Auf Wiedersehen

I like to keep a list of all the things we have done in the "area" where ever we move.  One, I can look back and see all the things we have accomplished.  Two, others can browse through and get ideas. And three, I like lists.  I already have a few things to check off in San Antonio!

Black Forest, Triberg waterfall, bought cookoo clock

Prague (bone church)

Berlin

Tropical Paradise

Eagles Nest (want to hike someday)

Salzburg 

Berchtesgaden

Lake Konigssee

Phantom of the Opera Musical in London

Dachau 

Auschwitz-Birkenau

Brussels, Brugge, Ghent

Hiked Zugspitz

Bastei Bridge

Devils Bridge

Polish pottery shopping in Boleslaweic x3

Rhein falls, Lucerne, and Lauterbrunnen

Kuekenhof tulip festival (maybe later in the season)

Hofbrauhaus & Munich

Nuremberg rally grounds and castle

Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Nymphenburg, Herrenchiemsee castles

Ettal monostary, cheese making 

Ring tour and Rudesheim

Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival x2

Straubing Fest x3

Highline 179 and ruins

Innsbruck

Belgian waffles and chocolate

Lake Bled & Vintgar gorge, Slovenia

Ski in Austria x 1

Guteneck Christmas market x2

Dresden Christmas market

Hike Jenner Mountain

Kranjska Gora, Slovenia and snowshoe to waterfall (drive up the road made by WWI POW)

Nurnberg Christmas market x2

Hike Appenzell, Switzerland 

Thurn taxis Christmas market

Buy Holland shoes and see the windmills

Kuhstallcafe Christmas market

Sicily- Catania, Taormina 

Partenkirchen gorge

Kuchlbauer Tower tour and Christmas market

Stonehenge

Parsberg Christmas market

Lupberg Christmas market

Playmobil 

Cologne fasching

Neumarkt Christmas market

Bath, UK

Dietfurt Chinese fasching x2

Liverpool, UK

Munich 10K, glockenspiel, English park surfing

Nurnberg color run 5k

Berglegenfeld Christmas market

Pottenstein, Germany

Waldwipfeldweg

Rothenburg- Christmas market and night watchmen tour

Vienna and Bratislava

Half marathon in Vienna, Austria

Kristall Palm Beach

Rome, Pompeii, Herculeneum, Capri 

Wunseidel Rock Labyrinth 

Parkstein inactive volcano

Lake Garda and Verona

Ronda, Nerja, & Malaga Spain

Hiked Caminito del Rey

Würtzburg 1/2 marathon

Snow White Castle in Lohr 

Gibraltar (tour of the caves)

DB museum, Nurnberg

Heidelberg, Märchen Paradies

Luxembourg City, casemates, American cemetery and memorial

Ljubljana dragon bridge and castle

Postojna castle & cave

Croatia: Plitvice National Park, Split, Dubrovnik, Krka National Park, Zadar sea organ

1/2 marathon Füssen

Ice cave hike in Berchtesgaden

Hallstatt, Austria and bone house

Mittenwald and Krün Almabtrieb

Oktoberfest 

Half marathon France

Mediterranean East Cruise- Venice, Corfu, Mykonos, Santorini, Athens

Athens authentic marathon 2016

Anne Frank house, Corrie ten Boon house 

Budapest, Hungary: parliament, Buda castle, St. Stephen's basilica, market square, Christmas markets, old synagogue, heroes square

Vienna Christmas market, Straubing Christmas market, Stuttgart Christmas market, Strasbourg Christmas market 

Skiing Söll, Austria x 3

Fuerteventura, Canary Island, Spain

Therme Erding 

Velburg fasching parade

Disneyland Paris, Eiffel Tower Carousel

Cesky Krumlov girls weekend

Barcelona and hiked up Montserrat

Scotland: Stirling, the Kelpies, Edinburgh, the Trossachs, Isle of Arran, Hadrian's wall

Ireland: Killarney NP, gap of Dunloe, ring of Kerry, Dingle, Cliffs of Moher, Dublin, Burran NP, Book of Kells

1/2 Marathon Karlovy Vary

Beer bath

We have high hopes of returning back to Europe, whether on vacation or another tour with the military.  I still want to visit northern France, do a Band of Brothers tour, and go to Paris as a family.  Of course, there are plenty of other things I'd love to do, but that was high on our list.  We just didn't have time.  Unti   

Greek Isle Cruise

We have successfully completed our first family cruise.  There were many things we loved about it, and then there were some things we didn't love about it.  Overall, it was a great way to see the islands we wouldn't have otherwise been able to see.  We ported out of Venice.  I just loved this city.  It was so neat to see the way construction workers have to use boats to bring in concrete or how the trash is loaded onto boats or the water ambulance.  Plus, the views, architecture, food, and history.  

