Mainz Hauptbahnhof and the Trains

Everybody Rides a Bicycle in Germany

I am getting mine ready, Randy already has his ready, and soon we will join
this little rider and all the others riding our bikes in Germany!

Some of My Finest Photography From Texas

These are photos made near our ranch in Texas.  It is getting time for the spring wild flowers again.  They should be beautiful this year.  We have had a lot of rainfall this winter.  Last spring I found these horses grazing in a pasture of yellow flowers about a mile from our house.  I never tire of looking at these photos.

The Train Trip to Frankfurt

The photos in this post are all made through the window on the train, except for this first one.  You will be able to see my reflection in the glass window in some of the pictures.  I just wanted to give everyone an idea of what I see from the train on a ride to Frankfurt.  So come along for a ride on the S3!  You will enjoy it.

If You Love Trains...

My father has always told me stories of growing up during the Great Depression, when abject poverty ruled the lives of he and his family, and a great deal of America.  His father was a WWI veteran, a share-cropper, and he raised his family working in West Texas and on the "high plains" of North Texas.  My dad told me he watched the trains come and go, and that the "hobos" he saw riding them seemed to have a wonderful life.  They appeared to be escaping the poverty and want that was so much a part of his childhood.  He kidded me as a child, that his real life's ambition had always been to become a hobo and "ride the rails" across our great nation.  He loves to travel to this day, and saw as much of the world as he could during his younger days.  Age has finally limited his and mother's adventures, but he still gets the itch every fall.  That is his favorite time of the year, and when I arrived in Germany in November, and I first began riding trains, I thought of him.  I have always been more like my dad than my mother, and I have found I love riding the trains of Germany.

My husband too has always been fascinated by trains.  During his childhood in the summers he spent time with his Aunt Eva in Kentucky, she was the wife of a Baptist minister, and she ran a boarding house.  There were no other children in the household, and being from a single mother family, Randy didn't have many toys.  The house where his Aunt lived was close enough to the railroad tracks that when he heard the train whistle, he had enough time to grab his small spiral notebook, and run for the crossing.  There he would write down the number on the engine, and the date and time that the train passed through the town.  He eventually developed a very reliable "train schedule."  After arriving in Germany, I found he still loves to check the train schedule, and ride from place to place.  I love watching his face transformed to that of a delighted little boy's as he checks the large bill boards at the train stations.  Trains are just such a romantic mode of travel!

If you too are enchanted with travel by rail, you will love the poem/song  post made on facebook by my high school choir teacher, Mr. Mel Harp, concerning the first train to arrive in my home town toward the end of the 1800's.  I was born in, and spent most of my life in Sweetwater, Texas. Since moving to Germany, Randy and I often ride the trains to where we are going.  It is just such an adventure to do so, and I love seeing the German countryside roll by.  The train system here is comfortable, clean, and easy to use.  This blog post is for all my readers who tell me they love the train stories and pictures, and especially for my sweet and adventurous husband who introduced me to riding the train.

The 134th anniversary of the first Texas and Pacific Railroad train arriving in my home town of Sweetwater, Texas will be on March 12, 2015.  A poem which is also a long song was posted on facebook, as I said, by my high school choir teacher.  I think I remember Mel Harp being asked when I was his student what his favorite music was, and I seem to recall him mentioning "Blue Grass."  The following poem/song, certainly falls within the genre, word wise, of Blue Grass.  Blue Grass is also my favorite type of music.  I wish I could hear this poem in a musical performance, I know it would be best enjoyed in the music form.  Since I don't have access to that performance, I have included a link to a very famous old "train song," played at the Coushatte Recreation Ranch during one of their monthly free Blue Grass concerts.  This wonderful RV park is only a couple of miles from our home in Texas.  They have an awesome major event each October at the Ranch, with major groups in attendance.  All you Blue Grass fans would love it, and I guarantee there are always "train songs!"

Coushatte Recreation Ranch

I Am Missing the View From My Backyard in Texas Tonight

Wiesbaden Has Beautiful Buildings and Churches

We first ventured to Wiesbaden when my husband and I made the trip by bus and train to this charming city for groceries and to purchase a bicycle.  There is a commissary and PX there, so we save money, so more money for fun!  It was love at first sight, and the bus drives through the city were delightful!  The architecture is to me the most intriguing part of the city. 

Today their are only fourteen of the original twenty six hot springs which still flow.  Wiesbaden has always been know for those hot springs.  In fact "Wiesbaden," which translates "meadow baths," is one of the oldest health centers in Europe because of these marvelous hot springs.  The hot springs brought the designation of "spa baths," which became heralded as having "healing properties."

We have yet to visit the spa baths, but as I said, the first draw for me is the beautiful architecture.  On Saturday we visited one of the main streets where the famous beautiful and very old churches are.  We took our little Sheltie, Chance with us, and he was charming as always.  In the little pizzeria where we stopped for lunch, the owner brought Chance his own bowl of water and plate of bread, which our little dog enjoyed very much.

                                     The street scenes look like they are from a movie to me,
                                           and I was captivated as we walked and explored.
                                                    

                       

 

 

I did mention that I found the churches most the most fascinating didn't I?

I will be sharing those images next...