Not so slowly going crazy

Victorian for a day

2012-01-29T18:39:00.000+01:00

Jerran had an assignment from his history teacher to live as he 'would' have in Victorian England for a day. This involved him using candles for light (even with window it's not that bright inside on a grey day), doing laundry in my tub and leaving gross grey residue all over, cooking his own food (not with a microwave) and watching the rest of us enjoy our regular lives while he suffered. I thought he would like to cook dinner with me, but he refused when he found out how much work it is and cooked himself a baked potato instead. Deprived of help in the cooking department, I asked Ben to take over and thus it ensued that the rest of us ate Pizza Hut while Jerran had his lonely baked potato and fried egg. Because we were eating by candlelight someone had the bright idea to get out marshmellows and skewers and roast them. It's impressive how evenly browned you can get a marshmellow over a candle. Also impressive is the failure of our children to learn from their mistakes as they burnt a number of marshmellows after getting them too close to the flame. With the addition of some Liebenz crackers (chocolate coated) the kids enjoyed their s'mores while Jerran sulked. Yes, we are heartless, but if we stopped doing what we are doing every time the boy sulked we would never do anything. Or very rarely.

Did Jerran learn anything? He informs me that he is glad he lives in the modern world and that he isn't in charge of the laundry.

Christmas presents

2012-01-29T18:27:00.000+01:00

Naples

2012-01-29T18:11:00.000+01:00

Mt Vesuvius in the distance

waiting for the pompeii strike to finish up

Our guide, Guido

Town hall

crosswalks--very handy when the streets run with effluvia

Our usual view of the boy, running away

sunset from our balcony

Luzern

2012-01-29T17:50:00.000+01:00

Walking through the pedestrian district

Lion monument

Old wooden bridge across the river

On our way to the Christmas market

grateful for our snow tires!

Florence

2012-01-29T17:27:00.000+01:00

In the square at the old Roman
crossroads the rare teenaged
smile (smirk?) is spotted in the wild

The pillar in the middle of the old crossroads
'belly button' of Florence

tablecloths and placemats

We don't have any Italian DVD's, so the players in the house
didn't do us any good

magnolia! I could touch it
from our balcony

My favorite part of traveling, trying new treats

In the beginning of the trip, joy was smiling

David

Piazza della Liberta, where No chased
lots of pigeons

Santa Maria Novella

So excited to walk all over

The kids' favorite museum had models of
Leonardo DaVinci's plans--this is his
idea for a tank with guns sticking out
every direction. Zak approves

Pictures

2012-01-01T18:46:00.000+01:00

Rosenberger restaurant, somewhere in Austria (maybe Italy)

Northeastern Italy reminds me of the Central Valley

Relaxin' for Christmas

Noah's favorite part of our trip

The Duomo, Florence

Pompeii, with stray dogs EVERYWHERE

Stayed here overnight in Lucerne

Drove through snow to get there and get back

On the road again

2011-12-27T11:11:00.000+01:00

Our trip first took us from rainy Germany to snowy Switzerland, where we explored Lucerne's pedestrian district and the Christmas market. I've now been to Christmas markets in 3 countries, France, Germany, and Switzerland. We stayed in a hotel right next to the river and enjoyed the lovely views. Sadly, the snow didn't stop once we were again on the road and even our magic tunnel failed to produce sunshine until very close to the Italian border.

Lunch was a fun adventure in getting lost in the industrial district of Genova, finding a trattoria full of old men, and having an amazing meal. If I thought I could find that place again, I'd go there in a heartbeat. As it was, we had to push on to Camp Darby and the beds of sleeplessness. Luckily, there was a commissary and Bx so retail therapy calmed the grumpy, sleepless Joy.

Naples was worlds nicer than we'd been led to believe, and the abundant sunshine was amazing. How sad is it when the kids, emerging into daylight, all flinch away from the sun and complain it is blinding them?

I won Italian Bingo on the drive to Pompeii, by observing five cars passing one another on a 3 lane road, and we were helpfully informed(after we paid to park) by our parking attendant that there was a strike closing Pompeii until 10. At ten, the note on the gates said it would open at 11, and when we returned, we found a helpful guide, Guido, who took us on a tour. Unlike Rome, the sites we've seen on this trip have charged our kids full price (except Noah, who is still free). We loved Pompeii, despite the wind and threatening rain. Actually, just before we got there, a pillar had fallen in the wind. We didn't make it to the archeological museum, but instead had the bestest pizza I've ever had. Seriously, I've had dreams about that pizza.

$20 in laundry later, we packed up and headed to Florence, where we rented an apartment so we could cook over Christmas (and the day after, which is a holiday). Ben and I headed straight to the Academia to see the David, and ease my guilty conscience that I failed to see it on our last Italy trip. Florence is covered in graffiti wherever you look, there are few signs telling you where to go, and tourists everywhere. It's not my favourite Italian city. Luckily on Christmas eve there were very few tourists so we saw the Medici palace, the Uffizi, and the museum which holds Galileo's finger bones without waiting in any lines. Plus the Duomo and lots of leather stalls.

I think the biggest difference on this trip, is I feel like we've not met anyone friendly here. The museums are old and neglected-looking and there is no such thing as a family pass. If I had it to do over, I'd spend more time in Naples, or spend a few days in Rome and only stay in Florence a night or two. Oh well, live and learn!

Oh, Naples

2011-12-27T10:40:00.000+01:00

You are completely filthy, navigating is horrific, and your traffic exists in what I can only assume is a circle of hell unchronicled by Dante, but for your pizza I wish to return. How do you do that?

Nuremberg for Thanksgiving

2011-12-11T08:57:00.001+01:00

Zeppelin field

Court room where the nuremberg trials were held

happy subway travelers

Talia insists these decorations were dalekanium

The nuremberg Christmas angel

Arks!

Her majesty and King Ludwig's fancy train

one-man train travel

writing with nibs, bamboo, feathers

Day one, some of us are still smiling!

We went to Nuremberg to see the opening of the Christmas market. There is a big to-do in the main market square where the Christmas angel appears on the balcony of the church and welcomes everyone. There is music and singing and thousands of people all crushing in to try and see. Luckily we didn't loose any kids in the crush and the only damages were my sore neck the next morning from trying to see what was going on.

We spent two nights and got the city card so we split our days between exploring museums and the market. The card made it easy to catch the subway or whatever we wanted to get around. It was No's favorite part of the trip, riding the subway. We saw the DB (train) museum, art museums, a toy museum, the Albrecht Durer house (first mass-produced etchings) the Nuremberg city museum, the courthouse where the first ever international court tried the heads of the National Socialist party as well as the Nazi party congressional hall and the zeppelin grounds. It is a lovely city, even in the cold and grey weather we had.

Memma gives thanks

2011-12-10T08:46:00.000+01:00

I get an odd sort of déjà vu in attending the Thanksgiving program at the elementary here. I'm not sure if it was Isaac who gave the same performance when he was here, or if there are parts of Em's from last year, but a lot of it seemed familiar. At least the turkey was a properly deep-fried bird. (I love Southern food, I just know it isn't any good for me and I'm grateful that distance keeps me safely away from the wonders of southern BBQ)

Also giving me déjà vu is the cowlick in her bangs. And the cheezy kind-of-half smile.

