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 ♥

Muddy Yard Plus Jumping Great Dane Equals...

Muddy Amanda! Bwahahaha! Happy Sunday, everyone! Hope that you are having a lovely day! It's definitely feeling like Spring here! We got up to 72 degrees, so I'm seeding my yard, watering, praying for the grass to grow, & now, well...about to change into a clean t-shirt :)

Grr!  And...tough?!  ♥

*Click!* -- My Weekend In Photos

So, as you look at these pictures, keep in mind three things: 1} My husband is gone & he's the one I most like to spend all my time with!, 2} Brr, it's cold outside!  So being cozy & warm in my house is my preference!, & 3} I just got back to Germany very late last week, so I've been staying in & getting over my jet-lag!  Of course, with the exception of Church & going to the Commissary to re-stock my kitchen!  And with that, we shall carry on.  Here's what I've been up to, or been looking like!

Lots of lounging, napping, & drinking yummy tea!  Isn't it beautiful?!  One of my Christmas presents from Don was a very pretty glass teapot with a collection of flowering green teas!  I'm definitely going to save some so that we can share a teapot or two when he is home!  He sure knows what I like ♥

Today In Pics -- No More Snow!

For Christmas, I'd like no more snow, please.  And also, while I'm at it, a sweet camera that takes crystal clear pictures! AND, most of all, for my husband to miraculously be able to come home 6 months early...that would mean he'd be here already ;)

In A Winter Fairytale

Except there's too much snow! Back at home in Colorado, the sun comes out after a snowstorm & melts it all away, leaving beautiful sunny days with clear roads! Aaah, the thought! But here in Deutschland, we never see Mr. Sun. He goes into hiding for the season & our snow, which falls down on us almost daily, piles up & leaves us with mountains of ice in our yards & on our streets. Lucius, my little social bug, has realized he can climb up & over the snow pile {my yard is apparently the community snow bin} to go visit any friends that happen to be out at the time. Needless to say, Lucius now gets taken out on a leash. I'm ready for Spring!

Thankfully, my doggies are pretty lazy & like to nap all day!  Aren't the cute?!  :)  I loved watching them play in the snow in the yard before the pile was too big.  They love it!  I'm dreaming of an American home with a yard in the back of the house & a tall fence for privacy!

My Mom flew back to beautiful Colorado yesterday, & I'll be following her here before long to go home for Christmas!  Can you believe it's so soon?!  We had such a wonderful time together, staying in where it's warm when the snow was madly falling & then going out to explore when the weather allowed for it!

Here's a picture of me at the Rothenburg Christkindlmarkt, & I'll post more soon!  Happy Holidays from my very snowy winter wonderland in Germany!  ♥  Pray that this snow somehow melts for me, would ya?!  :)

The Nurnberg Christkindlmarkt!

You wouldn't believe it, but we have sunshine & blue sky here today! Holy moly, it's been a while since I've had to squint when I've gone outdoors, let alone not totally bundle up & freeze! Hooray! Mom & I are getting ready to go to the Christkindlmarkt in Rothenburg, but while I wait for her, here are a few pictures from our visit to Nurnberg's Christkindlmarkt a few days ago. It really is such a magical time of year to be here in Germany!

Back From R&R, Ready For May!

Don & I had such a wonderful R&R together, a lovely two week break from his year long deployment in Afghanistan. We cherished every minute, spent every waking moment together, & prayed for God to slow down time for us.  I wish He could transport us to next May so that we could have all of this behind us...  Our two weeks together went by too fast, of course, but we made many wonderful memories!  We spent a lot of time here in Germany at our home, then took a nice warm trip to Portugal & Spain!

Saying goodbye late this morning at the airport was heartbreaking.  We have almost 5 months of this deployment behind us, 6 to 7 still ahead of us.  But we kept smiling, holding hands, wrapping our arms around each other...  Then crying, saying short prayers, & not wanting to let go.  I watched him go through the security line, blowing kisses whenever he looked back, my nose & eyes red from tears.  I drove home in a fog & have been that way pretty much ever since.  The house is just a building again, not a home.  Empty, quiet, no arms to hold me.  But I'm so thankful for each minute that we had & for the incredible relationship that we share!  This deployment is a team effort, & we are sticking together like glue!  We've got this, baby.  And the next time you come home, you won't be going anywhere for a while!!!  :)

I miss him like crazy already, & I certainly am not looking forward to crawling into bed alone.  But I'll keep my cell phone right by the bed, & I'll pray until I'm calm enough to sleep.  And I may even let Layla & Lucius up to snuggle with me :)  I miss you, sweetheart.

I'll get back to my regular posting tomorrow with another Saturday Around The World!  And I'll feature two blogs this week, one from tomorrow's blog party & the other from the last that we had while I was out!

Hope that you all have been doing great!  ♥

Travel Reviews: Beautiful Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg, Austria. What a beautiful place! Known most as being the backdrop for The Sound of Music & also as the birthplace of Mozart!  Tourists flock to this lovely city, which feels more like a big town, to experience these two things, whether it be a Mozart concert in the Old Town or a ride on the Sound of Music Tour bus!  But no matter where you stroll, you will feel the presence of both ♥

I forgot to do my weekly "Travel Tuesday" post yesterday, so here it is on Wednesday! This will be the last city review of the trip I took with my brother when he was here last month! We went to London {including Stonehenge & Windsor Castle!}, Munich, & finally Salzburg. I'd been to this last city before, on a very rainy day the previous year. It was wonderful to return again when the weather was nice & we could do more exploring on foot! Also, I was able to find my way around quite well, walking directly to places I wanted to see again, including a lovely little jewelry store :)

My brother & I spent two days in Salzburg, staying at the incredibly beautiful Hotel Salzburg Auersperg.  What a find!  Large rooms, delicious breakfast, walking distance to all we wanted to see, & even a rooftop sauna & steam room!  How fun & relaxing!  Outside of the hotel, though, we did so much that I will have to write two posts about Salzburg!  This post will be about the city itself, & the next will cover the Sound Of Music Tour that we took!  How fun it was singing the movie's songs on the bus with our tour guide & the rest of the group!

I really like Salzburg.  The hustle & bustle of a major city can't be found in the Old Town.  It has been replaced with people strolling down the cobblestone streets looking into the cute little shops or listening to the many trios & quartets playing the music of the city's beloved Mozart.  And all the while, the enormous Hohensalzburg Castle peers down from the hilltop above.

The first time we visited Salzburg, Austria, I found a beautiful amber ring.  Don told me he would get it for me, but I said I didn't really need it...  And then I thought about that ring for the next year!  I went back with my brother recently & Don told me I'd better buy my amber ring this time :)  Thank you, sweetie!  I wear it all the time & think of you ♥

Thank you all so much for your participation in the first Saturday Around The World blog hop!  Twenty-one of you entered your blog, which is great for the first time!  It was a lot of fun to see all of your comments & to know that you're receiving new followers!  How great!  Let's do it again this Saturday, shall we?!  And tomorrow's post will feature the blog of one of the participants, chosen at random!  So come back tomorrow & see if it's you!