Oh The Places You WIll Go!

One of the silver linings I have embraced with this whole move to Germany thing is that Ryan and I are centrally located in Europe.  This is VERY convenient for travel.  Ryan was in the UK for 9 years of his life while his dad was stationed there.  Me, I have been to some crazy places, but never Europe.  This was something I was looking forward to taking advantage of while we lived here.  My maiden is very German...Bavarian actually to be more specific.  Ryan claims that we have come back to the "fatherland" so I can get in touch with my Bavarian beer wenching, dirndle wearing, cuckoo-cuckoo clock chiming roots.  Yes, I married him!  

I must say, in the five months we have lived here, we have done a fair amount of traveling in Germany and in a few bordering countries.  I am a little disappointed in the European Union though.  As a kid, even a young adult, one of my favorite things about international travel (yes, even crossing over the Canadian border in Detroit) was getting my passport stamped.  In a sense, it is an immediate reward for going out and doing something.  Well, times have changed...and if you cross the border in most EU countries...THEY DON"T DO THAT ANYMORE!!!!  Sob, sigh...poo!  Now, I just collect post-cards to say "yeah, I've been there..done that."  I have tried to capture many abroad memories through pictures which has been splendid; so I hear from family and friends.  

Ryan and I had been living in temporary housing on base for about a week when we went on a drive to Munich to visit one of his friends.  We got a thorough visual on German's landscape which is sometimes a Hodge-podge of many US states.  We are lucky to live within the wine region...I mean HUGE region.  The Mosel and Rhine actually connect near us.  They have the most beautiful vineyards that I have seen.  I love Napa, don't get me wrong.  But, each "step" of the incline is consumed by row after row and vine after vine of grapes..specializing in Riesling.  Then you add the charm and romance of a 100-200 year old farm house or German "chalet" and it is like something out of a movie.  Ryan and I not have not actually done a wine tour yet at one of the many vineyards, or done the river wine tours which are so popular.  We are waiting for friends and family to visit so we can all get happy on the Mosel.  We have however gone to one of many we are planning on...wine-fests. Coming up in September is the World's largest wine festival in Bad Durkheim.  I have heard that it is something of a wine freakshow...I am STOKED about this.  Getting back to the wine fest though...Ryan came home from work on about his second week being there.  On a typical Friday night in Tampa you could find us at Pizzaiola having dinner, so I was in the mood to get out and do something.  SHOCKER!  I had read that there was a wine-fest in Karlstadt along the Deutsche Weinstrasse (German Wine Street)...YES...There is a whole street dedicated to wine (it stretches for miles upon miles.)  So, I brought up the idea to Ryan and he was up for it.  It took 30 minutes to drive and then we were there.  Tucked into the central area of this town were restaurants or vinters(wine makers) spilling out into courtyards with tables, live music and huge glasses of wine...I am talking like pint size.  We cozied up and found ourselves sandwiched between two very nice German couples and started up a long night of fuzzy, wine drunk conversations.  It was awesome.  Although moving here has been a total challenge, Ryan and I do appreciate things off the beaten path and do want to try to immerse into local culture.  That being said, we saw NO AMERICANS that night and we liked it that way.  In a sense we feel that our efforts in trying to do as the locals do helps our street cred!  We still talk about how much fun that night was and we look forward to Bad Durkheim in a few weeks.

Yes...that is all German wine!!!!  Holy hangover the next day!

Another wonderful trip that we took was to Lucerne, Switzerland (CH).  Ryan and I had just gotten back from our Wedding in Michigan and were looking to do a honeymoon for a long weekend.  We will plan to do more glamorous, longer trips when time allows with Ryan's work.  This was a perfect trip though.  I tell people that we were only in this neutral Country for 3 days and I felt like I had been there for 3 weeks.  

There is nothing neutral about Switzerland.  Ryan had always talked about how beautiful it was there and how difficult it was to describe the natural beauty.  He was so right.  After checking into our chalet, we took a few bottles of champagne (hey, don't judge...we're on our honeymoon) and went down to the lake front of Lake Lucerne.  We found some lounge chairs and toasted to the Alps.  

I mean...it was BEAUTIFUL.  The whole trip was us unwinding after weeks of being on the go and at our best.  Here, we could be us and be with each other.  We enjoyed Swiss fondue (yum...yum...yum), hiked to Pilatus to a tip top peak of the Alps and toured around the city of Lucerne.  I did drag Ryan to a few places that Rick Steve's had seen (I am a huge Rock Steve's nerd) and we saw the Lion.  This stone carving could possibly bring tears to your eyes.  It is the largest rock carving I have seen.  Still need to make my way to Rushmore.  But, it wasn't just the size, but more the content.  Sad.  Ryan and I are people that discuss how good leaders are willing to fall on their sword for what they believe is truly right even though it may not be popular.  To me, this sculpture illustrated that.  If you ever make it to Lucerne, try to see this magnificent piece of art.

I could keep writing about how we went to Venice, Italy, Heidelberg, Baden-Baden, Dachau, Trier (all in Germany), Luxembourg and still aren't even close to being done.  

So, while I pretend to collect stamps in my passport, make a bucket list of places that you want to travel and see in your lifetime.  Ryan and I did that before we came here and our list is still growing.  It is important to have that list because time goes too fast in life and sometimes we as humans are not good at making time to just LIVE!!!!

So, in doing what the Germans do...I toast to you for being patient and kind for post #2.

Probst!

Erica