Dresden, Krakow & Prague

I know, I'm bad... I'll do better... at least I'll try.

October 9-14, 2014

First stop, Dresden. Former East German city that was almost totally destroyed by Allied bombing at the end of WWII. Significant progress has been made in the last 20 years to rebuild many structure to their pre-war beauty. Reconstruction on the large church on the main square was started in 1996 and completed in 2005.

Zwinger Museums and Garden

From the Zwinger looking our on the main square

Dresden Opera House

Frauenkircke - rebuilt 1996-2005

Frauenkircke - Baroque interior

Rebuilt Kirckeplatz

Frauenkircke Dome

Original Cross from the top of the church, found in the rubble and preserved

Next stop, a quick 1-hour trek for Polish pottery in the Boleslawiec, Poland. We found some wonderful pieces to go with our blue and white themed stoneware.

Then we headed to tour Auschwitz/Birkenau Concentration and Extermination Camps, near Krakow. Heartbreaking...

Ironic entry to the work camp section

Barracks - now museum exhibitions

Entrance to the Birkenau Extermination Camp

A few buildings have been erected in hopes that in remembering we will never forget

Rail tracks brought people directly to the camp and cremetorium

We arrived in Krakow about 9 at night, grabbed the last free slot in the parking lot across the street from our hotel, then headed out to the main square where things were still very busy and very beautiful. We took a walking tour the next morning, and toured the Jewish Quarter in the afternoon, ending up at the factory where Oskar Schindler worked to liberate so many of his workers.

Krakow Cloth Hall - a 15th century indoor shopping market

Church of Our Lady - Krakow

Part of the old wall and gate

We went by one of the largest salt mines still in production. We toured over 300 feet below the ground, where sculptures and grottoes have been carved by the workers.  It was amazing.

I couldn't help but feel sorry for this little guy who ate his way through a slice a bread,
and then had to wear the remnants around his neck

We took a small detour through Prague on the way home. We had been there 10 years ago, but it was the first time for Tim. Beautiful, but it's a long way up to the castle... we made it.

Then back home and back to life for us.

Stuttgart Volksfest - October 2014

If you come to visit, beware... we will not let you sleep until it's dark on the day you arrive.

If you're really lucky, we'll find something very fun to do to keep you awake.

Shawn's dad, Tim, arrived on Friday morning, and we were off to a new adventure. After registering him at the base and eating a little lunch, we changed our clothes and headed out to the Stuttgart Bad Cannstadt Volksfest - the second largest beer festival in Germany, next to the world-famous one in Munich. There we would meet up with about 100 people from my spouses' work to enjoy food and drink and music and one another's company.

We took the train from our village, taking about an hour. Because Friday was a German holiday, the stores were closed and businesses closed, it became obvious that everyone else thought this was a great idea. The trains and trams were standing room only, and unlike our previous visits, over half the people were wearing fest clothing - dirndls and aprons for the ladies and lederhosen for the men (and some women). We had debated about whether or not to buy such items for ourselves and we're really glad we did.

Here are some pictures from our trip to the Wasen.

Eating in a "tent" with 2000 of our closest friends

In our traditional clothes

Carnival ride, anyone?

Almost everyone came in Tracten or Dirndl

Rudesheim am Rhein - a day away

This weekend we took a break from getting ready for our stuff – oh, we still have IKEA cabinets to put together and other things to do, but when some friends asked us to join them on a little adventure Sunday, we agreed. Rudesheim am Rhein is a small village is famous for their Riesling wine. They were having a four-day festival to celebrate the beginning of the harvest, complete with food, and music, and wine. The day was about the best we have had - a little overcast, but not too hot and no threat of rain. We drove about 2 ½ hours to get there, then took a small ferry to cross the Rhein River. We found parking, and within a half hour met up with our friends.

We walked around town for a little bit, then took a cable car over the vineyards to a monument from the Prussian war. The hill gave a great view of the river valley and the surrounding vineyards, terraced up and the down the hills as far as the eye can see.  After a while, we took the cable car back down, found the food and wine, and enjoyed some great refreshment and conversation. About 6 we headed home, stopped at a Autobahn rest house for a schnitzel and kuchen before returning home.

Here’s a few pictures of the day. Enjoy!

What Makes Us Happy - House update #1

One of the questions people have asked is if moving to a foreign country is harder or easier the second time. The answer is, "Yes." I know, it's not a yes or no question, but there are things that are easier and things that are harder, even when you are returning to a place where you have already lived.

Once again, we took our driver's test within 24 hours of arriving on base, and passed. The benefit - this time we know our way around. We had great sponsors who picked us up, checked us in, took us to the places we needed to go, but because we had been here before, we didn't have too much wasted energy to get settled in and get our own set of temporary wheels.

The process for house hunting had changed. We were offered the opportunity to live off-post again, and happy to take on that challenge. There are resources for helping narrow down the choices, offering information on towns, distances and statistic about the homes and what they offer. We had a specific size of house in mind, in a specific area around the military facilities. We secured the addresses from the housing contractor and drove around for 2 evenings, deciding which we would want to see inside, knocking some off the list because of parking (or driving) limitations of my "big American pick-up truck." We looked at several inside, and chose one that was very nice, with wonderful landlords.

But before we could finish the contract process, we had dinner with friends in the village where we lived 10 years ago. We laughed, shared stories and walked around the neighborhood together. And in the end, we found a house much smaller than we had envisioned, but only one block away from people we already know. Perhaps the hardest thing was to return to the first landlords in a village 25 km away to tell them that we had changed our minds. [Truth be told, I made Shawn go without me... I was afraid they would be angry, or that we would give US personnel a bad name.] But in the end, they were sad, but understood that we would want to be close to our friends. The result could not have been better.

Perhaps the best part about returning to a well-loved place is that we have amazing support in this process... from our American friends who are helping us find our place in the military community... and from our German friends, who are happy to have the "American tuba player" back in their midst. We are especially glad that we will be living in this place again.

When we started the housing process, I emailed a friend in Germany who has also returned to a previous town - even to the same house. I asked her if there was any negatives on making that choice. Her response was this: "We don't often get the chance to go back and relive good friendships and places. If you have the opportunity - take it - it's a real blessing."

We have been taught by the world that bigger is better, but this process has helped me to understand that it's almost always about the relationships we have with the people around us. Many people think that the reason we wanted to come back was for the travel, but in addition to meeting the Air Force's needs, we are happy to continue to grow friendships, not just with our German friends, but also with our other friends stationed overseas. Time and again we are reminded that it's the little things that count, and together they make for a very good life.

Here are a few pictures, to satisfy your curiosity:

Front with attached garage big enough for the truck!

Front with second unattached garage on the right... that's right... 2 garages!

Living room with fireplace

I don't know how they put so much storage in such a small space,
but I'll take it.

Good soaking tub - there's also a shower and lots of storage space.

View from the guest room balcony

Back of the house with terrace and garden -
Balcony off the master bedroom

We take possession next week. Hopefully our household goods will come soon; until then, borrowed furniture from the Army.

Love, Deb & Shawn