Summer Outing, Thurs. August 26th

The last Summer RS Outing is:

Kaiserslautern Gartenschau

"The Dinosaur Park"

10am

This is the last summer outing of the year - we hope to have a great turn out and spend part of the day with good friends.

Rain plan: Still meet at 10am at the church parking lot and we will go into the church for an indoor playtime/picnic in the gym.

Meet at the church parking lot at 10am. We will depart at 10:10am on foot for the Gartenschau which is a short walk from the church.

If you wish to park your car at the Gartenschau, parking is 2 euro/day. The address is: Turnerstrasse 2, Kaiserslautern 67659

Admission prices: under 6 yrs is free, ages 6 to 16 is 3 euro, adults are 6 euro.

You may want to bring: sunscreen, picnic lunch and water, picnic blanket (chairs and lounge chairs available), euro for icecream or miniture golf, swimsuit or change of clothing (water works and stream).

Park attractions: 80 life-sized dinosaur replicas, several play areas including water works and a 22 meter slide tower, miniture golf, skate boarding rink and flower gardens.

Summer Outing for Thurs, Aug 19th

Erlebnispark Teufels Tisch (Devil's Table)- POC Krista Karp

http://www.hauenstein-pfalz.de/p/d1.asp?artikel_id=1382 for pictures and idea of what it is like. Entrance is Free but costs 2 Euros for parking.

Meet 19 August at 10 at Vogelweh Skate rink (Leslie Frandsen will meet there) and will leave PROMPTLY at 10:10! or meet the rest of us up there. There are restrooms, mini-golf (don't know the cost), little cars (1euro for 5 minutes), restaurant and the longest and fastest outdoor slide (50 meters) you will find! Also there is a zip line, small water playing area, short slide and an area for little kid play and they have begun a maze (bamboos) that will be great in a few years. You can do the short hike to the red rocks behind the slide (called Devil's table) for a fantastic view. Bring a lunch and a blanket for a picnic.

Dahn is quiet close and you can hit the basket factories there, or go to the Shoe outlets stores, or Deutschen Schuh Museum in Hauenstein afterwards. Also note for the future, if you want to go on a family bike ride, the paved path that goes all the was to Wissembourg, France begins close to there (ask Krista for more details).

For GPS:
Teufelstisch
Im Handschuhteich 29, 66999 Hinterweidenthal, Germany

Directions from Vogelweh base to Devils's table (takes about 40 minutes):
leave Vogelweh base turn right towards Hohenecken on B270
Continue to follow B270 14.5 mi
B270 turns slightly left and becomes Biebermühler Str./L497 (signs for Landau/Münchweiler a. d. Rodalb/Rodalben/Clausen)
Continue to follow L497 5.6 mi
Continue straight onto Umgehungsstraße/L496 1.7 mi
Take the ramp onto B10 3.7 mi
Turn right at Hauptstraße/B427 (signs for Bad Bergzabern/Dahn/Hinterweidenthal) 0.2 mi
Take the 1st right onto Bahnhofstraße 266 ft
Take the 1st right onto Im Handschuhteich 0.1 mi
Turn left to stay on Im Handschuhteich 89 ft
Take the 1st right to stay on Im Handschuhteich
Destination will be on the left

Directions from A6 to Devil's Table:
Take A6 to A62 direction Pirmasens/Zweibrucken
take A62 until exit 15-Pirmasens for B10 toward Landau/Höheischweiler 0.2 mi
Turn left at B10 (signs for Landau/Pirmasens) 11.1 mi
Turn right at Hauptstraße/B427 (signs for Bad Bergzabern/Dahn/Hinterweidenthal) 0.2 mi
Take the 1st right onto Bahnhofstraße 266 ft
Take the 1st right onto Im Handschuhteich 0.1 mi
Turn left to stay on Im Handschuhteich 89 ft
Take the 1st right to stay on Im Handschuhteich
Destination will be on the left

Remember we will make a rain call Wednesday night!

Summer Outing, Thursday, August 12th

Burg Lichtenberg

Germany’s largest castle ruins near Kusel

Meet at 10:00 at the Vogelweh roller skating rink parking lot (across the main road from the commissary). We will leave for the castle at 10:10 and arrive at the castle parking lot at 10:30. Please bring a picnic blanket, lunch or snack, water, lawn games, and sunscreen. Most of the castle grounds are stroller friendly.

