First night in Paris

We're pretty lucky to live where we do.  The train stations in our area are along some major transportation lines, so high speed trains stop in Landstuhl.  That means that we can travel to Paris in about 2 1/2 hours.  Paris doesn't seem like a place where we want to drive (you could easily get stuck in a traffic circle for hours), so taking the train and getting off at a station just a few blocks from your hotel seems like the way to go.  Especially since you can take advantage of the metro once you're in the city.  We spent a few days in Paris over spring break.  The first evening we arrived, we visited Montmartre.

Montmartre is the district in Paris where artists have traditionally gathered.  Van Gogh lived here when he traveled to Paris to learn new techniques.  It's a high point in the city geographically, so you could argue that the artists appreciated the access to light and the views afforded there.  A few painters might still be working under apartment gables above cafes.  Today, tourists go there to pick up some "local" artwork, get good views of the city, and have their portraits drawn. 

 The boys weren't interested in experiences Montmartre fully, but Lena had her picture drawn by one of the street artists.  There are so many circling the area that it's easy to feel overwhelmed or taken advantage of.  This gentleman was very nice, so we didn't mind paying him a bit for a drawing.

Since Montmartre is so high, it offers a good view of the city.  All the kids were very excited to see the Eiffel Tower so clearly.

Sacré-Coeur sits at the heart of Montmartre.  On a weekend afternoon, the lawns are covered with people picnicking and enjoying the sun.  Construction began on the church in 1876 and took about 40 years to complete.  It was in honor of God protecting the city from invasion during the Franco-Prussian War.

The Arc de Triomphe is just a few metro stops from Montmartre.  It's one of the best known monuments in Paris and recognizes the sacrifices of those who fought during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.  Over the years, the monument was revised to acknowledge other wars and battles.  A tomb of an unknown soldier from WWI lies beneath the arch.

Spring Break Fun

The kids had a week off from school earlier this month.  We spent a few days in Paris, went to a nearby science museum, and took a quick trip to Legoland.  Here's a bit about the science museum.

The Dynamikum is housed in a building that used to be home to a shoe factory.  Silhouettes of shoes line the walls and ceilings throughout the museum, and displays featuring black and white photographs of factory workers crafting shoes are scattered throughout the museum to help visitors imagine the hustle and bustle that originally buzzed through the building.  The museum is dedicated to the science of movement, which reflects the memory of factory workers moving throughout the building, the constant hum of machinery, and the function of the products produced there.  The exhibits throughout the museum are hands-on and invite visitors of all ages to explore speed, force, rotating movement, mass and motion, speed in nature, and machine-based movement. 

The moment we entered the museum, the kids were instantly engaged.  They jumped right up to an exhibit that illustrates motion caused by air.  Motors sent air through tunnels, and visitors could place objects of different sizes and weights into the tunnel to see if the air was strong enough to shoot them out the top.  I thought for a moment that we may spend our entire visit trying to send foam balls and cubes up to the ceiling because they were so entranced by the activity that they didn’t seem to want to move on.  Eventually, a bicycle sitting on top of a rubber bubble that inflated and slid across the floor like a disk on an air hockey table when someone pedaled hard enough caught one of the kid’s eye.  The air tunnel and the bike are the first two things visitors to the Dynamikum come across, and their ability to instantly capture the attention of everyone in my family speaks to how fantastic the museum is.

Eventually, we made it past the air tunnel and the bike and entered a huge room with different exhibits in every direction.  Museum staff members roam the room and offer assistance with the different activities and help explain the scientific concept behind each one.   It wasn’t long before we were making waves with a giant slinky, testing centripetal force on a rotating table, and using countermotion to move people on swings facing each other.  We all went from exhibit to exhibit and tried out everything we came across.  And, when I say “we,” I am including Robert and me in addition to Joseph, Lena, and Holden.  The activities and exhibits aren’t just aimed at kids.  Adults can have just as much fun trying out all the machines and manipulatives found at the Dynamikum.  I saw several people well into retirement age lining up giant dominoes to knock over and moving huge gears so that they worked together to ring a bell.  All of that fun combined with the huge indoor slide that takes you from the snack bar on the second floor back down to the activities on the first floor guarantees that we will go back to the museum.

Homburg Ceramics Festival

We've gone to the flea market in Homburg several times and come across a few treasures.  The last time we went to Homburg, though, was for the annual ceramics festival.  Artists from all over Germany, including one from our little village, came to the market to sell their creations.

 A stop at the playground we usually park next to in Homburg before we head home...

Karate

We couldn't find an English-speaking Tae Kwon Do course that we liked in Germany, so Joseph has been taking Karate classes on post.  Lena and Holden just started as well.  The instructor was nice enough to let Joseph wear his senior orange belt from Tae Kwon Do until he tested for a karate belt.  now, Joseph has an orange belt in karate to go with his TKD one.

Easter Time in Germany

 At the beginning of the Easter season, we went to a charity egg show in Kaiserslautern.  Lena and Holden did a few crafts.

 Some German grandmas showed the kids how to color eggs using onion peels.  A small paper cutout or flower can be placed on the egg before putting into the water so that an image stands out.

 A glassblower demonstrates how he makes eggs and tiny animals.

 Joseph really liked some wood eggs and asked the artisan to show him how they were made.

 The eggs the kids dyed and a small ornament from an ostrich egg that one of the vendors gave to Joseph.

 Joseph bought one of the wooden eggs, and the craftsman gave him the top he made while Joseph watched.

 During Christmas, we went to Sankt Wendel to a lovely market with a lot of activities for the kids.  We went to the same village for an Easter market.

 Cupcakes for Easter dinner.

 Joseph, Lena, and Holden in front of our town square.  Joseph doesn't cooperate for photos often anymore.