A Georgia Girl in Germany

Labels: Benjamin, Germany, MacKenzie, Travel, Zachary

Yes, yes, I realize we're closer to Halloween 2007 than we are to Halloween 2006, but, hey, better late than never.

The kids were excited about Halloween, and I was looking forward to Benjamin carrying on the tradition of wearing our Pooh Bear costume. He tried on the costume the day before Halloween, and was all set to head out as the chubby little cub all stuffed with fluff. However, when the big night arrived, he suddenly decided he didn’t want to be Pooh, but instead wanted to go as Blue from Blue’s Clues again. That sent me scrambling to find the Blue costume. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find Blue’s head (which probably would have been worn in decapitated style hanging off the back of Benjamin’s neck), the Velcro-clue or Blue’s notorious Handy-Dandy Notebook. Benjamin didn’t seem to mind that his costume wasn’t complete though, and excitedly headed out in grand style.

Zachary took a while to decide whether to venture out in search for candy this year or to stay home and pass out candy to visitors at our apartment building like he did last year. Since Carie was here TDY, she offered to distribute our candy so he could solicit some of his own…so out he trotted as Darth Vader. Unfortunately, he had to stop several times because his mask would fog up. He didn’t want to go headless like Benjamin did with Blue, so he kept battling the mask. I don’t think he had quite mastered his powers of the Force to overcome the fog, so he became more frustrated with each stop.

MacKenzie and I each dressed as traditional German dirndl girls with outfits we purchased in Munich a few days earlier. I figure the outfits are a perfect way to get into the German spirit, and will be something uniquely German we can take back to the states when we head back that way.


As always, the kids loaded up on the sweets and treats. Somehow, Benjamin seemed to accumulate the most candy…but not by much. His pumpkin was so laden down toward the end of the evening that I ended up carrying it for him…except when it was time to solicit more. They were all good about swapping fairly with each other for treasured and preferred sweets, and even gave me several decent pieces of candy. But, since I wasn’t in the midst of an operational exercise at work, I didn’t have to push to have them in bed like the previous year (when they were in bed by 8:30 p.m.!). They enjoyed having the extra time to sort through and sample their goodies.


I couldn’t pass up sharing this photo of Carie and me in our dirndls. I suppose this is our official “Airman magazine reunion” photo. Not bad having three such reunions in Europe in less than six months!

Labels: Benjamin, MacKenzie, Zachary

After spending a day in Munich back in the fall, we headed to Garmisch to spend the night in a rustic cabin before heading off to explore Mad King Ludwig’s (King Ludwig II) castles. It was dark when we checked in, so we didn’t fully appreciate the view from our cabin porch until morning -- a gorgeous view of the Bavarian Alps reaching high into the sky! Unfortunately, I was in such awe that I completely neglected to take a photo (I know, that’s a pretty amazing oversight for me!). But, we did stop to snap a few photos during our drive to Linderhof. Linderhof is a secluded hunting lodge, known as the King's Hut. It was planned as a modest villa, but with additions to the plans it quickly became a splendid Rococo palace in the ornate French style. Linderhof is the smallest of the three royal castles, and the only one that was completely finished (in 1878). I’ve shared photos of Linderhof already, so won’t duplicate what I’ve already posted (See the “Summer Skiing” post at http://quarnocook.blogspot.com/2006/10/summer-skiing.html).
From there, we went to Neuschwanstein. This is one of the most famous castles in the world, and is one of Germany’s most popular tourist destinations. Neuschwanstein gained world fame as the castle used as Walt Disney’s inspiration for his magical Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland. Begun in 1869 as a retreat and as a homage to Richard Wagner, the king's friend and inspiring muse, and left unfinished at Ludwig's death in 1886, the castle is the embodiment of 19th century Romanticism. In a fantastic imitation of a medieval castle, Neuschwanstein is set with towers and spires and is spectacularly perched on a high point over the Pöllat River gorge. The construction of the castle was carried out according to a well thought-out plan. The castle was equipped with all kinds of technical conveniences which were very modern for the time. The castle had running water on all floors, with the spring which supplied it with excellent drinking water located 200 meters above the castle. There were toilets equipped with automatic flushing on every floor. A warm air heating system was available for the entire building along with a hot water system for the kitchen and the bath.


