Van Essen Adventures

Alps, Castles, and Martha

Today - Saturday, January 19, 2008 we decided to head down to see Crazy King Ludwig II's famous castle - Neuschwanstein. It is about a 3.5 hour drive, and we were hoping the weather would be nice. We checked the forcast on the computer and decided to take the chance. The first hour of our drive we were in rain - but as we got closer, the rain stopped and low and behold we even saw the SUN! The pictures below are of our first glimpse of the ALPS - we were very excited! We told the kids to look out the windows and see the snow capped mountains.

As we kept driving and getting closer the sky got clearer and the scenery was just gorgeous.

We arrived, parked, and got our tickets to tour both the castles in the area. Schloss Hohenschwangau is where King Ludwig spent his young years - as his father, Maximilian II, rebuilt this palace from 12th century ruins.

The tour was very good. Shane prefered this castle - I think it was because the tour guide told of the secret passage/staircase between the bedrooms of the king and queen. The castle also had what we would refer to today as central heating. There were passage ways behind each of the tile stoves throughout the castle so that the wood could be brought in and the stoves stoked from behind, instead of from inside each room. Pretty clever I'd say. I think Shane thought it would have been neat to be a servant and get to explore these passages - or sit and listen behind a stove to what the king and his guests were talking about (okay maybe it's me that thinks it would have been neat sit and eavesdrop on the king!) Throughout the castle there were paintings on the walls. They were mostly done in Romanticism - there would be a war/battle scene with knights fighting with swords and arrows, however there was no blood painted in the entire scene. Quite interesting as I had not noticed such before. You learn something new everyday! Another interesting atribute of this castle was that King Ludwig II had stars, illuminated with hidden oil-lamps from the floor above, on the ceiling of his bedroom. The royal family recieved gifts from other important figures - some of these gifts were very elaborate. One however, was a loaf of bread and salt. Apparently it was a custom to give bread and salt as a housewarming gift. The actual loaf of bread from 116 years ago was in a case with the salt. Because the salt was in the case with the bread it prevents the bread from molding. However we are sure the bread is a bit hard and stale. This was our first tour inside an actual castle lived in by a king - so we found it to be quite interesting.

Next - Schloss Neuschwanstein (that little castle up on the hill).

We took a horse-drawn carriage ride up to the castle instead of a steep 30 minute walk....we knew the kids would enjoy the ride vs the walk! It was worth every cent!

The castle is very impressive! The veiw of the valley below, and the Alps on the other side are amazing!

The tour of this castle was also very interesting. Getting a glimpse into King Ludwig II's lavish lifestyle. This romantic medieval style castle was started in 1869 but was never completely finished. The king spent just over 170 days here before he died a mysterious death in 1886. Apparently there are 300 rooms in the castle, but only 21 are complete, these 21 however are lavishly complete! The view from the castle windows was simply amazing. I can see why the king loved this area.

Complimented by Martha Stewart

As we began our tour of Schloss Hohenschwangau this morning we had to enter the castle and then wait for the tour guide. When we first entered the waiting area I saw a lady sitting on a bench that looked just like Martha Stewart. I whispered over to Jer "doesn't she look like Martha Stewart?" and Jer looked over and replied "yes, she does." Well once the tour began 'Martha' asked a question and Jer and I looked at eachother and said "she doesn't just look like Martha Stewart - she IS Martha Stewart!" Her voice was unmistakable. We were both like wow - we're on a castle tour with Martha Stewart of all people. After the tour - she sort of disappeared and we went on our way - to Schloss Neuschwanstein for our next tour. And low and behold - there she was again. On this tour we overheard another couple say "that is her" but we didn't say anything more about it. After the tour we were in the souvenir shop looking at some souvenirs and books. All the people from our tour were also in there - so it was quite crowded. Jer headed off to purchase some things and I was keeping the kids under control. I ended up right next to guess who...Martha Stewart, and she said to me "How do you have such well behaved children?" I was a bit caught off guard being complimented by Martha Stewart - that I just answered "I'm not sure - I guess I just do." And Shaylee went on to say something about seeing a lot of castles and wanting to go home. And then Martha said to her - "some day you'll be glad you got to see all these castles." Well on our way out of the castle we had to walk through the castle kitchen - and there she was again taking pictures of the kitchen (what else would Martha Stewart being doing in a castle??)

Once we got home this evening Jer and I checked out her website and blog and confirmed that yes indeed it WAS Martha Stewart that we toured castles with today! We plan to watch her blog over the next week or so to see if she posts those pictures of the castle kitchen.

