Prague!!

Prague has probably been on my bucket list since I first lived in Germany in 99/2000.  Barry and I were poor and couldn't afford a trip.  Or else we didn't budget properly, or do our research...all of those actually.  I remember wanting to take an MWR bus trip there from Wiesbaden, but it was  $50 for each of us, and we couldn't afford it at the time.

I had wanted to go all summer, but with Andrew's school schedule, and moving in, we never quite found the time.  MWR was doing a trip labor day weekend, so I snagged tickets for that and the kids and I went.  I wish Andrew could come, but he did tell me to travel without him sometimes as he would be busy with work or school, so we did.

MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) Trips are over priced in my opinion.  Perhaps not for an individual, but for a family they definitely are.  The price for myself and four kids was just over $200, and that pretty much included transportation only and a two hour walking tour, but I wasn't comfortable driving to Prague by myself yet, so I was willing to fork out the cash. The day was a bit of a whirlwind, I think we left around 0530 and got there around 0830.  I took out 5500 Ck, which is about $227 US Dollars, which was more than enough spending money for us.  I did pay for our lunch with my credit card though. Next time we go, and there will be a next time, I will not take a tour, and I will make sure to do my research so we know what to see.  By the time we were done with our walking tour, and lunch, it was already past 12 noon, and the kids and I had to be back on the bus by 4:30.

Somehow I forgot to go to the Old Jewish town, and didn't realize that till we left, but Prague is so close to us that we can go back. When my mom comes to visit next year, we will take her there. How I forgot that, I don't know, but like I said, it was a whirlwind.  We simply didn't have enough time. We also didn't have enough  time in the day to visit the castle complex, which is actually the largest in the world!  From what I learned from our tour guide, every King in Prague added on to the castle grounds, and did not destroy the previous king's buildings.  We also missed the sex museum, which would have been a riot, but perhaps not a good idea with a 10 year old around!  I will say though, walking through old town and the pedestrian zone was a bit underwhelming, despite the fact that I loved everything we saw! It was too much shopping and not enough sightseeing for me. Walking through old town you will see shop after shop after shop of Marionette puppets, pot infused liquor, absinthe, candy, crystal and glass.  We did find a really cool candy shop where we each got a few little things.

You know how Germany is famous for it's sausages and beer? Well I think Prague is famous for the Trdelnik, a baked doughy goodness filled with all sorts of sinful delights. It is a dough that is rolled out like a snake, and wrapped around a cylindrical hot metal baking something or other (sorry, I don't know the name haha), and covered in cinnamon sugar. It comes out like a baked cinnamon  dough cone. The one I had was filled with a hot apple mix with raisins, and topped with whipped cream. The kids had a plain cylinder one with ice cream in it. You can get all sorts of toppings in them, and I am excited to try it again in the future.

I did not take this picture! 

The architecture of Prague is stunning, that's the only way to describe it.  Old and beautiful.  I loved seeing the Astronomical clock and all the buildings in the square.  But again, I think I was a little underwhelmed.  Perhaps I might feel different if we have more time to explore? Four hours was simply not enough time to walk around and see all we wanted to see.

A view of the city from the first stop in our tour, the Monastery above Prague. 

  In the Old Town Square

Look at the architecture here!!

I love views like this!

We stepped into a Marionette shop that I LOVED! I didn't purchase anything here, but I did get a marionette Witch at another shop.  The legend has it that Witches are lucky to have in your home, and the uglier the witch, the better!

This one reminded me of the Tale of Three Brothers Beedle The Bard (Harry Potter)

I want to go back to this shop and get another marionette, I LOVE this Dragon! 

And lastly, the Astronomical Clock.  "The Orloj is mounted on the southern wall of Old Town Hall in the Old Town Square. The clock mechanism itself is composed of three main components: the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; "The Walk of the Apostles", a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures—notably a figure of Death (represented by a skeleton) striking the time; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months. According to local legend, the city will suffer if the clock is neglected, and its good operation is placed in jeopardy and a ghost, mounted on the clock, was supposed to nod his head in confirmation. According to the legend, the only hope was represented by a boy born on New Year's night"

Regensburg, Part Two

I don't even remember what to write about Regensburg since we went so long ago.  Oops. Well, long enough that my memory isn't very fresh.  I really think I need to get a blogging notebook to take with me when we go somewhere so I don't forget what we did! I'm kicking myself for that today because I am seriously drawing a blank as to what happened that day.  It could be because I was so sick yesterday that some brain cells were fried, but geez...I have plum forgot what to write about for Regensburg.