We’d visited Neuschwanstein before, but I still thought it was beautiful. Last time we went, it was surrounded by snow. This time, the fall foliage provided a splendid backdrop. The photo above was one of the first views we had of the palace. I thought the rustic building, the green field and the multi-colored trees were an absolutely breathtaking combination.

The next photo is from Neuschwanstein looking down to Hohenschwangau (the yellow castle toward the right) and Lake Alpsee. Hohenschwangau was the childhood residence of King Ludwig II, having been built by his father, King Maximilian II of Bavaria.

We decided to trek to the Marienbrücke (Mary's Bridge) over Pöllat Gorge for a view of the backside of Neuschwanstein. The bridge wasn’t very wide, and was rickety in places, but it still offered a magnificent view!


Here’s the side view of the castle...from the side that overlooks the plush green Lech valley below.

And another view from the Marienbrücke (below), looking toward the Lech valley with the Forggensee Lake further in the background.


I couldn’t resist taking these night shots. This shot of Neuschwanstein was taken from the same field as the earlier shot, and the photo of Hohenschwangau was taken as we walked down the mountain road leading from Neuschwanstein. Yes, we walked down the mountain since we missed the last bus while we were enjoying the beautiful scenery from the Marienbrücke. Zachary and MacKenzie fared well and kept up with Carie. However, Benjamin quickly tired and wanted me to carry him. Since my arms also got tired from holding him, he ended up riding on my back most of the way down. For the next few weeks, he used the excuse “My legs hurt” trying to convince me to carry him more often than usual.

Labels: Benjamin, Germany, MacKenzie, Travel, Zachary

I had off work on Friday, so was able to take advantage of the free time and escort MacKenzie’s class to a relatively local Jurassic-era fossil site in Holzmaden. We didn’t visit the museum, but instead went directly to one of the dig sites where five classes of 3rd graders were let loose with chisels in search of prehistoric fossils. It was a virtual gold mine of fossils, and everyone came home with quite a take!

With the exception of a few islands, present-day Europe was submerged under an inland tropical sea during the Jurassic period, 180 million years ago. The sea was inhabited by various saurians whose skeletons are preserved in the shale as a reminder of the prehistoric world. Nowhere in the world are they found in such great numbers and so well-preserved as here. The Holzmaden quarry was part of a large bay occupying roughly the area taken up by today's southern Germany. Holzmaden is still an active shale quarry, with the sites unearthed up to 12 meters deep. The slate is primarily used for floor slabs and tabletops, with the fossils unearthed by chance.


The most commonly-found fossils are of ammonites, which are only a few millimeters thick. The largest one MacKenzie found was just over two inches across. One kid found a huge ammonite fossil (about a foot across), and another found some kind of fossilized tooth. Apparently, some ammonite fossils can measure up to 1.5-meters in diameter. Like mussels and snails, ammonites are mollusks. The ammonites' shells were coiled and divided into chambers. These chambers could be filled with gas, and the animal could then rise to the surface. If the chambers were flooded, then it sank like a submarine. Only the furthermost chamber was a living chamber, and it was here where the soft body was found.

In addition to the plethora of ammonites that MacKenzie found, she also found two sections of Mesozoic fish. I’m not sure what kind of fish they were, but one was four inches across and four inches tall -- her largest find. That fish must have been several feet long by the size of the scales! She also found several deposits of pyrite. Many of the kids were excited when they first found their pyrite, until they realized it was fool’s gold. They still enjoyed finding it though.


MacKenzie left the dig site with her backpack so loaded-down that she couldn’t carry it! Good thing I went with her so I could lug it back up the hill out of the quarry to the bus! Some of her finds contained dozens of ammonite fossils, sometimes in several different layers. It was really quite amazing!



