Bamberg Germany

In the army, you live for four-day weekends. I mean sure, I have a lot of free time, but my husband has the busiest schedule. He goes leaves for P.T. and work at 5:30 every morning, and sometimes won't get home until 7:30 at night. Whew! I don't know how he does it, because I would NEVER be a happy camper if I had to work that long. This just makes me respect him so much more, because not everyone is willing to put in those hours. So, every once in a while, the army gives some nice long weekends. Lately, Jordan has had to work through the past few, but this weekend we lucked out!

Living in Europe has provided so many wonderful opportunities for travel. Even if you have a weekend, there is always somewhere new to go. This weekend, we went to Bamberg. We decided to take the train, which was about two hours. Sometimes I love the train. It is quite an adventure because you encounter so many different sights and smells. Since it is Spring now, the train wasn't too bad. During the summer it gets very hot and crowded. This means you are stuck standing or sitting next to some smelly people. I have found that the gentlemen here either do not shower, and therefore smell horrible, or they wear WAY too much cologne. It makes me think of middle school, when boys either smelled from gym, or showered their body in Axe body spray. Yuck. So we lucked out for this journey and didn't have to deal with a large crowd or stinky passengers.

Once we arrived in Bamberg, we started walking in the direction of the zentral, or town center. At least, Jordan said we were walking there. As soon as we headed in the direction Jordan said was correct, I started having doubts. You can generally tell where the center of a city is, because a crowd of people is walking in that direction. We however were walking the opposite way. I started voicing my concern, but of course I am just a woman with NO sense of direction, so my input was not heard. We continued walking for a long time, until finally Jordan realized we were in fact walking the wrong way. Ahh the satisfaction I felt, and of course I had to rub it in some.

So after a lot of extra walking, we found our way to the zentral. It was absolutely beautiful and full of life. There was a big market that day too. I love walking through markets and seeing all of the things people sell. There were baskets, flowers, meats, vegetables, and so many more vendors. All the time we were walking, Jordan was filling me in on all of the historical aspects of the city. You see, I never would need a tour guide, because I married my own! Bamberg is fascinating because it was one of the few cities that wasn't destroyed during World War II.

So after the market we ate some yummy lunch. I accidentally ordered the wrong thing, but was quite content with what I received. I had grilled fish over a mustard and dill sauce. Sounds gross, but was good. Bamberg is also known for having a very interesting type of beer. It is called Rauchbeir and has a smokey flavor. I tried some and found that it was like drinking a camp fire... so not really something I enjoyed, but when in Bamberg... After a filling lunch we headed to the prettiest parts of the city. Through the middle of the city runs the Regnitz river. In the middle of two bridges, the old town hall is located.

The old town hall was absolutely beautiful. Not only was it located in the middle of the river, the paintings on the side of the building were amazing.

Why can't they still make buildings like that now?

So it was a beautiful day that just continued to get better. Our next stop was to walk up a hill to the cathedral. Of course we had to stop to take some other pictures along the way. We are tourists after all.

The cathedral was quite beautiful. It was made in Romanesque style, which I favor. Compared to the glitz of many other cathedrals, this one was simple but still breathtaking.

The inside of the cathedral was very dark and cool. It made me feel like I couldn't speak, because I was in awe the entire time.

There were so many other things we saw and enjoyed that day. All in all, it was an amazing trip. I am such a lucky lady to be able to live close enough to any place like this!

Pinterest... a Catch 22

Isn't it so easy to get distracted when we have so many other things to do during the day? My most recent distraction is Pinterest. I am quite surprised my eyes haven't shriveled up yet from studying the screen as I scroll through endless pictures. The good thing about it is that Pinterest fills my slow days and gives me wonderful ideas for crafts and cooking. The bad thing about it is that it motivates me to workout one second, and then the next it makes me crave a batch of cookies.

So, while on Pinterest, I discovered someecards.com... seriously it is hilarious. I decided to join in and have started making my own. Here is one that describes what I am currently writing about.

Maybe I am not as witty as I would hope, but whenever I look through Pinterest, that is what I think.

Other ideas I have about Pinterest are dealing with all of the different things people pin. I am not casting any blame, but isn't it funny how people "pin" things that have no relation to themselves? For instance, some girls have "wedding" boards. This is an excellent idea if you are in fact engaged. If not, then I must say pinning hundreds of different diamond rings is setting yourself up for disappointment. I wonder how many crazy women leave specific boards up on their computer screen. They are hoping that their significant other will scroll through and realize, "I think I should ask this girl who has pinned 30 wedding dresses and 10 different engagement rings to marry me."

Like I said before, I am guilty of pinning items that I would like to cook, wear, do, etc... but deep down I will not do or get any of those things. I feel that way when it comes to style. I have the greatest desire to dress just as cute as the women pinned on those style boards. Unfortunately, I do not have the ability to put an outfit together or the boldness to carry it off. So here is my next ecard about Pinterest.

What are your feelings about Pinterest? Is it the Promise Land of ideas or perhaps the waste land of time?

Oh the Things You Can Make!

Like I said in my original post, I want this blog to be basically about everything that I do. Not only am I trying to become healthier, I usually try and find things to do to fill my day. Two of my favorite things are painting and crotchet. Now I am definitely not claiming to be an expert at either, but they are things that I really enjoy doing. Another thing I love is being able to make gifts. Each Christmas I try to make personal gifts for family and friends.

So here are a few different things that I have made. First, as a baby shower gift, I painted letters of my niece's name to go into her bedroom. All I did was take a picture of the bedding my sister planned on using. Then I bought matching paint colors and copied some of the pattern of the quilt. I absolutely loved giving this to my sister, and still feel a little pride when I walk into Addison's bedroom and see her name displayed!

My grandma gave me a miniature chair to paint for Addison next. I used the same colors as I used for her letters. I also painted the same type of flowers on the chair as on her letters.

Since I've become obsessed with Pinterest, I've found some really cute ideas for other types of crafts. One thing I really love has been all of the different types of wreaths. Recently I've made two wreaths of my own. The first I made was for winter. I made it with supplies that my mom, aunt, and grandma sent me from the states. How sweet is that? So I used blue, silver, and white as my colors for this wreath. Doing that meant that I could leave the wreath up after Christmas because I didn't use the typical Christmas colors. I also used snowflake ornaments on the wreath. It is so easy to make a wreath. You just arrange different things on a wreath base and then when you like it, just glue everything where you want it.

With a new season, comes a new wreath. For my newest wreath a used a straw base and wrapped it in multicolored yarn. This part took a long time, but the overall look in the end made it worth it. I then made some felt roses and leaves to add to the wreath. I matched the color of the felt to the yarn. It is now my favorite wreath and every time I walk into my house I have to gaze at my crafting skills!

It is so easy to make things for your own home or for your friends and family. I don't think there is anything better than filling your free time with crafting!