Germany from the Eyes of The Officer Family: Its been sooo long....

I know it has been so long since I have updated the blog. The last couple months have been somewhat of a nightmare and I have had no time to blog. A couple months ago my back pain that has existed for about 8 years became terribly worse. I was bedridden for a couple of weeks out of the last few months. We had to take Brooke out of preschool because I simply could not get in the car to take her and Nick had to take some time off of work to wait on me. Luckily I found a massage therapist who I think has made a big difference and I am finally able to function. Still not without constant pain but the back spasms and inability to move have finally ceased. I missed out on a considerable amount of study time due to the pain and medications that I was on, not to mention the fact that I could not sit. Due to the fact that I had already bought my plane tickets, I could only push my test date back one week.

Brooke and I got back from the states the day before Thanksgiving. We had a great time with my family and were able to celebrate my Mom's birthday with her:) I was so nervous about my back on the 11 hour flight but with medication and constant movement I was able to keep it in pretty good shape. Thank God! Also, through my 4 hour test I was worried but I was able to focus and get it done with minimal pain. Once again Thank you God! My test went as well as it could possibly go and I will be getting results around the 8th or 9th of December. Please everyone say a prayer that I passed. It is going to be a great pain in my back and pocketbook if I have to make another trip to the states. Hopefully that wont be neccesary and I will be done:)

For our Thanksgiving in Germany we went over to our friends house and had the traditional turkey meal. Then the rest of the weekend we got to go and see a couple sites in Germany. First we went to Rudeshiem which is only about 30 minutes from our house and is along the Rhine River. There is a cable car ride that takes you down the mountain and into town. We rode the cable car down and went to the Christmas Market. At the Christmas Markets it is tradition that everyone drinks Gluwien which is a warm wine with some spices and the kids have warm kinder punch. The taste of the Gluwien is okay but I think I would rather have coffee or hot cocoa and I think the kids agreed. We stayed down in the market for a couple of hours and then made our way back to the cable car for our ride back over the town and to our car. It was cold but everyone managed to stay warm.

The next day we set out for Cologne to see the Dom Cathedral and the Chocolate Factory. Cologne also has 7 Christmas Markets so there were festivities and people everywhere. It was not very nice weather and started raining a bit on us when we first arrived. Walking inside the cathedral was breathtaking to say the least. The moment I stepped in I had a peaceful sense rush over me. We walked around and looked at the sculptures and saw the relic of the Three Wise Men. The girls wanted to light a couple candles and say some prayers so we did. After leaving the Cathedral we went to eat. There are tons of places to eat so it was hard deciding where to go. We found a cozy looking steakhouse so we ended up there. They immediately brought small glasses of warmed Gluwien and Kinderpunch to our table. It tasted better this time, maybe because we were so cold. The waiter was smitten with Brooke. He kept being silly with her and touching her hair. I think it is funny that even though we are in Germany, her hair still seems to attract alot of attention. The food, service, and atmosphere were great but like all other places we have been the prices were a little steep. That is probably why people are skinny here, they can't afford to eat out all the time:)

Next we headed to the Chocolate Factory which had its own Christmas Market situated around it. We toured the factory and we are all experts now on how chocolate is made. The girls really enjoyed this tour, especially since they got a couple little treats along the way. We left the chocolate factory about 5pm and it was dark as can be outside. It was a beautiful site to see. All of the boats along the Rhine were lit up with Christmas lights and decorations. The Cathedral and bridge as the backdrop were beautiful as well. Nick wanted to walk the bridge before walking back to our car so we did. The bridge is very long and the train runs over it across the Rhine. On the side rail of the bridge and fencing there were locks everywhere. I would say about 5000+, they all had couples names on them and they were all shapes and sizes. We were amazed by this and walked along reading and looking at all the different locks. When we got home we googled the reason for this and the story is that couples write their name on the lock, attach it to the fencing and toss the key into the Rhine River to symbolize there never ending love and commitment. Awwwww! That was the end of our great visit to Cologne.

We are looking forward to many more great memories such as the ones I have shared. We are getting into the Christmas Spirit and the weather is getting so cold. Just waiting for the first snow so that we can have some fun in it:) Below are pictures of our outings. We miss yall!