On our last day in Ladenburg, the girls and I were walking aorund town taking some last pictures and enjoying a final visit to the bakery. During this walk, I was casually asking the girls questions about what they will miss about Germany as well as what they are looking forward to. Here's some of their comments...
What we will miss about Germany:
Chloe:
-the pink flowers
-my friends upstairs (Sofie, Lea and Anica)
-the dogs that bark
-Hannah and Jason and their toys
-trees that blow
(yes, some of her answers were based on things she was seeing at the time!!)
Rylee:
-nut trees and fruit everywhere
-all my German friends
-the bouncy swing
-the swans on the river
NOTE: not ONCE did either girl mention Eis (ice cream)!! I was shocked since they want it EVERY day - and ate it most days!!
What we are most looking forward to in America:
-our friends - esp. Akeeva, Zaylah, Katie, Cash and Livy--- "yea, mom, and they speak English"
-our home
-my new bedroom (Rylee)
-Qdoba (with a little prompting from me!)
-the new dogs we get to meet
- the flowers (Chloe)
It was a most precious conversation and a nice little peek into their minds!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
What we are most looking forward to in America!
Our excitement to return to America can barely be contained. Yes, we've had an amazing time over here and have created friendships and memories that will last a lifetime...BUT there's NOTHING LIKE HOME! This past week has been such a strange mix of emotions and time has been either dragging or racing - depending on the events...so hard to find that balance when ones emotions are so crazy! But, only one more day in Ladenburg! Tomorrow our shuttle will pick us up at 10:30 am and we will head North to Frankfurt. Our plane departs at 2:00pm (Lufthansa) and flies direct to Denver where we arrive at 4:00 pm! So....what are we most looking forward to???
1. Garbage Disposal - kinda sick of the compost box, the recycling and the trash...and the ocassional smell!
2. The Rio -- need I say more??
3. Qdoba -- can you tell there's no good Mexican food here??
4. Faster service at restaurants..including take out...we can be in/out in just a few minutes if need be!!!!
5. Steaks -have only had one good one - in Italy!
6. Church and School - basically, ROUTINE!
7. Our home - with modern decorations and comfort!! (like carpet)
8. ENGLISH...we can talk to and understand everyone!!!!
9. Different Clothes - some are being left behind and some will be burned upon replacement!!!
10. FRIENDS AND FAMILY....we just cannot wait to hug everyone and begin fun times again!
SEE YOU SOON!!!!
1. Garbage Disposal - kinda sick of the compost box, the recycling and the trash...and the ocassional smell!
2. The Rio -- need I say more??
3. Qdoba -- can you tell there's no good Mexican food here??
4. Faster service at restaurants..including take out...we can be in/out in just a few minutes if need be!!!!
5. Steaks -have only had one good one - in Italy!
6. Church and School - basically, ROUTINE!
7. Our home - with modern decorations and comfort!! (like carpet)
8. ENGLISH...we can talk to and understand everyone!!!!
9. Different Clothes - some are being left behind and some will be burned upon replacement!!!
10. FRIENDS AND FAMILY....we just cannot wait to hug everyone and begin fun times again!
SEE YOU SOON!!!!
What we will MISS about GERMANY
As the hours tick away towards our departure back to America, we thought we'd relfect on those things we have most come to love about Germany - and will miss greatly! (listed in no particular order:)!)
1. The lush beauty - so GREEN with things blooming constantly (flowers, berries, nuts...)
2. Festivals and Events...REALLY every weekend is filled with options around the area
3. Magnum ice ceream bars..white chocolate for Linda, Dark for Tim and Milk or Almond for the girls!
4. Playgrounds with the most inventive equipment ever...and they're tucked in everywhere
5. The Cave Pizza (Ladenburg)...better then any I had in Italy for sure! And their salads are pretty tasty too!
6. Endless amounts of Trails...we're still discovering new ones...and they take you from town to town easily - and the cruiser bicycles are AWESOME and everywhere - with many senior citizens on them, too!!
7. History...Historical landmarks everywhere...and the age of things still surprises me. And the narrow, quaint roads adorned with flowers - along with the historical buidlings..WOW!!
8. Road speed, driving etiquete and cool, very nice cars all around you - we will miss our Mercedez!!
9. Forests - esp. being able to run the trails through the forest...beautiful!
10. All our new Friends and their endless amounts of kindness, generosity and support...they'll be forever in our lives one way or the other!!
1. The lush beauty - so GREEN with things blooming constantly (flowers, berries, nuts...)
2. Festivals and Events...REALLY every weekend is filled with options around the area
3. Magnum ice ceream bars..white chocolate for Linda, Dark for Tim and Milk or Almond for the girls!
4. Playgrounds with the most inventive equipment ever...and they're tucked in everywhere
5. The Cave Pizza (Ladenburg)...better then any I had in Italy for sure! And their salads are pretty tasty too!
6. Endless amounts of Trails...we're still discovering new ones...and they take you from town to town easily - and the cruiser bicycles are AWESOME and everywhere - with many senior citizens on them, too!!
