What's a Fasching?

It is no secret that Germany has many festivals but I think I just discovered my favorite of them all - Fasching! Picture crazy Germans dressed up in costumes at Mardi Gras. It starts a few days before lent with drinking and parties and ends with a parade through town.

We are very fortunate to have good German friends in our tiny town who let us tag along with them for these festivities. Monday morning of the parade I went over to Sabrina's house where she prepared traditional german meatballs and potato salad (also known as Frikadellen! Did I get that right?). It is a traditional dish served before drinking to get your bellies full.

After properly filling our stomachs we walked to the parade!

Now, if you are thinking, "Parades are boring" this one will change your mind. There is music, there is chanting, there are floats that are all well equipped with booze. We got candy thrown at us as well as vodka, moonshine, gluhwein and more.

 

When the parade ended we continued the party at the Knot and were home and in bed all before 8pm. 

In other non-festival related news, Taylor and I are doing fantastic! The sun has been poking out and we are loving it! All of us, including the little fur ball are ready for warm weather.

We have some exciting trips planned in the next few months and can't wait to tell you all about it!

We have been trying new recipes that are healthy but delicious. Here are a few pictures I have taken of recent meals and snacks!

Veggie Burger with black beans and quinoa

Turkey Meatballs with zucchini "noodles"

Chili Stuffed Peppers

Pesto-Hummus

Germany in June!

The last time I made a post was the day after Taylor went under the knife for his knee. Things have been a little slower (travel wise) with recovery but certainly not dull!

His surgery went really well and he was walking a week later. They removed some bone spurs including a piece that literally looked like a piece of popcorn (mmm...popcorn). His two weeks off were spent recovering and doing physical therapy while I pampered him with homemade meals and foot massages. Okay not really, but I sure did spoil him!

Kusel, Germany

We were also able to still get in a few day trips during the month! Kusel is a town right next door to us and a few weekends ago they had a renaissance festival at the Lichtenberg Castle. You know, nothing makes you feel more like you are in the 1300s than a medieval festival in an actual medieval castle! We enjoyed giant brats and instead of having beer we had mead which is made by mixing honey with water and fruits and spices.

Cochem, Germany

Just recently a good friend of mine moved here to Germany! They are stationed at a base only an hour north of us so last weekend we got together. I ran a 5k with her at Buchel Air base and then the next day we got the whole gang to go to Cochem!

I have been wanting to go to this town ever since I head about it and I am so glad we did finally! Cochem is a traditional German town nestled in the green hills along the Mosel river. It was a rainy day but that didn't take away from the beautiful river with shops, restaurants, and vineyards running up and down it with a castle overlooking you. I can't wait to go back on a sunny day and see a bit more!

World Cup!

Unless you have been living under a rock, you should know the World Cup started a few weeks ago! I think it's safe to say, it has taken over my life. The vibe here in Germany is incredible! The other night I met my German friends in town at the Celtic Knot and we watched the game together. There was a ton of yelling, "DANKE GOD, DANKE GOD!" but really, danke god because I think some chairs may have been broken and through the window if Germany lost.

Don't worry, I was still committed to the USA winning! Taylor and I both had our hearts broken last night after the loss to Belgium. I woke up this morning quietly still chanting, "I believe we will win..." while fighting back my tears. Fortunately for us, we have two teams now! On Friday we will be going to Munich early in the morning to explore and then later that night we will watch the Germany/France game! I heard it gets pretty rowdy at those public viewings so we will be there in our Germany attire with beers in our hands doing as the Germans do!

Trier, Germany & Easter

Happy late Easter to all our family and friends! I hope you all had a great weekend like we did!

Last week the Germans did something a little crazy... They gave Taylor a license to drive in their country! So we decided to be adventurous and go outside of Baumholder. Our location here is perfect with many towns so close to us. Trier is about 45 minutes from here so we thought that would be a great first mini-roadtrip. 

When we first arrived here our (super helpful) sponsor set us up with phones. They were awesome for texting and calling but did not have GPS or anything fancy like that. Okay, fine, we were only going 45 minutes away and once upon a time back in the ancient days, we were without the magical navigation app. So Taylor printed off directions from google and off we went!

