Day 250: Glockenspiel and friends

After a wonderful breakfast buffet (included in the room rate), we checked out of the hotel and left our car in their parking facility. We took the subway down to Marienplatz where not only the Glockenspiel is located but also the Christmas market.
The next day we had a hearty breakfast in the hotel dining room and then took the train to the Marien Platz where the kids would be meeting their friend. We got there just in time to see the Glockenspiel. And though it was bright and sunny, it was cold.


The tower with the Glockenspiel.

The Christmas market and people looking up and waiting for the Glockenspiel to start!

Ro patiently waiting for the Glockenspiel!

After viewing the Glockenspiel, the kids found their friend and we split up. They went with their friend and his family and we tooled around the Christmas market. We bought a few things to take to friends and family for Christmas. Here are some pictures my son-in-law took along with a photo of him and his friend. I have no idea where these photos were taken except that I know one is the restaurant they had lunch at and one is somewhere in the Christmas market.

Somewhere at the Christmas Market in Munich. The Germans call Munich, Muenchen.

Inside a restaurant somewhere in Munich.

My son-in-law GC (on the left) and his German friend.

Ted and I walked around the Christmas market and sampled what the various booths had to offer.  We bought various Christmas decorations for our home along with a comfy pair of slippers for Ted and an engraved plaque for our front door. We also found a "kinder" (children's) shop and bought the baby a new hat and scarf. We finally were ready to sit somewhere and have a nice hot cup of something. We opted for latte macchiatto at a cafe near the "Ratt Haus" (pronounced rot-house). It's German for Courthouse. My daughter is impressed that I'm picking up the language (but I'm really not...I wish I were!)

While sitting and enjoying our hot beverage, we got a phone call from the kids who wanted to know where we were. We asked them where they were and they told us that they were right outside where they met their friends (outside the courthouse). I explained we were in the cafe next to where they were. As they walked over, we could see them and waved.

They were amazed at how many people were here. I would have thought living near and working in New York City they would have seen this kind of a crowd every day. But my son-in-law felt the crowds were much bigger than he'd experienced in New York City. I found that incredibly hard to believe.

At this point, Ted and I were very tired and we opted to drive home. I'm sure my daughter would have liked to go window shopping but all of their time was spent with his friend and his friend's family.

By the time we got home, we decided to do a take-out order from Amalfi in Bonlanden and go home and eat.  Tomorrow they would be leaving for the states.


Saturday 11/28/09

Day 249: Munich Again!

We're traveling to Munich today. It's going to be a challenge with a two-year old in the car for several hours. But we stopped along the way to allow the little guy to get out and stretch his legs and the rest of us a bathroom break!

First stop...Dachau. My son-in-law wanted to see the concentration camp. Since we had already seen the camp, we stayed behind to watch the baby. It was cold outside so we stayed in the information center and allowed him to explore that a bit. We fed him some french fries and a muffin and gave him his juice.

It's going to be a very long day! LOL!

Next stop was the BMW museum. I opted to stay behind in the waiting area as I didn't sleep well the night before but Ted went with the kids through the museum. Around 5pm they came out and we went to the hotel we had booked for the night.

"Popeye" as Ro calls him, is checking out the engines at the BMW museum.  He, of course, is facinated by not only the engines but the cars themselves!

Ro is checking out the tires on this old 70's era beamer!

He's checking out a little motorcycle.

 "Popeye" holding Ro to check out the camera at the BMW museum

Dada and Ro in front of a very tiny car!

Time for a rest.  This is a perfect spot!

 Mama and Ro standing in JOY!

We missed the entrance to the hotel and ended up going back the way we came and it took us a little longer than we needed .

When we finally arrived, we found out we both had suites!! And I was very pleased with the price of the rooms. We ordered a crib for the baby.

This child absolutely LOVES to play with the remote.  He had fun changing the channels.  And since we don't speak German, it didn't matter!

Ro enjoying some time sitting with "Popeye" as Ro calls him!

Outside our hotel window, there was a market going on.  It's so different from  what we Americans are used to seeing in a commercial area of town.

They wanted to walk to the restaurant and we opted to stay in the hotel for dinner. We needed a break. It turned out we had a wonderful dinner and so did they (after a very rough start). We sat for a bit and talked about our evening. We found out my son-in-law had finally been able to reach his friend near Munich and would be meeting him at 11am the next morning under the Glockenspiel in the information center.