7. History...Historical landmarks everywhere...and the age of things still surprises me. And the narrow, quaint roads adorned with flowers - along with the historical buidlings..WOW!!
8. Road speed, driving etiquete and cool, very nice cars all around you - we will miss our Mercedez!!
9. Forests - esp. being able to run the trails through the forest...beautiful!
10. All our new Friends and their endless amounts of kindness, generosity and support...they'll be forever in our lives one way or the other!!
A Festival Just for US!?!
That's right folks...our family has made such an impression on this little ancient Roman town that it's officials threw one gigantic party for us this past weekend. Now, some folks will tell you that it's called the Alstadt Festival and it happens every year, but WE know the truth....all about us and our up-coming departure!! So, it was with great excitement that we ventured down to our festival!
After working our car throught the crowded streets we finally found a place to park which was about 1/2 the distance back to our apartment. Where's that VIP parking??? Then, we began working our way through the thousands of people ...yes, we are loved...and we had never seen our little town so stuffed with tents, flea market stands, numerous food stands, drink stations and of course the ZuckerHaus (Sugar House)! We finally managed to elbow our way to the main Marktplatz (where are those securit guards for us??) where we met up with a handful of our closest friends. And here the party began...there was music, food, drinks and area for the kids to play. Luckily, there were also tents where we quickly napped a table...because Mother Nature ALSO had to make another appearance for your celebration and later opened up the heavens with rain, wind and lightning....lovely!
So, we spent the afternoon/evening with a handful of friends celebrating our new friendships and saying Good-bye without really saying good-bye...just "See ya Later" because you NEVER KNOW where life takes you and when/where/how life paths cross! As I watched the kids play, listened to the conversation, and enjoyed drinks and foods with these great people. I REALLY realized just how blessed our family is to have been able to spend time here in Germany and meet these great people. What an amazing adventure!
It was a great way to wrap up our time here....othere then the rediculous thunderstorm that ended the festivities for some a little early. But then, we should have KNOWN that would happen because Urte and her family were in Ladenburg for a Festival...and that means rain!!!! :) But, Steve, Julia and the boys made it home safe on their bikes, Urte, Juergen and kids ran quickly to their car, Petra and her family left just before the cious, and the rest of us hunkered down to let it pass. Eventually it was time to venture home...so we did with happiness in our hearts! THANKS EVERYBODY!!!
I wonder what Ladenburg will do next year when it's time to supposedly have this Festival again...we won't be here???
After working our car throught the crowded streets we finally found a place to park which was about 1/2 the distance back to our apartment. Where's that VIP parking??? Then, we began working our way through the thousands of people ...yes, we are loved...and we had never seen our little town so stuffed with tents, flea market stands, numerous food stands, drink stations and of course the ZuckerHaus (Sugar House)! We finally managed to elbow our way to the main Marktplatz (where are those securit guards for us??) where we met up with a handful of our closest friends. And here the party began...there was music, food, drinks and area for the kids to play. Luckily, there were also tents where we quickly napped a table...because Mother Nature ALSO had to make another appearance for your celebration and later opened up the heavens with rain, wind and lightning....lovely!
So, we spent the afternoon/evening with a handful of friends celebrating our new friendships and saying Good-bye without really saying good-bye...just "See ya Later" because you NEVER KNOW where life takes you and when/where/how life paths cross! As I watched the kids play, listened to the conversation, and enjoyed drinks and foods with these great people. I REALLY realized just how blessed our family is to have been able to spend time here in Germany and meet these great people. What an amazing adventure!
It was a great way to wrap up our time here....othere then the rediculous thunderstorm that ended the festivities for some a little early. But then, we should have KNOWN that would happen because Urte and her family were in Ladenburg for a Festival...and that means rain!!!! :) But, Steve, Julia and the boys made it home safe on their bikes, Urte, Juergen and kids ran quickly to their car, Petra and her family left just before the cious, and the rest of us hunkered down to let it pass. Eventually it was time to venture home...so we did with happiness in our hearts! THANKS EVERYBODY!!!
I wonder what Ladenburg will do next year when it's time to supposedly have this Festival again...we won't be here???
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| Yea, one picture of Tim and I looking so "German" |
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| Urte unveils a cool picutre collage she made for us |
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| Ellie and Petra |
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| Good friends Mac and Rylee share a laugh |
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| Julia with James |
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| Part of the Gang at our Table |
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| Friend and Colleague, Til - who also lives in Ladenburg |
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| Rylee enjoys her sausage and Clara enjoys that crepe with nutella...both very traditional festival foods! |
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| AAHHH.... |
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| The Motters and the Theolke's (Urte, Juergen, Clara and Per) |
Thursday, September 8, 2011
New Friends...aahh I mean Foods!
