Cologne (Koln), Germany

Let's load up more travel photos (as I don't have much else to say)! 

Here is the Dom Cathedral in Cologne, Germany. You can read more about it here.  It is the largest cathedral in Germany and is just awesome to behold. There are loads more information on the net so you can google it to find more information.

 Our son walked the 100+ steps up to the bell tower. Here is the view from up high! It is pretty amazing inside and out!

 

Here is a bridge with an interesting "tourist attraction". Look along the walkway where the people are - see those colourful things along the bridge? No?

Here's a close-up. Thousands of people have put in these locks to proclaim their "love". It was really amazing to see!

Here we are on the Rhine River. There are many boat tours (well worth it). 

The view from the boat. In the evening we sat in one of those outdoor cafes for dinner - marvelous!  

And here is our little village of Bensberg, about 30 minute by train from Cologne. 

Oh, and at the end of the day, we trudge back to our castle (via a hill paved with cobblestones!). What a wonderful place. We were definitely the "Beverly Hillbillies" at this 5-star hotel though!

Some of the beautiful interior...

Finally, as we return from a mellow dinner at the village, here is the site that greets us!

 Oh boy, what a time that was! 

I hope you've enjoyed these snippets of our travels in Germany! See you next time!

Wanna see more framing?

What a silly question! Of course you want to see more framing! I always love to see how stitchers frame their lovely treasures.  But truth be told, it's because I have not picked up a needle since we got home. I'm very slow to go back to routine! At least jet lag is over! 

Here's Miss Olga, by the talented Paulette of Plum Street Samplers.

The frame was a "leftover" piece on sale and when I saw it I knew it was perfect for Olga. The colours of the photo don't do this justice. I'm looking at her as I type this as she is now sitting by my computer.

Next is Betsy by Sheepish Designs. I chose a very simple (read - "inexpensive") frame.  

I think I have one more to show but I gotta find it first! 

Thank you for your lovely comments on my last post. I will try and pull out more photos for another post. I think my mind is still in la-la-land, not quite grounded in "Home" yet. Plus I have been doing lots of reading so maybe that should be the next post! 


Well, that's it for now! Take care and have a lovely week ahead!

There and Back Again...a Mother's Tale

The title is borrowed from a certain Mr. Baggins but aptly describes our absence these past 2 weeks. We have been in the south-west part of Germany visiting our DS, who moved there in late spring to work for 8 months. It was so great to see him and we had a lovely time! Now, where to begin? 

My DH is the guy with the camera and once that thing attaches to his arm, he is in action. He took over 1600 photos and videos! I am feeling overwhelmed with how to edit the lot so I just pulled a few to show you, just to get started. 

We begin in Stuttgart. It's a small city with about 1/2 million population - just the right size for us to start our adventure. I will start with some photos around the old Schloss (palace grounds).  

This is part of the great pedestrian shopping strip  (Konigstrasse) which goes on and on! The yellow banners you see in the center announce their own version of the Octoberfest.

 This is a section of the Berlin Wall.

This is the famous Mercedes Benz museum. The architecture is really interesting. You walk from one floor to the next like a spiral. 

 

This is my DH having fun with the one and only race car he will  ever  "drive"! 

 

Here is a very happy mom visiting her boy's place of work.

 

Here's the drink of Germany! We are at a homey restaurant in the village where our son lives. The restaurant is in a renovated garage in someone's house, right in the middle of a neighbourhood! The food was home-y and yummy! 

Here is part of Market Day (Saturday) in Stuttgart. There are many markets on market day. There is one for food as you see here, one for flowers , another for "fleas". The latter two are found in other squares. There is also an indoor "Market Hall", which, unfortunately we missed!

More royal 'what-its'. You know when you are traveled out when you can't remember names of things. This was turned into a museum. 

The last photo was taken outside the Chocolate Museum in Cologne. That was another part of the trip but I won't show that here. 

I also can't seem to add another line after the photo so I'll stop for now. We are still recovering from jet lag. Thank goodness it's the Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, and we have a lot to be thankful for. We had a lovely time with our boy. He's matured leaps and bounds and we are so proud of him. The weather was fantastic (in the low to mid 20 C) and the beer was good! 

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends!