A Quick Trip to Amberg

Saturday we decided since we had nothing important to do, we would visit the city of Amberg, a very old city nearby.  The drive took about 40 minutes, and it was well worth it.  

This is basically what all of Bavaria looks like, with cities scattered throughout.

When we got there, I had to put this hat on Noah.  I love it.  I am determined to buy one of these hats for all of us.

Amberg is about 975 years old, and although not all the buildings are that old, they are still very unique and very beautiful.

I'm not sure what this river is called, but it runs right through the Stadmitte (city center).

The kids in front of the Basilica of St. Martin, which is the church that the Stadmitte is built around.

Just an old bridge.

These next pictures are from a church at the very top of a hill in Amberg, which is visible from the entire city.  For some reason, I never figured out the name of this church, but I do know the story behind it:

Years ago, when the plague was ripping through Europe, the people in the city were told to pray to the Virgin Mary to be saved.  They prayed and prayed, and although the plague was killing 60%-70% of city populations, only a handful in the village were lost.  When the Pope got wind of this, he told the city to build a church and dedicate it to the Virgin Mary.  Now you would assume the church would be named after her, but nowhere did I find evidence of that.  Everything we saw had the initials JHS, and I have no idea what they stand for.  

The church was built in 1938.

JHS

This says "O Maria Hilf"

which means "O Maria, Help"

Tons of steps.  

But at the top of those steps you could see all of Amberg.

I love these old doors.  

Our house has the same markings on the top of the door.  It has to do with the Three Wise Men, I think.  I'll find out soon, I'm sure.

Pete called me a dork for taking this picture, but I thought this door knob was awesome.

The carving on the wooden door.

Rows of pews... very uncomfortable pews.

Inside the church.

This is the ceiling, all hand painted.

Rows of hymnals....

There were about 8 confessionals inside the church, and they all looked the same.

My children confessing their sins.

This water spicket was huge.

The Financial Joys of Living in Europe...

... Please sense the sarcasm in my voice.

Living in Europe has been wonderful.  We have seen so many things in the last few months that we wouldn't ever experience in the States.  And in some ways, we are saving money; the government pays for our home and utilities, and that really is a blessing.  

However, we are starting to see how, being a soldiers family overseas, we are also financially taken advantage of.  

First example:  

I took my van in to have the oil changed.  We were told if we had it changed on the economy (in Germany) then we would have to buy our own oil first and take it to them.  Well, since I was already going to be on post, I just took it to the shop there.  I filled out the necessary paperwork, and then signed the one that said in so many words,  "Oil change, $24.95."  No problem.

When I picked up the van and paid for it, I was charged almost $50.  Turns out, the oil isn't included in the cost of the oil change.  So, I paid for 5 quarts of oil on top of the oil change itself.  Ug.

Second example:

As soldiers, we are limited in our options for things like internet and cell phone service, and there is no such thing as a military clause here, meaning if you sign a contract, and then have to move, you still have to pay out the remainder of your contract.  So most Americans here have pre-paid phones, but there isn't an option like that for internet service.  

So, we are charged about 50 Euro for our service, which comes out to about $75.  That's just our internet and land line.  Incidentally, it's cheaper for me to call the states on that line than it is to call my next door neighbor. 

We got our bill the other day, and it was roughly 120 Euros, or $200!!!!

We were charged a 25 Euro fee because we had a bad line and someone had to come look at it.  In their eyes, the bad line was our fault, which is why we were charged the fee (How in the HECK can a bad line be our fault?).  We were also charged a 50 Euro fee to cover the technicians drive to our house!

If we want to get out of this contract, which we desperately do, we will be charged the monthly fee for the remainder of our contract.  That would be 50 Euro for the next 10 months.  That comes out to be about $750.  Just to cancel the contract. Ug again.

So, we are stuck with a few things we just can't do anything about over here.  It's frustrating, to say the least.  And we are learning our lessons, and making sure that anyone else that comes in contact with us about coming over here knows these things.  We are enjoying our time, we just wish things were explained to us a little better before we got here.  Oh well.  

I Need Some Savin'

So, this happened to me back in August, and I really only told a few people about it, but I remembered it today and had to share it.

Just before I left the states, I decided to try and find a new Temple dress.  I had looked at all the big stores and hadn't found one, so I went to a small LDS store near my parents house.  It's in a very old part of Layton, UT, and the parking stalls were a bit small.  I parked the car next to a VERY LARGE Ford Expedition, who took up all of her stall, and was on the line on both sides.  Noah opened the door before I could tell him to be careful, and bumped the VERY LARGE Expedition. 

Well... the driver happened to be sitting in it.  I walked over to her, as she opened the door and got off her phone saying "I gotta go.  Some kid hit my car."

When she opened the door, she said "Um, your kid just hit my car."

I replied, "Yes, I know, is the door ok?" 

To which she replied, "No, but WHATEVER!" 

and then slammed the door in my face.

So I took Noah to the sidewalk, got down to his level and explained to him what happened.  I didn't get mad at him; it was clearly an accident.  But I told him that the car door had been scratched (or so the lady claimed, but I looked at it, and our door hit the rubber runner on her door, and didn't hurt it at all).  At any rate, he knew what had happened, and we talked about opening the door slowly next time.

I took the kids into the store, and began looking at dresses, when the woman came in and asked the owner where I was.  She came to me and said, "Lady, did you even talk to your son about what he did?"

I said, "Of course I did.  Didn't you see me do it?  I was right next to your car."

She replied, "no I didn't see it, and I am very upset that you didn't talk to him about what he did wrong.  I mean, what kind of mother are you if you let your kids get away with something like that?"

"Like I said, ma'am, I did talk to him about it."

Then she said, "well, you didn't even apologize to me."

By now I was FUMING and said, "Lady... you slammed the door in my face.  Did you want me to knock on the door after you slammed it in my face and apologize to you?"

Then she said, "Well, I just wonder what kind of example you are setting for your kids."  To which I responded, "What kind of example are you setting right now?"

As she turned and left the building, she yelled to me, "Well, it's a good thing you're in this kind of store... you need some savin'!"

PhotoStory Friday: Poland Trip, Part Two

Hosted by Cecily and Sue

Pete and I brought a TON of stuff home from Poland last week.  I honestly can't believe what we got for our money.  If you haven't seen the pictures from the trip, check out the post below.  

Here's what we came home with:

Stove-Top Spoon Holder (I seriously can't think of what it's really called)

Paper Towel Holder

My very favorite piece, A Serving Plate.  There weren't very many items in this pattern, which made it unique to me.  

A small Casserole Dish

This is a Candle Top, for candle jars.  We have been using it since the second we got home.

A round Christmas dish

Aw, sweet.  Pete even said these were "cute."  

Another casserole dish

A BEAUTIFUL vase

An oil bottle

A Christmas tree.  There is a spot for a tea-light in the back.

Small bowls.  I actually bought three, but one is currently full of Peanut M&M's.  

Another Christmas casserole dish  

This was unique. The smaller flowers, like on most of the other pieces, were stamped.  However, the rest of it was hand-painted.

Can you guess which one of us had to buy a tooth-brush holder? (hint: it wasn't the one that isn't a dentist)

Tiny thimble and bell

I loved these butterflies because they were also completely hand-painted, so I got two ornaments-one for me and for Annie.

Tons of little candle holders.  I figure I will probably use some of these for teacher presents this year.

A ring-holder

One large basket, currently full of shoes.

And an extra-large basket....

... currently holding a two-year-old.