Day 11 - Burg Windeck

After a my ham and cheese croissant at the Schaufler's, we headed off to the castle that was just up the hill from our old house.  This castle is called burg Windeck.  In Germany you will hear schloss and burg used. A schloss is more of a palace for aristocracy or royals.  They tend to be large and many are right in the middle of a town.  A burg is more of a castle for defense that would house more military.  Burg Windeck is a majestic sight rising out of the  foothills of the Black Forest.  It was started in 1130!    this is a drawing of what it probably looked like when it was at it's peak in the 1400's.

There is now a hotel and restaurant at the base of the old burg and this is where we had dinner on our first Christmas Eve in Germany in 2000.  It sits above many vineyards and there are walking trails behind it that go all through the mountains.  We spent many a weekend walking along these trails.  We enjoyed sitting on the park side and having a glass of wine as we watched the sunset.  We even gorged ourself on blackberries we found growing on time.  Needless to say, we have many lovely memories here and had to share this place with Jemma.  As we walked up to the ruin, we notice a gentleman coming out talking to a small group dressed as a knight.  We began talking to him and he even let Tom try on the helmet!

We went up into the ruin and walked all through.  Jemma of course found every nook and cranny!  She loved it and we loved watching her romp about!

Next we started the climb up into one of the tall towers!  It is such a wonderful view from the top.  You can see the cathedral in Stasbourg, France from here and the mountains of France.  You can see the beautiful twin towers of the church of our village and all of the area there and in Buehl.  Just breathtaking!  Jemma of course wanted to look through the telescope!  She always finds them!  We had fun showing her all the places that we knew!

Here I would like to say a special thank you to my dear friend, Marina, for sending me all these pictures. This is where the charger officially called it quits!  I have to say, it made it for a long time!  This was it's last picture of the trip!

This last picture is the gentleman locking the gate behind us because guess what?  It was really closed!!!! We had kind of whipped in there as the special tour group was leaving and got in before he had a chance to close it!  Tricky, aren't we????  :-)  I asked the gentleman if he had copies of the drawing that I could buy.  He told us that they didn't sell them, but he had a few extras at home that were colored by hand that he would give me.  We followed him down to his house and he gave me two of them for free!!!  I was so excited!  I love Germans!  They are so nice!!!  

Our last evening was spent at the Adler in Ottersweier where Marina had her birthday dinner.  It was a lovely meal spent with our other "family".  Jemma had to dance a little at the end and charmed a large group of older people sitting at the table by us.  One grandfatherly gentleman even gave her a 5 Euro bill!!  So sweet.  We had to say our good byes to Siggi and the girls this night.  It is always so sad to leave, but it is so nice to have friends so dear.  

Day 10 - Schloss Favorite, but not really!

We were back in our beloved Germany and had a delicious breakfast at the Schaufler's.  We headed off to Schloss Favorite which was built between 1710 and 1730.  It was the summer residence of the Margravine of Baden Baden.  The castle is famous for its gorgeous collection of Chinese porcelain and some of the first pieces of German porcelain.  One of my favorite things is in the kitchen there is a huge board with pictures of items you would need in a kitchen, like eggs, chickens, cows, etc...  This was for the servants since they couldn't read.  Very clever!  We listened to Jemma cry the whole way as she wanted a snack.  That was a ton of fun and Marina got this fabulous picture of the pout.

All was better when we got to the little cafe at the Schloss (the German word for palace).  She had a donut and was good to go!

We walked through the former carriage houses to get to the palace.  Jemma loved running back and forth and yelling to hear her echo!

As we walked to the door and pulled, it didn't open.  Guess what???  It is closed for winter and opens in March!!!!!!  Just great!  Not to everyone... do not go to Europe in winter!!  It appears that everything you would want to see opens then, plus you will have nicer weather!!!  This is what the palace looks like in spring when it is actually open!!!

Isn't it pretty?  Well, I guess that will be our next visit!  Siggi turns 60 in four years and thank goodness his birthday is in April!!!  So we let Jemma play some more in the carriage house.  

Notice the boots are off!

She adores her Daddy!  Look at that sweet face looking at him!

We headed back to the Schaufler's to hang out and eat dinner.  We just love them and Jemma was in love with the girls.  She and Isabel would watch Peter Pan clips on youtube and Jemma even convinced the girls to play dress up!!!

  

Well, she convinced the girls to dress up, but where are her clothes?!?  Oh well, she has a purse and in her world... that is all you really need!

Day 9 - Au revoir Paris

We woke up bright an early to a cold gray day.  As I said in a previous post, my one regret was that I did not have Jemma's portrait done.  My adorable husband agreed to go back into Paris for the morning to see if any artist were out.  As we walk across the street to the metro station in the sleety cold weather, I knew there would be no artist, but we thought we would just try.  We take the metro to the Eiffel Tower and there is nobody out at all.  Where was this when we waited in line forever!!  The wind would cut right through you, but we persevered and walked to the river bank where they sometimes sit.  No luck.  Jemma did get to go down by the Seine river and see the carousels again which made her happy!  We took a few more pictures of us with the Eiffel Tower, called it quits and headed to lunch.

Jemma started writing out her name in crayons and the whole family joined in!

We had ordered our last chocolate mousse at this little restaurant.  It came and wash horrible!  It was like it was burnt and dried!  Isn't that the way????

