and is spans for quite a ways. You can buy anything that you want at this market from the high class to the low class. We bought dried kiwi and strawberries from a vender selling delicious dried fruits and nuts. The produce venders all had it perfectly displayed and it all looked like it had jumped out of a cooking magazine, shiny vegetables in full color. We got olives and pickled garlic from a vender that had over 20 different large bowls of olives with different spice combinations. They were so delicious, I'd almost go back just for those. The brie was amazing and there was just about any cheese you could want. We got a nice hunk of brie for only 1E! Fish markets, meat venders... there was just so much. We passed several places specializing in Italian imports. Dried fish hung from the top of the tent and piles of a dried flat fish sat in front. They were all salted for soup stocks. Pasta the size of taper candles, bakery carts selling pastries, quiches, breads, candy booths selling every flavor of gummi candy available... and more.... it was so amazing.
And that was just the food. We also saw lots of clothing and mostly all modern. Underwear in not so small sizes, long skirts, little tiny t-shirts with the playboy logo, and cute little denim skirts for kids... There were men displaying painting gizmos that you'd see on an infomercial, mickey mouse clocks, cheap dollar store toys and merchandise, and bathroom fixtures. Mom found some nice fabric there and we saw a lot of linens too. A nice couple were selling pasta pots and we got one of those too. A coffee stand held large burlap sacks of coffee from around the world. It looked wonderful. I bought 5 sacks to have on hand for the next sack race we have here... and they are good for slides at the park too. Flowers and plants and trees... all sorts of garden supplies were there for the taking and people were walking away carried large shrubs in their arms.
And then... peacocks. From the bridge walking toward the market, I caught a glimpse of some cages with birds. As we walked there, we passed several people with boxes full of different birds... baby ducklings, a chicken. Then, walking through the market, mom got my attention. Walking by us was a man carrying a large box with a neat little twine handle on top. In the back was a hole cut out and sticking through that hole was the very large tail of a peacock. I couldn't believe it! There must have only been one peacock there that day because none of the bird venders had peacocks by the time I got to them, but they had adult ducks and baby ducks, all sorts of chickens with their eggs on display, so you know what kind they lay, perikeets and doves, and all shape and size of rabbit from the tiniest ones to the European giants. Mice, guinea pigs, chinchilla - they were all on sale at the market. The venders were nice. They all spoke French, Dutch, and English at least, but I heard German, Italian, and Spanish spoken by some venders as well.

I'd heard that the market was an antique market, but there was only one antique vender there. Her stuff was not impressive except for one nice bronze statue, but it was overpriced, so the temptation was not there. Still, it was a very nice market and fun to be there even with the crowds.
People here are very dog friendly and the dogs are very well trained and well taken care of. This one caught my attention. He and his friend both had cute leather purses around their necks.

We left the market twice to get coffee and then lunch later. The eateries we encountered were not great. It was actually very difficult to find real food. I'm sure it exists, but both places we went to served coffee, alcohol, and little food like a horribly limited assortment of sandwhiches. For lunch we had a caprese salad and a cheese plate - not huge nor gourmet, but tasty nonetheless. The waitress at the second location would only speak French and gave us extrememly poor service while being very chatty with everyone else there. On the way back from our walk we saw this old man sitting next to this statue talking. He was probably a bit crazy, but it was still kinda sweet.



This boy was playing with his ball in this street near the market. I liked the red ball... reminded me of the red balloon story I'd read when I was younger. Part of the market is up ahead - where the yellow awnings are.

After the driving yesterday, we wanted today to be a little more relaxing, so we played outside and just took it easy. Kirk had biked to base earlier and was excited about a new place he wanted to show us, so we grabbed the wagon and took a nice walk.


We live in farm country. Ever other field there are lots of large black and white or brown and white cows. The horses are all perfectly taken care of and absolutely gorgeous. Tiny miniature horses, sheep, and goats of all sizes also take up space in the fields. And where there are not critters, there are perfect squares of crops... spargel (asparagus), sugar beats, and a whole lot of other, yet-to-be-determined things. A question we'd asked a lot recently was what the flowers were. There are countless fields of tall yellow flowers that look a lot like mustard plants. We thought may be they were.

