City of lights, Cameras and Action

When we found out we were coming to Germany one of the first things we decided we needed to see was Paris. Maddi, our youngest daughter, has for the last several years been infatuated with Paris in general, and the Eiffel tower more specifically. We opted for the high-speed train from Kaiserslautern to Paris. The tickets cost all of 230 Euro for round trip tickets, which is a great deal in my eyes. We went to the train station and waited on the platform with our luggage, it felt like we were in a movie waiting for the train to take us to some exotic place, awaiting all of the mayhem and adventure that would surely come our way. We got on and quickly found our seats and the adventure was underway. I must say, traveling by high speed train (195mph) was the quickest, smoothest and painfree ride I have ever taken. As it approached 200mph, you couldn't tell you were going above 30mph, but the scenery flipping by gave it away. We bought second class tickets, but all that meant is you didn't have a lounger or have access to the food...which may have mattered if the ride was any longer than the 2 hour 20 minutes we were on the train. We got off at the train station and found our way to the metro ticket booths. After trying to figure out how to buy tickets, getting confused and then realizing that we need to stand in a very long line, we opted to leave the train station and find our hotel. We stayed at the Richmond hotel near Gare du Nord train station. We wandered around for 30 minutes trying to find the right street to walk down. We would walk down a street thinking we were on the right one and then realize we were headed in the wrong direction, correct ourselves and realize we were two streets over...this went on for thirty minutes. Thanks to Hailey, who has a built in compass, we were able to right ourselves and find our hotel. The person behind the desk was nice enough to allow us to check in early. The hotel was a diamond in the rough, it really wasn't a great hotel from the outside but she had a great personality...kind of a 'special spirit' of the hotel world. You could see the unique quality of this hotel and even though it lacked beauty, it had style. After dropping our luggage off we decided to make a second attempt at buying metro tickets. Success! Our first destination was Notre Dame. We got off the metro and there she was, the grand lady herself. But just as interesting was the neighborhood in and around the church. Boutiques, upon boutiques lined the street, then the cafes and patisseries surrounded the boutiques. Each street was filled with excitement. And this is the beauty of Paris, you have to walk to know her. We hit a souvenir store and bought all sorts of small trinkets and souvenirs, now we didn't feel so pressured to buy something right before we left to go home. We walked around the outside, walking past the flying buttresses, arched doorways and the gargoyles keeping watch of the tourists. As a side note, I took french in junior high and high school, one of the things my teachers did was bring France to life. We had culture days and they would talk about all things Paris. So when I was at Notre Dame, I felt like I had been there before. We walked through this magnificent structure and marveled at the architecture, but you know there was a feeling of emptiness. I say that as I compare it to the churches and temples that I know from my faith. But still this place meant something to me. Then we walked away from Notre Dame down a few streets, up a few streets, to the left, to the right, and that in a nutshell is the beauty of Paris, just being on the streets. To drive through Paris, you miss the charm, the smells, the excitement...it would be a very sterile trip indeed to take a bus or drive through the city. We found our way to the Louvre, I could feel her beckoning to me, but we didn't have time on this day...but just wait patiently, I'll be back to grace your entrance shortly. As we walked in the courtyard of the Louvre, it opens up to a nice garden with ponds and trees and benches. In one of the ponds there was this elderly gentleman who had a fleet of handmade sailboats that he was renting by the 1/2 hour to kids. The kids would take a stick from the man and push and maneuver the boat around this large pond and there was enough of a breeze to actually make it look like these boats were on the high seas. I rented one for McKay and then sat back and relaxed, watched and enjoyed as my son took me back to my childhood of floating leaves and styrofoam down homemade rivers. The next thing I knew Maddi had a boat to, I guess the guy thought her cute enough to give a boat to her as well. But she didn't have any money to give him, I guess he thought he could lose two Euro on my little girl. The pond was alive with people, kids running around the pond chasing their regattas with their sticks, willing the boats wherever they wanted. When it was time to go, I gave money to McKay and told him to pay for the extra boat. The old man said "save your money and go spend