Halloween

The boys decided on costumes early this year. Ryan wanted to be a skeleton and Dylan...the Grim Reaper. We took them on base where the candy is plentiful. German's don't really celebrate the holiday, at least not the way we do.

This is a photo of some of the neighborhood kids before we left.  Cameron, Dylan, Ryan, Spencer, Nicole, Kayla and Jarin.

 Dylan says he's holding a rat...

Here's Dylan with his friend Preston and his brother Curtis (VanNess) shortly before we lost track of him...we found him later at Preston's House.

 Here's Ryan with Austin and Alex Horton...

Then we met up with Ryan's buddy Aidan Coffman and what looks like my old supervisor when I was in the military...(guess who's Mommy gave me the pattern for the skeleton costume...LOL!-Thank you Liz Coffman)

 I love this picture of Ryan...

Annweiler Hike

We knew we'd be back! This is a great village for hiking trails. We couldn't pass up such a beautiful day...we had to get out and enjoy the weather.

We hiked up to the top of what seemed to be on old look-out tower. Great views from up there...

Then we hiked back down...taking a couple of breaks on the way to enjoy our surroundings...

And of course, Gabe couldn't help himself....he had to tackle the one nearest to him...

If you want more info on this village and the castle (which we have not toured yet) here is the website: Annweiler am Trifels Travel Guide

Soccer (Dylan)

Dylan played hard this year! It was great to see some of the skills are coming together and he's hustling more. We were super proud of him. He scored 3 goals this season...although we're not keeping score :-)

 Dylan and his buddies...Preston VanNess and Ryan King

Sunshine Pumpkin Patch ~ Gerhardsbrunn

 It was a cold day at the pumpkin patch...

 Ryan's preschool class scheduled a tour through the farm...

 The kids had fun chasing the chickens...

and then acting like them...

The Sunshine Pumpkin Patch is open 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday for individual families. Weekday tours for groups are also available. A tour of the farm and a hayride are available upon request, weather permitting. Herr Guhl also has potatoes and sweet corn available for purchase. To arrange a visit and for price information, call Herr Guhl at 06375-5852.

Directions from Kaisers-autern: Exit autobahn A6 towards Saarbrücken at Landstuhler Kreuz and take A62 towards Pirmasens. Take the first exit Landstuhl/Atzel and Martinshöhe. At the stop sign turn left in the direction of Martinshöhe. From there follow the road through a wooded area which opens into farm country. 

Turn left at the sign that reads “Wallhalben 7 km, Gerhadsbrunn 2 km. (There is also a handmade sign that directs you to the farm). 
Follow the road into the village of Gerhardsbrunn. The pumpkin farm is on the left on Adam Müller Strasse 11.

Dinosaur Park in the Fall

The Dinosaur Park in Kaiserslautern does a great job decorating for the fall. There are pumpkins everywhere!

 I loved this one...

 And as you can see...it was still warm enough to go shirtless and drink a slushy.

First Time to Garmisch

Labor Day weekend we took our first trip to Garmisch. I say "first trip" because if you live in Germany one trip is not enough and it's likely you'll be back multiple times. It's incredibly beautiful and there is so much to do...no matter what time of year.

The first full day we drove 45 minutes from Edelweiss Lodge and Resort (the military hotel) to Neuschwanstein Castle. Most people know this castle to be the one Disney designed his magic kingdom after.
Seven weeks after the death of King Ludwig II in 1886, Neuschwanstein was opened to the public. The shy king had built the castle in order to withdraw from public life – now vast numbers of people came to view his private refuge.Today Neuschwanstein is one of the most popular of all the palaces and castles in Europe. Every year 1.3 million people visit "the castle of the fairy-tale king". In the summer around 6,000 visitors a day stream through rooms that were intended for a single inhabitant.

 This is just one of the spectacular views from the castle...

 Here's another...

 We are standing on a bridge across the way from the castle.

The next day we took the "Eckbauerbahn"-cable car to the top of the Eckbauer mountain and hiked down to Partnach-Gorge. That's the way to go if you have small children. You pay for your tickets to the top and hike down...half way down there is a restaurant and ice cream shop. Also, when you hike this way through you don't have to pay for a ticket through the gorge.

 You end up back the Olympic Stadium (where you parked your car).

We also walked around Partenkirchen...had dinner at a traditional German place.

We will be back!