Bayern or Bust

The highlight of the month for us was a visit from Grandma Thomas. My dad was in Munich for business and was also able to come after my mom came. He stayed for 2 days and the girls loved every minute with him. It was so great to have the feeling of family close by after 5 months of being around only new people and strangers.

Ben had been wanting to get back down to visit his mission area and we figured that Grandma Thomas's visit would be a perfect time to do this! She was such a huge help to us on the trip--from cleaning our vacation rental and putting the girls to bed to paying for things and helping out while we toured for a week.

Here's my beautiful mom with my sweet husband and KT bug. We had to rotate seating because of car sickness and kid-entertaining-exhaustion.

We drove about 5 hours south, stopping at the Frankfurt Temple and also Munich on the way, to a little mountain town called Chiemgau and stayed in a vacation rental for 5 nights. I would highly recommend this for anyone traveling on a budget. We payed only 60 euros a night for a 2 bedroom apartment with a kitchen.

We really picked a great time to take a vacation , right?

Here's a little video of Ben and Natalee at the apartment in Chiemsee.

We had great weather the the first full day in Chiemgau. We went to Prien, which is a port town on Chiemsee (See=Lake). We took a boat to Herrenchiemsee island and took a beautiful 30 minute walk up to the Herrenchiemsee castle. We took a tour, ate lunch, then made our way back to the ship.

When we got back, Kaitlyn and I trecked up the hill behind the house and attempted to sled.We had no snow clothes so we were very wet! The snow was way too wet and we went absolutely nowhere. Kaitlyn enjoyed munching on the snow...so she was content!

Day 2, of which we have no pictures, was spent in Innsbruck, a town in the Austrian Alps. We went to the Innsbruck zoo, which is situated on the side of a mountain. It was a workout for Ben, as he had the duty of pushing the stroller up all the hills. This was probably the first time that the girls actually enjoyed a zoo that we've gone to!

We spent Sunday driving up to Neuoetting and attending a small branch (congregation) where Ben knew a lot of people from his missionary days. It was such an amazing thing to see that the church is the same wherever in the world we go and no matter how few members there are. The teachings are the same and the faith is as strong. There were probably about 15 people attending and many recognized Ben and made us all feel welcome.

Here is the branch meeting house

Day 4 was spent in Salzburg, Austria--the city of Mozart and Julie Andrews. Our first destination was through the center of Mount Moenchberg by elevator. We were able to see the whole city of Austria from the top.

A mime in the square that handed out stickers when Kaitlyn dropped a coin in his pot.

We also went to Mozart's birthhouse, ate some Mozart Kugel (chocolate balls), got ice cream and then walked through the city up to Hohensalzburg, the 14th century fortress that overlooks the city. We zipped up to the top by train and took a tour. I don't know...castles are great and all...but certainly challenging to take 2 small children through. Not sure if the effort of getting up there and keeping the kids in line was worth the things that we saw as we walked around. I think they can be best enjoyed from afar.

Here is the castle on our way up in the train. There's also a good view of the castle in the picture of Ben and Jess above.

Overall, we really thought Salzburg was a beautiful city. It was neat to be walking the streets and seeing the buildings as Mozart had once done.

Day 5 was our favorite day. We checked out of the Ferienwohnung and drove southwest to Garmisch Partenkirchen to the Zugspitze, the highest peak in Germany. We took a train up to the plateau and then a cablecar up to the very top. The views were astounding and we all got willies in our bellies when we would lean against the railing. The Italian and Austrian alps were all around us. Kaitlyn and I threw snowballs and ice off the side, watching it splat on the cliffs below us. Not exactly a skiing expert here, but it looked like a great place to ski. We were probably the only people up there not dressed in ski clothes!

We made a beautiful drive away from Garmisch and went to Schwangau- the home of the "Cinderella" castle, called Neuschwanstein. My mom treated us to a hotel right at the base of the castle.

That next morning, Day 6, was a cold and foggy day. We took a horse drawn carriage up the mountain to the castle and did not do the tour, based on previous castle tour disasters of the trip! We took a 20 minute walk over to the Marienbruecke which provided a spectacular view of the side of the castle that had construction on it. Nevertheless, the landscape beneath us and around us far outdid the manmade structure.