Driving Directions:
We will get on the A6 ramp towards Saarbrucken as soon as we get on the autobahn we will take exit 12 to A62 then take the ramp to Kusel, Trier. Travel about 10 miles to exit 7 “Kusel” turn right onto B420 travel about 2.5 miles then turn left you will see a sign for “Berg Lichtenberg” on the left. Travel just over 2 miles on Kusuler Str./L176 to the village Thallictenberg and turn rightonto Burgstrasse follow the street to the top of the hill there will be two parking lots on the right hand side, park in either one of them. There is a small museum if you want to bring some Euros, not sure of the cost. There is also an awesome restaurant at the castle, great for date nights!!!

The actual address is Burg Lichtenberg
Burgstrasse 12
66871 Thallichtenberg, Kusel

The point of contact for this activity is Monica Gowens. She will be driving a girl gray Honda Odyssey, it has a bra! Ha, ha!!!

Summer Outing change for Thursday

Summer Outing for Thursday will be changed due to the forecast for rain. Instead we will be meeting at the Azur swimming pool in Ramstein at 10:00. Here is the GPS addy: Schernauer Straße 66877 Ramstein-Miesenbach . Admission is adults 4.50 euro, children 4-17 3.50 euro. Here is the link to the Azur Pool. POC is Leslie Frandsen. I will not be there right at 10:00 but will be along by lunch time. Hope to see you there!

Summer Outing, Aug. 5th

RS Summer Outing, Thursday, Aug 5th. We will be going to Europas Rosengarten in Zweibrucken. It is a flower garden with a small playground and walking paths. There is a place to buy ice cream. Bring a sack lunch, euro for ice cream, water and your camera's. GPS addy: Herzogstrasse 1, 66482. Adults 3 euro, children 6-17 1 euro. We will meet in the parking lot just behind Burger King located off the A6 exit for the Ramstein west gate (not the Burger King on base) at 10:00, driving at 10:10. POC for this outing is Leslie Frandsen, cell: 01603322234. Remember to watch your email on Wednesday night for a weather update.

Also, jump over to www.ktownrs.blogspot.com to take a look at our travel blog. If you have any advice on recent trips you have taken, send it to us. We'll share it with everyone!

Summer Outing change for tomorrow

The Summer Outing for tomorrow will be canceled because of the forecast of rain in the morning. Instead we will be meeting at Yabadoo in Melingen (http://www.yabadoo-mehlingen.de/en_home.html) at 2:00. GPS addy: Hauptstraße 86 D-67678 Mehlingen. You can bring snacks and water into the indoor play park. They have a snack and drink bar. Adults: 3 Euro, children over the age of 1 are 6 euro. Hope to see you there!

Summer Outing, July 29th

Summer Outing, Thursday, July 29th. Luisen Park in Mannheim (www.stadtpark-mannheim.de). GPS addy: Theodor-Heuss-Anlage 2, 68165. We will be meeting at the Kaiserslautern Centrum Pre-Park at 10:30, driving at 10:40. If you are coming from Ramstein area you will take the Kaiserslautern Centrum exit off A-6. At the first left (there is a sign for A6 Mannheim) you come to a traffic circle, take the 3rd exit into the parking lot, we will meet on the right 1/2 of the lot. Admission is 5 euro for adults, 2.50 euro for ages 6-15. The park is very large and contains activities such as playgrounds, gardens, boar rides (add. cost), waterworks and some animals. Bring a lunch, sunscreen and water. I suggest putting a swimsuit on under the kids clothing or wear clothes that can get wet. As a reminder we will make a rain call on Wednesday night. POC is Leslie Frandsen. Hope to see you there!

We are going to Dynamikum, a natural science museum in Pirmasens.

We will meet at the Landstuhl/Haupstuhl park and ride at 9:30 am. POC for this activity is Leigh Arnold.

Thursday, July 15th, Summer Outing

The Summer Outing for Thursday, July 15, will be held at Barenloch in Kindsbach. We'll meet in the parking lot at 10:30.

Barenloch is a lake with a playground. There is no "beach," but there is a nice grassy area where you can lay out a blanket and enjoy a picnic lunch. You can swim in the lake, so make sure your kiddies bring their swimsuits. Barenloch also has a snack area and boat rentals for a small fee. Feel free to bring a picnic lunch!

Cost: FREE!!! There is no parking fee and no entrance fee.

