Deutscheland Uber Alles

Our trip to Germany was a bona fide success. We learned a lot on this trip about public transportation and Germany was the place to be initiated because everything and I mean everything runs EXACTLY on time. Craig set his watch by Deutsche Bahn (German Rail) time and believe me, it was exact.
Craig and I both decided we need to learn more German, but we got by fairly well. Thank goodness for guide books. The kids wished we had walked less, but the food was good and always available, so they were mostly happy and they got to play in the snow which is something they all wanted to do.

A few notes:

1. German hotels are far better than French hotels;
2. We like self-catering lodging v. hotels;
3. Only spend 2-3 days in a city unless it's Paris or Rome;
   
4. German beer can be found world-wide and English beer is just as good;
5. There are a bazillion types of German wurst;
   
6. Germans seem to have no rhyme or reason when walking down the street. The main goal seems to be to bump as many people as you can or just play a game of Chicken;
7. Do not dally when entering a train car or your hand might get stuck;
8. Oompah bands are fun no matter how loud they play and apparently even more fun if you have a couple of beers in ya;
9. The Germans do not like vegetables unless it is a potato or cabbage;
10. Hunting (hence meat) is a big deal - there are deer blinds everywhere in the countryside.
    

We really enjoyed Mainz and Garmisch-Partenkirchen (the smaller towns). Munich was nice, but a city is a city. It was truly overwhelming how large the squares were in Munich and the scale of the old buildings. Here are photos:

Christmas market in Mainz (above and below)

View down Kaiserstrasse in Mainz

In front of the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz -
This is a sculpture of the Gutenberg Bible and Owen was helping his friend, Will, with his Flat Stanley project. We did not actually view the inside of the museum, but there were walls with bronze reproductions of old typeset blocks so we used Finn's pastels to do a few rubbings.

Arrival at the train station in Munich
We had to make a train transfer in I think Frankfurt am Main (main airport train station) in nine minutes with the kids and four pieces of luggage plus five backpacks. We were a bit stressed because our arriving train was in the lower terminal and our connection was in the upper terminal but it turned out to be fairly simple, just nerve wracking. Luckily, Craig had reserved seats for us, so we got to kick some people out of our spots and the Germans are very accommodating in that area - rules are rules and I can respect that - being German myself...

Street scene, playing with laser lights - you can see some green dots on the umbrella

The Residenz is the former palace of the former Bavarian kings. Half of it is the actual palace tour with all of the rooms and furnishings and the other half is the Treasury with all of the loot.
We much preferred the Treasury and it was just amazing what we saw. The most famous item is King George Slaying the Dragon and it really was gorgeous. I have a picture but it doesn't even do it justice.
This room below was FILLED floor to ceiling with Roman busts of the emperors and their families. That is Finn walking down the middle.

Perseus beheading Medusa, the Gorgon
A great boy statue (they even sculpted her spinal cord inside her neck and head) and a great visual from a book series Finn and I read - The Lightning Thief is the first one - definitely worth the read and your kids (and you) will learn Greek mythology in a cool way.

Ice skating in Karlsplatz.
Owen did an Owensplatz right on his face and bruised his nose.
It was swollen for a bit, but luckily not broken.

Family photo in front of the Deutches Museum (museum of Germans) - packed with exhibits and exhausting

The Hofbrauhaus - which literally means "main brew house" - good food, drink and entertainment.

And speaking of entertainment, please enjoy this video that Owen shot of the Oompah band in the Hofbrauhaus. I asked him to get a minute of the music and you should notice that he taped exactly a minute - I didn't even have to edit. I think he may have gotten some of that German rule following from me. Okay, who am I kidding - Owen... rules???
You might want to adjust the volume downwards on your computer before playing.



We went to Dachau to see the Nazi camp. Very sobering, especially in the cold. To put it bluntly, I would not have survived.

