Back from Georgia (the Country, not the State)

Brandon is home again! For the last 18 days, he was in the country of Georgia training troops there for deployment to Afghanistan. Even though they finished all of the training exercises last Thursday, he finally arrived home late last night. You have to love the efficiency of the Army sometimes! In addition to lots of dirty laundry, he also brought me some wine that I am anxious to drink. His primary souvenir is a mug from Stalin’s birthplace that they visited in Gori, Georgia. Brandon is happy to be home again where the refrigerator is stocked with German beer, the Internet is relatively fast, and there are at least 10 channels of TV to watch. He even appreciates my cooking more!! There is nothing like time in a third-world country to make you appreciate the things you have at home!

While he was gone, I kept myself busy as usual. I finished up my first two online classes last Wednesday, and am happy to report that I received an A in both. I started my next class last Thursday, Computerized Accounting. It is basically an introduction to QuickBooks. Since that is the software I used at EMF, I am hoping that the class will be pretty easy. On Monday, I took the DSST Principles of Finance exam at the Education Center on post. I crammed all weekend and hope I guessed right on enough to pass. Unfortunately, our Ed Center only offers the paper version of the test, so I have to wait 4-6 weeks to learn the results. If all goes well, I should be done with all of my prerequisites by mid-December and able to start my Masters in January.

My Saturdays have been spent at SBOP rehearsals and concerts…look for a future blog post about these experiences!

October Update

Again, there hasn’t been anything too exciting happening around here. Brandon is in another rotation, so I don’t see much of him. He usually gets home between 8-10pm and goes back in between 4-6am.

I’ve settled into a routine of doing housework or errands in the mornings and schoolwork in the afternoons. I am halfway done with the two courses I am taking online, Auditing and Principles of Marketing. I have discovered that covering a semester of material in six weeks is quite time consuming! I am glad that this is the only six weeks that I will be taking two classes at the same time. I am also finalizing my application for the Masters of Accountancy program at Stetson University.

The most exciting day this past week was Thursday. It snowed here for the first time this season and even accumulated some before melting. I thought perhaps it was a sign that hell might be freezing over since it was also the day I taught my first clarinet lesson! Despite being adamant about not teaching in the past, I have finally decided to give it a try. I am proud to report that the first lesson went very well. She is a good student and the 30-minutes seemed to fly by. I will see her again in two weeks, so at least it seems that she won’t quit after the first lesson!

That is the news from Germany. Brandon just got home for the evening (it’s 8:40pm), so I’ll wrap this up to spend a few hours with him before it’s time to call it another day.

Help! I’m a Military Spouse — I Get a Life Too!

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to attend the Hohenfels Spouse Leadership Conference. This was a two-day event, but I was unable to attend the first day on Tuesday due to my ongoing commitment with PWOC. I was glad that I could attend the second day to hear the keynote speakers, Kathie Hightower and Holly Scherer. They are the coauthors of Help! I’m a Military Spouse – I Get a Life Too! How to Craft a Life for YOU as You Move With the Military. I received a free copy of this book from ACS and was anxious to hear these ladies speak after reading their book.

The conference was held off-post, so bus transportation was provided from ACS. The day started at Gut Matheshof in Kreuth (about 20 minutes from post). There we had a breakfast and had a short presentation from the Health Clinic. Then the buses took us to the Ostbayernhalle for the workshop presentation. Kathie and Holly’s message focused on five key findings from research that affect our sense of satisfaction/happiness in life. These include (1) Support/Relationships, (2) Faith, Hope & Gratitude, (3) Simple Joys, (4) Know What You Want, (5) Service/Meaning. I believe I have a good grasp on the first three key findings. I am extremely grateful for deep relationships with family & friends; I have a strong faith and am thankful for the many blessings in my life; I enjoy many simple things in life (just ask Brandon how happy I get about new office supplies!); and I generally have a positive attitude.

