KeYs to YoUr RoOm

Just want to share to all of you guys this story!!!!

Thomas B. Costain's book, The Three Edwards, depicts the life
of Reynald III, a duke in what is now Belgium. Reynald was
commonly called by his nickname, Crassus, which in Latin means
"fat."

He and his brother Edward had a violent disagreement, and as a
result, Edward led a successful revolt against Reynald.

He did not kill Reynald; instead, he built a special room at
his castle and imprisoned him but offered him his freedom on
one condition. If he could walk out of the room, he was free.

Edward offered to restore his title, kingdom and property.
That seemed a fairly easy imprisonment sentence but there was
one big problem. None of the doors and windows of the room
were locked. They were near normal size but Reynald was not.
He was too fat to fit through the doors or windows.

Edward knew Reynald well. Each day he sent Reynald a rich
assortment of meats, breads, pies, pastries and other
delicious delicacies. Since Reynald was now confined to a
small room where even walking and thus exercise was limited,
he did not get slimmer but grew fatter making his predicament
even worse.

Accused of cruelty Edward remarked, "My brother is not a
prisoner; he may leave when he so wills."

Reynald was released ten years later when Edward died in
battle. By then his health had so deteriorated that he died
within a year. He was a prisoner of his own appetite and
easily available food.

Within these pages are keys to your room.
You may leave the room whenever you so will.

~The first story in FAT2Fine - The SPIRIT of Weight Loss~

The Kaiserburg in Nuremberg

The other part of the castle which also have two towers.

foot of the Imperial Castle with its colorful sandstones

the two towers of the Kaiserburg built with warm red sandstones

view on top of the castle. Church of Our Lady is with the tallest tower.

The beauty of sunset viewed on top of the castle. Clouds were formed like a wolf trying to catch a piece of bone.

pix taken as we are about to go up to the castle

I always love interesting and historical places. In my previous blog about Nuremberg, I had written that I had been to Nuremberg several times. Yesterday was only the first time that me and my husband visited the Kaiserburg commonly known in English as the Imperial Castle.

Crowning the outcrop of warm red sandstone from which much of Nuremberg is built, the Kaiserburg goes back to the city's founding years in the 11th century. Kings and emperors resided here for 500 years, and the sprawling complex of buildings was added to, demolished and rebuilt throughout this time. Thus, the old five-sided tower dates from 1040, the two-tier Imperial Chapel from the 12th century, and the stables (now the youth hostel) from the late 15th century.

Directly below the castle timber-framed and gabled houses are crammed up against the ramparts. When you are at the top of the castle, you can also view the whole city's picturesque. Yesterday as we were there, the sun was also setting. The beauty of the sunset was really very astonishing. As you can see in one of my photo here, above the sun formed clouds that looks like wolf or dog trying to catch a piece of bone. That really amazed me and my husband too. We stayed there until it was dark and also saw the beauty of the city in the night with its colorful lights. Yesterday's trip to Nuremberg was really worth reminiscing.

Nuremberg's Quality of Life

a lot of Christmas decors are also available for sale

variety of candies for sale during Christmas market (wrong cam date)

a store selling dolls during Christkindlesmarkt

Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in Nuremberg

view taken from the Kaiserburg (Imperial Castle)

Since I already started about Nuremberg, let me continue more about this city which I really love.

Nuremberg is international and yet at the same time a manageable size. Its 500,000 inhabitants and guests are offered all the advantages of a metropolis, such as the subway and the international airport, museums, the State Theater, sights of interest like the Imperial Castle- all the things that makes life pleasant. Yet, despite Nuremberg's size there are only short distances to travel. The costs of living is quite low compared to other cities, whereas the recreational value is high. In the Nuremberg European Metropolitan Region, with 2.5 million inhabitants, Nuremberg is the largest city and offers job in industry, trades, services as well as teaching and research. At the same time it is a feel-good place for locals as well as newcomers. Hiking, climbing or bicycle riding in the Franconian Switzerland are very relaxing pastimes.

This is also the area with the greatest density of breweries in the world. Wine connoisseurs will appreciate the popular Franconian wines in the main Franconia region. The Franconian lake lands offer recreation in and around the water. And the very traditional 1st FCN (Fan Club Nuernberg) soccer club makes sports enthusiasts from the entire region tremble with excitement. My husband is also an avid fan and member of the FCN.

That's the reason why I really love this beautiful and historical city of Germany.

