tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432703522177568792024-03-14T02:32:00.564-07:00The Showalter's European AdventureThis blog will be a great way to keep family and friends up to date on our many adventures while we are stationed in Germany.Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-31420835219654615322012-01-16T11:10:00.000-08:002012-01-16T11:16:22.767-08:00Almost caught upI am almost all caught up. I only have December left to do. I am sorry if the pictures are so small I meant to make them bigger. You can just click on them and it will take you to Flickr to view them. I still have to upload all our pictures from Rome to Flickr and then I can blog about them. I hope you all are enjoying the blog. I will try harder to keep it updated once I get caught up I will give you all an update on our day to day activities. This new year is starting out very busy I only hope I can keep up. Well enjoy your week Rick is TDY again so it is just us girls he will be home on Friday hopefully in time for the girls first basketball games.Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-4855243898759396472012-01-16T11:09:00.001-08:002012-01-16T11:09:00.764-08:00Paris France 2011<div style="float: right; width: 240px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6708763073/" title="Paris France 2011"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7024/6708763073_1ecfc848c3_m.jpg" alt="Paris France 2011 by pshow242" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6708763073/">Paris France 2011</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/">pshow242</a> on Flickr.</span></div>Ok I am up to Paris almost caught up. Lets see Paris what a weekend. When we asked Bella what she wanted to do for her birthday she said she wanted to go to Paris. So off we went on Thanksgiving morning it is about a 6 hour drive from our house to Paris. So we started early. Our first stop was the palace of Versailles. That place is amazing no wonder France almost went bankrupt building it. It is massive we toured the palace and the grounds. We will be going back in the spring to see the grounds completely open all the fountains were closed for winter. It took us hours to see the whole thing. We then arrived at our hotel it was really foggy so we couldn't see the Eiffel tower the first night. The second day was an adventure we got up early and walked to the subway it was right at morning rush hour and as we were boarding the subway Rick and the girls got on but I didn't the door closed right as I was about to get on. It was a good thing we just talked about what stop we were going to get off at. the next train came 2 minutes later and I met up with Rick and the girls. We did a lot on Friday we went to the Champs de Eylsee they had a fabulous Christmas market the girls went Ice skating road a huge ferris wheel and we shopped. we went to the Arc de Triomphe and Rick and the girls went to the top. We could barley see the Eiffel tower it was still to foggy. Next we went to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa and the Venus De Milo while the Louvre was impressive it really didn't have my taste in art. I got to see my favorite artist when we went to the Orsay to see the impressionist. Finally on Saturday the sky was clear and we could see the Eiffel tower. The first stop of the day was the Orsay so I could stare at all of the Monet paintings they have then we were off to Notre Dame I haven't been in many churches in my life and that is the biggest one I have ever been in so far (at the time of this trip anyway) The girls got to feed the birds before we went in I was little grossed out watching those birds eat out of there hands but they loved it. It is a good thing I always carry hand sanitizer . We were going to go to the top of Notre Dame but the line was to long for Abby to handle so we left and made our way to the Eiffel tower. Once we got there and got in line it took us 3 hours to get to the very top and back down. I will not be doing that again when we go back. It was dark by the time we got to the top and seeing Paris all lit up was gorgeous. I took an amazing photo of the tower all lit up ( I am just a little proud of myself). So after three exhausting days of walking all around Paris we were all ready to go home. I didn't get to do some of the things I really wanted to do like take a cooking class at the cordon bleu or go to a few food specialty shops so they are on the top of my to do list for our trip back in the spring. Bella said she had the best birthday ever. We asked Abby what she wanted to do for her birthday and she said she wants to go see big ben so I will have to plan a trip to London for this summer.<br clear="all" />Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-85257635590777216622012-01-16T10:37:00.001-08:002012-01-16T10:37:01.010-08:00Garmisch Germany 2011<div style="float: right; width: 240px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6708740303/" title="Garmisch Germany 2011"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7173/6708740303_66e75a1652_m.jpg" alt="Garmisch Germany 2011 by pshow242" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6708740303/">Garmisch Germany 2011</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/">pshow242</a> on Flickr.