The 'rents have arrived!

So, my parents arrived on Sunday evening. So fun to pick them up in Luxenbourg and be with them on their first viewing of Europe. I got to introduce them to the Autobahn also. Bet they didn't see that coming when they taught me to drive back in the day. Whoo hoo!

Monday we took them on a stroll through downtown Trier. We snacked on pretzels and sausages and the fun french fries that come with the ity bity fork and the ketchup AND mayo on top. Even some ice cream snuck in somehow.

We came back to the house and Casey and Maya dazzled Poppa Jim with their trampoline skills while Mark, my Mom, Julia and I navigated the Big German grocery store, Kaufland. My head is always spinning afrer trying to figure out the products in German. Oh my.

Yesterday we set off on the train for the quaint litttle town of Saarburg. There is a waterfall right in the middle of the city. And we toured an old bell factory. Poppa Jim and Casey had their usual sillyfest. We love it.

Sorry this post is lacking in spice. I am rushing as my Mom, Casey and I are headed off to Paris for 2 days. Yes, this was decided all of last night. So fun to be a 3 hour train ride away. Mark and Maya and my Dad are headed towards Frankfurt to do some World War II sleuthing. Au revoir!

Ciao from Italy

Oh Italy. We love you. I hate that I do. I wanted to be the type of person that wasn't so cliche. Friendly people, warm culture, yummy food and beautiful scenery. Nope, I don't get it...Oh, but I do. It is grand. It has my heart. But maneuvering it with two small children in tow. That's another story. Oh my. Let's just say that we are thoroughly wiped out from the trip. We were happy to come "home" and veg out back at our digs in Germany. Thank goodness for this great home base!

We started our trip out of Frankfurt, which is about a two hour drive from Trier. We got to the airport over hours early. We just had to park and get to the gate. How hard could that be, right? Oh, well, 45 minutes into trying to figure out how to park, we were a bit stressed. We later found out that there was a bunch of construction going on there and a lot of there signs had been taken down and not replaced. Hmmmm...not very helpful for the new kids in town.

So we had some time left before our flight. We walked the 1/2 mile to get to Terminal 2, cuz that's where our paperwork told us to go. Well, not the case. The ticket counter was actually in Terminal 1. Oh. Crap. But this was only after being sent back and forth (with two kids, a stroller and luggage) between terminals four times. We missed our flight. I cried. Casey and Maya were troopers. Mark was pissed.

He went to the Alitalita ticket counter. Showed them our faulty paperwork. In true German style they told him that is was his fault. Sorry. Then he did the old "Can I please speak to your supervisor." Needless to say, they had us on a flight 6 hours later. On them.

So we arrived in Venice at 11 pm, after a connection in Rome. We had left Trier at 7 in the morning. What a long day. Only to get longer. Our luggage didn't make the connection in Rome. And it was raining. And now 1 a.m. We were told that our luggage would get to us sometime in the afternoon the next day. Plus, I was wearing a pair of purple sweat pants. A fashion mistake that I will not make next time I travel. I was locked into those baby's for a full two days. Yuck.

This wasn't quite the Italian experience we had hoped for. But our optimistic attitudes seem to follow us. We caught a water bus to the island of Venice. It was really amazing seeing the different islands and imagining how these people live with no cars and a life on the water. Wow. We got off the bus and the whole place was shut down. We wandered around for about 20 minutes trying to find our hotel. Thankfully some Police Officers walked by and they directed us to the right spot.

We woke up to it POURING rain. Okay, first thing to do was to buy new umbrellas. Good thing the ones we brought were nice a dry in our luggage somewhere. Grrrr...We ventured our for a few hours and then put up the white flag. We headed back to the room and called it a day. We did venture out again in the late evening. The rain cleared up a little and the purple sweats had dried to a crisp on the heated towel rack.

