at the begining.....

So very much has happened since I last put pen to paper or thoughts to type, anyway I not blogged in so long that I almost decide

Memories of Monschau

Before we left Germany for our new adventures.....we took an overnight trip to one of our favorite places with two of our favorite people.....

Less than an hour from "home" nestled in the hills of the Eifel Region in the North Rhine Westfilia is a charming town called Monschau. Half timbered homes wind their way thru a narrow valley virtually untouched by the Second World War. The township is first mentioned in 1198 and the ruins of a 13th century castle overlook the village today.


While driving to the area, you will see the "dragons teeth" also known as the Sigfried line...these are concrete fortifications designed to keep tanks from advancing. They stretched for hundreds of miles and are probably worthy of a blog all by themselves........I recall when LaVonne and I stopped along the road to take a picture...we slid into a rather large ditch and I remember thinking, they certainly stopped us!


Hanni, Josef, Terry and I arrived on a sunny afternoon and had booked a room at a charming inn on the river Rur we began exploring the area. Monschau hosts a beautiful Christmas Market, a must see if your anywhere near this area. Monschau is also known for its mustard, one can choose from an amazing variety as well as visit a museum dedicated to just mustard. The town is very artistic with quaint art and antique stores tucked away in corners, so much fun to prowl through.

Our get-away dinner with Hanni and Josef was spent laughing and preparing to say good-bye, at one point in the evening Josef told Terry "For one hour, no more English only German, and Terry you must order for our table and speak with the waitress"....We had so much fun, and now this is a wonderful memory of more good times spent in Germany.

love and miss you all

Venice / Venezia.....

The city of water, the city of bridges, the floating city, the city of masks, the sinking city......or better yet the city of romance....all of these describe Venice. We had a wonderful time roaming the calli or narrow alleys that make up the city passages, how Terry navigated them will remain a mystery.

We spent two days exploring, we rode the public ferry system, also known as the vaporetta, it seemed as if more people got on the ferries than got off....that being said, I prefered to wander on foot and marvel at how this city functions as pedestrian only. It was facinating to see deliveries being made from boats to porters who would shout permissio as they pulled carts stacked high with goods to be delivered all throughout the city.

Venice is a beautiful city built on 117 small islands connected by over 400 foot bridges.

Dusk was the perfect time for a romantic gondola ride.....and as we quietly glided thru canals and under bridges our gonadlier Carlos explained some of the history as we passed thru the city via the waterways. One must be born Venitian in order to operate as a gondalier, Carlos has been oaring up and down the canals for over 35 years.

Music is an important part of the history of Venice and of course Antonio Vivaldi is known as it's most famous composer. Several times we witnessed locals bursting out in song, ...Terry said it is written in their Venitian contract....at least once a day they MUST belt out a tune!

We enjoyed both our morning coffee and afternoon beer and pizza at a table on the Piazza San Marco where else can you sit and watch life go by is such an interesting place?

I could add another title to the city ..... the city of friends.....we were able to meet up with the Mills, our neighbors from Charleston SC, who rode the train down from Aviano Air Base. We spent the afternoon with them exploring the Basillica at Saint Marks, we enjoyed lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and tipped a pint together at the Devils Forrest, a real English pub in the heart of San Marco near the Rialto bridge, what a special treat to see them!

The "Bridge of Sighs" is another famous landmark in Venice, it is named not because of lovers kissing as they pass underneath as some believe.....but is so named because the guards who led the prisoners from the Doge Palace to the prison would hear them sigh as they saw their last glimpse of Venice as they crossed over the bridge......

CIAO .....love and miss you all.....

Lucky Lucky Lizz

Lately I feel so lucky, I'm considering changing the name of my blog from Life with Liz to Lucky Liz......

If you follow the blog you know we went to Spain...or rather I should say we vacay'd in Catalonia as our guide informed us "Spain" Jacqulene said...... is somewhere else.

The Catalan people have their own futball team, FTCB Barcelona; They have their own language~and it is not Spanish. They do not use a bull as their mascot (they think bull fighting is cruel) The Catalan people prefer their symbol to be a donkey, which represents dependabilty, hard work and perhaps a little bit of determination!

Time spent in this country was such fun and the memories will keep me smiling and feeling lucky for a very long time.

