Christmas Markets Galore

The hotel beds were so comfortable, thank-God because I needed some proper sleep. Also great shower and breakfast offered. We're were off at 8am to hit the Xmas markets in a few different towns. We're staying in Trier, the oldest city in Germany. Our first place to visit was Koblenz, about an hour away. More time on the bus - dear God.

Koblenz is a city that is situated where the Rhine and Moselle Rivers meet and at this point there is a massive monument of Emperor William I on horseback - it's quite impressive.

Just beside this monument stands 3 pieces of the Berlin wall - as you'll see from my pictures. After being a tourist and taking many pictures, Stacey and I headed into town to discover these amazing Christmas markets Germany is famous for.

The architecture here is so neat, I love it. The markets are set up in several places around the city center and are little wooden sheds open as kiosks. There is never ending food and drink as well. I quickly learned the German food is fantastic. So much variety rather than your typical burger and fries. Stacey and I sampled one of the desert like items. It was like a pancake with apple slices folded into it. The guy warmed it and served it with sugar sprinkled on top. It was so good.

Next was our wine tasting in Winnigen. We went to this very neat, cozy winery/vineyard. The couple who own the vineyard have built a small pub/restaurant like service on their property where they hold their wine tastings. It is a very welcoming place. The wine wasn't anything I like as most of it was white, but it was still a neat experience to have a German explain his wines to us.

Next we're on our way to Cochem, a small market town about 30 minutes away. This town was also kited out with Xmas market kiosks and food. Here, Stacey and I tried their deep friend potato pancake something or other. I have no idea what anything was called and even if I did, I'd never be able to pronounce it or spell it. This potato thing wasn't great as it was soaked in grease. Better luck next time. Cochem is also nestled alongside a river and has narrow little streets in its town center. There's also a castle that sits on the hill overlooking the town.

The last stop for the evening is Bernkastel. Wow! There's a huge building outfitted as an advent calendar! It's was amazing all lit up. Each window was decorated to look like a day on the calendar. Impressive. Another very cool town with quaint, narrow streets. By this point we are all starving so we all split up to go grab some grub. Stacey and I went to the first restaurant we saw that looked pretty decent. The atmosphere was great and the food fantastic. We had a great time relaxing and chatting and listening the the German chatter around us. By the time we were finished eating, all the markets were closed so we walked around with a few of the other girls and took in the sights.

We landed back at the hotel around 10pm. Stacey visited my room for more chatting and checking out what we bought.

Off to Germany!

The train arrived in London at 05:20. I relaxed in my bunk until 6, then I was off on my next adventure - the tube! The tube leaves right from London Paddington train station, which is super easy to get to. I only had to make one connection and it was smooth sailing. Once I arrived in West Ruislip where the base is, I only had a 6 minute walk and I was at the detachment.

The place was packed with people I didn't know. I just kind of hung around and had some of the continental breakfast they laid out for us. Just before we starting loading the bus I met Stacy. Right away her and I hit it off so we sat on the bus together and never shut up for several hours later. We left the detachment around 8:30am because of an accident on one of the motorways. Due to this accident it took us a long time to get out of London. We finally arrived in Dover around 10:30am I think. We had a few minutes wait and then we loaded on the Euro Tunnel (aka Chunnel). I thought the Chunnel was an underground highway system, but I was completely wrong. It's actually a train system. The vehicles drive into what is similar to a boxcar on a train. The train then travels through the tunnel - God knows how many meters/kilometers underground. There is enough room to get out and walk around the boxcar and to walk into all the connecting cars. The only facility available are a few bathrooms. It took about 45 minutes and then we were able to see sunlight again. There are really small windows in the car so you can't really seem much anyway, but you can tell when you're underground as it's nothing but darkness outside the windows.

We're in France! The chunnel finishes in Calais, France. We are now an hour ahead of the UK. We spend a few more hours driving and stop in a town somewhere in France to grab a very quick bite to eat. Most of us went to the grocery store that was there. It was very busy and I had a hoot trying to understand what I was buying and even more of a hoot trying to pay for my purchases via the self service check-out. I managed quite fine, but realized later than there is an English option for payment! Oh well, it was an experience. The highway we take to get to Germany travels about 30 miles from Vimy Ridge and that highway is scattered with large crosses bordered with a stone fence. These crosses are the mark the fallen during the war.


A few more hours and we're in Belgium! So cool! We stopped in a small town for supper and Stacy and I took a quick walk around. I attempted to take a few pictures but it was raining a bit so didn't have much luck. Also, very cold tonight. Back on the bus we continue to drive and pass through Luxembourg, ten finally we're in Germany! We eventually arrive at our hotel around 9:30pm and we're bagged. Way too much driving. It's an early night with most of us hitting the hay not long after arrival. Whew, 5 countries in 1 day is tiring!

