I Miss Germany!

I absolutely LOVED living in Germany.  I miss it dearly now that we are back in the states.  Here are just a few reasons why I would do anything to go back to Germany to live again!

* My children are got an incredible education!  Germans have some serious math skills!  My 2nd and 4th graders were given the most abstract math questions that even I didn't understand.  It's also just plain cool that 4 of my children understand German,  3 of those can speak it very well, and 2 of those are fluent and are being taught and tested in German grammar.

* Saying "Guten Morgan" every morning.  Some say the German culture is cold and unfriendly but I have to strongly disagree.  Every morning when I took my children to the kindergarten everyone says Morgen, which is Good Morning.  Unfortunately, when someone didn't make eye contact with me and/or didn't greet me with a "Morgen" they are usually American.  Isn't that ironic?!  And sad?!

* Driving!  Oh how I love how organized German driving is!  Everyone drives on the right except to pass.  Yes, you are suppose to do that here in the U.S. but nobody does it. Ever.

* The Bakery's!  YUM!  They have the most delicious pastries and breads.  Every Tuesday after school I took the kids to the bakery.  We came to love that tradition and miss it so much.

* Family Time!  Life was more simple over in Germany.  Life wasn't so hectic and chaotic.  I feel like I'm running around like a crazy lady most of the time here.  I miss our simple, family-oriented, life. 

* Kid Activities were CHEAP over in Germany.  My kids (the three oldest) took tennis lessons for 6 months for only 30 Euro.  Soccer was basically free since we couldn't sign a year contract with them. The Germans bent over backwards to help us out, they just wanted the kids to have fun and learn how to play soccer.

* Traveling!!  Oh, how I miss traveling!  I miss the beautiful sites and the little towns rich with history.  I miss driving 2 hours to Prague and 4 hours to Poland to buy Polish pottery.  I miss researching things to see and having the ability to go and actually see it.  I love Europe!

* The people!  I miss the connection and the kindness.  I miss the love and the sincerity.  I miss the feeling of deep, rich, friendship.  I miss the feeling of going to church and knowing that anyone in the congregation would help you with anything you asked because we were there to support and love one another.  We were away from family so we were each others 'family', each others support system.  I miss feeling the wonderful and beautiful spirit of the German Saints that willingly give everything to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  I miss seeing and feeling their strong testimony through their eyes and their kindness in serving.

Coburg and a little bit of family history

A long time ago in Coburg Germany our ancestors once lived.  Before leaving Germany we had to go and see where they lived, maybe walk where they once walked, and maybe just maybe see where they worked even.

Here is the town square.  I love a good German town square.

Our Last Trip to Nuremberg (I think)

We no longer have a car, so we got to ride the train into Nürnberg.

First Stop:  DB Museum ... or the Train Museum

www.dbmuseum.de

(adults 5 Euro, children (age 6-17) 2,50 Euro)

The kids watching a HUGE train exhibit.

Upstairs in the museum is the kids zone.  I am not exaggerating when I

Saying Goodbye to our German Friends!!

With the kids in German school we had always planned our vacations around when they had their holiday breaks.  They got a two week break for Easter (that is when we went on our Mediterranean cruise) and then they got a two week break in June.  For the break in June we planned our second cruise: A Baltic cruise.  Sadly, we decided this would be a good ending point for the kids and their school (we would only have a few more weeks after the cruise until we moved).  The kids needed to start saying goodbye to their friends, their music teachers, and their school.  Words cannot express how heart-wrenching this was.  We absolutely LOVE the Germans!  We have LOVED our experiences here!  We feel so blessed to have been able to be welcomed into their lives, country, and culture.

I felt like I had to do something BIG

Mini Family Photo-shoot ... Just for fun

In Bavaria the rapeseed is beautiful!!  We just had to take advantage of the beautiful yellow and the perfect lighting.  One evening we headed out to get some pictures ... dragging our company along with us, which included my sister with her four kids and grandma and grandpa.

