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

25 Und 46

Statistically speaking, according to a class Terry took, you get "x" number of people together and at least two will share a birthday............and in having that conversation with a group of friends last year, we discovered that Terry and Julie share a July 12th birthday. Julie mentioned she would turn 24 that year......Terry said "My goodness, I am old enough to be your Father" Julie didn't miss a beat........ she looked Terry in the eye and said PAPA! And ever since that day she has called him Papa! This picture is from 12 July 2008.

When Terry came back from the NCO Academy last April, Julie surprised him at the airport in Brussels. You should have seen the looks as people read the sign, priceless!

Last year, we spent the day with Julie's family and friend and this year Terry is deployed and Julie invited me once again to her house. I just love her family and friends, there is always plenty of laughter and stories, very time I am there, I feel so welcome. Of course there was delish cakes.....four different kinds, one from Belgium, one from Holland, one baked by Catherine, her Scottish friend and I didn't catch where the custard cake topped with toasted hazelnuts came from...........after dessert....came dinner......wonderful spaghetti and after stuffing ourselves, we enjoyed coffee and a game or two of washers. Her are a few pictures from the grand day and one from Julie's fun day in Aachen.............

Julie not only had a gift for the missing birthday boy......... she had a present for me too! Like last year, I received congratulations for Terry's birthday. This year I got to add a charm to my bracelet..........a VW Beetle! The only thing missing was Terry.

love and miss you all

Goo Goo Eyes

Last year at this time, I was working for Edo and Elsa as a bartender at Casa Motte Bolleberg. It all started during a walk about, Terry and I discovered a restaurant about a half a kilometer from our house. Before you know it, we were going there on Sunday afternoons, rain or rain as it was that winter.....we dubbed it our "date night" aka "goo goo eye night" If for some reason we didn't go, the next time we went we were quizzed, through the one waitress who spoke English......"what happened to you". Over winter our friendship grew, I was asked and accepted to teach English to Fatima, the daughter of Edo and Elsa.......naturally, we becamc fast friends! One of the funnier Fatima stories : Terry often calls me chica, one day Fatima said to me "come on chicken, lets go......." we really learned a lot from each other!

And so........time marches on, like it tends to and before you know it, summer rolls around.....the Europeans have a serious view of vacation-and since many of the people who worked at the restaurant are family.......they tend to take vacation together......and ZO Casa Motte Bolleberg was short handed, hence Liz to the rescue.

Oh what fun! TALK about culture, I was totally immersed, nights flew by, mostly I tended bar, I could read the drink tickets as they printed and I made a handy little cheat sheet to mix/pour the most popular German drinks.........I even managed to make a few new American friends thru the whole experience.......IF There was an American who came in, the staff would come to me all excited......shnell Liz..........cume se here bitte.... I made a little cheat sheet to learn the most popular German/Dutch drinks other than just your basic beer or wine.

Radler/Alster: Pils beer und sprite

Apfel Shule/Snei Wiess: Apple Juice und Water (w/CO2 or mit gaz)

Diesel: Cola und Fanta

Pils Shus: Malt und Pils

Alt Shus: Diebles und Malt

I forget what cola and pils is called, I hope Julie will comment, and Julie, honey, I know the spelling isn't right, sorry about that!

As most of my blog followers know, Fatima became a good friend, we spent a lot of time together. She and my sister Chris's daughter Emily are close in age they became pen pals! It was a sad day when she and her family were asked/forced to give up their tenure running the restaurant I could have included them in the Poof Blog, eh? They moved to Dortmond, about two hours away. I do get updates from my little friend, I hope on visting her in the near future.

love and miss you all

POOF!

.....Poof ! They're gone. And just who are "THEY"?

The Milne's: John, LaVonne and their son Sean. They left Germany headed for Luke AFB in Arizona. I did tell them......"see ya for some future Seattle Mariners spring training!"

......Poof







The Long's: Jim and Connie. A fine farewell as they head out to the Pacific Northwest for a vacation and then look out Hawaii here they come..........

I tip my hat to the best sponosors EVER! Lots of good memories to go with these friends!







.... AND POOF!




Mr. Terry



WHAT! Yes duty called, Terry is off for a 60+/- day rotation in the whole scheme of "war on terror".....not exactly sure how much I can or should write about his current "mission" so I will just say, see you in September be safe!

Summertime here is busy, lots of folks coming and going, I heard the other day that there were 200 new families transitioning into this area......a record number both coming and going. Time to make new friends and remember the "old" before you know it will be our time to
poof!




love and miss you all

Expectations

My Mother likes to remind me that our expectations get us into trouble, have I mentioned my Mother is a very wise woman?

I decided to go to Alabama and watch Terry graduate from the Senior NCO Academy. I had no luck with the whole "space-availiable" scenerio this time around. I had grand plans of flying out earlier and going to Charleston, SC to spend time with friends, including Patty who was flying in from Minnesota to also attend the graduation. We were going to frolic in Folly Beach, SC the place where land ends and fun begins! THAT plan didn't work , it was easier to take the guess work out and fly commercial. I found great airfare non-stop from Duesseldorf to Atlanta. Patty said no problem she flew into Atlanta and met me there, we rented a car and drove the 2 1/2 hours to Montgomery (remind me Patty why do I not have a single picture of us together?)

It was wonderful to see Terry, I realized I hadn't seen him in over 2 months, and like my good friend Becca, says ......"how can I miss you if you don't go away? " Terry's Mom and Dad also drove in from Georgia , it was a regular reunion in the South. We were all so proud of Terry, the ceremony was very impressive, the comradery between Terry and his classmates is something he will always carry with him, the class dubbed themselves the JAB Nation, named so for their charismatic instructor. Congratulations to all the members of Flight 3 Class 09 C!

Terry and I thought a nice "romantic get-a-way" was in order, I suggested Helen, Georgia. It is an Alpine Village tucked in the Blue Ridge Mountains famous for it's Bavarian atmosphere, I remember going to an Octoberfest there many years ago. After spending the night at his folks house, we dropped Patty at the airport and headed North to our destination on the banks of the Chatahoochee River. I had packed candles and even tucked in an open bottle of red wine so I didn't have to worry about a cork screw. Our hotel promised a private balcony on the river and the reservationist even mentioned a fireplace, sounded just perfect.......NOT EVEN CLOSE! We should have read the reviews, and why we didn't is still a mystery, what a horrible place. Our black lab Rufus would not have put his front paw in this place (he was quite paticular about where he'd stay) We arrived after 6 pm so we had already been charged for the room. The place smelled, it was dirty, the A/C was loud to the point of annoying, the curtains were falling off the rods and were being held open by the chairs! And of course it was pouring down rain! AND the bottle of red wine had spilled all over our luggage. At this point what can you do but laugh, so much for my expectations!

Oh yeah, the room included "breakfast" and I couldn't believe my eyes when I

saw celephane wrapped honey buns layed out! Thank goodness there was also ceral and yogurt, but that was about it! I know Lee and Nelly used to vacation in Helen , please tell me where did you stay???!

We did salvage the trip with a hike to Anna Ruby falls in the Unicoi State Park , otherwise.............

love and miss you all