Mini-Me's

Who's kids are these?

:D

Lupita and Bonnie Visit ~ Train to Heidelberg

As promised, Lupita came to visit us in Germany. As soon as she knew we were moving here she said she'd come...not knowing when exactly but last September she made the trip. She and her friend Bonnie spent 3 weeks touring Germany and France. Their first stop was our house...we couldn't wait to see them.

Leave it to Lu to get ice in Germany!

After a day of recovering from jet-lag we headed up to the Landstuhl Castle (Burg Nanstein) so they could experience their first castle and catch a great view of the area.

We took them to one of our favorite local Restaurants, The Porrbacher Hof. We love this place. The food is amazing and the service is excellent. For anyone who comes to visit...this is where we will take you.

This is a view of my neighborhood...

It was time we visited a real castle. We decided not to drive into Heidelberg but to take the train out of Kaiserslautern instead. It's about a 2 hour ride on the regional train but it's a great way to travel and this way I wouldn't have to worry about parking.

Once you arrive into the main station in Heidelberg you can walk out to the the Visitors Center and buy a bus ticket to the cable car that takes you to the top of the hill where the castle is located. The people who work there speak English and are very helpful.

Legend goes...if you can bite through this door-knocker the Heidelberg Castle is yours to keep. I wasn't successful.

This one is for Gabe Molina!...LOL!

And then Lupita was done. It was time to head home.

After a great visit, a home cooked Mexican meal and a wonderful dinner with a longtime friend of Lupita's in Saarbrucken, it was time to say, "Good-bye."What great memories with two awesome ladies!

I finally wrote it down as she made it this time...Here is the recipe:

Lupita's Mexican Rice

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Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef or chicken  
• 2 cup Long Grain Rice
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 32 oz Chicken Stock
• 5.5 oz V8
• 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 14 oz can petite diced tomatoes
• 1/2 tbsp garlic minced
• 1 tsp cumin (more or less)
• Handful cilantro
• chicken bouillon cubes (optional)
• 1/2 cup celery
• 1/4 cup carrots
• 1/4 cup green peppers
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas

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Instructions

1. Brown meat or cook chicken as desired. Leave a bit of grease in pan if possible. (meat optional)
2. Heat oil in pan. Test with rice - if rice spatters then it's ready.
3. Brown up the rice. Add more oil if necessary.
4. Sprinkle rice with cumin
5. Add onion, celery, carrots, green peppers. Make sure vegetables are as dry as possible
6. Add meat and petite diced tomatoes
7. Add chicken stock. Make sure it's warm or room temperature.
8. Add V8, tomato sauce and bring to a boil
9. Add a bit more cumin, salt and cilantro, garlic and pepper
10. Add 1/2 cup frozen peas to the top
11. Bring back to a boil
12. Cover 15-20 on Medium heat stirring one time half way through cooking

 :D

Saarburg ~ Bell Foundry

I had never heard of the village Saarburg before but Dylan's 4th grade class planned a field trip there last week to take tour through one the last remaining bell foundries in the world. We took the regional train out of Landshuhl at 9:15am and arrived Saarburg at around 10:45am. 

The kids had no problem keeping themselves occupied for the hour and a half ride...

We arrived Saarburg and took a short walk toward the castle to an area near the river to have lunch. The swans and ducks were eager to help the kids with their lunches. 

The kids started racing each other. They got their teacher, Mr. O'Connor, to participate...

 He was beat by a 9 year old...way to go, Hunter!

We then made our way to the bell foundry. The Mabilon Foundry has been in operation since the 1770's. The earliest remaining Mabilon bell in Germany was cast in the Sauerland during the time of the Thirty Years War. 

In 1770, Urbanus Mabilon settled in Saarburg and since then the art of their foundry has been passed on from generation to generation as a carefully-kept secret up until today.  Bells were still cast in Saarburg up until 2002 but today the foundry is carefully preserved in its original condition as a museum. 

Here is our tour guide. Guess what his name is?

 Wolfgang...of course!

I love shots like this. I've been really having fun with my Nikon lately.

The indoor shots are still a work in progress.

Bells are made from horse dung and calf hair. Oh, and copper and tin (bronze).

This bell has my name on it :D

 Me and my Dman.

He's not mad, he's just German.

Mr. O'Connor and Dylan

After the tour we all went into the bell shop and purchased our souvenir bells. Dylan got a little one (€7) and I got a bigger one for my kitchen (€18).

Then it was time to check out the castle. The hike to the top included quite a few stairs. I believe one 4th grader shouted out that he counted 262 steps...but worth it...the view from the top was gorgeous. You could see the entire village and all of the Riesling vines being grown all around the area.
(Wish the sky was clear for better pictures but then again, this is Germany).

  The Castle has quite the history. If castle history fascinates you...

Here's the class again...this time they gave us their best smiles...

As we hiked down the hill around the backside of the castle we entered into the downtown area. The Saar River runs right through the shopping area. There is an impressive waterfall and working water mill that can be seen from the streets.

Despite the weather, the class ordered some ice cream. Here are some boys with their "Spaghetti Ice".

We left on the 4:00pm train out of Saarburg and stopped in Saarbrucken where we quickly switched trains to Landstuhl, arriving at 5:45pm. 

Saarburg is a charming little village with a lot of history. It's just 20km from Trier, it's a trip worth making. I can't wait to visit there again and maybe next time I'll get to do some shopping??

Museum of the Bell Foundry Mabilon
54439 Saarburg, Staden 130, Phone: +49(0)6581-2336 
www.museum-glockengiesserei-mabilon.de

:D