Weekend in Bavaria

Our little group of Americans in Belgium has grown steadily over the last year, and there are now 7 people from our company working here. Since we all had different holiday schedules and couldn't make the company holiday party in DC, they decided to send us on a European outing instead. After a quick vote, it was determined that we would all fly to Munich for a 4 day weekend with our significant others. The company covered our flight and hotel room, so we had an almost free trip to Bavaria.

To keep the price within the company guidelines, we had to take the 7am flight out of Brussels, 

so we left the house at 4:15 in the morning. After a short 1:15 minute flight, we landed in snow covered Munich. On our first day, half of the group wandered the city, and the other half (including Elizabeth and I) rushed to our 11:00am tour of the former concentration camp, Dachau. This was my second trip to the camp, but it was a first for everyone else. It was just as sobering of an experience as the previous visit. We walked through the tiny rooms where they stuffed in hundreds of prisoners as well as the gas chamber and crematorium. We had an even more realistic experience than most, as it was brutally cold with 8 inches of snow on the ground. Hard to imagine what life was like for the prisoners with no heavy coats or warm food.

After the tour, we returned to the hotel for a while to warm up for a few minutes...then it was off to a group dinner. We found a nice table at the Augustinerbrau restaurant and enjoyed some

Augustinerbrau beer (by the liter) with our bratwurst and sauerkraut. My favorite part is that instead of bread, they bring out big chewy pretzels like you get at the ballpark...only better! After getting up at 3:30 am, walking around Dachau, and then a few beers, we were all exhausted and headed back to the hotel.

On day two, the whole group went on the Bavarian castles tour. The first one was King Ludwig II's main home, a modest 8 room castles tucked in the alps. 24 karat gold covered most of the rooms, and priceless works of art were all around. From the pictures we saw in the gift shops, there were apparently some beautiful gardens out front, but they were covered in a foot of snow while we were there. After that was a brief stop in Oberammergau, the site of the famous German Passion Play. We wandered this beautiful little snow covered town in the Alps for about an hour, then back on the bus to the main attraction, Neuschwanstein castle. We had lunch at the base of the mountain, then spent a little time in the shops before the 20 minute hike up the mountain to the castle. This castle was King Ludwig's main project, although he died part way through construction and it was never completed. It is a bizarre place, complete with a fake cave in the room next to his bedroom. Apparently it was quite modern for it's time, with plumbing and door buzzers to tell the servants where the king was when he needed something. This one was less ornate, but much larger than the other castle. There were some spectacular views from the top, and it was just a fun place to see.

For day three we all hopped on the train to Salzburg, Austria. Unfortunately the weather really didn't cooperate with us on this day. It was foggy with rain and snow all day. This was especially disappointing as I had been there before, and there are some spectacular views of the Alps from the Citadel in Salzburg, but we couldn't see them on this day. We did take the funicular up to the top of the castle anyway, but it just wasn't the same. We went back down for lunch, then the group broke up to see their own things. Elizabeth and I went to visit a beautiful graveyard and a 500 year old church, then a quick walk though the catacombs (dug into the side of the mountain) where religious refugees hid during the Crusades. Overall, we still had a good time despite the weather.

That evening, we all had dinner together at the Hoffbrauhaus. This is the most famous beer hall in Munich where Hitler himself liked to visit. They serve beer by the liter, enormous pretzels, and have an authentic German band (dressed in lederhosen) playing drinking songs. Always entertaining...

On our final day, we finally spent a little time in Munich. We went to the Marienplatz to see the Glockenspiel chime at 11:00. It's basically an enormous cuckoo clock built on the side of a building. Little men spin around and play instruments and dance for the king. This was another bizarre creation by the eccentric King Ludwig. Carnival was also starting up this day, so there were tents with food and music, and people were dressed in all sorts of crazy costumes. We had a quick Gluwine at a tent, then headed back. We would have spent more time wandering the city, but once again the cold wet weather was getting to us.

Overall it was a good trip. We were able to cross off a lot of places that we wanted to see, although we probably would have preferred to do them during warmer months. We couldn't argue with the price though!