Oh, and this stuff?

2011-12-09T08:44:00.000+01:00

On sale at Globus this week for only 1.49€ PER CAN. ($1.98)

Just to point out

2011-12-09T08:38:00.000+01:00

If you're feeling not so great about the economy and such, I'd just like to remind you that here in the land of eternal grey the price for gas has risen to 1.60 Euro for one liter. That works out to about 6 euros per gallon. And, unless the euro has failed today that comes out to about $7.90 per gallon. No matter how efficient your car is, that's a lot to pay for gas.

And now I have to investigate the prices for train tickets for our Christmas trip.

14

2011-11-12T11:11:00.000+01:00

Gutenberg

2011-11-07T15:30:00.000+01:00

Located in the heart of Altstadt Mainz is the Gutenberg Museum, built to honor Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of the moveable type press and most famous for producing the first printed Bible. Considered the most valuable printed book ever made, a complete set (2 volumes) is worth somewhere on the order of 25+million dollars. The museum has one and a half copies, plus several other valuable books all held in a maximum security vault on the top floor. We dragged the kids there this Saturday, and they were all less than impressed. Although, Zak pointed out that the vault doors were the same as the doors on the vaults at the national museum of Rome, where we saw old money.

The museum is full of exhibits on the history of printing in Asia, Europe and Islam along with replicas of things like the Rosetta Stone. You can see that Deanna was not impressed. However, Zak, who recently read The Red Pyramid, was totally thrilled. Until he realized it was a fake, and then he asked me when we are going to the British National museum. Hopefully he doesn't intend to blow it up. . .

Autumn Colors

2011-11-06T15:27:00.000+01:00

My favorite season is full of reds, browns, yellows and more browns. I love Autumn, especially when there is wind in the air and sunshine abundant. My kids don't understand my obsession with hiking up the hill just to look at leaves, although No was easy to convince as long as there were acorns to find. The only cloud on the horizon on these glorious, sunny days is the oncoming dark of winter. We're already down to 10 hours of light, which will only decrease in the next 2 months. I love that the communities around us all celebrate the harvest, the end of the sun and try to save up happiness for the oncoming winter, each in their own way.

As for me, I'm trying to savor the colors, and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts!

Columbus Day

2011-10-16T17:46:00.000+02:00

I was hit on by a man old enough to be my grandfather. It was the highlight of my day. Of course, the rest of the day looked like this:

kids whine about being woken up to eat delicious homemade muffins

general complaining about being prisoned in the car
children whine in the car about being forced to travel to Luxembourg

Eating frites in Belguim causes fights
Got lost in Malmedy, where no chocolate shops are open on Monday
More fighting about who is breathing who's air, etc

Ben enjoyed visiting the national museum of military history in Diekirch, Luxembourg, and I was happy to look at all the pretty houses and fields on the way.

Family pictures

2011-10-10T18:59:00.001+02:00

An attempt to capture all of us photographically. These are the best shots out of about a billion tries. Zac delights in pulling weird faces or giving his neighbor 'bunny ears'. I'm just glad I wasn't paying for the pictures!

September

2011-10-09T18:59:00.000+02:00

Somebody turned 10

Something old

This month we learned that the ceiling is not level in our house. NOT ANYWHERE. There was only one spot in the entire downstairs where the ceiling was high enough and level enough to fit the new furniture. Everywhere else there were dips, curves and swoops which made it impossible to fit. Now my main goal in life is to get us out of this house before it falls down on top of us!

Why my kids don't watch a lot of TV

2011-09-08T07:24:00.000+02:00

Because Mr Rogers isn't on AFN.

http://www.pittsburghinwords.org/tom_junod.html

Cub Camp

2011-08-31T12:03:00.000+02:00

no more archery for Joyful

Last week I made the tactical mistake of volunteering for cub scout camp. Monday was volunteer training, and I volunteered to 'help' out with science only to be handed a printed out 'experiment' (dancing spaghetti) to try with the boys. This was supposed to fill 3 days of science classes for 50 boys? Being the type-A person I am, this was completely unacceptable and I planned 3 days of fun curriculum that actually taught SCIENCE. (I know, the boys only come to camp to shoot BB's, so I'm silly to care so much).

I know I'm not supposed to brag, but science class totally rocked. Even the Tiger cubs learned the steps to the scientific method, and I was scolded by scouts when I was carrying my metal umbrella in the thunderstorm Wednesday. THEY PAID ATTENTION AND LEARNED STUFF! By the end of Thursday I had 3 helpers who wanted to join the cool science class, and on Friday more than one cub was mad at me that we didn't have science class. You know what? I'm a good teacher!

On the other hand, I am not good at things requiring coordination. See the bruise on my arm? This was from my attempt to shoot at the archery range. And, while I was not the only leader to end up with a bruise, mine was the most colorful and biggest. At least I win at klutz?

Day 4 Oberndorf bei Salzburg

2011-08-30T13:07:00.000+02:00

advent celebration? Should have written all these down!

celebration at the river's bend

Our awesome hostess

Memorial chapel
The original was destroyed in a flood

leaving Deutschland

Our detour into Hallein prompted us to go on another 'unscheduled' adventure to Oberndorf, the town where "Silent Night" was composed and first sung. It is a town located at the bend of the river Salzach which forms the border between Germany and Austria. The chapel was at the very farthest curve of the bend, in a place prone to floods and fires and harsh weather. The entire area is called the 'unterberg', which means under the mountains. Maybe in the shadow of the mountains? In any case, it is a beautiful place to visit and live, but the winters are snow filled and for the farmers of the area the climate is not always favorable. We visited a tiny little museum where the proctor took our family around, explained every exhibit and told us about the traditions of the area. Most of the festivals are based on asking for a good harvest, giving thanks for the harvest, or scaring away the bad spirits which come in the long, dark, cold, winters. I'm not sure the kids understand what it means to depend on the weather, the seasons and to never know what the future might bring. Not that we know what the future brings, but our comfort is practically assured. Of note also was the warm reception our children received at the museum. We are used to stares and questions if these are all our children, instead she complimented us on taking the kids around to learn the history of the places we visit. It was such a nice change!

The rest of the day we recovered from our travels at the Watzman Therme, a series of pools filled with naturally heated spring water (salty, also!) I thought the water wasn't nearly warm enough and stayed in the tepidarium to get warm. I guess feeling cold all the time is just my default state.

Day 3 Salzburg

2011-08-29T12:48:00.000+02:00

The last water-powered marble mill in Germany

Really, they're thrilled

No is not afraid of dinosoars.

Hedgie!

street food

I love Salzburg, but do NOT love the traffic. We started our day at the Kugelmühle near Berchtesgaden. They still grind marbles the old-fashioned way, with water power. I thought it was cool and we bought marbles for everyone.

Next stop: Mirabell gardens to see the sound of music gazebo. Again, I seemed to be the only one impressed.

