Tiger and Turtle Mountain

The weather warmed up nicely over the week-end!  It was in the 70's and we were loving it.

We didn't travel far this week-end.  Actually, just around the corner and down the street to Tiger and Turtle Mountain.  What?  We were not visiting a historical site?  We were enjoying modern art instead.

It is a giant sculpture made out of steel and zinc.  It looks like a roller coaster, but once you get up close, you realize it has steps inside for climbing.  The reason for the name "Tiger and Turtle Mountain" is because it looks fast like a Tiger, like a roller coaster.  But, it is actually slow like a Turtle because you have to climb it instead.  The link between Tiger and Turtle Mountain and Duisburg is that the recreational park it sits on was once a place where zinc was produced and the city of Duisburg is home to a major steel manufacturing company.

The sculpture sits high on a hill so you can enjoy the view at the top!

We hope to come back at night sometime because the mountain is lined with lights and looks great in the dark.  

Fields of Yellow

Normally I think of daffodils when it comes to yellow spring time flowers.  And there are many daffodils and tulips around here right now.  But, we have noticed many of these huge fields of yellow which are obviously not daffodils.  Charlie and I took a walk this morning and found this field.  The yellow flower is called "rapeseed".  I looked up what it is used for and found out that the seed produces an oil that is used for making canola oil.

We had fun exploring and surely Charlie was tired from our long walk!

Ireland - Spring Break 2012

We were super lucky to visit the beautiful country of Ireland over Spring Break!  It was nice not to have to travel to far to hear our native language spoken all around us.  And it was a treat to easily read and understand the signs and menus.

We flew into Dublin and enjoyed a couple of days there, including Easter.  We attended Easter service at St. Patrick's Cathedral.  It was a nice service, especially because it was in English!

We also visited a famous jail called Kilmainham Goal founded in 1796 .  We learned a lot about the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Irish Revolution.  It was a fun discovery since we were there over Easter week-end!

 Mark had the pleasure of pouring the perfect pint of Guinness at the Guinness Store House Academy!  I don't know what was more fun, crafting the perfect pint or drinking it!

Trinity College in Dublin was fun to see too.  This college was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I.  The library dates back from 1732 and and on display were the Book of Kells which are manuscripts of the four gospels in Latin.  We were not allowed to take pictures of this amazing library which also houses the oldest harp in Ireland.

Those were just a few of our Dublin highlights.  Then, we headed southwest to see the Irish castles, coasts, and countryside.  We stopped at the  Rock of Cashel on our way.  This medieval castle was a huge religious center for 500 years from 1101 to 1647.

 We also enjoyed an entertaining medieval dinner at this castle below called the Bunratty Castle.

 Another amazing castle that we toured was the famous Blarney Castle just outside of Cork.  There is a legendary stone at the top of the castle that you can kiss which then gives you magic or good luck.

It felt like we experienced all four seasons while in Ireland. (maybe not summer)

Rain, wind, hail, sun, and rainbows!

The cliffs of Moher were breathtaking and scary when your husband lays down and looks over the edge!

We visited the quaint little coastal town of Kinsale.

  This fort was built in the 1670's to protect Kinsale against foreign naval forces.

Another city we visited was Dingle which is another coastal town and popular yachting center located on the Dingle Peninsula. I think this was one of our favorite places in Ireland.  We took a boat ride out in the bay to see the dolphin named Fungi who has lived there since 1983.  We did see him come up by the boat several times.

After visiting the town of Dingle, we took a scenic drive around the peninsula.  We loved stopping at various cliffs and beaches and it was fun seeing all the sheep too!

We loved our stay at a bed and breakfast at the Adare Country House.  Dennis and Eileen were great hosts!  We started every morning with a nice home cooked breakfast and some helpful tips for our daily adventures!

We would definitely like to return to the Adare County House.  Adare was a quaint little town with great restaurants, pubs, and historical sight seeing.  There was a beautiful golf course nearby that had a five star hotel called the Adare Manor which is pictured below.  It would also be lovely to stay there next time!!!  It was just as beautiful inside too!

We were reminded of God's beautiful creation all over Ireland!  

From the beauty of the earth to the religious history, 

we saw the evidence of his handiwork and timing.

We were also reminded of my nephew, Murphy, all over Ireland!!!

Great beer!

And homemade Murphy's ice cream!

We did see our name a few places too.

I know there are a lot of pictures to look at, but I did leave out hundreds of other ones!   

We all agreed this is a country worth coming back too someday.

Xanten, Germany

A few weeks ago, some friends told me about a nearby city called Xanten which is a 40 minute drive northwest from our house.  We discovered that it is one of the oldest medieval towns, if not the oldest, in Germany.  The city still has part of the wall around it with a beautiful church and town square.  First,  we visited the Xanten Cathedral.  The Xanten Cathedral is the biggest cathedral between Koln and the North Sea.

Out in front of the church was a beautiful crucifixion scene made out of stone.  

It was a beautiful reminder during the Lenten season of Christ's sacrificial love for us.  

This old windmill was built right into the wall.

 This was my favorite house inside the city, just on the other side of the windmill.

Here is a picture of the kids with Charlie in the town square.  

It was a beautiful day and we were able to enjoy eating lunch at an outdoor cafe.

Xanten has one of the largest outdoor Archeological Museums with ancient Roman ruins that were just outside the walled city.  

We couldn't believe there were Roman ruins this far north in Europe.  

Here are some pictures of the colosseum.

 That is Jack (in the picture above) running through the middle pretending to be a gladiator.

 

The picture below is of one of the temples.  This one was called Harbor Temple.