By the end of the trip, we had watched at least 15 hours of Barney and Natalee was once again dependent upon the binki. What can I say. Its all about survival! I am certainly looking forward to the days when Natalee can sit contently during a car trip without a constant song and a dance. I'm so grateful for our little Kaitlyn who sat quietly and enjoyed herself.

Doesn't she look spent? You should've seen her parents and grandma at this point!

Growing up

We were talking today about how much the girls are growing. Sometimes we are so anxious for our kids to grow out of the "diapers, cutting up food, constant needs" stage, but then there's times that we really enjoy this stage of their lives.

The last month has been very rainy and chilly, making it difficult to play or walk outside. When the sun peeks its face from behind the clouds or if I see even a small amount of blue, I want to just capture it and make it stay. Coming are the days of outside play and walks after dinner.

I've always believed that kids are happier when they're outside, and that every child needs at least an hour outside every day.

A few pics and words about the girls.

Kaitlyn

Saying simple sentences in German

Attending German Kindergarten

Loves to swing and draw

Roams the neighborhood looking for her friends or riding her bike

Natalee

Favorite phrases are "hemee" (help me), "ahback" (be right back) and "comeen now"

Loves to play kitchen and push anything around

Addicted to the night binki

Gives the greatest, wettest, mushiest, longest kisses

Signs

Things around here are changing little by little.

Though the temperatures are still quite chilly, they are creeping up and spring is starting to peek. I love flowers and I love working outdoors in the garden. (Chalk that up to being raised in a family that did yardwork and a mother who also loves being in the yard.) The weekly outdoor markets and the grocery stores are now selling tulips and sprouted bulbs for people to plant. I chuckle as I walk by in my coat, shivering. Nevertheless, we do have crocuses in our yard and I am quite thrilled. Its the beginning of warm. Never thought I'd miss it.

Another pleasant gift that came our way this week was an attention span for Natalee. Although she didn't sit through more than 15 minutes of the Barney movie, we were still so thrilled. "Its the beginning of a new era", Ben said. A nice but outspoken woman in our ward came down on us for letting our kids watch movies on car trips. What would she say about sticking our 1 year old in front of a movie while we, heaven forbid, get dinner ready without her constant whining and pulling??

Karneval was last week. The celebration seemed to never end! It began on Wednesday and ended Monday night. Kaitlyn dressed up for school on Wednesday and then we went to the primary karneval activity at the church on Saturday evening. I found Karneval to be a very peculiar holiday, given that Germans are stereotypically more serious, to themselves and reserved. They sure suprised me.

Ben in dreads and Nat as a ballerina dancing in the train.

Our primary has about 25 kids, 12-15 of which are American. I am the teacher for the 3-4 year olds and have been asked by our bishop to teach my lessons in German. Its a great place for me to start because I do a lot of repeating and use a lot of simple words. Its very humbling!

National Pastime

Being at a German soccer match is not like any sporting event I've been to in the US. The closest description would be an intense high school rivalry football game, in the play-offs and then multiply that by a 1000 (give or take a few). And the funny thing was this game wasn't even between rivals.



My good friend from church, Manfred (pictured above), invited me to join him in watching his team, F.C. Köln, play against Karlsruhe about two weeks ago (yeah, I'm slow getting this up but hey it's here now).


Here is the fan section where they go NUTS throughout the whole game. And this particular game was rather boring (0-0 draw) and sloppy, but they were still relentless. There were chanting wars with the opposing fans (who are kept VERY seperate from the home fans in a seperately "caged" corner of the stadium). The riot police were stationed outside and the calvary was on hand in case the fans got into a tussle. As you know, alcohol consumption is quite high in Germany...so they only serve non-alcoholic beverages in the stadium...which means all the local pubs are quite busy before and after the game. There were even a group of guys just peeing in the field outside of the stadium...right there in the open. Welcome to Europe.

The whole crowd sang the team anthem. It sounded very much like a song you would hear in a beer tent, and that is likely where it originated from!

The part I thought was pretty cool was the fans participation in announcing the starting line-up (in video below, although the video takes away what it really sounded like). The announcer would say the player's number and first name to which the crowd, in perfect unison, would scream the players last name. The social coordination at these games is quite amazing, and it's all the unwritten rules and mores that are simply followed by the fans who have grown up going to these games. I was surrounded by giddy kids watching the whole game ranging in age from 7 or 8 (months) up to about 78 (not joking).

