NEW CAMERA!!!!! It is my pleasure to introduce the newest member of the W household: Alfie. I have been doing my research for FOR-EV-VER.... and finally made a decision on which camera to upgrade to. I really wanted a DSLR. I mean wanted like a fat kid wants cake. But after consulting my professional photographer rolladex, I decided that the only reason for ME to have one is to be respected within the photographer community. I am not looking to become a professional, so criticism is the least of my worries. I also wasn't aware that DSLR's after so many accusations, develop dead pixels. The mirrors on the camera are taxed after so much use and simply break down. I did not want to make an investment and know in the back of my head that my baby was going to fall apart on me. I would worry every time I snapped the shutter. I've heard chatter about mirrorless cameras and wondered what all the fuss was about. With a professional photographer consultant in tow, I headed to Media Markt to investigate. Imagine my surprise when I find myself drifting from the prized Cannon or Nikon to lesser (or so I thought) Sony. I couldn't believe how it preformed. You can crank the ISO up on this baby and your images are noiseless. It's unbelievable. Mirrorless = no dead pixels. I can still buy all the lenses I want. Sony sells adapters for the larger lenses. It fits really well in my hands (TWSS)... and I adore the sound the shutter makes. 1080p video? no problem. 12 frames per second shooting... that's faster than your eyeballs process images (only 20 fps). To make a long story longer, I was hooked. Sold. Done-zies.
Enter: Lithium Battery Shipping Restrictions on an APO Address
The military has put the kibosh on shipping any kind of lithium ion batteries to a military APO. No exceptions and confiscations are widely known. Most cameras these days use just this type of battery. Which meant that Alfie's journey here would be horribly disconcerting. What to do... what to do??!? Luckily, Jess Aiduk was in the states and was making her way back to Deutschland very soon. One quick phone call to NY and Alfie was sent to her folks house in Painted Post so that she could bring the camera back in her suitcase. Suh-weet! Thanks Jess!!!!!!!
So now I will be shooting primarily with Alfie. Camie is not out of commission, just simply used less often. Get excited! These posts are never pictureless....
Every year, Ramstein Air Force Base puts on a Bazaar on the flightline. It is the biggest event hosted on base all year round. Numerous vendors come from around the world with their wares to sell to folks who don't have an opportunity to travel while living here. You name it, it's here.... Polish pottery, Italian leather, Persian rugs, Black Forest clocks, Celtic spoons, Wine, wine and more WINE! Every dollar made at the Bazaar goes back into USAF... which is amazing considering they make over a million dollars every year. I was blessed with an opportunity to volunteer to help the ROSC (Ramstein Officer's Spouse's Club) run the event. Mrs. Jane Ellen Monson contacted me to assist her in the volunteer tent. Paula Amrien was kind enough to give of her time as well, so we were able to go together! It was a nice way to meet new people, and I also had a giant opportunity to use Alfie! The vendors fill two hangars and a giant tent. and as always, I love that pictures are free...
After the Bazaar D and I had plans to go to the "Rhine in Flames" festival in St. Goar. I know you guys remember the last Rhine in Flames festival that we went to.... but this one, was the one we have been waiting for all year. It's again with the boats.... but this time there are two castles in which to shoot off fireworks not to mention the two barges on the the river right next to the boats that also shoot off fireworks. We're talking four simultaneous fireworks shows at once. All in plain view. Lets just say it was the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life. It's about an hour and a half drive there, and we took the scenic route next to the river. There was literally a castle every three minutes. We want to drive back to just to spend a day going through the towns on the Rhine river. We initially wanted to go on the other side of the river this year to see the show from the opposite side... imagine our surprise when Jane tells us to "stop and take the auto-ferry". Had we planned for it we totally would have, but we weren't sure we'd have enough euro on us for the festival. Next time! I managed to get some fun shots while we were a-journeying....
The hilarious part is that we had to park in the next town and walk back to St. Goar.... I was glad it was worth it. We were starving by the time we arrived there, and were just a little bit cranky (okay, I was really cranky...). We stood in line to get brats and pommes and with our feast in hand we settled on the riverbank to watch the show. I had bought us a bottle of wine at the Bazaar that day to bring with us and a very kind German gentlemen opened it for us as we for once were lacking a corkscrew. The bratwursts we had at this festival were my favorite since living here! Either that or I was REALLY hungry.... but probably a bit of both. I was psyched to break out Alfie although D was begging asked me if there was a way to turn off the shutter sound of the camera. I don't know if he was embarrassed or what... lol sadly I couldn't find the stealth mode on such short notice without the manual. So here are the pictures! Enjoy the show!
St. Goar Castle. There is a hotel here that I REALLY want to stay at.
After the show was over, we decided to tour the festival as we hadn't gotten a chance before the fireworks started. I loved how even though the show was over, the festival was still in full swing showing no signs of shutting down in the near future. We ended up getting some flammkuchen, which is a pizza with a really thin crust and no tomato sauce. SO yummy. My favorite part is that they served it on these slate boards. You initially pay three euro for the board and when you return it after you're done eating you get your three euro back. Unless you simply want to keep the board. We totally kept it! Perfect size for us to serve our pizzas on at the house in the future!
So here's where it gets interesting. We knew the traffic driving back through town to get home would be insane. Also, did I mention we were driving with only ONE headlight? We noticed it before we left, but after taking a trip to the BX they didn't have ours in stock. We really wanted to go to this festival, so we decided to chance it. But this meant that we couldn't drive back through town "one-eyed" because we didn't want a ticket. The roads out here are scarce. It is usually one way in and one way out. If you want a detour you're taking the exceptionally long way.... because it takes you through the mountains and down windy turny twisty TINY roads that seem to veer off a cliff on a moments notice. So yeah, we're doing this after midnight.... in the pitch dark.... in the "one-eyed" grape escape. Not the smartest thing we've ever done. It had been a long day for both of us so we were both tired. I had drank most of the bottle of wine, because I knew D would be driving home... so I was in no condition to take over when he got extremely tired. We ended up pulling off the road into some unknown village and just as we decided that we were going to stop and take a nap, a polizei car drives past. D immediately swerves into a parking space and turns off our lights and I grab Jane and hold her face down so the light doesn't show. And we pretend to be asleep. I just knew we were going to jail. I just KNEW it. Which is dumb because I don't think you can go to jail for having a headlight out... Fortunately the good Lord doesn't have that kind of a sense of humor... and we were not stopped. whew! We did nap though... for about an hour and a half. By the time we reached home it was almost 4:00 AM. Talk about a crazy adventure. Totally worth it!!!!
Tonight we are headed to a wine tasting at Vogelweh. Super excited about that! Tomorrow if the weather is gorgeous we're heading to the corn maze at Hitscherhof Farm! I LOVE THE FALL!!!! I hope that everyone has a great weekend and I encourage you to go out and find a local fall happening. Go pick some apples. Go to a famer's market and buy a pumpkin to carve. Don't forget to roast the seeds! Love you guys.....
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