The Viktualmarkt - where you can buy victuals

These are videos of Marienplatz (Mary's Square) and the (in)famous Glockenspiel located in the Neues Rathaus (new town hall - I like how a town hall is called a Rat house) which was built between 1867 and 1908 (100 years new!)
It plays at 11 am, noon, and 5 pm and I guess it is worth viewing. We think it sounded tired and off-key, but it IS very old.
We got a true German tourist experience when a know-it-all-and-not-afraid-to-show-it tour guide decided he was going to tell the ENTIRE group of viewers (not just his group with whom he chose not to stand) the history of the Glockenspiel while standing two inches from me and completely in front of Owen (like he didn't exist) and shouting into my left ear. At least I wasn't paying him for the experience!

This first video is of the Marienplatz atmosphere with the church bells ringing and the Christkindlmarkt booths which I thought was lovely. All the church bells start ringing about 15 minutes early as a warm up for the Glockenspiel.



The second is der Glockenspiel. The top row is a parade of people which are followed by jousters. One jouster represents Bavaria and the other Lorraine. After a few go-arounds, the Lorraine jouster gets flattened by the Bavarian jouster. Then the second level kicks in (literally) with dancers kicking their legs and they dance around. I didn't get that part on video because we had seen it the day before and we just couldn't bring ourselves to relive the experience again. Ugly Americans - we just need action, action , action!



View in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

View looking up to the top of the Zugspitze in the Bavarian Alps. The two little black dots you see at the top are where the cable cars land. This photo doesn't even give the true scale.

Craig and I on the Austrian "Tirol" side.

Editor's note: You will notice that I am using a larger font because I don't want my husband to go blind since he is in need of bifocals but he is too vain (read "busy") to do something about it! Heehee!

What a Difference Six Months Makes

Most weeks on Friday mornings, the whole school has assembly with one class doing a skit about the value of the week. They also hear the school news (awards, sports results, etc.) and sing a new song (usually religious) that the Music teacher teaches all of the students. I think most of you may know that I am not the most religious person, but I am so pleased with this school and the way they present values and promote acceptance.

Finn disliked Music at Hillcrest for a variety of reasons, but mainly because it wasn't much of a challenge for our very musical child. However, he is thriving in Music class and guitar lessons and had a solo in the Carol Service as you can see. I can honestly say that this would never, NEVER have happened in Maryland. I am so glad Finn has gotten his second chance.

I think this instance teaches a lesson about how we all can make a difference in someone's life through encouragement and persistence in the face of adversity and also make good choices for ourselves. The teacher-student relationship is very important and so is deciding to allow yourself to thrive and try new things.

Grandmom and Pop's Visit

My parents visited in early November and yes, I KNOW it's taken me forever to get this online but yet again I was waiting for a disposable camera to be completed and developed. We had a good time: ate out, walked around, visited Gloucester Cathedral with the kids and a small town called Broadway without kiddos. They also got to experience some true English weather and a fireworks night/bonfire in the rain! Here are some good shots of the week:

Guy Fawkes Bonfire Night at St. Edward's

Gloucester

Gloucester Cathedral

Frohe Weihnachten!

That's Merry Christmas in German to all of you from all of us.
We spent Christmas Eve Day in Garmisch-Partenkirchen which was the site of the 1936 Winter Olympics. The kids got me on the steepest and scariest cable car I have ever seen to go to Zugspitze, the tallest mountain in the German Alps at 2962 meters. We first had to take a train from Munich to Garmisch, then another cog train (the Zugspitzbahn) from Garmisch to Eibsee and walk over to the cable car. The border between Germany and Austria runs right across this mountain and there used to be a border crossing station, but that has been dismantled since the institution of the European Union. We did however travel over to the Austrian side.

Embrace Your Inner Nerd

Okay, my kids are in the Chess Club, read comic books and Popular Science, and have labels on all items of their uniforms and the other day I caught my husband looking up Log Periodic Antennas on the Internet. No, I don't have any idea what it is or what it does. That being said, we all know the geeks inherit the earth. So, watch this video and just go with it. By the way, it should have a dedication to the McCarter Family - thanks for the artistic material. And you go, Weird Al!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xEzGIuY7kw

When It Rains, It Pours

This morning just was not meant to be. I was supposed to go into Craig's work (yes, I was actually allowed to go in and had a visitor's pass awaiting me) BUT my car battery is dead because I left a light on in the front yesterday afternoon and early evening because Finn was doing his homework on the way home from school and I forgot to shut it off, and yes, it is my fault because I said I'd do it but obviously didn't. Craig turned the light off when he came home from work, but the damage had been done.

