Our weekend & other ponderings

The leaves are beginning to change colors!

Somewhere towards Stuttgart.

Going towards Stuttgart

Stuttgart

Stuttgart




A Christmas gift for Robert's mom

The backside of an ornament I bought

The front side of the ornament (you put a tealight in there and it lights up).

Robert bought me a small Santa waterglobe

Fireplace ornament I bought

Hi! Sorry I haven't been on much. I have gotten back into my penpalling (been doing it 12 years but kind of took a break from it for a couple months and have not picked it back up) and have been trying to get all my mail answered the past couple days. I got 3 letters answered...only 40 more to go! Seriously....

This weekend was fun. On Saturday Robert had to take care of something for work...except it was at the base in Stuttgart Germany which is 2 hours away (probably an hour and 40 minutes if there wasn't construction and STAU's), so I went along with him since we were planning on going there anyway soon.

We didn't use our car (thank God...save our mileage), but a government vehicle, in this case a Ford Mondeo. :)

The scenery going towards Stuttgart is just breathtaking. I couldn't get some of the pictures because we were just going to fast. There were valleys of communites and hills, and it was just so pretty.

So, eventually we got to the base in Stuttgart. I will say, those people have NOTHING to complain about! That base (s) has got it all!!! And the housing area looks wonderful as well. It was really fun to actually drive on an actual post, kind of like how they are in the States, and just see....stuff! LOL.

We stopped in Patch Barracks first. Drove around to see what they had, a big Shoppette, a ghetto food court (LOL), a small commissary, theater, and lots and lots of nice housing. The picture of the leaves changing colors was taken on Patch Barracks.

Then we went to Panzer Barracks which was a god drive away from Patch but Panzer has the PX Mall (yes I said Mall, and that's what it was). What a beautiful base...

We first went to MCSS (military clothing & sales services) because Robert had to grab something for work. That took all of 3 minutes. Then we did whatever we wanted.

We went to this building that housed the bank, post office, USO, and all those other businesses. It was a 4 story building with elevators and a cascading waterfall inside. I walked in there and asked Robert "are we still on an Army base?". We got some money out from the bank and then walked across the road to the PX Mall.

There was so much stuff to take in..., but first we were starving so we had lunch at Pizza Hut...yes, Pizza Hut! Ahhh...a little piece of America never tasted so good. :) Then we went shopping around the little shops and just browsing before going into the PX.

PX is huge! Lots to see! Robert ended up buying $65 worth of stuff...don't ask what...just stuff he likes. :) Plus of course that heart shaped figurine for his Mom for Christmas.

I got the dog some treats and some toilet paper...LOL. "That's it" you ask. Yep! LOL. Now if they would have had their Christmas stuff our or even Thanksgiving, I would have bought more.

I did however get my Mommy 2 things..small things...that can fit in the palm of my hand, but I couldn't take pictures because she reads my blog and then the suprise would be ruined (love you Mommy).

The PX Mall had a Kathe Wohlfahrt store. I about went crazy in there...Thank God I didn't have alot of cash on me...LOL.

What is that you ask? A store that sells authentic hand carved German ornaments. Walking in there is like walking into a Christmas wonderland. I always have a hard time leaving the place because I just want to take in everything.

The 2 ornaments and the waterglobe were bought from there.

Some ornaments are cheap, others are expensive. Plus these KW stores also sell villages and things like that.

This store is 100% better than Hallmark...LOL.

Here is a website, maybe you can get a better glance of what the store sells. www.wohlfahrt.com

There are actually shops in MN, IL, and PA. Cool huh?

I really want to go visit the world famous Christmas villages put on by KW. There are several around Germany that are open year round. Who knows, we'll see what happens before we leave here.

Next time Robert and I go to a KW store, which will probably be next month or even this month, I will try to take pictures of the inside so you can see what I am talking about.

After Robert pretty much pulled me out of there, we went back to that 4 story building and went to the USO. Wow...they really know how to take care of soldiers and their families, that's for sure. It was huge!

I went on the computer to MySpace since I still can't access it from my home computer and Robert plopped himself on a leather couch and dozed off.. :)

Then we left and went back to Patch Barracks to get fuel and Robert got hungry again, so we had to feed him...LOL. I got some nachos and a soda from Taco Bell while he had Burger King.

After that we headed on back to Darmstadt. Well, we did have to stop at a rest area because, I had to much soda to drink and it was not going to let me be comfortable on the trip home...LOL.

In some German rest areas, you have to pay to use the restroom. This wasn't one of them, but I had €0,50 with me just in case.

Then it was off we went.

When we got back to Darmstadt we went to our commissary and picked up dinner...a pizza...LOL. And home we went.

It was a long but wonderful day. I would like to go back to Stuttgart before we leave Germany, but we will see.

On Sunday, Robert had to work 4 hours, but then had the rest of the day off.

He wanted to go to Wiesbaden / Mainz Kastel.

But first we went to our PX and cashed a check. We found Robert a nice big winter coat for $30 since his other one is way to small for him.

Plus we got Dixie some canned food that was on sale and we got ourselves some Slim Jims to snack on.

We dropped some mail off at the post office and off to Wiesbaden it was.

We ate first...at Popeyes. It was good. The chicken didn't taste like it had been sitting under a heat lamp for hours...LOL.

Then we walked arond the PX and BookMark. Robert got a book. I got some manilla envelopes, some greeting cards, and some socks.

We then went to Mainz Kastel and snooped around in the Power Zone (all the electronics, DVD's, etc), the toy store, and the home and garden center. I got Dixie some more food and treats.

In the home and garden store I was picking up a Yankee Candle to smell it and dropped from my hands and shattered.

Well normally, if you break it you nuy it, so I got my money out to buy it and the man at the register told me not to worry about it.

That was really nice of him.

We left and came home.

Tony called and asked if he could come over but he never did.

Fall has arrived here in Germany. The temps. are in the the upper 40's / lower 50's in the morning and evning hours and 60's during the day. I love it!

Soon, will begin the soups, stews, homemade bread, reading of my Christmas books, watching the holiday movies over and over again, drinking hot cocca...ahhh....yippee!!!

I have had my fall candles lit for awhile. I ordered some new ones from www.yankeecandle.com the other day.

I also took an inventory in my closet and seen that everything except maybe 5 garments is all spring / summer clothing. How in the world did I manage the past 10 years with barely any winter clothing? Who knows...I love the cold weater so I probably just grinned and beared it.

But I order 2 long warm skirts from www.chadwicks.com and 3 skirts, 3 tops, 2 sweaters and 2 sweater type tops from www.womanwithin.com

Plus last year I had 3 fleece skirts made for me. So, once all that comes in, I think I will be set.

Robert said I can go ahead and order a fleece black bonnet for the wintery days ahead which I will get from www.christiancoverings.com But I still have time to get that. My head and ears aren't freezing yet :)

Alrighty, well I really need to get back to my penpalling. I try to at least get one letter a day done. Yes, I could type instead but handwritten letters are much more enjoyable I think :)

God's blessings for a prosperous week for all of you!

Love,

Dawn