Daniel and Heather's Everyday Adventure

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-20T06:32:00.005+01:00

After the burst of blogging in October, things got pretty hectic around here. The fall flew by in a flash... before we knew it Halloween had come and gone, and then for Veteran's Day weekend, my dear friend, Laurel, and her son, Elliot, came to San Diego for a couple of days. We had a great visit with them, and I will definitely have to post about that very soon. The very next week I started a new part-time job... I now serve as the Varsity Girls Soccer Coach at Calvin Christian School in Escondido. It is about 30 minutes away from our place, so Ryland and I trek up there every weekday afternoon... thankfully a senior girl at the school watches Ry during my practices and games, which has worked out great so far. I am very happy to be coaching again, but it is also keeping us very busy!

Once soccer season had kicked off, we headed up to the Bay Area to spend Thanksgiving with my family, which was terrific, and we also got together with most of the Honnette clan to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday, which was a wonderful day. Once we got into December and adding in all the Christmas preparations, that has made for one fun but hectic holiday season!

Tomorrow we head to Greensboro, North Carolina to spend Christmas with Daniel's entire family... needless to say, we can't wait! Since I probably won't be on the computer very much in the next week, I just wanted to go ahead and say MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! And as you can see below, Ryland is excited about his first Christmas too :) Have a fantastic holiday!

Ryland turns 6 months old!

2011-10-13T16:06:00.015+02:00

This past Monday, October 10th, Ryland celebrated his "Half-Birthday"... yep, our little guy has turned 6 months old! I still can't believe it. While the first couple of months seemed to take forever... probably because we weren't getting very much sleep at the time... the last couple of months seemed to fly by. Everyone says that children grow up so quickly and now we know firsthand that is true, so we are just trying to enjoy every day and each stage of his development. It really is amazing to watch him learn so many new skills and grow into this adorable little person. We are so blessed to have him in our lives, and we thank God for him every day!

Here are a couple of pictures that I took on Monday... I know I am biased, but he is a total cutie, isn't he?!!!

In the evening, we decided to go to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory to not only celebrate Ryland turning 6 months old but to also celebrate the fact Daniel and I survived half a year of parenthood :) The meal was delicious, but of course we saved room for dessert... we split a piece of Adam's Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple cheesecake... and yes, it is as good as it sounds! As you can see, Ryland was pretty interested too, trying to grab my fork and have a bite... I guess he inherited his parents' sweet tooth!

Speaking of Ryland eating "real food," he actually had his first taste of solids the other day, a week before he turned 6 months to be exact. Of course, I took a couple of photos to remember the moment by. I gave him just a bit of rice cereal, and he actually did pretty well with it, eating several spoonfuls. Here he is sitting in his brand new high chair seat, ready to go, and he even flashed me a sweet smile!

Then, he turned and looked at the little bowl like "Wait, you want me to eat that??!"

Afterwards, the look on his face said "Well, that was interesting." And all in all, it wasn't even that messy of an event :)

I just made some homemade carrot baby food yesterday, so we will have to give that a try very soon... and eventually we will work our way up to cheesecake :) As you can see, Ryland is growing up before our very eyes, and we look forward to all the other fun milestones we have ahead! Well, thanks for stopping by and please come back again soon... until then, God bless!

Oktoberfest... San Diego style!

2011-10-09T21:47:00.007+02:00

Just wanted to take a minute and share a few pictures from last weekend. After spending almost 3 years in Germany, when we heard the largest Oktoberfest west of the Mississippi occurs in La Mesa, about 30 minutes from here, we knew we wanted to check it out. And since everyone dresses in lederhosen and dirndls when attending the festival back in Munich, we pulled our German garb out of the closet and made our way to La Mesa on Saturday, October 1st.

Once we arrived and started to check out the scene, right away we realized we were the only ones dressed up... of course we got plenty of looks, and Daniel thought it was hilarious to speak to people in German :) It turns out the event is so big because there are a ton of vendors selling anything you can think of, but at least that included some decent bratwurst. No German mustard though... oh well! We eventually made our way to the large beer tent, and yes, we were even allowed to bring Ryland inside... but it was in fact pretty tame. There we finally found some more people dressed up... the band! It was a pretty hot afternoon so after not too long, we decided to head on home but not before we snapped some pics to capture the moment...

I think it is funny how it looks like Ry was checking out the giant pretzel... I don't blame him, it was pretty tasty. If you're wondering why Ryland isn't wearing lederhosen, I actually looked for some but didn't have any luck... I am gonna keep my eyes peeled for the future though! Before we left we each took a photo with the baby and then we got a family shot too. And you'll notice I wore flip flops with my dirndl... that's definitely doing Oktoberfest San Diego style :)

Well, it might not have been as epic as Oktoberfest in Munich and it was definitely a lot hotter, but all in all, the festival in La Mesa was a pretty memorable event. We've heard the Oktoberfest in El Cajon is much more authentic so we will just have to check it out next year! As always, thanks for stopping by!

Day Trip to Julian

2011-10-08T00:38:00.015+02:00

During the last half of September, Daniel was able to take 2 weeks off from work since he had a bunch of leave he was about to lose at the end of the fiscal year. Needless to say, we were very happy to spend more family time together, especially since he had been traveling so much the 2 months prior, spending 3 weeks in Virginia for training and almost a month in India for an exercise. Most of the time he was off, we tried to strike a balance between relaxing at home and being productive by doing errands and such. However, we did make one day trip to the town of Julian, which is about an hour and a half east of San Diego. Located in the Cuyamaca mountains, it is known for its apples orchards and thus delicious apples pies as well as a place for southern Californians to get away and experience a little bit of autumn. It often gets quite crowded on fall weekends, so we decided to visit on Tuesday, September 27th, since Daniel was off that week.

With October right around the corner, we were hoping for some nice autumn weather up in the mountains and maybe even some beautiful fall leaves... it ended up we didn't get lucky in either of those categories... it was over 80 degrees up there that day and not a single leaf had turned colors yet. Oh well! Since we arrived a little before noon, our first order of business was to have some lunch. After swinging by a few different cafes, we decided to eat at the Apple Alley Bakery. Lunch was pretty good, but the best part was the piece of apple pie with vanilla ice cream that we split at the end... yum! Even Ry was spying the pies in the window afterwards :) Following lunch, we walked up and down Main Street checking out the shops at a leisurely pace.

Traveling with a baby is definitely a new experience, and we are learning to be flexible, that is for sure. In the midst of shopping, we realized Ryland had had an "accident"... which means whether we were done looking around or not, it was time to head back to the car! Once Ry had a new outfit on and a full stomach, we headed out to go apple picking, but not before picking up a famous Julian apple pie to take home.

Soon we found ourselves at the Raven Hill Orchard, where we picked a bunch of Empire, Jonathan, and Gala apples. Even Ryland got in on the picking action... with our help of course :) With our bag full and the afternoon heat getting to us a bit, we decided to hit the road. Once we got home, we noticed that it was much cooler near the coast and even the leaves were starting to turn here too... how ironic. Yet our visit to Julian was a good one, and we took home some nice "souvenirs" too... fresh apples and a scrumptious apple pie, which were so tasty that they were definitely worth the trip!

Ryland's first baseball game

2011-10-04T22:53:00.013+02:00

Since I haven't posted anything in about 3 months, I figured it was about time to bring back the blog! Needless to say, Ryland has definitely been keeping us very busy lately, which is why I haven't posted in so long, but I am planning to blog much more often about all the fun things we are doing as a family. Also, it is definitely time to change the name of the blog, especially since we are no longer living in Europe! However, our adventures are still continuing because having Ry in our lives makes everyday an adventure :)

While we were living in Germany, we often wished we could go to a baseball game and experience some good ole Americana. Once we got back to the States, getting to a game was definitely on our agenda, but then Ryland was born right at the beginning of baseball season. With the season winding down, we finally made it to a game about a week ago, on Sunday, October 25th... Padres vs. Dodgers. I became a Padres' fan before we moved to Germany since we had lived in San Diego for 5 years, and Daniel has been a lifelong Dodger fan thanks to his dad's persuasion... so either way one of us would be happy about the outcome! As for Ryland, he was wearing a Padres beanie that they gave us when we checked in our stroller at guest services. Even though it was way too small for him, I made sure he was showing allegiance to the home team :)

It turned out to be a beautiful day at the ball park, even if the Dodgers took an early lead. Ryland did great for the first couple of innings and then started to get tired by the fifth. He actually fell asleep in my lap... shortly after that the Padres hit a home run, and with all the cheering and the loud fog horn they play in celebration, he started to wake up a little bit. Thankfully, I had ordered him some noise-cancellation headphones, which we had brought along. With those on, he was able to get a good half hour of sleep in... and he just looked so darn cute in them too.

By the eighth inning, the Dodgers were winning 6-2, and Ry had his fill of baseball so we headed home a little early. Even though the Padres ended up losing, I am so glad we finally made it to a baseball game... plus after living overseas, it's the simple things like singing the Star Bangled Banner at the start of the game while watching our flag fly proudly that make you very happy to be an American and to be home again. All in all, it was a very fun family outing!

Well, I promise it won't be another 3 months before I put up a post again, so please check back again soon!

North Carolina Baby Shower

2011-02-28T16:48:00.016+01:00

After spending almost two months apart, I am so grateful that I had a chance to fly back to the East Coast and see Daniel over President's Day weekend. With winter weather wreaking havoc on many travel plans across the country this year, we added some padding to the agenda, so I flew out on Wednesday, February 16th... plus I was a bit nervous about flying at nearly 7 1/2 months pregnant... but thankfully everything went fine and I landed safely in Norfolk, Virginia, without any issues and very happy to see my husband again!

Since Daniel was attending classes on Thursday and Friday, I kept a low profile those days, but by late Friday afternoon we were on the road looking forward to spending the long weekend with Daniel's parents in McLeansville, NC. After a five hour drive (which included a dinner stop at Cracker Barrel... yum!) we had made it, and not only were we greeted by Allen and Jan but also by Daniel's aunt, Anne, as well. Needless to say, it was fantastic to see them all again!

