Lamby!

Good things come in small packages! This past week, I went to the post office, and to my delight had a package from my friends Pat and Lynn.

Not only was there chocolate (yum!) and a book (food for thought), but there was also a special gift! When I was in Korea, I would often visit my friends, Pat and Lynn and their daugther, Adeline. Adeline had a very cute stuffed sheep that I would play with (yes, I am 31 years old!) At one point, Lynn told me, "Just take the sheep, Christie. Adeline doesn't play w/ it anyway." But I couldn't take a sheep away from a 1 year old, even if she (both Adeline and the sheep) was very cute.

So imagine my surprise when the sheep (whom I have since named, Lamby) arrived in the package from Lynn and Pat last week!



Lamby came to work w/ me a few days last week and is going to the big desert w/ me in a few weeks. Look for updates of her travels!

Thanks, Pat, Lynn, Adeline and Camile!

Picture of the day

Results of a storm or aliens?

Or....aliens masquerading as a storm?

Paris and Disneyland!

Over Memorial Day weekend, I made my first trip to Paris! There's a wonderful high speed (up to 230 mpd) train that travels from Kaiserslautern to Paris and only takes 2 1/2 hours. It's definitely the way to travel!

Keep in mind, I don't speak ANY French. I also had a cold and laryngitis (lost my voice), so really couldn't speak at all. I think the French people took pity on me (and didn't know what language I was trying to whisper in!)

Below are pictures of the Louvre. My hotel was about 1/2 mile away from it. I was amazed at the size of the building!



My goal was to see the Mona Lisa, which is soon discovered was much smaller than I thought it would be.



I walked for about 10 minutes through the building before I reached the correct room!


Next, I was off to Notre Dame Cathedral. Along the way I traveled beside the Seine River,




And, of course, I had to stop off at Starbucks!



Finally I reached Notre Dame!




The inside of the church was incredible.




This screen was hand-carved depicting scenes from the Bible.




I was able to go to the international Mass in Notre Dame on Sunday morning. Portions of it were in French, English and Spanish. The bulletin, thankfully, had all the readings in several languages, including English!


I also had a chance to see Arc d' Triumph




and the Eiffel Tower.




I'll have to ride to the top of the Tower during my next visit!


Then I was off to Paris Disneyland and meet with my friends K and E and their two children N and e who came in from England.




We stayed in the Davey Crockett resort which had cute cabins. Although, I have to say, the cabins didn't feel so 'cute' when a thunderstorm with high winds occurred!

I loved seeing e and N experience Disney and the characters for the first time. We even had the chance to go to a character dinner!




Even the adults were speechless!




Thanks so much for a great trip, K, E, N and e!

Our final stop, Prague, Czech Republic!

At about 10pm, we reached Prague by train. Unlike in Vienna and Buadpest, we had some initial currency and metro difficulties. In Buadpest, we simply took money out of the ATMs without difficulty (Vienna uses the Euro, which Germany also uses, so money wasn't a problem there). When I attempted to take the equivalent of $50 out in Prague, I got one bill back worth $50. Unfortuantely, the machines to get metro passes only accepted coins. So there was a bit of an issue. We made it to our hotel by about 11pm.

We had been told that we needed to see the Charles Bridge but that it was extremely crowded during the day. So we took a nice midnight metro ride and walk to the bridge. Sadly, our pictures didn't turn out too well.

Too early the next morning, we headed off to Prague Castle.

We saw the changing of the guard (Are they allowed to be smiling?!)




We saw the main Castle church, the St Vitus Cathedral




which, like most cathedrals, was very ornate inside.




We also visited the more quaint Basilica of St George. This is the best preserved church from the Romaneque period and was built in the 10th century.




We took a trip down the Golden Lane which preportedly looks like a set for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.



These buildings apparently housed the castle guards. Franz Kafka (think back to the story, Metamorphasis, in high school) also lived in one of the houses in 1916-1917.

Before exiting the Castle area, we climbed the Dalibor Tower. This was used to house prisoners in the 1600-1700s. Needless to say, I would not have wanted to be a prisoner here!




After fighting the crowds at Prague Castle for a few hours, we were very happy to find a Starbucks and get some caffeine! Jennie, I curse you for introducing me to mocha 10 years ago!




Bedrich Smetana, our great great great great uncle was a composer in the 1800s and is a very well known figure in the Czech Republic. There is a museum dedicated to him filled with letters and relics from his life.




The museum definitely helped put a face to the name.




The Bethlehem Chapel, pictured below, was built in the 14th century. Here, religious reformer Jan Hus, brought the mass to the common people as he began preaching in 'vulgar' Czech instead of Latin as demaned by the Catholic Church.




The apparent center of Prague's social life is Old Town Square. This area houses the Astronomical Clock.




It was built in the 13th century and was a technological wonder of the time. It tracks the time, phases of the Moon and path of the Sun.




As we were in Prague just two days before Easter, we were able to see their wonderful Easter Market and celebrations.

They had many stands selling food and




Easter Eggs (yes, there were small painted eggs for sale also),




as well as stage performers (with the backdrop of a beautiful church!)




We capped off our night in Prague and our final day of our trip with a visit to the Hard Rock Cafe.




Yes, I am really drinking an alcoholic beverage (but it doesn't taste like alcohol!)


Jennie and Jackie, thanks for a great trip! Come back soon!

Vienna!

After our time in Hungary (see previous post), we sped off to Vienna, Austria!

One of our first stops was to Hotel and Cafe Sacher,

Home of the famous Sacher Torte!

Lest you think this is all we ate, I assure you, we brought plenty of snacks. We needed the energy to help with our planning/map reading!

Close by, was the famous Opera House

where apparently you are not allowed to camp!

We then journeyed to Albertina Platz which houses the original quarters of Duke Albert and his wife.




On one corner of this square is an exhibition about the dangers of power. However, we discovered it was being remodeled.




The Kaisergruft Church was our next stop. The crypt of this church is the final resting place for at least 138 members of the Habsburg family. The tombs vary from the very elaborate




to the more simplistic coffin of Franz Josef.




We then moved on to the gigantic Stephansdom (St Stephen's Cathedral).




Initially constructed in the Middle Ages, it has been considered a spiritual focus of the Viennese people and is considered a symbol of endurance. It has undergone many periods of reconstruction due to damage by the Turks, the Napoleonic French and the Allies.

Inside was an incredible display of Gothic and baroque works!




No visit to Vienna would be complete without a trip to the Hofburg which was the Imperial Palace of the Habsburg dynasty (sorry about the dark picture!).




We toured portions of the Palace, saw the crowns of the Holy Roman Emporers and learned much about the life of Sisi (Emperess Elizabeth). Apparently Sisi did not like the confines of being an Emperess!

After a long day, we relaxed at the Prader Amusement Park! We took a trip on the Riesenrad (Ferris Wheel) and enjoyed the sites.




The next morning, we woke bright and early to see the famous Lipizzaner Horses (famous white horses).




Needless to say, Jennie was very happy!

Before we left Vienna, we needed to stop by Parliament,




the Rathaus,




and Wien (Vienna) University where we determined Jackie should go to school. (Good luck footing the bill Mr and Mrs Cain!)




After a whilrwind day and a half tour, we boarded the train and were off to Prague (next)!