Munchen Trip

Munchen - August 2006 (Munich)








What can I say?
The city is known for its BEER!

These were taken in the English gardens at a Biergarten.







The entire city had lions in different dress and poses. Daniel loved finding the next lion on the street.





This is in Marienplatz - the town square. The center of the building (the New Town Hall) is a clock tower with moving figures on it that are set for eleven o'clock daily - the Glockenspiel show. It tends to attract a huge crowd. We sat at a little cafe here at ten and ate snacks. Ellen had the traditional Weisswurst (white sausage) with pretzel and mustard that they surve as breakfast.






Hofbrauhaus











The largest beer distillery and the place where ALL the tourists go. I'm sure it's not because of the liter beers, but the place was packed at ten in the morning!








Chinesischer Turm Biergarten & Seehaus
(Chinese Beer Garden)

This is a picture in the center, but the tables to eat, drink, and be merry are spread across a huge section of the gardens here, including a great play area for kids.








Ulm
On our way home, we stoped in Ulm. Ulm's Munster is the largest church in southern Germany and has the highest steeple in the world. We visited on a rainy day and ate at a scetchy joint for doners and Scott and Daniel's local favorite, pizza.






GRAPES!




Our house is wrapped with grape vines. Apparently we have three different grapes growing, purple, red, and green (their scientific names). So far, we've been enjoying the purple and red. The green are a bit bitter - Riesling - better in wine.

July - August

Joshua's first trip to his home country

We went back to Louisiana for four weeks in June and July (Scott worked two weeks in Texas) to show off Joshua and have his Baptism. And to answer your questions, the flights back and forth with two kids were totally wonderful. Alright, that's a stretch. But honestly, they weren't so bad. The baby was a litty fussy on the flight to the US and Daniels butt never left the seat. The flight to Germany was even better because both boys slept. The hard part is just after each flight when the boys either woke up at three a.m. or weren't tired until three a.m. For now, they're on a good schedule, so we aren't going anywhere!

Here are a few pics with the relatives.

Daniel learned a few new tricks from his favorite cousins - jumping on the sofa, climbing on each other, wrestle moves, all the good boy stuff! I need to remember to thank them when they're older...

FEELIN' HOT HOT HOT!!!! We spent the rest of our summer trying to adjust to NO AIR CONDITIONING! We really are spoiled for it, and that's okay by me. No one here has air conditioning (except IKEA which becomes popular in June and July) even the restaurants are hot. We're the black sheep of our neighborhood, because we bought a cooling system. It's like a portable air conditioner, but it works pretty well for our needs. Everyone else apparently stays naked in their homes with the windows open and shades drawn. Not pretty, but better than the nearly naked old men who stand outside in speedos.

Birthday Buddies

Joshua and Colby were both born in the same hospital on the same day. Colby's parents are also from the states, so we enjoyed being in the hospital together.

Colby has a sister who is the same age as Daniel, so we hope to have many more play dates during our stay in Germany.

Badepark

Our neighbors (with Daniel's girlfriend, Anna) introduced us to the Badepark. It's a really great place with tons of pools indoor and out equipped with slides and water spouts and wading pools. We love it, and Joshua seems to be quite content in the water.

KINDERGARTEN!

Daniel started his first day of Kindergarten - yes, a German Kindergarten - on August 7th. The name is "Arche Noah" and has two groups of three to six year olds. We usually walk to school if the weather is nice and he stays until 12 o'clock. He can also go back from 2 - 4 if he wants, but for now he still takes naps at that time. The director speaks English and fills me in on his day. He now walks into the class calling out, "Guten Morgan" to his teachers and classmates and makes sure to announce his departure in the afternoon with, "tschus!".

Just so some of you can see how our town's name is written, here is a picture of the town sign near our street. Still pronounced, "Has - lock".

June - July Events

It has been quite a long time since an update and a very busy summer.

My sister, Amy, came for a visit. This is us at the top of a castle (Trifles) in Annweider. The baby is sleeping in that blue sling - exhausted after the LONG hike up. We hiked back down and ate cake to make up for the lost calories on this hike.



We've also been spending alot of time at wine festivals - a great place for two year olds and infants...really though, I'm not kidding. They're all outside in the center of various villages, some at castles and such. Many of them have fun rides for Daniel and lots of great food (oh, and some wine too). It hasn't been getting dark until nine or later, so it's a fun time to go and eat dinner, walk around for a while, and enjoy the wine. Daniel and Scott prefer the beer, but Joshua and I like the red wine and the sekt!





We "made bbq" with our neighbors - always very kind to us. Here is Scott, Joshua, Amy, Ellen, Daniel, Yvonne holding Lilli, Anna, and Frank. Oh, and Niro.

Anna and Daniel will be going to the same kindergarten in Hassloch. Lilli and Joshua now wear the same size clothes. She'll be one in September.



Holiday Park - similar to six flags - is located in Hassloch. As residents of Hassloch, we get eight free passes a year. They have an area for kids - so Daniel enjoys it and we like how tired he gets!







World Cup Fever! BASF hosts a traveling festival for viewing the different games. This one was in Ludwigshafen for the opening game. Lots of German flags and beer! When Germay won the game, we could hear the fireworks all over Germany.