Before moving to Europe, Daniel had sold his truck, so for the last couple of years we have been a single car couple. However, with our family expanding to three very soon and since we are also living in southern California once again, the need for a second car is imminent. Therefore, we spent some time on Saturday car shopping, and we were able to narrow our choices down to the Honda CR-V. While we looked at and test drove several different ones that day, we weren't quite ready commit but glad we had checked out the options together.

After a three year hiatus, it was great to finally return to Daniel's church in North Carolina, Apples Chapel, and to see many family friends. After the service, Daniel's cousin, Whitney, joined us for lunch, and it was wonderful to see her too. All of this was followed by more excitement... a baby shower thrown by seven very sweet ladies from the church! Held in the church fellowship hall, it was an "open house" format where people could come and go as needed while everyone enjoyed the delicious food and visited with others.

Most of the time, Daniel and I kept quite busy opening the many thoughtful and generous gifts, but thankfully we had a chance to catch up with everyone too.

Before we wrapped up all the fun, we had to get a few more photos to capture the moment, to include one with Daniel's parents, one of the baby bump at 7 1/2 months, one more of Daniel and me, and one of the ladies who threw us the shower... Sandra, Kathy, Nancy, Donna, Pam, and Betty Carol, plus their little helper, Hannah. Unfortunately, Dot is missing from the photo because she was sick that day and couldn't make it to the shower. We truly appreciate all of their hard work and thoughtfulness and we felt so honored... it was a very lovely event!

On Monday, we had to head back to Virginia, but on the way we made a pit stop in Elizabeth City, NC to check out one more car dealership. As it turns out, they had just what we were looking for, so we ended up buying a dark red 2007 CR-V that day! I even got to drive it to Virginia Beach that night :)

During the rest of Daniel's time on the East Coast, he will get to enjoy our "new" car and once it is time to head to California, he will be driving it cross country with his dad with an expected arrival in San Diego at the end of March. Needless to say, I am looking forward to having my husband rejoin me on the West Coast, but in the mean time I have plenty to keep me busy, like moving back into our condo and getting everything prepped and ready for the baby! Hopefully by the time Daniel arrives, things will be in order around here and we can just relax for a few weeks before our little bundle of joy makes his appearance!

As always, thanks for stopping by and please come back again soon as I still have a few of our Europe trips to catch up on. Until then, take care!

7 months and counting...

2011-02-11T06:13:00.005+01:00

So yesterday marked 28 weeks of my pregnancy... yep, believe it or not, it has been 7 months, which means we only have a couple more to go! With the recent move back to the States, I have now been assigned to a midwife through the Navy's medical system...since she ordered one more ultrasound to make sure our little guy is still doing well, I had the joy of seeing him once again yesterday. He has grown quite a bit as he now weighs in at 2 lbs 12 oz! This is probably the last sonogram until his arrival... needless to say, we can't wait till then!

Day trip to San Francisco

2011-02-03T01:10:00.029+01:00

Happy Groundhog Day! Luckily Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow this morning, so an early spring should be on its way... I am sure most people are happy to hear that since a huge portion of the country has been dealing with continual snow storms this winter. Not to brag or anything, but out here in California it has been quite the opposite... beautiful, warm weather almost everyday. While part of me misses Germany, I must say I have been loving the weather since I returned to the Golden State! In order take full advantage of the pretty day we had here today, my parents and I decided to head into San Francisco for a few hours to enjoy the sights and the gorgeous weather.

Our first stop was Golden Gate Park, which three of us had never visited before. One of the largest city parks in America, we walked along its pathways and around Stow Lake, taking in the greenery and eventually making our way up to the top of Strawberry Hill. Between the trees, we could see the city and the bay peeking out in all directions.

At the base of the hill, there is a colorful little Chinese pavilion that was a gift from the city of Taipei. And even though it is only the beginning of February, the cherry blossoms were already blooming... I guess Punxsutawney Phil was right about the early spring :)

Following our walk around this part of the park, we headed to the western edge where it meets the Pacific Ocean. Near the water, there is a Dutch windmill located next to a tulip garden... together they made for a nice photo op. And just around the corner is the Beach Chalet, which housed a lounge and changing rooms in the 1920's for all those spending the day at the beach. Today it is a visitor center sharing the history of the area and showcasing some neat murals, depicting different aspects of life around San Francisco at the time. Right across the street are the wide stretches of sand that make up Ocean Beach and the blue expanse of the Pacific beyond.

After taking in the view and sea air for a little while, we decided to drive down to Pier 39. We strolled among the shops, listened to the barking of the resident sea lions, and peered across the bay toward Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge, all while soaking up the sunshine.

By then it was definitely time for a late lunch so we walked down to Boudin Bakery at Fisherman's Wharf, where we enjoyed chicken salad sandwiches on sourdough... yum! That seemed like a good way to end a few pleasant hours in the city, so afterwards we jumped in the car and made our way back to the East Bay.

All in all, it was a very lovely day trip... as one of my favorite cities, I am always looking forward to my next visit to San Francisco. Hope you enjoyed the pics, and please come back soon as I continue to catch up on the back blogging. Until then, take care!

Bay Area Baby Shower

2011-01-26T18:18:00.026+01:00

I have been up here in the Bay Area catching up with family and friends for about a week and a half now, and needless to say, it has been great! I can't believe how quickly the time is flying by actually, but thankfully I have another week and a half here. In the mean time, I did want to go ahead and share some pictures from the baby shower my mom and sister threw for me on Saturday, January 15th at our friend Sherry's house. It was such a lovely event... adorable blue and yellow decorations, yummy food, a selection of teas, delicious desserts, even a "mommy to be advice tree."

About 35 ladies from our church here were in attendance. Everyone was incredibly thoughtful and generous... we received lots of fantastic gifts that I am sure our little guy will enjoy and will help us keep our sanity, plus some super cute outfits that I just can't wait to see him in :)

Before the festivities wrapped up, I had to get a photo to document the 6 month baby bump and one more pic with the hostesses, my beautiful mother and sister. The baby shower was absolutely wonderful, and I appreciate it so much! After such a great afternoon, I feel incredibly blessed to know that there is so much love, prayer, and support for me, Daniel, and little Baby Myers!

Thanks so much for stopping by... as you know, I still have blogging to catch up on so please come back soon to check it out!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-10T23:43:00.004+01:00

I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas and that 2011 is off to a great start for everyone! The year began with quite a big change for me... I moved back to California just in time for New Years! I flew into San Francisco on December 30th and had about a day and a half to spend with my parents and sister before flying down to San Diego. Based on some USMC technicality, I needed to get down here shortly after arriving back in the States. I will be flying back to northern California very soon to visit family again, but while in San Diego, I am very thankful to be staying with my good friend, Melissa, until all our stuff arrives and I can move back into our condo, probably at the end of February.

While I am thrilled to be back in the States and have a chance to catch up with family and friends as well as finally start prepping for the baby's arrival, I must say that I am not enjoying being separated from Daniel! After I left, he stayed in Germany for an extra week to wrap up things at work, and just today he checked into a 10 week training course in Virginia Beach. I am really hoping to go visit him mid-February, and we'd love to see friends and family on the east coast during that time as well. Hopefully it all works out! Plus, between school, traveling, baby preparations and the like, I am sure we will both very busy and the end of March will come quickly, which is when Daniel will be joining me in San Diego. Needless to say, I am looking forward to it already.

So we may no longer be in Europe, but I still have more of our excursions from across the pond to blog about... which means that our "European Adventure" is not quite done yet :) Over the next couple weeks, I hope to share about the last few trips that I still haven't posted about, so please stay tuned in for those. Until then, all the best to you and yours as you enjoy the New Year!

Drum roll, please...

2010-12-16T17:49:00.003+01:00

Yesterday was the 20th week mark in my pregnancy, so I am now half way done! Well, as long as the little one doesn't come after the May 4th due date :) In addition to this milestone, we also had our last doctor's appointment here in Germany. Unlike last time, thankfully Baby Myers decided to cooperate, so we were able to find out the gender. We are happy to announce...

IT'S A BOY!!!

We would have been happy either way, but it is definitely exciting to know. Unfortunately we didn't get a great sonogram picture like at our last appointments, but of course we wanted to share the news. We appreciate all your support and prayers as we continue to prepare for the baby and for the big move back to the States, which is occurring in two weeks! I am hoping to get some more blogging done before that, but just in case, I would like to go ahead and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Until next time, God bless!

Frankfurt Baby Shower

2010-12-10T09:58:00.006+01:00

My wonderful Frankfurt friends threw me a baby shower last night at our neighborhood restaurant, the Fieldhouse. It was such a nice evening, with dinner, yummy cake, and lots of laughter.

I got some adorable gifts, like some of the cutest onesies ever, including one with "Soccer" written out in rhinestones and one with "Stinky" written across the bottom! And my friend, Jen, crocheted a beautiful baby blanket that is sure to become our little one's favorite. Plus all the ladies chipped in on a gift card that I can use to go shopping back in the States! It was all sooo sweet of them, and I am going to miss them all so much!

Well, of course, I am still behind on my posts. And since we had a great trip to Israel over the week of Thanksgiving, that has now been added to the list as well! With all the moving preparations and holiday festivities going on right now, it looks like I will still be blogging about our fun European excursions even after I move back to the States... oh well, it will keep the adventure alive :) As always, thanks for stopping by and please check back again soon!

Our stubborn little one

2010-11-19T18:26:00.004+01:00

At our monthly doctor's appointment this past Wednesday, we were really hoping to find out the baby's gender... being the planner that I am, needless to say I am dying to find out! And even though I am just over 16 weeks, my German ob/gyn was quite convinced she would be able to determine the sex. Well, it turns out that our little one is just as stubborn as its parents... throughout the ultrasound, the baby was sitting with their legs crossed "Indian style," covering up the very area we needed to see! So we didn't find out this time, but hopefully we will find out next month. Still, we have good news to report, which is that the baby looks healthy and is continuing to grow all the time, and that is all we can really ask for. Please enjoy the most recent sonogram below :)

A fun-filled weekend!