Directions:
It's easy to find - once you are in Kindsbach, just look for the green sign that says "Zum Barenloch" and follow the signs until you get there. Or, to be more specific:

From Landstuhl take B40 to Kindsbach. Turn right on Hornchenstrasse and then a quick left and at the end of the road turn right.
From Vogelweh take B40 to Kindsbach. Turn left on Hornchenstrasse and follow as described above.

More great info on local travel

Here is a link to a local mama that spent a lot of time compiling a list of fun things to do in the area for summer. Be sure to bookmark it and refer back. Enjoy!

Brussels Floral Carpet

This event is only held every other year and it is not to be missed. This year it will be held in August the weekend of the 13th-14. Here is a link:

http://www.flowercarpet.be/site/main.php?lg=en

July 8th, Summer Outing

We will be heading to hike the Trippstadt Trails. The hike is in a gorge, where we will criss-cross back and forth across a stream with several shady spots. We will meet at 10:00 in the Vogelweh old BX parking lot, driving out at 10:10. You can also meet us at the trailhead at 10:30. To reach the trail you head south on 270 toward Pirmasens, take the Tripptadt turn, follow the road until you come to a restaurant. The road narrows drastically at the restaurant to where only one direction of cars can go through, the parking lot is just past this point and there is a lake next to parking lot. the trail is not stroller friendly but you can manage very well with a backpack. Sturdy shoes are recommended. Bring a lunch, sunscreen, plenty of water and mosquito repellent as the ticks are bad this year. POC for this activity is Leslie Frandsen 01603322234.

Christmas in July?

For those of you that have gone to the bazaar's on base where the European Artisans sell there goods, you might have noticed the booth from Kaefer's. They sell German linens, dinnerware, Reisenthal baskets (those cool sturdy German shopping baskets), crystal and other fun items.

During the month of July they are having a Christmas in July sale. Everything in the Christmas world is reduced by 30-70% and Christmas linens are half priced. Also, it seems they have a new Villeroy & Boch exhibit where you can save 20-70%. Great opportunity to get a really big head start on holiday shopping.

They accept a VAT on top of the savings listed here.

Go here to see hours of operation and directions to their store:
http://www.porzellanhaus-kaefer.de/en

Summer Outing - July 1st

Thursday, July 1st, 10:30 a.m.:
Rodenbach outside swimming pool.

Address: Sportstrasse 6 Rodenbach, 67688

Cost: Age 5 and Under: free

Kids: 1.20 Euro, Adults: 2.40 Euro

Don't forget to bring lunch, water, sunblock, towels and whatever else you might need! Although, I believe you can buy lunch there too! The POC for this activity is Laurie Layer.

Summer Outings Kickoff

When: Thursday, June 24th at 10:30 am
Where: Donnelly Park on Ramstein Air Base
What: Bring sack lunches, sunscreen and water.

POC: Jenelle Kotter and Leslie Frandsen

We'll let the kiddo's play at the park while we work on firming up the rest of the calendar for the summer. Bring your ideas for outings, either something you have done and loved, or something you have wanted to do and haven't yet. We look forward to seeing you there!

Easter Market in Kloster Eberbach

Looking for something to do this weekend? Try the Easter Market in the Eberbach Monastery. Here is the link for the Monestary:

Eberbach Monastery

It will be held this weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Hours are 10-18:00 and there is a 4 euro entrance fee.

Holidays in other countries

Vacationers standing in front of closed stores in other countries might have overlooked an official holiday.

To avoid this kind of frustration, the German automobile club ADAC has put together a listing with all official holidays within the first part of the year for all important European travel countries.

DENMARK: April 1 and 30; and June 5
FRANCE: May 8
GREECE: Feb. 15; March 25
GREAT BRITAIN: March 17 (Northern Ireland); May 3 and 31
IRELAND: March 17; May 3; June 7
ITALY: June 2
CROATIA: June 22 and 25
NETHERLANDS: April 30; May 5
POLAND: May 3
PORTUGAL: June 10
SWITZERLAND: March 19 (not in every
canton)
SLOVENIA: Feb. 8; April 27; June 25
SPAIN: March 19 (regional)
SLOVAKIA: May 8
CZECH REPUBLIC: May 8
TURKEY: April 23; May 19
HUNGARY: March 15

Some German holidays are regular workdays in other European countries. For example Good Friday is not a holiday in France, Italy, Croatia, Austria, Poland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Turkey and Hungary.