We left Venice the next day and headed to Florence on the train. Oh Florence. How I love thee. We rented an apartment there and spent 3 days eating gelato, wandering and having a grand time. Casey and Mark tackled one of the towers at the famous duomo. She wanted to do it and walked over 400+ steps without complaining. Mark was so very proud!. Maya and I wandered through a yummy Framer's Market. I bought food for a picnic there. Dreamy! Foccacia bread, eggplant and sundried tomato spread, biscotti, ham, and some cheese. Yum!

Then we took a train to Rome. It was a Sunday. I figured that it would be a good day to transition there because things tend to be slower on Sundays. Um, not so much. Our first indication of doom was when we tried to catch a taxi from the train station to our rented apartment, near the Pantheon. The taxi driver said "No" he could not take us there. What? It's only supposed to be about a 10 minute drive. Come on. It turns our we had stepped right into the route for the Rome Marathon. You'vegottobekiddingme. This is one of the biggest marathons in the world. People come from all over to do it. And their route stood between us and our apartment.

So we gathered ourselves up and started walking. Remember the two kids and the stroller and the luggage? Yeah, well they were there too. And the amazing cobblestone streets of ancient Rome. They were there too. So fun to roll your luggage along those for miles. Yeah. And then we saw it. The sea of marathoners and their friends and families cheering them on. "Get out of the wayyyyyyy." We wanted to scream it. But we had no more energy. Or brain power. So we sat on the sidewalk and gathered ourselves up. And waded through the crowd. It took us over 2 hours to get from the train station to the apartment. Goodnight folks.

But Rome was great. We did the hop on hop off tour. We went to the Colissuem. We toured and had fun. We bought ourselves gifts. We danced in Piazza Navona.

One week in Italy. We are cooked. Goodnight folks. And now we are home. Home in Germany. And my parents are coming on Sunday. And my best friend and her husband are coming in a few days. Yippeeeeeeee!!!!
Morning espresso with our view in Florence

Got out of the tourist area and wandered the streets. So gorgeous

Casey secures her return to Rome


Must have been an ancient changing table at the Colisseum. Lucky for us...

The Spanish Steps in Rome

Getting a thumbs up on our tour bus in Rome

Walking around the sites can make a kid thirsty

So faboooooo

She was so thrilled that I challenged Daddy to see who could finish their beer first. I won, but only after pouring some in his glass when he wasn't looking.

It doesn't really count if you share it, right?

How could we resist? The immaturity continues...

400+ stairs, they made it to the top. No complaining from either one. Great job!!

Daydreaming about gelato

Date night

Mark and I got to go out on a date on Thursday night. A real, no kids, adventure, roam the streets of a foreign country date.

On Wednesday I had ridden my bike (okay, so nothing here is really mine, but you get the picture) around Trier. What a liberating feeling. Besides being free from "Mommy, I need..." for a few hours, it was amazing to set off on the road and explore the city and get to see little shops and side streets and parks that we never get to slow down and see when we are in the car. I was able to find a really great park nearby our house, not to mention an amazing idea for date night...

So fast forward to 3 on Thursday. I had been anticipating the hour all day. With every Mommy-do I smiled as I knew that as of 3, adult swim would begin. Mark came back from taking Casey out, and I grabbed my jacket and told him it was time to go. "Where are we going?" he asked. "Come on, I know a great place" I told him.

So the city of Trier is supposedly the oldest city in Germany. It was built up by the Romans, back in the day (yes, that is historically accurate) and around the city there are numerous Roman ruins that you can visit. Pretty exciting stuff. So I took him to see the inside of some Roman baths that had been built back in, um, Longtimeago AD. It was really neat to see the architecture and detail work that these people did back so very long ago. It was nice to take our time and chat and have fun.

Then we wandered around the downtown and explored. We separated for an hour or so and I think I found the German Kohl's (C&A) and I browsed for a bit. We met up again and had a great dinner and a few beers at a place called Cubiculum. It's very cavey inside and kitschy too. It was interesting to try and decipher the menu, all in German. I took a stab and some words I recognized, and we ended up having a great meal.