2010-11-16T09:34:00.012+01:00

I just thought I would write a quick post to share about the awesome weekend we just had. To start off, I am feeling much better these days so that is something in itself to celebrate! I still have bad moments from time to time, but it seems that I've "turned the corner" so to speak... thank you God!

I especially needed to have my energy back for this weekend because my JV soccer team was playing in the season championship here in Frankfurt. Our Varsity team was in Cairo playing in their championship tournament as well... if only they weren't held on the same weekend, I would have loved to go to Cairo... hopefully someday! Back to Frankfurt though... in order to win the tournament, we had to play 5 games in 2 days, and my team was the only one to play the entire time without subs! They played their hearts out, squeezed through on penalty kicks in the semi-finals, and then... we won 1-0 in the finals!!! Needless to say, I am soooo proud of my team, and the girls are thrilled. Below is a picture from the awards ceremony....

For my very last game as soccer coach at the Frankfurt International School, it was wonderful to end with such a victory. I am going to miss the girls and the Varsity coach, Ashley, so much, but I am very grateful for the coaching experience I've had over here. Now I am just hoping I will find a coaching job in San Diego... all in due time hopefully :)

The other fun event we had this weekend was the annual USMC Birthday Ball. For the past two years, we've been able to travel to some great places for the ball, including London, Bern, and Luxembourg, but this year we decided to just stay in Frankfurt. I am so glad we did because many of our friends attended the Frankfurt ball as well, which made for a really fun night.

As soon as I was done with the soccer championship on Saturday afternoon, I rushed home to get ready for the ball. Before long, we found ourselves at the Frankfurt Hilton. As we walked in, we were greeted by a group of friends... and their very first comment was "Look at that baby bump!" Yes, the baby bump has finally started to peek out :) In addition to taking photos of the baby bump's debut, of course we got pictures of "Mommy and Daddy to be" and a bunch with our friends as well. Overall, it was a great night... good food, dancing, time with friends... it was a very nice way to spend our final USMC ball while living over in Europe.

Well, that pretty much sums up our fun-filled weekend! Of course, I am still behind on posts about previous trips... plus we have another doctor's appointment this week, so I should have a new baby update posted shortly so please check back soon! Until then....

Baby update... plus more exciting news!

2010-10-28T21:28:00.005+02:00

Since today is the first day of my second trimester, I thought it was about time I posted a baby update on the blog. Last Wednesday, I had another doctor's appointment, and I was very happy to hear the baby is doing perfectly. Despite the constant "morning" sickness that has plagued me for almost 2 months now, the baby is growing like crazy. I was thrilled to see the little one on a sonogram... its profile was clearly defined and it was even waving its hand like it was saying "Hi Mommy" :) Amazing!

With the first trimester behind me, I've been told that I should start feeling better any day now. Things have improved a little bit, but I do hope that the "good days" increase exponentially in the near future. In the meantime, I am just taking it day by day... I know in the end it will all be worth it! And hopefully next month, we will find out the sex of the baby... we will see!

So in addition to the baby excitement, we also received some more very big news... we recently found out we are moving back to San Diego... in January!!! This is quite a bit earlier than we thought we'd be moving, but the timing is going to work out very well... we feel incredibly blessed. Daniel is actually heading to 10 weeks of training in Virginia Beach shortly after New Years, and while he is there, I will be back in California. I will be splitting my time between the San Francisco Bay area, to visit with my parents, and San Diego, for doctor visits and to start getting settled in... then Daniel will be joining me at the end of March. That will give us a little over a month to get all ready for the baby to arrive!

We are very excited about returning to San Diego... we still have many friends in the area as well as my brother. Plus it will be much easier for family to fly in for a visit since they won't have to cross the Atlantic! We also look forward to being in our condo again. One more huge positive of moving back in January... I will be giving birth in the States! I must admit that I wasn't too keen on the idea of having the baby at a German hospital... it will be so great to be at a hospital where English is the first language :)

Despite our excitement about returning to the States, we will also miss Germany! We've had an incredible two and half years here. We have made many wonderful friends, who we will miss dearly, and we have visited some unbelievable places. It has been an experience of a lifetime. Now, we just have to make the most of our last two months over here... and then, before long, we will be back in the good ole US of A!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by. Not surprisingly, I am still a bit behind on posts, so please check back soon to read about our summer trips to Croatia and Bavaria... plus more baby updates! Until then, God bless!

Exciting News!!!!!

2010-09-27T13:10:00.004+02:00

In the last few years, it seems that every time we start off by saying that we have exciting news, most people automatically guess, "Are you pregnant?!" Well, this time those guesses are correct... yep, that's right... I'M PREGNANT!!!!!

After 7 happy years of marriage, Daniel and I finally took the plunge and started down the path toward parenthood! We'd like to introduce tiny little Baby Myers, due May 4, 2011.

Needless to say, we are thrilled. We'd definitely appreciate your prayers that the entire pregnancy will go well, especially the rest of the first trimester. Honestly, I am hoping that the next month flies by because I have been pretty overwhelmed with morning sickness, which they really should call all day, everyday sickness! Other than that though, everything is great.

I will be posting any news on the baby front here on the blog, so please stay tuned for updates. Plus, I still have a few trips from the summer to catch up on, like Croatia and Bavaria... with all the baby excitement and with soccer season in full swing, I have been a little preoccupied, but I promise to blog about those excursions soon too!

As always, thanks for stopping by, and also thanks so much for all your prayers and support! Until next time, God bless!

Beautiful Cape Town

2010-08-22T16:43:00.069+02:00

Since soccer season starts tomorrow and things will get quite a bit busier then, I wanted to go ahead and post about "Part 3" of our South African adventure... Cape Town! Although this will wrap up my blogging about our World Cup trip, I'm still not all caught up on the blog yet... I know, I know... it seems like I'm always behind! Unlike last year though, I promise to keep blogging during soccer season, so I will get posts up about our time in Croatia and Bavaria soon. But for now, let's get back to Africa....

On Thursday, June 24th, we took a short flight west from Johannesburg to Cape Town. After getting our rental car, driving 20 minutes outside the city to the apartment we rented, and grabbing a delicious dinner at a cafe down the hill, we were pretty beat and crashed for the night. Friday morning we woke up refreshed and ready to check out Cape Town, so we grabbed some pastries at a local bakery and headed to the downtown waterfront. Despite a blanket of fog that was slowly trying to dissipate, we both really liked the vibe of the area with its neat shops and restaurants lining the piers. It actually reminded me of San Francisco, so it made me a bit homesick for California!

With the World Cup still going strong, there was a FIFA Fan tent right on the waterfront, and there they had a "kicking speed" contest, so of course Daniel and I had to give it a go. Not surprisingly, Daniel smoked it at 93 km/h! As for me, I was the only girl in line, and all the men looked a bit surprised when I stepped up to take a turn. I shocked them even more when I kicked the ball 91.8 km/h, which happened to be the new female record! I was pretty stoked... I even won a little soccer ball. They didn't have a marker to change the scores right then, but I know in my heart that I was Number 1 :)

Before we leaving the Victoria & Alfred waterfront, we did some souvenir shopping, including at a very American looking mall... Cape Town is actually the most American-like city I have seen outside of the States, which made us both feel quite at home. With the haze burning off, we could finally see Table Mountain looming behind the city, and after grabbing some lunch, we decided to go check out the view from atop it.

At the base of Table Mountain, the sun was shining brightly so we knew we'd have a clear view from the top. We jumped on the cable car and headed up.

The panorama that greeted us at the top was absolutely breathtaking! We wandered from view point to view point taking it all in... it seemed almost heavenly. Since we've become quite the shutterbugs, needless to say we took tons of photos up there. Here are the best ones....

Before we knew it, the sun had started to go down, so we were treated to a beautiful sunset over the southern Atlantic. In the other direction, a full moon made for some neat photos too. With darkness descending, we made it back down to the base of Table Mountain, allowing us to see the city all lit up at night, and that evening we had some yummy sushi down in Cape Town... any time we are near the ocean, we always try to take advantage and eat some sushi :)

We had set aside Saturday as our day to drive around the peninsula on which Cape Town sits. First thing that morning though, Daniel walked down to Fish Hoek beach near we were staying and took some lovely photos of the sunrise.

Once we hit the road, we headed south... first stop was Boulders Beach, where a colony of African penguins live. It was really neat to observe these birds in their natural habitat... of course, we had lots of fun snapping shots of the penguins' interaction. As we were walking back to where we parked our car, we saw one of the funniest signs ever... "Warning: Please look under your vehicles for penguins"... I don't think you'll see that sign anywhere else in the world!

As we continued south, the weather turned quite nasty. By the time we made it to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve at the bottom of the peninsula, there was rain and a dense layer of clouds hovering over the landscape. Therefore, we decided we'd come back to the Cape of Good Hope the next day so we headed around to the western side of the peninsula. We drove by coastal towns and beaches, making our way to Chapman's Peak Drive... a spectacular scenic road that stretches 9 km between the towns of Noordhoek and Hout Bay. Thankfully, the sun was trying hard to break through by the time we made it to this part of the drive. We stopped several times along the route to take pictures and to take in the exceptional views... we even saw a rainbow at one point!

In Hout Bay, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant recommended in our travel guide... there we had some of the best calamari ever. It was sooo good! After finishing up our drive around the peninsula, we went to check out Cape Town's oldest winery, Groot Constantia, which was established in 1685. In addition to seeing the ground's Old Manor House and vineyards, we also did some wine tasting. While Daniel and I have come to enjoy wine since living in Europe, we definitely do not have "sophisticated palates" if you will, so we found it a bit funny during the tasting to hear how serious the wine stewards were when describing the different the wines. Compare that to us... "Well, I think these wines are pretty good" :)

Following the wine tasting, we decided to rest up for the evening since we were heading back into Cape Town to watch USA vs. Ghana in the Round of 16. That night we went to the Fan Zone right on the waterfront to catch the game on the big screen. Not surprisingly, American fans were vastly outnumbered... since Ghana was the last African team left in the World Cup by that point, all Africans were rooting them on. However, the few of us USA fans still cheered proudly for our team! Ghana was winning 1-0 by halftime, but then Landon Donovan scored the equalizer about 15 minutes into second half, which ultimately sent the game into overtime. We thought we might pull out the win, but in the end, Ghana won 2-1. Even still, I think the US had a great World Cup showing overall.