On this walk was passed a large field of these flowers and took pictures. They were very pretty. Mom saw a man taking soil samples and asked him what the flowers were. We never got a name, but found out that they were actually used for fuel! The oils are extracted from the plants, mixed with alcohol, and made into diesel fuel. A few days later we found an article about them in our German insurance magazine.

The other interesting thing on this walk were these extremely large sheep dogs... no, wait... those aren't dogs... those are... COWS! Long haired cows with bangs covering their faces just like the stereotypical goofy sheepdog. They were adorable. I called to one of them and he and his friend came trotting over. They are very friendly. Next time I'll bring apples.

Coming back we passed another very pretty roadside chapel and on the way we'd seen a bench with a cross behind it. I love the display of religious icons here. It feels good and is a nice reminder of what is important and what is not.

We took a longer way back because I'd told the girls that they could get a treat at the bakerei, but it was 1300 and the bakerei was closed for mittagspause (mid-day rest), so we ended up having an impromtu pasta dinner at our pizza place. Now that the weather is nice, they have outdoor seating, so the kids can be a little louder without disturbing others.

So... these photos are of my little town... fields, flowers, cows, and little buildings in the background.

Another drive to Brussels...

This time Kirk was working and Tiara was in school, so I drove which was nice. It was the first time I'd made that drive by myself and it was a good feeling. I drove without much thought in the states and did long distances by myself, but here, it feels a little different and after so long, it was nice to be able to know that I could do it without much hassle.

We got up obscenely early to take Jeff to the airport. We left a little earlier than we probably needed to, but that ended up being a good thing. I have forgotten about rush-hour traffic. Here, when the biggest traffic jam is a line of cars inching along behind a tractor on a narrow one-lane road, the whole, going-to-work, big-city, rush-hour thing is just a distant memory. The traffic still wasn't horrible getting to the airport, but it did get a bit heavy here and there and slowed us down. After the airport we went to Hoeliaart to visit my friend Laura. I wanted mom to meet her and Laura offered to make lunch for us. We drove around her little town for a while looking for a bakery because I'd wanted to bring a pastry. Friday was market day, so traffic was a bit heavy and the roads in Heoilaart are abnormaly steep, windy, and narrow. We did end up finding a fabulous bakery there by the market and mom jumped out and ordered while I drove in circles. It was a French style bakery - in Belgium they speak Dutch and French and cuisine is influenced by both cultures.

We ended up spending several hours at Laura's house. She cooked a wonderful lunch and the kids played for hours on the swing in the backyard and in the house. Marlene, Laura's daughter, is 2.5 and very sweet. What was really amazing is that there were 4 young children there and most of the time, we hardly heard them. The visit was so nice and the perfect time to relax before the drive home.

I took Mom and Jeff to the Sittard market today since it's just such a neat place to go. We walked around, looked at stuff... the norm. I think mom was surprised at just how many fabrics that there were. I found some cute pants for Tiara - 3 pairs for 10E - not bad. Mom and I both found a nice tablecloth and each got one. I'd already bought cheese, so we didn't need that, but it was fun to look. This time there was a vender there selling flower bulbs. His both was very busy. This area is known for it's white asparagus and there was a ton of it at the market. It's a lot fatter than our green stuff and it has to be peeled with a potatoe peeler, but it's really yummy. We ended up having lunch at De Gats - the oldest home in Sittard - which is now a very good restaurant. The food was great and we all enjoyed a nice relaxing day.

May 1: May day as we know it in the states, European Labor Day here... but in Germany, it is a mix of both. A day off for its workers and a traditional day of flowers and romance for its youth.


Traditionally, young men would go out and cut tree branches, form them together to make hearts, and present them on the doorstep of the lady that they were pursuing. Now, of course, they can't go randomly cutting branches off of trees, so florists make large floral hearts with streamers to sell with the initial of the girl on them, and tractors are go by full of branches for the taking.

On May 1st, when the moon was out and we were all trying to sleep, young men, probably quite drunk on German beer, drove up and down the streets of our little town and undoubtably others in the back of big trailers hauled by tractors that were playing techno music as loud as possible. Five times that night and at 6 in the morning, I was awaken to the vibrations of the drum beats as the tractors drove by. Jeff, having arrived just the day before and still a bit jet-lagged, thought we had a really obnoxious alarm clock.

