Passing the time

We've been here for a few weeks and with no car or household goods we have been finding ways to pass the time. We have no cable because you can only get Armed Forces Network here. I watched some in the hotel and the shows seemed to be a season or two behind. Plus, I'm sure we will end up only watching kid shows and cartoons. The library here has over 6,000 DVD's so we are going to check those out, wait until we've watched them all, then decide if we want to invest in cable.

Maddox watches Baby Einstein, Finding Nemo, and Elmo's World several times a day (I tried to put in Monsters Inc so we could watch something I like, but it scared him. It will be a while before we get to watch that one again...rats). I've been watching seasons of the West Wing and Desperate Housewives on the laptop to save my sanity while feeding Carson 7 times a day. He's still waking up twice a night to eat, 2am and 5am, almost like clockwork. When Ben gets home we usually have dinner, drink some german beer - KrystalWeisen is my favorite - and play some cribbage. We also make some time to study for the dreaded drivers test. Driving is serious business here in Germany...although many of the german drivers don't even follow their own rules.


Ben losing in Cribbage for the first time.


Me, winning for the first time (I kicked his butt with a 24 point first hand).


Our first meal from a vendor in Germany: Yufka and Pommes Frites. I think the Yufka is Greek and the Pommes Frites are thick french fries with a special seasoning (the best french fries I have ever had.) The vendor hooked us in by giving Maddox a free bag of fries, so that means we have to go back again.



Maddox entertaining himself by wearing my boots around the house (of course we have a messy floor. Things get picked up after bedtime, we clean the floor, and the place is trashed again 10 minutes after wake up....and only a quarter of his toys are even here right now!)


Carson sleeping. Too bad it's not night time.




Brothers...


All dressed up and nowhere to go :(



Carson smiling. He's starting to laugh now too!



Maddox throwing a temper tantrum because I turned the TV off for the day. (two year olds are so much fun)

A dwarf and a witch's bite...more on the Hiedelberg Schloss

As I was researching history on the Hiedelberg Castle I came across a few myths and legends. The first of which involves the enormous wine barrel deep inside the castle called the Heidelberg Tun (Grosses Fass). This giant vat holds over 220,000 liters (58,000 gallons), stands 6 meters high, and was made of 130 oak trees. There is a staircase up both sides (one of which is a very steep spiral and I almost fell carrying Maddox down it)and a dance floor on the top. The pictures didn't turn out well because there were a lot of people crowding around and it was very dark. There are axe marks in the side where french soldiers attempted to break into it.

Unfortunately this wine barrel was kept dry of wine for the most part, but I did discover an interesting story about people being placed inside. A local ruler, Elector Karl Ludwig, had betroved his daughter to french royalty. The groom's people come to inspect the castle (where the wedding was to be held) and they were basically a pain in the rear, so the Elector proposed that they hold further discussions at a special banquet above the Hiedelberg Tun. He made sure they all had plenty to drink during the banquet and after hours of good spirits, Ludwig proposes a toast, during which guests hear a demonic tune coming from under the floor of the dance floor. The guests race down the steps thinking it is the coming of the devil, but are blocked at the exits by guards. Ludwig calmly walks down the steps and opens a hidden door to the empty Tun to reveal a band of drummers and trumpets. Wedding planning went much easier afterwards.





Across from the incredibly large barrel is a statue of a dwarf, a little Italian man named Perkeo. His name comes from the words "Perche No" meaning "Why not", which is the answer a person would recieve when offering him a drink. He was a court jester in the 18th century who would reportedly drink massive amounts of wine (between 5 and 8 gallons a day). He was given the duty of guarding the massive wine barrel and drank nothing but wine all the way into his eighties. Legend says that he became ill one day and was urged by the doctor to lay off the wine. He protested, but drank the water and died soon after.



Across from the Tun is a small area where you can sit and order a glass of wine. I thought the ceilings and construction were beautiful.



And, of course, the restrooms are not free. There is a small note on the door that says 50 cent and a lady directly inside who will collect the change from you.




There is a huge door that guards the castle entrance. Here is a picture of Cari and Maddox infront of the door.






During an attack the doors close and messengers can only get in or out of the castle through a smaller gate. On the gate is a door knocker or ring (you can't see the ring in the picture because I didn't know what I was looking for when we went. I'll get one next time). Legend says that whoever can bite through the ring will inherit the castle. One day an old witch approached the door and began gnawing on the ring. She tried with all her might, but eventually gave up and vanished. She left a crack on the ring that is now refered to as The Witch's Bite.

Hiedelberg is a breathtaking city and it is an amazing feeling to stand next to something that has lived through so many years and so much history.

Heidelberg Schloss (Castle)

(Please excuse any typos in this and coming blogs. The spell checker will only check in German, therefore, it says my entire blog is misspelled. If anyone knows how to fix that please let me know!)

Last Saturday, January 15th, we were visited by a close friend from Fort Leonard Wood. Cari drove a couple hours from Hohenfels, GE, where she is stationed, to Hiedelberg and we set out to see the Castle. We all hopped into her car, since we don't have ours yet, and followed the signs for Schloss (german for castle). When we got to the bridge we were in the wrong lane and ended up crossing to the opposite side of the Neckar River. We drove up it a little ways, thinking we would find a bridge to cross, but ended up turning around. In the meantime I snapped a few photos.

Here is the castle from across the Neckar on an overcast winter day.






The Karl-Theodor Brucke (Alte Bruke)/ Carl Theodor Bridge (Old Bridge).


The bridge gate once formed a part of the Old Town Wall. It is considered one of Heidelbergs outstanding architectural landmarks. On it there is a statue of Carl Theodor, the goddess of wisdom Passa Athena, and a monkey put back up in the 70's. When the weather gets warmer we plan to take a foot trip and take more photos.

