Now that it's been four months and we've had time to reflect, we can easily say this spring break trip was better than yours....or was it?
Today in celebration of a superb voyage across the pond, we go to Boulevard Haus in the Oregon District.
Details are coming...or are they?
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Lockdown
Here we are. Almost seven hours in. And we aren't even halfway done.
We navigated from one terminal to the other, but soon saw that the u.s. Airways counter doesn't open to print our boarding passes until seven thirty a.m. Conveniently enough, CDG has a very large seating and eating area for those who are flying internationally and might need to stay overnight. So staking out our new home, we pushed all the chairs together to make beds. We watched the videos we have been along, we have listened to music, we have had deep theological talks, And now we're just sitting here. Sleep is an impossibility. The floor buffers keep rolling by, the man ten feet away is snoring like a bear, and the two Asian women are wrapped so tightly in coats it's making us too hot to sleep. And oh, yes, it's hot. Of course, the pleather might have something to do with that. Nobody ever felt good after they woke up and their arm was stuck to pleather. Its like waking up with a sore throat.
David has just pointed out a valid point. Two new people who have just approached our living area look a little shady. They're pickpocketers...or are they? Better keep the yorkshire patties close.
Anyway, hoping the next fifteen hours fly by!
We navigated from one terminal to the other, but soon saw that the u.s. Airways counter doesn't open to print our boarding passes until seven thirty a.m. Conveniently enough, CDG has a very large seating and eating area for those who are flying internationally and might need to stay overnight. So staking out our new home, we pushed all the chairs together to make beds. We watched the videos we have been along, we have listened to music, we have had deep theological talks, And now we're just sitting here. Sleep is an impossibility. The floor buffers keep rolling by, the man ten feet away is snoring like a bear, and the two Asian women are wrapped so tightly in coats it's making us too hot to sleep. And oh, yes, it's hot. Of course, the pleather might have something to do with that. Nobody ever felt good after they woke up and their arm was stuck to pleather. Its like waking up with a sore throat.
David has just pointed out a valid point. Two new people who have just approached our living area look a little shady. They're pickpocketers...or are they? Better keep the yorkshire patties close.
Anyway, hoping the next fifteen hours fly by!
The Last Post...or is it?
And home we go.
2 great weeks in Europe.
Here are some of our favorite memories:
1.) It didn't rain once. (Is that a memory?)
2.) Watching Olga sharpen her knives.
3.) Sitting on the river in Paris for two hours, waving to the tourists on les Bateaux Mouches.
4.) Spezi, spaetzal, schnitzel, and escargot!
5.) The Statten Island losers.
6.) Views of the mountains. ("My name is Bin. Take a look at the beautiful biew of the billage!")
7.) Sound of Music tour. Seeing all the locations in the film...and then watching the film and screaming, "I'VE BEEN THERE!"
8.) Eating Vietnamese with Arnie and Benedicte.
9.) The Chocolate Obama Milkshake at Breakfast in America.
10.) Salt Mine Tours, wearing blue jumpsuits!
11.) Leah and Mariah's secret late night parties at the hostel in Paris, where they went partying...or did they?
12.) Eating doughnuts in the middle of a field.
13.) Taking 4,500 photos of Mariah. :)
14.) Going to the many parks and gardens in Paris.
15.) Beer being spilled on us the moment we pass under a bridge.
16.) Dinner at Arnie's!
17.) Salzburg, horse dumplings, and many tours!
18.) Leah being bumped to business class on the way to Stuttgart.
19.) Mr. Tim Swallow.
20.) The Waldluft, the Brits, the wifi.
21.) D.I.A. stories.
22.) Catholic mass on Easter Eve. Apparently it rained...but we didn't see it!
23.) Mrs. Isaacs' Easter baskets. :)
24.) Smelling smoke and immediately assuming our converters are on fire.
25.) 10 Things I Hate about You, and deep theological talks at 2 AM (Ambassador Starbucks...)
