Qatar (Brian and Jon say we are "Qatar Heroes")

Jon and I are in Doha, Qatar at the moment. Qatar is a peninsula in the Middle East, connected to Saudi Arabia. Jon is on a business trip and we thought it would be neat for me to travel with him to experience a part of the middle east.

I took a couple of pictures from the inside of the Abu Dhabi airport where I had a layover. I thought it was such a neat airport, so bright and colorful.





We have a great room at the Marriott. The people here are so nice and very willing to help. I was so tired when I got in from my flight and they were so kind; it was really nice to get that kind of treatment. Not to mention the bed is soooooo comfortable! It's going to be tough to go back to the hotel in Germany! I took a couple of pictures from our hotel room. It has a view of the bay.





Right at the moment, it is 11:22 a.m. and we're guessing about 105 degrees with 100% humidity. When I say 100% I actually mean it! It is unbelievably hot! But we do have air conditioning here, unlike in Germany. Thank the sweet Heavens for that! During the day most people remain indoors. Jon and I are here during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. I found a great explanation on Wikipedia that will help explain this tradition:

"Ramadan or Ramazan (Arabic: رمضان, Ramaḍān) is a Muslim religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, believed to be the month in which the Qur'an was revealed to Angel Gabriel, to deliver it to Prophet Muhammad. It is the Islamic month of fasting (sawm), in which participating Muslims do not eat or drink anything from dawn until sunset. Fasting is meant to teach the person patience, sacrifice and humility. Ramadan is a time to fast for the sake of God, and to offer more prayer than usual. During Ramadan Muslims ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance into the future, ask for help in refraining from everyday evils and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds."

So, this means during the day it is hard to find open restaurants, and eating and drinking in public is not allowed. We do have two open restaurants in the hotel during the day so we are able to eat lunch. But when we are out in public we respect their tradition and do not drink or eat in public. I asked Jon if water is allowed because it is so extremely hot here it would be horrible for your body to not be able to drink water, but he said it is not allowed. Because of this alot of people do get sick and are hositalized of severe dehydrtation.
Once the sun sets and it cools down, the town comes alive. The streets are crowded, traffic is terrible and it is busy until after midnight.

Tonight we are going downtown to the Souk, which is the traditional old style market. I really look forward to this, because I want to get a feel for their culture. I also can't wait to buy some neat antiques, souvenirs, etc.

Last night Jorge, one of Jon's co-workers, took us to the mall for dinner. We ate at Macaroni Grill, and I got some great pictures of the inside of the mall. The name of the mall is the Villaggio. It is so much like the inside of the Bellagio in Las Vegas and also reminded us of Ceasar's Palace because of the painted ceilings. They also have a canal built in the center of the mall with gondola rides just like your were in Italy! Here are the pictures from our evening.


The ceiling

This is the view of the ceiling at the entrance. It looks like the night sky.

Krispy Kreme Donuts in Qatar!

McDonalds

Macaroni Grill

Jon and I at dinner

The Canal and Gondola





Inside the mall

This is such a neat picture, it looks like a little village.

Rudesheim

Having Heddy's car, we thought we would go on a weekend adventure. Saturday Jon and I went to Rudesheim, about a thirty minute drive from Wiesbaden. To get to Rudesheim we had to take a ferry! It was the first time either of us had done this and it was a pretty neat experience. Here are some pics of the ferry ride.








This is a picture of the ferry we were about to take.


Rudesheim is the cutest little town with so much history. It was really crowded that day, with many tourists and lots of towns people. When we first got there we walked up and down the streets taking pictures and enjoying the sights. The buildings and narrow streets make for a cozy feeling, they are very picturesque! The town is situated right on the Rhine River which makes it an ideal locale for growing grapes, which they have done for hundreds of years. There are so many vineyards surrounding this area. One thing Jon and I thought was very neat, was the fact that actual grape vines are growing on buildings throughout the town.


The Church





Grapevines growing on the buildings.

I love these small alleyways



Jonny posing

The bells played every hour and underneath the bells a small carousel with little children figurines spun.


We started to get hungry so we grabbed a quick bite at a little restaurant that was almost hidden by grape vines. All throughout the restaurant there were vines. While we ate a couple of live bands played. It's really funny because they play mostly American music like Classic Rock and oldies.




These men brought a smile to my face. They seemed truly happy being here and playing their music. I loved this part of our day.


After spending several hour in town, we thought it would be neat to take a lift over Rudesheim. We bought a round trip pass and hopped on. The sight was incredible.

The lift



A castle among the vineyards.