In the morning town centers had their May poles up. Some had wreaths and crowns and others just had tree branches tied up on top of poles with colored crepe paper streamers hanging from them. Many homes had hearts from the florist hanging from the front of the house above the door. Other homes had tree branches covered in streamers attatched to the facade. Many places simply decorated their small trees in streamers. It was interesting, and even decorative... but now, two weeks later, it's looking a bit tacky.

The first photo above is of the May pole in downtown Geilenkirchen. It's actually kind of pretty with the branches up top, the crests of the city and area, then the wreath below with streamers. The tractor is full of braches for the young punks who kept me awake most of the night. Similar tractors had flat beds with walls for the guys to hang out in and drink. The last photo below is from Cochem - the town down on the Mosel river.

Last Monday, May 1st we decided to take a leisurely trip with Mom and Jeff down to Trier, the oldest city in Germany. It got its start as a Roman city and still boasts plenty of evidence of its past with an impressive Roman gate, Roman baths, and other historical places. We were excited to go there to see it and to spend some time on the Mosel River, some of Germany's most beautiful wine country.

The drive from here was only about 90 minutes on the autobahn through Belgium and down to Trier. The weather was good, but overcast and following the signs to the Porta Negra made getting to the center of Trier very easy. Parking was easy too and when we came above ground from the parking lot, we were literally right across the street facing the impressively large Porta Negra, the original Roman gate which opened up to a beautiful large square just a few blocks down that had two old churches and a lot of beautiful buildings. The buildings around it were beautiful, of course, as they always are. There was a lovely fountain with cherubs and animals. Many outdoor cafes had tables and chairs spilling outside for their patrons. A lot of the shops had fancy lettering with the date above the door of when that business began. Some had been there for over 300 years. We ate at a little cafe there. It was very nice - not spectacular food, but good enough and the atmosphere is great. Luci and Elise got restless during lunch there, so I took them on a little walk when we were done while the others relaxed at the square. Luci insisted on opening up the umbrella even though there was no rain and Elise thought that was a great idea too, so I walked around with them - both huddling together under one big umbrella. A nice German stopped and sung "rain, rain, go away" in German to them. It was very sweet.

Ice cream shops are all the rage here now, so like other cities I've been to, Trier also had a lot of ice cream shops - mostly gelato - and people were walking all over holding ice cream cones. McDonalds is on one corner of the square - obviously it hasn't been there for 300 years. It was a bit disappointing to see that it had a foothold there, but at least the building that housed it was old and beautiful and the only outward signage were little golden arches subtly lining the upstairs windows. The church that we saw there sat behind one side of the square with an entrance on the square - a beautifully detailed arched doorway leading to a short passageway to the church. In that passageway you could look up and see windows - windows of ordinary people who lived in the apartments above the shops in the square. It amazes me to think that you could wake up and see all that in the morning... to be a part of that every day. Seeing laundry hanging out to dry in a place like that seems funny, but heartwarming as well. The history is real and bold when walking through places like that, so seeing real life takes the edge off a little. It's nice to see it all a little less like a history book and a little more like life in action.

After lunch and a little walk it was time to go and the rain made that ever more clear. The umbrella got used, but not by me, so I got soaked and we all scurried from awning to awning as we could to get back to the car. It was about 4 when we left and started our trek up river to Burg Pyrmont, the castle above the inn where we were staying.

The bed and breakfast was only supposed to be 45 minutes away via the autobahn, but we decided to take the 3+ hour scenic tour up the river. The Mosel river is windy - like a slithering snake tightly winding back and forth. It's narrower than the Columbia, yet still quite impressive in parts. Along both sides most of the way are extremely steep hills covered in precisely placed grape vines. The Mosel is wine country and it is amazing. The hills that these grapes are grown seem too steep to ski down, yet people have to tend the grapes constantly. Small stairs are built in to some places and in others rickety metal chairs ride up and down narrow metal tracks - a chair lift of sorts - bringing people safely to the grapes. Every few kilometers we'd find ourselves in another quaint town. Some were bigger than others, but they all had style. Narrow cobbled streets, tall tighly packed old houses - and everything neat, tidy, and very clean. Every once in a while we would look up and see a castle or a ruin up on a hill overlooking the river. It was all just perfect. The only imperfection is that even with a few shortcuts, that windy river takes a long time to get up.