Sleeper to London!

What a crazy week and day at work! With this being an even shorter week for me than normal, there was a lot to jam into those few days. We've won a few projects as well recently and the pace has picked up quite a bit, which is great. I ended up working until almost 7pm tonight and spent another hour at home trying to submit tender documents online because our internet was down at the studio. What a pain in the ass. I was basically running out the door to catch my train.

I'm on my way to London tonight as I leave tomorrow morning for Germany! Yay! The coach leaves the Canadian detachment in London at 8am so getting the overnight train was my only option. I was actually excited to check this sleeper option out. I booked a single cabin so I wasn't sharing with any strangers. The train departed Truro at 22:44 and I had my own little room with a bed and sink. It's small, but it's all you need. I was able to sleep a bit and even though the train can be a bit loud and bumpy at times it was somewhat soothing to fall asleep to the steady movement of the train.

Ah Sunday...

Keith is cooking again making chili for supper and I'm about to make shortbread cookies. I'm hoping to do some Xmas baking closer to Xmas, but have to make sure this pain in the ass over of ours will actually bake the cookies and not just burn the edges. I figured I'd try a trial run today. I guess today is more of a cooking day then yesterday. Keith is out mowing the lawn and cleaning the BBQ. Doesn't sound fun at all.

Cooking Day

It wasn't a very nice day so Keith and I went grocery shopping and that's about it. Keith spent few hours making mulligatawny soup and I shopped online for New Years favors, a chocolate fondue fountain, and Xmas stockings. The soup was fantastic. I don't know how he does it but no matter what he cooks it tastes great. The evening brought more movie watching - Month Python's The Holy Grail and The Siege with Bruce Willis and Denzel.

Movie Night

Happy Birthday Aaron!

When I got up at 8am this morning, there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky. This is a picture from our bedroom overlooking the married quarters behind our house.

I spent the entire day Xmas shopping. Nope, I'm not tired of it yet! Instead of torturing ourselves by going tomorrow (as Saturdays are crazy) I told Keith I'd go and do as much of his family as I could. I headed into to Truro and spent the day there visiting several shops. I love shopping! I even managed not t come home with anything for myself. That's pretty good! When I got home Keith and Speedy were hanging out having a beer. We spent the evening at Rosanna's place with Dave, Rach, and Speedy having wine, chatting, and watching a movie, Bad Santa. It was nice for a change as we haven't had movie night in weeks.

More Wrapping

Got the last of the gifts today and finished wrapping and getting them ready for shipping. Also made banana muffins. It was sad getting the gifts ready knowing I won't be home to watch my family open them. Very weird feeling really, with this being my first Christmas away from home. This is not going to be easy. The parcels will be shipped off tomorrow. It does feel good to have the shopping out of the way.

Cleaning...

Spent the morning and early afternoon cleaning and doing laundry. What a joy! After it was all done I headed to the Pool Tesco to do some more shopping. It was insane! I swear everyone in the county was at that Tesco. We cooked a roast for supper and I spent the evening wrapping gifts.

More Shopping

Shocking as it is, Keith suggested we do some shopping today. He figured he should get going on his family's shopping so we headed out to Falmouth. We didn't really accomplish a whole lot, but spent a few hours walking around Falmouth and just browsing. It was early evening when we were on our way home, so we headed to the Indian Restaurant for supper. Afterwards, we grabbed a few movies and spent the evening watching flicks, just like last night. Tonight we watched Ocean's Thirteen and The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Ocean's Thirteen was excellent - how couldn't it be with George Clooney and Brad Pitt to drool over? The second movie was a very Irish film and was a bit hard to understand at first. Eventually I got what they were saying and watched 1/2 of the movie before I went to bed. It wasn't really a flick that kept my interest.

Xmas Shopping!

Happy 30th Birthday Dan!!

I forget to post a picture of our new couch so here it is. It's huge and it's so comfortable! We've had it over a month now and it's so hard to get off it once you sit down. It's not great quality, but it does the trick.

I headed to Penzance this morning to finish off my Xmas shopping for my family. I have to finish it this weekend as the parcels have to be mailed early next week. I spent several hours in Penzance (20 minutes away) and was very happy that I didn't have to go to Truro or Falmouth for anything, I was able to get it all in one town. Friday seems to be a great day to go shopping because the shops weren't manic as I was thinking they may be.

Keith finished work early afternoon and was pretty low key for the rest of the day. Recovering from last night! We watched a few movies - The Davinci Code and Die Hard 4. Die Hard 4 was excellent!