After we finished up at Walhalla, we headed to Regensburg to look around and eat the famous sausages! We focused mainly on the pedestrian zone, or old town.  The main goals on our list for the day were the Regensburg Cathedral (Dom St Peter), the famous Wurstkuche, the old stone bridge, TK Maxx and MAC.  Yes, we had to get some shopping in!

We parked pretty far away from the sausage place, so we meandered through the pedestrian zone and gradually made our way there for a late lunch. This stand is famous for it's sausages, it is over 500 years old and has been making sausages in the same place!  They still cook it with coal powered ovens in a little stand next to the old stone bridge, right on the edge of the Danube River!  We loved it though, and anyone who comes to visit us will be taken there.  Outside the stand are a few, and I mean, a few, tables and benches and you have to fight your way in to get a table.  Like the hunger games!  I was like a vulture looking for a table, and Andrew was getting annoyed with me, he said we should go somewhere else.  I was not going to miss those famous sausages after driving over an hour for them. After about 10 minutes,  I saw some tourists get up, and I immediately snagged the table.  We ordered 7 plates of Wurst and sauerkraut, and had tons of brotchen to go with it. I am not one that typically enjoys sauerkraut, but this I inhaled. When you go, make sure you keep track of how much bread you eat.  We had probably 15 rolls through the 6 of us.  Apparently they charge 1 Euro per roll.  Oops.  They never advertised that, or else we missed it.  Our bill was around 100 Euro for all 6 of us, including drinks.

When our bellies were satisfied, we walked halfway over the stone bridge, took some pictures, and then made our way to the Cathedral, Dom St Peter.  This was absolutely stunning!  It's too bad the outside was covered in scaffolding (as was the bridge, so I didn't get very many good pictures), but the inside was gorgeous.  I love old churches.  Medieval History has always been my favorite to learn and read about, so seeing it in person is even better.

We also went down into the crypt, and I think that was fairly new, but it's pretty neat as there are some relics down there (I did not get good pictures of that, unfortunately), and a lot of the Bishops are buried in the crypt or other areas of the Cathedral. 

Once that was done, we headed to do our shopping, and then headed home. Nothing too exciting, except we stopped at a fantastic gelato place.  I want to go back there, wish I had written down the name of it.  And then...I realized I lost our youngest daughter's ID card.  Oh crap.  We searched everywhere, even called TK Maxx to see if they had it.  I think it fell out of my purse while I was paying at the register, but of course they could not find it.  This ruined my gelato experience, which means we have to go back for more, haha!

All in all, we had a good day.  I really like Regensburg, but unless family or friends come to visit, or we go back for shopping, I am satisfied with the touristy part.  We just need to go back to do a Danube cruise, but I am not sure when we will get that done.  We have three years though, so plenty of time!

Walhalla, But not the Viking version

Yesterday we took a day trip to Regensburg, which is about 1.5 hours from us.  We'd been wanting to visit there for awhile, as it is a quick and easy day trip with plenty to see, do and eat.  Since we did so much though, I'm going to break up the post into two.

On a high slope rising above the Danube, sits Walhalla.  Commissioned by King Ludwig the first to commemorate important and famous German language speakers, both men and women alike, it is filled with marble busts of scientists, politicians, artists and great thinkers. Construction on Walhalla began in 1830, and was finished in 1842.

"At Walhalla's inauguration on October 18, 1842, there were 96 busts, plus 64 plaques for persons or events of which no portrait was available on which to model a sculpture. As being "of the German tongue" was the main selection criterion for the original 160 persons representing the 1,800 years of German history, the King included persons from, or who had been active in, modern-day Sweden, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland and the Baltic States.

Whereas the Valhalla of Norse mythology served as home to those gloriously slain in battle, Ludwig intended his Walhalla not only for warriors but also for scientists, writers, and clerics, and specifically included both men and women. Decades before the foundation of the modern German state in 1871, "German" was understood as "Germanic", and included Gothic, Langobardic, Anglo-Saxon, Austrian, Dutch and Swiss German figures, as well as persons who had gained fame mainly in non-German-speaking contexts."  

We spent about an hour there looking around, climbing the steps, and then enjoyed some "Eis", aka German Ice Cream, before heading back to Regensburg proper for more sightseeing.   We did want to take the boat there, but we left way too late to catch it on time, so that will be another adventure for another day.  It is a 45 minute boat ride from Regensburg to Walhalla along the Danube river.