Our trip to Besalu remains my favorite day, not an easy choice considering other adventures like our journey to Montserrat where the famous Monastary of the Benedictine Monks live and still school students. We rode a funicular railway to the mountain top or "serrat" roughly translated a jagged or serrated point. I must admit I had hopes of seeing a monk, we were after all at a Monastary? Terry lit a candle and we made our pilgrimage to touch La Moreneta a statue of the Madona dating back to 70 AD, the small statue is said to have been carved by St Luke~then hidden from the Moors and unearthed in 880 AD by two shepherd boys, so the legend goes.....

Of course there is the unforgettable day spent at Tosse del Mar Kevin*Melissa*Terry*David and I, braved two bus lines and a train to reach this remote fishing village north of Santa Susanna on the Costa Brava (mellifluous wording, say it out loud!)

It was the first warm sunny day and we were thrilled to find a hide-away place to spend the afternoon. Melissa and I threw frisbee in a cobblestone breezeway and we all basked in the afternoon sun.

From the sights of Barcelona including the lizard at Gaudi Park, to the unforgettable coast, Spain or rather......Catalonia will always be special, and now my favorite Catalon word ........ADIO

Actually....before this blog is posted, I will expand a bit so that you know every story has a flip side..... how can I forget to mention the gruelling 16+ hour bus ride to AND From Spain....like the OMG :30 stop in the morning where some foreign teenagers were blocking the sinks...who knew Melissa could clear a path like she did! Oh yeah and there was that minor incident mostly due to improper footware......

love and miss you all

Springtime in Spain

Yesterday we visited Besalu, a beautiful town nestled in the volcanic hills near the Costa Brava. Our journey to this medieval village began as we crossed a dramatic stone bridge built in the 11th century. Steep narrow streets wind their way throughout and it's easy to imagine what life must have been like in times gone by.

Morning found us enjoying a cup of cafe con leche on the market square, I can't think of a better way to start the day.

We, along with our friends Kevin & Melissa Brothers, are traveling thru Spain on a guided tour that we booked last winter. There is so much to see and do.... so far the town of Besalu has been our favorite. This village is steeped in history, every stone street whispers of what once was in this village that housed a community that included Jews, Christians, and Muslims that lived peacefully together for many centuries.

All throughout Europe we have found stories and images of St. George the Dragon slayer and Besalu is no exception. Here however he is called Sant Jordi and he is a very important figure as the towns Patron Saint. Once a year and only once a year on April 23rd an herb is picked and added to a liqueur called Ratafia that is made only in this region of Catalonya, of course the town has a festival all in the honor of Sant Jordi ! Imagine.....both the Brothers and the Osheims have a bottle of Ratifia in our bag of treasures to take home.......

love and miss you all

Mom's 80!

Busy lizzy here......... and there is no indication that I am going to slow down any time soon. So sorry I haven't blogged in awhile, ......hence busy lizzy...as of 2 April.......95 days til we leave Germany and move to Washington State, not Japan as we were first told....it is an interesting set of circumstances that paved the way for us to McChord Air Force Base. As a matter of fact, I was in Washington for my Mom's 80th Birthday Extravaganza, what a wonderful wonderful time , I had an amazing 30 days at "home".

And to prove it, below are pictures not in any paticular order because I am using the laptop that won't allow me to place them where I want, so what you get to see are some are random pictures.....one of me on the C17 where this journey began.... I took a fun filled military hop across the pond, the flight crew let me sit up front, chatted with a headset.....another is of ALL ten kids and Mom taken at her Birthday Open House Bash....one picture is at Starbucks we were having a good-bye latte in Enumclaw. And guess which picture is taken as I was sitting in line to ride the ferry back from the island.....and last but not least a rooftop reminder of a fun filled St. Patricks day celebration that has turned into a Butcher/Osheim tradition.

Lots more to follow......really!

love and miss you all

Love the comments

I started my blog to keep in touch with family and friends, also to document our time in Europe. After I write an adventure/story I can hardly wait to read the comments. It is like having a message waiting after you've been gone all day. That being said........this blog

Is a classic.... a comment before it was written! I accidently posted a blank blog, and POOF a comment.

It's fun to go back and just read all the comments .......Guaranteed to make you smile.

I believe that 13 commnets is the record, there are two blogs with no comments and only twice have I had to delete comments for innappropriate content!

And as always............

love and miss you all

Czech Please!

It is hard to imagine we were there! We really did go Prague, in the Czech Republic for Christmas this year.

My sister Mar and her husband Gary along with myself and himself, boarded a German Wings Flight for a 55 minute flight, that included a happy snack PLUS to Prague, the city that ......