Like I said, the game ended sloppily and in a draw, but it felt great to be watching and I look forward to many more games in the future.

Living in a foreign country sometimes shakes your confidence in the way you've always done things. You see the way that others do things and ask, so I am I bad person because I don't do it that way?

From day one I've been very aware of what others may think of me. As much as Americans and the english language are thought of as "cool" here, I've not really wanted to let on that I am one. When I am out shopping by myself, I can now manage to almost hide my "foreignness". When I am out shopping with the girls and they scream and whine in English, I'm toast.

Perhaps, though, I am a dead give away inspite of language. Maybe people look at my jacket, purse, shoes, stroller, hairstyle, smile (some Germans are pretty grumpy)--and they know I am not from around here. It was especially hard the first few months because I didn't know how to do things "correctly" out in public. But now, I have a handle on it and I am trying my very best to blend in.

Another thing that sets me apart from the majority of mothers here is my age. I haven't met one mother yet who is younger than 30--even the American women in our ward with small children--they are all older. The mothers at Kaitlyn's Kindergarten, the mothers at Natalee's weekly playgroup--mothers pushing strollers down the street--all much older. So now, not only am I naive because I'm foreign, but now I'm also naive because I'm young. And 27 isn't that young--but I look young (thanks to mom!!)

Natalee and I attend a little playgroup through the Evangelische church that meets once a week for 1.5 hours. All of the women are German and they have been very nice and welcoming. I can't help but wonder what they think of me, though. The first week, I forgot Frühstuck (breakfast) for Natalee and everyone was very kind to let us borrow their food (even though Natalee wasn't interested). They didn't want her to starve. (ha)
Today, a woman said to me:

"Kann ich dir eine Frage stellen? "(can I ask you a question)

"Ja, naturlich. " (yes, of course)

She proceeded to ask me why I don't dress Natalee warmer. Why are her shirt and socks so thin? Why doesn't she wear an undershirt?

Immediately my defenses came up. Partly because I'm so tired of people fussing over my children and my things, and partly because that's the reaction any mother would have to a question that stands to doubt her abilities to protect and nurture.

Today, the temperatures were around 8 degrees celcius (47 Fahrenheit) with a little drizzle of rain. I dressed Natalee in a long sleeved shirt, courderoy pants, regular socks/shoes, and her winter coat. I dressed very similarly and I was comfortable.

" Well, if I am comfortable wearing the same thing, I don't worry too much about her. Its not that cold today"

" Yes, but she is smaller and doesn't move around as much, especially when she's in the stroller" (by the way...Nat's hardly in a stroller. She hates it.)

"She's got a lot of baby fat to keep her warm. She's fine."

" I don't want to make you upset or anything. I just wanted to ask. There's a flu epidemic going around and if the children are cold, then they will get sick."

DOCH! LÄCHERLICH!

There is a learning curve that I am trying to get over--I can't expect others to accept my weirdness if I can't accept theirs, right?

On the brighter side, I went and bought a used sofa bed at the church and paid only 15 euros for it. The men that work there delivered it to me free of charge and were so kind. I really truly have met so many kind and helpful people here...and then some people that are too helpful for their own good.

42 days before Easter (22.Feb) marks the celebration of Karneval. Its a combination of Mardi Gras and Halloween, marked by floats, parades, costumes, and candy. This is a picture of last year's Karneval here in Lintorf. If you're dying to know more about Karneval, visit: http://www.mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au/la/lote/german/links/topics/karneval.htm

I don't know what makes one week harder to cope with than others, but this week has been such a challenging week. However, the Lord keeps teaching us and opening up doors for us, literally, in some cases.
Last Sunday, we got home from church to find that we could not get into our house because our other pair of house keys was inside...in the door. We tried for a while with no results and then finally realized we needed to pray. Almost immediately after we said the prayer, Ben put the key in, pushed the door, and we were in. We were just glad we didn't have to break yet another window!

