Day 16 in Deutschland [Part 1 of 2] – Nuernberg Kristkindelsmarkt (Nuernberg, GE)

2015/12/23 davidhobden@mac.com

Saturday was our 16th day in Germany, and what a full day it was… I’ll break this post into two parts; this is (Part 1 of 2).

First, we drove into Nürnberg with William & Jasmin to get some more items that William needed from the IKEA® store. It’s always fun to drive on the autobahn, that is, until you reach the first traffic jam (stau). 🙁

Here was the reason for our traffic jam this morning (below). This truck was involved in a wreck with two cars, which extended our trip by at least an hour.

We made pretty good time otherwise… here’s evidence (below) that Williams’ car can do 150… although keep in mind that’s in kilometers per hour 🙂

We finally made it to Nürnberg. Click HERE for more city information.

If you’ve ever been in or near Nuernberg, this tower aka ‘fernmeldeturm’ (below) might be a familiar site to you; The Fernmeldeturm Nürnberg, the tallest structure in Bavaria, is a telecommunication tower in Nuremberg, southern Germany. Also called the Nürnberger Ei (“Egg of Nuremberg”) because of its egg-shaped tower basket in a height of 185 metres, it is 292 metres high and was built between 1977 and 1980 according to blueprints by architect Erwin Heinle. It has a rotating restaurant and observation deck that we visited many years ago. Wikipedia® link HERE.

We finally made it to IKEA®, where we spent the next 4 hours. Uggh!

IKEA® was basically the same as any of the stores we’ve visited in the US, except the shopping carts were weird. By weird, I mean that all the wheels rotated (swiveled) which makes for a unique driving experience. In America, the rear wheels are fixed. Maybe it’s just me, but I think when all the wheels swivel, it makes it more difficult to maneuver around. Definitely took some getting used to… thought it was worth mentioning 🙂

I also thought this was noteworthy (below). At the entrance to IKEA®, was this vending machine for spare parts, i.e., hooks, clamps, screws, hinges, etc., I’ve only seen something like this before at a campground in Valencia, CA where I saw a vending machine that dispensed LED bulbs for RV’s. What will they think of next?!?

After enduring our 4 hour tour through IKEA®, we headed downtown to check out the world-famous Christkindlsmarkt.

We had to wait for a parking spot to open up before we could even enter the park garage. The automated sign keeps track of parking spots throughout the garage and would only allow entry as a spot opened up.

We squeezed into the only open spot left at the park garage (below).

We had a short walk to the Christmas Market. The Nürnberg Castle can be seen in the distance (below).

Christkindlesmarkt is a Christmas market that is held annually in Nuremberg, Germany. It takes place during Advent in the Hauptmarkt, the central square in Nuremberg’s old town, and in adjoining squares and streets. With about two million visitors a year the Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt is one of the largest Christmas markets in Germany and one of the most famous in the world. Every year the Christmas market begins on the Friday preceding the first Sunday in Advent and ends on December 24, unless that day is a Sunday. Wikipedia link (HERE).

Stilla, Jasmin, and William at the Nuernberger Christkindlsmarkt drinking Gleuhwein.

Glühwein, or Mulled wine is a beverage of European origins usually made with red wine along with various mulling spices and sometimes raisins. It is served hot or warm and may be alcoholic or non-alcoholic. It is a traditional drink during winter, especially around Christmas and Halloween. Wikipedia® link (HERE). For Glühwein recipes; click (HERE).

Glühwein is the name for mulled wines in German-speaking countries. You can get Glühwein in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and few other German-speaking areas. Glühwein is exceptionally popular during the Christmas holidays and is commonly served in outdoor Christmas markets along with a variety of other holiday foods and hand-made crafts. These Christmas markets have tents that have been set up for so people can sit down and get warm while sipping hot German Glühwein as a break from Christmas shopping. For Germans, Glühwein is an integral part of the Christmas experience. Link (HERE).

A virtual “sea” of candy-striped vendor booths.

We ventured out among the vendor booths and fought the crowd to check out a portion of the marktplatz. Follow along:

We had a good time at the Kristkindlsmarkt, hope you enjoyed the pictures, but we had to get back for the scheduled prize giveaway and party at the Schützenhaus from our air-rifle shooting competition that I wrote about earlier. But I’ll put that in my next post…

Germany

Day 15 in Deutschland – Indians & Star Wars (Hilpoltstein, GE)

2015/12/22 davidhobden@mac.com 2 Comments

Friday was day 15 for us here in Germany. In the afternoon, Stilla dropped me off at her brother Ludwig’s motorcycle dealership in Hilpoltstein while she drove Opa around to appointments and did some more visiting with friends/family.

I always liked hanging around the motorcycle shop and did so often when I was stationed here in the Army and not deployed somewhere. Ludwig’s shop became an official Indian® dealership in January of this year. He was an official Harley® dealership in previous years, but was always relegated as a sub-dealer to a larger dealership in nearby Nuernberg. I used to be the treasurer for the shop’s Harley Owners Group® (HOG) chapter when it got started back in the early 2000’s. We had a lot of fun with the HOG Chapter over the years, which unfortunately is no longer so prevalent. Here’s a link to his dealership: (www.rothsee-choppers.de)

2002 CCD APR 11 b — Old signs. (Picture from 2002 when the signs first went up at the newly-constructed dealership.)

Here’s some more old pics (below) from my archives:

2002 CCD APR 13 GRAND OPNG aa — Magazine article from the new shop’s Grand Opening in 2002.

Rothsee Open House 2002 Sept 28 DSCF0108 — Grand Opening in 2002 (Stilla, her sister Anneliese in foreground)

I remember acting as “road-captain” for folks going on test rides of the new Harley’s back in 2002 (below). Those were good times.

2005 04 16 IMG_0086 (53) — 2002 (David leading bikes on test-rides)

And here’s another ‘old’ pic of my Heritage Softail in front of the dealership (circa 2003-4). I forgot to take a new picture of the outside while I was there today. Naturally, the Harley-Davidson® signs have been replaced with Indian® now. 🙂

Heritage 2002 March 10 a — My ’96 Heritage Softail circa. 2003 or 2004 in front of Rothsee-Harley Davidson.

One of Ludwig’s new transport vans with appropriate Logo:

Ludwig and co-worker Thorsten in the shop:

And here’s some pics of all the new Indian’s in and around the showroom floor of the dealership:

Pretty nice… I might have to change over sometime in the future. Hmmmm. 🙂

Here’s a nice Sportster in the workshop (below). Ludwig has always been known for his unique custom bike builds and continues to do so.

After a fun afternoon of hanging around the dealership with Ludwig and co-workers Thorsten and Gregor; I got dropped off back at the house where we put some finishing touches on William’s IKEA® kitchen cabinets. Here’s William putting up the under cabinet LED lighting:

Then we all (Stilla, I, William & Jasmin) went to Neumarkt to catch the English version of the latest Star Wars sequel at a late night showing:

William has already seen it twice in German over the last two days, but was up for another showing because it’s just better in English.

Anyway… that’s all for now. I’ll get you caught up on our Saturday visit to the Nuernberg Christkindlsmarkt, and another Christmas market we went to on Sunday in Gut Wolfgangshof as soon as I find time.

Germany

Days 11 thru 14 in Deutschland – Recovery Time (Sindersdorf, GE)

2015/12/21 davidhobden@mac.com

Monday was day 11 in Deutschland and I helped Stilla’s brother Wolfgang pick up some old building materials at the edge of town.

There used to be a wood product business here. It was called Widauer’s. Wolfgang often made items in his work shop and sold them to Mr. Widauer. They went out of business a while back and someone is now tearing down and recycling most of the building(s).

I helped Wolfgang hook up the trailer (below) to the tractor so he could pick up some of the items.

Then we loaded up some re-useable lumber, glass windowpane sheets, and other assorted items. It was a shame to see this place go out of business, I really liked the stuff they had here. I guess the big stores like IKEA® and others are taking their toll on small businesses here in Germany too.

Here’s some old pics from 2005 of this place:

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (1) — 2005 picture at Widauers.

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 — 2005 picture at Widauer.

I always thought this was a good idea for a patio… that is, if you have a lot of logs laying around that you didn’t know what to do with:

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (44) — 2005 picture at Widauers.

How about a German log house?

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (39) — 2005 picture at Widauers.

or a massive garden shed:

There used to be lots of yard art, furniture, nic-nacs, etc., and other wood-related products for sale:

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (2) — 2005 picture at Widauers. Our youngest daughter Joleen.

