Friday, June 15, 2012

Strasbourg, France




Bitche, France
Must See--Notre Dame Cathedral, Pont Saint Martin Bridge, Church of St. Paul & simply walking the streets around the Notre Dame Cathedral(lots of shopping and food).









 Strasbourg, France is a quaint town with beautiful architecture, the tallest cathedral and wonderful food!  On mapquest it's about 2 1/2 hours from the Kaiserslautern area, so perfect for a day trip.  A simple day pack with a bottled water, pack lunch, camera, small umbrella, passport & euros is just about all you would need.  There were several restaurants and bistro's in Strasbourg, but us girls decided to hit the bakeries, meat markets, wine and cheese shops & sample everything.  It was an amazing food experience.  Each of us got to try a little bit of the local food without spending a bundle.







 Our group tour included a glass boat tour, I personally would have preferred to see the rest of the town on foot.  For those interested though, the tour comes with headsets & several language options.  The boat was completely enclosed except for two open windows, one in the front and one in the back of the boat, which caused a glare on the photos.   On the positive side, if it were to rain we would stay dry :o) 


 
We took this as a group tour, which was nice so we didn't have to drive, but this is definitely a place you could drive to and tour on your own. Happy Traveling & Thanks so much for following my blog.

Bev

Saturday, June 9, 2012

2012 Kusel Hutmacherfest

Most of the group

:
The band: Buhaa and the rhabarbers





EPIC! Yup, that about sums up the night my husband, neighbors, friends & landlords just had!!!!!!  The Hutmacherfest is one of the biggest festivals in Kusel, Germany & we attended the "band" portion last night.  We had drinks, some crepes( fyi: the most awesome invention to mankind...its nutella in a thin pancake like tortilla)sang & danced.  We danced when no one else in the crowd was, we sang and cheered and by the end of the festival, so was EVERYONE else.  Again, EPIC definitely sums it up!  I love being in the town of Kusel, I love the people & throwing myself into the German culture, day in and out.  I've learned so much for this community and am more open to just dancing to the beat of my own drum, sometimes literally hahaha.....and not caring about peering eyes.  Ok, so this post was quite short but I just had to share with all of you.  Life is amazing & my husband and I HANDS DOWN....are truly blessed. If you are in the KMCC or Baumholder area and are looking for something wonderful to do on the economy, let the 2012 Kusel Hutmacherfest be your next stop. 
Bev

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Moving on....

Left: My first day working at the elementary school Rt. going on a field trip with the kindergarten class



top:field trip to the zoo bottom lf. to right: My doctor theme, Diavion this little boy taught me so much & made me <3 special education programs, At home organizing my children book collection for my class

Fall festival (halloween carnival)elementary tech prep teachers
 
 Moving on....is it really just that easy for some? I for one know that depending on how I'm presented with change I don't entirely do well, but sometimes, change is what is needed.   See, I went to college and graduated back in '03 with a degree in Child Development.  Prior too, during and up until '09 I diligently poured my almost entire life and money into working with children in: accredited military child development centers, working in the public school for kindergarten and then moving into the "leave no child behind" program working with 3-5yr old special education in the public school, I even dabbed in being a nanny for a brief time.  No matter which job I was holding, I would always go all in, one lesson was music, I got in contact with my friend who's a musician, talked him into bringing his band, performing at the daycare center and he allowed the children to "test out" the instruments!  It was awesome, several of my lessons were always like that.  I loved my job, I loved making my classroom kids smile & always did my best to keep things fresh/new.  At some point though, I stopped LOVING my job.  Friends and Family would ask, are you feeling ok?  I physically wasn't looking well.  I was becoming emotionally/physically drained and miserable.  I became "that" person who hated going to work, bottom line, I had lost passion.  I truly believe that children are our future & they deserve the BEST.  It is very hard to come to a point where you say, I'm burnt out and have to walk away in a job you've committed so much too.  However, it was time & in May of '09 I realized I was no longer giving the best to a group of small people who deserved just that & sadly walked away from being a Childcare Professional.  After about a month, I hadn't yet realized but had physically/mentally done a 180.  People I hardly saw would see me in the shoppette, commissary, at functions, picnics and all say the same, Wow, you look great!  You look so happy.  I'd say, "thank you" and then quickly say, "wait, did I look sick?"  "Yes & tired," was the reply.  Ya know, until people pointed it out, I did always feel tired, I would get sick a lot, I always felt on edge...very snappy at people.  I now felt great...always laughing, smiling & just plain enjoying my life.  So the question presented was, " is it really just that easy for some"?  I can't speak for everyone but for me, no.  Someone had a bigger plan for me.  So big that I would find my once lost PASSION.  It amazes me how people are strategically placed in our lives to offer say "a vet recommended socialization technique for my dog".  Which then guides me into being my own boss and running my own legitimate german business .  Who knew how much bigger and better my life would get.  From broadening the new and amazing people I would meet to making my already loving marriage into an even more passionate one.  I truly am very blessed! 
I do think about it from time to time, have great "stories & experiences" to share but don't see myself going back, I can honestly say, "It was quite a ride & I wouldn't have changed anything for the world but......I've moved on.

