Czech Republic today!

Today we went to the border city of Cheb, in the Czech Republic. I think it took us about two hours driving to get there and two back of course. Brandon did not go with us but that is because he went to Prague, in the Czech Republic with a friend and his family. They went on Friday until Sunday though.

So, first we stopped at the Asia markets, which was a very big culture shock and an interesting experience. As soon as we got out of the car they were motioning for us to come look at their stuff. It was a lot of shirts, coats and stuff like that. It was my first experience with purchasing things and really bargaining for the right prices. At first I thought it was kinda fun, going back and forth on prices for different items. But after just a short time there, I felt the need to get the heck out of there. We soon learned that you can't just look or walk through without people coming at you trying to get you to buy their stuff. They spoke just a little English but we could communicate pretty well. They would put their calculator up to you so you would type in a price (in Euro) that you are willing to pay for an item. Then of course they would look at you like you were crazy and they would put in a number on the calculator. And you return the look. It was kind of fun.

http://www.answers.com/topic/cheb <----Info about Cheb.

So then we walked around the city and wandered into a museum. We paid 100 Czech Kronen for the three of us to get in, which is about 4 dollars. It was very enjoyable and we even found that one of the museum workers spoke English. She was (and other patrons there, I noticed) were very curious about us and seemed to be looking at us a lot. But in a very friendly way. The museum worker asked us if we were from England and she said that she doesn't get very many English speaking people there so she enjoyed practicing her English on us.

The museum was very nice and had various things in it from the city dating all the way back to the 1200's. Also, an interesting thing too... we were able to walk through a room where the famous Wallenstien was murdered. He was murdered Feb. 25th, 1634 (which the anniversary was just yesterday!). He was a General of the Holy Roman Empire during the 30 Years War. And he was murdered in his bedroom.

http://www.saburchill.com/history/biblio/018.html <---some info about Wallenstein. Also there is a painting of him on this page. We saw the painting and a bunch of his stuff at the museum.

Jake and Ann-Marie as we were walking along a road near the big church in Cheb, Czech Republic. 

Here is the Cheb museum. The pink building but also the brown building next to it.  

A part of a huge church in Cheb, Czech Republic. 

Jake had to 'get onto' the Gnome for messing around. You see here he is playing inside the mouth of the dragon statue. 

Jake in the Cheb market square. It was very cold. 

Jake and Ann-Marie as we walked toward the market square. We walked under that little tunnel in the middle of the building. 

Here I am in the Cheb market square. 

Doorway of a massive church in Cheb, Czech Republic. 

Ann-Marie singing another German song---too bad you guys can't see the cute hand gestures that go with this one.

Last winter weekend in Garmisch!

Well, this weekend was our last winter trip to go skiing. The guys went skiing and had a lot of fun. No injuries! I can't wait until next year when me and Ann-Marie can learn! And maybe Stephanie can come and learn with me too.

We stayed in Oberau, very near Garmisch. It was a new experience for us, staying in a Gastehaus. You can see the photos. It was very neat and different than a hotel. We went for a hike as a group and then later Ann-Marie and I went for a long hike, in which I pulled her sled along an ice and snow covered trail. We went sledding down the hill too but it was so busy that we couldn't have as much fun doing that this time. We also went swimming and enjoyed an outdoor hot tub and the saunas the the Army lodge Edelweiss, while waiting for the guys to get done skiing.

We had a lovely dinner at an Italian restaurant. Of course, you know, whereever we go there could be a big language barrier. This was no exception. We didn't really have any problem with the menu (pizza and spaghetti are still pizza and spaghetti). Our waiter, was one who tried to entertain Ann-Marie a little by doing amatuer magic tricks and such. Later, after an hour and a half or so and a glass of wine, I asked him "Do you ski?" And he said, "I snowboard" So then I joked (since the Olympics are right now in his supposed home country of Italy) that he could go to Turino, to the Olympics. And he kept thinking that I thought his name was Turino. He didn't understand at all, every time I tried to explain it, he didn't get it. He kept telling us his name was Sebastiou, not Turino. Anyway, it was interesting conversation.

On the way there we ran into so much traffic! You wouldn't believe the amount of cars with license plates from the Netherlands and from France, from Czech Republic and from Poland...even some from Denmark. I mean, it was amazing to us, we've never seen it. Then we figured it out....they were travelers on their way to the Olympics!!!!!

Here is Ann-Marie playing with a big chunk of snow. Notice the paper sign in the background with the American flag on it? It says that they will accept American dollars in addition to Euro at this little coffee and cocoa shack. I think it also said that they speak English.  

