A Wooden Delight from Germany

It was a pleasant day in Rüdesheim am Rhein, the air a crispy autumn.  Hills covered with vineyards.  Streets full of quintessential quaintness.  Ornate buildings with wooden decorations, vines, narrow alleys, restaurants and shops.  There's an airway tram that leads to the top of a hill where you can view the Rhine River from above, ships slipping out of sight.

There's a Christmas shop, which are always a treat to visit while in Germany.  Large and full of warmth.  The window display overflowing with ornate nutcrackers.  

In a back room was a cupboard.  Inside was a delightful array of wooden figurines and displays.  Hand painted dolls and sets.  Some were Christmas themed.  Some represented the seasons.  I wanted one of the spring fairies holding flowers.  If I had a few hundred dollars I wouldn't have hesitated.  They were pretty and sweet.  Detailed.  There were notes everywhere written in English and other languages forbidding picture taking.  So I attempted to take a mental image, which, after nearly two years, the image is fading to a blur.  Emotion and wonder remains.

While heading back to the river I went into a little gift shop tailored for tourist.  After some exploring I found a small cupboard with tiny wooden figurines just as delightful as what I saw in the previous store, but at a price I could splurge.  I found a little girl wearing a winter coat and holding a star.  She was quickly purchased and has had a treasured spot on my dresser ever since. 

She's apart of the Hubrig Winter Kids collection named, "Star, Give Us Light."  I've been searching online for this figure since the trip in October of 2018, just to find more of the like, and other wooden German styled Christmas decorations, which are hard to find here in the States.  After much time I found Erzgebirge Palace, which has many fun things to see.  Germany really has some fun Christmas decorations, figures, displays, and ornaments.

Back from a Social Media Fast and a Trip to Germany and France

10 days without social media and the news was much more difficult than I realized it would be.  Yes, I was on a Germany/France travel tour during this time, but I had a good international data plan of 3 gigs, in which I only used 1.3.  When I'm on trips I tend to check Facebook and news even more, so I feel a connection back home and still know what's going on.  My Aunt was suppose to room with me, but she got sick just before the trip, so I had my own room and time to myself.  The hardest was yesterday when coming back.  From leaving the Paris hotel to getting home, my parents and I, and those on the tour, traveled 27 hours.  We had a 6 1/2 hour layover in Charlotte NC.  I wanted to break my fast so bad, but stayed strong.  (Though, admittedly, I did hit the Facebook icon on my phone twice out of habit, saw a family post, and quickly left.)

What did I learn?

I seriously have an addiction.  Pressing the FB app icon is a habit, and until these last ten days I didn't realize how bad it was.  It's something I'm going to keep working on.  Reducing my Social Media time.

I found myself living in the moment.

Cutting myself off from everything helped me take the trip in and focus on what I was experiencing.  The trip had highs and lows.  There were set backs.  Being apart of a tour has the good and the bad.  Whoever booked the flights allowed only an hour layover in Dallas to catch a plane to Frankfurt.  There were severe storms in TX that morning, setting our SLC plane back 1 1/2 hours.  When we landed and waited 30 more minutes for a gate, the Frankfurt plane was loaded and had takeoff clearance--my Dad is a pilot and knows how to look this stuff up, and we later talked to those on that previously loaded plane--then all of a sudden everyone was taken off the plane due to mechanical problems, and the terminal reassigned from D to A, where our SLC plane was cleared to come into.  So we made the flight.  Crazy, right?  And our Rhine cruise got stuck in Rudesheim Germany a couple nights, due to low water levels on the Rhine, but we had extra free time in the city because of it.  There were good highlights as well.  It was a rush, highlight trip, but it was nice being close to where my Stufflebeam (Stoppelbein) ancestors come from.

This time also allowed me to realize how much I need to cut current events out of my life, more like reduce my time studying it.  I hate feeling out of touch, but I'm taking too much in, and news cycles repeat, constantly, and I get caught up in the repeat.  Touch in/Touch out.  Focus on what I can control.  And don't let what I can't control, control me. Still, it's good being aware of what's on the horizon and what can affect me, but it's also good to focus on what's in my personal space and presence.  There's a needed balance.

And I also felt strongly that I need to start taking my music and writing more seriously.  Honestly, I haven't been as dedicated as I should be.  Important life stuff has been going on, I was needed elsewhere, but now that certain things have ended this is my season of creativity.  That's how I'm going to see it.  Season of creativity.  That sounds nice.

Anywho, this little experiment has been nice.  Glad for the challenge.

Epcot: Exploring the World Showcase

June 9th, 2016, Day 2 at Epcot.

Our second day at Epcot primarily took place at the World Showcase, where 11 Countries are represented.  We spent most of our time at the United Kingdom, France, Morocco, and Japan, spending a little time in Germany, Italy, and China.  We barely saw the other countries.

Japan was my favorite!!  By the time we got there a two hour Summer storm hit, raining big drops, so we spent the whole time in the store, which was so big and full of so many treasures.  We bought umbrellas, having left our polka dot umbrellas at the hotel, but right when we left the shop the rain stopped.  In the evening, choosing not to see IllumiNations again, Mom and I decided to run from the UK to Soarin', barely making it, and riding it twice in a row even after the ride closed.

That night, around 12:30 am, there was a random, impressive firework show that we watched from the balcony.  All the parks were closed and it was far away, but it was still fun to watch.

 France

 I love all the little details.

 Morocco

 So many cool shops and places to explore.

 Japan

 Japan was by far my favorite!!

 The shop we stayed in for two hours, during a storm.

We had no idea there would be a sudden downpour, but this was the perfect place to be.  I was having so much fun looking at everything I didn't feel the time pass.  There were some items that I saw in Japan just the year before.  And I love the variety of things you can buy, and that there was nothing Disney in the store.

It was nice seeing Japanese geek culture fully represented.

(It would have been cool if there was a Tokyo Disney Store in the area, as they have completely different products than we do, so missed opportunity.  That would have been awesome.  I loved the Disney Store in Shibuya.)

 So many flavors!!

 Katsura Grill, another counter service restaurant.

The American Adventure

There's a Voices of Liberty show that I would have loved to see, but we were running out of time, and it seemed like the next few countries we did in a whirlwind.

Italy

 Germany

 Outpost

 China

Reflections of China.  Completely took me back to when I was a kid seeing the circle vision in Tomorrowland at Disneyland.

Norway

 Mexico

 We didn't see the Grand Fiesta Tour starring The Three Caballeros, and the line was short, too.  We just ran out of time, and my Mom really wanted to visited the U.K.

 Canada

 United Kingdom

 We ran to do Soarin' again!

Only had a few minutes before closing time, and we made it, sprinting!!  Two more times riding Soarin' over California before this version was replaced.

So, in total, we rode this ride 3 times during our stay, the most of any ride, and it was awesome each time.

The random firework show we watched from our hotel balcony.