26.) And the perhaps the most important: David blowing his nose for 25 minutes straight and Leah coaching him through it.
Things we've missed:
Mariah: cable, refills, boneless buffalo wings, cheap meals, dollar menu, Taco Bell, driving, singing wherever we want. And last but not least, Little Natalie.
David: Oh, jeez! What did I miss? Okay, Eliana, driving, school...just kidding. Oh! I miss hearing my language everywhere. Using American dollars. And last but not least, I miss Batchelor.
Leah: I miss singing in my car, my cat, my other cat, water being free, and last but not least, my van.
The best EVER spring break.
The End.
2 great weeks in Europe.
Here are some of our favorite memories:
1.) It didn't rain once. (Is that a memory?)
2.) Watching Olga sharpen her knives.
3.) Sitting on the river in Paris for two hours, waving to the tourists on les Bateaux Mouches.
4.) Spezi, spaetzal, schnitzel, and escargot!
5.) The Statten Island losers.
6.) Views of the mountains. ("My name is Bin. Take a look at the beautiful biew of the billage!")
7.) Sound of Music tour. Seeing all the locations in the film...and then watching the film and screaming, "I'VE BEEN THERE!"
8.) Eating Vietnamese with Arnie and Benedicte.
9.) The Chocolate Obama Milkshake at Breakfast in America.
10.) Salt Mine Tours, wearing blue jumpsuits!
11.) Leah and Mariah's secret late night parties at the hostel in Paris, where they went partying...or did they?
12.) Eating doughnuts in the middle of a field.
13.) Taking 4,500 photos of Mariah. :)
14.) Going to the many parks and gardens in Paris.
15.) Beer being spilled on us the moment we pass under a bridge.16.) Dinner at Arnie's!
17.) Salzburg, horse dumplings, and many tours!
18.) Leah being bumped to business class on the way to Stuttgart.
19.) Mr. Tim Swallow.
20.) The Waldluft, the Brits, the wifi.
21.) D.I.A. stories.
22.) Catholic mass on Easter Eve. Apparently it rained...but we didn't see it!
23.) Mrs. Isaacs' Easter baskets. :)
24.) Smelling smoke and immediately assuming our converters are on fire.
25.) 10 Things I Hate about You, and deep theological talks at 2 AM (Ambassador Starbucks...)
26.) And the perhaps the most important: David blowing his nose for 25 minutes straight and Leah coaching him through it.
Things we've missed:
Mariah: cable, refills, boneless buffalo wings, cheap meals, dollar menu, Taco Bell, driving, singing wherever we want. And last but not least, Little Natalie.
David: Oh, jeez! What did I miss? Okay, Eliana, driving, school...just kidding. Oh! I miss hearing my language everywhere. Using American dollars. And last but not least, I miss Batchelor.
Leah: I miss singing in my car, my cat, my other cat, water being free, and last but not least, my van.
The best EVER spring break.
The End.
Strasbourg
First we toured the Cathedral of Strasbourg. We rounded a corner and--BOOM--there it was. It was so tall we couldn't even get a picture of the whole thing, so we had to walk away from it to try and fit it in the frame. The inside was pretty crazy too. You know, the extremely tall ceilings, the stained glass windows...very nice!
After that, we went on a boat ride down the Rhine River which winds around the city. Very relaxing. You can tell from the photos that the architecture is very different from what we're normally used to, so that made everything even more interesting.
Either way, Strasbourg was nice, uneventful, and very pleasant. Weather, very warm. Food, very good.
Friday, April 22, 2011
The plan here is to lump the past few days into one post. Hope you guys don't mind...I know you don't...or do you?