Key finding #4 is the one that I currently need to work on. Since moving to Germany, I have been having a bit of a purpose-crisis. In NC, I had a job I enjoyed that combined my passions for music and business, and I was involved in a wonderful church. In TN, I was able to continue working and found additional purpose in my new role as the FRG leader for B TRP. However, I haven’t really figured out what I’m supposed to do here in Germany when we aren’t traveling. Should I try to pursue music? Or is it time to “give up” on that dream to pursue something more practical, like accounting? At first glance, both options seem almost impossible to do in Germany. I can’t audition for professional orchestras because I don’t play the “right” clarinet. (Note for non-clarinetists: In the U.S., we play the French Boehm system, while Germans play the Oehler system. The differences could probably be an entirely separate blog post, but basically the keys and fingerings are completely different. It’s not very practical to buy a new instrument and learn a brand new system for three years.) I can’t pursue accounting since I don’t have any accounting credentials and even if I did, German Accountings Standards are different from U.S. Accounting Standards. It would be easy for me to get frustrated and bitter being here in Germany if I assumed that I couldn’t pursue my career while we are here.

Kathie and Holly encouraged us to create a vision for our ideal life, to start with the end in mind and leave out all “shoulds” and comparisons to others. Then we should ask “What can I do here? What is available here? What steps can I take now?” I had already started working through some of this before the conference on Wednesday. I have found a Masters of Accountancy program and I am completing prerequisites online in order to enroll. My goal is to be able to sit for the CPA exam before we move back to the U.S. I am also looking into a potential job at the tax center on post to get some experience. For my desire to play my clarinet professionally, I might just be lucky to be able to perform for free while I’m here. I recently joined the Parsberg Community Band in order to play with a group again. I’m also going to teach clarinet lessons for the first time in my life. Kathie and Holly emphasized that obtaining the final goal is not what brings happiness to life, happiness comes from taking steps towards your goals/dreams. One of the steps they suggested was creating a “Dare to Dream” team of 5-6 people to help each member figure out how to go for his or her dreams, providing support, accountability,  resources, and general encouragement.

I gained a lot from attending the conference on Wednesday, and I feel more confident that the steps I am taking while we are stationed here will further my career goals even if I’m not currently in a paid position. I highly recommend Holly & Kathie’s book to other military spouses and encourage you to go hear them speak if you ever have the opportunity!

Heidelberg

With the end of this most recent rotation, it was time to get out and do some traveling again! We decided to spend a couple days in Heidelberg, which is about three hours from Hohenfels. I wanted to see the city after having heard so many wonderful things from my aunt, Sandy, who studied there when she was in college. Since there is an Army garrison in Heidelberg, we thought we’d try staying at Army Lodging. This arrangement had its pros and cons. The location was fairly convenient to the Altstadt, the price couldn’t be beat on the economy, and breakfast was included. The major con was simply getting on the garrison! Their vehicle search is much more intimidating and we were searched twice the first day we were there. (Thankfully, we must have looked less threatening after that because we weren’t searched again.) Since we arrived around 7pm on Thursday evening, we found dinner at a restaurant near the garrison. The Schützenhaus had large portions of delicious schnitzel and the waiter even helped us with our German pronunciation.

We explored the city on Friday. Our day started at the Schloss (Castle). Construction started on the Schloss in the 13^th century, but was destroyed in the 17^th and 18^th centuries by the Thirty Years’ War, the French, and a fire. The interior of the Friedrich Building, which was damaged in the fire, was restored between 1897 and 1900. We took the guided tour of the interior to see the restored sections and learn a little more about the castle. We also saw the Großes Fass, which can hold 58,100 gallons of wine!! Our tour guide explained that the Fass was used to collect the peasant’s harvest tithe to the king. All of the different varieties of white wine, red wine, and even cider were mixed together in the Fass and served to the court. Although I was excited by the prospect of that much wine at first, the unappetizing mixture made me quickly change my mind! Also at the Schloss, we walked through the Deutschen Apotheken-Museum (German Pharmacy Museum) and the Schlossgarten (Castle Garden).

After the Schloss, we went down the hill to the Altstadt. We ate some lunch at the Dubliner, an Irish pub along the Hauptstraße. The Hauptstraße is Europe’s longest pedestrian zone and is lined with shopping, outdoor cafes, and restaurants. We stopped at the famous Universität, Studentenkarzen (Student Jail), and Heiliggeistkirche (Holy Ghost Church) on our way to the Alte Brücke (Old Bridge). At one end of the Alte Brücke stands a brass monkey holding a mirror and surrounded by mice. Legend says to touch the mirror for wealth, the outstretched fingers to ensure your return to Heidelberg, and the mice for many children. We enthusiastically touched the mirror and outstretched fingers, but we weren’t quite ready to touch the mice! We ended the day with dinner at Vetter im Schöneck, a microbrewery right by the Alte Brücke. It was a fun day of sightseeing at just the right pace.