While I was snapping pictures, my husband told me that our youngest daughter saw this bust and asked if it was Martin Luther King, Jr.'s father. Hahaha!

 The Beautiful Blue Danube

This would have been a perfect shot, had he not stepped in my line of sight.

I don't remember the cost to get in, but since we have the Bayern castle pass, it was free for us.  I think I'd love to go back with just Andrew so we can do the audio tour, and not have kids with us.  The kids don't mind doing these types of activities, but they get bored in museums.  I do know the audio tour costs 2 Euros per person. 

I love having sites like this close to us.  We have to remember that we don't always have to venture outside of Germany to travel and explore, as there is so much to see and do inside Germany itself.  We are on a vacation just by living here! Today I am planning on going to a Potato Fest in a village about 10 minutes from us, and our next "big" trip will be to Stuttgart area in few weeks to see the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival, and see my friend Tanja whom I haven't seen in 16 years!  Look for the 2nd installment in this Regensburg blog post in a few days!

Adventures in Bike Riding

I sold my hybrid Schwinn at our yard sale in KS, and in restrospect, I probably shouldn't have, but oh well! I just upgraded to a cute mint green schwinn here with a basket! I love it.

I took her out for her maiden voyage today, a short 40 minute bike ride around our village. I was by myself, but I had fun.  Along the way, I discovered a field of almost dead sunflowers, the entrance to the air field (which is suspiciously closer to us than I knew! No wonder we can hear the artillery more than we did in Kansas), and an apple tree on the side of the road that was laden with large green apples.  I am not quite sure what type they are, but I took six home and tried one.  I promptly puckered my lips and spat it out, as it was most definitely NOT ripe yet. Maybe next month. I think it is a golden delicious or granny smith variety.  I love that you can find wild fruit trees here in Bavaria. That is unheard of in the states, at least where we are from.  Fruit trees are in abundance here, including cherries, plums and apples.  I am sure there are more too that I just haven't seen.

I also made some new friends, who promptly hissed at me when I came close.  Swans are mean, Yo! Keep away!  This beautiful family of swans lives just up the road in Heringnohe (Yes, we have a "castle" close by),

 One of these things is not like the others.

I was somewhat afraid that the female (I assume she was the one who was hissing at me to keep away) was going to call her family to arms, and come running towards me with their beaks wide open and wings splayed out, ready to attack, so I hightailed it, and went on my merry way.

Just a few feet down the road is Schloss Heringnohe, which I linked above.  The story behind that building is:

The castle belonged to a hammer mill , which of the hydropower of Wiesennohe, a tributary of the Vils was operated. The hammer is Heringnohe 1387 as owner Hans Hegner called 1438 Sulzbacher iron trades Albrecht Frank († 1480). His father had in 1400 can in large reservoirs Heringnohe invest to operate the hammer. In Albrecht Frank succeeded by his son William, who mostly in Regensburg lived and his daughter Ursula married with Lienhart Portner. This inherited 1517 Heringnohe; his son Albrecht Portner († 1540) got as next the Sulzbacher heritage, which his son Wilhelm followed, the goal for the hammer. The Portner the family was represented here by the descendants of Elias and Hans Adam. The latter refused to convert and must emigrate without he was compensated for his property. During the Thirty Years' War asked 1630 managers Johann Kohler to discount the burdens of war. The Good Heringnohe received 1631 Bamberger canon Ulrich von Plettenberg . 1641 Johann Kohler is run as Hammerherrenhaus.

Other owners were Kaspar Gessel (1683), then the farmer Count of Oberweißbach (around 1740). Georg Graf had two sons: Georg and Johann Georg, of which Georg received the Hammer Heringnohe and Johann Georg the Hammergut Altneuhaus. Johann Georg Graf is the progenitor of the family ennobled those of Grafstein. According to the Count of the Good Heringnohe went in 1847 to the family of Lindenfels who owned the hammer for about two decades.

March 6, 1867 came the possession of Christoph Kredler; under this went a the hammer. Under his son († 1931), the possession of debt again. The merchant Hans Götz from Freihung purchased the plant in 1931 and brought it to economic prosperity. After his death in 1957 Emma Götz and then the son Oswald Götz took over the estate. Today Joachim Götz is the owner of Heringnohe.

