OK, so everyone likes to go check out unique and interesting places, right?
Well, Iowa has it's share. I have to admit, many we have not seen.
We did find something NOT on the list.... the world's largest rocking horse, in ROLFE, Iowa. SEE a previous post for pictures.
Check out the link we may need to go check some of these out.
Ok, the world's largest Cheeto? that has to be rank by now.....
www.roadsideamerica.com/location/ia/all
You can click on some of the links for more information and locations.
Let us know if you have seen any of these and what you thought about them.
We did see the water towers in Stanton and checked out a restaurant on the main street known for their Fruit of the forest pies. They have interesting crepe pancakes and some berry syrup that is tasty!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Don and LaVone go to Germany
We once again flew over the big pond to Germany in July...our 4th time there.
This trip was a bit different than the others. Before, we have always traveled
on our own, this time we connected with friends we became acquainted with
while there in 2005 in a hotel dining room. These friends are also the ones
that visited us here in 2006.
We arrived in Frankfurt at 7:45 A M. They are 7 hours ahead of the U S....the
flight was a little over 8 hrs. By the time we had arrived, we were ready to go
to bed, but by their clock, it was time to rise and shine!!! They met us at the
airport and then we were driving on the Autobahn. They live 1 1/2 hours from
the airport...between Frankfurt and Cologne. We hadn't been on the Autobahn
very long when we came upon a horrific accident...2 trucks and don't know how
many cars. All three lanes were shut down, helicopters flying overhead, and men
in white suits and their vehicles driving around us on the shoulder....must have been
a chemical spill to clean up. We sat there for 3 hrs before they got one lane cleared.
It was a terrible sight as we passed by ..no doubt people were killed. By the time we
arrived at their home, we had been up for 29 hours!!! Excitement kept us going we think!!
They rented an apartment for us to stay in..about a 5 minute walk from their home. Seems
this is common in their area as this is what this apartment is used for. We slept the rest
of the afternoon and then they took us out to eat that night.
This is the only area of Germany that we hadn't toured before. It is strictly wine country.
The terrain is quite rugged...strait up & down with grape vines growing everywhere. We
wondered how they ever got those grapes planted. Perhaps they had one leg shorter
than the other!!!! We saw the grapes being trimmed with a machine that looked somewhat
like a narrow garden tractor going up & down the hillsides. Also saw helicopters flying
overhead spraying the vines. By the way.....their wine is excellent!!!
They took us many places while we were there...everything in very close proximity
to their home...no overnight stays on the road like they had while they were with us.
It was hard for them to believe the vastness here and how far we have to travel to see
anything different.
We went to 2 museums..one was an outdoor museum of farm history, similar to
Living History Farms, but much older..1600-1700) and covered a much larger area.
It was very different and interesting. At one point, we saw this large design hanging
in the middle of the road...a circular hanging with many loops....very beautiful.
We were surprised to learn that it was made of hens eggs. The symbol and design
was a traditional celebration in the spring that was meant to bring happiness and a
prosperous year. The other museum was in Bonn, German History Museum. It was
also such a learning experience for us. They were great at explaining everything to us.
It involved history before, during, and after the east-west division. The German people
were not pleased with that situation. They showed films of that period also. It was a
moving experience for us to watch those people trying to cross to the west and when
the wall came down.
We went to a castle that overlooked the Rhine River...interesting and the views
from that high up were spectacular!!! We took a cog train part of the way up and
walked a VERY STEEP climb to reach the top.
I must mention...we walked like we have NEVER walked before!!! Some of the
places we toured, we're thinking we must have walked almost a half mile from
the parking lot....straight up & down and very steep all the way! Good thing
we are in pretty good shape for our age....we kept up with them!!! Now we
know why those Germans, young and old, have walking sticks!!!! Maybe we
should have purchased some while there!!!
We saw a very large and very old church in Cologne. It's hard to imagine
the height size of such a gothic structure and how they every got it built.
The stained glass windows were very high.
We toured two wineries. One was quite modern with wonderful food, wine, and
music. Again we walked a long ways to get there. As for the other one, we would
have never found it on our own. It was out in the country on a road we would call
a path...parked the car and WALKED UP AND DOWN AGAIN FOR A GOOD HALF
MILE!!! Had a bottle of wine and food they highly recommended. We had a plate
of cheese and some small rounds of bread that had a white spread with small
pieces of meat in it. It was quite tasty and we ate quite a few slices before we
learned the spread was LARD!!! Oh lordy....we slowed down and took a few gulps
of wine!!! Cholesterol City here we come!!! However, the lard is nothing like ours. It
is processed much different from ours. It very white, shiny, very smooth for spreading.
Another German experience!!!
The shopping is very different from America. Very high quality merchandise everywhere.