The last few days have been kinda rough. I think we are feeling the togetherness and the lack of purpose for being here. By that I mean that we don't have jobs and no school for Casey. Just kinda wandering. We were used to a routine at home. Mark was used to flying with students and being at the aiport. I was used to doing my own thang. And then the overcastness and chilly weather (Not too bad at around 40 degrees. Could be worse) has made it difficult to really get out and truly explore. But we are working through all of this. And trying to keep some perspective. Repeat...Once in a lifetime opportunity...3 months will go by so fast...The purpose is to see if we would want to live in a different country...Repeat...

Allright, so we are off to Italy on Tuesday, for a week. Venice, Florence and then end in Rome. Yippeeeeeeeeeeee! Oh, and we aren't taking RyanAir. And yes, we had tickets booked with them. We bit the bullet and spent an uncomfortable chunk of change to fly out of Frankfurt on a regular, not insane, airline.

Ciao baby!




The Kaiserthermen baths in Trier


A tad chilly

How did the Romans do it. So intricate.



Immaturity at it's best


His and her beers at our new fav hangout, Cubiculum



*Okay, so it's the morning after my post here, and I am sitting here watching footage from the disaster in Japan. And I am embarrassed that I write that it was a rough couple of days here. I mean, wow, pretty rough when we can't figure out which bakery to go to or how to entertain ourselves in Europe. Perspective is a beautiful thing. My heart mourns for all those who are suffering. I will continue to write this blog with our thoughts and happenings as they feel to us in the moment. But it's good to keep it all in context. Thanks.

Oh these cRaZy Germans

Posing with our neighbors, Beate and Harry (wish you were here Anette and Co.)



So we got to be part of Carnival here in Germany. We don't know exactly why it happens. It coincides with Mardi Gras at home. That much we know. There are a few days of parties and then on Monday (maybe it's chubby Monday, instead of Fat Tuesday?) there was a parade. Oh my. It is so much funnier when everything is in a foreign language. And the people all yell "Hellawwwww". Huh? And they throw candy from the floats. And if you yell "Hellawwwwww" loud enough they even share a drink with ya. My kind of parade.



Oh, danke!



Everyone dresses up (well except for us cuz we didn't know the adults dressed up too and didn't want to be the silly Americans wearing costumes). We made Indian headdresses for the girls. Then the kids stand out on the side of the street and hold out their bags and catch the candy being thrown out of the floats.

They had a blast. Casey was all business. She was determined to catch as much candy as possible. 3 bags later, she reached her goal. Maya just wanted to dance. As usual.

The parade went right by on our street. We had the experience with no waiting and no hassles. And we got to meet a lot of our neighbors. They were all so welcoming and friendly. Their kids played with ours and we left feeling part of it all.


Maya with our neighbor, also Maya




Casey getting candy






Go Maya, go Maya





Okay, so while I still have some energy, let's talk about differences, strange stuff and things we miss...

Differences:
They really do have a bakery on just about every corner, you can't leave mail in your mailbox to be picked up, you have to take it to the Post Office (ugh), they really don't have a problem staring at our different little family (mostly the older generation), the price of an item in the store is just what it says, no tax to anticipate

We miss:
An American dryer, Farenheit, playing with our cell phones, ice in our sodas, going to the grocery store and not having my brain fried by the time I leave, our family and friends and pets.

Strange stuff:
Walking everywhere (we are so car dependent at home), the food. brick streets, 120mph freeways

Things we really like,
The helpfulness of people to speak English, so many amazing sights, pretzels and Doner (insert umlaut over the o) sandwiches...yum, black Forest cake, driving through several countries in an hour, experiencing new things with our family.

What we have concluded so far:
That being in a foreign country isn't so different. People really all just want the same things, RYANAIR sucks, we are okay being together so much but could really all use a solid day or two to ourselves.
But overall, we are having a great time and we are so glad we took this journey! And I'm not just saying that because we have a babysitter tomorrow afternoon. I swear...

