Travel Review: Beautifully Artistic Dresden, Germany!

I bet you've been wondering where I've gone! Well, I'm still here; don't worry :) Frankly, I just haven't known what to post about lately!  So tell me: what keeps you coming back to my blog?  Is it the travel photos & stories, the recipes, the personal pictures of myself, husband & two little Danes?  Or maybe it's hearing about this military lifestyle, the once-in-a-while knitting project posts, or just what I happen to be interested in at the moment?  Help me out here.  What should I post about nowadays?!  :)

For today, though, I'm covered!  Don & I took a quick weekend trip to the German city of Dresden.  We hopped on the train & blissfully read {or people watched!} for about 3 hours until we arrived at the bahnhof!  Er, train station!  After a quick 10 minute walk, we found ourselves in the heart of the Altstadt {Old Town} and at our little apartment-style hotel, the Aparthotel "Münzgasse".  You can read my Trip Advisor review here if you'd like!

Above, you can see my handsome husband standing on Münzgasse street, with a view of the top of the Frauenkirche in the background {see how close the hotel was?!}.  That's also the famous Frauenkirche in the photo on the left.  This church has incredible history, which you can read about @ the Wikipedia links above.  But basically, during World War II, the Allied Forces bombed the city with incendiary bombs, which create fire.  The heat in the city reached over 1,000 degrees Celsius, causing the structure of the Frauenkirche {among many other buildings} to literally explode & collapse.  It wasn't until the early 1990s that the church was restored.  Until that point, the people of Dresden wanted the church to remain in its crumbled condition, a symbol for promoting peace in the world.  However, after gathering over 1 million euro in donations, the church was reconstructed using many of the original stones.

Dresden certainly had an overall feel of creativity, with many world-famous art museums {we saw the beautiful work of Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, & more!} & bizarre modern art out for all to see.  And of course, delicious beer!

Interested in some dinner theater?  These actors will definitely pique your interest!  Or, instead, you could wander through the beautiful city with your sweetie!  That was our choice ♥

Here I am next to the Fürstenzug {Procession of Princes}, a 335 foot long mural on 25,000 porcelain tiles.  And lastly, another view of Dresden with the top of the beautiful Hofkirche {City Church} in the background.

All Is Well! :)

I first have to thank all of you who have written me lately, asking how things are, telling me that you miss my posts & hope that I'm doing alright -- you all are wonderful! In fact, I am doing more than all right! Life is so good that being on the computer has been the last thing on my mind, & I do apologize for that!  But sometimes, it's nice to take a break & focus entirely on what's truly important ♥

Don has been home now for almost two months!  WOW!  Two Months Already?!!  Time certainly does fly when your worries are behind you :)  It's been so easy transitioning back into our regular routine together.  Although we were apart for 11 months, we just got right back into the swing of things once he came home!  I love it :)  Plus, we've been doing some great traveling!

We went to a town here in Germany called Baden-Baden, which is famous for its bath houses & thermal spas.  What a relaxing weekend that was!  And we also made it over the border to Strasbourg, France.  Add another country to my growing list!  I think I'm at 27 countries now!

And lastly, we just got back from Tanzania, Africa!!!  What an adventure!!  We spent 7 days at the beautiful Saadani Safari Lodge, & oh my goodness was it breathtaking!  Gorgeous beach, lovely people, delicious food, romantic setting, wonderful bungalows!  Plus, game drives, snorkeling, river safaris...  You wouldn't be surprised to know that we took about 2,300 pictures during this trip!  I'll post some of our faves for you to see :)

Next up for us?  Istanbul, next week!!  So the pictures will keep on coming!

Thank you all so much for your sweet notes & emails.  It means a lot that you were checking up on me!  And now that Don is getting back to work {boohoo!}, you'll most likely be hearing from me more often!

Boy, is it nice to be all put back together again ♥

Cheerio! To London, Munich & Salzburg We Go!

Our bags are packed, our boarding passes printed, & the doggies are ready to be dropped off at "camp"! It's time for some traveling!  And we've modified our trip a bit: we added Munich & Salzburg!  So after our return from London, we'll be stay a night in each of those wonderful cities!  It's going to be a great trip with my brother!

To London First...

Then A Night In Munich...

Then, our last night will be in Salzburg, Austria!

I promise to take lots of photos ♥

I hope that you all have a fabulous end to your week & a lovely weekend full of surprises & smiles!  I will be back around the 21st!  ♥

Love In Berlin!

We're back from Berlin, & it was Awesome!  We were expecting a New York City type feel, but instead the city was very peaceful & quiet, perfect for laying in the grass in front of famous Museums & wandering hand in hand through the streets.  We had such a nice time exploring another incredible city!

{Here we are in front of the Brandenburg Gate!}

Thank you all for being patient with me as I spend my time with my husband instead of with my laptop :)  Hmm, it's pretty obvious which is more important!  ♥  As I've said before, I'll be back to my normal daily posting once, well, once my snuggle & travel buddy is away for work...

Travel Review 2: Trier & Worms, Germany

Here is Part II of my travel reviews of the places we visited with my parents while they were here! I sometimes forget how incredibly wonderful {& not normal!}it is to be able to travel like we can.  This happens because it has become so common for us, for our friends here, & for all those in our community!  When we ask friends what they're going to do for the weekend, you often hear things like, "Oh, we're going to head up to Paris!", or "I think we're going to take the train to Amsterdam!"  What a blessing!

