Went to Metzingen and Ramstein over the weekend

We drove over to an Outlet town this weekend. It was about 30 minutes from home in the town of Metzingen. This is a small town were the multiple outlet shops have settled. There were 50+ outlet stores located here, some of the American known stores included Levi, Fossil, Swatch, PUMA, NIKE, ADIDAS, Reebok, ESPRIT, Crocs, Oakley, Timberland to name a few..... the prices in some of the shops seemed reasonable but some were outrageous! The Crocs store had really good prices even with the conversion back to the dollar. There was a Marc O’Polo store that had a little bit of everything init including a brand called Mitch and Co (which is what I have called our family for many years).

It was late in the day and still a little cool so I think some shoppers had finished and called it a day. I say this because everyone that has talked about this place said it was always crazy busy and while there were lots of people milling around it not was not crazy busy. And we had no problems finding parking. We did not find any great bargains but we had a fun afternoon.

There is a river running through the area and it looks like they have redirected in to run through the town. They have made several park like areas between the shops and along the river. The river was running fast, probably due to the snow melt off in the near by hills and mountains. There were several eating places with lots of outdoor seating. We stopped at the KEIM’s Cafe and Snack and had pastries (sweet bites) for a late afternoon snack. WE walked away from the outlet store area into the original town center. It was quiet, quaint and these shops had closed up already. The outdoor eateries were still open and some locals seems to be gathering for their late afternoon beverage of choice.

We also went to Ramstein to see the PX/BX and Commissary. Everyone said it was the biggest and best in country. It is about a 2 hour drive so we got to see lots of country side along the way. We drove over the Rhine on a really cool suspended bridge, saw some of the Oklahoma type wind mills, got to see lots of plowed and planted fields, went through a wine/vineyard area with miles of vines along this hillside, drove past a John Deer plant and even and saw a few castles out in the distance. The weather along the way was a mix of everything. There was sunshine, rain and hail, snow and more rain!

When we got the the Air Base we found the Commissary first and it was like shopping in a Crest back home (a new Crest that is). There were some really good deals and lots to choose from. I think the selection was more than what we have access to in Stuttgart, but nothing that jumped out as must haves except that the Easter candy was on sale so we HAD to buy a FEW bags....

Then we headed over to the BX/PX. This place was a Mall. And a better place to spend the afternoon than the BX/PX we have in Stuttgart. There was a food court with 8-10 fast food places to select from. And there were many stores in the mall complementing the BX/PX. There was a mix of German but mostly English spoken here and as we walked the mall it felt like we were back in the States!

There was a movie theater with 4 auditoriums, they were playing a movie that Alan really would have liked to see but it was late enough in the day that it would have put us back home too late. So we headed over to the Harley shop to pick out our favorite. They had one just like I wanted in the shop; the Ultra Classic Electra Glide with all the extras! It would be so cool to ride around on the back roads of Europe and see the sights on this one. But we would have to have our rain gear packed because I am sure we would run into rain. Hey a girl can dream.

One thing nice about touring on Sunday is that the big trucks are not allowed on the roads on Sunday. Well most of them; if they were hauling perishable goods they can keep driving but all the rest were pulled into the truck stops and roadside pull offs waiting out the time until they could get back on the road. This left the road to the Sunday drivers.

Out on the open road there is no speed limit and we had a few fast porsches go by us (I guess saying “fast" porsche is kind of redundant). Purple car got up to about 130 kmph (80 mph which seemed so fast); she was getting passed by some but not all the traffic. Those porsches must have been doing some where near 170 kmph (about 100 mph). We did not however experience any whizzing past by us so fast that it startled us but perhaps this was due the the wet roads.

It was a fun weekend and we got to see more of the sites near our temporary home. Purple car did great but I think we took her to the limits as far as traveling away from Stuttgart; she is an old girl afterall. We definitely will go back to both places and maybe plan some stops along the way. I would like to see the castles close up and maybe visit a winery or two along the way. Maybe the next time we will plan an overnight and stay at the Hotel on Ramstein.

Out and About in My Neighborhood

Took a walk around the neighborhood tonight. Right down the street from the house I found the Rohr Ski Club. Of course it is 69 degrees and sunny but maybe we can figure out what they offer between now and the next snowfall. They have a web site and it looks like they plan trips... I also found a hair saloon just down the street the other direction, not sure if it is reasonable but I am due to a trim, so I might try it out.

With the weather being so nice the neighborhood kids have been out and our sidewalks are covered with chalk drawings, hop scotch boards and cute scribbles. It looks like Ryan has been here with me! I guess this is a universal pastime and I bet some of the chalk came in Easer baskets! I went down our STEEP hill but the BIG problem with this is what goes down must come back up. I was sucking wind by the time I got back up to the top. Going to have to work on that one; by summer I hope to be able to do it without a significant change in breathing patterns.

I then headed down a forest path that ran along side the road. Every few feet something would slither in the leaves and underbrush. I never saw anything but certainly was glad that I was on a well established trail and it was daylight. It has started staying light till about 8:00 now so evening walks will be on the schedule more frequently! The trees are starting to bud and soon the forest will be so much prettier. I am getting tired of looking at leafless trees!

Lots of people are out walking in our neighborhood, one lady in particular we see frequently walking her dog. She has a short spiky haircut, is probably in her late 60 maybe even 70’s. Her hair is what makes her stand out. It is white except for the colored patches of bright red, pink blue and green. Today it looked like she had dipped parts of her hair in the left over Easter egg dye! She smiled as we past each other; this is a first too. Most of the the other walker don’t even acknowledge that they are passing you but I got a smile this evening so I think she is starting to warm up to me!

Tonight I noticed that many of the neighbors are moving out doors. I saw several couples eating dinner on their balconies and some of the porches have been decorated for spring and the lawn and yard chairs are starting to show up. We need to get some chairs for our balcony! Am wishing we had known and could have brought over our chase, tables and love seat as they would have been perfect for our back porch and balcony.

And the flowers...maybe it is because it was such a snowy winter but it seems like there are more flowers here than back at home. Everywhere I look there are flowers. Right now it is mostly the early flowering bulbs and some pansies but based on the number of these I am seeing, my expectations are high for all the flower beds that I am seeing being worked.

And then there are the song birds. The evening air is filled with the sound of birds happily tending to their nests. I have never lived this close to such a large wooded area before so this is new to me. I have heard birds before, even gotten a BobWhite to call back to me (at Lake Eufaula) but never have I heard such a chorus of what seems like thousands of birds all singing their own song but blending into such wonderful sounds. Sure beats the 59th street car sounds (of course it wouldn’t take much to beat that)!

So spring in Germany has not really been explored beyond the streets in our neighborhood but we hope to be able to get out and see some more of Germany soon, but what I can see and do right here in my new front yard is enough to keep me intrigued and occupied for a while.

Easter Rainbow

Following a hail storm we had this beautiful rainbow and for awhile it was a double rainbow. (http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/lyrics/singarainbow.htm)





It looked like it ended in our backyard. It was closer than I have ever been to a rainbow~

Yawning is contagious - even THINKING about yawning is enough. After reading this fact, there is a 50% chance you will yawn. I did 3 times just writing this!

Flat Stanley came for a visit. We decked him out in German Lederhosen and gave him a passport for safe travels back home to Denver Colorado!