Our Little Corner of the World...Expanded to Marksburg Castle, Koblenz, Germany!!!

Walking up to the castle was a daunting experience...

it's no wonder they were built for defense!!!

Marksburg Castle was built approximately 700 years ago...

and was built as a fortress, high atop a hill, with great vantage points to see an approaching enemy.

The Castle was never besieged by any enemies so it is quite the same as it was 700 years ago.

But they were prepared!!! 

On our way to go into the interior of the castle we passed these beauties...

Part of the kitchen...

And yes...they had indoor potties!!!

...right next to the dining room table!!! 

Didn't they have any building codes back then???

A nice little spot for the ladies to do their handwork...

...and of course a chapel...with a beautiful ceiling!!!

Just a few samples of the armor used back then when battling the enemy...

Those things aren't light either!!!

And of course...if the enemy got in...there were all sorts of ways to deal with them!!!

...as demonstrated in this painting...

A spectacular view from the charming cafe area...

somehow I don't think the cafe is original!!!

The group at large!!!

Dan, me, Art, Linda, Sean, Veronica, Doug...

Debra stayed back at the ship...

Every castle must have it's dog!!!

Another bright spot in a rather dreary day weatherwise...

Then back to the ship...

the Viking Embla!

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Our Little Corner of the World...Expanded to Koln, Germany!!!

When we arrived in Cologne, the first thing we saw was

this magnificent cathedral...

Construction of the cathedral began in1248...
work was stopped in 1473.
The work was restarted....but not until the 1800's!

It was completed in 1880, and was finished according to the original design.

During WWII, the church was off limits for all bombing by the allied forces.
In part because allied forces policy was to preserve as much of these cathedrals as possible...
but more importantly, this cathedral is very tall and served as a beacon.
Pilots used the cathedral to pinpoint where they were...
and where they were going.  

Do you see the very white corner base?

That was the only area damaged during the WWII Bombings...

The entire area surrounding it was decimated.

The corner of the church was rebuilt, exactly as before...

right down to the same stone...same color...

Yep...the whole church used to be this white sandstone color.

Years and years of dirt, grime, bombing debris, diesel fuel, etc, etc...

definitely adds up to a dark stain!!!

An interesting twist to the cathedral's stained glass windows!!!

Look's kind of like pixels on a tv screen!!!

At the back of the cathedral is this corner...
with remnants of damage from bomb shrapnel...

Across the square...
a pub...
with those beautiful geraniums you see in windows all over Europe!!!

We walked a bit...looking for the cologne museum...
Not Cologne the city...but a museum about how cologne (the perfume) was developed...
 Along the way we saw a wedding...

and...no it's not a doll museum...it's a doll hospital!!!

We found the cologne museum...and of course bought a fair amount of
the original cologne!!!
(But didn't get any pics of the exterior... :( )

Back on the square by the cathedral...
some local talent!!!

And if you think we've got the corner market on political discourse and protest...

Honestly...
I don't have a clue what this tower was!!!
I just liked the pastel buildings in juxtaposition with
the old and beautiful tower!!!

That evening...what could be better than a Brauhaus Tour???

(In case your German's a bit rusty...that would be a Brew House Tour!!!)

We walked from brauhaus to brauhaus...

and I played a bit, taking pics of the lights in the streets...

I like that this is almost abstract!

Now that's a lot of brew to taste!!!

Cheers!!!



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Our Little Corner of the World...

I'm taking a short break from our fabulous 

Viking Cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest...

to bring you a glimpse of what TheChief and I participated in

on July 12...

Mending Kids International 3rd Annual Hometown Mission.

Sooo...

What is Mending Kids International you ask???

I'm sure you've heard of Doctors Without Borders?

Think of them, but specifically for kids!!!

Our dear friend, Marchelle Sellers, is the Executive Director of MKI 

and when we went to her office in Burbank, CA to offer our services for volunteering...

...yeah...need I say more?

I became the designated photographer for the day!

(although, with all the cell phones and selfies going on...I'm not sure why!!!)

It was a fabulous day....

Bear with me...after over 1000 pics, I've narrowed them down to a mere 30+!!!

Sooo...Saturday morning we were up at the crack of dawn and made it over to
the Specialty Surgical Center of Beverly Hills.
Right off the bat we were in the pre-op area visiting with the kids and parents
waiting patiently for their surgeries...

Hometown Missions are primarily for kids here in the US who for one reason or another

have been turned down for surgery by their insurance company or the government insurance.

Generally, the reason they're not eligible for surgery is that the surgery is deemed 

unnecessary...possibly because the surgery needed is considered to be cosmetic or just elective
rather than "medically necessary".

An example is this beautiful little girl.  

She was born with a "Hairy Nevis", basically, it's a mole with hair growing out of it.

This little girl is getting ready to go to school...and as we all know...kids can be pretty brutal.

She was turned down as it was considered to be cosmetic.

Really???

This is exactly the kind of case that Mending Kids is here for!!!

A relatively easy surgery, and this little girl will have a much easier time

adjusting to school and all those other kids. 

All these beautiful kids absolutely stole our hearts, and the hearts of
everyone participating!!!

 

TheChief gave out badge pins...

And look who was in pre-op handing out toys and good wishes????
Yep!!!
Gene Simmons of KISS!!!

T-shirts, toys and lot's of happy moments to assuage any anxiety the kids had, waiting for surgery.

Then it's off to O.R....

 

 

...and the waiting begins...

 

Wait!!!  You mean I get to go into the O. R. too???

Check out the next installment  (just scroll down...) for what happens behind the
"Personnel Only"  doors!!!






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