"This shouldn't be a problem, Kris", you say. "What about the other car?"

Well, the dead battery car is parked diagonally in front of the working car at the moment. I NEVER park this way and always park the cars parallel to one another, but yesterday was a very hectic traffic day and I just pulled in headfirst to readjust later and just didn't get around to it. Lesson learned.

What is it about Honda's and the batteries instantly dying when you leave the lights on??? My sister and my neighbor have the exact problem with their Hondas.

Just keep your fingers crossed that a) we can get the jumper cables to reach from one car to the other because one is facing the house, the other is facing the street and b) the battery is not so dead that it can't be jumped. If this doesn't work, we are going to enlist the burliest Englishmen we can find (hmmm... we really need good luck on that one - heehee) to help push the car up into the driveway and straighten it out and then we will just deal with it. Of course this happens on a Friday and all the garages are closed on the weekends here.

Oh, and to add insult to injury, the Mazda's driver side window decided that it wasn't going back up on Tuesday afternoon. We got it closed at the dealership on Wednesday, but we can't open it until they exchange a part on this coming Monday. Weird thing is that the Mazda has electronic windows in the front, but manual windows in the back. Go figure.

There is a really odd and maybe even creepy thing about all this. It all starts with the Honda Civic hatchback Craig and his roommates shared in college. Milo died on I-95 in the spring of 1987 while returning home from Baltimore after the Ring Dance (I think) and we just abandoned it, leaving a note on the windshield and taking the license plates - no lie. Bad karma #1. 21 years later, we purchased Milo, Jr. here, a Honda Civic 4-door. Milo, Jr. had a driver's side window that never closed flush and wind would come through the crack and whistle loudly on the highways (bad karma #2) and then it wouldn't start reliably (bad karma #3). It's like the ghosts of Milo and Milo, Jr. will haunt us forever and are bestowing bad karmas #1-3 on both of our present cars in mysterious ways.

Ghostly coincidence or fact??? You decide.

A. Finn is 11

Today is Finn's birthday! Instead of cupcakes, the Brits in the kids' school bring in candies - aka "sweets" - which was so much easier. We celebrated with Finn's requested dinner: fish and chips and a yellow cake with lemon icing. He has become a big electric train buff so we got him a nice train set from the awesome hobby shop on the High Street and we haven't seen him since he opened it! Here are some cute photos from the festivities:

Evan took this one.

Oh and I have received 143 spam emails in a week.

I'm Hooked...

on this video. I can't stop watching it. I love the white shoes and pink shirt. Click on this URL:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv5zWaTEVkI

When you're finished, just hit the back arrow on your browser at the top left to return to my fabulous blog.

I am also conducting an experiment. I usually delete all of my spam immediately but since Monday, I've decided to leave it just to see how much I really get. So far in 4.5 days, there are 76 messages. I'll keep you updated.

Tour de France Final Stage: Reims

Our last stop before heading back to England was Reims. We left Orange early in the rain and headed north on our last long leg of the journey. Finn said he was not feeling well and slept a lot of the drive. Around noon, we stopped at a rest area and headed to the restaurant to eat something. While I was paying for the meals, Finn vomited all over the floor across the way from me in the very crowded seating area. Luckily, Craig was nearby and gestured to the attendant that there was a mess to clean up. He whisked Finn outside to the car and got him cleaned up while Evan, Owen and I ate. Actually Owen and Evan didn't eat much because what they had ordered, an andouillette, tasted disgusting. Really disgusting. Here is what we learned later on Wikipedia: "The taste is an acquired one - as it is with all offal - and can be compared to strong, decaying pork sausages. The texture is somewhat rougher than sausages, as the content is roughly cut." That just about sums it up nicely. So they ate Finn's pasta while I ran outside to switch places with Craig so that he could eat. After this adventure, we have all pledged never again to eat in what we call a

"Snarf and Barf"!

Finn was feeling better on the second half of the drive and we didn't have any emergency stops until we arrived in Reims to experience horrible, confusing and insane construction detours at rush hour. Excellent planning, huh? We finally found the hotel after 45 minutes (we had actually passed it twice), found the parking garage and checked in without incident. Finn, Evan and I passed on dinner so Craig and Owen had a date night.