Hulla Balloo

Daddy and the kids were playing Hulla Balloo tonight after supper. If you have ever played - you know how crazy this game can get....but the kids sure do like it! I think its all the bouncing and jumping and twister like moves. It sure uses up their energy before bed.

Trying to share a space....watch out for daddy's toes! Winner - take a bow...can you guess?

Touch your nose to..... Silas was watching and clapping!

FYI - for those of you who are curious about our house - they are playing in the basement playroom. This is the only room with carpet, however the carpet is very flat and thin with no padding under it. I like this room because it has a door and I can shut it 1) to keep in the noise 2) to hide the mess they make with their toys!

Crafts

The girls love to do crafts - so this afternoon after they got home from school I pulled out the craft boxes. We just took down our Christmas decor (yes just this morning)- so now it's time for Valentine decor right??? We made some hearts to hang up around the house. They had fun with the glitter and the glue - why is it that they always prefer the things that make the most mess!! I decided to make a heart window hanger too - so I guess I got my fingers a bit sticky myself!

Silas - 8 months old

I just took a bunch of photos of Silas -so thought you would enjoy them too! He's 8 months old already. Each month I take pictures of him on his John Deere blanket - thus the reason why it is in almost every picture!

8 months old - isn't he handsome!

Trying to play Patty-Cake

Silas was eating - he gave me such a look....I think he looks a lot like Jer (when he was little) in this picture....you can also sort of see the bruise on his forehead here....its more yellow now.

Auto and Technik Museum - Sinsheim, Germany

First off - I find it quite unusual that we seem to have picked all the "S" spots in Germany to visit - either that or there just happens to be a lot of "S" named places here. Today (Saturday, January 12) we headed to Sinsheim to do something a bit different. We went to the Auto and Technik Museum (no castles or cathedrals there)! We thought the kids (and ourselves) would enjoy seeing planes, trains, and automobiles - as well as motorcylces, bicycles, tanks, and trucks. We saw our share - that is for sure! We got to climb in a real Concorde jet - suspended above the museum. As well as several other aircraft. Seeing inside the cockpit of these planes and realizing all the buttons, levers and controls used to pilot them - we have a great appreciation for those pilots who fly us back and forth over the ocean!

We also saw car after car after car - all makes and models - both American and European. Apparently the museum holds over 300! And thats just cars!

We didn't even begin to take pictures of them - but I (Kimber) did find one to be quite interesting. Apparently the one behind me (in picture) was made especially for Hitler.

A very special feature at the museum is the record breaking vehicle "The Blue Flame", the fastest rocket-propelled land vehicle of all times. It is a cross between a car and a rocket and it set a world-record with an average speed of 1001.671 km/h back in 1970.

One section of the museum is dedicated to military vehicles. We saw tanks, trucks, guns, shells, planes, as well as WWI and WWII documentation, newspaper articles (in German) I would have like to have read in English. So much history there right in front of us! One plane was a wreckage pulled from the ocean. Just knowing someone died in there - fighting the war - wow! Outside they had tanks. On one they had sections removed so you could see how thick the metal was. Very interesting.

Shane liked these rockets!

We also saw some unique vehicles....definately one of a kind!

A one wheeled vehicle - you ride inside the wheel! And a car turned snowmobile - that one looked like fun! You just hooked the skis right onto the wheels.

Shane also liked this plane with the sharp teeth painted on it! I suppose to scare the birds?!?

Taking a break (Silas was sleeping - can you tell?)

We had a good time and there is another Technik museum in Speyer. The one is Speyer has a Boeing 747, U-boat, 2 floor carousel built in 1850, and much more. We will surely check that museum out sometime too!

Bumps and Bruises

Sorry I don't have a picture - but getting a close up shot of ones forehead just doesn't always turn out. But Silas does have a nice bruise/bump on his forehead. He was sitting nicely on the rug - with a pillow behind him just in case he would decide to topple over. He's gotten really good at sitting lately - so not always do I have a pillow around him anymore. But there was one behind him today...however he was reaching nicely for a toy in front of him - lost his balance and bang - forehead to the tile. Not a pretty sound - thud. (So much for the pillow behind him) And then the cries - oh how he cried - I felt SOOOO bad for him. I'm not a fan of these hard tile floors here...nor is he obviously. So he has a little purple egg on his forehead. He is a boy - and I know he is bound to get more bumps and bruises as he grows up, learns to crawl, climb, walk and eventually play/wrestle with his siblings (and/or dad). Oh the joys of boys...or little girls like Shaylee too - as she seems to find her share as well.