Bev

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

More than meets the eye The Schwimbadd--aka swimming pool

More than meets the eye The Schwimbadd--aka swimming pool

 A brochure I picked up on my way out

After driving with friends in the rain for about 40minutes, we finally reach a swimming pool--aka schwimbadd.  Ya know the basic pool(shallow to deep) & then the separate baby pool area.  However, this place was nothing short of impressive.  We paid by the hour for swimming up front & were each given a bracelet with a chip in itAny services past the upfront swimming we paid for would be tallied on the chip and you would pay at the end.  Um, what....any other services? I'm confused...I thought I was here to swim, didn't I just pay you??? Ok, so I'm a little puzzled but follow my friends to the locker rooms.  We get changed, pick a locker, use the chip bracelet to lock our stuff up, rinse off and head out to the pool area.  We see a lap pool, which is the size of a city pool in the states.  I scan a bit further and see an elephant slide in yet another city size pool for everyone.  It goes from shallow to about 4 1/2ft deep. (I'm guessing) Then I see a gigantic slide...for those of you from the San Antonio, Tx or S. Padre Island area, I'm talking Schlitterbahn sized slide!  The guys look at each other and darted off.  My friend and I headed over to a kiddie pool area.  The water was nice and warm, no babies were shaking from getting too cold, no blue lips, no crying.  Everyone was playing, laughing, having a great time.  There was a built in slide that you could move from the top kiddie pool to the bottom one.  Right next to it, but separate was a tiki hut slide that went into another small kiddie pool.  We hung out there for awhile, as my friends 2yr old daughter played.  Soon the guys showed back up, laughing like school boys.  My curiosity peeked.  Ok, so how was the slide?  Justin tells me, it was pretty cool.  Each part of the slide which is fully enclosed had different colored lights and then all of a sudden it goes pitch black, which makes you panic for a sec because now you can't tell which way your twisting and turning.  Both guys re-tell their experience, we all get excited but I'm not sure about the whole pitch black thing.  Though I like to thrill seek, so it maybe something I try later.  We ended up moving from the kiddie area to yet another area that I would refer to as the "lazy wave pool".  The guys slide down the slide into the pool and I followed suite.  That in itself made me feel like I was a kid again.  It was awesome!  Little did I know it was about to get even better.  The closed sign goes up on the slide and I see people getting excited moving a circular shaped side of the pool.  Water starts moving stronger and you start to float.  Omg, we all laughed so hard while in the "wave pool."  I even had a few close encounters with a wall, but that's because I wasn't paying attention...luckily Justin saved me from kissing the wall :o) After it was over, I realized.....WOW this place is way more than meets the eye!  It seems to have it all....a snack bar and a restaurant, tanning beds, offered several massage spa packages, swim classes, aquatic zumba & had not 1 pool area but....wait for it....yup that's right, 7 swimming areas! I would definitely recommend this to anyone!  You don't even have to know how to swim, there are plenty of shallow areas that only go up to your waist & there are lifeguards on staff and patrolling the areas to help keep everyone safe.  Though I'd like to point out, unless you were looking for them, they stayed un noticed.  I loved that they weren't looming around waiting for someone to do something wrong and "blow that whistle"....I for one didn't miss that! 
So if your looking for a place to go that isn't too far...look no further than:

Erlebnisbad Schauberg Tholey :o)
Open 930am-1000pm M-F
8am-800pm Sat/Sun

Bev