European Travels: Day Three (Wednesday

REMEMBER DAY 4 - We are off to Rome

Blue Dots indicate where we been, Aaron and Sara live near Kalserslautern which is located in the Rhineland area

Day Three

After a restless night of sleep we were up and rolling at 6:45 a.m. and out the door by 8:00 a.m. As stated earlier Sara and Aaron had purchased me (actual all of us) tickets to Miniature Wonderland.

Aaron using his GPS found his way to a garage near Wonderland. Sara using her GPS guided us to the location. This required us to cross over water and had the opportunity to see some unique buildings. See photos below:

Once we located Wonderland we still had about an hour before our tickets were good. So off we went looking for a bakery. According to Pam’s step counter we walked about a mile and half and along the way we saw some a variety of ships. See photos below.

We first decided to stand outside a bakery that was opening in 15 minutes when I spotted another bakery and grocery store about a block away. Off we went each getting our favorite donuts and I had another Endbeer (Strawberry Milk).

We arrived at Wonderland and I took a large number of photos. But to be honest I’m including a video from YouTube. It will do much better job showing what we saw. It's not the same but the video will do a better job then my photos. I will share a few videos that show what happens when the lights go down and it's night time.

Here are couple of mine

VIDEOS are here not sure why you can't see them.

I want again to thank Aaron and Sara for the Christmas gift and suffering through a 5 hour drive up and back. For any of you who have driven from Dallas to Houston, well it was WORSE. Plus there were times we were traveling over 100 mph! But once there we spent the night in a hotel and then 2 ½ hours at Wonderland. Yes, we spent 2 ½ hours and I believe if we went back and spent another 2 ½ hours we would see even more stuff that we missed the first time. Whether you’re a modeler, train hobbyist it's just impressive to see the detail and work. I did add one photo of the command center. I don’t believe you would see this in the video.

After Wonderland Aaron put the home address in the GPS. We had a 5 ½ hour drive back. The route took us by the river, crossing a number of bridges, seeing more ships and unique homes. Once we got a few miles from town we stopped at a rest stop for lunch. I know what you’re thinking – a rest stop. What did we order from McDonalds right? Pam did order form the Burger King but the photos below show you the salad bar, sandwich bar, and fish store. I had FishFilet Champignon and man was it good. See photo. Sara had Cordon Bleu and Aaron had a nice pasta. My understanding is that this type of rests stop is common in Germany.

The food court

FishFilet Champignon

I thought I would share the experience of riding home. Couple of times the GPS recommended we leave the main road due to traffic. That meant we were driving on old roads. Now I want you to consider that when we first entered this road the RECOMMENDED speed was 50khm. That means you could go as fast as you are willing to risk. (This is a 10 minute ride - so enjoy)

Had problems uploading so need to do some work. Unfortunately, like every blog post I'm short on time.

What I Learned about Germany

· Quiet Hours – you ready for this one. The whole country of Germany has a set Quiet Hours. Starting at 8 p.m. and until 10 a.m. you cannot run a vacuum or any machine that makes too much noise. Your music cannot be turned up, etc. Then on Sunday the whole day is quiet hour. It is expected on Sunday you spend time with your family. For the most part everything closes.
· Actual noticed this day one but hadn’t written about it: There are a lot of people traveling by bicycle. You can see men and women riding their bikes to work, to shop or whatever. You can see bike racks everywhere.
Lori James (fellow high school student) posted that I needed to try the gummy bears. Well we actual did the night before and bought two more bags today. Pam and I plan on bringing some home. HMMMMMM good!
· Today I actual saw people driving way faster than us. Remember we’ve topped out around 110/115 mph. Today, we had a couple of cars pass us like we were standing still.
· Can’t remember if I posted this before – but go to the restroom before you buy stuff at a rest stop or quick shop. While it cost you .70 cents to get in. You get a voucher for .50 cents to be used when you shop. That way the restroom only cost you .20 cents. They also don’t call them restrooms they are Water Closets. WC means there is a Water Closet available.
· Highway driving – don’t have to worry about the highway patrol. Highways are patrol by cameras. If your speeding, a flash will occur. You and your license plate will show up in pictures. Then you receive a ticket in the mail. Like our country fail to pay the ticket and they come looking.
· Just something I noticed but there is a lot of graffiti in Germany. On bridges, walls, buildings, etc.
· Most people know this but not sure about my World Geography students. You need an adaptor to plug in any American equipment.

· If you weren’t aware Euro money is different size. The larger the amount the larger the bill. I have to be honest and say it feels like play money.

Eating out - actual knew this doing the research before leaving. But when you eat in a restaurant the waiter will bring you the menu and will not return until your ready. Your ready by closing the menu. If you have the habit of leaving your menu open because you wait until they come for your order to make the final decision. Well, you wait a long time. Once you place your order you will see the waiter again when the food arrives and then again WHEN you signal them for the check. Otherwise, they will leave you alone to enjoy your meal.
Pizza in Germany has very little sauce. They use the cheese to created the base as well as the topping.