it elsewhere"...what a cool memory this is going to be. We made our way down the Champs-Elysees. Now I will be honest, I know this is a very famous street in Paris, but this was the lowlight...shopping. I don't want shopping, especially with the likes of a Nike store and other familiar stores that detracted from the aura of Paris. However, the street did lead to the Arc de Triomphe. By this time we were beat, tired and our feet just plain hurt. We sat at the Arc for a while and watched the cars buzz past us, as this was the epicenter of 12 intersections. After sitting here for a while we decided it was time to see the Eiffel Tower. As we got to the tower dusk was setting in and we were getting hungry. We decided to find a little grocery store and purchase bread, cheese and drinks and just sit at the base of the tower and watch the lights come on. So that is exactly what we did. It was spectacular, the lights came on and it glittered against the night sky, like a giant Christmas tree. Maddi had achieved her Mecca, she was in heaven...and me? Well I felt like the best dad in the world, because the one thing Maddi wanted to do so badly, happened. The best feeling is knowing you brought joy to your child. Day two. We decided we would go straight back to the Eiffel tower and go to the top. Just as a means of a backdrop to our visit, there was a huge police/military presence at all of the tourist destinations because of terrorist threats. So we were sized up several times by men carrying large automatic weapons...I guess we didn't look like too much of a threat with three kids in tow. We reached the tower again and the lines were long, so apparently nobody was afraid of the terrorists this day. We rode the elevator to the top and took in the sights of Paris. Gale force winds blew that day, but no matter, we didn't care if our hair was messed up...after all, we were at the Eiffel tower. The view was spectacular and we stayed there for quite some time picking out all of the sites we knew. We rode the elevator down to the first stop and walked the rest of the way down. Thank goodness we didn't listen to Sharma who also wanted to walk up to the first level. We strolled along the Seine until we found the statue of liberty. Yes, the other statue of liberty...and it made me appreciate America just a little more. Since today was the first Sunday of the month the Louvre was free...and since I had promised it that I was coming back, that is where we went to next. We arrived to find lines and lines of people waiting to get inside and realizing that we only had a couple of hours until it closed, panic set in. I spotted two security guards and in my most pleasant tone asked if this was the only line to get in. No, came the reply. Apparently there is a side entrance that we could also go in, next thing we knew we were walking directly into the Louvre without being in any line. My first stop was to see my lady. You see, Mona Lisa and I have had a pending date for quite some time, except I kept standing her up because I just couldn't quite make it to Paris. Well, today that date was going to be kept. We walked into this large and spacious room and in the middle, at the edge of the throng of people, there she was. The picture was small, but powerful. I stood in awe for 10 minutes and after getting enough we moved on. We also saw 'winged victory' and many other wonderful classics. Day three was our wildcard day. We only had one thing planned and then just whatever. We took the metro to Sacre Coeur, a beautiful white church set up on a hill overlooking the rest of Paris. This was the only time that it rained all weekend long, and it only rained while we were in the church. We walked around it, took pictures, enjoyed the view of Paris, trying to come to grips that this was our last day. We then went to the Moulin Rouge area. I almost hate to bring this up, as a good parent would have never taken their children to this part of town knowingly. And the worst part about it was that our kids were starving, so not only did we find ourselves in a seedy part of town but we had to find a place to eat and spend more time here than we wanted. Moving quickly on, we decided to head to Ile Saint Louis, a natural island in the Seine River, next to Notre Dame. We had heard they had wonderful Salted Carmel ice cream and decided that we had to try it. We found a little cafe that had some and all got a scoop, it was wonderful and unique at the same time. We then just decided to spend the rest of our time wandering in no particular direction just wherever the next whim would take us. The next thing we knew we needed to get back to the hotel, pick up our luggage and catch our train. We enjoyed a nice quiet ride back to Germany...going 200 mph...Au revoir, Paris! Info Mode of transportation to city: ICE train from Kaiserslautern (234 Euro for five roundtrip tickets) Hotel: Hotel Richmond (near Gare du Nord) City transportation: Metro, purchased paris visit card for 3 days. Sites: Louvre-free on first sunday of month; Eiffel tower-11.50 Euro/adult