Sunday was our last day in South Africa, and the main thing on our agenda was to visit the Cape of Good Hope. We were grateful for the beautiful weather that morning as we drove south once again. Along the way, we saw some more signs you don't see everyday... this time, they were proclaiming the dangers of baboons! The funny thing is that shortly after entering the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, what did we see? Baboons! They were just hanging out near the visitors' center. Daniel kept telling me to get closer to take a picture with them... as you can see in the photo below, I heeded the signs' warnings and didn't get too close! Besides, that is what the zoom on the camera is for. Isn't the baby baboon so cute?!

After the baboon sighting, we hiked up the hill to enjoy the vista. When looking to the west, you see the promontory that is the Cape of Good Hope... the most southern point on the African continent is actually called Cape Point. While we didn't go all the way out to end of Cape Point, we visited the lighthouse located above it. There was an unusual directional marker there... it had no destinations in the southerly direction! The spot also boasted some beautiful views.

Before heading to the airport, we had just enough time to go to lunch. We picked a restaurant near the apartment we had rented... it had a great location, nestled between the harbor and the rocky coastline in the town of Kalk Bay. With one last great meal in our stomachs, we went to catch our flight. Just like our trip down to South Africa, we once again had a layover in Dubai on the way back. Then, two weeks after taking off for South Africa, we landed back in Frankfurt... and to this day, we are still overwhelmed by how amazing the entire trip was!

After reading all three posts about our South African adventure, you can see we had an absolutely incredible time down there! I don't know if another vacation will ever compare... I guess we will see! As always, thanks so much for reading... stay tuned because I promise to blog again soon. Until then, God bless!

Our amazing South African safari!

2010-08-17T20:55:00.118+02:00

In less than a week, the fall soccer season gets started so I know it is time to kick the blogging into high gear. The plan is to finish the remaining two posts about South Africa before then. So with that said, I thought I would share just some of the hundreds and hundreds of photos we took when we went on safari.

If you've read my last post, you know that while we were attending World Cup games in Johannesburg, we took a side trip for a couple of days to visit a game reserve near Kruger National Park. To get there, we took a tiny little Cessna... we were sitting right behind the pilots so we had a pretty sweet view. After flying for an hour and a half over the dry plains that cover the eastern part of the country, we approached a small stretch of dirt in the middle of the African bush... I couldn't believe that was the landing strip, but thankfully we arrived on the ground safe and sound!

Shortly after landing, we were whisked away in a Land Cruiser, and within minutes we were at at our safari lodge, the Djuma Vuyatela. As soon as we arrived, we could tell it was an oasis of luxury in the middle of savage wilderness. The main lodge, where we'd be eating all our meals, had a neat fire pit area that they call a boma in Africa. It also overlooked a large watering hole. We noticed what looked like a large rock in the middle of it... well, it turns out it was a hippo! Following a yummy late lunch, we were shown to our room....

Our room actually turned out to be a few rooms... a bungalow to be exact. It was a beautiful place, and we definitely felt spoiled by it! It even had a separate coffee room (which we didn't use because we don't drink coffee... oh well :), an outdoor shower (a new experience!), and a small dipping pool (but it was a bit too cold out to use it since it was winter down there). We also had some cute little creatures hanging just outside... the giraffe mongoose.

Before heading out on our first game drive, it was tea time, during which we got a nice preview with a lot of animal life flocking to the watering hole. This included baboons, birds, and deer-like animals called nyala.

Soon we met the men who would be our guide and tracker during our stay at Djuma, Ephraim and Fanode respectively. We also met the rest of the group we'd be doing our game drives with... a couple from Brazil, Graciana and Camilo, and three Australian guys, Brett and two guys named Dave. Excited for the excursion ahead of us, we all piled into a Land Cruiser and headed into the bush to find some more animals. The first one we spotted was pretty ferocious... a lioness feeding on a water buffalo! After watching her chow down for a little while, we continued on, passing some more nyala and taking in the landscape.

Next we stumbled upon a pack of Africa's graceful giants... elephants! Despite their huge size, they are incredibly quiet. It was so neat to watch them snack on surrounding trees as the sun went down... it was a very memorable sunset.

With night settling in, we ran across a gorgeous leopard lying in the road near our lodge. What a stunning creature! Soon they had to break out the spotlights, and we watched as another leopard joined the first. It was pretty crazy to think that these powerful animals were lurking so nearby to where we were staying!

Before calling it a night, we were able to observe a pair of intimidating male lions. They were just hanging out in some tall grass, but somehow watching them was still mesmerizing. They would look at us, only a few yards away, and yet I didn't feel like we were in any imminent danger... well except when one of the lions yawned and we saw the size of his teeth! I think he was just tired and wasn't planning on making us his meal :)

Yet even our very experienced guide showed great respect for the fierceness of these animals... when one of the Aussies dropped his sunglasses, Ephraim wouldn't even let him reach out of the vehicle to get them. Instead, he slowly backed up the Land Cruiser and very carefully reached out to grab them himself, all while watching the lions very closely! With the sunglasses retrieved, we were soon on our way back to the lodge for a delicious dinner. We had an African specialty that night... kudu, which is kind of like an antelope with huge spiral horns. It was actually very tasty! Following dinner, we had to be escorted by an armed guide to walk the 100 yards back to our bungalow... it seems you can never be too cautious when surrounded by wild animals out in the bush!

We were up quite early the next morning because we were taking off for our second game drive at 6:30 am. We knew it would be well worth waking up so early since we'd been told that the animals are most active around sunrise and sunset. Before we saw any animals, we did get the watch the morning sky turn from gray to a beautiful rainbow of colors. Once the sun was up, we made our way through the dirt roads of the game reserve. At one point, we saw some lions hiding in the grass... can you see all three of them in the photo below? :) After driving around for a while longer, we spotted our first giraffe! We watched it for a few minutes while it enjoyed its breakfast.

Speaking of food, we were all getting pretty hungry so thankfully it was then time for a morning snack. They pulled the Land Cruiser over to a rocky area and set out a nice little spread for us... hot chocolate, rolls, fruit... just enough to hold us over till the hot breakfast we'd have back at the lodge. In addition to eating, Daniel and I also made sure to get a pic with the Land Cruiser and with the group.

Once we were back on the trail, we ran into some kudu... we didn't get a very good photo though because they are really quick! Not far down the road we saw some elephant trunk tracks in the dirt... although we were expecting to see elephants next, we actually spotted some rhinos! They are so prehistoric looking, I think, with their horns and skin that looks like body armor. The pic of Daniel and I below shows just how close we really were to them... kinda insane, isn't it?!

Not too far away from the rhinoceros was where we had seen the lion feeding on the water buffalo the night before so we went back to check out the scene. There we found a lion protecting the carcass while a leopard was looking on from the cover of some bushes. There was no confrontation between the animals, but you definitely got a sense of the wildness of the animal kingdom.

Back at the lodge we had some breakfast, which was followed by lunch not long after... seriously, I felt like all we did was eat, sleep, and observe animals the whole time... not that I'm complaining! :) During lunch, a bunch of animals came to the watering hole... we climbed up the "treehouse terrace" to get a better look. It also provided a pretty neat view of the lodge too.

Afterwards, we had a chance to stretch our legs a bit with a nature walk. By this time I was not surprised when our guides were both armed with guns. Ephraim showed us around the area by our lodge, pointing out where elephants had dug up roots or scraped away bark to eat. We also saw some pretty marula trees, which are native to the area. We even spotted a group of warthogs scampering by!

Following some down time that afternoon, we climbed back into the Land Cruiser for the evening game drive.... as you can see from everyone's smiling faces, we were looking forward to it :) Since South Africa was playing France that night in the World Cup, our guide and tracker sported bright yellow shirts in honor of their team... we all just hoped it wouldn't attract too much attention! Just down the road from the lodge, we spotted a baboon off in the brush, but it hurried off pretty quickly.

A while later we came upon another watering hole, where a hippopotamus was hiding out, usually only with its eyes and snout above the surface. However, at one point, it gave us a big, thrashing yawn... then I was quite glad it was in the water and we were up on land!

Next we found a herd of wildebeest. After Daniel's successful hunting expedition while we were in Johannesburg (when he nabbed himself a wildebeest), it was pretty cool to see wildebeest in person. Since the sun would soon be setting, we then found a safe place to park in order to have some "sundowners"... what they call drinks and snacks enjoyed while during sunset.

While the dark crept in, we noticed that a large group of elephants were coming to a tiny watering hole about 100 yards away from where we parked. With the help of the spotlight, we got to watch them for a bit... the highlight was when two young ones were play-fighting off to the side. The baby elephant was pretty cute too.

Since we had so much luck every time we went to site of the water buffalo kill, we thought we'd go back once again... it turned out to be a good decision because we got some really dramatic shots of a lion helping himself to dinner. He kept staring us down as to say, "You're next!" but thankfully the water buffalo kept him busy. Further down the road, we saw some hyenas, our last sighting of the night... we expected them to be mangy, but they really weren't. I guess "The Lion King" doesn't given an accurate depiction of them :)

After another delectable meal and a good night's rest, we were up and at 'em before sunrise for our fourth and final game drive. Even though we were pumped for it, it felt really early... that is why we look so tired! Before taking off, Daniel tried out the tracker's seat but wisely decided to give it up for a the warmth of a blanket and a hot water bottle in the back seat with me :) The morning started off serenely with another lovely sunrise.

While Ephraim and Fanode were checking out some tracks, I took a moment to shoot some picturesque barren trees nearby. When we were back on the trail, we saw yet another lion chilling out in some brush. A good distance away we found a baby giraffe all on its own.... I just hope the lion didn't find it after we did!

