Freinsheim Rotweinwanderung

Josh rented a UFC movie for tonight. It's 140 minutes of UFC, bad acting, and Nick Nolte. So, I'm distracting myself by writing a new blog entry. :)

On Friday night, me, Josh, and our friends Lacie, Yahreen, and Marcus went to the Freinsheim Rotweinwanderung. Yes, I know that's a mouth full. Freinsheim is the name of the town, and "Rotweinwanderung" just means "red wine hike". Here's the translated link.

It was snowing at our house when we left, but by the time we got to Freinsheim (an hour away) the sky cleared up. That just meant it was even colder, so we hurried to find the wine.

So, here's how the red wine hike works. There are 13 large party tents set up all throughout the vineyards in the area. A hiking trail connects all of the tents together. Josh and I guessed that maybe the whole walk was a mile and a half, but that's really just total guessing. All of these tents have wine and food available, and you go from tent to tent eating and drinking. Oh, and you get torches. There were burning logs set up every so often on the trail to light the way, but you could also carry your own torches throughout the hike. So, lots of wine, plus lots of fire. The Germans aren't too big on safety.

Actually, the thought of carrying torches was much more romantic than it really was. It's a real hassle carrying around a glass of wine, a handful of food (pretzel, sandwich, etc) and a torch. Basically, our DD (thanks, Yahreen!) was the one who carried the torch most of the time. It was such a hassle, Josh and I didn't even bust out the camera. (the others took photos, so I may upload those later).

It actually worked out perfectly that four of us were drinking - 4 glasses in a bottle. I think we ended up getting 5 bottles of wine on the whole walk. Yes, that sounds like a lot (and it is). BUT, with the amount of walking we did, and the time we spent drinking, and the food we were eating - nobody went overboard. We definitely had a very good time, but there were no...."ill effects".

Memorable moments? Well....there was the German who crop-dusted me and Yahreen. The older drunk American lady that was totally hitting on Marcus (but she was a riot). The superawesomedelicious cinnamon & sugar crepe filled with applesauce. The shooting star that Lacie and I saw (NO, it wasn't a result of the wine, we really did see it!). The live band that was playing in the middle of the vineyard. Having to use Yahreen's phone as a flashlight in the port-a-potty (I was verrrrrrry careful not to drop it). It was really such a fun fun fun time. Freinsheim has a wine walk every season, and we'll definitely make this a regular thing.

The next one is in April, and I think we'll do it during the day for that one - just to be able to see all the flowers blooming.

The rest of the weekend was pretty relaxed. Josh and I went to Möbel Martin in K-town. It's basically an expensive Ikea...well, a very expensive Ikea. It was 3 huge stories of uncomfortable looking European furniture. There is something so distinct about German-style furniture. The beds and couches sit so low to the ground, and everything is very....boxy looking. I have to say, I'm not a huge fan of that style (although I do love Ikea), but it was still fun to look around.

Saturday night, I went out with a couple friends for a girls' night/birthday dinner at a local Italian restaurant. It was good food, but I'm not sure if any locals eat there - it seemed more like it caters to Americans (by the end of the night, the restaurant was completely full of nothing but Americans). One thing was pretty neat, though. When we first got there, the restaurant was mainly empty - except for a young couple sitting next to us. All of a sudden, the waitress comes out with a plate that had sparklers sitting on it, and a little box resting on the plate. Yep - the guy next to us proposed to his girlfriend. I've never seen a proposal before, but it was pretty cute. She was crying, and we all clapped (although, in my head, I was making fun of her for crying like a big baby ;) ).

All in all, it was such a fun weekend. I can't wait for the next one!

Casa de Aycock

I've been ignoring numerous requests for pictures of the inside of our palace. Not because I didn't want people to see it, but because we still had unpacking to do. But, we had people over this weekend, and what better way to get your rear in gear and finish setting up house? So, here is our house. Complete with narration:

(FYI, you can click on the pictures to make them bigger)

Here's the main (2nd floor) entrance to our house:

Bathroom's on the left:

Yes, that is a urinal. (Don't worry, there is also a toilet to the left)

Kitchen's to the right of the entrance:

There is a mini-fridge in the kitchen, but we also have a huge pantry with a full-size fridge in there.

From the kitchen, we go to the dining room:

From the dining room, you can go out onto the terrace:

And the lovely view:
(it really is a great view - photos don't do it justice)

From the dining room, you can also go to the living room:

From the living room, we go to the stairwell:

1st Floor (we also call it the basement, but it's not really below ground)

From the stairs, you have the bathroom on the right, the oil room straight ahead, and the other rooms to the left:

The 1st floor bathroom:
There is also a shower on the left side.

Here's what will eventually be Josh's pool room:

On the left side of the pool room, thru the door, is what will be our "game room". Eventually, we're going to get a couch (a pull-out, so we'll have an extra bedroom) and some chairs for the game room.

Then, on the right side of the pool room is the 1st floor entrance, and beyond that, the laundry room, deep freezer, and storage room:

The view from our downstairs porch. Up on that hill is a biergarten. Tragic, isn't it?

Ok, back to the stairs. Now we're going up to the 3rd floor:

3rd floor hallway. From here, the bathroom is on the right, the guest room is straight ahead, the master bedroom is next to that, another storage room is next to the master, and then our dressing room is on the left.

Yes, ladies, we have a dressing room. Two wardrobes on the right side, and one wardrobe and one dresser on the left side. (remember - no closets in Germany)

Unfortunately for us, the bathroom is a horrible pepto-pink color:

This is the guest bedroom/office. As soon as I find the perfect desk, I'll be able to unpack the very last box (which is why the far side of the room has crap stacked up).

And, finally, the master bedroom. Eventually, we're going to buy a chaise lounge, and make a little reading nook in the corner.

Yes, that's Sasha under the bed.

We still need to get a lot of artwork, and trinkets (not to mention several pieces of furniture) - we have a lot of bare walls and shelves. But, we have a ton of room, so we need to start having houseguests!! Maybe I should run my own bed & breakfast....

Also, did you notice how many pictures Sasha and Rufus were in? I can't do a bloomin' thing without both of them following me, wherever I go.