Walmart was there for 7 years and left. The Germans thought it was cheap junk and
didn't patronize them. Germans shop locally and support their own. With the conversion,
gas was $9.92 per gal. Their small villages makes ours look sick. Their business
districts in those small towns were at least twice the size of downtown Ames and some
bigger. The towns are very clean with well kept stores...even the very old structures.
Many of them dated back to the 1600 & 1700's. The food in their restaurants is quality
food. The small villages, have many hotels and restaurants with beer gardens. We
seldom ate inside while there.
We went to two flea markets.....just huge! No junk for sale...all quality merchandise with
a lot of it being hand made. These two flea markets are only held once a year for one
week only. It was a wonderful experience for us and the shopping was so unusual and
great!!!
We also had a boat trip on the Rhine River!!!! It was nothing like the Mississippi to be on.
There were no open spaces anywhere. We were constantly looking on both sides of the
boat at castles, churches, mansions, restaurants along with villages....just beautiful.
We stopped off at some villages and had lunch in Bonn with more shopping. One
day we took a ferry across the river to a neat little village full of old structures, good
food and great shopping.
Our last night there, they took us to a very nice restaurant high on the mountain side.
That required a long steep walk to get there and then climbed steep steps...it was well
worth it. The view of the Rhine was out of this world.
Their oldest son had passed the written test portion to get his license....he was so proud!!
That had taken a year of schooling....he still has to pass the driving test. It's quite rigid
and involves driving on the Autobahn. He is 17 and can only drive with one of his parents
till he is 18...then he can drive alone. Doesn't get his permanent license till he's 21.
The cost of the class is 1,200 Euros and the permanent license cost another 1,200 Euros.
Of course it's much more money than that in American dollars....not cheap!!
This is the highlights of our trip...it was just WONDERFUL!!! It was very hard to say
our goodbyes...we're so far apart. It is a truly wonderful experience to have such a
great friendship with a foreign family.
In spite of all that good food..(Kerstin is also an excellent cook) their great wine and
beer and with all that steep walking, I discovered I had lost 5 pounds when we got home!!
We should go there more often...it would be good for us!!!
Don & LaVone
This trip was a bit different than the others. Before, we have always traveled
on our own, this time we connected with friends we became acquainted with
while there in 2005 in a hotel dining room. These friends are also the ones
that visited us here in 2006.
We arrived in Frankfurt at 7:45 A M. They are 7 hours ahead of the U S....the
flight was a little over 8 hrs. By the time we had arrived, we were ready to go
to bed, but by their clock, it was time to rise and shine!!! They met us at the
airport and then we were driving on the Autobahn. They live 1 1/2 hours from
the airport...between Frankfurt and Cologne. We hadn't been on the Autobahn
very long when we came upon a horrific accident...2 trucks and don't know how
many cars. All three lanes were shut down, helicopters flying overhead, and men
in white suits and their vehicles driving around us on the shoulder....must have been
a chemical spill to clean up. We sat there for 3 hrs before they got one lane cleared.
It was a terrible sight as we passed by ..no doubt people were killed. By the time we
arrived at their home, we had been up for 29 hours!!! Excitement kept us going we think!!
They rented an apartment for us to stay in..about a 5 minute walk from their home. Seems
this is common in their area as this is what this apartment is used for. We slept the rest
of the afternoon and then they took us out to eat that night.
This is the only area of Germany that we hadn't toured before. It is strictly wine country.
The terrain is quite rugged...strait up & down with grape vines growing everywhere. We
wondered how they ever got those grapes planted. Perhaps they had one leg shorter
than the other!!!! We saw the grapes being trimmed with a machine that looked somewhat
like a narrow garden tractor going up & down the hillsides. Also saw helicopters flying
overhead spraying the vines. By the way.....their wine is excellent!!!
They took us many places while we were there...everything in very close proximity
to their home...no overnight stays on the road like they had while they were with us.
It was hard for them to believe the vastness here and how far we have to travel to see
anything different.
We went to 2 museums..one was an outdoor museum of farm history, similar to
Living History Farms, but much older..1600-1700) and covered a much larger area.
It was very different and interesting. At one point, we saw this large design hanging
in the middle of the road...a circular hanging with many loops....very beautiful.
We were surprised to learn that it was made of hens eggs. The symbol and design
was a traditional celebration in the spring that was meant to bring happiness and a
prosperous year. The other museum was in Bonn, German History Museum. It was
also such a learning experience for us. They were great at explaining everything to us.
It involved history before, during, and after the east-west division. The German people
were not pleased with that situation. They showed films of that period also. It was a
moving experience for us to watch those people trying to cross to the west and when
the wall came down.
We went to a castle that overlooked the Rhine River...interesting and the views
from that high up were spectacular!!! We took a cog train part of the way up and
walked a VERY STEEP climb to reach the top.