These next two pictures are special! On our second trip to the Eiffel Tower, Tom and I went in search for it in the evening.   I was wearing high heeled boots in order to be tres chic, so in other words, my feet were killing me!!  We walked and walked and could not find it!  I know that seems crazy because it is so big, but when you are down in the middle of all the buildings, you can't see it!  It had started misty raining and the BHW said, "That is it.  If it isn't around the next corner, we are going back to the hotel!" We turned the corner and BAM there is was!  Just like you see below except at night all lit up!!!  Whoooo hooooo!!!  We found a bench and just sat there for about an hour gazing at it, talking, and envying the beautiful apartments that surround that area.  We could see in the windows and you would just die over the paintings, tall ceilings, and trim work!!  It was magical and we call this "our view" of the Eiffel Tower.  Now we had the honor of showing it to our daughter!  

After lunch, Jemma had a quick nap on the metro as we went back to get our car.  She is like her mother in the fact that she can sleep about anywhere!

We headed back to Germany and unfortunately it was just as horrible going back in the snow as it was coming!  We had a lovely time though and had so many take your breath away moments.  It was wonderful to be able to share some of these things with Jemma! 

Au revoir Paris... I know we will come back one day!

Day 8 - Versailles, but not really...

We woke up ready to go to Versailles, France to see the beautiful palace of Louis XIV! I had been once before, but it was a quick trip as we didn't realize the enormity of Versailles.  The BHW really wanted to go and I was excited to see it again and I knew one fabulous four year old princess who would LOVE the Hall of Mirrors!  Off we went and easily found our way.  Hurray!  We pull up and I am surprised at how few cars are there, but it was pretty chilly and a Monday so I was thinking we would have the place to ourselves!  How cool is that?  We go up to the ticket door and it is locked.  Hmmmm... what is up with that.  I find two gentlemen and in my best French ask if they speak English.  One points to the other and he very unwillingly turns to speak to me.  I ask him where the ticket office is and he tells me it is all closed on Monday.  Then stupidly I say, "Is it Monday????"  I had no idea!  I was so mad at myself for this really stupid mistake!!!  I am a travel guru!  This was a total rookie mistake that I shouldn't have made!!!  Aaaarrrggghhhh!!!  The BHW was so kind and didn't get upset at all as he knew I was already kicking myself!  We took a few pictures in the entrance area and decided to head into the town for lunch.

We found a wonderful little restaurant with lots of ambiance!  I had the turkey normandy which was a turkey cutlet in a cream sauce with mushrooms, Jemma and Tom had pizza.  Flat Zachary thought it was a really cool little place.  They had some of the best Chocolate Mousse I have ever put in my mouth!  

We headed back to Paris and took the long route... darn those French and their horrible road signs!!!  We made it back and decided to go to Notre Dame and eat at the cafe across from there that I always seem to eat at!  Notre Dame is just a beautiful cathedral.  Jemma was just mesmerized.  There was a service going on and we just walked around, looked and answered Jemma's questions about God, Jesus and all that goes with that.  She is so darn interesting to talk to and asks the best questions!  She adores the nativity story and she was the one who first noticed the stations of Christ's life done on the walls.  She started telling us about what she saw... Mary on the donkey, Jesus born in the stable, angels singing... Then she said, "There's naughty King Herod.  What is that man doing to the baby next to him?"  Holy smoke!!!  It was a guard running a sword through a baby!!!  I am very honest with her about most things to a point.  We talked about how Herod wanted to be the only king and he didn't know exactly were Jesus was so he had a lot of the first born boy babies killed.  This did not sit well.  She starts saying in a loud voice, "I don't want to see those bad men anymore!!!" over and over.  We walked down past it and talked it over, but it was definite that we weren't going back there!  I was able to get some nice shots of the nativity and my favorite of her staring at the candles.  As we had to walk back by, she kept saying that she wasn't looking at those naughty men any more!!  Bless my baby's heart!  

We headed across the street to the Cafe Le Notre Dame where I always go.  I promise you, it was the same man that has been there since I went my first time in 2000!  It is amazing how much nicer everyone seems to be when you have a cute little girl with you!!!  He was absolutely charming!  This is the same man who I KNOW went over to the table of girls next to us and talked about us one time.  I know this because he tolerated us as we ordered, went over to the girls, said something to them, and they all turned to look at us and started laughing!  This same man spoke in beautiful English to Jemma, and even asked her to draw him a picture which he kept and put in his pocket when she was done!  Note to self, when going to Paris, take a small cute kid with you.  If you don't have one, borrow one!  Jemma even drew a picture for us that I am going to have framed.  It was her, Mommy, Daddy and the Eiffel Tower.  Can this kid be any cuter???  I think not!  Who needed the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles?  They had mirrors on the walls and she entertained herself while we had a lovely dinner of Croque Monsieur which is a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, but I promise you... it is the BEST ham and cheese sandwich you will ever eat in your life!  

I just want to point out the adorable dress she is wearing!  It is a pillowcase dress with an Eiffel Tower print all over it.  My wonderful Mother-in-law made it for her and has become a whiz at making these precious dresses!  I love them because she can wear them forever and in all seasons!  Jemma loves them because she would rather wear a dress than anything else.  Thank heaven for wonderful grandmas!  Jemma is lucky enough to have not one but three very special and talented grandmas!  Thanks Nana for learning how to make these dresses for us!