Like Disneyland (without the rides)

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Kristen

The Dutch and their spectacular flowers

Once every 10 years, Holland plays host to a horticultural extravaganza. With the participation of numerous countries around the world, the little town of Venlo features Floriade, a huge exposition featuring enough flowers and scents to attract the most finicky of patrons. We heard about this event from John Postma, my uncle who had visited it once before and he, along with CNN, declared it a “Must See in 2012!”

We arrived around 11am and zipped past what seemed to be a hundred tour buses dropping off their guests at the front gates; we remarked that there were relatively few children attending the event and of the adults, the majority were white-haired and walking very slowly. Once we boarded our parking shuttle from the lot to the front gates we bought our entrance tickets and started exploring the grounds.

The first thing that hits you is the luscious smell…hyacinths are blooming right now and their purple and white blooms mix nicely with the vibrant colors of the tulips and give off an intoxicating scent as you walk the main promenade. The guides distributed handy park maps but we let the kids determine which direction to go and there was no problem finding pavilions to delight us. One of our favorites was the Green House which featured tropical plants including thousands of orchids and a 3D movie which presented the devastating power of floods. (in 1953 Holland suffered a severe flood due to a failed dike) Another great treat was “living like a bee” collecting pollen and nectar to make honey…the kids were given a digital clicker that collected points for finding the right clues (Lilly was our winner).

The park grounds are huge and there is a gondola available to whisk you from one end of the park to the other. Of course, we hopped on and could see all the places we hadn’t hit yet on our visit. We walked through buildings created by visiting countries that showed typical design styles as well as plants and vegetables native to those lands. One of the best was the Chinese garden complete with meditating garden and paper screens dividing the rooms.

We concluded our visit with a walk through the flower showroom featuring arrangements of the most spectacular spring blooms. Chandeliers hung above our heads as we slowly walked the cobblestone paths laid in the middle of a fern grotto. When we returned to our car, we were surprised to discover that 6 hours had slipped by. Lilly boldly declared, “I love this place. It’s like Disneyland without the rides!” The kids all agree we should make plans to return in another 10 years.

Cologne Cathedral

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Kristen

What to do with a week off of school and work? Time to take a trip. Many of our friends opted for warmer locales…Portugal and Italy; but we decided it was time to go north to see the tulips of Holland. Along the way, we planned a stop in Cologne, Germany, home to the 3rd largest cathedral in the world (after Seville, Spain and Madrid, Italy). The Dom was completed in the mid 19th Century after a 350 year pause in construction. Seemed the Germans in the area suffered from a little recession brought about by the discovery of America and new trade routes which ditched the Rhine in favor of the wide open seas. The foundation stone was laid in 1280 on the site of the first church in Cologne which wasn’t impressive enough for the Church at large. The gothic architecture, featuring dark stone, gargoyles and flying buttresses, is due to the Prussians’ misguided idea that Germans invented the unique style (they did not–the French did) and money poured freely into the coffers to offer up a uniquely “German cultural landmark” to unify the new German state in the 19th Century.

Lauren and Kristen took a tour of the cathedral while Tim entertained the un-interested (Will and Lilly) with a trip to Dunkin Donuts. In the tour, we learned about the patron saints of the church: The Three Holy Kings, AKA the three wise men who visited Baby Jesus. In a golden, jewel-encrusted box on the altar lays the remains of the kings. DNA testing on the bones and the clothing has proved that they are indeed from the 1st C…whether they are the wise men, we’ll never know for sure. We also enjoyed learning about the stained glass in the cathedral which was relatively unharmed during WWII (only the north tower suffered bomb damage) All windows were removed and stored for the duration of the war. The most recent window, installed in 2007, features thousands of technicolor squares with no discernible pattern…it is a fabulous addition to the cathedral.

technicolor squares make a fabulously modern stained glass window

Ravenna–city of mosaics

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Kristen

Wise Men mosaic, Ravenna Italy

When we visited Italy in 2010 I had wanted to visit Ravenna, a short drive south of Venice on the Adriatic Sea. We ran out of time and since coming to Germany, I’ve wanted to see what I missed 2 years ago. On Sunday, we drove south from Vicenza, through the snow, for about 2 hours until we hit Ravenna, the fabulous city of mosaics. The origins of Ravenna date back to 89 BC. It was mentioned as the location where Julius Ceasar gathered his forces before crossing the Rubicon in 49BC.
Ravenna became very prosperous and was the capital of the Western Roman Empire in 400AD. From 540 to 600, Ravenna’s bishops embarked upon a notable building program of churches in Ravenna and many of those still stand. In 476 AD, the Roman Empire declined and was taken over by the king of the Goths who inaugurated the barbaric period of the history of Ravenna until Justinian, the Byzantine emperor reconquered the area and began a crazy period of building churches and art.

