Our new Skype name has been simplified to mimic our name on our blog.
DavidANDTiffanyOurJourney **don't forget to add us to your contacts**
We usually have our Skype account open and up on Sundays. We would love to keep in touch with everyone as much as possible so if you are going into David and Tiffany withdrawal you can find your fix on Skype!
Talk to you soon!
Tiffany, David & Oliver
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
A Day In Strasbourg France!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
We arrived at our tour bus at 6:30am ready for our departure. Excited...Yes! Awake...Not quite.
Luckily, we had a stop on our two and a half hour ride for some espresso. A short bus ride and a shot of espresso later, we had arrived in France and were headed to Strasbourg. On the bus ride setting the tone for the rest of the trip was the beautiful landscapes and quaint countryside living along with fields of hops and many other crops. Crossing the international boundary was uneventful, which unfortunately meant, no passport stamps. (Unless you call Me(Tiffany) using the bathroom on the tour bus which strategically was just underneath our new friend Giles - lucky me- in which I had all the room of a midget closet, locked the door, pulled down my pants and oops! a bus took a bump and I fell forward knocking the bathroom door open and luckily caught myself before I took a face plant but unluckily not before flashing half the bus! Well I must have screamed, "Crap!" pretty loud because Giles asked David "I hope she's alright" shortly after my embarrassing moment) Well back to the real story....
Our tour began with a drive around the city and a tour guide who was all too eager to give you historically relevant and irrelevant facts. (Did you know Germans don't eat corn? Now we know they don't and Why you may ask? Because that is what the animals eat) Sounds good to me...back to our story. Our first stop was at the European Council building which was interesting because each one of the EU countries donated to the construction of the building by some type of material. Our walking tour involved trying to hear our guide babble on about everything and then running after her to catch up. Mind you that this woman has to be in her seventies and has all of the energy of a five year old or perhaps a really energetic senior that has just escaped from a home. We passed a charming flea market with all sorts of cool furniture and canals and made our way to a farmers market. The stalls were filled with fresh fruits, cheeses, meats, flowers and fish. Everything looked incredible. Our tour next headed to a very large cathedral, where, due to our guide's rambling and 30+ min bathroom break, we missed our tour and had to wait for the next one, as the cathedral closed for 90 minutes. To pass the time, we were lead in circles of the town, essentially killing time. We looked around another ornate church and then we made our break for it. Along with our new friends Carrie and Giles, we ditched the group and went on exploring on our own. (The most important factor of this is we did hear the group would be meeting in front of the farmers market at four o'clock for our boat tour) We were pretty hungry and went looking for a brasserie for lunch. We found a nice little place and sat outside. It was along the street so we could eat and people watch. Our lunch was delicious and our first authentic french meal. We had foie gras smoked duck and salmon salad, french onion soup, onion pie, escargot and local wines and beers. The meal was delicious. We topped it off with Gelato and continued exploring on our own, before meeting back up with the group for a boat tour around the canals. After more exploration and seeing the cathedral. ( Note: not just any cathedral...this was THE Cathedral - It was where the famous Louis XV and Marie Leszczynski were married.) We had missed earlier in the day, we stopped at another cafe for drinks. Relaxing with our new friends, Tiffany enjoyed a local Pinot Grigio and I had a local beer. Our boat tour of the city took us through the canals and locks and gave us a very cool view of Strasbourg. The picturesque french building with willows so big their limbs were touching the water as if they needed to cool off. Surrounded by the colorful buildings and german and french architecture the canals were like something from a beautiful daydream. And speaking of dream...the weather was a perfect 80 something degrees! A little hot at times but nothing a cool drink couldn't fix. Our boat tour was a relaxing way to end our day exploring Strasbourg. Ending our trip, we stopped by a french bakery and picked up a baguette, pastry and strawberry meringue. (The meringue was just as pretty and big as the top to a strawberry ice cream cone. Overall we enjoyed Strasbourg and look forward to exploring the rest of France in the near future.
Talk to you soon,
David, Tiffany & Oliver
It was that hot...(oh, this is our new buddy Giles btw)
Lunch...
Sunday, August 7, 2011
This is our mailing address:)
If you would like to mail anything to us and still pay United States shipping charges NOT international rates - Please use our APO address listed below:
David & Tiffany Reznick
CMR 402 Box 2257
APO AE 09180
*We learned recently that if you send mail or packages priority for the extra buck -mail gets here fast versus regular which may take up to 12 WEEKS! (We learned the hard way)
David & Tiffany Reznick
CMR 402 Box 2257
APO AE 09180
*We learned recently that if you send mail or packages priority for the extra buck -mail gets here fast versus regular which may take up to 12 WEEKS! (We learned the hard way)
Saturday, August 6, 2011
No Longer Homeless! (Well...almost)
Saturday- August 6, 2011
We can finally say we have an address! David and I signed our contract yesterday for a home we're going to rent in lovely Ramstein, Germany. After all the ups and downs these past two months being "homeless" we can finally say it was all worth it. We learned a lot these past weeks on whom we can depend on and what great friends we have truly. We could not have done it without you! Our new place is your place and we hope that you all will visit us these next few years while we are living abroad. We will post pictures soon after we move in on September 2nd. For now we will just have to give you a brief description of what it looks like! It is a newer 3 story home, 3 bedrooms plus a large studio on the top floor, 1 full bath, and 2 3/4 baths. (Needless to say we won't be short on bathrooms) It has an attached garage and small fenced backyard and a decorative matching white picket fence out front. The second floor has a narrow balcony overlooking the backyard. The house backs up to a private wooded area with a shared stairway just outside our backyard fence that you can walk up and there you will find a patio area which is great for entertaining and barbecuing. The best thing about the house besides itself would be the location. We are about 300 meters from the train station (5 min walk) and within walking distance as well to a number of our favorite things- such as, the butcher, baker, market, restaurants, shops and cafes. While touring the place we happened to meet the new neighbors next door whom are an American family that literally moved in just days before. They have a couple of kids and I have already hit it off with the woman I met. They even offered to watch Oliver whenever we go out of town because their kids have been begging to get a dog. How nice is that? We have definitely accomplished a lot this past week of being in the country! One great thing I should mention that is different from the States for sure is that no matter where we seem to go...dinner out, dinner in, furniture shopping they all have been so generous to give us a bottle of wine or liquor. My favorite has been the after dinner fig schnapps. Although, we haven't opened the sparkling wine that we received today from the furniture store sales woman. (I will have to get back to you on that one) I can say that the German communities have opened up to us with all of their generosity and the few neighbors we have met at our temporary apartment building have been great too. We can't wait to settle into our new home next month! I don't know what I'll do with all my new freedom not having to live out of my 3 suitcases!!
