Thursday, April 9, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Sunday in Sankt Wendel
Sunday April 5th
We spent Sunday in Sankt Wendel where Jana and her dad participated in a relay. There were 2 others on the relay team, and between the four runners they ran a marathon. We went with Jana's mom, sister and sister's boyfriend to watch and cheer for the team. The town was very busy with rides for the children, food tents, bands, and American-style cheerleaders. It was very festive, and then on top of the marathon festivities, the town was decorated for Easter.
After we watched Jana's team finish the race, Jana's mom took us to the St. Wendel catholic church and the protestant church. We also sat outside at an ice cream shop for a snack. Caroline and I shared a crepe with Nutella and Amaretto. Tasty!
Later we ate dinner at Taparia Pizzaria. Present at the dinner were Jana's family, the other 2 team members, the wife and daughter of one of the team members, and also his in-laws from England. It was a good time with good food. I had a Diovalo pizza with pepperoni, onions and hot peppers. Karl had the Solo Mio pizza with garlic, pepperoni and black olives. Caroline had the Hawaiian pizza with ham and pineapple.
After dinner we went back to Jana's house and played Yatzee (or Yatzy, as it's spelled in Germany).
We spent Sunday in Sankt Wendel where Jana and her dad participated in a relay. There were 2 others on the relay team, and between the four runners they ran a marathon. We went with Jana's mom, sister and sister's boyfriend to watch and cheer for the team. The town was very busy with rides for the children, food tents, bands, and American-style cheerleaders. It was very festive, and then on top of the marathon festivities, the town was decorated for Easter.
After we watched Jana's team finish the race, Jana's mom took us to the St. Wendel catholic church and the protestant church. We also sat outside at an ice cream shop for a snack. Caroline and I shared a crepe with Nutella and Amaretto. Tasty!
Later we ate dinner at Taparia Pizzaria. Present at the dinner were Jana's family, the other 2 team members, the wife and daughter of one of the team members, and also his in-laws from England. It was a good time with good food. I had a Diovalo pizza with pepperoni, onions and hot peppers. Karl had the Solo Mio pizza with garlic, pepperoni and black olives. Caroline had the Hawaiian pizza with ham and pineapple.
After dinner we went back to Jana's house and played Yatzee (or Yatzy, as it's spelled in Germany).
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Trier, Germany
Saturday, April 4--typical German breakfast of rolls, cheeses, meats, spreads, and fruit. After breakfast we drove to Trier, Germany, less than an hour away. Jana's parents drove us there in their cars (there were 6 of us, so we needed 2 cars) and showed us the sights.
Trier is the oldest city in Germany and has Roman ruins from about 180 AD. It was a favorite place of several Roman Emperors, and was called the "Second Rome". We first visited Porta Nigra, part of the old city walls and gate from the Roman times. Then we visited the Dom. Afterwards we stopped at a cafe on a shopping street for a snack. I had Apfelschorle, which is apple juice with bubbly water, Karl had coffee and Caroline and Jana split a large ice cream concoction. Again, the weather was perfect, and it was very enjoyable to sit outside and watch people and chat.
Afterwards, we walked to the Kaiserthermen, the Roman bath ruins from the time of Emperor Constantine. Very interesting. A nice interpretive center is there, and many underground passages to explore. The above ground portion of the ruins is 3 stories high. It's interesting to walk around and think about how it was 1700 years ago.
A few blocks from the Kaiserthermen is the Amphitheater. It was hard to imagine the gladiators and lions having show-downs there. In the walls you could see the pens where the animals would've been held, and you can go underneath the arena to see where the gladiators and/or condemned men were held with the animals.
I really appreciated the accessibility of these ancient monuments. It was great to be able to walk through the ruins of the baths and amphitheater and gate and not have to view them from a distance or be roped off from them.
We ate dinner at a restaurant called Kartoffelkiste (Potato Basket). We sat outside again and ate, chatted, and watched people. Potatoes are very popular in Germany so I was not too surprised to find a restaurant that served dozens of different potato dishes. I had a casserole of potatoes, ham, pineapple, cheese sauce, topped with more cheese and browned in the oven. Different, but very good!
We got back to Jana's house around 7:30, and played one of our family's favorite games, Settlers of Catan.
Trier is the oldest city in Germany and has Roman ruins from about 180 AD. It was a favorite place of several Roman Emperors, and was called the "Second Rome". We first visited Porta Nigra, part of the old city walls and gate from the Roman times. Then we visited the Dom. Afterwards we stopped at a cafe on a shopping street for a snack. I had Apfelschorle, which is apple juice with bubbly water, Karl had coffee and Caroline and Jana split a large ice cream concoction. Again, the weather was perfect, and it was very enjoyable to sit outside and watch people and chat.