The next thing we've done since our last post was go to Garmisch, Germany. We stayed on an Army base there, and hung out at the Edelweiss Lodge. However beautiful it was (and however much it reminded me of the Wilderness Lodge in Disney World, Mom) there was a slight nuisance in the shape of Future Leaders of America: aka, jr. high and high schoolers dressed up like business people just to make themselves look good on college applications. But that's harsh. I'm sure there was a nice kid there. (At least they weren't Italian, or from Manhatten. More of that to come though. So hold your horses.) Dinner was fabulous, naturally. We either ate spaetzal or schnitzel and drank our spezi. (half Fanta, half Coke) Garmisch really is a charming place, with walking streets, and most of the houses have some form of mural painted on the front. Usually Biblical or Historical.
Next day is the biggest and best though: Neuschwanstein Castle, here we come!
I am ashamed to say we were tourists for the day. But then again, none of us really cared. Everyone at Neuschwanstein was a tourist, so it didn't matter. We boarded our tour bus, and were introduced to our tour guide Siv. (Pronounced seev*) She was from Norway and took extremely long pauses between phrases. "And to your right...is the Fricken Mountain...yes, children...cover your ears..."
First stop was a wood carving shop. Inititally I thought maybe I could pick up something for my brother, but lo and behold, a small carving of a German yodeler was about 45-65 euro. (that's over sixty American dollars.) I thought to myself, "Does Jonathan need a sixty dollar statue of a Germann yodeler? Or a foot tall statue of Mary that costs a thousand dollars?" No. He didn't need one. So I walked out and bought nothing...or did I?
Next stop was fantastic: Weiss Church. Literally in the middle of nowhere, it was a white church with three little houses clustered around it and then walking lanes and yellow flowered fields. That was it. Here's the quick story behind it that I found interesting: One day, a little town needed a statue for a festival. They made one out of scraps to look like Mary, or some other Biblical person. Finally, once the festival was finished, they stored the statue in the basement. Then one day, Siv said, the woman was house cleaning. "Oh, look!....a statue...it's beautiful!" so they posted the statue on their mantle piece. But lo! The statue was crying! "It must...have healing powers," Siv explained. "So people from all....over the country came to be....healed." Finally the woman said, "Let's...build it a church so....everyone will get out of my....living room!" so they built Weiss Church. And according to Siv, the statue is no longer crying.
And then finally, to Neuschwanstein. Built by Ludwig (one of the Ludwigs) it was never finished. And sadly, we were only able to go in about six rooms or so. But all that to say, it was still fantastic. The views it had over the lake, the mountains, the river...oh man, stunning! (Photos are on facebook!)
David declared that if he were rich, he would never leave his castle. We all agreed. We also got some Senior portraits there, and you'll see those at our grad parties! (Leah's is June 4th. If ANYONE else schedules their grad party on that day...so help me......)
Anyway, then lunch came. And I believe this is an important part, so please listen up kids. Fact #1: our waitress was so sweet! Fact #2: the restaurant was the same price as any other, took just as long as any other, and was like every other German restaurant. Fact #3: some tourists from Statten Island were eating at a table nearby.
The words Statten Island should tip you off. Not that we're being stereotypical or anything...or are we? Anyway, they ordered coffees and then two minutes later said loudly, "How do you say 'hurry up!' in German?" Then to the waitress, "I don't want my cawfee anymowah, it's cold." Then, "It would be polite to ask my fawthah if he wants another cawfee!" And so on, and so on, until everyone in the restaurant was embarrassed for them. Finally the waitress comes out with their apple streudel and they say, "We don't have time, so we don't wahnt it anymowah." So she holds it up and is like, "Who would like to sample a perfectly good streudel?" So a family neraby says, "I didn't think we had time, but sure!" stab stab stab, Statten Island.
Anyway, then we drove back to Edelweiss. This morning we drove back to Stuttgart, watched Sound of Music (Which was very cool, seeing as we'd seen several of the filming locations) and then went on a walk in the city. Having a great time, and tomorrow is off to Strasbourg!
