Twentyfirst and Twentysecond Week in Germany
The week began slowly. The first couple days were normal and then the colds started seaping in. Avery was very groggy on Wednesday so I let her stay home from school. By Wednesday afternoon, she was pretty much her old self so I thought, she must have been tired. Thursday I took her to school and by Friday morning she had a pretty high fever. So, of course she stayed home again. Everyone in kindergarten has been getting this 'whatever it is.' Bryn has had a cough and a runny nose for about a week now. She can't seem to kick it. And there are really scary diseases going around like viral meningitus. I looked it up on the internet because there is a boy in Bailey's class that has it and thought - phew! We are Okay because my kids have been immunized. I found out from some other moms that they are only immunized against one strain of the virus. So, I try to be extra 'in tune' with what is going on with the girls and how they are feeling.
Thursday evening, we had a small present opening for Bryn for her birthday because it was her actual birthday. She got a cute pink shopping cart that she pushed around toys-r-us the whole time I was looking for presents for her, so I just let her believe it was the stores and when we were checking out, we added it to the bill.
My mom flew in on Friday and I had a triple birthday party scheduled for Bryn, my mom, and Bailey but due to the fact that Avery didn't feel much like partying, we had to postpone. The weekend took a turn for the better. Avery seemed a bit more lively on Saturday. We decided to take a drive to the Moselthal Valley to see some castles. We saw and toured Ehrenberg castle and then we drove along the Mosel River. 
We were going to go to Burg Elz Castle as well but it was getting quite late. We started out on a foottrail but it was clear Avery could not handle it. And, it was getting to be dusk, so we went back to the car and drove it instead. We decided to tour it another time. On the way home in the car, Bryn threw up. I love when you have a great day and then twenty minutes from home, someone throws up. So, we did the carry her in, stick her in the bath, stick the clothes in the washer, put a ton of blankets down, and put her in bed thing. Greg did the super serious U of M fan thing, which is get up at 2:00AM to watch football. Yes, kick-off here was a 2:00AM. On Sunday, we didn't make it to the first two hours of Church, so we just went to Sacrament meeting. After church we had the Missionaries over for dinner. We did the super easy Chicken Pot Pie and Salad dinner. We had left-over cake from the party I was going to throw on Friday night. Voila. The missionaries never seem to care what you have.
Monday, Greg decided to take the day off. We went to a walled city called Zons. It is supposed to be one of the best preserved walled cities. It was very cool.
I'm constantly telling Greg that we should retire in a little town like this. On the way back, we stopped in Koln to take my mom to the Dom, we climbed to the top yet again, had a Doner kebab, walked around the fussganger zone for a bit, and came back home for grilled pork loin, cheddar mashers, and broccoli, and kasekuchen (cheesecake) from a backerei. We had the birthday party, where we sang happy birthday to my mom and Bryn and my mom set her fingers on fire lighting Bryn's candles. Nothing serious after the fact. It wasn't what I had envisioned but it worked. 
Wednesday, we had even bigger plans. We got ourselves cleaned up and ready and drove to Aachen. It is roughly an hour away. They just have the coolest Cathedral there.
Greg and I have been there a couple times already, but I really appreciated it more this time around. We had no problem parking in a structure and walking into the city which can sometimes be a bit tricky. We had lunch at a cafe right outside the Cathedral. We bought some chocolate printen, which is unique to the area. We didn't stay too long as it was quite cold. Then, we got back in the car and drove to Monschau. I couldn't believe that we had no issues getting out of Aachen and onto the right road to Monschau. For those of you who know me well, you know that I am a bit directionally challenged. We got to Monschau and showed this quait little town to my mom. we stopped at the Weinnachthaus (the Christmas store), took some photos, got some treats and were off again. Whatever the temperature, it always seems a bit colder in Monschau so it was very chilly. It took us about an hour and a half to get home which was just about perfect timing to meet Greg at home. 
Thursday, we took off for a long weekend in the Netherlands. We went to Gouda (like the cheese) first. What a cool town. They have these stores that have HUGE round things of cheese. I took a picture just so we wouldn't forget. We had lunch at a sandwich shop and got the girls McDonalds of course. You can take the kids out of America, but you can't escape the need for things American. 
