Loving our new flat!

This past Sunday, we started packing our things as we were scheduled to move into our new place starting Monday night. We met with the owner of the flat, Katrin, on Monday night. We were shown how everything works in the apartment and given instuction on the somewhat complicated trash schedule, for which a detailed, hi-lighted calendar was also provided. Lol. Yay! Katrin has been great to work with, so helpful and welcoming. She introduced us to her parents who live downstairs. They seem like really nice people. It made me feel better knowing someone else in the building should I need help with something while I'm in the flat alone. Katrin was so kind to leave us a flower arrangement (her sister is a florist) with a welcome note and a surprise bottle of sparkling wine in the fridge. We feel very blessed and thankful for the way God has provided all of this for us! Check out our new place...I'm thinking I may never want to leave! ;) 

the spa-like bathroom

garden tub-score!!

first time ever having laundry in my living space! in. heaven.

bedroom

closet off of bedroom

living area

dining area

kitchen complete with dishwasher and microwave!

view from one side of balcony

view to the other side...

flowers and note left by Katrin

So, we moved part of our stuff on Monday night then I finished the rest and moved out of the old place while Paul was at work on Tuesday. We spent our first night here on Valentine's Day. Paul had to fly out the next morning for a last minute trip to Detroit. If you didn't catch my facebook posting on Wednesday, we ended up having to drive him to Amsterdam to catch his flight since we missed the train. Though it was a little nerve-racking, I made it back safely after driving the autobahn. Definitely a first at 90-100 mph! I have so enjoyed being here, though by myself for the last few days. I have even been able to watch a few American movies because the owner has a small collection here in the flat. :) As I finish this posting, I am looking forward to Paul's return today!



Valentine's flowers from my love



Dortmund vs. Leverkusen

Paul was able to get tickets to the Dortmund vs. Leverkusen game this past Saturday from someone at work who had season tickets. We were so excited, finally, a chance to attend a European football match! We received help from Paul's boss's wife who gave us the schedule for the train that would take us directly to Signal Iduna Park Stadium. The train is free on a game day apparently, good for us!

Riding the train was quite an experience. As we got closer to the stadium, there were more and more fans boarding the train and they were wearing scarves in either black and bright yellow for Dortmund or red and black (I think!?!) for Leverkusen. Eventhough I know things are done differently here, I am continually amazed when I see things that would never be allowed in the U.S. People walking around, drinking out of huge beer bottles. Evidently, no open container laws. I guess this is the German form of tailgating: drinking on the train journey to the stadium. :) The fans were getting rowdy, drinking and singing football songs about their team and the train was getting more and more packed with people at every stop. Paul was saying, this would never be allowed in the U.S.-packing so many people on the train! We were just laughing and going with the flow but also eager to get off the train and out of the cramped environment.

Finally, we arrived! It was a beautiful day but also freezing. Maybe a high of 20? We tried to prepare by layering, etc. but after the half, we were ready to start heading back to our place and thaw out. We left the stadium a little early thinking we would beat the crowd of people, but our train was due to arrive after the game was over. We got packed in like sardines once again for the majority of the ride home with a bunch of drunk German football fans. Always an adventure! :)

pre-game brat and pils...

taking his last bite

eat fast before your hands freeze off!

in front of stadium with his newly purchased Dortmund scarf

our seats were one in front of the other...

freezing but having fun!

great seats! the two "end zones" housed the rowdy fans

we watched a bit of the game after the half from the floor

in front of the "end zone" area with the Dortmund fans

Dortmund won! We saw the winning goal scored-very exciting. A must experience at some point in life, so thankful we had the opportunity! 

Sunday walk...

Here are some pictures taken while walking on the property surrounding our little country home. Lovely, but very cold!

horses had to be freezing!

sun through the forest

brrr!

our silhouettes and trying to capture the moon
which, unfortunately you can't see

A weekend in Alsace

Since we were staying in Trier on Thursday night, we decided to spend the weekend in France seeing it was only two hours away. We left Trier after visiting some wine shops Friday evening and arrived in Colmar around 11pm. We checked into the hotel, and were told nothing was open for dinner. So, we decided to try for the McDonald's we saw near the hotel on the drive in. Thankfully, it was open-we were both starving! It was comical to try to order a cheesebuger and fries in French. Paul and I were so happy to hear the French language spoken after hearing mostly German for a few weeks. It is a more soothing sound to our ears. :) Our hotel, the Roi Soleil Prestige, was located near the Colmar airport, outside of the old town. It turned out to be a really great value and the breakfasts were amazing. Lovely cinnamon-raisin pastries and one of our favorites, chocolate croissants! It was decorated with a neo-Marie Antoinette and Louis XIV theme, kinda funky but the rooms were brand new, modern, and even contained a Nespresso machine, for the necessary morning jolt. Oh, yes, we found an incredible little patisserie the next day to satisfy our macaron obsession! We enjoyed eating them with our hotel room espresso the next morning.

We had originally planned to visit Strasbourg and the more research I did, mostly courtesy of Rick Steves, the more I was interested in visiting Colmar. This region has changed hands between France and Germany many times over the years. It has a marked German influence but with a French finesse. Apparently, the people of this region don't consider themselves French or German but Alsatian. Alsace is one of the official wine regions in France. So, not only were we excited to see the cute medieval village of Colmar and neighboring villages but also to tour "La Route du Vin" and sample some of the white wine for which the region is very famous. The weather was less than ideal; cold, and alternating between rain and snow but we still managed to visit the villages surrounding Colmar and tasted the wines from a few merchants that were actually open. Unfortunately, just in time for our mini-trip, I was battling yet another cold. Thankfully, I am married to the most gracious, kind, and patient man who put up with me as I battled to have a good time all while feeling miserable. ;)

Many of these villages were bombed during the war, but Riquewihr remained completely intact and is known to be one of the most charming in Alsace.

a view of the yineyards

looking up the narrow streets
in Riquewihr

"Hugel"-where I most wanted to go for wine tasting-
alas, it was closed.

city gate

the outside of the "city wall"

the cutest little cat was following us after I petted her

reminded me of a friendlier version of my cat, Tigris :)  

a cute courtyard with Christmas trees and a little well

whimsical window display at a wine store we were hoping
would open for tasting-but never did. :(

Colmar's "little Venice"

the "winstub" where we ate dinner
in Colmar. Note: the stork.

"onion tarte" is an Alsatian
specialty-I think we had a lower-end
version that was more like a pizza
with creme as the base. Small,
green-stemmed glasses
are a trademark in Alsace 

a beautifully colored church in Colmar

lit at night, we walked in as a service
was in progress-beautiful and moving
music was playing

snow-covered vineyards

this day, Sunday, we did a driving tour since
it was so cold and snowing

la route du vin between villages

view of cemetery in Ribeauville'

a picture taken for Paul's brother, Ben, since we
were leaving "Ben"nwihr

So, the "mascot" of Alsace is the stork. You see it everywhere. We passed this cluster of trees with huge nests in them driving along the road. There were stork-themed signs and stork figurines near this area. I thought the nests were fake, with fake birds made to resemble a stork-park of sorts. Paul said, "no, they are real!". I asked him to pull over so we could see them better. We drove down a road behind this area and found an entrance to a ghetto-looking stork park area. As we got closer, I kept denying that they were real. I thought they were plastic storks put there to represent the real thing. Then, they moved! I was freaking out! Ha ha. I couldn't believe that there were real storks up in those nests! Fascinating.

they were huge!

beautiful old church