Last Soccer Game

Fussball (or soccer) in Germany is HUGE.  Everyone plays!!  It is a huge, fun, social gathering whenever there is a practice or a game.  I love that my kids got to be a part of this! 

(I also love how it looks as though my son is wearing a dress with nothing under it, Hah!)

Violin Workshop and Concert

My little girl has been going to Nuremberg (an hour drive) several days in a row, practicing the violin for 8 hours per day, falling asleep in the car on the way there and on the way back, all in the name of preparing for a violin concert.  Her very first violin concert.  Her dad was lucky enough to go but

Last Ludwig Palace and a Over-the-top Rococo Church

Linderhof!!

This is yet another one of Ludwig's Palaces in Bavaria, Germany.  It was actually the one he lived in the most and is completely finished.  I really liked this Palace, I highly recommend going!  I loved the peacock room, all the mirrors, the crystal chandeliers, and the gold paint over everything.  Yeah, I could probably live here too.

When exiting the tour, and the Palace,

Maibaum (May Pole) in Eschenbach, Germany

The first of May (erster Mai) is a big celebration in Germany.  The kids don't have school and the town gathers together in the center as they raise the May Pole.  It 's a celebration to bring in Spring and a celebration for those who labor (kind of like a Labor Day).   I actually love any reason for my little town in Germany to celebrate while I get to be a part of it and have my kids experience their culture.

Guess who FINALLY learned to ride her bike?!

MOVING DAY!!

The day where life is totally crazy!  The day where you seriously have a million and one things to do!  The day where your 4 year old finally gets the courage to ride a bike on her own!  So Cute!  She was one proud little lady!

Herrenchiemsee Castle - Another Ludwig Palace

Sometimes we do crazy 'day trips'.  We have this huge obsession that we have to do everything possible to squeeze in as much as possible before we move back to the states.  To be honest, I think in the process we are going to end up broke ... but at least we will have good memories and some amazing pictures.  We won't have any regrets though, and I would do it again in a second too!

An afternoon in Waldjugend, Eschenbach

Not even 10 minutes from our home is this little walking park.  That is really the only way I can describe it.  It is circular walk (about 2 km) with 'stations' every 100 yards or so where the kids can stop, play, and explore.  Each 'station' is different - with different toys or games or something to discover.  It is really neat!  Everyone likes going and it is perfect for a lazy Saturday afternoon! 

Another Birthday Girl!

Happy Birthday!!

Our Last Easter in Germany

Easter at our house wasn't too elaborate or exciting, but we did have fun.  

Here are the kids before we let them come downstairs to where their baskets were.

Ludwig's Memorial with a bit of Castle Ruins in the Mix

This was not our original plan ... I wont go into details about what happened to our original plan but lets just say motherhood never takes a vacation, even if you are on vacation.  An hour into our original trip we had to stop and never started back up again.  We searched the internet and found something fun nearby and spent the whole day exploring.

We found ourselves at Wallhalla Memorial built by Ludwig

For more information go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walhalla_memorial

And there are a ton of pictures on our 'other blog' you can check out!

the kids running down the side of the building

My little girl showing off how she can balance

"Mom, look it's Jesus.  Take a picture!"

Playing around the outside of the Memorial some more

My little man with his awesome hair!

More playing!

I love these cute girls so much!

Next Stop, which just happened to be on the next hill, Castle Ruins!

I have a love / hate relationship with castle ruins.  I love them because of how cool looking they are, how charming they can be, and how much the kids love running around them exploring.  I hate them because I am scared to death my kids are going to fall and kill themselves somewhere.  Seriously, they scare me so much!   

With it's own little cemetery in the front

I love this little window/door with the old bricks

No railings or bars to keep one in

See what I mean about them scaring me?  See ya, baby!

Can you see my girls?  I couldn't contain them, they were all over the place

The view from the top

Visiting Friends (Luxemburg & Trier)

It was a long weekend and our original plans were not going to work.  We had to do something though, we could waste our time at home.  Oh, how I love traveling!

We called our friends and headed to Luxemburg to visit them.