Thanks Wikipedia!

I was not planning on taking photos today, but blogging Inspiration hit, so please excuse the bad composition of these!

It's a quaint little place, I would be interested in checking it out more.  I think they do offer overnights there, I am pretty sure it is a guesthouse.

I was on my way home now, but took one more quick detour down a dirt road. Everything here is new and exciting to see, but this one made me turn around quite quickly. Bees. Lots and lots of honey bees.  I love honey, but I do not love bees. I heard the buzzing, snapped a quick picture, and left as fast as I could.  Shortly after I left, a man drove up to the road and got out of his car. I tried to speak to him, but he spoke not a lick of English, and my German is not so good.  I was about to explain to him I had google translate, as I wanted to ask if he sold honey, but he said goodbye and shut the door to his shed.  Ok then. 

And my last stop for the morning was this little bridge with a rambling brook right under it, which I saw right after I visited the makers of bee vomit, I headed home after that. 

And there you have it, this is all within a short bike ride from my house. Actually maybe a 5 minute card ride from our house, but I took my time exploring  and going all over the village. I absolutely love where we live, and when we eventually leave, I will miss it. Bavaria has already stolen my heart!

I used to be good at this...

What happened to my blogging motivation? I used to blog all the time before Barry died, and then all the time afterwards.  I kind of dropped off the face of the earth again and again.  I like writing, but I just don't do it anymore.  I realized this as I was scouring my old blog today looking for a recipe I haven't made in a really long time.  I used to write constantly, and now I am just sitting here at my computer, in my robe and pajamas at 0900 and feeling like I don't even know where to start!  I originally intended this new blog to be for our travel adventures, but how many have I posted since we got here?

None.

Way to go Joanna! haha.

So here's what's going on in my life right now...

I really have to go to the grocery store today as we are out of breakfast food, lunch foods, meat, fruit...you name it, it's gone.  But I also have a class at the gym at 2PM that I have to go to, and I really don't feel like showering twice today, but I can't go to the grocery store looking like a slob with greasy hair.

My kids are back to school now and settling in well to the DODEA school rhythm.  Teenagers are the hardest creatures to raise. They make me understand why mothers sometimes eat their young in the wild.  You try raising three at a time! HOLY SHIT.  And then add in one pre-teen girl to the mix, and it's a whole shit salad sometimes.  Anyway, kids are doing great with school and getting involved etc etc.  They like their new schools and seem happy to be here in Germany,  We will be doing cookie season with Girl Scouts again this year, but at least my youngest loves being in Girl Scouts.

We've gone on lots of adventures this summer.  We hiked up to some Castle ruins (Flossenburg, Ehrenburg Fortress), went to a concentration camp (Flossenburg), went to Garmisch and went sledding on the Zugspitze in the summer!  We also went to some castles (Hoenschwangau and Neuschwanstein), walked across the longest Tibetan style suspension bridge (Highline 179), and also explored Hitler's Eagle's Nest and some of Berchtesgaden.  We rode some really fun alpine slides, and went in a really old monastery (Ettal) that took my breath away, and then we walked though the Partnach Gorge which is absolutely breathtaking as well. Then I went to Poland with a friend of mine, and we bought lots of pottery!  And then I took the kids to Prague this past weekend as Andrew had to study.

We are still settling into our new house.  We still need to find a home for a few last minute things, and hang the last few items up on the walls.  I joined the spouses club again, and am looking forward to the luncheons and trips they do (I'm going to Oktoberfest later this month with the spouses club!!!). In a couple weeks we hope to go to Stuttgart to see my German friend Tanja that we have not seen in 16 years!  Contrary to Kansas, I have some really great neighbors.  I have become friends with a few of the ladies, and I am so glad that our neighborhood is more friendly than it was in Kansas.  I didn't know any of my neighbors and everyone there kept to themselves...here people are more friendly. Well, at least they are on our street.

That's all for now, I need to go spend money at the German Grocery store now and get my life together for the day.


I will try to post some pictures soon, but I need to get a watermark first before I put them up publicly.

We have internet, Finally!

Oh man, being a good 5 weeks behind in my postings does not make for an easy blog post. So bullet points it shall be (mostly). I would have blogged earlier this week when our wifi was set up, but I was locked out of my google account until yesterday.

When we load left off, we had to be at the airport in Baltimore. That too what not without it's challenges.

