Living in Deutschland...enjoying Indian cuisine~

Our "Dinner Group" had another fun night out

in Bonn enjoying delicious Indian food.

However, there were some groupie

members missing...

Jim was stuck driving across Europe since

he couldn't get a flight out of CZ because

of the Iceland volcanic ash, Nicole had a

last minute job training class, and Matthias

was in Greece for work. Heidi and Creed

messed up the whole "single's night theme"

by both being available.

At least they didn't sit together!

Bonn Cathedral~

I had a quick trip into Bonn today, and I usually

carry my camera with me.

It was a nice day in the main square enjoying a

look at the Bonn Cathedral.

Salon Girls~

A very important thing to find while

living in Germany is a good hair salon!

This is the salon I use,

about 20 minutes from our home.

My friend Lissy has been coming here for years.

Her friend Elke, she met while in school,

now owns four salons, this is one of those salons.

What a surprise to come in for my appointment

and find Lissy here just finishing hers!

It is a fun place to go. It would help if I could

speak German, but we get by pretty well.

I thought it would be a fun blog.

Elke liked the idea so much she had a picture

taken with me getting my hair washed with

her and Lissy on each side.

Elke, on the left and Lissy on the right.

Elke is the salon owner. We have some great

chats when I come in. We learn all kinds

of things about one another's cultures such as,

they do have bridal showers but

baby showers are not common at all.

This is Elke and Lissy in front of Elke's salon.

Girls...here is a fun thing Elke told me.

This flat iron should more accurately

be called a "Styler." Elke said it does

more than straighten hair, she then

showed me how it creates curls!

When the styler was created, by a man,

it needed a name or some kind of logo on it.

You have heard people complain about

"Bad hair days" due to wind or rain, etc.

Well this man decided to call it

"ghd" for "good hair day."

Pretty clever.

Elke, Coreen, and Steffi-Elke's assistant, one of many.

Elke does such a great job with my hair,

I'm going to miss her doing it someday!

Here's a German tidbit for you:

There are different options for school.

Many students do not choose to go on to

a university and instead choose a trade

school option, similar to our U.S. vocational

classes offered through local high schools.

When they choose this route they only need

to attend school through 10th grade,

then they switch to a trade school . Steffi loves

languages, but choose the beauty school option.

Her younger sister stayed in school to pursue

a degree involving computers.

"Swan Lake" and some cute Ducks~

This week I have discovered new running paths

along the Rhein River.

Here are some shots of the beautiful scenery

and wildlife that I see in the mornings.

This is the Rhein Aue Garden.

When Bonn was the capital of Germany this

park was home to large areas of flowers.

You can see a Swan peacefully paddeling

around one area of the long and large pond.

It was a pleasant surprise to find this park area,

and made even better with these beautiful swans.

Just barely visible is an office builing in Bonn Central.

One little duck working on breakfast.

Here are two ducks. When I first looked at the

duck sitting on the rock she looked unusually

large with something white on the front of her.

I thought she was possibly hurt.

This is her companion standing close by.

His colors are stunning!

Notice the color around his eyes.

Well, as I waited, I discovered why she was so big,

and not moving...

she had some little babies to keep warm!

About eight of them!!!

Isn't this just like most families...

Mama looking on while the kids are

in the water playing with Papa.

A BLACK SWAN!!!

I don't think I've ever seen one before!

Notice the red eyes.

Just beautiful!

If you look closely you will see the two white swans

as well as the black swan in the distance.

It really is a peaceful, beautiful park I get to run in.

London Day Eight~

Our last day in London.

There was much more we could do,

but we only had time for one last stop.

We toured The National Portrait Gallery,

no picture taking was allowed inside.

The Gallery entrance looks down on

Trafalgar Square with Lord Nelson's

Monument in the center.

You can just make out Big Ben

in the background.

This statue of U.S. President George Washington

is also on Trafalgar Square.

He did not want to be represented anywhere

but on American soil. So American soil

was placed under this monument of him.

I don't think that's what he had in mind...

Cafe Forum was one of the local dinner stops

near our hotel. Cody always had pizza....

One side of the block our hotel was on.

Hotel St. Simeon, where we stayed.

London Day Seven~

First thing, Tuesday morning, we jumped back on

"The Original Tour" bus ride to see all the

sights-during midday hours.

We would jump on and off the busses at different stops,

then take the next one to come along

to move on to the next great sight.

It took most of our day to get to them all!

Enjoying the ride up on top!

Cody liked the entertaining commentary

from the tour guides.

This was his second favorite thing to do in London.

Drive by shot of Big Ben.

Drive by of the Houses of Parliament.

Beautiful Building Clock

I really think I took a picture of this same clock

when we were here 12 years ago.

I must like it.

St. Paul's Cathedral is our first stop of the day.

Built between 1675-1710

Designed by Christopher Wren

Many state ceremonies take place here.

An absolutely beautiful building,

one of Coreen's favorites.

A London city street.

Tower Bridge

The Tower of London's backdrop is a modern

business building called "30 St Mary's Ax."

Also nicknamed "The Gherkin."

Completed in 2004.

We jumped off to see the Tower of London.

This structure began in 1097.

Ice cream to eat while enjoying the view of

the Tower Bridge.

It was a great view driving across it on the bus tour.

Tower of London

The London Eye built in 1999.

Also known as the Millennium Wheel.

The highest "Ferris Wheel" in the world.

Big Ben again...

The London Eye seen from the bridge.

Can you tell we like to take pictures of Big Ben?!

Actually the bell in this tower, hung in 1858,

is what's called "BIG BEN."

Houses of Parliament

Side entrance to Wesminster Abbey.

This is the front of Westminster Abbey.

Built in 1245, it is the Coronation Church.

French-influenced Gothic style.

Buckingham Palace!

It was originally called Buckingham house then

converted into a palace for George IV in 1826.

However, it was not occupied until Queen Victoria

took the throne in 1837.

A "mini" changing of the guards.

The official takes place earlier in the day.

This is The Mall Strand,

the road leading up to Buckingham Palace.

You can see Big Ben from the Palace.

Buckingham in the background.

Our walked through St. James's Park

Signs of spring were everywhere...

Such as this beautiful Willow Tree.

This tree looks almost fake.

It looks like it's covered with soft cotton.

I was absolutely stunned at how beautiful

this 1861 Albert Memorial was!

Built in memory of Queen Victoria's husband.

This memorial made me glad we took time

to visit Kenningston Park.

The picture does not do it justice.

Daffodils, another sign of spring.

Kennsington Gardens seems to go on forever.

A lovely place to walk, bike, picnic and play.

A Princess Di Memorial Fountain.

Unfortunately it was not operating...

it was supposed to be.

Here you can see a close up of the previous image.

The water cascades downward over these stones.

Walking from Kennsington Park to our hotel

we enjoyed a pleasant surprise.

The Royal Albert Hall, opening in 1870.

Across from The Royal Albert Hall was

The Royal College of Music founded in 1882.

It showcases historical musical instruments,

such as a harpsichord from 1531.

Cody finished out the week strong

with one last delicious pizza.