Velburg Fasching Parade 2013

A few days ago, I told you all about Dietfurt's Chinese Fashing.

So, you get the gist of what this celebration is, yes? We all eat, and drink, and party until Lent comes along… and then we get our act together. Velburg's Fasching parade is no different, though we were without the Chinese influence. I like the small town feel of these parades, though next year I might try a bigger city.

I especially like the fact that I can walk home in Velburg. This has its advantages.

The afternoon of the parade, people could be seen wandering into town, and parking became scarce in our little village.

People line the streets, waiting for the parade

This parade was not as crowded as Dietfurt, but that doesn't mean we didn't have just as much fun. In fact, if you're a little leery of crowds or have smaller children, then this might be the right celebration for you. Almost all of our neighbors were there, and a lot of them dressed for the occasion.

Our neighbors dressed for Fasching

The party began with a band, and this funny "detour" sign:

Many of our parade walkers joined the crowd in drinking… while still in the parade!

All of the floats had cup holders for the participants, and they definitely weren't holding apple juice…

As with other parades, candy and popcorn were passed around. Along with mixed drinks and mini bottles of alcohol.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Germans know how to have a good time. Pretty sure my facial expression matched this guy's:

The parade held the usual cast of characters, along with a few fun surprises. These Angry Birds used their slingshot to fling treats into the crowd:

This dude was a wee bit scary:

Even Santa made a visit!

The party was great! After, as we headed home for the night, I snuck a quick peek behind me…

I feel kinda bad for whoever had to clean that mess in the morning, but you can definitely tell that a good time was had by all!

I'll be back soon peeps, with tales from my trip to Venice this week. Do any of you have recommendations of sights to see?

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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Back to the "Broken" Castle

I love Germany!

Let me just say that again… I LOVE Germany!

I love that there are walking paths all around our town. I love that I can walk into town anytime I want, and go grocery shopping or out to dinner or whatever. I love the food. I love the scenery. I love the people. I really love the travel opportunities.

And I absolutely love the fact that we have our very own broken castle. Since today was sunny and warm and absolutely gorgeous, Hubs and I (and my bread baker, Jen!) took a stroll up the paths and enjoyed a picnic at the top.

Beautiful, isn't it?

I thought so too.

This was a perfect way to spend my Sunday afternoon. Now the Hubs is enjoying a nap, and I'm about to start cooking dinner (my creamy onion soup, so delish!). We'll share our meal, some conversation, maybe watch a show or walk the dog…

We are truly blessed.

I hope you're having a fabulous Sunday too! I'm also working on a new recipe post I think you're really going to like… stay tuned, it will be here this week!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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The Broken Castle

Hubs and I are so excited to explore Europe whilst being stationed here. We’re starting this adventure by learning as much as we can about our local area first.

This past weekend, we hiked around Velburg with several of our neighbors. The weather is fantastic and the views are beautiful.  We even have our very own “broken” castle (as my precocious little neighbor told me). Though there are castles all around Europe, I wanted to explore here first, in the place where we will live. Castle Velberg is easily visible on the hillside, and one of the first sights I noticed driving in to town, so I was very excited to see it.

I was also worried I'd miss the fall foliage this year, but... I didn't! Check out the views from our hikes: 

The path near our home, and a shortcut through the woods

We started our weekend with an easy local hike, accompanied by our sponsor and his family. I'll be talking more about sponsors soon, in my coming OCONUS PCS posts. But I'll tell you a secret... we already copped the best one. So you might have to settle for second best, haha. We traveled off the beaten path for a bit (translation: we shlepped it through the woods), but that's where all the best pictures are!

Sunlight through the trees

On Sunday morning, the beautiful weather tempted us outside again. So off we went! This time, toward the broken castle with another of our neighbors. Have I mentioned how fantastic and friendly everyone is here in Germany?

I know the sky is a little grey in the picture below, but I've noticed something about our local weather. In the morning, there are clouds, but often they move off in the afternoon. But by evening, it could be raining again, so you gotta catch the sun while you can. Or, you can just adopt the German way, and be outside regardless of a little rain. This is going to be my approach. When you've been stationed in the desert so long, you really learn to appreciate various weather moods. Besides, what's a little rain? Toss on a slicker and some wellies, and you're good to go.

Velberg Church

The Hubs and I walked through town first, toward the trailhead, though we could have easily taken any number of paths. This is one of my favorite things so far about Germany. There are sidewalks and trails and paths everywhere. I already know I will sorely miss those things when we're stationed stateside someday. 

Trailhead to the "broken" castle 

The climb isn't too steep, at least the direction we took. Luckily, we had a new friend to help guide us on our way and point out the spectacular viewpoints. And, he didn't even mind my stopping every few feet to take more photos.