In Hallein, Austria, Franz Gruber's grave

Then: Salzburg, lunch at the market square, walking tour of the city and kids complaining and wanting to know when were were going to the Haus der Natur. So, we gave up on culture and went to play. After an exhausting day of scientific exploration and exhibits we got stuck in traffic. Our attempt to detour led us WAY out of our way in Hallein, which happens to be the place Franz Gruber is buried. We saw his old organ and the place he is buried while we waited for the gasthaus to open. Our day ended in one of our more unique detours through the mountains. Even our new GPS wants us to use back roads!

Day 2 Königsee

2011-08-28T12:49:00.001+02:00

Even the water in the streams looks a different color than the streams I'm used to seeing. Because it's glacial? We hiked up to the Eiskappelle (Ice chapel) which is essentially a glacier that has a stream running under it. This makes a tunnel, and the shape of the hills above it cause the snow to fall in a slant on the 'roof'. The hike starts out easy, is killer in the middle and is easy again at the end. Either that or I am a wimp.

Det 1 retreat day 1

2011-08-17T12:29:00.001+02:00

We hiked over to the mittelstation of the Jennerbahn and took the lift up to the top station. We had near perfect hiking weather under grey skies, but once at the top the rain began to fall and the kids began to grump. So down again we went, and hiked back to the Hinterbrand so we could drive down to the Obersalzburg documentation center. And I'll just add here that I've never seen such clearly marked well-maintained trails as we hiked above Berchtesgaden.

After WWII any properties not maintained by the occupation forces were destroyed by the government. It was done in an attempt to prevent groups from having a place of pilgrimage or memorial. However, it had the unintended effect of looking as if the government wished to wipe away all memory of that point in time. So, when the US government returned the General Walker (formerly the Platterhof) hotel to German hands it first was mostly demolished, and then turned into a parking lot for the new documentation center. The center gives the history of the Nazi movement in excruciating detail and allows the visitor to tour the underground bunkers constructed to save the party leadership from allied air strikes.

One of the few remaining structures is the former atrium of the General Walker (itself formerly the Platterhof), now converted to a restaurant. We had lunch there and enjoyed the lovely views out the windows. It’s the perfect place for lunch—both protected from the weather and still lets you see everything.

After lunch we toured the Documentation center and the bunker tunnels. The kids found most of the center too boring for their tastes, but in the bunkers were more ‘scope for imagination’. I can’t imagine being so desperate as to hide out in those bunkers for any length of time. It’s not like help was coming to save them. Also, the history of how easily Hitler came to power—and manipulated the people into thinking they were doing the right thing is quite sobering. It makes you realize that given the right circumstances such a thing could happen even today.

Fav'rit things

2011-08-16T12:20:00.001+02:00

Old city centers and

These smiling faces

Learning new cultures

And seeing new places

Seeing their smiles as we learn new cool things

These are a few of my favorite things!

Flower full gardens and unicorn fountains

Old fashioned mills under grey skies and mountains

Stille nacht chapel and boxes that sing

These are a few of my favorite things!

When the clouds stay, more of rain delays, when I’m tired and sad, I’ll simply remember these favorite things and wish I was in Berchestgadener land.

Viking Challenge

2011-07-30T14:57:00.000+02:00

Viking challenge is a fundraiser for the Fisher House and this year Det 1 sponsored a team. For 24 hours you must have at least 1 team member on the track, walking or running. Ben, J, D and Zak all signed up and ran or walked for a total of 50 miles. Go Cooks! Zak made 19 of those miles by himself. Pretty impressive for a 9 year old. Even Noah ran. I was support (Go Cooks!) and braved the elements to buy gatorade, snacks and even filled in as tally keeper once or twice. My back hurts from all that sitting, but I suppose sacrifices must be made.

Leprachauns won the team spirit award. Woo

We CAN do it!

At the beginning of the run everyone is full of spirit and fun and we enjoyed seeing all the fun costumes. By the end people were much less cheerful and just wanted to be DONE. Several folks ran marathons, one guy ran 50 miles and there were some who stayed on the track for the entire time. Crazy. One of the Det 1 guys took the 6-9am shift and ran by himself for 19 miles. In a row. We showed up at the end of his run so Ben could talk to him and keep his mind off of running for the last half hour. My favorite team were the blue star families from Baumholder--they came as Rosie the Riveter. So appropriate!

Stau and the Gartenschau

2011-07-29T11:59:00.001+02:00

Do I take pictures of my favorite flowers? Nope.

Our out&about activity this week was to the Gartenschau in Kaiserslautern, otherwise known as the Dinosaur park (to No). We were lucky and got a few hours of play at the playground before the skies opened up and dumped buckets of water at us. Even though I asked the kids to bring rain gear, there were only 3 of us with umbrellas and/or rain coats. I suppose I should feel sorry for them getting all wet, but. . . natural consequences!

Last week's drive home from the lodge was brutal. I should have gotten out the camera and gotten out of the car, but I was really hoping the traffic would move any minute now. (I was wrong, we were stuck for a looong time.) So, evidence that everyone except us was out of the car, stretching, having a smoke break, even changing clothing. There was even a group up on the median, taking pictures.

Smoke break on the A8, otherwise known as a stau

learning I am a bad mother

2011-07-28T11:53:00.001+02:00

Our week at the Hinterbrand Lodge was a learning one for me. First off, I have a terrible time counting up to 5--Jerran was at EFY so we only had 5 of our kids with us and my brain had a mini-panic every time we got into the car or headed off for a new destination. For now I am blaming my age. Old Joy can't handle changes, apparently. Or perhaps it is cosmically destined that I have six children so I am wired to count to six? Which one makes me less lame?

We had a family join us from Italy and the Italian sunshine has blissfully erased their memories of what German weather was like, so they forgot coats and wore shorts. Because my husband over-prepares for EVERYTHING we had lots of extra coats, sweatshirts and warm clothes to loan to them. More than once I had a case of mistaken identity when borrowed clothing was on a non-Cook child. So, not only do I call my own children by the wrong name (proof # 5,645 that I am becoming my mother) but I can't even recognize other people's kids if they are wearing my kids' clothing.

I also rubbed my kids' faces in the fact that I was faster than all of them on the sommeroldebahn. Trying to cause another accident out of competitiveness, Joy?

Also, even though I organized this entire week and really, really love all the people who were up there with us, I was incredibly annoyed at my husband the first day when he was getting together a large group to tour the Kehlsteinhaus with us. Mama needs her alone time, and I get cranky if I don't remember to put on my big girl pants and just ASK for some. (Joy is working on using her words) Luckily I got to sit on top of the mountain for a while and watch the birds and giggle at the lederhosen on the tourists and internal equilibrium was restored. Also, I got a nap the next day so happy Joy made a reappearance.

And then, we hit 3 staus (traffic jams) on the way home. I whined. You'd think that someone who just had a wonderful vacation in the incredibly beautiful Bavarian Alps would be more grateful for her life. You'd think so, wouldn't you? What a great example for my kids!