Afterwards, we walked to the Kaiserthermen, the Roman bath ruins from the time of Emperor Constantine. Very interesting. A nice interpretive center is there, and many underground passages to explore. The above ground portion of the ruins is 3 stories high. It's interesting to walk around and think about how it was 1700 years ago.
A few blocks from the Kaiserthermen is the Amphitheater. It was hard to imagine the gladiators and lions having show-downs there. In the walls you could see the pens where the animals would've been held, and you can go underneath the arena to see where the gladiators and/or condemned men were held with the animals.
I really appreciated the accessibility of these ancient monuments. It was great to be able to walk through the ruins of the baths and amphitheater and gate and not have to view them from a distance or be roped off from them.
We ate dinner at a restaurant called Kartoffelkiste (Potato Basket). We sat outside again and ate, chatted, and watched people. Potatoes are very popular in Germany so I was not too surprised to find a restaurant that served dozens of different potato dishes. I had a casserole of potatoes, ham, pineapple, cheese sauce, topped with more cheese and browned in the oven. Different, but very good!
We got back to Jana's house around 7:30, and played one of our family's favorite games, Settlers of Catan.
Spring Break trip 2009
We are having a fantastic time in Germany! I intended to blog every day about the trip, but have been busy and/or tired and have had hit-or-miss internet service. So I'll get started on catching up now.
Friday April 3rd--We arrived at Frankfurt airport and rented a nice Mercedes B-class car and drove to Heidelberg. The drive is less than an hour. We parked in a parking garage near Universitaetplatz and started walking around. The Alte Stadt of Heidelberg is pretty compact so doesn't take too long to get from one place to another. We walked to Kornmarkt and took the Bergbahn up the cliff to Koenigsstuhl. Fantastic views from up there. There was also a little restaurant, a falcon show and a "Fairy Tale Paradise" for children but we didn't do any of those things. Coming down from Koenigsstuhl we stopped at Schloss Heidelberg. We were very tired so didn't feel like doing a guided tour or an audio tour, so we just walked around on our own. It was interesting to see the different architecture styles from the different periods it was built. We took photos of ourselves at the Grosses Fass, which is a huge wine barrel where all tourists seem to have their photo taken.
After visiting the castle, it was time for lunch. We returned to Kornmarkt and then walked to Marktplatz where there were a number of restaurants. The weather was beautiful (sunny and 60s) so we chose a table outside at the restaurant called Hahn im Korb. Karl and I had the "Haenchen-Wellness" (grilled chicken breast) with vegetables and "Salzkartoffeln"--a kind of potato. Caroline had chicken noodle soup. No beers at this meal---we all needed to stay awake!
Many restaurants have "Wellness" items on the menu. It can be totally in German, and have the English word Wellness in the name. We enjoyed people-watching and listening to the church bells.
When we finished lunch we walked around the corner to the Alte Bruecke, a bridge across the Neckar River. Nice views from here, and we watched a barge of gravel go under us. Then we walked back to the area around Heidelberg University and visited the Studentenkarzer. This was a jail where unruly students were detained. The walls are covered with artwork done by the detained students. It's really fantastic. I remembered it from my visit to Heidelberg 32 years ago. Afterwards we visited a couple of churches, the Heiliggeistkirche and the Jesuitenkirche.
Then it was time to visit Jana and her family! We got stuck in a ridiculous traffic jam on the Autobahn and were about 20 minutes late. Fortunately, I had a cellphone that works on the European network so I was able to call and let them know we were running late.
It was nice to finally meet Jana's parents and sister! They are very nice, welcoming people. We had a tasty dinner of goulash with noodles and red cabbage, followed by cheesecake, ice cream, cherries and chocolate. Jana's house is lovely. It is located above the village and has a very nice view. Caroline stayed in Jana's room and Karl and I stayed in a room on the lower level of the house.
Friday April 3rd--We arrived at Frankfurt airport and rented a nice Mercedes B-class car and drove to Heidelberg. The drive is less than an hour. We parked in a parking garage near Universitaetplatz and started walking around. The Alte Stadt of Heidelberg is pretty compact so doesn't take too long to get from one place to another. We walked to Kornmarkt and took the Bergbahn up the cliff to Koenigsstuhl. Fantastic views from up there. There was also a little restaurant, a falcon show and a "Fairy Tale Paradise" for children but we didn't do any of those things. Coming down from Koenigsstuhl we stopped at Schloss Heidelberg. We were very tired so didn't feel like doing a guided tour or an audio tour, so we just walked around on our own. It was interesting to see the different architecture styles from the different periods it was built. We took photos of ourselves at the Grosses Fass, which is a huge wine barrel where all tourists seem to have their photo taken.