On Saturday, we took advantage of being on a larger garrison with a visit to the PX. We had also visited the Commissary and Shoppette while we were there. We found several things that we couldn’t get in Hohenfels that we thought we needed. We went back down to the Altstadt for lunch before walking across the Alte Brücke to the Philosophenweg (Philosopher’s Way). The beautiful views of the Schloss and Altstadt across the river made the steep path worth the climb.

View from Philosophenweg, Heidelberg

Unfortunately, after that it was time to drive home. I had to play for Mass the next morning and Brandon was anxious to actually be able to watch the Huskers play football that evening.

We really enjoyed our time in Heidelberg and hope that we will be ensured a return visit!

Großes Fass, Heidelberg Schloss

Pulver Turm (Gunpowder Tower), Heidelberg Schloss

Studentenkarzer (Student Jail), Heidelberg

Brass Monkey, Alte Brücke, Heidelberg

If you’d like to see all of our photos, please visit my Picasa Web Album.

News Briefs from Germany

I have done a very poor job of updating this blog lately! However, there hasn’t been too much to write about. I will try to fill you in on the highlights:

Rotation Torture

Beginning the day of my last post, Brandon was involved in a huge rotation that basically demanded every hour of his day. There were many nights when he only came home to sleep for a few hours before heading back out and many other nights when he didn’t come home at all. In a way, this schedule is harder to deal with than the typical deployment when you just know you won’t see your husband for weeks or months at a time. At the beginning of the rotation I tried to have dinners to prepare and would leave the outside light on in case he came home. I quickly figured out that this was not necessary, and I should just go about my daily routines. If I saw him, great! If not, maybe he’d be home tomorrow! The rotation finally ended this past Saturday.  Brandon came home exhausted and with a cold.  We spent Sunday doing nothing and are now looking forward to two four-day weekends before the next rotation begins.  Thankfully, there shouldn’t be a another rotation this draining until February!

Online Classes

I started taking online classes on August 27th.  I am working on the requirements to sit for the CPA exam.  Since I wasn’t an accounting major in college, I need some prerequisites before I can start the Masters in Accountancy program.  I am taking these prereqs through Baker College in Michigan.  This first class is an intro to online classes, is only three weeks and ends tomorrow.  Needless to say, the material has been pretty basic and is designed to get you comfortable with the online resources.  It also contained a lot of basic student skills, like time management, learning styles, goals, etc.  If I didn’t know these things, I would not be working towards my second Masters degree!!  My “favorite” part of the class was the group project.  (Have I ever mentioned that I hate working in groups??)  At least the class is almost over, and I will be ready to begin take Auditing and Principles of Marketing on September 24th.

Holiday Bazaar

I experienced my first Holiday Bazaar here and it was LOTS of fun and hardwork!!  The Bazaar is sponsored by the Hohenfels Community and Spouses’ Club (HCSC) and Morale, Wellness & Recreation (MWR).  More than 30 vendors from all over Europe came to sell their merchandise here on post September 10-12.  As the treasurer of HCSC, I felt it was important to be a significant volunteer at this huge fundraiser so I worked all-day, every day beginning with set-up on Tuesday, September 8th.  However, spending that much time around the various vendors was extremely tempting and I did my fair share of shopping also.  I can’t reveal all of my purchases since some are being reserved as Christmas presents, but I will say that my favorite vendors were the German wine, the Belgian cheese & chocolate, and the Polish pottery.  There were also antiques, furniture, rugs, artwork, crafts and much more!  Most Spouses’ Clubs in Europe sponsor Holiday Bazaars, but ours was the first of the season and one of the smallest.  I’m already planning a trip to Grafenwoehr’s larger bazaar in October!

Happy Birthday to Me

Finally, I turned 30 on September 10th.  Thank you to everyone that sent cards, emails, and greetings on Facebook!!  It all helped to brighten my day since I was working at the Bazaar all day and didn’t think I would see Brandon at all that day.  He did manage to get away around 8:30pm and didn’t have to go back out again until 2:00am!  I’m spreading out the celebration as I receive more cards in the mail and my gift from Brandon is still en route.  We will also go out to celebrate sometime soon now that the rotation is over.

So, that’s the news from Germany.  Hopefully I’ll be able to post more frequently again as we get back to a “normal” routine.