Ah well, thank goodness tomorrow is another day.

Königssee

2011-07-25T19:59:00.005+02:00

Happy to ride the ferry

devil horns

Obersee

My mountain goats

Marmot fat? Who knew?

So very, very green. Can you see the happy cows?

Even in summer the glacial waters flow

The morning weather wasn't promising,
but we had sun all afternoon!

Our last day we took the ferry boat out to St Bartholomew's, which used to be a monastery, but is now a restaurant; and then we continued on to Salat, where we hiked in to the Obersee. The lake is the most amazing green/aqua color which is hard to describe because I've never seen a lake look that color. Partly it is so beautiful because only electric boats have been allowed since 1909 and the entire national park is beautifully maintained and protected. We marveled at all the green and wondered how many people drink the fresh buttermilk offered at every stop.

Bavaria

2011-07-24T19:59:00.000+02:00

Noah, hanging on for dear life

Our first full day was full of sunshine--not too typical here in Deutschland. You don't get all this green without a lot of rain, and we had rain the next day, but for this day we traveled up to the Kehlsteinhaus for a fabulous view, had lunch halfway up the mountain and then rode the sommeraldebahn until we had an injury and quit for the day. So much fun!

riding the conveyor belt back up to the top

See the smiles?

Starting house

Emma and I had the record top speed for our group.

The tunnel to the elevator

typical Lia

waiting for our group at the Kehlsteinhaus

Just a few of our group

Our home for the week

Long ago, in the rocklands of Germany

2011-07-13T11:51:00.000+02:00

The devil came a' walkin' through. He was tired and decided to have himself a little meal, so out the red rock he made himself a table and a chair. The next morning he picked up his chair and traveled on, leaving the table for future generations to wonder at.

And then someone built a playground under it.

teufelsticsh (devil's table)

the best part about living in Germany is the things we get to do which are 'too risky' in the states

Oot and Aboot

2011-07-12T11:55:00.000+02:00

Can't see anything going wrong here

On Wednesdays we join other families from church and explore someplace fun. The first was Gondwana, a dino theme park which has life-sized animatronic display of dinosaurs. Sounds cheesy, but was really fun. And a little scary. We also visited our local castle and the devil's table. So far even the rain hasn't stopped us!

The rainy recital

2011-07-02T20:52:00.001+02:00

The kids all began piano lessons this year, and our recital was the week after school was done. The only problem is that Misa (piano teacher) doesn't have room in her piano room for all of us. So, they pushed the piano out to the entry way and we congregated outside to listen and applaud. You want to guess what kind of weather we had?

She made me promise to only photograph her from the back

Leeleylou's Birthday

2011-07-01T20:45:00.003+02:00

Look! Proof of sibling love!

There's a story behind this one

This cake. . . oh, this cake

My smilin' girl

So, it is a family tradition to open up all the presents with everyone watching and cheering, etc. I usually buy the presents which the kids can then 'purchase' from me with happy bucks they earned doing their chores, etc. When we got together to give Lee her birthday gifts Noah came up with a shopping bag and proudly handed it to her. He had retrieved a shirt off my bed, wrapped it up and presented one of Ben's old shirts to Lee as her birthday gift. He was awfully proud of himself, we were all laughing our heads off. Never underestimate the determination of a four year old!

Because we are crazy

2011-06-30T20:33:00.000+02:00

We went camping at Legoland. More specifically, we camped in a thunderstorm where the rain was coming horizontally and we all got soaking wet. Fun, huh? The kids informed me on the trip home that we are never, ever going camping again. Spoilsports!

It's Bob the Baumeister!

There was a new Star Wars exhibit. I didn't
recognize a lot of it since I won't watch the 'first'
movies

not-so-happy camper

a' golfin' we will go

still a terrible driver

at the 'test track'

June Bug Out

2011-06-29T20:24:00.001+02:00

At the end of the school year the kids all have field days, the elementary school calls it June Bug out and Ben took the day off to spend with Emma's class.

Mrs. Vohar's first grade class

The little dictator. .
I mean director

Learning about how serious police
work really is

seriously!

He flies!

Dad might have helped with the artwork

Monkey see, monkey. . .

2011-06-28T20:17:00.001+02:00

The alte brucke (old bridge) in Heidelberg has a statue of a monkey holding a mirror at one end. Supposedly in ancient times there was a similar statue holding a mirror to reming those leaving the town that they were neither better than the ones they left behind nor the ones they journeyed towards. Interesting thought, but all Noah cared about were the gymnastic possibilities.

Fawn

2011-06-27T19:35:00.000+02:00

Just being himself

after hiking the Celtisher Ringwall.
I want this chair.

Benefits of living in Germany: Visitors!

Luxembourg Cemetery

2011-06-26T19:24:00.000+02:00

Fathers and sons campout this year was in Luxembourg. The boys camped out at the scout camp behind the Luxembourg American Cemetery and then had a service project cleaning the headstones.

The star denotes a medal of honor recipient

Patton's grave. It's in a separate area because so many people want to see it

I'm thinking that a plain 'ol campout might sound like a bit of a let down after activities like these!

Luisenpark

2011-06-16T17:29:00.000+02:00

Do you see how big those fish mouth are? Freaky

Ben has taken a few days off work to accompany the kids to their end-of-year fieldtrips and activities. This was Zak's class trip to Luisenpark, and after seeing the pictures all the kids want to go, so it's on the schedule for the summer!

End of the year performance and potluck

2011-06-10T18:48:00.001+02:00

The last song was about spending time with your child every
day, because they grow up so fast. Like I need to be reminded!

Mrs. Vohar has been a wonderful teacher for
Emma, I feel so blessed that she has been an important part of Em's life this year. Events like this are a tad bittersweet for me, because watching my kids grow up is fairly bittersweet. End of first grade! Even better was watching my kids pitch in to help clean up after the potluck. It only took a little prodding, and they were all happy to help out. Well, mostly happy.

Obviously, his father's genes

2011-06-09T18:48:00.000+02:00

And, quite possibly, his father's inability to smile naturally in pictures.

Higher math

2011-06-06T17:20:00.000+02:00

Em turned 7. Can't you tell by the candles?

Practice does not make perfect

2011-06-06T17:12:00.001+02:00

Soaking wet girls, drying off on the hot cement

Explorers don't smile, do they?

Maybe the reason he's such a bad driver is the hat is over his eyes?

At least in No's case, we've been to Legoland several times now and he seems to get worse at driving the little cars every time we go. We went with friends, and I got to hang out with the little kids. Despite the boiling heat, we had a great time running around like crazies.

Mental Math Bee

2011-05-20T08:11:00.000+02:00

Here is Zak, being all brilliant at figuring out math problems in his head. There were many of the problems I couldn't keep up with (not too surprising, my math skills are non-exixtent), but he had the answer as soon as the question finished! He reminds me a little of Darren, what with the non-smiling because this is SERIOUS STUFF.

And here:

Is the boy, outside the back door of the gym, because when they tell you the audience has to remain quiet, you realize that your four-year-old's idea of being quiet is to only make his car sound effects loud enough for the surrounding county to hear. He poked his head in whenever Zak was up, and I gave thanks that it was good weather.