The next thing we've done since our last post was go to Garmisch, Germany. We stayed on an Army base there, and hung out at the Edelweiss Lodge. However beautiful it was (and however much it reminded me of the Wilderness Lodge in Disney World, Mom) there was a slight nuisance in the shape of Future Leaders of America: aka, jr. high and high schoolers dressed up like business people just to make themselves look good on college applications. But that's harsh. I'm sure there was a nice kid there. (At least they weren't Italian, or from Manhatten. More of that to come though. So hold your horses.) Dinner was fabulous, naturally. We either ate spaetzal or schnitzel and drank our spezi. (half Fanta, half Coke) Garmisch really is a charming place, with walking streets, and most of the houses have some form of mural painted on the front. Usually Biblical or Historical.
Next day is the biggest and best though: Neuschwanstein Castle, here we come!
I am ashamed to say we were tourists for the day. But then again, none of us really cared. Everyone at Neuschwanstein was a tourist, so it didn't matter. We boarded our tour bus, and were introduced to our tour guide Siv. (Pronounced seev*) She was from Norway and took extremely long pauses between phrases. "And to your right...is the Fricken Mountain...yes, children...cover your ears..."
First stop was a wood carving shop. Inititally I thought maybe I could pick up something for my brother, but lo and behold, a small carving of a German yodeler was about 45-65 euro. (that's over sixty American dollars.) I thought to myself, "Does Jonathan need a sixty dollar statue of a Germann yodeler? Or a foot tall statue of Mary that costs a thousand dollars?" No. He didn't need one. So I walked out and bought nothing...or did I?
Next stop was fantastic: Weiss Church. Literally in the middle of nowhere, it was a white church with three little houses clustered around it and then walking lanes and yellow flowered fields. That was it. Here's the quick story behind it that I found interesting: One day, a little town needed a statue for a festival. They made one out of scraps to look like Mary, or some other Biblical person. Finally, once the festival was finished, they stored the statue in the basement. Then one day, Siv said, the woman was house cleaning. "Oh, look!....a statue...it's beautiful!" so they posted the statue on their mantle piece. But lo! The statue was crying! "It must...have healing powers," Siv explained. "So people from all....over the country came to be....healed." Finally the woman said, "Let's...build it a church so....everyone will get out of my....living room!" so they built Weiss Church. And according to Siv, the statue is no longer crying.And then finally, to Neuschwanstein. Built by Ludwig (one of the Ludwigs) it was never finished. And sadly, we were only able to go in about six rooms or so. But all that to say, it was still fantastic. The views it had over the lake, the mountains, the river...oh man, stunning! (Photos are on facebook!)
David declared that if he were rich, he would never leave his castle. We all agreed. We also got some Senior portraits there, and you'll see those at our grad parties! (Leah's is June 4th. If ANYONE else schedules their grad party on that day...so help me......)
Anyway, then lunch came. And I believe this is an important part, so please listen up kids. Fact #1: our waitress was so sweet! Fact #2: the restaurant was the same price as any other, took just as long as any other, and was like every other German restaurant. Fact #3: some tourists from Statten Island were eating at a table nearby.
The words Statten Island should tip you off. Not that we're being stereotypical or anything...or are we? Anyway, they ordered coffees and then two minutes later said loudly, "How do you say 'hurry up!' in German?" Then to the waitress, "I don't want my cawfee anymowah, it's cold." Then, "It would be polite to ask my fawthah if he wants another cawfee!" And so on, and so on, until everyone in the restaurant was embarrassed for them. Finally the waitress comes out with their apple streudel and they say, "We don't have time, so we don't wahnt it anymowah." So she holds it up and is like, "Who would like to sample a perfectly good streudel?" So a family neraby says, "I didn't think we had time, but sure!" stab stab stab, Statten Island.
Anyway, then we drove back to Edelweiss. This morning we drove back to Stuttgart, watched Sound of Music (Which was very cool, seeing as we'd seen several of the filming locations) and then went on a walk in the city. Having a great time, and tomorrow is off to Strasbourg!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Everyone here is really ticked off that that the computer just died and took our four paragraph post with it.
