It's vacation weather! Some great, and maybe less than great destinations nearby...

Warmer temps have finally returned to Bavaria! It's been up in the 70's the last couple days and we've really had some beautiful weather the last couple weeks. With the exception of tomorrow, another cold and rainy day, it's looking pretty nice next week too. Why do the crappy weather days always seem to fall on a Saturday?!
Regardless, Liam and I have been able to spend much more time outside and he just goes crazy over it. Hates to be brought back in. Awhile back we discovered a small play area back behind one of the houses across the street. It's a nice alternative instead of the playground just down the road which is jam-packed with hooligan children whenever it's warm out. So I like taking Liam back there sometimes, he's usually the only one. They have this woven rope swing that's about twice as big as this one and Liam LOVES it.

A couple days ago I took him out to the backyard and he had a blast. Since we're at the end of the building our "yard" is kinda the whole area around the end of our house so it's a pretty big area. Our place from the back:

 He just took off and I thought at any moment he was gonna stand up and start singing the theme from "The Sound of Music," twirling and all.

This past Monday I went to the ACS-sponsored "Welcome to Bavaria" class. It's sort of a cultural adaptation class. It was supposed to be 3 days, the first day in a classroom and the following two days going around the area learning where things are. I only ended up going to the first day. Between dropping off Liam at daycare that morning and having him bawl his eyes out when I was leaving him (the first time that's happened by the way) and picking him up late in the afternoon realizing he hadn't taken a nap, I didn't feel comfortable leaving him there all day for three days in a row. I was still glad I went. Very informative. It was taught by this German lady "Ursula"... how awesome of a name is that!?

 The biggest things I took away from that day I think was that A) my family is SOOO German. I mean, they joke about it a lot. I heard that a lot growing up. Blame all your negative yet hopefully endearing qualities on your German heritage. At least that's what I got out of it. But really! I think it's pretty accurate. Quirky, sarcastic, odd sense of humor, blunt, straightforward, very opinionated, big beer drinkers, having the appearance of being stern, if not just a bit cranky at times, very devoted to their Catholicism (well, at least Bavaria)... yep, it's all there. Awww... it's all making sense now.

B) Don't drive in the Czech Republic. Or Poland. Or Romania. Or any of the other Eastern Bloc countries. In fact, I've been wanting to go to Poland and the Czech Republic, which is about an hour east of us, but I'm not in such a hurry anymore. Let's be honest, I know very little about these countries, I think most Americans know about just as much too. But let me summarize how little I'm actually working with here: A) Pope JP II is from Krakow. That is in Poland. B) There's a place in Poland where some fantastic people have built a cathedral into a salt mine. Looks awesome. C) Polish pottery is from Poland. D) The Czech Republic used to be part of Czechoslovakia, a former favorite word of mine to say. For fun. The End.

So that's it. That's what I know. Also, just like most Americans, my idea of things I know nothing about comes from Hollywood. So I'm envisioning a very lite version of "Hostel."

But also something like "Everything is Illuminated" which I think was actually set in the Ukraine.

So yep, I got nothing. I knew in the past these places were known to not be the safest places on Earth. But shortly after we moved here I started hearing horror stories about people getting drugs slapped underneath their cars after crossing the border, policemen, or people dressed as policeman, pulling people over, finding out their addresses and after returning home after a couple days' vacation, finding their home cleaned out. Poland and the Czech Republic are within a drivable distance so a lot people go over there for shopping in particular. Prices over there are miniscule compared to Germany. But I don't think they're anymore safe now than they were when they were under communist rule.

So during this class Ursula's going into all this detail about these things she's heard about. The fake policeman thing actually happened to someone who took the class a couple months ago. Recently I was reading about people being targeted after crossing the border, having people flash their lights at them, tailgating and harassing them on the road to try to get them to pull over. Let's see, there was also an active-duty service member, who actually went to Poland with a group and was nearly kidnapped. I guess the trick was to not trust the nice, old Asian lady. Also I think something about not buying cigarettes over there got brought up. Cartons of cigs are the equivalent of $10 over there but people have died from whatever was in them.