Toranto Mess Dinner

The Toranto Mess dinner seems to be the highlight of the year for the officers. Tonight was the members only mess dinner. I've been told the history behind Toranto, but I can't remember it at the moment. Part of the evening involves teams (which I believe are the various squadrons) showing off their canons which they have built over the past weeks. I don't know all the details, but it sounded like an interesting setup. I have no doubt Keith and the rest of the boys will be in fine form tonight and hurting units tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Gampie!

Happy Birthday Gampie!

For his birthday I sent him home a remote control Mini Cooper! It's bright red and has the Union Jack flag painted on the roof. It's very British and very cool! I figured I'd help him feel like a kid again. He loved it.

The Waie Inn

Lauren was feeling much better today and Olivia and the boys needed to burn some energy so we went to the Waie Inn for a few hours. Olivia had a great time climbing the indoor play area and rushing down the slides. It's such a great place for kids to play and drain them of their energy! Dale & Keith played squash and by the time they were finished their game, Dale was feeling quite ill. He caught the bug Lauren had. Keith & I figured we'd get on the road early to let everyone recover. We got home at supper time and didn't really do any for the rest of the evening.

Remembrance Day Service

Keith was asked a few months back to attend a memorial service at Winkleigh Airfield today to lay a Canadian wreath. Winkleigh is about 10 minutes from Dale & Lauren's so it was perfect. The memorial was held today as it is a very small one (about 30 people) so everyone could still go to the main services tomorrow. We didn't know until we arrived that Winkleigh is the birthplace of 406 Squadron in Shearwater. It was formed during WWII when many Canadians were based at Winkleigh.

406 is the training squadron at Shearwater that all aircrew eventually pass through before being qualified navigators and pilots. In saying that, it meant Keith was quite the celebrity again because he of course went through 406 during his training. The people of Winkleigh and the British servicemen at the time were quite appreciative that Keith attended and had never ending stories to tell.

As part of the service he was presented with the honor roll of the men killed (all Canadians, and 1 Polish) and a picture of the monument that was erected at Winkleigh in 1995. After the service we were invited for tea/coffee and cakes. The people were extremely inviting and took very god care of us. Keith was also well photographed! His picture ended up in the paper and can be seen at:



I'm so proud! Ron Fletcher, the man in charge of the service also sent us the newspaper article, a picture taken of Keith & I, and a disk of all the pictures taken that day. I have no doubt we'll be back there next year. It such an experience to meet the vets and hear their stories.

We arrived back at Dale & Lauren's just after lunch and relaxed for the rest of the day. Lauren was sick throughout the night with some kind of bug so she needed to lay low to recover.

Off to Dale & Lauren's

Keith finished work at lunch time today so we headed out for Dale & Lauren's around 2pm. We had a bunch of stops to make on the way, one of them being to RAF St. Mawgan so we could buy some North American groceries. We also got stuck in some traffic for about 20 minutes. We arrived at Dale & Lauren's around 6pm - making for quite the long trip. We relaxed and enjoyed good company and good food as always. It was so good to see the kids. Olivia is still as fantastic as always and Jack is now much more attentive and loves to be entertained.

Beautiful Weather

Happy Birthday Paige! Today is Michelle's youngest' 2nd birthday.

I was thinking today what a fantastic fall we're having. I was out today for a few minutes without a coat on and on Halloween it was quite warm. There's still butterflies, other insects and all kinds of birds around. They all seem more prominent now than in the summer. We have a few tiny birds, not sure what they are that seem to enjoy flying into our upstairs windows. It's very bizarre! They head towards the window, hit their beak, fly off and come back to try again. It's only been the last few weeks, we haven't figured out why but I have a feeling the sun being lower in the sky is causing a reflection!

It's still running about 13C-15C during the day, but getting chillier at night. I could definitely handle this year round. However, the temperatures will fall soon and I'll complain.

So I bought a wet suit online on Monday and I got it today. It's in excellent condition and I only paid £31 for it! That's about $62. It is a second hand suit, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money not knowing if this is going to be something I enjoy. Friday I'll have to spend some time shopping ebay again for boots, flippers, and a board. The boots are only because the water isn't going to be warm enough to not wear any soon.

Keith and I put together a huge duty free booze order tonight. We're allowed 3 months worth of our allowance since we live so far away. That means we're ordering 18 litres of alcohol! This will cover a small portion of Xmas and New Years. Haha.Oh the excitement.

Happy Birthday Graham!

Happy 21st Birthday Graham! God, I'm getting old! I can't believe my youngest brother is now 21. I swear I don't feel old on my birthday, it always on theirs!