5 minutes into our trip we got lost. We had to backtrack almost all the way back to post until we finally got on the right road to Trier. Off we went again! 

We finally arrived in Trier, located in the Mosel valley where the river widens and is possibly one of oldest cities in Germany, founded in or before 16 BCE. We parked and then wandered on the main street where there were a ton of people, shops, restaurants, street bands, markets, a wine bar, fruits and vegetables, bakeries and history! One of the first sights we saw was the Porta Nigra, or "black gate". At a hundred feet tall and one of the most famous ruins in Germany, it was built in the second century as part of four miles of walls. Trier was a major city in the late Roman Empire, even serving as a regional capital under several emperors.

We then ventured into the main square and got some lunch. Every restaurant we passed had tons of seating outside and since the sun was out we took advantage of the warmth and grabbed a spot. 

                                   

After lunch we went to the Saint Peter's Cathedral Church, the oldest bishop's church in the country. Walking up to the church was breathtaking and walking inside was even more incredible. 

There are still a few things we would like to see in Trier so I imagine we will be making another day trip there because, well, we can!

Easter snuck up on us so we didn't have anything planned. I had to do something for the holiday so I managed to make a semi-traditional meal for us. I made potato salad, baked mac and cheese and did up some steaks for us!

It is already the weekend again so we are planning on traveling the mere 20 minutes to Idar-Oberstein tomorrow. Many more pictures to come!

Hello from Germany!

We have arrived in Baumholder, Germany! Let me catch you up on our exciting week in our new home.

April 5th we took off early in the morning for the Denver Airport. 2 suitcases, 2 backpacks, a dog kennel and a nervous puppy (Ella, not me). We arrived in Baltimore around 3pm where we had to pick up our luggage and dog so we could check in on the military flight. The day seemed to go on forever with checking our stuff in, waiting to check Ella in, and then loading up a double-decker plane.

We finally hopped on the plane at midnight where we sat on the top deck. Taylor wasn't kidding when he said these military flights are uncomfortable and crammed! We shared the plane with a ton of military men and women and for the next 7 hours (thank you headwind!) we tried to get into comfortable sleeping positions.

We arrived into Ramstien AFB at about 3pm on Sunday afternoon. Since the process getting to Germany took forever it only made sense that everything moved slowly here too. Maybe we were just so excited to be in Deutschland that it FELT like forever.

After getting our bags and our dog we met Taylor's sponsor (who has been incredibly helpful through this entire transition) and we cruised on the Autobahn to Baumholder! This week we have been staying at the Lagerhof Inn. It's a little apartment suite so it has been comfortable and nice while adjusting to the time and new culture. 

Taylor has been in-processing this whole week with a bunch of classes and paperwork. Ella and I have been walking here and there trying to navigate our way around post. We found a dog park (a fenced in old baseball field) for her to run around in. Everything is pretty close to each other since the post is fairly small but don't let the "it's only one mile away" fool you! There are hills. Lots and lots of hills! It's been a good workout to say the least.

Yesterday was a very exciting day for us! We checked out a few apartments on post and picked one! They are way nice and super cute with an awesome view of the town. My favourite (german google wants it spelled that way) part about the apartment is the location. It is right next to the pedestrian gate that leads you right into the town. Living on post is a new experience for me and I was worried that I was going to feel trapped. With the pedestrian gate out my front steps I feel like I can still be connected to the world!

Last night Taylor and I made our way into the town for the first time. We wandered around the narrow streets and then soaked up the unusual sunlight while sipping a beer. Dinner was at this BBQ restaurant called Zum Stadtkrug. People here have been raving about it and now I know why. They have a variety of food but are known for their ribs and steak. They grill the meat right in front of you on a wood oven and then serve it to you with the homemade bbq sauce on the side. We were blown away with how tasty everything was!

I am not sure exactly what I was expecting but Baumholder has definitely gone above and beyond my expectations! Between the beautiful scenery, buildings, and people I am so excited that I get to call this place home for the next few years.