</span></div>All this updating is hard. I am glad I have a good memory. I am up to Veterans day. We took a trip to Garmisch Germany. We met up with our friend Alana who used to live next door to us in Kansas. We were taking care of her dog Anyo while she was deployed well she moved to Italy so she met us in Garmisch to get Anyo. The drive to Garmisch was interesting we couldn't see much it was really foggy. The first day we were there Abby was really sick and I had to take her to the emergency room luckily for us there is an Army post there so they all spoke english it was a German hospital though. After the hospital trip I took Abby back to the hotel for a nap and Rick and Bella went to explore a gorge. The next day the fog was all gone and we could see the mountains they were beautiful. Alana and her son got there it was really sad to give Anyo back she became part of our family we had her for almost 15 months and I still miss her. We spent the next day going up to the Zugspitze it was amazing the view was fabulous. we even got to go sledding. We also went to the Linderhof Palace we took a tour inside but they wouldn't let us take photo's I will say it was a strange palace the grounds were all closed up for winter we would like to go back in the spring when everything is reopened. It was a fun weekend and it was good to see Alana again she even watched the girls for us and Rick and I went to a nice dinner. Garmisch is a beautiful area and we can't wait to go back.<br clear="all" />Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-23140373279777724602012-01-16T10:11:00.001-08:002012-01-16T10:11:29.557-08:00Oktoberfest Munich 2011<div style="float: right; width: 240px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6708582817/" title="Oktoberfest Munich 2011"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7142/6708582817_598b8d6d6b_m.jpg" alt="Oktoberfest Munich 2011 by pshow242" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6708582817/">Oktoberfest Munich 2011</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/">pshow242</a> on Flickr.</span></div>I turned 40 in September and for my birthday I wanted to go to Oktoberfest in Munich. Of course I was warned by everyone that it would be crowded and crazy but I didn't care I wanted to go at least once while we are here. So off we went. FIrst we drove to Vilseck Germany to meet up with friends so we all can take the train to Munich. It is a 3-1/2 hour drive to Vilseck from our house but with the traffic and construction it took us 6 hours to get there. It didn't seem like a good start to our weekend. Well the next morning we go to the train station at 7am and the train is packed we had to switch trains to get Munich and that train was also packed none in our group had seats we had to stand the whole way there. Once we arrived in Munich we weren't sure which way to go so we just followed the crowed in the wrong direction for a little while but once we finally found the fest grounds all was forgotten. We enter the biggest crowd I have ever been in. Of course all the beer tents were full so Rick took the girls on some rides and then we found a seat in a beer garden. Once we found a seat I stayed there all day drinking beer. We only stayed 5 hours we had to leave to catch the last train back to Vilseck which left at 6pm. The train ride back was miserable. The train was so crowded and hot no one got seats and the kids were so hot and crabby when we had to switch trains nothing was open there was no where to get a drink or even use the bathroom we had about an hour wait for the train when it finally arrived everyone was so exhausted and Abby was so crabby I felt so sorry for her. It was an experience that I probably won't do again but hey you only turn 40 once and I am glad we did it. The next weekend we went to Stuttgart's Oktoberfest and that was a great time not so crowded and you could actually move around with out saying sorry or excuse me every two seconds and there was plenty of room in all the beer tents. I won't go back to Munich but I will go back to Stuttgart.<br clear="all" />Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-61958583230506490562012-01-16T09:51:00.001-08:002012-01-16T09:51:08.801-08:00Pumpkin Festival 2011<div style="float: right; width: 240px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6708551443/" title="Pumpkin Festival 2011"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6708551443_aeef7925af_m.jpg" alt="Pumpkin Festival 2011 by pshow242" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6708551443/">Pumpkin Festival 2011</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/">pshow242</a> on Flickr.</span></div>The girls and I went to pumpkin fest in Erbenheim. We met up with some new friends and the girls had a great time. They of course had to climb to the top of the giant haystack first so they were covered with hay the rest of the day. They love horses so a pony ride was next then lunch. I had the fried pumpkin and dip. Bella had a bratt and Abby of course had PB&J from home. We shopped around after lunch and I bought a bottle of Pumpkin wine. It was a fun day and we can't wait to go back next year.<br clear="all" />Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-80301498352675367602012-01-16T09:39:00.001-08:002012-01-16T09:39:10.022-08:00First Day of School 2011<div style="float: right; width: 240px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6708608733/" title="First Day of School 2011"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6708608733_5c82b84e8d_m.jpg" alt="First Day of School 2011 by pshow242" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6708608733/">First Day of School 2011</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/">pshow242</a> on Flickr.