Baden Baden

Two days ago Jeremy and I drove with our friends to see a town called Baden Baden. Our goal was to see the Black Forest and Strasbourg France as well but it gets dark here pretty early right now so we didn't quite make it. It was a great little adventure though.

To get to Baden Baden I drove almost 3 hours on thin and windy country roads. The scenery was really beautiful. Small villages that seemed to appear out of no where and shepherds with their flocks were all we could see. The mountains are really a sight here too.  Apparently Southern Germany and Northern France are full of size-mic mountains. I am sure that some of them are volcanoes but I don't know which ones nor do I know which ones are still active. What I do know now is that Baden Baden and the Black Forest make a very interesting home.

The Black Forest was beautiful to drive through. They call it the Black Forest because the trees grow so close together it looks black. I think it is also that there is a lot of fog in these mountains. The fog comes from the mountains being so warm. Example: this part of Germany has seen about a foot or more of snow in the last week but much of the ground we saw was green grass do to heat rising out of the mountain's core. When we got really high on the mountains and it was snowing then we saw snow on the ground but I don't know for how long it would last. (We got nervous, not having snow tires, and went back down due to the fog and snow). Even though it was getting dark it was beautiful. The pictures are from the web because it was too dark for me to get pictures. This was our last stop of the day before we headed home.

About 12pm into our day we are stopped at the boarder of France to get some directions and some french pastries. I thought they were pretty good, but the interesting part for me was walking into the bakery and thinking I needed to speak Germany and they spoke French. What was worse was when I started speaking Creole and they couldn't understand me. Even my English was no good, however numbers are the same, so I could point at what I wanted and pay with no problem. On our way through to Baden Baden we stopped at the guard shack and took our pictures infront of the boarder of France and Germany. It was a great little break from the road, plus the people were just precious. (If you look close, you can see the France sign behind Jeremy's head on the right, little blue square).

Arriving in Baden Baden we parked at the Casino and walked for a bit checking out the old part of the city.

We got to see the old roman baths under the city and the new roman baths that are alive and active. It is a big tradition for the people to go in completely naked (men and woman together, out in the open might I add) so needless to say the picture is from far away. I don't want to see naked people but it was so cool how the water was gushing out of the earth steaming at a perfect hot tub temperature. Steam was everywhere do to the fact that the water was rising at least15 feet high. (It is hard to see in the picture but if you look to the left of the church you can see the steam from the bath). The people just built tiled and glass structures around it. If they hadn't been naked and I could have worn a bathing suit, I totally would have gotten in for a few minutes.

That been said we did try the water from the small well. This little sink of water, just like all the other natural flowing hot spring pools here have been flowing for thousands of years. This little sink has been used as cooking, cleaning, bathing, shaving, and drinking water. It is considered good luck to drink from the water. (The people in the picture are Brianna, Bailey, and Milly. Our friends from Spain).

I also found it interesting that for hours we have been driving in these little German villages but as we drove into Baden Baden the scenery changed to an old roman look, and until we got out and walked around I had no idea that the Roman empire extended that far north.

Baden Baden was a roman city first and it was a treasure to see. One really interesting thing was that despite the temperatures being below freezing it looked like spring here.

The church is a constant 85 degrees inside because they built it on top of the hot spring. It was just really an interesting place.

Afterward we of course ate at a great little restaurant. It was expensive but it made the whole trip worth it for Jeremy. I should have taken a picture of the place it was so unique but we were all tired and I didn't want to bother. I hope you enjoy the pictures. Love, Becky

Schloss Heidelberg (Castle Heidelberg)

I am taking it one day at a time here in Germany so expect more than just one post. We are going to be here for 10 days and I am not sure just what all we are going to enjoy but we are very happy to be here. Germany is a beautiful place that is again a big change from the USA but really good experience.
I am sure you are all wondering, yes... I am driving here. However I have been really scared and I am learning to relax as best I can. Jeremy and I took our first adventure today and really had a great day.
He helped me by reading the GPS for me and learning how to help me understand him, as well as I learned to listen to him better. It was quite the sight. We yelled a lot at first but then by the end of the day we had it down. No yelling just listening and talking and responding to our new surroundings.

We made it to Heidelberg with just enough time to visit their castle and then eat dinner before heading back to the hotel for the night.

Jeremy and I climbed 314 steps to see the castle. I had to stop 3 times because I needed to take in more oxygen (I yawned the whole way), but yes the pregnant woman climbed that many stairs. I is a beautiful city as you can see, and the castle was so big.