Kate loved trying on all the Venetian masks.  We took two home with us!

Jane LOVED chasing the pigeons at St. Marks Square. 

The gorgeous St. Mark's Basilica.

Build you own Magnum Bar.  Best idea ever!

And of course, a gondola ride! Checked that off my bucket list.  The girls did fantastic, and the ride was exciting as we had to lean to one side to clear the bridges!

On the boat, in the hot tub with a butterfly painted on her face. She loved the endless ice cream, flavored drinks, and swimming!

Making good use of the selfie stick! We went with some friends on the cruise,  which was definitely a plus.  The sea days can get long, especially with the girls.  Kate loved being with her friend Sami and we enjoyed playing games together after the kids went to bed.  Meal time was endless fun!!

First day off the boat in Corfu, Greece.  Rained cats and dogs until we got back on the boat.  I was not prepared for that!

So cold and wet!

My cute little Jane.

Our second boat stop was Santorini, Greece.  We hiked a volcano and swam in a hot spring.  Such gorgeous views of the volcanic island and white washed buildings.

My hiking buddy on the volcano.

Blue topped church. That is what this island is most known for.

Cutie Kate!

Our third stop was Mykonos, Greece.  These are the famous windmill churches.

Jane posing at the "Little Venice" of Mykonos.

We played in the sand at Paradise Beach.  The water was chilly and the wind was strong! But we enjoyed the views, the food, and the sand between our toes.

Our fourth stop was Athens, Greece.  We got a tour of the city on a hop-on hop-off bus.  Very big and very busy.  Half of Greece's population is located in Athens.  The lines were long because of all of the cruise crowds.  Definitely a negative for traveling with cruise lines.  But the Acropolis was pretty awesome.  Great views, great pictures, fun climbing rocks/walls for the girls.  I can't wait to check it out again next month!

It was also 80+ degrees! Missing the sun right now!

Kate and Sami loved the towel animals created by our house keeper.  He even showed us how to make a few.  Kate still asks if Sami can come over and play at her hotel.

Our fifth stop was somewhere in Croatia? We were supposed to go to Split, but the weather wouldn't let us port there.  We got off the boat for a little, but the city wasn't anything too exciting.  I am glad we were able to go to Croatia over the summer...

We very much enjoyed spending time together in our cozy little bedroom.  We enjoyed the endless amounts of food and not having to do dishes.  I am glad I didn't gain 10+ pounds.  Not sure about Bryan though....

Seven more years until our next cruise!

Lake Garda and Verona

We stayed at a cute little camper/trailer about 200 meters from the beaches of Lake Garda.  The campsite had its own grocery store, pools, playgrounds, and restaurant.  A perfect recovery place for Bryan as he recovered from surgery.  The first two days were warm and sunny.  The next two days were rainy and cold.  European weather for you!

 

Here is our cute little camper!

I wish the haze would have cleared.  It would have been such a gorgeous view! Definitely a trip we need to take again. 

 Hanging out at the swimming pool.  The water was a little chilly, but all the girls got in!

 A light drizzle didn't keep us from having a fun time in Verona.  We saw the arena, Romeo & Juliet's balcony, and the Roman amphitheater.  Beautiful, clean Italian city. 

 Kate and I did not rub Juliet's breast (It's supposed to bring you a new lover). 

 Beautiful!  This is close to our campsite, Peschiera del Garda. 

 An awesome gelateria we found in Verona.  As many flavors shaped into a flower.  Kate LOVED it. 

On our drive back home, we were finally able to see some of the mountains.  Such a beautiful area and wanting to go back soon!

Rome and the Almafi coast, Part 1

We left for Italy on a Tuesday.  We played at the airport playground until boarding time.  I love the airports in Germany, very kid friendly.  I am not sure if other airports in the EU have playgrounds at the airport.  