We walked around the city center for a bit, taking a few photos here and there and then traveled to our next destination...Delft (like the porcelain). We stayed at the Hague on Thursday night which was quite nice. We walked around that evening a bit until we found a Mexican restaurant that we thought would be kid friendly. despite our fatigue, the girls did surprisingly well during dinner. Who knew that Bryn would eat Black Beans like they were going out of style. Avery was slightly disappointed as she was expecting Soft Taco Supremes from Taco Bell, but still ate the tortilla chips. Bailey did great as usual. We stopped into a small grocery outside of the hotel to get Bryn some milk and they had Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream in small containers. It was a really nice end to the day. Bryn played musical beds in the hotel that night, which is always very humorous the next day, but not really while you are changing beds all night long.
Saturday, we were excited to get out and explore. The girls and my mom had McDonalds pancakes for breakfast -- so lame. While Greg and I felt much more refined eating muffins and juice from a local establishment. We walked to the Rijksmuseum, which the architecture of the building itself is just breathtaking. Then, you get inside and see some famous Rembrandts and VerMeers and Wow...I cannot say enough. "The Night Watch" is there and the detail in the clothing is truly amazing. When you study the these things in school, you appreciate the talent that it must have taken to accomplish such things, but when you see them up close, it is almost like you are there in the picture with them. Photographs or prints do not even come close to doing them justice. You can probably tell this was one of the highlights for me. We debated about doing the boat tour and/or the Van Gogh Museum, but Greg was not feeling well and truly I think we were all a bit tired. We decided to just drive back home and have the evening to relax. I can't really think of anything else of note that we did that weekend so I will end this post there.
Thursday evening, we had a small present opening for Bryn for her birthday because it was her actual birthday. She got a cute pink shopping cart that she pushed around toys-r-us the whole time I was looking for presents for her, so I just let her believe it was the stores and when we were checking out, we added it to the bill.My mom flew in on Friday and I had a triple birthday party scheduled for Bryn, my mom, and Bailey but due to the fact that Avery didn't feel much like partying, we had to postpone. The weekend took a turn for the better. Avery seemed a bit more lively on Saturday. We decided to take a drive to the Moselthal Valley to see some castles. We saw and toured Ehrenberg castle and then we drove along the Mosel River.
We were going to go to Burg Elz Castle as well but it was getting quite late. We started out on a foottrail but it was clear Avery could not handle it. And, it was getting to be dusk, so we went back to the car and drove it instead. We decided to tour it another time. On the way home in the car, Bryn threw up. I love when you have a great day and then twenty minutes from home, someone throws up. So, we did the carry her in, stick her in the bath, stick the clothes in the washer, put a ton of blankets down, and put her in bed thing. Greg did the super serious U of M fan thing, which is get up at 2:00AM to watch football. Yes, kick-off here was a 2:00AM. On Sunday, we didn't make it to the first two hours of Church, so we just went to Sacrament meeting. After church we had the Missionaries over for dinner. We did the super easy Chicken Pot Pie and Salad dinner. We had left-over cake from the party I was going to throw on Friday night. Voila. The missionaries never seem to care what you have.
Monday, Greg decided to take the day off. We went to a walled city called Zons. It is supposed to be one of the best preserved walled cities. It was very cool.
I'm constantly telling Greg that we should retire in a little town like this. On the way back, we stopped in Koln to take my mom to the Dom, we climbed to the top yet again, had a Doner kebab, walked around the fussganger zone for a bit, and came back home for grilled pork loin, cheddar mashers, and broccoli, and kasekuchen (cheesecake) from a backerei. We had the birthday party, where we sang happy birthday to my mom and Bryn and my mom set her fingers on fire lighting Bryn's candles. Nothing serious after the fact. It wasn't what I had envisioned but it worked.
Tuesday, Greg had to work so we planned things I could handle without him. My mom had been wanting to do a river cruise down the Rhein so we decided to take the train to Remagen and then take the boat back. I had never done this before so I was a little nervous. But, we walked down to the train station and I asked for tickets to Remagen in Deutsch. I guess he understood because we got the right thing. As we were boarding the Train, my mom said the loud speaker just said "Express to Koblenz." When we got on the train I was slightly nervous that it was not going to stop in Remagen and that we would end up in Koblenz. But, it did we got off and walked to the Bridge Museum that we spoke about earlier. She loved it. She is a huge WWII buff. The boat ride was just long enough in my opinion - about 45 minutes. My kids were ready to start climbing the walls by the time it ended. The boat dropped us off in Bad Godesberg, right down the street from our house. We walked back home and relaxed for a bit.