London bound

This was our first experience on Ryan Air. We had heard all about flying Ryan Air, the luggage restrictions, the boarding of the plane (aka cattle call), the fees, the constant announcements from everything from smokeless cigarettes that they try to hawk on the plane to scratch & win cards, all the while you are trying to relax on the plane. We arrived at Frankfurt-Hahn, an out of the way, tiny airport that used to be a military airport (at least that is what I was told). It, now, is used primarily by Ryan Air. We were lucky enough to travel with a family we met through our church. This was a blessing as they have spent three years in Europe and have flown on Ryan Air many times, they were able to train us. That is the beauty of traveling with seasoned tourists, they know what you need to know. Now as they wind up their time and we become trained, we can pass along the information and soon we will be the experts...the circle of life...no wait that is a movie. We arrived in London very early on a Saturday. My wife reserved a car in London, now just to let you know I was very nervous about driving in England in general. When we got to the counter I learned that not only am I driving a car in England but I am driving a manual. I quickly described my hesitancy to the lady behind the counter and felt like saying "if you want your car in one piece, I should drive an automatic". For a few dollars more she obliged, and just for safe measure took out as much insurance as I possibly could on the car. We received a very nice 5 passenger Audi stationwagon. Not only was the pressure on to perform but mother nature decided to get into the act, it was raining. After taking a practice turn around the parking lot we ventured out. I specifically told Sharma that I am not going to drive into London, we will just catch a Metro stop outside of the city. The next thing I know I am driving through street lights, large buildings, restaurants looking for this elusive parking structure, all the time realizing that I am now in London. The first day was cold and rainy. But what are you going to expect for London. We bought Metro passes and headed for Buckingham Palace. We walked through a nice park where they had an art exhibit set up which consisted of several lawn chairs set up two by two. We decided what a great picture, much like many other people walking past. Whether or not it was allowed was a different story altogether. The park ended at Buckingham Palace. Throngs of people were lined up all over. We could hear in the distance the faint sound of music. It was getting closer. The pomp and circumstance was easy to feel in the air. We could hear the clomping of the horse's hooves coming toward us. The buzz in the crowd grew electric and then we could see the procession. It was the changing of the guards. It was quite a sight to see. After the hoopla died down we decided to keep walking. We walked over to Westminister Abbey and then down the road toward Big Ben (which quite frankly isn't as big as I thought it was going to be). On the way there we passed one of the infamous red phonebooths and decided that this would make a great family picture. We stuffed ourselves in and smiled. We found our way to Picadilly circus and Trafalgar square. We ate lunch at the Cafe in the Crypt, which is actually a crypt that they have put a cafe in. Apart from the ambience of eating lunch in a crypt the food was not that good. Next we took the Metro to the Tower of London and as we reached our destination the rain decided to pick up a bit more, we felt like paying the money to take the tour would be a good option as it would get us out of the rain. Plus I wanted to see the crown jewels. We meandered around a bit and went into a few buildings awaiting the tour. We could see the Tower Bridge from one of the many windows. The tour started and the guide was in perfect Beefeater mode, somewhat brash and abrasive but funny (in an English sort of way). In hindsight I don't think I would have paid the money to do this tour, for the price paid and the time spent it really was not worth it. We ate at a fish and chips restaurant for dinner. On our way back to the car we realized that we weren't that far from Sherlock Holmes' house. As you can see in our picture on this page we found the right door but nobody was home (it was locked), probably out solving a mystery. Our travel buddies had friends that lived at a military base about an hour north of London. It was really inexpensive and nice, but quite a ways out of town. Next day was an emphasis on the Theater and all things cultured. Our first stop was the theater district to buy tickets to the musical Wicked. There are places that sell same day tickets, half-off, but did not realize that Wicked was not included. They had several kiosks set up that sold discounted same day tickets, just not quite as inexpensive as we were hoping for. We bought tickets for the whole family and felt good about the price we paid. Next we decided to see the British Museum. We spent several hours there seeing many items of great historical importance. The piece de resistance was the Rosetta stone. It was a huge tablet with three distinct styles of writing on it. It also had the mummy of Cleopatra, some of the walls of Nineveh, pieces of the Parthenon, the beard of the Sphinx. Here is the eye-opener for me, I didn't realize that England 'acquired' so many artifacts and relics from so many other places. We then decided, on a whim, to see the British Library. Probably one of our favorite stops, especially for the price...free. There is a room in the library that houses many original works, pieces, movements and books. It contained original songs from the Beatles in their handwriting, the original Alice in Wonderland, Guttenberg bible, original writings of William Shakespeare, original pieces of Jane Austen, original songs by Beethoven, the wedding procession etc. I just thoroughly enjoyed the visit there. It was getting close to the time for us to see Wicked so we decided to pick up McDonalds and catch the subway to the theater. Unfortunately, we couldn't take the Tube all the way to the theater because of a mechanical issue. We took it as far as we could and then needed to run to the theater...literally run. We were very short on time and had no idea where the theater was exactly. only generalities. By this time it was pitch black and we were running at break neck speed...and that is exactly what almost happened. We ran across a street in a panic, and it being dark out, couldn't see the metal pole between the sidewalk and the street. Young little Maddi ran headlong into the pole which caught her throat high. In the instant it happened I could care less if we made it to the show, just as long as she was okay. I just knew we were on our way to the hospital. After a moment she shook it off and we were off and running again. We ran into the doors of the theater, sweaty, out of breath, just as they said "two minutes until the show starts". We sat in the balcony and had very decent seats...and we loved the show. The next day we decided to drive to Stonehenge and Bath. Stonehenge is this surreal place where you can't quite say for sure what happened and for what purpose. As we were driving we came upon Stonehenge so quickly we didn't even see it appear. You are just driving along and there it is, which is strange because the land gently rolls and these very large monolithic slabs stick out of the ground. We took the tour and marveled at the ingenuity and determination these people had. It is funny, however, that I thought the slabs were going to be much larger, I don't know why, I guess tv makes everything look larger. We then drove to Bath which is a Jane Austen favorite in her books and Sharma wanted to go desperately. It was a nice drive out and Sharma got to pay her respects to Jane Austen's geography. We walked around the little town and you could just see Sharma light up being there. Ah, those are the moments that as a husbnd you know you've done something good. When you see your wife happy like that, you almost believe that you can make up for all the wrong you have done in life...almost. We then drove back to our place and enjoyed a very quite evening before leaving very early the next morning to catch our return flight to Germany...that still sounds strange...Germany. Info Mode of transportation to city: Ryan Air (10 Euro/person, roundtrip) Lodging: Royal Air Force Croughton (base, associated with USAF) Transportation in England: Rental (Alamo) Car 89 GBP for three days; Tube (family pass) Sites: Tower of London-47 GBP/family; Stonehenge- 20.30 GBP/family; Wicked tickets- 40 GBP/adult (discounted tickets), British Museum, British Library-free

