Airplanes near Hermeskeil

A rainy Sunday afternoon in the Palatinate. What is one to do for entertainment? Airplanes, of course! We drove about an hour north-west-ish and encountered an exhibit unlike any other we've seen so far. A family venture started in 1973, now displaying more than 100 airplanes ranging from civilian over foreign to military ones.

A few gems:

The Lufthansa Super Constellation used by Konrad Adenauer to fly to Moscow and negotiate the release of the last German POW's. 

Inside a C-47 Dakota...Can you imagine sitting on these seats for hours? 

Saab Viggen

Hawker Hunter

As a helicopter pilot

 The family actually lives on the grounds. Behold: Pat's dream house!

There is also a Concorde, which has been transformed into a cafe. Airplanes, cheesecake, and hot chocolate! What more do we need?!

Airplane Art

Thank you for traveling with me today!

Bis zum nächsten Mal,

Nadine

Sievershausen im Solling

Let me introduce you to the place where I grew up.
Sievershausen is a lovely village (about 1500 inhabitants) in the Solling, a mountain range in Lower Saxony.  

My parents own a covered wagon, so off we went exploring the forest!

My Parents

 

The Solling Scheune (barn)

Ready for Take-Off

A traditional Niedersachsen Haus (house in the Lower Saxony style)

View of the Valley

and the Forest

To keep old traditions alive, the village resurrected an old charcoal-making site in the forest. Taking shifts, people were watching the smoldering mound of wood day & night for more than a week. Now Sievershäuser charcoal can be bought to make your BBQ the best one ever! 

Their children have left the nest, so my parents invited others to do the nesting now. Peacock Doves.

They mostly walk around...

 ...take baths...

...and sometimes one even accidentally takes flight. 

The weekend went by too quickly, but living on the same continent will make traveling much easier. 

Bis zum nächsten Mal!

Nadine

Saarbrücken

Taking advantage of Labor Day by exploring the city of Saarbrücken in the Saarland state. After about 40 minutes on the train, we arrived on a cloudy, but lovely day. 

First order of business: a walk along the river Saar (right after buying a stylish scarf to ward off that chilly wind).

 You can't really tell from this picture, but the heron had extremely short legs. 

Eis geht immer! 

(Ice cream is always a great idea!)

What would you think, if I said "BBQ Donut"? You would probably wonder what kind of komisch (weird) adaptation of American culture the Germans have gotten into now. Fear not, for it is nothing gross or weird. Quite the opposite. A gem of German Engineering. 

A floating device with integrated grill, including sun-umbrella and seating for 10. Of course, there is also a cooler for drinks. You know where you'll find us next summer in Saarbrücken. Won't you join us?

Bis zum nächsten Mal! 

Nadine

Landstuhl

We arrived in Germany last week. High time to get the blog going again. Our little point & shoot camera has been working overtime, here are a couple of first impressions of the area:

 Der Bismarckturm (Bismark Tower)

View from the top of the airbase...

...and of Landstuhl

Landstuhl from the ground. Little bars invite you to sit & relax. 

Tough choices: which ice cream should I get? 

Spaghetti-Eis!!

We followed another path up a mountain and found the Nanstein Castle ruins. No German point of interest would be complete without a bar to einkehren (sit down, have a drink). 

Beer with a view

Wild hops. I think.

We are also looking for a car. Any of these would be on top of our list!

Bis zum nächsten Mal!
Nadine