History has taught us that the best castles sit high up on a hill allowing for the better defense. This holds true with the Hiedelberg Castle which overlooks the Neckar River and the city it was named for. Today there are 4 ways to get to the castle. 1.) Take the Burgweg (castle path) - a long, steep, cobblestone path. 2.)use the stairs - there are over 300. 3.) The Funikular Railway - travels 489 meters at a 43% grade slope. 4.) drive the narrow, winding road to the top - we drove.

The oldest parts of the castle date back to the 12th Century. It was built in stages over a span of about 300 years. It had expanded into 2 castles at one point, but a lightning bolt destroyed the upper one in 1537. The castle was under attack for the first time during the Thirty Years War in the 1600's, which ended any further construction and started it's destruction. This is a drawing of what the castle looked like before it was reduced to ruin by fires caused by lightning, the Thirty Years War,&the Nine Years War.





Here are some pictures of the castle from the grounds outside.







The view from the top.






The hole where the Fat Tower used to be. The French blew it out during the Nine Years War on March 2, 1689.












During my research of the castle history, I found a quote by Mark Twain from a travel book he once wrote. You could tell he was impressed by the scale and beauty of the ruins and I couldn't agree with him more. This is the sight he saw and was inspired to write about(minus the tree leaves and summer flowers):



"A ruin must be rightly situated, to be effective. This one could not have been better placed. It stands upon a commanding elevation, it is buried in green woods, there is no level ground about it, but, on the contrary, there are wooded terraces upon terraces, and one looks down through shining leaves into profound chasms and abysses where twilight reigns and the sun cannot intrude. Nature knows how to garnish a ruin to get the best effect. One of these old towers is split down the middle, and one half has tumbled aside. It tumbled in such a way as to establish itself in a picturesque attitude. Then all it lacked was a fitting drapery, and Nature has furnished that; she has robed the rugged mass in flowers and verdure, and made it a charm to the eye. The standing half exposes its arched and cavernous rooms to you, like open, toothless mouths; there, too, the vines and flowers have done their work of grace. The rear portion of the tower has not been neglected, either, but is clothed with a clinging garment of polished ivy which hides the wounds and stains of time. Even the top is not left bare, but is crowned with a flourishing group of trees & shrubs. Misfortune has done for this old tower what it has done for the human character sometimes−improved it." - Mark Twain


The entrace and castle guards. Maddox and Ben are standing underneath and the massive size of these walls, towers, and sculptures just amaze me.





Maddox and I inside the castle courtyard in front of the Fredrich Building.




The Otteinrichsbau - which, in my opinion,was the most captivating section of the castle (a little history below).




The Ottheinrichsbau (“Otto Heinrich’s Building”) was built under Prince Elector Otto Heinrich in 1556-1559 and one of several struck by lightning in 1764 and never rebuilt. Today it appears as a skeleton, but a beautiful one as you can see. Heinrich conceived this structure as a monument to himself. Its design follows traditional rules, with each of the floors less high than the one below to create the illusion of even more height, and divided into five fields each. On its walls are 16 statues: representations of the qualities needed of a leader~ on the lower level, the symbols of political power: Joshua, Samson, Hercules and David~ on the second level, the virtues needed to rule wisely and well: Strength, Faith, Love, Hope and Justice~ on the third level, the bodies of the Solar System which control destiny (or so Heinrich would have believed: Saturn, Mars, Venus, Mercury and the Moon~ and on top of the wall the most powerful of these heavenly bodies: the Sun and Jupiter






The Friedrichsbau or Friedrich Building was built during the reign of Friedrich IV (1592-1610). It is the only building to have been rebuilt after the destruction of the 18th century. Its facade is adorned with sixteen statues of princes - a stone gallery of ancestral portraits. These are in fact copies; the originals were being destroyed by pollution so were removed and are displayed inside the building. The gold accents are drain pipes with gold gargoyles on them.









The back of the Friedrich Building




Maddox and Cari :)




The Castle Garden Fountain.


The castle gardens, constructed between 1616 and 1619 by garden architect Salomon de Caus, were commissioned by Prince Elector Friedrich V for his wife Elizabeth. Before being destroyed during the War of the Palatine Succession in 1693, the gardens were regarded as a masterpiece of their time




Maddox making a pose.



House above the gardens....the house I would love to own.



The next blog will include Heidelberg Castle legends and stories about a wine barrel, dwarf, and witches bite....stay tuned.....

Pictures of housing

Here is what the army lodging hotel looks like. It's a series of these buildings in a block. Though depressing from the outside, they are not bad on the inside. We have a suite with a bedroom, bathroom, living room with a pullout couch, and a kitchen. There is free cable and internet, and free laundry. There is a gym close by that offers classes such as aerobics and zumba in the evenings and some mornings.




It's right down the street from the bowling alley, burger king, shopette, and a large playground for the kids.





Our house is about a 15 minute walk from here. We walked there today, took a couple pieces of luggage down, and took some pictures. This is the building across the street and the front door of our building








Here is Ben and the stoller in our smelly stairwell. I think we will get a giant air freshener to put out there.



The living room and dining room are small, but the floors are in descent shape and there are big windows.





The kitchen is small also, but has a lot of cabinet space.




The bathroom is a descent size and has double sinks. The shower is one of those handheld things with a hose that hooks on to the tub faucet. On the plus side, the tub is pretty large, perfect for Ben to soak those old bones after PT.



The bedrooms are small, but we will figure something out. They have a pretty good size built in closet/shelving unit.



All of the furniture is from the army's lending closet. It is ours to use until our household goods get here. I am excited to get everything in and start making the mouse hole a home.