Bamberg Brewery Trip

This past Saturday, Hohenfels’ Outdoor Recreation offered a brewery trip to Bamberg.  Brandon never likes to miss an opportunity to visit a new brewery, so we had signed up to go.  Unfortunately, as we were getting ready to go that morning, Brandon found out he had to go to work.  Instead of sitting around the house all day by myself, I decided to go ahead and go on the trip.

The trip turned out to be a very small group!  There were only 7 of us, including the leader.  Bamberg was almost a 2-hour drive from Hohenfels.  Our first stop was the Klosterbräu Bamberg for a tour and lunch.  This is Bamberg’s oldest brewery and was originally owned by the Prince Bishops who ruled Bamberg.  The tour was interesting and I even thought the beer was pretty good.  Lunch there was delicious!  I bought Brandon a 2-Liter Growler so he could sample the Braunbier.

Christian, our story-telling guide through Bamberg

After lunch we had a “Storyteller” tour of the Altstadt (Old Town).  Our guide came in costume and told us various stories as he led us around.  The Sandkerwa Festival, one of Bamberg’s largest fests, was also taking place on Saturday, so the city was bustling with activity.

After that tour we had free time.  I made sure to buy some Rauchbier to take home to Brandon.  This is a smoked beer that is only brewed in Bamberg and supposedly tastes like bacon!  This was the whole reason Brandon had wanted to go on the trip; however, we didn’t end up touring that brewey.  During the rest of our free time, I just sat at the Spezial Biergarten with some of the others, enjoying the beer (or Radler in my case) and the view of Bamberg.

Finally, dinner was at the Brauerei Fässla.  It was supposed to be in the same area of town as the first brewery, but it turns out it was on the other end of town!  We ended up driving there.  This place was not as good as the first and I didn’t really care for their beer.  It could have been that I was just tired of beer by that point!

I had a good time on the trip, and I am glad I went; however, it would have been a lot more fun if Brandon could have gone also.  Bamberg is a beautiful city and close enough that we will have to plan a weekend trip sometime soon!

You can see more pictures on my Picasa Web Album if you are interested.

A Night in Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Last weekend was a four-day weekend for Brandon (Thur-Sun).  He was rather disappointed that I had volunteered for VBS and had to play for church on Sunday, so it didn’t seem like we’d be able to travel over the weekend.  Luckily, Rothenburg ob der Tauber is only about 90 minutes from us.  Although I had been there with the Wind Ensemble in 2001 and more recently with my parents, Brandon had not visited this famous Medieval city yet.

After I was done with VBS on Friday, we drove to Rothenburg.  It was a pretty easy drive (basically all Autobahn) and we didn’t hit any major traffic.  The trickier part was finding our hotel, Hotel Spitzweg.  I had printed directions from the website, but Brandon chose to follow Homer (the GPS) instead.  Homer didn’t realize that there was construction inside the old city that blocked the way to the hotel.  We also came upon a tour bus trying to navigate the narrow streets and ended up having to back out since it couldn’t get through.  Eventually, we found the hotel and were thankful that they had free parking.  The hotel was built in 1536 and had a lot of character.  Our room had the largest bathroom we’ve ever seen in Europe.  We think this bathroom was bigger than our entire room in Amsterdam!

We arrived in Rothenburg around mid-afternoon, so we had a good amount of time to sightsee before dinner.  We followed Rick Steves’ self-guided walk, stopping to climb the Rathaus tower, enter St.-Jakobs-Kirche, and look around the Medieval Crime Museum.  We ate dinner at Hotel Klosterstuble, where we had considered staying.  Dinner was delicious.  I tried the maultaschen, similar to ravioli only larger.  Supposedly they were invented to hide the consumption of meat during Lent.

The whole reason I wanted to spend the night in Rothenburg was to go on the Night Watchman Tour.  I had heard wonderful things about it and we were not disappointed.  We were led around the old city by the Medieval Night Watchman who explained what life was like back in those days.  He also told us about the bombings during WWII.  He was able to weave in many humorous comments despite the harsh times he was describing.  He also had a loud voice that carried very well, which was good considering there were about 50 other people on the tour with us.

After the tour, we headed back to the hotel room.  I was exhausted after a week of VBS and then walking all around Rothenburg.

The next morning we had traditional Frühstück (breakfast) at the hotel.  Brandon LOVES Frühstück!  Basically because it consists of bread, meat and cheese…Brandon eats lots of meat!  I’m happy as long as there is Nutella, which there was.