</span></div>The first day of school is always exciting the girls were excited and very nervous to be going to a new school. Because we live off post the girls go to Hainerberg Elementry school on post. Bella started the second grade and her teacher is Miss Dolit. Abby started First grade and her teacher is Mrs. Hoehn. Rick and I drove them in and walked them to their new classes. They had a great first day. When I picked them up Abby had a Schuluete a cone filled with treats. It is a German custom for the first day of school. The German school system starts at 1st grade so all the first graders got one. Abby was excited to get home and see what was in it. Since I am updating this blog I will tell you that both girls love their teachers and are doing very well and they have made lots of new friends.<br clear="all" />Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-48605621966424988112012-01-16T09:28:00.001-08:002012-01-16T09:28:45.470-08:00Freizeitpark Lockmuhle<div style="float: right; width: 240px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6708538411/" title="Lockmuhle"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7003/6708538411_99f607f02e_m.jpg" alt="Lockmuhle by pshow242" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6708538411/">Lockmuhle</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/">pshow242</a> on Flickr.</span></div>The Lockmuhle is a little amusement park. It had a lot of rides that you had to work yourself. The weather was perfect. The girls had a great time riding the rides and beating me at mini golf. Going here was their reward for being good at the Roman ruins. We will defiantly go here again it was a very fun day.<br clear="all" />Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-63947141106158425262012-01-16T09:23:00.001-08:002012-01-16T09:23:00.676-08:00Roman Ruins Bad Homburg<div style="float: right; width: 240px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6708527565/" title="Roman Ruins Bad Homburg"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6708527565_db478d983e_m.jpg" alt="Roman Ruins Bad Homburg by pshow242" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6708527565/">Roman Ruins Bad Homburg</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/">pshow242</a> on Flickr.</span></div>In September we went to these great Roman Ruins. It was very impressive. The original part of the fort was built in AD 90. It was very spacious and the girls enjoyed running around the grounds and climbing the steps to the sentry post they marched back an forth like Roman soldiers would have.They had a fabulous museum and it was amazing to see some of the things they found I was most impressed with the hundreds of keys there was a whole pile of them. We finally came to the conclusion if Rick and I want to go see things that the girls might not be interested in we have to do two things in one. One for us and one for the girls so after the Roman ruins we went to a little amusement park called Lochmuhle.<br clear="all" />Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-12812376382711728422012-01-16T09:14:00.001-08:002012-01-16T09:14:18.646-08:00Black Forest Trip 2011<div style="float: right; width: 240px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6708506239/" title="Black Forest Trip 2011"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7161/6708506239_3593245f74_m.jpg" alt="Black Forest Trip 2011 by pshow242" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6708506239/">Black Forest Trip 2011</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/">pshow242</a> on Flickr.</span></div>Our next stop on the Black Forest route was Staufen Germany. We stayed the night in Staufen in a cute little Gasthaus (hotel). Rick hiked up to the Castle in Staufen while the girls and I hit the flea market. We left Staufen and headed to Freiburg Germany. Freiberg was another great city. Freiburg's sister city is Madison Wisconsin so of course we had to take a picture with sign. Freiburg has little canals all around it so we bought the girls these little boats everyone floats along it was the highlight of their day. Along our drive through the Black forest we stopped for many photo opps and of course we had to go to the Cuckoo clock museum. Our final stop on our trip was Triberg we hiked to the waterfall it is the highest one in Germany.<br clear="all" />Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-38801612223430289412012-01-16T08:48:00.001-08:002012-01-16T08:48:35.191-08:00Strasbourg France 2011<div style="float: right; width: 240px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6708483115/" title="Strasbourg France 2011"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6708483115_384ef9b938_m.jpg" alt="Strasbourg France 2011 by pshow242" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6708483115/">Strasbourg France 2011</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/">pshow242</a> on Flickr.</span></div>Labor day weekend we took a trip to the Black Forest. Our first stop was Strasbourg France. Strasbourg is a fabulous city. It is only 2 -1/2 hours from our house. The historic city center is an island with a huge church. great museums and wonderful restaurants. We spent half the day their on our way to drive the Black Forest route. The girls and I went TDY with Rick in October to Strasbourg for 4 days. The girls and I had a great time exploring and shopping while he was at work all day.<br clear="all" />Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-1386100700868779862012-01-12T04:16:00.000-08:002012-01-12T04:20:27.757-08:00Finally I am updating the BlogI know it has been forever since I updated this blog with our European adventures I had a good excuse my computer was broke. That excuse was only good for a couple of months I have no excuse for the rest of the months. So I am going to take this long weekend and upload all the photos from our trips and blog about them. So check back next week to see what has been going on with the Showalter's.Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-43240689965517038102011-10-14T05:33:00.000-07:002011-10-14T05:37:27.128-07:00Computer troubleOk I know I said I would keep up with this blog and I will as soon as I get either a new computer or this one fixed. I can not up load any more photo's on to my Mac until I get rid of some of the 18,000 photo's I already have on it. When Rick gets home from his TDY I will try and update this blog with his computer he has all the new photo's on it. So check back soon and you will see some great photo's from the Black Forest and Oktoberfest in Munich. We are headed to France for a few days next week so hopefully by the next weekend I will have updated.Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-1964996196035570282011-09-19T02:10:00.001-07:002011-09-19T02:10:51.420-07:00River cruise on the Rhine<div style="float: right; width: 240px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6126845289/" title="River cruise on the Rhine"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6068/6126845289_10589979bb_m.jpg" alt="River cruise on the Rhine by pshow242" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6126845289/">River cruise on the Rhine</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/">pshow242</a> on Flickr.</span></div>We finally took the river cruise and it was a perfect day. We left from Rudesheim and cruised to St Goar. It was a beautiful sunny day. we saw a ton of castles and castle ruins. When we stop at St. Goar we hiked up the hill to go see the Rheinfels castle. Abby and I wanted to take the trolley but Rick led us astray and we couldn't find it. So up we went and of course when we got to the top here comes the trolley boy was Abby mad. We had lunch at the castle then toured it. It was pretty cool and they views were amazing. We didn't have much time for anything else in St. Goar we had to catch the return cruise back to Rudesheim. When we got back to Rudesheim the wine festival had started so we sampled some wine and had even more food. The girls had a great time. We can't wait to finish the cruise in the spring.<br clear="all" />Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-90483983328690511512011-09-18T22:26:00.001-07:002011-09-18T22:26:59.110-07:00Fansanerie and Taunus Wonderland<div style="float: right; width: 240px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6127281748/" title="Fansanerie and Taunus Wonderland"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6087/6127281748_ef04f382d1_m.jpg" alt="Fansanerie and Taunus Wonderland by pshow242" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6127281748/">Fansanerie and Taunus Wonderland</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/">pshow242</a> on Flickr.</span></div>We live about 15 minutes away from this little amusement park called Taunus Wonderland so we took the girls there and they had a great time. I am not sure how old the park is but it is very interesting. They have rides that you have to operate yourself. There is one that you have to pedal with your feet I went on it with Bella thinking she would pedal me around but she couldn't reach the pedal's I wont be doing that again. The day started out very nice then it started to rain and thunder and lightning so we had to leave. It was a fun day we will definitely go back there again.<br />there is also a free little petting zoo close to our house it is called Fansanerie the girls love going there. They have lots of animals to feed and room to run around. Both places are great to go to on nice days now I just need to find a place to go when it rains and it rains here a lot.<br clear="all" />Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-90482651832187724222011-09-12T21:52:00.001-07:002011-09-12T21:52:48.004-07:00A little Natural History and some good friends<div style="float: right; width: 240px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6127585333/" title="Natural History Museum in Frankfurt"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6210/6127585333_2f15d4957a_m.jpg" alt="Natural History Museum in Frankfurt by pshow242" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6127585333/">Natural History Museum in Frankfurt</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/">pshow242</a> on Flickr.</span></div>We were very excited to spend time with our friends Paul and Dana Molnar and their kids. We were stationed together in Alaska and haven't seen them since. They were in Germany visiting Paul's parents and we were lucky to spend time with them. i say lucky because they are great people and they speak german. We went to the Natural History Museum in Frankfurt together. The girls had a great time with there kids. It was a great little day trip we learned how to use the subway and had a great dinner. Thanks Paul and Dana for sharing your vacation with us. Lets not wait 10 years before we see each other again.<br clear="all" />Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-69989819162525126072011-09-12T21:39:00.001-07:002011-09-12T21:39:17.727-07:00Our first vineyard<div style="float: right; width: 240px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6127332736/" title="Balthasar Vineyard"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6183/6127332736_f8b0155183_m.jpg" alt="Balthasar Vineyard by pshow242" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6127332736/">Balthasar Vineyard</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/">pshow242</a> on Flickr.