Here is Ann-Marie on one of our hikes. Big snow on an icy mountain road. The roads were very slick and narrow, yet cars would just fly up and down there. Also we saw an old lady riding a bike down the hill at another part of this hike. She was probably about 70. We joked that she must have thighs of steel and figured that she'd be riding back up the hill later with a crate of beer on the back of the bike. 

Here is Brandon on the way to the Partnachklamm near the river Partnach. Klamm means gorge. Anyway, Ann-Marie and I have been there before and were going to take the fellas there but the klamm was closed. We hiked for 30-45 minutes to this site only to find it closed. We didn't really mind though, because it was just a nice view and a nice day. 

Jake and Ann-Marie on our hike near the partnachklamm. This was where Ann-Marie and I had our hot cocoa on another trip here. You can see the photo somewhere else on my blog. 

Here is where we stayed this weekend! At the Gastehaus Edelweiss in Oberau, very near Garmisch. We've stayed in Oberau (at the Forsthaus) before. This is very cozy, homey type of place, in which serves breakfast buffet in the mornings. There was a mini bar inside each room with reasonable prices on beer, candy and sodas, which was nice. This place had 7 rooms that slept different number of people. Brandon's room was a single (upstairs) and the rest of us had a triple (downstairs). The owners were absolutely lovely people who didn't speak much English at all so we really pushed our limits with German practice. They were very friendly but the only time we saw them was when we arrived (we rang the bell from outside---our reservations were made over the internet in advance) and then we saw them at breakfast. We didn't really see the other guests except at breakfast, too. 

I just love the mountains! This scene has a thick cloud with the mountain tops peaking out above the cloud. These are some of the short mountains. 

Look at what was just inside the door of the gastehaus. I really don't know what the big green thing is, but it made for an interesting conversation piece. At least, conversation amongst ourselves.  

Jake is checking out the TV stations in the Gastehaus. These were our beds for the weekend. Big square pillows and separate comforters (down) for everyone. Oh and a delicious candy on the pillows each day! 

Here is Ann-Marie, excited about her 'little bed that looks like a couch'. Brandon got his own room at the Gastehaus. It is hard to find rooms in Europe with two full size beds in one room. At least that is what we have found so far. 

Here is Brandon near the foggy mountains on the day we arrived. 

Here we were at the Olympic stadium where they do the big jumps. Basically, Jake, Ann-Marie and Brandon are standing where the athletes would land, I think. In the background is a hot air balloon and you can see there are skiiers up on that snowy clear patch. There was some kind of event. And German rap music. 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!! 

With Valentine's Day right around the corner...I thought I'd post a recent photo of Lover boy.  

The Bazaar with Heart in Bamberg.

We spent most of the weekend at the Bazaar! I posted some photos of some of the stuff we bought below. But we also got some wooden antique snow skis with poles (for decoration some day in our future...ya know...next to the woodstove -fireplace in the basement game room in the retirement house) and I got some gorgeous little wood carvings from Poland too....one chubby chef lady and a butcher man. I fell in love with them when I saw them. I ran out of batteries in the camera or else I would have taken a photo of them too. We also were able to get a few gifts, which I won't mention....and some cheeses from the Netherlands (which are delicious!). Neat stuff!

Apparently they hold this bazaar in Bamberg every year near Valentine's day and always call it the Bazaar with Heart. It is sponsored by the Spouses Club and they sell raffle tickets for prizes and make sure all the vendors are taken care of. Only military card holders can make purchases and of course they sell refreshments, which was nice because we got tired and thirsty! We went to the Bazaar so many times, by the last time we went on Sunday, Ann-Marie said, "oh no, not here again". Made us laugh. We said, "this is the LAST time".
They have these Bazaars at many of the Military posts here. We went to one last October in Kitzengen, next month there is one in Wurzburg, but we won't be going to that one.

These are some ceramic pots, hand painted from Portugal. If you are wondering...they say, "Potatos" "Onion" and "Garlic". The large one holds a 10 pound bag of potatoes. They have holes in the back for breathability. We just loved these! Jake was the one who talked me into these. 

Here is our new table from Italy. Small table for the telephone and stuff. 

Here is a chest that we bought at the bazaar. The vendor was selling stuff from India. We thought this was gorgeous and thought about it for a full 24 hours before going back to get it. 

Detail of handcarved chest. With a colorful camel that came with it for free. A gift to Ann-Marie from the salesman.