Amazing Journey

So anyone who has ever watched any reality show such as Survivor, The Bachelor, American Idol, Apprentice, Top Chef, knows that at the end of the season the contestants whether winners or losers refers to their experience as an “Amazing Journey”. I’ve always thought it was such a corny phrase, and still do, but I finally get to use it! It’s difficult to describe our first year here other than to say it’s been an Amazing Journey!

It’s pretty hard to believe that we have been here in Belgium for a year now, it has truly flown by. Things have changed quite a bit over the course of a year. When we first got here we were so nervous, excited, and anxious. There was so much to do, find a house, get the dog here, and figure out how to get everything set up, including SHAPE and Belgium ID’s, drivers licenses, and getting a car. It’s not just the set up stuff that was hard; it was all those things we took for granted back home like going to the grocery store. Finding foods labeled in French, figuring out how to weigh and label fresh fruits and vegetables, finding the “special” trash bags and remembering to bring bags to bag our groceries. How we spend our time has changed a lot too. It seems a like a long time ago now that my days were preoccupied with making curtains while Keith handled tons of paperwork!

A year later we are settled and have a great routine. We have our favorite restaurants, a great group of friends, a kooky vet that loves Bailey, and best of all, we call this place home. I no longer spend my days sewing and hanging curtains. Instead I spend a lot of time on the base volunteering with a group that does training for the Army and their families. I also keep busy with work from my old company back home…. (thanks HT!) Although the paperwork is probably never ending, Keith at least has some work to keep him busy. And obviously the travel really has made this whole experience fantastic. We’ve gotten to go to so many places… and not just the major tourist destinations, but also the local day trips. We are busy planning our trips for 2009, including Munich, Ireland, a Northern European Cruise, and Prague! One other thing that has made this past year so much fun is the blog. We’ve had fun writing it and we totally appreciate everyone who follows it, we love your comments. Hopefully we'll have fun adventures to share soon!

Friends, Musicals, Roman Baths, And A Big Pile Of Rocks

My boss from the US was in London on vacation a few weeks ago so we decided to train it up to meet him and his wife. We caught the Eurostar on Thursday night so we could make an early tour the next day, and then planned on meeting him on Saturday for some tourism and a show.

On Friday, we took a long but interesting tour all around southern England. The first stop was Windsor Castle, the Queen's weekend home. It's quite a magnificent place that still looks like an old medieval castle. We walked through the chapel where Henry VIII is buried, as well as several other famous British rulers. Unfortunately the state rooms were closed, so we weren't able to go in there...I've heard they are quite beautiful.

From there it was a 1 1/2 hour drive in the pouring rain to the famous Stonehenge. Just as we approached the site, the clouds parted and we were treated to a nice, dry view of the site. To be honest, it's a big pile of rocks in the middle of a field. This was one of the few times that I've really enjoyed having an audio guide of a place. We learned that the 3000 year old structure was built from stones over 100 miles away. How people at that time could transport 40 ton rocks that distance just blew my mind. We also heard about the many theories of who built them and why...ranging from a timepiece to plant crops to a big practical joke by aliens.

The final stop on the tour was Bath, where a Roman bath house was discovered on top of the only natural hot springs in the UK. Here we roamed around the well restored piece of history, imagining what it was like in Roman times and admiring the amazing architecture and plumbing that the Romans were able to create. We had a little extra time after the tour so we spent some time wandering around the beautiful city. We stopped at Sally Lunn's Buns to pick up the "best bun in the UK" from the bakery in the basement of the oldest house in the city, built in 1482! It's amazing to me how short America's history seems after visiting some of these places. After that, it was a long 2 1/2 hour ride back to London. We were mentally exhausted after the trip, so instead of researching a restaurant we returned to our "favorite" dim-sum spot from our last London trip. Same experience as last time...terrific food, lousy service.

On Saturday we were planning to meet with Chris at 2:00 at the London Eye. We took it easy in the morning, grabbing coffee and making our way to Leicester Square for lunch. After lunch we hopped on the Underground only to find Chris and his wife standing right next to us in the car! What are the odds? So, the four of us made our way to the London Eye. Now, I've been to London two times before this trip, and the only thing I haven't done is the Eye...I'm terrified of heights. But, this time I had convinced myself to give it a shot. So, of course, the giant ferris wheel had broken down just two hours before we arrived. A little bummed, we decided to walk across the river to Westminster Abbey...only to find it closed as well. So, we did the only things left to do in London, hit up a pub! After a couple of pints we retired to our respective hotels to clean up before dinner and a show.