Friday 11/27/09

Day 248: Happy Thanksgiving from Ludwigsburg!

Happy Thanksgiving! It really is a weird Thanksgiving. We are going to Ludwigsburg to visit the palace there. Unfortunately it was closed but we were able to look around the gardens and were able to take Ro around to see the ducks in the pond and the carousels there.

We really lucked out because although it was a bit chilly, it was a beautiful day!  The sun was out and the skies were incredibly blue!  And this is late November!!!

Since it is winter time, we didn't have to pay to get in.  It appears that it could be incredibly beautiful in the summer time.  This will definitely be a "day trip" for us next summer!

LUDWIGSBURG

 This is only one side of the palace, I couldn't even get the entire palace in  one shot!

 These are the gardens in front of the palace.  They too are extensive and it would be impossible to get a shot of the entire grounds.  One has to see how large this area is to appreciate it.  The shrubs are designed in an intricate pattern.  I can't wait to see this in the summer time!

 

  There were very few flowers but I managed to capture these few pansies that were still blooming in late November.  Again, the flowers have to be gorgeous in the summer time!












                                                                                                     As you can see that because it's winter, there's not much to see except to imagine what the grounds look like in the summer.  Again, there's intricate designs that look like are filled with flowers in the summer time.

 

 Ro's daddy put him in the fountain where he promptly fell on his butt and muddied up those wonderful white knit pants.  We're going to have a time getting the mud out!  He also found puddles when we were walking through the gardens.




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 This part of the castle is behind the part of the castle that's pictured above.  There's a HUGE courtyard in  front of this part of the castle with archways to get into the courtyard.

This is a view of the palace courtyard from the archway.  This painted horse was a big hit not only with Ro but with all of us.  The detail work on this horse is exquisite!

Another view of the horse!

This is a close up of the coat of arms from this castle.

The long walk to the fantasy gardens.  The kids posed for a picture.

 This is a view of the castle from another part of the gardens.  To say the castle and it's surrounding gardens is extensive, is an understatement!

This gazebo housed a carousel with very old wooden horses.  Ro desperately wanted to go on them but of course, it was closed.

This pond is near the different gazebos and the children (including Ro) totally enjoyed throwing crackers and cookies to them! 

This duck almost looked wooden but it wasn't!  It was unbelievably unique and beautiful.  We have never seen a duck quite like this one!

The egret in the middle of the pond was real.  At first I thought it was a statue out on that tiny island in the middle of the pond.  But when he moved, I realized he was real!

This building is on the other side of the pond and houses a cafe in the summer time.  It was obviously closed now.  I can't wait to go back in the summer time. 

 This is a tower in another part of the gardens.

This gazebo houses some sort of swing for children.  Everything was closed for the winter.  I wish that Ro was with us in the summer time to experience this!

 This is the Japanese gardens that is near the tower.

 This is another Romanesque type garden structure.

This is the garden below the tower.  What you can't see on the other side to the left of this garden is a huge gully with craggy rocks and a pond.   I couldn't get a photo of that.  You'll just have to use your imagination.

 This is a plant (bush?) that was in the garden near the Roman structure.  I loved how it was whispy and blew in the wind.














After returning from our trip to Ludwigsburg, we went to Mamma Maria's again for dinner. Funny! Italian on Thanksgiving?  Unfortunately, they don't do Turkey here (at least not like Americans make Turkey) and we just didn't want to waste one day of sight seeing to stop and make a traditional turkey dinner.


Day 248 - Thursday 11/26/09

Day 247: Panicked parents

Watched the baby again today. it was SO much fun. Ted and I took him to the grocery store. The kids went to the Porsche museum and then walked around downtown Stuttgart. We thought it would take them an hour to get home so we took the baby to the grocery store with us. It freaked them out that I didn't take my phone or my purse...so they got on my computer and got Ted's phone number and called us. They then decided to go to Mamma Maria's for pizza. They really like Mamma Maria's.

