Reichsburg Trifels

During Spring Break, we left the kiddos at home & did a date night with our best friends to Reichsburg Trifels.  It's a beautiful old castle just south of us about 40 minutes.  It was originally built in 1080 & was one of the most important centers of power until 1330.  This castle was used for a number of things. . . as a house, a center of government, & as a prison for important people.  It even held King Richard the Lionheart for a time.

We enjoyed exploring the castle at our own pace.  There weren't any guides so we just guided ourselves around the maze of passageways, doors, & stairs.  You definitely can get lost in this castle.  There are so many nooks & crannies & you never know where you've been & where you still need to explore.

We all especially loved the great hall which was probably used as a ballroom or dining area at some point.  It was so beautiful & open.  The chandelier was gorgeous.

Trek was like a little boy running around & finding new doors to go in & out of.

This castle has a treasury of items that were stored in this castle for years.  These are all replicas (not originals), but they are made to look exactly like the crown jewels & golden pieces kept here for over a thousand years.

We also enjoyed the room where we could be kings & queens & wear knight helmets.

And the views were incredible.

(It was CRAZY windy up there, but the views made up for it.)

Crazy Wind!  I couldn't keep my hair normal.

It was a great hike up to the castle & a wonderful hike down too.  I loved the trees, the smell of the outdoors, & the fun conversations we had with our friends.

After visiting the castle, we went to dinner at a really fancy little hotel just below the castle.  It was GORGEOUS & the food was incredible.

It was a really great night of hiking, exploring, eating, & then playing board games until midnight.  Talk about a perfect evening.

 

Alterations

Lorien has always dreamed of being "Belle" (from Beauty & the Beast) for her Senior Prom.  A dear friend gave us some of her daughter's old prom dresses when she moved here & one of them was a beautiful yellow ball gown that reminded us of Belle's dress.  Lorien knew THAT was the dress she wanted to wear to her Senior Prom.  It was a sleeveless dress which Lorien has never been comfortable with, so she asked me if I could possibly make her sleeves & a back to make it more "princess-like."  I panicked.  I absolutely love that my kids think I can do magical things easy peasy, but what they don't realize is that I'm not nearly as magical as they esteem me.  I was NERVOUS to touch this gorgeous dress.  I was SO terrified I was going to ruin it.

I didn't have any yellow fabric & fabric is non-existent here, but Lorien was determined to have me make these alterations so she found some yellow/gold fabric curtains that I had used for the shepherd costumes for the live nativity we did in December.  I thought the 2 colors would clash terribly, but as I constructed & saw them in different lightings (NOT the lighting in our house which is terrible & makes everything dark & dull), it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

 I started with some scrap green fabric & made practice sleeves over & over & over again, until they were just right for Lorien.  She wanted them BIG & flowing so I kept having to make them bigger.  She loved the design I ended up doing.

She also wanted me to find a way to close up the back of the dress which ended up being harder than making the sleeves.  We had to try several different things until we found one that would

1. work with a corset

2. cover her back 

3. NOT look ridiculous

It took several tries, but we did finally come up with a beautiful set of sleeves & back that worked beautifully with the dress.

She looked beautiful in her Belle gown.  She truly was a princess.

(and I SO appreciate her helping me gain confidence in my sewing skills.  She makes me feel like the best mom in the world when in reality, she's the one that is the best!  She knows how to make you feel like a fairy godmother.)

My beautiful Belle of the ball.

 

Europa Park - Spring Break

 

The Tuesday of Spring Break, Trek took the kids to Europa Park with our best friends & their kids.  I stayed home with Canyon so he could stay lying down on his back so it could heal, but I'm glad they could get out & have some fun together.

They had a BLAST.  They spent ALL DAY riding ALL the rides in the park.  The lines were super short, the weather was sunny & beautiful (which is rare in Germany), & they were so happy riding rides with their friends.

It was a great way to relax & have fun.