Saturday was a beautiful, sunny day that we spent exploring the perimeter of the city and shopping for souvenirs.  We started in the Burggarten (Castle garden) and walked all the way around (about 1.5 miles), sometimes outside of the wall and sometimes on the wall itself.  It was a lovely walk that wasn’t too crowded with tourists.  The highlight of the walk was climbing up the Rödertor, the only city gate that is open to climb.  The view of the city was breathtaking.  There was also a short exhibit about the WWII bombings that failed to tell the whole story.  It made it sound like the Americans bombed the historical city of Rothenburg for no reason other than to cause destruction.  However, we had learned from the Night Watchman that there was a German general who had brought his troops into the old city.  The Americans could have done a lot more damage, but the weather was cloudy that night.  In addition, one of the American officers grew up hearing stories of his mother’s travels to Rothenburg and commanded that the city not be completely destroyed by artillery.  About 40% of the old city was destroyed, but not the oldest part.  It has been rebuilt with the help of donations from people around the world noted on plaques along the wall.

After our walk, we ate lunch and then decided to head home.  It was a fun short excursion proving we don’t need an entire weekend to travel.

If you’d like to see all the pictures we took in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, please see my Picasa Web Album.

Vacation Bible School is not really a “Vacation”

This past week I somehow found myself volunteering with Vacation Bible School on post.  I vaguely remember a conversation with the coordinator where I ended up agreeing to help the Snack Shack leader, Sarah Brott.  It went something like this:

Coordinator: Would you be willing to help with VBS?

Me: Does it involve children?  If so, you probably want to ask someone else.

Coordinator: Well……..how about you help serve snacks in the kitchen.  You won’t have to deal directly with any children.

Me: Ummmm, I’ll think about it. [Exit quickly!]

Well, “I’ll think about it” must have meant “yes” because I started receiving emails about VBS!  Since I wasn’t in charge of the Snack Shack station, I figured I could hide in the kitchen and it might not be so bad.

The theme for VBS this year was Crocodile Dock.  Each day had a specific theme and even the snack was incorporated into the lesson.

• On Monday, God is with Us.  We served a Burning Bush in a Bowl.  This was tortilla chips, lettuce, cheese & a cherry tomato in a cup to tell the story of God speaking to Moses in a burning bush.
• On Tuesday, God is Powerful.  We served Bugs & Boils.  Popcorn, raisins, chocolate chips, pretzels, and fruit gushers represented the plagues God sent on Egypt.
• On Wednesday, God does what He says He’ll Do.  We served Promise Pizzas made with a Ritz cracker, pizza sauce, and shredded cheese.  This represented God sparing the Israelites at Passover.
• On Thursday, God gives us Life.  We served “Berried” and Raised.  The Vanilla wafer represented the tomb, the whipped cream symbolized the white grave clothes and the heart-shaped strawberries was a reminder of God’s love.
• On Friday, God cares for Us.  We served Sweet Victory, graham crackers with blue frosting and butterscotch chips.  This represented the Isrealites crossing the Red Sea.

The snacks were all pretty good, but the kids liked the Promise Pizzas and Sweet Victory the best.  I was amazed at how much work it was to feed about 100 elementary kids!  They came in five groups and stayed with us for about 20 minutes.  We would hand out wipes to have them wash their hands (they came to us from Games), then Sarah would explain the snack, then I would help them get their snack ready, and then Sarah would help them clean up while I prepped for the next group.  We had 2-3 teenagers to help us, but most of the time they just wanted to socialize with each other unless specifically asked to do something.

I have learned several lessons from this experience:

1. I’m not good with kids.
2. I never want to work around food.  (I’m too tempted to eat it!)
3. Groups of ~20 kids are very loud and chaotic.
4. Kids are messy eaters.
5. After a morning of VBS, I need a nap in the afternoon.
6. I’m still not good with kids!

I don’t regret helping with VBS this year, but I might have to avoid the VBS coordinator next year when she is looking for volunteers!

Visitors to Großbissendorf

Almost as soon as Brandon and I returned home from our trip to England and Scotland, my parents arrived in Germany to visit us here for the first time. They arrived on Tuesday, July 21st and stayed with us through Saturday, August 1st. We stayed very busy exploring the Hohenfels area and Bavaria.  I found it strange that I could blog throughout the UK, but I wasn’t able to find time while my parents were around.  So, here is a summary of what we did each day:

Tuesday, July 21: I picked Mom and Dad up from the Nürnberg airport in morning.  They were tired from the long flight, but all had gone smoothly.  We went back to my house and just tried to keep them awake as long as possible so they could adjust to the time difference.

