The City of Landstuhl

Gnocchi Gorgonzola...my dinner one night. Very very good!!

Caprese Salat...also very very good!

Me in my barracks room

The hospital I'm staying near

Little bit of Landstuhl

I really like the way this hotel looks.

Loving the barber pole. You don't see this in the states very often.

A statue in the park

An old church. I guess I shouldn't have to say old...everything in Germany is old :P

First, here's a little history on Landstuhl:

There are over 9,000 people in Landstuhl and it is located in Southwestern Germany. Landstuhl is perhaps best known in the United States of America because of the US Army's medical installation. The Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, a US Army Medical Command post, is often the first stop for American casualties leaving the ongoing conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ramstein Air Base is also located nearby.

The earliest traces of human settlement in Landstuhl are from 500 B.C. From the Celtic period is the “Heidenfels” (i.e heathen rock), which was a holy site even into Roman times. From the Roman period is a settlement from the 1st Century A.D.

In the 15th Century, the von Sickingen noble family assumed responsibility for Landstuhl and the surrounding area. The most famous member of this family was Franz von Sickingen. Franz von Sickingen built his castle in Landstuhl – Burg Nanstein (the most visible landmark in Landstuhl and the surrounding area) - into a dominating fortress. From this base he moved to expand his domains by conquering other parts of southwestern Germany.

After several defeats, von Sickingen withdrew to his castle and was besieged by Richard Greiffenklau, Archbishop of Trier, and the Counts of the Rhine and Hesse. During the bombardment of Nanstein, Franz von Sickingen was killed. The castle was later expanded by von Sickingen’s descendants, but it was destroyed by the French in 1689.

Landstuhl is also known for being the birthplace of Rob Thomas, the lead singer of Matchbox Twenty, Reggie Williams, former Wide Receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars, German basketball player Shawn Bradley and LeVar Burton, an actor best known as Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Young Kunta Kinte/Toby in Roots, and the host of the PBS series Reading Rainbow.

I took a trip to the Burg Nanstein. I'm waiting on the cord to get the pics off the camera. When that happens I'll be sure to put some pictures up. It was really a beautiful trip. It's probably one of the better preserved burgs I've been to. Becky and I were being retarded with the camera and got a ton of cute shots. I hope to get the cord tonight, so we'll see. More later!!