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (4) — 2005 picture at Widauers. Stilla and Joleen.

Here’s some of the furniture that you could get here back in the day:

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (6) — 2005 picture at Widauers.

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (8) — 2005 picture at Widauers.

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (9) — 2005 picture at Widauers.

I’m pretty sure that this table and chairs (below) is one that Stilla’s brother Wolfgang made at his workshop and then sold to Mr. Widauer for resale.

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (16) — 2005 picture at Widauers.

Now, this ornamental birdhouse (or whatever you want to call it) was definitely made by Wolfgang. He made us one of these for us that we took back to the States in 2005. We had it set up in front of our house. Some of you may remember me posting about moving this over to my Dad’s house in Colorado Springs when we sold our house. (Link HERE)

2005 05 26 IMG_1193 (18) — 2005 picture at Widauers.

Here’s a recent pic (below) of what the one in the picture (above) looks like now. Not sure if this is the same one, but it’s highly likely…

You can still make out the price tag in the picture below; 1000 euros! Wow… what a markup. Wolfgang probably sold these to Widauer for 3 or 4 hundred back in the day.

In the afternoon, we took Opa with us over to Martin & Maria’s house for dinner. Maria is Stilla’s older sister.

I had Bratwurst mit kraut and kartoffeln.

Stilla had bludwurst, kraut, and kartoffeln. Not one of my favorites.

Festive wood candle arrangement on top of the well at Martin & Maria’s house. Thanks for the awesome meal Maria! We sure are eating good here 🙂

In the evening, I helped William get his IKEA™ kitchen cabinets hung up on the wall. Almost all together now.

The next few days, I basically hung around the house here and recovered. I apparently tore some muscle ligaments in my right shoulder while I was helping Wolfgang hook up the trailer, etc., We had trouble lining up the trailer to the tractor and I pushed on the trailer with my shoulder to get it in position. Big mistake… I could hardly lift my right arm for a couple days. So, that’s the excuse I’m going to use for being behind on the blog posts 🙂 Plus, we got pretty busy on Friday and have been on the go every day since then… I’ll catch you up in my next post(s). Til then…

Germany

Day 10 in Deutschland – Castles & Chocolate (Eysölden, GE)

2015/12/14 davidhobden@mac.com

On Sunday we were invited over to Richard & Gertraud’s house for another fine home-cooked meal. Richard is Stilla’s oldest brother.

Another great meal 🙂 Thanks Richard & Gertraud! And thanks also to their daughter Tanja for the awesome dessert too!

In the afternoon, we convoyed in two cars over to the small town of Eysölden.

There was a Christmas market and event at the old town’s Schloß (castle). Click HERE for a link to learn more about this castle built in the early 1100’s.

Upstairs, after navigating the old narrow and creaky wooden stairs, we found a number of craft stands and booths with their wares on display:

We met up with Wolfgang and Hildegard who were taking part in the craft market. Hildegard had lots of sheeps-wool related items for sale.

Hildegard (Wolfgang in background) with woolen hand-made items on display.

Nice view through one of the castle tower windows of the town kirche (church) down the street.

In the courtyard, children sang traditional christmas carols. A couple stands sold food and drinks in the yard.

The castle also has a small wirtschaft (restaurant/bar) but there was limited seating, so we drove back towards Sindersdorf and stopped at the autobahn rest-area. Here we went into the Schocolat® confiserie (confectionery) and café for coffee and cake. This place had just opened when we last visited in 2013… it seems to still be going strong and was really crowded.

Everything in this place is made of chocolate. They also have a large viewing window to watch the treats being made.

Anyone have a sweet tooth? You can sure spend some money here:

Have you ever tried a chocolate pizza? Me either… we just bought a few small items after we enjoyed some coffee and kuchen (cake) in the adjoining café.

When we got back to the house, William & Jasmin had bought and decorated their Christmas tree. Nice 🙂

In other news – one of our daughters in Colorado Springs sent us a picture (below) of the weather there. Brrrrr 🙁 At least our weather here in Germany has been free of snow and ice so far. Its just been cold, gray, and damp so far… hopefully our luck holds out.

