I got to have a great date-night with Nicole tonight, so this is going to be a short post. Dori watched Hava for us and Nicole and I went out to the Alt Landstuhl, one of the nicer German restaurants in this area. We shared the chateaubriand, the house specialty, and a good bottle of French Bordeaux. It was great to have some alone time, and it was a phenomenal meal!
The first of today’s major attractions was Ramstein Air Base. I was very excited to see all of my old haunts and relive my 7 years there. I had originally planned to drive us around and tour at our leisure, but security is extra tight right now, so we could only come on the base as someone’s guest in their vehicle. But I have a friend who still lives there and he agreed to show us around. And it’s good I wasn’t the one giving the tour, because EVERYTHING is different! I didn’t even recognize it. There are new buildings and roads everywhere. The home I used to live in is gone, as are many of the buildings I worked in. In their place are new housing, huge new air terminals, a massive NATO building, the biggest BX in the world, etc. It was bittersweet to tell the truth. It no longer felt like home. It’s more “militarized” now. I didn’t have access to the places I used to. Basically, my life has moved on, and so has the base. I think it’s going to take some time to process. I was mostly prevented from taking interesting pictures, but I did manage to snap this one of a huge chunk of the original Berlin Wall.
Our other big attraction was more satisfying. We visited the Hardenburg castle ruins near Bad Durkheim. In my opinion, these are the best ruins in Germany, even though they are practically unknown. There are a few other castles that have been restored and show more of how they were originally, but Hardenburg lets you roam and climb all over it, and it is massive. And tall, and ancient. And to get there you drive through the gorgeous German wine region countryside. It was a bit of hike to the top, but I think the girls really enjoyed it.
We stopped first at a German supermarket and got fresh rolls and meats and cheeses and fruit, and then we had a picnic up among the ruins. A true German outing!
The first of today’s major attractions was Ramstein Air Base. I was very excited to see all of my old haunts and relive my 7 years there. I had originally planned to drive us around and tour at our leisure, but security is extra tight right now, so we could only come on the base as someone’s guest in their vehicle. But I have a friend who still lives there and he agreed to show us around. And it’s good I wasn’t the one giving the tour, because EVERYTHING is different! I didn’t even recognize it. There are new buildings and roads everywhere. The home I used to live in is gone, as are many of the buildings I worked in. In their place are new housing, huge new air terminals, a massive NATO building, the biggest BX in the world, etc. It was bittersweet to tell the truth. It no longer felt like home. It’s more “militarized” now. I didn’t have access to the places I used to. Basically, my life has moved on, and so has the base. I think it’s going to take some time to process. I was mostly prevented from taking interesting pictures, but I did manage to snap this one of a huge chunk of the original Berlin Wall.
Our other big attraction was more satisfying. We visited the Hardenburg castle ruins near Bad Durkheim. In my opinion, these are the best ruins in Germany, even though they are practically unknown. There are a few other castles that have been restored and show more of how they were originally, but Hardenburg lets you roam and climb all over it, and it is massive. And tall, and ancient. And to get there you drive through the gorgeous German wine region countryside. It was a bit of hike to the top, but I think the girls really enjoyed it.
We stopped first at a German supermarket and got fresh rolls and meats and cheeses and fruit, and then we had a picnic up among the ruins. A true German outing!
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