Soon we came upon a group of animals we had yet to see... water buffalo! The whole herd was surrounding the Land Cruiser... probably about 50 in total. We were told that they are actually one of the most dangerous animals in Africa, but gratefully they just liked to stare at us and not charge. By finding this herd of water buffalo, we had officially seen the "Big Five"... elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos, and water buffalo... the mark of a successful safari!

Following our buffalo sighting, we added another new animal to the list... zebras! I was thrilled... I had been wanting to see zebras since we arrived at the game reserve. It was a pretty large group of them, and they were even hanging out with a couple of giraffes. However, due to the trees, it was pretty heard to get clear pictures of them, but we tried our best.

Seeing so many new animals had worked up our appetites :) So we stopped for the morning snack on a rocky terrace... this time we made sure to get a photo of the whole crew, including our guide and tracker too. We had a great group in our Land Cruiser, and we really enjoyed getting to know them all.

After the break, we were able to see another mother elephant and her calf... the baby was so small a termite mound nearby dwarfed it. While we were watching, the elephants just calmly continued with their meal... even though they are such formidable beasts, I think these close-ups catch a glimpse of their tender souls.

To wrap things up, we went back to the water buffalo kill one last time... when we arrived, all that was left was the horns being picked over by a pair of hyenas... it seems that, in the wild, all the animals make good use of every last bit of meat.

We had one more treat in store for us nearby... a leopard lounging in a tree. No matter how many times we saw this animal, I could never get over how beautiful its coat was. It was particularly neat to see it up in the tree in all its glory. It was a great way to end four excellent game drives! Needless to say, we headed back to the lodge with smiles on our faces.

With the game drives done, we took the opportunity for one more photo with Ephraim and Fanode and then thanked them for the incredible time we had. We went to pack up and then had one more yummy meal before it was time to go. Before long, we were jumping back on the Cessna to head towards Johannesburg.

As we boarded the plane, Daniel and I turned to each other and said, "That was probably the neatest thing we have ever done... it was truly amazing!" And it really was.... between the wildlife, the food, and the setting, it was an unbelievable experience, and I must say, it was the highlight of our time in South Africa. Just like the sign outside of our bungalow said, we are still dreaming of Africa....

Well, believe it or not, I still have more to share from our South Africa trip, so please come back very soon to check out the final installment, "Part 3"... Beautiful Cape Town!

Johannesburg... World Cup games and so much more!

2010-08-06T13:24:00.048+02:00

Once again, it seems that I've gotten behind on the blog... primarily because it has been a really busy summer! After our amazing South African adventure, we were also able to squeeze in a couple more trips, including a getaway to Croatia over the Fourth of July weekend and then Daniel's sponsor parents from USNA came for a two-week visit and I had the privilege of being their "tour guide" around Bavaria. Needless to say, we've been having a lot of fun the last couple of months! Now I have a few quieter weeks before the fall soccer season kicks off, so I am hoping to get caught up on the blog during this down time. To start off, I thought I would share "Part 1" of our South Africa trip... Johannesburg!

We headed out from Frankfurt late on Tuesday, June 15th, on the red-eye. We had a layover in Dubai early the next morning and eventually arrived in Johannesburg late Wednesday afternoon. After picking up our World Cup tickets and rental car at the airport, we drove 45 minutes to the house of Adam and Beth U., friends that live in Pretoria who we'd be staying with for a few days. It was great to see them and so nice to have a "home base" while we attended the World Cup games in the area.

On Thursday morning, we had some time to stop by the Bryanston Organic Market to check out their wares. After a little souvenir shopping, we were on our way to Soccer City Stadium for our very first World Cup game, Argentina vs. South Korea! To begin, parking was... shall we say... interesting. You would think that with such a huge event as the World Cup, they would have organized parking... umm, not so much. Once we finally found a place to park, we had a bit of a hike, but the gigantic stadium was quite a sight to behold, and inside was pretty sweet too.

We got to our seats just as the game started... with over 80,000 people in attendance, the place had an awesome atmosphere. It was a very good game too, with lots of scoring... it was 2-1 with Argentina on top at half-time, but South Korea scored right before the end of the half to keep things engaging. However, by the end of regulation, Argentina had the victory well in hand by a score of 4-1. With the win, all the Argentina fans were blowing on their vuvuzuelas in full force... believe it or not, those crazy horns are much more annoying on television than in person. I think they actually add to the festive mood :) Soon we headed back to our car along with the rest of the hordes leaving the stadium, all with slightly rattled ear drums and smiles on our faces.

The fun continued on Friday starting with a visit to the Lion Park just outside of Jo'burg. There we had a chance to actually pet lion cubs! They were so adorable. Of course, Daniel had to grab one of the cub's tails... one of the things you are not supposed to do!

We also fed the giraffes, which was a total blast. They stick out their long black tongues, bring your hand up to their mouth and scoop the food right out... it totally tickles! Giraffes may be kinda goofy, but I think they are so neat... we had a lot of fun interacting with them.

Following our close encounters with the animals and lunch at the cafe, we did a self-drive safari through the rest of the park. It was a great chance to experiment with our new camera... we especially enjoyed photographing the zebras as well as the adult lions. It was a terrific way to see these beautiful and powerful creatures!

Next it was on to the World Cup game we were most excited about... USA vs. Slovenia! It was held at a smaller stadium in downtown Johannesburg, Ellis Park. We had another "interesting" parking experience, but thankfully we allowed ourselves plenty of time to get there. As we approached the stadium, we saw plenty of American fans pumped up about the game. We were pretty stoked too, especially when we saw what great seats we had... about 20 rows up from the field at the 18-yard line! While we were watching the teams warming up, I randomly saw my friend, Yuki, from San Diego walking by... it was so crazy to see someone you know half a world away unexpectedly! Before long, it was time for the national anthems... it is pretty amazing to hear thousands of people singing the Star Spangled Banner when you're on another continent. We were sitting in a great section too... everyone was singing and cheering their hearts out the entire time.

While the first half wasn't that great for the US, considering we were losing 2-0 at half-time, the second half proved to be incredibly exciting... within minutes Landon Donovan (my favorite player :) put us on the board with an outstanding goal. As the teams continued to battle, USA found an equalizer with a goal by Michael Bradley. With the game winding down, it became more and more intense... and then with 5 minutes to go, we scored a third goal... or so we thought! We were so busy celebrating for a couple of minutes that we didn't even realize that the goal hadn't been counted. Since they didn't replay it at the stadium, we didn't know what had happened or what a controversy it would become until after the game. Needless to say, we were a bit shocked as we left the stadium, but even with it ending with a 2-2 tie, it was still an awesome game and we were thrilled to have been there! After the game, we got to help Adam celebrate his 30th birthday with Beth and their friends... it was a fun way to end a great day.

Since we weren't going to any World Cup games on Saturday, the guys decided to go hunting that day... needless to say, Daniel was ecstatic to have the opportunity! They were out in the bush by the wee hours of the morning, and with the help of his guide, Jean-Tom, Daniel tracked and shot a monster wildebeest! My husband can't wait to get the mounted horns and the pelt back from his African kill.... some very memorable hunting trophies. And while the boys were away on Saturday, I stayed in Pretoria with Beth... we had a fun day of shopping at an outdoor market, but I was too busy haggling to take any photos :) I got some nice souvenirs though!

When Sunday morning rolled around, it was time to say good-bye to Adam and Beth and head south... before leaving Pretoria though, we swung by the Rosebank Market for a little more shopping, plus there was a neat steel drum band playing nearby too. Since we were going to a late game that night (and catching a flight out to our safari the next day!), we were staying closer to the stadium so we made our way down to Jo'burg.

After getting settled down in Johannesburg, we were excited to meet up with some other friends... Ben and Melissa F., our close friends from the Academy and San Diego. They had flown in earlier that day with Ben's dad and step-mom. Since we were all going to be at the World Cup, we just knew we had to get together down in South Africa... needless to say, it was so great to see them! That evening we all rode to Soccer City Stadium together in order to watch Brazil vs. Cote d'Ivoire. With a powerhouse like Brazil playing, we knew it would be a pretty electric game... Brazil walked away with the win 3-1. Afterwards, their many fans were celebrating hardily... so Daniel and Ben just had to get a pic with one of them :)

Monday morning we actually flew east towards Kruger National Park for our safari, and I will definitely be blogging soon about that... but for now, let's fast forward to Wednesday, June 23rd when we returned to Jo'burg for our fourth and final World Cup game. Melissa, Ben, and his parents also returned from their safari that day, so we were able to meet up with them once again. Before heading to Soccer City Stadium that night, we watched the final minutes of the USA's glorious win over Algeria together at their hotel. It was so exciting to see Landon Donovan score the winning goal in stoppage time for us to advance to the next round!

Cheering the US onto victory put us all in a great mood for that night's game... Germany vs. Ghana. Daniel and I were very happy to see our 2nd favorite team in action. With both defenses doing a great job protecting their net, the game actually turned out to be a very low scoring game. However, in the end, Germany was able to pull out the win 1-0... Go Deutschland!

On Thursday afternoon, we were heading off to Cape Town, but that morning we were able to spend a little more time with Ben and Melissa... the four of us decided to make a quick trip to the Apartheid Museum. Though we didn't have long, it was interesting to learn about South Africa's tumultuous history and to see where the country is today. Before long, we all had to say good-bye at the airport. It was wonderful to catch up with them, and our entire time in Johannesburg was simply awesome!

Well, that wraps up "Part 1" of our trip to South Africa, but please come back soon to check out "Part 2"... our amazing safari! Until then, take care!

Our 7th Anniversary

2010-07-13T13:53:00.004+02:00

So I am still going through the thousands of photos we took while in South Africa, which means I am not quite ready to blog about our amazing trip. In the meantime though, I thought I would share a few pictures from our 7th wedding anniversary, which we celebrated yesterday! I can't believe we've hit the 7 year mark already... I guess time flies when you are having fun!

With all the traveling we have been doing lately, it was nice to be home for our anniversary. After a busy day, we slowed down for a romantic dinner at Lodge, a steak house in nearby Kronberg. It is near one of the local zoos, so it has a neat view... it also has a safari feeling, which we enjoyed after our recent excursion. The steaks were great... and the company was even better :) And afterwards we were treated to a pretty pink sky. All in all, it was a very happy anniversary!

