Spring and early Summer 2010

Well, it looks like summer has finally arrived in Baumholder, Germany. Yesterday and today has been 80's and sunny ~ with the same expected for the next 10 days. I am sooo glad. Just last week we were still dealing with highs in the low 50's. This did not make me very happy considering it's the middle of June ~ although all of my fam and friends back home have been dealing with hot, humid weather, which I'm sure would make me miserable, also. lol

I've noticed the past few days that the landscape is changing. When we first arrived we were greeted with beautiful lilac bushes filled with blossoms, red poppy~type flowers, beautiful yellow, and white, and purple blooms of all kinds. I didn't notice all of these fading away until I started seeing roses. They seem to bloom everywhere. Many reds, some yellows, white ones.... I have come to the conclusion that the weather and the soil here must be just perfect for them because they are in such an abundance here. Just yesterday I noticed though that many of these are yielding to the change in temperature and the decrease in rainfall. The fields and the hills, which had been springtime green are now more subdued. Still very beautiful to look at but different than a month ago, and even a week ago. I am already anxiously awaiting the burst of color that is sure to come when autumn hits. That's my favorite time of year anyhow, and with the view out of our 4th floor apartment it is sure to be spectacular. And then from there I look forward to seeing the town and mountains covered in a layer of snow. I believe that neither of these seasons will disappoint me in their splendor, considering the spring and summer views have been so breathtaking ~ like in a postcard.

We've had some opportunity to travel and sightsee already. We went to Idar Oberstein (only a 1/2 hour away) where there is a famous church called "The Church in the Rock". Now to actually reach the church it requires climbing steps (a lot of steep steps!) and then climbing a path (a very steep path!). I personally was not overly impressed with the church itself. The angle we approached it from it just looked like a church nestled against the mountain. (Now, we passed it in the car from a different angle the other day and I saw that it truly is built INTO the mountain. The only part that isn't in the mountain is the front facade.) Anyhow, to enter into the church you walk through a tunnel cut into the mountain to a wooden door that leads into the church itself. As I said, I was not overly impressed with this church. It was just a simple chapel and didn't have that sacred quiet that I love about some sanctuaries. But I am sure that the attraction to the building itself is because of how it was built into the mountain. From the church we journeyed on UP the mountain path to the castle ruins that are there. This path was very wide and well taken care and shaded by all the trees on the mountain with a nice breeze blowing, so if you are used to walking up steep hills for any extended period of time then I'm sure it's a pleasant walk through the woods. This was NOT a pleasant walk for me. LOL I am most certainly not used to climbing hills like the ones here. :D Well, I guess I will say that I wasn't at that point. I am definitely becoming more accustomed to them. The castle itself was neat. We weren't able to do a tour of it because there are only certain days that they do tours and that wasn't one of them, but there is a part of it that is always open to the public so we wandered through that part. I loved the doorways of this place. They had a huge, heavy wooden door that opened onto a...patio, i guess, which gave this spectacular sweeping view of the mountain and town beyond it. It was so picturesque looking through the framing of the doorway to the scenery beyond. Breathtaking.

We also took a day one weekend to go to an amusement park called Europa Park. I loved this park and this day. Rain was predicted (which is not unusual at all) so we packed our jackets and our umbrellas and headed out. God ended up blessing us with no rain and mid seventies and sunshine. It was a fabulous day to be out. The theme of the park is to bring all the countries of Europe together into one spot, so there was a section for Italy, there was a section for Greece, there was a French section, Germany, Netherlands, etc..., etc... It was fun to wander and see the different designs from each culture. And then, of course, there were the roller coasters and the rides, the Italian dinner we had, and the cotton candy on a stick that we all got. The only regret that I have was that we only went for the one day. The next time we go we will definately stay at a hotel and get two day passes. We missed so much of the park. Oh, yeah, the hotel for the park looked like ancient Roman ruins. It was very cool.

The girls and I all got to enjoy a day in Mainz, Germany. We went with ACS (army community services) on a group cultural outing. We took the bus to Idar Oberstein and from there got on the bonhof (train) to Mainz. That was a cool experience in and of itself. I always love taking the train places and would do it much more often if I had the time and the money. The first little bit we were together as a group and our guide gave us a tour and some history on the town itself then we broke for lunch. The girls and I chose (ok, Delanie and I chose ~ Dakotah is much more daring) to eat at Pizza Hut. It was soo good. A taste of home. :D Then we wandered around the large farmers market that was going on until it was time to meet back with the group. We met up with the group long enough to let our guide know that we would meet them back at the train station at the appointed time and then we were off to explore on our own. First thing we did (after continuing to drool over all the yummy fruits and vegetables at the farmers market) was to go into the Mainz Cathedral (or the Mainzer Dom). This is a massive Roman Catholic church that parts of it are 1000 years old. Now THIS sanctuary had that sacred quiet that I commeted I missed from the other church. It was so awe inspiring that there is no way I can explain the beauty and awesomeness of it ~ but believe me, it is impressive. I yearn to go back and sit in its pews and commune with my Lord. I don't believe that He is any more present in this church than he is in the church on the rock, or my living room couch, or on a dirt road leading through town, but I do feel like the peace of this church could definitely wash over me and settle my soul. It's similar to me in feel to sitting in a library, in a leather chair in some tucked away corner... that peace and solitude you get ~ but on a much larger scale. Somehow. lol I guess, suffice it to say, I was very impressed. :D After this, we wandered through a couple of clothing stores and eventually settled at an eis cafe (ice cream shop) for some cones before heading back to the bonhof. It was again another fabulous day where we were blessed with sunshine and warmth in spite of predictions of rain.

I guess I will end this here. I will try to update more frequently than I have up until this point. I'm sure with all the new experiences, sights, and people we are meeting I will have much more to blog about.