Stay tuned for more German adventure… Bis bald (until later)…

Germany

Days 6 thru 9 in Deutschland – Opa’s Big Party (Sindersdorf, GE)

2015/12/14 davidhobden@mac.com

Not a whole lot has been going on since my last post on Tuesday… that is, until this Saturday! Guess I better report on the last few days and then get you updated on Opas big party that was held at the local gasthaus on Saturday. Read on:

On Wednesday, I helped William finish putting his IKEA® kitchen cabinets together. Now we just have to get them hung up on the wall. His kitchen is almost all together now with the range and oven all hooked up.

Also on Wednesday, or was it Thursday(?), we took a short drive over to the edge of town to watch the workers put another section on the latest windmill. Lots of these are going up around here in the area:

And, I think it was on Friday that we did a little shopping at a new mall in Neumarkt which is about 20 kilometers away (map below).

Stilla and William shopping at the mall in Neumarkt i.d.OPf.

I thought this conveyer belt for food was cool enough to take a picture of. Can’t say I’ve seen this before. This was at a sushi place. The different sushi rolls or other dishes would pass by your table, maybe enticing you to eat more… I’ll never know because we…

… shared a traditional german currywurst mit pommes frites at one of the other food establishments. 🙂

Afterwards, we stopped by a local baumarkt (like Home Depot® or Lowe’s®) to get some things that our son William needed at the house.

I just had to snap a picture of this American flag toilet seat 🙂 Only €39.99.

On Friday evening we put the finishing touches on a picture slideshow for Opa’s birthday party and did some pre-testing on audio/video equipment.

Finally, on Saturday – the family all gathered for a full-day and into-the-evening birthday celebration for Stilla’s dad who turned 85 last Tuesday. Stilla’s uncle Rudy, is the owner/operator of a restaurant/hotel on the edge of town called Sinderdorfer Hof (←link) which is where we celebrated:

The Dotzer family had the whole back room reserved for the day; over 50 people were in attendance!

Wolfgang said a few nice words to get things started:

Opa:

Some of Stilla’s brothers, sisters, cousins, etc.,

Aunts and Uncles, etc.,

The younger generation:

Yummm! Schnitzel and Braten…

Kloß and Knödel…

and lots of liquid refreshments:

After our mid-day meal, then coffee, cakes, etc., we had some musical entertainment:

Anneliese shared a nice christmas story as well.

We kept a slideshow going all day on a TV in the background with all the old pictures of Stilla’s dad with family throughout the years:

Near the end of the evening, we finally got everyone (Stilla’s brothers and sisters) together for a family photo with Opa.

(L to R) Ludwig, Wolfgang, Stilla, Richard, Opa, Maria, Stefan, Anneliese.

Once again… Happy Birthday Opa! 🙂 🙂 🙂

After everyone went home from the birthday party – Stilla and I weren’t ready to call it a night yet, so we walked over to Herbert’s house. It also happened to be Herbert’s birthday on Saturday and he was celebrating at home with friends and family.

Here’s a picture of Herbert and his wife Maria that I took of his ‘personalized calendar’ that he just got for the new year. Notice his cool RV below their picture:

Good bier from Munich was on tap at Herbert’s 🙂

Also at Herbert’s birthday party were old friends Barni & Silvia! They visited us in Colorado Springs several years ago and we took a whirlwind tour around the Grand Canyon area in our old Class-C RV. It’s always great to see them 🙂

Here’s an old picture (below) that I pulled from the archives.

Somewhere near Monument Valley with Barni & Silvia. (circa 2010)

Thanks for the hospitality Herbert and Maria! And a Happy Birthday to Herbert 🙂

Stay tuned for more fun and adventure from Schnitzeland… “Bis bald!”

Germany

Day 5 in Deutschland – Opa’s 85th Birthday (Sindersdorf, GE)

2015/12/08 davidhobden@mac.com

Happy 85th Birthday Opa!

Today, (Tuesday) was Stilla’s father’s 85th birthday and in accordance with German tradition – all the family, friends, and neighbors came by the house at some point during the day to congratulate him and pay their respects.

Folks came and went throughout the morning and afternoon.

Even the town mayor came by to wish him well.