I was hard to imagine that something so large was built in the medieval times and that all the damage was done by catapults and fire balls from the same time period. It really put some things in perspective. I is hard to tell from the pictures but the size of this place is really something to see in person.

This is a picture of Jeremy out in front of one of their giant beer barrels. It is not the biggest one but it shows the perspective better. The biggest one in the world was in an other room and was so large it was like 2 times as big as this one.

This is a picture of a tree that wrapped around the pillar. I is the entrance to the castle's well. I was really cool. I don't think I did it justice though. I still have a lot to learn as a photographer. It frustrates me that I notice a better shot later on, even from a picture I took. Oh well, I get better with practice, my only sadness is that I know I may never be back to these places.
You probably won't believe me but the hard part about our visit was going down the steps. It hurt my knees so bad. I think it is because of that hormone when you are pregnant that relaxes your ligaments because I have never felt pain in my knees before, I didn't like it at all.

Jeremy and I went to dinner at this little restaurant in the plaza. We ate Schnitzel which we both agree was absolutely wonderful. We also ate something called a Flame Cake, it was like a really thin pizza with sour cream, dill, onions, turkey, and cheese. It was very good as well. Well that is really it for today. We Love you and we will keep in touch. Beck  PS. There is more to come even from today, I just want to space it out.

The Much Awaited Olive Mill

I am so sorry for the delay. I went to the Olive Mill back in November 2009. The day after Thanksgiving with my neighbors Jon and Heather. Jon also had his grandfather with him, who I must say was a really nice guy. We traveled for quite a while out into Spain's  sierra territory. I think it was like an hour and a half or longer.

I really don't think I could have taken more pictures if I tried but I will try to keep them to a minimum on the blog. It was a beautiful drive though. Oh, and I was running a fever. I had some sort of cold and I didn't really feel up to going but I didn't think it was going to be all that bad until about an hour into the trip when we had to stop for medicine. However as you well know, I made it through.
The olive mill was up in the mountains and all you could see for at least 30 minutes of driving were olive trees and winding roads. The village we ate at was one of the few white washed left in Spain and the restaurant used the oil from the mill on the tables.

The gentleman who owned the mill said that it has been in his family for some 500 years and they use machines now but the process is exactly the same. And no one is allowed to touch the olives. They have to be pure. The olives are ground up and then squeezed to form the oil. We are talking a lot of pressure. Nothing is wasted. I also told us that almost all the olive oil we eat in the US comes from Spain but is bottled in Italy. He was a really nice guy, you all would have enjoyed the experience.

To love another person is to see the face of God. -Victor Hugo

Jeremy and I spent the morning at the doctor office and was pleasantly relieved to find a baby that is right on schedule. They say that there is only one in there for those who were hoping for twins.

The baby has a strong heart beat and is measuring at 7 weeks and 2 days. Just over an inch in length. The doctors and dietitians are working with me to keep my GI issues to a minimum and learning how to keep me hydrated (apparently that is a task for me over the next 9 months). They have put me on red-gland and B6 so we will see how this works for me but so far it is not much better. I am just praying that the sickness and the GI issues will go away today. Here are the pictures of the baby. We hope you all love them as much as we do. Jeremy even put one up in the office. He is so happy he blushes a bit.

Our Ever Changing World/Family

Well Jeremy and I are really learning to adapt to our new life here in Spain and we are constantly reminded that life is a journey. We are learning together how to be a stronger and better family unit and asking God for help every step of the way.

Jeremy surprised me with a new dog this Christmas. She is a pretty little thing that needed a home before she was euthanized and we are calling her Roxanne (Roxy for short).








I surprised Jeremy with the news of being pregnant, so in a week our family has doubled and changed twice over. I am adjusting to morning sickness and he is helping out more around the house. We are learning how to pray together and I hope it lasts. I believe praying together is vital to a family and though I don't understand Jeremy's reservations on it his heart is in the right place.

I wish we could have been home this Christmas to hug all of you and share the chore of cooking and cleaning and the joy playing games, laughing, and just being with you all but I hope you all enjoyed the pictures we sent. Next year the pictures will be completely different, there will be a baby and 2 dogs in the shot. 

With all this change in my life I am reminded of Ps. 138 and 139.
In 138 he was talking to God about not forgetting him, and knowing that there was so much he needed God for in his life and it was as the Lord answered him with the praise of the next psalm 139:11-16

If I say, "surely the darkness shall fall on me," even the night shall be light about me; indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You. But the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You. For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the day fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.

The psalmist goes on to talk about the precious thoughts God has for us and how much love he has for God. I want to never forget this and to love God because He first loved me with such tenderness. I love you all and pray for the peace of God to surround you.