The Roman Shades Mom made!

Wednesday, July 22:  We didn’t venture very far this first full day.  We went shopping and ate lunch in Parsberg, and I gave them a tour of post (that only took about 10 minutes!).  We also put up the Roman shades that Mom had made for the living room windows.  The material had been purchased here in Germany when Mark and Linda were visiting, and they had taken it back to the U.S.  It’s wonderful to finally have curtains!!  That evening, I had my last German class and then a celebratory dinner afterwards at the pizzeria in Seubersdorf.  Brandon, Mom and Dad joined us for the dinner and we all had a fun time.

Hohenfels Castle

Thursday, July 23:  We did more shopping this day!  This time we went to the fabric store in Katharied and the chocolate factory in Laaber.  We also explored the town of Hohenfels and attempted to get to the castle ruins before realizing that just wasn’t possible!

On Regensburg's Old Stone Bridge

Friday, July 24: We went for a walk in the morning.  Mom was very interested in the crops being grown in the fields around our house.  Brandon was able to get off in the afternoon, so we went to Regensburg.  We saw went inside several churchs, including the Dom, saw the bridge, and just walked around the old town before eating dinner there.  We stopped in Parsberg on our way home for some yummy Eis (ice cream).

Mom and Dad at the Augustiner Beer Garden

Saturday, July 25:  This was likely to be our only full day to travel with Brandon, so we went down to München (Munich).  We basically did the same day trip that we had done when the Caves visited in April.  We used the Hop-on, Hop-off Tour Bus as our transportation around the city.  We hopped off at the Nymphenburg Palace, Olympic Park & BMW Headquarters, and the Old Town.  We experienced a few downpours during the day, but managed to be inside most of the times it rained.  We ate dinner at the Augustiner Beer Garden before driving back home.

At the Velburg Castle ruins

Sunday, July 26:  I played for both the Catholics and the Protestant services in the morning.  Brandon brought Mom and Dad on post for the Protestant service.  Since most things are closed on Sundays, we decided to explore some castle ruins in the area since they are always open.  The weather was beautiful to be outside and hike up to the ruins in Velburg and Lupburg.  We stopped again at the ice cream shop in Parsburg after all of our exercise.

Liberation Hall in Kelheim

Monday, July 27:  Brandon was able to join us for a half-day trip in the afternoon.  We started the afternoon at Prunn Castle.  Unfortunately, the tour was in German, but they did give us an English handout.  Then we went to the Liberation Hall in Kelheim that was built by Ludwig I in memory of those that liberated Europe in the Napoleonic wars.  Our last stop for the day was the Weltenburger Kloster where we ate dinner and had some good beer.

Tuesday, July 28: After all of the activity of the last few days, we decided to get some stuff done at home this day.  I borrowed the concrete drill from Self-Help and we tackled the last remaining items that needed to be hung on the walls.  We put the shelves we had purchased from IKEA up above the TV, and hung the two Van Gogh prints that we purchased in Amsterdam up above the piano and our bed.  We also hung the wall quilt my grandma made in the stairwell.  Having Mom and Dad here was definitely a calming influence on Brandon and me as we tackled these last few projects!

An ice cream break in Nürnberg

Wednesday, July 29:  On Wednesday, we rode the train from Parsberg to Nürnberg.  We were pleasantly surprised when Brandon came home from PT and said he’d be joining us!  We explored a little of the Old Town by ourselves before having lunch at a delicious brewery.  Then we took a walking tour that showed took us around the Old Town in more detail and ended with a tour of the castle.  It was a beautiful, sunny day to see the city.  We rode the train back to Parsberg and went to the Winkler Brau for dinner.

Wine Cellar in Parsberg

Thursday, July 30:  Since their visit was quickly coming to an end, Mom and Dad started to get serious about finding souvenirs.  We went back to the fabric store and chocolate factory that we had visited earlier to buy gifts.  We also went to the wine cellar in Parsberg, which was a bit of an experience since the owner didn’t speak English and I only know a little German!  We managed to buy several bottles of Riesling though.  On our way home we stopped at a self-cut flower field to get some gladiolas.  We grilled some German sausages in honor of Mom and Dad’s 32nd anniversary.

