Kaiserslautern's Japanese Garden

While the boys went camping with the Cub Scouts,  Lena and I checked out the Japanese Garden in Kaiserslautern.  Lena petted fish as big as dogs and practiced making a zen garden before trying out some kung fu.

The Lemonade Dog [a Joseph Post]

Dogs who sell lemonade are funny HA HA HA!!!


I made this for wallpaper.

By Joseph.

Citadelle de Bitche

Warm summer days have arrived, which means it’s time to take the time to visit some area attractions that are only open a few months out of the year.  Such is the case with the Citadelle de Bitche.  Bitche, France, is about an hour from us.  The drive from took us through pasture lands and past windmills until we emerged from a wooded passage to see the imposing walls of the Citadelle overlooking the village.  I was instantly impressed and could only imagine how soldiers approaching its walls hundreds of years ago with the goal of breaching those walls must have felt.  It must have seemed an impossible task.

Though the Citadelle of Bitche is most famous for the siege it withstood during the nineteenth century, its foundations are actually much older.  Records refer to a castle and manor house on the site as early as the twelfth century.  From 1297 to 1606, the structure became the seat of power for several counts and dukes.  The French took the structure during the Thirty Years War and went on to renovate the site into a great fortification system under the watchful eye of Vauban, whose skills as an architect specializing in military installations, many of which were named UNESCO World Heritage Sites, earned him a magnificent tomb in Paris’s Les Invalides.  The fortress was mostly destroyed by the French when they lost ownership of it through the Treaty of Rijswijk so that it would not fall into enemy hands, but the French rebuilt it from 1740-1754 under the direction of Louis XV in accordance with Vauban’s original designs.

The most notable event in the Citadelle’s history is the 230 day siege it withstood during the 1870 Franco-Prussian War.  As visitors roam through the underground rooms in the fortress, the audio guides included in the price of admission instantly activate and accompany a film that recreates the events of 1870.  Actors portray soldiers taking part in the fighting and help visitors imagine Commander Teyssier’s meetings with subordinates as he orchestrated the Citadelle’s defense.  By the end of the tour, which takes visitors through the underground bakery, a well room complete with a giant hamster wheel made for two men to turn, the stable, butcher’s room, NCO quarters, officers’ dining area, and other rooms, you have a clear idea of the trial and tribulations faced within the Citadelle’s walls.

The tour continues above ground.  The above ground bakery house now contains a small museum dedicated to the “Men in War of 1870.”  Major events and players from the Franco-Prussian War are explained, and personal items relating to the soldiers who took part in those events are displayed.  Across from the bakery house is the restored chapel.  Inside the chapel, visitors can see a large model of what the Citadelle de Bitche looked like in the late eighteenth century.  

One of the most interesting things to do besides touring the rooms deep inside the Citadelle is to find the oldest date and name permanently carved into the Citadelle.  Over the centuries, soldiers have taken turns carving their names into the fortress’s walls.  For me, the most interesting examples was by D. Antognoli of New York City, who carved his name in 1945.  He was probably one of the 2,300 New Yorkers in the 100^th Infantry Division during World War II.  During the winter of 1944-1945, the 100^th took part in defending the area south of Bitche from the Germans.  The soldiers were able to break through German defenses on March 16, 1945, and liberate Bitche.  The chapel in the fortress features a plaque dedicated to the soldiers of the 100^th who proudly held the title of the “Sons of Bitche.”  The 100^th lives on as a training division based out of Fort Knox, Kentucky.  A friend from college who is stationed with the 100^th right now says that they still proudly refer to themselves as the Sons of Bitche.