The view of Rudesheim from our lift.

More vineyards

Jon pointed this picture out to me, there are steps built into the wall. I guess this makes it easier to tend to the vines.

Jon ;)



What an amazing sight

Me

In the middle of our lift we stopped and walked up a hill where there was this huge statue. I thought it was incredible and of course had to take a picture.

One Month

Today is our one month mark in Germany. I have to say I really have enjoyed being here so far. (Even though I have been sick) I am really starting to get used to being in Wiesbaden. There really is so much to do and so much to see. (If you have a vehicle.) We really look forward to moving into our place on October 1st. It couldn't get here any sooner, but when it comes down to it the hotel isn't terrible. I think the idea of being able to call some place home is what is getting to me. Some place to just get sorted and get our life back to normal. I can't wait to go to Ikea and start buying furniture for our new place. They have an Ikea down the road in Wiesbaden! I also can't wait for Jon and I to be able to cook a nice meal. We have been eating out for breakfast, lunch and dinner and I can't say I'm getting any skinnier by doing this. We really do enjoy cooking, and buying fresh produce and meat at the market is going to be so exciting. Not to mention a lot healthier for us both. I think once we are sorted in our new place and back on a routine I will find Germany even more wonderful!

Last night Jon and I went to this great restaurant, The Brauhaus!
We were so happy to get to eat here. This restaurant is too far of a walk, but luckily one of the ladies in Jon's office gave us her car until next Thursday. She is on vacation and asked if we would like to use it and of course we jumped at the opportunity. It is a little difficult to get around without a vehicle but we have been making it work. We will get our car September 30! Anyway.....I just love the food at The Brauhaus and the atmosphere. The people are very nice and speak English which makes it a lot better, especially since we are still trying to learn our basic German! We plan on taking our families here when they come to visit because they do have authentic German food and we think that they would just love it. Here are the pictures from our evening.

The Frankfurt Zoo

Saturday we had our first public transportation adventure, our biggest adventure so far. We woke up early Saturday morning and walked to the train station. We had no idea how to buy a ticket, finally we found a kiosk that was selling tickets but could not decipher it. Next, we went to an actual ticket booth, where thankfully the woman spoke a little English and sold us a day pass for the train and metro system. We took a train to Frankfurt, one of the biggest train hubs in Europe and from there took a smaller subway train to the Frankfurt Zoo. Jon and I both agreed that it was a little intimidating, but the public transportation over here is so easy once you get the idea. It is so advanced. Here are some pictures of our train ride. I took almost 200 pictures that day, so I picked out our very favorite. I figured 200 were too many to post.

Inside the Wiesbaden train station.

This is the train we took to Frankfurt

Jon and myself

Silly

The trains route took us right by the Rhine River and the vineyards.

Once we got off the train, we had to take the subway.

The subway train took us directly to the zoo. This is the entrance to the Zoo.



The Sun Bear was one of the first exhibits we saw. I love these little bears, they are so cute. They are very small for a bear, the smallest bears in the world actually.

This sun bear was sticking his tongue out at us! Actually it was yawning. They are from Malaysia and use their tongues to get nectar out of the tropical plants.

Of course the zoo had a lion exhibit. And of course I took a picture. This lion kept pacing back and forth and we couldn't figure out why, until we saw a female lion.

The tigers were very well hidden in their exhibit. This was the best picture we got.

Here's a soft-shell turtle in the reptile house.

An Australian freshwater crocodile. Crikey!!!

There was a really nice seal exhibit, where we were basically about 10 feet above the seals. Isn't it so cute?

Jon really liked the rhino; he couldn't believe how pronounced the horns were.

Pink flamingos. I had to get a picture, even though they were really stinky and noisy.

See any resemblance?

I got a little out of control with taking pictures of all the different types of Apes and Monkeys, as you will see. But they are so funny to watch and I think they pose for pictures!
This is an orangutan. I am trying to learn which ape is which and which monkey is which. Jon knows everything about every animal!! It is so hard to remember them all, and when I do I get really excited.

Big daddy

This little guy was so funny to watch. I couldn't stop taking pictures of him. He was everywhere all over the cage being so ornery. I finally caught these great pictures of him while he was playing in some straw! I wish they would stay this small Jon and I would love one. lol



Macaque. I remember these guys from the movie "The Run Down" with The Rock. I also remember a news story of Macaques in India I believe where they were breaking into people's homes and stealing food and other belongings. Isn't that crazy? But I did find them interesting.

It's funny how they all pace around as a group.

This Macaque was so interesting. He just walked around and sat down right in front of us. It was like he was watching us.