Stilla, along with a couple of her sisters, made sure coffee, cakes, drinks, etc., were made available throughout the day. Later in the evening, there was even smoked bratwurst (geräucherte bratwurst) and other brotzeit (←link here) type items for all the guests. Of course, there was also lots of champagne, sekt, wine, bier, and other refreshments on hand for everyone as well.

In the evening as more and more folks got off work; the house filled up quickly.

At one point during the evening, we counted over 25 people in the small kitchen at one time.

It was a good day for Stilla’s father and we all wish him continued good health and many more birthdays!

Birthday gifts that everyone brought throughout the day were stockpiled in the corner of the kitchen 🙂

There will be more birthday celebration this coming Saturday at a local restaurant (gasthaus). All the family is invited. Stay tuned…

Germany

Day 4 in Deutschland – Birthday Prep (Sindersdorf, GE)

2015/12/08 davidhobden@mac.com

Our 4th day in Germany (Monday) was spent getting prepared for Opa’s (Stilla’s Dad’s) 85th birthday here at the house. Lots of folks are expected to come by the house on Tuesday (Dienstag) to congratulate him in typical German fashion. Stilla tells me that even the town mayor is scheduled to stop by. The ‘big party’ will take place on Saturday, but we had to get extra tables and chairs set up in the old kitchen/dining room for congratulatory guests throughout the day of his actual 85th birthday on Tuesday. Happy Birthday Opa!

Opa during trip to America in 2009. (Bryce or Zion area)

Opa taking a ride in my old ’57 Chevy back in 2009 during one of his trips to America.

I forgot to mention in my last post that when we got back to the house Sunday evening, we were able to use Skype® on William’s television to video-chat with our grandson Kaan back in Colorado Springs and watch him open a couple of his presents. Happy 9th birthday Kaan!

At one point during the day (Monday), I went with Wolfgang to pick up a trailer-load of wood pellets that he uses in the heater/stove to heat the bed & breakfast portion of the house.

Wolfgang and a trailer full of wood-pellets.

Cool old wagon in one of the outbuildings.

Stilla and I went back over to Stefan & Annerose’s house at lunchtime to help with the leftovers from our Sunday dinner. You just can’t get enough of Sauerbraten mit Kloß and Spaetzle 🙂

We also went to the local store to pick up bier and refreshments for Opa’s birthday.

Typical case of German bier:

I know that the Germans have had these cases of bier for years and years, but I thought it was neat how they split into two-halves for easy transportation. I still haven’t seen this type of case in the states yet.

That’s all for now… Bis Später 🙂

Germany

Day 3 in Deutschland – Stefan & Annerose Dinner; Weihnachtschiessen (Meckenhausen, GE)

2015/12/07 davidhobden@mac.com

We spent most of the day (Sunday) at Stefan & Annerose’s house in Meckenhausen which is the next town over from Stilla’s hometown of Sindersdorf. Stefan is the youngest of Stilla’s four brothers.

Annerose & Stefan outdid themselves (as usual) and we had lots of good food to eat. It was almost like Thanksgiving all over again 🙂

Salads…

Sauerbraten mit Klöß… Yummm!

(L to R) Reinhardt, me, Stilla, Opa, Annerose.

After dinner we had ice cream…

and some had adult beverages…

After dinner, we all went over to the local Schützenhaus.

We took part in the annual air-rifle competition. Every Christmas, the club holds a competition and gives out prizes according to how well you score. The prizes are given out at a big Christmas party to be held later in the month. Here’s the prices to take part in the competition (below). We (Stilla & I) spent about $25 in our attempt to get a good score.

Here’s the rules (regeln)… Nobody needs a translation do they? 🙂

And here’s the flyer (below) listing the dates and times to take part in the competition along with a sample of some of the major prizes which include money orders worth 200, 125, & 75 Euros along with an Android Tablet PC. Everyone ends up winning something at the party which is scheduled for the 19th of December. It’s always a good time as I recall from years past.

We paid our entry fee(s) and got our targets:

and we hit the indoor range:

Neighbors from Sindersdorf (Rita & Xaver Bayer) were already working on their perfect score 🙂

William’s almost perfect center shot (below). I taught him everything he knows 🙂

Stefan (below) had an almost perfect shot as well, but it didn’t count because he had too many shots on the target sheet 🙁 He accidentally put 11 shots in a 10 shot sheet which makes it invalid.