All the horror stories aside, she recommended definitely going to Prague, it's such a beautiful city. How can you not when we're only a 3 hour drive from there? But you just have to be more careful than usual in those countries. So a word of caution to anyone throwing around the idea of traveling to the region, it's not gotten any safer than what you've previously heard. Just be aware of your surroundings, go in a group and always take the train instead of driving. Ranger that! No human trafficking in my future, thank you!

In brighter tourism news Will and I reserved a room at the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort in Garmisch this week! We'll be going for a week during his block leave and I can't wait.

As you can see, it's just below the German Alps. It's run by the American Armed Forces Recreation Centers so it's geared towards service members. Rates are prorated by rank so I guess sometimes it does pay to be enlisted! It really makes it very affordable. I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be able to afford it if this was run by Germans. They have spa services, day trips to Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Munich, the Eagle's Nest, and Zugspitze (Germany's highest peak) among other things. The awesome thing is that there's an Army post there too so daycare is available through their on post daycare centers as long as your child's already registered. Will and I would like to take at least one day trip. Neuschwanstein Castle isn't far from there but I've heard it's not very kid-friendly. There's a 45 minute hike uphill to get there and then the tour inside is long and the castle itself has lots of stairs and is not stroller friendly. I've just heard from most people that they don't recommend taking small children.

So this is the perfect time to go, we'll be in the area AND have daycare available. Oh my gosh, did I mention how difficult it is to find child care in Germany!? (Okay, that's a blog for another day.) But seriously, I'm willing at this point to shell out the big bucks so Will and I can go out and actually eat at a German restaurant alone! Do I have any takers? I'm so envious of those people who have the money to hire an au pair or someone like that who just goes along on trips with the family. Instant childcare! But that's some cold, hard cash I'm sure those people are dishing out.

Next up: my earnest, if not comical, attempts at impersonating an amazing, expert German gardener.

Spring things and new projects

Ever since we moved in I've noticed this bird hanging around outside quite a bit. I don't recall seeing any back in the States, so after a little research I found out they are Eurasian Magpies.

 Related to the crow, they are considered to be the most intelligent of birds and among the most intelligent of all animals. Up there with chimps and humans. Attracted to shiny objects, seen taking out smaller songbirds in mid-flight and when in groups, known for exhibiting "teasing behavior" towards cats... I'm liking this bird more and more. Seeing how much Liam loved sitting on the kitchen windowsill at my parent's house and watching the birds outside I'd like to get a few birdfeeders and a birdbath for outside our living room windows. Unlike in El Paso our living room windows actually have a view of trees with ACTUAL leaves and green grass outside! Now if I could only convince our neighbor to pick up their junk lying around outside, we'll actually have something to look at once spring really gets going. (Even with the dead grass outside the view is better than our previous one.)

And speaking of things to to look at outside. I'm planning on starting a garden on our front patio (or is it the back). It's on the north side of the house so it will get plenty of sun (once the sun decides to actually shine). I've searched the Internet for info on gardening in Germany. I'd like to find out what is commonly grown around here but can't seem to find anything in English. Guess this first year will be trial and error. I'm also wanting to try out this new corn that's designed for containers from Burpee. It's currently out of stock though. Of course nothing tastes like Sachse corn, but I gotta take what I can get!

And speaking of new projects, I'm working on a new theme for Liam's room. New country, new room.  Something jungle/wild animal related. Inspired by all the new goofy, animal noises Liam seems to acquire everyday, Will and I decided maybe we should put our little zoo animal in an environment where he could feel at home with his people. My first project involves a picture to wood transfer idea I found on Pinterest.

I got these prints from Shutterfly. Apparently the transferring only works with laser-jet prints. I'm still waiting on the wood panels and the other stuff to arrive in the mail but I can't wait to see how they turn out. Probably should've gotten enough stuff to do a test run, but we'll see how it goes. I'm not a painter by any means so this is my version of an attempt at this:

I'd never be able to do that and I'm sure it would be pricey to find on Etsy.