Frankfurt Fun

Too bad Mark isn't having any fun

Bus tour

Realizing just how old and creepy we are

Just when I was falling in love with the country

Sharing a cone in the old city square

Enjoying some beverages

Beautiful Main River

Well, we just got back from a 2 night trip to Frankfurt. It's about a 2 hour drive from Trier. We didn't know what to expect from this city. We hadn't done any research. Julia, the daughter that lives in the basement apartment here, was going, and we thought it would be a good trip. So we drove her there, and then she met up with her cousin, who lives there. He gave us a few tips on the city, and off we went.

We walked for a while and came upon a beautiful riverfront. We later learned that this is the Main (My-een) river. We saw a lot of cargo boats carrying various things up the river. Kinda like I-5 at home.

We were all really hungry (approaching crabby) and decided to try a random restaurant, typical German style. After the girls charmed the owner, we were treated very well and we sampled the best apple juice from the region. Oh, and Mark and I didn't want to be rude, so we had to try the beer. YUM!

The next day we set out early and caught one of the hop-on hop-off tours. We try and do this in the big cities we visit. It saves ya from trapsing around a new city without having any idea where you are or what you want to see. We rode the bus for an hour or so and then hopped off to grab some food.

I do want to tell you what we find are the biggest challenges when we are travelling. It's figuring out what to eat when you are tired and hungry and finding a bathroom. Really. It's not finding a hotel, or even the language differences. Or the people. Once we are fed and peed, we are set. Sad, but true.

We were really impressed with the number of parks in Frankfurt. We found about 5 in a row, all within about a half of a mile walk. We made it to about 3 of them before heading back onto the bus. We got to see the city and relax on the top deck of the bus. Ahhhhh, and rest our tired tootsies.

The next day we went to a zoo just outside of Frankfurt. It's called the Opel Zoo. We were not disappointed! It had animals and some rides and playgrounds. You can see from the top picture that Mark got up and close to an elephant. We were feeding them carrots. The zoos here are a lot more hands on then in the U.S. We have been suprised by this, for sure.

We stayed at the zoo for a few hours and we were so pooped from all of our exploring. We were looking forward to heading back to our "home" in Trier. we were so glad to get back and relax. And not go or do anything for a few days. Ahhhhh...

A Beary good day

It's the old peddling ferris wheel park ride

Casey asked if we could get one for our house. We are currently considering this...

So we purchased the "BARENFUTTER"

Oh, ookay, I guess this is what you do

No, that's not the bear growling, that's him opening his mouth as we drop in the BARENFUTTER

Kinda makes the feeding the goat picture not as exiciting

So we went to a "wild animal park" the other day. I could tell you the name of it. But then I'd have to look it up. And I don't feel like it. I think it was the Vild Animal Parkplatz. Yes, that must have been it.

So, it was interesting. We were the only people there. That should have been the first indicator that it was going to be an interesting day. We did the feed the goats, and the bunnies, and the guinea pigs. And the bear. Wha? Oh, well there must have been supervision involved with this, right? Uh, no. As seen in the above pics, we just bought our bear food and then dropped bear kibble down to the bear below. Umm, okay.

Then we moved on to the playground. Let's just say it was nothing we had seen before. The equipment looked like it belonged in the Ukraine. The kids loved it. And since we were the only ones there, we turned up the IPOD, and had a dance party in the creepy playground. The song "Goin' Back to Cali" had us shaking our money makers. We left tired and glad that we ventured out. And glad that the SF Zoo is only 20 minutes from our house.

Last night I was feeling pretty confident, so I ventured out to the store (using the GPS of course), in the dark, driving a different car. It felt really great to be out on my own. I got to the grocery store, list in my pocket. The goal was napkins and garbage bags and butter. After browsing the aisles for 30 minutes (this was actually a BIG grocery supestore, not the tiny, limited stores you usually see around Europe), I left with my groceries. No napkins, or garbage bags. I was too distracted by the aisles of new treats undiscovered in America. Oh, but I did get butter.

Tomorrow we are off to Frankfurt to explore. Should be interesting as we got a good deal on the hotel. And we just found out it's in the red light district. Should lead to some interesting questions from the 5 year old.

Some of my favorite people