Fifty-First Week in Germany
The girls had the week off of school this week. Monday was a H
oliday - I'm not sure what this one was about either - but everything was closed none-the-less. Greg was doing a bit of traveling for work to Spain, Saarlouis, and England so the girls and I had the whole week to play. And, play we did! Monday was just a day of rest for us. The older girls and I played Monopoly while Bryn took a nap. Yes, Bailey won. I attribute it to luck, it has nothing to do with the way I handle money!!! Tuesday, we had a girly shopping day in Bonn and bought some new clothes. Wednesday, we went to the pool because the weather was fantastic. I forgot the camera so these were taken with my cell phone. I never use the phone camera but I thought these turned out pretty good. By Thursday, we were a bit tired and the weather took a turn for the worse. We spent some time talking about Birthday parties this year. I realize that they are 3 - 5 months away but there will be a new baby arriving sometime during that time and in case we need to order some things from the US...these things take time.
Greg had a day off on Friday and we spontaneously decided on a trip to the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) Region. We stopped in a town called Staufen im Breisgau, where we found a Bäckerei and had a slice of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cake). It was a very cool town. We made our way to the Todtnau Waterfall. By the time we got there, Avery and Bryn were asleep, so Greg and Bailey made the trek to the waterfall. The weather was surprisingly good. The forecast called for an 80% chance of rain but it was mostly sunny all day. We stayed in Freiburg, both Friday and Saturday nights. It was a great hotel with a view looking down on the city. There were fireworks on Friday night which made Avery and Bryn really excited to watch them from our windows. Greg and Bailey had already fallen asleep.
Saturday we first went to a Bäckerei for breakfast. Yummm. They had the
best custard filled croissants. Then we moved on to Neuf Brisach in the Alsace Region of France. The town is a walled city that was encompassed by two octagonal moats. We walked along the path of the inner ring of the moat that was once filled with water. The girls loved this. They ran, threw rocks, jumped, ran, ran some more. It was nice for them to be able to get some of the pent up energy out. We moved on to Colmar, which is a town in France that had a history of switching back and forth between France and Germany. We walked throughout the town and decided to grab a bite of Quiche Lorraine. Let me say, my hard earned educational background in French has disappeared. I started ordering in French and finished the sentence in German. My German teacher thought this was hilarious when I told him, but I was actually very disappointed. The quiche, however, was excellent. We went back and tried another slice, this time Quiche Munster. Not as good. We walked to Petit Venise which was right along the canal with many fresh fish restaurants. As we walked back to the where the car was parked, there was an old fashioned Carousel which we had to let the kids ride. On the second go, Bailey put the girls in a fast spinning hot air balloon car (like the tea cups at Disney World). Bryn unfortunately threw up in the car, after Baileys stellar skill at spinning them as fast as she could.
We then made our way to the Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, which sits in the Vosges Mountains. It was an enormous castle. It was said to be built in the 1100's but was badly damaged during the 30 Years War. They were just celebrating the 100 Year Anniversary of Reconstruction which took place from 1900 - 1908. On the way back to the car, we saw many snails along our path. The girls were most intrigued by all of the different sizes, colors, shell colors, etc. We went back to Freiburg and had dinner. Our hotel had a pool (which is not common here) and the girls were extremely excited to try it out. Greg took the older two to appease their desire. Avery put one toe in and that was it. Apparently, the water was freezing.
Sunday, we decided to drive the Route des Crete, through the Vosges Mountains on the way home. We stopped at a military museum along the way from WWI, Le Vieil Armand. My Grandfather was stationed in France in WWI but we had no idea where. Still, it was interesting to see the kind of uniforms they wore, guns they used, their boots and canteens, etc. It was a very nice memorial for the 12, 000 unknown soldiers that had been buried there and a cemetary for others that perished there from 1914 - 1918. Greg stopped at one more site Le Grand Ballon (the highest point in the Vosges Mountains at 1424m) but by now it was pouring rain and the rest of us, just waited for him in the car. It took us longer than we thought it would to do the drive but the girls handled it just fine. We were glad to get home.
