Europe, Part 5

Okay, so we get back to Ramstein and expect to have a couple days just to hang out and see where Kyle lives.  Well, the volcano in Iceland exploded and grounded all the planes.  We ended up having an extra week in Germany and definitely made the most of it. 

First stop was to a fortress Kyle had spotted on a motorcycle trip of his some months past in Bitche, France.

Random bunkers are everywhere throughout this region from past wars.

This is a view of the Bitche Fortress from a distance.

This goat was tied up outside the fortress.  Michael wanted to take him home with us.  I didn't think Jersey and Pele would appreciate a new family member.

The moat around the fortress (no bears included).

We didn't know what we were getting into when we stopped to check this place out.  It looks kind of plain from the outside, but the inside was the most high-tech tour we took our whole trip.  The headphones had sensors in them and would start talking as soon as you got close to a new spot in the fortress.  There was also a mini movie that we followed from room to room.  It was awesome and we were the only ones wondering around!

Tunnel and bridge that leads into the fortress.

Kyle trying out the cannon.  Looks good!

Above: Fortress toilets.

Below: Us using the fortress toilets.

I love this photo because we took sooo many self timer photos of the three of us and this was one of them.  Except Kyle set up the photo and really had to run to make it in the photo...and we caught it all on video! haha!

About an hour from the fortress is the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in the town of St. Avold.  It's Europe's largest American WWII cemetery.  We went to pay respect to those who came before us.  It was a very well kept memorial.

We had arrived there at the end of the day and just as we were on our way out retreat sounded and we watched as the flags were taken down for the night.  The American guy that works there saw us all watching and asked if we'd like to help fold the flags.  It was a really nice moment for all us.  I took photos while Kyle and Mike fold the flags.

After that we went back to Ramstein to check on our flight situation....as it turned out, still nothing!

The next day we went to Heidelberg for a relaxing afternoon.

Heidelberg Castle - dates back to about 1214.

They had a large apothecary display.  I especially liked the cabinets.

Nice downtown eateries.

After some shopping and eating it was back to Ramstein again to check on flights.

This is a view of the flightline...still no flights.  This area is normally packed with planes, but not today.

We took advantage of the extra time and visited another castle outside of Spangdahlem AB that is known for their unique birds and wolf pack.  We LOVED this place.  What a fun find.

We even got to feed goats!  They went crazy if you just looked at the feed dispenser!

The bird show was amazing!  They were flying right over people, hitting us with their wings, it was crazy.

Then we moved on to their in house wolf pack.  We got there it time to watch the feeding.  Eek!

The bird cages were built right into the castle.

Inside the castle tower.

More goat feeding on our way out!  From this castle we went to another where two castles frequently dueled.

These two castles, also located outside of Spandahlem AB, fought each other all the time.  You'd think with so much land they'd just build a little further apart!

Well, after a very fun filled trip to Europe the ban on flights was finally lifted and we flew home.

Thanks to Kyle for making this a great trip!