The hike is a nice weekend morning trek, only a mile or so from the trailhead. At the top, the ruins of Castle Velberg await.

Ruins of Castle Velberg 

We spent some time looking over the view, which was AMAZING. We also climbed the stairway to the topmost point of the castle. I get butterflies in my stomach when I'm high enough in the air, especially if it's open air. But the butterflies were totally worth it.

One of many views from the top 

On the way down, I decided to try my hand at a little HDR photography. I haven't practiced much, but this seemed like a great place for a little experiment. What do you think of it?

Please be gentle.

Castle door (HDR)

As the day wore on, I knew we'd have to leave sometime. The hike to the bottom was just as beautiful. I love the color change in the trees. This particular spot left me breathless. The men moved on whilst I spent a good 10 minutes here with my camera. I think next fall, I'll take a picnic right to this spot and just absorb the atmosphere for a few hours.

As evening fell, the rain came with it. Luckily, we were already done with our hike and had proceeded onward to the last adventure of the weekend... gelato!

So, so good.

Like, practically a religious experience.

The shop is actually closing for the season, so I'm glad we could taste it before then. But now I'm going to dream about it for the rest of the winter! Guess what I ordered...

Spaghetti Eis.

Doesn't sound like ice cream, does it? Sounds like dinner. But it's not! It really is gelato, I promise. However, I'm going to leave you wondering exactly what Spaghetti Eis is until our next meeting.

Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! (yes, this is my evil villain laugh)

Happy guessing, my friends! I'll be back soon with pictures and an explanation of exactly what Spaghetti Eis is. If you're desperate, you could always try Google, but that kind of takes the fun out of it. Ciao!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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A New Hometown (Again!)

After several busy weeks, the Hubs and I are finally settling into our new home. Our HHG (household goods) haven’t yet arrived, and neither has our vehicle. However, we’ve made some great new friends who are showing us the ropes. Thanks to them, our fridge is full, we have some loaner furniture and appliances from ACS, and we even have a borrowed car to get around. We’ve also tasted some of the amazing cuisine in the area (my favorite part, of course!).

There will be lots of posts coming over the next few weeks, as I get my rhythm back after this several months moving process. For now, I’d like to share some pictures of our new hometown. We love it here, and I hope you enjoy these photos and the stories that go with them.

This first shot is a panoramic of where we'll be living for the next few years... can you believe it?! Ha, me either! We love the countryside and the picturesque villages and (of course) the castles. We were surprised to be offered housing so quickly, with no wait whatsoever. I know this is often not the case, so we were very lucky.

The view from my kitchen window

Government-leased housing in Hohenfels

 We were also told that German housing is quite small, which was definitely not the case here either. I can't speak for other posts in Germany, but Hohenfels housing is roomy. Four floors, large bedrooms, and we even have a good-sized backyard. Before moving, I thought we needed to downsize, but instead I'll be purchasing furniture to fill the extra spaces (we'll get more in-depth on that topic later!).




In these first weeks, Hubs and I have explored our new town on foot. Almost everything we need is right at our fingertips. Grocery stores, bakeries, meat markets, restaurants... all that and more within easy walking distance.

Walking through one of the two remaining towers in Velburg

If you're a first timer here, I recommend signing up for the Hallo Hohenfels class offered by ACS. Not only is the instructor fantastic, but we toured the towns of Velburg, Parsberg, and Regensburg. I'm no expert (obviously), but the class helped settle some of my nerves about living in a foreign country. Plus,  it's fun!

Downtown area in Velberg

Almost every the night, the Hubs and I take a nice walk either around town or through the countryside. I love walking to the bakery and picking up a fresh baguette to serve with dinner.

Left: Local bakery Right: Hotel and restaurant 

Every downtown area I've seen so far is full of bold color and beautiful architecture. After a few quick visits, we were brave enough to explore the rest of town. What did we discover? The natives are friendly! You'd be surprised how far a smile will take you, despite language barriers. Everyone waves and says hello as we move down the streets. Some stop and chat, in a mixture of German and English. Sometimes we speak in charades, but it works. I'm excited to continue my language education so I can communicate even better (Hint: ACS often offers language lessons as well!).

Views in town 

Fall colors are all over town 

This past weekend, the weather was fantastic. Sunny skies with puffy white clouds, crisp air still warm enough for lightweight long sleeves...

The Hubs and I took advantage and hiked to the ruins above town. Or, as one my neighbors' kids seriously informed me, it's the "broken castle". You gotta love it!!

I'll be posting pictures of that hike soon, so stay tuned. The scenery was fab! In the meantime, here's one last pic from our town exploration. I couldn't resist this fella.

Random cat in a window 

I'll be back soon, peeps. I'm so happy to be connected again, I've missed you!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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