B is for Belgium

Every community has a celebration or festival, even the very small villages will have one day set aside during the summer to have a celeration. We were invited to go to the Bernkastel-Kues celebration. The Bernkastel-Kues celebration was really spectacular. The setting is the valley forged by a river with large hills surrounding it. Situated on top of one of the mountains was a castle overlooking looking the valley below. When we arrived the carnival atmosphere was in full force. They had games, rides, sugary sweets and every other item to make a kid go absolutely insane with excitement. For the adults, it is about the wine, since the setting is surrounded by vineyard. Now with that being said, even though there is a lot of alcohol it is not a drunken party. The people do very well to drink in moderation and not become annoying. We roamed the streets while the kids stayed behind. There were probably 15 families from our ward there with all of their children. So the adults ventured out while the kids stayed behind and played games, saving our spot. Since this was vineyard territory we decided to buy some non-alcoholic wine (grape juice). It was very good so we bought a couple of bottles of it. When we got back it was the kids turn to go and have some fun. After it turned dark they held a spectacular fireworks show that lasted quite a long time. They had fireworks that they shot from a barge in the river and they also had fireworks that they shot from the castle above the river. It was supposed to represent the fight they had here hundreds of years ago between the castle and the boats below. After the festivities were over we packed up and headed for Belgium. I was able to find a hotel, which in the loosest sense of the word, this place qualified. It was basically an inside cruise cabin set on land. But it served the purpose of providing a place to stay. Our first stop was Brussels, a very international city, which serves as the center for the European Union. We bought Belgian chocolates and Sharma bought a very pretty foot stool. We bought the normal fare of trinkets and such. Oh and we also had a Belgian waffle...I mean you have to since you are there, right? We went and saw a famous statue called Manakin Pis, if you are curious look it up. We took many pictures that day one of which found its way onto our Christmas card this year. Next we drove to a small town called Ghent to stay the night. I think for me this one was my favorite stop in Belgium. Funny how an after thought turns out to be your favorite place. Why did I like it so much? It was very quaint with several large churches and buildings that were very pretty and then it had this nice canal meandering through the middle of it...and they had Speculoos ice cream. For those of you who don't know what Speculoos is....heaven in the form of ice cream. We ate at pizza hut that evening...I know, I know. After spending the night in Ghent we made our way to Brugge. This was supposed to be the best part of the trip from the people that I talked with, you know...it just wasn't. But it was a nice city with a canal through the center of it and a nice town square. We bought some lace because you are supposed to do that in Belgium, not that we are into that sort of thing and I am not sure that it will ever see the light of day, but we did our duty. We were told to buy tapestries here as well, but just couldn't find one that we liked so we passed on it. After spending a day roaming around Brugge it was time to pack the family into the van and drive back to Germany. Our first full fledged family vacation in Europe, under our belt, and oh so many more to come.