After we returned to school, MacKenzie and I headed home for quick showers and to pick up Benjamin before hitting the road for Wiesbaden (Zachary was on his way to Gundershoffen, France, for an international campout). We were trying to catch at least the last half of Toby Keith’s “Big Dog Daddy Concert.” Unfortunately, we ran into three staus and a hailstorm, so arrived just in time to see throngs of people leaving the concert for their cars. There must not have been an opening number, because everyone was leaving less than an hour and a half after it started. We were all disappointed -- MacKenzie was in tears, and Benjamin was also upset...especially since we’d been listening to Toby Keith’s CD’s on the way up (each time the song “I Wanna Talk About Me” came on, Benjamin proclaimed it was his song, much to MacKenzie’s dismay). To add insult to injury, we were stuck in 45 minutes of traffic trying to leave post.

Rather than simply turning around and heading back home, we detoured to Ramstein to eat supper at Chili’s. The kids had traditional American fare of macaroni and cheese and corn dogs, so it wasn’t a total wash of an afternoon, but it did make for a rather late-evening return.

Labels: Germany, MacKenzie, Travel

Benjamin really can go all out when he does things. A couple nights ago, he added bubbles to the bath. He had fun and got the silly giggles when hiding his bath toys under the plethora of bubbles! As you can see, he didn’t share many bubbles with Zachary though.

Later that night, he didn’t want to stay in bed at bedtime, and ended up throwing a fit ... and throwing all his pillows out of bed! When I asked him about it the next morning, he said he threw his pillows out of bed because I was being mean to him. He certainly can be stubborn at times!

A few days later, he disappeared into his room as I started getting supper ready. When I went to check on him, I discovered that he was reading his books ... all of them! At least he has a love of reading.

Labels: Benjamin

When Carie was here last fall, we headed out for a weekend getaway, and our first stop was to München (Munich). Munich is the capital of the German Federal State of Bavaria, and is Germany's third largest city and one of Europe's most prosperous. Hitler's rise to power was centered in and around the city, which he later called the "Capital of the Movement" since it is home to the birthplace of the Nazi Party.
We parked a few blocks from downtown and walked past the Siegestor (Victory Gate), a three-arched triumphal arch crowned with a statue of Bavaria with a lion-quadriga, similar in style to the Arch of Constantine in Rome, the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and the Brandenburger Tor in Berlin. The Siegestor was built between 1843 and 1852 marking the border between the Maxvorstadt and Schwabing districts. After sustaining heavy damage in World War II, the gate was -- similar to Berlin's Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche -- reconstructed and only partially restored. The inscription on the back reads “Dem Sieg geweiht, vom Krieg zerstört, zum Frieden mahnend,” which translates to "Dedicated to victory, destroyed by war, reminding of peace."

From there, we walked down Ludwigstrasse into the heart of the city. Our trek took us past the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, the St. Louis church, the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library) and numerous state ministries and palaces, all of which were massive and majestic at the same time.

I really liked the striking Theatinerkirche St. Kajetan in the Odeonsplatz, in the historic city center. It was built between 1663 and 1690 in Italian high-baroque style. Its Mediterranean appearance and yellow coloring became a well-known symbol for the city and had much influence on Southern German baroque architecture.



The inside of the Theatinerkirche was amazing, mostly because of the color contrast with the outside of the church. The inside was a brilliant white color with rich stucco ornaments throughout.

Across the street from the Theatinerkirche is the northern part of the Residenz museum, which was the former royal residence of the Bavarian dukes, electors and kings. The massive complex of buildings contains 10 courtyards and 130 rooms. Naturally, we wanted to see more of the city than just the Residenz museum, so we didn’t take the time to wander into the grounds. The National Theatre was in the same square as the Theatinerkirche, and had two large stone lion statues that the kids desperately wanted to climb on. I was hesitant to allow them to do so since there was quite a drop-off next to them. OK, so this wasn’t the best place, aesthetically, for Zachary to pose, but it was a big drop-off, and I didn't want him close to the front ledge.