Day 246: Wednesday, 11/25/09

Day 246: Visitors travel day

Since my son-in-law was not well rested, he slept in a little. During that time, I had a little bit of time with my daughter and grandson. I started on his birthday party things (a craft my daughter wanted help with).  I have decided that I need to get a sewing machine here in Germany. I'm going to see if I can pick up a used one for the time I'm here in Germany. It will give me something to do and will allow me to do these "hobby horses" more easily than hand stitching them!

My son-in-law had things to do on the computer when he got up so they didn't leave until after one pm. In the meantime, I was trying to get my grandson to eat carrot sticks with some dressing on them. But he had already eaten something else so he wasn't interested in eating them. My daughter ended up eating them. I fixed my grandson some Orzo with butter and parmesan cheese for lunch. I am not cooking tonight since we are going over to Mamma Maria's to have Pizza tonight.


Since we have a washer and dryer, my daughter only packed enough for half the week.  We are doing a load of laundry for them.


Day 245: Tuesday 11/24/09

Day 245: Time with Ro

 Last night I put together their itinerary for their Romantic Road trip. And they are picking up a car tomorrow to make the trip.

Unfortunately, though....both my daughter and my son-in-law are exhausted from the trip and from the baby's sleep patterns that they sleep in longer than expected and leave late.

They only get to ONE of the four cities I recommended but they were thankful for getting there and the time alone.

In the meantime, I spent all day playing with the little guy and cuddling, hugging and kissing him (and he allowed me to do so!!!) I made reservations for the trip to Munich at the end of the week when the baby was sleeping. The baby helped me run the sweeper and do a load of laundry!!

Ro using Nana's little ironing table as a surfboard.  He lives in New York but he should be living in Southern California where he could hone his surfing skills!

Ro's Nana (yours truly) downloaded some Elmo videos to keep him entertained.  He's enthralled with the video!

 Time for a little rest in Dada's suitcase!















I fixed left-overs for Ted. When they got home we talked about their day and how it went. We had given them "Julie" to use while they are in Germany...but "Julie" was not being friendly and gave them bad directions.

Once again, I'm planning their trip down the Rhine on Wednesday and their trip around town tomorrow. In the meantime, the baby's body clock has still not adjusted, so once again, Ted takes my daughter and grandson for a ride to get him to fall asleep. It took longer tonight because they are talking. I went to bed because all that playing today...took a toll on me and I'm tired!!

My son-in-law had work to do so he was up really late tonight and so was my husband...but for a different reason!


Day 244: Monday 11/23/09

Day 244: Heidelberg again!

We got up but not so early because everyone was so tired. I fixed everyone a nice breakfast and we all got ready for our trip to Heidelberg. It's drizzling outside and I'm hoping that the weather will clear or be better in Heidelberg.

The drive to Heidelberg was wonderful because my son-in-law shared some sermon notes and then we had a long conversation about the German history.

We parked close to the Korn Markt and I realized that even Heidelberg has a Christmas Market!! Although everything was closed because it was Sunday we at least got to see Heidelberg at night which was terrific.

We rode the funicular railway up to the castle but we won't have a repeat of the last time we were in Heidelberg. We are making darn sure that we don't miss the last ride down the railway!!

Our grandson Ro holding on to the rail in the funicular railway!


Since we've seen the castle and the kids rarely get time alone anymore, we are going to take the baby to the castle gardens and keep him while the kids tour the castle. We will rendevous back at the castle gate at the appointed time.

The baby was terrific and was not an ounce of trouble. We walked around for awhile with him in the stroller and then we took him out of the stroller and walked with him near the fountain and looked into what once must have either been stables or some sort of prison because there were barred gates. Finally we walked back towards the castle gate and sat at a bench. The baby was thirsty but my daughter forgot to give me the bottle so I let him drink some of my tea. It wasn't the best idea but that's all I had!!

We walked around the Christmas Markt and Old Town looking at the architecture and the beautifully lit streets and window shopped. We stopped for a pastry and a drink to tide us over until dinner. There were street musicians who played in the street as we walked along. Although I had my camera, I did not take any photos...I'm just THOROUGHLY enjoying spending time with my family. However, I know my son-in-law has and I will be sharing some of his photos with you.

Finally, it was time to go to dinner at our favorite restaurant in Heidelberg: Zapata. Ted has been wanting to go back just to get the potatoe cakes!! But my daughter was worried how the baby was going to do. In fact, he was a trooper and did very well!! We all had our dinner without any distraction from the baby.