So, in order to make you all feel like you've done a bit of traveling too, I want to share with you a bit more about where we've recently been.  Today: Trier & Worms, Germany.  Both of these places were fairly close to where we stayed when visiting the Mosel River Valley in early April.  Trier turned into a quick afternoon trip while Worms was a stop during our drive back home.

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Trier, Germany

This wonderful city claims to be the oldest in Germany, having been founded around 16 BC.  The city itself is now quite modern, but amongst the new buildings you can see some huge Roman ruins!  We parked in the Alt Stadt {the Old Town} & began to explore.  First, we went to the Porta Nigra & got our tickets for walking around inside.  What a huge & incredible structure!  It was so interesting to me that it was right in the middle of the Old Town's busiest area, with cars zooming by just feet from the entrance.  What a feeling to be in something so very old while the latest in modern technology was right outside the window.

Don took this picture.  Isn't it wonderful?!  What an eye he's got :)

Trier also has many beautiful Churches & ruins in other parts of the city that we didn't get to visit.  We couldn't take all day to explore here because we had an afternoon wine tasting scheduled back at S.A. Prüm!  There is a Roman bath house, amphitheater, bridge, etc. along with a Jewish cemetery, & many monasteries too!  I think it would be very easy to spend a few days here!  And on another note, Karl Marx was born here in Trier.

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Worms, Germany

We made a quick stop here in Worms after reading that it is where Martin Luther appeared before the Diet in 1521.  The Diet of Worms was "...a general assembly of the Imperial States of the Holy Roman Empire..."  Martin Luther & the Protestant Reformation were under scrutiny here from 28 January to 25 May 1521, & this hearing was referred to as the Edict of Worms.  In the end, "the Edict declared Luther to be an obstinate heretic and banned the reading or possession of his writings."

We visited the Cathedral of Worms, which dates back to 1110.  It was of a very different style than many of the other Cathedrals we have visited since it is much much older & in the Romanesque style.  Unlike, for instance, the Cathedral in Prague which was covered in ornate carvings & golden decorations, the Cathedral of Worms had a very solid, heavy & serious feel about it, without much in the way of ornamentation.  The building was huge, too!  About 16 stories tall!  It was hard to get a great picture that really showed the scale!

And so, now you know a little bit more about some of the places we have visited recently!  And so far in my quick Travel Reviews, I haven't even mentioned any places outside of Germany!  It really would take a lifetime of dedicated traveling to see the world, wouldn't it?  Or even just to see Europe!

Of all the places in the world that you have never visited, where would you most like to go?!  For me...right now, I would say somewhere tropical such as the Seychelles, Mauritius, or the Maldives!  But, we will be in Croatia in Ten Days!!!  I cannot wait for our relaxing tropical vacation, just the two of us!

Happy Travel Dreaming!

Too Much Fun To Post!

Good Morning from Germany! The sun is shining, our yard is growing more grass every day {Hallelujah!}, & Don & I are having an awesome time with my parents.  I can't believe they've been here a week & a half already!  Where has all the time gone?  I wish they could be here longer, but there are chances that that might actually happen because of all the ash in the air.  What a crazy world we live in, huh?  I hope that none of you have been stranded in an airport due to this natural disaster fiasco!

We had a fabulous weekend in Prague!  And Don & I did something especially cool that I can't wait to share with you all!  You'll think that I am making it up, but then I'm sure you'll wat to try it for yourself!  More on that later :)

Here are just a few pictures from our adventures so far with my parents!

Well, I'm off to walk the ponies & then to spend another exciting day with my parents!

Palaces & Gardens, Please!

I'm in the mood for exploring, & what could be better to explore than old German Palaces & Gardens!  I found this website which lists all of the fabulous places in Bavaria, so I started clicking on the ones that look like they are near where we live, & I've made a nice route for us to take one day this weekend!  I am so excited & I hope that we're actually able to do this!  Here are some of the gorgeous places within two hours of our own palace :)

{Schloss Fantaisie}

"Schloss" means palace

There is even a Garden Museum here which is dedicated to the history of garden design!  It opened in 2002 & is the only museum of its kind.  I don't know...do you think I would enjoy seeing this museum?  :)

 

 

{Hermitage or The Old Palace}

 

 

{Margravial Opera House}

 

 

{Bayreuth New Palace}

 

WOW!  And this is all within less than a 2 hour drive from our house!  Since Don has Monday off, I bet we can find time to take a little exploring trip!  :)  Can you imagine living in these places?  Strolling through the gardens with a good book...entertaining in the fabulous rooms...& you know the owners never had to clean, either, which would make it even more lovely!  Ooooh, but I'm awfully cozy here in this palace of our own, even though I do my own cleaning!  Plus, I have a Prince!  And...a pony too!

*Regensburg*

I'm late getting these pictures posted, but finally here they are!  I like the way the slideshows look on here & it seems like a good way to post a lot at once, so I'm doing that again!  Let me know what you think :)

We went to Regensburg on our Anniversary for an Antique Market there.  It was fun!  I was looking for a desk, a neat pottery canister of some sort to put all my kitchen utensils in (so many!  that's what wedding showers do for ya!), possibly a framed picture for the Guest Room....  Well, there wasn't much furniture at the Antique Market at all, & most of what we saw was just odds & ends...  Old pieces of silverware, glasses, keys, books...  We did buy a New Testament in German from the 1830's, though!  It was only 10 Euro, & it's very neat to look at!  Complete with maps.  How amazing to think of all the places it has been, all the people who have read it :)

Nuremberg Photos!