Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008 ~ Koblenz

After a good night’s sleep we all woke up a bit earlier today and when I came out of our room, there was Seth, Elizabeth and James playing a game of “Settlers”. They had wanted to get a game going for several days now and this was a good time to do it. Dan got up, showered, ate breakfast and got ready for another day. Alisha ate and then got ready to head to the pool and I got caught up on my journaling. When the others were up and ready we headed down to Leiwen, the little town just below the Landal Sonenberg where we were staying. We had driven through it many times as we came and went but all we had done was admire the beauty of the town. It has magnificent window boxes bursting with flowers of every color. The homes are mostly stucco and are painted all different colors. The doors are large and very majestic looking. We had a wonderful time walking the streets and taking pictures.











The streets were cobblestone and the cemetery was a flower garden. I loved the way they laid out the gravesites. Instead of a cover of grass, they framed the spot in stone and then planted flowers completely within the frame with a head stone at the end. It was absolutely beautiful and I wondered if I would be allowed to have flowers on me instead of grass.

After our sweep of the town we went back to our condo and gathered up things for the days adventures. Again, we packed a picnic lunch, our cameras and our jackets. Seth drove us today, as he knew just where we were going. First, he took us into Klonbitz which is a fairly large city. James, Elizabeth and Alisha waited at the train station while Seth and I hurried around the City Center trying to find a bank that would exchange dollars for Euros. It took some time but we were able to find one. In fact, it was a City Bank like we have in the states.
When we got back to the station we found out that the cost of the train were almost twice as much as we had been told so we decided not to take the train. Instead, we found a place where we could sit down and eat our lunch. Dan headed back to rest in the car and we went shopping. We were looking for some gifts to bring home and needed the “just right” thing. We actually found several books for the grandchildren there at the train station. Then we wandered around the city streets and in and out of shops. The boys had fun in the toy stores and the book stores. The girls found a beautiful linen shop and admired so many wonderful pieces of stitch work on fine linens. Being unsure of what else was out there, we went on.
Seth showed us a fantastic cathedral, so we took some pictures and went inside for a few quiet, peaceful moments.











We were going to head back after that, but then Seth asked if we wanted to go into a nearby mall. This was the place we were looking for. It didn’t take long for us girls to find exactly what we were looking for and we beginning selecting what we wanted. Alisha even found a hooded vest that she liked. We bought a ring for Elizabeth’s baby since she had been given a ring by Aunt Paunie when she was just a baby. It has a little lady bug on it and is adjustable. It will be perfect for her little girl. Elizabeth picked out this one for herself and we bought a few more rings for some of the others, as well.
On our way back we stopped at the linen shop again and picked out several items for my mom and sisters. The ladies there even wished me a Happy Birthday when Seth told them that it was my birthday today. They spoke in German so I don’t know if they said I looked that old or not. I decided not to ask Seth.
After we left Klonbitz, Seth took us out to look at castles. We found the first one just before dark and were able to get several fun pictures. We hiked up a little hill just above the castle and took pictures of the castle and of each other. We even found a little path and took pictures there, too. We got up nice and close and took pictures of the court yard and then more pictures from below. I’m glad we took so many pictures since we weren’t able to find any other castles after it got dark.

We enjoyed a quiet, restful ride back to Landal and finished off our day with bowls of potato soup, ravioli, pizza and a delicious apple strudel that James and Elizabeth bought especially to celebrate my birthday and their 3rd anniversary. It was a wonderful day!!! and I’m headed to bed because we have another fun-filled day planned for tomorrow.