Thanks for stopping by, and please come stay tuned as I plan to put up a bunch more posts very soon!

We're back from South Africa... plus Happy 4th of July!

2010-06-28T21:26:00.004+02:00

Hi everyone! I just wanted to write a quick post to say that we are back from South Africa, and we had the most amazing time! We were down there for the two weeks, and while we were there we attended four World Cup games and visited with friends that live in Pretoria as well as friends that were also traveling in Johannesburg. Then it was off to the eastern part of the country for a safari near Kruger National Park... between the animals, the setting, and the food, the safari might just be the neatest thing we have ever done. For the last (but definitely not least) part of our trip, we headed to Cape Town to check out that area, and it was absolutely gorgeous! Like I said, we had such a fantastic trip, and we are incredibly grateful that we had such an awesome opportunity! Our entire adventure was very well documented... between the two cameras we brought with us, we took nearly 3000 photos! Needless to say, it will probably take quite a while to go through all of them and pick out the best ones to share... I think I will even have to break it up a few different posts since it was such a massive trip!

As we get back into the grind here, I don't think I will get too much blogging in before the upcoming holiday weekend, so I just want to wish you all a great Fourth of July! Though we may not get to spend Independence Day back in the good ole US of A, we are so thankful to be Americans and we will be celebrating from this side of the Atlantic! I promise to get a post up about our South Africa trip soon, but until then, have a safe and happy holiday!

Let's rewind all the way back to last autumn...

2010-06-15T16:16:00.053+02:00

I know it seems like quite a long time ago now, but would you mind rewinding with me back to last autumn? The reason being is because I still haven't blogged yet about two very fun events that happened during the fall... Oktoberfest and the USMC Birthday Ball in Luxembourg!

While most of the fall I was very busy coaching soccer, I had a weeklong break at the start of October... just like spring break, most international schools also have a fall break. It is a pretty sweet deal :) Since it would be my first weekend off since the beginning of soccer season, we decided to head down to Munich to experience the ultimate in German festivals... Oktoberfest!

We drove down to the capital of Bavaria with our friends, Mick and Jen, on Friday, October 2nd. On the way, we stopped at this shopping outlet mall because we were hoping to find the guys lederhosen to wear since we were told that everyone wears them at Oktoberfest. Well, we didn't find any lederhosen because this outlet mall looked like it came straight out of California! It was quite strange to see something like that in Germany... totally unexpected and pretty random. Soon we were back on the road, and that evening we stayed in Garmisch, Germany, at the same place we stayed back in April.

Since Garmisch is over an hour away from Munich, we jumped on the train on Saturday morning... but first we enjoyed the beauty of the Bavarian Alps right outside our hotel. While Jen and I were all dressed up in our dirndls (that is, a traditional German dress), the guys were just planning to look for lederhosen once we got into the city. Lo and behold, just across the street from the train station, they found a shop selling them. Before long, the four of us were all wearing our Bavarian duds and walking the few blocks down to Theresienwiese, a huge fairground that covers 4.5 million square feet where Oktoberfest is held every year. At first, it just looks like a very large carnival, with rides and food vendors everywhere. Then you start to notice the huge beer "tents"... they might be called tents but really they're massive temporary buildings, each serving a different type of beer.

Since it was still early in the day, we were able to get a table at the Spatenbrau tent without a reservation. Even though it was only 10:30am, the place was already packed with people drinking beer... that's Germany for ya :)

Shortly after we got to our seats, we ordered our first round of drinks... ridiculously large 1 liter beers. Well, I actually got a radler, which is half lemonade, half beer, since I don't really like beer... even still, as you can see below, it was a lot to handle! We also ordered some food, including huge pretzels that are considered traditional Oktoberfest fare. Yum! Then, we just sat back, listening to the oompah band and taking in the whole atmosphere. After hanging out for about 2 hours, we had to give up our table. Before leaving the Spaten tent, I went up to the top level to get one more pic.

By this point in the day, it was only a little after noon, so we decided to slow it down a bit and enjoy some fresh air for a while. We walked around the fairgrounds and ended up at its western side, where there is a huge statue that is said to symbolize the State of Bavaria. Along with hundreds of other revelers, we relaxed on the hillside, soaking in the sunshine and resting up a bit. From that spot, we could watch the hordes making their way around the festival. Ya know, they say Oktoberfest is the world's largest fair in the world, with about 6 million people attending every year. Now that is a lot of people! Following our little break, we started looking for our next hang-out of the day, while also taking some photos along the way.

We soon found ourselves at the patio of the Nymphenburg Sekt tent. It had a fun, festive ambience so we stayed there most of the afternoon actually. While there, we met a very nice couple from Berkeley, Nick and Laurel, and we really enjoyed talking with them... that's them in the picture below... plus some random guy who jumped in the photo at the last second! We also enjoyed some more traditional Oktoberfest food... a half chicken with potato salad. It was finger lickin' good! The whole afternoon was a very good time.

As evening was setting in, Daniel got a call from his friend, Mike, who was also at Oktoberfest. In fact, Mike had a table inside the Lowenbrau tent just across from where we were, and he wanted us to come join him. Well, if you remember, earlier I mentioned that you really need reservations to get inside the tents during Oktoberfest, especially at night and very much so during the very last weekend of the festival. We walked from door to door trying to get in, but at each there was a very large security guard. We thought that we'd just have to call it a night when Mike poked his head out and called us to come in... we waded through the crowd surrounding the door, and the security guard literally grabbed us by our clothes and pulled us inside. Only then did we find out that Mike had actually bribed the guard to get us in... craziness! Oh, and right away I noticed that Daniel and Mike were matching, so I just had to get a photo. They looked like twins... well, sorta :)

Once we headed into the tent, we saw that the party was already in full swing! The oompah band was playing like mad, and hundreds and hundreds of exuberant beer drinkers were standing on benches singing and dancing! The scene was a bit overwhelming, but it was a lot of fun. The music they were playing actually made laughed... over 90% of the songs were American, and all the Germans were singing them at the top of their lungs. I am not sure why, but they especially love John Denver's "Country Roads"... but at least they also played "99 Luft Balloons" too :) By the time 10pm rolled around, the four of us were pretty tired, so we decided to was time to say "Auf Wiedersehen" to Oktoberfest and head back to the train station. It had been a very fun-filled day and we can say that we survived 12 straight hours of the world's largest beer festival!

On Sunday morning, before heading back to Frankfurt, we took a stroll through quaint Garmisch. It was a peaceful and welcomed contrast to the festivities of the day before. Soon we were back on the road towards home, quite happy that we had just experienced the quintessential German festival.

Alright, now fast forward to mid-November... on Saturday, November 14th, shortly after coaching my last soccer game of the season, Daniel and I were on the road with our friends, Jan and Jim C. and Shawn, to attend the USMC Birthday Ball in Luxembourg. Needless to say, we were looking forward to it. I know I was... a girl is excited any time she has a chance to get all dolled up and put a pretty dress on!

Of course, we had a very enjoyable time that night... drinks, dinner, dancing. What could be better? :)

Following a fun night of celebrating, we were back on the road to Frankfurt the next morning... it was a short but sweet trip to Luxembourg. Well, thanks so much for rewinding with me all the way back to last autumn. And believe it or not, I am finally caught up on the blogging... and it's a good thing too because we are just about to leave for South Africa! I am sure our trip down there will give me plenty to post about so please come back soon to read all about it. Until then, I hope you are enjoying your summer :)

Rothenburg & Rudesheim... Two adorable German towns!

2010-06-09T16:40:00.055+02:00

In the past couple of weeks, I've had the opportunity to check out some adorable German towns located not far from Frankfurt. On May 29th, the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, Daniel and I made a day trip over to Rothenburg, a charming village surrounded by a medieval wall. Then, last Friday, June 4th, I had a day off from school, so I joined my friend, Stephanie, and her family to revisit Rudesheim. Daniel and I had been there last July with his sister and her husband, but it was such a cute little town, I was happy to go back again, and this time the weather was quite a bit nicer... but before I go on about Rudesheim, let me share more about Rothenburg.

The famed "Romantic Road" of Germany connects Frankfurt and Munich, and Rothenburg is largely considered to be its highlight. Since moving here, I've heard over and over what a neat place it is, so it has been on our must-visit list for quite some time. Thankfully, having a long weekend over Memorial Day provided us a good opportunity to make the two hour drive down there. As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by a very imposing gate leading into the city called the Galgentor. While I whipped out the camera, Daniel went up into the tower for a photo opp :) Once we made our way through the gate, we climbed the stairs to check out the wall more closely, and we walked a bit around its perimeter. Then we headed into the town center, passing another gate-like structure, the White Tower.

Soon we found ourselves in the Market Square. Here you'll find the Town Hall and the Councilor's Tavern, which is where the city council used to imbibe back in the day. As we continued to wander around, we breezed by St. Jakob's Church... we took a quick peek inside and it was actually quite modern, so then we decided to go get some lunch.

Though I am not a huge fan of German food, every once in a while it definitely hits the spot, so I had some cheesy German noodles called spaetzle and Daniel had the wiener schnitzel, which is actually breaded pork, not a hot dog :) After lunch, we checked out a few shops including the Christmas wonderland that is the Kathe Wohlfarht store. I wasn't actually supposed to take any pictures inside, but their huge tree was just too pretty so I snuck one anyway! Daniel had some fun posing with the giant nutcracker outside too.

Once we took in our fill of Christmas decor, we strolled along the cobblestones streets toward the Castle Garden at the far end of town. Up until the 14th century, a castle dominated this section of Rothenburg, but now it is a lovely park with some great views looking back toward the rest of town and the surrounding hills. On the other side of the garden, you can look down and see the "Toppler Castle," a funny little home on a rather high foundation.

After spending a while in the Castle Garden, we ambled back into town and decided to climb one of the wall's towers, the Rodertor, which means "Rooster Tower". With the late afternoon sun beaming by the time we got to the top, we got some great shots of the town, its walls, and the countryside below.