Since we didn't have any curtains or blinds to fit the window sizes here (or rather accommodate for the fact that almost all the windows have a radiator directly underneath them) I had to order new blinds. I got these for Liam's room. I thought the bamboo would look good with the theme...

Makes me think of the blinds that used to be in my parents living room growing up. Lol. When we were at Ikea last weekend Will these leaf canopies that they had above a bed. I already have something for over Liam's bed so I would probably use it over the glider. It was only 10 euro too! (About $13/14)

Gonna do this one too. It's actually from Martha Stewart. Lol, ME... doing Martha Stewart crafts. "It's a good thing."

And a new look for his name too:

Minus the animals at the bottom. I'm not so into the cutesy baby animal stuff. That's basically the only style available to buy. I'd rather do stuff myself. When we first had this theme idea I googled it and didn't like what they had tried out in their rooms. I hope it all comes together.

I'm crossing my fingers some of this stuff comes by next week. Just got news this afternoon that Will's back on again for going back to the States next week. I'll have to drive him to the Nuernberg airport early Saturday to make his flight. He'll be at Camp Bullis in San Antonio all next week and he won't be getting back till the following Monday. So much for those two upcoming 4 day weekends and our trip to Rothenburg this weekend. Ugh. But I suppose if Rothenburg's been around this long it can hold out a few weeks more. I'm gonna have to find a thing or two keep Liam and I busy!

Happy Easter!

Yesterday's blog had me up late last night so I decided to leave Easter for another post. I hope everyone had a great one! Like I wrote yesterday, we got back from Nuernberg with less than half an hour to change and head over to Mass. Good thing we hit a part of the Autobahn with no speed limit.

 Contrary to what I had thought before coming here, not all the autobahn have no speed limit. You really have to watch for signs because you go in and out of speed zones all the time. Even without a speed zone you'll see this:

It means the recommended speed is 130 kph or roughly 80 mph. On the way there we were going about 70 mph and people were just flying past us. Not everyone, but enough to make you want to adhere to the stay-in-the-right-lane-unless-you're-passing-rule. I didn't realize until taking the driver's class that American vehicles are designed to be driven slower than European ones. Hard to believe when you see all these tiny cars that look like junk to us. But I digress!

They weren't running Watchcare at church during Mass this weekend so we managed Liam ourselves this time. Lol. I wasn't looking forward to it but it turned out a lot better than he was during the Protestant services we'd been to. There were a lot more people at Mass, which meant a lot more kids (you know those Catholics), so he did pretty well just being distracted by the other kiddos around us. I only had to take him to the back towards Communion.

Rose Barracks Chapel

He didn't get a nap in the morning so he was ready to crash when we got home, even slept longer than usual. Between teething and being sick I don't know what's going on with him. During Mass I was trying to preoccupy him by tickling or something and he threw his head back with his mouth open letting me see his gums. This kid now has his cuspids and first molars on top. I wiggled my finger into his mouth later to see where he is on the bottom ones. At least one molar's starting to come through on the bottom but I'm not sure about the other side. This kid ALREADY has about 13 or 14 teeth. It's been rough the last couple of months because I knew he was teething but I didn't think he was getting so many all at once! I guess that's the way to do it, I'd rather get them all out and done with at once than dragging it out all year long. Once he gets these bottom first molars in I think there should be a break for awhile till later towards the end of the second year when he'll get the last ones.

So here was the Easter basket the Easter Bunny left for him yesterday. I just put a few snacks in the eggs, one Reese's peanut butter egg, some stickers (which he ended up just wanting to eat, his first crayons and sheets to color on and Bubble Ooodles from Gymboree. He loved Bubble Time when we used to take him to Gymboree in El Paso and we really haven't played with them since. First off, however, how adorable is he in this shirt and tie?!

He makes me think of Andy Bernhard from "The Office." Lol. He was the snappiest dresser at church I have to say!

