Amberg, Bayern

Random pics from Amberg


Stryker-Ann ... working (taking pictures at the Live Nativity)


Madge meets a new old friend (French Percheron)


Vaden working in the craft booth


Stryker-Ann, playing with Nancy and a new friend from Richmond


Wils, playing with same ...


Park before the gate


Gate into the city


Church at night


Christmas market at night

Christmas Greetings

... and a happy New Year!

2008 finds us ending our third year of life in Germany. It has been a good third year, as always it takes that long to get your feet under ones’ self after a big move. We find ourselves more at home in this different culture as new things are becoming our own traditions. Individually each one of us has found a spot to shine. Paul has begun playing with a Fife and Drum corps, across the boarder in Basel, Switzerland. All of the children continue to improve in their studies in the German school they attend. Vaden, 14, is a member of her school's Theatre group and made her début in a wonderfully written play about Kristellnacht (Night of Broken Glass - the night when hundreds of Jewish businesses and thousands of synagogues were destroyed, in November, 1938). She has also made a couple of student exchange trips to France and continues to be hard at work for an upcoming Ballet recital in April 2009. Stryker-Ann, 12, continues with her study of fencing and violin and has begun the study of music in school. Wils, 8, is an eager 2nd grader and doing well at what second grade boys do: playing Lego, running around outside with friends getting muddy, while also learning violin and making his début in a violin recital with “Oh Tannenbaum”.

Madge continues to learn more language every day and enjoy meeting all of the special people that are put in my path. Her first job is still “taxi mom”, but she is finding time to volunteer at the school to teach an afternoon a week, coaching field hockey or teaching contra dancing.

The picture above was taken on a bridge in Amberg, Germany. Paul is working on a mini-photo documentary of a Living Nativity in the Christmas market being conducted by volunteers. It was a wonderful experience as we observed, documented, and participated.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

on to Amberg, Germany

We traveling to Amberg, Germany this weekend to foto-docu a live nativity.

www.amberg-live.de/single.php3?liste=4&kamera=2
www.amberg-live.de/single.php3?liste=4&kamera=1

You can check out the weather and maybe even see us on this live feed.
So at 6pm (our time), 12 noon EST Saturday I'll find this camera and we will wave to you! look for us to the right of the big tree (from camera 1) or to the left of the tree from camera 2.

You can reply if you see us!

Merry Christmas to all ... we are off to a Weihnachtsmarkt.

Thursday with Camera - 11 December 2008

A drive through the Southern Schwarzwald - a winter wonderland

Burgruine Rötteln in the snow

View on the top of our mountain

snow chair

Our first snowfall of the year started on Saturday and continued though the night. We awoke to everything covered with snow, albeit slightly wet, it is still beautiful.

We started our Thanksgiving a little early this year, today, Sunday, with a wonderful feast at the home of a North American family.

I also started playing Christmas carols while I was preparing my traditional Colonial Williamsburg corn pudding and snaps for the meal.

I seemed to have started a lot of things today; let me finish by saying: have a Happy Thanksgiving and Godspeed in your travel to your chosen home-place for the holiday.

Vaden Debut

Vaden made her Theatrical debut Tuesday night with the FES drama club at the Lörrach Library.

The play was written to mark the 70th anniversary of the destruction of the synagogue in Lörrach during Kristallnacht. This was the "Night of Broken Glass", when in a single night across Germany, more than 200 synagogue were destroyed and thousands of Jewish homes and businesses were ransacked.

The play was written by their director and was very well received by the public. The acting was superb.

She is seen her as a server.

Thursday with camera, November 20, 2008

In between rain showers today, I snapped some fotos:

Santa has arrived!

Part of my Thursday with camera caught Santa saying "HI" from atop a home's deck in the middle of a vineyard. So is it really too early for Xmas?

8th Birthday....Lego

On November 14, 2000 my son was born, two minutes before 12 noon. Now mind, that I had no idea it was a boy, but I knew when that baby would arrive. My doctor had said see you after lunch, and I quickly said..I don't think you will be going out for lunch Dr...this baby will be here before then. And he replied with a knowing grin...well I had the last say on that one! have not had many since that day.

So on with the party:

Boys and Lego, 'nuff said:

add more friends to the pile of Lego means more fun...

then add sticks, ....(notice the girls in the tree, without sticks, smart girls)

plus Fire....

and birthday cake, candles and wishes

and presents! .....

Grand total= ONE SUPER 8th BIRTHDAY PARTY!

random fotos from Basel

A couple of weeks ago I was in Basel, Switzerland for a training meeting. Basel is a beautiful and old city founded by the Celts many years before Christ. so we are talking old, but I have so pics of new randomness that goes along with the old, enjoy:

this is a Xmas shop and it has got to have one of the longest German words I have ever seen. Translated it means: Holynight tree decoration configuration business.

Bikes are all over Basel. It is a major form of transportation...

and parking can be a problem. Check out the sign painted above the bell. Velo (bike) parking forbidden.

pretty iron work on a random door

Hey there!

Thursdays with camera, November 6, 2008

No fotos today! This is the fifth Thursday in a row that has been cloudy, rainy or snow. Not kidding. And I do not want this foto project to turn into a weather report. So I'm doing pictures tomorrow, in hope of a sunny day.

Thursday, Oktober, 30, 2008

OUR FIRST SNOW!!!!!

Just a dusting in the yard, and it has started to rain....but look up higher.....

over the roofs of Rümmingen...

high on the hills of Öttlingen....

there is SNOW....as seen from our upper window!

not a lot but it is there.

Thursday mit kamera- Oktober 23, 2008

Trees along the road to Basel.

Trees on roofs in Basel

Roof top Tree gardens

Ladies waiting for the tram along the way among the trees, green and grey.