A boring day loomed ahead of us on the 5th of June. We did not have to be at the airport till late afternoon did, and thankfully the hotel graciously gave us a late checkout. Before did though, Andrew and I had to pick up the pets at the kennel. We Took to Uber there, Which was fantastic! Everyone was picked up, and we called another Uber to bring us back to the hotel. A quick pickup what not in our cards, and the driver got lost trying to find the kennel. We could see him on the app, what his car driving in circles ACROSS THE STREET. Andrew tried to call him, and explain where to go, but the guy got so frustrated he canceled our Uber, and left. So we called another, and he arrived quickly.

Then he Took the long way back to the hotel, and we got confused Because The other guy got us from AB in 10 minutes. And then he rear ended someone. Holy Crap.

We were fine thankfully, but hey what visibly shaken and saying awful stuff to himself about how he'd never be at Uber driver again. Finally got to the hotel about 4 or so, and then we were whisked off to the airport by our shuttle driver.

And then we stood in line for half an hour and a, only to find out someone did at the Fort Riley travel office had not put our youngest daughter on our reservation. We had her on our tickets, But They messed up big time. More waiting. Finally some answers, and we were checked in. And the more waiting as we waited with the dog and the cat so They could go back. Side note, the dog did fine. She was great at the airport, and I was able to take her out to pee. Thankfully no one stopped me from walking forth in the airport. The cat which mad. He put his head in the corner of his kennel and did not want to look at anyone. We finally got past security and into the gate at about 10PM ... after arriving at BWI 5 hours Earlier.

We got on a plane!

• Then we got off the plane in Germany. I forget what time it what. About 2:30 pm local time, about 0730 KS time.  
• Then we waited again for some briefings.
• Then we waited in a really long line to go through customs.  
• Then we heard yelping Athena Because she heard our voice, and we finally got to take her to the bathroom.
• Then we more briefings.
• Then we got on a bus and were Brought to a German hotel
• Then Zeus started meowing like crazy and scratching at the towel in his kennel Because He had to use the litter box so bad. We figured out it had been well over 24 hours since he had gone, as he did not get out of his kennel till 7:30 pm. So while Andrew and the other service members were checking us in to the hotel, and all the wives were unloading the bus, I frantically tore open the cat littler and portable litter box and shoved it in his kennel. I think he let out a sigh of relief as he finally got to go. 
• We finally got to shower after about 30 hours.
• Then we had dinner in our hotel, Which had an amazing restaurant. Breakfast what Equally amazing.
• Then we got on a bus again at 0800 and finally got to our base at 2:30 pm. 
• Our sponsors picked up and we got to the hotel at about 5PM June 7th. We traveled from Sunday afternoon till Tuesday evening (German time).

One month later ,,,,

• We have a house
• We bought a car for Andrew, which we share when I need it.
• We have only done one sightseeing trip, Which I will blog about next. It's hard to go places when you finish are so busy setting up your house and have a car did only seats 5.  We will go on more soon, and a trip to Poland is in the works for me with a friend. But we have been exploring locally, and found the best pizza ever just a half hour away.  Seriously, this pizza is amazing.  And I don't say that lightly.
• Government beds are not too comfortable, hopefully our stuff gets here soon.
• I like our neighborhood and love our house for the most part. The master bathroom is small, and I do not like the master being off the main floor. But other than that, our house is great and we have a basement !!! 
• We have an apple tree and a raspberry bush in our backyard, and our neighborhood is littered with CHERRY TREES !!!! We also have a forest in our backyard, and a Reindeer farm down a small trail, and in the forest there are buildings that host a Christmas market (Weinachtsmarkt) in Nov/December
• Our neighborhood has an amazing steakhouse and burger place, and a bakery, all within a 5 minute walk.
• Tomorrow we hope to enroll the kids in school.
• I am praying our HHG and my Honda Pilot gets here soon.  

Our resident Reindeer! They're very friendly and love to be fed

One half of my kitchen

One half of an upstairs bedroom.  I did not get many bedroom pics!

One half of our living room

The other half of the living room, the door leads into our master bedroom.

We have a main floor with the living room/dining room, master, kitchen, mud room and bathroom. A basement with laundry room, office and large room we are using as a rec-room. Then an upstairs with three bedrooms, a large loft and a large bathroom. Plus an attic we can use for storage.

                                                           

That's all for now, Folks!

On The Road Again

When I last left off, our Fort Riley house was cleaned, inspected, and we were in the hotel. homeless.

