Taco'd Wheels and Family

When Everett and I got home we got to hear about all the great riding Shey and Jansen got in over the last weekend. Well, maybe it was just Shey, since this is what Jansen did to his wheel. He also bent his seat post (from the force of his groin hitting it, ouch) Yep, FATS is just too darned fast sometimes and those trees just jump out in front of you when you least expect it. He wasn't hurt badly this time, thank goodness.

Our garden is producing like crazy and I am so glad Shey kept it watered while we were gone. He is a regular Farmer John, now!

Hmmm, 9 loaves of squash bread coming right up!

So, when Everett and I got in from Amsterdam, we stopped by home for a few hours and grabbed a nap and some warm weather clothes for Texas. Jansen came with us this time. AND WE GOT A NISSAN VERSA as our car rental in San Antonio. We may be able to travel through time now!

Mom and Dad are WONDERFUL grandparents and we enjoy every visit with them. We tried out the new yogurt shop in Boerne. Yuuuuum! Everett was very excited that they had nerds to put on his yogurt.

Of course we had to get cookies and coffee at Bear Moon Bakery, then we took a trip to Fredricksburg. This is the Catholic church there.

One day we stopped by the Lindner Feed Mill to see Aunt Ruth. She is a really cool person and we always try to stop in to visit and catch up on the latest news about the mill and her visits with her grandchildren.  We also get my favorite hats from her.  I will have to post a blog of all the Lindner Feed Mill ball caps that we have.  I wear them all the time!

Uncle Ralph was there, too. We haven't seen him for awhile, so it was really great to catch up.

Suzanne was home this weekend, so we got to visit with her. KC did some work in her backyard and it looks really nice.

Ah, breakfast tacos, fajitas and chillin' on the back deck. Mom and Dad's house is the best bed and breakfast in the world!! We love it!!!!!!

We headed back home on Sunday, so I would have a day to catch up on things and rest before work.

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North through Germany and on to Amsterdam

We left Keith's house just after noon and headed toward the train station with a plan to take our time and get in to Amsterdam later that night.

Stuttgart train station.

Brats at the station.

Cafe car on the train. Yummy cappuccino!

This was a very long bridge with thousands of bike locks attached to the railings.

All was good until we hit the train station in Emmerich......and realized there was not another train that woud take us on to Amsterdam. (the train went through this station, but did not stop to pick up passengers, ooops!) So, we had to do some backtracking to Dusseldorf....took a nap and jumped an early morning train on to Amsterdam. Yep, we got to hang out with the drunk German soccer fans. :>) Everett is a great sport when it comes to traveling and we had a good time, anyway!

We saw lots of men wearing knickers, but some of them used these bands to keep their pants from catching on the bike chain.

I didn't think we would make it to the airport in time to catch the late morning flight back to Atlanta, but the flight was delayed and we ran everywhere we could to save time, so it worked out very well. We both go first class and I started the trip home with two rounds of Mimosas! Yum!

The flat bed seats were awesome and I slept very well for at least three hours.

Everett catching up on the news.

We had a really fun time traveling western europe and I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with Everett, as usual. College is starting way too soon and I'm not quite ready for the summer to be over!

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On the flight back we decided that, since we still had a couple days before I had to be back at work, we should pop on down to TX to see the family. Instead of leaving right from the airport, we decided to come home and change out our cooler weather clothes for items more suited to the hot TX weather.

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On to Basel, Switzerland

Everett and I decided to head south along the border of France, through the black forest and into Switzerland for a day. We left on an early train and arrived in Basel by mid-morning. We found a brochure at the train station which held 4 exellent walking tours, so we set off on foot.

Everett looking over the Rhein river.

We stopped at a street cafe and ate a very yummy breakfast and watch the people bustling around while drinking our coffee.

Rathaus

Elizabethen Cathedral

These guys were laying cobblestone streets. Very cool.

Munster Cathedral

Munster Cathedral is made of red sandstone. Originally a catholic cathedral built between 1018 and 1500.

Church of St. Peter

Gateway into the town of Basel. The Spalentor dates back to the 14th century.

They are very bike friendly. Here is a ramp to roll your bike up and down....or ride it?

On the train back, Everett was sitting across from me. Then he moved over beside me, because this elderly German woman was staring at him and muttering things in German while giggling in a way that sounded a bit insane. (she was so cute)

By the late afternoon, we decided to head back to Holzgerlingen to spend some time with the boys before bedtime, so we caught an earlier train.**

Hangin' With the Guys

Sunday was a rest day and we enjoyed hangin out with the boys at home. We went for a walk and Everett, Sunny and the boys rode their bikes. Then we played outside. Here Kevin is deep in thought about the next item he will build in his "workshop". He thens loads the items up in his carrying case (see box) and brings them to me to store in my shop.

Ethan was king. (here he is building a sailboat/house decoration)

However, he soon was overthrown by the new ruler! Ah-ha!

We cooked brats for dinner, which tasted a lot like the brats we eat at home, except we were eating them in Germany, so they were waaaay cooler.

Yes!! The purple bigfoot shirt made it to Europe!!

Everett and I took long walks every day to see the local area as we traveled. One of the paths near Keith's house had lots of apple trees. Yum!!

I think we are heading south tomorrow. That will give Keith and the boys a break and we can see another section of Germany.

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Lichtenstein Castle

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Today we drove up to Lichtenstein Castle.

We drove up the mountain and bought tickets to take a tour inside the living quarters.
Sunny, Ethan, me, Everett, Keith and Kevin
The inside was very cool. Everett and I really liked the armory. Lots of cool weapons and suits of armor. I think he has his blacksmithing plans made for the next 5 years, now.
We ate schnitzel at the cafe at the castle.

Then we took the boys to play on the playground, which was on the castle grounds.

Everybody played.
Everett is a hit with the boys. Ethan is permanently attached to him.
When we got back to the house, Everett and I walked into town and had ice cream then walked around the streets just checking out the houses and talking.
The boys told Everett he should shave that hair off his face. :>) They just don't know how cool an 'oatee really is.

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Holzgerlingen, Germany

We arrived at Keith's house late last night and stayed up even later visiting. This morning we got up to walk my two nephews, Ethan 6 and Kevin 8, in to school. The weather has turned colder and we are wearing jackets. AWESOME!!

For lunch we all went to the italian place right down the road and Everett and I ordered pepperoni pizza. In Germany this is what you get. A pizza with peppers on it and very salty and strong flavored fish. Interesting.

Everett and my brother Keith.

Ethan and Kevin.

Next, Sunny ( a friend who is living with Keith and his family) walked with us into town and showed us the bank and we stopped at a farmer's market.

The church right in town.

Their mascot is the bird. So, these sculptures are everywhere around the town.

Farmer's Market. The veggies and fruit are great.

There are so many breweries here that the choices are endless. I stopped at the little grocery store near Keith's house and picked up whatever beer had a cool looking label. It's cheaper than soda.

In the evening Everett went to the computer room with Keith, Kevin and Ethan and they all played video games together.

Ethan

Keith

Everett and Kevin

Sunny. She is a great cook and keeps up with the boys while MiNa is in South Korea for a while looking after her parents who are ill.

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