Recap:
1.went to the salt mines, which was curiously close to our hotel. Wore jumpsuits and glowed in the dark.
2. Went up to Obersalzburg. If I wasn in the mood to retype everything, I would tell you some of the history including Hitler's Eagles Nest and the Band of Brothers! (yeshhhh!) saw some German bunkers, and listened to a lot of German.
3. Had a snack lunch. Then went up into the hills behind our hotel and got some senior portraits. Great weAther and great scenery. Feeling so artistic with the mountains in view. Germany has never seen a photoshoot like today...or has it?
4. Went to dinner and ate dumplings. (not horse dumplings: our Salzburg tour guides name for horse...manure.) and then drank some beer, smoked some cigars And hung out with local thugs. Just kidding mom! Or am I...? No really, just kidding. Just keeping you on your toes.
Gnight.
Pics to come.
Recap:
1.went to the salt mines, which was curiously close to our hotel. Wore jumpsuits and glowed in the dark.
2. Went up to Obersalzburg. If I wasn in the mood to retype everything, I would tell you some of the history including Hitler's Eagles Nest and the Band of Brothers! (yeshhhh!) saw some German bunkers, and listened to a lot of German.
3. Had a snack lunch. Then went up into the hills behind our hotel and got some senior portraits. Great weAther and great scenery. Feeling so artistic with the mountains in view. Germany has never seen a photoshoot like today...or has it?4. Went to dinner and ate dumplings. (not horse dumplings: our Salzburg tour guides name for horse...manure.) and then drank some beer, smoked some cigars And hung out with local thugs. Just kidding mom! Or am I...? No really, just kidding. Just keeping you on your toes.
Gnight.
Pics to come.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Day seven: is somebody STILL humming?!
I might screw up this post because there is STILL a couple making out right in front of us. They're old, too.
We got up early for a free breakfast. Leah was appalled to find out that shrimp is a common breakfast food item in Germany...or is it? We've nicknamed our evil waitress (see past post) Olga. We sometimes see her standing in doorways, shaking her head, frowning, or checking the bullets in her gun. Just kidding...or are we? Either way, we then caught a bus to Salzburg...land of Red Bull and the Sound of Music. (The Austrians and Germans don't even know it though.) Julia Andrews led the tour as we followed her over every mountain. Vin Diesel also helped teach the bus how to sing "do-re-mi." the tour lasted four hours, and we saw: the German lake district, the chapel Maria and theta Captain get married in in the movie, the three locations used to film the Von Trapp house, and several others.
And then we came home to dinner. We ate a picnic lunch on the patio of the hotel...but then out of the corner of my eye, I saw Olga standing in the doorway sharpening her knives....or was she? Just kidding... But she was glaring at us with that "why are they eating a picnic lunch?" sort of way. Next, we began searching for wifi, and she saw us standing on the steps, so she waved us inside and Started complaining to her German family friends about the audacity of American teenagers.
(nervous about the couple sitting near us. Oh jeez!)
Pictures by Friday. David's stupid iPad doesn't have a USB cable import, so Leah's photos can't be loaded on. Bad David, bad.
Pray for the couple sitting near us. I worry. Oh, do I worry...
And then we came home to dinner. We ate a picnic lunch on the patio of the hotel...but then out of the corner of my eye, I saw Olga standing in the doorway sharpening her knives....or was she? Just kidding... But she was glaring at us with that "why are they eating a picnic lunch?" sort of way. Next, we began searching for wifi, and she saw us standing on the steps, so she waved us inside and Started complaining to her German family friends about the audacity of American teenagers.
(nervous about the couple sitting near us. Oh jeez!)
Pictures by Friday. David's stupid iPad doesn't have a USB cable import, so Leah's photos can't be loaded on. Bad David, bad.
Pray for the couple sitting near us. I worry. Oh, do I worry...
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