When we returned back to ground level, we strolled around a bit more and then stopped for some apple strudel and ice cream before getting back on the road towards Frankfurt... it was a yummy end to a very pleasant day. We both really enjoyed Rothenburg and were glad we finally made the effort to see it.

Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post, in addition to Rothenburg, I've also visited another quaint German town recently, Rudesheim, which is found right along the Rhine River. My friend, Stephanie, had family and friends visiting, so I joined their whole group to check out this area on June 4th.

Since it was such a beautiful day, we started our visit with a ferry ride up the river. We set off from Rudesheim and soon glided past the Niederwald monument surrounded by the vineyards that make the Rhine River valley famous. During the boat trip, while soaking up the sunshine we passed several castles and quaint towns, including the Mauseterm, the Ehrenfels ruins, and the town of Assmannshausen, the Rheinstein and Reichenstein Castles, and the town of Trechtingshausen. Of course, I had to get a picture with Stephanie too :)

The leisurely two-hour ferry ride was a great way to appreciate the Rhine River and to spend a gorgeous afternoon. After debarking the boat, we quickly found a place for lunch so we could refuel before taking in Rudesheim. Strolling around this cute town is quite enjoyable... it boasts many restaurants and shops plus its most renowned street, the Drosselgasse. At the edge of town is a pretty little vineyard graced by rose bushes too. All in all, it was a very nice day visiting one of Germany's gems.

I am going to try to keep up the momentum and get another blog post up very soon... next time I will be rewinding all the way back to last October! Please come back soon to check it out... until then, take care!

Daniel turns the big 3-0... one month ago!

2010-06-08T15:35:00.010+02:00

Wow, the last month has flown by... I've been meaning to get a post up about Daniel's birthday since the start of May, which is when I started working as a long-term substitute at the nearby preschool. Those 4 years old have been keeping me plenty busy, but still, it is time I end this dry spell of blogging... I even have a few posts to catch up on from last fall! Ridiculous, I know.

I actually plan to do a lot of blogging in the next week to get all caught up before our next big trip. Our upcoming adventure will definitely give me plenty to blog about... that's because we are going to South Africa for the World Cup!!! I can barely contain my excitement just typing that sentence! We leave in one week from today, and we will be down there for two weeks... we are attending four games in Johannesburg, going on a safari, and checking out Cape Town. Needless to say, we can't wait! Before we head south of the Equator though, let me fill you in on some of the other fun stuff we've been doing....

Back on May 8th, my wonderful husband turned 30! Based on his very youthful appearance, I know that is hard to believe, but it's true :) To celebrate the big day, Daniel wanted to keep it low-key, so we had a BBQ with friends here in Frankfurt. Here are a few photos for your enjoyment, including the spread of yummy food; our friends, Greg and Sarah G. and Jan C. hanging out around the grill; a few pics of Daniel talking with some of the guys; and me with the handsome birthday boy.

Of course, it being a birthday party, we had to have cake and ice cream... I decided to make cupcakes so I could clearly display his ripe old age :) (The cute little candles said "Happy Birthday.") We also churned up some homemade ice cream... vanilla with crushed Butterfinger. It was sooo good!

Before the end of the night, I grabbed a bunch of my girlfriends for a photo... Nancy, Heather O., Stephanie, and Jan. I also wanted one more shot with Daniel... if you look closely, you can make out Frankfurt's sky needle in the background. It's illuminated in purple at night... it's kind of odd, but hey, I guess that is Europe for ya!

Daniel's birthday BBQ turned out to be a very fun, relaxing evening. Sometimes I still can't believe Daniel and I are both already 30! I guess time flies when you are having fun :) Well, like I said, I will be blogging again very soon, so stay tuned... meanwhile, I hope you have a great day!

Pottery shopping, relaxation, and friends = Such a fun weekend!

2010-04-20T12:30:00.023+02:00

Last June, I went with some friends to Poland to go pottery shopping. It was such a good time we decided to make another trip to Boleslawiec this past weekend. A whole bunch of Marine wives went this time... 11 of us in all! I was really looking forward to shopping, eating, and hanging out with such a great group of friends for the weekend.

On the morning of Friday April 16th, 7 of us got on the road... the other 4 were leaving later in the afternoon. Thankfully the 6 hour drive went very smoothly... before 4pm, we were driving into Boleslawiec. Before we even went to the hotel, we decide to do some "pre-shopping"... perusing the shops to see what they have before committing. We squeezed in a couple of stores before closing time... and some of us even bought a piece of pottery or two. It is so hard to resist!

Then it was on to our hotel, the Blue Beetroot, where we stayed last time. It is such a cozy little inn. That evening the last 4 ladies were delayed, so the rest of us had dinner at the hotel's restaurant... it was as delicious as I had remembered! Afterwards we just hung out while waiting for our friends to arrive. Once they had, it was time to hit the hay as the next morning we were getting up early to start the shopping....

Since the Polish president and so many of the country's government officials had died in the tragic plane crash the week before, we were told the stores would be closing early on Saturday as the state funerals were occuring later that day. Although we had written the hotel to inquire about this possibility at the beginning of the week, this announcement wasn't made until Friday morning after we were already on the road. While we all felt incredibly sad for the people of Poland as they mourned this massive loss, we also knew that the scheduled closings would require us to do some super speedy shopping on Saturday.

All of us were up, done with breakfast, and out the door before 7:30am Saturday morning. Unfortunately, we got a bit lost while looking for the first shop, Andy. When we finally found it, it was definitely worth it... everyone dove in and found lots of great pottery to purchase! After visiting a few more shops, it was time for lunch... we found this cute little restaurant that looked like a fairytale cottage. With the early start, I think most of us were quite hungry... the food was very yummy, and the prices were really low by European standards, which made it even better. With all the money we were spending on pottery, a cheap lunch was appreciated :)

Following lunch, we headed into downtown Boleslawiec to find this neat glass shop we visited last year. Unfortunately, it was closed by the time we arrived, but it was a beautiful afternoon so we walked around the town's main square for a little while... we also saw a memorial to the Polish president while we were there.

Earlier that morning we had asked at the first shop how long they would be open that day... to our surprise, they said until 6pm. I think that because they are a small, family-run business, they might not fall under the same rules as other stores. Since we all really liked their patterns, we decided to go back that afternoon... and we all bought more! I think it's safe to say it was our favorite shop. Before heading back to the hotel, we took a group shot of all 11 of us... look carefully and you'll see the trunks are filled to the brim with boxes and bags. It was definitely a very successful day of shopping!

Back at the hotel, we actually reorganized all the purchases to make sure they went home with the right people... it was pretty chaotic and amusing at the same time. I couldn't believe how large my pile of boxes and bags was... oh well, I know that I got lots of good stuff to use at home and a bunch of gifts too! The rest of the day was spent relaxing... the hotel offers manicures, pedicures, and massages so most of the ladies got at least one of the spa services. I had spent enough money that day so I decided to forgo the pampering :) We had another great dinner that evening at the hotel restaurant and then a pseudo sleepover in our room that night... we all sat around, talked, and had some wine until almost midnight. It was a relaxing way to end a fun day.

Sunday we were back on the road to Frankfurt. Once again, we were grateful for a safe and smooth trip. Shortly after we got home, I showed all the pottery I purchased to Daniel, and thankfully, he really liked everything! Since I bought even more on my second time to Poland, I don't know if there will be a third trip for me... we will see :) Overall, it was a great girls' weekend, and I am so glad that I had a chance to share it with so many of my friends here.

Well, believe it or not, I still haven't gotten caught up on the posts about all our trips last fall, so please stay tuned for those. I promise to add them to the blog soon... until then, take care!

Another great trip to Tuscany

2010-04-14T13:34:00.062+02:00

Twice a year, Daniel has a work conference when everyone from the region gets together. In the past, the conferences have been held in Ireland and Bavaria... this spring, it was held in the tiny town of Tirrenia, which is just south of Pisa in Tuscany. Since Daniel planned the entire conference, he had to head down early on Saturday, April 3rd, and then I joined him there on the afternoon of Easter Sunday. That evening the dinner we had was one of many great meals we'd have in Italy during the conference... it was a very nice start to the week!

Monday was a low-key day for me. Since Daniel was busy coordinating everyone else's arrival at the conference, that morning I spent some down time reading a book while listening to the waves wash up on the beach outside the hotel. In fact, the hotel has a pretty nice view of Tirrenia's beach and up toward the next town of Marina di Pisa. In the afternoon, I went with my friends, Jan and Sarah, also from Frankfurt, to walk along the waterfront in Marina di Pisa. The Monday after Easter (aptly called "Easter Monday" over here) is also a holiday in Europe... therefore, many Italians were out taking in the sun, sea, and the town market, and we enjoyed doing the same. Then the three of us walked back to Tirrenia. After grabbing a gelato, I walked along the beach by the hotel for a little while too... it was wonderful to be near the water again. I really miss living near the ocean.

On Tuesday, there was a spouses' lunch for all of us in attendance at the conference. Following lunch, the whole group of us took the bus into Pisa... some of the families decided to go check out the Leaning Tower, while the rest of us jumped on a train to the nearby town of Lucca. Even today, this quiet little city is surrounded by a 16th century Renaissance wall... originally Roman walls protected the settlement. Now the walls are topped with paths perfect for biking and walking. Once inside Lucca's walls, we strolled past churches, squares, stores, and market vendors.

One of the town's unique features is the Guinigi Tower, which actually has a garden on top of it. Eventually we found ourselves at the Piazza Anfiteatro... due to its oblong shape, it is believed this was once a Roman amphitheater, but now it's home to cafes and shops. Following a lovely afternoon in Lucca, we made our way back to Tirrenia.

Wednesday was dedicated to hiking the Cinque Terre, which I was really excited about. The Cinque Terre is a cluster of five towns hugging the coastline in the Italian Riveria, just north of Tuscany. There's a trail right along the water that connects the five towns, allowing you to hike from town to town while enjoying the gorgeous views. Jan, Sarah, and I were all thrilled to have an opportunity to see this region, so Wednesday morning we hurried into Pisa (thanks to a very interesting taxi ride!) and made it just in time for the 9am train. About an hour and a half later we arrived in Monterosso al Mare, the town furthest north in the Cinque Terre. As soon as you debark the train, you are greeted by an awesome view of the sea and rugged coast to the south. We couldn't have asked for a better day either... the sun was shining brightly and the warm air felt so welcoming after months of winter. Eager to get started, we headed to the trailhead on the south side of town.