Visit to Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt

I can finally share our escapades with my husband today in Nuremberg. Let me tell you first a brief history of this old city. Before the devastation wrought by the terrible air raids of 1945, Nuremberg or Nuernberg in German was Germany's greatest surviving medieval city. The destruction was not total. Sensitive rebuilding has respected the ancient street pattern, enabling the visitor to recapture the atmosphere of the city's heyday, in the 15th and 16th centuries, when it was the principal focus of Germany's politics, culture trade, science and technology.

Let me continue our sightseeing trip today to one of Germany's international city. Christkindlesmarkt means simply Christmas market. It is usually held during the last week of November till the 23rd of December. This is already my second time visiting the Chriskindlesmarkt. The first one was in 2005 but I was already a lot of times there and I really like this city. A lot of people were there from the different parts of the world and also from other places in Germany. What really amazed me are the very nice Christmas decorations in the different stalls their. Of course, I always eat this famous Nuernberger Bratwurst, a special kind of sausage.

Me and my husband visited for the first time the the Kaiserburg or Imperial castle. This castle is located in a small hill where you can see the whole view of the city. And of course, I always have with me my pocket camera to take some pictures. I was surprised because I have 344 photos taken up only for today's visit to Nuernberg. I really like it. I also bought some souvenirs like postcards which I always do everytime I am going anywhere. Today is a again a great day!!! Thanks to God!!!

Worth Sharing!!!

Sometimes you read something and it makes you stop and think...and then you want to share it with everyone you care about....

There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, she would marry her boyfriend.

One day someone donated a pair of eyes to her and then she could see everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, "now that you can see the world, will you marry me?". The girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend is blind too, and refused to marry him.

Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and later wrote a letter to her saying, "JUST TAKE CARE OF MY EYES PLEASE".

This is how human change when their status changes. Only few remember what life was before, and who has always been there in the most painful situations.

The Importance of Drinking Enough Water

Water is an important structural component of skin cartilage, tissues and organs. For human beings, every part of the body is dependent on water. Our body comprises about 75% water: the brain has 85%, blood is 90%, muscles are 75%, kidney is 82% and bones are 22% water. The functions of our glands and organs will eventually deteriorate if they are not nourished with good, clean water.

The average adult loses about 2.5 litres water daily through perspiration, breathing and elimination. Symptoms of the body's deterioration begins to appear when the body loses 5% of its total water volume. In a healthy adult, this is seen as fatigue and general discomfort, whereas for an infant, it can be dehydrating. In an elderly person, a 5% water loss causes the body chemistry to become abnormal, especially if the percentage of electrolytes is overbalanced with sodium.One can usually see symptoms of aging, such as wrinkles, lethargy and even disorientation. Continuous water loss over time will speed up aging as well as increase risks of diseases.

If your body is not sufficiently hydrated, the cells will draw water from your bloodstream, which will make your heart work harder. At the same time, the kidneys cannot purify blood effectively. When this happens, some of the kidney's workload is passed on to the liver and other organs, which may cause them to be severely stressed. Additionally, you may develop a number of minor health conditions such as constipation, dry and itchy skin, acne, nosebleeds, urinary tract infection, coughs, sneezing, sinus pressure, and headaches.

So, how much water is enough for you? The minimum amount of water you need depends on your body weight. A more accurate calculation, is to drink an ounce of water for every two pounds of body weight.

ToTaL BLaCk-Out

As me and my husband were drinking cappuccino this afternoon, the radio cassette and lights were off. He said, that it might be the main switch. I told him that the switch in our room's heater is not functioning right. This morning as I woke-up, our sleeping room was very cold because the electric heater is not working. We thought that the defective switch was the cause of the black-out. I told my husband to call the electric company but our telephone is also not working because there is no power.

I also heard the very loud voice of our neighbor which I guess talking to the phone. My husband went out to ask our neighbor and finally told me that probably the whole Hohenfels is of total black-out. I told my husband, "well for us, it is not a problem because we also have a wooden oven or a small fireplace". Besides that I also have a lot of candles which might last for some days.

If the power will not come back before night, I told my husband that it is pitiful for those who don't have a wooden heater. It is very cold now here in Bavaria. Sometimes the temperature in the night is going till negative degrees. I was even kidding my husband, that maybe we are already back to the "stone age".

This is my first "black-out" experience in our place here in Germany. It is still not so bad compared to the Philippines which last sometimes for some days. I can also say that black-out in the Philippines is not too bad because there is no winter time like here in Germany.

That was also very nice and romantic afternoon because I had some quite moments with my husband drinking cappuccino with candles lights. I was finally happy because after maybe 35 minutes, the power came back.