The Hotel Bristol was in a great location and had wonderful views of the street scene, but the street noise was very bad both in the late evening due to the clubs beneath us and also in the early morning due to never-ending street cleaning and unloading of trucks. Also, the plumbing PVC pipes were exposed in the bathroom and we heard every flush of every toilet in the building. Craig and Owen's room was on another side of the building and they had a great night's sleep. Oh, but this hotel had this total old-timey caged lift that fit like two people at a time and was so slow, you could walk to your floor and be in your room before the lift arrived. Very cool though. And it had a shoe shine machine which I have never seen before. This said, Reims is a gorgeous city and we will return probably via train since the train station is accessible pretty much anywhere you are.

We spent the next morning viewing the cathedral, Notre-Dame de Reims, which even the kids enjoyed. Reims is where most of the French kings were crowned and it is spectacular. I have photos from this portion of the trip because I remembered that I had brought my Flip recorder and we took videos and then I am able to snap photos from the videos. Some of the shots are fuzzy and not the greatest lighting, but it works for me. By the way, these Flip recorders are so cool and fairly inexpensive and total no-brainers to use and download the videos onto your computer.

statue of Jeanne d'Arc who attended one of the king's coronations

These windows were created by Chagall and installed in 1974.




beautiful windows with charcoal undertones

shadows on the floor

vaulting,

vaulting,

and more vaulting

front entrance inside

front entrance outside

We took off after doing some souvenir shopping, actually arrived in Calais early enough to catch an earlier ferry than our scheduled one and landed in England without a fuss. The traffic home on Halloween night was horrendous, but at least our headlights were pointed in the right direction. We arrived home safely around 7 PM expecting trick or treaters, but we had NONE. Oh well, more candy for us.

So this is the official end of our French saga. I hope you have enjoyed it.

As I finish this, I am listening to the radio and they are playing "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl which is one of my all-time favorite songs from the 80's (early 90's?) and I remember why I love England because they don't play this stuff in the USA. If you ever need music to download onto an iPod, look up Kirsty MacColl and you will not be disappointed, especially her song "He's on the Beach".

Tour de France Stage 6: Nîmes

This is my 100th post! I feel like I should be having a cast party or something! LOL! Oh well, I guess I'll have a glass of wine with dinner instead.

We left Claira with a bit of dread because we knew how far we had to drive! (I was also nervous that we hadn't set the house alarm properly, but I guess we did.) However, my brilliant husband had planned some stops on the way, the first of which was Nîmes. This city is known for its Roman ruins. We spent the day visiting la Maison Carrée, les Arènes de Nîmes, Gate of Augustus and a beautiful park whose name escapes me which had a temple dedicated to Diana. We ate crepes from a street vendor which were really yummy.

As usual, here are some photos:

La Maison Carrée is a museum of antiquities of Nîmes and a Roman temple of Augustus and Roma from the first century AD, situated in the center of Nîmes. We walked around it and were very impressed by the scale and the fact that it is right in the middle of town.

Les Arènes de Nîmes is a Roman amphitheater of the first century. They were built between 50 AD and 100 AD, modeled on the Roman Colosseum. The arena has a capacity of 25,000 spectators divided into four zones and thirty-four galleries. The amphitheater had 34 rows of bleachers where the notaries and powerful families had first sitting. Their names were engraved in stone which reserved their place. During the fighting, the blood of gladiators dripped into and was mixed into the sand of the arena, therefore it was regularly replaced so that the spectators did not experience the smell of blood. They had a great audio tour which also explained and illustrated the different types of gladiators, their weapons and the purpose of different items of clothing and the gladiator room display was cool. It was boy heaven, but I actually learned a lot.

La Porte d'Augustus

Ruins of the Temple of Diana

An ancient coin from Nîmes

This symbol with the crocodile and palm trees is everywhere.

Street scenes

The kids found a video games store as seen by the picture of Mario above them. The sign says 'jeux video'.

We spent an uneventful night in Orange after wandering around trying to locate the hotel, as usual.