The trip home was a great time spent talking to the kids. We stopped at a rest area to go to the bathroom and the lights kept going out. It's difficult to go when the lights go out and it's pitch black in a public restroom!! LOL!

We finally get home and again, the baby had a hard time going to sleep. Finally, they put him in the stroller and he fell asleep.

Tomorrow is another day and I will have my darling grandson all to myself!!

Sunday 11/22/09

Day 243: Visitors arrive

We have to get the luggage rack on the car before we go to the airport at 10:30am to pick up the kids. We are having difficulty getting it on so we decided to run over to ATU by the airport and see if they can direct us on how to get the rack on the car. We find out it's a relatively simple thing to do and are able to get it installed. Unfortuantely, I forgot to get the bungee cord that we bought last night at marktkauf so it's back to the apartment to get it before heading off to the airport.

We get there at precisely 10:40 the exact time of arrival of the plane coming in from Amsterdam. We luck out and get a wonderful parking space too. We find the terminal and sit and wait. At 11:15, I'm getting a bit nervous because they are not coming out. I told Ted that if they don't come out by 11:30 that we need to contact the airlines and see what's up. Fortunately, they come out at 11:25 and I get to see my wonderful daughter, her husband and my beautiful 2-year-old grandson who I simply adore.

It turns out the airlines lost the stroller so they had to get a loaner from the airlines until theirs come in. The airlines is supposed to call us when it arrives and they will deliver it to our home. My daughter gave them my cell phone number.

It turns out we didn't even need the luggage rack because everything fit nicely into the trunk of the car! HOORAY!! And the three of them fit nicely in the back seat. How wonderful is that??

The kids loved the apartment.  It's completely finished and here are some photos of it now.

 






 


Living room from the hallway. Our little German loveseat!

Living Room from the Kitchen.  Those are two storage units which we plan to use also as a TV stand if we ever get a TV.   Those units house everything from casserole dishes to cleaning supplies to books to dish towels and more.  They are wonderful since we have no other storage or closets!

This is the master bedroom from the doorway.  Those are two chest of drawers sitting beside one another.  I really like the look  of them!

This is that wardrobe Ted and I struggled to put together.  As you can see, it's very tall and we are short people so it was a challenge.  Not to mention that it came with absolutely NO directions!  

This is the spare bedroom.  While the wardrobe in our room matches this bedroom set, we didn't think guests would need a closet and there are poles behind the door that the previous tenant left for use as a closet!

The view of the guest bedroom from the window.  I couldn't live without my books! 

Our teeny, tiny half bath.  We, however, count ourselves fortunate that we have a second bath.  Most apartments here in Germany only have one bath so I'm thankful for it.

The kitchen from the Living Room.  It's small but it's cute!

Kitchen from the Living Room.  Again, it's small, but it's cute.

The third bedroom which we use as an office.  This is my workstation.

Again, the third bedroom.  This is Ted's workstation.  We have to have a drying rack because our dryer doesn't fully dry all of the clothes (I'm not sure any of the German dryers do.)  I'm not sure why that is.










We decided to take the luggage home and then go to lunch at our favorite German restaurant in Bernhausen, not far from our apartment. We also decided to zip on over to Tubingen after lunch to stroll through the village. The day is beautiful and we don't want to waste it.

The kids LOVED the restaurant and of course, as always, the food is terrific!! We load up the car and head on over to Tubingen which is about 30 kilometers from our home. The kids and the baby all fell asleep on the way and when we finally found a parking spot, we decided to let them sleep for another 15 minutes or so because they were so tired.

They also loved Tubingen...but then I knew they would. It's such a wonderful little town.

I was so excited to have them here in Germany that I didn't even think to take any photos of them the first day.  My son-in-law snapped this photo of my grandson patiently waiting outside a cafe while the grown-ups had some hot coffee and tea!



They are exhausted by the time we get home but the baby was up...and wouldn't fall asleep even though he, too, was exhausted. We finally had to take him in the car and drive around the block to get him to go to sleep.

When we left, my son-in-law went to sleep and when we returned we put the baby to bed. My daughter, my husband and I stayed up until after midnight talking and praying.

The entire week is filled with things to do and we're going to love showing them everything that we've seen and even those things we haven't seen!


Saturday 11/21/09