Rothenburg Main Square

Friday, July 31:  On the last full day of their visit, we drove to Rothenburg ob der Tauber.  They did some serious souvenir shopping at Käthe Wohlfahrt’s Christmas Shop!  After a delicious lunch, we took the city walking tour to learn more about this Medieval, walled city.  Unfortunately, our guide was not the most enthusiastic speaker and the tour was a bit slow.  We drove home to get Brandon, and we went to properly celebrate Mom & Dad’s anniversary at Gasthof Lindenhof in Schmidtmühlen.  There was a fest in the small town of Raitenbuch that we stopped at on the way home.  I was hoping there would be crepes, but the fest was so small, they only had one outside vendor that was selling nuts.  Mom and Dad will have to experience a bigger fest the next time they visit.

Saturday, August 1: Brandon and I took Mom and Dad to the Nürnberg Airport in the morning.  They were to fly from Nürnberg to München and then on to Chicago where Dad has a conference that starts Monday afternoon.  Unfortunately, their travels were not to go smoothly.  They made it to München, but the next flight was canceled due to maintenance needs.  They spent the whole day in line to reschedule the flight.  They were lucky enough to get another flight out on Sunday morning, so they stayed in München that night.

Sunday, August 2:  Mom and Dad managed to make it from München to Berlin and then to New York.  However, their luck ran out there.  The last flight from New York to Chicago was canceled due to weather, so they had to spend the night in New York before finally getting to Chicago Monday morning.

Overall, it was a fun and wonderful visit!  I just hope that their hard time getting back to the United States, doesn’t prevent them from visiting again.

England & Scotland: Day 16 – Last Day in the UK

Saturday, July 18, 2009

We woke up to more clouds on our last day in the UK.  We ate our last British Breakfast, and checked out of the guest house.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t leave our luggage there, so we took it to the train station to store while we did our final sight-seeing.  It cost £7/bag, but it was probably worth that to not drag it around all over Edinburgh.  We also made sure to buy our bus tickets to the airport before we set out to see more sights.

The Dining Room on Britannia

We were about to board the Majestic Tour bus right outside the train station to ride to the Royal Yacht Britannia.  The yacht was launched in 1953 and retired in 1997.  It is now permanently moored at the Ocean Terminal Shopping Mall in Edinburgh’s port of Leith.  Again, they gave us an audioguide that told us all about the yacht.  It was interesting to see how the royals traveled in style and to learn about the crew that maintained the yacht.  We were able to eat lunch at the mall in a cafeteria-type restaurant overlooking Britannia.

Edinburgh from Advocate's Close

We rode the Majestic Tour bus back to the starting point and hopped on the next tour bus that was going out.  We rode almost the entire loop on the top of the double decker bus with a half-top to keep us dry.  I feel like we were able to see the major landmarks and learn a little about them even though the weather prevented us from comfortably walking around the city.  We did take one walking tour right before we headed to the airport.  We met the Mercat Tour near St. Giles Cathedral at 2:15pm.  This 90-minute tour didn’t go very far, but pointed out things on or right off the Royal Mile that we had previously walked right by.  Some of the most interesting parts were going down some of the “closes,” tiny alleys between the buildings.  We also saw a leather ID holder that was made from the tanned skin of the murderer, William Burke.  While the tour was enjoyable, the weather was still miserable.  With only one broken umbrella between us, I finally gave in and used one of the rain ponchos that Mark had given us for a Nebraska game one time.  I felt silly walking around in a glorified garbage bag, but at least I stayed dry during the periodic deluges that plagued our walk.  Brandon kept fighting with the umbrella.  Both the poncho and umbrella were unceremoniously thrown away when the tour was over.

After the walking tour, we collected our luggage and rode the Airlink bus to the airport.  We didn’t have any problems at the Edinburgh airport, easily checking in with Lufthansa and going through security.  We flew to Frankfurt, where things were a bit rushed.  We had to go through passport control since we were coming from the UK.  That took us outside of security, so we had to go back through to catch our connection to Nürnberg.  Our connection was a bit tight on time, so we were a little worried when security detained us because they couldn’t identify my curing iron.  We made it to the gate on time to discover that this was a smaller flight and only allowed one carry on bag.  They checked our bags at the gate, and we were quite relieved to see them arrive in Nürnberg.  We were relieved in general to be back in Germany.  We had an hour drive (through more rain!) back to Großbissendorf, but we arrived home around midnight.

It was a long trip through England and Scotland, but one that we enjoyed and will remember fondly.  To see more pictures from our last day, please see my Picasa Web Album.