Zak made it to the fifth round; there were only 3 kids who beat him, out of 300 in 3rd grade at his school. Obviously, I take credit for his brilliance.

15

2011-05-15T20:00:00.000+02:00

Venezia

2011-04-03T19:54:00.003+02:00

Ben's normal view of us
St Mark's Square

Courtyard of the Doge's palace

Paul Newman?

Grand Canal

Rialto Bridge

On the Rialto

Museums, Parthenon

2011-04-02T20:29:00.000+02:00

Give it a ponder

Roman Money

The vault they keep the money in

What you can't see is the crazy homeless
guy screaming at us. Big cities are so
much fun!

another fountain

Zak can tell you why we took this photo
inside the Parthenon

Also, this one

Outside the Parthenon

Il Collesseo

2011-04-01T19:14:00.001+02:00

Trying to share two iPod tours didn't work out so well

The stairs to our apartment. We were on the second
floor, which means we got to climb three flights
of stairs to get up.

Our taxi ride from the airport into Rome took us past the Coloseum, where we saw the finish line for the Rome Marathon. It was pretty neat to walk down the block and be able to see the ruins from there.

Palatine Hill and Forum Romanum

2011-03-31T15:57:00.001+02:00

We successfully navigated the Metro during rush hour.
Yay, us!

Have I mentioned how beautiful and green everything was?

Who wouldn't love getting flowers from
this cutie?

Olive grove on the Palatine hill.

At the Roman Forum, listening to the audio tour and loving
the sunshine

One marvelous thing about the Palatine hill and Roman Forum is that there are lots of trails to follow (or No to run on), beautiful gardens and cool ruins. Even the huts where (maybe) Remus and Romulus were raised. Did you know our word palace comes from the schmancy homes on Palatine Hill?

Città del Vaticano

2011-03-30T13:21:00.003+02:00

Zak's favorite exhibit

I do believe I should get a retrospective 'A'
in Humanities 101 now.

How much do you think he spends
on that uniform? The tassels are
cute, though.

Outside St Peter's

We're lucky the iPods have really good batteries

First thing Monday morning Ben picked up our Roma passes to allow us to use all the public transportation in Rome. We squished ourselves on the express bus to the Vatican city and managed not to lose anyone or any wallets on our little trip, despite Ben getting felt up a couple times.

It was a mistake to go to the Vatican City museum on a Monday. Since so many other sites were closed, the line to get in was loooooong. From the moment you get in line there are people trying to sell you a tour--so you get to skip the line (so temping. . . .too bad we couldn't afford what they were asking). I don't know how many times I kicked myself for not remembering to reserve our tickets online, but it was a lot and I had plenty of time to feel stupid for not doing it. It also seems strange that the Vatican is located in its own country, but not as weird as the uniforms are for the swiss guards who man the borders. Once we had wended our way through the horrendous line the guards at the x-ray machines let us and our 'bambino' go to the head of the security line. And, then the ticket guy told us Isaac didn't need to pay, yay for Italians loving big families! We shuffled our way to the cafeteria, around all the exhibits (to which the kids were in large part completely indifferent) and then into the Sistine Chapel. We listened to our downloaded Rick Steve's tour and followed his advice to get from the Sistine chapel into St Paul's without waiting another few hours in the security line there, so at least we did that one part of our day exactly right!

Via Cimarra

2011-03-29T18:59:00.001+02:00

Noah and I walking home after purchasing fresh pasta

'our' window is on the top

A favorite occupation for the kids was watching the traffic. I'm fairly
certain the street was just as dirty AFTER the sweeper came by

From the back balcony

2011-03-29T16:34:00.000+02:00

defending their castle

Doing laundry the Italian way

As near as we could tell, there is no way to get to the
tree area, except across the roofs?

Captain No

Driving through Toscana

2011-03-29T12:26:00.001+02:00

First off, I loved driving in Italy. We'd heard all sorts of horror stories about the crazy Italian drivers that made us a little worried, but I had a great time. Nobody uses turn signals, or follows the lane markings (unless it's convenient, of course) or follows the speed limit (unless there is a speed camera) and I thought it worked remarkably well all told. It reminded me a little of driving in CA (the speeding) and a little of UT (lack of turn signals) and was not at all like driving in Deutschland.

Aquaduct near Viterbo

ocean near Civitavecchia

Our first meal in our rental apartment
Note the fabulous chandelier

We failed to throw money into the Trevi fountain, I guess
this means we have to go back to Rome!

Ben got tired of me comparing Tuscany to California, but with all the cherry trees in bloom and the big fields, it really looked a bit like CA. Except for the mountains. We saw the marble mines from a distance and drove to the ocean to let the kids play for a while. Too bad the beach was more trash than anything else. Italy is a little dirty with litter, which was quite a nasty shock coming from very clean Germany and super clean Switzerland.

We parked the van at the airport and took a taxi into town. Our first night after feeding the kids we walked around to see the Emmanuel monument, Trajan's column, Trevi fountain and the Spanish Steps. I was worried that our big group would have a hard time staying together, but we did just fine.

Italia

2011-03-28T12:25:00.000+02:00

We went on a family trip last week, in search of the sun in Italy. Driving though Switzerland in the rain and grey was interesting, even if we couldn't see the tops of the Alps. Because we took the snow tires off the van before the trip we started to worry when the snow started and we saw plows in the road.

Just before the longest tunnel (16.9 K) this was how the weather looked.

Luckily, by the time we came out the other side it had completely cleared up and the sun was shining. Must have been a magic tunnel.

Also possibly magic was the boy single handedly holding up the tower of Pisa. The fact that he was smiling is simply a miracle.

Leelleeloyu

2011-03-27T16:12:00.000+02:00

Who needs money to pay for college when you can blow it all on
braces?

For Darren

2011-03-16T08:14:00.000+01:00

Roman Bridge, Trier

Rothenburg

Playground along the Rhine river

Keeping Noah entertained along the Rhine

Luxembourg, military museum

Walking the streets of Rothenburg at night

Rothenburg

Walking the wall in Rothenburg

Child catcher's cart

Luxembourg American cemetery
(where Patton is buried)

Loraine Cemetery, St Avold, France

He doesn't really take pictures of people, and I am too busy chasing after Noah to take many. .

So.

Some of the faces I love

2011-02-13T21:06:00.002+01:00

No, there is too much, let me sum up

2011-01-31T13:53:00.000+01:00

2010:

We visited Holland, France, Belguim, France & Austria as a family
Jerran went to England for EFY
I got to spend 3 days in France exploring castles with friends
We had visitors! Paige, Mom & Dad
I learned to navigate locally without the GPS
I became a Key Spouse Mentor
Jerran began High School
I learned that Cora has an aisle FULL of yogurt. And one of cheese.
We ate a lot of cheese and baguettes (see previous)
My daughter grew tall enough to wear my clothes (shirts and shoes)
keeping visiting teaching organized failed to kill me. It tried, though.
Sound of Music Salzburg tour with Paige and Deanna.
We took a boat ride on a canal (first time)
We rode a ferry (first time)

It still amazes me to look at all the cool places we've visited and wonderful people we've met. I'm so grateful to be here with the opportunity and means to travel.

