Pumpkin Carving and Halloween (or Lack Thereof)

On Tuesday night, we decided to carve our pumpkins.  It was so hard finding pumpkins this year because we waited too late to get them.  Every time we thought about getting them, the stores were all out.  We were super lucky that the commissary got a big load a few days ago. The second I saw them, I grabbed a cart with Monster and bought them.  He was very excited to pick out the biggest pumpkins he could find.

All the kids were extremely excited to carve pumpkins tonight. We laid down some newspaper, got all our carving stuff out and let everyone pick what design they were going to do for their pumpkin.

Gutting the pumpkins is always the worst part.  Little A and Monster didn't want to touch the guts, and made Kevin and I do it.  Big Sis and M&M were gagging while they were gutting their pumpkins.

Big Sis and M&M made their own design to carve out.  They were super creative and worked super hard on getting their pumpkins perfect.

Big Sis designed a big spider and M&M designed a dragon.  I had my doubts that the designs would work, but they both surprised the socks off me with some stellar pumpkins.  I am super proud of them  and their super awesome creativity.

On Halloween, the kids were allowed to wear costumes to school.  It's been a long time since the kids were allowed to even talk about halloween at school, let alone dress up, so they were so super excited to dress up.  M&M dressed up as a spider web and Little A was a flying unicorn. It was fun waiting at the bus stop in the morning and seeing all the kids dressed up for Halloween.  There was such an energy of excitement in the air.

Kevin and I had a long discussion about what to do for Halloween tonight and trick or treating.  The Germans don't celebrate Halloween and don't do trick or treating, so the only option we had for the kids was to go on base and go around to the onbase housing.  I was told that the base gets super crazy and way over crowded.  We didn't really want to spend the time driving to base or walking around on base just to get candy.  We talked to the kids and as a family we decided to have a fun family Halloween Dinner, with spooky stories.  Kevin helped me make spooky eyeball spaghetti.  The kids went crazy over it and super loved it.  We also picked a family Halloween movie and watched "Casper the Friendly Ghost", while eating ice cream sundaes and popcorn.  To make up for not trick or treating, we took the kids to the store and let them each pick out two bags of candy.  All the kids said it was one of their most favourite Halloween nights.  It really was a super fun and great family night.

Bike Date to Landstuhl Castle

Kevin and I wanted to get out and have an active date, so we decided it would be fun and pretty quick  to jump on our bikes and ride up to Nanstein Castle.  According to Google Maps, it was only a 30 minute bike ride from our house.  We loaded up a backpack, checked our bike tires and set off up the hill to the castle.  The first part of the trail is uphill, and I honestly thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest.  I was so tired and so out of breath and so out of shape, but I didn't stop.  Luckily the last part of the ride was through a little village, so we had a pretty flat ride for the last ten minutes or so.  We made it to the castle, parked our bikes and caught our breath. 

The lookout for the castle is pretty great and look out over Landstuhl Village.  The castle was open, so we paid the Euro entrance fee and took our time to walk all around the castle.  There were towers, broken walls, arches and a creepy underground tunnel and huge room, that must have been a dungeon.  I think the creepy underground dungeon was my most favourite part.  It even had the echo of dripping water and dark corners and high ceilings.  It was unexpected and super dark and so very cool.

The upper floors of the castle were of course open because it is castle ruins, of course.  The side walls were still intact and we really enjoyed walking up the outdoor stairs and walking under the beautiful arches.  The views from the top were also pretty amazing.  It was defiantly a fun and adventurous date.

Luxembourg: Vianden Castle, Pirate Playground and Casemate du Bock

Welcome to the Grand Duchy, also known as Luxembourg. We left our hotel in Belgium early in the morning so we could spend a day in Luxembourg, since it was on the way home and we pass right through Luxembourg to get to Germany.

Our first stop in Luxembourg was at the Vianden Castle, or the Chateau de Vianden in Vianden.  This fortress underwent many different stages and is now just a huge museum and exhibit.  The castle was built between the 11th and 14th century and was built on top of a Roman castle.

We decided to do an audio tour to get more information and to understand more of the history of the castle.  It wasn't as entertaining as our audio tour in the castle in Belgium, but it was still filled with good historical information.  The main part of the castle was pretty much kept the same though history, but as it changed hands and ownership courts were added and additional rooms.  

