First Visitors!

My parents came to visit for 2 1/2 weeks.  It was fun showing them our fun little villiage and surrounding areas.  We also went on two weekend trips.  It was very busy, but enjoyable. 

 On our way to Regensburg by train.

 The first weekend, we went to Czech and Poland.  Bryan, Kate, and I are on the platz of Prague Castle.  

 My mom taught Kate to wink.  You'll see that Kate is winking in a couple of the pictures.  This is in Prague.

We drove up to Boleslawiec, Poland to get pottery.  I have been wanting to make it here since I saw my friends pottery dishes.  So neat.  I think it is something great to bring back home as a reminder of living in Europe.  I got a whole new set of dishes for Christmas.  Can't wait to actually use them!

 A neat little restaurant in Boleslawiec.  The foods not to great, but it's traditional Poland food.  I mostly only like perogies.  I remember eating a lot of those at school in Pennsylvania.

 We drove to Auschwitz for a more historical visit.  That sign above the camp is not the original.  Someone stole it in 2006.  It was found in pieces.  The sign in Dachau was recently stolen too (November 2014).  So sad that people are destroying important pieces of history.  The sign means "Work Makes You Free".  Hitler gained his power through helping Germany out of the depression by finding work.

 A very sobering experience. It's hard to imagine 1.3 million people were killed here. 

 Kate loves her "Pa pa".

 Our Thanksgiving.  We had pizza, salad, and bread in Sicily, Italy.  I enjoyed not having the pressure of cooking a turkey in the small German ovens this year. Maybe next year, I just order KFC?

 Our hike up to Taormina.  Beautiful city.  Famous by the movie "The Godfather". 

 An ancient Roman ampitheater in Taormina, used only for theater (not gladiator games). The day started out beautiful, but then the clouds took over.

 Kate loves her grandma and grandpa.  They gave her wonderful presents that make annoying noises that go on and on and on.  I guess that's payback? In this picture, we ate at a authentic Sicilian Restaurant.  Most of the stuff we ate, we didn't order.  It was a 4 course deal and the waiter told us what to order.

The last night here, I took my parents to a Christmas Market in Nurnberg.  So magical.  You could spend a lot of money here eating treats and buying junk.  The Germans sure know how to do Christmas here though! 

We miss you already! Come back in July!