Nancy/Metz

My landlord worked at Ramstein AFB but actually lived in Nancy, France. He offered his home to us for the weekend, as they were going to be gone. Now this really intrigued me because my oldest brother served his LDS mission in this same city. I couldn't imagine something as neat as to walk the same streets that he may have walked. Even though I took French many years ago in school I was still able to communicate, albeit on a limited basis. I just felt more comfortable in France, I was at ease because I could understand and speak a little french. We followed our GPS to where the apartment was supposed to be, but all I saw were these buildings without a way to get your car inside. I parked briefly and started hitting the remote to open the door to drive through. I walked the street where it was supposed to be and then it happened. These two doors that didn't look like they would be big enough to fit a mini cooper in opened up. Now I was left with the daunting task of driving our behemoth...I mean van through. After some skilled driving that Mario Andretti would be proud of we parked the car and unloaded it. We opened the door to his building and this wide, winding staircase opened up to us. We found his house on the second floor. We unlocked two large wooden doors with intricate details and entered in. Just a very classic french house, wood floors, moldings around the living room, high ceilings and just oozing character. We walked down to the main square and found a nice pizza joint...because nothing says France like pizza. We strolled in the square and just took in all of the sights and sounds. I wish every city, big or small, in America had a square to gather in, it just makes the city so homey. I guess I like the idea of centralized entertainment. The next day we walked to a nice park/zoo area and took a bunch a pictures and just enjoyed the day. Then we went back to the town square that evening for dinner and a laser light show that told the history of the town and the area. The place was packed. We walked home late after the laser light show and never felt a sense of danger. It is nice to be out at night and feel relatively safe. Next we went to Metz, France. We loved this little town. It had this huge catholic cathedral. Every town not only has a town square but every one has a catholic cathedral, some huge, some small, some very ornate, some plain but all very interesting. Metz had a church with the most stained glass in all of France, as well as the oldest church in France. Not too bad for a tiny town in France. Metz had a little canal that flowed through it which made it very pretty. I enjoyed visiting the Knights Templar building which wasn't a church, but a building that the knights templar used as a means of congregating in. Soon this excursion had to come to an end and we needed to get home...until our next one.

The grand arrival

I got home from Munich/Dacau at 1am and needed to be up by 6am to pick up my family. After getting to bed and a few hours of sleep I drove to Frankfurt airport with much nervousness. I had heard horror stories of driving to the airport due to the construction and just difficult nature of getting into and out of the airport. Luckily I drove right there, found a parking spot and camped out in front of their gate. The plane landed early, which didn't hurt my feelings as I was very excited to see my long lost family. I waited...and waited...and waited. Everybody else on the flight was coming through the door but no sign of my family. Then finally they came, looking very tired and a bit frazzled. We were finally together again. We had a great drive back to our apartment and tried to catch up on as much as we could, in between kids falling asleep in the car. Since it was Sunday I told them we are going to church, and go to church we did, they lasted an hour...in fact not even an hour. My kids and wife slept through sacrament meeting...McKay was on the floor at least he wasn't snoring. We decided go back to the apartment and let the kids sleep. The next day I dropped McKay off to go on a week long scout camp. Now this wasn't just any ol' scout camp. He got to go to Kandersteg, Switzerland (in the Alps). So lucky! So I decided we wouldn't waste our time eithe, I took the rest of my family to see The Tour de France as it passed through Spa, Belgium (a mere two hours from us). What an awesome experience that was, although we waited for three hours to see the riders pass in about 20 seconds. C'est la vie.

