Gutach Rodelbahn im Schwarzwald

 20 JUL 2013 - This year's Cub Scout and Activity Day Girls summer activity was held at the Gutach Rodelbahn in Germany's Black Forest. The Rodelbahn is similar to an alpine slide except your sled is physically connected to the rails of the track. This makes the ride safer and faster, which makes it much more fun!

 Eli proved to be a great co-pilot for Heidi even though it may have been a bit of a tight fit.

 Eve jumped back and forth between riding with Heidi and Cody. She loved it!

 Kjersti: I'm in it to win it! Watch out or you may feel my wrath!!!

After all the excitement coming down the hill, waiting in line for the next ride up the hill is just so boring.
Kjersti: This is my Rodelbahn smile. I'm in the zone... beware!

Four Years Old

Everyone: Happy Birthday dear Eve, Happy Birthday to you!
Eve: Yes! Four years old! Best day ever!

Eve: Whhhhhh. (short pause). Ok, one more time from the top folks. Mom, I need you to re-light my candle.

Professional Opportunities

 

I've been incredibly blessed. This assignment has been a dream come true. I work at United States European Command (EUCOM) as a Regional Program Manager overseeing the command's Military-to-Military engagements for the country's of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania. I work closely with the Office of Defense Cooperation at each U.S. embassy, the State Partnership Program at the National Guard Bureau and the service components (Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps) within EUCOM. As part of my duties, I travel occasionally. ;) Over the past year, I traveled to Belgrade, Serbia; Warsaw, Poland; Bucharest, Romania and Tallin, Estonia. Here I am in my hotel room in Warsaw, Poland.

 



 During my down time in Warsaw, I traveled around the town and saw the Ghetto Heroes Monument. This monument was dedicated to the uprising against the German occupation in 1943.

The most memorable thing I saw in Warsaw was the Warsaw Uprising Memorial. The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces. However, the Soviet advance stopped short, enabling the Germans to regroup and demolish the city while defeating the Polish resistance, which fought for 63 days with little outside support. The Uprising was the largest single military effort taken by any European resistance movement of World War II.

 The memorial shows the grit and determination of the Poles to retake their city and beautifully captures their heroic fight.

 Tallin, Estonia is an unforgettable city with a difficult past, filled with an unusual mix of Estonians, Russians, Finns, Swedes and tourists from around the world. 

As unremarkable as a rock can be, this one is special. As the Soviet Union was collapsing in August 1991, the Estonians wanted to ensure the Soviets wouldn't come back. They placed these giant boulders on all of the roads leading to their parliament building. On 20 August, 1991, they declared their independence and finally broke away from the Soviet Union, but left the boulders in place near the roads as a reminder of their newly gained freedom.

It was from this building Nicolae Ceausescu addressed the Romanian people in December 1989. After the speech, he fled from the roof in a helicopter. He was shortly brought back to Bucharest, tried and shot. The end of communism in Romania. I remember seeing all this in the news. So fun seeing it in person.

Because of my experience on the staff ride I participated in earlier in the year, I was asked by the command to lead a staff ride for the ROTC cadets that served at EUCOM over the summer. Another dream assignment. We went to the WWI battlefields of the Meuse-Argonne and Verdun, France. Here we are assembled in front of the Montfaucon American Monument General Pershing erected in France to commemorate the American contribution to the Allied victory!

Der Schweiz

6 JUL 2013 - On our way back from France, we stopped in Lausanne, Switzerland to get out and stretch our legs a little bit. It was a beautiful day again and the views across Lake Geneva are remarkable. Eve did her best to glam up this shot by using the pant legs of different lengths approach. Not sure if it was really that effective.

 Lausanne, Switzerland

It takes a Happy Meal Ninja to defend yourself from the ridiculously high prices in Switzerland. To keep costs low, this is where we eat lunch. One of the cheapest restaurants you'll find. Three Happy Meals, a Big Mac meal and a Salad... $40. I'm lovin' it... not!

Aussois, France Zip Line

 5 JUL 2013 - The third and final rope course we did on this trip was the best of all. It was located just on the other side from the valley of the Forts Essellion. The highlight of the course is the zip line that stretches the Maurienne Valley covering 2,100 feet and is 590 feet from the ground at its highest point. This is Kjersti making it look easy.

This was just so fun that Cody had to try it as well.

 Eve kept her sights on something a little less daunting, but fun for her none the less.

For lunch that day, we went to the village of La Norma. Apparently, the resort there is just 40 years old. Just 40 years old... that's as old as that guy on the right. Just a young buck!

Jardin Alpin du Lautaret, France

 4 JUL 2013 - The Alpine Botanical Garden was located in a valley about 30 miles from where we were staying. It features flowers from around the world that grow in the summer at very high elevations. While that was interesting, it was the mountains here that were really impressive.

 Jardin Alpin du Lautaret, France

 To get to the botanical garden, we drove through some amazing scenery. While we were driving, the locals were also having a bicycle race up these slopes. It was reminiscent of the scenes from the Tour de France. After passing a number of these exhausted cyclists, we all came to the conclusion that driving these insanely steep roads was far better than biking them. ;)

 Spending time, enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery in the French Alps.

The weather that day couldn't have been better. Driving along the roads and then looking back at where you had driven was almost as good as driving it. Just spectacular!

When we arrived back at our hotel that night, we were greeted with an amazing rainbow. So fun!

Forts Esseillon, France

 3 JUL 2013 - The Maurinne Valley in Vanoise National Park in France includes some amazing forts that were built by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia (a province which is now part of Italy) from 1819-1834. The forts were built not long after Napoleon's defeat as a means to ensure he never invaded Piedmont-Sardinia again. While the forts are impressive, they were never used in battle. We had a great time exploring them!

 Forts Esseillon, France

A stock picture of the fort taken from the approach from the valley. Quite a site.

 As would be expected, the forts have prime locations in the valley that have amazing views. This is the main road leading to the fort.

A number of buildings outside the fort appeared as though they were once used for garrisoning troops or local towns folk. In any case, the elements have gotten the best of them.

One of the more impressive areas of the fort is the inner road that allowed the forts' defenders to move large cannons from one area of the fort to another. The incline on this road was significant. One of the worst jobs you could have was to move a cannon from one end of the fort to the other. Apparently, the large bumps in the road were there to ensure that a cannon couldn't easily get away from the soldiers and slide to the bottom. Tough work.

At the bottom of the fort looking towards the valley, you can easily see the adjoining fort along with an amazing river and waterfall.