Yes, my love of food continues and lately I've discovered some new delights...
1. Nashi - a tremendous little fruit that is a combination of apple and pear - sweet, crunchy, golden in color and wonderful!
2. Goldparmane apples - a new discovery at the apple orchard today - my previous favorite was Celeste, but the "Golden Girl" may beat her out!
3. Grease....I mean Greisse Pudding...a wonderful sweet treat that's somewhat similar to rice pudding but much better. You can buy it in various flavors - although plain with a little bit of our friend, Urte's,homemade Zwelschgen-gelee (jam - flavor doesn't translate?) mixed in is truly wonderful
4. Have I told you about the best ice cream bars on Earth?? Magnum Baby!!! Serioiusly devine ince cream with a chocolate coating that's thick and cruncy - while the ice cream stays hard - and you can get white chocolate, too!!!
5. LoganBrezel -think pretzel dough baked in more of a long roll then in the figure 8 shape...and add a little baked cheese on top and it's something to write home about....oh, I just did:)
Ok...so you can see what I've been doing lately, and why I'll be hitting P90X again in about 1 week!!!
YUM-O:)
1. Nashi - a tremendous little fruit that is a combination of apple and pear - sweet, crunchy, golden in color and wonderful!
2. Goldparmane apples - a new discovery at the apple orchard today - my previous favorite was Celeste, but the "Golden Girl" may beat her out!
3. Grease....I mean Greisse Pudding...a wonderful sweet treat that's somewhat similar to rice pudding but much better. You can buy it in various flavors - although plain with a little bit of our friend, Urte's,homemade Zwelschgen-gelee (jam - flavor doesn't translate?) mixed in is truly wonderful
4. Have I told you about the best ice cream bars on Earth?? Magnum Baby!!! Serioiusly devine ince cream with a chocolate coating that's thick and cruncy - while the ice cream stays hard - and you can get white chocolate, too!!!
5. LoganBrezel -think pretzel dough baked in more of a long roll then in the figure 8 shape...and add a little baked cheese on top and it's something to write home about....oh, I just did:)
Ok...so you can see what I've been doing lately, and why I'll be hitting P90X again in about 1 week!!!
YUM-O:)
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Foreigner Fatique
Have you ever heard of this??? No?? Well, maybe because I just made the term up...at least I think so! I've decided this is what we are all suffering from. It's symptoms are basically being tired of not understanding what people are saying, not knowing what is going on, and feeling ackward and out of place most of the time! All those things have been sort of fun to this point, but after hitting 4 countries in 10 days we are just plain tired:) We began to discover the onset of symptoms in Italy when some of the scenery and events just didn't have the exciting effect it should have had! Luckily this is a cureable disease and one that should be healed in approximately 8 days with our arrival back in the USA!!!
Austria
We wrapped up our big family vacation in Austria! We arrived in Oberinntal (90 Km West of Innsbruck) on Sept. 4th at the Truyenhof Resort. I had discovered this location online but had not made a reservation. We decided to be adventurous and just show up and see what happened. It worked! A great suite available and facilities focused around families and kids. It was somewhat all-inclusive with breakfast and dinner served--some buffet style so the kids could eat and move on - and some more formal for hte parents. Once the kids were done, you could escort them to the playroom where they could hang out with all the other kids and a teacher and have fun....and we finished dinner alone!!! What a great set-up! Oh- and there's a spa on location as well! We were ready to settle in for a few days!!! Unfortunately, Mother Nature did not cooperate. It was now rainy and cold. This closed down the outdoor pool, playground, mini-golf etc.. for the kids -- and hiking etc...for Tim and I. AND the spa didn't open until 3pm the following day. SO...we greatly enjoyed our evening -- with internet by the way----and a relaxing morning of some swiming in the smaller indoor pool - and then decided we would just venture on home. Again, we drove through just beautiful countryside. For lunch, we found a great little place in some small town that was actually on a detour we took to avoid a road closure and had some great food. We've decided that Austrai may just be our country....amazing scenery, many outdoor things to do, and the price is right!!!
After a few more hours on the road, we arrived back in Ladenburg to screams and hugs from the girls upstairs! We are exhausted but happy...and ready to begin the process of wrapping up life in Germany and returning to HOME in the USA!!
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| The girls found little chocolate "ladybugs" on their bed in their room! |
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| We had some fun splashing around the pool for awhile! |
After a few more hours on the road, we arrived back in Ladenburg to screams and hugs from the girls upstairs! We are exhausted but happy...and ready to begin the process of wrapping up life in Germany and returning to HOME in the USA!!
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