Germany also observes Pentecost Monday on May 24. Those traveling to Italy should know Pentecost Monday is only observed in South Tyrol.

(Courtesy of automobile club ADAC)

Paris - a kid friendly way

We have two hotel recommendations that are geared toward families. Both of these have been used and therefore recommended by on of our friends.

The Paris Explorer Hotel. Much nicer than other one, and great deals on rooms in the off-season. Pirate type themed hotel (which my kids loved), giant dragon in the lobby, kids play areas, restaurants and pizza parlor in hotel. Indoor pirate pool and continental breakfast. Free shuttle bus to Disney Metro stop. Rooms to accommodate large families. We had a two bedroom with bunk-beds. My top choice.

http://www.explorershotels.com/us/home.php

Cheaper hotel choice Can accommodate large families, RER metro station just across the street, breakfast can be included. No-thrills type accommodation for budget families. Close to stores, grocery store, and bakery.

http://www.residhome.com/hotel-residence-aparthotel-europe-139.html

I booked most Europeon hotel accommodations through this website. I usually use this site for our traveling and have had pretty good luck with the hotels we have had. I always read the reviews people write in before deciding where to stay. They seem to always have a cheaper rate than if you go through the hotel directly.

http://www.eurobookings.com/

I strongly recommend doing some homework for a successful Paris trip and picking up a touring book before you go. I like the Rick Steve's books best.

Sites in Paris:

1. Eiffel Tower (of course!) You can now buy tickets online! NICE!

http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/

2. Arc de Triomphe and walk the Champs Elysees to the Place de la Concorde

3. Lourve

http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en

4. Musee d' Orsay- Wonderful museum with great impressionist paintings and more!

http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/home.html

5. Musee de l'Orangerie- Small museum starring Monet's gorgeous Water Lilies

http://www.musee-orangerie.fr/

6. Notre Dame Cathedral

http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/-English-

7. Sainte Chapelle Cathedral- A small cathedral with stunning stained glass windows

http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Cathedrals/Paris/Sainte-Chapelle.shtml

8. Napoleon's Tomb

http://www.invalides.org/pages/anglais/dome_a.html

9. Musee Rodin- Walk the gardens and see the Thinker, among other sculptures. Great for the kids to run around a bit.

http://www.rodinmuseum.org/284-237.html

10. Pantheon- Don't miss the crypt!

http://www.pantheonparis.com/visitor-information

11. Catacombs- Under the streets of Paris, walk through the tunnels with intricately arranged bones from over 6 million Parisians.

http://www.catacombes-de-paris.fr/english.htm

12. Pere La Chaise Cemetery- A fascinating walk through one of the most famous cemeteries in the world. You can search for the graves of many famous people buried there, such as Chopin, Collette, Jane Avril, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Moliere, and many others. Hint- Have a list, a good map, and be prepared to hunt around! My kids loved this!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A8re_Lachaise_Cemetery

There are lots of books and resources out there that are specific to doing Paris with children, but I wanted to show you my favorite one so far. It is basically like an adventure game. It is a box of cards, each containing a routed walk. The description of the walk on one side with the map on the back. Totally kid friendly and helps them to take charge and help guide the tour.

City Walks with kids: Paris 50 adventures on Foot

Winter Blues?

If you are like me, the time from December until Spring Break can really drag on.  Bleary weather does not make for ideal traveling weather.  So what else is there?  Have you checked out all that is available at our local AF and Army libraries?  I recently went and found out I am definitely not utilizing all their resources.  As the librarian said, "It's so great, it is just like shopping on Amazon but without a cart or credit card".  Especially because you can search every library in Europe from the comfort of your home AND have it delivered directly to your nearest library.  They have an extensive collection of books, CD's, DVD's, audio books, travel books and videos, language software, magazines (which they get sooner than you do with your magazine subscription that comes to your mailbox) and much much MUCH more FOR FREE!!  Click on the links to peruse their collections, find out about programs for all ages of children and adults.  Warning: make sure you have time to waste, it will pull you in and never let you go!