The main owner of the castle was Henry I of Vianden and he had royal connections to French and Germany.  The castle was at it's height of influence and beauty during his ownership.  It was during his rein that so many modifications happened to the castle.  

We enjoyed the inside of the castle and seeing the huge fireplaces and the rooms with a few antique furniture which came from the period of Vianden.  There was even a wardrobe that once belonged to the family that was passed down and donated back to the castle.  

We enjoyed the beautiful views from the rooftop of the castle.  The castle is high on a hill and overlooks the village of Vianden, and it was a beautiful day.  We finished our tour then made our way out of the main court and out of the welcoming arches.  

As we drove away leaving Vianden we enjoyed looking back and seeing the castle up on the hill.  We continued to see it all the way until we left the city below.  The castle was pretty neat, but after visiting true authentic ruins, it was a little disappointing to see a castle that was not renovated to its original glory, it was more modern then I felt it should be.  

The city Luxembourg is a very busy city with not a lot of parking.  It took us a few tries, but we finally found a parking deck and parked the car.  I didn't even want to know how much it was going to cost us to park for a few hours, but it took a while to find the parking deck, so we didn't much care at this point.  We parked right by a park that the kids nicknamed "The Pirate Park". 

After spending the morning walking around a castle, they loved the time we gave them to play, run, pretend, swing and slide.  The kids saw the playground, started screaming and ran for the fun.  It was cute seeing them run around.  The playground was pretty epic.  It had a huge slide that Monster was scared to go down until I put him on my lap and slid down with him.  It was super thrilling.  It took a bit of climbing to reach the top, but once he had a taste of the slide, all he wanted was for me or Kevin to help him climb up so he could take the thrill ride down. 

Not only was there a huge pirate ship to play on and a slide, but there was a gigantic playground.  Monster loved climbing and running and jumping.  Even Big Sis was caught laughing and running on it.  

After playing for a little over an hour, we convinced the kids to leave the park and come explore the city with us.  We did have to bribe them with the promise of returning to the park and playing before we got in the car to leave.  We didn't have any plans for Luxembourg, so we just walked around.  The first place we stopped at was the Cathedral Notre-Dame.  This beautiful church was built in the 1600s. 

The inside of the church was pretty impressive.  There was gothic, baroque and even renaissance styles represented in the church.  The organ and stained glass behind the organ was super pretty.  I couldn't stay in the church very long because Monster decided it was super neat to hear his screams echoed throughout the stone church, which honestly echoed pretty impressively.  And nope, he wasn't mad, he just thought it was funny to yell and hear it echo.  So, I quickly exited with him. Kevin and the girls stayed longer to look around more.  

We left the church and made our way to the Casemates du Bock.  The Casemates were the only thing I knew I wanted to see before coming to Luxembourg, so this is how we ended our day.  I am so glad we were able to explore the Casemates, because it was my favorite part of Luxembourg.

The Casemates du Bock is a vast complex of underground tunnels which were built in the 1600s.  This area started as a fortress in 963, then it expanded and turned the city into one of the most powerful places in the world due to engineers that helped make the fortress pretty much impenetrable. The fortification had 24 forts, 16 strong defensive works and 23 KM networks of casemates.  These tunnels were used to shelter soldiers and horses and used as kitchen, bakeries, you name it.  It was super cool to see.

Some sections were tiny spiral staircases that just went on and on and on, going deeper and deeper.  I'm not gonna lie, I felt myself get a little clostraphoboic in these areas.  I found myself thinking of men and women who had to shelter in theses areas and just shivered.  We learned that during WWII  there casemates were used as bomb shelters and I couldn't help but imagine the sounds of planes and bombs as we walked in the narrow and dark tunnels that were super deep in the earth.

There were plenty of areas in the casemates that were not underground and were just in the side of a mountain.  These areas are now open with guardrails so you can enjoy the view of the city.  I wish we could have spent more time exploring, but it was getting late, we had a park we had promised to return to and we still needed to drive home, so we said "until we meet again" to the Casemates and made the long walk back to the park and parking garage.  I hope to return to Luxembourg and explore the casemates to their fullest.  It really was one of my favorite things we did for this trip.

Belgium: Brugge

We spent a great day in Bruges, Belgium.  We parked in a parking deck and walked down a cute road with tons of chocolate shops.  We were a tad early for the normal Belgium arriver, so everything was still closed.  We made our way down to the Church of Our Lady, but found it was still closed for a few more hours, so we decided to walk around the city and explore for a while.