May 31st dawned bright and early, or so we thought.  Things never quite go right do they? We had our last bit of Kansas business that morning, which was to be at the vet at 0800 for the pet's health certificate appointments.  We had a very long day of driving ahead of us, and had to be in Dayton, Ohio that night, which is why I scheduled the earliest possible appointment time.  

We arrived early, and expected a short appointment.  That turned out to be wishful thinking.  The actual exams themselves went great, the dog and cat were in great health and passed their exams to go to Germany.  The paperwork itself was an issue, as we arrived on a day when their printer was having issues and refused to format correctly.  Our quick one hour appointment turned into 2.5.  We didn't get out of there till 10:45, ok so it was actually 3 hours as I arrived there at 0745.  Finally we were on the road after the appointment, and on our way to Dayton Ohio.

We FINALLY made it to Dayton around 1AM the following day.  We were on the road for about 15 hours including stops.  And boy were we exhausted.  The poor pets were so confused because they didn't know what was happening, and Zeus kept climbing on everyone in the car.  We limited our stops as much as possible so we could get to our hotel.  I think we got maybe 4 hours of sleep did night after we arrived in Dayton. I will not sugar coat it, Andrew and I nearly tore each other's throats out when we arrived in Dayton. We were tired, cranky and plum wore out.  It didn't help that I was uncomfortable leaving the sensitive documents and computers in the trailer, so after we were in bed, I asked him if they'd be safe.  He got upset and went outside to go get them.  It was not pleasant between us, but after that we just went to bed, at 2AM. Not fun.

June 1st we were up early and on the road before 0900.  We had another long day of driving to Baltimore Maryland, and our crunch time was 7PM as we had pets we had to drop off at the kennel. It was a fairly easy day of driving, and we made it to the kennel with plenty of time to spare.  With the pets dropped off, we finally headed to our hotel to unload the Uhaul and rest for the night.  

The next day, June 2nd, we had to drop our Honda off at the Port so that it could be shipped to Germany. Driving through the poor parts of Baltimore was an interesting experience.  It made me a little on edge, but it was incredibly interesting to see.  It was extremely run down and dirty. After we finally dropped off the Uhaul, we found a car wash. I have different standards of cleanliness for the car than my husband. All I will say is that this PCS has been one of the most stressful things we have ever done together as a married couple. We spent a couple hours cleaning that thing from top to bottom, and made our port appt at the VPC (Vehicle Processing Center) on time.  Success! They accepted the Honda! That was just over a week ago, and it is still sitting in Baltimore.  Hopefully it gets on the boat soon. 

Now that most of the hard stuff was done, we were free to go on a mini vacation! DC or Bust! I did take a ton of pictures, but they are on my camera and I am too lazy to upload them to the blog right now.  We had two days in DC, and the first day we did the Hop On Hop Off tour and saw almost every single thing on that tour.  The Capitol Building, Jefferson Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (very moving! Please go see if it if you have a chance), Lincoln Memorial, The White House, Vietnam Memorial, Korean War memorial, The Eternal Flame, Washington National Monument, and we even snuck a half hour into the Museum of Natural History. We had such a great day! I'm glad we were able to take the kids to DC to show them the Nation's Capitol.  It was a whirlwind, but a very fun one.

Day two in DC, June 4th, was a very special day for me, as I got to reunite with one of my very dearest friends, Rebecca. Rebecca and I met back in Olympia in 2009, right after Barry died. She was my  lifeline for awhile, and had Andrew and I had our proper wedding, she would have been one of my bridesmaids. Eventually we will do that;) She met us at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History with her four kiddos, and her mom. We also went to the National Archives and saw the original Constitution and Bill of Rights

You know how it is when you finally get to see each other after so many years and nothing has changed?  That's how it was. You know you have a lifetime friend then.  Even though we only got about 6 hours together, it was a wonderful afternoon. Four long years later we finally saw each other again. I will always treasure our friendship. It was so great to be together with our kids again. Till we meet again!

The next blog update will be about our journey to Germany.  I will try not to leave it so long between posts, but I have been trying to get acclimated to life here.  We're doing good so far!

Also...because I am in Germany, Google and Blogger keep wanting to switch to German on me.  It's making typing this post insufferable. If anything seems out of context or doesn't make sense, that is why.  I tried to catch most of the mistakes.  I am going to ask my husband if he can make it so google stays .com and not .de 

Tchüss!