</span></div>We live in the Rheingau area and there are vineyards every where. We went with some friends to the Balthasar vineyard so they could check out there vine lease and pick up there wine. I enjoyed the view and wine tasting and the girls enjoyed running through the rows of grapes. You can get a vine lease at the is vineyard for 3 years 10 years or 25 years our friends kids have a 25 year one. With the vine lease you get your name on your vine you can participate in harvesting the grapes and a couple of bottles of wine a year. The wine was great I think Rick should get me a vine lease for my birthday.<br clear="all" />Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-85913776459934959962011-09-08T12:41:00.001-07:002011-09-08T12:41:57.318-07:00Finally a home to call our own<div style="float: right; width: 240px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6127300024/" title="Our house in Germany"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6062/6127300024_c85d0389f1_m.jpg" alt="Our house in Germany by pshow242" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6127300024/">Our house in Germany</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/">pshow242</a> on Flickr.</span></div>When looking for a house we had a couple of must haves. It must have off street parking ( my car is way to big to leave on the street or even drive down some streets) It must have a yard for the dogs, and it must have a dish washer. Well we found what we thought was a perfect house. Houses in Germany aren't like houses in the states there are no closest and some houses don't come with built in kitchens and some don't even come with light fixtures like ours. We had to purchase 21 light fixtures so off to IKEA we went and bought the cheapest ones we could find. It took Rick forever to install them our walls and ceiling are concrete he was not a happy man. The girls love the house and we have a very quiet neighborhood the only time it is noisy is when the girls are outside playing. It is a little father from post and it take Rick on average 45 minutes to get to work. We are still settling in and hope to make it a comfortable home. I will try and get photos of the house with our stuff in it. The only thing I hate about our house are the spiders that keep getting in they are huge and when I told the landlord he said there was nothing to worry about this is not Australia and to just use the Hoover on them. I of course was not happy with his comment, but the Hoover does come in handy once you get it plugged into the transformer to make it work.<br clear="all" />Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-40537488599804961152011-09-08T12:21:00.001-07:002011-09-08T12:21:37.708-07:00Our Accidental trip to Koblanz<div style="float: right; width: 240px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6126859113/" title="Koblanz"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6082/6126859113_a19a963f82_m.jpg" alt="Koblanz by pshow242" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6126859113/">Koblanz</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/">pshow242</a> on Flickr.</span></div>We did mean to go there but we wanted to go on a cruise on the Rhine but got there really late. Rick says we took the scenic route. So since the cruise was out so we walked around town. We came across this enormous statue Of Emperor Wilhelm II. If you want to know more about him google him I did not go up in the statue it was way to high off the ground for me. The Castle at the top is Marksburg Castle. I will blog about that castle later. It was a great trip to Koblanz and we will take the rhine cruise there next summer.<br clear="all" />Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-6734147479671494242011-09-08T12:07:00.001-07:002011-09-08T12:07:51.888-07:00Trip to Mainz with German head start class<div style="float: right; width: 240px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6126743809/" title="Mainz"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6194/6126743809_05625c6bf6_m.jpg" alt="Mainz by pshow242" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6126743809/">Mainz</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/">pshow242</a> on Flickr.</span></div>Rick had to take a German head start class as part of his in processing. His class had a field trip to Mainz so the girls and I tagged along. We first went to the Bahnhof to learn how to take the train anywhere you want to go. Then we went to the Roman cellars it was a very nice place a lot of history we were 7 stories below ground. There were what seemed like miles of bottles and all the barrels are originals. We even sampled some sparkling wine. Mainz is a very nice town not far from wiesbaden. We really need to get back there and explore the city more. Enjoy the photo's<br clear="all" />Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-44366620472490343392011-09-08T10:17:00.001-07:002011-09-08T10:17:47.411-07:00Arrival in Germany<div style="float: right; width: 240px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6120567255/" title="Abby celebrating her 6th birthday in lodging"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6188/6120567255_21de64888d_m.jpg" alt="Abby celebrating her 6th birthday in lodging by pshow242" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/6120567255/">Abby celebrating her 6th birthday in lodging</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/">pshow242</a> on Flickr.