Toothless performer

2010-12-10T10:51:00.000+01:00

Despite having two parents who would rather spend their evenings at home quietly reading our Em loves to go out and loooooves to perform. Tuesday night was the first grade musical performance, with songs from several different countries. It was so much fun to watch her throw herself into her performance. And, the snow which started on Tuesday night continued through the morning which resulted in our first snow day of the school year. The second snow day was Thursday. At this rate we'll be in school straight through the summer!

Because we had nothing better to do with our money

2010-12-06T19:55:00.000+01:00

Before

After

shoe thief

2010-12-05T12:51:00.000+01:00

"Hey, have you seen my boots. . . Oh. ?"

Look how teensy tiny her little toothpick legs look in my boots!

Christmas festival at Burg Lichtenburg

2010-12-04T16:02:00.000+01:00

On the watchtower steps

Ritters camp (knight's camp)

Christmas festivals are found all over Germany from the weekend of Thanksgiving until Christmas. There are lots of shops, hand-made item and lots of yummy food to try. Generally speaking, we don't shop a whole lot, but we do eat plenty.

Waiting for the Baumkuchen to cook

Certifying that the Baumkuchen is safe to eat

eating our way through the castle.

This midieval-themed market is held on the grounds of Burg Lichtenburg on the weekend after Thanksgiving. It is one of our favorite places to visit, with a museum full of fossils and one full of musical instruments, and a gigantic xylophone outside the natural history museum to bang on. Unfortunately the ground below the museums was completely soggy and muddy so we didn't stay to watch the knights slip around in the mud. Fun day anyway!

Trier

2010-11-30T21:19:00.000+01:00

The Porta Nigra, a Roman city gate

We ventured out to Trier with the intent of visiting the Christmas market, which we did, but we found much more to look at and enjoy in the Roman ruins around the city. Plus the Karl Marx house, which was covered in scaffolding.

We conducted exhaustive testing of the acoustical qualities of the ampitheatre. Also, my kids were wondering why they haven't ever seen a gladiator fight. Bloodthirsty little tykes.

Thanks

2010-11-29T20:59:00.001+01:00

For new dishes (pretty colors and wildly mis-matched, just like us) and that most of the new goblets survived their first outing at our table.

Giving thanks

2010-11-28T20:57:00.000+01:00

And for little 'me, too!'

For toothless grins.

Lee, during the 'facts of life' talk

2010-10-23T14:04:00.002+02:00

That's impossible! Wouldn't you have to be in, like a DEATHLY embrace?

Reason to love fall

2010-10-21T14:56:00.000+02:00

Garmisch-Partinkirchen

2010-10-19T17:43:00.000+02:00


Rothenburg ob der Tauber


Fall colors on the Linderhof grounds


Riding the tram to the top of the Zugspittze


in the Linderhof grounds

Grandma and Grandpa came to spend a week with us. After warning them that the weather this time of year is usually cool, windy and rainy we ended up with a week full of sunshine and the prettiest Autumn weather we've seen. Even the gas station guy in Garmisch told them we were in Garmisch for the best 3 days of the entire summer. We visited Rothenburg, took the cogwheel train to the top of Germany (the Zugspittze), tried leber knodel, and wandered the grounds of the Linderhof. We intended to drive the romantic road out of Garmisch, but the fog came down to the valley and stayed there all day. Bavaria is a truly lovely place to visit, and I'm very grateful we've been able to spend so much time there. I love seeing the fields of grazing cows, sheep and goats while hearing their bells. And, while the kids would rather spend all their time in the hotel pool, I have hopes that they will remember some of the other parts of their trips here.


Lovely valley colors

Speaking of which. . .

2010-10-18T16:26:00.000+02:00


Never in a million years

Our last morning in Garmisch Mom, Dad, and I parked at the Olympic stadium and took a walk along the river. We were all shocked by the ski jump--it's height, and steepness simply do not transfer to the television screen. Most of the morning the top of the jump was obscured by clouds, and this shot was taken from some distance away so the scale is all off. Even the landing zone is practically vertical. Seriously, ski jumpers have to be some sort of insane to even attempt that jump.

Mom: It DOES NOT look that steep on TV


The closest any of us will get to trying ski jumping

Mom and Dad's week in Germany turned out the be the nicest weather we've had in months. Mom would turn to me and tell me (sarcastically) how much the rain was getting her down. We had sunshine for the ENTIRE week, until their last morning when we had fog and frost on the fields. Since they left to go back to sunny CA we've had clouds and rain, which is much more typical for this time of year. We're so glad we got to have a fun visit with the gross mutter and gross vater!

Vier Frauen

2010-10-17T16:53:00.000+02:00

Uploading this picture of us girls in our dirndls kind of startled me. Look how tall D is!

The agony of defeat

2010-10-17T16:26:00.000+02:00

Me first!

I live my life in a state of constant competition. Or, so it seems were you to listen in to the near-constant chatter from my 3-year-old. Cries of: "I win!", "I beat ya", or "I run a fifty miles!" provide the background noise I am accustomed to tuning out. All my boys are relatively competitive, but No seems to take this to it's ridiculous extreme; it matters not if we are strolling along the bike path or getting a drink from the faucet, he is always the fastest, first and the winner. It is amusing because he is so young, and so clearly deluded, but hopefully as we teach him to value being kind and compassionate over being first he will grow out (or learn to pretend he has grown out of) his first instinct to declare his supremacy over all.

At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Rub a dub

2010-09-21T18:45:00.001+02:00

Our friend, Misao, had his Eagle project this month. Downtown is a garden where are located large dinosaur sculptures. They've been there since 2002 and have never had a bath, so we took brushes, buckets and enthusiastic preschoolers to give the dinos a bath.

The gartenschau had a fall exhibit with the theme of "Noah's Ark"
There were cute squash animal sculptures all over

some of us had more fun than others

This guy only got washed up to his knees

One of the favorite tasks was to get water
out of the creek. We didn't have a lot of
buckets, so water bottles were pressed into service

Summer

2010-09-20T18:40:00.000+02:00

Our summer has been lots of fun. Now that it is nearly officially over I figured I should sum up:

The boy is my more-or-less constant companion. He wants to be right in the middle of everything, especially if it involves the use of machines.

and finished a quilt top on her own

Deanna learned to sew

No embraced his 'tough guy' side

We visited the castle at Bad Durkheim and the kids played in the 'goblet of fire' Not any fire, just an abundance of kids.

Krazy King Ludwig's Kastles

2010-09-19T20:31:00.001+02:00

Our last big trip of the summer was to Bavaria and the last of King Ludwig's castles. We saw Neuschwanstein, which Ludwig built, never finished, and lived in for only a few days before he was deposed and died under mysterious circumstances. It is famously the basis for Disney's sleeping beauty castle. It was huge. Also, Ludwig was a great friend of Wagner and wrote the composer lengthy letters about the throne room and banqueting hall based on Wagner's operas. He and Wagner also shared a disdain for Ludwig's parents, one letter tells how glad Ludwig will be to live in Neuschwanstein, where he will no longer share the 'polluted air' where his mother lives in the valley bottom. Issues, eh?

