This is our second picture page (2005-2006).  Click on the camera next to the decription of the event to view our pictures. NOTE:  Click on View Slideshow to see all the pictures with comments.

We took a bus trip with several of our friends to the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia).  Our first stop was Karlsbad, or Karlovy Vary in the czech language. Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany in WWII and was controlled by Russia in the post-war communist era.  In 1989 the people peacefully demonstrated and convinced Russia to relinquish its control over Czechoslovakia without a battle (today that event is called the "Velvet Revolution").  In 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two countries, the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic. If you would have visited the elegant spa town of Karlsbad in the 18th and 19th centuries, you might have bumped into Mozart, Beethoven, Goethe or Peter the Great. In the 20's and 30's you might have seen Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford.  Karl Marx was also a frequent visitor and wrote part of Das Kapital while in Karlsbad. The warm mineral springs have been believed to be medicinal for many decades.....but check out Bill's face to see what he thinks about drinking the thermal springs water. To read more about the Czech Republic, click here.

Our second stop on the Czech Republic bus tour was Prague (Praha in Czech). It is the capital of the Czech Republic. It is an incredibly beautiful city.  Many famous writers and artists lived in Prague.  The list includes Kafka, Mozart and Dvorak. The film of Mozart's life (Amedeus) was filmed in Prague. In the middle of the town square is the famous Astronomical Clock which dates back to the 15th century.  It not only displays the time but also the astrological positions of the moon and sun. A beautiful and famous Bridge (Charles Bridge) connects the city over the Moldau river.  Prague is famous for it's crystal.  Of course I had to buy some there....at a very reasonable price. Check out the pictures of Nikki and her friends before and after going out to the largest club in all of Eastern Europe while we were in Prague.

We next visited the concentration camp of Theresienstadt (Terezin) that was just outside of Prague. Although Theresienstadt was not an extermination camp, many Jewish prisoners died there from starvation and disease (only 1 in 8 prisoners left the camp alive). Many were shipped to Auschwitz from this camp. When we toured the camp, we were shown a propaganda film that had been made for the Red Cross by the Nazis. Unfortunately this film showed a happy life in Theresienstadt, so the Red Cross did not intervene on the prisoners behalf during the war.

On the way home from the Czech Republic, we stopped at the Christmas town of Seiffen.  This city is located in the Erzgebirge mountains.  This city was in the former East Germany and is famous for it's wood carvings and original Christmas decorations like smokers, nutcrackers and Christmas pyramids. It was snowing for our visit.  It seems so appropriate that we took a couple of pictures of the kids.

Frankfurt International School Christmas Ball.  The school had it's first formal dance in December.  Six of Nikki's friends came over to get ready for the dance.  Check out the pictures.

We decided the week before Christmas to take a trip to the famous Christmas Market Village of Nuremberg. Nuremberg is the site of the original Christmas Market and also of the famous Nuremberg Nazi trials following WWII.  It also had a fantastic castle that you can tour.  We made a short visit to the original medival city of Rothenburg while we were staying in Nuremberg. Rothenburg ob der Tauber has fantastic Gothic and Baroque architecture and an intact ancient city wall. This town is also home to the original store of Kathy Wohlfarth.  When you come to Germany, you will become acquainted with her Christmas stores that can be found throughout Germany. One specialty that can only be found in Rothenburg is a bakery treat called a schneeball (snowball).  It is layers of dough wrapped into a ball and dusted with sugar or cinnamon or dipped in chocolate. The other tradition at all Christmas Markets is to drink Gluhwein (mulled wine).  You can keep your cups after drinking your gluhwein.Both cities were wonderful to visit before Christmas and put us in the Christmas spirit.

Christmas 2005 in Germany.  We decorated our house with new things....all of our old stuff is in storage in the states. We spent Christmas Eve with our friends the Doedens.  We had a traditional goose dinner in a restaurant in Frankfurt and then went outside to the Romer Platz (Roman Square) to listen to the all the church bells ringing in downtown Frankfurt.  Our church, St. Mary's had a mass in english and a reception afterwards in the social hall. The reception included appetizers, desserts, beer, wine and juice. We socialized with other english speaking families during the reception. It was a great way to celebrate bringing in Christmas.

We had a great Christmas break and New Year's Eve.  We went sledding on top of the tallest mountain in our area--Der Feldberg.  Check out the pictures of us sledding at the Feldberg.  We also had a few friends over for New Year's Eve.  We went outside on a nearby hill to watch the fireworks going off in Frankfurt.  I think every house in Frankfurt was shooting off fireworks.  It was amazing to watch.  We wish everyone a Happy New Year, or as they say here "Guten Rutsch" (translation is have a good slide or transition into the New Year).

Michelle pointed out to me that we did not have any pictures of our house in Germany on the web site.  So when I realized that she was right, I took pictures and here they are.

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In February the girls had their "Ski Break".  During that time we went down to visit my first cousin Sepp who lives in Herrenberg.  Then we went down to stay a few days with my friends Heidi and Eric in Wildpoldsreid.  They live about 45 minutes from the castles Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau.  Neuschwanstein was the castle that was never completed by "Mad King Ludwig" before he mysteriously died.  It is also the castle that Walt Disney used to model his Cinderella castle in Disney world.  Both of the castles are beautiful and well worth the visit..

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We celebrated St. Patty's day at our church.  We have a church hall at St. Mary's in Liederbach where there was plenty of good company, beer and food for the evening.

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Bill and I celebrated our 20th anniversary on March 1st of this year (2006).  Last year we thought about traveling somewhere special to celebrate....well here we are in Gemany.  So we decided to go and have dinner in a castle.  We dined in the Schloss Kronberg.  We had a wonderful 5 course meal and sat listening to American music on a piano afterwards in the great hall.  What a great way to celebrate.

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