</span></div>Our arrival in to Germany went smoother than I thought it would even though we were 2 hours late and the dogs were in there kennels along time. When we arrived in Frankfurt we had help with our luggage and our dogs. We did have to wait a while for the bus to wiesbaden. When we got to the welcome center our sponsor was there waiting for us. Billy took Rick and the dogs to a boarding kennel (the hotel didn't have any pet rooms for the first 2 days). Billy's wife Claudia took me and the girls and all our luggage the hotel. It really was a big help having them.The next few days were busy for Rick as he was in processing. We celebrated Abby's 6th birthday in the hotel with cupcakes and bowling. She didn't even say anything about a big party she thought moving to Germany was her present. We finally got to look at houses around day 10. There wasn't much to choose from but we finally found one in Taunustein. We were in the hotel for 30 days before we could move in. It was a nice hotel but being in a one bedroom room with all of us and the dogs got real old real fast. We did take some day trips while we waited for our house and I will post about those next. I am adding a picture of Abby with her birthday cupcake and her present of living in Germany. LOL:)<br clear="all" />Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-18538382634067948232011-09-08T08:09:00.000-07:002011-09-08T10:17:27.458-07:00Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-76720636475284275982011-09-07T02:48:00.000-07:002011-09-07T03:01:34.830-07:00Let's try this again!Ok people I am back. I am going to try and keep up with this blog again. I will try to give this blog equal time that I give Facebook. So what is happening in the Showalter house. Well I know all of you know we moved to Germany in June and we are settling in nicely. The girls finally started school. This summer was the longest summer ever. Bella is now in the 2nd grade and Abby is in 1st grade. They both like school so far (it is only the second week). Rick is busier than ever in his new job (job title to come as soon as I ask him). He will be taking a few TDY trips this year even a few back to the states which is good I can send him shopping. I am hoping to use this blog to keep all our family and friends updated on adventures while we are here in Germany so check back and see what is happening. I am working up loading photo's of some of the things we have done so far. Give me few days and I should be all caught up. Enjoy you weekPhyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-5227592290137598202009-04-14T15:35:00.000-07:002009-04-15T04:49:41.235-07:00Blame it on FacebookI am blaming facebook for taking up all my time and not leaving anytime to blog. Really it has been 4 months since I last blogged about our lives. So this is what has happened. In Feburary Rick went TDY to Ft Lewis Washington and the day after he left I got so sick I had strep throat again. When I finally recovered I got the house ready and put it on the market. I took about two weeks to get an offer that I gladly accepted. So our house is sold we close on April 27th the packers come on April 22 and then we move in to Temporary housing on Ft McCoy until June 22 then we are off to Kansas. Rick got home from Ft Lewis on April 7th and we are in the process of getting the house ready for the movers. We are hoping to lighten our load we are sure we are going to be over our weight allowance and we are getting rid of a few old this that I am tired of moving around. The next few weeks are going to be a little crazy around here and I will try to post more on this blog and not let facebook hog my time.Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-54402969982621735472009-01-14T09:37:00.000-08:002009-01-14T09:38:10.183-08:00Digital Scrapbook<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap; "><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" bgcolor="#ffffff"><tr><td><a href="http://smilebox.com/play/4e7a41334d7a45334d773d3d0d0a&campaign=blog_playback_link&blogview=true" target="_blank"><img width="386" height="303" alt="Click to play 2008 A Year At A Glance" src="http://smilebox.com/snap/4e7a41334d7a45334d773d3d0d0a.jpg" style="border: medium none ;" /></a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.smilebox.com/?partner=commissionjunction&campaign=blog_snapshot" target="_blank"><img width="386" height="46" alt="Create your own scrapbook - Powered by Smilebox" src="http://www.smilebox.com/globalImages/blogInstructions/blogLogoSmileboxSmall.gif" style="border: medium none ;" /></a></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><a href="http://www.smilebox.com/scrapbooks" target="_blank">Make a Smilebox scrapbook</a></td></tr></table></span>Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143270352217756879.post-15856339008667516912009-01-14T07:37:00.001-08:002009-01-14T07:37:36.779-08:00Sea World 2008<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/3145867392/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3238/3145867392_15702b233c_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26157828@N05/3145867392/">Sea World 2008</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/26157828@N05/">pshow242</a></span></div>First off I want to thank Anheuser-Busch for there continued support of our US troops. There salute to heros program is great soldiers and their families can get into any of the Anheuser-Busch parks for free once a year. We have used this program 4 times we have been to Sea world San Diego twice a Sea world in San Antonio Tx and a Sea world in Florida. The girls love Sea world. Bella's favorite part is feeding the dolphins. We really did have a great day the weather was perfect and the park was not crowded at all. We enjoyed the dolphin show and the girls loved all the rides. We did not see the Shamu show this time the girls had a hard time sitting through the dolphin show. This is my last blog about our trip to california I need to get started on the new year before I get really behind again. Enjoy<br clear="all" />Phyllis Showalterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14133793181240654093noreply@blogger.com0