Sorry we were gone for so long...

First I want to say I am sorry for not blogging in forever! Matt was away on TDY (basically a business trip) for two weeks so I didn't venture out of the area too much. Today's blog will have a lot of stuff in it since I was waiting to do one larger post. First.. Matt and I went to Zell to find the German equivalent of a Walmart (although it is much nicer) called Globus. On the way..our TomTom took us the scenic route..we ended up driving through the vineyards of Zell as they were harvesting them! I managed to get a quick shot out the window of the tractors carting the grapes away.

After we went to Globus we decided to head to Spangdahlem AFB to do our grocery shopping and ended up seeing this cool guy..

He is made out of hay bales that were painted to advertise some sort of festival or party in this town. I thought he was cute so I made Matt pull over so I could take a picture. I am sure he LOVES when I make him do that! lol

We recently (3 weeks or so ago) got all of our household goods delivered and are still in the process of unpacking. It seems that it is taking us longer this time because we end up exploring Germany on the weekends and think our unpacking can wait! lol Here is a picture of the moving trucks that delivered our good and how happy Penny was to FINALLY have her bed back!

Today 9/24/2011 we decided to go visit a castle in the area named Burg Eltz..which roughly translates into Eltz Castle. It was a beautiful day so we chose to walk the 800 m ( 1/2 mile) to the bottom and take the tour inside. Unfortunately they do not want you to take pictures inside (and our guide was watching us like a hawk) so I didnt get too many (you know the rebel that I am I had to break the rules just a little!)  They had a tour in English so we were able to hear and actually understand the history  behind the castle. To sum it up..Eltz Castle was made up of three separate living quarters of the Eltz family. The castle is still owned by the family today (the 33rd generation) and is maintained by the price of admission. They were working on restoring the roof while we were there so there was some scafolding and tarps that obstructed the outside view of the castle. We were able to see paintings from the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries as well as steins, tapestries, baroque furniture, and the only remaining painted bed from the renaissance period in all of Germany. I will start with a professional photo of the castle so you can see what it looks like under the scafolding.

Now for my pictures!

Matt and I starting the walk from the parking lot

Sanctuary on the way

There was a stop along the way where you could take pictures...beautiful

A castle ruin from the one war this family participated in

We could't figure out why but they had stations of the cross along the walk

Me walking down...which was WAY easier than the walk back UP!

Matt walking

SMILE!

Taking a picture before we cross the stone bridge into the bottom courtyard of the castle

View of the river from the bridge

Me in the window

Doors leading into the lower courtyard

View from the stables area that is now a place for wurst and coffee

View inside the main courtyard inside the castle's interior walls

View from a balcony

This is where I got sneaky..this was in the treasury room. No tour guide followed us in = I will take pictures until I get caught!

Swords and armor for a horse

JEWELRY! This was gold with emeralds diamonds and rubies

Turquoise and mother of pearl

Gold keys

These are gold boats...the one in the middle has very detailed armed soldiers on it

Me enjoying a cafe macchiato