Trummelbach Falls

While in Interlaken we had another afternoon adventure when we went to Trummelbach Falls. In case you hadn’t heard of it, it is a glacial waterfall that is located inside of a mountain. It is listed on the “Federal Inventory of Landscapes and Landmarks of National Importance” after all.

We took the ”tunnel-lift” to the top and then hiked up and down to see the 10 waterfalls.

Taking photographs was a bit of a challenge. We were basically inside a cave and taking photos of rapidly moving water under very low-light settings (with mist covering the lens to boot) is way beyond my photography skills. So most pictures came out looking like this.

Thanks to a little bit of natural light this photo is slightly better. I don’t think any photograph can do it justice though – you completely miss out on the noise and the amazing power of water surging through the rocks. You can be sure I kept a good hold on my children, although there were plenty of guard rails.

I couldn’t figure out the best way to rotate this photo to give accurate perspective. Suffice to say it was a lot of water, moving very rapidly, into a big pit in the rock.

Thomas told us to take this photo so we would remember how scared he was. He was a little more brave than Andrew though, who would not go into the darkest caves at all.

Doesn’t Andrew look happy? We are having fun!

The theme of beautiful Swiss landscapes continued. This view reminded us of Yosemite.

   

 The river was clouded with bits of erosion debris. It was a grey-brown color, almost like chocolate milk. Sorry, no fishing here.

This was our last adventure in Switzerland. The next day we packed up and headed back home. (And in my mind, it did seem like we were going “home” which was a good feeling.)

Read Full Post »

Sweet Sixteen

Yesterday we celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. We marked the occasion by leaving the kids at friends’ house and going out to dinner. In the past after a dinner out we’d do something super romantic like browse in Barnes and Nobel or Wal-Mart. Sadly, there aren’t any stores around here open past 8 p.m. so it was a short date (but enjoyable nonetheless.)

An explanation of the above photo:  This appeared in a field not far from our home. It is made of hay bales with a 55-gallon drum for the groom’s hat. It was constructed to celebrate a wedding. Clever, eh?

Read Full Post »

Ballenburg Open Air Museum

While in Switzerland we spent one afternoons with two other families at the Ballenberg Open Air Museum. This is a huge collection of historic buildings from all across Switzerland, painstakenly relocated to the Hofstatten area. There are also re-enactors who are demonstrating Olde Tyme life, including critters such as pigs, cows, chickens, horses, and the like. (This is similar to Colonial Williamsburg or the Genessee Country Museum.) We only saw a small portion of the Museum since we only had a few hours.

There was a variety of archtectural styles from different regions of Switzerland and different time periods.

Apparently on weekends the Museum is full of all kinds of activities, but we had the place pretty much to ourselves.

There were some activities for the kids. Here at the carpenter’s shop they could pound in nails in three different types of wood to learn which was the hardest. No thumbs were injured, I’m happy to say.

In one building the kids could try out old-fashioned toys. Everyone was amazed by my ability to walk on stilts – a useful skill I learned from my days in the circus.

The kids loved seeing the animals – especially the pigs. The pig was wallowing in the mud, just as expected. Unfortunately he decided to give a big shake so we got a bit of a mud bath.

These horses were wearing the most stylish hats!

After all that walking we stopped to have a treat. Here we paused to appreciate modern convienences, like freezers for popsicles. Then it was back to reality and our RV!

Read Full Post »

Days 5-10: The Interlaken Summer Experience

We continued our travels into Switzerland for the real purpose of the trip: to attend the Interlaken Summer Experience event, sponsored by the International Baptist Church. While driving from Bavaria it was hard to tell exactly what country we were in – Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein or Switzerland – because the borders were hardly marked. We didn’t have to show passports at all, and the only reason we needed to know what country we were in was so that we could use our Esso card to buy gas at better prices (only valid in Germany.) The drive was quite scenic, with mountains all around and beautiful lakes below. I expected Interlaken to be more of the same – a quaint little village.

It was a little different than I expected. Interlaken is a tourist mecca during the summer, and the streets were filled with tourists of all nationalities, shopping at stores that offered Rolex watches and (of course) chocolate and Swiss Army knives. There was even a Hooters right downtown!

