Pumpkin Patch and Castle

Very Excited about the pumpkin patch, or maybe the animals

 

My happy boys and a cow that sneezed on them

 

 

I thought this was a cool looking house in the town

 

Always sword fighting even without real swords

The dairy cows

Who is going to win the stare off?

The horse was fed lots of hay

The beautiful scenery around the farm

 

Running for pumpkins!

AJ got to hold a chicken

 

Michael decided just to pet it

 

AJ found his pumpkin!!  It was so heavy mommy had to carry it

 

Michael found his too

The cattle car we were taken in to the pumpkin farm

Always monkeying around

 

All the kids with their pumpkins

 

The entrance into Burg Nanstein

The view from above

 

Michael the poser

 

Aren't they cute!!!

Holding up the statue

 

Can't keep this kid down

They wanted action shots - we spent quite awhile and many pictures later

 

A top view of the castle

 

The beautiful fall leaves

AJ in his cub scout uniform with all the patches!!!

 

 

The boys didn't have school on Thursday so we took the opportunity to meet some of Michael's classmates at a pumpkin patch near his school.  The boys had a great time!!  It is a working dairy farm, so we got to see all the animals including an 11 day old calf.  It was really cute!!  The boys thought the cows and pigs were stinky, but loved checking them out any way!  They both were able to pick out a pumpkin and Michael has not stopped asking to carve it.  I told him maybe tomorrow.  I figure David has to enjoy the "fun" of carving too, right?  The weather was BEAUTIFUL and so was the scenery.  It is in a farming community and the owners actually started it because it was mentioned to them that if they did a pumpkin patch the American's would come.  They sure do and so do some Germans.  I don't think as many Germans though.  Albert's class is going on field trip next Friday to the same pumpkin patch, so we will have a couple more pumpkins to carve.  Yeah!!  AJ also said he wants to make pumpkin seeds and pumpkin pie this year.  We will see how that goes.  Then on the way home I saw a sign for Burg Nanstein and thought why not, it is beautiful day and I am not ready to go home yet.  So we detoured and visited it!  The boys sure do love exploring the old castles!  AJ said the dark parts were really freaky.  It does amaze me to think people lived in them and to try and picture what room was for what.  Once I learn enough German I can actually read about it!  LOL!!  A little history on Burg Nanstein it was built in 1160 by Emperor Barbarossa, but its reputation is owed to a later owner, the rebellious knight Franz von Sickengen.   In 1482 Knights of Schweickhardt Sickengen under Ganerbschaft was co-owner of the castle.  In 1518 his son Francis succeeded him.  Francis tried to expand the system to a modern "canon castle" which should withstand the newly developed guns, but the effort was in vain.  After Franz had repulsed the attack in 1522 on the Archbishop of Trier (another town about an hour down the road) he had to retreat to the castle Nanstein.  After a two-day bombardment by the combined armies of three imperial princes Francis died on May 7th.  Franz von Sickingen sons and grandsons built from the ruins of 1543 again. By 1600, a splendid Renaissance chateau was born that survived the Thirty Years War unscathed. However, had Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, took possession of the castle after the family of the Sickingen was expelled.  In 1668 they conquered the ruler, Count Palatine and Elector Karl Ludwig I, back and let it blow up. While it was once again rebuilt, it was later destroyed during the Nine Years War in 1689 by French troops.  And that ends another one of my history lessons.  Stay tuned for more, Burg Frankenstein is coming soon!!!