Wine fest - Wiesbaden and Rudesheim

Updates on our life that don't include fun exploring:

• I hit my limit and had a minor meltdown....poor Sam (he deserves a best hubs award).  We're on day 37 of being in the hotel with no end in sight.
• It happened, the limit being beaten to death  hit, somewhere in between our credit card getting declined by a cashier who started humming the Jaws theme song while I tried the card again (jerk), and getting lost for 20 minutes driving around downtown Wiesbaden.  Don't worry, after speaking with an agent on the phone I found out it was declined because there was "too much activity at AAFES (Army stores found on post) locations in Germany" (shocker!!!!!) 
• Or maybe it was the 5 minute video chat with an old friend running around to get her kiddos ready to run out the door in an oh-so-familiar-house that I spent hours in during Sam's deployment.  Or the video messages from my sister and her adorable triplets that I'm missing grow-up every second that goes by...or the fact that my mother is not feeling well and I can't be there to comfort her (pray for her and send good vibes, please).  
• We're on week 5 of being stuck in this hotel room because our first request for getting off post housing was denied (15 days later).  After Sam appealed the denial and spoke to various important people getting no real sympathy, we are on day 8 of the appeal.  Maybe this one will come back on day 14, so we can go ahead and submit our third and final appeal.  
• I'm tired of wearing the same clothing and want to burn them all  give them to Goodwill.  In case you were wondering, we're on week 8 of being in the same clothes because we decided to visit family and friends before our departure.  Sorry you are seeing the same dress in the photos below for the 18th zillionth time.
• The contents of our whole house are sitting in a storage facility in Germany, and we can't have it because we're homeless.  On the upside, when we do get a home we'll get our stuff quickly.
• I haven't done a DIY project in I don't even know how long, and that is quite possibly why I'm going crazy.
• I'm still awaiting to hear back from potential job opportunities and am working on writing up and submitting manuscripts from my fellowship.  
• We're still working with Emma and her socialization.  She growls at dogs on walks and turns into a zombie from The Walking Dead (We've been catching up and are on season 3 now, it's sooo good).  I know it's because she doesn't want any dog trying to steal her amazing owners, but I'm not sure if the Germans understand her zombie talk.  So, now we're on with attempt number 503 that will involve lots of nice talk and treats when she sees other dogs coming.  Sam is not, and never was, optimistic.  I'll keep you posted.  
• We've met some pretty good friends and enjoyed celebrating my birthday...almost to 30, yikes!  But today I was asked if I was here as a child or spouse, so that's a good thing, right?

On with the exploring, since that's why you come to this blog to read look-at-pictures:


Meet our new city!  Isn't the church beautiful?  This is the Market Church and pictures don't even come close to showing its beauty.  Every time I look at it I feel like it doesn't belong.

Here it is at night.

This is a beautiful park located downtown.

This building is actually a casino.  Apparently everyone gets super dressed up to gamble.

Can't get much more perfect.  

Wine fest in Wiesbaden started last week.  The Rhine is known for it's Riesling.  We probably tasted 30 plus types of Rieslings within the past week.  Everyone sits around and drinks wine while eating lots of good food.  Be on the look out for a post on all the good foods we've tried since we arrived.

There's that church again.  Do you see the Buckeye?  He just finished the Iron Man....craziness!

We went out to get drinks at the wine fest on my bday night.  

We also took a 30 minute train ride to Rudesheim for their wine fest.  We went along with some new friends we made.  The Rudesheim wine fest was much smaller, but the city is along the Rhine river and surrounded by vineyards.

They have a sky-lift that takes you over the vineyards and gives an excellent view of the river.

Meet Germania.  She was built after the Franco-Prussian war to unite all of Germany.

My new friend, who is also from GA!  Anybody know her?  The only problem is she made the mistake decided to go to Auburn instead of Georgia.  We're still figuring out how this friendship will work.

Next we took about a mile hike through the woods where we did a little bit of UGA - Auburn trash talk while looking for wild life.

Then we took a lift down the other side of the mountain.  

Look at this amazing view!

The final part of the tour was a boat ride on the Rhine.  

This is mouse tower.  So tiny!

Friends!

The guys doing some window shopping on the busiest, tiniest street in Germany.

Here's a video of us finishing the day at a German restaurant.  Enjoy!

XO,

Michelle 

Trier

This past weekend was our first four day weekend.  Since we're still in a housing war with on-post housing, we decided to do only day trips.  It was actually nice because Friday felt like one of the first normal days since Sam's return from deployment...except we were in Germany instead of Clarksvegas.   We woke up leisurely, did a few errands on post, and then went to the gym (It was a GTL kinda day without the T because let's be honest, Sam does NOT tan).  We ended the night at wine fest in Wiesbaden and met a few of Sam's new co-workers.  That was a TON of fun, and I will post more on wine fest later, since it's currently still going on...10 whole days, can you believe it!?!?!  And it just so happens to be my birthday week.  I think they knew I was coming, don't you?

Anyhow, we decided to take a trip to Trier.  We met up with friends from C-bus that are stationed in K-town.  It was nice to see faces we knew from America.  Actually, the connection is unreal how we know them.  ROTC--> OBC--> Germany!  It was also nice because she is a great planner and we just showed up, score!

Trier is the oldest city in Germany.  It was quaint and cute.  We enjoyed looking at the architecture of the Romans and visiting the oldest cathedral in Germany.

Here is Trierer Dom.  Constantine tore down the Palace of Helen in AD 330 and built a church.  It burned down in 336, and an even larger church was built.  It is beautiful, and we both agree it is nicer than Notre Dame.  I know what you're thinking, no, we didn't happen to make it on time for mass at this cathedral.

The tour guide spent a lot of time explaining the detail here.  All I can remember is that Abraham is on the far bottom right and the angel is to his left.

I'm not sure if the pictures below will do the cathedral any justice, but here are a few.

[This pic will be referred to later in the post]

Trierer Dom is known for having the Holy Robe relic.  You can find more information about the genuineness of the Holy Robe on the cathedral's website here, but in any case it was a beautiful moment to be involved in prayer in front of the wooden shrine that holds it.  A priest read prayers, while a woman sang beautifully next to him.  Unfortunately, I didn't feel comfortable taking pictures during prayer, so here is what the seamless Robe and shrine look like.

The Robe lies in an area behind the wall that is lit up (check out the light from afar in the first picture inside the chapel earlier in the post).  You can see inside at the top through a hole that is surrounded by angels in the clouds and looks like you're entering heaven.

Sam's grandmother passed away this past week, so we lit a candle in her name and prayed.  We were sad to not be home with family but happy to know she is living all the things we have seen in the form of sculptures and paintings in the past few weeks. We miss you O'ma.

Next, we visited what remains of the Roman bath that Constantine built.  Here is the foot of a statue of Constantine..it must have been gigantic, right?

This is what is left of the bath.  In the middle ages they left this part standing, so it could be used as a wall, and the rest of the bath was covered by a factory.  After the WWII bombings, it was one of the only structure standing.

Look how detailed they were with laying the bricks.

This is the wall built in the middle ages.  There is no detail or pattern as to what bricks were laid compared to the Romans' masonry.

We are inside what would have been the bath.  Where we are standing was the hot bath, and behind us would have been the cooler baths of varying temperatures.

This is beneath the baths where the workers spent most of their time.

 Here is one last structure left by the Romans.  It is one of the city gates.  I love the Roman style windows, don't you?

XO,

Michelle