Munich/Dacau

The day before my family was to arrive I scheduled an USO tour to Munich and Dacau Germany. A co-worker and myself left on a bus at 4am and drove straight to Munich...5 hours later. Now normally the drive wouldn't have taken quite so long in a car, probably more like 3 hours or so but the bus has to go 80kph (about 50mph) the whole way. We arrived in Munich and and were given a tour of the city on the bus. We saw things like BMW and Mercedes Benz HQ, olympic park etc. Then we got off of the bus and walked with our tour guides while she explained more about the city. Then we were on our own for a while to explore the city. We had lunch at the world famous (because of Oktoberfest) Hofbrauhaus. McKay had expressed interest in a Vuvuzela (horn) that the world cup fans could be seen blowing on the tv. I told him I would find one for him in Germany, I noticed one of the boys in our group had purchased one. So on the way back to the bus prior to leaving I asked him where he got it. He told me that he had bought it at one of the shops that we had passed. Risking missing the bus I decided I would try to get one for McKay. I ran back to the area that he said and looked frantically for this horn. No luck, I could not find it and here I was a ways from the bus, knowing I was running late to catch it. Back I ran, in the heat, after a long day of walking...thank goodness I made it, but I was the last one on. Then we stopped at Dacau concentration camp. What a very humbling experience. I felt like I needed to go to one of these concentration camps and pay my respects to those who needlessly lost their lives for their beliefs. I wanted to do it before my family came as a means of checking out the appropriateness for my kids to see it and also knowing that my wife didn't want to see this place meant that I might not be able to once they arrived. Again, I can not reiterate how moving this place was. Just a feeling of heaviness filled the air. They had rebuilt a couple of living quarters, but you could see the concrete foundation for all of the buildings that existed. It was moving to think how many people actually passed through this compound and how many lost their lives. We walked through the gas chamber area, interestingly enough the gas chamber was never used here, but these gas chambers were the prototype for the other concentration camps. In fact interestingly enough, this concentration camp was the prototype for all others, generally speaking. I did get to see the ovens where they killed many...so sad. The sign at the entrance to the doors to Dacau read "Work will make you free"...I guess in a very negative sense of this statement they had it right.

I've Arrived

My first few weeks were a blur of trying to convince myself that I was really in Germany and trying to get my body adjusted to the time difference. Staying up the first day you arrive definitely helps but it doesn't solve the problem of jet-lag completely. I had a roommate for the first two weeks by the name of Marlon. He is in the air force and worked with Hans (who I was renting from). He had been over here for a few months, but was returning to the states in another two months. I bring this up because having him around made my life much easier. He would pick up food from the commissary and cook dinner each night. He showed me the ropes about living in Germany and also about getting around on base. It was the perfect situation. I lived in Landstuhl, Germany which is where the hospital is, so since I didn't have a car, the location was very convenient. After I passed my driving test (written) I was able to rent a mini cooper to drive around. After about two weeks I moved into a larger house, one that will accommodate me and my family, once they get here. This new house was in Queidersbach and was close to the hospital, at least by car. I made it to church and made many new acquaintances. It is so nice to go anywhere in this world and be able to hook up with the local ward and feel like you are family. For the first few weeks I didn't do much. I hiked up to a castle called Burg Nanstein just above my old house in Landstuhl. I tried to go to Heidelberg with a coworker but got caught in a stau (traffic jam) for 2.5 hours and only made it 5km. We quickly decided it wasn't worth our time so that put an end to that little adventure. I kept busy looking for houses that would fit our needs. It is crazy, like a feeding frenzy, when it comes to finding a house. The ad for the house goes out and people come in droves to look at it. So if I drug me feet at all the house was gone. I wasn't feeling pressured yet since we have three months to find a house.