Wednesday, we had even bigger plans. We got ourselves cleaned up and ready and drove to Aachen. It is roughly an hour away. They just have the coolest Cathedral there.
Greg and I have been there a couple times already, but I really appreciated it more this time around. We had no problem parking in a structure and walking into the city which can sometimes be a bit tricky. We had lunch at a cafe right outside the Cathedral. We bought some chocolate printen, which is unique to the area. We didn't stay too long as it was quite cold. Then, we got back in the car and drove to Monschau. I couldn't believe that we had no issues getting out of Aachen and onto the right road to Monschau. For those of you who know me well, you know that I am a bit directionally challenged. We got to Monschau and showed this quait little town to my mom. we stopped at the Weinnachthaus (the Christmas store), took some photos, got some treats and were off again. Whatever the temperature, it always seems a bit colder in Monschau so it was very chilly. It took us about an hour and a half to get home which was just about perfect timing to meet Greg at home.
Thursday, we took off for a long weekend in the Netherlands. We went to Gouda (like the cheese) first. What a cool town. They have these stores that have HUGE round things of cheese. I took a picture just so we wouldn't forget. We had lunch at a sandwich shop and got the girls McDonalds of course. You can take the kids out of America, but you can't escape the need for things American. 
We walked around the city center for a bit, taking a few photos here and there and then traveled to our next destination...Delft (like the porcelain). We stayed at the Hague on Thursday night which was quite nice. We walked around that evening a bit until we found a Mexican restaurant that we thought would be kid friendly. despite our fatigue, the girls did surprisingly well during dinner. Who knew that Bryn would eat Black Beans like they were going out of style. Avery was slightly disappointed as she was expecting Soft Taco Supremes from Taco Bell, but still ate the tortilla chips. Bailey did great as usual. We stopped into a small grocery outside of the hotel to get Bryn some milk and they had Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream in small containers. It was a really nice end to the day. Bryn played musical beds in the hotel that night, which is always very humorous the next day, but not really while you are changing beds all night long.Friday morning, we walked to a bakery and got some beignets, croissants, juice, etc. for breakfast. We got our car out of the parking structure, which was an event in itself. The hotel had given us a ticket for prepaid parking and we thought this ticket would get us out of the parking structure. Seems reasonable enough right? Well, it was a bit more complicated than that. But, as we were already at the gate, entering our card, waiting for the gate to open, we realized there was an extra step we must have missed. We eventually figured it out but not before Greg backed up the ramp as to not block anyone elses departure from the structure. Great Fun! We drove to Amsterdam. We spent the day touring the city and taking a tour of Anne Frank's House. The line was quite long but the girls did really well. It really is quite a good museum and I think a good learning experience for the girls, although I'm quite sure they don't fully understand why a girl and her family needed to hide out and never let anyone see or hear them. It was a bit chilly and we thought too late to do the boat ride around the canals. We went to our hotel and kicked back. We decided to order room service that night because no one felt like going back out to get dinner.
Saturday, we were excited to get out and explore. The girls and my mom had McDonalds pancakes for breakfast -- so lame. While Greg and I felt much more refined eating muffins and juice from a local establishment. We walked to the Rijksmuseum, which the architecture of the building itself is just breathtaking. Then, you get inside and see some famous Rembrandts and VerMeers and Wow...I cannot say enough. "The Night Watch" is there and the detail in the clothing is truly amazing. When you study the these things in school, you appreciate the talent that it must have taken to accomplish such things, but when you see them up close, it is almost like you are there in the picture with them. Photographs or prints do not even come close to doing them justice. You can probably tell this was one of the highlights for me. We debated about doing the boat tour and/or the Van Gogh Museum, but Greg was not feeling well and truly I think we were all a bit tired. We decided to just drive back home and have the evening to relax. I can't really think of anything else of note that we did that weekend so I will end this post there.
Comments