Charmed us right away! We were awestruck by the architecture, the city has been virtually untouched by war or natural disaster so most of the buildings remain strong, some dating back as far as 600 years ........the captial city boasts more than one title: The city of a thousand spires as well as The jewel of Europe.. just to name a few. It is beautiful and gothic and inexpensive and old and new and full of energy and solemn all at the same time, it was such fun to explore. The city is home to one of the worlds largest castles, which we circumnavigated-well mostly anyway, our trip to the kingdom included a look at the changing of the guards, very impressive!

We wandered thru Christmas markets and sampled the hot wine, sausages, chestnuts.....we listened to the astronomical clock strike the hour, we ate hot sweet cinnamon sugar bread rolled over a hot stick, we listened to the bells being played and we walked and laughed and meandered all thru the city. Of course, we remembered to hold our thumbs all accross the St. Charles Bridge for good luck! Both couples bought artwork from street vendors to remember the trip.

We ate traditional carp and bohemian potato salad on Christmas Eve, fresh carp and I mean seriously fresh carp can be purchased on street corners, there are barrels of fish swimming - right next to a fillet (er) in a tent next door.......

Christmas Eve Midnight mass found us at a very solemn mass at Our Lady Victorious, and EVEN if we didn't understand a single word, being said, the mass was very meaningful.

We learned about a few interesting Czech traditions for Christmastime such as cutting an apple open to read the seed pattern for luck, also, you must wait for the first star to be seen before eating and if you leave the table you must go in pairs or it is considered bad luck. We never did figure out why folks were carrying lanterns down the street, it looked important. Amazingly enough Santa found Mar, all the way in our little apartment in the heart of the city! She must have been an extra good girl this year.

In Prague the children wait for baby Jesus to bring them Chrismas presents and in the nativity scenes they have the traditional barn set up with Mary, Josef, wise men, barn animals....etc. etc. but what they also have is a donkey pulling a keg of beer, a gift for baby Jesus, or perhaps the entorage..........! Too funny!

Of course The Czechs did invent Pilsner beer!

There is more to Mary and Gary's trip, but I thought is best to blog Prague while it is somewhat fresh in my mind. I realize I need to catch up with my adventures ............I will try and blog more in the upcoming coming year as I get ready for a trip stateside for Mom's (80th) birthday, a trip to Spain in springtime , a trip to Norway, perhaps a side trip to Venice....and of course the big move to Japan this July!

love and miss you all

A Week in Paris

November 1st finally arrived, we boarded a train headed south for a journey that reached speeds of 305 km per hour - one connection, three stops and four hours later, we arrived in the capital city of France... Ah Paris! It would be easy to blog about each place we visited- I will just highlight a few of our favorites. I honestly think you could spend a year in Paris and still not see all there is to see.....

Paris is a thriving city, rich in its heritage with historical ties dating back to the 3rd century, everywhere you look there are monuments and incredible architecture that reminds you of just how much history has influenced this city.

We did as much as we could in seven days.....Up early in the morning sipping our cafe noir and discussing the days itinerary. The hop on hop off bus was a great way to circle the city, they had four different "lines" that toured the various districts or arrondissements as they are called. We purchased a two day pass and navigated only three of the lines. Lots of intersting tidbits of history if you listened to the audio portion - for instance during the Prussian-Franco war in the 1800's, the city was surrounded-its inhabitants being starved, a group of balloons were launched from the inside and many Parisians, courier pigeons, and dogs were lifted to safety............well most of them anyway, I won't share the fate of two of the balloons, suffice it to say Paris seems to have a bloody time of it!

We managed the metro quite nicely and even used tickets left from Kerry and Rit's visit! Only one mishap occured when we realized we were going in the wrong direction-we immediatly got off at the next stop- then accidently exited the station-we had to pay to get in-then to the other side to catch the subway going in our desired direction...........only to find it was the same car we had abandoned-we knew this because of the musicians on board belting out jazzy tunes...the subway obviously reached its end point and headed back- had it not been for the sax and clarinet player......we'd have never known~!

Everytime we visited a site we were reminded of the rich and important significance of whatever we were looking at......... In 1163 contruction began on Notre Dame Catherdral. There is a bronze marker near the cathedral that is known as point zero the very center of Paris and a place from where all distances were measured. Notre Dame is the most famous example of gothic architecture in the world, it is visited by 12 million people annually. It is also the inspiration of Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame........there are four Catholic masses held each day and we were forturnate to be there during the midday mass. I loved all the statues both pagan and religous that adorn this church, I was facinated by the gargoyles. At this church I also was able to capture this angelic shadow, my favorite picture of the whole trip.