Talk to you soon,
Tiffany, David and Oliver
We can finally say we have an address! David and I signed our contract yesterday for a home we're going to rent in lovely Ramstein, Germany. After all the ups and downs these past two months being "homeless" we can finally say it was all worth it. We learned a lot these past weeks on whom we can depend on and what great friends we have truly. We could not have done it without you! Our new place is your place and we hope that you all will visit us these next few years while we are living abroad. We will post pictures soon after we move in on September 2nd. For now we will just have to give you a brief description of what it looks like! It is a newer 3 story home, 3 bedrooms plus a large studio on the top floor, 1 full bath, and 2 3/4 baths. (Needless to say we won't be short on bathrooms) It has an attached garage and small fenced backyard and a decorative matching white picket fence out front. The second floor has a narrow balcony overlooking the backyard. The house backs up to a private wooded area with a shared stairway just outside our backyard fence that you can walk up and there you will find a patio area which is great for entertaining and barbecuing. The best thing about the house besides itself would be the location. We are about 300 meters from the train station (5 min walk) and within walking distance as well to a number of our favorite things- such as, the butcher, baker, market, restaurants, shops and cafes. While touring the place we happened to meet the new neighbors next door whom are an American family that literally moved in just days before. They have a couple of kids and I have already hit it off with the woman I met. They even offered to watch Oliver whenever we go out of town because their kids have been begging to get a dog. How nice is that? We have definitely accomplished a lot this past week of being in the country! One great thing I should mention that is different from the States for sure is that no matter where we seem to go...dinner out, dinner in, furniture shopping they all have been so generous to give us a bottle of wine or liquor. My favorite has been the after dinner fig schnapps. Although, we haven't opened the sparkling wine that we received today from the furniture store sales woman. (I will have to get back to you on that one) I can say that the German communities have opened up to us with all of their generosity and the few neighbors we have met at our temporary apartment building have been great too. We can't wait to settle into our new home next month! I don't know what I'll do with all my new freedom not having to live out of my 3 suitcases!!
Talk to you soon,
Tiffany, David and Oliver
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Our Visit to Heidelburg and Schloss (Castle)
Before we came to Germany, we heard how cool Heidelberg was and we decided we had to see for ourselves. Only an hour drive away via the Autobahn, Heidelberg didn't disappoint at all. The short drive was through the beautiful German countryside. Vineyards and small villages surrounded the Autobahn. After the short trip down the A6, along with my new land speed record (176 kph), we were at Schloss Heidelberg (Heidelberg Castle). Before exploring the castle, we took a walk around the marketplatz in search of a hoodie for Tiffany. The weather here has been rather cool and our wardrobes contain only 1 or 2 pieces of winter clothes, as all the rest is on it's way here in our household goods shipment. The platz was bustling and alive with sights and sounds much like Georgetown or Carytown.
Now properly clothed, we took a tram (funicular) up the steep hill to the Castle and were greeted with an amazing view overlooking the city and river below. Touring the castle we came upon a massive wine cask, which filled a room. I thought that it was the largest famous barrel, until we went into the next room and saw an even bigger barrel that could have fit the entire population of Landstuhl inside. Our tour around the castle gave us amazing views of the countryside, city and river.
Leaving the castle, we headed back to the marketplatz in search of an authentic German meal at an outdoor cafe. Heidelberg is a very dog friendly city, everywhere owners and their pets walked the streets and hung out at cafes and restaurants. We found a quaint German restaurant and sat at a table outside, watching the crowds pass by as we enjoyed locally brewed beer. Our lunch was nothing short of amazing. Tiffany still refers to it as her favorite meal ever! Our dumplings were delicious. I've decided that Tiffany needs to add these dishes to her cooking repertoire.
After a long day of walking, sightseeing, eating and drinking it was time to head home. However the trip back to Landstuhl was not as easy as the previous trip. The A6 was closed in the opposite direction 20 km before our exit and we followed the rest of the crowd through Kaiseralautern City for a 2 hour detour. We will definitely be returning to Heidelberg in the very near future and this time Oliver will get to come along for the ride and the exploration of our new favorite city.
~David and Tiffany
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