As we were walking past the church we went through a cute archway and found ourselves in the most enchanting courtyard.  It was one of the cutest places I have ever seen and the view of the church was pretty great.

We learned that this place is called the Bonifaciusbrug, which is an early 20th century pedestrian bridge that has the most spectacular views of the canal and town. We were so lucky we came to the town early, because we were able to enjoy the views all to ourselves. I guess during tourist season, the bridge is massively packed.

We spent a good part of a half hour or more here just taking in the beauty around us.  The kids loved looking in the river trying to spot fish and ducks.  Kevin and I loved looking at the quaint little houses that lined the river.  The weather was a little damp, but it just added to the beauty.

After taking in the gorgeous scene, we kept walking and found our way to the Belfry of Bruges and the city square and market in front of it.  We honestly walked past the shadow of the Belfry and all our jaws dropped and we just turned in a circle taking in the city square.

The buildings all had these sharp points and steeples.  There were angels and beautiful reds and earth tones all around us.  All the fronts of the buildings were so adorable.

By the time we got to the town square, the town was waking up and the Market was opening.  There were cute restaurants all over.  I really wanted to climb the 266 steps up the Belfry, but we had already walked a bit and we didn't think the kids would last up the stairs.  So we decided to eat our packed lunches on the benches and enjoy the music from the bells of the Belfry.  We took our time and let the kids run around and just enjoy this cute little town.

After this kids finished lunch we decided to walk the streets some more.  As we were walking we found a super delicious and cheap gelato shop.  The kids were so excited to see it and since it was so cheap, we all got some really yummy Gelato.  I love how there is gelato all over Europe.

Just around the corner from the gelato shop is Bruges most famous chocolatier, Dumon Chocolatier.  The lines were pretty long, and the store was pretty small, so I stayed outside with the littles while Kevin took the older two inside to get some chocolates.  They got some amazing pumpkin spice chocolates and some melt in your mouth mint chocolates.  They were so delicious, that Kevin ent back in and ordered more.  He said he originally had a cherry one, and when Big Sis asked for it, the lady said she couldn't have it because it had alcohol, so luckily Kevin exchanged it for a different chocolate.  That would have been super funny though, if Kevin had eaten it, spiked and all.

We originally were going to take the kids to the Torture Museum Oude Steen Brugge, but when we walked by it looked a little more gruesome then we were prepared for.  Kevin walked in and came out and said no way, not for our littles.  So we took pictures outside and moved on.

The Church of Our Lady was our next destination.  We walked back to the church and were happy to find it open and the crowds weren't too bad.  The main reason we wanted to go here, is to see Michelangelo's Madonna and Child.  The church felt as all other Gothic huge stone churches feel, large and cold.  The ceilings were so high and the stained glass was gorgeous.

We enjoyed seeing the church, there were many relics and tombs that we weren't expecting to see. You have to pay a feee to go in the back of the church where the relics and the Madonna and Child are.  There was a beautiful wood carved confession booth that was super neat to see see.

We saved Michelangelo's Madonna and Child for last, and were disappointed to find the altarpiece under construction.  I was grateful, however that the statue was still visible.  Due to the construction, we had to stand very far back from the statue, so it was hard to see any detail or even fully appreciate the statue.  We learned that this statue is the only one that Michelangelo allowed to leave Italy while he was still alive.  This statue was part of looting during the French revolution and during the Nazi German revolution, luckily it was recovered both times.  

The kids did so amazing in the Church, that we made our next destination the Minnewater Park. As we were walking to the park, we passed by a huge duck pond.  There was a cute watermill and a huge field with so many ducks and swans.  They all really enjoyed seeing the birds.

I thought the park would have a playground, but I was wrong.  It did have a huge field that the kids ran and played tag and chase though.  They enjoyed being able to just run around. After a good run around, they all plopped down on a bench in exhaustion. 

We jumped in the car and decided to make a pit stop on the way home at the Sit-Janshuismolen, which are original and active windmills from the 18th century.  Monster and Little A were way too tired and complained that they didn't want to walk more, so I stayed in the car with them and Kevin and the two older girls ran to the windmills.  It was a great day and all the kids fell asleep in the car with in a few minutes of driving back to the hotel.