Christ baptizes John the Baptist, Ravenna

Mosaic curtains…originally the Saints were in the archways but then artfully removed with curtains

We bought a combo ticket (about 15 euros adult) which gave us admission to the main buildings in Ravenna. The big draw is the1500 year old mosaics, many in pristine condition since Ravenna was practically abandoned when the seat of power left. The walls are covered with the brilliant little tiles of precious stones and gold. The walking tour for the 5 buildings took us about 2 hours which included reading about the mosaics in Rick Steves’ handy guidebook.
After our trip to the city, we drove over to the Adriatic Sea to give the kids an chance to look at the water from this side of the world. It was a cool and blustery day but the salt air and seagulls satisfied our need for a dose of the ocean.

I”m home!

Carnivale

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Kristen

Rietkerks in Venice

I’m beginning to understand the European way of life. They work hard in the summer tilling the fields and bringing in the harvest. Then, the long winter sets in and the human spirit craves a little diversion. Many of the small towns and villages follow the Church Year in their festivities. First comes the Christmas season which is filled with lively Christmas markets throughout Germany. This is followed quickly by New Years Celebrations featuring fireworks and festive spirits.
For the month of February, just before the season of Lent, many villages host “fasching” parades or Carnivale. These festivals can be simple such as the one in our town of Lupburg which included a quick parade down main street with people in costumes, similar to Halloween without the “scary”, and balloons adorning the street lights. For others, the celebration still involves costumes but they’re taken to the next level of creativity. Perhaps no other city in Europe celebrates Carnivale quite like Venice, Italy where grown men and women spend a lot of money and time in preparing for the festivities. Tim and I took the kids down south to visit our friends Eddie and Jenn Cook and their son Edward. Then, off to Venice we went to experience the spectacle. It was a bit strange to see the extent some people go to in designing the “perfect” costume, to include walking and talking and posing for passersby. We focused our visit on St Mark’s Square where the bulk of people playing dress up hang out in the bright sunshine admiring each other’s costumes. As we took the water taxi down the Grand Canal to St Marks, we spotted costumed revelers on the balconies of hotels as we sailed by. They waved to the boats and thoroughly enjoyed entertaining us. The atmosphere during the day was festive; people were happy and carefree but no one was doing anything questionable (except for the fact that grown men were dressed as women). It was all relatively tame and not at all like Mardi Gras in New Orleans. We weren’t quite sure what happens in Venice after dark but we didn’t want to take a chance with the kids. We made it back to the ferry before nightfall and had a smooth and uneventful ride back to the Cook’s home in Vicenza.

masked kiss

Rietkerks in Venice

O solo mio…

Fasching Time

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Kristen

It’s no secret that Germans love a party and beginning now until Ash Wednesday, much of Europe is in full party mode. This time of year we celebrate “fifth season” in Bavaria, also known as “fasching” or “Fastnacht”. Literally “fast night” it refers to the night before fasting begins on Ash Wednesday and is two weeks of revelry, drinking and merry making. Parades are very popular throughout Germany but nothing beats the chaotic atmosphere and elaborate costumes of Venice where “Carnevale” is celebrated the two weekends before Ash Wednesday. We’re planning a family trip down to Vicenza to visit some friends and perhaps check out the festivities in Venice just an hour’s drive away.

Edelweiss–a winter wonderland

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Kristen

Winter wonderland

This weekend, Tim had the opportunity to offer a Marriage retreat for couples in the JMRC (his team at Hohenfels). We had about 15 couples and their kids join us at the Edelweiss Resort in Garmisch, Germany for a 3 day relaxation and training event. The resort is one of several Armed Forces Recreation Centers around the world designed for the use of active duty and retired military members. To read more about the resort, click on the link:

http://www.edelweisslodgeandresort.com/

Each morning, the adults met for 2 hours of couples communication training while the kids (ages 0-12) gathered in the staffed “4 Kids Only” club. Both groups had an enjoyable time being apart from each other. Come noon, it was time to find activities to keep the family occupied. We decided to take the kids sledding on Saturday afternoon near the US military run Hausberg Ski Area. Both Will and Lilly quickly tired of traditional sledding; instead, they attempted to go down the hill standing first on one sled and then riding two sleds (one for each foot). We had a great time laughing and encouraging them to try it again! Many of the German sledders bought a lift ticket to take the gondola up to the top and ride their sleds down. When we asked about doing this, we were told “Very steep. Not for kids.” Apparently, wearing a helmet on these steep trails is one of the requirements if you’re going to take the risk–and the cautionary look from the ticket takers made us think twice about taking Will and Lilly up so high without some head gear.

During the weekend we received about 7 inches of snow which was a treat because we have no snow at home. I met several families from around Bavaria who had the same idea…take the 2 hour drive to Garmisch to simply play in a winter wonderland.

A Moveable Feast

Author Archives: Kristen