Then it was my turn…

Let’s just say we’ll have to wait until the 19th of December to see how well I scored 🙂

We hung out at the Schützenhaus for a bit before heading back to Stefan & Annerose’s house.

Where there was more food to be consumed… Yummm dessert 🙂

Stilla got online using FaceTime® to wish our grandson Kaan a happy birthday. He’s back in Colorado Springs. Happy Birthday Kaan!

Later in the evening, Annerose brought out the ‘brotzeit’.

Then we played a dice game called ‘5000’ which I believe the game called ‘Farkel’ is patterned after.

Stefan had to show off and get a straße, which is rolling a 1 thru 6 on a single turn. I think he did it twice… “what a show-off” (Angeber) 🙂

I won the first of three games… I don’t want to talk about the others 🙂

Then we called it a night and headed back to the house in Sindersdorf. What a great day, thanks Stefan & Annerose! Bis Später.

Germany

Day 2 in Deutschland – Gluhwein Fest (Sindersdorf, GE)

2015/12/06 davidhobden@mac.com

Authors Note: While in Germany – I’m going to try a NEW format for the blog: “short & sweet” just a few words and maybe short captions to the pictures. Why, you ask? Well, recent feedback from (German) family and friends, indicates that (most, if not all) find it too difficult to take the time to read and translate… they just look at the pictures anyway. And, since we’re here in Germany until the 11th of January with the content primarily focused on Stilla’s family and our friends here… I’ll try to tone down the blog and make it “short & sweet” starting today. Here we go…

William’s new IKEA kitchen (below). I helped William and Wolfgang install a few more pieces today. We still need to put up cabinets and hook-up the dishwasher.

In the hof. Stilla just got back from the garden with Opa.

Wolfgang made this cool candle out of a birch(?) tree branch.

Wood stove in Wolfgang’s woodshop. It’s cold here in Germany 😐

View out upstairs window towards the Volunteer Fire Department (Freiwillige Feuerwehr) house across the street. The Glühwein Christmas (Weihnachten) party is scheduled to be held there later tonight.

In the evening, we went across the street to the Glühwein party at the Volunteer Fire Department House. This is an annual event held by the town Maibaum Verein (Maypole Club).

The townsfolk gathered around the fires and tables set up by the Maibaum Verein. They sold Glühwein, bier, wiener & bretzen (pretzels). Lots of free stollen (cake) was also on hand.

Neighbors and friends; Herbert and Werner.

20151205_224228_LLS — More neighbors and friends. (L to R) Claudia, Me, Stilla, Gunter.

Lone-standing burning log put out some good heat 🙂

Family Friends; Silvia & Barni. They visited us in Colorado several years back. We did a RV tour together in our old Class-C through the south-west.

(L to R) Claudia, Stilla, Gunter, Werner. Claudia & Werner visited us in Colorado back in the early ’90s once.

We walked into the Maibaum Verein (Maypole Club) clubhouse. No one was using it this evening because everyone was hanging around outside around the fires.

There were some old pictures on the wall of us getting the maypole and putting it up. I think these pictures were from the late ’90s. The second picture down on the left side is of my old tailgate table and umbrella that I used to put on the receiver hitch of my Dodge Dakota pickup. I was surprised to see these old pictures… pretty cool 🙂 I’m also in a couple of the other pictures (below) along with family and neighbors.

My old Jeep CJ-7 (upper left in picture below). I think I was hauling a bunch of the tree branches from the recently harvested Maypole tree. Mid or late ’80s. The lower left pic has three of Stilla’s brothers in it (Stefan, Wolfgang, Richard), a brother-in-law (Martin), and good family friend (Barni).

Stay tuned for Day 3 activities… we’re invited to Stefan & Annerose house for dinner today (Sunday). Stefan is Stilla’s youngest brother. I’m sure there will be lots of good food to be eaten 🙂

Germany

Travel to Schnitzel-Land (Munich, Germany)

2015/12/05 davidhobden@mac.com

We had to get up before 5 AM so we could check-in (2-hours prior) for our scheduled flight to Germany at 08:30. Ugghh 🙁 My stepdad Jim and brother Steve drove us to the Phoenix Skyharbor International Airport. Thanks Jimmy and Steve!

