Day Trips Post Five of Five

Continuing to travel to Limburg and Koblenz:

Limburg Cathedral is easily spotted from the autobahn driving between Koln and Frankfurt. It had captured our eye more than once, so we decided to explore!



I love the details of statuary around these old cathedrals:


Old houses in town:




Castle:



Koblenz is a town near here where the Mosel River meets the Rhine river, known as the Deutches Eck (German Corner).  There is a 14 meter high statue built to honour William I at the convergence.  A tram lift will take you from river level up to the old Prussian fortress on the hill.  It was a dreary grey day, so the pictures are slightly dark.












Thanks for traveling with me! Hope you enjoyed seeing this little corner of the world.

Day Trips Post Four of Five

Continuing our Travels....to Luxumbourg.

Although Luxumbourg city is a lovely town, we had explored it on a previous trip to the area. So this trip we were looking to find something different. Due to the wonders of the internet, I learned that Luxumbourg was the final resting place for many American soldiers who died during battles of WWII in this area. In addition, it is the final resting place of General George Patton, Jr. So that became our destination.

There is something about rows of white crosses that take my breath away--and make me forever grateful:


This cemetery had many graves marked with Stars of David. Humbling.


Here is Patton's final resting place:



The same day we visited Luxumbourg, we also explored the former-Roman city of Trier. Trier is famous for its gate the Porta Negra:




The cathedral:







Next up: Limburg and Koblenz

Day Trips Post Three of Five

Continuing to Expolore Area around our New Home

We also discovered Brugge about eleven years ago. It is such a beautiful little town with its canals and relatively untouched-by-WW architecture. It was a rather dull day when we drove over for lunch and exploring, but it didn't stop us from taking a couple hundred shots of the canals and buildings (no I'm really not exaggerating). Thankfully for you, I've chosen just a few of my favourites to give you a flavor or the area.











And, of course we had to have some chocolate!


Next up: Luxumbourg

I Don't Want to be an After-Mom

Linking up with Lisa Jo for Five Minute Friday:



The theme this week is AFTER:

Go:

"After you do your homework, we'll have ice cream."
"After I finish folding the laundry, I will read the book."
"After I write this note/check this email/make this meal/tell this story..."

"After"
I seem to say it a lot. Too much.  And I hate.myself.for.it.

I grew up in an "after" household. The problem was after rarely ever came. My mom would move on the next task and forget the promise. I hated that. And now I do it. (maybe not the forgetting the promise as much as the making them wait.)

I want to be an "okay let's do it" Mom. I want to be able to put the socks down and read the book. I want to naturally stop what I'm doing to give them the attention they deserve. Even if I do have to finish the task (some things really can't wait), I want to have shown them the respect to listen and know what I'm delaying. And I want to go back and fulfill the promise.

I don't want to be an "after" Mom. One step at a time, one day at a time, I'm going to commit to doing more "now" and saving the mundane things of life for "after." After all, they won't be this little much longer and I don't want to miss it.

Stop.