While tourists aren’t buying watches or eating chicken wings, many are taking part in the myriad of outdoor adventures. Shown here are some paragliders (top middle and lower right.) These crazy people strap on a parachute and then jump off the side of a mountain to float down to the ground below. We did not try this. There are also many places to camp and we did experience this side of Interlaken:

These were our luxurious accomodations for the week – we rented this RV. It worked out quite well. It was reasonably priced,  had a full kitchen inside, the amenties of a campground, and the other GK families that were attending the conference were all close by. Staying in a trailer park is no big deal, as long as there are no tornadoes, right?

Strangely enough, we did have some bad weather – several violent thunderstorms, including hail. During one the sky did look a bit green and there were quite a few trees down when all was said and done. This must happen frequently though, judging from the dents in the side of the trailer.

We were a very short walk from the lake. Jeremy did try to fish, and the boys all swam a bit. Too cold for me.

Anyhow, the conference was quite good. At the opening event we got to hear some “old fashioned music” as Andrew called it which was quite entertaining. There were two general sessions each day, the morning on the topic of the Great Commandment and the evening on the topic of the Great Commission. Also, we attended two seminars each morning on the topics of our choice. The sessions were held in a school building and at a hotel.

While the parents were doing their thing, the kids participated in their own program. A team of people from Virginia came and led the kids in VBS sessions including crafts, lessons, games, songs, and all those other good activities.

 

On the last day the kids sang for us. I tried not to be one of those parents who stood up and waved wildly at my child. However, Andrew did not sing very enthusiastically and later he told us it was because he couldn’t see us so maybe I should have. Can you find Thomas and Andrew?

In between all of this learning and discipleship we did have some time for some adventures. I’ll write about those in the coming days.

Read Full Post »

Day 5 – Oberammergau

Our time in Bavaria was brief, but we’ll be back. There is a big Armed Forces Recreation Center there, called Edelweiss. (We did not stay there but we did check it out.) We’ve got a chaplains’ conference to attend there in the Fall (and I can’t wait!)

The last stop before heading to Switzerland was the town of Oberammergau. It is known for its Passion Play. Unfortunately, we were one year late (or nine years early) because it is only held every 10 years. We wandered around the town, which was quite nice, but apparently we were about an hour early because it was quiet and many shops were not open yet. That was good news for those who do not like shopping because our stay was abbreviated.

Many of the buildings are covered with these amazing paintings. Many have themes related to the Passion play; others are just decorative.

Even the buildings that were not painted were beautiful.

They take their horticulture very seriously.

There’s a lot of history here – I don’t know all the details but there was a plague, the town was spared, and now they are eternally grateful. Hopefully we’ll learn more when we return!

Read Full Post »

Day 3: Garmisch

Our next stop was Garmisch, Germany. This is the Germany that lives in stereotypes - lederhosen, cute villages, and those dresses that women wear when playing accordians. After a good night’s sleep and a great breakfast at the Hotel Forsthaus we headed to another “must-see” destination: Hohenschwangau. This town is home to two beautiful castles: Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau.

We toured Hohenschwangau first. This is the older of the two castles – restored in 1832-1836. The tour was about 30 minutes long but photographs were not allowed inside. It was like lifestyles of the rich and famous but without Robin Leach.

While we waited for the tour to start we had Andrew take some photos. He took his job seriously – I think we have about a dozen variations of this particular shot.

Equally fascinating (for some) were the snails and slugs we saw along the path.

The scenery was beautiful and the weather was perfect.

 

It is a bit of an uphill hike to Neuschwanstein Castle. In the interest of time we took the bus to the top. We could have hiked up to this bridge (can you see it way up above the waterfall?) but I was afraid we’d miss our tour. After I saw just how high it is I didn’t regret it. I’m sure the views are amazing but I don’t know that I could have stomached the height.

If this looks familiar you’ve probably seen tourism posters of Germany. This oft-photographed castle was the inspiration for Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty castle. The inside was amazing but photographs were verboten here too.  King Ludwig II even built a cave inside, complete with stalagtites and stalagmites.