Sleep Sweet Sleep

I believe we have finally found sleep! Everyone seems to be back on track - it took a bit....but no more 1am icecream socials here!

Odd hours

Just another jetlag update. We are finding sleep - just at odd times. Shaylee fell asleep at the supper table tonight. I finally let her off her chair before she fell off. She immediately fell asleep on the couch. I tried waking her up a bit later - but she was out. So I put her up to bed. Hoping she would sleep through - but she didn't. She was awake at 1 am - asking for breakfast! Jer was up too - so he got her something to eat - since he was again eating cake and icecream....what else is there to do at 1am! Syd put herself to bed early - but fortunately she slept through. We can't really do anything about the jetlag but get through it.

Update on the Jetlag

Well our sleep free day on Sunday DID NOT help the jetlag! It did however make for a very crabby family. Here is the scoop...Shane did sleep through - and he had to attend school this morning - so I guess that was good. Shaylee woke up around 1am - and had a time getting back to sleep. She basically wandered around the house for a few hours. Syd also woke up - but went back to bed without too many issues. Jeremy was awake from 12:20 to 5:11...just in time to finally fall asleep before he needed to wake up and go to work! Needless to say he wasn't very happy! We have made it through today without naps again (except Silas...but his sleeping situation is another whole story in itself!!!)....so hopefully tonight we may find our long lost sleep! NEWS FLASH - I mentioned just seconds ago we made it through without naps today - and Shane comes downstairs and tells me both the girls are sleeping and are out cold - snoring! So off to wake them up!!!!! And we will keep you posted...

Speyer

Today (Sunday, Jan 6, 2008) we headed to Speyer in the afternoon. Mostly just to get out of the house since we were suffering from jetlag (see previous post). Upon entering Speyer we were amazed by the amount of people there - and were wondering what special event was going on. We found a parking spot and then walked toward the cathedral.

Kimber and kids with the Kaiserdom Cathedral in the background.

Swimming through the SEA of people!

Apparently people were just out enjoying the nice weather - and the final day of the Speyer Christmas Market. All the shops along Maximilian Strasse were open as well and with reduced prices - so most people were shopping...which is usually unheard of on a Sunday (most everything is usually closed on Sunday).

The first time we visited Speyer it was this fall and at night - so we enjoyed being there during daylight this time. We took in a few more churches as well. It is so neat to see the differences in the architecture of each church - depending on when it was built etc....(I'm sure the kids think so too!!!!)

This one is a Gothic style Protestant church. A statue of Martin Luther is in the entry. Several of the stained glass windows also portray Luther.

JETLAG

We have returned to Germany - and are now suffering from JETLAG! Friday we crashed in the afternoon - all taking naps. We went to bed a bit later thinking we'd all be okay - however that wasn't the case. At 2 am Silas finally decided to go to sleep and I declared myself off duty - so Jer was awake with Shaylee and Sydney for a few early hours. Then Saturday we slept in and then tried to stay awak all day. But Shaylee crashed in the chair about 5pm and Silas too was caught napping out of schedule on the living room floor.

Shaylee was then awake from 10pm until 3am....I was up with her for awhile (along with Silas) - but once again declared myself off duty and Jer was awake anyway - so he went downstairs with Shaylee, and Syd and Shane joined him....I found out this morning (8am) that the 4 of them enjoyed cake and icecream at 3 in the morning!! I wasn't too upset - as I at last had found some sleep. So today (Sunday) we got up and headed to church. Then we declared it a sleep free day - as we all wanted to stay awake so we'd be tired enough to all sleep all night (we have yet to see if this will work). After church and dinner we went for a family bike ride in the cool fresh air. Silas fell asleep in the carrier - and Shaylee was just about to - but we woke her up. We then decided to head to Speyer (just to once again be outside and walking and doing things instead of indoors wanting to be napping). On the way Shaylee again tried to fall asleep - but we kept waking her up....(mean parents aren't we). We didn't even let her ride in the stroller because we wanted her to walk and stay awake. At one point I did put her in the stroller - but immediately she was dozing off - so out she came again - no sleep for you girl! On the way home from Speyer we were playing the radio VERY LOUD, and kept the interior lights on and kept yelling at the kids to WAKE UP - no one was going to fall asleep! Once home we ate some supper and it seemed like the kids had gotten their second wind. We played a game (Create-It) with Legos. Now we are counting down until we all can crawl into our beds and hopefully SLEEP. I will let you know Monday morning if our sleep free Sunday really worked!