He loved the bubbles.

(Btw, please ignore the mess in our living room. It's my last place left to organize from the room and has become a catchall for things without a home yet.)

We did a miniature egg hunt in the living room. We were having a few flurries so I didn't want to even bother taking him out when it wasn't even mildly warm. He even found a few eggs on his own.

I'll post the videos I took on the Shutterfly site. He even tried out the crayons on his own too. Pretty good for the first time attempting to color.

That evening I attempted a ham dinner. Oh, the story of the ham... A couple weeks ago I thought I was being clever by thinking ahead and realizing I should probably go ahead and buy a ham in case they ran out at the commissary. I was so proud of myself that I got it for 50% with a coupon too. But then I realized last week that it had a label stating "Best used by: 11 Dec 2012" Ick! I left the ham in the freezer for a few days deliberating whether to use it or not. It completely made me question anything refrigerated or frozen from the commissary. Mildly disgusted I went back seeing if I could find something fresher. No such luck. I even found a full rack of ribs that had a date of November of last year. Am I the only one who is grossed out by this!? I mean, yes it's frozen. But their meat appears to be imported from the States. My little brother, John, the expert and soon-to-be K-State graduate of all things Ag related assured me that the USDA does a very good job of regulating meat in the States. But then there's a grey area with how it gets shipped over here. I imagine it's supposed to stay frozen on the way over but does it really? And when was this meat actually frozen? I looked to my Good Housekeeping cookbook as the last source of recommendation and they state that frozen ham should be used within 2 months after the "fresh by" date. Oooo-kay. It might have been perfectly fine but I didn't want to bother with something that suspect.

On Thursday I looked into going to a butcher in Vilseck but ended up taking Will and Liam to Edeka, a German grocery store chain, after Will got off work. (My first German store shopping. Btw, it was adorable like everything else here.) Found my way to the frozen food area and searched for ham. No such luck. Found a package of what appeared to be wild boar meat. But no ham. Over to the deli counter where I had no idea what I was doing or how to ask for ham. I remembered earlier in the day reading that ham is "schinken" or some such craziness so I looked around trying to find something that looked like ham. Aha. I THINK that's ham. Over comes the older German lady asking what I would like. I remember being told that most younger Germans know pretty good English. If you come across someone older, you're probably out of luck.

I was out of luck.

So in my best pantomime I try saying, "I would like..." and pointing to what I wanted. What ensued was a lot of finger pointing and head nodding and shaking. Realizing people were looking at me like I was an idiot my mind suddenly blanked on how many pounds were in a kilo. So I threw out "zwei kilo" not thinking that's gonna be like 5 lbs. I think she was questioning me to make sure that I wanted that much. I told her yes initially and when she went back for more I sort of signed, "Okay, that's enough." Where is Dad with his infamous International Hand Signals when you need him? Will started laughing when she was finally wrapping it up. I looked so stupid, I had to laugh at myself too. I know I confused the lady but when I told her "sorry" she looked at me with this "I get it. Math is hard." look on her face but in a nice way. Man do I hate looking like a stupid American.

So this is what I ended up with. Went in looking for frozen ham. Came out with sliced deli meat.

It really had a great flavor though. I tried soaking it in a sort of apricot marinade/glaze but it was like eating sandwich meat without the sandwich. Oh well, we can't all be winners, right? Liam loved it though. He ate it to the exclusion of everything else. I also tried making lemon cupcakes from a recipe I found on Pinterest.

Not so great in fact. Turns out that self-rising flour thing is kinda a requirement when that's what the recipe calls for. The cream frosting turned out good but the actual cupcakes had almost no flavor and were as dense as pound cake. Lol. Awww, fun in the kitchen!

 So our first Easter dinner together didn't really manifest into what I had planned for it to be. But it was definitely an experience. The dinner really did seem to be doomed from the start but I know I'm gonna look back at my first Easter dinner attempt and laugh. A memorable Easter after all!

Maybe, just maybe, I should have gone with the wild boar meat...