My favorite was the Linderhof, where the gardens were marvelous and the little 'huts' all over the grounds are fascinating. My kids' favorite part of the trip, however, was the swimming pool at our hotel in Garmisch. So much for getting them a little historical edumacation.

The Alps

Linderhof fountain

The Linderhof--only castle Ludwig completed and lived in
It was his retreat from 'real life' in Munich.
Modeled after Versailles

Hohenschwangau (swan castle) where Ludwig grew up

out of the mouths

2010-09-08T12:03:00.000+02:00

Emma, this morning, as she prepared for school: "Mommy, do you just sleep all day while we're at school?"

Rothenburg

2010-08-05T21:50:00.000+02:00

Still one of my favorite places.

Versailles, 17 July

2010-08-05T21:28:00.000+02:00

Is it wrong of me to not love such a cultural touchstone? Let's just say that the huge crowds and the French disdain for efficiency combine in this place to make it rather less than pleasant to tour.

Charlemagne. They're not impressed

gold gates. sparkly!

Halls of fancy furnishings, expensive paintings, fabulous tapestry, amid the hordes of people who stop right in front of you to listen to the audio tour. Sadly, the famous hall of mirrors is dingy and many of the mirrors have been vandalized. It was reminiscent of our Loire trip where the stairwells of the fabulous chateaux were defaced with graffiti. We ended up skipping the one part I really wanted to see--the gardens, because we were fed up with the whole experience.

Mont St-Michel, 16 July

2010-08-05T21:11:00.000+02:00

Mt St-Michel

The abbey built at the top of the hill was once only reachable at low tide. Nowadays, however, the modern causeway allows access day and night and for ample tourist parking. I want to come back in the slow season to stay here and watch the tide come in.

Look! Deanna is nearly smiling!

Omaha Beach, 15 July

2010-08-05T20:59:00.000+02:00


Mine Eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord

Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes

2010-08-05T20:48:00.001+02:00

Driving for hours on end is enough to make even the most patient of our children a little feisty and restive, so we try to make sure that even on driving days we spend some time outside. This trip to tidepools and rocky beach was a complete accident, and we only found the shore due to my ability to remember what Rue de la Mer meant. We watched families fill mussel baskets and the storm quickly making its way up the channel. Even the prospect of seeing the sun set couldn't keep us there once the thunder ventured closer and we realized we were in for a thorough soaking if we didn't get ourselves back to our motel. Our tiny rooms and the pod bathrooms looked more welcoming as the kids examined their treasures of shells, stones, and knees skinned from running over the rocks.

July

2010-08-01T20:24:00.002+02:00

Mont St-Michel, Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau, Linderhof, Garmisch, Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Versailles.

Burg Lichtenberg

2010-07-02T17:54:00.000+02:00

One of the most fun parts of living in a place infested with castles, is to take a short trip and go roaming all over ruins. We all have fun climbing walls, windows and towers while imagining ourselves to be ancient pages or whatnot. Of course, I spend my time chasing Noah and wishing for a shave ice stand. Temps in the 30's have persisted for the last two weeks, making me wish fervently that the Germans believed in air conditioning. Wednesday I saw a movie in a German theater, and I'm not ever doing that again. No fans, stuffy room, hotter than . . .

Salzburg

2010-06-30T20:12:00.002+02:00

Salzburg is a town I wouldn’t have spared a second thought for, were it not for The Sound of Music. The luck of the last-minute was with us as we booked a SOM tour with an American who has lived in Berchtestgaden for the last 20 years. It tickled me to know that our vacation lodge is quite near to the spot where the movie filmed the Von Trapps climbing over the alps. And, in some way it made up for the fact that we weren’t able to see much of those mountains due to the rain fog and thick cloud cover. The movie had many problems with weather as well, with crew and cast waiting for a break in the clouds in order to rush up the mountain to shoot until the clouds closed in again. By all accounts, they spent a great deal of time and money waiting for the weather to cooperate. It is easy to see why so many people come to vacation in the alps, they are simply beautiful. The greenery is lush, the mountains steep and the valleys full of charming little town and alpine lodges. Of course, the charming towns are overrun with tourists, but the still retain a uniqueness due to the architecture and traditions kept.

Salzburg is built up against a cliff which gave it great protection from invaders in times past. Between the cliff and river the old town grew up, and these natural features gave it a natural defense against intruders. So the old town retains its older buildings and some of the character from old times. Because the old town is closed to pedestrians it is a wonderful place to wander and explore, and while it is crowded it is full of suprises and beauty.

Our tour took us through the Mirabel gardens, the old cemetery, squares and churches. After our tour we took ourselves up to Nonnberg abbey, where Maria was a postulant. We ventured beyond the front gate (seen in the movie) to sit in the chapel, where we delighted to hear the singing of the nuns. Another serendipitous moment was as we descended from the abbey to hear church bells in the city below—wedding bells to serenade us on our walk down.

Heidelberg

2010-06-30T13:34:00.000+02:00

Ben gave us a Saturday sans kids. We toured the castle (and climed 300+ steps) and the old town. If it wasn't so danged hot we would have wandered around more.

Neunkirchen Zoo

2010-06-30T13:16:00.000+02:00

We visited on a hot, muggy Wednesday with a large group from our ward. The kids' favorite thing was the basket located near the bear enclosure. It was suspended from a chain, allowing the kids to crawl up inside of it and spin in circles.

One of the orangutans was named Noah. No failed to appreciate this.

11 jahre alt

2010-06-30T12:53:00.002+02:00

Those relighting candles will get you every time!

While the girls are away, the boys will

2010-06-30T12:47:00.000+02:00

Geocache

The Hinterbrand

2010-06-30T12:43:00.000+02:00

Alive

2010-06-30T12:41:00.000+02:00

Sound of Music Tour through Salzburg's old town. It is easily in the top 3 of my favorite European cities. Plus! Movie geekery!

We may or may not have annoyed Salzburgers by singing our way through the park and surrounding areas.

Paige is 16 going on 17

Even the horses wear raincoats. Should have brought mine!

Confidence.

Chiemsee

2010-06-30T12:19:00.000+02:00

Herrenisle is one of 'Mad' King Ludwig's castles. Like Neuschwanstein, it was never finished and he only lived there for days. Intended to be a replica of Versailles, Ludwig went bankrupt before the castle was completed, but only finished the exterior for one central part and only finished the interiors of 20 of the rooms. It is known for the large (largest in the world, maybe?) and valuable porcelain chandelier, a table set with pulleys so he didn't have to see the servants who would set the table one floor below and raise it up to his dining room, and a bathtub the size of a large doughboy pool. Set on an island in the middle of Chiemsee, the castle is surrounded by parkland and what was intended to be a game reserve. There is still a deer enclosure, where a deer sneezed on Zak. I think the kids' favorite part may have been the ferry ride!

