Big Bear Christmas 2007

This year for Christmas part of the Dennis Family went to Big Bear to enjoy the snow and hit the slopes for a day. All loved hanging out and being together. Here are a few snapshots.

Big Bear

The boys favorite part of Big Bear, Ca. was the snow! Garrett went snowboarding for the first time and Matthew went sledding. Both loved their snow adventures.

Christmas 2007

Christmas this year was a blast. We had our own little Christmas at home in Vegas. The first picture is the traditional Christmas morning picture. The boys were so excited. Amie was just along for the ride, enjoying all the wrapping paper!!

The Rhine

Here are a few pictures from our visit to the Rhine. The Rhine is a stretch of river where you can see castles, villages, and vineyards. The scenery was breathtaking, and the castles even more amazing to see.

Scrielsom castle

Brett and I had the opportunity one night to eat at a castle. It was wonderful with an amazing view.

Night Watchmans Tour

While in Rothenburg, we took "The Walk of the Night Watchman" which is a tour given by a night watchman (a guy dressed up like a citizen from the medieval times), a citizen of Rothnburg who was responsible for the safety of the inhabitants of the walled, fortified city. Even though he protected the city his status was less than honorable. This was our night watchman tour guide!



This is the mouth that dropped hot oil on all who tried to enter the city without permission.



Back in the days all people were required to store a year of salt and other things as food storage.



This is a bakers torture cell where they placed bakers who gave bread that was under weight. They would stick the baker in there and dunk the baker in water for as long as they deem appropriate. This device is in front of the medieval torture museum.



This is the door all had to enter that were outside of the city wall after curfew.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

We took a short day trip to Rothenburg, a well preserved midevil town. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City. Some of the buildings date back to 1250, while other are from the 1500's. Rothenburg ob der Tauber is one of the cities on the Romantische Straß(Romantic Road) that has preserved vestiges of their medieval importance into the 21st century. Here are
a few pictures of the city.

Weinheim, Germany

These are some pictures of Weinheim Germany. Weinheim is cool because it is know for having two castles. The picture below is of both castles.



This is a holly plant. I had never seen one before and thought it was cool.


One thing I love about Germany is the buildings. Here are a few pictures of some in Weinheim.

Heidelberg Castle

These pictures are taken in the courtyard of the Heidelberg Castle.


The Fountain Hall of the Heidelberg castle
Prince Elector Philipp (1476 - 1508) is said to have arranged the transfer of the hall’s columns from a decayed palace of Charlemagne to Heidelberg. The Prince Electors of the 16th and 17th century turned the fortress into a castle and added two representative palace buildings to the complex.

Heidelberg Caslte

This is the Heidelberg castle. It was Prince Elector Ruprecht III (1398 - 1410) who had erect the first representative building as a regal residence in the inner courtyard. The exterior of the building, divided into a ground floor made of stone and framework upper levels, seems quite unpretentious today.



The two dominant buildings at the eastern and northern side of the courtyard were erected during the rule of Ottheinrich (1556 - 1559) and Friedrich IV (1583 - 1610). Today, they are considered to be two of the most important buildings in German architectural history.



Lightning struck the Castle in 1764

Neckar River, Heidelberg Germany

This is the Neckar river which runs along Heidleberg Germany. It quite a sight.




Over looking all of Heidelberg from the castle. The castle is on the left hand side of the first pciture.

Ritter Hotel, Heidleberg Germany

This is the Ritter Hotel that was built in 1592. It has some amazing architechture.

Heidelberg, Germany

Today we went to Heidelberg. It is a town that is on the Neckar river, and is amazing. Here are a few shots of the pedestrian walkways and the center of town.





This is a huge German nativity that is in the center of the pedestrian walkway by the Christmas market.