The Meier's German Adventure

Here he is - the famous COL/SGT!

Our first trip in 2005 was only about 30 minutes away - in the town of Sinsheim. We visited the Sinsheim Auto-Technik Museum. It was really huge! On top of one of the buildings were several airplanes that you could climb inside. Our favorite plane to check out was the Concorde. It was a lot smaller on the inside than I would have thought. The museum has over 3,000 exhibits - among them are vintage cars, trains, race cars, motorcycles and more. There is also a great deal of military equiptment on display - Scott's personal favorite was the Colonel-Sgt. There are also 2 IMAX theaters at the museum. It was a really fun day!

After we finished exploring all the clock stores had to offer we visited the largest waterfall in Germany. It is the Triberg Wasserfall with a drop of over 500 feet in seven steps. We really enjoyed trying to see who's snowball could reach the water. It was beautiful with all of the fresh snow.

Here are Scott and the kids standing in front of the world's largest working cuckoo clock. This was at a different store in the area. The cuckoo really works and the bird is about 6 feet long! Of course, we had to wait until the bird called the hour before we could continue! The kids really got a kick out of that!

This is Adolf Herr - the carver of our clock! His family has been making clocks since the 1780s. His shop is not very large - it occupies the third floor of the store. He was very nice - and he signed our clock for us.

Since today is the last day of 2004, we decided to take a trip to the Schwarzwald (the Black Forest) to top off our year! This part of Germany is only about 1 1/2 hours away from Mannheim. The further south we drove - the more snow we began to see! Our first stop was the House of Black Forest Clocks. The picture of Scott and the kids is right outside of the store. They are standing in front of a big clock with 21 moving figures. This is the store where we purchased our new cuckoo clock!

Here is one last shot of the giant pyramid at the Heidelberg Market all light up at night!

It was really cool to be strolling along and then to look up and see the Schloss! It is such a beautiful country with wonderful traditions. This makes it very easy to get into the Christmas spirit!

Today after church we drove over to Heidelberg to visit their Weihnachtsmarkt. They have been having this market in the same area for over 500 years! It was really a fun day. Good brotwurst and Gluhwein - of course. They also had a live nativity area with all the animals.

This is a picture of our quarters that was in the post newspaper! On the 5th of December between the hours of 7 and 9 all of the streetlights on post are turned off and the housing areas light up their luminaries! Different groups walk throughout the neighborhoods singing Christmas carols. Our housing area topped the evening off with a Gluhwein social - YUM! Ya just gotta love this country!

This was our last night with Grandma and Grandpa! It was Thanksgiving Day so after a FABULOUS dinner - we drove into downtown Mannheim to check out the Weihnachtsmarkt! (the Christmas Market). It was really cool. In towns all over Germany ( and the rest of Europe) for the past several hundred years, a few weeks before Christmas vendors and artisans set up little booths in an outdoor market. Of course, with it being a little chilly - you have have a drink of warm Gluhwein in your hand as you browse the market. It was very festive and quite quaint. It was a great way to top of their visit!

These are the stairs you use to leave the Vatican Museums. They were created in a double helix - very cool. Once we were done here we grabbed some lunch outside of Vatican. This was our last day in Rome and we topped it off with another good meal, a bottle of wine and some great memories!

Can you guess where we went today? The Vatican Museums! This picture was painted by Raphael - and is located in one of the Raphael Rooms. The colors of all the paintings were so brilliant! It was just one amazing priceless work of art after another! And once we thought things couldn't get any more beautiful - we finished our tour of the museums with the Sistine Chapel. We were not allowed to take any pictures in the Chapel so you have to see it for yourselves! I can describe it for you though - UNBELIEVABLE! The colors were so vibrant and in such detail! Michelangelo's works are a gift for all to see.

From the Spanish Steps we walked to Trevi Fountain! Of course we all threw in our coins which, legend says will bring you back to Rome someday! Works for me! The statues in the fountain are really beautiful. This night we found a fabulous little restaurant and had a GREAT dinner! Little hint for anyone who reads this and is planning a trip to Rome - restaurants that are across the street form Lambourghini dealers are a little bit pricey! But hey - La Vita Bella!

After a little lunch, we jumped back onto the metro and got off at the famous Spanish Steps. They actually form somewhat of a bowtie in shape - a little hard to make out form the picture. It was very cool. Another great photo op in Rome. Scott, the kids and I climbed to the top!

After we explored the dome, we came down to the inside of St. Peter's Basilica. When we entered it, we were struck by the enormity of it. At the nd of the immense central nave rises the bronze baldacchino (canopy) by Bernini. The four spiral columns of the baldcchino are made from bronze taken from the Pantheon. The canopy covers the high alter and its 29 meters high. The high alter rises above the Tomb of St. Peter. I can't really explain what we all felt when we saw this. We went down to the grottoes for a closer view of the tomb. Truly indescribable. Around other parts of the grottoes are the funeral monuments to numerous popes. St. Peter's is truly a marvel.

The view atop St. Peter's dome.

St. Peter's Square