Continuing with the Disney theme, it truly is a small world after all because in the gift shop we ran into a family that I knew! This is Chris Loesel, who was on the LCMS Youth Gathering media team with me last summer in New Orleans. His family was visiting his brother who had spent the year studying at the university in Aachen, Germany. (He’s even wearing a Gathering t-shirt!)

For our final descent I convinced Jeremy to splurge on a carriage ride. It is 6 Euros per person to ride up to the castle in the carriage, and only 3 Euros to ride down. That, kids, is the law of supply and demand at work. Those poor horses were fighting gravity the whole way down, but we enjoyed the ride.

Read Full Post »

Day 2: Salzburg

After leaving Stuttgart we continued East to Salzburg, Austria. There was some confusion – the boys thought we were going to AUSTRALIA. Learning that this was a completely different country meant that 1) they wouldn’t get to see their cousins and 2) people wouldn’t speak English. What a disappointment! However, we had a lovely time in Salzburg doing exactly what most Americans do there: the Sound of Music tour and the Salt Mine tour. And we got to meet up with the Armstrong family so that was great fun.

We arrived right around dinner time so Jeremy picked this Brewery for dinner. It had a nice outdoor eating area (beer garden.) The only downfall is that there were quite a few people smoking. The food was pretty good – kind of reminded me of Schlafly Tap Room in St. Louis. Jeremy ordered the meatloaf which was like a giant slice of a huge hot dog. I’m pretty sure he won’t be ordering meatloaf again anytime soon.

We stayed in a decent little hotel outside of the city. This was the view from our balcony! Check out the yellow house in the foreground – looks like a Frankenhouse.

The first adventure of the day was the Fraulein Maria Bicycle Tour. I highly recommend this tour – especially if the weather is good! Each adult bicycle had a basket in the front with photos from the movie – and some were even lucky enough to have the song lyrics also. Andrew got to use this tag-along trailer which was perfect. He could pedal if he wanted to but could rest if he got tired; it was an extra workout for Jeremy; and we always knew where Andrew was! The tour lasted about 3 hours and we were on bike paths for most of it. We had forced encouraged the boys to watch The Sound of Music a few days before the tour so that they would be amazed at all they were seeing.

The tour took us to most of the Salzburg locations where the movie was filmed. (Some parts of the movie were filmed in a studio back in the States.) This is the fountain where Maria splashes water on the way to the Von Trapps’ home. (Sing with me…I have confidence in sunshine…I have confidence in rain…)

Here is the cemetery where the Von Trapps hid when they were escaping after their performance. As a child I found this scene in the movie to be so frightening that I would go to get a snack or to the bathroom rather than watch.

This is an Abbey (still in use) where some of the movie was filmed. In the movie what appeared to be one location was actually 3 or 4 different places. These gates were used when the children came looking for Maria, but a different church was used for the interior sanctuary scenes and still another place for the courtyard (How do you solve a problem like Maria?)

This is the lake used for the rowboat scene. My memory is a little sketchy at this point in tour (certain members of the tour were getting hot and tired) but I believe that the steps going up to this building were used, but not the building itself.

This is the garden where Maria and the children go gallivanting around the city singing, “Do, a deer” wearing their curtain outfits. Besides seeing SOM sites, we learned about the history of Salzburg. It was great way to see the city!

This was our tour group! It wasn’t all Americans – there was a couple from Australia and a mother and daughter from Canada. Our guide told us that most Austrians either don’t know the movie or don’t like it. My only regret was that we couldn’t get a nice group sing-a-long going. Not that I didn’t make a good effort.

The kids were so enthralled with the tour that there was a little idol worship afterwards. Good thing we had two chaplains with us to set them straight!

Our second tour for the day was the Salt Mine. (That is where Salzburg got its name, after all.) We had to put on this protective clothing, and then we went on a train, then down two slides, then on little boat ride, then an escalator, then another train - all underground. Being an amateur photographer, the pictures I took weren’t too great. It was very interesting and at the end we got the cutest little canister of salt as a souvenir!

So that was Salzburg. Next stop: Bavaria!

Read Full Post »

Road Trip Part 1: Stuttgart

We just returned from a 10 day road trip! We had a great time seeing the sights and spending time with friends. Of course I’ve got many pictures, but I’ll try to chronicle our adventures, starting with day 1. We headed south to Stuttgart and spent the night at the home of some friends that we knew from our time in Mississippi. Their younger boys are just about our boys’ ages so it was a fantastic time for all. Mary and I were in MOPS and the Spouses’ Club together, and she gave me the most honest and helpful advice before moving here. I was very happy to see her in person!

 

We spent a fair amount of time at the frog pond, just down the street from their house. The hunt was on for frogs, slugs, snails, and “metaphors.” I don’t which of the boys coined the term metaphor, but I think they meant a newt undergoing metamorphosis because they were not making literary comparisons. After spending some quality time with nature we got everybody cleaned up and put to bed.

After a run for me and a bike ride for Jeremy and a delicious breakfast we went to Birkenkopf in Stuttgart. Americans call it Rubble Hill – it is literally a hill composed of the rubble from the bombing raids on Stuttgart in World War II. It is the highest point in the city and is made of 15 million cubic meters of debris!

Much of the hill is covered in plants, shrubs and trees, but at the top there are large pieces such as this lion. One piece had a plaque with an inscription on it that is translated as: This Mountain was built after the Second World War from the rubble of the town to stand as a memorial to the dead and a warning to the living.

The kids had a great time climbing up and around – and then sliding down to the bottom. There were paved paths to walk on which were not too strenuous (after all I was wearing a skirt and flip flops.) At the top is a large cross – Mary said her church holds their Easter Sunrise Service there. What an amazing location!

Even though it was a little hazy we had a great view of the city below. Look at all the red roofs!

After our mountain adventure, we did some shopping and had lunch, and then continued travelling east. Tomorrow: Salzburg!

Read Full Post »

House Tour: The Backyard

Before moving to Germany I asked a friend if most houses had yards. Her answer: It depends.

We lucked out with the front yard (especially since we’re not responsible for the upkeep) and our backyard is great too.

This is a quick overview, from left to right: Garage door, patio #1 (door to the kitchen), kitchen window (and basement window below); patio #2 (doors to dining room.) I wondered how it would work to have people over for a BBQ with two patios – kind of splits the group in two.  Last week we tried it and it actually worked out great – the adults sat on one side and the kids played on the other.

This is the lawn. It is nice to have a grassy area for whiffle ball and nerf gun fights. We did not bring our mower so we bought a push mower. The blade is only about 10″ wide so it is not a quick job to cut the grass. However, we do not have to buy gas (at 1.50 euro per liter) and we can secretly mow on Sunday and no one will know! (It is illegal to mow the grass on Sunday – you can get a ticket!)

Also shown in this picture is some kind of greenhouse building. I think it belongs to the neighbor behind us. His business is growing roses and he has a half dozen greenhouses behind us.

I had actually thought about getting some backyard chickens in Arkansas and I got them in Germany instead! These actually don’t belong to us though – they’re our neighbors. We enjoy them though, and even get fresh eggs occasionally. There are 4 chickens and that is an apple tree in their cage also. The neighbors on the other side have about a dozen chickens. No roosters, though, so it isn’t too noisy.

We have a little area for a few tomato plants that seems to be a slug-haven. I do miss my Arkansas garden though! Whenever I miss it too much I just look out at the broken-down car at the back of the yard (see the second picture – the car is not ours) and feel like I’m back there once again.

Read Full Post »

Happy Anniversary!

Ten years ago on this day, at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Orchard Park, NY, my dear husband was ordained as a pastor in the Lutheran Church. Much has changed since then…

For starters, that lovely picture was on film, not digital.

Jeremy is now serving the U.S. Air Force, not a congregation.

We’ve had 6 different addresses in the last 10 years. (He’s had 7 if you count his time in the desert.)

But through it all we are thankful for the many blessings we have received in serving God in this vocation!

(Shown in the picture above: Jeremy’s parents, Gary and Lynda Gorline; Rev. Jeremy Gorline, me, and Jeremy’s brother Tim.)

Read Full Post »