After visiting the castle, it was time for lunch. We returned to Kornmarkt and then walked to Marktplatz where there were a number of restaurants. The weather was beautiful (sunny and 60s) so we chose a table outside at the restaurant called Hahn im Korb. Karl and I had the "Haenchen-Wellness" (grilled chicken breast) with vegetables and "Salzkartoffeln"--a kind of potato. Caroline had chicken noodle soup. No beers at this meal---we all needed to stay awake!
Many restaurants have "Wellness" items on the menu. It can be totally in German, and have the English word Wellness in the name. We enjoyed people-watching and listening to the church bells.
When we finished lunch we walked around the corner to the Alte Bruecke, a bridge across the Neckar River. Nice views from here, and we watched a barge of gravel go under us. Then we walked back to the area around Heidelberg University and visited the Studentenkarzer. This was a jail where unruly students were detained. The walls are covered with artwork done by the detained students. It's really fantastic. I remembered it from my visit to Heidelberg 32 years ago. Afterwards we visited a couple of churches, the Heiliggeistkirche and the Jesuitenkirche.
Then it was time to visit Jana and her family! We got stuck in a ridiculous traffic jam on the Autobahn and were about 20 minutes late. Fortunately, I had a cellphone that works on the European network so I was able to call and let them know we were running late.
It was nice to finally meet Jana's parents and sister! They are very nice, welcoming people. We had a tasty dinner of goulash with noodles and red cabbage, followed by cheesecake, ice cream, cherries and chocolate. Jana's house is lovely. It is located above the village and has a very nice view. Caroline stayed in Jana's room and Karl and I stayed in a room on the lower level of the house.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Thoughts about plastic
My 30th high school reunion is coming up this summer, and I'm pleased to say that over the years I have kept in touch with my best friend from junior high and high school, Mary. We were like-minded then, and thankfully still are today. We're planning a girls' weekend away in July with another friend from high school. We're planning to go to a folk music festival in northern Illinois.
Mary lives with her family in rural east-central Illinois on a farm that belonged to her great-grandparents. She teaches English at the University of Illinois and in her home life she gardens, raises poultry, and preserves food. Mary also writes a weekly column, entitled Birdland, for the Piatt County Journal Republican newspaper. She has graciously given me permission to link to her latest column, in which she writes about plastic and its danger to animals, recycling and reducing use of plastics.
Please read her other posts as well! She has nice photos and interesting things to read about.
Mary lives with her family in rural east-central Illinois on a farm that belonged to her great-grandparents. She teaches English at the University of Illinois and in her home life she gardens, raises poultry, and preserves food. Mary also writes a weekly column, entitled Birdland, for the Piatt County Journal Republican newspaper. She has graciously given me permission to link to her latest column, in which she writes about plastic and its danger to animals, recycling and reducing use of plastics.
Please read her other posts as well! She has nice photos and interesting things to read about.
pdf to word
For a while now I've been creating .pdf files from my .doc files, but hadn't thought about converting .pdf to .doc files. Here's a neat little tool from Nitro Software to convert .pdf files to .doc or .rtf files --and the best news is, it's FREE! I selected a large .pdf that I had saved on my computer. I then entered the file path into the box, waited about 2 minutes, and the .doc file appeared in my Inbox as an attachment to an email. I opened the attachment, and there it was! All the formatting, text, and pictures/graphics were there. If you need to create a .pdf you can use their downloadable software found at www.primopdf.com. I've never had a problem using primopdf. Again, it's free!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
A Night-time Visitor
Thursday evening was very windy. I was sitting in bed, checking my email with my cat, Winnie, by my side. The wind was blowing against the house and windows and one particularly loud gust got the attention of Winnie and me. I saw what appeared to be a light-colored leaf stuck in the screen. As we intently watched the 'leaf', I noticed it wasn't moving as a leaf would move. Winnie ran over to the window and jumped on the little shelf in front of the window that Karl constructed for her to sit on. I went to the window as well. In the darkness (our backyard is very dark) I couldn't tell if what i was seeing in the window was Winnie's reflection (she's the dark Tabby featured as my avitar) or an animal on the other side of the window. I then realized it was an animal sitting on the window ledge. I knocked loudly on the window and the animal looked at me...it was a raccoon! Unfazed by Winnie and/or me, it continued to sit on the window ledge and eat bird seed. I yelled to Karl that there was a raccoon on the windowsill and he immediately grabbed his camera and headed outside. Soon after, the raccoon jumped down but continued to eat birdseed. With the wind blowing as it was, Karl was able to sneak up on the raccoon unnoticed. After Karl took his photo, the raccoon dashed off for the safety of a maple tree. You can see the photo here.
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