Our first stop was the Luxemburg American Cemetery and Memorial

Here the kids are standing in front of George S. Patton Jr. grave site

For more pictures of the cemetery check out our 'other' blog 

Then we headed into Luxemburg itself.  There are more pictures on our 'other blog', but this is a picture of the friends we went to visit.

The next day we headed to Trier, Germany

It was so nice to visit our friends and visit new sites around Europe.  

Our favorite spot - Trier!!!  We loved it!

January in a nutshell

We couldn't stay put during Christmas Break so we decided to drive 7 hrs to Auschwitz Poland.  Then to Krakow, then back to Germany via Freiberg and Dresden and then home again.  Yeah, we are pretty much crazy and like to do things last minute.  

Auschwitz was a very humbling, saddening experience.  While there it started snowing, which made it all the more real and sorrowful.  What took place here was awful! But we cannot forget what took place here, no matter how awful it was and is to reflect on it.  All over the camp are these words:

"Nations who forget their own history are sentenced to live it again"

AUSCHWITZ

KRAKOW 

Krakow was a really neat city, we were so impressed! The bus system was probably the most expensive we have ever taken in Europe but still a cool city.  The food was awesome, our kids loved the dumplings.  At one point I had a beet stew with dumplings in it and it was like I was in the movie Ratatouille, except I was taken back to when I was little visiting my Grandma's house on the farm in Canada.  I still dream about this beet stew, it was delicious!  Plus I really miss my Grandparents and visiting their farm and playing kick the can with my cousins.  Anyway, we wandered around the city in the evening, and then in the morning visited the Palace.  A short visit but pretty neat.

DRESDEN

Back in Germany again and loving how cheap the public transit system is!  Here the kids are playing a new version of the 'quiet game'.  I think we were trying to get them to stare at a certain color the longest ... or a letter.  Miles and I were laughing so hard!  I love how competitive our kids are!  Anything to keep them quiet.   

@ HOME

My little man is seriously into everything these days!  I cannot tell you how many times he turns on the dishwasher in a day, or turns it off for that matter.  Here he dumped out his little bag of Cheerios and is eating them off the floor.  What is a little dirt with a Cheerio?!  Cause, lets be honest, do you really think I mop my floors all that often with this little busy body around?!

Yup, now he is emptying the toy basket and climbing in - why not?

SLEDDING IN AUSTRIA

Some friends invited us to go sledding in Austria with them.  Now, this is not your typical sledding trip.  This particular sledding is extreme!  You buy a ski lift ticket, rent a sled (or bring your own from home if you are Austrian) and take the ski lift up the mountain for 10 minutes.  Once up on the mountain you sit on your sled, try to steer back and forth while going down steep switch backs.  Did I mention they are the old fashion wooden sleds?  As you are going down the mountain the Austrians are zipping past you going super fast trying not to run into you!  It takes you at least 20 to 30 minutes to get down the mountain.  IT WAS AWESOME!!!  I had Anika in front of me so I couldn't really rest my legs and it was killing my legs to hold them up, steer, or brake the entire run.  Anika was a riot!  We only made it down twice but the first run was the best.  She sat in front of me and over and over she kept telling me to go faster and how shocked she was that I didn't tell her how fun it was going to be.  The second run she was not so enthusiastic.  Instead, she kept telling me to slow down and screamed at me that she was freezing and that her feet were wet.  Hence only the two runs.  We then headed back to the hotel and jumped on the beds.  When we got home the next day all of us had tons of bruises all over our bodies to prove that we had a blast!  It was a great to experience an Austrian style sledding trip!

This is the view from our hotel room.  Gorgeous right?!  We parked our car at the hotel parking lot, checked in, then walked for 5 minutes to the ski lift.  Man, I love Austria!

MORE @ HOME

This little boy makes our family so happy!  I don't know what we would do without him, he is such a joy to have around and such a cutie!

Here is just a little taste of our little spit-fire!  Don't you just love her choice of attire - a fancy velvet shirt with a feather collar and tights.  Yup, those are just plain tights.  She wore it all day too.  Oh, and that is Nutella all over her cheeks.  I am such a great mom.