Summertime in Wiesbaden

NEWSFLASH: 3 MONTH HIATUS FROM BLOG FINISHED!I truly can't believe that it's been three months since I've posted anything. I'm embarrassed, ashamed and mortified. We have had so many exciting happenings take place since the last post, and procrastination has got the best of the Cloughs yet again. NO MORE! From now on, we vow to update our blog consistently each week, especially as our time in Europe is running short. Although I could write for pages and pages about the adventures we've had over the past few months, I must keep it concise in order to cover everything. Although I began the May 4th and 27th posts ages ago, they have only recently been published. I apologize to you all for the delay in posting this information and thank you for your continued support.

Wilhelmstrasse Festival

Wiesbaden's premier festival took place June 11-13 and proved yet again to be the most fun festival of the city. Basically, they close off the most popular street in Weisbaden and fill it with nothing but food vendors wine stands, beer stands, cocktail stands and much, much more. The nearby parks have stages for live music of every kind and of course, no fest would be complete without rides. From Thursday night through Saturday, Jon and I took part in the fest-ing in every way possible. This is by far our favorite festival in Germany and we will miss it dearly!

On Saturday, we ran into some friends from the squadron and enjoyed listening to classic rock music on the bowling green.

Before take-off on my favorite ride, the swings.

Jon on his ascent on the swings before the craziness begins!


Later that evening, Jon, Justin and Ray experienced the magic of the swings yet again.

A Visit from the Swedes

This past weekend, two of my favorite Swedes, Maria and Jakob came to visit us in Wiesbaden. Maria was a former exchange student at BU in 2005 and we became fast friends and have kept in touch since. Jakob also spent an exchange semester at TAMU and they are now together. I visited them in Stockholm in September 2007 and it's about time they made it down to Germany for another visit.

Although they were only in town 48 hours, we made it the most packed, eventful two days possible. After picking them up from the airport, we spent the day touring the Rhine and wine-tasting in Bacharach. That evening, I showed them around Wiesbaden and Jon was able to join us for dinner at one of the lovely Italian restaurants downstairs from our apartment. Later that night we went for drinks at a friend's place and finished the night at the Irish Pub.

The next day (after some serious sleeping in), we visited the town of Eltville, known for its rose gardens, and met up with some other friends for wine at a weinhaus in the village.

Later that afternoon, we went to the nearby town of Erbach for the strawberry festival. We enjoyed the delicious drink of strawberries soaked in Riesling wine and sekt (Germany's champagne).

And of course Jon and Jake had to get their picture with the strawberry princesses. After the festival, we came back to the apartment where Jon and I prepared a midnight Texas feast of brisket fajitas, pico de gallo, chips and queso and Corona and margaritas. They absolutely loved it and it was wonderful to be around two people who also think the world of Texas. The weekend was a complete success and Jon and I hope to be able to fit in a trip to Stockholm this fall for one more visit before returning to the States. Swedes rule!