 We flew into Rome.  The pilot gave us a great view of Rome and the ocean.  We were super excited to start our adventure! After we landed, we had to catch the train to Naples.  We took the ICE train and it was about an hour and fifteen minutes.  It was such a beautiful ride.  Bryan and I were super careful about pit pocketing.  We heard it was especially bad on the Almafi coast area.  After a whole day in traveling, we finally made it to our apartment were we met up with Rachel and the kids.  The apartment wasn't quite like we expected.  Four beds in one room and no crib! We made the best of it and Jane might have slept in the closet...

The next day, we headed to Sorrento and Capri.  Kate is standing at the train tracks with Mount Vesuvius in the background.

The city of Sorrento has beautiful coastal views.  We are headed down to catch the ferry to the island of Capri.

Jane's first beach experience on the island of Capri.  This island is known for capri pants and capri sandals.  

Kate is not a huge fan of cold water.  But I think this will be her first memorable beach experience.  Rachel's boys really enjoyed the cold water, jumping off the rocks, and finding sea glass. 

 We took the funicular up to the town and walked through the small streets.  It was funny to see all these small cars driving through the narrow streets.  The views were amazing and the lemon gelado was even better!  While we were walking through the town, both girls feel asleep.  It's too bad we didn't have a stroller for poor Bryan.  Kate can get heavy after a while.

The ferry ride back to Sorrento wasn't nearly as bad as the ride to Capri.  It seemed to be faster as well.  Here is the whole gang overlooking the coast!

 Look at the size of these lemons!

 On Thursday we headed to Pompeii and Herculeum.  We paid to have a kid friendly tour guide in Pompeii.  I would highly recommend some type of tour.  She used all sorts of learning activities to keep the kids (and adults) interested.  They played searching games and trivia games, and won treats and prizes.  I think not having a guide would be difficult to really understand the significance of this area.

 Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius in the background.

Jane and mommy in Pompeii.

 Our next stop was Herculaneum.  This is another city that was frozen in time from the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius.  Supposedly it is better preserved because it received the heat blast, not the ashes and lava.  To the bottom left of this picture is were 200+ skeletons were found of people running to the docks to get out of town.  And of course, Mount Vesuvius is in the background.

Rome and the Almafi coast, Part 2

Thursday evening, we took the ICE train back to Rome.  I am so glad we did trains instead of renting a vehicle.  Parking and driving in Italy would have stressed me out!  Plus, the kids got to move around, eat, and use the restroom on the trains.  And bathrooms seemed to be difficult to find in Rome...we did and almost had many accidents...

The Colosseum was packed and the lines were awful.  Do not buy your tickets beforehand. You will still have to wait in a line to collect your ticket and then wait in a line to go into the Colosseum.  Glad we did this first and got it out of the way!  The trick is to have a small child needing to go to the bathroom- then you can just get in for free and skip all the lines!

 Jane at the Colosseum and happy to be out of the carrier.

 Bryan at Palatine Hill.

 Trojan's Column

 Jane happy to be out of the carrier and crawling around the apartment.

Oh no! Another line.  Getting into St. Peters Basilica was not nearly as bad as the Colosseum.  It is unfortunate that security scanners are needed at every major attraction.

 Pieta

 This might be forbidden in the basilica, so I had to document.  I felt like Jane was starving the whole trip!

Climbing up to the top of St. Peters dome.  The stairs just got smaller and smaller.  Kate said we were climbing up Rapunzel's tower.  Everything is related to a princess in her mind these days.

 Views from on top were amazing!

 There might have been limited bathrooms, but the water was plenty in Rome.  My mom warned us not to drink the water.  We did, and nobody got sick.

The Vatican and Sistine Chapel.  The little ones feel asleep before we entered the museum, but woke up by the time we reached the Sistine Chapel.  Lots of people, lots of art.  Bryan is getting good at this modeling stuff.

 Ponte Sant'Angelo- the bridge of Angels.  Also, the movie setting for Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn.  So beautiful.

 Love this picture of Bryan at Trevi Fountain.

She will be back!

 Piazza Navona with the cousins.

 The Pantheon.  Sad we were not able to go inside because a church service was being held.  

 The Spanish steps were under construction, but that didn't stop us from having a good time.

Our favorite place.  I think we went 4 times.  For two euros you get white or dark chocolate drizzled from a fountain inside of the cone, two flavors of gelado, and whip cream on top! It also happened to be 50 meters from our apartment and the most famous in Rome...

 Piazza Bernini

Villa Borghese

We finally found a park in the area (last day).  However, parks in Italy and way different than parks in Germany.  Rome is definitely not geared for little children.  Jane got tired of being carried all day.  We had fun, but we are glad to be home.