The four of us met up again and enjoyed a nice dinner in the SOHO area, and then cabbed it over to the theater to see Wicked. Chris had found absolutely amazing seats for us, which added to an already wonderful show. After the show, we parted ways quickly as the rain and crowds made it difficult to stand around and chat.

London is always a fun trip, and it was even better to be able to experience it with friends.

Home for Christmas

The stars were aligned for us to have a fantastic trip home at Christmas...we got a direct flight for a great price, NATO was closed so Keith had the time off, and we had friends willing to watch Bailey. The trip itself flew by; there is just no way for us to see everyone we want to see in just a week. My parents were gracious enough to let us crash at their place, and since they are storing our bedroom set in their basement we has a very familiar place to sleep. Possibly the best part of staying at their house was that they are taking care of Pumpkin for us, so we had our furry friend curling up with us most nights. Despite hectic Christmas schedules we were able to coordinate with several people, mostly over lunches and dinners.

On one of our first days, friends had organized a group dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. After a full year being deprived of Mexican food out here, we were quite excited. Several of our friends brought their beautiful new family additions, and we chatted away the evening over margaritas and burritos. Sadly we forgot our camera on this night, so we'll be relying on them to keep us supplied with baby photos. We had three or four other meals with friends, coworkers, and ex-coworkers during the week. Unfortunately there were still many people that we missed due to holiday travel schedules, but it was great to catch up with as many people as we did.

On the 23rd, Keith's mom drove up from Norfolk and stayed with my parents through Christmas. It was really great to be able to have our families together on Christmas. Other than a few shopping trips for some last minute gifts, we took it easy. The whole family took a trip to the church on Christmas Eve to watch our nephew's Christmas play. It was a cute and wonderful version of a Christmas story. Then, on Christmas day we had a blast watching my dad put on every piece of clothing he received...all at the same time. The rest of the day was spent preparing and enjoying the Christmas feast.

We spent our remaining days back home visiting friends when possible. Wendy was kind enough to bring Maya and her mother by a few times, so we got to spend a while with them. It was amazing how much she'd grown already. Our nephew Brandon also stopped by and hung out with us a bit, and we even took a trip to our old home that my brother Tom now owns. He introduced us to Rock Band, and the three of us and his roommate spent the evening playing and singing (apparently poorly as the game told us) away. We were also able to fill another craving with a trip to China Garden in Rosalyn for Dim Sum! It was exactly as we remembered, maybe even better :)

Several people asked us if we noticed anything different now that we've been away for awhile. We were both pretty blown away by the traffic, not that we didn't know it was bad, but it really stood out how crazy the drivers are there. Here, slow traffic truly stays to the right, it is illegal to pass on the right and you can't sit in the left lane, and people follow the traffic rules. I guess I've gotten used to it, that it was a shock to the system to be back with people swerving in and out of lanes, people going 55 in the left lane, and 90 in an exit lane. On a positive note, we loved going to see a movie. It's amazing to have so many theater choices, and movies without all the subtitles on it. I do wish we could add one feature that some of the theaters here have, pre-seating selection. When you buy your tickets you pick your seats, which reduces waiting in lines only to race and elbow others out of the way to save seats for your friends getting popcorn. Nonetheless, it was great to see a movie back home. Another great part about being home was being able to shop on a Sunday! We both needed to run some errands and almost forgot that we could do some of it on Sunday. And who doesn't love a 24 CVS? Ahhh..... the land of Convenience! Our other observation was no big surprise, but we were both pretty overwhelmed with the portions of food! The US really does bigger, sometimes better, but always bigger! It was not hard to feel a little sick after all the meals out with friends.

Anyway, after an uneventful but long flight back to Belgium, we had 5 days to recover from the jet lag and acclimate to the sub-zero temperatures here before Keith went back to work on the 5th. Despite not being able to see everyone that we wanted, it was still a fantastic trip home.