In the year 1200, the city began building a fortress around the city, this would later become a prison, then a palace and present day it is known as the Lourve.....we spent 7 hours, I repeat 7 hours in the this museum and didn't come close to visiting all the exhibitions. Naturally there was a crowd around the Mona Lisa......I got as close as I could for a view, I was amazed later that evening when I saw Terry had such a clear picture-he told me it was easy, he just followed the Japanese tour, he towered above them!

Of course no trip to Paris is complete without visiting its most famous monument (see what I mean?) the Eiffel tower........there was a celebratory light show on the hour to commemorate the 120th anniversay ......The night we went was a a blustery evening, the good news ....no lines at all, if felt as if we had the whole tower to ourselves........the bad news, sideways rain and wind at the top....BRRRRR. The view was incredible and the clouds and rain moved out while we were at the top. Interesting and perhaps appropriate that our best picture of the tower at night was when it was lit up with the colors of the French Flag.

Sante-Chappel is a beautiful gothic church surrounded by archs of stained glass, it was constucted in the 12th century and 70% of the glass is original. There are over 1,100 differents scenes depicted on 15 panels of glass, a magnificent sight at sunset.

Our favorite view above the city came from atop the Arch de Triomphe........WOW! From here you can see all 12 roads leading into or out of the city depending on your perspective. We counted over 500 steps to get to the top, after this this we went to Sacre Coeur which is the highest point in Paris, those two combined for a total of over 1,000 stairs climbed that day!

We fell exhausted into bed every evening, only to get up early and start over the next day touring and trying to absorb as much of the city as we could. It is expensive to eat out, we ventured to a cafe very near our rental for coffee and toast, ONE order of toast, two small coffees and a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice cost us $13.50. Another day we ducked into a bistro to escape the rain, Terry had a small portion of spaghetti bolognese and I ordered a bowl of soup, complete with a glass of wine each (small at that).....total $60.00. Terry reminded me that we were in Paris in a tented bistro along the Champs Eylsees....don't worry about the price he told me just sit back, sip your wine and enjoy yourself.

Good advice! What a wonderful way to spend our 15th wedding anniversary.

love and miss you all

Can it Be ?

NO WAY, it hasn't been all that long has it?????

I have been reminded it has been WAY too long since I posted a blog. I could use the excuse the computer upstairs crashed, you know, the one with all my pictures on it~ I still have the laptop, but it is basically Terry's computer so mostly pictures of tractors! Every picture tells a story..........and most of my stories are stored on the hard drive upstairs. But truth be told that only happened a few weeks ago. I have started several blogs, I don't know why I havn't finished them....... Terry has been gone much of the time this summer, and as always it has been busy at the Osheim household.

Now that I have decided to write a blog or two.... do I backtrack and tell about our 5 hour lunch with an Italian family, my infamous dog blog idea, or let's not forget that Bruggelchen had it's annual summer kirmes, then there is always the evening having a beer (or two) with a former king....or perhaps I should keep it simple and begin with.....

Last Wednesday we toured a brewery in the Netherlands. Terry is taking a college class, something to do with management or production, in any case, as a final project the class arranged a tour of the ALFA brewery, and spouses were encouraged to attend, the more the merrier, right! Due to a mix up on time, the whole group was an hour late, we got an abbreviated tour that had our tour guide Margurite leading us up and down conrete steps at a dizzying pace. After the tour ended we were lead to a huge bar room free samples and plates of food. We were the last tour of the day and caught up with the previous tour already well into there samples......turned out to be quite the party, even the tour guides were behind the bar sampling away. We came home with a few purchases as well as a commerative glass.

The brewery is family owned and started in 1870, there are three duckheads on the logo, and Terry naturally wanted to know the significance.........Margurite just laughed, the story goes, she said the founding family couldn't come up with anything, so they said how about duck, then how about three ducks. She hinted more but wouldn't say .....The brewery follows the Reinheitsgebot, which is simialr to the purity law, and is the only brewery in the Netherlands that uses an (onsite) officially certified underground spring. My favorite part of the tour was a poster sized picture of a 97 year old smiling woman, Tante Wies who claims to drink at least a beer a day!

Do you want to tour the brewery? Well, just follow the link below/select English/select introduction and take the virtual tour on their website. You just gotta love it!

http://www.alfa-bier.nl/en/index.htm

love and miss you all