Salzbergwerks Berchtesgaden

2010-06-30T12:03:00.000+02:00

In the town of Berchtesgaden one of the major attractions is the salt mine. I'm imagining that it is so popular because in omnipresent rain and fog a trip down to the mine isn't affected by the weather. The day we went was incredibly crowded, but the lovely manager of the lodge got us reservations so we didn't have to wait forever with the teeming masses. We donned our overalls, learned that the pockets were only holes in the jumpsuits, and prepared to descend. The tour begins with everyone getting onto the train. Essentially you are straddling a bench with a railing on one side and open air on the other. This is a rather interesting way to travel down a narrow tunnel, seeing as how the walls of the tunnel are only a few feet away and if you stuck a knee or hand out you could really do some damage to yourself. The consensus of the group was that this sort of thing would never fly in the States without serious waiver-signing, seat belts and some sort of safety cage. We slid down old wooden slides (like sliding down a long banister with a level spot at the end to allow slowing down), watched how salt is mined, and rode across a large saline lake on a silent cable-driven barge. The barge was open at one end, which made me nervous until Isaac cheerfully pronounced that in a 70% saline lake whoever fell overboard would simply float like a cork.

This was one of those tours which I thought would be uninteresting, but it turned out to be quite fun and informative!

Outside, the river was really just this aqua. More than one of our traveling companions commented that it reminded them of the tropics. I'll have to take their word for it.

The Hills

2010-06-30T11:51:00.000+02:00

You know that last scene in the Sound of Music where the family Von Trapp is hiking over the Alps to make their escape from Salzburg? We spent a week in those very mountains. Of course, the real Von Trapps never did any such thing to escape the Nazis, but caught a train out of Austria, and the mountains the movie shows were actually IN Germany (and if you go over the mountains from Salzburg you end up in Bertchestgaden, which was one of Hitler's favorite places. . . ) ANYwho, we had an absolutely wonderful week living in the fog and rain, I think we saw the sun for a grand total of two hours the entire week. Staying at the (historic) Hinterbrand lodge was both fun and a little eerie. After all, who doesn't want to stay in a place once visited by Hitler?

And one more makes nine

2010-06-30T11:40:00.000+02:00

My neice, Paige is visiting us for the summer. This means we do not all fit into the minivan and when we take trips we need two cars now. It's worth it just to have a babysitter who Noah adores.

The picture was taken in downtown Kaiserslautern, a block from our church. It's the ruins of the old castle/city wall.

Early June

2010-06-30T11:36:00.000+02:00

We've been a whirlwind of activity as of late, which means I have a ton of pictures not edited nor captioned nor sorted. Today, however, is a sick day so I have time to sit in front of the computer.

Here we have pictures of Zak's class musical performance of 'Tears of the Dragon", Em's 6th birthday, Talia figuring out how many hippopotamuses can fit in her school quad, and Zak. . . being Zak.

Father and Son's campout

2010-05-23T08:57:00.001+02:00

Manderscheid Castle, where the boys camped in the dungeon. Noah has been telling us all how he killed the dragon and saw a skeleton. I think the conclusion can be safely drawn that camping at a mideval castle delights a young boy's heart. (I'm wondering if the lizard the boys hunted for on the steps became the dragon in the No's imagination. . . )

Mercredi--Blois and Chaumont

2010-05-19T17:12:00.001+02:00

Wednesday morning we once again hit the bakery to get breakfast and lunch. We were lucky enough to also find parking (and use all my dinky change to pay the parking) right next to the Blois chateau. Joan of Arc once stayed there; it is built in a square in four differing styles. The picture is of the famous staircase, I forget why it is famous; it looks just like Chambord's to me! Chaumont was our last chateau and it was a terrible disappointment. While is is quite beautiful from the outside, the inside was a confusing hodge-podge of art and pictures from the 20's combined with modern art. Even in the gardens were strange exhibits of trees wrapped in black plastic strips. It was interesting to note that our favorite castles were owned by individual families and our least favorite were owned by France. Seriously, who goes to an ancient castle to view modern art?

Mardi--Chenonceaux and Amboise

2010-05-18T16:49:00.002+02:00

Tuesday morning dawned cloudy, but not rainy! We made a quick trip to the bakery to procure breakfast and baguettes for lunch before heading out. We'd saved the most anticipated castle for this morning so we could have plenty of time exploring the castle and the grounds. Chenonceaux is built literally over the river and has wonderfully large grounds and gardens. The bridge gallery was used as a hospital during WWI and the soldiers used the windows to fish out of. It was a little disappointing to see the front covered in scaffolding and an odd fabric with the castle depicted on it (this is what you would be looking at if all the scaffolding and draping wasn't here: enjoy!) but even the construction didn't lessen the beauty and our enjoyment of the gardens. On our way way out of the village we even found a cheese shop to make our lunch complete. Amboise was the last castle of the day, picked because we saw postcards and were impressed with it. Unfortunately the postcards depict the town more than the actual castle. Oops! A cold, windy day led to a short visit. The people in front of Amboise were some fellow tourists who took our picture in front of the castle. Unfortunately, the picture wasn't taken with my camera and I have yet to get photos from everyone else.
And now I have seen the grave of Leonardo DaVinci in the chapel at Amboise. Apparently he was quite the favorite of the French king Francis I. The end of the day saw us in a cafe eating a tart tatin with pear sorbet and drinking lovely hot chocolate. I have to say, we met very few French people on this trip but started lots of conversations with fellow tourists.

Dinner very nearly made up for the disaster of the first night. It was simply delicious. Luckily the waitress was very patient with us and our lack of French.

Loire Valley Chateaux

2010-05-17T16:44:00.003+02:00

Within 30 kilometers of Blois, France there are 6 major chateaux. We visited all of them in six days and the rain only poured down on us for our visit to Chambord, the biggest castle we visited. It looks like a hodge-podge all organized around a square courtyard. The spiral staircases were lovely, and the double staircase at the center is famous because two people can ascend at the same time and never see each
other.

After Chambord we traveled to Cheverny, which was my favorite castle to visit. It is still lived in by the family and the tour pamphlet was well organized and informative. Cheverny is known for its hunting dogs. They have 51 who are all fed at the same time in an enclosed yard. The smell (clorox mixed with dead chicken) was horrific. Cheverny is also the inspiration for Marlinspike Hall (home of Tintin). I was more interested in the gardens, which were being manured that day and therefore smelled nearly as bad as the dog enclosure. That evening brought the challenge of locating our hotel, then the receptionist, and then finding a place to eat. I have learned the lesson that French food, when done badly, is thoroughly disgusting.

Chateau Chambord, center staircase. The rest of the photos are all of Cheverny.

Also at Cheverny we found the cute couple who took our picture at Chambord.

Signs

2010-05-04T10:13:00.000+02:00

The construction workers in Germany and Belgium wear jaunty little hats (berets?). Not so in Holland.

All along the canal were these signs, and unfailingly a little pile of dog leavings under each and every one.