Munich has statues of lions scattered throughout the city. The kids were fond of climbing on each one they found. Some were rather ornately painted, like this one near the Marienplatz.


The awesome building above is Munich’s Marienplatz (Mary's Square) and Neues Rathaus with the Glockenspiel (clock tower). The Marienplatz has been the foundation and heart of Munich, Germany, since 1158 and was named after the Mariensäule, a Marian column erected in its center in 1638 to celebrate the end of Swedish occupation. We came back through here as we left the city to eat dinner in the Ratskeller München (Munich City Hall Cellar). It was absolutely delicious -- probably the best German food I’ve had to date! Even the kids enjoyed their meals and commented on how good it was (well, Zachary and MacKenzie did…Benjamin didn’t care).

In order to maximize our Munich experience, we took a bus tour of the city. After settling into a seat, Benjamin put on his headsets and tried to act big by listening to the English narration. Below is the Justizpalast (Palace of Justice), and further below is the Landtag (Bavarian Parliament) building, both as seen from our double-decker bus tour.



Since Munich is home to the only true Oktoberfest, I had to include this photo of Benjamin posing with a beer-drinking lion as we departed the city.

Labels: Benjamin, Germany, MacKenzie, Travel, Zachary

I took the kids to their first true concert earlier this month, and they all seemed to enjoy it. We had great seats (eighth row, just right of center) to watch Gary Sinise and the Lt Dan Band perform a free concert courtesy of the USO. Gary Sinise and Kimo Williams started the band in 2003, and it performs primarily for charities and non-profit organizations...in particular, the USO and military bases around the world. While Gary did sing some, his primary contribution (other than the big-name draw) is as the band’s bass guitarist.

The band was very energetic and performed a variety of songs, including Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock & Roll,” Aretha Franklin’s “You Make Me Feel (Like A Natural Woman),” Lonestar’s “My Front Porch Looking In,” Miami Sound Machine’s “Conga,” Diana Ross’ “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” and even the theme song to Gary Sinise's currently running TV show “CSI: New York.”


We weren’t sure if the weather would hold, and we ended up having to pull out our umbrellas a few times, but by the end of the evening the umbrellas were put away and the crowd was on its feet. Here’s MacKenzie with two of her friends, Maddie and Natalie, as they tried to stay dry. MacKenzie and Natalie even rushed the stage when the band played "Ladies Night," but they got there just a bit too late to get on-stage...it was overcrowded by the time they got there. They were disappointed they didn’t get to dance on stage.

After a while (and fortunately after the rain let up), Gary Sinise left the stage and wandered through the crowd. As you can well imagine, camera flashes started going off like crazy. When he got close to me, I handed my camera to a friend, grabbed Benjamin (so he wouldn’t get separated from me in the throngs of people) and managed to have my photo taken with the big-name star. We were just in front of the spotlight, hence the odd lighting in this photo.


Toward the end of the concert, Benjamin became his typical monkey-like self, climbing on and off the barricade in front of the spotlight.

If you’re not familiar with Gary Sinise’s work, he portrayed the character "Lieutenant Dan" in the 1994 film Forrest Gump. Since so many people recognize him as Lt. Dan, especially those of us in the military, it only made sense to incorporate that into the name of the band. However, at the start of the concert he quizzed the audience to name some of the other movies in which he acted.


The concert lasted more than two hours, and the kids really enjoyed themselves, although MacKenzie was disappointed that she didn’t get one of guitarist Kimo Williams’ guitar picks (Maddie and Natalie both did, so she felt left-out).

To see the AFN coverage of the concert, go to http://www.afneurope.net//Article.asp?id=410931.

For more on the band, visit http://www.ltdanband.com.

Labels: Benjamin, MacKenzie