We said our goodbyes’ to Mom and little ‘Coach’ in the early morning before we left. Coach didn’t look too worried that we were leaving… he probably thinks we’ll be right back as usual. He’ll be just fine hanging out at the dirt farm. Thanks for watching him Mom! Hopefully, she gives him back to us when we return 🙂

Cool WWI era bi-plane on display at Phoenix Skyharbor International Airport.

The check-in and subsequent flight out of Phoenix was relatively uneventful. Our two bags were right at the allowed weight of 50-lbs each thanks to some pre-weighing and re-packing at the dirt farm . Of course, the TSA agent patted me down after my artificial hip set off the metal detector alarm… that’s always fun 😐

Our connecting flight was in Atlanta, GA where we had a ~three hour layover.

Stilla survived the flight(s) just fine. We got into Munich around 8 AM on Friday. Turbulence was minimal and the take-off / landings were smooth. If I calculated correctly, I think it took us about 17 hours to get here from the time we left Casa Grande.

Wolfgang (one of Stilla’s four brothers) was waiting for us in Munich after we got through passport control and had collected our luggage. He picked us up in his RV (below) and drove us to the house.

Wolfgang (Stilla’s brother) posed in front of his RV after we arrived at the house.

And here we are in Sindersdorf, GE. The Dotzer family house! Stilla and I used to have the second-floor of the house when we lived here. Maybe I’ll post more about that later with regard to dates and times… Our son William lives here now. Of course – Stilla’s dad, ‘Opa’ (which means Grandpa in German) still lives here too, along with Wolfgang and his girlfriend Hildegard. Wolfgang has turned some of the rooms in the adjoining building (which used to be the barn) into a bed & breakfast. He keeps moving his wood-working shop to different parts of the house. We left here in 2005 when the Army sent me to Fort Carson, CO but we visited again for a few weeks back in 2013.

Wolfgang put up the American flag on the pole in front of the house in honor of our arrival 🙂

We fought off jet-lag and fatigue while we met with many of Stilla’s relatives and friends throughout the rest of the day until we finally got to bed. Here’s some pictures (below). Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of everyone that stopped by to greet us, but we’ll have plenty of time for that later.

Hildegard (Wolfgang’s girlfriend) made us a nice traditional ‘brotzeit’ after we got in.

Our son William and his girlfriend Jasmin.

Stilla’s sister Maria and her husband Martin.

Stilla’s dad ‘Opa’ and Stilla. Opas’ 85th birthday is on the 8th of December!

A couple of Stilla’s nieces (Tanja and Nicole).

Annerose & Stefan. Stefan is Stilla’s youngest brother.

As I mentioned before – we had many other friends and relatives greet us but I forgot to get pictures. Our social agenda is filling quickly with parties and dinners being scheduled around other already scheduled events. For instance, later today (Saturday) there’s a Christmas party with ‘Glühwein’ across the street here in our little town (dorf) that we’ll attend. (flyer below)

And here’s a picture of my favorite beer… or more-correctly; German ‘bier’ 🙂 Ahhh goood!

Stay tuned for more travel adventures without the Urban Escape Vehicle… which is safely tucked away at the ‘dirt farm’ in Casa Grande, AZ. Our return flight is scheduled for the 11th of January, which leaves us plenty of time to get to the Alpine Coach Rally in Quartzsite, AZ on or about the 19th.

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Monthly Archives: December 2015

Day 16 in Deutschland [Part 1 of 2] – Nuernberg Kristkindelsmarkt (Nuernberg, GE)

Day 15 in Deutschland – Indians & Star Wars (Hilpoltstein, GE)

Days 11 thru 14 in Deutschland – Recovery Time (Sindersdorf, GE)

Day 10 in Deutschland – Castles & Chocolate (Eysölden, GE)

Days 6 thru 9 in Deutschland – Opa’s Big Party (Sindersdorf, GE)

Day 5 in Deutschland – Opa’s 85th Birthday (Sindersdorf, GE)

Day 4 in Deutschland – Birthday Prep (Sindersdorf, GE)

Day 3 in Deutschland – Stefan & Annerose Dinner; Weihnachtschiessen (Meckenhausen, GE)

Day 2 in Deutschland – Gluhwein Fest (Sindersdorf, GE)

Travel to Schnitzel-Land (Munich, Germany)

Follow along on our adventures…

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Follow along on our adventures…