I managed to lose my wallet...but I knew I'd find it because we always find things that we lose. After tearing through our whole house, I still couldn't find it. Later that day,though, I got a call from a man asking for me--but by my full name. Nobody here knows me by that name--except someone looking at my drivers license. Turns out, this man lived right by the doctors office that I had gone to the day before and found it on the street. EHH?? On the street?? Thank goodness for honest people. Everything was in my wallet. Again, I was amazed at the Lord's mercy and humbled at His time table. I so often want things to be found or fixed right away. Many times there's a lesson to learn.

A few highlights from our week:

We spent Saturday afternoon at the AquaZoo and the girls enjoyed seeing the penguins and sealions. Afterwards we went to a park and had some frenchfries.

We were pleased to finally get our freezer down the narrow curvy stairs to the basement--thanks to our friendly, helpful landlord, Andy. Ben and I tried to do it the night he brought it home and I about sent it down the stairs on top of him--but since he's so cute, I decided that smashing him wouldn't be a good idea.

For family night, we assembled a fort in the laundry room out of wardrobe boxes from our move. Ben even cut windows that opened and shut. Kaitlyn has since decorated it with crayons. Sometimes all a kid needs is a good box to play in, right?

I have a very understanding and "in-tune" husband. He has noticed my difficulty lately with the girls and so he took a day off work and encouraged me to get away for the day and come home whenever I wanted. Once I got over feeling totally guilty, I planned some activities and then I was outta there. I drove about an hour and a half south through some very beautiful countryside. There are some parts of Germany that are kind of bland, old and industrial--but once you get outside of the city, there are open fields and small towns dotted with church steeples and pitched roofs. I arrived at the Landschafts Museum which sat atop a hill and, while feeling very cold and wearing heeled boots on cobblestone, took a 1 hour walking tour through historical villages and homes. It was a very calm and peaceful day for me.

Then I came upon an exhibition building with these freaky wax people inside, depicting life of a German family in the 19th century--having tea of course.

I felt like Will Smith in Legacy as I approached one scene of a wife and child saying goodbye to their husband and father who was going off to fight in the war. Their feelings were so tangible and their expressions so life-like...I wanted to ask them how hard it was to say goodbye.

My next stop was the movie theater in Koln (Cologne) where I finally got to see Twilight. I quite enjoyed it and left secretly hoping that Ben was really a vampire.

But then I realized that I have something much better--a husband who makes sacrifices and knows my needs. A husband who had the kids in bed and the dishes done when I got home. And I do get to have him forever.

Big Ooops

Today, I earned the mother-of-the-year award from Natalee. I also earned neighbor of the year from my landlord next door.

I was heading out to run some errands and to pick up Kaitlyn from Kindergarten. I had my keys in my hand. I strapped Natalee in her carseat, threw my keys on the middle console and then shut the door. I walked around to the drivers side door and it was locked...infact, all the doors were locked. Normally, I would've grabbed our spare set of keys, but alas, they have been missing for several weeks.

I ran to my neighbor, who is our landlord and who has been a lifesaver time and again. This was certainly a time that my life needed saving. In my simple German, I tried to explain to her what had happened. Between me,her and her maid, we came up with a plan. We decided to call the insurance company and they were going to send someone right away.

I kept running out to Natalee to see if she was okay. As time passed, tears came (from me and from Natalee), her shoes and socks came off, her face became pale and her nose became red. In the mean time, Corni and I were doing all we could to console the locked-in Natalee.--singing, dancing, you name it. My heart was broken for her! If only she could unbuckle herself and climb to the keys and hit the right button...but there was no possible way!

So, the man showed up and broke a small window, attached a wire to the end of my broom handle and oh so carefully got the keys. Talk about technology at work. 50 Euros and a broken window later, I grabbed Natalee and kissed and hugged her. It felt like she'd been trapped in there for a lifetime.

I told the man I wanted to snap some pictures for the memory books and he played along and was so funny!

Here is my neighbor helping Natalee after we got the car unlocked. She is the best! I couldn't have asked for a better neighbor/landlord. Her German is a little fast for me, but I am learning so much. Last week, Ben called me from a city 20 minutes away saying, "I took the wrong train from the airport, can you come get me?" So at 8:30pm, I called her up and she came over so I could go pick up Ben. There is so much more I could tell.