The first part of the hike was pretty strenuous, but the beautiful views of the surrounding area definitely helped take my mind off the burning in my lungs and legs! As we climbed up along the hillside, we could see back towards Monterosso as well as ahead to the rest of the Cinque Terre.

As noon approached, we caught our first glimpse of the next town, Vernazza. It really was a sight to behold... a picturesque little town nestled into the shoreline below. I couldn't help but take dozens of photos... plus I was trying out our new SLR camera for the first time so I was even more shutter happy than normal :) In Vernazza, we decided to have lunch at a cafe where we could also take in the lovely harbor.

After such a pleasant stop, we got back on the trail, once again enjoying the view of the town behind us as well as looking forward to what lay ahead. The next town in the Cinque Terre is Corniglia, which is actually perched high above the coast on a plateau, making it the only one of the five towns that does not have direct access to the sea. Once we arrived in Corniglia, our main aim was to find the town's one gelato shop and get a cone of the yummy stuff... we finished off our gelato while relishing the breathtaking perspective from the Santa Maria Belvedere.

Feeling quite satiated, we continued south heading towards the town of Manarola, and of course, delighting in the beautiful views all the while. Manarola is another quaint village of colorful homes balanced on a foundation of seaside rocks. As we walked through the town, it was so funny to see that instead of parking cars along their streets, they park boats! We also went by the train station... I must say that the people waiting had a pretty nice view of the ocean stretching out in front of them.

After walking through the town, we headed toward the Via dell'Amore, the portion of the trail that connects Manarola to the town of Riomaggiore. The entrance is marked with two hearts covered with locks... these "locks of love" are placed there by couples to symbolize their undying love for each other and then they throw the keys into the sea. Many more locks can be seen along the path, and I've also seen locks of love in other Italian cities, such as Florence and Rome. As we neared the town of Riomaggiore, we found a cute little bar with a fabulous overlook of the water, so we stopped and had a drink... it was a great way to end our hike. Soon we made our way to Riomaggiore, the last town in the Cinque Terre. We arrived just in the nick of time to grab the train back to Pisa. On the train ride, despite our sunburn and weary legs, we reflected on what an amazing day it had been... the Cinque Terre is a spectacular place.

Thursday was set aside for another wives' outing. Over 50 of us, wives and children, climbed onto a bus that morning looking forward to our first destination, Siena. Since I had been to Siena back in December with Daniel and his family when they were visiting, I was excited to get back to this charming Tuscan town. Unfortunately, the ride there was, shall we say, interesting. The bus ride was a bit bumpy and hot, so one little girl's breakfast decided to come back up and a few others almost did... it's never a good sign when plastic bags start getting passed around! Needless to say, the rest stop we took lasted quite a while... almost three hours after we started, we finally arrived in Siena. Since the bus ride there took longer than expected (not even taking into account the extra long rest stop), we found out that our second stop of San Gimignano would have to be taken off the agenda for the day. Even still, at least we had a couple of hours to take in the sights of Siena, so I went by the magnificent cathedral and then leisurely meandered around the main square, Il Campo, eating and shopping and appreciating the afternoon.

As we loaded the bus to head back, the mishaps continued. Since Siena is set up on a hill, large buses must park outside the city and passengers take a shuttle into town... unfortunately, when it was time for us to take the shuttle down to our bus, a few of the wives were lost, so they missed the shuttle. In order to reunite the group, I ended up running back up the hill into Siena, finding the wives at the shuttle stop, and leading them back to our bus... at least I got a pretty good work-out in that day :) On the ride back to Tirrenia, not surprisingly the "fun" continued with a few more people feeling sick, so a couple more rest stops were in order. Despite these setbacks, I tried to pass the time by admiring the Tuscan countryside as we drove by. By 5 0'clock that evening we had returned... thankfully, everyone more or less survived our very interesting day :)

My husband and some of his co-workers had barely left Tirrenia during the conference, so that night a few of us went to eat up in Marina di Pisa. Before dinner we walked by the town church and along the waterfront and enjoyed the quiet, which was followed by another excellent meal.

Friday morning was spent preparing for a retirement ceremony for one of Daniel's co-workers... I didn't have my camera during it, but it was a very nice event. Below is a picture of the Frankfurt wives taken after the ceremony. Following the retirement, everyone got to relax at a BBQ and field meet. Unfortunately, Daniel didn't get to stay the whole time as he had to go back to the hotel to attend to some conference details. While he was gone, I spent the rest of the afternoon watching the egg toss, "Dizzy Izzy," the fireman carry, and tug of war... even the wives got in on the action during the tug of war. As you can see below, I got a little bit into it :)

The BBQ was an enjoyable way to end the conference... on Saturday, we were on our way back to Frankfurt. While I had a great time over the course of the week, I really wish I could have spent more time with Daniel exploring the area. Maybe we will be able to squeeze another trip down to Italy during our time over here... and if not, we already have plenty of wonderful memories of time spent in Italy together. As always, thanks for reading... I hope you'll be back again soon!

Prague's even prettier in December!

2010-03-31T16:29:00.026+02:00

When Daniel's parents and aunt came to visit us back in December, we all made the trek over to Prague for a few days. Daniel and I had been there in May when my parents were here to run our first marathon, and we found Prague to be such a charming city. Well, in December with all the Christmas lights and decorations, it is even prettier!

On Wednesday, December 9th, the five of us wedged ourselves into our car and drove 5 hours east through Germany, across the Czech Republic border, and into Prague. After settling into the apartment we had rented, we went into town to have dinner. Walking a few minutes brought us to Prague's Old Town Square. At first glimpse, it was breathtaking... the huge Christmas tree was absolutely gorgeous and the churches surrounding the square were beautifully lit. The Germans may be famous for their Christmas markets, but the Czech certainly know how to decorate for the holiday! After soaking up the ambience for a few minutes, we walked just a block beyond the square to the restaurant where we were having dinner.

Following some yummy pasta, we continued to walk around and enjoy the evening. Strolling along the Vltava river, we could see the Prague Castle lit up across the way, so we took the opportunity to snap some pictures. As we ambled on, we made it halfway across the Charles Bridge before deciding to call it a night.

The next day we made our way back towards the Prague Castle, this time walking all the way across the Charles Bridge to the western side of the city. After a bit of a hike, we made it up to the castle grounds, where we were greeted with a nice view overlooking the city. As we walked towards the castle, right then they were having the changing of the guard ceremony... it's not nearly as flashy as the one in London, but I am still glad we saw it. Our first stop inside the complex was St. Vitus' Cathedral... as you can see, it's a really beautiful church.

Across the courtyard from the church, we headed into the Old Royal Palace... unfortunately, unlike back in May, this time we weren't allowed to take photos inside. Once we were done with the palace tour, we did take a few pictures outside of the church though. Then we walked down to the Golden Lane and perused the shops there while braving the rain.

Once we were done checking out the shops, our stomachs were letting us know it was time to eat! On the way back down from the castle, we stopped at this refined little restaurant, where we all had a Czech specialty... goulash! It was very tasty. As we walked back across the Vltava, the early winter night was beginning to set in. We decided to squeeze in one last stop before dark, the Old-New Synagogue. At over 700 years old, it is the oldest synagogue in Europe. As we were walking in, they handed Daniel a yarmulka to wear... although we weren't supposed to take photos inside, I had just had to snap one of Daniel wearing it! It was actually quite a small space, but it was neat to see such an old synagogue still standing, especially after surviving the horrific years of World War II.

That evening, after another great dinner, we enjoyed the atmosphere of the Old Town Square once again. We tried some yummy Czech donuts, took photos of the amazing Christmas tree and square, and even enjoyed carols sung by a choir. At one point, while this Czech choir was singing the beautiful harmonies of an African song, it really hit me how much Christmas unites the world in a way like no other celebration does... it was a joyful moment. Despite the near freezing temperatures, we had to make one last stop that night... at a gelato shop! It's never too cold for ice cream :)

As we began our wanderings through the city the next day, we stopped at a hat store... though we often just browse, four of us ended up getting brand new hats. Daniel and his dad looked especially dapper in theirs. On our way to Petrin Hill on the western side of the city, we made a lap through the Old Town Square to see it in the day. Even though it was not as awe-inspiring by daylight, it was still a neat Christmas market.

After walking across the Charles Bridge once again, we meandered through the streets to the base of Petrin Hill, where we took the funicular up to the top. At the apex of the hill, there's an assortment of things to see, including an observation tower modeled after the Eiffel Tower, the Hunger Wall (so called because Charles IV ordered its construction as a public works project to feed the poor during a famine), and the Strahov Monastery. The walking paths that crisscross the hillside also provide neat views of Prague stretching out below.

With night creeping in, there was one last thing to see before leaving Petrin Hill, the Church of St. Michael. This church was moved to Prague when the Ukraine valley where it once stood was flooded. While the others waited at the bottom of the hill, Daniel and I hiked up and down the wooded slope trying to find the church, but we were having no luck at all. With darkness fully upon us, we finally gave up and started heading back down... and lo and behold, that's when we found the church! Though we couldn't go inside, at least we got a neat photo of the church, making the search worthwhile. Walking back across the Charles Bridge for the fourth and final time of our visit, I was also able to snap a cool night shot of it as well. Then we had one last delicious dinner before hitting the hay that night.

On Saturday morning, just as we were driving out of Prague, snow began to fall... it was quite a pretty sight. It would have been great to walk around and see the city blanketed in white, but it was time for us to head back to Frankfurt since the very next day we would be on a plane to Italy! This trip to Italy is the one I just blogged about in February... I know it's a bit confusing when I am blogging about trips backwards! I am starting to get caught up though... just three more and I will have covered them all. Well, I hope you enjoyed reading about our December trip to Prague, and I hope you will be back again soon. Until then, take care!