I must mention...we walked like we have NEVER walked before!!! Some of the
places we toured, we're thinking we must have walked almost a half mile from
the parking lot....straight up & down and very steep all the way! Good thing
we are in pretty good shape for our age....we kept up with them!!! Now we
know why those Germans, young and old, have walking sticks!!!! Maybe we
should have purchased some while there!!!
We saw a very large and very old church in Cologne. It's hard to imagine
the height size of such a gothic structure and how they every got it built.
The stained glass windows were very high.
We toured two wineries. One was quite modern with wonderful food, wine, and
music. Again we walked a long ways to get there. As for the other one, we would
have never found it on our own. It was out in the country on a road we would call
a path...parked the car and WALKED UP AND DOWN AGAIN FOR A GOOD HALF
MILE!!! Had a bottle of wine and food they highly recommended. We had a plate
of cheese and some small rounds of bread that had a white spread with small
pieces of meat in it. It was quite tasty and we ate quite a few slices before we
learned the spread was LARD!!! Oh lordy....we slowed down and took a few gulps
of wine!!! Cholesterol City here we come!!! However, the lard is nothing like ours. It
is processed much different from ours. It very white, shiny, very smooth for spreading.
Another German experience!!!
The shopping is very different from America. Very high quality merchandise everywhere.
Walmart was there for 7 years and left. The Germans thought it was cheap junk and
didn't patronize them. Germans shop locally and support their own. With the conversion,
gas was $9.92 per gal. Their small villages makes ours look sick. Their business
districts in those small towns were at least twice the size of downtown Ames and some
bigger. The towns are very clean with well kept stores...even the very old structures.
Many of them dated back to the 1600 & 1700's. The food in their restaurants is quality
food. The small villages, have many hotels and restaurants with beer gardens. We
seldom ate inside while there.
We went to two flea markets.....just huge! No junk for sale...all quality merchandise with
a lot of it being hand made. These two flea markets are only held once a year for one
week only. It was a wonderful experience for us and the shopping was so unusual and
great!!!
We also had a boat trip on the Rhine River!!!! It was nothing like the Mississippi to be on.
There were no open spaces anywhere. We were constantly looking on both sides of the
boat at castles, churches, mansions, restaurants along with villages....just beautiful.
We stopped off at some villages and had lunch in Bonn with more shopping. One
day we took a ferry across the river to a neat little village full of old structures, good
food and great shopping.
Our last night there, they took us to a very nice restaurant high on the mountain side.
That required a long steep walk to get there and then climbed steep steps...it was well
worth it. The view of the Rhine was out of this world.
Their oldest son had passed the written test portion to get his license....he was so proud!!
That had taken a year of schooling....he still has to pass the driving test. It's quite rigid
and involves driving on the Autobahn. He is 17 and can only drive with one of his parents
till he is 18...then he can drive alone. Doesn't get his permanent license till he's 21.
The cost of the class is 1,200 Euros and the permanent license cost another 1,200 Euros.
Of course it's much more money than that in American dollars....not cheap!!
This is the highlights of our trip...it was just WONDERFUL!!! It was very hard to say
our goodbyes...we're so far apart. It is a truly wonderful experience to have such a
great friendship with a foreign family.
In spite of all that good food..(Kerstin is also an excellent cook) their great wine and
beer and with all that steep walking, I discovered I had lost 5 pounds when we got home!!
We should go there more often...it would be good for us!!!
Don & LaVone
Rides
August 9, 2008 Randy and Jen, our Region C directors were in Des Moines taking care of some business and asked if we were doing a ride. Several from our chapter got together and headed for about a 2 hour ride south, through some of southern Iowa's beautiful twisty roads. We arrived at Ozzie's Red Barn, near Lake Rathbun. They had a large group of 60 there and had just put in orders, so we were either going someplace else or could order salads and pizza. We chose the latter. We finished our meal and rode back to Des Moines. It was great weather for riding and had a good time.
If you are looking for a place to eat that has ice cream, salads and sandwiches or serves Breakfast all day, near Moravia, check out Angels! It has an interesting fountain with textured leaves and trees on the wall inside, at the front of the restaurant and angels as decor.
This past Monday night we were supposed to go to Indianola to the Sports Page. We were notified by Dave, that the restaurant was closed for remodeling. So now where to go. We were pleasantly surprised to be joined by Darrel and Carolyn Blair. We had a good group and headed to Colfax, Georgio's for sandwiches and/or pizza. It was a beautiful night for a ride.
If you are looking for a place to eat that has ice cream, salads and sandwiches or serves Breakfast all day, near Moravia, check out Angels! It has an interesting fountain with textured leaves and trees on the wall inside, at the front of the restaurant and angels as decor.
This past Monday night we were supposed to go to Indianola to the Sports Page. We were notified by Dave, that the restaurant was closed for remodeling. So now where to go. We were pleasantly surprised to be joined by Darrel and Carolyn Blair. We had a good group and headed to Colfax, Georgio's for sandwiches and/or pizza. It was a beautiful night for a ride.
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