Adventures in Germany

Our time here in Germany is winding down.  But, we wanted to do one more day trip so yesterday we drove about 1.5 hours to Oberstdorf near Austria.  There are a lot of neat things to do in Oberstdorf because the Alps are there!  I know what you're thinking.......Alps, rolling green hills, "The Sound of Music,".....did you fulfill you're life-long dream of recreating "The Sound of Music" scene by singing in the Alps...well sort of :-) We didn't get as early a start as we would have liked so we planned to hike at just one place, Breitach Gorge.  Jesse was there once before and it was a beautiful place!  Here's a little info about the Gorge: "This unique monument of nature is the deepest and most fascinating rock gorge in Middle Europe.  It was formed about 10,000 years ago when the melting Breitach glacier and its water forced its way through the chalk stone of the Engenkopf mountain."  First, you hike/walk through the Gorge, it was quite c...

On Sunday we were pretty worn out from the wedding over the weekend so we decided to stay local.  We had lunch at a little cafe then walked up to the Heidenheim castle. Not sure how old it is exactly, but it was really neat!  A great view of the town and there are 2 museums there.  We didn't go in the museums as there was only an hour left before they closed.  Here are some pictures: There are goats that live on the hillside next to the castle.  Of course Jesse had to try to feed them leaves. Path leading up to the castle. On the walls of the castle A view looking out over Heidenheim Part of the castle wall I'm glad we finally walked up to see the castle.  It was a little windy and cold, we would've stayed longer to walk around, but it wasn't that nice of a day. The beginning of this week has been pretty low-key.  Valerie had a stomach bug yesterday (her first one ever).  Luckily she only got sick a few times, and ...

Yesterday we went to a wedding for one of Jesse's German friends/co-workers.  It was Valerie's first wedding.  It was also the first Catholic or German wedding Jesse and I have been to.  We didn't understand anything at the wedding, but we just went with the flow and mainly focused on keeping Valerie happy and quiet.  She did really well!  For the first 45 minutes she quietly emptied my diaper bag, and then emptied it again and again as we would repack it.  I took her out for the last 15 minutes or so because she was getting squirmy and it was really quiet because they were taking communion.  The church was beautiful inside.  Not big, but the decor and architecture was so ornate.  The ceremony was followed by snacks (mostly bread and pretzels) and champagne in an outside area right next to the church.  The wedding started at 1pm and around 3 or 3:30 pm every one followed in their cars to the reception venue about 15 minutes away. So...

Hi there! In my last post I mentioned that we were going to a wedding this coming weekend here in Germany.  Last night (Wednesday) we went to a traditional pre-wedding party where they break plates.  The guests bring dishware to smash and the bride and groom have to clean it up together to show that they can successfully work together.  How many plates or dishes do you think they would break?  Well, I thought everyone would bring a dish to break, they'd clean them up and that would be it.  We'd have some food, drinks, and head home.  Nope.  The plate-breaking happened all evening!!  The party started around 6:30 pm, we left around 9 pm and there was no stopping in the near future.  The bride and groom said it could last until midnight!  The guests would smash dishware in the driveway and the bride and groom had to keep cleaning it up!  They had tents set up with food and drinks and a fire in the driveway.  It was a chilly, da...

Greetings! Another week is flying by here in Germany!  This past Sunday another one of Jesse's German co-workers invited us to spend the day with him and his family.  We first met them in a town called Schwabisch Gmund where we took a rainy tour of some of the city's highlights.  We saw some old churches dating back to about the 1100s and 1300s.  One church we went into had an organist practicing for an evening concert that would happen later.  It really set the mood to look around with a beautiful pipe organ playing in the background.  We didn't take many pictures because it was raining and we were wrestling with umbrellas and taking turns carrying Valerie in the baby bjorn. Later we went back to the family's house for a walk and some afternoon coffee and cake.  I love the focus on the family that the Germans seem to have.  The few times we have been invited over to German houses who have teenage kids (roughly 10-17 years old) the whole famil...

Hi there! Can't believe we've been here for almost 2 weeks already!  Definitely getting settled in and we have adjusted to the time change.  I do miss some things about the US and our home, mostly baby related things.  Like Valerie's high chair or a carpeted place for her to play.  Here is a list of several odd things I've noticed or miss about the US.... 1-You can't just order regular FREE water when you are at a restaurant.  Even if you order water, they will give you bottled water.  Which means I usually get something else to drink because I figure I'll pay no matter what.  Although, on the positive side I love sparkling water (seltzer) and it's everywhere here.  I've also discovered the drink they call "spezi"-cola mixed with orange soda.  Sounds weird, I know, but it's pretty good! 2-We LOVE milk.  A liter doesn't last us very long and it's the biggest size I can find. 3-No peanut butter?  Seriously?  You are missi...

Guten Tag! I have wanted to update the blog for several days, but we've been having problems with our internet.  I find it really frustrating because it feels very isolating without it, it is my connection to home!  Jesse's co-worker has been extremely helpful in assisting us with our internet problems since everything is in German. Wednesday this week (October 3rd) was a German holiday.  It was Reunification Day...to recognize the ending of East and West Germany. The reunification happened in 1990.  All the schools were closed and it was also a work holiday.  Jesse did work for a little while in the morning.  One of his co-workers invited us over to have lunch with his family.  They were very nice!  Their kids are older, but they got out all kinds of baby-friendly toys for Valerie.  They also had a pet rabbit which Valerie really liked seeing.  After lunch we went for a walk in a nearby area.  It was beautiful!  There were...