We didn't have the address of the bed and breakfast where we had reservations. We only knew that it was under Burg Pyrmont near Burg Eltz. We got near Cochem and entered Burg Pyrmont into our GPS. It took us away from the river, up winding roads, up on top of the plateau. From there, you'd never know that a river was nearby in the valley below. It was slightly rolling hills all around and nothing but green fields, a few trees, and little villages popping out from behind the hills here and there. It seemed as if we were lost. From our vantage, we couldn't see anything remotely like a castle and yet we were supposed to arrive in 5 minutes. Through fields, around curves, and there would be a village, totally unexpected - just there as if it were make-believe. And then we started to descend slightly and we followed the sign to Burg Pyrmont, then in a clump of trees we saw it - a very beautiful castle. We continued just a little and then saw our place - a very nice half-timbered house just below the castle. The parking lot was full, but we got checked in and made dinner reservations. We took the girls on a walk to get their wiggles out. There is a waterfall right next to the B&B and walking trails both to Burg Pyrmont above and to Burg Eltz (I think it is about a 2 hour walk to that castle). The location was perfect - great for a wedding or special celebration. The rooms were small, but nice. The service was perfect. And, dinner - wow! The best German food I'd eaten here. We all stuffed ourselves on duck and lamb and wurst and potatoes. We'll definitely go back.

The next morning we were served a very nice German breakfast at our Inn. Here, breakfast is actually a verb. You can go breakfasting or breakfast together. A variety of breads and rolls are served with slices cheeses and meats for open faced sandwhiches. Jams and butters and liverwurst are also served. They had musli at the Inn too and we all stuffed ourselves. Arianna and Tiara loved the liverwurst.

From there we headed across the high fields through a few very nice little towns to Burg Eltz. I'd heard that Eltz was nice, but I had no idea what I'd see. We got to the parking lot and still saw nothing and had no idea what to look for... so we parked and all started walking. It was deceptively warm. Our jackets all got peeled off fairly quickly. We got down a little hill to the trail head and saw, below us, the most amazing castle I've ever seen. It truly looked like something out of a movie. To our right was a little ruin, to our left, the trail curved steeply down and you could see the little river below with trees all around. And in front was this magestic and perfect castle, resting in the middle of this valley, perfectly framed by trees. There really is no way to describe it enough. It was like walking into a fairytale. The path down was steep with a few switchbacks and ever few meters there was a stone carving set into the side of the cliff that depicted a scene from the life of Christ. We got to the castle and went inside to the courtyard. It was completely opened up in the center like we were in the middle of a tiny little city corner with high apartments all around. We took the tour so we could see part of the castle. It was in German, so I didn't get much, looking around was interesting. One room was completely painted - all walls and the ceiling - with a simple but beautiful floral pattern. The bathrooms were simply little pots sitting in a closet - and so tiny. The steep stone stairs wound in very narrow enclosed passageways. I think half of the U.S. population would be too big to fit in there. Of course the tapestries and furniture were beautiful, but what struck me most was that above each fireplace was a tapestry hung around the mantel like a one would hang bedskirt. Anyway, we'll go back there. Next time I want to hike it. The trails around that area are very pretty.

After the castle, we were hungry, so we drove back to the Mosel and had lunch at a little village there. The food was good and the lady working there was very sweet to the kids. The location was nice. We were by the river on one side and could look up on the hill on the other to see some old ruins. A train station was there too, but the trains were amazingly quiet. We drove down afterwards to Cochem, a larger city on the river. It has a beautiful castle above it too. Kirk and Tiara played chess at a park there by the water. A lot of parks here have large chess boards painted on the ground and then have bins with 2 foot chess pieces in them. It's really neat. My mom and I walked down into the town with the three little people in search of ice cream and wine. Cochem is a bit tourisy with it's little shops and restaurants all lined up with tables and umbrellas and then a nice green band by the water, but we really enjoyed being there. I would have liked more time to explore, but we had to get home, so another 90 minute drive and our little Mosel adventure was over.