Germany

This is a massive cathedral in Cologne, Germany. You can pay 2,50 Euro and climb the 500 steps to the top, up this very narrow and very windy staircase. Every step was a turn and there was people in front of you and people behind you, we felt like cattle... but the view at the top was pretty spectacular. Cologne sits along the Rhine and at night, everything in the city is lit up in lights. We found a Hard Rock Cafe for dinner (yes, somehow Kurt knew it's exact location too) :)These were our previous landlords, Karl and Helga. Connie would join Helga in the kitchen to learn how to make schnitzel and many German desserts. Kurt would join up with Karl to practise his German and Karl's English (Connie and Helga would just smile and nod at each other). It was a great friendship and now that we've moved, we miss them dearly! This is Hochstein-Winnweiler, the town where we shared our first home together. Our house was a two-story brick home, built sometime before 1920. Everyone in the town spoke German and we were very far away from the American base, making for a long drive to work everyday for Kurt. In November, we decided to move closer to base and we moved to Mackenbach. In November, there was a wine festival in Bad Durkheim. Vendors line the streets selling wine, food and rides. Here, Kurt is at one of the meat vendors. We had a shrimp "flammkuchen" (like a pizza) and we bought a bottle of local wine to take home. We had a great time!

Italy - Aviano, Verona, Venice and the Dolomites

We went to Italy in October. For the first weekend, we stayed in an adorable, romantic villa in Treviso. It had the most beautiful gardens and a river in the yard. Then, we went to Aviano and stayed on base but made day trips to Verona, Venice and the Dolomites.

This is the "Arena", an ampitheatre in Verona where many Gladiator fights were held. It's construction was finished in 30 AD and it's the third largest arena in Italy (The collosseum in Rome is the largest).

All the red seats and carpeting are obviously renovations. The Arena is still used today to house events such as operas. It was very warm while we were there, so hopefully those operas are held in the evening when the sun isn't beating down so hot!

Kurt giving a "thumbs down" from the emporer's booth. :)

Piazza Bra, as seen from the top of the Arena. We did a little touring of the city, including a visit to Castlevecchio Museum which is a castle from 1350's, housing many sculptures and paintings from that era. We grabbed some gelato to cool down from the blazing sun, then went to dinner at the home of the Cordiolli family who live in Verona. These are friends of Kurt's family and they were such a blessing! Ana made the most amazing Italian meal of roast beef with oils and spices, pumpkin and sausage tortillini and rolls. It was such a treat and my mouth is watering just thinking of it!

We also went to Venice for a day. We didn't ride a gondola as they wanted 150 Euro for one hour!!! We took the ferry instead which was good for the entire day and we got to stop and get on and off at any port we wanted. Here, we are traveling the Canal Grande, which is the main passageway through Venice.

Connie at the Bridge of Sighs. We saw many more of the tourist hot spots including the Rialto Bridge, the Basilica de San Marco and Murano Island.

Kurt buying an oil painting of the Rialto Bridge from a local artist. This painting is now hanging in our living room. We also bought some local wine and Kurt bought me a beautiful, blue, Venitian glass necklace. We had dinner (seafood of course!) outside, along the Canal Grande at sunset... this was such a romantic little city!

Another day, we took a drive through the Dolomites, Italy's majestic section of the Alps on the northern border of the country. We went through Cortina d'Ampezzo, a beautiful skiing village high on the mountain, which hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics and movies such as "Cliffhanger". We were hoping to find a restaurant and have lunch here but nowhere in Italy seems to serve food before 7pm!