Keith had to work a few hours tonight. While he was at work I chatted to Michelle for an hour while she was at work! Hehe. So good to talk to her. We don't get much of a chance with the 5 hour time difference, so it's nice when we do catch each other.

Guy Fawkes Day

Pretty quiet day at work. My boss has been away since Thursday and doesn't come back until tomorrow, so it was a pretty quiet day. I had stuff to keep me busy all day, but it was a nice, peaceful Monday - I can't complain! So peaceful I almost fell asleep at my desk. Haha.

Lots of fireworks going off tonight. Many of the families in the married patch here have set theirs off. It's been a busy night for displays. Keith and I didn't go out to see any of the formal displays as we didn't get done supper until late. Now it's time to fall asleep...

Cooking Day

It was really nice to wake up this morning feeling normal and well. As the last 2 Sundays have been stricken with self inflicted headaches and hangover blahs. Today didn't consist of anything too exciting. Keith made some homemade mushroom soup for lunch and we cooked a roast for supper. It's been a pretty quiet, well rested weekend. It's been very nice. This weekend we're off to Devon as Keith has to attend a Remembrance Day service close to Dale & Lauren's to lay a Canadian wreath. We'll be spending the weekend with Dale, Lauren, and the kids.

Oh, and I just bought a wetsuit! I've been wanting to try body boarding when Keith goes surfing but haven't been able to without a suit. I just bought a winter one on ebay for cheap. Yay! Now I can go too! Hopefully I'll enjoy it as much as he does.

The Eden Project

This morning Rach & Speedy and Keith & I headed to St. Austell to visit the Eden Project. It's about an hour's drive from here. I've been wanting to go since we arrived, so we finally made the time to go. Speedy has been before, but the rest of us haven't been.

The Eden Project is:

"Eden is all about man's relationship with and dependence upon plants. Much of our food, our clothes, our shelter and our medicines come from the plant world. Without plants there would be no oxygen for us to breathe, no life on earth.

The Eden Project is a showcase for all the questions and many of the answers. But Eden is not a worthy, over-serious, guilt-ridden place; nor does it preach. It is about education and communication of the major environmental issues of the day, always presented in an engaging, involving, even humorous way.

More than 1,000,000 plants representing 5,000 species from many of the climatic zones of the world. Many of these can grow in the mild conditions of Cornwall, others need greenhouses and that is where Eden's two gigantic Biomes - the biggest conservatories in the world - come in."

We only made it through one of the biomes - the Rain Forest. We didn't have to spend that much time, but we did. Checking out every detail and taking so many pictures. We saw banana, pineapple and papaya trees, various palm trees, bamboo trees, a variety of pants I've never seen, and many other plants. It was fantastic. This is a fabulous charity and definitely worth to money to go. After we visited the biome we stopped for a quick bite to eat. We were going to go to the second biome, the Mediterranean but we decided to check out the Discovery Centre they have on sight. We also quickly visited the indoor skating rink they open during the fall and winter months - it's quite the rink! Not huge, but very nice with skate rentals, music playing, etc. We'll definitely have to visit again to see the rest of the place.

On the way home we stopped at a little fish market in a small village called Grampound. That was Keith's highlight of the trip. Rach and Speedy travelled separate from us as they had to get back earlier. At 7pm Keith and I went to Praa Sands where there was a fireworks display. We went to the Sand Bar restaurant which sits right on the beach. We watched some fireworks and had supper. It wasn't as great as I expected, but it was still something different to do.

The reason for the fireworks is, Monday November 5th is Guy Fawkes day, also known as Bon Fire night. "November 5th marks the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to blow up the English Parliament and King James I in 1605, the day set for the king to open Parliament. The anniversary was named after Guy Fawkes, the most famous of the conspirators. Guy Fawkes Day, is still celebrated in England with fireworks and bonfires, on which effigies of the conspirator are burned."

Because the day falls on a Monday, it seems many people and businesses have decided to celebrate it over the weekend. We have already seen a few fireworks displays last night and a few more tonight. Every so often you can hear them crackling. Even in the married patch here, several families have set them off.

When Keith and I got home we watched 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'. Another not so fantastic movie. But very British! After that I couldn't keep my eyes opened and crashed for the night.

Keith Off

Keith had half of yesterday and all day today off. We spent the morning cleaning up and doing errands so we wouldn't have to do any of it on Sunday. The rest of the day was spent watching tv and lazing around. Very odd for both of us when it isn't Sunday. After supper I popped into town to grab a few movies. We spent the night watching 'All the Kings Men' and 'Wild Hogs'. Wild hogs was a great flick with John Travolta and Tim Allen. Definitely one to watch.