oliday - I'm not sure what this one was about either - but everything was closed none-the-less. Greg was doing a bit of traveling for work to Spain, Saarlouis, and England so the girls and I had the whole week to play. And, play we did! Monday was just a day of rest for us. The older girls and I played Monopoly while Bryn took a nap. Yes, Bailey won. I attribute it to luck, it has nothing to do with the way I handle money!!! Tuesday, we had a girly shopping day in Bonn and bought some new clothes. Wednesday, we went to the pool because the weather was fantastic. I forgot the camera so these were taken with my cell phone. I never use the phone camera but I thought these turned out pretty good. By Thursday, we were a bit tired and the weather took a turn for the worse. We spent some time talking about Birthday parties this year. I realize that they are 3 - 5 months away but there will be a new baby arriving sometime during that time and in case we need to order some things from the US...these things take time.
Greg had a day off on Friday and we spontaneously decided on a trip to the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) Region. We stopped in a town called Staufen im Breisgau, where we found a Bäckerei and had a slice of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cake). It was a very cool town. We made our way to the Todtnau Waterfall. By the time we got there, Avery and Bryn were asleep, so Greg and Bailey made the trek to the waterfall. The weather was surprisingly good. The forecast called for an 80% chance of rain but it was mostly sunny all day. We stayed in Freiburg, both Friday and Saturday nights. It was a great hotel with a view looking down on the city. There were fireworks on Friday night which made Avery and Bryn really excited to watch them from our windows. Greg and Bailey had already fallen asleep.
Staufen im Breisgau
Todtnau Waterfall
Freiburg
Saturday we first went to a Bäckerei for breakfast. Yummm. They had the
best custard filled croissants. Then we moved on to Neuf Brisach in the Alsace Region of France. The town is a walled city that was encompassed by two octagonal moats. We walked along the path of the inner ring of the moat that was once filled with water. The girls loved this. They ran, threw rocks, jumped, ran, ran some more. It was nice for them to be able to get some of the pent up energy out. We moved on to Colmar, which is a town in France that had a history of switching back and forth between France and Germany. We walked throughout the town and decided to grab a bite of Quiche Lorraine. Let me say, my hard earned educational background in French has disappeared. I started ordering in French and finished the sentence in German. My German teacher thought this was hilarious when I told him, but I was actually very disappointed. The quiche, however, was excellent. We went back and tried another slice, this time Quiche Munster. Not as good. We walked to Petit Venise which was right along the canal with many fresh fish restaurants. As we walked back to the where the car was parked, there was an old fashioned Carousel which we had to let the kids ride. On the second go, Bailey put the girls in a fast spinning hot air balloon car (like the tea cups at Disney World). Bryn unfortunately threw up in the car, after Baileys stellar skill at spinning them as fast as she could.
Neuf Brisach
Colmar Slideshow
We then made our way to the Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, which sits in the Vosges Mountains. It was an enormous castle. It was said to be built in the 1100's but was badly damaged during the 30 Years War. They were just celebrating the 100 Year Anniversary of Reconstruction which took place from 1900 - 1908. On the way back to the car, we saw many snails along our path. The girls were most intrigued by all of the different sizes, colors, shell colors, etc. We went back to Freiburg and had dinner. Our hotel had a pool (which is not common here) and the girls were extremely excited to try it out. Greg took the older two to appease their desire. Avery put one toe in and that was it. Apparently, the water was freezing.
Sunday, we decided to drive the Route des Crete, through the Vosges Mountains on the way home. We stopped at a military museum along the way from WWI, Le Vieil Armand. My Grandfather was stationed in France in WWI but we had no idea where. Still, it was interesting to see the kind of uniforms they wore, guns they used, their boots and canteens, etc. It was a very nice memorial for the 12, 000 unknown soldiers that had been buried there and a cemetary for others that perished there from 1914 - 1918. Greg stopped at one more site Le Grand Ballon (the highest point in the Vosges Mountains at 1424m) but by now it was pouring rain and the rest of us, just waited for him in the car. It took us longer than we thought it would to do the drive but the girls handled it just fine. We were glad to get home.
Comments