USAFE library home page

Army Europe Library

Just this week I found out from the Army libraries (which you may already know) that you can download movies and TV shows as well as audio and written books from the Army website.  Did you also know that you can check out Nintendo DS, Playstation, XBox and Wii games?  They aren't the old ones either as I just requested the brand new Band Hero for Wii that they aren't even carrying in the BX yet (only Playstation and XBox) Also, they have updated their system to allow you to get an online user id and password which allows you to browse the entire Europe collection, make requests and assign a pickup location all from your home computer!  You have to have an account already that has an email that is not listed on other family members accounts.  Then you can assign a pin online and you are ready to go.

Here are a few other useful links:

Used Book Store at Ramstein  Did you know you can peruse their inventory online and if you find something you want you can put it in your shopping cart and they will pull if for you.  You can either pay online or pay in person.  Also, they run specials on their children's books every payday weekend AND this month all hardback fiction (including collectibles) are half off.

Military OneSource is a website with about a bazillion resources, all free, all for military.  Any question you have . . . any! . . . you can find the answer here from taxes to deployment issues to travel ideas.  They have 24/7 phone line for questions about anything.  Make sure you check out the kids section of the online library for culture grams and tumble books.  Recently I ordered over $60 worth of information material and booklets all for free, shipped to my APO address.  The handouts were very high quality and I was impressed!  Go here to see the all the resources available on this site.

And now that you have all this technology at your fingertips, how do you make sure you want that content to come into your home?  I use Common Sence Media, which shows detailed info on movie, book and CD content so that you can make an informed choice when it comes to entertainment.

What about you?  Any resources that you would like to share?  Add them to the comments and thanks for stopping by.

Black Forest

The Black Forest is an amazing area here in Germany full of fun indoor and outdoor museums, spectacular scenery and fun food.  This trip can be done as a really long day trip or over a one or two night stay.

Regional Tourism site

http://www.blackforest-tourism.com/tourismus_im_schwarzwald

Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Forest

Rick Steve's

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/germany/blackforest.htm

Places to Stay:

The Golden Rooster

Great family run hotels with rooms ranging from studios to two bedroom apartments.  Can accommodate large families.  Has a small indoor pool, good breakfast in busy season, and takes the VAT form.

http://www.goldener-hahn.de/catalog1_1.html

Things to do:

Dorotheenhutte Wolfach (glass blowing museum and shopping)

http://www.dorotheenhuette.de/index.htm

Caracara Therme (spa)

http://www.carasana.de/home/en/index.html

House of 1000 Clocks

http://www.hausder1000uhren.de/index.php?lang=en

Schwarzwald Museum

http://www.schwarzwaldmuseum.com/

Triberg Waterfall

http://www.dasferienland.de/e/sehenswertes.asp

Black Forest Open Air Museum

 http://vogtsen.land-in-sicht.com/index.php

German Clock Museum

http://www.deutsches-uhrenmuseum.de/default.asp?setlanguage=eng&sid=2106194033

***This trip could be combined with a visit to Europa Park.  About 2 hours away.

http://www.europapark.de/lang-en/c51/default.html

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Rothenburg is a quaint medieval town surrounded by an original, still intact wall.  The highlights of this town include climbing the wall where you can walk the perimeter of the city and taking the Night Watchman's Tour.

Here are a few links to get you started!

City Tourism website:

http://www.rothenburg.de/index.php?get=121

Wikipedia:

http://www.rothenburg.de/index.php?get=121

Rick Steve's

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/germany/rothbd.htm

Good Hotel a block outside the wall we stayed at that had a nice large family room to accommodate 2 adults 4 children and a great breakfast.  They take the VAT form too.  Great owner who loves Americans and speaks wonderful English:

http://www.hotel-hornburg.de/

Another good hotel inside the wall with a large family room as well, and great breakfast.  Also takes the VAT.  Great Breakfast!:

http://www.romanticroad.com/gerberhaus/

Things to see:

Kathe Wolfahrt Store/ Christmas museum

https://shop.wohlfahrt.com/Startseitebestofchristmas/?pSessionSprachID=2&pWAIdentID=eshop&pWAStufeID=4&start=1&pFolderFrom=World2004&neustart=1&flg=euen&noflash=1&change=1

Crime and Punishment Museum

http://www.kriminalmuseum.rothenburg.de/Englisch/page1.html

Walk the wall

Night Watchman's tour

http://www.nightwatchman.de/index.php?&sprache=ENG

Christmas Market

http://www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk/rothenburg_christmas_market.htm

 http://www.rothenburg.de/index.php?get=121

Imperial City Fest in September

http://www.rothenburg.de/index.php?get=121